SCRIPTURE
"Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:20-21)
OBSERVATION
How much faith does it take? The disciples could not drive out a demon from a boy. They asked Jesus why they were not able to, and he used this opportunity to remind them about the smallness of their faith.
Jesus used a great visual to get his point across. You have little faith (couldn't exorcise the demon) + If you had faith as small as a mustard seed (could move a mountain) = Your faith isn't even as big as a mustard seed. Slam.
Jesus used hyperbole, describing this extremely small faith and an extremely large obstacle...mustard seeds and mountains. The ridiculousness of it all. But that is the nature of faith. It is ridiculous. It doesn't make sense to our human way of thinking. The power of belief and trust coupled with the power of what God can do as we connect with him through faith is far greater than our minds can comprehend. Jesus said, "What is impossible with human beings is possible with God." We can't move the mountain but he can.
APPLICATION
I have to remember God is the mountain mover. I'm just the mustard seed believer. It's not about straining, trying harder, getting a migraine, getting in the zone, just hoping to move the mountain. It is trusting in God. Jesus words are both a challenge and a comfort. The challenge is to have the faith to move the mountain. That means trusting God and not myself. But his words are also a comfort. He did not say I need a faith that is proportional to the obstacle, ie. the size of a mountain. That would require a lot of work and I'm not sure, in my own strength, I can muster up that kind of faith. My faith isn't in the mustard seed or mountain, my faith is in my Maker for whom nothing is impossible.
PRAYER
Lord, sometimes my back hurts from trying to move the mountain. Thank you that you are the God who can toss that thing from one place to another. You are the mountain mover.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Fill in the Blank
SCRIPTURE
"Surely I spoke of things I do not understand; things too wonderful for me." (Job 42:3)
OBSERVATION
Up until this point in the book of Job, both he and his friends were trying to make sense of Job's suffering. Job defended his innocence. His friends wanted him to admit his guilt. It's difficult to determine how much of the recorded conversation between Job and his friends is theology and how much is speculation. They all ran into the same problem. They tried to fill in the blanks. God __________ (is like this, or does this because, the reason for this is...). There was a lot they did not know about what was happening (they were not in on the behind the scenes action in the first two chapters.) So they ended up speaking for God where he had not spoken.
And then God interrupted the conversation bombarding them with a list of questions that they could not answer. They were not around when the world was created nor do the keep the world in order. They are not the Creator, He is. Then Job confessed his shortcoming. He admitted he spoke of wonderful things he did not understand. He was trying to make sense of the situation, trying to fill in the blanks. In the end he did not receive the answer he was looking for. More important than the answer was the person...God himself showed up.
APPLICATION
Job's confession challenged me to speak only the things about God I know. The things he has revealed in his word. Instead of filling in the blank, and speaking for God, I need to trust in God. Let him be who he is without needing all of life's questions answered. To know that he is the one who created it all and sustains it all gives me the courage and strength to go on through it all. God himself is the answer that goes in the blank, the void of wanting to find reasons and explanations. If I knew why everything happened it would be easy to trust in the understanding than in God. So he leaves things unanswered and unexplained so I come back to him in trust and faith.
PRAYER
Lord, you are too wonderful for words. You are the almighty, creator God. the God who needs no defending. You are the source of all that is because you are the great I Am. You are the source of all that will be because you are the great I Am. You are and I am not. I'll fill in the blank with you.
"Surely I spoke of things I do not understand; things too wonderful for me." (Job 42:3)
OBSERVATION
Up until this point in the book of Job, both he and his friends were trying to make sense of Job's suffering. Job defended his innocence. His friends wanted him to admit his guilt. It's difficult to determine how much of the recorded conversation between Job and his friends is theology and how much is speculation. They all ran into the same problem. They tried to fill in the blanks. God __________ (is like this, or does this because, the reason for this is...). There was a lot they did not know about what was happening (they were not in on the behind the scenes action in the first two chapters.) So they ended up speaking for God where he had not spoken.
And then God interrupted the conversation bombarding them with a list of questions that they could not answer. They were not around when the world was created nor do the keep the world in order. They are not the Creator, He is. Then Job confessed his shortcoming. He admitted he spoke of wonderful things he did not understand. He was trying to make sense of the situation, trying to fill in the blanks. In the end he did not receive the answer he was looking for. More important than the answer was the person...God himself showed up.
APPLICATION
Job's confession challenged me to speak only the things about God I know. The things he has revealed in his word. Instead of filling in the blank, and speaking for God, I need to trust in God. Let him be who he is without needing all of life's questions answered. To know that he is the one who created it all and sustains it all gives me the courage and strength to go on through it all. God himself is the answer that goes in the blank, the void of wanting to find reasons and explanations. If I knew why everything happened it would be easy to trust in the understanding than in God. So he leaves things unanswered and unexplained so I come back to him in trust and faith.
PRAYER
Lord, you are too wonderful for words. You are the almighty, creator God. the God who needs no defending. You are the source of all that is because you are the great I Am. You are the source of all that will be because you are the great I Am. You are and I am not. I'll fill in the blank with you.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
The Foolish Message
SCRIPTURE
"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Co. 1:18)
OBSERVATION
God's wisdom and the world's wisdom are vastly different. We can be too smart for our own spiritual good. But God has turned the world's wisdom on its head by making it foolish. Dying on a cross initially looked like failure, but when we recognize the full impact of what God did, it suddenly becomes the most intelligent plan ever initiated. The world's wisdom is merely words taught by humans, but God's wisdom comes from words taught by the Spirit.
Our celebrity culture has conditioned us to prefer performance over substance...not what is said, but how it is said. This would make the cross a show stopper. A dying Messiah, how ridiculous. On the other hand, God's wisdom is about substance, a demonstration of the Spirit's power. This makes the cross the most powerful event of God who was reconciling the world to himself.
God is looking for people who are wise according to his standards. Ultimately, that wisdom is found in the person of Jesus, who Paul writes "has become for us the wisdom of God" (1:30).
APPLICATION
It's a mistake to think wisdom is all about what I know. More importantly, it is who I know. My wisdom needs to be found in Christ. To truly be wise means to be more like Jesus. Someone once said wisdom is the ability to apply knowledge to life. Wisdom comes as I follow Jesus and allow him to work through me, shaping my worldview and my life. That means I still have a lot of learning to do and I am probably not even as smart as a fifth grader.
PRAYER
God, help me to grow in the wisdom that is Jesus.
"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Co. 1:18)
OBSERVATION
God's wisdom and the world's wisdom are vastly different. We can be too smart for our own spiritual good. But God has turned the world's wisdom on its head by making it foolish. Dying on a cross initially looked like failure, but when we recognize the full impact of what God did, it suddenly becomes the most intelligent plan ever initiated. The world's wisdom is merely words taught by humans, but God's wisdom comes from words taught by the Spirit.
Our celebrity culture has conditioned us to prefer performance over substance...not what is said, but how it is said. This would make the cross a show stopper. A dying Messiah, how ridiculous. On the other hand, God's wisdom is about substance, a demonstration of the Spirit's power. This makes the cross the most powerful event of God who was reconciling the world to himself.
God is looking for people who are wise according to his standards. Ultimately, that wisdom is found in the person of Jesus, who Paul writes "has become for us the wisdom of God" (1:30).
APPLICATION
It's a mistake to think wisdom is all about what I know. More importantly, it is who I know. My wisdom needs to be found in Christ. To truly be wise means to be more like Jesus. Someone once said wisdom is the ability to apply knowledge to life. Wisdom comes as I follow Jesus and allow him to work through me, shaping my worldview and my life. That means I still have a lot of learning to do and I am probably not even as smart as a fifth grader.
PRAYER
God, help me to grow in the wisdom that is Jesus.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Arguing with God
SCRIPTURE
"If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling! I would state my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. I would find out what he would answer me, and consider what he would say to me." (Job 23-3-5)
OBSERVATION
Job wanted his day in court. He wanted the opportunity to state his case before God. It would go something like this: "I am blameless and upright and yet you have caused these tragedies in my life for no apparent reason. My friends say it is because I'm a sinner. I'm receiving my due. However, you and I both know otherwise. I want you to declare my innocence and deliver me from these horrible events."
Job was either a man of integrity or an idiot. God already gave his verdict. In 1:8 he said, "There is no one one earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." So Job could make this complaint, to stand before God, because there would be no specific charges God could level against him that would have precipitated the hard times in Job's life. Job wanted justice to be served.
APPLICATION
I, on the other hand, would be an idiot. I would not dare state my case before God. I know the dark spots of my heart and so does he. I would not want to find out what God would answer me. He would render a verdict of "guilty" on my life were it not for Jesus. So instead of pleading for justice, as in the case of Job, I plead for mercy. Job wanted what he deserved. I don't want what I deserve. It's not about my own merits but because, in Christ, I have received a pardon from the death sentence that I had incurred. I admire Job's boldness but I must humbly stand behind the cross.
PRAYER
Lord, thank you for the mercy you have shown me in Jesus.
"If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling! I would state my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. I would find out what he would answer me, and consider what he would say to me." (Job 23-3-5)
OBSERVATION
Job wanted his day in court. He wanted the opportunity to state his case before God. It would go something like this: "I am blameless and upright and yet you have caused these tragedies in my life for no apparent reason. My friends say it is because I'm a sinner. I'm receiving my due. However, you and I both know otherwise. I want you to declare my innocence and deliver me from these horrible events."
Job was either a man of integrity or an idiot. God already gave his verdict. In 1:8 he said, "There is no one one earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." So Job could make this complaint, to stand before God, because there would be no specific charges God could level against him that would have precipitated the hard times in Job's life. Job wanted justice to be served.
APPLICATION
I, on the other hand, would be an idiot. I would not dare state my case before God. I know the dark spots of my heart and so does he. I would not want to find out what God would answer me. He would render a verdict of "guilty" on my life were it not for Jesus. So instead of pleading for justice, as in the case of Job, I plead for mercy. Job wanted what he deserved. I don't want what I deserve. It's not about my own merits but because, in Christ, I have received a pardon from the death sentence that I had incurred. I admire Job's boldness but I must humbly stand behind the cross.
PRAYER
Lord, thank you for the mercy you have shown me in Jesus.
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