To Serve and Protect
“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.” -1 Corinthians 16:13-14
My friend
One of my close friends is a cop. I have gone on a couple ride alongs with him and seen him in action. It is amazing to see through his eyes and what his eyes are drawn to. They are not drawn to the obvious but to the shadows to the corners where bad things can be happening.
He is constantly on guard, even when off duty. When he is on the scene of a crime he stand firm in what he believes and doesn’t allow anyone to back him off of that position. He has courage to go into a scene even when others are running away.
When I think about this verse I think about him and his role as a cop. However, the unusual part of these verses is that strong, machismo verse is paired directly before verse 14 which is all about doing everything in love. A strong and mighty warrior with a tender heart, what a great combination!
In the same way, I need to live today on guard, firm in my faith, have courage, and be strong. However, I need to have a tender heart and do everything out of love.
God, may I have the eyes to see those hurting, may I never sway toward other gods and my own personal desires, but ma
y I also have a heart that is not calloused by the hurts of this world, but have a tender, malleable heart for you! Amen!
December 3rd Bible Study
Hope you can join me here for our conversation on the Bible.
Excitement
Have you ever been so excited about knowing God personally that you jump up and down for joy because you cannot contain yourself? Well, I know it sounds a little strange, but I think that is how we are to respond each and every day that we wake up to His amazing sunrise that He created just for you and me! How cool is that? I think we get caught up in life and the struggles and don’t realize how fortunate we are to KNOW THE CREATOR of the universe!!! So today, think about your relationship with God and begin to understand that God is thinking about YOU and KNOWS you personally!!! Craziness!
Tired
Recently, I have been tired even after waking up from a long nights sleep. I have actually been working out and losing weight and not getting the energy that I would expect. I even went to the doctor’s office, which for me never happens, and had blood taken and am now waiting for the results.
Spiritually, I see this weeriness constantly, in the pastor that gets tired of his wife and sleeps with the secretary, or the pastor that gives up all they have done to go sell used cars. Many people have come up to me and asked me how I can have a full-time job as a pastor. they ask, “what do you do with your time?” I think through all of “things” that pastors do. From counseling, hospital visits, sermon prep, event planning, youth group nights, church choirs, worship bands, etc!!!
However, with all of this said, I read Galatians 4-6 this morning and came across this passage, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Gal. 6:9)” This was such an encouragement! Out of all the “things” I do, God is calling me to not become weary in doing good things! I just pray that he will continue to give me the strength to see it through, because He is faithful and will see the good works through until their completion!
Heirs of Christ
We are heirs to the riches of heaven if we believe that Jesus has redeemed us. What a crazy concept! We are princes and princesses of the King! I call my daughter “my little princess.” But, in reality, she belongs to God! I pray that one day she will surrender her will over to Christ and will follow Him with all of her heart. But, today I live knowing that I am an heir to Christ and must change the way I live accordingly.
Heirs live differently. They must learn more and more about the King that they are an heir to. they must learn about all of the amazing and wonderful things that the king did in order to become king. Finally, they must choose whether or not they want to live like the king or live their own way. This becomes a daily decision not just a one-time event. Daily I must choose to live as Christ would want me to, moment by moment. Galatians 3:29 describes this relationship to the King that we must have.
God, help me to live more like you each day!
Hang Time With God
This weekend I spoke on spending time regularly and consistantly with God. I decided to take my own lesson and do that this morning for an extended time. I began by reading through Luke 13 and all of these amazing miracles that Jesus performed. It was nuts how Jesus would heal these people and free them from their burdens even before they asked him to.
How crazy is it that God knows our thoughts and will answer them even before we ask?!?!
I just felt an overwhelming need to pray and begin releasing things to Him that had been on my heart! What an amazing relief! I don’t know how else to explain it, but an amazingly cool feeling of comfort and a lifting feeling off my shoulders. I know that he is in charge, but it seems so often we try to do things on our own and not ask the Holy Spirit for guidance.
The Mysteries of God
This is an amazing view of the stellar phenomenon, “The Eye of God.” What it actually depicts is the so-called Helix Nebula, described by astronomers as “a trillion-mile-long tunnel of glowing gases.” At its center is a dying star which has ejected masses of dust and gas to form tentacle-like filaments stretching toward an outer rim composed of the same material. It is awe inspiring and amazing to look at and then t think that God, OUR GOD, created it just for us.
I had the opportunity to watch a video entitled, “The Privileged Planet: The Search for Purpose in the Universe.” It was a unique look at the earth and the design behind the planet. Fantastic!
I then read Job 11:7-9 which states, “Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? Thy are higher than the heavens- what can you do? They are deeper than the depths of the grave- what can you do? Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.” God is amazing! And I sit in wonder of ever being on this powerful beings radar. Craziness! This God, that no one ca fathom, chooses to love me so much. His mysteries are unable to be completely understood. They are like, well, the eye of God!
Acts 8/9
These two chapters are absolutely amazing! The story of Saul’s conversion is a remarkable one to me. You see, he was literally given permission to kill followers of Christ by the High Priest and was carrying out his orders. All of a sudden, he is met by Christ and radically changed. I wish I had an experience like Saul and got spoke to me face to face and then chose to spare my life because I was going to be used powerfully for Him.
Adnd to be Ananias! To be a follower of God and of Christ and to be told in a vision to go meet with Saul, this murderer of Christians, and pray for him!!! You’ve got to be kidding me! Now, I get along with most people, but to be told to go hang out with someone who has wanted me killed and pray for them! Insanity in a nutshell. But, unlike me, Ananias goes and heals Saul and this hater of Christians becomes one of the greatest Church leaders ever!
Now matter where I am at or you are at, God loves us and can do amazing things through us in spite of our weaknesses or our past! How cool is that?
The Horrible Flu
“Keep all of my decrees and laws and follow them, so that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out.” -Leviticus 20:22
Many of us recently have come down with the flu. That horrible, achy, nauseous, dry-heaving type of illness that we all hate. Luckily, I have not had the flu in some time now, but as I was reading this passage of scripture I recall all of those horrific experiences. I recall the experience of waking up in the middle of the night to nausea and runnign for the bathroom as I hurl into the porcelain throne and continue to do so for several minutes.
Now, I don’t mean to be grossing you out, but this is the imagery that God uses when talking to the Israelites about the way they should live. God was givingthem the Promised Land. A land that was flowing with milk and honey. In Leviticus God sets up the rules and laws by which the people were to live and then uses this verse to describe what would happen to them if they did not obey. It is so graphic, so vivid, so gross.
God, may I live in a way that pleases you and that my life would be a pleasing antacid for you! Amen.
Hide and Seek
Luke 11:9
“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
How many times have I read this verse or quoted this verse? How many times have I just seen the words and never really understood the meaning? I have really been struggling with God because I feel that He is so far away and doesn’t seem to care about me, my family, or my ministry. It feels like we have been playing hide and seek and that instead of hiding in the closet He has gotten in his car and driven off somewhere. As if God has a car. But, needless to say, I have felt very dry and brittle. And then I come across this verse- this passage that I have read so many times, I have memorized the order, heard three point sermons on asking, seeking, and knocking. It seems so basic, but it is so deep. God doesn’t want to be distant, he wants to be found. He desires to be close to us. And just like a little child we search in all of the wrong places and don’t notice the clues all around us like the shoes sticking out from under the drapes or the leg sticking out from behind the couch. Instead we search under the cushions of the couch or are so timid that we don’t search at all.
God has put clues all around me. I have just been searching for Him in all of the wrong places. I have been searching for Him in the details rather than sitting back and seeing the big picture before me. God wants us to seek Him, He even has given us clues. I love this game and want to keep playing. I’ll count…one, two, three…
Jon Nungester-Living from the Inside Out 