meditation on psalm 27

No cowering in the darkness for me!
The Lord ensures that I'm never in darkness.
Why should I be afraid?

The Lord is always saving me.
What do I have to fear?

The Lord is my fortress, my refuge, my absolute security.
Why should I be intimidated?

Noise, nor numbers, nor outlandish displays…
It doesn't matter what attack comes against me.
It's cool — I know that He will handle it.

There's only one thing I ask of the Lord –
one thing I deeply long for –
I want to always be by His side,
to look up and see Him,
To always know He's right there.

(Page through a Bible!)
All the best stuff happens where God is.
There's no better safety than to have Him right there.
He's either covering over me
Or placing me in a position of security;
Above the trouble,
Far above anything, anyone who would drag me down.

How can I not sing?
  (I'm no singer and yet it bubbles up in me!)
How can I not praise Him?
  (No poet either and yet...!)

I'm calling to you, Lord!
I'm confident in your grace and mercy.
I don't doubt that You'll hear me.

Your open arms invite me to You;
You draw me to speak with You.
Now everything in me reaches for You.

Don't turn away.
(although I know what I deserve...)
Don't reject me. (though I’ve neglected You.)

You've always kept an open door.
(The problem has been my hesitancy to walk through.)
But no matter who else has dumped me,
You've always stayed nearby.

Teach me your way, Lord.
Lead me (keep me!) on Your straight and narrow.

I know not everyone is on my side –
So don't let me fall into an enemy’s hands.
Lies and threats...
Truth and justice aren’t their goal.

But don’t let me leave the wrong impression!
I’m absolutely confident in the Lord's goodness —
Not pie in the sky eventually –
but here in the land of the living, even in my lifetime.

So here's an invitation:
Join me in waiting in God's presence!
Don’t hesitate any longer!
Stay with Him. Be brave. Don't give up.

Let me say it again:
Go to the Lord! Wait in hope with Him!

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meditation on psalm 36

Deep within their hearts, sin-whispers beckon to the wicked. 
   There’s room for the sin-voices there,
      in those hearts where no sense of awe before the Almighty silences them.
Their sense of self-importance looms so large
   it blocks their view of the wickedness within them.
Deception and misdirection pour from their mouths.
   They refuse to behave morally or do good
      (or redefine moral and good to fit their wish of the moment!)
They sit up nights thinking of new ways to offend God;
   There’s an agenda behind everything they do,
      and it’s never good.

Your love, Lord, never fails.  The skies can’t begin to contain it.
Your faithfulness is more reliable than Space is deep.
Your righteousness as evident as the greatest mountains.
Your justice is as unfathomable as the ocean depths.

Everything that has breath is under your care, Lord.
God, your never-ending love is most treasured
   (though the British might say it’s “most dear” which I think sounds closer to the mark.)
You offer shelter for all of us,
   feeding us from your overflowing table,
   pouring out drinks from your river of delights.

You are the fountain of Life,
   the Light that shows us the Way. 
Pour down your forever-faithful love on those who love you;
return your justice on those honest folks who live with integrity. 

Don’t let me come under the feet of the proud
   or let the wicked push me around. 

Bring about your Day when the evil will fall for the final time.

Disclaimer: If you’re new to these posts, I basically just sit down quickly after my morning Bible reading and prayer and soul-dump it all back into my keyboard as best I can.  It’s one of my ways of wrestling with it all. 
So here are the “terms of service” assumed here:
   —Enjoy!   —Don’t expect a spirited defense of translation since I'm not even aiming for a paraphrase. So if that's your issue let me just say, “Yeah, you’ve probably got a point there.” and get it over with.
   —Don’t read too much into these about subtler points of my beliefs. These are usually done quickly at times when my best, most reliable editor is unavailable. See the preceding point for the response you'll probably get.
   —And above all, please don’t tell me you’ve published any new theological discoveries or launched any more denominations based solely on something you think you’ve found in one of these.
   —Participate! Check out the passages and have a go at them yourself. Then share.

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Doc, Is This Killing Me?

I’ve been putting off writing this post since Christmas.  That’s when I asked that question. 

So friends (deep breath), it’s time to say this:  
it seems I’m fighting a killer, a deadly disease. 

Some of you are nodding to yourselves, saying “I’ve thought as much…”  

Others of you are quite surprised.  Go ahead and take a moment.  (Trust me, I’ve been trying for weeks to get used to this.)

I’ve started to write it and gotten bogged down in how much do I need to include to still consider it being honest—and when have I glossed over things in a way that ends up telling something less than the truth. And of course, how much do I leave out so as not to bog you down with more details than you could possibly be interested in…

There’s also the feeling (the fear?) that if I commit all this to writing, it somehow changes things—something becomes irrevocable. And so it goes in the mental trash bin until the next time I take a run at it.

But I saw this today and it absolutely wrecked me.  And it reminds me that time is passing and I should get on with what living I have to do. 

My doctors have chased diagnosis after diagnosis, each getting more and more rare.  This is the expert medical team who handles rare neurological cases for the military (TV watchers can think House) and the head doc tells me they’re used to mysteries and this is befuddling them. 

We’re now into the 2 or 3 cases per million and my very honest doc is still shaking his head.  (I’m grateful for their honesty.  It makes things easier for the most part...)  There’s still an “if they’re right” in there but it’s gotten extremely small. 

The treatments I’m taking are intense, exhausting affairs, toxic in their own way.  Each one costs me life expectancy but the theory is that they’re knocking away at the disease in a way that has a net increase on my life expectancy. 

The first treatment (last fall) was thought to be kind of an “if this doesn’t work, nothing will” silver bullet cure. 

It tore me up.  “Go ahead and kill me—just don’t ask me to move” migraines, vomiting, getting weaker and weaker.  I missed Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, four family birthdays…  After three months we had to stop.  I was getting worse instead of better. 

There was the delay to figure out what to try next which is what we’re trying now.  Started that at the beginning of March…

But I met with my internist this week and he’s concerned. He thinks I should already be showing improvement—I’m not—and he’s not at all happy about the side effects he is seeing.  He’s raising his concerns with the neuro folks.  I meet with them this week. And I’m scheduled to have another high-dose (really overdose) steroid infusion… 

Last weekend, there seemed to be a real “Angel of Death”-over-the-house feeling lurking about.  Maybe you have to understand that my disease has been more chronic—very steady without many huge events—but last week I had a legendary bad night. 

And there was nothing anyone could do. 

I haven’t driven since August.  I’ve used a wheelchair since New Year’s.  I’ve got that ever helpful “hey, look—a squirrel” ability to stay focused.  A big evening out means a DVD in the living room with the family.

My pain is getting worse—the pain meds are wearing off sooner and the pain is breaking through more often.  I have trouble seeing.  I’m showing muscle wasting again.  I sweat constantly.  There are other ills you don’t even want to know about. 

I’m not resting (again).  Or, like yesterday, I’m sleeping 15 hours out of sheer exhaustion.  People say, “At least you’re resting.  That has to be good!” but it’s not normal to sleep 15 hours at a run.  That just means you’re really sick.  And if the pattern holds I’ll probably not sleep tonight.  I’m feeling another down-cycle beginning…

All that said, this is the best time of my life. 

God is still God. 

He is still in control, watching over us, caring for us, providing for us…   

I wouldn’t trade this time with my family for anything.  The strength and faith I’ve seen in them and the people around us have been amazing.  For the last year and a half, I’ve had a front row seat, seeing God at work, up-close. 

Like the guy in the video (do go watch it), I feel like I’m a better husband, father and friend.  I feel closer to God.  More confident to touch others. 

I want to live to walk my girls, all five of them, down the aisle. 

I want to see my boy become a man. 

I want to grow old with this wonderful wife that God’s given me. 

My bucket list is long.  There’s a lot I’d still like to do.  I don’t feel done.  “Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place.”  But it’s become very clear that it’s out of my hands. 

The doctors don’t know enough to talk percentages or timelines should none of these treatments take hold (I’ve asked.)  The fact is that the broad category diagnosis was a flat-out death sentence before they started using these treatments.  The most likely to help has failed.  And as I said, questions are being raised about the next most likely.  As the airline passenger said to his seatmate, we’re running out of engines fast!

I’m praying, and I know many of you are, for God to heal me.  But the truth is none of us knows what happens next. 

But I know God is still God. 

(And I’ll keep y’all posted.)

PS: I’ve talked this over with my older girls.  We’re trying to figure out how to talk this over with the middle daughter.  She’s plain freaked.  The younger two girls are acting as if they know something’s up and the boy’s just one – he’s too busy getting into things.

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thinking about Psalm 103:13-17

The Lord is like a father to his children,
tender-hearted and caring to those who are in awe of Him.

He knows our weakness;
He remembers making us from dust.

Our days on earth are like grass;
like wildflowers, we bloom and we die.

The wind blows, and we are gone—as though we had never been here.

But the Lord’s love forever envelops those who fear Him.

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Sometimes Amos Frightens Me

You're in for a surprise, you people longing for the Day of the Lord to come.  You sigh, expecting escape and relief...

You have no idea what you're wishing for!  That will be a day of terror not delight.  From the frying pan into the fire.  From the fire into the flood.  The Day of the Lord will be terrifying—dark and hopeless and joyless…

The Lord says 'I hate all your showing off, your pretense—the hypocrisy of your worship services and praise concerts.

‘I don't accept your offerings; your "sacrificial giving" doesn't impress me. Away with your noisy praise bands!  Put away your bands and your banners and your projectors...

‘Instead, I want to see an outpouring of justice, an endless river of right living.  I don't need your amplifiers to hear what's in your heart.

‘You haven't been serving Me—your grand displays have all been about serving yourselves.  So don't be surprised to find yourself separated from Me.’

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Amos Makes Me Think

The Sovereign Lord says:
Come back to Me and live!  Don't turn to empty ideas that aren't God-inspired; don't expect your stuff to speak up for you at judgment.  Come back to the Lord and live!  If you don't, God's judgment fire will leave you nothing. Your false comforts won't be able to quench the flames.  The way you twist justice makes a bitter pill for the oppressed.  You treat the righteous like dirt.

The Lord created the stars, the Pleiades and Orion.  God turns darkness into morning and day into night.  He draws up water from the oceans and pours it down as rain on the land.  The Lord is His name!  With blinding speed and power He destroys the strong.

You’re spooked at the thought of honest judges!  You despise people who tell you the truth!  You scheme for ways to take advantage.  It's because of things like this that you'll never really live your dream.

God says I know the vast number of your sins and the depth of your rebellions.  Your compromises keep good people down and deprive the poor of justice.

Those who are smart keep their mouths shut--it's an evil time.

Do what’s good and run from evil so that you’ll live!  Then the Lord God of Heaven's Armies will be your helper, just as you have claimed.  Hate evil and love what's good; let justice infuse all your life.

Maybe it's not too late for the Lord God of Heaven's Armies to have mercy on those who remain.

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Handbook for Mortals

Handbook for Mortals: Guidance for People Facing Serious Illness by Joanne Lynn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars Handbook for Mortals showed up as recommended reading in several resources I've been looking at lately so I decided to take a look. Overall, it's a good resource but the book's weaknesses lie in it's approach more as a guide on how to face death than as a guide on how to face life. (I'm sick but I'm not planning on dying...soon.) This book also takes a morally neutral attitude toward suicide (assisted and otherwise) that just struck me as creepy. Those issues aside it contains great info on dealing with medical questions and preparing for death. View all my reviews >>

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I proclaim!

I proclaim to you the Lord of heaven & earth, the God who made the world & everything in it!  God Himself gives everyone life & breath & everything else.

God used this order so that we would seek Him & perhaps reach out for Him & find Him, though He's not far from each one of us.

In the past, God overlooked people's idolatry and ignorance--failing to trust God only & living to please Him--but now He commands everyone everywhere to turn away from their past sins & turn to Him.

He has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He proved to everyone who this is by raising Jesus from the dead.

Posted via web from Ferndale Tonight

Faithful Forever Love

Meditate: Acts 2:47

Typically, we go through this and while there’s some extra reading there’s no paperwork.

Today’s different. So get ready to do some writing (or at least some heavy thinking). It’s review time!

See, throughout history one of the ways we praise God is just to review our history with Him. To look back at what God has been up to in our lives, families, or nations and give Him credit, to give Him praise.

If you’ve been doing the “Digging Deeper” segments this week, you’ve already seen some of this. Today it’s your turn. But don’t worry I’m going to walk you through this.

Start simple.

Read Psalm 136 then copy verses 1-3. That’ll get you warmed up.

Now list an attribute or characteristic of God that especially strikes you, and list it.

Begin by saying “You are…” and follow this with the line: “Your faithful love endures forever.“

Next, think of something God has made that you’re particularly amazed by. Begin with “You made…” and follow it with “Your faithful love endures forever.“

Next think of something that God has rescued you from or, like Esther, a disaster that He’s prevented. Write it and follow with “Your faithful love endures forever.“

Name a tough place or time that God got you through. “Your faithful love endures forever.“

Has there been a time God provided for you? List it. “Your faithful love endures forever.“

Something that used to control you that God has freed you from or a particular way that God’s redefined you? “Your faithful love endures forever.“

Keep going. Spend some time thinking about God and let your mind and your heart race. Take your time and enjoy. Make as many lines as you want.

When you’re done you’ll have a psalm of praise, a record of God’s work in your life. Take it out from time to time as a reminder, as an argument against darkness and doubt.

Now for extra credit, get together with your family or a group you’re close to and do this together. Review God’s history with your family or your group. Make some history together and pass it along.

Let me know how it goes.

Pray:
Praise: You are the Lord of Lords, the God of Gods.
Confess: You are faithful through all generations.
Thank: Your love endures forever.
Ask: Fix in my heart and mind the truth of your never-ending love.

Digging Deeper: Psalm 136

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Do… or do not. There is no try.

Meditate: Acts 2:47

We often forget that our actions speak so loudly. It’s not what we say that shows what we believe most deeply, it’s what we do. For instance, Americans say we value integrity but too often we wink when you cheat on taxes.

It’s common to say that we value worshipping God. But are we really there, ready in our hearts and minds to come before Almighty God and express His worth? (worship = worth-ship, expressing the value of someone)

Are we there as participants or spectators? Are we expressing or holding back? Does it come from my heart or just from my mouth? Some churches are in a running battle over music and form. Is our worship about God or about asserting our preferences? Is it praise or nostalgia? Is it about God or is it about me?

Speaking of battles, are we living in unity with our Christian brothers and sisters? That’s a form of praise. It shows we value God as Father enough to care about getting along with His children.

Are we trusting God with our resources? The Bible spends a lot of time talking about God as Provider. Trusting is praising.

Are we living in obedience to His Word and His Spirit? “I respect you but I won’t listen to you” doesn’t fly anywhere that matters. Why would God accept that kind of praise?

• Is my praise acceptable to God?

Pray:
Praise: You are God. How mighty are Your wonders!
Confess: I often like the idea of following more than really following You.
Thank: You made me and I am Yours.
Ask: Help me to listen to You so that I become a true Jesus follower.

Digging Deeper: Psalm 106

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Actions Speak

Meditate: Acts 2:47

Jesus tells us that God knows about our need for food, water, shelter, clothing and so forth. He points out that birds and flowers seem to be doing all right and that the same God who looks after them, is looking after us so we should just lighten up about that stuff and focus on God’s Kingdom instead of this world.

David says, “I was young and now I’m old, yet I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.”

Now, I’m not as young as I once was either and I know as I write this that some of y’all are already twitching with those “God help’s those who help themselves” thoughts. (It’s like there’s a button that’s pressed every time someone starts talking about trusting God.)

What’s that got to do with “praising God?” Well, we can go down through history looking at nations, individuals, families, tribes, all levels across the board.

And we’ll find history littered with the wreckage of those who thought God needed their help.

Or thought they had a better idea.

And we’ll just as consistently find that those who truly praised God, trusting Him and obeying Him (is there any higher praise?) have been kept and provided for.

See, “God helps those who help themselves” isn’t in the Bible, not even as a general principle. But “Sanctify yourselves-tomorrow the Lord will do great things among you” is. “I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken” is.

“Helping” ourselves distracts us - it makes us compromise - but seeking God’s kingdom enables us to stand before kings and say, “We do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O King, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, praise God for what He’s doing right now, and don’t get wound up about what may or may not happen.

God, our God, the one worthy to receive all praise, glory, and honor, has it covered.

• How do my actions praise God?
• Am I trusting and obeying or am I “helping?”

Pray:
Praise: You are my Light and my Salvation. No other God can save.
Confess: I have trusted in my own hands more than Your love.
Thank: You will never leave me or forsake me.
Ask: I believe in You, help my unbelief. Fix my mind on You.

Digging Deeper: Psalm 107

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Reasons for Praise

Meditate: Acts 2:47

Ever heard of George Leile?

There’s a guy who knew something about praising God. See, I don’t know about you but sometimes I can let my circumstances determine how much I feel I have to praise God about. I think “This is just too much.” But not George.

George Leile was born a slave in Virginia in 1750.  As a young man, he was sold to a man in Georgia and in 1773, he became a Christian. Almost at once he began to preach and had a great ministry to his fellow slaves.

His “owner” saw what God was doing and gave him liberty to go from plantation to plantation taking the Gospel to the slaves. Eventually, he was ordained and in 1777 he became the founding pastor of the First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia, the oldest Black church in North America. The church is still going, by the way.

But his story doesn’t end there.

In 1783 as the war was ending, (read this carefully) Rev. Leile sold himself back into slavery (indentured service, in this case) in order to travel to Jamaica and preach and plant churches and build schools there.

By the time the first British missionary showed up, he had been there 31 years! Today over 300 churches with over 40,000 members have grown out of his work.

Praise God!

• Do my circumstances determine my praise for God?
• What am I willing to do to obey God’s calling?

Pray:
Praise: You know the end from the beginning and You’re always working for the good of those who love You.
Confess: My own past suggests I’d have just become bitter and angry in Rev. Leile’s circumstances instead of responding in faith.
Thank: You fulfill Your purpose for me and save me.
Ask: Help me to focus on You and look beyond my circumstances.

Digging Deeper: Psalm 138

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About Me

Meditate: Acts 2:47

While on this run about ancient history, here’s my own two cents: over 30 years ago I became a Christian. Time sure flies…

So to build on praising God for sending people to us with the Gospel, and for God’s faithfulness in watching over us, I would add my thanks for God’s love.

I agree with St. Patrick that God has “guarded me, and comforted me as would a father his son.” As time has gone on, the reality of Jesus’ promise that He would never leave us or forsake us has become more intense. Psalm 118 says:

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
His love endures forever.
In my anguish I cried to the LORD,
and He answered by setting me free.
The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
I was pushed back and about to fall,
but the LORD helped me.
The LORD is my strength and my song;
He has become my salvation.
I will give You thanks, for You answered me;
You have become my salvation.
You are my God, and I will give You thanks;
You are my God, and I will exalt You.
Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
His love endures forever.

That pretty much sums it up.

• What’s my experience of God’s love?

Pray:
Praise: Lord, You are good and Your love endures forever!
Confess: You are always more ready to hear than I am to call to You.
Thank: I was pushed back and about to fall and You saved me.
Ask: Draw me closer; keep me in Your love.

Digging Deeper: Psalm 118

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Timely

Meditate: Acts 2:47

If you’ve got a certain kind of calendar, you might have noticed the word Purim listed among the holidays. To learn the origins of this holiday you have to go back to the Bible’s Book of Esther.

The Jewish people had been conquered and forcibly resettled. Esther is a Jewish orphan who’s being raised by her cousin and finds herself the winner in a “beauty contest” to choose the replacement for a disgraced queen. She’s just settling in at the palace when the king’s right hand man sets in motion a plan to have all the Jews killed and their property seized.

Thanks to her cousin, Esther learns of the plan. She fasts and asks all the local Jews to do the same.

With time running out, Esther risks her life to expose the plot, the crisis is averted, and the evil guy gets what’s coming to him. (Makes you want to read the book, doesn’t it?)

Purim is celebrated as a reminder of how God intervened to save His people.

Esther and Mordecai, her cousin, demonstrate that God always makes a way for His people. Mordecai says it best when he points out that Esther was brought to the throne “for such a time as this.” Just in time, God brought a lowly outsider, a Jewish orphan, to the throne of the most powerful nation on earth.

Praise God for His faithfulness!

• How has God shown His faithfulness in my life?
• Have I been put anywhere “for such a time as this?”

Pray:
Praise: Your love endures. You are faithful throughout all generations.
Confess: I focus on my own plans and overlook the grace of Your will.
Thank: You keep watch over me in all my ways.
Ask: Let Your faithfulness guide my actions and comfort my fears.
Digging Deeper: Psalm 117; Esther (at least start reading it.)

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Praising God!

Originally published on March 17 — Saint Patrick’s Day!

Meditate: Acts 2:47

He grew up hearing stories of raiders who destroyed villages and hauled the people away to “the ends of the earth.” When he was 16 it happened to him.

A cruel master put him to work as a shepherd. Alone there with the sheep, he began to pray.

And God heard him. He later wrote, “There the Lord opened the sense of my unbelief that I might at last remember my sins and be converted with all my heart to the Lord my God, who had regard for my abjection, and mercy on my youth and ignorance, and watched over me before I knew Him, and before I was able to distinguish between good and evil, and guarded me, and comforted me as would a father his son.”

After about eight years he escaped, returned home, and entered the ministry.

Years later when he’s in his forties, established and “successful,” God calls him to return to the people who’d enslaved him.

He’s rich but he sells it all, goes back, and over the next 30 years baptizes perhaps 100,000 converts (he lost count), brings human sacrifice to an end in that country, and becomes the first Christian leader to go on record against slavery. (He throws a guy out of the Church for slave-trading.)

By the time of his death he had established over 200 churches and launched a missionary movement that many credit with keeping Christianity alive through the Dark Ages.

In fact, if you trace your Christian roots back through “the people who told the people who told the people who told you” there’s a pretty good chance you’d eventually run into this guy.

So join me in praising God for the heritage of St. Patrick and all the other people God has used to bring us the Good News about the Kingdom of Heaven.

• Who brought the Good News to me?
• Where is God calling me to take the Good News?

Pray:
Praise: You are the Merciful One. You don’t treat us as we deserve.
Confess: I ignore You in good times and cry out when times are bad.
Thank: You did not abandon me in my sins but reached out in Your love.
Ask: Turn me to You with all my heart that I might serve Your people.

Digging Deeper: Isaiah 6:1-8; Romans 10:1-17

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Joy and Generosity

Meditate: Acts 2:46

I don’t know about your experience but in mine it’s no big deal to find people who can tolerate one another long enough to slurp down a meal. It’s something else altogether to find folks who can do it with “glad and sincere hearts.” (NIV)

From the different translations of this sentence, a sense of celebration comes out. Not an outright party but a “hey, we’re really glad y’all are here” kind of lightness and hospitality.

This is pretty amazing when I take into account that this Church wasn’t just your typical home group. Remember they had over 3,000 people in the Church already. There’s not really anything said about the logistics of this; whether this is two’s and three’s or 50’s and 100’s we don’t know.

Another thing that’s challenging is the image here of what the group dynamics folks call “assimilation.” Remember that “over 3,000″ number I just threw out? We know that because of the reference in the previous paragraph that “about 3,000″ were believed and were baptized on that first day. These “hearts” were “glad and sincere” enough to absorb this influx in genuine fellowship. Present company excepted of course, but if this happened in many churches we’d spend all our time sizing one another up to figure out who the “newbies” were.

In my mind, I hear the voices of pastors I heard long ago who insisted that if you truly loved God, you’d be pretty excited about His family, the Church. And, they went on, if your heart wasn’t in spending time with the family maybe it’s because you’re not a part of it.

I don’t know that I’d totally agree with that but I do know this. My wife is enough to bring my mother-in-law and I together. Any one who’s survived boot camp seems to be able to find plenty to talk about with a fellow veteran. An American can hear an American accent on a street in a foreign country and that common citizenship is often enough reason to talk on a level you’d never reach on a city bus.

And if all that’s enough, then maybe we Jesus followers, we fellow adoptees of the Lord Almighty, ought to be able to muster “glad and sincere hearts” in one another’s company.

• Tell us how you really feel. How often do glad and sincere apply to my attitude about fellowship?
• Is my “heart” generally “glad and sincere” or do I save that for certain people only?

Pray:
Praise: You are the Lord, the Almighty, the Everlasting Father.
Confess: I’m not always glad or sincere in the presence of Your people.
Thank: You have given us Your family to love, serve and watch over us.
Ask: Fill my heart with Your love for Your family.

Digging Deeper: Psalm 133

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Mealtime

Meditate: Acts 2:46

Always remember that this all grew out of their relationship with Jesus.

It was Jesus that brought the original disciples together in the first place. Others came in response to the Truth about Jesus. In a way, He’s the host every time they get together. “The unseen guest at every meal” they used to say. In an atmosphere focused on Jesus, He was enough to bring them together.

Whether this is a reference to taking the Lord’s Supper or not (yup, there’s a debate), at least for the first few months it’s hard to imagine sitting there with these brothers and sisters and looking around the table and not thinking about it - that “Last Supper” where Jesus transformed the significance of broken bread and passing the cup. (Keep in mind, He said they were to remember Him every time they did this.)

I can’t imagine not recalling the many ways He announced that night that He was the Promised One, the fulfillment of all that the Jewish people had been waiting for. And wistfully recalling that He promised He would be coming back.

• Is Jesus enough to bring me together in fellowship with other Christians?
• How can I remember Jesus in my fellowship?
• How can I show that I expect Jesus to return?

Pray:
Praise: You alone are God; You alone are the Lord. You alone are worthy of glory and honor and power forever.
Confess: It’s hard for me to connect the Lord’s Supper with a real meal with Jesus as host. Or to see Jesus present in my fellowship.
Thank: Whenever two or three gather in His name, Jesus is there.
Ask: Make me aware of Your presence in my fellowship, in my worship, and in my life. Fill me with expectancy at the thought of Your promises.
Digging Deeper: I Thessalonians 4 - 5

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Making Time

Meditate: Acts 2:46

It’s interesting to think that the life of this fledgling Church centered around daily gathering. It’s not as if none of them worked.

Life was certainly hard enough in those times. Virtually everything had to be done by hand. Grinding your own flour to bake your own bread wasn’t just a trendy hobby.

No central heat, A/C or indoor plumbing. A horse and cart was the upper end of transportation technology.

Passing the word meant just that-messages still involved real messengers.

What passed for a “high standard of living” is something you’d have to go to the most impoverished third world country to see in our world. Crime and a lack of street lights meant that it was a really good idea to be home at a very reasonable hour.

And still, this time of Word, prayer, and community still rated daily attention. Somehow they find room in their schedules.

Now put away your sackcloth and ashes. I’m not asking you to punish yourself at how “unspiritual” we’ve become.

See, what I get out of this is that they used the methods common to their culture to express how Jesus had joined them together. Going daily to the Temple showed the place God had in their lives. In a world with no telephones or email, meeting up was the standard way to really communicate. Taking meals together was something only families (or people “like family”) did; you didn’t’ bring strangers to your table.

But the fact is that we wouldn’t dream of meeting down at the church every day or of taking over a different restaurant for lunch each day just so we can stay in touch. And it’s easy to just say that times have changed and move along without asking what this level of commitment to God and our brothers and sisters would look like in our culture.

I once heard a guy say that if you’d show him your checkbook and your calendar, he could tell you what mattered to you. Well, I often hear people say that they’re longing to see God move in our day as He has in days past. Maybe you’ve even said this so let me ask…

• Is there a place in my schedule for God?
• Who does Jesus’ join me together with?
• How can I meaningfully communicate with my Christian brothers and sisters?
• How can we show our world that we’re God’s family?

Pray:
Praise: You are the Lord of All, including time and culture.
Confess: Independence is a hard attitude for me to overcome.
Thank: You have given me brothers and sisters all over the world.
Ask: Teach me how to communicate the Truth of You to my world.

Digging Deeper: Philippians 2:1-18

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Putting Down Roots

Meditate: Acts 2:46

That said it also comes at me from another direction…

After I’ve been at this Christian thing a while it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that I can slack off because I’ve arrived in other ways. “I’m mature, don’t you know. In all humility, I’ve reached the point where I’m a guide for the blind and a light for those in darkness.” Yeah, right.

I meet people all the time who confess that their life seems to be in a downward spiral (spiritual or otherwise.) And as we talk, it comes out that they’re not reading the Word, they’re not praying, and/or they’re not in fellowship or observing any of those things I talked about yesterday (patterns, boundaries, habits, relationships, or accountability).

In other words, they’re trying to go it alone. The Word and prayer provide the foundation and fellowship provides balance and direction that you just won’t get going it alone. (This isn’t anything new. Back in 1855, Charles Spurgeon told his English congregation, “There is dust enough on some of your Bibles to write ‘damnation’ with your fingers.”)

Think trees: roots, trunk, fruit. No roots, no trunk; no trunk, no fruit. No Word and prayer, no meaningful fellowship; no fellowship, no fruit.

In the time of these early Christians, people didn’t own books so for “Bible reading” you went to the temple. The temple was also the center for prayer and, as we see here, they also took advantage of these opportunities to check in with one another.

That’s the “between the lines” significance of these words: As “They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity” it brought strength to their foundations, gave them balance and set this growing Church on its way.

It will work for us, as well.

• Am I “continuing” or have I been drifting?

Pray:
Praise: You are the Rock, a sure foundation for our times.
Confess: I rely on my own strength more than Your ways.
Thank: Always faithful, no one who trusts in You will be disappointed.
Ask: Set my feet on Your Rock, help me to continue in Your ways.

Digging Deeper: Ephesians 5:1-21

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They Continued

Meditate: Acts 2:46

Another “evil twin” (I know there are more than two) to this notion of being saved from Hell is that it doesn’t push me to “continue.”

“Hey, I’m in. I’m saved. What’s the big deal?”

But there’s something huge missing in this attitude: If I’m going around with this “I got my ticket so I don’t have to take any of this seriously” attitude, then do I really have my ticket?

Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying that God’s sitting up there in heaven watching especially close to see if I’m giving Him any excuse to bounce me out of the family.

But God’s book, the Bible, makes it plain that sin is absolutely repugnant to Him. So if I’m really in God’s family, if I’m really looking at Him and saying “Lord” then I’ll be a willing participant in His Spirit’s work in me to live the way God has in mind.

Christians used to say that doing this meant that “more and more, I’ll sin less and less.” That takes some continuing.

It’s also about really following Jesus. Jesus made it plain that nothing was more important to Him than doing His Father’s will. So being a true Jesus follower means trying to live in a way that pleases God. That’s going to mean serious, everyday, close following. The “continued” kind of following.

It means I’ll establish patterns, set boundaries, adopt habits, build relationships, and engage in accountability in the way that helps me most in serving God and my world.

“They continued…” So must I.

In my patterns, boundaries, habits, relationships, and accountability, what’s hurting and what helps?

More and more am I sinning less and less?

Pray:
Praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise Your holy name. Praise the Lord; I’ll never forget the good things You do for me. You forgive all my sins and heal all my diseases. You ransom me from death and surround me with love and tender mercies. You fill my life with good things. The Lord is merciful and gracious; You are slow to get angry and full of unfailing love. You do not deal with me as I deserve.

Digging Deeper: Proverbs 15

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