GERM – Day 30

Phew, nearly tripped up right at the end of the project! Remembered to do this study right before bed. Sorry about that.

G – Gospel: Mark 2:23-28

This passage brings to mind a story from when I was still in college. I had already finished a 4-year degree in Biology at Pensacola Christian College and was finishing up a 2-year degree in Zoo Animal Technology. My heart was so fully set on becoming a zookeeper, but the task of applying for jobs in the field was becoming a job in itself. I ended up working at it for months, both before and after graduation. Finally, I was offered a job in Memphis, TN, and the way it came about made it obvious that this was where God was leading me.

I was telling a friend about my exciting news and she asked if I was going to be able to have Sundays off for church. I said that I had asked, but the choice of weekend days was given to employees with the most seniority, so the new hires usually ended up having their “weekend” in the middle of the week. This friend, a dear fellow Christian, felt uneasy about that and warned me that I might want to ask again and consider if this was the job for me if the answer was still no. I told her that it was so obvious that God was giving me this job that I knew He would figure out my church attendance.

The Bible makes it clear that gathering with fellow believers is necessary for a healthy Christian life, but I don’t remember any passage that says that we can only be nurtured and have meaningful fellowship on Sundays. I know my friend was just concerned for my spiritual wellbeing, but I knew I could trust God to take care of that. And He definitely did. Fairly close to the apartment I moved into in Memphis was a very large church that happened to have a young adult group that met on Thursday nights. The church was so large that the “young adult group” would have made up a full congregation at a medium sized church in most places. The meeting was run like a normal church service and Thursday happened to be one of my days off. Later, I found out that two girls I had been acquainted with at the Christian college moved into my apartment building, just one floor down and across the hall! I went to a few Bible studies with them. Then, when I moved out of my apartment and into a house, I found a church very near my house that held a full church service on Wednesday nights instead of just having a small prayer meeting. Wednesday was my day off, so it was easy to attend and even when my schedule changed, I could usually make it home after work just in time to change quickly and head to church. God provided. Certainly there is value in meeting on Sundays – that’s when the most people are at church for fellowship and the most programs are held. It is also the day used for Christian church worship because it was the day that Jesus rose from the dead. But it is not the only day that God can use to work in your life.

E – Encourage: I Corinthians 1:18-25

This is another passage that brings up a story. I used to be a member of an email list for zookeepers to be able to ask each other questions and share new ideas. One day, a bit of a debate started up regarding the origins of the earth. A zoo had gotten a lot of criticism because they started offering one of those tourist deals where you can get discounted admissions to local attractions if you bought them together. A lot of zoos do that, but this occasion saw the zoo offering savings on a package deal with the Creation Museum run by the organization Answers in Genesis. There were so many complaints from people who thought a “scientific organization” shouldn’t have anything to do with a religious one. Even though the zoo hadn’t meant anything by it (they simply thought it was a good deal for people who were going to buy tickets to both places anyway) and continued to offer other ticket deals to local attractions, they removed the deal with the museum.

You can probably imagine the conversation that went on among the zoo professionals on the email list. There was some genuine talk about considering the image of a zoo and making sure we don’t offend one party or another, but many of the messages scoffed at the idea that a place of scientific learning should be associated in any way with such fairytales as creationism. Being a firm creationist with a scientific background, I really wanted to say something but I knew it would probably be best to let things go. Then it got worse.

One day, I saw a message pop up on the list from a keeper I actually knew personally. When I read his email, I was saddened by how scathing he was in his criticism of creationists. I can still remember reading the words saying that anyone who believed in such garbage was “intellectually lazy.” He saw “God created everything” as the easy way out of trying to explain where the world came from. Knowing that this dear man was unlikely to have said those kinds of things in that way to my face, I felt I finally had to say something.

Without mentioning that I knew this man, I sat down and started to type. It took a long time to write the email with lots of revisions, adjustments, and deletions. The gist of what I ended up saying was that, as a Christian working in a largely secular field, I dealt with having the theory of evolution spread as fact all the time. I studied it in school right along side creation, since I had gone to Christian schools, and both held essentially the same standing when compared to the method for proving a theory as fact. Neither one is observable, repeatable, and measurable, so according to the scientific method, both are theories. As such, I was more than willing to have a knowledgeable discussion or debate on the subject, but would appreciate it if people didn’t bash me and my chosen theory since I don’t bash them and their chosen theory.

After that was posted, one of the moderators of the email list suggested we just cut the conversation off there on the list and take it to private emails if we wanted to continue so other emails didn’t get buried. I was totally fine with that. Everyone else seemed to be as well. In the next few days, I did get some private emails from other zoo professionals but none were scary as I had feared. In fact, most were from fellow Christians in the zoo world thanking me for saying what they did’t feel they could say without being upset. I have to say that it all came from God. And I’m not just saying that. It really did.

R – Reflect: What does this mean for me?

Looking back on those two incidents, it is so obvious how God has used circumstances in my life to teach me so much. I’m so thankful that He is a merciful God and would even think of using someone like me for anything. This morning in church, my pastor asked us if we would chose to be ready to act on opportunities that God gives us to be a blessing to someone else this week. I want to be, so I have to ask God to give me both the opportunity and the ability to take it.

M – Meet

This evening in the car, I heard a story on the radio about a charity that helps refugee teenagers who come to Canada without their families get a safe start here. It makes me want to pray for those who are giving their time as volunteers and their lives as staff for charities like that, making a difference for those who otherwise would have very few options and opportunities.

Passages for tomorrow: John 14:1-6 and Revelation 22:6-21

GERM – Day 29

G – Gospel: John 8:30-59

I am a little confused by this passage because it starts with Jesus talking to some Jews that is says have believed Him, but then He quickly switches to accusing them of not understanding Him and of trying to kill Him. I am sure there is either something missing from the perspective of the translation into English, or there is something that Jesus knew that I don’t. He may have realized that these men said they believed Him but they either didn’t really or didn’t actually understand what they were believing. No matter how this conversation came about, Jesus used it as an opportunity to explain some very key points about Himself.

1. He was a Jew. The men He was talking to were clearly proud of their Jewish heritage and understood that it gave them a special standing with God. Jesus made sure that they knew that didn’t exempt them from the consequences of sin.

2. He wasn’t possessed or crazy. I’m sure so many of the things Jesus said made him sound like just another man with some farfetched ideas. Many people probably just ignored Him, but those who listened always seemed to have one of two reactions: they believed Him or they sought to get rid of Him. This group asked Him straight out: aren’t you a possessed outcast? Jesus answered so clearly that He was not possessed and was in fact honoured by the Father.

3. He was God. As a modern reader looking at this from an English-speaking perspective, it seems that Jesus is simply saying He was related to God or just sent by Him, but I’ve heard many times that the specific terminology He was using in this passage would have said to the Jews around Him that He was claiming to be God Himself. Even though we know the concept of the Trinity (One God with Three Individual and Equal Parts), it is still a bit awkward to try and understand how Jesus could have been present when Abraham was around yet was born on earth as a baby hundreds of years later. The only thing that makes it at all understandable is saying to myself, “God can do anything.” The Jews listening to Jesus directly would have been even more confused. While they knew there were many aspects to God and had Old Testament writings referring to God using plural pronouns and such, they didn’t necessarily know there were three separate persons within the One God. So Jesus saying that He knows the Father and the Father knows Him and then claiming the name “I Am” that God gave to Himself would have sounded like direct blasphemy.

E – Encourage: II Timothy 2

I really love the way that Paul encourages Timothy in this passage. He gives some difficult information about people who are misleading the church, but then tempers it with the love of God. He warns Timothy to remain separate from the world, but then softens that command with the faithfulness of God. I particularly love this section:

“Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. Keep your attention on Jesus Christ as risen from the dead and descended from David. This is according to my gospel. I suffer for it to the point of being bound like a criminal, but God’s message is not bound. This is why I endure all things for the elect: so that they also may obtain salvation, which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. This saying is trustworthy: For if we have died with Him, we also will live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He will also deny us; if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”

It is great to read that if we keep our way with God, He will continue to keep His way with us. If we don’t keep our way with Him, He will continue to keep His way with us, but we will get the consequences of our choice rather than the rewards of the better choice.

R – Reflect: What does this mean for me?

When I felt myself slipping away from my daily devotions, starting a daily routine with a specific goal (reading through the Bible in a year) really helped me stay on track. Doing this daily blog has made it easier to say, “I need to put my Bible study first.” God doesn’t need those kinds of motivations. He is always faithful. Still, He knew that each one of us needs reminders and that is why He gave us His word.

M – Meet

Today I want to pray for those who aren’t able to participate in “normal” church. There are some who have chronic illnesses and can’t leave their homes to attend Sunday services. Others work during service times. I used to be there but God made it possible for me to participate in my church at different times. Whatever the reason for someone to have to stay away from the church building, I pray they will still be encouraged, fed from the Word, and helped in keeping their focus on Christ.

Passages for tomorrow: Mark 2:23-28 and I Corinthians 1:18-25

GERM – Day 28

G – Gospel: Matthew 15:1-20

This passage reminds me of one day at my previous job, when I walked into the staff kitchen and one of my coworkers surprised me with a question, “You’re a Baptist, right?” Cautiously, I answered that I was. I had no idea what on earth could be coming next. It turned out that the night before, this coworker who is Catholic had a bad encounter with a Baptist friend-of-a-friend. They were both in a group of friends at a local bar and the Baptist girl decided to attack my coworker’s Catholic faith, calling it a “manmade religion.” My coworker had been confused by everything the girl was saying, partly because the Baptist was making arguments clouded by her alcohol level, and partly because she didn’t explain any of her statements. She was spouting off about mass and confession and a lot of other differences between Catholic traditions and Baptist ones. And my coworker turned to me for help understanding these arguments.

I started by telling my friend that, while I would probably agree with the content of what this girl yelled at her, I certainly did not agree with the way the “conversation” occurred. This girl had been extremely rude and disrespectful. After that, I tried to answer each question the best way I could. I explained that Baptists don’t believe that the bread and wine in communion becomes the body of Christ or is in any way holy in itself. We also don’t believe that confession of sins to a priest or any human being is necessary for forgiveness. There were several more points as well. I ended my statements by relating my belief on salvation: that we are saved purely by faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus washing away our sins. Period. The end. Press the stop button. Anything else that I choose to do or feel I must do is purely in response to my salvation and does not bring it about. Also, nothing can cause me to lose my salvation.

The conversation finished with my coworker and I agreeing to disagree on our chosen church denominations. While I certainly don’t believe that it is wrong to attend a Catholic church and worship using the traditions taught there, I don’t believe that those practices lead to salvation themselves. If they are done as a genuine worship response to salvation by faith, that’s great. It doesn’t matter if you are Lutheran, Anglican/Episcopal, United, Presbyterian, Baptist, or nondenominational, as long as you are saved by faith in Christ alone, you are my brother or sister.

E – Encourage: James 1:19-27

Wow. I had no idea how well these verses would combine with the story above. I’m pretty sure God did that.

“Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for man’s anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.” Might as well say, don’t try to change someone’s heart by shouting at them while you are having dinner with friends.

“If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, then his religious is useless and he deceives himself.” Putting down someone’s beliefs doesn’t improve their impression of your beliefs.

“Keep oneself unstained by the world.” If you want to make meaningful conversation about religion, try doing it without drinking a bit too much first.

R – Reflect: What does this mean for me?

As I was writing this story, I tried really hard not to make it about promoting the way I handled my conversation with my coworker. This story is about the girl who made my church look bad. She made her God look bad. Do I make God look good? Actually, I don’t need to. I can’t improve on just getting out of the way and letting others see God Himself.

M – Meet

Tonight I will definitely focus on praying for my friends and family who don’t know Jesus, not the way I do.

Passages for tomorrow: John 8:30-59 and II Timothy 2

GERM – Day 27

G – Gospel: Acts 1:1-11

Now I know Acts isn’t one of the books called the Gospels, but it does contain a direct story about Jesus so I thought it would fit in. After looking at both the birth and death of Jesus, it is interesting to look at His life after He was resurrected. He clearly was physically resurrected: He ate food, interacted with objects, and was touched by people. But He was also clearly not a “normal” person like He had been before. For one thing, He was able to walk through doors and appear and disappear at will. Whether this was by literally vanishing and reappearing or by becoming “unrecognizable” as He did when He appeared to two men on the road to Emmaus, I don’t know but I am certain He could have done either one.

But one thing remained the same about Jesus: His focus on the Kingdom of God. He spent 40 days on earth after He was resurrected and, as the writer Luke says, He spent that time proving Himself to His followers and continuing to teach about the coming Kingdom. I did notice that the disciples still asked Jesus if He was going to restore the physical kingdom of Israel right then. Even with all that they had seen and all that had changed in their minds, they still had no way to fully understand what Jesus meant by His kingdom. But Jesus knew they would soon understand because they would have the Holy Spirit to teach them. The Spirit had been promised already and was just waiting to appear after Jesus returned to Heaven.

Since then, Christians have enjoyed the immediate presence of the Spirit. We don’t have to spend 40 days wondering about the next steps, hoping to be lead by or to hear from God. As soon as we are saved, we have the guidance and comfort of the Holy Spirit.

E – Encourage: Colossians 1:15-23

I chose this passage to go with the one above because it is such a power declaration of who Jesus is. In the Bible I was reading from (the Holman Christian Standard if you’re curious), this passage is titled “The Centrality of Christ.” So when I’m reading it I should feel an overwhelming mixture of awe, thankfulness, love, and belonging, right? There are times in my life when I do feel those things, but a lot of the time I don’t feel anything. At worst, I feel what I did tonight: a tinge of doubt. Maybe not true doubt, but a wondering why I wasn’t feeling the things I thought I should and worrying about what that might mean.

When those moments come, there are certain things I remind myself of. First of all, I did get saved when I was very young, so not being able to remember the exact sequence of events does make it a little hard to be sure my salvation moment happened, at least from a memory point of view. But there have been times in my life when I have asked God for assurance and received it in heaps. That should be enough, but since I’m human, I want more. So I think of all the times that things in my life have clearly been orchestrated by God. The way I got into my college program, the way I got my job in Memphis, the way I got home very smoothly after being denied a renewal of my work visa – all of these things should be enough. If they’re not, how about the day I was pulling up to a stop light and had the chance to move over into an empty lane and be the first in line when the light turned green, but felt that I shouldn’t for no particular reason. Right before my light would have turned green, a car from the cross street made a quick left turn to beat the red light, cut the corner, and knocked the street lamp right down onto the road where my car would have been if I had pulled over. I felt the ground shake when the concrete light pole slammed to the ground right beside my car. Sure, you could attribute this to dumb luck or good karma or something. I choose to say the Holy Spirit gave me a little, unobtrusive nudge. I have several more stories of similar little things like that.

I know there have been stories of God doing something extraordinary to get someone’s attention or to preserve them for their future conversion, but this like that. I just know that it isn’t. Or I should say, the Holy Spirit is telling me that it isn’t.

R – Reflect: What does this mean for me?

I set out to read both of these passages to focus on Jesus, but as I was reading them and writing afterward, I ended up talking about the Holy Spirit. I think I’ve heard it said that the Spirit is more the part of the Trinity that stays out of the spotlight, and appropriately, He is the one I know the least about. That seems a bit funny since He is the one that is in constant contact with me. It would be interesting to do more study into the personality and work of the Holy Spirit.

M – Meet

Tonight, I want to pray for those who are giving of their lives to reach people who might not otherwise hear about Jesus. I know some missionaries personally, and I know quite a few full-time ministry workers here in North America. All of them need support, and prayer is one good way to give it.

Passages for tomorrow: Matthew 15:1-20 and James 1:19-27

GERM – Day 26

G – Gospel: Luke 5:1-11

There are a couple of things in this passage that I haven’t really paid attention to before. The first comes when Jesus asks Peter to put his boat out into deeper water and let down his nets. Peter calls him “Master” already. Now he could have simply been using that the way that people would use “teacher” as a title to address someone giving spiritual instruction, but it gives the impression that Peter was addressing Jesus more as someone with authority over him. The way the passage is written, I get the feeling that Jesus had not met Peter before this time. It must have had something to do with the teaching that Peter heard while hosting Jesus in his boat. Jesus had used the boat in the water as a stage or platform to speak from so that the crowd couldn’t press in too much. We aren’t told exactly what He taught about that day, but it was enough for Peter to realize that this man wasn’t just someone who thought he had something to say.

The next thing I noticed was that when Peter, James, and John pulled up the nets full of fish, Peter immediately jumped from “this man is important so I should respect him” to “this man is of God and I’m not worthy to be near him!” Traditionally, we think of Peter as the more impulsive and outspoken of the disciples and his reputation as the one who denied Jesus publicly can give a negative spin to that boisterous personality, but there was also a genuine knack for grasping important things quickly and clearly. When Jesus asked the disciples who they thought He was, Peter was the one to speak up and say, “the Messiah,” and here he goes from helping out a wise-sounding teacher to believing Jesus is God. I wish I were that quick to grasp truths. I certainly have the Peter-like ability to do the wrong thing and show a denial of Jesus with my actions. Now I need to work on showing Peter’s innate faith.

E – Encourage: I Peter 1:1-12

From the story of Peter’s recruitment as a disciple in the passage above, we come to a very clear declaration by Peter of the deity and messiahship of Jesus. He brings up the prophets from Israel’s long history to point to the fact that Jesus fulfilled everything they said. They studied and searched and listened to the Spirit and knew who Jesus would be and what He would come to do. It is easy to picture them as wise old men with long white beards hunched over a desk and pouring over documents, but it is more likely that many of the prophets were more like Peter. Peter was a fisherman for much of his life. He probably still worked some even while being a leader in the early church. There were no full-time pastors or ministers then. We know for certain that Paul, one of the best recognized figures in the early church, would work with fellow tent-makers when he was visiting a city in order to teach.

God doesn’t use special people brought up for special purposes, not in the way we think. He does work in us through our lives to shape us into the people He wants us to be, but it usually isn’t obvious. It’s not like He reaches down and takes certain people from the “basic” assembly line of life and puts them on the “premium spirituality” track. In fact, the Bible makes it clear that God enjoys using “normal” people or even “unexpected” people. I think it is because He views all of us as important, but the humble ones have more of an impact.

R – Reflect: What does this mean for me?

Last year, I spent some time helping my church, but it wasn’t in the ways we often think of. I wasn’t leading a Bible study or teaching Sunday school. I wasn’t singing in the choir or even working in the church office. I was painting. My mom and I volunteered to help maintain the church buildings by painting different rooms that needed an update or some repair. We actually ended up with the nickname of “brown door ladies” because we spent a lot of time repainting most of the exterior and interior doors with fresh brown paint. I need to remember that serving God doesn’t have to mean being “in ministry” or doing something that looks spiritual. I’m glad, because other people are better at that than I am and they should have the limited number of jobs in that area.

M – Meet

Today I want to pray for the people who work behind-the-scenes in the church. There are people that we could probably think of if we tried: the janitor, the people who run the sound system, the folks who set up for a church dinner. But there are also a lot more who give of their time and money to help the church so that the pastors and spiritual leaders can do the things that most people can’t.

Passages for tomorrow: Acts 1:1-11 and Colossians 1:15-23

GERM – Day 24

G – Gospel: Matthew 27:48-28:10

I’m sure to some it would seem odd to read the account of the crucifixion and resurrection on Christmas Eve, but I was thinking about how many Christmas services that I’ve attended that started with Mary and Joseph, the manger, the shepherds, and the wise men and then ended by driving home the point for Jesus’ birth. This Christmas, I wanted to enter into the holiday with the cross already in mind. The trip to Bethlehem for the census seems a lot easier when you contrast it with the road Jesus walked to the cross. The lack of accommodations in the inn doesn’t seem as lonely when set beside the separation of the Father and the Son when my sin was laid on Him. The manger doesn’t seem as common and dirty when compared to the blood and water that poured from Him.

Still, the stable isn’t the real beginning of the story just as the grave was not the end. Jesus was ready to die for us even before He created us. He knew He could do it. He knew we would sin, but He knew He had the remedy. So when I wake up tomorrow and enjoy my family’s traditions around gifts and holiday meals, I will know why Jesus came. I may not fully understand why He had to come the way that He did, but I do know the reason: ultimate love.

E – Encourage: Philippians 2:5-11

Jesus gave Himself for me. He gave up the perfect unity of existing with the Father and the Spirit in the heavens to come down and be a human being. He had come to earth before as the Angel of the Lord but it was totally different when He actually became a normal man. It seems odd to say Jesus was a normal man but that was the whole point. He could have come in his preincarnate form, held His hands out over the earth and declared it clean, but that wasn’t how God had planned to save us. He came just like one of us to show that He identified with us. He isn’t some impersonal, unearthly being. He is a man. One day, I will see that Man in His glory, just as He should be, and I will bow down and worship Him as the personal Saviour He came to be. And I will never experience sin again.

R – Reflect: What does this mean for me?

This should mean everything for me. When I consciously think about it, it does, but in the everyday moments of life, I let other things be the most important. Tonight, I had a mild panic attack. Why? Because we were going to a movie. Well, it is more accurately because I’ve been eating junk food and forgetting to take my medicines as regularly as I should be, but when my system is imbalanced like that, having an scheduled activity approaching can feel like the impending arrival of doomsday. Over dramatic much? Yeah, I think so, too. But when the adrenaline rushes through me and I start shaking and my mind starts racing, everything gets thrown out of position. I had to pray many times to get through it. Right before the movie started I felt things starting to settle down, but I am still shaking a bit three and a half hours later. That’s how easily I can be distracted. That’s how easily something stupid can become everything. Only God can keep me focused on the real Everything.

M – Meet

Tonight I want to pray for those who’s Christmas isn’t the same this year. There are people who have lost loved ones this year. People who lost jobs this year. People who lost everything but the clothes on their backs. I will pray that they will be blessed as well this Christmas because Jesus is the real present and has given us the Comforter.

Passages for tomorrow: Matthew 1: 18-2:23 and Luke 2

GERM Day 23

G – Gospel: Luke 10:25-37

I never noticed before the parallel between this passage in Luke 10 and the passage I chose a couple of days ago in Mark 12. Though these two passages are different in subtle details, the gist of the story is the same: we are to love God with our whole beings and love our neighbours as we would love ourselves. In the story in Mark, Jesus astute answer to the scribe’s question ended their testing of Him, but in Luke, there was one final question asked. Jesus, who is noted as a master storyteller, answers the question with one of the most familiar stories in the New Testament. In it, a man traveling on a dangerous road is mugged, beaten, and left for dead. Luckily for him, the road is well travelled so a priest soon comes along. The priest is someone who should have been so steeped in the nature of God that he would jump to help anyone in need, but instead he walks a wide circle around the injured man. Likely the priest had somewhere important to be and couldn’t take the time to stop. Next a Levite comes by. Surely someone born into service in the temple and in the synagogues would have pity on the broken man. But, just like the priest, the Levite didn’t stop to help the man. I’m sure some part of it was due to issues of ritual cleanliness. Touching blood would have made him unclean. Finally, a Samaritan, a member of a people group looked down on by the Jews walked by and went well out of his way to help the man and see him taken care of in a local inn.

I wonder if the scribe was reluctant in answering Jesus when He asked him, “Which of these was a neighbour to this man?” In a culture so focused on religious authority, it would have been easy to say that the priest or the Levite was a person’s neighbour and deserving of being loved and the Samaritan, a lower class citizen, surely didn’t have to be considered. This story shows just how opposite the Kingdom of God is from the kingdom of man. It is natural for us to give importance to the impressive, or titled, or powerful, or “significant,” and unfortunately it seems just as natural for us to look down on those we don’t value. Jesus was trying to tell us that we are all on level ground. We are all loved by Him and, therefore, should all love each other.

E – Encourage: Romans 3:9-31

This is another extremely familiar passage giving clear statements about faith in Jesus being the only way to escape death because of sin. When I chose this, I was actually looking at the direct comparison between the Jews and the Gentiles. It is much too easy for me to look back on the Jews at the time when Jesus was on earth and think, “boy, didn’t they miss the most obvious thing in the world.” But what I need to remember is that even though the Gentiles were faster to accept Jesus spiritual victory while many Jews looked for political victory, the Jews are still God’s chosen people. That doesn’t mean they are better than other people. This passages says that Jews and Gentiles are saved from the same sins in the same way, through faith in Jesus. It does mean that God has a special relationship with Jewish believers that I will never know as a Gentile. Because of Jesus, neither group can look down on the other.

R – Reflect: What does this mean for me?

I am so thankful for my salvation. On my own, I would never reach perfection. It is only through Jesus that I can even hope to spend eternity with God. I must remember this every day.

M – Meet

Once again, I want to pray for those I know who are not saved. I have so many friends and family members who don’t know God and prayer is one of the most effective tools for bringing them to meet Him.

Passages for tomorrow: Matthew 27:45-28:10 and Philippians 2:5-11

GERM Day 22

G – Gospel: Luke 7:1-10

I never really noticed before just how many references there are to Jesus being amazed at someone’s faith or lack of faith. Here we have a story of a Gentile, an official in the occupying Roman army, and Jesus says he has more faith than anyone He has encountered among the Jews. It makes me wonder if it was easier for a Gentile to believe that Jesus was sent by God or at least was given power by some force than it was for Jews to acknowledge that Jesus was the Messiah. They had spent generations waiting for God to send His champion and during that time, their idea of who He would be was so set that they didn’t even consider an alternative. Then again, there were large crowds of people following Jesus pretty much everywhere He went. I’m just so used to hearing the stories about the Pharisees and scribes going against Jesus that I forget about the people who did follow Him. Certainly a fair number of these would have left shortly after Jesus was put to death because they were still expecting Him to be a military or political hero.

While I don’t know if this centurion was putting his faith in Jesus for everything in life or just for saving his slave’s life, I feel like he certainly could have been one of the early believers. I also wonder what his slave believed. It was his master’s faith that had saved his life. Did he realize where the miracle came from? Had he even been the one who had told his master about Jesus? I may never know the answers, but what I do know is that Jesus commended that type of faith.

E – Encourage: Philemon

When I chose the passage in Luke for today’s study, I saw the word “slave” and it reminded me of the story of Philemon and his slave Onesimus. The main reason that this story sticks in my mind is that my brother and I used to play a computer game called Onesimus in which you, as Onesimus, had to try to escape from Philemon’s house and make it to Rome. I don’t think my brother and I ever finished the game, but we had fun with it nonetheless.

As random as that sounds as something to remember fondly, the book of Philemon seems a little random include in the canon of Scripture. It doesn’t present deep theological truths or tell a sweeping tale of God’s mercy and power. It is simply a letter from one Christian man (Paul) to another (Philemon). Paul is under house arrest in Rome and somehow met Onesimus, a slave who had run away from his master. Onesimus ends up accepting Jesus and either choses to go back to Philemon or is urged to by Paul who didn’t want either man to live with this wrong between them. This story does, in fact, offer insight into the formulation of “ways Christians should act.” Paul wanted both Philemon and Onesimus to experience the forgiveness and unity that Jesus taught as a mark of His followers. I suppose this is why the early leaders of the church were led to include this small “book” in the New Testament.

R – Reflect: What does this mean for me?

Though the Bible makes it clear that faith in Jesus is the only thing required of us as believers, it is important for me to represent Jesus to the world through my actions. I will pray for others, help them anyway I can, be accepting and forgiving and loving. Most of all, I will pray that God will work in me to make these things a true part of my being.

M – Meet

I often remember circumstances where things didn’t go the way I wanted them to. Most of them are related to me failing (at least in my eyes) and some relate to feeling wronged by someone else. If I look at situations in which I feel like the injured party, I will see that there was at least mutual responsibility for the issues. Tonight I am going to pray that God would work in me to ask forgiveness where I need to, give forgiveness where I need to, and forget the rest.

Passages for tomorrow: Luke 10:25-37 and Romans 3:9-31

GERM Day 21

The schedule of my day was a bit different today so I almost forgot to do my Bible reading and blog! I remembered just as I was getting ready for bed. Thankfully, I’m not super sleepy.

G – Gospel: Mark 12:28-34

It seems like debating the words of God and the letters of the law was a common pastime for many men in Israel. I suppose when there is something that so pervades you life like the Jewish Law did, it would be a frequent topic for study and discussion. But it seems like the discussion had turned into a bit of a knowledge contest. It would almost be like two people discussing the weather and then competing to see who knew the most facts about climate and environment. Most of the times when Jesus was drawn into one of these discussions, He shut down the game by drawing the attention back to the purpose of the Law rather than on the content of the Law. Finally, someone approaches Jesus with a question that is actually practical and relevant: what is the greatest commandment? Basically, this scribe was asking Jesus to boil the Law down to it’s most basic elements. Even though it seems that this man may have had an ulterior motive (he seems to have been testing Jesus with a question he already had the answer to), the answer is so important that Jesus gives him a straight answer. “Love God first and love others second.” It reminds me of the little acrostic I learned in Sunday school. Joy = Jesus, Others, You. This truth was so clear and so central to everything in life that no one dared to question Jesus about anything after that. He had proven Himself to be the most knowledgable. He should be. He wrote the Law.

E – Encourage: I John 4:7-5:5

So many people have a perception of Christianity as a list of rules that just makes life difficult and dull. I’m sure there were some people in ancient Israel who felt the same way about the Law. But John clearly says in this passage that keeping God’s commands isn’t a burden. Jesus used the illustration of oxen pulling a cart by saying that His “yoke” was easy and His “burden” was light. It is easy to do something for someone you truly love. So if I love God as I say I do, I will naturally keep His commandments and do anything for Him because my whole heart is focused on Him. And because God’s heart is focused on the world, I will also be focused on other people. I fall short of this ideal so often. I know we all do, but I want it to be second nature to do the right thing. In fact, I want it to be first nature.

R – Reflect: What does this mean for me?

I just remembered hearing something that I thought was a neat perspective. I think it was from a radio host that I enjoy listening to. I believe he was talking about someone else, but he mentioned praying, “God, I want to love You the way I should. Teach me to love You more.” I think if I were to pray that prayer regularly and listen for the teaching that would follow, He would definitely answer in a very positive way.

M – Meet

I suppose that makes deciding what to pray about easy tonight. “God, I want to love You the way I should. Teach me to love you more.”

Passages for tomorrow: Luke 7:1-10 and Philemon

GERM Day 20

G – Gospel: Matthew 10: 26-31

As a real bird lover, it hits home when Jesus says I am worth more than many sparrows. I’m quite fond of sparrows. In fact, my favourite native songbird is the White Throated Sparrow. Jesus is saying that as much as God enjoys His creation – why would He make so much variety if He didn’t enjoy it? – just one person is worth more to Him than a large chunk of creation. Judging by what Jesus went through to bring us back into a relationship with God, I’d say that large chunk is about the size of … oh, let’s say, the entire universe. So anytime I’m feeling afraid or worthless, all I have to do is think of a sparrow.

E – Encourage: Esther 4

I’m much more of a fan of reading fiction or even biography rather than informative books. I had a hard time reading books assigned in school and have to be really captured by a topic, author, or writing style to read something without a narrative. With that said, it probably wouldn’t surprise you that the books and passages in the Bible that tell fleshed out, sweeping stories are some of my favourites. I love the story of Daniel who was so faithful to God in such a difficult situation. I would love to say I am like him, but I know I’m not that brave, steadfast, determined, and faithful. I feel a bit more connected to another Jewish hero: Esther. Though living in captivity, the Jews that Esther lived among were really in an okay position. They weren’t slaves like that had been in Egypt. They had homes and were free to travel, at least as far as I know. Still, Satan had to have another try at wiping out God’s favourite people.

God already knew exactly what was going to happen and as Mordecai said, Esther was positioned exactly where she needed to be to save God’s people. A while ago, I saw a movie called “One Night With the King” which is a dramatization of Esther’s story. Of course it takes a few liberties but it is a lovely depiction, nonetheless. It clearly showed how Esther was afraid when she thought about going to the king when she hadn’t been called for. The previous queen had been removed from her position for slighting the king. Esther risked her life by going into the throne room without being called. She pushed past that fear with prayer and the strength of God and was able to open the king’s eyes to what his evil advisor Haman had caused him to do.

I also want to think that I would be like Esther in that type of situation, but I’m not sure. There is at least more chance since I know I’ve already pushed through some difficult things with God’s help. I know that God has a purpose for every one of His children. I just have to be ready to follow through with any opportunity that is presented in order to fulfill the reason why I am placed where I am.

R – Reflect: What does this mean for me?

I guess I wrote a little bit about this in the previous section, but I have to make those words real. It is super easy to draft a sentence and type it out. It is much more difficult to put it into practice. I can think of times that I should have said something different or done more. I can only pray that God was able to use the little that I did for His glory and, from now on, work to be bolder and more faithful.

M – Meet

Last night I went to the music practice for the Christmas services that my church with be holding Sunday morning and Monday night. I didn’t feel like going because I was tired and it was late but I went because I was needed to set up the slides the congregation would use to follow the words of the music as they sing. I was having one of my moments of anxiety and feeling totally out of sorts. God used that practice to speak to me. The work of making sure the right words were in the right place gave me something other than myself to focus on and the content of the words brought me back to looking at Jesus instead of everything that needs to be done.

Tonight I am going to pray that the 2 Christmas services will have the same impact on those who attend. God has already used the music and verses chosen. He can certainly use them more.

Passages for tomorrow: Mark 12: 28-34 and I John 4:7-5:5