Author: Good Life

Scripture:

Psalm 46:10-11 – “Be still and know that I am God.  I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”  The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Observation:

Here the Psalmist is telling us we must be patient and recognize who God is and be fearful of God. This is a promise that God will be exalted among the nations and the earth.  The Lord is with us and He is our strength and refuge.

Application:

In our busy world jammed with technology I must take time to be apart from all the noise and seek God.  I need to be still, be in God’s word reach out to Him and prayer. Then I must make time to let the Spirit guide me to listen for His response.  God is in control and His name will be exalted among all the nations! My role is to share His love and gospel, disciple others knowing He is with me every step wherever I am lead.  Jesus is my source and my strength.

Prayer:

Father,

Thank you for sending Jesus to be our savior and our strength.  Help me to be still, seek and trust you. May I go without fear to disciple others to exalt you.

Scripture:

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. 42:5-6

Observation:

David has to wrestle, question, and push his heart back to God. He has a conversation with himself.

Application:

It is OK, good even, expected, that we feel sad, beat up, broken hearted, far from God. David actually had very good reason to be sad, but he constantly grabbed his heart in his hand and said, “Listen up, look at your God, He has you. He won’t let this end us.”

We do the same.

Wrestle your heart, point it, peel the eyelids of your heart back and make it look at King Jesus and see that we have a really good, strong, mighty and for us sort of King. We have every reason to be filled with complete Joy, as we look to the one who is Joy himself.

Rejoice believer. Christ is King. Christ will always be King. He welcomes you into his presence.

Prayer:

Give us the words to wrestle with our heart, that we would see you as you are meant to be seen, that our joy would be complete and our lives full because of who you are. Be with us. Be our peace. Be real to us Lord!

Scripture:

I said: “I will guard my ways that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle so long as the wicked are in my presence.”

I was mute and silent, I held my peace to no avail and my distress grew worse.  My heart became hot within me.  As I mused, the fire burned…then I spoke with my tongue…

Observation:  

Mouth.  Tongue.  Untamed.  A restless evil: So says James.  So did David way before him…and it is still the same today.

Application:

Matt 12:34 “You brood of vipers! How can you speak good when you are evil?  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”

Many moons ago I was taught this invaluable fact: Whatever comes out of my mouth is directly related (correlates or is equal) to what is in my heart; that is, if my mouth speaks a curse word it is because cursing flows through my heart like an undammed river.

I have tried to side step the enormity of this implication.  “Oh, It only slips out every once in a while.”  “Sometimes I just can’t help it.” And the worse of all: “It’s a habit and doesn’t really hurt anyone.  It has become a societal norm (Everyone does it…).”

Jesus told us that if I think sin it is the SAME as doing it…not as bad as; it is the same.  As above: If I say sinful stuff guess where it came out of?  Yep: my heart.

David writes of trying to plug up that hole under his nose.  He tried and tried.  And eventually the guard fell, the barriers broke loose, the dam broke.

I have done that.  “Keep your trap shut!” I say often to myself.  But what I didn’t (and don’t) do was to tamp the fire down, thrown water on the burning embers of my heart.  “Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble” boils in the caldron of my inner being.

I have two choices: 1) Throw off the chains of righteousness that bind me and give full vent to the roaring of my heart.  This will make me “feel better”, “get it off my chest” so that I can start over.  Uh, huh…yep that is a holy response…Not!

Or: 2) Do like David did and review the doctrine of Man through the lens of the Gospel: “O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!…And now O Lord, for what do I wait?  My hope is in you.  Deliver me from my transgressions…” Ps 39:7-8a.

I am temporary on this earth.  I take my next breath by the Grace of God alone.

The first part of Ps 39 I think is a guy just like me who thinks that his thoughts are important thoughts and need to be spoken—spoken with all the fire and burning in my belly.  I think this reads like a description of self-righteousness.  Could be wrong I suppose…(shrug of my shoulders) I don’t think so though. 

Prayer:  

Lord Jesus, what can I do with my mouth?  I want apples of gold in settings of silver coming out of it but too often other stuff comes out.  Help me remember the benefits of the Gospel, the doctrines of Grace that remind me of my lowly estate that has been Redeemed.  I do not want to think too highly of myself.  Humble my tongue, O God.  AMEN

Scripture:

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. v4

The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand. v23-24

Observation:

When your delight (desire) is the Lord, he will give you your desires (delight). v4

When we delight in (desire) the Lord, he will establish our steps, and even when he establishes our steps, that doesn’t mean he will protect us from falling, or suffering, or hardship. He upholds us in the midst of it, but doesn’t keep us from it.

Application:

This passage in v4 has been misunderstood and poorly explained by many! Let’s take a closer look at what it actually means.

See, we usually take this to mean, that if we make God #1 in our lives, he will give us all the things we want. If I pay attention to God, and focus on him, then I will get that promotion. That bonus. That healing. That ___________.

But if you look closer what it is really meaning is when we delight in the Lord, when our deepest soul, our heart desires and delights and wants nothing but the Lord, Jesus, then and only then can we be confident that we will truly get what our soul desires: Jesus.

If we delight in Jesus, and Jesus fully, and Jesus only, and all other delights, our family, our whatever, are wrapped in our delight for Jesus, then and only then, will Jesus give us our desires, which is him. It doesn’t mean that if we tip our hat to him once a week that he will be like a really good vending machine of blessings.

So, go, delight in Jesus. Look at him, meditate on him and his gospel, set your eyes on him, wrestle your heart to see him as he truly is, delight in him, and he will show you himself. You will get him.

And when we do this, he will order our lives and our steps and carry us, but as he carries us, suffering, hardship, falling will happen, but take hope: he is still ordering your steps. Even in suffering and hardship, our God is Sovereign and good and working ALL THINGS, even hardship to his glory and our good, our best possible lives.

Your best life now feels like it should be easy and smooth sailing, but that isn’t true. Your best life is a life that in the midst of hardship and what not, that Jesus is with you and carrying you, and shaping you. That is your best life, even though some people (and pastors) would like to tell you otherwise.

Prayer:

Give us eyes to see what it means to delight in you, to hope in you, to run to you and want and desire only you.

Scripture:

[7] I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.
[10] If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. [11] Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.

Observation:

I’m going with this.. 2 John is written by the Apostle John to a church, “..the lady chosen by God..” and to the her congregation “..to her children..:”

John here specifically narrows down a set of false teachers who do not acknowledge the truth that Jesus came as God in the flesh and that He will come again to this earth.  This would include teachers of Islam and Latter Day Saints.  They teach falsely that Jesus was just a prophet or messenger from God, but not that He came to this earth, fully man and fully God.

John is not warning of being around individuals who have been duped into believing the false doctrine.  He is warning against being inviting or inclusive to the teachers of false doctrine, and reminding us not to let them teach in our churches.  He says that a person who teaches this false doctrine in this way is a deceiver and the antichrist.  He further warns that “[11] Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.”

Application:

We should be eating meat and not only drinking milk.  We should know the Truth and who Jesus is.  We should be able to discern easily what is false about these  false teachings.  Unfortunately, it’s not just our churches we need to worry about.  False teachers are all around us – at our work place, in our children’s schools, and in our government.  Even if it seems politically incorrect, we must turn them away, always being vigilant, watching out for them and what they teach.  If we have a question, turn to the only good source for the answer – the Bible.  Going to church once a week, or every other week, to hear the Word for 35 minutes is not nearly enough.  We need to be immersed in God’s Word every chance we can make.  We can’t afford to be confused or mistakenly help someone teach nonsense just because we are not aware it is false.  The last thing I would ever want to be labeled is someone who shares in the wicked work of an antichrist!

Prayer:

Lord thank You for giving us Your Word as our guide.  Let us not be fooled by these false teachers and especially Lord, help us to be vigilant and to never be used by them in any way to spread their false teaching. In Jesus mighty name, Amen.

Scripture:

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13)

Observation:  

John writes this for believers, not un-believers.  The implication is that believers can forget about the Gospel.  Imagine that…I don’t hear/read about that much except from Old Dead Guys…

Application:

Transparency: Most of John’s letters are difficult for me.  I don’t see the logic from point to point like I see in Paul’s letters.  Maybe it is because Paul is a religious lawyer by training and John wasn’t.

However, John’s letters are a part of the Holy Scriptures and are profitable for training in righteousness (among other things; see 2 Tim 3:16).  Therefore John’s letters, while difficult for me, are good to take time in and try to figure them out; to wrestle with them (like Peter says about Paul in 2 Pet 3:16; I also should take a look at Heb 5:11).

That being said, today 1 John 5 is confusing.  Maybe because I am looking for a “position, support, support, conclusion” type of format—and, if John is employing that format, it isn’t jumping out at me.  But the above scripture is.

John writes to Believers; not to Un-Believers.  1^st part is said plainly, the 2^nd part is inferred by sentence structure.  And the purpose of John’s writing is “that you may know that you have eternal life.”

The inference is that Believers can forget.  I can get all caught up with “things” that I forget to keep the Main Thing the Main Thing.  Note: I choose to define the Main Thing as the Gospel; eternal life is a by-product of the Gospel (an important and glorious by-product but a by-product nevertheless).

So there is the point that I read and gleaned for today: If John is writing so that Believers don’t forget, what am I doing in the same manner?  Am I stirring up the face in the mirror?  Am I not just taking an opportunity but MAKING an opportunity with those I fellowship with (especially in the Local Church) to remind each other about the Glorious and Majestic Gospel?

Here’s a thought: If I am not talking about the Gospel with the folks who should be the most receptive and eager to be reminded about the Gospel, do I really think I can talk about the Gospel with Un-Believers, folks who by nature don’t want to pay the price to find the Pearl?  Just thinking out loud…

Prayer:  

Lord God, I can write a good game sometimes.  Help me to put into practice what I am writing and not be a blockhead distorting words.  Fill my eyes with You.  AMEN.

Scripture:

1 John 4:7-8 – Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.  Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Observation:

John is again encouraging the believers who have received the love of God through Christ to share the love of God with others.  Love is from God and when we love others we truly have been reborn and know God. Without having love for others, it is impossible to know God who is love.  At the end of the chapter, John tells us you can’t claim to love God and not love your brother.

Application:

Jesus tells the disciples we will be known by our love for one another.  Love God and love others are the great commandments on which the Law depends.  To be born of God, I will love God as he loved me first and thusly my neighbor.  The two commandments are linked and one can’t exist without the other. In other words, I can memorize scripture, give to the church, but if I don’t love my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ I don’t know God.  The love of God is the most powerful thing in the world and the only thing with the power to change lives and hearts.

Prayer:

Father,

Thank you for your love and grace you gave me through Jesus.  Let me be someone who receives your love and shares it with others so You can be seen.

Scripture:

And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. v3

No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. ¹⁰ By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. v9-10

Observation:

I have read this passage a few times and these verses keep jumping out to me. John, has a funky way of writing and it can be a bit unnerving to walk though it, I want to do my best to make sense of it and point to something that I think is so beautiful and hard and real and what we actually need.

First observation is this:

Hoping (actively) purifies us and makes more like Jesus. Not hoped. 

Second observation:

If you make a practice of sinning, if that is who you are, not a believer who is wrestling with all of the Spirit of God against sin, but someone who practices, enjoys, relishes, looks forward to, sin, that sort of practicing of sin, you are not a child of God, you are not born of God.

Application:

Phew. What a doozy!

When we set our eyes on Jesus to save us (when we hope in him for our salvation before God) this is not a one time event. This is not simply a prayer that we pray, though many believe it is.

This is a supernatural awakening in which God wakes us up to see that he is everything, he is our hope and our life and so we turn to him, the veil is removed from our eyes and we look to him and realize, he is everything. And then, because of seeing him, we hope in him, we give our life to him, we die in him, as he died on the cross.

No longer do we live, but he lives. His desires. His goals. His love. His life.

This is hoping in Jesus. It is looking to him for all of our life and breath and worth before God.

But what about while I am doing that, I sin? Does that mean that I am not longer a child of God becaused I sinned? That seems to be what John might be saying?

But no, that isn’t what John is saying. What John is referring to is someone who practices, lives in, enjoyes, relishes, makes a habit of living in sin. This person, no matter what they say to contrary, does not have hope in Jesus.

Yeah, but what if they prayed a prayer? It doesn’t matter. God will not be mocked.

True salvation saves us from the punishment of sin, but also the presence and power of sin. If someone is still practicing sin, and living in it, and loving it, they have no hope in Jesus.

But what about when I struggle in sin? True believer, who struggles in sin, fights it, but falls, but loses sometimes, look to verse 3, those who hope in him are purified.

Even in your sin, hope in Jesus. Hope in him to save you from the punishment and more importantly from the sin now and here in this life. Hoping in Jesus, trusting in Jesus, looking to Jesus as your only confidence before a holy God, that is how you defeat this sin today.

We don’t defeat sin through being afraid of hell, we defeat sin by hoping in Jesus as our only hope. That is how we are purified.

Prayer:

I hope and pray that this speaks to the soul of our church and pushes them towards you. That is my only desire. Lord do a might work in our church family, move in Good Life that we would be a people who against all odds, hope in you and are purified from our sin.

Scripture:

“My little children: I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.

But if anyone does sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  He is the propitiation for our sins—and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”  1 John 2:1-2

Observation:

John—hammering doctrine.  Blink and I would have passed it right on by…This is what potentially happens ignoring doctrine.

Application:

What is doctrine?

Once upon a time doctrine was something to be avoided.  Doctrine was an example of being “dead”: being a part of “dead religion” and of a “dead local church.”—“Ain’t no life here, Holy Spirit has done left the building”…I was soooo a classical Charismatic.

I was so short sighted that I couldn’t follow my foot as it passed my belt buckle taking a step forward.  Think I might have been a bit arrogant?  Uhh, maybe a little…

And then about 20 years ago a buddy of mine introduced me to Christian Doctrine—real, living, powerful, solid, Doctrine.  And not just rules and regulation type of doctrine—Doctrine that defines the Gospel in appropriate, systematic, foundational ways….and leads to LIFE.

So here’s John.  “Dear friends: I am writing this so you may not sin…”  Goal, objective, vision.  That’s where I want to be—not sinning.

Whaaat?  I just looked and sin is running rampant in my mind, my hands, my feet, and oh no, my mouth.  I am crushed.

But no, John reminds me of Jesus the Atonement (a doctrine), Jesus the Advocate (a doctrine), Jesus the Sacrifice (Propitiation, a doctrine) as well as alluding to the whole Character of God—so that I can take comfort, take courage.  I can really be still and know He is God.  I can remember to be confident that He will complete His work in me.

Doctrine is the systematic backbone of the Gospel.  Because I am not God (surprise!!), I need artificial but Grace filled help in understanding the Gospel.  Even the Psalmist understood that in Psalm 119.s

Do I want to grow up, pursue maturity in Christ?  Then I can’t go wrong in studying the Word by studying Doctrine.

By the way: I still consider myself Charismatic…just a little bit more equipped on the noggin side of discipleship.

Prayer:  

Father, how wonderful You are!!  There is so much of the Gospel I still have to learn—but You walk me through it daily.  Please keep me focused as I am determined to be focused.  Keep me from an attitude of coasting and allow me to encounter Your Love daily.  AMEN.

Scripture:

If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. v6

Observation:

Walking with Jesus requires us to not walk in darkness.

Application:

This is an easy verse to misunderstand & miscontru, that is why I wanted to tackle it today. See, John’s stating that if you walk in darkness, you cannot have fellowship with Jesus.

But I thought Jesus forgave my sin?
What if I find myself in sin, or struggling in sin, does that mean I have no fellowship with Jesus?
Does that mean I have fallen away or have no hope?!

By no means. 

To walk with darkness is to have your eyes set on & fixated on you. Your own way. Your own life. Your own hopes. Your own dreams. To walk in darkness is to walk your way, when you want to.

This means that if you find that Jesus is only a part of your life, the salt to your meal, and you are walking in darkness, then yes, you have no hope in him, you have no fellowship with him.

Having fellowship with Jesus means more than simply praying a prayer, it means to die to self, it means to give your life to him that he would own it and be king over it. To walk with Jesus is to give him all. 

Have you given him all? If the answer is yes, you have fellowship with him.
But what if I find myself in sin? Or struggling still?

Look to him. Run to him. Run from darkness.
The person fighting sin, struggling against sin is not “walking in darkness” as John puts it here. They are walking with Jesus but fighting the flesh.

Do not let the enemy use this verse to make you believe you aren’t walking with Jesus. Take hope in him, run from darkness. And also to the sinner, who claims Jesus, but still enjoys in and revels in darkness, John says there is no fellowship in this darkness with Jesus. Flee the darkness & run to Jesus!

Prayer:

I hope and pray that this speaks to your people! I pray they run from darkness & find hope even in their sin that you are enough.

Scripture:

Vs 1 I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder
Vs 2 that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior …

11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!
13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.

Observation:

Peter is stating his final thoughts in his second letter to the faithful.
Peter wants the faithful to keep a sharp mind about them because wrongheaded and faithless people will try to influence them to live opposing God.
Peter is reminding them to keep remembering God’s Word and the promises and predictions it makes.
Jesus will return! And when He does return it will be a day of judgement and a day of destruction.
But it will be so much more! He will return with a new heaven and new earth. The old corruption will be wiped away and the earth will be made new!
So, with this sharply in his readers minds, Peter tells them “what sort of people ought you to be”.

Application:

“What sort of people ought you to be”?
This is the ultimate question of “application” of God’s Word.
“What sort of person ought ‘I’ to be”?
Fortunately, Peter immediately answers it for us: “lives of holiness and godliness”.
I’ve heard many people make the argument, “if it’s all gonna burn, then why bother”?!
In other words, if this world is going to get destroyed in the end, then why should I worry about living a decent life now? “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die”
Peter gives me the error of this thinking.
The destruction of this world is not the end of this world!
A new heaven and new earth are coming!
And it will be a new heaven and earth “in which righteousness dwells”!
This will be my permanent home.
All will be made right again.

I will want it to feel like a home, like a place I belong, and where things make sense!
If I am acting selfishly now and consumed with my own wants, and desires, and unrighteousness, then that new earth would seem foreign and nonsensical to me.
It would not feel like home.
So, Peter tells me to remember the Holy predictions and commandments.
He also tells me to live holy.
I can’t just “know” God’s Word, I must “live” God’s Word.
And even though Peter acknowledges this is a time of waiting and patience, I must “be diligent” and “at peace” … knowing one day I will dwell in the new earth and all will be “righteous”.

Prayer:

Thank you God for your promises
Help me to know and remember them
Help me to live them out
I pray your kingdom come

And your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven

In Jesus name
Amen

Scripture:

v1-2, 14, 18

[1] But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them..
[2] Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.
[14] With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood!
[18] ..by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.

Observation:

This epistle was written to Christian believers just like us, warning them of false teachers and false prophets and that God will judge this sin.

It is a fact, not just merely a possibility, that false teachers are among us.  These are people who distort the Word of God by adding to it or removing from it.  Just as Christians should have been concerned in the time this was written, we must be careful not to get fooled by false teachers and their lies.  They can be very convincing deceivers.

Application:

False teaching is not just simple differences between denominations.  That is the small stuff.  False teaching communicates false doctrine different from the fundamental truth of Scripture.  It teaches ideas such as having many paths to God, or saying there is Heaven but not hell, or saying that since God gives us Grace we basically have the license to sin.  Beliefs like this are straight from Satan and not from God. Doctrine like this does not line up with Scripture and yet, it leaks into Christian beliefs by way of false teaching through susceptible believers who are not well grounded.  These are not the little things and if we treat them as if they are, before you know it we will be fully on the other side of a line we should never cross – believing in our own god.

How does this happen?  Satan is a master liar and very sneaky.
– “They will secretly introduce destructive heresies..”
– “..they seduce the unstable..”
– They appeal “..to the lustful desires of the flesh”

False teachers don’t give us warning that they are deviating from the Word.  They interpret the Word “for us”, telling us what it “really means”.  Individually, we are the only ones who can really validate what we hear.  Whether we like what we hear or not, validate it.  We need to read and know the Word well enough to ferret out the lies.  If it still seems confusing, validate theology that doesn’t seem right by talking with trusted Christian friends.  God is not a God of confusion but Satan is the master deceiver.

As for the false teachers and false prophets, God will judge and take care of them.
– ..swift destruction on themselves.” v1
– “..hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.” v9
– “..like unreasoning animals..born only to be caught and destroyed..” v12
– “..paid back with harm for the harm they have done..” v13
– “Blackest darkness is reserved for them.” v17

Yeah, that’s good, while it may seem that some false teachers and false prophets prosper in this life, they will be righteously judged.  Forget about what God will do to them though.  For those of us who know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, it will be even worse for us than it will be for the false teachers and false prophets if we fall into their evil ways.

[20] If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.  [21] It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.

Wow!

We need to be vigilant, always looking out for false teaching and false prophets.  Validate what we hear or read with Scripture, and be stable in our faith, built on a rock as our foundation and never sway from that.

Prayer:

Lord thank you for your Word.  Thank you that we can always fall back on it as Your perfect balance of grace and truth.  Help us to discern false teaching and false prophesying and to never fall prey to anything spoken in Your name that does not align with Your Word or Your will.

Scripture:

“May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord…

For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue; and virtue with knowledge; and knowledge with self-control; and self-control with steadfastness; and steadfastness with godliness; and godliness with brotherly affection; and brotherly affection with love.

For if these qualities are yours and are increasing they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  (Excerpted from 2 Peter 2:2 and 5-8)

Observation:

An emphasis on the word Maturing, not necessarily the word Mature—the Verb rather than the Noun—gives my Walk in the Lord a different meaning and outlook…

Application:

I have experienced reading the Scriptures in such a way as is soothing and peaceful.  I can read the salutation of verse 2 like “Yes, I will accept Grace.  I will accept Peace…good stuff!  I am not feeling full of grace or full of peace—I would very much like multiplied Grace and Peace.”

I am pretty sure I see that the Holy Spirit may be trying to get a point across—there is an implied expectation to put attention and effort in being a Christian.

Learning, adding knowledge, and being persistent to pursue Him so that I increase in effectiveness and fruitfulness is not just important, it is paramount in being a disciple.  It is an attitude that not only comes from the Holy Spirit, but also my pointed and determined engagement with Him.

So, knucklehead that I am: How should I respond?

One way is to place these scripture references in front of my eyes such as writing them out and putting a frame around them.  Make them a part of my daily devotions; refer to them often; figure out one or two ways to do each point so that I can make habit out of doing them.

As I want to be an effective Disciple applying stuff like this is imperative.  After all, it is a waste of time coasting around to be an “ineffective disciple….”  How would I like Jesus’ words to me be “Welcome you sometimes faithful but generally ineffective servant…?”  Phooey on that!!

Prayer:

Lord God—this posting is kind of clunky…but is true.  There are a lot of times that my following You is clunky; it isn’t smooth or without bumps in the road.  Even so, O God, it is profitable.  Pursuing You, Lord, is always profitable…AMEN

Scripture:

1 Peter 5:6-7
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on your him because he cares for you.

Observation:

Peter is encouraging the elders to Shepherd the flock with humility not to be domineering over them. The elders as leaders and all believers need to humbly submit before our all powerful God. We are not to worry or have anxieties over what we are facing, rather give them over to God as he loves us.

Application:
I must humbly submit myself under God before I can expect to lead anyone else to humble themselves before God. In other words. I must be under what is to be over me before I can be over that which is to be under me. We are not called to live a life of anxiety and fear. We are promised freedom through Christ who overcame death for us. Therefore, it is foolish for me to walk around with a burden of anxiety on me when I can give it to the Lord as He cares for me.

Prayer:

Father,
Thank you for loving and caring for me. Let me humble myself before you and encourage others to do the same.