Read Psalm 131
Read 1 Kings 20
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Ordinary Whispering
Wow! I should have taken the time to comment on yesterday's readings. Yesterday we had the conclusion of the book of Job, and poor old Job is finally restored! We also read about Elijah defeating the prophets of Baal. Isn't that a fun story! (fun might not be the most appropriate word, but I'll use it anyway).
But we have great readings today (and everyday!) as well. We'll catch a few psalms as we finish 1 Kings. We'll start a NT epistle along with 2 Kings. It makes it easy for me to remember where we are when we are in the same chapters in the different books. : ) So...
Read Psalm 130
Read 1 Kings 19
I wish I could know what the whisper sounded like, or what the whisper said. What was it like to hear that voice, after enduring the wind, the fire, and the earthquake? What incredible events in Elijah's life!
And what do we make of it all? A lot of people will use this story to say that we should quiet distractions and take the time to listen to God. True, except what is that "listening" like? Lots of people claim they can hear an audible voice of God. Or, rather, they attribute their impulses in instincts and intuition as God talking to them. So we hear a lot of people say, "God told me..." and "God said...". I'm perfectly comfortable with that, as long as what comes next is a Bible verse. Otherwise, I'm uncomfortable with it.
I'm not saying that God can't talk audibly, or guide and direct you, or anything like that. But God doesn't ordinarily work that way! We are promised that God speaks to us through Scripture. We have no promise apart from that. So, how can you know that what you think or feel is from God? I've known people to walk into an interview and say, "God told me I was going to get this job." They didn't get the job. So then what? Was God wrong?
We have to get used to the ordinary means through which God works. We also have to get used to accepting his promises. Elijah was directed to eat and drink under the broom tree. He did. God used that food to strengthen him for a 40 day journey. Ordinary eating and drinking did extraordinary things. And God didn't use the cataclysmic shaking of the earth to reveal a great and glorious message to Elijah. He used a low, small voice. And the message was one of hope. The remnant would not be destroyed. God had preserved 7,000 faithful. God's promises continue. Kings shall be anointed to do God's work. Another prophet will be raised up to support and succeed Elijah. God still reigns. God still reveals his plans.
I think we'd love for God to shake things up, to speak from a whirlwind or from a fire (which he did, by the way, for Job and Moses, but not Elijah and not for us!). We'd love for God to use the obviously miraculous to encourage and support us. He uses the miraculous, all right. But it is the "ordinary" miracles that he has promised. Baptism doesn't look all that flashy. Communion looks like regular eating and drinking - and a meager snack at that. The preaching in the Church is regular guys talking in regular ways (can we captivate like Hollywood can?). But through these ordinary things, God whispers his encouragement, his hope, and his forgiveness into our lives.
And why wouldn't he? He used ordinary blood shed on a primitive instrument of torture (the cross) to redeem us. God has a good track record of using the ordinary to do the extraordinarily miraculous. Thanks be to God!
Ask Yourself:
Do I sometimes doubt God's ordinary means? Am I hoping for the extraordinary, when the miraculous is already given to me?
Am I discouraged as Elijah was? How can I continue on?
How can I better wait for the Lord and hope in his Word, as Psalm 130 states?
Pray:
O Lord, thank you for using the ordinary to do extraordinary things. Thank you even for using me to do your work. Purify my soul, and cleans my lips and hands, that I may speak and serve as I ought. Thank you for the redemption that is mine through your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Study with me tomorrow,
Pastor Jon
But we have great readings today (and everyday!) as well. We'll catch a few psalms as we finish 1 Kings. We'll start a NT epistle along with 2 Kings. It makes it easy for me to remember where we are when we are in the same chapters in the different books. : ) So...
Read Psalm 130
Read 1 Kings 19
I wish I could know what the whisper sounded like, or what the whisper said. What was it like to hear that voice, after enduring the wind, the fire, and the earthquake? What incredible events in Elijah's life!
And what do we make of it all? A lot of people will use this story to say that we should quiet distractions and take the time to listen to God. True, except what is that "listening" like? Lots of people claim they can hear an audible voice of God. Or, rather, they attribute their impulses in instincts and intuition as God talking to them. So we hear a lot of people say, "God told me..." and "God said...". I'm perfectly comfortable with that, as long as what comes next is a Bible verse. Otherwise, I'm uncomfortable with it.
I'm not saying that God can't talk audibly, or guide and direct you, or anything like that. But God doesn't ordinarily work that way! We are promised that God speaks to us through Scripture. We have no promise apart from that. So, how can you know that what you think or feel is from God? I've known people to walk into an interview and say, "God told me I was going to get this job." They didn't get the job. So then what? Was God wrong?
We have to get used to the ordinary means through which God works. We also have to get used to accepting his promises. Elijah was directed to eat and drink under the broom tree. He did. God used that food to strengthen him for a 40 day journey. Ordinary eating and drinking did extraordinary things. And God didn't use the cataclysmic shaking of the earth to reveal a great and glorious message to Elijah. He used a low, small voice. And the message was one of hope. The remnant would not be destroyed. God had preserved 7,000 faithful. God's promises continue. Kings shall be anointed to do God's work. Another prophet will be raised up to support and succeed Elijah. God still reigns. God still reveals his plans.
I think we'd love for God to shake things up, to speak from a whirlwind or from a fire (which he did, by the way, for Job and Moses, but not Elijah and not for us!). We'd love for God to use the obviously miraculous to encourage and support us. He uses the miraculous, all right. But it is the "ordinary" miracles that he has promised. Baptism doesn't look all that flashy. Communion looks like regular eating and drinking - and a meager snack at that. The preaching in the Church is regular guys talking in regular ways (can we captivate like Hollywood can?). But through these ordinary things, God whispers his encouragement, his hope, and his forgiveness into our lives.
And why wouldn't he? He used ordinary blood shed on a primitive instrument of torture (the cross) to redeem us. God has a good track record of using the ordinary to do the extraordinarily miraculous. Thanks be to God!
Ask Yourself:
Do I sometimes doubt God's ordinary means? Am I hoping for the extraordinary, when the miraculous is already given to me?
Am I discouraged as Elijah was? How can I continue on?
How can I better wait for the Lord and hope in his Word, as Psalm 130 states?
Pray:
O Lord, thank you for using the ordinary to do extraordinary things. Thank you even for using me to do your work. Purify my soul, and cleans my lips and hands, that I may speak and serve as I ought. Thank you for the redemption that is mine through your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Study with me tomorrow,
Pastor Jon
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
Just Enough
Read Job 41
Read 1 Kings 17
Christians often refer to the 1 Kings 17 reading and point to God's incredible mercy to provide for our needs. And well they should! What an incredible miracle it was that the jar of oil and the jar of flour always ran out. Each day the widow poured out what was left and make a cake of bread. Each day there was more in the jar. We certainly do well to rejoice that God provides. We certainly do even better to recognize that God has given us what we need, and so much more as well!
But we can't ignore the fact that God didn't give the widow a full jar. In fact, she was asked to obey God and give the last of what she had to the prophet, Elijah. When she poured out the oil and the flour, there weren't an abundance of ingredients left over. But there was enough for Elijah's cake. And then there was enough for the widow and her son. And then there was enough for all of them the next day. And the next. And the day after that.
God didn't give the widow a full jar, and I don't think that many of us would say that our jar of abundance or jar of prosperity is full. Don't we all have those other things we think we need! Couldn't we all use a few less bills, a few more dollars, a few more comforts?
But maybe all that wouldn't be good for us. Maybe that would lead us away from trusting God. Maybe we should be thankful (instead of frustrated) that God doesn't give us the full jar. This way we grow in the daily life of faith. Daily we can look with trusting eyes to God to provide. Daily we can give thank to him for all that he has given. Daily we can learn to be content. Daily we can fight against the greed and covetousness. Daily we can thank God that he says "no" like a loving parent.
And ultimately, we can rejoice that we have a God who says "yes," to our eternal salvation, won for us through his own Son, Jesus Christ, who provides for all our spiritual needs through the cross.
Ask Yourself:
Am I finding it hard to be content? What am I coveting?
Am I frustrated that God doesn't provide more...that I have to struggle with the needs of this life?
How can I learn to thank God for providing "just enough"?
Pray:
Thank you for providing me with just enough. Help me to learn to be content. Help me to trust and love you always. Amen.
Study with me tomorrow,
Pastor Jon
Soli Deo Gloria!
Read 1 Kings 17
Christians often refer to the 1 Kings 17 reading and point to God's incredible mercy to provide for our needs. And well they should! What an incredible miracle it was that the jar of oil and the jar of flour always ran out. Each day the widow poured out what was left and make a cake of bread. Each day there was more in the jar. We certainly do well to rejoice that God provides. We certainly do even better to recognize that God has given us what we need, and so much more as well!
But we can't ignore the fact that God didn't give the widow a full jar. In fact, she was asked to obey God and give the last of what she had to the prophet, Elijah. When she poured out the oil and the flour, there weren't an abundance of ingredients left over. But there was enough for Elijah's cake. And then there was enough for the widow and her son. And then there was enough for all of them the next day. And the next. And the day after that.
God didn't give the widow a full jar, and I don't think that many of us would say that our jar of abundance or jar of prosperity is full. Don't we all have those other things we think we need! Couldn't we all use a few less bills, a few more dollars, a few more comforts?
But maybe all that wouldn't be good for us. Maybe that would lead us away from trusting God. Maybe we should be thankful (instead of frustrated) that God doesn't give us the full jar. This way we grow in the daily life of faith. Daily we can look with trusting eyes to God to provide. Daily we can give thank to him for all that he has given. Daily we can learn to be content. Daily we can fight against the greed and covetousness. Daily we can thank God that he says "no" like a loving parent.
And ultimately, we can rejoice that we have a God who says "yes," to our eternal salvation, won for us through his own Son, Jesus Christ, who provides for all our spiritual needs through the cross.
Ask Yourself:
Am I finding it hard to be content? What am I coveting?
Am I frustrated that God doesn't provide more...that I have to struggle with the needs of this life?
How can I learn to thank God for providing "just enough"?
Pray:
Thank you for providing me with just enough. Help me to learn to be content. Help me to trust and love you always. Amen.
Study with me tomorrow,
Pastor Jon
Soli Deo Gloria!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
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