365 Reflections

The first event after Jeremiah's commission is a conversation about visions given to him by God. The Lord asks him two questions. Here is the first.  Jeremiah 1:11–12 (ESV) And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond branch.” 12 Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.” A note in my Bible over the word, "almond" stipulates a wordplay at work here. The Hebrew word for almond (saqed) sounds like "watching" (saqad). God wanted Jeremiah to SEE God's word at work. God will always see that His Word goes to work as God declared it to work.  This is the fundamental requirement if one should venture to speak for God. That person must be confident that God's Word will come to pass no matter what others SAY. Those who reject such confidence will find themselves swaying in the wind of public opinion, current trends, and even age-old deceptions. God makes p...

Esther 9:1–2 (ESV)  Now in the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king’s command and edict were about to be carried out, on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, the reverse occurred: the Jews gained mastery over those who hated them. 2 The Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could stand against them, for the fear of them had fallen on all peoples. Esther 9 is the complete opposite of every other chapter in this book before it. Thus far we have seen the Jews as a helpless people, with Mordecai targeted for death, Esther as the harem girl for the king's pleasure. But all that has changed. Now Mordecai and Esther are ambassadors of the King and writing the laws of the land into effect to not only save the Jews from extermination but to empower them for triumph over their enemies.  It's a wond...

1 Samuel 23:2 (ESV) Therefore David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I go and attack these Philistines?" And the LORD said to David, "Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah." David is going to enter the training of the Lord. How so? He’s going to be betrayed by the very people he is sent to save. The training will begin even before he gets to them. For after David inquires of God here about attacking the Philistines and saving Keilah his own men are afraid. 1 Samuel 23:3 (ESV) But David's men said to him, "Behold, we are afraid here in Judah; how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?" Remember these are that rag-tag group of rejects from the kingdom of Saul who haven’t go much strength or experience with victory. But when they show fear David prays again... 1 Samuel 23:4-5 (ESV) Then David inquired of the LORD again. And the LORD answered him, "Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistine...

Joshua 5:2–3 (ESV) At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.” 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth. If there is one moment in Joshua where we learn that God's ways are most definitely not our ways it is here in Joshua 5. Having freshly crossed the Jordan, the Israelite nation have come armed for battle and ready to do business with the nations their parents were far too intimidated by 40 years earlier. They had also been stuck in the vicious waiting game for 40 years after that previous generation's failure to believe. Now they are here at the cusp of war and occupation. But what does God have them do? Get circumcised.  Now, this whole schedule would have reminded them of the story concerning Jacob's sons who had the men of Shechem get circumcised deceitfully so they could overwhelm and kill them in retributive vengeance for the violation of their ...

Exodus 29:35–37 (ESV)   “Thus you shall do to Aaron and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. Through seven days shall you ordain them, 36 and every day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement. Also you shall purify the altar, when you make atonement for it, and shall anoint it to consecrate it. 37 Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it, and the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar shall become holy. Exodus 29 describes the long and extremely costly price to consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve as priests before the Lord. This was to be a seven day process with a bull offered each day on the altar. This is in addition to the consecration offerings listen in the beginning of the chapter: Exodus 29:1–3 (ESV) “Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. Take one bull of the herd and two rams without blemish, 2 and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes...

We will all have detractors and attackers. We will all have someone not like us or despise us. The Psalmist did in Psalm 139. The interesting thing about this Psalm is that it's so beautiful we lose the context. The Psalm was sung while the author was facing adversarial animosity. He cries out toward the end: Psalm 139:19 (ESV)   Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me! Here's the power of the Truth of this Psalm. In the face of his enemies, what is his confidence? The fact that God made him, knows all about him, and will always be with him. Note the following very familiar passages: Psalm 139:1–2 (ESV) O Lord , you have searched me and known me! 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. Psalm 139:5 (ESV) You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Psalm 139:7–8 (ESV)  Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to...

Psalm 125:1–2 (ESV)  Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. 2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore. What a wonderful word picture of those who trust in the Lord. There are some pretty important mountains surrounding Jerusalem.  Mount Golgotha. The Mount of Olives. Mount Sinai (which we don't really know where but in the land). This is what you do when you spend time in the Word... you remember what He's done and Whose you are... When we come to the Word of God we are reminded of these mountains but more importantly, we are reminded of what they represent. Each mountain was the scene of a dramatic moment in redemptive history. The giving of the Law, the dying of our Savior, the Teaching of Christ and His return at the mount of olives! This is why we come to the Word of God, to remember we like that great city of God, now in grace surround...

God is a guiding Lord. Psalm 25:8 (ESV) Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. Psalm 25:12 (ESV) Who is the man who fears the Lord ? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. The Lord doesn't just lead you to Christ from sinner to saint. He leads you on to the things of life you should choose. How does that happen? Most of us, (almost all) will not hear an audible voice. But His Word will always be our guide. I was having a conversation today with a Pastor friend who shared how often we fret over the small decisions with the Lord...  What house should we buy? What city should we live in? Who should we marry? He said the Lord isn't concerned with the details of what as long as the result is the Glory of God. God is for His glory. Living in and for the glory of God is what our main objective in life is about. Everything else, whatever we choose, where we live, what house we buy or rent - these all should simply bri...

Psalm 16 has been called a song of confidence . And I love this Psalm. When you read it, the Psalmist is confident that God is His first and foremost priority. Subsequently, He brims with confidence for a number of things in life. He is confident that his life is where God wants it to be, no more and no less. Psalm 16:6 (ESV) The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. He is confident the Lord will give him counsel that stays with him through the night. Psalm 16:7 (ESV) I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. He is confident that nothing will shake him. Psalm 16:8 (ESV) I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. He is also confident that other gods yield only sorrow while the presence of the Lord is full of joy, pleasures and true life. Psalm 16:11 (ESV)   You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there i...

God's Word is pure. Man's word is not. You only understand the perverse innate character of the promises of man when you truly comprehend the sure Word of God. Psalm 12 is all about the contrast between the two. First, the Psalmist has a description of the words of man: Psalm 12:2–4 (ESV) Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak. 3 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts, 4 those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?” What is the answer when people around you seem to do nothing but feed you lies? Do you respond? Do you retaliate? Do you join in? There is no shortage of voices in our world. And we do well to heed the wisdom of David in this Psalmist when he was faced people the proud and arrogant words of the wicked. First, David refuses to get into it with them. No, his approach is not retaliation but rather to listed to what God has...

Psalm 9 and 10 are actually one long acrostic hymn. The letters of the Hebrew Alphabet in order (minus four) form this beautiful piece of literature. The first 12 verses proclaim confident faith in God. He is good and He reigns and He defends the Psalmist. The next 4 verses are a cry for help from God in the presence of his enemies. Verses 17-20 are confident expectation that God's action will be soon and swift. Psalm 10:1-11 decry the evil and violence of the wicked. Psalm 10:12-15 he prays earnestly for God's intervention. Psalm 10 ends with three verses of confident hope and enduring faith: Psalm 10:16–18 (ESV) The LORD is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land. 17 O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear 18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more. This 2 part hymn can sum up a great deal of our Christian experienc...

Psalm 4 has a specific structure that centers the Psalm on verse 4: Psalm 4:4  (ESV)   Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent.  The first verse is a cry of distress based on the goodness of God from the past. The second verse is a renunciation of all who come against him in godlessness. The third verse is a reminder of God's promise and protection. The fifth verse is another call for trust in God. The sixth verse denounces those who question God. The seventh verse is reminiscent of God's goodness in the past. The eight verse is confident assurance of God's peace. But in the middle, the fourth verse is what we do when we pray. We refuse to let our emotions get the best of us. We don't let our feelings control our actions. Be angry, sure that's a feeling, an emotion. Do not act on it. Remember who God is, ponder this in your heart and mind. Think about God and stop talking for a few moments. Let His presence...

True confession: Sometimes I pray and don't expect God to answer. I know it's wrong, and I beat myself up regularly because of how important faith is to God (see Hebrews 11:6). I know how often Jesus healed people based on their expectant faith. I know how many times the Scriptures implore us to believe beyond doubt and confidently and courageously trust in God. So it warms my heart to see that I'm not that much different from the Early Church. Even though they experienced mighty miracles they were sometimes shocked when God said yes. In Acts 12, Herod starts killing and rounding up the Christians to curry favor with the Jews. Acts 12:5 (ESV) So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church. The Church was praying... not just praying, earnestly praying. God answers miraculously. Peter is led by an angel to dress warmly and exit the prison without a fight. Finally Peter comes to his senses, realizes its indeed a real life mi...

I love this phrase from Paul in Galatians. In Chapter 2, Paul is busy defending his calling to a church he started to the people he reached with the Gospel.  He tells them about his revelation with Christ, and his journey to Jerusalem, the birthplace of the Gospel.  He talks about meeting the premier Apostles.  And this is his phrase: Galatians 2:6 (ESV) And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. I love that! "What they were makes no difference to me" and in parenthesis to boot!  Paul doesn't care what position or status or reputation people have!   Don't mistake this for a lack of honor.  Paul shows honor to the rulers and authorities of his day often in the book of Acts.  But when it comes to the Gospel... Paul does not care what credentials you have, this is what I'm going to preach becaus...

I remember my third or fourth week into vocational ministry.  I was overwhelmed with the reality of my responsibilities. I didn't feel confident enough to lead anyone having just graduated from college 4 weeks prior and landing in a growing church with the position of youth director and worship leader. It was scary.  I doubted myself.  I doubted my place. Right before a Sunday evening service at which I was to lead worship, I remember going to my desk and pulling out my Bible.  It was a moment in which I felt God speak right to me from His Word.  I wish it always happened this way, but I think my openess and my intense need had something to do with what I received that night. Where did I happen to turn? Galatians 1 The first verse was all I needed: Galatians 1:1 (ESV) Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead. Paul is writing to a group of churches that have n...