* This entry is for January 23 of the new DOG schedule.
Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. Genesis 45:5

The college ministry at First Baptist (CCF) has been going through the story of Joseph and his family in Genesis in our co-ed Bible studies. It’s been a rich time of searching the word as a group and has been especially applicable for a group of students who all come from various family backgrounds. There is something about Joseph’s story that resonates with people who desire to be loved and accepted by those around them, which I think is all of us. Yet the greatest part of this saga is God’s grace towards Joseph and the brothers. Throughout the entire story the Lord proves Himself to be sovereign, righteous and full of grace.

When I read this dialogue in 45 between Joseph and his brothers, I’m struck by the emotion that can be inferred. Joseph was sold by these very same brothers into slavery, because they would gain more by selling him than by killing him. A lifetime later he is ruler of Egypt and stands before them with the resources to inflict brutal punishment. Yet all he can do is love them. He has experienced God’s grace and provision first hand and now understands that his life is complete when he allows the Lord to use him. As Joseph faces his brothers he’s able to show them the grace of a God that loves them.

Lord, help me to see my life as a vessel to be used by you to bring truth to others. Teach me to trust you with every circumstance that I’m in, and give me the wisdom to see when you are refining me to be used for your Good works.

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day will bring forth.” Proverbs 27:1

As I read this I tried to think about how many times during the day I think about what will happen in the future. I couldn’t even count. Last night before going to bed I’m pretty sure I planned out each day for the next 2 months. It’s gotten to the point where my family has asked me not to reveal any of my “definite” plans  to them until I’ve thought about them for at least a week. By the next week I’ll probably have another plan for my travels, work, education, business opportunites……you name it I’ve come up with a plan for it. The problem is, my plans always change. Even those that I’ve had for years and years.

It could just be that I’m in one of those stages where my life seems to go through some major change every season, or maybe its just that I want to control every aspect of my life for as long as I can. I’d like to give some credit to a good imagination, but that would be boasting and I’m pretty sure verse 2 has something to say about that. The real issue isn’t the dreaming or the ambition, it’s how tightly I hold on to those things.

I think this verse has always seemed so cliche to me. I know I’m not supposed to boast about tomorrow, I’m not techcnically supposed to boast about anything. In the application however I am beginning to mature and see the wisdom, as well as God’s care for me in it all. I don’t see this so much as a “don’t” command as much as a “do”. I should dream, be ambitious, and pursue all sorts of plans. But the job of labeling any of my plans as “definite” or “not” should be reserved for the Lord. His plans will always trump mine in both purpose and blessing and I want my heart’s desire to reflect that.  Not only will this bless me in the future, which I’m always so concerned with, but it will also save me the trouble of an ulcer in the present while I try make every plan I’ve ever made come to fruition. If I truly believe this verse I can experience the joy of dreaming within God’s will and of seeing what amazing things He will do today.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone.  Ephesians 2:19-20

God is doing one of those “theme” things again in my heart and life. It seems like every message I’ve heard recently whether in church or on our recent College ministry (CCF) retreat, or even converstions with my family and friends have lately been forcing me to face the issue these verses are dealing with. Where is my citizenship?

In context, these verses seems to be speaking about a peace on Earth that comes through unity in faith in Christ. The term citizen however challenges me to think about how I define myself. If what this verse says is true, then I’m not only a citizen of Eugene, or a member of First Baptist, instead I’m a citizen of Heaven and belong to the community of believers who I will be connected to for eternity. What should my life look like if I really believe this?

First off I think about how God has been challenging me with my investments. Investments with money, time, people and personal growth. They all seem to be a bit out of whack right now. Lord please help me find balance and perspective.

Secondly, if I am a citizen of Heaven then why am I here on Earth? The quick answer is that God has a plan for my life, but am I really pursuing that plan? Am I living intentionally, as an ambassador for Christ on Earth, carrying a Heavenly passport? If I was it would be reflected in my speech, love and conduct. Lord, please continue to remind me of Where and to Whom I belong, and help me to live a life that reflects that truth.

“The Heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.” Psalms 19:1-2

 
It’s not often that I’m struck by something so much that I am in awe. It’s not often enough that I take the time to sit back and allow myself to be awed by the God who lovingly created me and cares for me. These verses are a testimony to that love He has for me and why I should be in awe.  Over the last weeks I’ve had a few instances where I’m stopped dead in my tracks looking up at the blueness of the sky by day or the depth of the sky and stars at night. It could be because I live in Eugene, (where opportunities for star gazing are a gift), but I was so struck the other night by God’s creation. He made himself known to me as I looked up because “the heavens are telling of the the Glory of God.”

We’ve been reading a lot lately in Acts and Romans about how the gospel is for all people. If the heaven’s are declaring His Glory than they are for everyone as well. I’m struck by the fact that most of the world will look at the sky and be in awe in some form or another, but until they understand the depth of God’s message to us, they will never really understand the purpose God’s creation has for them.

Father, thank you for your creation. Thank you that you chose to fill the sky in a way that ispires awe and causes us to realize that there is a personal and loving God that desires to know us. Please continue to reaveal more and more of yourself through your creation, and use your works, including me to proclaim your gospel.

He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who knows, the LORD may be gracious to me, that the child may live’. But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

2 Samuel 12:22-23

The consequence of David’s sin with Bathseba and towards Uriah was severe and strong. The Lord allowed David’s son to die while his was still a baby. Everyone watched David as he handled the death. He took a bath and cleaned up and asked to eat a good meal. He even went to worship God. My guess is that by the way everyone responded to his actions, this wasn’t the normal procedure. “Why isn’t he crying and wailing? How can he eat? Doesn’t he feel anything?”

David’s reply is simple and profound. His mournful sacrifices would not bring his child back, and so He was going to move forward with his actions. In fact he chose to comfort his wife and eventually they were blessed with another child, Solomon.

It’s amazing to me first off at just how good God is. David has done a horrible thing and had to pay for it. But God loved him and blessed him with a great blessing in David’s son Solomon, whom He used to deliver His truths to millions of people and to each of us.

I also am amazed at David’s resolve to move on. It’s not that he wasn’t mourning, I would interpret his desire to live “normally”as a type of mourning. The death of a child is not something you could just ignore, in fact God used the death of his Son, the most painful sacrifice He could make to pay for our sins. Even in the midst of this aching hurt however, David went and worshipped God. He had sinned and it had cost him a lot, but he had also been forgiven and he understood that he was still loved by a good God. When he moved on he did not forget his past but he looked forward to the future God had for him.

God help me to choose to continue to walk towards the hope that you have given me for a future because of your Son Jesus. Help me to recognize the pain in my life and deal with it in a healthy way, and thank you for the grace that you always provide even in the darkest times.

And He said to him, “Rise and go your way, your faith has made you well.” Luke 17:19

Jesus is talking to the one leper that returned to him to thank him for making him well. Of the ten that Jesus healed, only one returned and this one was notable because he was not only a leper, he was also a Samaritan. The strikes against him were great, but so was his faith.

Often when I read this story, I think of the other nine that did not return. I ask myself, “How could they be so ungrateful?” or “Did they even believe that Jesus healed them?” But when I read it this time, I was struck not by those that didn’t respond but by the one that did.

I know that the leper was physically healed, but there was something about him returning to Jesus to thank him that prompted the response that his faith made him well. Now other versions of this same verse say that Jesus told the man that his faith had healed him, but the way in which this man was singled out makes me think that he had been healed apart from this body as well. The conclusion that I draw is that health and wellness are not necessarily the same thing. And if that’s the case what does it mean for me to be well?

The leper had at least two things not working in his favor when he came to approach the Lord on the first occasion. He was a leprous reject, as well as a despised Samaritan. Yet he recognized his own inability to save himself and stepped out in hope. At that point he and his friends were saved and healed physically. But something must have clicked in his head, and when there was nothing to gain, and still something to lose (let’s call that pride) he returned to the Lord and thanked him, taking a step towards knowing Jesus.

It’s easy to compare myself with the 9 who didn’t return and berate myself for my complacent attitude that often takes God’s blessings for granted. But that won’t make me well. I have to choose to act, to return to the Lord and continue to accept his love even though I don’t deserve it. I guess my conclusion is that wellness can be as simple as accepting the fact that God loves me and wants me to approach Him. To come to Him not just with words of thanks but with a heart that wants to know Him.

Lord, help me look beyond my pride and shame and to approach you with a heart of thankfulness not just for the things that you have done, but even just for loving me. Thank you for wanting a relationship with me so badly that you sacrificed everything to make it happen.

“When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more, but the righteous has an everlasting foundation.” Proverbs 10:25

“Have you not even read the Scripture?
THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDER REJECTED HAS BECOME THE CORNER STONE; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES.” Mark 12:10-11

Both of these passages deal with people who have rejected God’s power and provision. The religious leaders in Mark didn’t claim God’s strength through his son Jesus. Instead they pursued this game of cat and mouse and are now and forever known as fools. Worse than fools, they could be considered wicked, with malicious intent in all of their dealings with Jesus. The proverb notes that the wicked can’t withstand much; their foundation is rooted about as far as their principles, and they prove that isn’t very deep.

My own foundation apart from Christ would have left me not much better off than the wicked. There sometimes seems an unending list of shortcomings I suffer from; pride, selfishness, bitterness, anger, jealousy, and that’s just beginning to scratch the surface. As I start thinking about my sin and weaknesses, I am cured from any false humility. Today I was humbled as I battled a short fuse and a list of things I didn’t want to do and an attitude that said it all. Yet in the midst of all of this sin, I was hit by the truth of God’s power as evidenced in the Word. God is completely sufficient, beyond my sin, or any sin, to the point of being called a foundation or a corner stone. I can be like the righteous person whose foundation is without end, even though there is nothing I can do to make myself righteous. I am made righteous when I claim God as my savior and his power over the “whirlwind” of sin and death. I can build my entire life around this one truth and nothing else. That goes against just about every principle the world has given me to gauge the success of my life by, and yet it gives me the most unbelievable peace.

Thanks God for speaking to me so specifically through your Word, even when I’m really hard of hearing. Help me to completely trust your sufficiency and to claim the power I can have in you as my foundation and cornerstone each day.

“Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings and you were unwilling.” Matthew 23:37
I have to admit that today’s passages left me a bit undone. I often just think about the attributes of God’s character that make me feel comfortable. Not surprisingly, I like thinking of God in terms of His kindness, compassion and sensitivity. Those are characteristics that make me want to be close to someone. But when I think of God in just those terms, I’m only skimming the surface of who He is and why His grace, and the gift of His son, is so amazing.
I sat there feeling uncomfortable after reading Exodus and Matthew. For a while I had to view God just as a disciplinarian. I saw how God gave His commandments to the Israelites with a heavy hand, and I digested Jesus’ brutal honesty as he served rebuke after rebuke to the scribes and Pharisees. I was hit by the truth that God hates sin. He hates how it hurts his people and sabotages their relationships with Himself.
After a while however Matthew 23:37 stuck out to me. God hates the sin, but loves the people and because of that He has given us a plan. Jesus tells the scribes that all he had wanted was to gather the people and care for them, like a mother hen cares for her chicks. He proved that over and over again in his ministry on Earth. The problem was that they just wouldn’t accept him, and Jesus’ words throughout chapter 23 prove that God disciplines.
The best examples I have of God as a disciplinarian are my parents. Had they not given me rules and consequences, I’m confident I could trace a trail of pain and broken relationships much farther back than what I have now. God you love me like a parent, giving me guidelines and consequences. Help me to choose you each day, all of you, not just what feels comfortable.