Listening to the Word

Malachi 3-4; Psalms 148; Acts 5   “But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver…Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness…But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings...” Malachi 3:2, 3; 4:2 The sun of righteousness has risen, and his name is the Lord Jesus Christ. Through the sacrifice of his body, once for all, for the sins of the world, those who believe are made righteous. We bring offerings in righteousness because we have received God’s gift of righteousness. We are also receiving the refiner’s fire and the launderer’s soap in the ongoing process of surrender, repentance, and forgiveness through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. God loves us too much to let us stumble in our sins. His invitation is to offer our bodies and lives to him as living sacrifices made

Nehemiah 13; Malachi 1, 2; Acts 4   “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.” Acts 4:31-33 Are we tired of playing church? Do we long for the reality of God’s presence, anointing, unity, and power? Prayer from a place of being broken, desperate and faith-filled was all that the early Church knew. They had no other place to go, but the presence of the Lord! When persecution and opposition confronted their witness, they went back to the presence of the Lord together. They sought God’s face for new empowerment, new prophetic insight, new love for one another, and new levels of faith for their provision and protection. Grace, mu

Nehemiah 11-12; Psalms 1; Acts 3 “…’Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.’…He jumped to his feet and began to walk…’By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.’” Acts 3:6, 8, 16 We can only give to others what we already have.   What do we have to give to those around us who are in addictions, loneliness, sickness, trauma, and pain? Peter and John had the name of Jesus. We often give silver and gold, or our time and compassion. Peter and John gave the living presence of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is by faith in the name of Jesus that people are healed, restored, freed, and empowered today.   Do we know Jesus in all those ways so we, too, can share his name with others? Are we walking through our day with confidence in the name of Jesus for both our

  Nehemiah 9-10; Acts 2   “…’Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’ The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.” Acts 2:38, 39 The gift of the Holy Spirit is for those who have repented of their sin and now consecrate their lives to God. The person of the Holy Spirit releases prophetic anointing in our lives which transforms everything we do. “…I will pour out my Spirit in those days and they will prophesy.” (Acts 2:18) When we are led by the Holy Spirit, witnessing bears fruit, preaching bears fruit, service bears fruit, and discipleship bears fruit that remains. The Lord is not limited by age or distance but is calling us from every generation and every people group around the world to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that is the key to multiplication. God’s first command was t

Nehemiah 7-8; Acts 1   “’But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’…They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty).” Acts 1:8, 14, 15 Peter had experienced the stirring up of his affections for Christ when Jesus asked three times if he loved him. Jesus instructed his disciples to wait for the gift of the Father before going out to witness to others what they had received from Christ. Peter led a ten-day prayer meeting in Jerusalem, waiting on the Father. It’s not easy to wait on the Lord before we go out to bear witness. But without the empowering of the Holy Spirit our witnessing will lack impact or lasting fruit. The passion Peter felt for Christ translated into prayer, then power and proclamatio

  Nehemiah 5-6; Psalms 146; Luke 24 “When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight…Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.” Luke 24:30, 31, 35 Jesus gave his disciples the symbols of his body and blood in the Passover meal. Then, days later he used the same symbols to reveal himself to two others of his disciples who were not present at that Passover meal. Why did Jesus choose to reveal his divinity to these disciples in the “breaking of bread”? John would later quote Jesus as saying, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). ” If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever…” (John 6:51). Jesus wanted these disciples, and us, to know that what we need to live comes from him. Today, what we need to live comes from Jesus. He is our life. Feeding on this living bread satisfies

Nehemiah 3-4; Luke 23 “…’Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome and fight for your brothers,’…’The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. Whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!’” Nehemiah 4:14, 19, 20 It’s human nature to focus on the problems and opposition in both our lives and the mission-call of God. Nehemiah’s responsibility as a leader was to refocus the attention of God’s people on the Lord. “Remember the Lord who is great and awesome and fight…(Nehemiah 4:14).” Where is our focus today? What refocusing words is the Lord asking us to encourage others with today? Nehemiah used a trumpet call to gather the builders when they were attacked. Today, we use emails and conference calls to blow a trumpet and gather God’s people to pray and resist the enemy. Our faith-filled response combined with God’s intervention is still how the Lord works today. “Lord G

Nehemiah 1-2; Psalms 133; Luke 22   “How good and pleasant it is when brothers [God’s people] live together in unity!...For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.” Psalm 133:1, 3 God’s promise of the blessing of his presence when we live together in unity describes a quality of life that is eternal and only comes from God. This was God’s intention for Adam and Eve when he blessed them, commanding them to be fruitful and multiply. God’s presence, or life, within us makes us fruitful in both quality and quantity. Christ’s prayer for unity in his Church is predicated on our experience of his glory in our lives and in our midst. Again, it is the blessing of God’s presence which testifies to the watching world of Christ’s mission and love. We multiply in fruitfulness and numbers when we live together in God’s presence. Walking with God is meant to be experienced together with others. Have we privatized our faith and missed the blessing of living in unity with other Chri

Ezra 9-10; Psalms 131; Luke 21   “’…they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. This will result in your being witnesses to them. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.’” Luke 21:12-15 Jesus promised his followers persecution. The absence of persecution in our lives should alarm us and provoke the simple question: ‘Am I still faithfully following Jesus in a life on mission?’ The purpose of the confrontation of the gospel with the principalities and powers is that a clear witness for Jesus would be given. These “witnessing” opportunities resulted in thousands of martyrs in the early church. Even in our Western context of religious freedom, those who live a clear gospel witness in the environment of religious plura

Ezra 7- 8; Luke 20 “…’Show me a denarius. Whose portrait and inscription are on it?’ ‘Caesar’s,’ they replied. He said to them, ‘Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.’” Luke 20:24, 25 Just as a denarius reflected the image of Caesar, people are created in the image of God. Jesus wisely redirected the question of the spies sent to entrap him by reminding them that the more important question was, ‘Are we offering ourselves to God, our creator?’ Taxes are a necessary function of a society with shared services, but money does not define us. The taxes paid by the Jews to Caesar were a constant humiliating reminder that they lived under occupation. Jesus, however, refocused their attention, and our attention, on whose we are. As those created in the image of God, we were created for relationship with him. Offering our bodies to him as living sacrifices is our reasonable act of worship.’ Are we giving God our best, or are we ‘just paying our taxes’? “Lord Jesus, I g

Esther 9-10; Luke 19   “…’Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’…’Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.’” Luke 19:5, 9, 10 Jesus called the disliked Zacchaeus out of a tree and pursued time with him. Does Jesus still pursue people today through the Holy Spirit? Have we ever felt called out by name by the Lord? The mission of Jesus is still to make disciples out of people like Zacchaeus, and you, and me. When we offer our lives to him as his disciples, we too, join his mission of pursuing lost people. Zacchaeus was one of the wealthiest people in Jericho. Jesus is pursuing people from every part of society, who realize they are empty inside and were created for something more. Jesus is the only one who can bring salvation and freedom from the power of guilt, shame, fear, and sin in our lives. Has salvation come to our house yet? What about those around us

Esther 3-8; Luke 18 “’And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?’” Luke 18:7, 8 “In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.” Esther 4:3 The edict of the Persian king to annihilate all Jews was met with mourning and desperate intercession before God.   Has any circumstance in our lives, families, or society moved us to desperate intercession? Jesus promised that God’s heart, even more so than the unjust judge, is moved by our desperate intercession. Will we, too, humble ourselves before God and cry out to him for our spiritual freedom and the deliverance of our families and our nations? This desperate intercession comes from a place of faith that God is

Esther 1-2; Psalms 150; Luke 17   “…’If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, “I repent, forgive him.” So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.”’” Luke 17:3, 10 Jesus defines normal behavior in a community of disciples to include being sinned against, rebuking those who have sinned against us, repenting when rebuked for our sin, and forgiving those who repent to us. If this pattern is repeated seven times in a day by the same offender, Jesus calls us to forgive each time. How normal is it for us to courageously confront sin in others if they wound us? How normal is it for us to view this pattern of dealing with sin in relationships as our basic duty as a Christ-follower? When we understand our unworthiness to receive God’s repeated forgiveness of us, will we not extend that same mercy

Ezra 5-6; Psalms 138; Luke 16   “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with your right hand you save me. The Lord will fulfill his purposes for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever – do not abandon the works of your hands.” Psalm 138:7, 8 David’s confidence in God’s presence and protection over his life was rooted in the knowledge of who God is. David knew God and was filled with God’s Spirit. As David placed his life in the hands of God, God stretched out his hands to shield David from the enemy. God’s promises to David represented both the good works and workmanship of God. Like David, we too, have been created as God’s workmanship for good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. Our focus must remain on walking with God and daily surrendering our will to his will. God will take care to fulfill his purposes in us and for us for his glory. “Lord God, my life is in your hands; glorify your name.”

Zechariah 13-14; Psalms 147; Luke 15   “’…But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.’” Luke 15:20 Our Father’s heart of compassion toward us is greater than our sin, our fears, and our pride. The prodigal son “hit bottom” and began to realize what he was missing. Repentance is being sorry for the effect of sin on us and on God, and then turning our hearts back toward home. It is a change of heart that is a work of God’s grace in us. The Father’s compassion toward his prodigal son was constant. He didn’t wait for a moving repentance-speech before moving toward his son. While we are “a long way off” God’s heart moves toward us in love. Which way are we walking today? – Toward our Father’s presence or away from him? “Father God, I humble myself before you and thank you for your mercy toward me in Christ, for your glory.”