Listening to the Word

Exodus 1-2; Ps 88; Luke 21 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness, and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21:34-36 Be careful, watch, and pray, so that you may be able to escape and stand before the Son of Man. Jesus taught that living with a daily expectation of his return would keep us from sin, strengthen our prayer life, and prepare us to give an account for our lives before his throne. It is healthy to live in the light of eternity. Jesus is returning soon. This expectancy focuses our lives on that which has eternal value. People matter to God. Invest in sharing the gospel. Holiness matters to God. Repent daily and resist temptation. Those who live this way have light heart...

Genesis 49-50; Psalms 8; Luke 20   “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.” Psalm 8:1, 2 The mighty power of our Creator-God is contrasted with the frailty of an infant. Yet even this tiny expression of God’s creation gives our Creator praise through the wonder of how we are made. Jesus quoted this text in the temple courts as the children shouted, “Hosanna, to the Son of David” (Matthew 21:16). As the Pharisees and teachers of the law mocked and opposed Christ, it was the children who praised God and worshiped him for the miracles they had seen. In the humility of grateful praise to God, we, too, establish a stronghold against the enemy of our soul who came to kill, steal, and destroy the truth of our Creator-God in our lives and in this world. Will we, too, worship our Creator-God this day for...

Genesis 47-48; Psalms 10; Luke 19 “But you, O God, do see the trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless…You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.” Psalm 10:14, 17, 18 We serve a God who both sees and hears the afflicted and the fatherless. We can cry out to the Lord and commit our lives into his hands. The Lord is the helper and defender of the fatherless. Mercy and justice are part of the nature of God just as in the character of those who are filled with his Spirit. We carry the presence and character of the Lord in his mission of making disciples of all nations. In obedience, followers of Christ have birthed names for the fatherless around the world. We respond to trouble and grief with loving compassion because that is how the Lord has loved ...

Genesis 44-46; Luke 18   “Your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father. I said, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!’ Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lords’ slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers.’” Genesis 44:32, 33 Judah’s intercession before Joseph for the life and freedom of Benjamin was a testimony to the transforming work of God in his life. Much earlier it had been Judah who was instrumental in selling Joseph into slavery. Now Judah was willing to be enslaved himself, rather than allow any harm to come to Jacob’s favored son. This is a picture of Christ’s intercession for us as he willingly took our sin upon himself, that we might be free from the penalty of sin and death.   As those who have experienced this freedom, are we, like Judah, available to intercede before God for the freedom of others? Are we willing to offer our lives for the lives of others? T...

Genesis 42-43; Psalms 5; Luke 17 “Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, ‘You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected.’” Genesis 42:8, 9 Joseph’s dreams of his brothers bowing down to him caused much anger- and even contempt by his family. By sharing these God-given dreams with his them, Joseph prepared them for recognizing the hand of God at work when the time of fulfillment took place. We serve a prophetic God who prepares us for what is to come. This prophetic nature of God should give us faith that God’s Word is true and will be fulfilled. However, when we, like Joseph, receive a prophetic word through a dream, or the application of God’s Word to our lives, it is meant for confirmation, not direction. Joseph didn’t look for ways to make his brothers bow before him. When the prophetic word was fulfilled, he remembered the dream and God used that dream to confirm God’s hand ...

Genesis 39-41; Luke 16   “Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison…’…I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.’” Genesis 39:20; 40:15 Joseph’s enslavement, confinement, and mistreatment were all allowed by God for a future promotion, assignment, and saving of many people. Our confining tests must also be seen as the Lord’s sovereign preparation and refinement of our lives for his glory. We, too, might protest that we have “done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon;” but our full story has not yet been told. If we will choose to surrender to the Lord in our circumstances, and choose to bless, honor, and forgive those who have confined us, we, too, will live a testimony of God’s saving, transforming power. The tests God allows in our lives can be his greatest gifts to us if we respond with humility. From what “dungeon” does the Lord want to redeem to develop godly character, perseverance, a...

Genesis 37-38; Psalms 7; Luke 15 “O Lord my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me, for they will tear me like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.” Psalm 7:1, 2 David cried out to the Lord to deliver him from the harmful intent of a man named Cush of the tribe of Benjamin. Cush could have been a relative of Saul, or even one of his inner bodyguards who carried Saul’s bitterness. We don’t know. What we know is David’s prayer in response to Cush’s attacks against David. David saw the Lord as his refuge. God, who saved the upright in heart, was his shield and protector. David’s main focus was living each day in unbroken fellowship with the Lord. It was the Lord’s responsibility to save and deliver David. As a young man, David had confronted and killed a lion. He could have done the same with Cush. However, David knew that fighting Cush would open his heart to the same bitterness and anger. Instead, David took refuge in the Lord, and his wea...

Genesis 34-36; Luke 14 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters – yes, even his own life – he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26, 27 We often define discipleship and being a disciple of Jesus by what we know. Jesus defined it first as a radical surrender of our will and heart affections to him. Our love for Jesus is to be far greater than our love for our family. In comparison to this love for Jesus, we would hate our family. These are strong words. Jesus calls his disciples to daily die to self and the life of self-indulgence, take up our cross, and follow him. This is not just for missionaries and serious Christians. This costly life of daily listening to, obeying, and following Jesus is for every disciple of Christ. Our inability to live this way means we don’t make disciples because we ourselves have not yet become disciples in the way of J...

Genesis 31-33; Luke 13 “So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.” Genesis 32:24 After fleeing in fear from Esau to Laban’s family, Jacob deceived Laban who in turn deceived Jacob. Jacob then returned to Esau with a scheme of pacifying him through lavish gifts. Jacob was at the end of his capacity and strength. Fear had overtaken him. Deceptions were inadequate for what faced him when he returned to his estranged brother Esau. Alone in a confining, fearful, and seemingly hopeless situation was where Jacob found himself as he wrestled with an angel. Wrestling with God will not go well. Jacob’s hip injury and lifetime limp testified to that inevitable outcome. However, this was the breaking point in Jacob’s life when he yielded himself and his will in surrender to God. Jacob’s name and identity changed from deceiver to overcomer. Have we come to the end of ourselves and our capacity yet? “Lord Jesus, you are my sufficiency; in you I put my trust, for your glory....

Genesis 29-30; Luke 12   “…So she said to Jacob, ‘Give me children, or I’ll die!’…Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and opened her womb. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, ‘God has taken away my disgrace.’ She named him Joseph, and said, ‘May the Lord add to me another son.’” Genesis 30:1, 22-24 This desperate cry and prayer of Rachel’s, ‘give me children or I’ll die,’ was heard by the Lord. God listened to Rachel, and he is listening to countless parents like her. As those who have been born again into God’s spiritual family, we all have been called to reproduce. How desperate are we to have spiritual children that we conceive through prayer? Spiritual new birth is a miracle that only God can do; however, he is asking us to cooperate with him in the womb of intercession and pray for our ‘Josephs.’ Rachel wasn’t satisfied with one son; she wanted many more. As churches and disciples in the West, many have not had spiritual children. Are we desperate ...

Genesis 27-28; Psalms 4, Luke 11 “When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.’ He was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.’” Genesis 28:16, 17 Following a dream the Lord gave to him, Jacob focused on a place, not a person. Jacob named the place Bethel, meaning House of God. He believed God was especially present in that place and promised to return there. Are we, like Jacob, focused on a special place, our own Bethel, where we believe the Lord’s presence is greater than in other places? When we focus on a place, rather than the person of the Lord, we become distracted and fall into rituals and even idolatry. Jesus invites us into his presence each day through the person of the Holy Spirit. When we are limited in our capacity to gather with other Christ-followers, we have a wonderful opportunity to focus on the person of Christ and his presence, ra...

Genesis 25-26; Psalms 6; Luke 10   “Now there was a famine in the land…The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, ‘Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands…’” Genesis 26:1-3 To possess our inheritance in the kingdom of God we, too, must go through many tests. Isaac was tempted to run to Egypt rather than stay in Canaan during a famine. In deciding to stay in Canaan he had to endure the jealousy, quarreling, and hostility of the Philistines. Isaac endured opposition and persevered by faith so he could possess the promises, provision, and place the Lord was giving him and his descendants. Isaac dug out the wells of Abraham that the Philistines in their jealousy had filled in. What wells of salvation have we been called to dig out, restore, renew, or rebuild from our spiritual heritage (Isaiah 12)? Isaac kept persevering and digging unti...

Genesis 23-24; Luke 9 “Laban and Bethuel answered, ‘This is from the Lord; we can say nothing to you one way of the other. Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.’” Genesis 24:50, 51 This journey of faith by Abraham’s servant to find a wife for Isaac was a testimony to those in the story, and now all those hearing about the story.   When was the last time we could testify, ‘This is from the Lord’? The clarity of confirmation and timing of Rebekah’s meeting with Abraham’s servant at the well was clearly the hand of God. Are we able to testify to God’s direction and confirmation in our journey of faith? Without faith we cannot please God. It was Jacob who later returned to this same family to marry Rachel and Leah with a very different story. He, too, was able to say that the Lord had been with him. However, his faith-story was painful and took much longer.   Regardless of our faith-story, are we able to testi...

Genesis 20-22; Luke 8 “So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.’” Genesis 22:14 The Lord initiated the test of asking Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as a burnt offering on the mountain which he would show him. This mountain was known as Mount Moriah, the same place Solomon later built his temple. The ground had been purchased by his father, David, from Araunah the Jebusite. At that time David declared, “I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing (2 Samuel 24:24).” The same principle of costly sacrifice was established on Mount Moriah by Abraham in his obedience to God’s command. In response, God blessed Abraham, renewed his covenant with Abraham, and revealed himself as ‘The Lord Will Provide,’ Jehovah Jireh. Are we obeying the Lord in our tests of faith, willingly sacrificing what he asks of us so we, too, can experience the reality of Jehovah Jireh? It was on...

Genesis 18-19; Psalms 3; Luke 7 “Many are saying of me, ‘God will not deliver him.’ But you are a shield around me, O Lord; you bestow glory upon me and lift up my head. To the Lord I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear though tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side.” Psalm 3:2-6 In the crucible of testing, with his own son leading a rebellion against his leadership, David testified that God was his deliverer. David refused to live under shame and condemnation. He experienced the presence of the Lord as a spiritual shield around him and the glory which rested upon him. God lifted David’s head high. The Lord granted David restorative sleep, even while this crisis surrounded him. David’s focus was on the Lord, not the thousands who joined Absalom in his rebellion. The Lord orchestrated events to confuse Absalom’s judgment and eventually take his life. David chose not to live under f...

Genesis 15-17; Luke 6 “But love your enemies, do good to them and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Luke 6:35, 36 Our critics and those who oppose us are God’s paternity test for us. We discover through our response to them whether we look like and behave like our Father. We have other definitions of who God’s children are which usually focuses on what they believe or confess. Jesus goes deeper into the attitudes of our heart and how we respond to our enemies when defining whether we are children of the Most High or not. Our Father is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Our Father is merciful. To be full of mercy might look weak in the eyes of the community; but, in the eyes of our Father, mercy expresses a strength of love which can only come from our Father. Not only do these qualities of love for our ...

Genesis 12-14; Luke 5 “…’Leave your country, your people, and your father’s household to the land I will show you.’…So Abram left as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him.’ Genesis 12:1, 4 “When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water, and let down your nets for a catch.’...Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Don’t be afraid; from now on you catch men.’” Luke 5:4, 10 The call of God to both Abram and Peter was personal. They were asked to leave their previous occupations and obey the Lord as he led them into their kingdom inheritance. As Abram obeyed and went, God provided all that he needed and so much more! As Peter left his fishing business, he began to learn from Jesus how to fish for people. We don’t have to invent this kind of ‘call’ from God; but we must be available to the Lord. When the Lord calls us, he will provide all we need. When we call ourselves to respond to a need or an opportunity, we sometimes find ourselves without the grace to fulfill th...

Genesis 9-11; Luke 4   “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.” Luke 4:1, 2 Jesus, God’s Son, was tested by the Father who used the devil to tempt him. It was the Spirit who led Jesus into his wilderness testing. Do we recognize the Father’s testing of us? Abraham was tested and asked to sacrifice his son. Joseph was tested when he was sold into slavery by his brothers. David was tested when he was living as a fugitive from Saul. The Father tests his children so he can promote them to new levels of authority and responsibility. When we pass our tests, we move on to the next classroom. If we fail, we must take that class and test again. Those who pass the Father’s tests can be trusted. Jesus was tested in his dependence on the Father (his daily bread), use of authority, and use of spiritual gifts. Rather than subm...

Genesis 6-8; Luke 3   “…the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’…’…For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.’” Luke 3:22, 8 Our Father in heaven desires children, born of the Spirit, and born again into his family. God promised Abraham descendants like the sand of the seashore and the stars of the heavens. Through Jesus Christ, these children of the promise have now entered God’s family from every tribe, language, and nation on earth. Every one of God’s children was created to know the Father’s love and pleasure. This new identity frees us from making a name for ourselves and earning the approval of others in a vain attempt to feel loved. We have a Father who loves us, is pleased with us, and who will welcome us into our eternal home with him. We were created for this destiny. “Father God, holy is your name, your kingdom come, your will b...

Genesis 3-5; Luke 2   “…Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” Luke 2:10 Fear often keeps us from embracing and receiving good news from the Lord. The words “good news” are the same word(s) as “gospel.” I bring you “gospel” that will cause great joy. We know that while the shepherds and wise men embraced the good news, Herod killed hundreds of baby boys in the Bethlehem area in an attempt to destroy this good news. There is joy when receiving and sharing the gospel. Many have not experienced this joy yet; but, as we head into a new year, let us choose joy. Let’s choose to share and receive the good news of Jesus regardless of the darkness around us. This good news is for all people and cannot be kept to ourselves. Choosing joy rather than being held back by fear marked those who followed Jesus as his disciples. This same choice continued up to and following Christ’s later death and resurrection. No matter our circumstances, choose joy...

Genesis 1-2; Luke 1 “…’The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will over-shadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:35 Jesus is the first born of a spiritual family that is growing around the world. He was called the Son of God, and now there are many sons and daughters of God who have become born again by the Holy Spirit. We, too, have experienced the power of the Most High overshadowing us and filling us. As we look ahead to this New Year, we can rest in the knowledge we are part of God’s family and each one of our days is known to the Lord. We, too, have the privilege of hearing our Father’s voice and learning to obey his Word to us. “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers (Romans 8:29).”   Are we clear that we belong to God? Has he named us and filled us with his Spirit? Are we living for his glory? There is no greater privi...