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SOUL
TREKKING PASTOR STEVE |
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SEED THOUGHTS PART ONE |
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Page last updated
11-13-2008. |
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Read Matthew
27: 45-46 - An RCA liturgy for the Lord's Supper uses these
words, "By his death, resurrection, and ascension, he established a new
and eternal covenant of grace and reconciliation that we might be accepted of
God and never be forsaken by him." Jesus experienced God forsaking
him so that we will never have to. If we sometimes feel that God has
abandoned us, or isn't with us, or doesn't care about us, what we are
experiencing isn't real. Our perception can be influenced by what's
happening around us, or by exhaustion, or by the world, or by pain,
etc. And so we can fool ourselves into believing that God has left
us. Jews, though, experienced what it was like to be forsaken by God
for real. Our false experiences can be bad enough. Thank the Lord
we don't have to go through the real thing. Read Luke
23:44-45.
As I read these verses, I thought of the golden-oldie song that goes,
"Why does the sun keep on shining? Why do the waves rush to
shore? Don't they know it's the end of the world 'cause you don't love
me any more." Luke tells us the sun stopped shining. How could
it go on shining when something as terrible as Christ's crucifixion was
happening? And, it was, in a sense, the end of the world - the end of
the old world of sacrifices, temples, and priests. The new world of
free access to God had begun! Read Luke
23:46. Though Jesus had felt abandoned by God, he
still trusted in God. He addressed God as Father and gave his spirit
over to the Father. When we are going through those times when we are
feeling as though God isn't with us, we need to hold onto our faith,
too. It is not the time to skip church or quit reading the Bible.
Keep holding on to God! Keep praying! Keep worshiping! Keep
on keeping on, as Jesus did, even when you feel as if it isn't doing any
good! Read Luke
23: 47-49. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ brought forth
faith and repentance. And it still does today! Has it brought
forth faith in Jesus and repentance of sin in your heart? Read John
12:20-33. Certainly the depiction of Jesus being lifted up
on the cross in the movie "The Passion of the Christ" is drawing
people to the box office - and to Jesus. What is there about the cross
that draws us to Jesus? Has it drawn you to Jesus? How can the
cross be used to draw people you know to Jesus? |
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Read 1 Samuel
9:3-10 and verses 19-20. Would it even occur to
us today to bring up a matter such as lost donkeys to the Lord? Do we
believe that the Lord cares that much about the day-to-day details of our
lives or that he is involved with those details? Are you ever stopped
from bringing up something to the Lord in prayer because you feel that
"I don't want to bother Him about this and, besides, I can handle it
myself?" Read Psalms
104, verses 10-15, 21-23, and 27-30. We depend on a lot of
things for our livelihood - the stock exchange, the health of the dollar,
import and export deals, the market prices, technology and machinery,
fertilizer, insecticides and herbicides, the seasons, the weather,
capitalism, the availability of energy sources, and more. Let's not
forget that we also depend on God. Read
Proverbs 21:1 and 1 Timothy 2:1-2. Praying for our
nation, our leaders and the world is not just a patriotic thing to do, or a
necessity since 9/11, or prudent during an election year, but it is also
biblical! And it's a statement of faith that we believe that God - not
Democrats or Republicans, or strategists, or generals, or tycoons - controls
the future! Read
Colossians 4:2-4.
As we pray for our own needs, let's not forget the needs of The Church.
Let's pray for pastors, teachers, missionaries, and all Christians, that
doors would be open to them to proclaim the gospel. After all, if Paul
needed this kind of prayer, how much more do we need it! Read Genesis
12:1-3 and 2 Corinthians 9:6-15. When God answers our
prayers and blesses us either spiritually or materially or both, He does this
so that we will then have the resources to be blessings to others.
We're not blessed so that we can grow more and more idolatrous or more and
more focused on the things of this world. We're blessed so that we can
be generous, just as God was generous to us. |
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Read Matthew
21:1-4. Matthew lets us know that what happened on Palm
Sunday wasn't just a chance event, but that it occurred to fill the words of
the prophet Zechariah full of meaning. And, indeed, Palm Sunday did
just that. Because on Palm Sunday, a King like no other came riding
into Jerusalem. He wasn't just a human ruler who had been chosen by God
to bless the people; He was God himself, the people's True King, coming into
Jerusalem as a human being! Read
Zechariah 9:9-13. Notice that this Old Testament prophecy, which
relates to Palm Sunday, speaks of joy, salvation, peace, and freedom.
How is it that Christ's coming brought these things to us? But notice
also that verse 13 speaks about God's people being used as His
instrument and His soldiers to fight against the enemies of the Lord.
Who or what are the enemies of the Lord today? Do you realize that you
have been enlisted against them? Read Mark
11:7-10. The footnote in the New International Version
tells us that the word "Hosanna!" means "Save!"
Today we look to our leaders to save us from many things - terrorism, hard
economic times, unjust and immoral laws and actions, etc. The people of
Jerusalem on Palm Sunday looked to their King to save them. We can
easily and readily call Jesus our Lord (King) and Savior. But what does
that mean? Think for a few moments about the things our King saved us
from. Read Luke
19:45-48 and John 2:12-17. Was King Jesus concerned with spiritual
matters or with material matters? The answer is that He was concerned
for both. He wanted the temple to be a place of prayer and not to be a
place where people tried to make money. This demonstrates that He was
looking out for the spiritual condition of His subjects. But He also
didn't want the poor who were coming to the temple to be exploited and
cheated. Jesus was concerned about the material well-being of His
subjects as well. So, The Church should both preach The Gospel and do
deeds of mercy, justice, and love, taking care of people's spiritual and
physical lives. Read Luke
17:20-21. Where is the Kingdom of God? What is the
Kingdom of God? |
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Read Mark
16:1-8. The earliest manuscripts we have of the Gospel
of Mark ends with verse 8. It's as if Mark is saying, "I'm not
going to tell you what happened next. I want you to experience it for yourself.
I'm not going to tell you where Jesus went and what he did next because I
want you to realize that at any moment you could encounter the risen
Christ. How? Read Luke
24:1-12. The disciples were so real and so human and
their reaction helps me to believe that the Bible is true. When told of
the resurrection, their first response (as I'm sure ours would be) was,
"This is nonsense!" Just the sort of reaction real people
would have. And Peter's reaction rings true, too. He goes to see
for himself. I hope that for all our lives we'll keep digging into the
scripture, meditating, learning, and praying in order to see for ourselves if
the things of God are true. Read Matthew
28:1-10. The risen Christ didn't immediately leave the
earth to be with his Father in heaven. He had work to do. He was
going to meet with the disciples. And even when He did ascend into
heaven, He didn't put his feet up and relax. He is now God's right hand
man, still working to carry out God's plan. Read
Revelation 1:4-19. Jesus was dead, but now is alive, ruling the
kings of the earth, and walking among the churches, so that we will be a
kingdom of his priests. In some sense, we are still waiting for Jesus
to return to the earth, but in another sense, He is here with us right now at
American Reformed Church. Does He like what He is seeing? What
changes is He making? What work is He doing? Read 1
Corinthians 15:20-26. Notice that Christ is
reigning now. We're not waiting for him to start. And his reign
is that of a conquering King. He is now in the process of destroying
all of his enemies. We all have parts to play in the process.
Onward, Christian soldiers! |
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Read Genesis
2:4-7. The first time in the Bible that we read about God
breathing is when he brought Adam to life. Adam's very breath came from
God in the first recorded instance of "artificial
respiration." Hey, God's the first EMT!!! But there is even
more going on in the Genesis verses than that. God somehow was getting
up close and personal with man, giving the creation of man special
attention. God seems to be putting a part of his own nature into
man. Man, therefore, is different from the plants and animals in that
man is a spiritual being, has a special intimate relationship with the Lord,
and is the focus of God's attention in this world. Read 2
Timothy 3:14-17. The New International Version of the Bible
tells us that all scripture is "God-breathed." Other versions
may use the word "inspired," but all the versions mean the same
thing - that the Bible came from God himself and, in a sense, was part of God
and was "exhaled" from him. It is also infused with
"God's breath," or his Spirit. No wonder the Bible has power
that no other book does! Read Matthew
9:35 through 10:10 and 10:16-20. Motivated by compassion,
Jesus sent his disciples out into the mission field. But first, he
equips them. Jesus' compassion is the same today as it ever was.
Do you feel his compassion for the lost? And Jesus still equips his
people today. How has he done that and in what ways has he equipped you
and American Reformed Church to take God's grace to the world? Read Matthew
6:9-15. Jesus teaches us to pray this way, "Lord, forgive me in
the same way that I forgive others." Yikes! And what happens
if we don't forgive others? Jesus is pretty clear on that point, isn't
he? "Your Father will not forgive your sins." May God,
through his Holy Spirit and his Word, teach us to forgive! We wouldn't
like the alternative! Read Luke
18:15-17.
Notice that Jesus tells us to "receive" the Kingdom of God, not to
"earn" it. The Kingdom of God comes to us as a gift. We
are like children waiting for Mom to give us lunch, or holding out our hands for
candy after a children's sermon, or getting presents from Grandpa and Grandma
on Christmas. Children don't "earn" any of these
things. These things are given out of love. And so is the Kingdom
of God! |
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Read Matthew
14:22-33. When you read through the Gospels, you'll see
that Peter has his ups and downs. In the passage for today, he has
LITERAL ups and downs! Peter is like us. One minute we can be
trusting God, the next minute we can focus on our problems and begin to sink
and drown in them. I'm thankful that Jesus is always there to give us
his hand! Read Mark
8:27-35. Who do you say Jesus is? Do you agree with
Peter that he is the Christ (meaning "God's anointed one,"
"The Messiah")? If so, do you understand what Peter did not,
that God's special servants are those who sacrifice for his kingdom and
others? Are you one of God's special servants? Read Mark
14: 17-31. Peter is confident here in his love for Jesus,
his belief in Christ's cause, and his own ability to follow through on his
commitments. Peter will soon learn that pride goes before a fall
and that his trust should have been in the words of Jesus. What
are you putting your trust in, the Lord or yourself? We can't even trust
in the love we have for God or our Christian commitment. It will be God
working in us who will bring us into his kingdom. By grace we are saved
through faith, not of ourselves. It is the gift of God. Read Mark
14: 32-42.
Have there been times in your life when your spirit was willing, but your
flesh was weak? As Paul asked, "Who will rescue me from this body
of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!" Read Mark
14: 66-72. When Peter blows it, he blows it in a big way,
doesn't he? Even calling down curses on himself and swearing that he
didn't know Jesus. How could Peter fall so far? And is there any
hope for him, and for those of us who have also fallen so far? Come to
church Sunday and find out! |
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Read Exodus
40:33-38 - As the Israelites traveled to the Promised Land
after God had brought them out of Egypt, the Lord was their guide. He
would tell them when to stay where they were and when to break camp and move
on. They wouldn't make a move unless the Lord directed them to do
so. The Lord is still guiding his people today. How does he guide
you? How can you make sure you aren't making a move unless the Lord
tells you to do so? How can we make certain that we are living inside
of his will? Read Isaiah
26:7-11 - The people of Judah were waiting for the Lord to
judge the wicked and to avenge himself on their enemies. In the
meantime, they walked in his ways and desired to glorify him. What
things are you waiting for the Lord to do in our nation and in the world as a
whole? What things are you waiting for the Lord to do in your own life
and in your own world? Are you following him while you wait? Read Luke
2:21-32 - It is interesting that, in the Bible, those that
have to wait for the Lord to take action or to bring his plan to fruition are
often righteous and devout. We might wonder why waiting and being
righteous and devout go hand-in-hand. I think it is because waiting on
the Lord is a form of trusting in the Lord. Becoming impatient with God
can be a sign of diminishing faith. Trusting in the Lord leads to righteousness
and piety. A lack of faith leads to trouble. Read 2 Peter
3:3-13 - It is easy to start doubting the Lord and
becoming impatient as one looks forward to the Second Coming and the Day of
Judgment. After all, it has been 20 centuries since Jesus promised he
would return! That is, from our human perspective, it has been a long,
long, time. But Peter reminds us that God doesn't share our human
perspective. Read 2 Peter
3:14-18 - Peter looks at our wait for the Second Coming as
being a period in which we can grow in the Lord and improve our relationship
with him, and a period in which many more can be saved. As you wait on
God, whatever it is you're waiting for him to do, make sure you make good use
of that time to continue to become what the Lord wills you to be.
Waiting should be a time for growth. Waiting shouldn't be an excuse for
going backwards. |
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Read Acts
11:27-30 - When we are called to give to the work of the Lord,
we are called to do so according to our ability and according to what the
Lord has provided for us. This is good news because it means that the
Lord doesn't compare what you give with what a Christian millionaire might
give, accepting his gift while looking down on yours. It also means
that the Lord doesn't just look at us as a group, The Congregation Of The
American Reformed Church Of Hull, but also as individuals, each with
different circumstances in life. Read 2
Corinthians 9:6-8 - Some Christians focus in on verse 7 and use it
as an excuse not to give much to the work of the Lord. "I only
give what I can give cheerfully, without being reluctant." But
they forget that in the context of these verses, instead of Paul saying,
"Decide how little you can contribute," he is really saying,
"Decide how much you want to be blessed, because, according to your
giving, so shall your blessings be!" Read the verses over again to
see this. Read 1
Corinthians 12:7-12 - There is no such thing as a "one size fits
all" Christianity. We have received differing gifts from the
Spirit and have different talents, temperaments, and personalities. All
of our differences make for one very interesting Body of Christ! Let's
not try to force anyone into a box or use cookie cutters on anyone! Read Acts
4:13-20 - Can it be that our courage to live for Jesus
depends on whether or not we have "been with Him" lately? And
are we so excited about, and changed by, Jesus, that we can't help talking
about him? Read
Deuteronomy 12:1-7 - The Lord is the one who determines how we shall
thank and worship Him for all the blessings he has given us. The
guiding principle of worship isn't, "Anything goes as long as it makes
us feel good and we're sincere," but rather, "We should search the
scriptures daily to find out how our God wants to be worshiped." |
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Read 2 Corinthians
11:1-15 - Satanically inspired folks can still appear on
the surface as those who are trying to do the right thing. The false
teachers of Paul's day claimed to be spiritual leaders and preachers of God's
Word, but they really had other agendas and led people away from the
truth. How can you tell whether a leader is inspired by the right or
wrong spirit? And how can we make sure that our actions that seem and
look right, are, in fact, rightly motivated? Read 2
Corinthians 11:16-33 - I have read books and heard
speakers that proclaimed that Christians shouldn't suffer. Christians
are "King's Kids" and, if they have enough faith, should find that
their lives go from blessing to blessing. How do you think Paul would
have responded to this way of thinking? How do you respond to it? Read 2
Corinthians 12:1-10 - One way Satan can wear us down is by tormenting
us with situations that don't change, health conditions that don't get any
better, or persecutors that don't let up. These things become like the
steady "drip, drip, drip" of Chinese Water Torture to our
souls. But we need to remember that God is in control of even these
things and that His grace can be sufficient to see us through them. We
must constantly turn to Him, relying on His strength and not our own. Read
Proverbs 16:28 - The Bible warns against, and condemns,
gossiping. Yet, do we view it the same way that God does? To us,
it can seem like just a normal part of rural, small town life. Yet
another way Satan traps us! Read 1 Samuel
16:5-7 - The most important thing to the Lord is what's
inside a person, what's in his or her heart. This is in sharp contrast
to our society which emphasizes what a person looks like on the
outside. We need to perform the most important "make-over" of
all by getting the Lord to renew our hearts. |
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Read
Revelation 3:11-13 - What do you think Jesus
means when he says he will write God's name on us and the name of the New
Jerusalem and his own new name? Is it a mark of ownership? A
passport? An indication of our true identity? All of the above? Read 3 John
5-8 - In today's world we talk about honoring the
name of an individual. What does this mean? In 3 John, we read of
missionaries who went out into the world "for the sake of the
Name." What can you do "for the sake of the Name?" Read Psalm
106:1-12 - The Psalmist tells us
that the Lord saved the Israelites "for his name's sake; to make his
mighty power known." God's purpose remains the same throughout the
Bible. It's the same today as it was when the Israelites were brought
out of Egypt. God saves us, his people, in order that his mighty power
would be known. How can you be a witness of that power? Read Micah
4:5 - Believers are called to be different from
non-believers. We follow our God. The world follows its many
"gods." Can others tell by observing you and listening to you
that you are different than an unbeliever?
Read
Proverbs 18:10 - How can the name of the
Lord be a strong tower and bring us safety and security? Let's remember
that his name is "I am who I am." Nothing and no one can
change God. So, if he sets out to redeem us and to be our God, he can't
be stopped. This is what brings us comfort and strength. |
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Read
Proverbs 4:5-9
- When God's Word tells us that something is supreme and that we had better
get it at any cost, then we had better pursue it with all our might.
The book of Proverbs tells us that wisdom and understanding are the things we
must obtain in this life. How do we get them? Are you pursuing
them? Read Matthew
7:24-27
- In this parable, Jesus makes it clear that it is not enough to simply know
what the Bible says. The truly wise person is the one who practices
what the Bible preaches. May God help us to do so! Read 2
Timothy 3:14-17 - Many in American
Reformed Church have been taught the Holy Scriptures from infancy. Are
you one of these people? If so, are you now convinced that they are the
truth? Are you continuing in what you learned in Sunday School and
RCYF? Are you letting those Scriptures train you in righteousness and
equip you for good works? Read
Proverbs 14:14-18
- In these verses we can see two truths about the wisdom that the Bible talks
about. First, wisdom is not just what we believe, but what we do.
Second, we will get more of what we practice. If we practice folly,
stupid and disastrous results will follow. If we live according to the
way of knowledge, God will give us even more knowledge. Read Isaiah
29:13-14
- Here we see that the wisdom and intelligence that the Bible talks about is
not a person's IQ or how well a person does in school or whether a person
thinks fast on his or her feet. These verses tell us that there is a
wisdom and an intelligence of the world that will vanish. Those who are
far from God will be punished. By inference, then, the wisdom and
intelligence that God seeks are a willingness to walk close to Him and live
according to His word. |
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Read Matthew
6:16-17
- Jesus says that a personal fast that one would undertake should be just
that - personal and private. Why? Because it really is a sign of
faith in God's existence and in His rewards to do something that only He will
know about and for which one will get no personal, immediate glory from
others. One is counting only on the Lord. Read Mark 9:
14-28 -
Jesus reminds the disciples here that God's work can only be accomplished
through God's power. This is one reason that prayer is so
important. But we are like the disciples seem to have been, believing
that because we know Jesus and have been chosen by Him, we can handle
whatever comes our way using our own strength. A couple of demonic
obstacles thrown into our path will knock that notion out of us in a hurry! Read Acts
13:1-3
- God spoke to the early church as it spoke to Him in worship, prayer, and
fasting. Listen for God to speak to you in our worship services and
times of prayer. Read 2
Samuel 12:1-17
- In the Bible, fasting is often associated not only with getting serious
with the Lord about something, or with setting aside extra time for Him, but
also with repenting of sin. One shows the Lord that he or she is too
troubled about sin to be able to eat. Do we ever get that troubled about
our sin? Should we? David's fast was both a time of repentance
and a time to ask God for something very serious. Have we ever wanted
to get so serious with the Lord, or ever wanted something from Him so badly
that we would go without food? Should we? Read Psalm
51 -
This is David's prayer of repentance after his sin with Bathsheba.
Perhaps he prayed it as he fasted. But notice that David knows that
forgiveness will come not because he has put on a show before the Lord or
made such a sacrifice, but because of his broken spirit which led him to fast
and pray. |
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Read Romans
1:18-20 - The Bible tells us that God has given humanity a witness
to testify about His existence and His qualities. That witness is
creation itself. What does the world around you tell you about
God? Ask Him to open your eyes each day to the ways in which your world
testifies about His glory. Read Romans
1:21-23
- In these verses, Paul points out how foolish idolatry is. As He said
in yesterday's verses, God's eternal power and divine nature are on display
in creation. So how could anyone believe that statues of birds and
creatures could really represent such a God? But the human heart can
easily deceive itself and believe the most outlandish things. Ask the
Lord to help you steer clear of the lies we can tell ourselves. Read Genesis
2:4-8, 15
- Man was created to care for God's good creation. If you think about
all the jobs there are in the world today - from farmer to scientist to
storekeeper to teacher to carpenter to housewife to whatever - they all have
to do with some aspect of taking care of some of the needs of God's creatures
- human or otherwise. How do your job or jobs fulfill the task that God
gave Adam? Read Genesis
28:10-17
- Jacob, fleeing from the wrath of his brother Esau, may have thought that he
was leaving the God of his family behind. But God lets him know that
wherever Jacob goes, God will be there, too. In fact, Heaven is in
constant contact with Earth. But, like Jacob, we are often unaware of
it. May God open our eyes to the ways in which he is in our places and
the ways Heaven is interacting with our own personal worlds! Read Psalm
139:1-6
- As we have seen this week, God is involved in our world and is aware of all
that goes on here. This means that He is also aware of each of us, is
involved in our lives, and even that He knows everything that goes on in our
hearts and minds. We have a God who is never taken by surprise.
And a God of grace who extends His love and mercy to us even though what He
finds inside of us is less than perfect. And a God who knows us better
than our spouses or best friends do, better than we know ourselves.
Praise His name! |
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Read Luke
8:1-2 -
Every "full-time Christian ministry" depends on the support of
those who work at other jobs. Even Jesus' ministry was supported in
this way. Perhaps this is one way in which all jobs Christians have can
be considered to be "full-time Christian work." Without the
money that farmers, teachers, hairdressers, bankers, etc. earn and contribute
to Christian causes, those causes would quickly slide into the red. Read 1
Timothy 5:8
- Another motivation for getting up out of bed and doing our jobs is
providing for our families. Paul takes this very seriously, even saying
that those who don't provide have denied the faith and are worse than
unbelievers! How do they deny the Faith? Perhaps Paul has in mind
here that our Heavenly Father provides for us, His adopted children who have
needs. If we claim to embrace the Christian message and to follow that
God and to want to be like him, how can we fail to provide for our loved
ones? How are non-providers worse than unbelievers? Unbelievers
can claim an excuse of sorts. They never heard about God's love.
Christians have heard and so they don't have any excuses. Read 1
Thessalonians 4: 11-12 - Working is a way to earn the respect of outsiders and,
therefore, a way to witness to them. There are people in this world
who, through extenuating circumstances, find themselves with legitimate
needs. Unfortunately, there are also people who are lazy sponges.
Paul doesn't want the world to ever label Christians as lazy sponges. Read 2
Thessalonians 3:10-12 - What better motivation for working do we need than this:
If you don't work, you don't eat!?! God normally desires that people
earn the food that sustains them. There will be some who will be
unable, but those who are able are required to be busy. May God grant
us strength to do so! Read
Proverbs 6:6-8
- If the heavens declare the glory of God, then the anthills must as
well. Ants are industrious without waiting to be told what to do.
The writer of Proverbs wants us to follow their example, using common sense
and labor to provide for our needs, our family's needs, and the Kingdom of
God's needs. |
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Read 2 Peter
2:20-22 - Yuck! I apologize if you are using
"Seed Thoughts" for pre-meal devotions. Why would Peter use
such gross imagery? He wants us to be disgusted by the idea that people
who have been exposed to the Gospel would choose to go back and live in
sin. He wants us to realize that such a thing is foolish. When
God calls us to Jesus, he calls us to a life of holiness, not sickness and
filthiness. Read 2
Corinthians 6:14 - 7:1 - At first glance, it may seem that Paul in
these verses is telling us to avoid contact with unbelievers. But we
know from Paul's life and his writings that this can't be the case. One
thing he IS doing in these verses is warning us to avoid the things in the
world, the attitudes in the world, and the people in the world which could
lead us to sin. He calls on us to be "perfecting holiness" in
our lives. What a high and awesome calling! What does this
calling mean in your life today? Read 1 John
1:5 - 2:6 - If Christians sin, their attorney, who himself
paid the penalty their sins require, rises to their defense. However,
John doesn't want us to get the idea then that it's okay for us to sin as
Christians because, after all, Jesus will just take care of it. If we
have fellowship with a being who is light, how can we choose to walk in
darkness? How can we have a relationship with God if we do what God
hates? Not that we won't fall into sin, but, as a rule, Christians will
be striving to walk in the light. Read
Ephesians 5:1-7 - Notice that Paul calls us "God's holy
people." One definition of "holy" is
"different." God's people are to be different than the people
of the world. In what ways? Notice, too, that Paul labels greed as
being the same thing as idolatry. Most Americans don't have household
statues representing their gods, but that doesn't mean that there's no
idolatry in this country. Again, Christians are supposed to be
different from idol worshipers. Read
Galatians 4:6-7 - Christians work at living holy lives, not because we are
slaves to laws and rules or because we are trying to win God's favor, but
because God has given us the HOLY Spirit. And because we now have an
intimate family relationship with God and want to please Him because we love
Him and delight to do so. |
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Read Acts
1:1-9 - Jesus told his followers that they would be his
witnesses throughout the whole world and The Church has been carrying out that
mission ever since Jesus ascended to the Father. How does American
Reformed Church carry out that mission? What part can you have in that
mission through prayer, financial support, or even going on the mission field
yourself? Read Acts
2:1-11 - One of the meanings of the Day of Pentecost is
that God's message was now going to be heard in all the nations. God
didn't only speak Hebrew. Praise the Lord that his message came to
Dutch and English speaking peoples so that we could know about Jesus today.
Pray for Bible translators and missionaries who are putting that message in
other languages even as you read this. Read Acts
8:1b-4 - The Lord has interesting ways to get his people to obey
him. He had given the church the command to go out into all the world
and be his witnesses, but apparently, many Christians were content to stay in
Jerusalem and be part of one, big, happy family. So God allowed
persecution to scatter the believers with the end result being that the
Gospel message indeed went out to the world. Our God is powerful
enough to bring good out of evil. Read Acts
10:9-23 - This is another very important chapter in the
book of Acts as it teaches us that God's desire is for Jews and Gentiles to
associate with each other and fellowship together as equal members in his
family. God had called the Gentiles "clean" so Peter was to
treat them accordingly. And today, God's dealings are not confined to
just one racial group but to all the races, and we have Christian brothers
and sisters from racial groups all over the world. Read Acts
15:22-35 - Yet another important chapter in Acts finds the
question of "Do Christian converts from paganism have to also convert to
Judaism in order to be saved" answered. The earliest Christians
were also Jews and some felt that everyone who became a Christian should live
the Jewish way of life and submit to all its laws and traditions. There
were teachers who proclaimed as much. The Church rejected this
thinking, however, and asserted that Gentiles were free to be themselves in
the Lord, submitting only to his ultimate Lordship and the Law of Love.
Becoming a Christian doesn't necessarily mean that you will suddenly become,
as it were, someone else, but it does mean that God will be working in you so
that you will start to become the best you that you can be. |
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Read 1
Corinthians 11:17-32 - The Christians at
Corinth may have thought they were taking the Lord's Supper, when all the while
their actions and attitudes were actually bringing judgment on
themselves. We need to always be examining ourselves to make sure that
when we think we are honoring God we are. Because, it's possible to be
sinning instead. Read Luke
19:1-10 - This was one of my favorite stories when I was a
child. One reason was because of a song we sang about it in Sunday
School. The song ended with, "Zacchaeus, you come down! For
I'm going to your house today. For I'm going to your house
today!" But the song doesn't tell the whole story. Jesus
didn't only choose Zacchaeus and extend God's love to him, but the Lord also
listened as Zacchaeus repented of his sins and planned to make
restitution. Repentance is always an important sign of true faith and
true salvation. Read Mark
5:1-10 - If ever a case seemed hopeless, it was the case of the man
who encounters Jesus in this scripture passage. The poor guy wasn't
only controlled and possessed by one demon, but by a legion of them!
Yet, as we shall see in the Seed Thought for tomorrow, there was hope for
even this hopeless man. That hope was Jesus. May he be our hope,
too. Read Mark
5:11-20 - Jesus brought a total reversal about in this man's
life. Once he was insane, violent, and naked. Now he is in his
right mind, sitting quietly by Jesus, and fully clothed. Once he cut
himself off from people. Now he goes to them in order to tell them the
good news of Jesus. No matter what sins you have committed, or how
badly you feel you've messed up your life, Jesus can bring reversals to your
life, too. After all, He did it for the man who once was filled with a
legion of demons! Read Psalm
19:7 -
The New International Version of the Bible translates the original Hebrew
language which speaks about what the law of the Lord does as "reviving
the soul." The King James Version says, "...converting the
soul." Whichever translation is used, though, the main point is
clear. God's Word changes a person's soul and doesn't leave the soul in
the same state it was in. How has God's Word revived, converted, and
changed you? |
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Read 1
Timothy 2:6 - Paul urges us to pray for our leaders in order that they
may govern in such a way that Christians could live peaceful and quiet lives
and that the gospel of salvation could continue to go out into the
world. In 21st Century America, we can easily find ourselves more often
criticizing and second guessing our leaders than praying for them. Let
the words of Paul urge you to prayer. And remember that Paul says that
this is "good and pleases God our Savior." Read Acts
17:22-31 - Some Christians believe
that in order to be holy they must cut themselves off from the culture around
them. But when Paul was in Athens, he observed aspects of the Greek
culture and used them to present the Gospel. May God help us to look at
the world around us and see ways that our own culture points to God. Nehemiah
2:1-10 - Nehemiah, a devout Jew,
was nonetheless an important member of a Persian King's Court and used his
position to help the Lord's people. Should believers get involved with
politics today? Should they seek positions of influence? And if
they are elected or appointed to such positions, what should believers do
while holding those positions? Matthew
17:24-27 - Jesus wasn't too
heavenly-minded to be of any earthly good. Though he was the son of the
heavenly King, he abided by the rules of this world as long as they didn't
conflict with the will of God. Here is another area of daily living in
which Jesus is our role model. Titus 3:1-8 - We have been saved in
order to devote ourselves to "doing what is good," including having
proper respect for our leaders and their laws. Those who aren't so
devoted show that they have slipped backwards into the old way of life.
May God help us to be constantly moving forward into the new life he's given
us in Christ. |
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Read Hebrews
11:1-12 - Faith involves believing
in things that we can't see. This is one reason we assemble together on
Sunday mornings and at other times during the week - to remind ourselves of
the unseen things. The things that are seen take up so much of our time
and can become of paramount importance to us. We need to remember that
what we can see isn't all that exists, and to encourage one another to
believe in the unseen God. Read Hebrews
11:32-35a -
One way we encourage each other to believe in the unseen God is to remember
his great miracles in the past and the times he has answered our own prayers
and come through for us, granting us deliverance. In what ways has the
Lord blessed you? Read Hebrews
11:35b-38 -
It's not only those who see great miracles who have faith. Some hold onto
their faith even in the midst of overwhelming trials with no relief in
sight. They, too, can have testimonies to share about how they are
still clinging to God no matter what. Don't assume that if you are
going through hard times that you have nothing to say to anyone of any value
about God. How about even, "I still know he's there and I'm still
praying to him and nothing will shake the faith he's given me, even though I
can't and don't always understand what he's doing or what he's putting me
through." Read Hebrews
11:39-40 - There is a sense in which the promises made to the Old
Testament saints were never completely fulfilled in their lifetimes, or even
in the entire Old Testament era. (For example, Israel and Jerusalem
never became an eternal light to all the world in a literal sense.) In
this regard, we are like our Old Testament brothers and sisters. They
were always still looking for something more. And no matter how blessed
we are by God here and now, we're still looking for something more and
something better. And our faithful God will see to it that all of his
people down through history will get that something more and something
better. Read Psalm
103 -
When we listen to the testimonies of other Christians, or give our own, or
think of the lives of the men and women of the Bible, we can be reminded of
the truth that this Psalm sings about - God is faithful and gracious and
empowers us even though our lives are fleeting. And, his Fatherly love
will never leave us. Therefore, we like the Psalmists offer him our
praise. |
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