Day 14 – Psalm 85

I find this morning that it is no coincidence that I received an E-mail yesterday from a friend regarding this very same topic.

We live in a country and a time when Romans 1:18-32 would appear to apply directly to us. As a country, we have created a god that suits our needs. We have traded the truth for the lie by twisting what people “think” it means in order to live in the flesh and burning with lust. There are people in this country that follow the teachings of men and women who are far from the truth and are teaching and preaching to itching ears.

Woe to this country if God doesn’t shed his grace on us. He is our only hope of revival. Even as much wickedness rules, there have been times past when the Lord has awakened this sleeping country and revived his people that are within.

Like in this Psalm, I pray that God would not remove his favor on this country. Instead I pray that He would grab it by the blue collar and shake it awake. Open eyes and ears because they will not see or hear unless He does. There is glory to be received from this people and a land that needs to be healed.

Day 13 - Acts 4:1-19

I got home from my trip to Minneapolis yesterday. Although I have traveled regularly for over 10 years, the routine of going out on the road has never settled in. Regardless of how much I like the area or how nice the hotel is, it isn’t home.

When an unbeliever hears the Gospel, no amount of words that we say could ever convince them of the truth. They will use anything they can to deny it. They can/will argue the points of scripture that we present. They can’t however explain/deny the testimony of a changed life; it could be when they see the shy behaving boldly in the name of God; the addict free from his addictions; the drunk now sober and functioning in society; the healed family of a once broken home; perhaps even the body of someone miraculously healed. As with all of these examples, there is no argument against a changed life.

When God enters our lives, there is a marked difference. We should be visibly set apart from the rest of the world. Perhaps they will even marvel at the change. Like John and Peter, people should be able to know that we have been with Jesus. When they ask why we are different, we should be ready with the answer. “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Day 12 Matthew 4:1-42

This study again takes me to this same passage. You could probably camp here for a lifetime with so much content. The header for this passage in yesterday’s study simply said “The unlikely witness”. The intended focus was to show that once cleaned, any vessel could carry the Living Water as well as have the source within them.

The header today reads “The Expected Result”. Jesus intentionally went into Sychar because there was as specific purpose. There was a woman there which Jesus could use to reach others and he sought her out. It was no accident that Jesus just so happened to be resting at this point when she appeared at the well.

God sends rain upon the Earth for both the Wicked and the Righteous. There is grace abounding in every action and only providence can see the purpose with clarity.

As we go forth, know that in God’s eyes we already stand before Him with a stone in our hands. Upon this stone is the name he has given us which no other yet knows. Look upon this rock and see it written. No more will there be Smith, Cooper or Miller. Gaze at your name and realize what it means. Perhaps it is Faithful, Loving, Joyful, Peacemaker, Meek, Pure, Patient, Broken, Merciful, Gentle, Temperate or simply Son. Regardless of the name, it has been written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. When you gaze upon your stone it will have been written there too. Now, go live up to it because we were sought out for a purpose too.

Day 11 Matthew 4:1-42


When she came to the well for water, she didn’t realize exactly what she was missing. All she knew was that she had a thirst, and it would temporarily be satisfied by the water from the well. Unfortunately, the pot that she had would only hold so much water and she would need to return for more when it ran out.

This was a woman which most Jewish men wouldn’t even associate with because she was not only apparently rather friendly with men, she was also a Samaritan. Here however, we have Jesus not only going out of his way to meet up with this woman, but he also draws her into a conversation.

After coming face to face with her, she left eager to tell everyone of this man that she met and who she thought he was. Notice however that she left her water pot behind. She now had the knowledge of the living water springing up within her. She was now the water pot. Being such, she went into the city and spread the living waters around. By doing so, many more came to Jesus and believed in him because of the testimony of the woman.

This is so true for us all. There was a time that we were once just common clay vessels only using ourselves to go from one thirst to the next. We need to become Christ’s water pot and carry the living waters to the nations.

Day 10 Matthew 28:16-18

I have spent the entire day today in meetings. I want to thank the Lord that I have a job where I normally work from home without all of these distractions. It can be very overwhelming. I am going to keep this days entry short and sweet because I have been up since 4am and I am mentally exhausted. I should practice what I preach and give God what is right; not what is left.

Reagardless of whether you worship him whole heartedly or with some reserved doubt, all authority has been given to Jesus. He resides at the right hand of God. It is inn your name, I will "Go". Here I am, send me.

The Love of God - Old Hymn sung by Mercy Me.

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell
It goes beyond the highest star
And reaches to the lowest hell
The guilty pair, bowed down with care
God gave His Son to win
His erring child He reconciled
And pardoned from his sin

Could we with ink the ocean fill
And were the skies of parchment made
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade

To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
Though stretched from sky to sky

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints' and angels' song

I thank you Lord for the blessings you have given me even in the smallest of measures for I know each has a single heavenly purpose. May the lamb that was slain receive the reward of his suffering. I am eternally grateful and I will eternally thank you.

Day 9 Matthew 28:19-20

As I write from my hotel room in MN, please excuse my grammer and spelling as I am without the luxury of spell and grammar check. To make matters worse, I am trying to transcribe my handwritten notes from the plane trip here this morning.

"To be or not to be" isn't the question. The question, is "To go or not to go".

It is not merely enough to sit idle within a congregation and never contribute to the great commission. However, this participation may look differently for each individual. Does this merely mean visiting or contributing monetarily towards local and global missions? No... "Missions", starts at home and it has been commanded since the beginning. "The beginning?" you ask? The great commission was neither new to the New Testament nor is it commanded firstly in this context by Jesus.

The great commission has been repeatedly commanded through the ages. Take the first instance we have recorded in scripture:

Genesis 1:28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Over and over this same command is repeated throughout scripture. Genesis 9:1, Genesis 17:20, Genesis 35:11, Exodus 1:7, Isaiah 60:22, Jeremiah 23:3 Malachi 2:13-15 and then here again in Matthew 28:19. The chief end of Men was/is to Glorify god. So again I say, Missions begin in the home. As parents it is our duty to raise Godly children, respecters of men and observers of God's glory. We should prepare them to walk along the mission fields. Preparing them to also raise their own Godly children. Feeding them from the abundance of the table for the wedding feast.

We are to help create disciples in our homes and within our community. We are also to teach them to build up disciples of their own and support them when they move out on their own. This is not a mission that ends. Even when our children are out on their own, perhaps God will bless them with their own children. We then must help support them and continue on in the area of missions that God gives us. There is a need for light in such a dark world. Be the salt of the Earth.

Remember that Christ was to be called Immanuel, "God with us". Even to the end of the Age.

Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

The end of the age will come. The word must be preached/taught till it reaches all the nations. Failure to participate in the commission is the spirit of anti-Christ. It delays the preaching of the Gospel and works against bringing saints into the Kingdom.

Don't give them a choice over hearing the Good news or the Bad news... Go, and give them the Good news first.

Day 8 – John 6:1-14

A lad comes forth holding his meager lunch. A Hebrew Happy Meal some have called it. It was only five small loaves of bread and two small fish. I have heard people ramble on continuously about the type of bread and the size of the sardines that a typical lad for this region might have had, but I think the focus should stay on Jesus and those willing to serve him.

Items to note. (Some of these come across more as sermon outlines…. So be it)

• Jesus let the disciples realize that they could not feed these people with their own possessions.
• Jesus sought someone willing to supply everything they had without reluctance. Do you find it unusual that there was a child near enough to the group that he was singled out? The children always tend to come closer to God.
• The lad didn’t have much, but he gave it all to Jesus. What was given to Jesus was then multiplied.
• Everyone near to God shared in this blessing, regardless of what they believed about Jesus.

Jesus sought. Jesus received. Jesus multiplied. Oh how often is the circumstance ripe for the same to happen in our lives? “What we give him” isn’t as important as the motive and intent from our heart. If we give all for the glory of God, then he will surely use it according to His will.

How often too however are we the “Phillip” in the bunch? Notice what he says in verse 7. He is basically saying that they do not have enough money to feed so many. They just don’t have the resources. When he was counting their resources, he forgot to include Jesus in the equation. Sometimes being too practical is a negative. Faith in God can stretch everything we have when he sets out to bless us. I notice also that Jesus didn’t ask him “How” we might afford enough bread to feed the multitude; he was asking “where” they were to get it.

When we see/know the will of God in different situations, we must work to see it through. Just like the lad, we need to make ourselves available to God and give him everything we have. It may be something meager like the a few loaves and fishes, but he already owns it, how could you possibly deny him of it.

Lastly I notice that when God sets out to bless a people, there is more than enough to go around. When I think of what the Lord has done for me, I can only sit amazed and wonder why.