Daily Scriptures and reflections [continued]

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January 10, 2014 For The Long Run | Our Daily Bread

For The Long Run

Read: James 5:7-11

Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. —James 5:7

A 2006 survey of more than 1,000 adults discovered that most people take an average of 17 minutes to lose their patience while waiting in line. Also, most people lose their patience in only 9 minutes while on hold on the phone. Impatience is a common trait.

James wrote to a group of believers who were struggling with being patient for Jesus’ return (James 5:7). They were living under exploitation and distressing times, and James encouraged them to “set the timer of their temper” for the long run. Challenging these believers to persevere under suffering, he tried to stimulate them to stand firm and to live sacrificially until the Lord returned to right every wrong. He wrote: “Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand” (v.8).

James called them to be like the farmer who waits patiently for the rain and the harvest (v.7) and like the prophets and the patriarch Job who demonstrated perseverance in difficulties (vv.10-11). The finish line was just ahead and James encouraged the believers not to give up.

When we are being tried in a crucible of distress, God desires to help us continue living by faith and trusting in His compassion and mercy (v.11).

For Further Thought
What is most difficult about being patient during
stressful times? Ask God for the grace to help
you live by faith and to live for the long run.

The way to great patience is through great trials.

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January 11, 2014 The Journey Begins | Our Daily Bread

The Journey Begins

Read: 2 Peter 1:5-11

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away. —2 Corinthians 5:17

Eighty-one years ago today a 9-year-old boy prayed to ask Jesus to be the Savior of his life. His mother wrote these words in a memory book: “Clair made a start today.”

Clair—my dad—has now walked with Christ for 8 decades. He marks the day when he made his decision to follow Christ as the beginning of his journey. Growing spiritually is a lifelong process—not a one-time event. So how does a new believer feed his faith and continue to grow? These are some things I observed in my dad’s life over the years.

He read the Scriptures regularly to increase his understanding of God and made prayer a daily part of his life (1 Chron. 16:11; 1 Thess. 5:17). Bible reading and prayer help us grow closer to God and withstand temptation (Ps. 119:11; Matt. 26:41; Eph. 6:11; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 1 Peter 2:2). The Holy Spirit began to develop the “fruit of the Spirit” in him as he surrendered his life in faith and obedience (Gal. 5:22-23). We display God’s love through our witness and service.

My dad’s spiritual journey continues and so does ours. What a privilege to have a relationship in which we can “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”! (2 Peter 3:18).

I want my heart to be in tune with God,
In every stage of life may it ring true;
I want my thoughts and words to honor Him,
To lift Him up in everything I do. —Hess

Salvation is the miracle of a moment; growth is the labor of a lifetime.

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January 12, 2014 A Neighbor On The Fence | Our Daily Bread

A Neighbor On The Fence

Read: Acts 2:41-47

All who believed were together. —Acts 2:44

The fence around the side yard of our home was showing some wear and tear, and my husband, Carl, and I decided we needed to take it down before it fell down. It was pretty easy to disassemble, so we removed it quickly one afternoon. A few weeks later when Carl was raking the yard, a woman who was walking her dog stopped to give her opinion: “Your yard looks so much better without the fence. Besides, I don’t believe in fences.” She explained that she liked “community” and no barriers between people.

While there are some good reasons to have physical fences, isolating us from our neighbors is not one of them. So I understood our neighbor’s desire for the feeling of community. The church I attend has community groups that meet once a week to build relationships and to encourage one another in our journey with God. The early church gathered together daily in the temple (Acts 2:44,46). They became one in purpose and heart as they fellowshiped and prayed. If they struggled, they would have companions to lift them up (see Eccl. 4:10).

Connection to a community of believers is vital in our Christian walk. One way that God chooses to show His love to us is through relationships.

Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love!
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above. —Fawcett

We all need Christian fellowship to build us up and hold us up.

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January 13, 2014 Much More Than Survival | Our Daily Bread

Much More Than Survival

Read: 1 Thessalonians 2:17–3:7

Timothy has come to us from you, and brought us good news of your faith and love. —1 Thessalonians 3:6

In April 1937, Mussolini’s invading armies forced all the missionaries serving in the Wallamo region to flee Ethiopia. They left behind just 48 Christian converts, who had little more than the gospel of Mark to feed their growth. Few even knew how to read. But when the missionaries returned 4 years later, the church had not just survived; it numbered 10,000!

When the apostle Paul was forced to leave Thessalonica (see Acts 17:1-10), he yearned to learn about the survival of the small band of Christians he left behind (1 Thess. 2:17). But when Timothy visited the Thessalonian church later, he brought word to Paul in Athens about their “faith and love” (1 Thess. 3:6). They had become “examples” to the believers in the surrounding regions in Macedonia and Achaia (1 Thess. 1:8).

Paul never claimed credit for any numerical increase in his ministry. Nor did he attribute it to anyone else. Rather, he gave credit to God. He wrote, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase” (1 Cor. 3:6).

Difficult circumstances may thwart even our best intentions, separating friends from each other for a season. But God is growing His church through every difficulty. We need only be faithful and leave the results to Him.

Lord, we are so prone to be fearful when we face
opposition, yet so often we want to take credit
for every little success. Help us see that You are
the One who blesses and builds Your church.

I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. —Jesus (Matthew 16:18)

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January 14, 2014 Sweet Rest | Our Daily Bread

Sweet Rest

Read: Psalm 4

You have put gladness in my heart. —Psalm 4:7

Try as we might—tossing, turning, fluffing the pillow, pounding the pillow—sometimes we just can’t fall asleep. After offering some good suggestions on how to get a better night’s sleep, a news article concluded that there really is no “right way” to sleep.

There are numerous reasons why sleep eludes us, many of which we can’t do much about. But sometimes unwanted wakefulness is caused by anxious thoughts, worry, or guilt. It’s then that the example of David in Psalm 4 can help. He called out to God, asking for mercy and for God to hear his prayer (v.1). He also reminded himself that the Lord does hear him when he calls on Him (v.3). David encourages us: “Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still” (v.4). Focusing our minds on the goodness, mercy, and love of God for His world, our loved ones, and ourselves can aid us in trusting the Lord (v.5).

The Lord desires to help us set aside our worries about finding solutions to our problems and place our trust in Him to work things out. He can “put gladness” in our hearts (v.7), so that we might “lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make [us] dwell in safety” (v.8).

Give me a spirit of peace, dear Lord,
Midst the storms and the tempests that roll,
That I may find rest and quiet within,
A calm buried deep in my soul. —Dawe

Even when we cannot sleep, God can give us rest.

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January 15, 2014 Food In The Cupboard | Our Daily Bread

Food In The Cupboard

Read: Matthew 6:25-34

Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about . . . what you will put on. —Matthew 6:25

My friend Marcia, the director of the Jamaica Christian School for the Deaf, recently illustrated an important way to look at things. In a newsletter article she titled “A Blessed Start,” she pointed out that for the first time in 7 years the school began the new year with a surplus. And what was that surplus? A thousand dollars in the bank? No. Enough school supplies for the year? No. It was simply this: A month’s supply of food in the cupboard.

When you’re in charge of feeding 30 hungry kids on a shoestring budget, that’s big! She accompanied her note with this verse from 1 Chronicles 16:34, “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.”

Year after year Marcia trusts God to provide for the children and staff at her school. She never has much—whether it’s water or food or school supplies. Yet she is always grateful for what God sends, and she is faithful to believe that He will continue to provide.

As we begin a new year, do we have faith in God’s provision? To do so is to take our Savior at His word when He said, “Do not worry about your life . . . . Do not worry about tomorrow” (Matt. 6:25,34).

Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength. —Corrie ten Boom

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January 16, 2014 The Little Tent | Our Daily Bread

The Little Tent

Read: Colossians 1:1-12; 4:12

For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell. —Colossians 1:19

During evangelist Billy Graham’s historic 1949 Los Angeles campaign, the big tent that held over 6,000 people was filled to overflowing every night for 8 weeks. Close by was a smaller tent set aside for counseling and prayer. Cliff Barrows, longtime music director and close friend and associate of Graham, has often said that the real work of the gospel took place in “the little tent,” where people gathered on their knees to pray before and during every evangelistic service. A local Los Angeles woman, Pearl Goode, was the heart of those prayer meetings and many that followed.

In the apostle Paul’s letter to the followers of Christ in Colosse, he assured them that he and his colleagues were praying always for them (Col. 1:3,9). In closing he mentioned Epaphras, a founder of the Colossian church, who is “always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God” (4:12).

Some people are given the high visibility task of preaching the gospel in “the big tent.” But God has extended to us all, just as He did to Epaphras and Pearl Goode, the great privilege of kneeling in “the little tent” and bringing others before the throne of God.

They labor well who intercede
For others with a pressing need;
It’s on their knees they often work
And from its rigor will not shirk. —D. DeHaan

Prayer is not preparation for the work, it is the work. —Oswald Chambers

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January 17, 2014

Heavenly Perspective

Read: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
The things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. —2 Corinthians 4:18
Bible in a Year:
Genesis 41-42; Matthew 12:1-23

Fanny Crosby lost her sight as an infant. Yet, amazingly, she went on to become one of the most well-known lyricists of Christian hymns. During her long life, she wrote over 9,000 hymns. Among them are such enduring favorites as “Blessed Assurance” and “To God Be the Glory.”

Some people felt sorry for Fanny. A well-intentioned preacher told her, “I think it is a great pity that the Master did not give you sight when He showered so many other gifts upon you.” It sounds hard to believe, but she replied: “Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I was born blind? . . . Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior.”

Fanny saw life with an eternal perspective. Our problems look different in light of eternity: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:17-18).

All our trials dim when we remember that one glorious day we will see Jesus!

Dear God, please help us to see this life
from a heavenly perspective. Remind us that
our trials, however difficult, will one day fade
from view when we see You face to face.
The way we view eternity will affect the way we live in time.

Source: Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread

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January 18, 2014 All Spruced Up | Our Daily Bread

All Spruced Up

Read: Jude 1:20-25

[Jesus] is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless. —Jude 1:24

Getting our children to look good for church was always a challenge. Ten minutes after arriving at church all spruced up, our little Matthew would look like he didn’t have parents. I’d see him running down the hall with his shirt half untucked, glasses cockeyed, shoes scuffed up, and cookie crumbs decorating his clothes. Left to himself, he was a mess.

I wonder if that is how we look sometimes. After Christ has clothed us in His righteousness, we tend to wander off and live in ways that make us look like we don’t belong to God. That’s why Jude’s promise that Jesus is “able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless” gives me hope (Jude 1:24).

How can we keep from looking like we don’t have a heavenly Father? As we become more yielded to His Spirit and His ways, He will keep us from stumbling. Think of how increasingly righteous our lives would become if we would take time in His Word to be cleansed with “the washing of water by the word” (Eph. 5:26).

What a blessing that Jesus promises to take our stumbling, disheveled lives and present us faultless to the Father! May we increasingly look like children of the King as we reflect His loving care and attention.

Lord, thank You for the blessing of being clothed
in Your beautiful righteousness and the promise
that You will keep me from stumbling and present
me faultless before Your Father and my God!

To reflect the presence of the Father, we must rely on the Son.

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January 19, 2014 Two Men | Our Daily Bread

Two Men

Read: John 11:30-37

He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. . . . Jesus wept. —John 11:33,35

Two men were killed in our city on the same day. The first, a police officer, was shot down while trying to help a family. The other was a homeless man who was shot while drinking with friends early that day.

The whole city grieved for the police officer. He was a fine young man who cared for others and was loved by the neighborhood he served. A few homeless people grieved for the friend they loved and lost.

I think the Lord grieved with them all.

When Jesus saw Mary and Martha and their friends weeping over the death of Lazarus, “He groaned in the spirit and was troubled” (John 11:33). He loved Lazarus and his sisters. Even though He knew that He would soon be raising Lazarus from the dead, He wept with them (v.35). Some Bible scholars think that part of Jesus’ weeping also may have been over death itself and the pain and sadness it causes in people’s hearts.

Loss is a part of life. But because Jesus is “the resurrection and the life” (v.25), those who believe in Him will one day experience an end of all death and sorrow. In the meantime, He weeps with us over our losses and asks us to “weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15).

Give me a heart sympathetic and tender;
Jesus, like Thine, Jesus, like Thine,
Touched by the needs that are surging around me,
And filled with compassion divine. —Anon.

Compassion helps to heal the hurts of others.