January 8, 2014 – Matthew 6 – A new and exciting blessing!

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

What Does this Passage Say?

• Jesus is in the middle of His famous Sermon on the Mount. He is teaching on a Mountainside near the northern sections of the Sea of Galilee, near the town of Capernaum. As most teachers of the day did Jesus is sitting down. What we are privy to is only about fifteen minutes of His sermon. While what we have recorded for us might be the entire sermon, it is safe to assume we are only given a small glimpse.
• Chapter five dealt with matters of the heart especially those pertaining to public moral behavior. Chapter six of Jesus sermon will deal more with the religious duties of the Jews. We must remember that Jesus is early in His ministry. While there is a timeless truth to what Jesus teaches here, He is speaking to a Jewish audience still living under the law. He is nearly three years before His death, burial, and resurrection. He will not usher in the church age until after all that takes place. While Jesus teaching helps direct our lives in a grace supplied system we must remember His original audience.
• Why do you give? Do you give so others may praise you? Or do you give so that Jesus will be glorified and people in need will be helped? That is the question Jesus wants you to ask yourself.
• Prayer is simple but hard. Prayer is our communication tool with God. He speaks to us through nature, through worship, through others, and through His Word. We speak to Him through prayer. We must be careful not to pray in a way that makes us look good, but do so in a way that connects us with God. That is the purpose of prayer to connect us with God.
• Fasting is something that has been greatly lost in the church age. From time to time Christians do it, but it is not practiced like it once was. When Jesus spoke to His audience He spoke in a way were He assumed they were going to be fasting. He gave instructions on fasting. Again He reminds them that it is a spiritual blessing and connection with God, not something they are doing to glorify themselves with others.
• Your heart is very important to your walk with God. If your heart is dark, your eyes will only see darkness. Have you ever meet someone who sees the world through a negative lens? Unfortunately that person has allowed darkness to fill their hearts and guide their life. Whatever controls our hearts is what controls our lives. Jesus suggests that we turn to heaven, a place of beauty and light, a place where we will reside with God. When this is dominating our lives darkness cannot.
• God provides for those who cannot provide for themselves; the lilies of the field and the birds of the air. God loves and cares for us much more than them. Because of this truth we should not let worry fill our minds. If we are willing to work and trust then God will provide for us our every need. That does not mean abundance. That does not mean we will not have moments of struggle. But our needs will be met and with that we can cast worry out the window.  

 What is this passage teaching?

• Jesus focus on encouraging His audience was again for them to check their heart in the religious duties. For what motives and reasons do you follow God’s Law? For the Jews it was an idea of looking forward, to pleasing God for the purpose of salvation. And, if they looked good to others, then they must be a very righteous and godly person. As Christians living after the cross we are not saved by keeping the Law, we are saved by the work of Jesus on the cross. There is nothing you and I can do to gain salvation; it is all the work of Jesus. Therefore we do not seek righteousness for the purpose of salvation but to honor God in appreciation of salvation. This mindset is what Jesus is trying to convey to His audience. They too are not saved by keeping the Law because no one could keep the Law. As humans we are too imperfect to do so. They too are saved by God’s grace. For them it was an anticipated reality. So Jesus looks at them and advises check your heart. Check your motives for your prayer, your fasting, and your generosity.

How can I apply this passage to my life?

• So what is your motive for the way you worship, pray, fast, give, or do anything for Jesus? Remember, it is for God’s glory, not ours that we live a life of praise and worship. In the future do not look at your worship and righteous living as earning your salvation. Look at is a way to store up treasures in heaven. When we store up treasures in heaven it already assumes we have a place in heaven reserved for us. If we have a life changing relationship with Jesus then we have a place in heaven reserved. What we do here on earth in essence is building our treasures in heaven.
• While it has a future blessing to it, our worship and righteous living has a here and now blessing to it as well. Remember you are worshiping God in the flesh. Not only does it praise Him but it also blesses you. Have you ever worshiped and felt a blessing from it? Have you ever walked away from worship and felt closer to God when complete? The change of heart and approach will help all of this materialize as well. When we move from the idea that I am saving myself to the idea that I am blessing and praising God a new world of worship opens up; a new and wonderful world!

September 30 – Malachi 1-4

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Malachi 1-4. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

Today we close out the Old Testament. It has been a long nine months going through the Old Testament. I love the Old Testament. There are so many wonderful stories as well as so many heart breaking stories. I love that throughout God gives hope in the darkest moments of despair. Now for the next four hundred and some years God will be somewhat silent as Israel waits for the coming Messiah. But he does not leave them without a challenge to give fully to Him.

The entire book of Malachi is God challenging the quality of the sacrifices and gifts brought before God. To be frank, their gifts were not that great … “You have shown contempt by offering defiled sacrifices on my altar.” (Malachi 1:7 NLT) … “You defile them by saying the altar of the LORD deserves no respect. When you give blind animals as sacrifices, is not that wrong?” (Malachi 1:7-8 NLT) … “How I wish one of you would shut the Temple doors so that these worthless sacrifices could not be offered!” (Malachi 1:10 NLT) This is just a little sample of the strong words God brings against Israel.

Let’s apply these thoughts from God to our giving. What does it look like? Are we giving God our best or what is left? Yesterday I had lunch with a very godly woman whose husband is barely hanging onto life right now because of his health. She made the comment that when he was healthy and involved in his day job that the school he worked for got the best of him. How often does that scenario play out in your relationship with God? How often do we let everything else come before our relationship with God and when we get to Him, we are wiped out, barley giving Him any quality. As we turn to the life saving mission of Jesus tomorrow, let’s contemplate our sacrifices before God. 

June 11 – 1 Kings 5-6 & 2 Chronicles 2-3

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from 1 Kings 5-6 & 2 Chronicles 2-3. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

Photo Credit: Microsoft Clip Art

Because of bloodshed David did not get the privilege to build the Temple to become the home of God. That responsibility was left to his son Solomon. When Solomon began construction he chose the site for the Temple as the site his father David had purchased from Araunah the Jebusite to stop the plague of death that was attacking Israel. There is an interesting theme I want to draw from.

When David went to purchase the threshing floor, Araunah wanted to essentially give it to him along with everything necessary for the sacrifice. David would not have it. He replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it, for I will not present burn offerings to the LORD my God that have cost me nothing.” (2 Samuel 24.24 NLT) David would not offer sacrifices that would cost him nothing. He had to pay for what he was going to offer to God.

Now Solomon is building the Temple of God. For portions of the construction Solomon desired to use Cedars of Lebanon to adorn the Temple. He received those from David’s dear friend, King of Tyre, Hiram. In doing so he offered to pay whatever the cost Hiram desired (1 Kings 5:6). We find later in the reading what Solomon provided for the timber and the men to cut it … annually 1000,000 bushels of wheat and 110,000 gallons of pure olive oil (1 Kings 5:11).

Solomon like his father chose to not accept anything to offer to God that he did not purchase. He did not want his offering to God (the Temple was certainly an offering to God) to cost him nothing. Let me ask you, do you seek things for nothing? Do you try and offer to God something that cost you nothing? I hope not! I hope the God you call master, savior, creator, and leader of your life is worth sacrifice; is worth offerings that cost you something.

At West Side we believe highly in prayer. We are asking people to join with us in praying daily for West Side. If you would like to join us please click here and subscribe to receive daily emails containing a short prayer request for West Side. We appreciate your partnership.

February 25 – Numbers 5-6

Today’s reading comes from Numbers 5-6. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

From time to time it is a good idea to step up your spiritual game. God seemed to think that as well. In our reading today we find God giving instructions on how to do that. In chapters 3 and 4 yesterday, (which I did not comment on, please forgive me) we find God giving instructions for the Levites to serve along with Aaron and his sons as the priestly helpers. While only Levites could serve at the Tabernacle, God did not want to limit service to him by tribe or even gender. He gave the Nazirite vowel to offer increased levels of service to all Israelites.

For a pre specified time period, I guess it was up to each person, they could dedicated themselves to increased spiritual service to God and to take their commitment and fellowship with God to a deeper level. The growth of their hair would be an indication to others of this vowel. The act of sustaining from fermented drink and the fruit of the vine was a spiritual discipline. Keeping away from dead bodies was a purity issue. We know of a few people who the Bible comments on living such a way … the most famous being Sampson. Some believe this was the lifestyle of John the Baptist in the New Testament.

The idea of stepping up your spiritual game should be something all Christians partake of from time to time. But let me caution you with this … do not try to do too much at one time. Take it in small steps so not to overwhelm and to help you become successful. In the past I had all these spiritual goals, but what I found is I wanted to accomplish too many and too much at one time. It’s a growth process. I wanted to get deeper in Bible study, in prayer, in personal worship, and various other areas. I would start off strong but then quickly fail miserably. So last year I set out to do the Bible study end of it. I succeeded. This year I am working on my prayer life. And it is going better. Learn what is going to work best for you as you strive to step up your spiritual game.

At West Side we are beginning a new prayer partner campaign. We are asking people to join with us in praying daily for West Side. If you would like to join us please click here and subscribe to receive daily emails containing a short prayer request for West Side. We appreciate your partnership.

February 19 – Leviticus 19-21

Today’s reading comes from Leviticus 19-21. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

Spiritual Prostitution … are you guilty of it? In the New Living Translation of the Bible the translators decided to translate Leviticus 19:5 as … “I myself will turn against them and their families and will cut them off from the community. This will happen to all who commit spiritual prostitution by worshiping Molech.” The New International Version simply says … “prostituting themselves to Molek.” (The various translators have decided to translate the English spelling nof Molech/Molek two different ways. We will use the NLT spelling today) I love ~ love the use of the word choice, hate what it is referencing ~ the way the NLT translates this idea. It paints such a drastic picture of what we do when we give our devotion to anyone or anything other than God.

The sin of worshiping Molech was grotesque. Molech was one of the God’s of the Canaanite people. At various times worship to Molech would involve the sacrifice of babies … infants. If this is not a gruesome enough picture for you, they would be live infants placed in the arms of a statue that was blazing hot because of the raging fire beneath it. The babies would be cooked to death. Just imagine the wails that would come from these children. Just imagine the weeping and gnashing that came from the mothers watching as this horrific sacrifice is offered. This sacrifice often took place in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom that is part of the city of Jerusalem. It was also known as Gehenna. In Jesus day this valley was used as the waste dump of the city. When Jesus talks about what Hell will be like he is referencing this valley and the acts that took place here.

Back in Leviticus God is telling his people that if they worship Molech they are committing spiritual prostitution. I know in our age this is not something we are going to struggle with ... offering human sacrifices. But to his audience this would be an easy step to make … remember they have just come from a land full of pagan worship, they even built as the slave of Egypt their pagan symbols of worship. God considered this step spiritual prostitution.

But he did not stop there. Throughout chapter nineteen he continues to talk about spiritual prostitution. He calls giving our devotion to anything other than Him spiritual prostitution. Have you committed spiritual prostitution? Have you devoted yourself to anything other than God yourself? Examine your life and see if you are seeking spiritual monogamy with God, not selling yourself to the lust of the flesh.

At West Side we are beginning a new prayer partner campaign. We are asking people to join with us in praying daily for West Side. If you would like to join us please click here and subscribe to receive daily emails containing a short prayer request for West Side. We appreciate your partnership.

February 18 – Leviticus 16-18

Today’s reading comes from Leviticus 16-18. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

As a Christian there are theological issues that I feel I have a really firm understanding of. Then there are issues that for various reasons I just do not get at all. In some instances it is easy just to assume that this is the case and take it at its face value. In other instances it really pushes my faith … it really stretches me. One of those theological issues that I have not understood but trusted the Bible was over the shedding of blood and the whole need for a sacrifice.

I cannot say I have doubted the need for blood sacrifice but at the same time I just have not completely or fully understood it. To be honest even after the revelation I had in my mind after today’s reading, I still cannot say I fully understand it. However, in Leviticus 17 today God began to shed some new light in my mind on this issue.

Read again these words … “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life. Therefore I say to the Israelites, “None of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood.” ‘Any Israelite or any alien living among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth, because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, “You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.” Leviticus 17:11-14. I guess the reason an animal sacrifice works is because it has given up its life, and the blood represents that life. It is through the blood that nutrients, oxygen, and other needed things are delivered to the parts of body. Blood is life!

It’s cool to experience a new understanding. While I am nowhere close to full understanding, a little light bulb went off in my brain this morning, which is really cool! Thank you for letting me share this little ah ha moment with you.

At West Side we are beginning a new prayer partner campaign. We are asking people to join with us in praying daily for West Side. If you would like to join us please click here and subscribe to receive daily emails containing a short prayer request for West Side. We appreciate your partnership.