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 19 – Haggai 1 & 2

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Haggai 1 & 2. 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.

When Ezra leads a team back to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple they face a wave of opposition and stop their work. For years the Temple remains and unfinished construction site. To us in the Cincinnati area this reminds me of the unfinished tower at Kenwood Mall. God uses a prophet named Haggai to preach a message that would spur the work to begin again. Read again God’s argument … “Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins?” (Haggai 1:4 NLT) What an awesome argument for God to give.

So how does that apply to our lives today since God no longer resides in a Temple made of wood and stone? Today God lives in a Temple made of flesh and bone. When Christ died on the cross God left the physical temple in Jerusalem. On the day or Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon those who encountered a life saving relationship with Jesus God took up residence in His new Temple, the heart of man. So how does His Temple look today? Does His Temple look good and flashy on the outside, but on the inside the heart is torn up, rotting away, close to crumbling any day? Are we guilty of the same accusation that God waged against Ezra and His contemporaries?

Photo Credit: Microsoft Clip Art

Haggai also taught me a second lesson today. God reminds the people that He is in charge. He reminds the people that they thought they would have a good harvest, but in reality things were not as bountiful as they had hoped and thought. God gives the reason that this was the case … “I sent blight and mildew and hail to destroy everything you worked so hard to produce. Even so, you refused to return to me, says the LORD.” (Haggai 2:17 NLT) Sometimes the negative we face in life is God’s hand at work. Sometimes God works to break us so that the only place we can turn is to Him. When we see negative in life, are we watching to see what it is God may be trying to do in us and through us? 

August 29 – Ezekiel 9-12

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Ezekiel 9-12. 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

“The word of the lord came to me: “Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.” (Ezekiel 12:1-2 NLT) While this was written about those in Jerusalem and remaining in Judah before the final destruction, you could easily see those words talking about our day and culture. This past week has been filled with the news of Miley Cyrus gyrating in barely there clothing on stage at the MTV Video Music Awards show.  Also in the news is the newly constant debate about race relations in America. Constantly we are bombarded with images of sex, scantily clad women, homosexual relationships, drug abuse, and so many other grievous sin issues that we quickly connect with these words of God.

The destruction that we face today is different than what Israel faced. Israel faced the destruction of their city, their promised land, and the mass loss of life. Today we may not see the physical destruction, but those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, but refuse the message of the gospel, they face a permanent destruction in Hell. That thought should break our hearts. It should break our hearts to action.

Maybe we are Ezekiel and the people living in exile. We know something else. We know that there is life with God. We know that there is joy in Christ. It is our responsibility to creatively open up they eyes and ears so that the gospel message can reach deep and wide. So what are some ways we can open up the gospel? Feel free to share your ideas in the comments below!

August 28 – Ezekiel 5-8

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Ezekiel 5-8. 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: J.T. Noriega

How big is your God? How omniscient is your God? By the time of Ezekiel’s writing and prophesying, God to Israel was not very big. In our reading today God takes Ezekiel for an awesome trip. First of all wouldn't it be cool to have the privilege to see the glory of God like Ezekiel did? Then He takes him on some out of body experience to Jerusalem to see the detestable sins of the people.

In Jerusalem the sins of the people keep growing. They are under siege, but they are not turning to Yahweh. They are dying of starvation and sickness, and they turn to the gods of the people around them. They believe at this point God is either small or no longer present. “The LORD does not see us; he has deserted our land!” (Ezekiel 8:12 NLT)

Do you ever feel that way? Maybe you are going through a rough patch of life; cancer, divorce, loneliness, sickness, death, financial struggles, and you feel as Israel felt, God has deserted you. But just like Judah, God knows what is going on in your life, in your heart, and in your mind. He may not be working in a way that you can see or feel, but He is still there. Give Him time. Put your trust in God. Live a life that is worthy of the salvation you cherish. 

August 27 – Ezekiel 1-4

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Ezekiel 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 start one of the oddest books in the Bible. The book is odd because of the imagery Ezekiel describes and the things he is asked to do. Ezekiel is a priest, thirty years old, who is one of the 3,000 Judeans who have been exiled in Babylon some five years. He is in the region of Tel Abib on the banks of the Kebar River (Chebar, depending on translations, we are not sure of this location today), when God begins to speak to him.

God speaks to Ezekiel in a pretty magnificent chariot, with four wheels along with four human and beastlike figures with some pretty cool appearances. God comes to Ezekiel to prophecy and prepare those in exile for what is going to happen in Jerusalem under the Babylonians siege. What I find amazing is God’s need to prepare His people. Here is Ezekiel in the land of exile preparing those in exile for what will happen to their home country. Just imagine you are on vacation and a tornado rips through your home town. How much would that break your heart to read, hear, and maybe even watch it unfold while you are still miles away? Just as Jeremiah, a contemporary of Ezekiel, had the responsibility of sharing with those in Jerusalem; Ezekiel has the responsibility in exile.

God might work in ways we do not always understand … remember reading about Ezekiel laying down for 390 days on his side, pretty mysterious … God always does things for our benefit, without sneaking up on us. Sometimes it takes listening to what God is trying to tell us. Has God sent someone to your life that might be trying to tell you something, but you just are not listening? Maybe it is time to notice the things happening in your life, the messages being shared, and the situations you keep finding yourself in. God just might be preparing you for something.