Day 6 - God's Work

SCRIPTURE: Philippians 2:12-13 – Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

COMMENTARY: When we believe someone else’s salvation depends on our own set of holiness standards or godliness rules we are deceiving ourselves. We may also be preparing us and them for a fall out. The good news for you and me is that God is at work in us. The Spirit himself is doing the convicting, encouraging, strengthening and comforting. Our task is then to notice the Spirit’s work, be sensitive to his voice and follow his leading.

My prayer: I know I will not understand it all, but you can count me in, Lord. I am prepared to go where you lead even though I don’t feel prepared. Let me have a zeal for you. Yes, Lord, I wait for you; Your name and renown are the desires of my heart. Let me have the passion and the single-mindedness you had when you followed the Father’s will and sacrificed yourself for me.

REFLECTION: Did you or do you have some zealous rules you impose on yourself or others? Is it easier to follow rules or follow Christ? Is the Spirit at work in your life? Have there been times in the past week when you sensed God’s Spirit speaking to you or nudging you and you failed to respond?

Day 5 - First, let me go . . .

SCRIPTURE: Matthew 8:19-22 – Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

COMMENTARY: Our struggle with excuses is that all of them can be made to sound reasonable. What are you rationalizing in your life? Here are a few I hear too often (and use personally):

I’m only going to do it this one time.

Nobody will notice.

It doesn’t harm anyone.

Those rules were for an ancient people living in ancient times.

If I follow God’s rule for my life too closely, people might think I am some kind of radical or fanatic.

I don’t have the time.

REFLECTION: Can you come up with some other excuses people use for not doing what Jesus asks of us? What are your most common excuses? Ponder this statement: When I choose to disobey, I break God’s heart.

Day 4 - Reward

SCRIPTURE: I Samuel 2:30 – Those who honor me I will honor.

COMMENTARY: God will honor you, but when will it happen? Do you expect to be honored immediately following the honor you give to him? It happens that way sometimes, but more often it is more like waiting for the harvest to grow and mature after it has been planted. Be sure of this though: God notices and he does not forget. We will reap what we sow, more than we sow and after we sow.

REFLECTION: What are some things you are sowing "to please the sinful nature" these days? What are some things you are sowing "to please the Spirit"? What are you reaping?

Day 3 - Ruined

SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 6:5 – “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

COMMENTARY: Here Isaiah seems to identify his sin as “unclean lips”. Here is a man whose job it was to proclaim the Lord’s words to the people of Israel. Did he also tell dirty jokes and gossip? I doubt it, but what Isaiah knows here is what Jesus brought out when he said, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks”. Our words reveal our hearts. When someone bumps you, wrongs you, hurts you what spills out from the inside? Faced with the presence of a holy God, Isaiah was laid bare, exposed and ruined.

As you seek God’s face in this time leading up to Easter, you will be bumped and prodded. What will spill out from your innermost being? May we be so filled up on Christ and his love that when we are bumped in the coming days we would spill Jesus on those around us. To be at that point, we need to admit our unclean hearts, ask Christ for new hearts and obey his commands to us each day.

REFLECTION: Have you ever felt “ruined” like Isaiah did? If you have, remember the experience. If not, do you want that kind of experience? Why or why not? What are some results of being ruined and then healed?

Day 2 - Hard Words

SCRIPTURE: John 6:60, 66 – On hearing it, many disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

COMMENTARY: Jesus was popular. Many people were flocking to the countryside to see him heal the sick and raise the dead. The crowds couldn’t get enough! But popularity was never Jesus’ goal.

As Jesus watched the crowd turn away he looks to the Twelve and reminds them they have a choice too. His question to them was, “You don’t want to leave, too, do you?” It was that day that they decided to stick with the Good News and not just some fun events. Another way to put it is that if we only expect to be entertained, we will leave at the first sign of a required sacrifice and call to obedience.

Jesus has something to say to you today, too. It may be the Good News that you can be free from some secret sin. It may be that you are leaning on your greatest strengths and yourself more than him. May God shine his light into your life today and may you respond as Peter did, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

REFLECTION: Did God shine his light on anything or anyone that is occupying his place in your heart? Has he shined his light on the deepest part of your heart before? If so, what happened? What are your strengths and how can they become idols? Do you believe hard words are a sign of God’s love for you? Read and pray through John 6:25-69.

Day 1 - Take Up Your Cross

SCRIPTURE: Matthew 16:24 – Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

COMMENTARY: Jesus’ words were direct and to the point. The disciples knew what crosses were and they were not ornaments worn on necklaces or designs in tattoo parlors. Crosses were the most violent and horrible instruments of execution. Can you hear the gasps and see the shudders reverberate through that group of men?

Before we go any further on the cross in our reflection this morning, let’s read the passage one more time and focus on a tiny word – if. Jesus is not bullying us into this instruction to carry our cross. He isn’t getting us to pack our bags for a guilt trip either. He simply offers a path and is honest about its hardships that come with the joys. In this passage is simply, an opportunity to die to self. There is a cost and he makes it clear in three parts: deny yourself, say, ‘Yes’, to Jesus and then follow him.

Today we focus on denying our innate selfishness in ambitions, behaviors, attitudes and desires. When you have laid those things down I encourage you to take something up worth dying for. Be so devoted to it and the things of God that you would have to be crucified to stop it.

Realize this – we make many choices every day and we are either saying ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to God. Here’s a question to ponder: Are you getting better at knowing God or ‘No’-ing God?

REFLECTION: What are some of your selfish ambitions, behaviors, attitudes and desires? Which of them have been a part of your life this past week? Which ones are patterns or habits in your life? What really is the attraction of these things to you? What do they actually get for you? How can you ‘starve’ these things during this time of self-denial? What does it mean to you to ‘take up your cross’? Is the reward worth the price to you?

As We Begin...

Over the next 40 days we will work our way through Bible passages and ask thought provoking questions. The Bible will be our guide. We will offer commentary and request your comments and in that way, build a conversation. I, Pastor Brad, will be doing a lot of the directing, but so will other staff members through the discussions we have daily in the office and in ministry. I will be leaning on David Nassar, too. His encouragement of a 40 day time of reflection and fasting from the world is my outline. His deeply penetrating questions will challenge you each day. Join in the journey. There will be a post here for each of the next 40 days to encourage and strengthen your walk.

40/10 Initiative for Lent and Easter

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