Day 321: From God

Ephesians 1; Ezekiel 4-5; Psalm 150

Sometimes the more I read scripture, the more I realize I don't understand, and the more I realize that I want more explanation. For instance, Paul writes: "The Spirit will make you wise and let you understand what it means to know God. My prayer is that light will flood your hearts and that you will understand the hope that was given to you when God chose you. Then you will discover the glorious blessings that will be yours together with all of God's people." Paul tells us that we get the Spirit from God when we put our faith in Jesus. Good. So what does it mean to know God? Is it different for each person? Is it something we can explain and define? And the hope, is he talking about eternal life, about salvation? He does say earlier in the chapter that before Earth was made, God chose us to be his people, and so perhaps the hope is that we will be united with him in heaven (eternal life and salvation). And what are the "glorious blessings" that all of God's people will have? We discover these through our hope. How does that happen? My prayer is that God will shine his light in my heart and give me wisdom to understand what I'm reading, not just this passage, but every word written in his beautiful Word.

God gives Ezekiel a job, a role, to demonstrate God's future abandonment of Israel and Judah. Parts of it Ezekiel doesn't want to do, and he tells God that. God's instructions go against what Ezekiel has followed in the Law and he begs God not to make him do something unclean, that he has never done before. And do you know what God did? He listened to Ezekiel and changed things up a bit! He didn't eliminate the task, but allowed Ezekiel to do it with a clear conscience, to not be worried about breaking the rules. If we look at this, as well as how Moses and Abraham interacted with God, we can see that even these men of faith disagreed with God and didn't want to do all he said. They followed through with their tasks, but they prayed for something different. I truly believe that we too can make these kinds of requests from God. Not to totally abandon the job he's set before us, but to ask for assistance or patience or something else that would help us to be more successful or comfortable. Now, I also firmly believe that God doesn't have to heed our request, but he will at least listen.   I also think this shows God is not about fixed rules or plans. He knows what he wants to accomplish and all of the ways to accomplish it. If that means changing something to care for his children, then I have no doubt he will do it.

This last psalm is really simple: Praise The Lord. That's it. We are to use what we have for unhindered, unashamed, praise to God. He deserves it and it will do our hearts, minds, and souls good, to celebrate our Creator.

Day 320: Our Job

Galatians 6; Ezekiel 2-3; Psalm 149

I can't help when I read this last chapter of Galatians, but to think of how it isn't about me. It talks about helping others out of sin; not thinking of myself as better than I am; doing my work well and not comparing; sharing everything; bragging only about Jesus. Life as a follower of Jesus is really about two things: Jesus and others. I don't think this is to say that we should ignore our own wellbeing--it's good to take care of our physical bodies, and especially important to take care of our spiritual self. However, when I walk into church, into my job, out in public, I shouldn't be thinking about how I can best be served or be noticed or get some attention; I should be thinking about how I can demonstrate the love of Jesus by serving others.

Who does God send Ezekiel to? His own people, the Israelites. And what is interesting about this? They won't listen. God tells Ezekiel that if he were sending him to foreigners, the message would be heard and heeded; but God's own people would reject the message and continue to sin. That' would not be encouraging if you were Ezekiel. It's like, "here's your mission--you're going to fail--but do it anyway." However, God tells Ezekiel that it is his responsibility to share the message or he will be punished. It isn't his job to change them, only to share what God placed on his heart to tell them. The same is true for us. Sometimes it is hardest to share the message of Jesus with those closest to us. Sometimes we know we are going to fail. But it isn't our job to change them; it is our job to be bold enough to obey God. God will do the rest.

In this psalm, it says that God gives victory to the humble. This sounds very much like the passage from Galatians. Humility is an attitude that is tough to have, but it was a powerful part of who Jesus, the Son of God, is. It should be a significant part of who we are as well. If we are humble, then God feels like he can work in our lives, knowing that he will get the glory as he deserves.

Day 319: Guided By the Spirit

Galatians 5:16-26; Ezekiel 1; Psalm 148

I've always wondered why I would do stuff I know I shouldn't do. Why I could pray and pray over a sin in my life, seek to change, and would still fall back into it. Paul answers that question here: "If we are guided by the Spirit, you won't obey your selfish desires." I was not guided by the Spirit. I was not close to God, or following Jesus' example, or surrendered to The Lord. I have noticed that the more I read God's word, the more I immerse myself in the scriptures, and be surrendered to Jesus, the more I can live by the fruits of the spirit. I am more loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. Though I am far from perfect, I have been transformed by God's spirit, and I pray that same for you.

In this psalm, it says "Let all things praise the name of The Lord because they were created at his command. He made them to last forever and nothing can change what he has done." First, in this verse, I see that everything was made by The Lord. He commanded and it was made; that includes you and me. Secondly, it says that he made everything to last forever. You and I were made for eternity. Life doesn't really end when we die, we continue for all eternity. If that's the case, shouldn't we live differently? Shouldn't we live as if life isn't short, but actually very, very long? I should recognize that when I die, I can't take everything with me, so I should do and work towards establishing things that will last forever, like the fruit of the spirit, like meaningful relationships, like devotion to God.

Day 318: Freedom

Galatians 5:1-15; Lamentations 5; Psalm 147

Christ gives us freedom. Freedom from what? Freedom to do what? It's a strange idea, very vague to me, and I've attempted to process this for a while. This is what I think Paul is talking about and what this idea means: we are free from the expectations of the rules of the Old Testament; we can make our own choices to live how we feel. We don't have rules to follow as disciples of Christ, but instead, we are to use Jesus as our guide and model. We aren't to use our freedom to sin or do any ol' thing, but to love and serve. So if Christ has truly set us free, we will not want to sin, we will want to live like Him.

Lamentations is kind of depressing. I mean, it is a bunch of laments, so that's to be expected. It ends with a cry to God to bring them back to him, for a fresh start. Whats great, is that because of Jesus, I know this happens and I know it is possible. We get a fresh start. We can become holy. We have been chosen as children. The people in Lamentations were slaves; we are free because of Christ, and not just free, but sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus.

The beginning of this psalm, actually answers the final question in Lamentations: will you bring us back to you, God? It says that God should be praised and he will rebuild Jerusalem and return the people of Israel to their homes. He helps the poor and is pleased only with those who trust in him. It doesn't matter how tough we are or how much we have, only that we worship him and believe in his love.

Day 317: Victors

Galatians 4:21-31; Lamentations 3-4; Psalm 146

In chapter 3 of Lamentations, the prophet feels completely beaten down. He feels no grace or mercy from God, until he remembers something that gives him hope: God's love and kindness never fail. He says that we can learn from insults and hard times, we can learn from the punishment of our sins, knowing that God is dependable to give mercy when we obey. "The Lord doesn't enjoy sending grief or pain," but he wants faithfulness from his people. Something that I keep finding in scriptures is this idea that followers of The Lord should not be wimpy, weak, or act like victims. In this chapter, he points to the same idea: "We shouldn't complain (as if we are victims) when we are being punished for our sins. Instead, we should think about the way we are living and turn back to The Lord." So it's not about being a martyr of our circumstances or struggles, but being a victor over our sins.

This psalm points out who God cares about in particular: "He gives justice to the poor and food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free and heals blind eyes. He gives a helping hand to everyone who falls. The Lord loves good people and looks after strangers. He defends the rights of orphans and widows, but destroys the wicked." The poor, hungry, prinsoners, blind, fallen, good people, strangers, orphans, and widows. God watches out for these people. Why? Because often, no one else is, and these people truly feel dependant on him. Those of us in prosperity tend to forget how much we need God; these people recognize their need for a Savior.