The Path to True Joy

Today's Readings:
AM - Psalm 51
PM - Psalm 69:1-23
Gospel - John 12:9-19

For reflection: Is your worship life like a hero's celebration or a funeral? Why?

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I don’t know if David wrote Psalms 32 and 51 at the same time in his life, but it sure sounds like it. In Psalm 32, David reveals to us that when he kept silent about his sin, he was physically and emotionally drained.  However, he also tells us that once he confessed his sins to God, God “forgave the guilt of [his] sin”. As I study Psalms 32 and 51, it appears to me that Psalm 32 is the Cliff Notes version for Psalm 51.

Psalm 51 goes on to show us David confessing his sin of adultery to God, seeking cleansing from his sin, asking for a pure heart and steadfast spirit, and asking God to restore the joy of His salvation. David then finishes by telling of his plans to share his witness and offer praises to God.

In these two examples I believe David gives us a clear formula for finding peace in the wake of sin. First, we cannot truly repent until we clearly see our sins for what they are – inexcusable selfish choices. Next, we must be willing to humble ourselves completely and confess those sins to God (not that he doesn’t already know). Then God will cleanse and purify us and relieve us of the guilt of our sin. Why? So that we can then move forward to praise Him and bear witness to his mercy, forgiveness and salvation. It is at that point and with each subsequent sin and confession that we continue on the path to Godly growth and an abundant life of true joy through His saving grace. 

- Steve Santa ana

Old Grave Clothes

Today's Reading:
AM - Psalm 137 and 144
PM - Psalm 42 and 43
Gospel - John 11:28-44

For reflection: What are some "old grave clothes" that still need to be shed for you to feel truly free in Christ?

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I remember that when my Dad died, he had a suit in his closet that was designated as his burial clothes.  He planned for his death.  He knew how he wanted to be dressed.  By virtue of his request, we knew what he didn’t want to wear on that day.

I find it disturbing that we are so concerned with appearances that even in death we want to be dressed in a way that we think is appropriate.  We want to look good.  But all God wants to see, all he ever sees is our heart.  We may walk around with the stench of regret and mistakes, but the time to remove those grave clothes is now.  It is time to walk around in a life song of praise. 

I pray that when I die, the memories of me will be of my heart and my life; a life lived out loud.  My grave clothes have been removed.  I am excited that I get to run, unencumbered, into the arms of Jesus.

- Sandy Welfare

Stretched Faith

Today's Reading:
AM - Psalm 22
PM - Psalm 141 and 143
Gospel - John 11:1-27

For reflection: What difficulties have you faced that have stretched your faith?

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Does Psalm 142 strike a chord for you? It does for me. "I cry aloud to the Lord", says the Psalmist, "I lift up my voice to the Lord for Mercy."

I've been there, and I know you have as well. Over the past two years, our family as suffered through the loss of income and painful, unrelenting illness. We have cried to the Lord on countless occassions and have wondered at times why the Lord didn't give us what we asked for. Of course, we don't know if he will ever solve these problems in the way we would like. But we do know that he has been constantly faithful to us. He has blessed us in so many other ways! He has been our "refuge". Constantly giving us the strength we need to soldier on.  

 

"When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way". Thank you, God!!

- Steve Klemm

Stilled and Quieted

Today's Reading:
AM - Psalm 131, 132 and 133
PM - Psalm 140 and 142
Gospel - John 10:19-42

For reflection: What convinced you that Jesus is the Messiah?

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It is a marvel to me to watch my grandson. Not only is he the cutest baby on the planet (in my estimation) but seeing him grow and develop is just amazing. One of the greatest joys is seeing how much he loves his parents. Cohen can be all kinds of fussy, but when Mommy picks him up and holds him close to her heart, he calms right down. Or he can be just hanging out, doing his baby thing, and when Daddy comes in the door from work, Cohen's face just lights up and those little legs go to kicking in delight. No matter what is going on in his little head, Mommy or Daddy is always the answer.

I know that is the way God wants us to view Him. The psalmist says in Psalm 131, "I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me." No matter what is going on in our lives, Father wants us to run to Him for reassurance, healing, rest, solutions, love, and more.

So the question I find myself pondering during this season of Lent is how well do I know Father? How happy am I to see Him when life gets tough and I'm all fussy? Do I delight in merely being in His presence?

May I always run to Him when I need to be stilled and quieted.

- Holly Barrett

Hearing the Voice of Jesus

Today's Reading:
AM - Psalm 119:145-176
PM - Psalm 128, 129 and 130
Gospel - John 10:1-18

For reflection: How do you discern God's voice from all the voices that vie for your attention?

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What a question this one is!  Don't you wish you had a pat, easy answer for this one?  I believe Christians have asked this one for years.  When I first read through these scriptures and this question, I had no desire to even approach this question.  I thought I'll just concentrate on the scriptures, but concentrating on the scriptures brought me back to the question.

John 10:4-5

"When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.  But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."

If we are the sheep and Jesus is the shepherd, we should know his voice.  It says so in verse 4.  So how do we do that?  The question above references all the the voices that vie for your attention.  What are the other voices vying for your attention?  Responsibility, worry, family, work, politics, unfulfilled expectations, financial struggles, social life, media, or pleasure, to name a few.  Do you recognize any of these voices?

As I read Psalm 119:145-176, I looked for a theme and how any of this related.  I was struck by the Psalmist's love for the word of God expressed in this passage.  Below are listed a few of the Psalmist's words referring to the word of God:

147 - I put my hope in Your word

148 - that I may meditate on Your promises

151 - all your commands are true

156 - preserve my life according to Your laws

159 - I love Your precepts; preserve my life, O Lord, according to Your love

160 - all Your words are true, all Your righteous laws are eternal

161 - my heart trembles at Your word

163 - I love Your law

167 - I obey Your statutes for I love them greatly

174 - Your law is my delight

In order to love the word of God, one has to know the word of God.  The Psalmist knew, loved, and praised God for His word.

How much time do you spend knowing, loving, and praising God for His word?  Is our hope being daily placed in God's word (119:147)?  Are you meditating on God's promises (119:148)?  For us to recognize the Lord's voice, we must know His word.  I believe that only by walking with the Lord, studying His word, and finding some sort of solitude with Him, can we discern the Lord's voice amongst all the others.  

- Renee Preston

Worship!

Today's Reading:
AM - Psalm 121, 122 and 123
PM - Psalm 124, 125 and 126
Gospel - John 9:18-41

For reflection: Who has been the toughest person to explain your faith to and why?

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He was just a man.  

Ok, so he wasn’t just any man, he was a man born blind.  

Ok, I know, he was a man born blind who could now miraculously see. So, not your typical Jew of the day. Yet in the midst of all the confusion of who healed this man, his own parents denied knowing the Great Physician.

As young parents they held their newborn son knowing his life would have limitations. They knew it would be a struggle to care for him. Their son sat quietly by the tree, as other children were outside running and playing. Every morning when they saw the sun rise, they knew this boy of theirs would never get to experience the splendor and majesty of God’s creation to the fullest.   

Then today God’s Son walks by, and everything changes. Sight is restored and a young man can experience a new element of life. Yet when confronted, two parents, who had to be filled with joy, kept silent about the healing power of Jesus.

Silent, they said nothing. It is hard to believe, but fear is powerful. They were afraid of losing fellowship with their brothers and sisters of the Jewish faith. The people had been threatened if they confessed Jesus as the Christ, then they would be cast out. 

Now, outside the gate, was a young man with a new sight. When Jesus found him He asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” Upon which this new receiver of sight replied, “Yes, I believe.” Then a beautiful thing happens. He worships Jesus.  

As we continue this journey to the cross we hear the steps of the Master. The question is still open today. Do you believe? Do you believe in the healing power of Jesus? Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God? If you are like the man born blind and said “Yes”, then be like the man given sight, and worship Him. Right here, right now, worship the giver of sight, and forgiver of sins.

- Ross Brashear

Were You Born Blind?

Today's Reading:
AM - Psalm 31
PM - Psalm 35
Gospel - John 9:1-17

For reflection: What physical or emotional misfortune in your life has turned into an opportunity for God to demonstrate His power?

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Were you born blind?

I’m afraid I was, at least to the extent that I do not recognize quickly how God works in my life on a daily, minute by minute basis!

I know that He has saved me, and that He has promised to be with me forever, but maybe I don’t relate that to everyday activities like He wants me to!  After all, the hymn “I Need Thee Every Hour” is just a pretty hymn, not a real petition – or is it? Sing along with it!  You know it well, I hope.

The gigantic times in my life when I “just kinda” wonder where Jesus is at the moment occur when I see a close friend or family member suffering.  When life is ebbing away in pieces, not suddenly, it strikes me that we all need Jesus every minute of every day. But David knew that long, long ago as evidenced in his Psalm 31.  It’s at times when one loses their memory, ever so slowly.  When a slow degenerative disease is eating away, but no one knows yet and one is afraid to tell!  Maybe one is losing their savings month by month!  How about when a child is straying from the way we had chosen for them?  Bad decisions don’t occur without some warning signs.

But I’m convinced that the one bad decision I could make is to lose faith and let my trust weaken in God’s protection of my life.  So it is with David that I say,

¹⁴ But I trust in you, LORD;
   I say, “You are my God.”
¹⁵ My times are in your hands;
   deliver me from the hands of my enemies,
   from those who pursue me.
¹⁶ Let your face shine on your servant;
   save me in your unfailing love.
¹⁷ Let me not be put to shame, LORD,
   for I have cried out to you;
   but let the wicked be put to shame
   and be silent in the realm of the dead.
¹⁸ Let their lying lips be silenced,
   for with pride and contempt
   they speak arrogantly against the righteous.

And then let me always remember that my righteousness is from that faith that I have in You, O my God!

- Hal Gross

Counting the Cost

Today's Reading:
AM - Psalm 118
PM - Psalm 145
Gospel - Mark 8:31-9:1

For reflection: What do you do when you are angry at God?

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In this economy I have seen more and more young moms and dads in the grocery store diligently entering the cost of every item into a calculator.  I think that most of us have been doing some careful budgeting before we do our weekly food shopping.  We don’t want to arrive at the checkout with more than we can pay for.  For those of us with teenage boys at home, this can be quite a challenge!

Imagine if you were in the checkout line and overheard me raging at the clerk because the total of my bill was more than I could afford.  You would think that I was being ridiculous and would wonder why I hadn’t taken the time to add up my purchases before I blamed an innocent store employee.  After all, I had chosen to buy my groceries and it was my responsibility to think ahead and not spend more than I had.

Sometimes I wonder if God shakes his head in puzzlement at me when I come to him in anger and frustration at a situation in my life.  He has promised to keep my most valuable possession, my soul, safe in his keeping.  It has been washed in the blood of his Son and will receive the awesome gift of his presence for eternity.  

Before I committed my heart and life to him, I was told to carefully count the cost.  He explained at the end of the eighth chapter of Mark that I must be willing to lose my life in order to follow him.  The small ways in which I must deny myself will be quickly forgotten when he comes in his glory.

- Kathleen Tatro

Hard Teachings

Today's Reading:
AM - Psalm 102 and 108
PM - Psalm 33
Gospel - John 6:60-71

For reflection: What words of Jesus are hard for you to accept?

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In John 6:60-71, Jesus is talking with his disciples about being the bread of life and that all must eat his flesh and drink his blood to have eternal life. This was a very disturbing teaching for all that were listening due to the literal interpretation they used to process the information.  I found it disturbing as I read it when I put myself in their place in history. These were hard words for followers to accept from Jesus. But, it didn't change the fact that if you wanted to follow Christ, you had to accept all He taught, not just the parts you are comfortable with.

What words of Jesus are hard for you to accept?  It's not a question that I ask myself very often.  I need to ask it frequently so that I can become a better disciple and lover of Jesus.  Join me in asking God to reveal areas of our lives where we haven't accepted the hard teachings. Lets ask the Lord to open our hearts to make changes in our lives that bring us closer to Him and to walk us through  acceptance of those difficult teachings.  We all want to accept all of Jesus' teachings so that we can bring glory to His Kingdom.

- Cathryn Walling

Junk Food

Today's Reading:
AM - Psalm 107:1-32
PM - Psalm 107:33-43
Gospel - John 6:52-59

For reflection: How would you describe your daily spiritual diet: Junk food? Frozen food? Baby food? Leftovers? Meat & potatoes? Pure bread and wine?

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There’s nothing better (in my opinion) than a Hostess Suzy-Q washed down by a Hansen’s Mandarin Lime soda.  When I couldn’t find Hansen’s in town anywhere, I had a case shipped from the manufacturer in California.  The shipping cost more than the cans.  While that treat was momentarily delightful, there was nothing of substance ingested.  My hunger returned shortly thereafter, and all I really accomplished was fooling my body into thinking it actually got some fuel it could use.

Although I’m not fond of getting up at 5:00am every Tuesday, what I treasure about the time I spend with a couple of guys in Bible study at 6:15 is that we wrestle through tough sections of Scripture together. We ask and answer hard questions.  We deal with supposed contradictions.  We gnaw on truth until we get it.  We challenge each other to live a life worthy of our calling in Jesus Christ.

When we lean on what we’ve always heard or what somebody taught us a long time ago, or we share the same perspectives and opinions over and over in Life Group, and refuse to wrestle ourselves with God’s word, we are fooling ourselves into thinking we are actually feeding our spirits.  Join with some fellow pilgrims and do the hard work of building your faith and knowing why you believe what you believe through your own study and reflection.

- Lee Thrasher