December 31: God is coming back soon!

posted by Darius Sanders

Scripture
Revelation 22:7
“Look, I am coming soon!  Blessed are those who obey the words of prophecy written in this book.”

Observation
God is coming back!  He promised in His word that He will come back.  He doesn’t tell us exactly when, but according to His time scale, it will be soon.

This reminds me of when I was younger and my parents would leave the house and say, “When we get back, this house better be clean.”  We would then respond by asking, “When will you get back?”  (After all, there is no sense in cleaning up the house really quickly if they wouldn’t be back for a long time ). They would then respond by saying, “We’ll be back soon.”  They never gave us a specific time, but according to their time scale, it would be soon. 

Just like my parents made good on their promise time after time, God will make good on His promise.  He will return to the earth again soon!

Application
We can’t assume that God is coming years down the road.  We need to keep in mind that He could come at any time.  As fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ we may be prepared for His second coming, but we need to make sure others around us are prepared as well.  Sadly, most people don’t even know about the first coming of Christ.  The reason God has left us on this earth after starting a relationship with Him is to tell others about Him.  We need to maximize our time here on this earth by letting as many people know about Christ as possible. 

Prayer
God, thank You for helping us as a church to read through the entire bible this year!  My prayer is that more important than just reading the bible from cover to cover, we would put what Your Word says into practice in our every day life.  I pray that we would be proactive in telling other about Your love for them and Your desire to start a relationship with them.  Thanks for the hope of knowing that You will come back soon.  I look forward to seeing You!

December 30th: Praise the Lord!

by Dennis Johnston

Scripture:

Praise the Lord! How good to sing praises to our God! How delightful and how fitting! Psalm147:1

Observation:

The sacrifice of praise (from a grateful heart) is pleasing to the Lord.

Application:

I frequently find myself singing hymns of praise to God.  I always see this as a great opportunity to lift up the name of the Lord.  Paul and Silas did this late one night while other prisoners were listening to them and……………..suddenly the prison doors flew open (see Acts 16:25-29).  I’m encouraged and strengthened in my heart when I sing praises to God.  The doors of selfishness and the concerns of this world…………..suddenly take a back seat to the wonders of God.

“It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, 2to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night………………..4For you make me glad by your deeds, O Lord; I sing for joy at the works of your hands. 5How great are your works, O Lord, how profound your thoughts” (Psalm 92:1-2, 4-5).

I have a friend who constantly says, “Praise the Lord” when answering his phone.  His heart is pure and it’s such a delight and a source of encouragement for me to hear this.  More importantly, I’m sure it’s pleasing to the Lord.

Prayer:

Lord – it’s good to sing praises to you.  I’m thankful that I can proclaim your love in the morning and at night.  You are faithful!  Thanks for changing me as I continue to read your word each day.

December 23rd: All I want…

By: Brent Hodges

Scripture

“You are all I really want in life.”  Psalm 142:5b

Observation

David writes this psalm with a unique perspective as he has been relying solely on God to keep him alive.

Application

I don’t think I will ever have the same experience that David had as he evaded Saul.  I’ll probably never live in a place where things are so difficult all I can do is rely on God for the bare necessities of life.  I am blessed to live in a society that is the wealthiest on earth.  Due to that, I am bombarded daily with advertisements that try to grab my attention. 

David sat in a cave not knowing where his next meal would come from…totally dependent on God…and that’s all he wanted.  I try to carve out quiet time without distraction, but there never fails to be ambient noise in the background. 

In my situation, I must learn to block out all the distraction and focus my attention and my life on God.  I must learn to live in such a way that all I truly want is Him…not the latest fad…not easy to do in our society, but worth the eternal reward.

Prayer

God, help me to live my life in such a way that you are all I truly want.  If everything else passed away, I want to desire only You.

December 22: The Mark

posted by Darius Sanders

Scripture
Revelation 13:17
And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name.

Observation
One day Satan will require his followers to get a mark on their forehead or their right hand representing their allegiance to him.  This mark will allow people to buy and sell things.  Those with the mark will be happy for a season because they will be able eat and “enjoy” life here on this earth.  However, once they die, they will be sorry that they ever pledged allegiance to Satan because they will live out their eternity in hell with him.  Life will be difficult for those who choose not to accept the mark but once again only for a season.  They may die of starvation, they may be martyred, they may be treated poorly here on this earth, but when they die, they will spend eternity in Heaven with God. 

Application
I’ve given my full allegiance to God.  I praise God, I worship God and I live for God.  I will never give my allegiance to Satan.  I don’t have any plans of being here on this earth when Satan requires people to get “The mark,” but if I was here, I would choose to suffer here on this earth for a season, and enjoy eternity in Heaven over enjoying a few years on this earth at the cost of spending eternity in hell.

Prayer
God, I am so grateful that You’ve called me to be a fully devoted follower of You.  I pray that I will live out every day for the rest of my life for Your purposes here on this earth.  Please give people that become followers of you courage in the end times to stay committed to you instead of taking the mark of the beast.

December 21st: God is Able

by Dennis Johnston

Scripture:

The Lord will work out his plans for my life – for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for you made me. Psalm 138:8

Observation:

God is able to do what He says He will do!  We hear time and time again in the psalms about God’s love enduring forever (see Psalm 136). 

Application:

God is a great finisher.  Anything He begins – He completes in full.  “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).

Being a Christ-follower is adventurous!  I love to reflect at how marvelous God is at being and doing what He says.  He is always faithful – He doesn’t change!

“Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV)

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8 NIV).

I trust these words encourage you and bring hope to whatever situation you are facing. 

Prayer:

God – there are lots of unknowns right now, but I know I can be confident in you.  I trust you and know that your love endures forever.

December 20th: Search Me!

by Paul Lewis

Scripture: Psalm 139:23-24

 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
      test me and know my anxious thoughts.
 24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
      and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Observation:

This Psalm points out how intimately God knows us and how detailed his plans for us are. In these verses we see the desire for God to know our thoughts, test our heart and show us what doesn’t honor him in our lives so that he can lead us closer to him.

Application:

We need to trust God to continually point out what doesn’t honor him in our lives so that we can repent, be forgiven, make changes in our behavior or attitude, and walk closer to him. This isn’t a one time process. It is a lifelong journey to become like Christ. We must die to ourselves so that Christ can live more fully within us.

Prayer:

God search me! Change me! Mold me! Make me like you!!! Amen

December 14th: Bah-humbug, Jonah…

By: Brent Hodges

Scripture

Jonah 4:1-3

Observation

Jonah becomes angry when God doesn’t fulfill Jonah’s proclamation.  He states that he knows how compassionate and merciful God is and knew that God would turn back from destroying the people of Ninevah.

Application

Jonah wasn’t too keen on reciprocating the mercy that he was just shown by God.  He was willing to accept the free gift, but not give it…fitting for this time of year.  We may not always understand why God chooses to do some things and not others, but that’s not what He’s called us to do.  He’s called us to love Him with all that we are…and to love our neighbor as ourself.  If we keep our priorities in the correct order, we won’t stumble into Jonah’s predicament. 

Prayer

Lord, may I never forget that without the mercy and forgiveness you have shown me I would be lost.  May I rejoice when others come to that same knowledge of saving grace.

December 12th: I’m not lukewarm, but I know people who are!

by Dennis Johnston

Scripture:

“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold.  I wish that you were one or the other.”   Revelation 3:15

Observation:

These words describe the spiritual condition of the church in Laodicea.  So it appears this church had life in her, but she was not “alive.”  She had an affection for God, but she didn’t have a fervent desire to be with him.

Application:

I must admit – at first glance I look outward when I read this verse.  I think about those other people.  The reality is – these words are for me first.  My caution to you is this: do not assume that your spiritual condition is hot.

 

A person that is neither hot nor cold is lukewarm.  Have you ever had lukewarm coffee or hot chocolate?  Yuck!  Lukewarm people attend church regularly – it’s what is expected of us Christians.  That’s what a good Christian does.  Even serves on a ministry team on a weekly basis.

 

“The Lord says: ‘These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men” (Isaiah 29:13).

 

As a Christ-follower God desires to be in an intimate relationship with me where I’m passionate about Him – about us.  He even “wishes” that I were one or the other.  So how do I avoid being lukewarm?

 

Christ is standing at the door and knocking – asking to be closer to me (v. 20).  He desires a close friendship.  He knows all the things I do – that’s not what He’s concerned about.  He is self-sufficient and doesn’t need me, yet He desires to partner with me and spend time and grow together.  I can start my spending more time reading about Him and learning about Him as we journey through the Bible together.  I will give Him more of my time!

Prayer:

God – you are awesome!  Thank you for helping me realize you desire more of my time.  In giving you that – I can then give you more of my heart.

December 11th: Can You Hear Me Now?!

by Paul Lewis

Scripture:

Amos 4:12

“Therefore, I will bring upon you all the disasters I have announced. Prepare to meet your God in judgement, you people of Israel!”

Observation:

God is ticked off! He’s had it! Five times in this chapter he reminds them of what he has done to punish the Israelites for their sin and rebellion against him, “But still you would not return to me.” (See verses 6, 8, 9, 10, 11)

So now he will bring all of the disasters upon them that he warned them about. It has been horrible up to this point, but they haven’t seen anything yet!

But, our God is a merciful God and wants his people to live. In Amos 5 he declares and repeats, “Come back to me and live!” (see 5:4 and 5:6)

Application:

God will be heard! If we ignore his voice we will face him in judgement. If we turn to him we will live. He makes it clear. It’s an either, or question. Compare that to 1 John 5:12 and 13 where John writes that if we have the Son we have life, and if we don’t, we don’t have life. God wants us to live! He makes it clear throughout the Bible. Choose life!

Prayer:

I’m listening Lord! I want to live. Please help me to stay focused on you and your voice. Amen

December 8th: Responsible Grace

Scripture

Jude 1:12-13

When these people eat with you in your fellowship meals commemorating the Lord’s love, they are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you. They are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves. They are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain. They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots. They are like wild waves of the sea, churning up the foam of their shameful deeds. They are like wandering stars, doomed forever to blackest darkness.

Observation

This letter from Jude is a warning to the church about people who take grace for granted.  The do whatever they please because they are forgiven.  Jude labels these people dangerous and speaks out very strongly against them.

Application

I need to treat grace with more care and respect.  It is a precious thing that I need take better care of.

Prayer

Thank you for your grace.