My Daily Pause

Worry, Fear, Panic. Just a few of the symptoms of one that doesn’t trust. If we lack faith in something, then we do not expect to be able rely on it.

How do you supposed Jesus felt when he had to ask his disciples where their faith was? (Luke 8:25) Jesus had demonstrated his power to them time and time again, but they still feared the storm. (Luke 8:22-24)

The Storm on the Sea of Galilee by Rembrandt, 1632.

Every day will bring new challenges. This might be especially true for those trying to be faithful to God. When we allow those challenges to consume our attention, we will eventually overthink the situation. Fear and worry can use that to get a foothold.

To get a head start on the day, we have to expect the unexpected. Sure, that’s a little cliché, but preparing ourselves to handle anything that life throws at us is how we deal with it. Here are a few things we can do get that head start:

• Bible reading – an excellent way to build faith (Romans 10:17)
• Prayer – The prayers of a righteous person gets results (James 5:16)
• Review our priorities – Seek God’s kingdom first (Luke 12:31) and select our treasure wisely (Luke 12:34)

Faith in God is the first step (and often the only step) needed to avoid worry and fear.

Daily Bible reading for September 12

Psalm 41
2 Samuel 2
Ezekiel 1
Luke 8:22-56

When Jesus spoke in parables, he had a number of reasons for doing so. I’m not sure I fully understand them all, especially Luke 8:10, which seems very cryptic to me. It almost seems to say to me that those with a hard heart will miss the point, but those eager to learn will get it. If anyone has a better explanation of that verse, please let me hear it!

Here are some notes that I have collected in the margins of my Bible as to why the Lord used parables to teach:

• Prophecy Isaiah 6:9-10
• Confound the spies and Pharisees
• Challenged His disciples to greater spiritual discernment
• The Hebrew people were familiar with the method
• Easy to remember
• Interesting
• The teachings were unsuitable for use against him in court

Daily Bible reading for September 11

Psalm 40
2 Samuel 1
Daniel 12
Luke 8:4-21

Jesus took Simon the Pharisee to school. (Luke 6:36-50) I wonder if Simon really fully understood what happened in his own house.

Making judgments is a daily requirement to avoid sinful situations, but we have to be careful whose standard we judge by.

• When the sinful woman came in, Simon saw a lost cause – Jesus saw a precious soul (Luke 7:39)
• Simon felt superior to Jesus – Jesus was the master teacher (Luke 7:40)
• Simon slighted Jesus a common courtesy – Jesus responded to the love of a sinner (Luke 7:44-46)
• Simon remained judgmental – Jesus passed the final judgment (Luke 7:48-49)

The passages that warn us about judging others (Matthew 7:1, Luke 6:37) are among the most misused in the Bible. Most people quote those verses as a way to avoid having their sins pointed out to them. If they were to keep reading, they would see that it is a warning against unrighteous judgment. We are to be careful of the measuring stick we hold up to others, we might just have that same ruler used against us!

Simon illustrates that perfectly for us. He thought he was sizing Jesus up to pass judgment on his authenticity as a prophet. Instead, he found himself weight in the balance and left wanting.

Since Jesus recognized her love for him, we know the sinful woman went away living in obedience. At the end of the day, our love for the Christ is how we stay obedient. (John 14:15)

…and those who see themselves as superior to others? Let’s hope they see the danger before it’s too late.

After reading Numbers, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Romans and James with a group from church last night, (Yes! 7 hours of reading!) I am left with one impression:

A lot like a shard of glass, consequences of our sins can arise at any time.

The Lord is very forgiving of sin, but he leaves it to us to clean up the mess we make when we do.

The children of Israel found this out when they ignored one of the conditions for inhabiting the Promised Land. They were to drive out all of the inhabitants. (Numbers 33:55) God even warned them that if anyone was left, those inhabitants would become like thorns in their sides. They failed to obey and we can look at the life of David to see that it still held true even through his days and beyond.

God expects us to obey his word. He also expects us to act on his behalf when the time comes – a lot like when Mordecai told Esther at one crucial point in the Jews history: “…who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)

Yes, we can sin and be forgiven. We might even be able to take advantage of God’s grace a little bit. In the long run, the unintended consequences may cause us to perish.

Daily Bible reading for September 7

Psalm 36
1 Samuel 27
Daniel 8
Luke 5:1-6:16

Be careful what you think,
because your thoughts run your life.

Don’t use your mouth to tell lies;
don’t ever say things that are not true.

Keep your eyes focused on what is right,
and look straight ahead to what is good.

Be careful what you do,
and always do what is right.

Don’t turn off the road of goodness;
keep away from evil paths. – Proverbs 4:23-27 NCV

I’ve told you about Biblepalooza before. I have been mentally preparing for it this week as tonight’s session will be a long one. I can’t say enough good about sitting for several hours and letting my mind be washed in God’s word.

In the passage above, Solomon cautions us in how we think, act and do. Our Biblepalooza sessions are one way to practice that – It’s like a mental refill of things to think about!

The Things We Think About

Earl Nightingale’s The Strangest Secret in the World was thought to be rather groundbreaking when it was released in 1961. His basic message was “we are what we think about.” Whatever we put into our minds returns in abundance through our actions. Spending time with God’s word is exactly how to become what God wants us to be. If we are what we think about, then thinking about God is how we do justice to being created in his image.

Paul reminds us to fill our minds with whatever is good, true and honorable – so many suggestions for what to think about! (Philippians 4:8) What better way to obey such a command than to spend it reading the Bible?

Tonight I will spend several hours in a room with my brothers and sisters. The only sounds will be the words of God.

Look for a way to do something similar. Even if it isn’t a formal event like our Biblepalooza, find excuses to read your Bible.

Start small if you have to. But start.