March 3, 2014
On the Monday before Christ’s crucifixion He entered the Temple and cleared it of its sellers and money changers. They had apparently made the outer court, known as the Court of the Gentiles, into a marketplace. Jesus was furious. The outer court was meant to offer a place of prayer and refuge of hope to the nations, but the Jewish leaders had turned it into a retail business. This is a fair warning to the Church. Jesus has commissioned us to be a light and to proclaim the gospel to the nations. When we turn inward and use the Church for our own members’ gain, we neglect Christ’s Great Commission.
March 2, 2014
A blind beggar named Bartimaeus was sitting beside the road leaving Jericho as he heard that Jesus and His disciples were passing by. He yelled for Jesus’ attention, calling Him by His Messianic title, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” The crowd’s attempts to quiet Bartimaeus only made him yell louder. Finally, Jesus called to him, asking what he wanted. Surely the man’s blindness was obvious to anyone. Jesus, who even knew people’s thoughts, surely knew the man was blind. Yet, he asked what he wanted. Bartimaeus quickly replied, “I want to see!” With this answer, Bartimaeus spoke with faith, believing that Jesus could give him his sight. Jesus knows our needs even before we pray, yet He still listens for us to ask Him in faith. Bartimaeus received his sight and followed Jesus. Pray specific prayers.
March 1, 2014
The golden Lampstand stood in the Tabernacle with its seven lamps filled with olive oil overlooking the Table of Presence. It was to be kept continuously lit by the high priest. Its light was to shine on the Bread of Presence and throughout the holy place. In the gospels, Jesus identified Himself with these two sacred symbols saying, “I am the Bread of life,” and “I am the Light of the world.” Later, in the book of Revelation, John saw Jesus walking amongst the lampstands which were shown to be the churches. Jesus warned that He would remove a church’s lampstand if it failed to fulfill its calling to Him. What is the calling of the church as a “lampstand?” It is to shine its light upon the Bread of Life, which is Jesus Christ our Lord! Any church which lets its light go out in the darkness or wastes its light by shining it on other things than Jesus, will have their lampstand removed. Church, let’s keep our lampstand lit and shining on Jesus!
February 28, 2014
Jesus turned the theory of leadership upside down. He taught His disciples, who were arguing about who would rise to leadership, that the path to greatness in God’s economy was downward, not upward. Jesus was the model of the Servant Leader. He led by service. Washing feet, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, teaching the ignorant– this is how Jesus led. And this is how He still expects us to lead. Leadership is a stewardship.
February 27, 2014
When you are feeling down and discouraged, ask the Lord about it. Give Him your attitude. Move your dependence off of yourself and put your hope in God. Instead of expressing your blues, put on your praise. Let the Lord renew and encourage you.
February 26, 2014
God explained to Moses the purpose behind the laws of personal conduct for the people of Israel, namely: Holiness. The Hebrew word for “holy” is qadosh (קָדוֹשׁ), literally meaning to be set apart for special use, to be consecrated, sacred, holy. God had chosen the Israelites to be His special people, set apart for His purpose. They were to be different than the world, showing forth the glory and holiness of God, as His image bearers. Yet, the law was unable to change their unholy hearts. It worked to restrain their behavior somewhat, but its real effect was to reflect their guilty hearts and reveal their need for a Savior. If we are to be holy as the Lord our God is holy, then we must receive His Holy One, Jesus the Christ. Then, our lives will “shine like stars” in a dark world (Phil.2:15).
February 25, 2014
Jesus felt compassion for the hungry. He noticed their need and then took action to address it. We don’t read that the disciples felt compassion. When faced with human need we learn to turn a blind eye. There is so much need and we are so concerned with our own. Surely the disciples themselves were hungry too. And It’s hard to feel sorry for others when your own stomach is growling. Yet, both the disciples and the crowd were fed when the disciples obeyed Jesus. Through Jesus we become aware of the needs of others. We feel His compassion flowing. When we move to meet the needs of others in His Name, we find that our own needs are met in Him as well.
February 24, 2014
Jesus explained that sin begins with an attitude of the heart before it becomes a behavior. Focusing on changing the behavior is unfruitful when only faith in Jesus will change the heart. The human heart is born with an attitude of rebellion against God saying, “My will,” rather than “Your will be done.” This teaching of Jesus also served notice that certain Pharisaical cleanliness laws were human additions to the Mosaic law and therefore not binding. This is an example of the saying that “law begets law.” The Pharisees had not lightened the burden of the people, instead they had added to it.
February 23, 2014
A sharpened saw cuts more efficiently, but you have to take a break from sawing long enough to sharpen the blade. Long before Covey wrote “The 7 Habits,” Jesus taught His disciples to pull away with Him to rest. Working without rest results in diminishing returns. A rhythm of work and rest produces the best outcome. This rest must include certain aspects: 1) “Let’s” – Spiritual rest means time alone with Jesus, 2) “go off” – Physical rest requires a pulling away from work completely. 3) “by ourselves” – Social rest involves time away from others, and 4) “quiet place” – Mental rest means a place where input from various media is cut off, so that the mental faculties can recover. When we follow Jesus in this rhythm of work and rest, we discover new strength and insight for life.
February 22, 2014
The Lord gave many types of laws to the Jewish people. These laws might be put in three categories: 1) Moral, 2) Ceremonial and 3) Civil. Moral laws are perpetual, revealing the character of God and showing us to how treat both God and man. Ceremonial laws have to do with the temple worship, holy days, and sacrificial system. Civil laws have the effect of setting the Jews apart as God’s peculiar people. The laws concerning diseases of the skin seem to fall into the last two categories: ceremonial and civil. The “unclean” condition of one with a skin disease makes them ceremonially unacceptable to take part in corporate worship. And it also makes them a danger to the civil community, as their skin condition may be communicable. The specificity of these “cleanliness” laws is astounding considering that medical science didn’t understand the invisible agents called germs until the late 19th century discoveries of Louis Pasteur. The cleaning of items that came into contact with the individual, the burning of clothes and bedding, the quarantine of the individual until the course of the disease is determined, these are all huge advancements for that day.