No Way Out

Read: Exodus 13 and Acts 7

“When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, ‘Lest the people changed their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.’” Exodus 13:17

Examine:

God knew the mindset and the limits of the Israelites. Had he allowed them to see the Philistines they would have shook, trembled and returned to Egypt. Instead, He choose to lead them towards the Red Sea and land them in a place where Egypt, their only other option beside God, would be pressing them into the certain death.

Apply:

If you give me an out I will normally take it. If I have an option between pain and easy I will most always choose the way that is easy. That is simply the human nature inside of me. That is what makes faith in God so challenging. The way of God is narrow. It is tough. It is not comfortable, does not affirm my logic, and never fits my timing. God’s way forces me to lay down my cross, die to myself, and follow after Him. God knows my weakness in this. He knows that I am prone to taking outs so often times He will land me in a place of no escape, no surrender and no return. It is in a place from which there is no way out that I learn to fully rely on the power, majesty and promise of a God who is able to do far above anything I could ever hope or imagine.

Pray:

Life gets confusing at times. I like to say because it is hard to discern Your voice and Your leading but that is not true. There is nothing in Your Word that serves as evidence of You being hard to understand. I can’t find a single one. You always make Your will known, Your path clear, and Your calling evident. The issue lies with my hearing and obeying.

I do not really want to hear what You are saying. When You speak my life changes and change makes me uncomfortable. When You speak I have to respond with faith and faith forces me to let go and trust You. When You speak, You normally call me into something bigger than myself in order to do something that only You can do. This means I face odds that are overwhelming, circumstances that are impossible, and nights that are gut-wrenching. And so, I look for a way out.

I am grateful that You understand this about me. I find myself in the exact place the Israelites are in this chapter. I have left for a land that is unknown and I currently stand cutoff from and oppressed by my only options out. It is tempting to become hurt or bitter, but I recognize this morning that this is Your hand. When the time is right You will put Your hand up to provide, protect and deliver me and my family. There is no provider, protector or controller of my destiny besides the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You, Yahweh, will once again prove Yourself worthy.

These Three of Mine

Read: Exodus 11 – 12 & Acts 6

“And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’” Exodus 11:26

Examine:

God understood the importance of the Israelites passing on to their children a spiritual inheritance. He did not want them to only pass on the rituals, but to make sure that their kids understood the purpose behind the ritual.

Apply:

There are a couple of things that stand out to me with this verse. First, I need to live out my faith in my home. The presence of God and weight of my obedience should be such that my kids take notice of it and my relationship with them should be such that they feel comfortable in asking me to explain it. Matter of fact, I should use the frequency with which they ask about my relationship with God as an indicator of how real God is to me. If those closest to me are not being impacted by the work of God in my heart then something is not as it should be.

Second, I need to put more value on the spiritual inheritance I leave for my kids than I do anything else. More than sports, hunting, life skills, or college funds; I have to make sure that my kids know and understand what it means to serve God. It is not enough to trust that they are catching it from me. I need to have intentional conversations with them. I need to know where they are, understand the questions they have, and pray purposefully for each of them.

Pray:

Father, my kids normally spend the bulk of their time with me when I am at my worst. They see me early in the morning when we are under the gun to get dressed, eat breakfast and make it to school. Then they see me at the tail end of the day after the weight of work has worn me down and we have dinner, baths, and homework left to complete. There are weeks when they honestly get lost in the shuffle and can become one more set of things on my to-do list.

This morning I am reminded of the powerful potential that they each possess. I am reintroduced to the fact that my first and primary mission in life is to launch those little rascals as arrows aimed straight towards the heart You have for each of them.

Henley has a heart of service that is incredible. Her love for people and Your creation is so evident. She has a great desire to see people cared for and happy. I pray that You help me teach her Your heart for her life. I am grateful that she has already acknowledged You as her God and Jesus as her savior. Teach her now what it means to give You control of her life and protect the decisions that she makes. The foundations of her faith are being formed now. Allow me the insights I need to be a strong leader in her life.

Bryce has a compassion that is greater than any of my kids and within him lies strength and boldness to be a great leader. His young heart is tender and his spirit is strong. There is an independence and inquisitiveness that causes him to seek things out and pursue a deeper understanding on his own. I pray that You help me understand where he is, what he is thinking and the questions that he has. I pray that I not be so busy that I blow past opportunities to speak into his life. I trust that You will continue to lead him to surrender his life to You and give me a peace as to when he will be ready.

Hayes makes me laugh unlike anything I have ever seen. That boy is fierce, unconquerable, and unrelenting. There are days these traits can press me to the point of exhaustion. There are settings in which these assets of his can cause him trouble and wear out the people in charge of him. I pray that You lead me to harness his strengths, but to not break them. He is so young and there is much about him that is still unknown to me. Lead me to understand his heart, his gifts, and his journey with You.

You sent these three to me to serve in accomplishing Your purposes for their lives. There is no greater responsibility handed to me than that of being a good steward with their lives, to be an effective spiritual figure for them, and to be a safe place for them to help process the contents of their heart.

Throwing Rocks as Pharaoh

Read: Exodus 9 -10 & Acts 5

“But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart.” Exodus 9:34

Examine:

Pharaoh turned to God in the previous verses and acknowledged his sin. As this verse reveals Pharaoh’s confessions was not based on his heart for God. It was based on the pain in his life. He turned to God only for relief. Once relief came he went right back to where he was at the beginning.

Apply:

“Oh God, please get me out of this and then I swear….” I shudder when I think of how many times I have uttered that phrase. Pain in my life related to work, relationships, health or finances drive me towards the heart of God. I then clean up, shape up and recommit. There is always a sense in me when this happens that this is the time will be the time I really mean it. There will be no going back. I will be all in and keep my promises this time. Then my life gets better. At first I am grateful and praise God for His goodness but before long life becomes manageable, I become bored, and then I land right back at the beginning again. This is the cycle of sin and repent Paul calls me to avoid.

The heart of the issue is the intentions of my heart. If my heart is centered on living a good life then I am helpless in avoiding this cycle. My choices will lead me to follow the path of least resistance and the one containing the best opportunity to find joy. But, if my heart is set on losing my life for the mission of God then my faith becomes my passion, the call of God becomes my focus, my circumstances become irrelevant, and the Kingdom of God becomes my prize.

Pray:

I am grateful for Your grace today for it is only because of Your grace that I am able to sit here and laugh at myself. My mind is carrying me back to the moments of chaos I have experienced and the number of times I have made promises to You that I never intended to keep. There have been seasons of life when Satan used these failures to keep me away from You but now I rest knowing they were dealt with on the cross and my condemnation is removed.

As much as I laugh at myself, I am also alarmed. It is easy to throw stones at Pharaoh this morning but I am sober enough to know there is still a force at work in me that is evil and self-seeking. There is still a part of me that seeks You for the sake of convenience and for convenience’s sake will pull up camp to pursue another. I ask that You continue to make Your call my ambition, my faith my passion, and the Kingdom my only prize. Separate my decisions from my circumstances and let me instead just be consumed by a desire to say yes to You no matter what.

What Matters Most

Read: Exodus 7-8 & Acts 4

“for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:20

Examine:

It is amazing to watch the development of the disciples. They went from common men, discarded by the religious community to weak followers of the Messiah. Then they went from weak followers of the Messiah to men running for their lives and cowering in fear. Now in this verse we find them bold men who, while staring death in the face, cannot help but speak according to what they have experienced.

Apply:

My life is a journey. Just like the disciples I will not arrive all at once. Day by day, as they spent time with Jesus they grew in wisdom, strength, courage, and boldness. The same is for me. I often feel pressed to be all I can be all at once. That is not God’s expectation of me at all. He knows where I am and where I will end up. He fully knows the time it will take, the mistakes I must make, and the lessons I must learn. What matters most in my life is not my scorecard. The only thing that really matters is allowing Jesus to wreck my heart and my life with His presence and Spirit. Allowing Him access to my heart is my only contribution to the process. God takes care of the rest.

Pray:

Father, my prayer to You today is found in the words of this song, “Single minded, whole hearted, one thing I ask. 

Single minded, Jesus, whole hearted, one thing I ask. That I may gaze upon Your beauty, oh Lord. 

That I may seek Your holy face. 

That I may know You in an intimate way and follow after You all of my days; for all of life comes down to just one thing and that's to know You, oh Jesus and make You known.”


Temperamental Favor

Read: Exodus 1-2 & Acts 1

“Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.” Exodus 1:8

Examine:

Pharaoh extended great privilege to the people of Israel based on his respect for Joseph and his God. They greatly multiplied and life was good. Then leadership changed and in one sentence their whole earthly existence shifted. This is an extraordinary example of the temperamental and temporal nature of man’s favor.

Apply:

There are seasons of life that are quite peaceful and restful. Things seem to move along with ease, circumstances remain stable, and people seem to offer their favor. In these moments it is really easy to take my eyes off of God and put them on my circumstances. I begin to trust God because everything is going my way and my life makes sense. This is a really risky form of faith. It is risky because the circumstances of my life can shift in the matter of seconds. This morning I almost T-boned a car that pulled out in front of me. In 90 seconds I would have gone from laughing with my kids as I dropped them off to school and would have found myself sitting in the midst of a mangled mess counting fingers and toes.

Life is temporal but God is not. He was in the beginning, He is now, and He will be in the end. He never changes. He is longsuffering and good. His favor on my life is based on the righteousness of His Son that was imputed to me on the cross. That will never die. It will never shift. There is nothing of man that can come near it and the God of Heaven has sworn He will never take it away. Regardless of good or bad, I must press past my circumstances and find my joy in my relationship with the God of my circumstances.

Pray:

My heart is full this morning. Your presence is so near and I sit captivated, just as a child staring at the greatness of his dad. I am grateful to know You, honored to serve you, and blown away by how much You have given to me. My life is Yours. The temporal things of this earth have proven to be most unstable. In the midst of that You have proven that You never fail. You know my end from the beginning. I trust You to lead me in the way everlasting, to forgive me when I refuse Your request, and to redeem me when setbacks come. My deepest desire today is to see Your glory come through the life I live. I am blown away to think that You desire the same for me as well. Thank You for seeing in me what I fail to see myself.

Life Unshakeable

Read: Genesis 46-47 & Psalm 14-15

“He who does these things will not be shaken.” Psalm 15:5

Examine:
The things that David lists in verse one of this chapter are: walks with integrity, works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart. He then goes on to list some specifics and closes out the chapter with this verse offering assurance that the man who does these things will never be shaken. I find it interesting that David does not mention one single act of religion in this chapter on assurance. Every act listed in this chapter has to do with living generously with fellow believers, making peace while avoiding strife, and refusing the company of the vile.

Apply:

I must walk with integrity. Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. Walking means that my honesty and strong morals are not passive things that live in confines of my home. It means that my integrity is revealed in the actions I take.

I must work righteousness. This can be simply stated as doing what is right. Integrity has to do with what I do for myself. Doing what is right has to do with what I do for others. Working righteously means that I am willing to defend he weak, give generously, and encourage others to live for God. It is an active process that will likely come at a cost to me personally.

Finally, I must speak truth in my heart. This verse does not say to speak what I perceive to be true in my heart. It says to speak what is truth according to God. There is a big difference. My heart is a tricky thing to manage. It is easy to allow things in there that seem right and true to me only to discover that they are nothing more than selfish ambitions or comfortable truths. It is easy to allow hurt and fear to capture my heart and then disguise themselves as truth. I need to sit daily and allow the Word of God to adjust and align the truth that is in my heart.

Pray:

The depths of my heart are beyond my control. I can’t understand them and I am powerless to overcome them. The things that lie in my heart always seem right to me. That is what makes them so hard to examine and adjust. You and You alone have the power to transform what lies inside of my heart. I give myself to You today and pray that You work in my heart so that it contains truth. I ask that You help me value what is right even when it causes me loss or pain and that I would accept nothing in my life that would compromise my integrity. These are the keys to an unshakable life. I pray that You lead me to possess, teach me to love them, and train me to protect them.

The Picture I Have

Read: Genesis 43-45 & Psalm 12-13

“Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.” Genesis 45:5

Examine:

Joseph presents some amazing characteristics. His life was one of pain, betrayal, abandonment, and suffering. The call of God on His life and the oppressive choices made by others cost him much. Through it all two amazing traits held firm in Joseph’s heart. He never failed to stop believing in the goodness of God and he never allowed his heart to move past the point of forgiveness.

Apply:

As I read this verse there is truth that my flesh does not want to accept. I do not like to think that God’s call on my life might cause me to suffer harm. The words of Jesus ring load in my ears this morning as I hear Him say that if I follow Him I will have to take up my cross, deny myself and follow after Him. My life will either be lived for my glory or for His. If my life is for my glory then I will constantly live in a protection mode. I will base my relationship with God solely on the circumstances of my life. When everything goes my way I will serve Him with gladness. When He withholds something from me or asks me to delay gratification then my faith will fall apart and I will loose sight of Him.

“Now, do not be grieved or angry with yourselves…” Flat-out, dead level honest; there is no way I could have said that. In that situation, facing those circumstances I would have been way less gracious. Those words from Joseph taste like gravel to my pride. Forgiveness is something I love to receive but I do so struggle to give it; especially when the offense was great and has occurred consistently over a period of time. There is a maturing that needs to happen in my heart and death that needs to occur in my pride and flesh.

Pray:

I have a picture in my mind of what I my life should be like. That picture becomes my point of focus. Everything in my life begins to revolve around it. I live for it, I serve for it, and I make sacrifices for it. I protect it, fight for it, and leverage my resources in pursuit of it. I sit with You often in prayer but it is not really Your will I seek. Most of the time, if I am completely honest, my prayers center around asking what is required for me to obtain that picture or it is me begging You to move in providing me with my picture.

Over the years I have learned that You have a much different picture for my life than the image I carry in my heart. Honestly, that scares me to death. I want You but I often do not want that to come at the expense of the desire that I have for my life. It is a wrestling match that often leaves me feeling torn. One side knows that what You desire is better. History has clearly proven that. The other side knows that Your picture does not center on me; but rather focuses on advancing Your kingdom.

That is why remaining faithful is so difficult during hard times. It is not that I do not trust You. The thing that really causes me to grieve is the loss of my strong beliefs of how things should be. I am helpless in changing this. The only thing I know to do is acknowledge the shortcoming, draw close to Your presence, and trust You to change my heart.

A Land That is No More

Read: Genesis 41-42 & Psalm 10-11

“O LORD, you have heard the desire of the humble, You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear to vindicate the orphan and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth will no longer cause terror.” Psalm 10:17-18

Examine:

A humble heart that is sold out to a mission that is close to the heart of God can rely on the vindication, provision, and protection of God.

Apply:

There are days that I forget why I am doing what I am doing. There are moments when I longingly look at the life I once had, the dreams I once pursued, and the comforts to which I once clung. Being a normal man, living a normal life, and pursing the normal American dream seems like a good promise some days. I look at that season of my life and honestly desire to have it for my family and myself. It becomes tempting sometimes to turn around, shrink back, and just go back to living life.

But, turning around, shrinking back, and returning to the former things are not an option. That life is easy to glorify. When I do this I forget the emptiness I once felt. I loose sight of the revelations God gave that moved me to where I am. My eyes have been opened the condition of the oppressed. My ears have heard the screams of the orphaned. My heart has accepted the call of my Father to surrender my pursuit of my own glory to be fully devoted to seeing His glory come to the least of these. There is no turning around. There is no shrinking back. Normal life is a land that is no more.

Pray:

I have to ask Your forgiveness. I have been longing for things that lie outside of Your direction for my life. Grumbling against where You have me is simply stated as being sin. What is my life to me? I have given it away to You and asked You to do with it as You please. I have died to myself and as we both know a dead man does not have rights.

Strengthen my heart today, sharpen my vision and ignite my passion. Let the cries of the oppressed continue to stir Your Spirit within me and help me to rest knowing that You have already stored away the provision that is required to accomplish the mission You desire of me. As I step towards the terror of men and the pain of the afflicted I ask that You preserve my wife and kids. Make my house a place of peace and rest. I pray that my children will experience the coming months and years in a manner that will draw them into Your heart and that they will not resent the call You have on our lives. I ask that the legacy of my family in the generations to come be a family that loves You, serves You and fights for those who have no voice.

When God is Slow

Read: Genesis 35-36 & Psalm 4-5

“Tremble and do not sin; meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness and trust in the LORD.” Psalm 4:4-5

Examine:

David starts off this chapter by indicating that he is waiting on the LORD to answer his prayer. There are times in life when God does not speak or lead according to a time frame that is completely acceptable to me. The world that I live in reveals its answers instantly. There is nothing in my society that values waiting. Waiting is a clear indicator of something that is broken or not right. When God is slow to answer me or respond to a prayer, I struggle. In this verse I see three things that I must remember during times of waiting.

Apply:

David says to tremble and not sin. To tremble means to maintain my reverential awe of God. When God seems to be silent it is easy for me to slip to a place of disrespect. It is easy for me to take a stance against God. My desperation for movement feeds my pride and I can quickly turn against God. “Why don’t You just do something now!?” is the frustrated stirring I sense in my flesh during these times. This attitude of my heart always leads me to rebellion and all types of sin.

The second set of instructions here is to meditate in my heart upon my bed and be still. During times of waiting there is no more difficult a time than nighttime. The daytime offers distractions. At night, on the other hand, there is nothing to distract and that is often when the weight of the trial seems to strike the hardest. The only counter to this is to set my heart on God and determine to be still. Reading scripture, praying prayers of praise, and being careful with my thoughts are critical routines to develop and implement at night.

The final thing listed in these verses is to offer sacrifices and trust in the LORD. It is really easy to stop doing what I know to be right when I feel like God is not doing His job. I can sugar coat this or I can be honest and just say it like it is. During times of duress, when God does not speak, I act horribly. I will withhold my service from God and stop trusting in Him. This is stupid but it is a pattern in my life nonetheless. Nothing should hinder my service and my trust of God should always stay separated from the circumstances of my life.

Pray:
Father, verse 7 of this chapter says that You can put gladness in my heart more than when grain and wine abound. That is a truth of You that I am learning to trust in more and more. Peace and rest do not mean the absence of pain and struggle. Your peace and rest are not subject to my circumstances. You are able to enter my soul and give it rest even in the presence of my enemies. I worship and praise You for that.

You know my limits and my bounds. You will never let me drift beyond what I can handle. Help me to continue to grow and mature. I want to maintain my respect of You, be still in Your word, and stay engaged in Your work; even when things are not going my way.

Faithful Laborer

Read: Genesis 31 & 32; Psalm 1-3

“God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, so He rendered His judgment last night.” Genesis 31:42

Examine:

Jacob was highly mistreated by Laban. Laban lied and cheated Jacob every chance he was given. He changed the rules of the game to suit himself as he saw fit and was a constant source of affliction for Jacob. For twenty years Jacob suffered. In his suffering he never allowed it to affect his work. Jacob gave Laban his best. In this verse Jacob recalls that God saw his affliction, but he noted that God also saw the faithfulness of Jacob to be a good laborer in spite of his hardship.

Apply:

Affliction does not give me a free pass to shut down. Regardless of what I feel because of my circumstances I cannot allow my emotions to excuse me from working hard. God forges my character through affliction and hard work. He sees what is going on and has promised to make my joy complete if I do not grow weary in doing what is right. I have to trust that He will deliver.

Pray:

It is easy to trust You when the road is easy. It is a whole other ballgame when things become tough. I do not have the strength in me to endure unjust suffering and labor and maintain a good attitude. I feel taken advantage of and my anger and hurt take over. In those moments I loose sight of you and make choices I regret.

I say that I trust You but I really stink at waiting on You to move and deliver. Today there are things going on that do not feel fair to me. I feel the weight of affliction and the toil of my labor. In the midst of this I acknowledge Your leadership in my life and ask that You strengthen me to be a faithful laborer until You make provision and deliverance.

Take a Risk for Christ

Read: Genesis 29 & 30; Mark 15

“…and he gathered up the courage, went before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.” Mark 15:43

Examine:

Joseph had just seen the greatest man he had ever known suffer as brutal a death as he could have imaged. The Council had made an example for everyone who believed in Jesus, making sure that all would fully understand the risks of following Him. In the hours following the death of Jesus something flipped inside of Joseph. He got up, manned up, confronted his fears, and took a risk for Christ.

Apply:

Get up, man-up, confront your fears, and take a risk for Christ.

Pray:

I do not want to be reckless in my pursuit of You, but if I honestly evaluate my life I have to say that making mistakes by being to aggressive in chasing Your vision for my life is not a pattern. In reality, the pattern is that I am too conservative. I am too fearful. I hold back and wait too long. I allow life to unfold around me and watch time pass me by. The routine of my daily life slowly sucks life from my soul and I die a little each day. The question that haunts me as I look at my past is not, “Why did I do that?” The tormenting phrase I hear is, “Why did you not do something?”

Fear has cost me more than anything in my life. Fear of man, fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of embarrassment, fear of loss…regardless of its form, fear is a nasty power and an affective thief. Lead me today to align my heart with Yours, gather up my courage, and get busy living boldly the plans You have for me. Twenty years from this day I pray that I look back on my life and marvel at Your movement and see no hint of a life consumed by fears.

No Need to Fear

Read: Genesis 23-24 & Mark 10

“And he said, ‘Come in, blessed of the LORD! Why do you stand outside since I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.’” Genesis 24:31

Examine:

Abraham’s servant said yes to the mission given to Him by God through Abraham. His “yes” put him in the middle of a crazy journey of faith. As this journey unfolds he finds the provision of God has been made before him. He had to walk in obedience and take leaps of faith, but God prepared every step of the journey.

Apply:

God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is still the God who calls and the God who prepares for His called. I have to rest in that. I have to know that God will supply the things to which He has called me. I have to move forward and trust that He is before me working things out.

Pray:

I have never before been at a place where my livelihood was solely dependent on You. Every season of my life I have been able to market my skills and put them into gainful employment and in my own mind have had some level of control over what happened to me. In those settings trusting You is quite easy.

The place in which I find myself today has changed for me. I no longer can exert any form of control over my life or my surroundings. Everything ahead of me requires faith, trust and belief. It demands that I step at the prompting of Your voice, trusting that the provision of Your hand will be there. Many of the things that I believe of You have been tested. My strength has been pulled from me and I have been forced to depend on You and You alone.

Throughout this journey I have found that You have not failed me one single time. I am so grateful for that. As I journey on towards the work You have for me I pray that I continue to increase in my ability to clearly discern Your voice. I ask that I get to the place where I can even hear You say look this way or that. I pray that I know the things You desire of me with certainty so that I may not step in the wrong direction. I pray that You settle my soul with the peace of knowing that there is no need for me to fear standing outside. You have prepared the house for me and made provision for all that I need.

A Rich Man's Gospel

Read: Genesis 18-19; Mark 10

“And Jesus, looking around, said to His disciples, ‘How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God.’” Mark 10:23

Examine:

The rich young ruler loved the thought of serving God but was not too keen on what it would cost him. In the end he judged the cost as being too high and so he returned to his normal life. He traded what was comfortable for what was divine.

Apply:

It is easy to sit in judgment over this young man until I really peel this passage back and examine my own heart. The first thing I need to deal with is my definition of wealth. In terms of American wealth I am not a wealthy person. I am parked somewhere in between the haves and the have-nots. That makes it easy for me to pass judgment on this man and the people I consider to be wealthy and not apply this text to my own life. This line of thinking is broken.

If your household income is more than $25,000 a year you are in the top 10% of the world’s wealthy. If your household income is more than $50,000 then you are in the top 1% of the worlds wealthy. God does not judge me as an American. He sees me as one part of the whole and in that context I am considered part of the wealthy who have a hard time entering the kingdom of God.

Pray:

Father, I want your kingdom but I do fear the cost. There are places in my heart that I hold back. I do not want to be tested. I do not like being tried. I want to keep what is mine and then see You add to it. I want my experience of following You to bless me and prosper me. I want a rich man’s gospel and that is a gospel that is simply broken.

Help me return to a child-like faith today. I sit with you and fully admit that I do not even know what that means. Jesus, you instructed me to have this type of faith and so I know that You will teach it to me in Your time and in Your way. I pray that the eyes of my heart be open.

Help me hold on to my wealth with an open hand. Being wealthy is not an issue. It is being close-handed with what is mine that causes problems. I do not want to become some comfortable with what is mine that I start to feel secure in it. Nothing in my life is mine to posses. You have given it to me to invest it and make the most of it. I must not allow it control over my decision to follow You.

Help me live my life to serve. Things work differently in Your kingdom. Selfish ambition is called drive in my society. It is a strength that is rewarded. It has been taught to me from a young age and it is a core of who I am. In my world it serves me well. In Your world, it gets in the way. I cannot be a part of Your Kingdom until I am content to wash the feet of others as I freely give my life away on their behalf.

Correcting My Heart

Read: Genesis 15 & 16; Mark 8

"But turning around and seeing his disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind me Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests but man’s” Mark 8:33

Examine:

Peter walked with Jesus daily. He left his life in order to follow Jesus. In this scene Peter learns that following Jesus does not mean that you have arrived at a place of alignment and perfection. What following Jesus ensures is that you are able to see more of your heart that needs to be aligned and perfected.

Apply:

There are five things about my heart this morning that need to come into better alignment. First, I do not want to give more than I get in return. I want to be at least treated evenly and would prefer to come out slightly ahead. That is ugly but it is the truth of me. I am selfish and I do not want to lose what could be mine.

Second, I struggle to contain the appetite of my flesh. I want what I want, when I want it and in quantities that are excessive. This desire to consume is a huge vulnerability in my life.

Third, I have an angry and judgmental attitude towards people who annoy me. The list of things that could annoy me is quite long and when my triggers are pulled I struggle to contain my reaction. I can explode in a heartbeat and say things that are irreversible.

Fourth, I lack the perseverance needed to achieve the blessing of God. God’s blessing never comes easy and it is seldom quick. Waiting, enduring, and holding fast are values repeated often in the Bible. I lose heart with the passage of time and feel the need to press and make something happen.

Finally, the true desire of my heart is success for me and for God. I want God to get glory, but I also want glory for my own. This is not the attitude God requires of my heart. He asks me to take up my cross, deny myself, and follow after Him. The call of my life is to make my full joy seeing Him get His glory.

Pray:

This has been really good for me this morning. It always amazes me how much peace I feel while You are correcting my heart. In a strange way it is like getting a massage. As You gently rub the tight-spots in my heart I feel the tension melt away and my soul begins to relax. I hear You clearly this morning and I receive what You have said with joy. I am also sober enough to know that the five things listed above are completely beyond my ability to control or change. I offer my heart to You; knowing that You start a journey with me today that You alone are able to complete. I pray that the eyes of my heart be enlightened so that I may full grasp all You desire to teach me.

Poor Use of Faith

Read: Mark 4

"Take care what you listen to..." Mark 4: 24

Examine:

The Bible is full of passages like this one that point to the difficulty in hearing from God. It is not that God does not speak. He speaks often and freely. The problem is that when He does answer us or reach out to us His response does not fit our logic.

Hearing from God is not a passive process. It require us to be alert and active listeners.

Apply:

The parable of the sower found in Mark 4: 1-20 outlines three things that will prevent me from receiving what God sows into my life. First, Satan himself will steal what God gives if he can. The only way to combat this is by staying close to God. If I am in outright rebellion and have run away from the protection of my Father then I have to know that Satan will take whatever God sends to me before I even know it was there. I have to live my life in the good soil where the Father is and has made provision for His work to prosper.

Second, the pain of following will cause me to miss God. From getting into physical shape to starting a new business; anything in life worth doing demands risk, pain, and struggle. How much more so the things of God? Asking God to have His way in my life is not the same as asking God to make my life easy. If I pray for God to develop a deeper relationship with me He will respond. When He does, I have to be willing to endure the initial pain of obedience so that I can enjoy the fruit of obedience later.

Finally, having to leave my normal life will cause me to miss God. I am not sure why this aspect of following God is so hard for me to grasp. God does not intervene in my normal life just to make it sweeter. He always asks me to leave what is normal and pursue what is divine. This is the model found over and over in the scripture. From Moses to the disciples, when God intersected a person's life the trajectory of their existence changed. If I am not prepared to hear this I will miss God.

Pray:

I often ask for You to speak and move in my life but most of the time what I really want is for You to just make my life better and easier. Honestly, most of my prayers deal with more. I want more time. I want more margin. I want more success. I want more money. I want more power. I want more health. I want....more.

Greed is a poor use of faith. Your ways defy greed. Greedy ears never hear or experience the beauty of Your plan and purpose. I want to sit close to You and rest in places where Satan is unable to steal the seed You sow into my life. I want to be strong enough to withstand the initial pain of obedience, and I want to have the faith needed to walk away from everything that is normal in order to pursue Your purpose in my life. Replace my greed with being content to just say yes to what You ask. I hear a lot of things and life presents me with many opportunities. I pray that You give me the discernment I need to only listen to the things that really matter.

Mat-Totters

Read: Mark 2

"And Jesus seeing their faith..." Mark 2:5

Examine:

The paralytic was in a community of faith. He was not alone. His friends cared enough for him to help carry him through life and believed in Jesus enough to dig through the roof in order to get their friend to Him. Jesus saw THEIR faith and was moved to compassion.

Apply:

I can not do life alone and I should not allow my friends to do it either. The key to both of these things requires humility. The paralytic could not hide his affliction. It was obvious and available for everyone to see. Me, on the other hand; I can hide my junk. A fake smile and some religious clichés and I can walk through life with everyone thinking I am cruising along just fine. That often leads me to carrying my own burdens. Inevitably, something paralyzes my faith and I am left alone, isolated on my own mat, and unable to get to Jesus. These moments call for mat-totting friends who are willing to labor in prayer and service with me to help carry me into the presence of Jesus. These types of friends can only be found if I am humble enough to be real about what is going on with me.

I am sure that the paralytic's friends had their own struggles. I am quite certain they could have used the content of Jesus' message that day or may have even had their own afflictions that needed healing. But on this day, they put aside their own needs to dig through the roof for a friend. My selfishness makes me dwell on my own pain and tempts me to forget about others in my life. I can become fixated on surrounding myself with mat totters and forget that I need to be totting a mat for someone else. I need to care enough about the people closest to me to know what they are facing and how I can labor with them. When a friend goes down, I need to be there to help do what is necessary to get them back into the presence of Jesus.

Pray:

It is easy to have faith paralyzed. Anxiety, fear, doubt, disappointment, hurt and convenience all have the power to break the back of even the strongest faith and render a person incapable of standing. This morning has reminded me of how important it is to be surrounded by people who are transparent with me and I with them. I pray that you help me become a better mat-totter for my friends. I need to move past the things that hinder me and focus on serving the pain of the people in my circle. Grant that I may have the power of prayer, the strength of faith, and the patient endurance required to fight for my friends when their own faith is lacking.

I also need to get better at allowing others to tote my mat. Transparency is risky business. It is hard to be vulnerable and real with others. The temptation to keep on a mask and keep pretending is strong. It is also stupid. The only thing worse than affliction is affliction with isolation. Give me the strength that is required to be real, the courage that is needed to ask for help, and the humility that is demanded to allow someone to carry me.