Continue in the Faith

SCRIPTURE: Acts 14:22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God."

OBSERVATION: Paul and Barnabbas did what spiritual leaders do. After sharing the message of salvation to the unbelieving crowd many became saved. Now their language had to change somewhat from their message to unbelievers ("Repent and be baptized"), to the message to believers ("Continue in the faith").

APPLICATION:

• Continue in the faith. I don't think we can imagine how difficult that might have been at that time. There was no established church. There was no Christian Bookstores, Sunday School curriculum, Christian worship songs -- there was not even a New Testament.
• Continue in the faith. The main sense and meaning of the word is to 'remain in' the faith. Don't depart from it. In spite of hardships and difficulties. They were told, "through many tribulations we must enter the Kingdom of God." It's not an easy road. Fasten yourself to the mast of faith and hold on (like the sailing scene in 'What About Bob'). Don't be discouraged or derailed by life's tribulations. Hang on. Continue in the faith.
• Continue in the faith. To continue in the Christian faith isn't just static -- it is dynamic and growing. Continue means maturing, bearing fruit, changing from milk to solid food, etc.

PRAYER: I'm not done! I am still in process. Lord, I need Your guidance, Your grace and Your strength. I will continue in my faith, not just stand still or shrink back. Amen.

Free From Expectations

SCRIPTURE: Acts 12:11 And when Peter had come to himself, he said, "Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people."

OBSERVATION: Peter was free! He had already been free for some time but didn't even realize it. It was something so incredible and so amazing that he thought it must have been a dream. But it wasn't. It was real. The prison walls that held him no longer held him. The guards that restricted him no longer restricted him. Herod, the one who intended to kill him, no longer threatened him. And the Jewish people, who had a certain and final expectation for the end of his life, no longer had control over him. Peter was totally free.

APPLICATION: I like the phrase, Peter knew that he was free from "all the expectation of the Jewish people." Other people had a plan for Peter's life. They had a certain expectation for him. But Peter was going against the grain, the expectation of the Jews for him was one of death. He must be stopped. It was really the expectation of the Jews that landed him in prison and set him facing death. But the Lord set him free.
How much control do other people's expectation have over me? Do I let them become a prison for me, directing me for a certain end? Can I really believe hat the Lord has set me free from the expectations of others, or does it just seem like a dream? It is real.
And, in the same way, Jesus has set others free from my expectations of them. Don't imprison others with my expectations.

PRAYER: Jesus, You said, "If the Son has set you free, then you are free indeed." It is not a dream. I will come to myself and walk in the freedom that You have given me. Amen.

Awaken the Dawn

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 108:2-3 Awake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples, And I will sing praises to You among the nations.

OBSERVATION: I love the imagery that this verse expresses. David is talking about waking up early in the day. As he looks over at his instruments, his lute and his harp, they are lifeless and motionless. What better way to waken them then with praise? David didn't need to be wakened by the lute and the harp. He would awaken them. He didn't need to be stirred to praise by instruments. He would stir them.
The same picture is extended to the dawn. Before the dawn was awake, David was, and he was already praising God. The army used to have a commercial that said, "We do more before eight a.m. than most people do all day." David could say, "I praise more before eight a.m. than most people praise all day."
David didn't need a beautiful, sunny day to praise the Lord. He started while it was still dark and was already praising the Lord.

APPLICATION: David was ready, always ready, to praise the Lord. he didn't need beautiful instrumentation to get him into the mood for worship -- he is the one who got the instruments into the mood. He didn't need sunshine. He praised the Lord in the darkness and allowed it to become sunshine all around him. Am I ready, always ready, to praise the Lord?
Praise is not dependent on or determined by skillful instrumentation. We can praise God in dark times. Have I become spoiled, so that I can only praise God when certain conditions exist? David was saying, "I will let my praise create the conditions, not the other way around."
Wake up! and praise God!

PRAYER: Jesus, I praise You. You are worthy of praise. Like David, I want my praise to be an instigator, not a responder. May my praise wake others up to praise Your Name. Amen.

Complicating Ministry

SCRIPTURE: Acts 9:6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."

OBSERVATION: The beginning of ministry for Paul the Apostle! Note that the very first thing that God told him to do was, "Go into the city." But then God actually made it difficult for Paul to accomplish what he was told because God made him blind. It seems like a simple enough of an assignment until the Lord complicates it.

We wrongly assume that if God tells me to do something then He will work some magic to make it easier to do, not harder. But that is not the case. We let this thinking guide us so that if something is hard we assume, "I must not have heard God properly."

I think it is also important to note that God made sure that, even to fulfill this very first of many directives, Paul would need the help of other people. People that would help him up and guide him by the hand to his destination. This was a hallmark of Paul's ministry -- relying on other people.

APPLICATION: Two points of application:

1- Don't assume that if Jesus said to do something that it will be easy to do. Sometimes He may even make it harder.

2- Rely on others. It's okay to be led around by the hand. We all have blind spots and need the guidance of others. Later Paul was again led by the arm and assisted, this time by Barnabas. Not because of his blindness, but because others were blinded by his past reputation.

PRAYER: Jesus, rid me of this wrong expectation that ministry would be easy and always fruitful. I'm usually groping around in the darkness. I'm in good company with Paul. Amen.

Don't Shoot The Messenger

SCRIPTURE: Acts 7:25 For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.

OBSERVATION: The main point is the connection here between Moses and Jesus ("a Prophet like me.") Just as their fathers missed their deliverer, these descendants were now missing theirs.
The observation for more personal use and reflection is that I am certainly no better than these devout Jews. Isn't it likely, even certain, that I misunderstand the means and the methods and messengers that God puts in my life? Should I open my heart and my ears to what Stephen has to say and ask myself, "Have I despised, pushed away or discounted ways in which God brings deliverance to me?"
My thoughts are not God's thoughts! My understanding is not His understanding. The ways that He uses for deliverance may not be ways that I would choose.

APPLICATION: What are some things that I may push away, as Moses was pushed away, that God could actually use for my deliverance?

• Tough times. Scripture says that God delivers us through adversity. Does that mean from adversity, as the thing from which we are delivered, or also through adversity, as the tool that God uses to bring deliverance?
• Difficult people. There are some people that I would be certain God could never use in my life. Really? Moses and Jesus were unlikely deliverers.
• Small, insignificant things. It seems that we are always looking for the big and impressive for deliverance. Moses' background was more impressive than Jesus' background.

PRAYER: Father, I realize that I am not capable or qualified to recognize Your hand and Your deliverance when it comes. Give me discernment that surpasses knowledge. I want all that You have for me, not just that which comes in the package that I approve of.

Is It Useless to Serve God?

SCRIPTURE: Malachi 3:13-14 "Your words have been harsh against Me," Says the Lord, Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God; What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, And that we have walked as mourners Before the Lord of hosts?

OBSERVATION: The people were being harsh with God in ways that they were totally oblivious to. Their thoughts and their words were derogatory and they didn't even realize it. When they heard this charge by the Lord they probably thought, "Oh, yeah. I did say that..." A greater sensitivity to God, a greater awareness of my thoughts and words would be appropriate.
Then there is the complaint itself: "It is useless to serve God; what profit is it?" These words were recorded in the days of Malachi (though certainly not new with that day), about 2,500 years ago. But they are current today, too. "What good does it do me to live for God?" I have heard these words myself. I think that most people who say them don't even think of it as an accusation or a slur against God, but it is.
It is the wrong question to ask on many levels:

• The timing level. Serving God is not for benefit in this life but in the next. Jesus said not to be satisfied with your reward here and now but desire instead a heavenly reward (Matthew 6:1, among other verses). Hebrews 11 tells us that being people of faith means neglecting comfort here for the comfort of a heavenly city, whose architect and builder is God. Like the prodigal son, we too often say, "Father, give me my inheritance now!"
• The gratitude level. This question also reveals the lack of appreciation that many people have towards God. Like spoiled children, we fail to understand and appreciate the many things that God does for us. He created me. He sustains me. He provides for me. He brings people and things into my life that gives me joy. he puts beauty in the world all around me. In serving Him, I have the benefit and the confidence of eternal life. Death no longer holds dread and fear to me. I have been around enough death beds and funerals to know what a huge blessing that is. He gives me purpose. I would be wise to be appreciative of all these things, and many more.
• The serving level. There is a contradiction within the very question, "It is useless to serve God; what profit is it?" Real servants don't talk that way. Who is the servant and who is the master? You don't serve someone for your profit and benefit but for theirs. The master doesn't justify himself to the servant, but the servant to the master. Jesus talked about a servant who worked all day in the field, came home and fixed his master's supper and still beat his breast saying, "I am an unprofitable servant, because I have only done what is required of me." That may seem excessive, but that is the heart of a servant.

APPLICATION: I'm sure there are many other levels, too. But that gives me something to work with. Those three things speak of: faith, gratitude, and humility. That is the antidote for this accusation against God.

• How is my faith? Do I live for the here and now, for present rewards, or for eternity? Am I willing to store up treasures in heaven and forgo them on earth?
• How is my gratitude? Do I recognize and appreciate the many, many, many things that God does for me in life?
• How is my humility? Very clearly we know that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. What does God owe me, really? I don't want what I am owed because it would be pretty.

PRAYER: Master, You are so good to me! How can I ever thank You for all that You have done for me? Thank You for every reward that is withheld from me now to be received later in heaven with You. Amen.

Where Is God's Honor?

SCRIPTURE: Malachi 1:6 "A son honors his father, And a servant his master. If then I am the Father, Where is My honor? And if I am a Master, Where is My reverence? Says the Lord of hosts To you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’

OBSERVATION: God is due honor and God deserves reverence, far beyond anyone else on the earth. Where is His honor? Where is His reverence? We have lost the reverence for God in the emphasis of grace and approachability. Hebrews 12:31 says, "Our God is a consuming fire." It does not say, "Our God was a consuming fire." Not 'was,' back in the Old Testament, but 'is,' right now. How do I regain and show to God, my Father and my Master, honor and reverence that He is due?

APPLICATION: I don't know. This will take some extended, prayerful though. It begins with an attitude of reverence and honor. His grace may shield me from the consuming fire of His presence, but He is still a consuming fire. The very fact that I am able to come near, in spite of His consuming presence, just makes His grace all the more amazing. Similar to Moses getting a glimpse of God when he was held in the cleft of a rock but even greater, He has made a way for me to be near to Him. He is still a consuming fire and worthy of honor and reverence.

PRAYER: Father and Master, give me an undivided heart. Give me insight to know how to approach You as a friend but with honor and reverence.

What Shall I Do?

SCRIPTURE: Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"

OBSERVATION: Peter's preaching found its target -- people's hearts. It was a bull's eye. The people there didn't hear a disconnected truth or principle, but they connected themselves to what what shared. They knew that it required some response on their part. They asked, "What shall we do?"

APPLICATION: It is important, whether I am preaching or listening to a preacher, or reading the word of God to ask the question, "What shall I do?" The response, or the 'doing,' made all the difference between a word of condemnation and judgement to one of repentance and life.

PRAYER: Lord, "What shall I do?" Today, what shall I do? With the assignment that You have given me, what shall I do? With the resources You have given me, what shall I do? With the mistakes I have made, what shall I do?

Uttermost

SCRIPTURE: Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

OBSERVATION: "To the ends of the earth." Or, as in the King James Version, "to the uttermost part." What did Jesus mean when He said that? Since the other words are all locations, was He talking about geography only, or something else?
The word here is 'eschatos,' from which we get our word 'eschatology," the study of the last things. We see it in reference to the last days just before the final judgement. Is that what Jesus means, be witnesses even until the eschatos, the last days?
If Jesus was speaking strictly geographically, that leaves other questions. If He was telling the disciples, "Preach the gospel emanating here from Jerusalem until it reaches the farthest and most distant points," then I am in the uttermost right now. I think Salem, Oregon, when considered alongside of Judea and Samaria, is uttermost from Jerusalem. Certainly it would have been in the minds of the disciples. Then, is the job finished and, instead of looking for an uttermost, I recognize that I am the uttermost?

APPLICATION: What is my uttermost? It may not be geographic, because I already am that. It may be some other distinction that is beyond my imagination, just as Oregon was beyond the disciples' imagination. I think the spirit of what Jesus was saying is, "Whoever is far off and distant from me, go to them." It can be geography that distances people. It can be culture or experiences or ignorance or anything else. Be creative. Be imaginative. Go to the uttermost.

PRAYER: Jesus, I need to receive Your Holy Spirit, not just to minister to the uttermost, but even to know what that is. Fill me today. Amen.

Opened Understanding

SCRIPTURE: Luke 24:45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.

OBSERVATION: They had been with Jesus for three years. They heard Him talk about the kingdom of god and of His purpose on the earth. They heard Him teach about the prophets, and the sign of Jonah and they saw Him do all the miracles. He even talked about His own death and resurrection. But they didn't get it. They heard all the words, but their understanding was not opened.
They must have thought that He was teaching about some general principles. But He was talking about real life. About their life.
Suddenly, scripture wasn't a collection of vague principles for study and reflection. Instead, scripture was a reflection of their own lives. As they looked into it they saw their own reflection looking back. It was their life, their experiences, their thoughts and their flaws they saw. Their understanding was opened to comprehend the scriptures for their own lives, not as impersonal and distant but as personal and current.

APPLICATION: I need my understanding opened, just like the disciples did. That is the role of the Holy Spirit.
The Bible is more accessible to me today than it has ever been in history. What good is that if my understanding isn't opened? Do I use the Bible? Do I understand it? Do I read it as it is, personal and current? Only with Jesus' help can it come alive to me.

PRAYER: Lord, make Your word come alive to me. Make it current. Make it personal. Amen.

Thief-One or Thief-Two?

SCRIPTURE: Luke 23:42 Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom."

OBSERVATION: Two thieves. Two different responses to Jesus. The words of the two thieves, when compared to each other, are remarkably different and yet remarkably similar.
Thief #1 said, "If you are the Christ, save Yourself and us." He was hoping to benefit from Jesus' power right here and right now. His challenge to Jesus had a personal and selfish motive. He was hoping to capitalize; to cash in. It came in the form of a challenge: "Prove You are God by getting me out of this fix. Stop my pain and bless me so that I can believe in You." I wonder if Jesus had done that, would he have really believed and given his life to Jesus? I think probably not. The bless-me-and-I'll-believe faith is generally a pretty short-lived faith.
Thief #2 also wanted to benefit from Jesus' power as God. He said, "Remember me when You come into Your kingdom." However, his statement didn't involve a challenge for faith but a demonstration of faith. It wasn't "do this and I'll believe." Rather, it was "I ask this because I do believe." It is a huge difference. There is another huge difference. The first thief wanted his benefit here and now. The second thief was satisfied with his benefit in eternity. Not the here and now, but the hereafter. This is another demonstration of real faith.

APPLICATION: Do my prayer and my faith demonstrate a thief-one or a thief-two mentality? "Bless me now, Lord, so I can believe in You," or "Remember me when You come into Your kingdom." Don't settle for immediate gain and lose eternity in the process.

PRAYER: Lord, my prayer today is the same prayer as the second thief on that day, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." Amen.

Escaped by Grace

SCRIPTURE: Nehemiah 1:2 that Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

OBSERVATION: I noticed something interesting but still puzzling, so I can't make any certain inferences from it. I noticed that Nehemiah used the word 'escaped' -- "the Jews who had escaped..." I am pretty sure that he is talking about the Jews who were part of the captivity ("who survived the captivity") and who responded to King Darius' decree to go back and rebuild Jerusalem. That would be Zerrubabel and his gang. If this is true, it is a curious use of this word 'escape.' Escape here would not be to plan and execute some kind of escape plan on your own against the will of the governing authorities, like tunneling out of a cell using spoons smuggled from the prison cafeteria. It is choosing the escape route provided for you, an invitation, to move into your freedom. The king made it possible for anyone to go. In fact, he encouraged it and provided resources for it. Those who accepted his offer and his resources were the ones who 'escaped.'

APPLICATION: The application to the gospel message is obvious. Those who 'escape' from sin and the captivity of sin don't sneak out or break out on their own. They walk confidently out the front door because the King said they could. He gives the invitation. He issues the decree. He provides the needed resources. Our escape is through an open door of grace. We are invited to leave the captivity of sin and darkness and escape into freedom and hope.
I am an escapee of grace!

PRAYER: Jesus, You are the Captain of our Salvation (Hebrews 2:10). You made a way and gave invitation. My escape is because of You. As an escapee, I want to help others escape, too. The way has been made and the invitation given. Give me wisdom to share with others for their escape. Amen.

Like a Weaned Child

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 131:1-2 Lord, my heart is not haughty, Nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, Nor with things too profound for me. Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, Like a weaned child with his mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me.

OBSERVATION: David recognizes in this short Psalm that there are things that are too profound for him. Some can't admit that.
He uses the expression, "Like a weaned child with its mother." What an interesting phrase. Could it be because a weaned child has, for the first time, a bit of independence? But a weaned child is far from being fully independent or self-sufficient.
A weaned child doesn't even understand its limited view of the world and what it would take to care for itself. How foolish it is to even consider a weaned child saying to its mother, "Okay, now that I am weaned I can take it from here. I don't need you anymore." Ridiculous! And yet sometimes we take this kind of ridiculous, arrogant stance with God.

APPLICATION: The most that I can compare myself to in God's perspective is a weaned child. I may be able to go from the pure milk of the word to more solid food (1 Cor. 3:2, Heb. 5:12-14), but I am still far from being independent from God. I need Him like a weaned child still needs its mother.
I admit that there are things about God and His kingdom that are too deep, too profound for me. Many people would like you to believe that they have it all figured out and there is nothing they don't understand. Not me. There are a whole lot of things that I just have to trust to God, because they are beyond me. Being a child has its privileges. Don't be proud. Lean on God.

PRAYER: Lord, as a weaned child trusts and needs its mother, I trust in You and need You for everything. I would not last a day without You. You understand all the deep things so I don't have to.

Bold Humility

SCRIPTURE: Ezra 8:22 For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, "The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him."

OBSERVATION: Ezra found himself in a pickle. He told the king how great and awesome God is, so it seemed inconsistent to ask, "By the way, king, could you send some bodyguards with us? We're afraid of our enemies." It didn't make sense. Now here he is, and the people that are with him, in a very precarious position. They were vulnerable to enemy attack, and they knew it. They would not have felt this sense of vulnerability if the king's guards had been there.
It's a funny thing about vulnerability -- it leads you to do radical things. Because of this vulnerability, Ezra calls a fast of all the people. They fasted and prayed and humbled themselves. Vulnerability has a way of bringing about humility.
God loves the prayer of the humble.
God answered their prayer.

APPLICATION: Is my life and my trust consistent with my words? If I say God is a great provider, do I really live that way? If I say that God is a great protector, do I really live that way? Ezra was ashamed to let his words and his actions be contradictory and inconsistent. Am I?
Do I let vulnerability drive me back into a corner or let it produce in me a bold humility? A bold humility fasts and prays. A bold humility is greater than the strength of an entire army.

PRAYER: Jesus, I am vulnerable today and everyday. There are fears and enemies all around. I call out to in in humility. Amen.

It's Not About Fairness

SCRIPTURE: Luke 19:24-25 "And he said to those who stood by, Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas. (But they said to him, Master, he has ten minas.)

OBSERVATION: Just a reminder of how self-focused, need-focused, fairness-focused we are and how it gets in the way. When I am need-focused then God (the 'Master') is here to meet my needs. He's working for me. The man with ten minas didn't need another one, so why take it from the guy who has none, who needs it, and give it to the guy who doesn't need it? It isn't fair.
But that thinking betrays 'a-God-who-serves-our-agenda-and-our-needs' kind of thinking. The right thinking is that I am here to serve God. Everything belongs to Him, He owes me nothing and doesn't have to meet my need or be fair.
From this point of view, the decision is an obvious one. The guy who successfully handled ten minas can be trusted with one more. He has shown himself faithful and is committed, not to his own personal comfort and safety, but to the expansion of the Master's kingdom. He can be trusted and can handle it. He is the perfect choice to manage the mina.

APPLICATION: I realize from this parable and my reaction to it how man-centered I am in my thinking and evaluations. I need to be more God-centered. Not what would be more beneficial for us, but what is more beneficial for Him. Not worshipping the created, but worshipping the Creator.

PRAYER: Master, everything is from You and for You. I am all for You. Amen.

Keep Your Nose Out

SCRIPTURE: Esther 3:3-4 Then the king’s servants who were within the king’s gate said to Mordecai, "Why do you transgress the king’s command?" Now it happened, when they spoke to him daily and he would not listen to them, that they told it to Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand; for Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew.

OBSERVATION: This is where the entire problem started -- the hatred of Haman; the plot to annihilate the Jews; the building of a gallows; the fasting a praying; Esther risking her life by going in to the king; Haman's death; the death of his family and the death of thousands of others. It started right here with some servants who couldn't mind their own business.
First, they felt like they had to tell Mordecai what to do. They all bowed when Haman came along. Not because they wanted to, but it was the law of the land. And if they had to do it, then everyone better do it. Compromised and legalistic living is like that. It looks around to see what everyone else is doing. It has an unhealthy fascination with everyone else's behavior. Conviction living isn't like that. Personal conviction isn't concerned with what everyone else is doing or not doing. Mordecai stood while everyone else bowed, just as Shadrach, Meschach and Abed-Nego stood when everyone else bowed. Just as Daniel prayed though the king's edict said not to pray. Just as Jesus healed on the sabbath though all of the religious elite said not to.
Then, not happy with just telling Mordecai what to do, they took it the next step. They told on him. They ratted him out. They became the bowing police and told Haman that Mordecai was not bowing for him and why he wouldn't bow, because he was a Jew. Apparently, before this Haman hadn't noticed. it is very likely that Mordecai wasn't making a showy display of his conviction. He just quietly, perhaps in a dark corner or wherever he happened to be, refused to bow. It wasn't for show. It wasn't for revolution. It was a matter of personal conviction. he didn't need attention. God saw his heart and his actions. It was for Him.
Conviction doesn't look around and conviction doesn't show off. It just acts.
So, the king's servants, these of lowly position and supposedly dedicated to serving the king, these end up stirring up trouble that upsets the entire kingdom. They do it just by being busybodies. Just by sticking their nose in where it doesn't belong. They are responsible for great disaster.

APPLICATION: What a great contrast between Mordecai, a man of great conviction and courage, and these busybodies who supposedly serve the king. It is Mordecai that is elevated to position, not them. They just cause trouble.
In addition to learning from Mordecai's conviction, I can also learn from these troublemakers:

• Don't stick your nose in where it doesn't belong. These people may have felt justified in what hey were doing, even as if it were their duty. It wasn't. Romans 14 says, "Who are you to judge another man's servant?"
• Divisive talk has devastating results. James talks about the power of the tongue and the wildfire that it can start. The divisive talk of these servants started a wildfire that led to many deaths.
• Look at yourself. Instead of attacking the actions of others, take the opportunity to consider your own convictions and behavior. People with opposing convictions give us a unique opportunity to do that.

PRAYER: King Jesus, I am Your servant. I want to make sure that my words and actions always serve to build up Your kingdom -- never tear down. Amen.

Far Reaching Impact of Actions

SCRIPTURE: Esther 1:16 And Memucan answered before the king and the princes: "Queen Vashti has not only wronged the king, but also all the princes, and all the people who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus."

OBSERVATION: The things that we do affect other people, not just ourselves. Typically the number of people we impact goes beyond the number that we might imagine. Like ever-growing circles on the surface of a pond after a rock has been thrown in, my actions have a ripple effect. (This is especially true for people in leadership, like Queen Vashti.)
We don't know why Vashti did what she did, but when the king sent for her she said, "No." You don't say 'no' to a king. For the queen to do that and go unpunished, she suddenly empowers everyone else to be disobedient -- disobedient to the king, to the princes, to their own households, etc. That's how she wronged all those other people, by setting a precedent for disobedience. Maybe she didn't realize it when she did it, but she was affecting a lot of people.

APPLICATION: I should think before I act -- "Who else will be affected by this action?" whatever it is. Paul said if his freedom or action would cause someone else to stumble, then he wouldn't do it. Do I have that same level of commitment?
I hate it when I see people doing things that adversely affect others, like vandalism, stealing or even murder. I should never take it upon myself to take action that hurts another person. Do I do it with my words? My freedoms? My actions?

PRAYER: Jesus, give me insight into how my actions affect others. Amen.

Wholehearted Worship

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 138:1 I will praise You with my whole heart; before the gods I will sing praises to You.

OBSERVATION: Praise is a volitional decision. This psalm begins, "I will." That speaks of intentional decision. Praise isn't an accident. You don't accidentally offer real praise. It isn't automatic. The default setting is not God-praise but self-praise.
Real praise comes from my 'whole heart,' or and undivided heart. If my heart is divided -- praising God while praising other things -- I am not praising God with my whole heart.
There will be other gods that will pull for my attention to divide my heart. Those things must not become a focus of my praise or affection, but they can become an audience to my praise to God. ("Before the gods I will sing praise to You.") They will be there, clamoring for attention, but they will only serve as a witness to my undivided heart.

APPLICATION: Where would I say that my heart is divided? Do I worship God with my whole heart, or is there some kept aside in reserve for someone or something else? Do aspirations divide my heart? Possibly at some times. Do other activities or people get my praise? I don't think so.

PRAYER: Lord, search me on this issue of an undivided heart. Show me where I am not worshipping You with my whole heart and purify my heart. Amen.

A Generous Reward

SCRIPTURE: Luke 15:30 'But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’

OBSERVATION: I get the impression that this is the crux of the older son's argument to his father: You are rewarding bad behavior. You are condoning all of this prodigal's actions.
That is something to consider. How do I feel about that? Is it true? Do I need to change my thinking on this issue?
In reality, many people have an unspoken or spoken feeling like that of the older son. If someone has been involved in something bad, then we shouldn't 'condone' their behavior. We shouldn't reward them.
The problem is, that contradicts the very definition of grace. Grace is unmerited favor. By it's own definition, if it is merited then it isn't grace. You cannot extend grace without 'rewarding bad behavior.' Isn't that true? That's why some people have a hard time with true grace. "Yes, God, by all means be nice to them, if they deserve it" is the idea.
Of course, there is a very significant intervening event here, and that is repentance. The younger son repented of his misdeeds, and that is all the father needed to accept his son back and extend grace to him. I think it is interesting to not that the older son was unaware of the repentance, nor did he seem to be interested in it. He only heard, "because he has been received back safe and sound." He didn't hear the heart of spirit of words of his return. The father was able to gauge the repentance of his son, not the brother.

APPLICATION: In the same way, I cannot accurately gauge the heart or repentance of someone else -- a brother -- only the Father can do that. The best thing for me to do is trust the Father and join in on the celebration!

• Extend grace to people no matter what their past.
• Leave matters of true repentance to God.
• Join the party! Celebrate spiritual life and redemption!

PRAYER: Father, thank you first of all for accepting me and for your generosity towards me. Give me Your Spirit of grace and forgiveness. Remove the resentment and self-righteous attitudes that keep me from joining the party. Amen.