Author: BJ Armstrong

Jeremiah 50-52, 2 Peter 3

The alarm is set for 4:00. It will come fast.  A loud and annoying siren is necessary to bring life to my body at that early hour.  I will not like it.  It will not be fun, but that is not the point.  The fun lives on the other side.  I have a flight to catch, and it leaves early.  The sunshine is beckoning.  I will do it.

Paul is sounding an alarm too.  His words and his tone in 2 Peter are written to get our attention.  While they may not come off loud and annoying, they are designed, he says, “to stimulate our minds.”  In other words, “wake up!”  It is time to focus and engage in his conversation.  Sure, you can snooze, but you will also lose.  Regression is real, but that is not the point.  You see, there is an opportunity, an experience awaiting our response.  Once energized with the Gospel, our minds bring peace and assurance, purity and blamelessness.  This is the new heaven and new earth that we are being called to.  But do not delay this opportunity is for a limited time only.  We have a flight to catch.

Jeremiah 38, 39, 52, 1 Peter 2

1 peter 2 tells us to put away all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander.  What are they, exactly?

Malice – malice is the conscious and willful desire to hurt or harm others

Deceit – deliberately misleading or lying to others

Hypocrisy – pretending to be something you are not

Envy – desiring what others have

Slander – the act of making false, damaging statements about someone in order to harm their reputation

Is it possible to “put them away,” as Peter commands?  Maybe, for a minute.

It seems similar to catching a child picking his nose.  When I yell  “stop it,” he stops.  He will even obey for a while.  Then, once he discipline wears off and the discomfort returns, his natural self takes over.  The same is true for us.   I might be able to take the action of putting them away for a minute but if it is to persist over the long term, I must first replace the mindset with something else.

Peter tells us directly in verse 13.  He says,

Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. 1 peter 1:13

2 Chronicles 34-35, 2 Corinthians 6

I often meet with people that are getting their real estate license.  As we talk, their eyes gleem with anticipation of the possibilities.  Maybe it’s the opportunity to be your own boss.  Some talk about helping families find the perfect home and others dream about becoming millionaires.  All of these are possible in the world of real estate sales.  Unfortunately, most will never make it.

I recently interviewed a young prospect.  After our conversation, my colleague asked, “do you think she will make it?”  “If she works hard, she will” was my reply.

Christians are like realtors.  They want all the rewards without any of the work.  Give me health and wealth and security, right?  I want to walk the streets paved with gold too.  Give me salvation and eternal life.  It’s easy to focus on these promises, then become disappointed when they do not arrive.

Not so fast, says Paul.  “You are not restricted by us.”  Meaning, your misfortune is not because we have not taught you.  In fact, we have led the way.  The problem is that “you are restricted in your own affections.”  In other words, you would rather get in your fancy car and go party then stay here than alter your plans and change your desires.

So, “If your emotional life is off kilter, if you feel far from God, stressed, anxious, and chronically mad, and you’re not becoming more of a person of love, then the odds are that something about the system of your life is poorly designed.” ~ Mark  Comer

Comer, John Mark. Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus. Become like him. Do as he did. (p. 180). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Isaiah 41-44, 1 Cor 12

It’s easier to recognize someone else’s gift than it is to see my own

I’m often more envious of others’ gifts than I am thankful for my own

I’m disappointed when someone out-gifts me

People with developed spiritual gifts make it look easy

Discovering our spiritual gifts is incredibly exciting and simultaneously terrifying

Spiritual gifts are planned to meet a need in the world, somewhere

Spiritual gifts need to be developed

Developing one gift might reveal a new one

If your gift feels like a burden, you’re not using it appropriately

Using your gifts is worship.  It’s also pleasurable.

Spiritual gifts are designed to be used in conjunction with others

Spiritual gifts don’t retire, only people do

Sometimes, I want the gift someone else has

What am I missing?

Isaiah 30-35, 1 Corinthians 5-6

I grow weary of waiting. To be honest, I’m not even sure what I’m waiting for. God promises a life “to the full,” but I’m not feeling it. Worse yet, I see trouble on the horizon. The economy is unstable, health issues arise, relationships are strained, and I can’t sleep anymore. What do I do? I rush ahead, just like the Israelites.

The Israelites had their struggles. Constantly threatened by invasion, they were a small nation, vulnerable to being overpowered by neighboring armies. Exhausted from living in fear, they turned to Egypt for a solution. Egypt was powerful, with a vast army and a mighty Pharaoh. So, Israel sought an alliance.

They believed this alliance would protect them. Once the threat from their neighbors was gone, they could live freely. Better yet, they thought they’d thrive. After all, a good alliance brings new opportunities. But this wasn’t true. The Israelites had forgotten what happened before. Their previous alliance with Egypt didn’t bring protection and provision; it led to oppression and slavery. This is the prophet Isaiah’s warning: if they proceed with this alliance, they will face shame and humiliation (Isaiah 30:3).

Thankfully, Isaiah doesn’t leave Israel without a solution. He reminds them of the grace that awaits them—grace that is freely given and abundantly provided by God. This grace, Isaiah says, is beyond what they can imagine. It dispels darkness, heals wounds, and binds brokenness (Isaiah 30:26). More than that, it fills hearts with gladness and strikes fear into their enemies (Isaiah 30:29-31).

Isaiah’s words are just as relevant today. We see all kinds of alliances and quick fixes to our problems—money, medicine, and more. But none of them truly work. It is only through the love and grace of Jesus Christ that we find what we’re searching for if we remember Isaiah’s precious words:

“Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.” (Isaiah 30:18)

Isaiah 20-22, 1 Corinthians 2

Today promised to be a great day.  I had fun meetings scheduled with plenty of time in between to accomplish some much needed paperwork.  I was looking forward to it, until I opened my email.  There, I was greeted by two tough conversations.  My day was quickly derailed.  That’s when I heard the honking of a car alarm down the street.  ‘Someone,’ I thought ‘set off their alarm.’  I gave it a passing thought and soon enough, it disappeared.

I set out, as I always do, walking the dog ready to enjoy the sunrise.  Down the street, I saw the car with the hood up.  Standing close by was a young woman in tears.  It was her alarm.  “I was just trying to go to work,” she said innocently, “but I don’t have my fob and tried to unlock the door with my key and now the whole neighborhood is awake.”  She had to disconnect the battery.  Now, she is stranded.  Helpless.

Once I satisfied myself that she was safe and had a plan, I set back out for my walk.  But, my heart was not satisfied.  With tears filling my eyes I couldn’t shake the feeling that I could have – should have – done more.  ‘What, on earth, is going on?’ I asked silently.  Why is this bothering me so much?

Fredrich Buechner explains it.  He says that “Whenever you find tears in your eyes, especially unexpected tears, it is well to pay the closest attention. They are not only telling you something about the secret of who you are, but more often than not God is speaking to you through them of the mystery of where you have come from and is summoning you to where, if your soul is to be saved, you should go to next.”

In that moment I understood the love of Jesus just a little bit better.  He did the unthinkable, for me.  He gave it all.  He held nothing back, so that I could have could have life. He did it not because I deserve it, but because he loves me.

What if God was giving me an opportunity to think like him?  To have, as 1 Corinthians 1:16 says, “the mind of Christ.”  That means that these tears, this pain in my heart, may well be Him calling me to do the unthinkable.  To serve my neighbor in a ridiculous way and to respond to my horrible emails the same way Christ responds to my irreverent and rebellious behavior.  With ridiculous love.

It’s odd that when I adopt His mindset, I am filled with peace, compassion and love.  It makes sense to me now why Buechner uses the words, “if your soul is to be saved.”  And I was clear on where I should go next. He is calling me to become more like Him.

“We understand these things, because we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:16

Buechner, Frederick. Listening to Your Life: Daily Meditations with Frederick Buechner (p. 237). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

Isaiah 4-6, Matt 23

Do you remember Jim Jones? How about David Koresh, Harold Camping, or Marshall Applewhite? These men have something in common: each was a religious leader who claimed to have a direct line to God.  They also caused anxiety, distress, and destruction among their followers. Looking back, it’s easy to label them as “false prophets,” as Jesus describes in Matthew 23.

“Obviously,” you might think. “I could spot that a mile away.” After all, anyone amassing weapons, controlling people, or mistreating children while claiming divine authority is clearly at odds with Jesus.

We recognize these signs because of one simple principle: love. We know that God is love, and we understand how love behaves. Therefore, the real test of a prophet’s connection with God is love—are they cultivating it, or diminishing it?

If you follow the news, you’ve likely encountered another prophetic claim: that “God ordained Trump.”  Is that true? Let’s apply the test that Jesus provides in Matthew 23: Is he growing God’s love, or diminishing it?

I’ll be watching closely, and I’ll be praying for the former.

Hosea 14, 2 Chron 26-27, Ps 61, Matt 20

When was the last time you wanted something that bad?  So bad that you were willing to stand in the middle of the isle, screaming as loud as you can just so someone might hear you?  It’s been a long time, for me.

Maybe that’s the problem.  Ive been whispering my prayers and asking for things.  Perhaps God’s first response is like mine in the grocery isle.  “Not today, son.”  What do I do now?  Keep being polite?  Ask again, but nicer?There were two blind men sitting along the road in Jericho.  They heard Jesus coming, so they began shouting, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”  Jesus didn’t respond.

They kept shouting, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!  Lord, Have mercy!  Please!  Have Mercy.”  Now, they were getting attention, but not from Jesus.  The crowd around them was upset.  “Shut up!” they demanded.  The response was easy.  The blind men shouted louder.  (Matthew 20:29-33).

Now, what do you want?  Is it important enough to shout for?  Why aren’t you shouting?