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Today’s reading:  Isaiah 33-35, 1 Corinthians 6

Rationalize – to think about or describe something (such as bad behavior) in a way that explains it and makes it seem proper, more attractive, etc (Britannica Dictionary).

Do you ever find yourself rationalizing your actions?  It is Monday morning and your kids wouldn’t get out of bed on time, so it’s okay for you to be grumpy and late for everything.  My teenagers were always especially good at rationalizing poor grades in school.  The teacher who hadn’t taught them what they needed to know for the test was always the reason they had received a poor grade…it was never because they chose not to study!

Rationalizing behavior is nothing new.  In 1 Corinthians, the church was using their freedom in Christ to rationalize their sins.  Specifically they were claiming that 1) because Jesus had taken away all sin, they had the freedom to live their life as they pleased, and/or 2) because scripture did not strictly prohibit certain activities, they were okay to do them.

The Apostle Paul addressed the validity of this reasoning in 1 Corinthians 6, our scripture for today.  His messages are as relevant for us as they were for Christfollowers in the first century.

• Jesus takes away our sin when we put our faith in him, but that doesn’t give us the freedom to keep on doing things we know are wrong.
• While some activities are not sinful in their own right, they are in appropriate because they can control us and lead us away from God.
• Some actions hurt rather than help others, and thus, are actions we should avoid.

Freedom in Christ should be used for his glory, not to serve ourselves.

Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything (1 Corinthians 6:12).

 

Keep His Perfect Peace

You keep him in perfect peace where mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. Isaiah 26: 3-4

Oh, how I love moments of perfect peace. The time of calmness and gentle security you can feel with no distractions. I’m sure this idea of perfect peace would look different to each of us. Our daily invisible wars can involve marital issues, child raising, finances, and health issues. The internal wars we face can capture our minds leading to anxiety, depression, anger, and fear. The distracting barrage of things that come at us pulls us away from this perfect peace unless we are intentional.

Peace = the freedom from disturbance

Sometimes we need to step back and remember whose we are. Here are some action steps we can take to find this perfect peace more often in our lives.

🅿 = Pray for the peace of God. Pray right now.
E– Exercise Faith and Trust in His Will for the moments, days, and years.
🅰 = Anchor your life to the Lord. Always connected.
C = Choose peaceful thoughts. Submit all impure thoughts to Him.
E = Enter into His word daily.

Psalm 65 5. By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness,
    O God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
    and of the farthest seas;
⁶ the one who by his strength established the mountains,
    being girded with might;
⁷ who stills the roaring of the seas,
    the roaring of their waves,
    the tumult of the peoples,
⁸ so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.
You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 23- 25; I Corinthians 3

I love this time of year with the beginning of school. The students are back at school and are ready to learn new and exciting ideas. The teachers are excited to pour their knowledge into the students. And the parents are excited to have some time themselves.

As we transition  back to the learning environment we are once again reminded of intentional reading. During intentional reading,  we can gravitate to pieces of literature that we love: fiction, fantasy and nonfiction, etc.  In these stories, parables, fables, fairy tales, and nursery rhymes the main theme is to communicate the joys, lessons, and the precautions from one generation to the next. In the letter to the Corinthians,  I see a hidden story that most are familiar with: The story of “ The Three Little Pigs”.

I Corinthians 3 : 1- 3

Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.

 

As you can recall in the story of the three little pigs, there are three young adults who  are off to find their own niche and their own lifestyle. Each of the individual pigs decide to make a house with various materials: straw, wood, and bricks. Over the course of time the big bad wolf blows down the straw house and the wood house.  But he is unable to blow down the house made of brick. The main focus on these individuals is their choice of the building materials.   Sometimes we need easy stories to help us understand complex notions and ideas.  The “ Three Little Pigs’ illustrated the need to have a sound foundation and insight into the builder of our faith structure. 

I Corinthians 3: 10 – 17

 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.

16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

In the letter Paul is not only telling us to look at the materials, but we have to focus on our architect,  builder, and the  foundation in which we have our faith. When we have a great foundation in Christ, nothing can shake us during the most trying and difficult times. During these unfathomable times, we can depend on Christ to be a foundation to sustain us in everything. But we also have to remember that God is the builder of his temple and dwelling places (our bodies).   Sometimes we forget that God is building us daily.   He is creating in us a structure that is going to be the best reflection of him so others can see his marvelous works. 

We have to remember that the work that God is doing in us may not be seen in our lifetime.  We may be setting up others to continue to show God’s grace and God’s glory.

My family lives in a house that was built in 1927. Sometimes I wonder about the builders of my home. How much thought did they give into the building that they were building ? Did they know that the structure that they built would last for almost 100 years? Did they have the foresight to give their heart and their best effort in creating this structure? Can we allow God to use us in a way that future generations would be able to see God’s grace in their lives? How can we allow God to be the foundation and the builder of our faith that it will stand time?

Be blessed

Today is the last day of our “summer.” My middle daughter begins her second year of teaching and my oldest and youngest fly back to their homes in Las Vegas after a week at home. I am savoring these last few hours in their presence. I will send them off with prayers and good wishes, knowing that God willing, I will seen them again at Thanksgiving.

These last 5 days with my adult children have been irreplaceable. I had the days planned out so we would be able to relax and make memories. Of course it did not all go as I planned, but being together as a family of 5 for a few days was lovely. Tomorrow morning I will give them the last hug, the last look, and probably one more piece of encouragement as they walk into the airport. I want them to walk away knowing that the last few days were memorable and that they are loved more than they know.

Today, in Matthew 28 we read about The Great Commission. This is Jesus’ last earthly message to his disciples. He wants them to remember this message…

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20

He tells them to GO and MAKE DISCIPLES! The disciple’s had been with Jesus for the past 3 years. They had been learning from him and doing as He did. For those 3 years they did not have to do ministry alone or without his oversight. For the first time they were being commissioned to go the nations and tell the Good News by themselves.

This might have made the disciples fearful, to go alone, but Jesus gives them His assurance at the end of this chapter. He is quick to assure them that He will ALWAYS be with them, even to the end of time.

They would not be alone as they shared the Good News with others. Jesus would be with them through their doubts and fears. This would be their first time to go and share the Gospel without Him, but they did not have to do this alone.

We have this same confidence, we are not alone. Jesus assures us that He is always with us. He is with us in our highest highs and our lowest lows. He is with us in our doubts and fears. Jesus is always with us, helping us, guiding us and pouring into us.

God’s promise to always be with us is a powerful truth that we can hold on to. No matter what we are facing, we can trust that God is with us and giving us strength. As we step into this new season and life changes before us, (saying goodbye to children for me) let us remember that God is always with us as we share His love with all those we encounter.

 

Today’s Reading Isaiah 7-10; Psalm 22; Matthew 26

Betrayal: the act of betraying someone or something or the fact of being betrayed: violation of a person’s trust or confidence, of a moral standard, etc. as defined by Webster’s Dictionary.

Synonyms for betrayal are treachery, deceit, faithlessness, lying, trickery, treason, disloyalty, sell out, to name a few.

Matthew 26 is packed with riveting scripture that follows the last few days of Jesus’ life on earth. Betrayal is the word that jumps out at me while reading today’s text.

The Sanhedrin, the Jewish religious leaders, betrayed Jesus.  They believed His teachings were blasphemous and sought His death.  Even though Jesus was a Jew, they betrayed Him.

Judas was one of the disciples that traveled with Jesus during His ministry and is a known villain of the disciples who made the deal to bring the authorities to capture Jesus.  Judas betrayed Jesus.

One of Jesus’ most beloved disciples was Peter.  In chapter 26, verses 31-46, Jesus told Peter that he would “deny Him three times before the rooster crows.”  One of Jesus’ most trusted earthly confidants and friends betrayed Him, three times as outlined in verses 69-75.  Peter betrayed Jesus.

Maybe as you read this today, you are carrying the heavy burden that someone betrayed you.  Perhaps you have been lied to, hurt, or disparaged by someone.  Maybe it was a co-worker, maybe it was a neighbor, maybe a close friend, or worse yet, maybe it was someone in your family.

Jesus was betrayed by a “co-worker,” his neighbors, and his closest friends.  Yet, He still forgave them.

What I am learning is that carrying the anger, angst, and burden of someone else’s betrayal only continues to negatively impact us and those around us.  Yes, it is awful.  Yes, it is not fair.  Yes, it is life changing. Yet, it does not have to continue to “follow us around” and ruin the rest of our life, as well as negatively impact those around us. As I like to point out in my posts, I am far from perfect and work on applying the very things I write.

Forgiveness is about following the ultimate example that Jesus showed us by dying on the cross.  Jesus experienced all the hurt, sadness, devastation, and BETRAYAL that we have experienced, and His message to us is to forgive. I believe this is how we can relate our lives to Jesus’ life.

Matthew 24, Jesus was talking to his disciples about the end times – foretelling what is going to happen in advance of Jesus’ return or “the second coming”.

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.  Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of birth pains (Matthew 24:6-8).

Does this sounds a little like the news we read about everyday?  I’ll admit it did to me when I read it this week.  At least until I got to verse 36.

But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father (Matthew 24:36).

If no ones knows the day or the hour, including Jesus himself, is it reasonable to think it would be that easy for us to figure out?  We are not that smart.  Why then would we waste our time?  Rather than evaluating the “signs” and trying to predict what’s next, or worse yet, spending our time worrying about it, we should be focused on getting ready.

Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come…So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him (Matthew 24:42, 44).

When I think about Matthew 24:42 and 44, I am energized about how glorious Jesus’ return will be.  But my mind quickly turns to thinking about what I need to be doing so that I’m ready when he gets here – what is my path to get from here to there.  The answer is pretty easy to come up with – I need to be following Jesus Christ and transforming my life to look like his.

That is much easier said than done, of course, so how do we break this bold goal into smaller, more consumable chunks on which we can make progress?  As I thought about this a little more, my mind went to the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).  These chapters are probably Jesus’ most complete description of what the life of a Chrisfollower should look like.  Starting with the Beatitudes (qualities that describe Christfollowers) and moving on to topics like murder, adultery, divorce, giving, prayer, worry, judging, etc, Jesus provides a playbook for how we should think about, act, and react when faced with various topics and challenges in life.  If you are like me, energized about the future when Jesus comes to take us home, yet want to make sure you are prepared for his arrival, spend some time studying the sermon on the mount and let it guide your choices.

…for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:).

Get Ready!