Date: 05-31-2020

Title: The Only Good Debt

(S) cripture:
    Romans 13:8 (NASB) Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

(O) bservation:
    Paul is reminding the Roman Christians that we have an obligation to love the people around us. Financial debt needs to be taken care of but the debt of loving people for Jesus’ sake remains constant.

(A) pplication:
    We live in a debt strapped society. Many people are drowning in debt and never seem to get ahead. Paul tells us to clear up our debts because they do paralyze us and keep us from doing all that God wants for us to do. When we are in debt we are slaves to the lender and therefore cannot be fully committed to following Jesus. The only debt we are to carry with us is the debt to love our neighbors. That is where we make the greatest impact for the gospel is when we love others with the love of God. When we live like that, we are fulfilling the law that God gave, and we are living out our faith in ways that please God. Today I want to live like that. I want my life to be characterized by the love of God. I would hope that when people remember me it would be because I loved them with God’s love.

(P) rayer:
    Lord make me aware of the opportunities I have to love others with your love. Let me never withhold your love because of some prejudice of mine. Lead me into loving others the way you would. Amen

Date: 05-30-2020

Title: Real Strength

(S) cripture:
    Proverbs 16:32 (NASB) He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.

(O) bservation:
    I love the book of Proverbs because it gives such sound advice on how to live and in today’s reading we find this golden nugget of truth. We often think of warriors and conquerors as people of strength but here the writer says that patience and a controlled temper are qualities of real strength.

(A) pplication:
    In my younger days I found it easy to fly off the handle and launch a verbal barrage showing my impatience and wanting to coerce my way in things. I have not always been this nice peaceful man that I am today (tongue firmly planted in my cheek). As I have sought to live out this proverb I have found that it is true. There is real strength in being patient and controlling your temper. That strength is recognized by others. I want to exhibit that strength in my life. I know that when I want patience God puts me in situations where I must choose to be patient. When I want to control my temper I find myself in circumstances where in the past I would lose my temper. Interesting to me is that I never really “lost” my temper it was always right there in front of me, just out of control. Today by God’s grace I will demonstrate these qualities in my life and so live in a way that pleases God.

(P) rayer:
    Father, You know how easy it is for me to abandon these qualities so let me experience your strength today to live as you would have me to live. Let me be patient and let my temper stay under control. Amen
    

Date: 05-29-2020

Title: The Wonder of Worship

(S) cripture:
    Romans 11:33-36 (NASB) Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 34 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? 35 Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? 36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
    Romans 11:33-36 (NIV) Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” 35 “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

(O) bservation:
    Paul has been addressing the relationship of the Israelites and Gentiles to God. He explains it using the ideas of faith and obedience. He then comes to this great moment of worship as he thinks about our Great God.

(A) pplication:
    I want to be caught up in this kind of worship; ‘nough said

(P) rayer:
    Lord let me worship you in Spirit and Truth today. Let me get caught up in Who You are. Amen

Date: 05-28-2020

Title: Generosity

(S) cripture:    Proverbs 11:25 (NASB) The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered.

        Proverbs 11:25 (NLT) The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.

(O) bservation:
    The writer simply states the truth that is also found in the New Testament. “You reap what you sow”. Generous people prosper and those who refresh others find themselves being refreshed.

(A) pplication:
    When I think of being generous, I immediately think of money and yet there are so many other ways to be generous. Investing my time and abilities in others is a form of generosity. Sharing what I have with others is generosity. When I share what I have I prosper, I gain more and that allows me to give more. It is a sweet and calm spirit that refreshes people and that is what I desire. When I am operating at a hectic, chaotic pace I cannot refresh anyone and will not stop long enough to be refreshed myself. Today I will slow down and make the most of each and every conversation. I will give of myself and whatever I have. I do so not to get more but because it is the way I am to live as a Christian.

(P) rayer:
    Lord let me know your presence and power in my life so that I might live the way you describe. Let me invest myself in others so that they too might walk close to you. Amen

Date: 05-27-2020

Title: Created with Purpose

(S) cripture:
    Proverbs 8:12 (NASB) 12 “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, And I find knowledge and discretion.

    Proverbs 8:22-31 (NASB) 22
“The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old.
23 “From everlasting I was established, From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth.
24 “When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no springs abounding with water.
25 “Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills I was brought forth;
26 While He had not yet made the earth and the fields, Nor the first dust of the world.
27 “When He established the heavens, I was there, When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,
28 When He made firm the skies above, When the springs of the deep became fixed,
29 When He set for the sea its boundary So that the water would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth;
30 Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him,
31 Rejoicing in the world, His earth, And having my delight in the sons of men.

(O) bservation:
    This proverb places “wisdom” behind all of creation. There was purpose in the creative process. God did not create randomly but rather all that was created was done so in wisdom with purpose and meaning. This proverb reminds me again of the greatness of our God. He is the author and Creator of all that is and it all has purpose and meaning.

(A) pplication:
    I was created with purpose and meaning. It was God’s wisdom that decided when and where I would be born, He decided my parents and my life has purpose that was set in it from before the beginning of time. That is an incredible thought. I am not a mistake or a random happening. God knew me and made me in His time for His purpose. It would be a shame to miss all that in life. This fact gives deep meaning to my life and I will not question the Potter about why He made me this way. Today I will rejoice in God’s creative work in me and the meaning He gives to my life.

(P) rayer:
    Heavenly Father, I thank you for your goodness toward me; for creating me and giving meaning to my life. Thank you for sending your Son to pay for my sins in order that by faith in Him I might experience your purpose for me. Amen

Date: 05-26-2020

Title: An Important Correction

(S) cripture:
    Romans 8:1 (NASB) Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

    Romans 8:1 (KJV) There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

(O) bservation:
    The conditional phrase at the end of verse one included in the KJV is not found in the best manuscript evidence and is therefore omitted in more recent translations. This changes the statement completely. It takes it from a conditional phrase to an imperative statement. That is really good news for followers of Jesus.

(A) pplication:
    As a follower of Jesus I am not condemned in any way. My life is safe and secure in Christ. My security is not dependent on me but rather on God. My response to this is to love the Lord and follow Him. If I understand this, I cannot use my freedom and security as a license to sin. I cannot ignore God’s leading and direction and command of my life. Because I am not condemned, I will live in gratitude and by faith in the One who saved me and set me free. This is such an important correction because it moves the Christian life away from legalism and to relationship. Today I will celebrate my relationship with God and thank Him for securing my relationship with Him.

(P) rayer:
    Father thank you for saving me and securing my place with you. Thank you for taking away the condemnation that oppresses me. Help me to live today as your child in a way that honors you. Amen

Date: 05-25-2020

Title: A New Way To Live

(S) cripture:
    Romans 7:5-6 (NASB) For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.

(O) bservation:
    Paul is writing about the release that comes to our lives when we die to sin. We die to sin and the law has no more power over us when we receive Christ as Savior. The control the law has over us and the power our sin nature has are released when we become Christians. Our sin natures bring about death, separation from God, but our new natures in Christ bring about service energized by the Holy Spirit. Our focus is no longer on keeping the law but is on living by faith empowered by the Holy Spirit.

(A) pplication:
    Even though my sinful nature died when I became a Christian it seems to come to life when I feed it. I know it can never separate me from the love of God but it does affect my fellowship and closeness to the Father. I am not to focus on the law – that energizes my sin nature. So often I talk with people who think the Christian life is simply keeping the Ten Commandments. Their focus is on the law and they wonder why they keep feeling defeated in their spiritual lives. Their focus is wrong. They are focused on what only energizes the sin nature. I must not live that way, I want a new way of living. I am to focus on being controlled by the Holy Spirit and living by faith. When I live that way my life reflects God’s righteousness and there is no law against living that way. Today I will again trust the Holy Spirit to fill me and use me. I will focus on loving God and following Him.

(P) rayer:
    Lord, I thank you for the reminder from Paul today that I am to focus on you and not on the law. I want to live free with you and by faith in you empowered by the Holy Spirit. Work your work in me today. Amen

Date: 05-24-2020

Title: Slavery to What

(S) cripture:
    Romans 6:19 (NASB) I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.

(O) bservation:
    There are parts of me (members) that can be in slavery to sin and lead to impurity and further sin. I must identify them and give them in slavery to God. These might be:
        1. My eyes looking at things I should not
        2. My tongue saying things I should not
        3. My belly eating things I should not
        4. My mind thinking thoughts that are impure
whatever it might me I must now decide to place them in slavery to righteousness and then I can experience holiness.

(A) pplication:
    Lord help me today to watch my mouth, what I put into it and what comes out of it. Today I give my mind, eating, thoughts, speech and vision to you. I want to experience your power and righteousness in my life as I live for you.

(P) rayer:
    Father, help me stay your slave. I want to walk with you and experience your love, forgiveness and power. Amen

Date: 05-23-2020

Title: His Love Endures Forever

(S) cripture:
    Psalm 136:26 (NASB) Give thanks to the God of heaven, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
    Psalm 136:26 (NIV) Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.

(O) bservation:
    I read this from the NASB and it brought to mind the song that uses the NIV “His love endures forever“. Each of the 26 verses of this psalm have the same refrain or response to a one line statement. It reads like a responsive reading and in fact it is just that. The resounding response to all God has done is “His love endures forever“. The psalmist has recalled the acts of God in Israel’s history and completes each one with the same response. This is to remind the people of God’s great love as they worship and recount God’s work in their lives.

(A) pplication:
    Lord remind me today of your great works in my life. I want to respond like the psalmist did. It is Memorial Day weekend and a time to remember. I thank you for the memory of the people you have placed in my life to mold me into the person I have become. Today I think especially of my mom and dad. I am so blessed to be their son and to have had their influence in my life. They taught me to love and follow you. It is my first Memorial Day with both of them with you. Thank you again. Today I will remember and recount your work in my life and I will shout with the psalmist that joyous refrain, “His love endures forever“.

(P) rayer:
    Lord, You have certainly worked in my life and revealed your great love to me. Let me live in that love and recall your work so that I can be encouraged and point others to you. Amen

Date: 05-22-2020

Title: Where God Puts His Name

(S) cripture:
    2 Chronicles 6:20 (NASB) that Your eye may be open toward this house day and night, toward the place of which You have said that You would put Your name there, to listen to the prayer which Your servant shall pray toward this place.

(O) bservation:
    Solomon is asking God to continually watch over the temple and all that pray there. It was a place where God had put his name and that was to make this place different than the temples of other gods.
    In the New Testament Paul tell us that we are now the temple of God, the place where God dwells and puts his name. God has put his name on me and watches over me day and night.

(A) pplication:
    I need to take care of my body, God’s temple. This is a theme that keeps coming up in scripture. Today I commit to eating right and exercising. I want to reflect God’s power, love and grace in all I do. Since he put his name on me, I should act like it.

(P) rayer:
    Lord, thank you for putting your name on me and calling me yours. I need you to watch over me day and night and to encourage me and strengthen me when I want to revert back to old habits. I know I cannot keep this commitment in my own strength, I need your help. I thank you for your continued faithfulness to me. Amen