Date: 08-11-2020

Title: Course Correction

(S) cripture:
    Jeremiah 10:23-24 (NASB) I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not in himself, Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps. 24 Correct me, O LORD, but with justice; Not with Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing.

(O) bservation:
    God through Jeremiah has just blasted the people for the effort and trust they put in their idols. It is a stern reprimand and Jeremiah responds with this in a prayer. He is not to direct his own way and no person should. That is to be left to the Lord. When correction is needed Jeremiah asks that it come from God’s justice and not his anger. God’s anger directed at an individual would crush them.

(A) pplication:
    How often have I directed my own steps and thought that my life was mine? Too many times I am sad to confess. I am so thankful that God loves me enough to give me mid-course corrections. When I am headed in a wrong direction he corrects my course. I have found God’s corrections to always be just and redemptive not vindictive. I am confident that I have not experienced God’s anger and I am thankful for that. I have experienced his correction but always for my good and the good of his kingdom. I want to experience God’s hand guiding me and that is a decision I must make. God will not force his will on me. I can resist his correction but the result is generally disaster. I do not want to resist the guiding hand of God but rather to follow wherever he leads.

(P) rayer:
    Lord, you know how stubborn my self-will is. I want to follow you so break my will if you need to and let me joyfully follow you. Let me experience your guidance in my life. Help me to live in such a way that I never experience your anger. Amen

Date: 08-10-2020

Title: Clean

(S) cripture:
    John 13:6-10 (NASB) So He *came to Simon Peter. He *said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” 8 Peter *said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” 9 Simon Peter *said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” 10 Jesus *said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.”    

(O) bservation:
    As Jesus is washing the disciples’ feet, Peter begins to protest. If anyone should be washing feet it should be Peter not Jesus, the Son of God. When Jesus get to Peter he says, “No way,” but Jesus explains that he must do it because if not then Peter has not part with Him. Peter says “Don’t stop with my feet wash me all over.” Jesus then gives us a great teaching about confession and being clean. “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean.

(A) pplication:
    What a great picture of confession and walking with Jesus every day. When I became a Christian, I was washed clean, the guilt of my sin was taken away and I received forgiveness. As I live my life in this fallen world, I sin. Just like the disciples who walked the dusty roads with Jesus needed their feet washed I need to be cleansed of the dust of sin on my feet from walking in this world. What a great picture of confession. 1 John 1:9 says, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (NASB) When we confess what we know He cleanses us from all our sin. I am sure that if God revealed to me my utter sinfulness at one time it would crush me and so He asks me to confess what He brings to my mind and then He cleanses me from all. I am then able to trust Him with more and more of my life and so I confess more and more and am constantly cleansed. This is how I can walk clean before God. He cleanses me. I cannot do it myself. I cannot make myself presentable to God by He washes me and then cleanses me when I confess. Now that is clean!!! That is how I want to live. Today I again commit myself to walking by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. I do that by “Spiritual Breathing,” exhaling by confession and inhaling by giving the Holy Spirit, Who lives within me, control of my life.    

(P) rayer:
    Father, thank You for giving me a way to walk clean before You. Remind me to take a spiritual breath when I need to and not to wait until the end of the day. As I walk with You today use me in the lives of others. Amen    

Date: 08-09-2020

Title: The Crossroads

(S) cripture:
    Jeremiah 6:16 (NIV) This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.‘

(O) bservation:
    In the middle of pronouncing God’s judgment Jeremiah shows a way of redemption. We are also at a crossroads and should choose the good way, the way of David.
    
(A) pplication:
    Each day I am at a crossroads and must choose either the good way (God’s way) or my way (a sinful way). It is a decision I must make each day. My faith walk is a daily commitment to Jesus and each day I am at a crossroads. One of the greatest joys of following Jesus is the rest He gives to our souls. That rest comes daily by choosing the good way and walking in it. Today I choose the good way.    

(P) rayer:
    Father, today and every day it is my desire to choose the good way. Make me aware of when I have chosen the wrong way. Let me walk with you in the good way and give rest to my soul today. I choose to follow You. Amen

Date: 08-08-2020

Title: Unplowed Ground

(S) cripture:
    Jeremiah 4:3-4 (NASB) For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, “Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns. 4 “Circumcise yourselves to the LORD And remove the foreskins of your heart, Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Or else My wrath will go forth like fire And burn with none to quench it, Because of the evil of your deeds.”

    John 11:27 (NASB) She *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.”

(O) bservation:
    Jeremiah is calling on the people to set themselves apart to God. To cut away the unnecessary so they can be wholly God’s. They are to break up their unplowed ground. Mary, in John’s passage, gets it right. She declares that Jesus is the Christ and that fulfills the Jeremiah passage.

(A) pplication:
    We all have unplowed ground in our lives that are unfit to grow or produce anything useful. That ground in our lives needs to be broken up, plowed like a field and prepared to be useful. It is to grow something and produce fruit. The only way that can happen is if we understand who Jesus is, like Mary did. When we recognize Jesus as the Christ and allow him to work in our lives then we will produce much fruit. He can make our unplowed ground useful and productive.

(P) rayer:
    Lord, do your work in me, break up my unplowed ground. You are the Christ, the Son of God, work in my heart today and let me be fruitful. Amen

Date: 08-07-2020

Title: Jesus Claims To Be God

(S) cripture:
    John 10:33 (NASB) The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.”

(O) bservation:
    The people of Jesus’ day clearly understood that He claimed to be God. Here the religious leaders wanted to stone him for claiming to be God. It is interesting that today there is much academic debate about whether Jesus ever claimed to be God or not. Those who lived at that time understood his claim clearly.

(A) pplication:
    If Jesus claimed to be God and was then he has the right to make claims and demands on my life. Because he is God, his Word is true, and his sacrifice is sufficient for me. I need not argue about his claim to be God. I must simply believe and continue to bear witness to his claim and the difference He makes in my life.

(P) rayer:
    Lord Jesus, You are God, I am thankful that I heard your voice, when you called me by name, and I followed you. Rule in my life today. Amen

Date: 08-06-2020

Title: The Power of Testimony

(S) cripture:
    John 9:25 (NASB) He then answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”

(O) bservation:
    A simple testimony will confound self-righteous people. We are to share our testimony, tell what Jesus did for us. We are not to be intimidated by religious bigots who want to put us down or deny what Jesus is doing. We are simply to stick to our story and tell it over and over. Jesus will take care of us just like he did this man.

(A) pplication:
    Lord, today I want to be less sophisticated and more simple as I tell my story. It is a simple story, but it is mine. Nothing spectacular and yet you saved me and that is spectacular. Let me be real and simple, not simplistic, with people today.

(P) rayer:
    Lord I am tired of being superficial and sophisticated. Today I will seek to be real, honest, and simple as I share my story with others. Let me sense your presence and power as I share. Amen

Date: 08-05-2020

Title: Trust

(S) cripture:
    Habakkuk 3:17-18 (NASB) Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls, 18 Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

(O) bservation:
    Habakkuk has been asking God why the wicked prosper and God seems to do nothing about it. God answers and in this third chapter of the book we have the prophet’s prayer. In responding to what the Lord has revealed in the answer he received Habakkuk concludes his prayer of response with this affirmation of his faith. Habakkuk is living into the declaration in chapter 2 that “the righteous shall live by his faith“.

(A) pplication:
    This is the attitude with which I want to live. Regardless of the circumstances around me I want to trust and rejoice in the Lord. Trust demonstrates faith. I want to live by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit each and every day. It seems easy to trust God when things are going good but when tough times come it seems we begin to fret and rely more on ourselves than on God. We try to manipulate our circumstances to avoid tough and difficult situations rather than trusting in the Lord to show us a way through. When everything is stripped away is a time to trust, not complain. Regardless of my circumstances, today I choose to trust God and rejoice in Him. I will choose to live by faith.

(P) rayer:
    Lord, I thank you for meeting my every need. Teach me to trust you in plenty and in want. Let my life be one of rejoicing in you. I know You are all I need. Teach me to be satisfied with You and You alone. Give me strength and courage to live by faith. Amen
    

Date: 08-04-2020

Title: Quick Judgment

(S) cripture:
    John 7:24 (NASB) “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

(O) bservation:
    Jesus is addressing those who make quick judgments based on appearances rather than considering the whole of the matter. Here Jesus is being criticized for healing a man on the Sabbath. In their criticism the people failed to consider their own practice of circumcision that must be done on the eighth day even if it falls on the Sabbath. Jesus exhorts them to consider the whole and make a right judgment rather than one based solely on appearances.

(A) pplication:
    Things are not always what they appear. When I jump to a judgment based on appearances, I am likely to get the judgment wrong because I have not considered the whole and all the factors. Jesus exhorts me to consider all the facts before I make a judgment. Today I will work to look at all factors and circumstances before I make a judgment. This does not mean that I tolerate sin or law breaking but it does mean that I will give careful examination to all factors before I make a judgment. I must be careful in making a quick judgment because like those in this passage I might be judging them for something I am also doing.

(P) rayer:
    Father, you know how quick I am to assess and judge a situation. Teach me to pause and make a right judgment based on the whole and not just based on appearances. Help me to be redemptive and not condemning in my dealings with people. Let me reflect you. Amen

Date: 08-03-2020

Title: A Godly Leader’s Task

(S) cripture:
    2 Chronicles 34:33 (NASB) Josiah removed all the abominations from all the lands belonging to the sons of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel to serve the LORD their God. Throughout his lifetime they did not turn from following the LORD God of their fathers.

(O) bservation:
    In this record of the work of Josiah we find that he was faithful to God and led the people to live the same way. He had the idols removed and compelled the people to live faithfully for the Lord. Because of his leadership (OK as king there may have been some coercion) the people served God as long as Josiah lived.

(A) pplication:
    When I read this, I was struck with the fact that this is what I am to be doing as the pastor. I am to compel (I cannot coerce) people to live faithfully. A great joy for my life would be if all the people of New Baptist were living faithfully for the lord all the days of my life. What I do really does have eternal significance. It is my responsibility to help people tear down their idols and help them worship and serve the Living God. It is my desire to be that kind of leader.

(P) rayer:
    Lord let me live my life in such a way that it sets the example for others to follow in being faithful to you and you alone. Help me to tear down the idols in my own life so that others can see the way to tear down the idols in their lives. Let me lead the people in a way that is pleasing and faithful to you. Amen

Date: 08-02-2020

Title: Do You Want To Get Better

(S) cripture:
    John 5:6 (NASB) When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He *said to him, “Do you wish to get well?”

(O) bservation:
    It seems like a silly question to ask. Would a cripple want to get well? Of course, but not so fast. Some sick people find it easier to be sick rather than well. It is easier to blame their condition for their weaknesses and failures rather than dealing with the reality of life. Does this man really want to get better? It is an important question.

(A) pplication:
    Jesus looks at me and asks if I want to get better. I say “yes” but continue to live as “no”. How many attempts to lose weight have failed? It is a key question and my answer must reflect my willingness to get up and walk. Today I will again answer the question with a yes and begin again.

(P) rayer:
    Lord, today I will continue the trek to wellness with a resounding “Yes” to your question. I will get up and walk with you. Give me courage and strength to stay on this path. Amen