Devotionals @ The Mount Church

We praise what we love, and what we esteem to have value, what we enjoy.  Whether a good meal, a college team, a lover, a hero, a child-it is natural to sing the praises of that which we value.  CS Lewis writes:

I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are, the delight is incomplete till it is expressed. (Reflections on the Psalms)

Praise both expresses our delight and completes our delight.  It is a demonstration of love towards the object of praise, and an invitation for others around to join with you in this delight.  And sharing in the object of praise is yet another demonstration of your love for those you share with-to taste a bite of your cake because of it’s richness, to borrow a CD because it moves you, to invite others to meet your friend because you so enjoy his presence.  We both long for those we love to experience and share in the joy we’ve found in this object, as well as to join with you to attribute value and praise out of love for this object.  And so it is with God.

a worthy object

Were I to tell you that you should praise God, most of you if not all would agree.  This is a good and right thing to, but little of knowing that you “should” do anything is terribly motivating.  In fact, often in my own rebellious heart, if I am told i should do something, I am much more apt to not.  True praise erupts from a heart overwhelmed by love.  And true love is never derived out of a sense of duty, but out of delight. Praise for God will naturally flow out of a heart in love with God.

And we love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).  He loved us and gave Himself up for us (Ephesians 5:2,25), that nothing might separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:35-39).  Piper explains that if God is love, and He loves perfectly, then the greatest act of love would be to give to us that which is most fulfilling.  He writes:

In view of God’s infinitely admirable beauty and power and wisdom what would his love to a creature involve? Or to put it another way: What could God give us to enjoy that would show him most loving? There is only one possible answer, isn’t there? HIMSELF! If God would give us the best, the most satisfying, that is, if he would love us perfectly, he must offer us no less than himself for our contemplation and fellowship. (sermon: Is God for us or for Himself?)

We are greatly loved despite ourselves, not because of ourselves!  And because of this God is worthy of our love, worthy of all our praise, worthy of our lives.

a right response

As Christ entered Jerusalem for the last time, his followers laid their robes at his feet, they cried out His praise declaring the glory of the coming King.  When the Pharisees demanded Jesus quiet them, He proclaimed that were they to be silent the very stones would cry out His praise (Luke 19).  David writes that the heavens declare the glory of the Lord (Psalm 19:1).  Creation boldly and unashamedly reveals God’s glory, displaying His great power, His beauty, creativity, and wisdom, simply by being what it is created to be.  We are no different.  If we are obedient to do what the Lord has called us to do, He is revealed and glorified.  He is glorified in your personality that He has specifically designed, in the gifts He has bestowed on you, in the dreams and calling He has laid on your heart–all are meant to glorify and reveal Him to others.  He is made great as our lives are transformed and we live out our faith expressing itself in love.  A right response to His love involves a life that reflects His love, provoking praise in your own heart and in others’.

But taking it a step further, a right response involves attributing the changes in your life, attributing the glory to Him.  We have become far to quiet in our faith.  St. Francis is quoted as saying “preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words”, emphasizing that we must not proclaim the gospel and turn away like hypocrites and fail to live it out, fail to love those who are hard to love, to give generously to those in need, to live selflessly.  However, with the climate of our culture today, we have become far too silent.  It is much more politically correct to keep your faith to yourself and not make those around you uncomfortable. It is easier to avoid certain topics, or to brush away questions, than it is to talk about God as if He were real to an atheist.  And while I am in no way encouraging street corner preaching, I am encouraging praise both in the way we live and with our voices, in and outside of church.  May we be unafraid to be viewed as fools by the world, as long as we are known as fools who love because of God.  May the rocks not have to cry out.

a step further…

Read Ephesians 2:1-10

v. 1-3

1. What is the tone in these first 3 verses? What words stick out to you? What is their connotation?
2. What does Paul want us to understand about our state prior to God’s intervention?
3. v. 4-7.  There is a major shift in tone here. What or Who causes this shift? What is the tone following this shift?
4. Verses 4-7 describe God rescuing us from our former life (v. 1-3). What was God’s motive in rescuing us?
5. What do these verses teach us about the nature of God and Christ?
6. In verses 8 and 9 what role do grace and faith play in our salvation? Must we do anything?
7. In this passage what does God do and what do we do? What changes in our life as the passage progresses?
8. How is the term “works” used in v. 9 and 10? What is the significance of this difference?
9. This passage was written to believers. Paul reminds us of our former state partly to warn us of living as dead though we are now alive. Why are you tempted to live as though you were still dead?
10. Even in our salvation we may be tempted to boast in ourselves, seeking glory for that which we did not accomplish. In what ways are you tempted to steal God’s glory? (v. 8-9)
11. Why did Paul go to great lengths to describe our depravity (v.1-3)? (Hint: see also Luke 7:36-47). With this in mind, what is your heart’s response to God?

Toward evening they heard the Lord God walking about in the garden, so they hid themselves among the trees.  The Lord God called to Adam, “Where are you?”  He replied, “I heard you, so I hid.  I was afraid…”

Genesis 3:8-10

From the beginning of time it has been God’s desire and plan to have fellowship with us.  Even though we have been born as sinners and do not experience the same kind of fellowship that Adam did, it is great to know that this is God’s plan for us.  He desires to talk to us, and for us to listen to him.  Can you imagine what it would have been like to be Adam and live in the garden in God’s very presence?  Imagine what it would be like for God to call you by name and walk with you in the garden, enjoying a conversation about your day. Can you put yourself in that role?  It may be hard, but that is what God wanted for us from the beginning.  And even though we may not physically walk with him in the garden, we still can communicate with him throughout our day.

do you have your listening ears on?

That is a phrase I often heard in the elementary classrooms I was in.  But it is a great question to ask ourselves as we look to have communication with God.  Obviously those of us who have functioning ears can hear.  But do we always listen?  And what does it sound like to hear from God?  How can we be sure it is him we are listening to?

First of all, Deuteronomy 30:19, 20 says, “Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.” We are commanded to listen to God.  So, if he commands us to do something, he will always make it possible for us to do.  1 John 5:14 tells us that.  Listening to his voice involves two different aspects.  One is spending time in his word.  When we spend time reading and meditating on the Word of God, his holy spirit opens our eyes (or should I say our ears) to his will.  We can read and understand his ways, and apply the scriptures to our lives.  The second way we hear him is by being attentive to his “voice” in our hearts.  God will speak (not audibly) to us in our inner man.  He will confirm truth to us, or warn us of evil, or give us his peace when we need it.  In fact, his spirit is always communing with our willing hearts.  Our problem is that we get so busy we fail to stop and listen to him.  This is a great ploy of Satan in our lives.  We can allow ourselves to become so overrun with activities (even good ones) that we never settle down to hear his still, small voice.  We miss what he has for us as we race through the frenzy of life.  Psalm 46:10 tells us to “Be still and know that I am God”, and in that stillness he communicates his truth into our lives.  How often do we miss it?

tell it like it is

Sometimes I think about the fact that God knows everything-even my thoughts-and I wonder just why I need to pray.  Why do I need to tell him something that he already knows?  As a parent, I know that even though I knew some of the needs of my children before they spoke them, I wanted to hear them.  I may have known that they were thankful for something, but I wanted to hear those words.  Why?  Because they are my children and I want to have connection to them.  I want them to need me and come to me.  I want them to thank me for the things that I do for them.  Not because I am insecure or need my ego to be fed.  No, it is because I love them and they are mine.  I want them to be tied to me all their lives.

That is how God feels about us.  He wants us to have that secure connection with him.  He wants us to talk to him.  But we need to realize that there is a prerequisite to having this communication with God.  It is that there is nothing, no sin, between us and him.  Psalm 66:18 says, “If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, my Lord would not have listened.”  Sin short circuits our fellowship with God, and gets in the way of our prayers.  We must make sure that our sin is confessed if we want our prayers to be unhindered.  (1 John 1:9 assures us that our confessed sin will be forgiven).

Now that our sin is out of the way, just what do we talk to God about?  In a word, “everything”.  God wants to hear about our day.  He wants to listen to our struggles and victories.  He wants us to ask him for our needs.  He wants to be in on everything.  Philippians 4:6 says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”   And Mathew 7:7, 8 says “Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for.  Keep on looking, and you will find.  Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened.  For everyone who asks, receives.  Everyone who seeks, finds.  And the door is opened to everyone who knocks.”  So, sometimes his answers are not immediate, but they will come.  Our job is to talk to him.  His job is to answer in his time.  Our job is to listen to him.  His job is to speak to our hearts when we are quietly listening.  When all this is accomplished, we have a deeper relationship with him, and true communication.  After all, that was his plan all along.

prayer

Lord, we do want to talk to you.  Teach us to confess our sins so that nothing interferes with our prayers.  We want to listen to you.  Teach us to be still and quiet before you so that we can hear your Spirit in our hearts.  Lord, we wish it was not so hard for us to communicate with you.  Teach us to look to and long for the time that we will see you face to face.  With that hope, give us the grace to walk and talk with you daily.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

But first be concerned about God’s kingdom and his righteousness, and all of these things will be provided for you as well.  - Matthew 6:33, ISV

God wants to have first place in our lives.  He deserves that position and has earned it as well.  When you consider that God made you His first priority and that keeping you there required the forsaking of His Son on the cross, there is no other place but first that God should occupy in your life and mine.  But so often we allow other things and other people to sit in
God’s rightful place on the throne of our lives.  And more often than not, the person we put in that spot instead is ourselves.  It comes very naturally to userp God’s authority in our lives as we’re bombarded with the notion to “look out for #1″ and “control our own destiny.”  The world around us is constantly playing to our sense of entitlement, causing us to regularly dethrone God and put ourselves in the role He is supposed to have in our lives!  We do this so often that most Christians are oblivious to it.  It happens all the time.

When there is something we want to say that is not in keeping with God’s instruction to “not let any unwholesome speech come out of our mouths,” (Eph. 4:29) how many times do we say it anyway?  That’s not making God and His will first place in our lives.  When God tells us that we are to love our spouse sacrificially as He has loved us, and we throw selfish temper tantrums and pout and manipulate to get our own way, that is not making God the first priority!  When we disrespect our parents, withhold our tithe, or allow garbage into our minds through inappropriate books, T.V., the internet, or movies, that is not allowing God to rule our lives.  In short, when we willfully and knowingly disobey God in any way, we are choosing to put ourselves first and not giving God the priority He is supposed to have in our life. 

In order for God to be Priority #1 in our lives, it means that His wishes and desires for our lives must come before our own.  We submit to His authority as the Head of our lives and choose to go His way, not our own.  Rather than looking at things through the eyes of self- “my time, my stuff, my body, my health, my choice, my happiness, mine, mine, mine-,” we must instead make daily living under God’s Lordship a lifestyle. 

God says that when we make His Kingdom and His plan for our lives our first priority, then everything else we need will be taken care of.  That’s what He means in the verse above by “and all of these things will be provided for you as well.”  All we need to concentrate on is putting God first and leave the rest up to Him! 

You can tell a lot about a person’s priorities by looking at where they’re investing.  Where is their time going, and where is their money going?  If someone were to sit down with your calendar and your bank account statement, what would they see as the main priorities in your life?  Would God be at the top, near the top, or anywhere on the radar at all?  (I’m guessing that since you’re reading this devotion in the first place, God is most likely already a priority in your life somewhere).  Unless God is first place, He’s in the wrong place, and only you can make that correction. 

Making someone a priority is really an act of love.  Showing them preference and favor demonstrates the high value you place on them.  We all like to feel like a priority to others, and God is no exception.  When I put my spouse’s needs before mine, I’m showing them my love.  When I sacrifice for my children, it is because I love them deeply.  When I take the time to pray with a friend or meet a physical need they have, or simply check up on them, I’m making them a priority.  And that demonstrates my love for them.  The same applies to my relationship with God, and He is to be above everyone and everything.  No other relationship equals His and everyone else comes after Him if I am properly prioritizing.  I don’t always get that right, and like I said earlier, most of the time the one competing for the throne in my life is me. 

Ask yourself today, “Am I seeking first God’s Kingdom, or my own?”  If God is first place in your life, then it is perfectly okay to look out for #1, because that is exactly where He belongs! 

Application:

Take a moment to sit down with your calendar and bank statement and see what areas need to be revisited in order to make God the first priority of your life and that of your household.  Ask Him to help you make those changes and to enable you to trust Him for the rest of “all these things.”   

read through Matthew 25:1-12

Unless we go camping or hiking frequently, we today tend to think less about lamp oil, the sort referred to nearly 200 times in the Bible, and more about petroleum, which is obviously used to power our hustle-bustle lifestyle. But before electricity, oil lamps were crucial for educating children, working and traveling. In fact, just as people in the old days would not be able to function without oil for lamps, we would be in dire straits economically and socially without petroleum.

In this passage, Christ uses a parable about virgins wandering out to meet the bridegroom, which here represents Jesus, to make a point about the foolish versus the wise. Five virgins prepare before hand to meet the bridegroom by bringing, not only lamps to see through the night, but oil for the lamps. Bringing oil to power the lamps may seem like an obvious necessity to us, but regardless, the other five virgins chose to only bring the lamps with no oil. When the time came to meet the bridegroom, predictably, the five prudent ones were ready at midnight and the foolish ones had to go into the city and purchase oil.

There’s a lot of ground to cover here, but first, the Bible has much to say about followers who prudently navigate a world of widespread darkness, without the light of Christ in many, many people’s lives. In this passage, oil is used to represent our salvation and the wisdom we possess and should seek after because of a relationship with Him. One online commentary here notes that those who possess prudence in God: understand the ways of God, are crowned with knowledge, can identify evil and false teaching, have the ability to control anger and other destructive feelings, and many other attributes. Thus, without oil in our symbolic lamps, that is, without seeking teaching and wisdom from the word of God daily, we are left susceptible to the dangers of the dark, to the dangers of falsehood and evil and to all things void of Christ. So, it is critically important as Christians that we seek to more fully know God and his wisdom and understanding as we go about our lives. Or else, we leave ourselves open to snares. In this parable, the foolish virgins ultimately did not gain entry into the bridegroom’s house because they had not prepared and filled up their lamps. They did not wisely use the resources God had provided.

Second, and perhaps the most exciting aspect of this parable, those who are diligent, who do prepare, and who do desire God’s truth, they will be rewarded with a feast. For us, this doesn’t mean a literal feast, but an eternity with Christ, a feast of everlasting love, joy and peace in a place called heaven. It’s place with no more longing, no more suffering, thirst, hunger or pain. It’s a destiny that we can look forward to, knowing that we have lived lives fully devoted to Christ and his teaching. But, and it’s a big but, as seen in this parable, those who do not rightly prepare, that is surrendering their lives to Christ, will be turned away as were these five foolish virgins, who seemingly thought they could “borrow” someone else’s provisions to get into the bridegroom’s house. Salvation, however, is a personal decision made one soul at the time. No one else can lend you part of their salvation. Salvation comes when Christ calls a person to their knees, and it truly is an individual, personal, relationship with the most high.

This parable teaches, then, briefly gives us the spiritual decisions that we all have to make and their consequences: salvation, rejection of Christ, eternal life, and separation from Christ.

application

Read through a few or all of these verses and answer for yourself what God is teaching about wisdom and prudence in your life: Proverbs 8:12, Proverbs 12:23, Proverbs: 2:11, Proverbs 13:16, Hosea 14:9, Proverbs 14:8, Proverbs 16:21, Psalms 112:5, Ephesians 5:15, Colossians 4:5, Matthew 10:16, Ephesians 1:8.

Several nights ago I dreamed I was in Panera Bread trying to order dinner.  Three times I wasn’t listened to and ended up with a PBJ (which I hate) on plain white Bunny Bread.  I woke up frustrated and hungry.  I do not share this in order to make a deep spiritual allegory, only to let you know that this devotion is about bread.  May you finish this more satisfied and longing all the more deeply for the Bread of Life.  Enjoy!

people and bread

We all hunger.  It is part of the human experience, a need to maintain, to build strength, to find pleasure, to live.  Bread is first mentioned in the Bible very early on-it is in fact, a part of the fall, “by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground…” (Genesis 3:19).  And so from the very beginning we see a struggle-what we need to survive and to maintain strength will not come easily but with much effort.  We hunger, we have need.

god and bread

Throughout the Bible, the significant mentions of bread are tied to the miraculous.  Melchizedek, King of Salem and priest of the Most High God, without beginning or end, blesses Abraham and refreshes him with bread and wine (Genesis 14).  Unleavened bread becomes a symbol and reminder, an intricate part of the Passover and Israel’s liberation from Egypt (Exodus 12).  Manna appeared each morning for years, sustaining the Israelites in the desert, bread from the Lord (Exodus 16).  Christ’s first temptation was to turn stone into bread (Matt. 4), and He fed thousands with a few loaves of bread and some fish (John 6).

Matthew Henry notes that the bread and wine brought forth by Melchizedek represents God’s spiritual provision of strength and comfort.  And you see this theme continue.  Each miracle listed above reveals the Lord’s ability and desire to provide for His people, to sustain and to strengthen them.  In the desert, where it would  be impossible to find food for an entire wandering nation, no one went hungry for 40 years.  He taught His children to look to Him to provide, and this is why Christ’s first temptation was actually a temptation.  At first glance, one wonders what would be so wrong with Christ commanding the stones be turned to bread, after all, there is no command against this and he was hungry (he’d been fasting for 40 days!).  He needed bread.  However, in turning the stones to bread, his actions would fly in the face of God–in a sense taking his care and provision into his own hands rather than trusting in the Lord to provide, “He (Satan) tempted him to despair of his Father’s goodness, and to distrust his Father’s care concerning him” (Matthew Henry).  It was not the miracle that was the issue, it was the heart in it-am I to satisfy my desires in my own wisdom or look to God to satisfy them?  And God provides well-”Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.” (Matthew 4:11).  Bread is a reminder of God’s perfect provision.

christ and bread

Shortly after He fed the 5,000 (actually in the same chapter) Christ described Himself as “the bread of life” (John 6).  Where his followers sought another miracle and a free meal, He instead challenged their hearts.  Just as bread is a source of life for us, Christ is the source of eternal life.  He repeatedly tells the crowd that whoever comes to him and whoever believes shall never hunger or thirst.  Where they were looking for the temporary and the physical, Christ spoke of the eternal.  We see this same image repeated at the last supper, the bread becoming His body, broken for us (Matthew 26), and in this He becomes the superior bread.  Matthew Henry writes:

Manna was given to Israel; so Christ to the spiritual Israel. There was manna enough for them all; so in Christ a fullness of grace for all believers; he that gathers much of this manna will have none to spare when he comes to use it; and he that gathers little, when his grace comes to be perfected in glory, shall find that he has no lack. Manna was to be gathered in the morning; and those that would find Christ must seek him early.Manna was sweet, and, as the author of the Wisdom of Solomon tells us (Wisd. 16:20), was agreeable to every palate; and to those that believe Christ is precious. Israel lived upon manna till they came to Canaan; and Christ is our life. There was a memorial of the manna preserved in the ark; so of Christ in the Lord’s supper, as the food of souls.

Bread is a symbol of Christ’s perfect and eternal provision, His mediation on our behalf, that we might have life.

one step further

• When are you most tempted to question God’s goodness towards you?  Why?
• What is the biblical truth concerning this matter? (hint: if you don’t know immediate verses, see http://www.blueletterbible.org/ and do a word search–every verse containing this word will be referenced)
• Do you view God as your provider?  How does this affect the way you live?
• Spend some time praising the Lord for his provisions, praising Christ for being the Bread of Life, the perfect meeter of our need created at the start of the fall.