ministry

Becoming God’s Man Minutes – God is Bigger than the Barriers

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Genesis 10-11 & Acts 2:1-13

We often look at Jesus as the second Adam, we even read this back on day 2 with Paul’s words to the Corinthians. However, I think we tend to oiverlook how through Christ the division of people due to language as we read today regarding the “Tower of Babel” was restored on the day of Pentecost when the gathered crowds heard the apostles preaching the Gospel in their own languages. God through the Holy Spirit removed the language barrier that would have previously kept others from coming to Christ.

Often we tend to use barriers as an excuse for not witnessing to others. We think that circumstances or differences between us and the people we encounter are too big for us to be able to adequately share Christ. Well when the story of the tower of Babel and the day of Pentecost are put into context we see that there are no circumstances too big for the Holy Spirit to use you to share the Gospel with others. So when you are out and about and feel the Spirit prompt you to share Christ with someone don’t let the barriers prevent you from doing so, remember God is bigger than any barrier you may encounter.

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God’s Timing

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Genesis 8-9 & 1 Corinthians 11

Today’s passage was the continuation of Noah’s Ark, and one thing I always find interesting when I first noticed it was Genesis 8:15-17. When we get to this part of the story we always focus on Noah sending out the raven, and then sending out the dove three times, we tend to skip over these three verses where it is God commanding Noah to exit the ark. God sealed them in the ark, and it was God Who told them it was finally safe to come out of the ark. Often times we may be called to do something and are desperate to get it started, or we are impatient to see the answer to our prayers work out; that we will move ahead of God and not wait for His timing. You see this will lead to results that aren’t the best, that is not to say they won’t work out, it just isn’t the best of what God has to offer. You see Noah could have left the ark when he noticed that the ground was dry, or even mostly dry; but surviving woul have been harder as the land might not have been suitable at that time to sustain life, We might not know the why, but we do know that Noah did wait for God’s timing to tell him when to leave the ark.

So, is there anything where you are having to wait on God’s timing? Has there been times when instead of waiting on God, you went and did your own thing? I pray that each of us has the patience to wait on God and His promises. Have a blessed day.

Listen to the warnings

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Genesis 6-7 & Luke 17:27-37

Today was the first part of, probably one of the most well known stories’ of the Old Testament, Noah’s Ark. The story where God sent a flood to kill all life on earth due to their wickedness, violence, and evil (different translations use these words interchangeably). Then in Luke we see one of many instances where Noah is used as an example by Jesus, regarding the Second Coming. How people will be living their lives like normal, ignoring the sign of God’s coming judgement, I mean it would be hard to miss the guy building the large boat, some traditions hold that this took place in an area where no body of water suitable for a boat of such size was close by or in other words this boat was landlocked, and wonder what is going on only to be told to repent due to God’s coming Judgement. You see it isn’t that there aren’t signs of God’s coming judgement, but that many choose to ignore those signs, wanting to be the god of their own life and ignore those who preach the true God.

Genesis 4-5 & Luke 17:1-26

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“In the course of time” vs. “on his part”

Today’s reading had a couple of things that stood out, or some thoughts that when combined just reinforced, but I will just focus on the main one. The first comes out of Genesis 4, when we look at the sacrifices of Cain and Abel, it seems we always focus on what was offered; Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground, while Abel brought the firstborn of his flock..The one thing I never heard anyone talk about though, was not the content of these offerings but their intent. What I mean is when we read this passage read that it was in the “course of time” that Cain presented his offering while Able’s was done “on his part.” It appears Cain may have been reluctant, not doing it out of gratitude but out of duty; while Able’s offering was given not because it was required, but rather because he wanted to give it.

In Luke this is kind of reinforced with the comparison to a servant/slave performing thier duty. We also with the story of the cleansing of the ten lepers, where the nine performed the duty required for being cleansed of leprosy, while the tenth upon seeing he was cleansed returned to Jesus out of gratitude to praise God.

Often when as Christians we talk about giving we focus on the content and not the intent. Giving is our time, talent, and treasure; it isn’t just financial support but the giving of ourselves in service to God. So when you give back to God, no matter how you are able, are you doing so out of a sense of pure duty or are you doing it out of gratitude for what God has done for you?

Genesis 2 & 1 Corinthians 15:45-58

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“helper suitable for” or “helper corresponding to”

The Hebrew words used for this phrase is a picture of one that comes along side to help. The phrase is just about literally one who helps parallel, or opposite, to. Man and Woman are designed to work together as a team, helping each other, supporting each other in their weaknesses, encouraging each other in their strengths, and excelling as a team where they are equally matched. The relationship is not to be one of superiority, or adversity; but to be one of cohesion. This is a concept I think those of us that are part of western individualistic cultures have forgotten, it is also interesting that the word translated in Genesis 2 for “alone” is bad. We were not designed to be alone, we were designed to be part of a family; both spiritually and physically, for those that are single the two are sometimes combined. This is why it is important as believers that we are part of a local church; because that is our spiritual family and at times functions as a stand in for the physical family, helping out during times of need.

So, let me leave you with this. Are you part of a local church? If not, why? What keeps you form connecting with other believers, what is keeping you in the “bad” state of being alone? Just like there is no “perfect” family, there are no perfect churches; but there are churches that will feel like home.

Day 1: Genesis 1 & Hebrews 11:1-3

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Genesis 1:26 LSB “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, so that they will have dominion over the fish of the sea…”

I originally was going to do the daily reading in the Christian Standard Bible (CSB), but one of the benefits of using an app like YouVersion is that you have access to multiple different translations; so I ended up doing the initial reading looking at the Legacy Standard Bible (LSB), which is a newer translation based off of the 1995 New American Standard, and for the first time I saw Genesis 1:26 in a new light where God giving man dominion, or having man rule over, creation was tied to the fact that we are created in God’s image. The other translations I looked at (NKJV, ESV, CSB, NASB 1995, & NASB 2020; all translations I will reference beyond the LSB in my daily readings) didn’t explicitly tie together these two concepts like they were in the LSB.

We often ask, “What is God’s will for my life? What is it that God wants me to do?” However, how often do we also take the time to reflect on what it means to be made in God’s image and how that relates to what we are tasked to do? I mean, for myself, usually when I reflect on being made in God’s image it is more in the theoretical and hypothetical abstract concept for how I should view and treat others and not in any way regarding to my vocation. So, it was interesting to see how God not only told to rule over the earth, but was made in God’s image so that he can rule over the earth. Where because we are made in God’s image we are to serve as His representative/ambassador/steward to His creation.

Let me leave you with this thought to ponder as we go through this next year, “Do my actions, thoughts, and speech present God in a favorable light? Do they present a God that when creating the world, called everything “precious;” or do they reflect poorly on who God is?”

Are You Looking For Your 15 Seconds of Fame? – John 3:29-30

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He who has the bride is the groom. But the groom’s friend, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the groom’s voice. So this joy of mine is complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.
John 3:29-30

How often do we want to find greatness, or to be the center of attention? How often do we get into the mindset of thinking that everything should revolve around us? We often look for what can put us into the spotlight, to have that next viral video or post on Facebook; to be the next chicken nugget tweet, which if I remember right that was one of the most retweeted tweets on twitter. In this world of reality TV and social media, where anyone with a camera has the potential to become a star, that is what many people focus on. They ask how can I become greater, how can I get more likes, more retweets, more followers; they fall into the trap of pride, where all of their focus is on themselves.

Here we see John the Baptist talking to his disciples when they came to him complaining about Jesus becoming more popular than John. You see John had no problem with this as he knew who Jesus was and that he was only there to prepare the people for Jesus, much like an opening act preparing the crowds at a concert for the headline band. John understood that his role was fulfilled once Jesus started His ministry and thus needed to diminish while Jesus’ ministry was to become greater.

In this time of YouTube and Instagram stars, and everyone looking for their 15 seconds of fame we need to take a page from John the Baptist’s playbook and realize that it is not about us. We need to look less at how we can bring ourselves fame and glory and look at how we can point people to the one who deserves all glory. We need to decrease while God must increase. In other words we need to tell ourselves that “I got nothing.”

Christian Fellowship – Hebrews 10:24-25

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“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25

Why is fellowship important? What is the purpose of being a part of a local congregation? I remember hearing R.C. Sproul telling the story of a pastor that while at a church picnic talked to a member of his congregation that rarely attends. The guy told the pastor that he didn’t need the church, he was part of the universal church and doesn’t need the local fellowship. The pastor then took a white hot coal off the grill and set it aside. Ten minutes later he told the guy that that coal was white hot, but now since it was not with the other coals it has cooled off and become ineffective in it’s duty.

This is what the author of Hebrews is talking about here. You see when we are part of a local congregation the fellowship with other believers helps to make us effective in doing God’s will. I like how some translations will say that we are to provoke one another. You see when we are in fellowship with other believers we are constantly pushing and challenging each other to further deepen our relationship with Christ. Our faith should be such that when those around us encounter us they want to better their faith, which in turn gets us to want to do the same; a sort of one up manship in regards to deepening our faith, or a faith feedback cycle where our faith spurs on that of those around us and their faith spurs us on. So which are you like, the useless piece of charcoal off to the side, or part of the community fulfilling its purpose?