It is good to give thanks to the Lord! Scripture says it, and I have personally found it to be true in my life. The writer of this Psalm obviously knew it to be true, for throughout the chapter, he calls his listeners/readers to proclaim God’s goodness. He also continues to reveal the goodness of God throughout the entire Psalm.
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Ps.107:1
I love that the Psalmist not only calls us to give thanks but also tells us why to give thanks. He calls us to give thanks for two specific reasons that we are wise to remember and daily declare.
He is good.
His mercies (or loyal love) endure forever.
To know His goodness and mercies is a wonderful thing/feeling, but more than that, it is a catalyst for knowing Him intimately. His goodness and mercy allow us to know Him. They draw our eyes upward. They open our eyes to His love and kindness. They convince us of His faithfulness to never leave or forsake us. They are seen in His grace to save/deliver us from our sins, and in His power to transform us from the inside out. His goodness knows no boundaries – for God is only, always, good.
The gotquestions.org commentary explains it like this:“To say that God is good means that God always acts in accordance to what is right, true, and good. Goodness is part of God’s nature, and He cannot contradict His nature. Holiness and righteousness are part of God’s nature; He cannot do anything that is unholy or unrighteous. God is the standard of all that is good.”
Friends, let’s ask Him to open our eyes to see His goodness and mercy throughout the day, and may we be quick and faithful to give Him thanks, declaring aloud: ‘Thank You, God!’ For You are good and Your mercies endure forever!
Based on the LGG Journal, From the Beginning to Foreverw6/d5
Read: Revelation 1:4-8; 20:7-10 and 21:1-6/SOAP: Revelation 21:3-4
Greeting the Seven Churches
4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.
To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Revelation 1:4-8 (NKJV)
Satanic Rebellion Crushed
7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. 9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Revelation 20:7-10 NKJV
All Things Made New
21 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”
6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
Revelation 21:1-6 (NKJV)
Friends, as today’s LGG Journal entry points out, “This is the future reality the Bible paints for us.”1
We can only imagine what that day will be like… The sights and sounds, the reality of God wiping away every tear, death, sorrow, crying, and pain no longer being a part of life…The inexplicable joy of coming into the presence of God, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End…the One who will “freely give us, for all eternity, spiritual blessings to enjoy…resources from God that will be at our disposal for the enjoyment of the new heaven and earth.”2
Perhaps, like me, you are longing for that day…a day when God will dwell with His people as He did in the garden…a day when pain and sorrow and all of the harsh realities of this life will be over…the day when we will live in the New Jerusalem. “Oh, what a glorious day that will be!”3 If you do not have the certainty of that hope, but would like to learn how to share in it, I invite you to continue reading this post and then visit the link “Know These Truths.”
Revelation is unquestionably a complex book, especially for those of us who like things spelled out more than we appreciate descriptions or depictions that are a challenge to fully grasp and leave us shaking our heads, saying, “What?”. Honestly, while I dive into nearly every other book of the Bible without hesitation, I have tended to steer clear of the book of Revelation, not out of fear of what’s to come, but out of frustration and concern that I will be confused by or misunderstand the complexity of John’s words. However, as I find myself praying more and more, “Come, Lord Jesus, come,” I have become increasingly drawn to the book. I have a hunger to know more than the clear and certain truths of the end times that I have professed for years: Jesus is coming again…He will defeat not only Satan but all of His enemies…and He will rule forever as King. While traveling through “From the Beginning to Forever,” I have been reminded of the need to live with the full reality of eternity in mind – not just that I am going to live with Him forever in the New Jerusalem, but that those who have not believed in the Lord Jesus Christ will spend their eternity in hell. If I lose sight of this, I give the enemy a foothold to hold me back from sharing the message of the Gospel, which is the good news that Jesus saves, and that salvation is not only the promise of forgiveness and eternal life, but that it is the free gift of God to all who believe.4
Friends, knowing what our “forever” is, is a blessing above all blessings, for we know that, “We will day be glorified and spend eternity with the Savior.”5 However, may we never lose sight of the truth that those who have never believed face a real and certain eternity in anguish in the flame.6
There is such beauty and hope in the book of Romans. It is the hope of our salvation. It is the glory of the Father and the reality of the Son. It is the forgiveness of sin, the promise of Heaven, and the gift of eternal life. It is the message we have been commissioned to carry to the ‘farthest ends of the earth, so that all might hear and believe and share in the hope of our salvation.
When we come to Christ as broken sinners, He exchanges our sin for His righteousness.
Gotquestions.org
Today’s journey is a collection of passages known as the Romans Road, which leads us straight to God’s gift of eternal life—by grace, through faith in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:8-9). This road through Romans is the main thoroughfare of our faith. It presents the problem, which is sin (Rom 3:23), and then the answer/provision, which is God’s deep, deep love for us, even while we were sinners (Romans 5:8). The next stop on the journey (Romans 6:23) reminds us that our sin demands a payoff, and that payoff is death. But thanks be to God, Jesus paid our debt! So that now, when we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved (Romans 10:9-10). ~ As today’s journal entry puts it: “It is at this moment that we are saved and cross over from death to life. God no longer views us by our sin but by Christ’s righteousness.”
“For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
2 Corinthians 5:21.
Friends, while God’s gift of eternal life is good news for us who have believed and been saved, for those who have not yet believed in the message of the Gospel, there is bound to be a fair amount of discouragement and misery on this Romans Road. For without faith in Jesus and the eternal life that is available to all who believe, there is no hope. This, my friends, is why we must not neglect our calling to shine the light of Jesus wherever we go in this dark, foreboding world.
Father, may we align our hearts with Your desire for all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the Truth1 – and may we live and pray to that end. ~ In the name of Jesus and for Your eternal glory, I pray ~Amen.
If you have not put your faith in Jesus Christ, if you do not know the hope of eternal life, I invite you to visit the link ‘Know These Truths’and let me introduce you to the One who gave His life so that you might live. If you have questions or are ready to take the next step, please message me at m.black@lmbc.org ~
based on the LGG Study, From the Beginning to Forever/w6d3
Read: Phil 4:4-9; Galatians 5:16-26; and soap: 1 Peter 2:9-10
In light of all we’ve seen from the beginning of creation … in response to God’s work on our behalf through Jesus Christ … and now, in response to the great commission … how then should we live?
Today’s journey offers us several passages to answer this all-important question. Paul encourages us to live joyful and gentle lives, not only because we find our joy and hope in God, but because we know that the Lord’s return is near. He also teaches us to rest in God and His truths instead of allowing anxiety to control us. He wrote to his readers that they should live by the power of the Spirit rather than walking by the desires of the flesh, and he stressed the importance, throughout most of his letters, that we should get rid of not only sexual immorality but also of anger, envy, bitterness, harsh words, and all types of evil behavior. He urged believers to love others more than themselves.
The main focus of today’s journey is Peter’s description of God’s chosen people. The description can be both exciting and confusing, because, as Bibleref.com points out, “the language Peter uses has been used to describe God’s special relationship with Israel.” (Exodus 19:6) However, as the commentary goes on to explain, “As Israel was, we~believers, the church — are also a chosen race…though not in the sense of our family, ethnicity, skin color, or country of origin.” Instead, “We are a spiritual race, in the sense that, in Christ, we share a single spiritual Father. In that same meaning, we are a ‘holy nation,’ a specific group of people called out and set apart from all other nations.” Friends, I don’t know about you, but that gets me all kinds of excited, thankful, and proud to be called a child of God!
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of His own, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. You once were not a people, but now you are God’s people. You were shown no mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:9-10
I think my favorite description of all is this one phrase: “a people of His own.” He formed us as this nation, race, and priesthood, as bibleref.com goes on to say, “to take possession of us. We are His people in a very real way. It’s not just that we pledge our allegiance to Him; it’s that He has taken ownership of us. We belong to Him.” Friends, no matter how wonderful your earthly family is, there is no greater gift than that of belonging to the family of God. Called out of the darkness and into the “marvelous light,” as Peter wrote, we can and must live as the Holy people God has made us to be, for the purpose of reflecting Him in all we do and say.
In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we find a beautiful and helpful picture/example of exactly what it should look like for us to reflect Him well. The picture includes the church working together with one mind and purpose, having the same attitude of Christ … and following the instructions found in God’s Word. When we live like this, our lives become evidence to the watching world of how God has saved us by His grace through faith.
Have the Attitude of Christ
2 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Shine Brightly for Christ
12 Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
14 Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15 so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. 16 Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless. 17 But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God,[e] just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy. 18 Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy.
Philippians 2:1-18
Praise God! The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who has rescued us from the darkness into glorious light! You won’t want to miss this song of praise and thanksgiving – you’ll be singing it the rest of the day…
Based on the LGG Study, From the Beginning to Forever/w6d2
Read Acts 2:38-47; SOAP: Acts 2:42
(for further reading: Acts 9:1-19; Acts 16:16-34)
They were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Acts 2:42
From the start of our journey, we have listened and watched as God’s plan of rescue was set forward and carried out. We have witnessed His death on the cross and stood with Mary and the others looking into the empty tomb. Now we cling to the hope and promise of the forever yet to come. We wait and we watch, perhaps even more so as the day draws closer but as the two men clothed in white told the early disciples, we must not stand gazing up into the sky watching for His return. Instead, we are to be about the mission He gave to all who follow Him. “Go and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Spirit.”
As people heard and believed, they began forming local churches where they devoted themselves around the preaching of God’s Word, prayer, and fellowship.
From the Beginning to Forever, p177
As we see in today’s passage of the journey, the early disciples did this, and thousands were accepting the message, repenting (turning away from their old way of life) and being baptized. The church was growing, the message was spreading just as Jesus intended; and now, the people were devoting themselves to the teaching of the Word, to fellowship with other believers, and prayer (a.k.a: a relationship with God). Oh the beauty and inspiration of seeing God’s plan in motion. It is inspiration, or perhaps conviction, and raises the question: “What am I devoting myself to?” Because we will be devoted to something ~ won’t we? We see two examples in the extra passages of today’s journey. Acts 9:1-19 reveals Paul, before His conversion, as one who was devoted to seeking the destruction of those who followed Jesus; but then in Acts 16:16-34, he is revealed not only as a devoted follower and messenger of the Gospel, but also as one who found himself in danger because of his devotion to the message of Christ.
Friends, there are many things in this world that we will devote ourselves to, but may God help us to be steadfastly devoted to Him and to the mission He has given us above everything and everyone else, May we remember that there is still work to be done, whether it is carrying the Gospel to the farthest parts of the earth or sharing it with our neighbors and co-workers or family. May God work in us and through us as He did in the apostles of Jesus’ day, to spread the good news and continue adding to the building up of the Church.
The Church’s one foundation Is Jesus Christ her Lord; She is His new creation By water and the Word: From heav’n He came and sought her To be His holy Bride; With His own blood He bought her, And for her life He died.
Elect from every nation, Yet one o’er all the earth, Her charter of salvation, One Lord, one faith, one birth; One holy Name she blesses, Partakes one holy food, And to one hope she presses, With every grace endued.
’Mid toil and tribulation, And tumult of her war, She waits the consummation Of peace for evermore; Till, with the vision glorious, Her longing eyes are blest, And the great Church victorious Shall be the Church at rest.
Based on the Love God Greatly Study, From the Beginning to Forever/w6d1
Read: Acts 1:6-11, SOAP: v8; Acts 2:1-12
I don’t know about you, but I do not like to know that something is going to happen, but not know when it will happen. Well, this is exactly where we find the disciples in our journey today. For three years, Jesus has been telling them about a coming kingdom, and now, after being raised from the dead, He has spent forty days giving them more information on the “Kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). It is only natural that we find them wondering if His resurrection means that the kingdom is coming to Israel. ~His answer, “You are not permitted to know…” must have been so frustrating, and I’m guessing a bit confusing to them. However, Jesus immediately refocuses their attention to what is really important in the here and now, telling them: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the earth.1”
The next thing we are told is that: “After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him.”2 As one can only imagine that scene, it stands to reason that the disciples would have been stunned and trying to figure out what just happened. It doesn’t surprise me that they stood staring into the sky, after all, He had already risen from the grave – surely they considered he might also return from the sky. In essence, this is what they were told by the “two men in white clothing,” He’s coming back in the same way you just saw him leave, but you don’t need to stand here watching. – In other words, sometimes we don’t get to the ‘what’ but not the ‘when,’ and in the meantime, we don’t let the unknown hinder the work Jesus called us to, but we carry out the mission3 He gave to His disciples.
Friends, as followers of Christ, it is vital for us to remember that we have been called to be His witnesses wherever we are. It is equally important and helpful to keep in mind that the Holy Spirit has been given to equip us for the job4. Likewise, He will be the one to convict unbelievers of their sin and open their minds to understand the Scriptures, that they might be saved. Just as a person cannot come to Christ without the Father drawing them, one cannot understand the Scriptures and do the work of the Master without the presence and help of the Holy Spirit. This is why, before Jesus left them, He told the disciples to stay in Jerusalem until they had received His power. It is why Jesus said that it was better for them that He go away so that they could receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (John 16:8).
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:
“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”
Based on the Love God Greatly Study, From the Beginning to Forever/w5d5
Read: John 20:1-9 and Matthew 28:16-20/SOAP: Matthew 28:19-20
So the eleven disciples went to Galilee to the mountain Jesus had designated. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Hey friends, today is the first day of November, which means Thanksgiving is just around the corner, with Christmas quickly following – BUT Easter is the highlight of today’s devotion and the main event of our FAITH – for great is the victory that overcame our sin! If you’re still journeying with me in this study, you won’t want to miss the beautiful and encouraging words from the Love God Greatly team that I’m sharing with you today.
“The Saturday of Easter weekend was one of the darkest days of human history. But then Sunday morning came. As the sun rose, the ground shook, and the stone that kept the tomb closed rolled back. Jesus had risen! The grave could not hold Him. Sin and death were defeated forever, winning our salvation. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the greatest news ever. No longer do we have to stay in our sins or live without hope. Salvation and freedom are found through faith in Jesus. The rescue that was promised in Genesis 3:15 had been accomplished.” -From the Beginning to Forever, p163
Sisters, if you are not all kinds of excited and shouting hallelujah, please read that quote again – because it is the greatest message of hope there has ever been or ever will be! As believers, not only is it our hope in life and death, but we have been given the incredible task and privilege of sharing it with the world around us. Which, as today’s journal entry points out, “is not a commandment that we can opt in or out. It is one we are all meant to obey.”
Friends, please do not let this commandment unnerve you. It can be daunting for sure, but remember – when we share this message, we share the hope of eternal life with a lost and dying world.
What is our message of hope? JESUS LIVES!
Or, as the songwriter, Melody Green, wrote:
There is a redeemer Jesus, God’s own son Precious lamb of God, Messiah Holy one
Jesus my redeemer Name above all names Precious lamb of God, Messiah Hope, for sinners slain.
When I stand in glory I will see his face And there I’ll serve my king forever In that holy place.
Thank you oh my father For giving us your son And leaving your spirit ‘Til the work on earth is done.
May this be our first of many things to give thanks for in the days and weeks to come.
Join me on Monday for the final week of this journey.
Dearest Reader, if you do not know Jesus, the hope of the promised rescue, I would love to introduce Him to you. You can start with the link, Know These Truths, and/or contact me at mryelnb@aol.com or m.black@lmbc.org
Based on the LGG Study, From the Beginning to Forever/w5d4
Read: Mark 15:16-39/SOAP: verse 39
A purple cloak…a crown of thorns…mocked with the salute…”Hail, king of the Jews!”…struck on the head with a staff…spit on…bowed down to (mockery of course)…and led away to a cross of shame, where more mockery followed as He hung on the cross …there was mocking accusations hurled against Him, some taunting: “You who can destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself and come down from the cross!” Even the chief priests jabbed at Him with insults, saying: “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! Let the Christ, the king of Israel, come down from the cross now, that we may see and believe!” The scene is painfully familiar and always difficult to read, especially when we recall that not long before He breathed His last breath, He had prayed in the garden, that this “cup might pass from Him.” Yet, seemingly in the same breath of time, He relinquished His desire for the will of the Father and died on a cross meant for sinners like you and me. He took our place so that we might live – and I find myself standing transfixed alongside the centurion at the foot of the cross, saying: “Truly this man was God’s Son!” And moved at His sacrifice, I hear myself cry out ~ Come, let us bow down and worship this One who left the splendor of Heaven for us. Let us praise the God who sent Him and raised Him up from the grave! Let us give thanks to them both for the gift of eternal life and for the gift of the Spirit in us, who empowers us to live until our work on earth is done.
…I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
JOHN 10:10
Friends, this is not a fable or a what-if imagination I have put to words. Nor is it a mistake. Jesus, the Christ, wasn’t in the wrong place at the wrong time. Neither was He forgotten by God, but rather, He carried out the mission of God, laying down His life for ours. There is no greater love than this.
No one has greater love than this–that one lays down his life for his friends.
John 15:13
The More We Know
For further reading, take a moment to read: Mark 14:32-50;15:-6-15 and 40-47
based on the Love God Greatly Study, From the Beginning to Forever/w5d3
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live even if he dies,and the one who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Today’s journey is best understood with a little bit of backstory for the context of Jesus’ statement. He didn’t just walk up to her and declare that He was the resurrection and the life; rather, He replied to her statement in the conversation they were having.
17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had been in the tomb four days already. 18 (Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19 so many of the Jewish people of the region had come to Martha and Mary to console them over the loss of their brother.) 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary was sitting in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will grant you.”
23 Jesus replied, “Your brother will come back to life again.” 24 Martha said, “I know that he will come back to life again in the resurrection at the last day.”
John 11:17-24
Friends, even though Lazarus was physically dead and buried for four days, Jesus was able to call Him out of the grave. When I read this, I can not help but remember, similarly, we were spiritually dead in our trespasses and sins, but God sent His Son to seek and save the lost, proclaiming the message: “I am the way, the truth, and the life” … and inviting the lost to believe in Him and be saved. Consider the sweetness of these truths. Whether our need is a physical one or a spiritual one, Jesus alone is ready and able to meet the need. As we see with Martha and Mary, faith is the key to victory.He calls us out of our sentence of death to a new life – not by works, or looks, or position in life – but by faith alone in Christ alone.
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
– Galatians 2:20
As I read the words of Jesus to Martha and heard Him call Lazarus out of the grave, I couldn’t help but think of Paul’s words in Galatians 2:20. They are some of my favorite in all of Scripture, and through the years they have become my own declaration: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live,but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faithin the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” There is powerful beauty in these words, and they bring me peace and strength. That same power and beauty echo in the words Jesus spoke to Martha, when He declared,” I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live even if he dies” (Jn 11:25-26), and to Lazarus when He called him to come out of that grave. Friends, may we never forget that we were condemned sinners, we needed to be rescued, and God sent us a Savior, who not only rescued us from our deserved fate, but gave us new life and a relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
As today’s journal entry reminds us, whether it was a miracle of healing the sick, bringing sight to the blind, feeding thousands with food meant for one, or raising the dead to life – it is through these miracles that we are able to see that Jesus truly is the Son of God.1
You may be walking through a season where you feel forgotten or that God is not able to do the impossible. Whether it’s an illness, healing broken relationships, or providing means, never forget that God is more than able to help. Nothing is impossible for Him.2~Do you believe this?
Based on the Love God Greatly Study, From the Beginning to Forever/w5d2
Read: Luke 9:12-27/SOAP; Luke 9:23-24
Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save it.
When my daughters went on mission trips with their youth group, their leader would gather the group together at the end of every day and ask them to share their highs and lows of the day. It was a good practice meant to teach them to look for and recount both the ways they had seen God in the day and the challenges that they had encountered. It became something we often emulated as a family, whether at school pick-up, the dinner table, or the end of the day. For me personally, it became something I tried to incorporate into my prayer time and/or journaling. I did it with my girls (and for myself) to try to capture the teachable moments of the day.
As I was reading today’s passage of our journey, From the Beginning to Forever, the notes I made in the columns of the journal became a fresh reminder of the high-low practice. On one side of the passage, I had listed out the challenges the disciples faced, such as:
They believed they couldn’t or didn’t have the means to care for the crowd that remained when the day of teaching began to draw to a close.
They based things on what they saw with their eyes and understood with their mind.
In contrast, on the other side of the passage, I had written the ways I saw Jesus respond/work, like:
In response to the disciples wanting to send the crowd away, even after hearing their reasoning, and undoubtedly being tired Himself, He said: “Feed them.”
I don’t know about you, but when I see Him at work, in the little things or the big, it is inspiration and hope and peace and strength to press on. So, it was also a high to see that He acted on what He knew was possible, for He knew the power of the Father and the power within Himself.
However, perhaps the biggest high of the passage for me was Jesus seizing this teachable moment, not turning away from the crowd’s need for food or from the disciples’ need to learn from Him. He knew that they would benefit from knowing and seeing His love and power in action, and obviously wanted them to understand/know that:
All things are possible with Him.
They should/could trust in the Father and ask Him for His help and provision.
Friends, the example Jesus set and the things He taught were “characterized by love, service, and humility.1” So even though the world we live in has made life about our own wants and preferences, Jesus presented a clear message to the crowd: if they truly wanted to follow Him, they would have to turn from the world’s way of living and their own desires. As true disciples and followers of Christ, our lives should not be a reflection of the world, but instead, a reflection of God and His ways. In other words, we should live and love like Jesus. In other words, we must live counter-culturally to the world. As today’s journal entry points out, this won’t be easy, but it will be worth it
As the author of Hebrews wrote, let’s encourage one another daily to this end, so that none of us may become hardened by sin and turn away from God~(Hebrews 3:13).
The More We Know
There were two big takeaways from this for me…
Jesus didn’t desire “groupies.” He wanted those who were truly/fully sold out to the cause of His mission—to seek and save the lost by spreading the Gospel message in word and deed.
Jesus had slipped away for quiet solitude, but the crowd found Him ~ and He welcomed them, and taught them about the kingdom of God and healed the sick. (Meaning, I need to be ready to serve and respond with a good attitude even when my “time” is interrupted by the needs of others.)
Me From the Inside Out 