This Book – March 18, 2009

This Book

Joshua 1:8

Jim Stephens

03-18-09

 

Scripture:

 

Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. (Joshua 1:8 NLT)

 

Observation and Application:

 

It’s not what you know, it’s what you do with what you know!

 

With so many influences in our post-Christian, communication-saturated culture and with my own tendency to do what I feel like doing instead of what I know I should do, how could I stay on track if I didn’t read God’s Book of Instruction daily?

 

When I do my daily reading following the Ready Set Go Plan and read my daily Psalms and my Proverbs chapter for the day, I’m not reading it so much to learn something new as to renew my mind, anchor my emotions, and submit my will.  This practice helps me to obey the truth I know – helps me avoid the painful consequences of wrong thoughts, words, and actions.

 

The immediate consequences of wrong words and actions are not so much the angry judgment of an impatient God, but that I must live with the results of my wrong choices and actions and the chain of events they set in motion.

 

When I read daily from this Book of Instruction and meditate on it diligently and journal my prayerful thoughts, it helps me not only know but obey what is written in it.  I want to prosper and succeed in all that I do.

 

It’s not what you know, it’s what you do with what you know!

 

Prayer:

 

Father, I love your Book of Instruction.  I love your word and your truth.  Please help me to better live the truth I know, the truth I love.  Please help me to live in the way that makes me prosper and succeed in all that I do.  Amen.

 

Covenant – January 23, 2009

Covenant

Exodus 6:2-5

Jim Stephens

01-23-09

 

Scripture:

 

2 And God continued, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, though I did not reveal my name, the Lord, to them. 4 And I entered into a solemn covenant with them. Under its terms, I swore to give them the land of Canaan, where they were living. 5 You can be sure that I have heard the groans of the people of Israel, who are now slaves to the Egyptians. I have remembered my covenant with them. (Exodus 6:2-5 NLT)

 

Observation:

 

Moses was learning an important lesson about God.  God is a covenant-making, covenant-keeping God.  The pagan gods of the Egyptians were fickle and impulsive and had to be appeased.  The God who appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob is the “I Am” who is eternal and who remembers his covenant with his people.

 

In the months and years ahead, God would give his people a book that contained the promises and provisions of his eternal covenant with them.  From generation to generation, they could read for themselves and know that God – the eternal, covenant-keeping God – would remember his covenant and keep his promises to them.

 

Application:

 

This is the same God I worship.  This book I read every day is record of the same covenant, made by the same God, who appeared to Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Samuel, David, Isaiah, Daniel, Mary, Joseph, Peter, John, Paul, and all the generations of believers who have heard his message and believed his promises and have lived in relationship with him.

 

Each day I go to his book to listen for his voice to remind me that this God is the covenant-making, covenant-keeping God who remembers his covenant and speaks to me in real time about my real life.

 

Prayer:

 

Father, I pray today for myself and for all who have joined me on this daily devotional journey.  Remind us who you are.  Remind us that you make covenant and keep covenant.  Speak to us in real time about our real lives.  Amen.

 

From John to Gaius – August 26, 2008

From John To Gaius

3 John 1

Jim Stephens

08-26-08

 

Scripture:

 

This letter is from John, the elder. I am writing to Gaius, my dear friend, whom I love in the truth.  (3 John 1 NLT)

 

Observation:

 

This morning I’m thinking about how personal God’s Word is.  In this short letter, four names are mentioned:  John, the author; Gaius, his hospitable friend; Diotrephes, an arrogant leader in the church; and Demetrius, a faithful and truthful messenger.

 

In the New Testament, six books are addressed to individuals:  Luke’s Acts of the Apostles is addressed to Theophilus (Lover of God – maybe to all lovers of God?); Paul’s four letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon; and John’s letter to Gaius.

 

I don’t know if there’s a theological point to this, but there’s certainly a devotional point for me.

 

Application:

 

The Bible is God’s Word.  But it’s not just God’s Word in the broad sense, it’s God’s Word in the personal and specific sense.  It’s God’s Word to me.

 

I read the Bible every day following the Ready Set Go plan.  This takes me through the Bible each year and through the New Testament twice.  I read Psalms and Proverbs each month – five Psalms and one chapter of Proverbs each day.  I read a list of twenty-six scriptures of one or two verses each that I call my Verses for Daily Reading.

 

I’m not listing these readings to make a point of how much I read, but to say that I expect God to communicate personally with me with a very personal word from his Word.  I read thoughtfully and prayerfully and he communicates with me faithfully and specifically.  It’s sometimes encouraging, sometimes challenging, and sometimes confrontational.  But it’s God’s personal Word to me for the season and situation.

 

Prayer:

 

Father, Thank you for your Word – your Word the Bible and your word to me each day.  Help me to be faithful in applying and obeying your personal words to me.  Amen.