Great Significance – December 29, 2008

Great Significance

Revelation 12:1, 3

Jim Stephens

12-29-08

 

Scripture:

 

1 Then I witnessed in heaven an event of great significance. I saw a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head.  3 Then I witnessed in heaven another significant event. I saw a large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, with seven crowns on his heads. (Revelation 12:1, 3 NLT)

 

Observation:

 

Sometimes as I read through John’s Revelation, it just seems overwhelming.  His prophecy is filled with events of great significance.  Huge beasts on land and sea, angles blowing trumpets and pouring out judgments on earth, war in heaven, earthquakes and thunders, persecutions and judgment.  It’s just huge!

 

It makes me wonder how to think about this stuff in a way that affects how I live my life day by day.  Then I read Revelation 14:12 and it really does make sense… “Let this encourage God’s holy people to endure persecution patiently and remain firm to the end, obeying his commands and trusting in Jesus.”  (Revelation 14:12 NLT)

 

Application:

 

There are events of great significance going on all around me.  Some seasons are rich in significance and others seem more “every day,” but there is much that is very significant, very hard to understand, and there’s not much I can do about it.

 

What I can do is take encouragement from the fact that God really is in control.  He knows what will happen and how it will all play out.  My place is to live a life of faith and trust in Jesus and take what comes, stand firm in faith, obey Jesus’ commands, and trust!

 

Prayer:

 

Father, thanks for helping me see my simple place in a story filled with events and occurrences of Great Significance.  I believe my role of encouraging others, standing firm, and obeying and trusting Jesus has its own significance in your plan.  Amen.

 

Try To Understand – December 5, 2008

Try To Understand

Ephesians 5:10, 17

Jim Stephens

12-05-08

 

Scripture:

 

10 Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. 17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do. (Ephesians 5:10, 17 NLT)

 

Observation:

 

Paul was trying to help the Christ-followers in Ephesus, Gentile believers, avoid the trap that the religious Jews had fallen into – the trap of reducing a life of faith to a list of rules.

 

The religious default position is:  “Here are the rules.  Do these things and God will be pleased.  Don’t do these things and God will be pleased.  That’s all.  You’re dismissed!”

 

Application:

 

The life of faith is so much more than obeying or disobeying a list of rules.  The life of faith demands that I sometimes disobey a rule in order to behave like Jesus would in the same situation.  The life of faith requires that I often go far beyond simply keeping the rules and make a real sacrifice for the sake of acting like Jesus.

 

I’m sitting here watching the sky lighten outside and thinking how much more challenging it is to try to think and act like Jesus today than to just make sure I obey the rules.

 

Prayer:

 

Father, when I write these journal entries each day, I think about the things I wrestle with in trying to live a life of faith and not just be a religious man.  I think about the people who will read my journal entries.  I don’t want to mislead or discourage anyone in their life of faith – ever.  Help me strike a balance of wisdom and truth in how I think and the words I write.  And help me today as I try to understand what pleases you and what you want me to do.  Amen.

 

Treasures – November 20, 2008

Treasures

Matthew 6:19-21

Jim Stephens

11-20-08

 

Scripture:

 

19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”  (Matthew 6:19-21 NLT)

 

Observation:

 

I was thinking about the things that were treasures in Palestine (and elsewhere) when Jesus was saying these words.  Treasures were things like precious metals such as gold and silver, jewels and jewelry, expensive fabric and tapestry, objects well made from iron or bronze, and of course, cattle and crops and houses and land.

 

It was all pretty tangible and yet it was subject to loss – it could wear out, rust out, decay, or be lost or stolen.

 

In the past few months, a lot of treasure has disappeared for people in my world:  the value of stocks has simply evaporated.  Property and houses, for years a prime growth investment in our area, suddenly are worth a fraction of their previous “value” because no one is buying.

 

Application:

 

The principle is the same and the lesson is still true today – maybe more than ever true today – the treasures of this world are subject to loss.  Whether the lump of gold you can hold in your hand or the value of your investment in a mutual fund or the sale price of your house – it can be gone in a moment.

 

The only thing that isn’t subject to loss is the treasure held in God’s hands.

 

That which I give to those in need and that which I invest in God’s work becomes an eternal treasure held for me by God himself.  The time and energy I invest in relationships with others is an eternal treasure.  My works of service and labor of love is a treasure that yields an eternal reward.

 

Prayer:

 

Father, please give me a heart of love and a mind guided by your wisdom to use my time and my energy and my resources to put my treasure and my heart in the right place.  Amen.

 

Noticed By God – October 19, 2008

Noticed By God

Acts 10:30-31

Jim Stephens

10-19-08

 

Scripture:

 

30 Cornelius replied, “Four days ago I was praying in my house about this same time, three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, a man in dazzling clothes was standing in front of me. 31 He told me, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been noticed by God!  (Acts 10:30-31 NLT)

 

Observation:

 

Cornelius was a Roman army officer who loved the Jews and used his wealth and influence to be a blessing to them.  He was a spiritual man who prayed fervently to God (not to gods) and he gave generously to help the poor.

 

God heard his prayers.  God noticed his compassionate generosity to the poor.

 

Application:

 

If I made a list of all the “spiritual” things I do:  Prayer, daily Bible reading, journaling, pastoral responsibilities, church administrative duties, care for the churches in the Cascade District, mentoring, church attendance, message preparation, public speaking, tithing, giving to missions, ministry to people in other nations, giving to the poor… if I listed all these things, which ones might actually be “noticed by God?”

 

Of all the things I do, what might actually prompt God to turn to a nearby angel and say, “Look at that!  Look what Jim Stephens is doing right there.  Now I like that!”

 

Prayer:

 

Father, I’m afraid I more often think about what others might notice and hopefully approve than about what you notice.  Please work in me and direct me by your Spirit that I may live more for your “notice” than for the notice or approval of others.  And help me spend more time and energy on the things that attract your notice than on the things that don’t really matter.  Amen.