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Today’s reading from the One Year Bible Online reminded me of the John Fogarty song, Centerfield, which revolves around the lyric, “Put me in coach, I’m ready to play, TODAY!”  The player in today’s reading was Isaiah…

⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. ⁷ He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”

⁸ Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”

I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

Isaiah wasn’t initially so eager.  His first response was to say, “No – I’m unworthy,” but God made him ready through the seraphim with the burning coal.  That’s what a good coach does; he prepares the players so when they are eventually put in the game they can succeed.

Such is the nature of our role in the Body of  Christ.  God, through the Holy Spirit at work in each of us, has bee preparing us to be put in the game that we might drive in runs (or this time of year, make touchdowns) for the Kingdom of God.

You might be asking, “Where is the game, what are the rules, and how is it played?”  The game is where you are, be it home, work, school, retirement, or anywhere in between.  In a word, the game is life.  The rules are laid out in the Bible.   How is it played?  That’s not always clear, but what is clear is when it’s played well, God winds up looking good, people are made whole, and everyone comes away a winner.

How has God been preparing you to “produce on the field?”  However that may be, know that you have an awesome coach who has been, and continues to prepare you to be a wonderfully productive player, so get out on the field!

12/2 Readings from the One Year Bible Online

Being a parent, I’ve spent the last 20 years wondering what my kids would be like when they grew up.  Would they be like me, or like their Mother, or perhaps like one of their grandparents, or one of their aunts?  Having twins raised the question of whether they would be alike or different.  Of course, they all grew up to be wonderfully unique, and yet (for better or worse) they share one thing in common: their parents.

In our 1 John reading today, we find the same holds true for followers of Jesus…

Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.

We are God’s children.  Though we are all wonderfully unique, we have that in common; that we are children of God.  Because we all share that common “parentage,” we know we will grow up to be like God as demonstrated in Jesus.  Does that mean we’ll all look and act alike?  Will we all be little Ned Flanders clones?  Of course not, but what it does mean is that if we are serious about living out our faith we will all share this common trait: We will be pure as he is pure – we will love as he loves; with purity of intention.

My prayer for all of us today is that we might continue to “grow up” to be like our heavenly Parent, whose pure love for us has been clearly demonstrated in the life of Jesus.

Prayer:  God:  Thank you for putting up with us as we grow.  Like all children, we tend to misbehave!  Continue to direct us through your Spirit within that we might grow up to be and to love like Christ.  Amen.

p.s. – Be sure to take the time to read Psalm 121.  It’s one of my favorites!  It’s of particular value when you’re going through hard times.

12/1 Readings from the One Year Bible Online

Happy December friends!

At FaithPoint, the church I serve as pastor, we have a Vision Statement that reads as follows:

Our Vision

Real People, Real Life, Real Faith

“To be a church where real people can experience real life with God and discover a real and vital life-changing faith in Jesus Christ.”

The reading from 1 John 2 today speaks clearly about the third leg of the that vision:

3 And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. 4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. 5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. 6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

A “real and vital life changing faith in Jesus Christ”  is one that is obedient.  It is a faith that KNOWs God’s commands, and lives them out.  A proclamation of faith without an obedient life to back it up is a false proclamation, it is a lie.

Of course, obedience to God means knowing what God expects.  So, what does God expect?  The long answer is, “Read the Bible and find out.”  Fortunately, John goes on to provide an abridged and concise summary:

7 Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. 8 Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.

9 If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a Christian brother or sister,^[a] that person is still living in darkness. 10 Anyone who loves another brother or sister^[b] is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. 11 But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.

Thank God for short answers.  Few of us have time to study the Bible in it’s entirety in order to have the full depth and breadth of its truths at our disposal as we go about making real-time decisions in the living out of our lives.  John makes it both clear and simple: Love one another.  If you have any questions about what that looks like, John says look to Jesus, who lived that commandment out perfectly.  Is there room for hate in the lives of the faithful?  John makes it clear: absolutely not!

But what if I do hate those in the church?  What if I do drop the ball when it comes to loving others?  What if I don’t live it out perfectly like Jesus did?  John gives us hope:

1 My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.

We have an advocate – a God appointed attourney to represent us in the highest court in all creation.  An advocate who has already satisfied whatever judgment might be brought against us.

So friends, I reiterate what John said so long ago.  Do your best to live the life of faith you have been called to:  a life of loving one another as Jesus loved us.  And remember, when you fail to live up to his standards, he stands befor the Father on your behalf, so don’t stay down in shame, but get back up and try again!

11/27 Readings from the One Year Bible Online

Sometimes human pride tempts me to offer words that I hope will “improve” your reading of the daily scripture passages.  I’ll resist that today since the following is one of the most clear and important passages you’ll ever read.  Please read it, ingest it, ponder it, and make it yours.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2 Peter 1:3-11

3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

8 The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.

10 So, dear brothers and sisters,^[c] work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. 11 Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.