2020 drove this verse home for me, how about you? My wife and I had planned a summer full of vacations, weekend getaways, and plenty of beach days. We wanted to make of the most of our summer before our precious baby boy came. We had amazing plans, then 2020 got all 2020 on us and all those wonderful plans changed. It was a great reminder that while we may make plans, unless the Lord wills they will not happen. James reminds us of that truth in these verses. It’s ok to plan and live life, but do not plan and live life apart from reliance upon God. Make your plans for your life (God wants us to think about these things), but as you plan do so from a place of humility that lays your plans before the Lord and says, “Lord if you will”. Do not be arrogant in your planning, rather be humble. Are you including the Lord in your plans?
For the King,
Pastor Daniel Batistelli
It’s always interesting to see what people act like at church compared to how they act outside of church. There is something about being on church grounds where, for the most part, everyone is nice and knows how to play church. We find something very similar to this in the New Testament with these people called the Pharisees. They knew how to be religious and appear fine on the outside, but their hearts were far from the Lord. Since their hearts were set on their own ways and appearing good, their conduct was far from what the Lord would desire.
Have you been conducting yourself in a way that is worthy of the Gospel, not only on the outside, but in your heart as well?
In Christ,
Pastor Sean Boehm
Even the Apostle Paul realized that loving God is not a natural response for us as fallen mankind. As we are being sanctified in our relationship with our Creator it’s important that we keep the main thing the main thing. So Paul prays for us that the Lord Himself would steer and bend our hearts toward a love for God. But then he makes an interesting connection. As the Lord directs and inspired our love for God it will develop in us an endurance and perseverance (patience) that will see us through until we meet Jesus face-to-face.
A commanding officer does not require that his soldiers love him, but if they do, they will respect and obey him with greater diligence and even, if necessary, die for him. Let your love for God fuel your obedience to Him today and know that in the end eternity is waiting.
Lovingly obedient,
Pastor Gerard Deleeuw
Psalm 90 was written by Moses, the man of God, who lived not 70 years, nor 80, but 120 long years. His ministry didn’t really begin until he was 80 and then he spent his last four decades leading the Israelites through the wilderness to the Promised Land. Having accomplished his task, he died before being able to enter the land of Canaan.
Moses’ verse here tells us we don’t know how long we’re going to last. My grandma just died at the age of 102. Her husband died long before she did in his 50s. Since we don’t know how many years with which the Lord will bless us, we need to stay busy for the Lord in the time we have. It is up to God as to when we’ll be cut off and fly away.
The time of COVID had many people contemplating the deaths of themselves and their loved ones. Yet, as Christians, we should know we are only here as long as God allows and not one second more…or less. Occupy, stay busy, until Jesus comes!
My time is in Your hands,
Pastor Ron Kitchell
Timothy was about 40 year old when Paul sent him to take over the senior pastor position in the church in Ephesus. The church had been suffering under the influence of false teachers and Paul sent Timothy to right the ship. His words of counsel to this young pastor are found in this 1 Timothy letter. One directive is highlighted for us in our verse: Read, exhort and teach God’s Word to the church.
Believers are most vulnerable when they move away from regular exposure to the Word of God. Stop reading the Word regularly and attend a church that does not systematically teach through the Bible; and soon false doctrines will lead you astray. Make sure that today you find time to read some of God’s Word, take it to heart, and attend a church that values the Word of God enough to teach it every week.
In love with His Word,
Pastor Jack Abeelen
If anyone can offer tips on Christ’s call to missions, shouldn’t it be the greatest missionary and theologian of the early church? What can we learn from the apostle Paul when it comes to modern missions?
Go in Teams – Paul initially set out with Silas on his own missionary journey, before Timothy and later, Luke joined the team.
Be Culturally Sensitive – When Paul asked Timothy to become circumcised, it wasn’t because obeying the Jewish laws earned him salvation, rather it showed respect and cultural sensitivity to the Jewish people they would meet along the way. By adapting culturally, Paul knew that Timothy would have a much stronger platform to share the Gospel.
Be Flexible – Paul had a clear plan to take the Gospel to Asia when God rerouted him towards Europe. We might not always understand why one door closes and another opens, but when our plans DO change, will we choose to follow God’s leading or our own?
Expect Surprises – The first European convert was an influential businesswoman and her entire household. You can be sure that in the first century, a single, career-driven woman wasn’t the norm. As you seek to share the Gospel, be prepared for God to move in ways you least expect.
How is God leading you to take part in sharing the Gospel? Maybe it’s starting spiritual conversations with colleagues at work or in your neighborhood. Maybe it’s volunteering in your community. Perhaps it’s taking part in a mission trip like Paul and Silas. Will you go? It might not look exactly the same, but your step of faith could be just as eternally significant.
Pastor William Del Casale
This verse is part of a prayer that Paul prayed for the Thessalonians and in it, he is asking that their love increase not only for one another but for those in the world as well. In the war against our flesh, it is hard enough to love everyone in the church body, let alone those in the world, but it is what we are called to do.
In love, we are to do good to all (Galatians 6:10). Why? Because we want to emulate how Jesus lived on this earth in order to draw people to Him. In our own might, we will fail at this, but if we walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16), He will give us the power to love people as Jesus did, and He will give us the heart for the lost. Lord, may we walk in your Spirit and not only minister lovingly to the Church, but also may we be a beacon to a world without hope.
Jeff Mericle
This is the last of four requests in Paul’s prayer for the saints in Ephesus as it is recorded in Ephesians 1. Notice here that Paul is praying that the saints would not just know God’s power, but to apprehend the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe. Paul prays for saints to see the magnitude of God’s power and the object of His power—it is toward us who believe.
Furthermore, Paul prays that the saints would also see that God’s power toward us who believe is the same mighty power that God exerted toward Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.
In chapter 2, Paul draws the same parallel in 2:4-6 where he states the breathtaking wonder that God, because of His great love “He made us alive together with Christ…, and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” This is indeed the exceeding greatness of His power toward us.
Why is this so important to be included in his prayer? Why should this become part of our own prayers? It is important in times of our greatest accomplishment to know that our own power is minuscule compared to the infinite greatness of His. It is important in times of our greatest trial that God’s power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). And it is an essential aspect of our future hope that God’s power will raise us up in final victory.
Tom Day
The best way to understand the third commandment is to equate God’s name to His character and reputation. It’s similar to understanding the expression people use when they make verbal promises without any legal documents and they say, “My word is my bond.” The expression means that you can trust they will deliver on their promise because they are attaching their words to their character, in essence saying you can trust their words because you can trust the type of person they are.
When we use the Lord’s name as a curse word, or make a promise in His name that we don’t intend to fulfill, this is taking the Lord’s name in vain because it belittles His character and reputation. It’s the equivalent of saying, “God, you are not worthy of being revered.” This is why God takes this law seriously, because the Israelites were to be the special people of the one true living God, and God’s reputation was represented to the other nations through their example.
To take the Lord’s name in vain doesn’t make God any less holy or perfect. What it does do is misrepresents Him to others and it speaks to our irreverence towards God thereby dishonoring Him and hurting our relationship with Him because He must be revered as Holy.
To revere God is to respect God and His character, and when God is revered in our lives, God will be glorified, and we will blessed.
Pastor Jason Witt
King Saul had one job, to attack and destroy Amalek and destroy every living thing of theirs. Instead, he spares the king’s life and spares the livestock they had. Saul also tries to blame the people for taking the livestock and turns their disobedience to something spiritual so that he can justify their actions. We only took the best that they had so that we can sacrifice that to the Lord, he said.
We learn a valuable lesson here; it is better to obey the Lord than to sacrifice. I think of my daughter and the times I ask her to do something like pick up the toys that are all over the room. It pleases me when she does it. However, it pleases me more when there is a mess, and she does it without me asking. God does this in a similar manner, He gave us His word so that we can know Him better. Not so much so that we can sacrifice to Him but to live in obedience so that our lives can then be that living sacrifice.
Maybe today we are serving the local body and giving of our time and our resources for the good of the church. It might require a sacrifice on our part, but may the important thing be not what we do but how we obey.
Joshua Navarro
