June 28 - Pentecost

Joshua 3:1-17 - God does not select an arbitrary sign for the people to know that He is in their midst. Instead, the people will see the same sign that was witnessed when Israel was brought out of Egypt. God will hold back the waters so that they can pass through the river. God does not simply begin the work of salvation (bringing Israel out), He also finishes it (leading Israel to the promised land).

Acts 9:1-22 - God states that Saul will be His chosen instrument, but Saul is not the only instrument of God in this passage. God uses Ananias, a man who fears Saul, to give him back his sight. Through Ananias God restores Saul and grants the Holy Spirit. God works through means. He could have just healed Saul and kept speaking to him directly, but instead Saul is called to follow Christ by joining "the Way." When Jesus calls us to follow him, it is also a call away from isolation and into the body of Christ. God had no intention of having Saul follow him as a lone ranger, but immediately connected him to a man who by the world's standards he should have nothing to do with. You and I aren't that different. Jesus has called us to follow him, and joined us not only to himself, but to others in the Body of Christ. These connections have little to do with personality or interest, and everything to do with the person and work of Jesus.

June 21 - Pentecost

Proverbs 24:1-22 - Several times in this section the writer begins a thought with the words, "my son." How hard it is for us to hear and believe wisdom if we do not trust the one who speaks it. In order for the writer to impart his wisdom he must have a relationship with the one he teaches. This is crucial for us as well, as we strive to speak the Gospel to people we care about. If people simply become a faceless number to fill the building, then we've already lost sight of the wisdom God has given us. For God Himself reestablished the relationship we severed. He calls to us as sons and daughters. He partners with us as we seek to speak this good news.

John 19:1-22 - Jesus states that the only authority Pilate has is given by God. Pilate believes he is in charge, and don't we all. "I'm in charge of my life, my decisions, my future." Notice that Jesus does not say that Pilate doesn't act, but only that the authority he has has been given to him. The same is true for us. God is in charge, and he gives us some authority in the sphere He places us in. These are our vocations. Gifts from God based in His plan. The cross was God's plan, not Pilate's, or even the Jewish leader's. God's will was done and Jesus Christ paid the penalty for sin.

June 18 - Pentecost

Proverbs 20:5-25 - "Do not say, 'I will repay evil"; wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you." This is a really hard thing to do. Though people are usually very quick to quote, "don't judge" when it comes to themselves, most of us are more than ready to carry out justice against others. You can see this from the freeway to news and tabloids. Proverbs reminds us that God is the only just judge, and the only true justice we can find for this world is found in his pierced hands.

John 17:1-26 - Not sure what to pray? I often find myself beginning a prayer and then being unsure of what I should say, or just saying the same thing over and over without contemplating what I'm saying. Here we see Jesus praying on behalf of us. He knows what to say and he knows what we need. He is our intercessor with the Father and through his prayer and action we are made holy and one.

June 16 - Pentecost

Proverbs 16:1-24 - "The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD." "The heart of man plans his way but the LORD establishes his steps." I need this reminder often. I make a lot of plans. I have a lot of goals. I assume that my plans and goals are the right ones. These words of wisdom from Proverbs are not intended to make me stop making plans, nor to stop taking actions. Instead I am reminded of Who is ultimately in charge. This is a jolt to my plan making, but also an assurance, since Jesus' plans cannot fail.

John 16:1-16 - The Holy Spirit comes to guide Jesus' disciples in truth and glorify Jesus. What else does the Holy Spirit do? In what ways do we try to restrict the Spirit's activity? How can we know that it is the Holy Spirit at work?

June 14 - Pentecost

Proverbs 14:1-27 - The way you just read this section will make these sayings less effective. Unfortunately, we usually read chunks of Proverbs this way, when in fact each snippet is intended to be read and meditated on. Part of the reason for taking each saying on it's own and spending time with it is that we find it so easy to say, "yeah yeah yeah, I get it." Sure, we may "get it" in the reading, but are we "getting it" in our life? For the writers of Proverbs, and for the Author of Wisdom, these are not just mental exercises. Which of these proverbs do you find easiest to understand, but hardest to live?

John 15:1-11 - Jesus speaks figuratively, yet very plainly about our need for him. He is the vine. All who are found in him have life and bear fruit. All the instruction in the world (see above) would not bring us life in it's fullness. Only Jesus can do that.

June 11 - Pentecost

Proverbs 9:1-18 - God encourages us to reprove and instruct the wise. The simple point is that a person convinced of their own wisdom will not hear your correction or teaching. But the truly wise fear God and seek to form their lives to His will. This text speaks of us as the people who might teach, but the real challenge for us more often than not, is to be wise enough to be corrected. Pray: God teach me true humility and wisdom. Surround me with Your people that I may experience repentance and restoration. By Your Spirit make wise the people you would have me speak to. Amen.

John 13:21-38 - "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." This love is rooted in the love Jesus has for us. As such it is not simply a feeling of familiarity or a friendship based on shared interest. Jesus does not call us to have warm fuzzy feelings for each other, he calls us to love another as he loves us. This love is rooted in sacrifice and service. It is rooted in action. What actions will you take so that all people will know you are Jesus' disciple?

June 9 - Pentecost

Proverbs 8:1-21 - Wisdom calls out and offers blessings. But in our day, as in all days, we have competing voices claiming to have wisdom. Whether it's politics, self-help books, or anything else, we hear different voices claiming to have the wisdom we need. Through all of the clutter Wisdom himself calls out to us. When Levi sat in the tax collector's booth he heard this call. When Peter was working at his nets he heard this call. It isn't something that we in our own wisdom can ponder, it is either answered or not. As Jesus called his first disciples, so he calls out to you; "Follow me." Will you heed this call?

John 12:36b-50 - "For they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God." Don't we all. And why wouldn't we? Man's glory seems powerful, prestigious and comfortable. Glory that comes from God, looks like a man dying on a cross. It looks like weakness and foolishness. And yet it is the only glory that means life, because it also looks like resurrection. In what ways are you tempted toward glory from man? Pray: Lord you know my heart. Too often I have sought glory and honor from the world, but throughout You have sought me. Make Your mercies new to me every morning that I may pick up my cross daily and follow after you. Amen.

June 7 - Pentecost

Proverbs 4:1-27 - A father instructs his son on the importance of wisdom, and seeking it. Passing along wisdom and tradition can be a difficult thing. What challenges do we face in passing on the faith to the next generation? What hasn't really changed in terms of these difficulties? How has God equipped you as a parent or a friend to share wisdom about Jesus to the next generation?

John 12:1-19 - Here we have two really powerful stories about Jesus on his way to the cross: Mary anointing him with perfume, as if he is going to be buried, and the triumphal entry, people welcoming him as king. But in between these two we hear that Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised, is being targeted by the same leaders who are going to kill Jesus. Obviously it's a good thing to be raised from the dead, but I suppose it puts a big target on you from Jesus' enemies. This is true even for us. Jesus claims us through the gift of faith. We have new life even now, but we also have cross-hairs on us. Satan loves to attack the redeemed. The good news for Lazarus and for us is that Jesus is the victor. Our salvation is as good as done because the One who promises life is trustworthy.

June 4 - Pentecost

Ecclesiastes 12:1-14 - "Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh." What is the Preacher warning us about here? Is he saying at the end of his book that study is a bad thing? In verse 13 he states that all has been heard. In other words there is no new thing under the sun. Though it seems strange to say it, he's wrong, or rather ignorant, of the new thing under the sun. What he is calling out for again and again, we have already seen. Jesus Christ came into the world. God does a new thing. Apart from him all things are indeed vanity or meaningless, but in Christ there is newness, hope, purpose.

John 11:1-16 - God's love is a hard thing for us to grasp. I don't mean that love is hard for us to grasp, I mean God's love. We're conditioned in our culture to feel entitled to love. "Why shouldn't God love me?" Yet if we understand God's love in that way, then we do not understand God's love. By all accounts we are creatures who regularly reject our Creator. We do despicable things to one another, and we live as if we are the stars of our own movie. Yet God loves us. This is why Jesus' action toward Mary and Martha is so hard for us to understand. Because he loved them, Jesus waited around and didn't come to help Lazarus before he died. We would think that love wouldn't have allowed the death in the first place. But Jesus is showing them something greater, and in fact pointing the way toward his own death, a death borne out of love.

June 2 - Pentecost

Ecclesiastes 10:1-20 - This section of Ecclesiastes begins to resemble the book of Proverbs more. Notice that it contains a number of short wisdom sayings. How does God's wisdom direct and confront us? How are we to understand sections like this in connection to the New Testament assertion that God's foolishness is greater than man's wisdom?

John 10:1-20 - At the beginning of this section I am expecting Jesus to say that he is the shepherd, but I forgot that he also claims the position of the door as well. In essence Jesus is not limiting himself to being one link in the chain of salvation. He's the whole thing. He's the doorway to safety and life, he's the shepherd who protects and gives his life for the flock. He's the one who gives his life and takes it up again. Jesus is it. No wonder that some who listened to him thought he was crazy. If he is not the Son of God, then that's the only other option. But he did indeed take up his life again and this is what his disciples have confessed ever since. He is the door, the shepherd and life itself. He is our all in all.