Faith Is All You Need - Mk. 4:40

"And he asked them, 'Why are you so afraid? Do you still not have faith in me?'" Mk. 4:40

I don't know why this verse hammered home this point this morning, but who am I to question? Basically the story told me that there will be many storms in life, some even life-threatening, but with faith in God we can have no fear. The Beatles have a song, "All You Need Is Love," and there is a verse that says, "Love is all you need..." God is telling me, "FAITH is all you need." Simple message, but one that is easily forgotten in the midst of the next storm. This message is repeated throughout the bible for a reason -- we humans seem to want to find solutions to life's problems everywhere but with God. Just have faith.

God, I believe, help me in my unbelief.

Today's reading: Num. 17-18; Ps. 29; Mk. 4

Experience - Ps. 90:16

"Let us see your miracles again; let our children see your glory at work." Ps. 90:16

My prayer for my kids is that they have an EXPERIENCE with God. It's great for them to hear our stories of how God has worked in our lives, be in church and participate in their youth groups. But until they have first-hand experience of God working in their lives, they are only stories and words. As they get older, they are indeed seeing God intervene in their lives, and every event makes God that much more real and tangible to them. My prayer is that their lives are a log book full of their experiences with God -- a bipartisan journey, if you will, in relationship development.

God, I pray that my kids experiences with you are indelible and undeniable.

Today's reading: Num. 12, 13; Ps. 90; Mk. 2

God Answers - Prov. 27:20-21; Ps. 27:7-8

I had an interesting experience with God today: I accidentally read Prov. 27 instead of Ps. 27. While I was reading Proverbs I decided to write about vs. 20-21 because they SO speak to my weakness:

"Just as Death and Destruction are never satisfied, so human desire is never satisfied. Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised." Prov. 27:20-21

Then I decided to read Ps. 27 (because I believe that there are no such things as "accidents" when it comes to God), and it was beautiful because it was God responding to the attacks of the enemy described in Prov. 27!

"Listen to my pleading, O Lord. Be merciful and answer me! My heart has heard you say, 'Come and talk with me.' And my heart responds, 'Lord, I am coming.'" Ps. 27:7-8

In this world, attacks will come; God says simply, "Come and talk with me."

Lord, I am coming.

Today's reading: Num. 10-11; Ps. 27; Mk. 1

Secure - Acts 21:26

From 2/14/2008 reading:

"So Paul agreed to their request, and the next day he went through the purification ritual with the men and went to the Temple." Acts 21:26

When I read this, I can't help but feel that Paul "caved" to the demands of the apostles who were trying to appease Jewish converts. But as I give it further thought and consideration, I can see that Paul was so secure in his salvation and the power of the gospel, that as long as he was not compromising the salvation message, he was OK going along with the cultural traditions. The point is moot as it obviously didn't work -- they tried to kill him! Were these Jewish Christians as mentioned earlier in the chapter, or were these traditional Jews? It makes a difference!

Lord, make it clear where compromise is OK, I don't want to win the battle but lose the war!

Today's reading: Lev. 23-24; Ps. 24; Acts 21

Access - Ex. 39:42

"So the people of Israel followed all of the Lord's instructions to Moses. Moses inspected all their work and blessed them because it had been done as the Lord had commanded him." Ex. 39:42

The instructions for the Tabernacle were detailed, elaborate and very specific because God was giving Moses instructions to create a replica of the REAL Tabernacle residing in heaven. I believe that part of the purpose for this was to have a physical representation of how holy God was relative to the people; that he was separate and inaccessible but for a chosen few; that the gap between man and God was impossible to cross without a very special dispensation by God. Then Jesus came. When he died the separation was gone, the curtain was torn, we are called, priests, kings and friends of God -- we are given access to the Holy of Holies. We are family because with Jesus' sacrifice we are made righteous and acceptable to God. THAT is awesome! What an amazing gift!

Thank you God for your perfect plan; thank you Jesus for your obedience unto death.

Today's reading: Ex. 39-40; Ps. 15; Acts 12

Chicken Or The Egg - Ex. 33:17

"And the Lord replied to Moses, 'I will indeed do what you have asked for you have found favor with me, and you are my friend." Ex. 33:17

How did Moses do this? How did he find favor with God? Was it something he did or will do? Or was it simply that God decided to choose him? Everything I know to be true about God tells me that it must be the latter. God "chose" Moses to find favor with. As with us, God chose us before we were born, it was nothing of our own doing -- we did not earn it. For this reason, I do not believe that Moses did something extra special that earned his friendship with God. Unless... God being outside of time, "knew" the obedience Moses would display in the future, and thus found favor with him in the present. Ouch, my head hurts.

Lord, you call me your friend just like you did Moses. I know I did NOTHING to earn this, so all I can do is praise you and thank you for choosing me.

Today's reading: Ex. 33, 34; Ps. 16; Acts 9