Scripture Nugget 6.1.2017

Scripture Nugget 6.1.2017

Scripture Read Proverbs 1

Nugget Proverbs 1:20-33

“Wisdom cries out in the street; in the squares she raises her voice. At the busiest corner she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: ‘How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? Give heed to my reproof; I will pour out my thoughts to you; I will make my words known to you. Because I have called and you refused, have stretched out my hand and no one heeded, and because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when panic strikes you, when panic strikes like a storm, and your calamity come like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear the of the LORD, would have none of my counsel, and despised all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way and be sated with their own devices. For waywardness kills the simple, and the complacency of fools destroys them; but those who listen to me will be secure and will live at ease, without dread of disaster.’”

Devotional Thought: In God’s providence we have a choice to make and are able to make that choice. God’s gives us the ability and the freedom to choose. God also provides the facts to use in making that choice. Choosing the way described here by Woman Wisdom is a personification of grace. How I/you respond is critical! Choosing to turn one’s back on God causes panic, calamity and distress; continually living in such brings destruction and death. “But those who listen ... will be secure and will at ease, without dread of disaster.” Those who listen and respond by choosing to follow God (the teaching and advice of Woman Wisdom) partake in good fruit and produce good fruit. The others produce rotten fruit, the fruit of their hard hearts. “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)

Scripture Nugget 5.31.2017

Scripture Nugget 5.31.2017

Scripture Read Psalms 63-65

Nugget Psalm 65:9-13

“You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. You crown the year with bounty; your wagon tacks overflow with richness. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.”

Devotional Thought: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) Praise God from whom all blessings flow! How can those of us who believe in God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) not live a doxological life?! Why do we complain about that which we don’t have instead of realizing the abundant blessings bestowed upon us? When we turn inward, making ourselves the center we quit worshiping God who is the supreme center, high and lifted-up. Let us shout and sing together for joy – Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Scripture Nugget 5.30.2017

Scripture Nugget 5.30.2017

Scripture Read 1 Kings 1-4

Nugget 1 Kings 1:6; 2:1-4; 3:9-14

“His father had never at any time displeased him by asking, ‘Why have you done thus and so?’… When David’s time to die drew near, he charged his son Solomon, saying: ‘I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong and courageous, and keep the charge of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn. The LORD will establish his word that he spoke concerning me: “If your heirs take heed to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you a successor on the throne of Israel.”’ … ‘Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?’ It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. God said to him, ‘Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor all your life; no other king shall compare with you. If you will walk in my ways, keeping my statues and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life.’”

Devotional Thought: Solomon receives a great gift from God and will continue to receive that gift always – IF! If he will walk in God’s ways, keeping God’s statutes and God’s commandments. Too bad, David wasn’t always a father who held his son’s accountable. Who called them out when they strayed, then called them out to honor God. David’s permissiveness will ultimately work against Solomon, as it had Absalom and Adonijah. How will Solomon live with/use the blessings God bestows upon him? Will he amass wealth for himself or use to help others? If only!

Scripture Nugget 5.29.2017

Scripture Nugget 5.29.2017

Scripture Read Exodus 33-36

Nugget Exodus 34:11-16

“Observe what I command you today. See, I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Take care not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you are going, or it will become a snare among you. You shall tear down their altars, break their pillars, and cut down their sacred poles for you shall worship no other god, because the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God). You shall not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to their gods, someone among them will invite you, and you will eat of the sacrifice. And you will take wives from among their daughters for your sons, and their daughters who prostitute themselves to their gods will make your sons also prostitute themselves to their gods.”

Devotional Thought: Holiness is defined by God. God makes the rules. God prepared a way for the Israelites to journey, free of those who would tempt them. God gave warning, God gave clear commands. Do not covenant with them; tear down, destroy all their places of worship of false gods. Don’t live with them or they will defile you. Holiness is not defined by liberals or conservatives, holiness is defined by God and who we are – how we live either does or does n not display holiness. Attempting to change God’s definitions, may make us feel better in the short-run but we cannot change God’s definition of Holiness. Maybe we ought to pay attention – that’s why he started with “Observe”.

Scripture Nugget 5.28.2017

Scripture Nugget 

5.28.2017

Scripture Read 2 Corinthians 11-13

Nugget 2 Corinthians 13:5

“Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless, indeed, you fail to meet the test!

Devotional Thought: Take some time, linger in these words from Psalm 139:23-24; “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Allow our Lord to reveal anything in your heart or head that separates you from “the fullness of the potential made possible by the grace of God.” (E. Stanley Jones)

Scripture Nugget 5.27.2017

Scripture Nugget 5.27.2017

Scripture Read Luke 5-6

Nugget Luke 5:4-6

“When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.’ When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break.”

Devotional Thought: Peter had been sitting behind Jesus in the boat as Jesus spoke to the crowd on shore. Like many of us, he probably nodded his head, up and down, in agreement with the things Jesus was saying. When Jesus instructed him to go fishing in the middle of the day, Peter protested a little but complied with Jesus command. Have I/any of you, responded to Jesus command saying, “I/we have worked for a long time but accomplished nothing/very little.” Do I/you possess faith to respond; “Yet if you say so I will”. Are we willing to do a task in a different way? Ultimately, Peter along with the other fishermen, is called to continue fishing, but for people not fish. Same task, different species in different environment. Jesus taught him that lesson after an unsuccessful night of casting nets for fish. In the heat of the day, they went to the middle of the lake, to the deep water, cast their nets and were blessed with a huge catch. Are we listening? When Jesus tells us to go to that neighborhood or those people how do I/you/we respond? But Lord! or, If you say so I will?  

Scripture Nugget 5.26.2017

Scripture Nugget 5.26.2017

Scripture Read Jeremiah 42-46

Nugget Jeremiah 42: 3, 5-17

“‘Let the LORD your God show us where we should go and what we should do.’ … They in turn said to Jeremiah, ‘May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do no act according to everything that the LORD your God sends us through you. Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, in order that it may go well with us when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.’ At the end of ten days the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah. The he summoned Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces who were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest, and said to them, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your plea before him: ‘If you will only remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I am sorry for the disaster that I have brought upon you. Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, as you have been; do not be afraid of him, says the LORD, for I am with you, to save you and to rescue you from his hand. I will grant you mercy, and he will have mercy on you and restore you to your native soil. But it you continue to say, “We will not stay in this land”, thus disobeying the voice of the LORD your God and saying, “No, we will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war, or hear the sound of trumpet, or be hungry for bread, and there we will stay,” then hear the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: If you are determined to enter Egypt and go to settle there, then the sword that you fear shall overtake you there, in the land of Egypt; and the famine you dread shall follow close after you into Egypt; and there you shall die. All the people who have determined to go to Egypt to settle there shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; they shall have no remnant or survivor from the disaster that I am bringing upon them.’”

Devotional Thought: “Pay attention” as Dr Bob Tuttle often says. When I/you/we ask God for direction and guidance (whether directly or through a prophet) and promise to follow – be prepared to receive and do what God says. God will give His best advice, He will show us what He wants us to do. Will we in faith receive and follow, or argue and disobey? At one point, a little later in chapter 44, when the people continue to argue that their sinful ways are good; God says “By all means, keep your vows and make your libations!” By all means, keep on worshiping a false god(s), that’s what got you in this predicament. Jeremiah prayed for 10 days to get an answer from God, most of that was spent listening for God’s response. How long are we willing to listen? Or are we spending that time making plans to do it our way? “Whatever, whatever, I do what I want!”, is a line from a movie the kids use to repeat. God promises He will build up and plant, yet we continue to defy and march on toward promised destruction. Those who went to Egypt were trampled by the King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, the king they feared, as God had warned. And we are dismayed when the Spirit of God diminishes the more we are disobedient! Hear, receive and heed these words from chapter 46:27-28: “But as for you, have no fear, my servant Jacob, and do not be dismayed, O Israel; for I am going to save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of captivity. Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and no one shall make him afraid. As for you, have no fear, my servant Jacob, says the LORD, for I am with you. I will make an end of all nations among which I have banished you, but I will not make and end of you! I will chastise you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”

Scripture Nugget 5.25.2017

Scripture Nugget 5.25.2017

Scripture Read Job 41-42

Nugget Job 42:9a-12a

“…and the LORD accepted Job’s prayer. And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends; and the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then there came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and they ate bread with him in his house; they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him; and each gave him a piece of money and a gold ring. The LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; …”

Devotional Thought: Let’s remember what we first learned about Job, “There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. …so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. (Job 1:1,3b) Job sacrificed burnt offerings for his children, just in case they had sinned. Job prayed for his children, Job lived a life of Over-the-Horizon faith because He not only accepted God’s Over-the-Horizon promises but had received them as well. In is pain of suffering, he wrestled with and tried to make some logical sense out of all that had occurred. His “friends” weren’t much help and apparently, his extended family withdrew from his presence. Notice and grab hold of this: “…and the LORD accepted Job’s prayer. And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends” Job returned to praying for others, to lifting others up to God. He gave up attempting to “fix” them and gave up attempting to “fix” himself. He prayed for his friends and God restored his fortunes. This is not fodder to bolster ideas to uphold thoughts on the prosperity gospel. The material fortunes are an outward sign of a return to spiritual fortunes – assured life with God. Faith to pray to God for others and for self. To pray, not because we have the answers, but because we have questions and know God will respond. Though with that faith, we do have The Answer – God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), He is all the fortune we need!

Scripture Nugget 5.24.2017

Scripture Nugget 5.24.2017

Scripture Read Psalms 60-62

Nugget Psalm 60:11-12, Psalm 61:2b-4, Psalm 62:1-2, 5-8

“O grant us help against the foe, for human help is worthless. With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes. . . . Lead me to the rock that is higher than I; for you are my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. Let me abide in your tent forever, find refuge under the shelter of your wings.  . . .  For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall never be shaken. . . . For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.”

Devotional Thought: God is The Stone of Help, my/our Ebenezer (1 Sam 7:12) who protects and defends me/us from approaching enemies and defeats them in my/our sight, in close proximity. Why wait until I am/we are about to be overcome, why allow enemies to get close? How else will I/we ever show the love of Christ to them if I/we keep them outside of arms-length? This is an issue of faith. Those who mean to do harm may never change (Saul’s heart remained hardened against David, even after David spared his life numerous times. But David had drawn close enough to physically touch Saul, yet spared his life to demonstrate his love and respect for the king). Jesus touched a leper and immediately the leper was cleansed. Jesus must have gotten real close, hugged the man in something like a headlock or the man would not have known he had been touched – sometimes we’ve got to get real close to share Christ’s love with others. Be assured, God protects and defends and will keep enemies away.

Scripture Nugget 5.23.2017

Scripture Nugget 5.23.2017

Scripture Read 2 Samuel 20-24

Nugget 2 Samuel 24:10-16

“But afterward, David was stricken to the heart because he had numbered the people. David said to the LORD, ‘I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O LORD, I pray you, take away the guilt of your servant; for I have done foolishly.’ When David rose in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, ‘Go and say to David: Thus says the LORD: Three things I offer you; choose one of them, and I will do it to you.’ So Gad came to David and told him; he asked him, ‘Shall three years of famine come to you on your land? Or will you flea three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider, and decide what answer I shall return to the one who sent me.’ Then David said to Gad, ‘I am in great distress; let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but let us not fall into human hands.’ So the LORD sent a pestilence on Israel from that morning until the appointed time; and seventy thousand of the people died, from Dan to Beersheba. But when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented concerning the evil, and said to the angel who was bringing destruction among the people, ‘It is enough; now stay your hand.’ The angel of the LORD was then by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”

Devotional Thought: When leaders, those who are responsible to lead others to follow God, sin, it affects those they lead. The sin may be personal but it is potentially devastating to the masses. David’s pride once again got ahold of him, he wanted to confirm his greatness so he ordered a census, a counting of “his” kingdom. He realized and felt the sin in his heart; he prayed for forgiveness. Sin has consequences, someone (many) must pay. God offers three choices, David chooses to trust in God’s mercy; followers of God, David demonstrates Over-the-Horizon faith. God stops the pestilence short – identifying Jerusalem as the Holy City. Praise be to God for sending Jesus to suffer the consequences of all sin, stopping short the pestilence which we deserve.