1 Thessalonians 1 - 3.4.24

Scripture

1 Thessalonians‬ ‭1‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NLT

”And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it, for they keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God.“

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Observation

In this letter from Paul, Silas, and Timothy, they are writing the church in Thessalonica to applaud them for the faith that they have been demonstrating since receiving the Good News of Jesus Christ. Because of them, people everywhere are getting the opportunity to hear the message of Jesus. Not only are people getting the opportunity to hear about the power of God from the Thessalonians, but the people can clearly see the power of God by the way the Thessalonians have turned from their sinful living, to godly living.

Application

Do people around me know my faith in God by my words and actions?🤔

Paul, Silas, and Timothy were commending the Thessalonians for living out their faith and sharing it with others wherever they went. People were hearing and seeing the power of God from not only their words, but also their actions.

The same should go for me. I want people around me, wherever I go, to know my faith in God from my words and my actions. Whether it’s through sharing the Good News of Jesus with them, or praying for someone in need; I want to strive to be a man that isn’t ashamed of my faith in God. I want others to know God and be blessed by God because of the way I lived out my life while I was around them.

”In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.“ -Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬ ‭

Prayer

Father God, I pray for the courage today to live out my life of faith in You. May I not be ashamed to show and demonstrate my faith wherever I go. Anoint me with your Holy Spirit. May I be a guiding light that points others around me towards You. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. 🙏🏽

-Moses Gaddi

Psalm 88 - 3.1.2024

Scripture - Pick one verse that stood out to you.

Psalm 88:1

Lord, you are the God who saves me;

Observation - What about this verse stands out to you?

I was drawn to this verse, Lord, because I am ashamed to admit I felt I did need saving…from my own company. The familiar song and dance of my annual performance reviews have come and gone. The dejection and cries of injustice had set in. And then You met me in Psalm 88.

Psalm 88 is one of the most somber songs I have encountered in the bible. While I could sympathize with a portion of the mood, I could not match the poet Heman’s depth of life circumstances, longing for God, and humble perspective.

Lord, I feel like you showed me what an actual deep pit might look like.

Lord, I feel like you showed me the way a man of God responds.

The Keil and Delitzsch Bible Commentary explains psalm 88:

The poet finds himself in the midst of circumstances gloomy in the extreme, but he does not despair; he still turns towards Jahve with his complaints, and calls Him the God of his salvation.

Application - How will you apply this to your life?

I will not despair. Nor will I blame God for my circumstance! In my prayer today I will turn to God with my complaints. Yes I will still do that. But God will still be my salvation! And I will stretch out my hands towards God!

Prayer - Write out a prayer.

Father-God, Lord Almighty, God of Mercy, God of Peace, God of Justice, God of Salvation, God of Love, I call out to you this morning in my prayer! I stretch my hands out to you! Thank you for this Psalm this morning. Thank you for your poet and singer Heman the musician. Thank you for my family. Thank you for my friends. Thank you for my…job. Thank you for the increase I did receive. Thank you for Your Word! The next time I find myself in a pit, please remind me of psalm 88!

In the name of Jesus do I pray, amen.

-kenneth lee

Psalm 88

A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to mahalath leannoth. A maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.

 1 Lord, you are the God who saves me;
    day and night I cry out to you.

2 May my prayer come before you;
    turn your ear to my cry.

3 I am overwhelmed with troubles
    and my life draws near to death.

4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
    I am like one without strength.

5 I am set apart with the dead,
    like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
    who are cut off from your care.

6 You have put me in the lowest pit,
    in the darkest depths.
7 Your wrath lies heavily on me;
    you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.
8 You have taken from me my closest friends
    and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined and cannot escape;

9 my eyes are dim with grief.

I call to you, Lord, every day;
    I spread out my hands to you.

10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?
    Do their spirits rise up and praise you?

11 Is your love declared in the grave,
    your faithfulness in Destruction?
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
    or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?

13 But I cry to you for help, Lord;
    in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 Why, Lord, do you reject me
    and hide your face from me?

15 From my youth I have suffered and been close to death;
    I have borne your terrors and am in despair.

16 Your wrath has swept over me;
    your terrors have destroyed me.

17 All day long they surround me like a flood;
    they have completely engulfed me.

18 You have taken from me friend and neighbor—
    darkness is my closest friend.

Mark 15 - 2.29.24

S –34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani? (which means “My god, my God, why have you forsaken me?). Mark 15:34

O – After all the events had happened just the way Jesus had told them they would, His disciple betraying him, another denying Him, He was then handed over to be crucified. Even though Pilate gave the Jews a choice of prisoners to release, knowing Jesus was innocent, they chose Jesus. They mocked him, beat him, spit on him and nailed him to a cross.

A – There is so much to talk about in this chapter, but two things stick out to me today.

One is that we complain about so many things; so much that is unjust in our lives, and in our world. We complain about giving our time and attention to others because we are too busy or overwhelmed. We are tired, broke and in pain, yada yada yada. But if we think about what Jesus did for us… really take the time to think about it, perhaps we’d shut up?! Or rather we should.  Maybe that’s harsh, but as a Christian and a follower of Christ, we have nothing to complain about! And I’m speaking to myself here. Jesus endured everything He did as a completely innocent man….FOR us, who are NOT innocent in any way! He is the leader who paved the way and made the ultimate sacrifice for us. We are His followers and nothing we endure will EVER be comparable to what He endured. Because of us, He had to be separated from the Father for that moment He took on our sins, and Because of Him, we never have to be separated from the Father. There is no sacrifice that we must make to be with Him AND we get to be in eternity in heaven with Him, which none of us deserve.

The second thing is something that has always stood out to me because as we just read in Mark 14, Jesus KNEW He was going to be arrested, tortured, beat, and killed on the cross. He was willing to make that sacrifice all along, yet in this one moment it’s as if He is wondering why this was happening and that never made sense to me. I did some digging in gotquestions.org and found some things to help clarify.

In those awful moments, as evil men were allowed to do whatever they wanted to Jesus, our Lord expressed His feelings of abandonment. He did not ask why God was forsaking Him out of surprise. He knew in His mind that he would be separated from God. However, in that moment, the pain of being separated from His Father, as God placed the sins of the world on His Son, Jesus felt the desolation of being unconscious of His Father’s presence. He knew it was coming but perhaps did not expect to feel disconnected from the Father and that was a pain ultimately worse than the physical pain.

Isaiah 53:4-5 Surely, he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us He was made a sin offering, and He died in our place, on our account, that He might bring us near to God.

2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

I don’t think we can ever grasp what that felt like to Jesus. He was the one being who had direct communication and access to God all His life, and suddenly could not feel God’s presence. What despair that would have felt like.

P – Thank you God that I, we, NEVER have to be separated from you. Thank you for the ultimate sacrifice of your beloved son! Thank you that you are with us in all that we do, and in every difficult and joyful circumstance. You protect us, rejoice with us, comfort and love us today, tomorrow, and always. Thank you that there is nothing that I must endure to be in your presence or to spend eternity with you. Help me Lord when I am feeling sorry for myself and my circumstances to remember that Jesus already paid it all for me and there is nothing on earth that I need to fear, worry, or complain about.  Thank you that in a world that can feel so chaotic that I can live in the peace of knowing you are with me always. Amen!

- Crystal Flory