Merry Christmas everyone!

Scripture

“My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”

Psalm 51:17 NIV

Observation-What does it say?

Psalm 51 is a very powerful one, as King David wrote it after being confronted by the prophet Nathan for committing adultery with Bathsheba. Please read 2 Samuel 12:1-13 for the full exchange between those two men. It basically led to David being convicted by the Holy Spirit to repent and Nathan assuring David that his sin has been put away. He will not die.

Understanding-What does it mean?

Do our mistakes lead us to Godly sorrow or worldly sorrow?

Godly sorrow leads us to repentance, true inward change of the heart. Worldly sorrow is sorrow that doesn’t lead to inward heart change because it is a momentary sorrow. It is typically a result of getting caught and not wanting to deal with the consequences of our sin. 

King David’s Psalm demonstrates true godly sorrow and repentance from his heart. Also, the consequences of his sin led to him to draw closer to the Lord, not further away. 

Life Application

Repent and be healed! Move on!  Go and sin no more, just like Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery. (John 8:1-11)

As Bible.org states, “The tragic death of David’s son is a consequence of David’s sin, but it is NOT the penalty David deserves for his sin.”

There are consequences to sin. David and Bathsheba suffered the consequence of their sin, which was that they lost their son conceived as a result of their affair. However, King David’s response to that was quite humble. (Please see 2 Samuel 12:14-21).

Too many of us, after suffering the consequences of our sin, don’t move on. Consequences are meant to teach us, just like a parent who disciplines their child. However, it should train us to be stronger and better, not continue in the same unhealthy sinful cycle. David had his son by Bathsheba taken away as a consequence of his sin. Did he keep mourning after that? No. He moved on. 

Jesus came, died and resurrected to set us free to the guilt of our past. This Christmas and beyond, let’s truly live that out! The enemy no longer has a hold on us and his lies no longer have to keep us in bondage. We are conquerors because of Jesus, who is the reason why we celebrate today! 

Thank You Jesus for You, the most precious gift we could ever ask for. Amen! 

-Michelle Gaddi

1 Peter 5:5-7
⁵ In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

“God opposes the proud
    but shows favor to the humble.”^[a]

⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. ⁷ Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Observation 

In a world that tends to focus on the best selfie, the best social media image, spending time focused through a camera lens…or, perhaps more correctly, a phone screen – humility is counter cultural.  But the message of the double-digit years (1 Peter is thought to be written between 64-68 AD) is just as applicable today. 

Yet, what we often to do is take credit for our successes yet call out to God when things don’t go to plan…which, verse 7 actually tells us to do – cast our anxiety, our worries, our concerns on to Him. 

Life Application

May it not be only when we are anxiety ridden that we humble ourselves; but, instead, may we eat, breathe, live, rest in our humility…recognizing God as the source for…well, everything.

STAY HUMBLE. <3

Rei

To check out the discussion or to join in click here.

No matter how badly I hate this dumb ritual, I regularly find myself in my little garage gym, picking things up and putting them down again.  I do it because I have reconciled the fact that it is good for me to suffer in this way.  Suffering, in the form of exercise is nothing new to me.  I have long enjoyed the suffering of long distance running and cycling.  Knowing that each step, or pedal stroke, over a long haul makes me better and strengthens my heart, legs, lungs, and my mind.  My military friends refer to the willingness to accept impending doom as “Embracing the Suck.”

Throughout the first letter of Peter, he encourages us to embrace suffering with open arms.  In contrast to suffering for a better body, suffering for the sake of Christ yields an eternal reward.  The results of exercise are fleeting, especially when the Christmas baked goods enter the scene every December.  But suffering in the name of Christ always yields the everlasting glory.  So while we may never be burned for our belief in Christ, we may suffer in other ways.  We may be looked at as crazy, or silly, for believing in the message of the cross.  Which, in a world  overwhelmed with the need of acceptance, can be a weight that seems too much to bare.  

Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the [b]author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

-Tyler Galloway

Scripture

Psalm 48:1

Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise,

Scripture

Judges 17:6

“In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.”

Observation-What does it say?

Israel has fallen away from God’s ways once again. They had no godly king or judge ruling over them. They should have turned to God, and proclaimed Him as their king. Instead, they let other people’s outside influences once again determine how they would act. They began creating idols and worshipping false gods. Ultimately the people “played God” and did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. 

Understanding-What does it mean?

We must put God on the throne as King of our lives in order to truly see what is right in this world.

Micah and the people of Israel are really acting no different than the people of this world today. They were surrounded by a society and world that tried to justify their sinful actions. They were more concerned with PLAYING CHURCH, rather than BEING THE CHURCH. Then to top it off, the people basically took the attitude of, “if it feels right, it must be right.” That is a very dangerous approach to take. They were putting themselves on the throne of judgement, determining what was right and wrong. By doing this, they were repeating the history of what happened to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and letting themselves be deceived by the enemy.

“For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.” Genesis 3:5-7 NIV

Life Application

So who is truly sitting on the throne of my life? 

If God sits on the throne of my life, does He have total authority to tell me what to say or do? Or do I try to fight Him over control, and only allow Him authority over me when it is convenient to me?

It kind of reminds me of the old bumper sticker I see from time to time that reads “GOD IS MY CO-PILOT”.  Now I’m sure the people who made this bumper sticker had their hearts in the right places when coming up with that saying, but it just still isn’t quite right if we plan on putting God on the throne of our lives. It still portrays a picture that it is us in the driver’s seat, going where we want to go and doing what we want to do, and if the road gets a little too bumpy, we have God on our side, who can steer us back on track. Now what the bumper sticker should read is “GOD IS MY PILOT, AND I AM HIS CO-PILOT”. Now this paints a more accurate picture of what a life should look like if God is truly on the throne of our lives. It is God who is driving, He is the one who has total control of our destination and how long or fast it takes to get there. We are there alongside Him, to listen to Him, submit to His instructions , learn from Him, and follow His lead along this journey. If we can manage to do that, we are ensured to reach our “final destination” and enjoy being in paradise with the One who loved us enough to lead us through all of life’s long, twisty, bumpy, and treacherous roads. 

-Moses Gaddi

James 5:13-16 ¹³ Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Observation James 5 begins with a warning to the rich – those who had hoarded wealth and oppressed those who worked for them.  Then it speaks to perseverance – being patient in suffering.  Then it turns to the power of prayer! <3

As Christians, one of our ultimate realities is we are going to spend eternity with Jesus.  I recently listened to a sermon by a pastor named Dave Lomas.  He was teaching on Revelation 4, and the picture of worship in heaven it gives us.  Lomas used this as a starting point to show that, since God wants to be the center of our hearts and that we will spend out eternity giving Him glory, our time spent worshiping on earth is an act of practice and visualization of eternity.  When we attend church on a Sunday morning, it is a practice of the corporate worship we will come to realize in heaven.

I find this to be the best way for me to rid myself of the distractions this world brings.  It is very hard for me to think about wanting a better paycheck or a bigger house, when I am surrounded by a group of God’s children who are immersed in singing of the greatness of God’s love.  Similarly to James, the author of Hebrews tells us to “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” by continuing to meet together (10:24-25).  In Ephesians 5, Paul writes of how we can be imitators of Christ, encouraging us to lift up one another by “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord (5:18).”  

Scripture

James 3:13

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

Understanding – What does it mean?

True wisdom is displayed through a good life, good deeds and humility. Many people are said to be wise and understanding because of their eloquent speech, good arguments, and ability to win verbal debates. But according to scripture, none of those things are included as characteristics of the wise.

Life Application

Honestly evaluate my wisdom.

Ask God for wisdom! James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.