But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
TO PONDER:
Have you ever felt like you are talking to a wall when trying to explain your position? That the person in front of you doesn't seem to be listening. Maybe even after a time, you have blurted out in frustration, "You are just so stubborn." Or maybe you are the person that those words have been spoken to!
Stubborn people are unbending and unyielding. They insist on their own way and won't admit they have it wrong. They don't respond well to input, they resist change and can become impossible or infuriating to deal with. Their stubbornness isolates them from others...it can also isolate them from God. Proverbs 28:14 warns us that the "stubborn are headed for serious trouble."
Throughout the Bible, God refers to his people as a stiff-necked and rebellious people. If you have ever had a stiff neck, you will know that your whole body has to go in the direction of where the neck is facing. Stiff necked because they refuse to listen to God, they refuse to turn from their own ways and their own ideas to walking the way that God promises brings life. Stubbornness blocks the world of God from taking shape in our life. Where might your stubbornness be robbing you of life? In many respects, stubbornness is simply another form of idolatry...it is the worship of your own ideas or thoughts! Sadly, that stubbornness often leads to rebellion against God.
That's why Christian community is a gift! That's why God unites us with brothers and sisters in Christ in community. We need each other to lovingly correct, to wisely point out things in our lives that may be leading us down a path that isolates us from others and especially from God. We need others to show us, guide us, gently push us in the ways of God that lead to life, so we don't become hard hearted, stiff-necked, stubborn. Who is God putting around you that you have not been listening to? Who has God placed in your life that loves you enough to hold you accountable? Who has God been using to try and encourage you in the way that leads to life? And to whom might you be that person that God uses to soften a stubborn person's heart today?
PRAYER:
Jesus, thank you for the gift of Christian community. Help me to receive the counsel and encouragement of my Church family and to be an encouragement to them in their walk with you. Amen.
Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
TO PONDER
I was a pretty keen student of Greek and Roman mythology as a teen. There is something compelling about the epic quests and adventures of stories like Jason and the Argonauts, or the ambition of Icarus who flew too close to the sun, or even simply the idea that the gods might walk disguised among the humanity. And although their stories and myths are vastly different from our own understanding, there is a connection point. Their gods walked among them.
Our God has come into his own creation to walk among his people. That was Jesus. Paul was an expert at finding these connecting points, opportunities to share the truth of Jesus and his life, death, and resurrection. The example from today's reading is perhaps among one of the best and most well recognised. But it is a wonderful example of how we might engage in evangelism today.
Too often, Christians want to start with what the world has wrong. But Paul looks first for what he can affirm, then seeks to shed light on the darkness. There is a connecting point even for people in our anti-religious culture today, sometimes the key is in listening and watching to see how you can helpfully engage the world around you with the message of Jesus, rather than just seeing who can shout the loudest or stomp their feet the hardest.
I once heard someone say, Jesus didn't argue or convince people into the kingdom, he loved them into the kingdom. Perhaps we can start our efforts at mission and evangelism with love, and maybe those difficult discussions and arguments might not even be necessary.
PRAYER: Jesus, your love led you to the cross for my sake. Please help me to love others enough to first stop and listen to their heart, to hear what concerns them and to meet their actual needs and concerns and to pray and seek the right way to introduce them to you. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay, Newcastle.
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me."
TO PONDER
I have been listening to a podcast recently by called 'Undeceptions'. It's by a fairly well known Christian Australian Historian and Academic, John Dickson. I was listening to one episode recently called 'Everyday Sacred', where John was speaking with a couple of Anglican pastors and authors who were talking about recognising the sacred in everyday things and activities. It was an interesting discussion, well worth a listen, but it left me wondering what happens in a world that has largely decided that there is no thing as God?
How does an atheist interpret the beauty of God's creation, if they fail to recognise a creator? To whom does one turn to say thank you for the unexpected blessings that a day may bring? Where does a person go to deal with the guilt and shame of the wrongs and mistakes they have made in their lives? Whether you believe in God or not, these, and many other things besides, are all things that all of us need from time to time.
If we don't turn to God, then we are left with little option to turn to other created things. We might turn to friends and family, who might be a great support but can just as easily make things worse. Some people turn to drugs and alcohol to deal with pain and trauma, Others might find some short term relief in other religious practices, but God says in no uncertain terms and in various places across scripture that He is the only God we are to turn to.
I don't think he makes that demand out of jealousy. I think he makes that clear time and time again because he knows that every other option is going to fail us and we will only find what we need in him. If we eliminate God from our existence, all we do is create a vacuum for other things to take God's place. So will you worship and honour the one true God who has proven his faithfulness to his people, or let some other thing, person, or philosophy, take his place and be let down time and time again?
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, you said all authority in heaven and on earth was given to you. Please help me to recognise your authority and to keep you as lord of my life. Help me to keep at bay all those things that would seek to take your place and help me tollways turn to you for my peace and comfort when life gets rough. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water."
TO PONDER
In the late 1980's and early 1990's, Coca Cola had an advertising campaign in which it boasted, "you can't beat the real thing". Now without explicitly saying so, this was a claim made against their main competition in the cola market, Pepsi Cola. However, one has to wonder why so many people around the world today, (apparently almost 50% of soda drinkers) turn to the Coca Cola brand to quench their thirst. Surely water should be the go to beverage of choice.
Numerous studies and dietary analyses have been done over the years expressing the risks of not drinking enough water, and the negative health effects of sugary carbonated drinks like Coke. Tooth decay and obesity being among the first that come to mind. And yet, how many of us on a hot summer's day have reached for a can of Coke (or some other carbonated sugary drink, rather than a glass of water?
We all know which is better for us and yet we all go for the other option. This is our perpetual problem as followers of Jesus. We all know his way is best, we all know he is the real thing, and yet we are so easily fooled or seduced by the 'other' option. The 'other' could be anything, money, power, fame, family, relationships, sex, alcohol, drugs, you name it and humanity has probably tried it as a supplement to fill that God shaped hole inside of each of us. Only the real thing, Jesus Christ can meet that need. So don't turn from him, turn to him. Don't dig your own well or look for a drink elsewhere, only Jesus has the living water that will quench that thirst, so reach out and go for the 'real' real thing.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, there are so many things that claim to offer answers to life's questions, solutions to life's problems, and joy in life's sadness. Yet only you can truely meet the deepest needs and desires of our hearts. Help me turn to you for only you have the words and water of eternal life. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God
TO PONDER
The apostle Paul was a lot of things. He was a Jewish scholar, a Roman citizen, an ex-persecutor of Christians. He was often a prisoner, he was a missionary, he was a tent-maker (see Acts 18) but in all of these things he was called and set apart by God to [proclaim the gospel of Jesus. Whatever else he might have been we see here in his introduction in his letter to the Romans he considered himself a servant of Christ.
Most of us wear many hats too, we might be parents or children, students or teachers, employers or employees, friends or colleagues button all of these things we are also servants of Christ. As hs servants, it should always be Jesus who sets the agenda.
Sometimes we let the other roles we have set the agenda rather than Jesus. Even Paul made the occasional plans that ultimately did not seem to line up with what God wanted, Paul usually figured that out in time to realign his plans with God's. We can do that too if we are just willing to be prayerful and to be observant in watching and listening to what God is doing. God knows we have varying, and at times conflicting, commitments but he has a wonderful way of making everything that is necessary part of his plan for us.
So, if the pile of hat's you are wearing feels like it's so tall that it is about to topple off your head, then consider starting with the righteousness of Christ and his call on your life. If you put that hat on as the foundation, he'll find a way to make the others fit.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you that you have given me roles in my family, in my community and workplace and in my church community. Help me always to remember though the the most important call I have in life is to follow your son Jesus, in whose name I pray, Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle.
But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
TO PONDER
I don't know who first said the line, 'you can call me whatever you want, just don't call me late for dinner', but I know that it has worked it's way into the colloquial rural lingo of many country towns around the country. Being called late for dinner, especially after putting in a hard days physical labor of working the land as many people do in these rural places, is not a prospect anyone would invite. And yet some of these characters who use this kind of colloquial slang, have also got some very interesting, and at times colourful, nicknames that many of us in the city would probably find offensive.
The problem for many Christians is that we don't want to be 'called late for dinner'. I know many Christians who have shared that they don't make a big deal about their faith, or that they try to keep it hidden at work because they fear if it came out it might cost them a promotion, or some kind of career opportunity. I hear many Christians concerned about sharing their faith with friends for fear of it ruining their friendship or perhaps even doing damage to a family relationship.
Peter reminds us in this letter that this is actually part of what Jesus calls us to. He calls us to take up our cross and follow him. We are called to suffer for doing good. However we often seem to expect to be rewarded for doing good. and so complain of the 'unfairness' when we have tried to do and bee good in a certain situation, only to be rewarded with the bad attitudes or criticism of others. The key here is to fix your mind on the right prize. Do you really want the short term sugar fix of the meal that others are offering, their good opinions and accolades, or do you want the nourishment that comes from being called by Jesus to eat and drink the bread and water of life that only he can give? Call me whatever you like, but don't call me late for that meal!!!
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank you that you have called me to follow you. Please help me to remember that following you is not always easy, but it is always worth it. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
TO PONDER
Names are interesting things. I don't know if you have ever seen those displays of gift items outside a newsagent or gift shop, they usually have cards, posters, bookmarks or coffee mugs with a persons name printed on it and then either the meaning of that name or sometimes also a list of character traits that are supposed to summarise what people with that name might be like. I am usually amazed at how accurately these kinds of items describe the people that I bring to mind who have the names that adorn these gift items. I am probably even more amazed when I find one with the name Mathew and how well it describes me!
It makes me wonder what it means to be 'called by God's name' like the passage from Chronicles talks about. Surely, if being 'called' by my name all my life has led me to act and behave some what predictably like a 'Mathew' then surely as we are called by God's name, we should grow and mature in that name and that calling to more closely resemble the character of God, which we see and understand most clearly as shown to us in his son Jesus Christ.
And what are those characteristics that people called by the name of God display. Well they are articulated differently at different places throughout scripture but here in Chronicles it is humility, prayer, seeking God, and turning from evil. So consider that today whenever someone calls your name, consider how you will respond as one called by the name of God. How will you respond with humility, prayer, and concern for what God might be up to in your interactions with others?
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for the privilege of being called by your name and adopting me into your family through your son Jesus. Please empower me with your Spirit to live in the new identity that I have in you and to grow each day into that new identity. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
TO PONDER
To live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Since our theme his week is being fully engaged by God's call, you would think that's the part of the verse we'd focus on today, but I want to draw our attention to the other part.
the Apostle Paul writes this letter to the Christians in Ephesus as a prisoner. He has not done anything wrong except go around talking about Jesus and promoting the Christian message. But even in prison, Paul uses the opportunity to live a life worthy of the call he has received. Even in prison, he considers himself 'a prisoner of the Lord'. His status as an apostle, called to bring the good news of Jesus to both Jews and Gentiles didn't end because he was in prison, at least not as far as he was concerned.
I think sometimes we can be guilty of letting our life circumstances dictate how we engage with God's call. Perhaps you are raising young kids and are thinking, once my kids are a bit older and more independent, then I'll have time to meet with and talk with my friends about Jesus. Maybe you are working in a workplace that makes talking about your faith with colleagues a bit difficult and feel like your hands are tied. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that Paul probably literally had his hands tied and likely dictated this letter to someone to write for him, but he did not let the circumstance of his imprisonment keep him from the calling he knew he had been given by Jesus. So let Paul, the prisoner of the Lord also urge you to live a life worthy of your calling, don't let your circumstances define how you engage with the call God has given you, instead, see where God has called you and use that as inspiration as to how you might engage with that call in a practical and meaningful way.
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, thank you that you have called me to follow you and to share the good news of your death and resurrection. Help me to see the way you are calling me to live in that call in every situation so that I might live each moment worthy and faithfully engaged in the calling you have given me. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
TO PONDER
I think I have mentioned this before, but there is one word in American English, that you just don't hear in 'proper' English. I understand you encounter it more often in the Southern States, but it's a wonderful contraction of 'you' and 'all', which gives us the wonderful word 'Ya'll'.
The plural form of the word 'you' appears so frequently in the Bible, but in regular English, we only have the one word both for referring to an individual or a groups of people. This American invention is one of the good additions to the English language because we can use it to better understand scriptures like this one.
Here Peter uses the Greek plural form of the word you, so we might be better off translating it like this, (you can imagine a Southern American accent if you want)
"But ya'll are a chosen people, a royal nation, God's special possession, that ya'll may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness and into his wonderful light."
It is not just pastors, or evangelists, missionaries or profits who are called to serve as priests. All of us who are called by Christ to follow him, have been called to act as intermediaries between God and those who are yet to recognise or acknowledge him. It is every Christians task to declare the praises of Jesus who calls us out of the darkness and into the light. So how will you get to work doing that today?
PRAYER: Jesus, it is easy to forget, among the business and pressures of this life that you actually call me to be more than just my occupation, more that just a parent, or child, student or teacher. You call me and all Christians to be a priesthood, a group of people dedicated and set apart for you to act as your spokespersons in all the places that we live work and relax. Help me to live out that role each day. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle