September 14 - Skin and Bones

 Read today’s texts first: Ezekiel 36,37; Psalms 110; Revelation 19

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

When we stop feeding our souls
we suffer from spiritual anorexia. 

The Jews had a fatal case of spiritual anorexia. When you trust in the flesh, you soon find out there’s not much there – and what little substance you find is only temporary.  Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones is an accurate analogy of Israel’s self-destruction through spiritual starvation.

But this picture of seemingly irrevocable death is suddenly infused with hope: “dry bones, hear the word of the Lord” (37:4).  If Israel had only heard and heeded God’s life-giving Word before, they would never have come to this ignominious end.  Still, with God, His judgment may be swift, but His mercy is everlasting.  Ultimately, His grace is powerful enough to even revive the dead.

While Ezekiel prophesied, the flesh began to re-form on the bones, but still there was no life.  They were back where they started, just before getting carried away to Babylon – flesh and bones with no spiritual vitality.  But just as He did with Adam and with the disciples after the resurrection, God breathed on the lifeless bodies and they became living souls, an unstoppable army ready for battle.  The promise that follows, that Israel would one day return to their homeland, was finally fulfilled. I got to witness the result of that miracle first-hand in Israel a few years ago.  Our guide, Daniel, related one amazing story after another of the War of Independence in ’48 and the 6 Day War in ’67 when Israel overcame impossible odds to reclaim their promised land.

“Lord, thank You that Your mercy never fails. Breathe on me today so that all that I do is in Your strength alone.”

September 13 - Response-ability

 Read today’s texts first: Ezekiel 33-35; Revelation 18

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

When we fail to tell others about Jesus,
their blood is on our hands; when we do,
the responsibility shifts to them.

I never planned on doing this!  If I had my way, I’d have spent the last 50 plus years running a business and the only people I’d be responsible for would be my staff and customers.  But instead I became the overseer of 100s of students and parishioners at a college and various churches for most of those years.  It was exciting and terrifying at the same time, knowing that each of those lives represented 100s or perhaps 1000s more they in turn could eventually influence!

That weight of responsibility hit me during my reading this morning.  In Ezekiel 33 I was reminded of how accountable I am as a minister to tell others about Jesus.  If they reject the message then that responsibility shifts to them; if I fail to tell them when God asks me to, their blood is on my hands.  In chapter 34, I stand with the shepherds who are obligated to care for their sheep before seeking their own comforts.  Sometimes I just want to watch TV.  Sometimes I just want to be one of the sheep and have someone worry about me for a change.

But when I hear the life-changing exploits of these same church members, students and graduates, all those second thoughts disappear.  It’s the cycle of real life, and I wouldn’t have traded it for the most profitable business imaginable!

“Thank you Lord that You had a better plan for my life than I did.  Remind me of this joy in serving You the next time I have second thoughts!”

September 12 - Four’s a Crowd

 Read today’s texts first: Daniel 3-4; Psalm 81; Revelation 17 

MAXIMize YOUR DAY
Three’s company but when Jesus joins us
four feels like a comforting crowd of support. 

I’ve heard the story from Daniel 3 countless times growing up and read it even more as an adult, but I never connected the experiences of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to their friendship. The clearest theme emerging from these prophetic books is the importance of our dependence on God, but an underlying theme is our interdependence on each other. We see that relationship illustrated in the body of Christ, where Christ is the head, the source of all we do, but we are also vitally connected to each other.

While I think about my upbringing as close to ideal, there was one downside to the way I was raised. My Dad instilled in me the values of a strong work ethic and a sense of self-sufficiency. While it is good to work hard to support yourself and your family, it is not good to exclude others from helping you. I remember a time working on the set-up team at church when several people offered to help me carry things. My first and almost instinctive response is “no thanks, I’ve got it!” But God reminded me then and since that when I respond like that, I am depriving others of the joy in working together.

Daniel and his friends were able to fast from the royal food and not bow to peer pressure, even when their lives depended on it, because of their individual trust in God and also the support they gained from one another.  Three is company, but I love how their friendship was honoured by Jesus Himself joining their fraternity, and in all places – a fiery furnace.  With good Christian friends and the friendship of God Himself, we have a crowd of support behind us.

“Lord, I pray that among the things You are doing to humble me will be a renewed desire to let others join me in my work, especially when things get too hot for me to handle on my own!”

September 11 - Just Another Terrorist

 Read today’s texts first: Daniel 1-2; Revelation 16

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

When terrorism threatens, remember we are on
the winning side and that Jesus will be standing
with us in any fiery trial we face. 

It’s September 11 and coincidentally the passages from both testaments focus on terrorism from the Middle East – Iraq to be exact, known then as Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar was the Saddam Hussein or Osama bin Laden of Daniel’s day – a megalomaniac bent on world domination. He was so petulant and self-absorbed that he was ready to execute all of his “wise” men until Daniel intervenes.

What amazes me from this account and the next few chapters is how even a terrorist/world dictator is subject to God. The dream Neb had, which Daniel both described and interpreted for him, showed how fragile even a world power is in comparison to the “Rock”. The rock that destroys the four world powers represents God’s Kingdom, and the passage in Revelation describes that final showdown at Armageddon.

Every once in a while Neb got a clue as to who was really in control, telling Daniel, your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings (2:47). But it would take several more miraculous demonstrations by Daniel and his friends, plus a personal crisis (a complete mental breakdown) before Neb would actually submit to this one true God.

Daniel and his buddies, however, knew from the start they were on the winning side. They sacrificed privileges (like eating from the king’s table) and refused to bow to other gods when “everyone else was doing it!”  Even though they worked for a terrorist who threatened them with hungry lions and blazing furnaces, they were as steady as the Rock who stood with them (I love it that Jesus Himself hung out with them at the barbeque when they were supposed to be the main course). Daniel had the inside scoop on who would win in the end, seeing the very same things described in Revelation hundreds of years before John would write about it and thousands of years before it would actually take place.

We are living in those days now.

“Lord give me the faith of Daniel in the threat of terrorism today, knowing I’m on the winning side and that You will be standing with me in any fiery trial I may face.”

September 10 - I Still Dare to Hope!

 Read today’s texts first: Lamentations 3-5; Revelation 15

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Worship isn’t about feeding God’s pride
(He doesn’t have any); it’s about losing ours! 

In the middle of a seemingly hopeless lament is this hope-filled song of praise. This is why we worship. God doesn’t need His ego stroked. We worship Him to remind ourselves of Who He is and why we need Him. It’s not about feeding God’s pride (He doesn’t have any); it’s about losing ours!

Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The unfailing love of the Lord never ends!  By his mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”  The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for him and seek him. (3:21-25)

I sang this portion of Scripture in the early 70’s, when psalters were popular. When you combine music, which is the language of the soul, with God’s Word, hope becomes readily recognizable and accessible, even in the darkest night.

Fast forward to our reading in Revelation and you gain a glimpse into the future of the remnant who survived the toughest battle in history standing by the glassy sea singing the song of Moses: 

Great and marvelous are your actions, Lord God Almighty.  Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations.  Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name?  For you alone are holy.  All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous deeds have been revealed. (15:3-4) 

“Lord, You said You will never leave us, even when we mess up.  Thank You that we can always dare to hope!”

 

September 9 - God Resists the Proud

 Read today’s texts first: Lamentations 1-2; Obadiah; Revelation 14

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

God cares more about disciplining and restoring His people than what the world thinks about Him. 

I’ve read it many times, preached it on a few occasions, but not until this last month reading through Jeremiah, Ezekiel and now Lamentations have I noticed how true this statement is: God opposes the proud and yet is so willing to give grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5).

Israel and Judah continually struggled with pride, wanting to do things their way.  Ironically, they tended to be just like the nations around them.  They had been commissioned to make a difference in their world by introducing God’s Kingdom on planet Earth.  But representing His Kingdom requires absolute submission to the King.  When they chose to have one of their own as king they were never able to fully regain their reliance on the King of kings.

The pride problem was pervasive among the neighbouring nations too (Obadiah 3).  What amazed me most was how God used these corrupt neighbours to deliver judgment on His own people.   I’ve never thought about this before but surely God was concerned about how He was being represented.  He has a reputation to maintain.  When His people followed Him, the other nations feared them and their God.  But at this time in their history, the Jews’ enemies were laughing at both God and His people.  That would bother me if I were God and I may be tempted to bail the gang out one more time, just to protect my own rep.

God cares more about disciplining and restoring His people than what the world thinks about Him.  “Lord, I know that at times I still care too much about what people think of me.  Forgive me for my pride and help me care more about what You think.”

September 8 - Tell Me What I Want to Hear!

 Read today’s texts first: Jeremiah 42-44; Psalm 48; Revelation 13

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

When hearing from God, avoid selective listening
and responding with, “tell me anything but that!” 

No wonder Jeremiah is called the weeping prophet – no one listened to him. This passage started off as a possible exception, with the people promising to do whatever Jeremiah said. They were finally ready to do God’s will, no matter what. Ten days later Jerry returned with a surprisingly upbeat message: God promised to be their defense if they didn’t return to Egypt. Egypt represented their former life – a life of bondage to foreign rulers and false gods.

It seemed like a reasonable request to me, exactly like the one they were offered 900 years earlier right after they had escaped Pharaoh’s armies and were poised to enter their promised land. But that same fear of the unknown and comfort with their old life (how soon they forgot what it was really like) produced the same response. We’ll do anything You want Lord, except that. Tell us what we want to hear.

It seems like such a stupid response. Hadn’t they learned by now how trustworthy God is? Why didn’t they get it? While I was shaking my head at their faithlessness, I began thinking about my own. I remembered my own fear of the unknown when God first called me into ministry – “anything but that Lord! I want to be a successful businessman and have the gift of giving. I can do more by supporting others who are better suited for full-time ministry. Tell me what I want to hear.”

“Lord, I know that was a long time ago and I’ve grown up a little since then, but I still struggle with selective listening. Forgive my sporadic faith. I really do want to listen to everything You have to say to me, and I really do want to obey. May what is said of the die-hard remnant in Revelation be true for me: this calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints” (10).