August 17 - Shepherds Who Care

 Read today’s texts first: Jeremiah 23-25; John 19

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Jesus cares for everyone
but He also cares for every one! 

Following up on yesterday’s thoughts on God’s love, today we read about His incredible care. First, in Jeremiah we hear from the Great Shepherd about His concerns for the flock. Then we see in John an example of the personal care He showed His widowed mother, while He is suffering the most excruciating pain imaginable.

In His warnings to careless undershepherds, you can sense tender care for His people: Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord. “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord (23:2-4).

That passage reminded me of the Good Shepherd comparisons Jesus made in John 10. Then, in chapter 18, we see one of the most beautiful examples of His selfless, caring nature. Keep in mind this poignant moment happens while He is enduring unbearable torture: When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.”  From that time on, this disciple took her into his home (19:26,27). Joseph, His earthly dad must have passed away by this time, and Jesus, as Mary’s eldest son, cared enough to make sure she was cared for after He was gone.

“Lord, Your selfless concern for one person while You were sacrificing Your life for all mankind, assures me of Your care for me, and inspires me to care that much for others.”

August 16 - God is Love

 Read today’s texts first: 2 Kings 24; Jeremiah 22; Psalms 112; John 18

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Follow the example of Jesus who showed us how
to love by laying down our lives and our picket signs! 

A church that gets a lot of press across North America is Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. I wish they agreed with Dorothy that “there’s no place like home” and just stayed right there in Kansas. Unfortunately, they get out and about a lot and they are not happy anywhere!

I remember them being in the news tweeting about Robin Williams, telling his grieving family that God hates Him and he is now rotting in hell for his life of debauchery. They picketed at his funeral, like they did for U.S. gay vets who sacrificed their lives for their country. The accompanying photo in the paper was a group of angry Christians, decrying sin and sinners alike, holding signs saying, “God hates adultery,” “God hates divorce,” and “God hates you!”

To be fair, they may draw some inspiration from the Old Testament prophets. Their messages carry strong words about God’s wrath and judgment. Clearly God does not like sin. But the Bible also clearly states: “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Not that God is loving sometimes; He is the personification of love! Our reading in John beautifully illustrates His compassion for the sinner as He surrenders His life to be tortured and killed in our place. Though not mentioned in John, we know He tenderly heals the soldier’s ear, injured in the scuffle when they came to arrest Him (18:10,11; Luke 22:50,51).

Can you imagine Jesus yelling at the crowds, “I hate you.” He certainly would have been entitled. Instead, we read of how He intercedes for both the self-righteous and sinner with these words, Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34). God indeed loves everyone, sinner or saint, no matter how unlovable we are or think we are. His hatred of sin coincides with His love for us because sin keeps us from Him.

“Lord, may I never confuse Your hatred for sin with Your unconditional love for everyone. I choose to follow the example of Jesus who showed me how to love by laying down my life, and my picket signs!”

August 15 - Potter’s Hand

 Read today’s texts first: Jeremiah 18-20; Psalms 93; John 17

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

The Master Potter can even remold
a crackpot like me! 

I love the song Potter’s Hand by Hillsong, partly because it was one of the first duets I heard my daughter sing with her new husband, Matt, but also because of the message:

I’m captured by your holy calling
Set me apart. I know you’re drawing me to yourself
Lead me, Lord, I pray
Oh take me, mold me, use me, fill me
I give my life to the potter’s hand
Oh call me, guide me, lead me, walk beside me
I give my life to the potter’s hand

Jeremiah’s visit to the potter’s house gave him some insight into our Potter and His compassion. Some think our choices and final destination are predetermined (misinterpretation of Rom. 9:21), but this particular potter/clay analogy proves differently. So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the Lord came to me: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel” (18:3-6).

God then tells Jeremiah the meaning behind the analogy. If the potter’s clay is marred by imperfections the potter has an option: throw away the clay and start again or reform the clay into a new creation. His decision to redeem and reform the clay is based on the clay’s compliance to the potter (18:7-10). Repentance and obedience makes the clay soft and malleable.

“Lord, we were originally created from the dust so I’m okay being called clay in Your hands. I commit to keeping my life soft and mouldable in Your capable hands, and trusting You for what I will become.”

August 14 - Trouble with a Capital “T”

 Read today’s texts first: Jeremiah 16,17; Psalms 96; John 16

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

God doesn’t promise a trouble-free life,
but He does promise an overcoming one!

Harold Hill may have predicted Trouble with a capital “T” in River City, but we are facing a heap more trouble than a new pool hall in town. Jesus predicted trouble anywhere and everywhere, throughout all time, until He comes back again. Some of that trouble we bring on ourselves by disobeying God, but some of it actually comes by obeying God. Our readings today present both sides.

Jeremiah, like Professor Hill, warned Judah about the inevitable consequences for their disobedience: This is what the Lord says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit” (17:5-8).

Prosperity teachers are right some of the time. The choices we make often do determine how our lives unfold. There are inherent benefits from doing things God’s way. He invented life so when we live our lives according to His instructions, things tend to go better. But there are exceptions, and that’s where the hyper faith movement stalls.

Jesus found Himself in trouble a lot, and so did His disciples. In fact, Jesus knew their trouble meter would be off the charts after He left: I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33). They were about to face persecution so severe that all of them would be tortured to death, with one notable exception - the writer of this gospel miraculously survived being boiled in oil. Now that’s deep trouble.

“Lord, I am grateful for a relatively trouble-free life because of the reliability of Your Word. But when a world of trouble comes, I have peace in knowing the One who overcame the world is with me!”

August 13 - Remain In Me

 Read today’s texts first: Jeremiah 13-15; John 15

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

While it takes time to be with Jesus, the time left
for work will actually have real impact in this life
and the life to come! 

I must admit, it is difficult to read through Jeremiah. I’m glad I wasn’t a prophet at this time in Judah’s history. His messages are mostly negative to an extreme because God’s people needed extreme intervention. “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil. I will scatter you like chaff driven by the desert wind. This is your lot, the portion I have decreed for you,” declares the Lord, “because you have forgotten me and trusted in false gods” (13:23-25).

The people of Judah at this time are like a case study for the warnings Jesus gives in John 15: I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned (15:5-7). Clearly, choice is involved, with dire consequences for those who choose to reject the vine instead of remaining in Him.

These past few years have been an eye opener. Since having this opportunity to reflect on my life, I realize that, before, I was simply too busy. I didn’t have the time to spend with God every day so some of what I had to do, I did in my own strength with my own wisdom. I was still very much attached to the Vine, but there was a lack of vitality. Knowing that apart from the Vine we accomplish nothing is sobering. While it takes time to be with Jesus, the time left for work will actually have real meaning in this life and eternal impact into the life to come!

“Lord, now more than ever, I desperately need You. I can do nothing of significance or lasting value unless I remain in You!”

August 12 - It’s Who You Know

 Read today’s texts first: Jeremiah 10-12; John 14

MAXIMize YOUR DAY 

God wants an intimate relationship with His bride, to walk and talk together like He did with Adam and Eve.

Yesterday we looked at sacrifices and circumcision, and how meaningless they are without a heart of devotion. Consider a marriage where the husband regularly sends flowers to his wife, maybe even jewelry and new shoes, but they arrive by UPS. He never comes home. He doesn’t talk to her, doesn’t listen to her, and they are no longer intimate. That’s what is happening with Judah, except the roles are reversed. God is the one initiating intimacy but His bride is heartless and unfaithful. She still tries to placate Him by giving things to Him, but her heart isn’t in it. She has other “men” (idols) on the side.

We sometimes think God, as described in the Old Testament, only wants things done, His laws obeyed. But seeing Jesus in John 14, constantly referring to knowing and loving us, gives us some insight. He represents the same God we read about in Isaiah and Jeremiah.

The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men” (Isaiah 29:13). The shepherds are senseless and do not inquire of the Lord, so they do not prosper and all their flock is scattered....I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps (10:21,23). The prophets are saying God wants an intimate relationship with His bride, to walk and talk together like He did with the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, in Eden (Gen. 3:8).

In John, Jesus is warning them about the persecution that awaits them all but He assures them with the promise of Heaven. When they ask where it is and how they will get there, Jesus explains it is all based on relationship. He says, “I am the way” and you already know me. Because of that you also know the Father and you will know the Holy Spirit when He shows up to help you on your way (14:4-11;16,17).

“Lord, thank You for the reminder that it’s not what I know but Who I know that matters. I want to know You more!”

August 11 - Uncircumcised Hearts

 Read today’s texts first: Jeremiah 7-9; John 13

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

God wants us to cut away any layers in our “heart”
(spirit) that block our spiritual sensitivity.

I don’t often blog about circumcision, or even think about it that much, for that matter! It’s a sensitive subject, literally, but because it comes up so often in the Bible it must be important. The outward act is apparently not nearly as important as the inward work it should represent. Just like the sacrifices being offered in the Temple in Jeremiah’s day, the physical action is meaningless without the spiritual motivation (8:21-23).

There was a serious disconnect at this time in Judah’s history between actions and attitudes, between ministry and motivation, between hands and heart. “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh - Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the desert in distant places. For all these nations are really uncircumcised, and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart” (9:25,26).

Circumcision, the physical act, cuts away the covering that shields the most sensitive part of our body. The surgery allows for even greater sensitivity, exposure, and depth of feeling. It was and is intended to represent something far greater than the physical part of our lives. Like water baptism and communion, it is a physical manifestation of an inward work. God wants us to cut away any layers in our “heart” (spirit) that block our spiritual sensitivity. The people of Judah were completely insensitive to God’s voice, as well as to conviction and remorse for their sin. They were going through the motions of worship, offering sacrifices to idols and to God, just to cover their bases. Despite the overt messages from His prophets, their hardened hearts were oblivious to God’s desire for an intimate relationship with a faithful bride.

Now if you think you can’t relate to the extremes of sin and punishment talked about in Jeremiah, how about the tender moment revealed in John’s gospel. John, who referred to himself in his books as the “disciple whom Jesus loved” includes some very intimate experiences between Jesus and His disciples. The heart of God is unveiled as Jesus provides an example of real love by washing the sandy feet of each of His disciples. If you can’t relate to the hard hearts of Judah in our Jeremiah reading or Judas in our John reading, how about Peter. He boldly asserts he will defend Jesus to the death but, as Jesus knows before (13:37,38) and we learn after (18:15-27), Peter soon denies even knowing Jesus. “Lord, when I think I’m far from being far from You, may I remember Peter, and all the disciples, and realize how quickly I can run. I pray if I should ever drift away that my heart will stay sensitive enough to hear You calling me back.”