Weekly Inspiration (12/07/22)

 

Rest area at the Getty Run Trail
Blue Spruce Park, Indiana County PA
Photo taken September 20, 2022 at 3:33 P.M.

"Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while" (Mk. 6:31, NASB 1995).

Weekly Protein (12/03/22)

 “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psa. 34:1, NASB 1977).

That's right – “at all times.”

• When you're stuck and frustrated.
• When you're confined, confused or both.
• When it isn't Sunday and there aren't other people around you.
• When you don't feel like it.
• When it seems as if life passes you by, while everything you knew becomes a bitter blur.
• When it is challenging to continue grasping for hope.
• When you are taunted by the scaremonger named “what if.”
• When those closest to you no longer know what to say or do to encourage you.
• When God Himself seems aloof and disinterested. (You know that's not true, right?)

In all scenarios, “bless the Lord.” This is something you choose to do (“I will”).

Here is your weekly protein.

1. Answer these questions.

• What words describe the current situation in your life? (It's just you and your thoughts.  There are no wrong answers.)
• Given that situation, do you really believe that you are to “bless the Lord”?
• If so, are you doing it? (If not, then what does that reveal?)

2.  Read Psalm 103.  

• What does it mean to “bless the Lord”? 
• Why should you do it?  
• How should you do it?  
• What themes or reasons can get you started? 

Verse Of The Week (12/02/22)

 

photo:  https://tinyurl.com/yc5fnbpm

Weekly Inspiration (11/30/22)

 

Tributary to Yellow Creek Lake
Yellow Creek State Park, Indiana County, PA.
Photo taken September 18, 2022 at 5:14 P.M. 

Flesh It Out (11/28/22)

 

"The Backdrop of Christmas" (Mt. 1:18-2:23)

• The backdrop of willingness (to obey the revealed will of God in spite of fear or hesitation) (1:18-25).  God scripts things differently!
• The backdrop of wickedness (2:1-8, 13-23).  Herod -- a manipulator and murderer!  The Light of Christmas (star, Child) is in stark contrast against the darkness of personal and political gain.
• The backdrop of worship (2:1-2, 9-12).  The magi didn't allow themselves to stop short at wonder, curiosity or fascination.  They made the arduous journey prepared to worship.

Flesh It Out (09/26/22)

 Isaiah chapter 12 has two divisions.

1. "on that day" (12:1-3) > emphasis on celebration > knowing your testimony.  Notice the pronouns:  "I", "me", "my".
2. "in that day" (12:4-6) > emphasis on evangelism > sharing your testimony.  Notice the audience:  "among the peoples" (Gentiles) (12:4); "throughout the earth" (12:5)

Weekly Protein (09/24/22)

  1Thus the LORD said to me, “Go and buy yourself a linen waistband, and put it around your waist, but do not put it in water.” 2So I bought the waistband in accordance with the word of the LORD and put it around my waist. 3Then the word of the LORD came to me a second time, saying, 4“Take the waistband that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates and hide it there in a crevice of the rock.” 5So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the LORD had commanded me. 6And it came about after many days that the LORD said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates and take from there the waistband which I commanded you to hide there.” 7Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the waistband from the place where I had hidden it; and lo, the waistband was ruined, it was totally worthless.
  8Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 9“Thus says the LORD, ‘Just so will I destroy the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10‘This wicked people, who refuse to listen to My words, who walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and have gone after other gods to serve them and to bow down to them, let them be just like this waistband, which is totally worthless. 11‘For as the waistband clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole household of Israel and the whole household of Judah cling to Me,’ declares the LORD, ‘that they might be for Me a people, for renown, for praise, and for glory; but they did not listen.’ (Jeremiah 13:1-11, NASB 1977)

Stubbornness will ruin you and make you unfit to fulfill God's purposes. It is refusal to hear biblical truth and implement it. The work of stubbornness builds over time: the longer you refuse, the more that soul-rot takes over. As your soul unravels, you begin seeking satisfaction from sources other than the Lord.

Here is your weekly protein.

1. Answer these questions.

• Where is stubbornness evident in your life?
• Why do you continue in stubbornness? (What do you hope to accomplish by refusing to listen?)
• Do you see that stubbornness is spiritual self-sabotage?

2.  Read these Bible verses and record what each says about stubbornness.

• 1 Samuel 15:23
• Jeremiah 7:24
• Proverbs 29:1
• Acts 7:51

3.  If you have the courage, ask someone who knows you well to answer this question:  "Where do you see stubbornness in my life?" 

Flesh It Out (09/12/22)

 

"Fresh Wickedness In The Well"

Jeremiah 6:7

• The well didn't just appear.  It was dug one irresponsible, ungodly, rebellious decision at a time.
• People got bored with "old" sin.  Right now there is an insatiable thirst for fresh wickedness.  The more perverse, outrageous and accessible, the better.  Don't think to yourself, "It couldn't possibly get any worse!"  Unfortunately, yes it can.
• God loved the nation enough to warn that He was aware of what they were doing (and how they were "selling" it to the public).
• What a contrast to the well of salvation! (Isa. 12:3; Jn. 7:37).  See also Jer. 2:13.

Flesh It Out (09/05/22)

 

" . . . waits in silence . . ." (Psa. 62:1)

Silence is more than the cessation of external noise.  Silence is also the cessation of internal agitation, including surrender of self-attempts to rectify a matter.  (That doesn't mean irresponsibility; rather, it is a manifestation of trust.)  Biblical silence, properly utilized, is a form of worship.

Weekly Protein (09/03/22)

 1 O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
2 Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child rests against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me.
3 O Israel, hope in the LORD
From this time forth and forever. (Psa. 131:1-3 NASB 1977).

They say that confessions are good for the soul. Well, I'm going to make four. I'm hoping that, at the end, you will make them too.

• Confession #1 > I can be low. I don't have to be independent and pretend that I have it all together all the time. “O Lord, my heart is not proud . . . .”

• Confession #2 > I can be second. It doesn't always have to be about me. When my eyes are haughty, I don't see people and circumstances correctly. As I was climbing higher, I was positioned to look down on others. “ . . . nor are my eyes haughty . . . .”

• Confession #3 > I can be obscure. I'll let someone else have the title and take the credit. I don't have to be noticed, mentioned or congratulated as I walk in faithfulness. “ . . . nor do I involve myself in great matters, or in things too difficult for me.”

• Confession #4 > I can be content. I will prioritize presence over presents. “ . . . like a weaned child rests against his mother, my soul is like a weaned child within me.”

Humility, others-mindedness, obscurity and contentment – good for your soul? Yes. Easy to maintain? No.

Here is your weekly protein.

1.  Answer these questions.

• To what degree does culture (secular and religious) promote or discourage these values?

• Of the four, which is your greatest challenge? Why?

2.  Read Matthew 5:1-12, another passage about not-so-easy-to-maintain Christian values.

3.  Talk with you pastor. Ask him or her, “Why does the development of Christian  

     character seem so difficult and slow?