Week 49 Day 3 – Outside the Camp
Hebrews 13:7-16
At first glance this may seem to be a strange passage to choose for a devotional. As with many things, the second or third glance will uncover a deep and practical truth.
Take a pencil and circle the phrase “go to him outside the camp” in v. 11. Here is a paraphrase of what this passage is saying.
“The world you live in wants to teach you all kinds of crazy things about the nature of God. They are going to tell you that you must do this or you have to do that in order to be accepted by God. They will try to suck you into their system of thought that will ultimately kill you. That is what life is like “inside the city;” inside the accepted ways of doing things. They want you to “go with the flow” and not make trouble. Jesus calls you to go outside the camp. Jesus came to set the institutions and traditions of the kingdom of man upside down. To follow Jesus is to risk being ridiculed by the world -- both the secular and the religious -- in order to find the heart of God in the realm of truth. To follow Him is to go outside the safety of the familiar and risk the unpredictability of the unknown. Jesus suffered disgrace and was thrown out with the trash. Are you willing to do that? It is only there that you will find true meaning and the road that leads to the true city, the true Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God has never changed; it has always been available to those who would receive it. Unfortunately, most people choose to build their own cities, with their own laws, and throw the true King out with the garbage. So, go outside the city walls, be considered trash in the world’s eyes, and really start living. Only out there will you be free to love God and love others. Only there will you be truly free.”
May this loose and much embellished paraphrase spark a thought upon which you can meditate today. We are called to a higher standard, to march to the beat of a different rhythm. If we will focus our energy on being transformed by the presence of God, outside the camp, then we will be able to shine like beautiful lighthouses of hope in the world around us.
Have fun on the trash heap today!
Week 49 Day 5 – Marching Orders
We spent a lot of time this week discussing some fairly esoteric concepts. Today we will get nice and practical. In Peter’s first letter, he is speaking to a group of Christians who were experiencing severe persecution for their faith. They were being attacked politically by the civil authorities and they were also being attacked theologically by many false teachers. This last chapter of his letter gives some “marching orders” for how Christians should live under a time of spiritual battle. Since the battle has not let up in our own day, these words will be good for us to hear.
In 1 Peter 5:1-11 Peter addresses some specific groups of people. Make a chart that lists the specific groups to whom he was speaking and then list his instructions to those groups.
Why should Christians live this way? (v. 
How can we defeat this enemy? (v. 9)
What are some practical ways that you could “resist the devil” today?
What promise is made to the persevering believer? (v. 10)
Spend some time asking God how you can live a victorious life in this time of spiritual warfare. Thank Him for the fact that He has supplied the power that you need to stand firm and be strong in the fight.
Week 49 Day 2 – Tossed Salad Spirituality
Hebrews 10:19-26
Don’t be misled by the title of today’s devotional. We are not going to discuss some esoteric hodge-podge or potpouri of spiritualities. No, this title has a much simpler and sillier origin. I like to call Hebrews a salad letter because there are so many “let us” statements in it. (get it -- lettuce = let us .... I know, its pretty lame)
A fun study is to go through the entire letter to the Hebrews and mark all the “let us” phrases and make a list of all the things that the church is encouraged to do. These let us sections could also be titled the “so what?” sections of the letter. Let’s face it; much of this letter is dealing with some pretty intense theological propositions about the identity and role of Christ. It’s a meat and potatoes kind of letter. (Note: in Hebrews 5:11-14 the writer calls the church a bunch of babies who are choking on the meat they were being served.) Knowing that the talk of Jesus as a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek and the eternal Tabernacle of the heavens could be viewed by some as so “out there” that it had little value “down here” the writer throws some lettuce into the bowl to give the people something to chew on.
Now that we have all our mixed metaphors out of the way, spend some time looking at this particular passage, paying special attention to the “let us” phrases.
Make a list of all the phrases that begin with Let us. What is the church being challenged to do?
Now study that list and rate yourself. How well are you doing in these things?
Now rate your church. How well are you doing in these things collectively?
In what ways could you improve in these areas?
Week 49 Day 1 – The Soul’s Anchor
Hebrews 6:13-20
In the first chapters of this letter, the writer of Hebrews builds a strong case to demonstrate that Jesus is the eternal High Priest that has made the atoning sacrifice for sin, once and for all. Remember, in the Old Testament, the only way the people of Israel could be in right standing before God was to offer regular blood sacrifices. These sacrifices could only be made by the priests themselves. And then, only one day a year, the High Priest was allowed to enter into the Holy of Holies in order to make a blood sacrifice for the sins of the whole nation. Now a new priest has come and has made it possible for all of us to enter into the “Holy of Holies” on our own, without a human priest.
What makes the promise of Jesus’ saving work a promise that we can count on? (vv. 13-17)
What affect should this promise have in our hearts? (v. 18)
What metaphor is used to describe this hope? (vv. 19-20)
Spend some time meditating on this metaphor. In what ways can it relate to your current situation?
Food for thought:
In his book Aqua Church, Leonard Sweet has described our current culture as being like a ship at sea. We are caught in a storm and the wind and waves are blowing at us full force. With the cover of clouds and the rising and falling of the waves, we have begun to lose our bearings and feel that we are truly adrift, at the mercy of the sea.
Do you ever feel that way? Do you feel that the world around you and the world inside you are out of control? How can you keep up with everything that swirls around you? You have bills to pay, relationships (fragile as they are) to maintain, images to preserve, deadlines to meet, children to raise. Then, when you perhaps have a moment to sit in a quiet spot and think a deep thought, you become overwhelmed by the amount of information that is available to you. There are billions of people in the world, scurrying around like so many ants, all trying to get something done. It can feel overwhelming, like a crashing of waves and a blowing of the wind.
Is there hope? Yes. Look at the picture attached to today’s devotional. Beneath the surface of this chaotic world, there is a place of peace and stability. That place is the very heart of God. In the Old Testament that place was symbolized in the Holy of Holies. Few people were able to find it. But now, because of the grace of God, Jesus has made it possible for us to go deep sea diving into the peace of the presence of God. Not only has He made it possible, He has anchored us into the presence of God. So now, while our souls are rocking and shifting in the maelstrom of modern existence, we can rest assured that we, through Jesus, are firmly anchored in the heart of God. The Greek word translated “firmly” has the connotation of the root system of a tree. Our souls are deeply rooted, firmly anchored in the presence of God.
Knowing that we are not at the mercy of the blowing wind, we can be encouraged and put our face into the wind. We have nothing to fear, no matter how strong the winds of change or conflict or persecution may blow, we can rest assured that our soul is eternally secure in the heart of God! Bring it on!
Week 48 Day 5 – The Process of Transformation
Titus 3:3-8
Food for thought:
There are two basic, yet profound thoughts to dwell on for today. They are ideas we have repeatedly visited in these devotionals, but they are worth saying every day, for they are the core of our belief. In these verses we see the hope and purpose for today and the hope and purpose for the future.
For today, as we struggle against the constant bombardment of the world’s values and are being tempted at every turn to take the low road, we have a simple truth to claim. Our salvation was, and is, a process of washing, rebirth, and renewal. God did not re-create us in order for us to stay just as we are. God saved us from the pits of despair and sin in order that we could be transformed into His image. We have the power of the Holy Spirit within us so that we can be scrubbed clean from the inside out. We don’t have to wallow in the sins that seem to cling to us like grease. The Holy Spirit is the grease-cutting detergent that is active in our soul to loosen and even repel the grime. Let’s claim this cleansing power and hold each other accountable to a holy life, which is pleasing to God.
Secondly, this passage reminds us of the true power in our salvation; the motivating power that infuses purpose into everything we do. We are heirs of God, inheritors of all His glory. Our hope is in the fact that we will have eternal life in the glory of God the Father! I don’t know what that means, exactly. I only know that it will be incredible! Notice that we have hope in the fact. We do not hope that it might happen. No. We have hope because of the fact that God has given this to us. We don’t earn it, He has given it. We are heirs, and in that we have hope that, even if this life is difficult, our destiny is in the eternal Kingdom of God. Do you believe that? If you do, if your eyes are fixed on that hope, then the seemingly technicolor problems of this life will fade into the black and white, shadowy images that they really are. May we live in the hope of our salvation today!
Week 48 Day 4 – The Supreme Commander
Today’s devotional is all about worship.
Read Colossians 1:15-23 and make a list of all that ways that Jesus is described. Try to draw a picture or make a chart that will help create a visual image of how Jesus is being described.
Now make a contrast chart. Write what these verses say for each of these two categories. Now continue the list with descriptors from your own life. Once you were... but now you are... because of Jesus.
once you were but now
Spend some time praising and thanking God for allowing Jesus to be all these things and for doing the wonderful work of transformation that He has done in your life so far.
Thank Him that we can, through the power of the Holy Spirit, continue in our faith, being established and firm, and not moved from the hope that we have in the good news of Jesus!
Week 48 Day 3 – The Key to Guarding Your Heart
As you sit down to read this today, it is Wednesday, the middle of the week. You are smack dab in the middle of the craziness of life in the modern world. Work is busy, family and relational pressures are beginning to wear on you. Church responsibilities are becoming more of a burden than a privilege. Is this a fair description of your state of being? Are these, and other, factors beginning to fray the edges of your heart? Do you find that when this kind of fatigue sets in that you are a little more susceptible to your pet temptations? Perhaps the piece of pie after lunch looks a little sweeter. The second glance at that pretty woman or that handsome man doesn’t seem so harmful. The raised voice and harsh words to the kids seem more justified. The little nip from the bottle to take the edge off at the end of day seems like a logical course of action. Here, in the middle of the week, do these thoughts that seemed so detestable to you on Sunday creep up and become enticing?
Why is that? How can we so quickly fall into the trap of the sin that we thought we had already given up to Jesus? Today’s passage holds some keys to this question.
Read Philippians 4:6-9.
What are we called to do with our anxious, stressed out thoughts?
What will we receive when we do this?
What will happen to us when we receive this?
In vv. 8-9 what is supposed to be the focus of our thought life?
Food for thought:
Proverbs 4:23, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” If you have spent any time meditating on that verse you should have asked the first and most obvious question, “How do you guard your heart?” Today’s passage gives us a little clue and one specific way to guard our hearts. If we want to guard our heart then we need to dump all of our worries at the feet of Jesus. Worrying, being “anxious”, about things is like hardening of the arteries of the soul. Worrying chokes us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. When we worry we get tense in the shoulders which restricts flow of blood to the head and causes tension headaches. Worrying causes gastrointestinal distress and can cause us to double over with abdominal pain. Worry can give us chest pains and heart problems. Worry is a form of fear and fear causes our brain to retreat from the logical, upper brain, and regress into the reactionary, emotional part of our brain where the flight or fight reflexes are more apt to kick into gear at the drop of a hat. We become hyper-alert and overly cautious and paranoid of people, keeping them at an arms distance for fear that they may be dangerous. When we worry we hold on to things and can’t let them go.
Steven Covey defines worry as stressing over things that we can’t control anyway. Think about it. If we could control something, we would, and then it would be under control and we wouldn’t think about it. So, when we worry we are wasting energy, stressing ourselves out, and making it extremely difficult to experience the love of others and the love of God in our lives.
Paul encourages believers to take those anxious thoughts and present them to Jesus. When we realize that we are not in control of our lives and that Jesus is in control, then we can let go. One by one our fingers are pried off of whatever we are holding on to, and, as the grip is relaxed, the peace of God begins to flow into our souls.
When the peace of God begins to take root, then everything changes. When we are at peace we don’t see everyone around us as the opposition or the reason for our stress. We can begin to see people as an opportunity to express love. When we are at peace, we don’t have to be in a hurry. We can take time to do the important things like read the Bible, talk with friends, hug our kids, and go for a walk. When we are at peace, the edges of our hearts are not frayed. When we are at peace, we have the ability to focus our minds on the list found in vv. 8-9. When we focus our minds on these things then the little temptations that we face will not even be able to get onto our radar and we will be able to see them for the little, ugly imps that they truly are.
So, take a deep breath. If you are stressed, write down the things that are freaking you out and hold them up in the air. Say, “Father, I give these things to you. I can’t handle them, but I know you can. Please let your peace flood my soul and allow me to see this situation from an eternal perspective.” Today, may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your heart in Christ Jesus.
Week 48 Day 2 – A Sensitive Spirit
Ephesians 4:17-24
Take your pencil and underline a key phrase in v. 19 -- “having lost all sensitivity”. This is one of the greatest dangers that we face in our modern, technological cultures. Being inundated with information in a continuous stream, it is very easy to become numb to the ungodly and destructive messages we receive every day. It’s a lot like entering into a very cold swimming pool. When you dip your toe into cold water you immediately jerk it back because of the shock. But, if you place your feet in the water and sit for a while, you eventually get used to it. Then you move down one step and get into the water up to the mid-thigh. After the shock of this wears off we move a little further down, then a little further, until, eventually, we can go all the way in without feeling the shock. After swimming a while we realize that our body is completely numb because of the cold water and we can’t really feel anything. Did the water change temperature? No. What changed was our sensitivity to the water.
Our culture is like that cold water. One area where this desensitizing can easily happen is in our own living room, through the TV. At first we watch a TV show that has some harsh words or discusses some off-color subjects. At first we flinch at it, but we quickly dismiss it and say that we watch the show because of the great story telling, or the witty humor. As this show becomes a regular part of our lives, it then becomes easier to watch another show that may have some more questionable material -- a new step, a momentary flinch -- then...numb again. Before we realize what is happening, we don’t even notice the distasteful humor and the vulgarity of the show and we are laughing at things that, in our real lives would disgust us and cause us to blush.
This is a very subtle and very difficult matter to deal with in our culture. How do we stay clean and stay pure before God without just burying our head in the sand and not going outside, turning on the radio, the TV, or the internet? The answer is found in v. 23. We are called to be made new in the attitude of our minds. As a follower of Christ it is our duty to saturate our minds with the teaching of scripture and to transform our lenses to be colored with the perspective of the Kingdom of God. This means that we should be spending time each day soaking our brain in scripture (since you are reading these words, you are at least attempting to do so...good job). We should also be participating in group discussion of scripture and the practical side of how to apply scriptural principles to everyday life. In the context of community we can be “iron sharpening iron” (Proverbs 27:17) and more quickly bring our minds and attitudes into alignment with God’s perspective. We should also submit ourselves to solid biblical teaching in order to be challenged and stimulated in our thinking.
As Christians we are to stay sharp. We should not become desensitized to the corruption of the world around us. Let us maintain a soft and sensitive spirit. Godlessness should always cause us pain. We do not have to let the pain destroy us. That is one reason why we have the Holy Spirit. He can take the pain and transform it into compassion. Rather than being like the world, we should be like Christ in the world, so that the world, which is living in their own darkness, can see that there is a light by which they can travel. Let’s stay sensitive and be the light of hope to the dark world.
Week 48 Day 1 – A Pastor’s Prayer
Ephesians 3:14-21
I am going to take this opportunity to put on my pastor hat for a moment. Normally I try to write this devotional in the third person, in a generic way, so that anyone could pick it up and use it. Today I want to break out of that mode and speak as a pastor. Whenever I read one of Paul’s prayers for his people (there are many sprinkled throughout his letters; check out Philippians 1:9-11 for another great one) I can’t help but stop and pray it for the people I serve. This prayer in Ephesians is especially dear to my heart. Listen to these words again, only this time, hear it as a specific prayer for the people who in your church.
“I pray that God will give you great strength in your inner being that can only come through the power of His Holy Spirit. I want you to have this strength so that Christ might dwell inside of your hearts, reigning through every fiber of your being. I also pray that love will permeate every cell of your body, that it would become part of your DNA, because then your heart and mind will be big enough to begin to understand Jesus’ love for you. I say begin to understand, because His love is so big that you can’t grasp it. It’s so high that you can’t climb it; so deep that you can’t swim to it; so wide that you can’t see its end -- His love is beyond comprehension. Yet, with the strength of God’s Holy Spirit you can latch on to it, and, through it, be transformed into all the Jesus is and wants you to be. That’s really my prayer; that you would become like Jesus, that you would be filled to overflowing with the presence of God.
Oh, and by the way, there is only one reason, ultimately, that I pray this for you. It is because of God’s glory. Everything we do and everything we strive for is from God and for God. We give him all the praise.”
I challenge you to meditate on this prayer and let its implications for your life soak in today.
Week 47 Day 5 – Don’t Give Up!
Galatians 6:7-10
Have you ever felt frustrated in trying to do the right thing? Perhaps you have heard of the bamboo plant? There is a certain kind of bamboo plant that has a very unique growth pattern. The first year the seed is planted and it must be watered diligently every day. Yet it does not grow. The second year it must be watered every day, but still it does not grow. For a few years this plant follows the same, seemingly fruitless pattern. Then, in its final year the bamboo plant bursts out of the ground and in a short amount of time grows to be several feet tall.
That is often what the Kingdom of God is like. We do the right thing. We train our children according to the truth of God’s Word. Only to see them fight with their siblings and be selfish over and over again. We love our family member who has turned away from the family and from the faith, only to have them continually bash us. We stand firm for our beliefs at work, and are shunned or even fired for our unwillingness to play the world’s game. Day in and day out we do what we believe to be the right thing and the thing that God wants us to do. And yet it seems like nothing is happening. If anything it seems like we are losing ground, and maybe even losing our minds. We ask, “is this worth it?” Have you ever felt that way?
Hopefully, through the lessons of the past couple days you will realize the full measure of today’s verses. There are only two paths in life. We can either sow to the flesh. Or we can sow to the Spirit. The flesh is like a weed. It doesn’t require much effort. You give it a tiny bit of dirt and, Poof! it grows up overnight. Instant results. Just like we Americans like it. And, hey, many weeds have really pretty flowers, too! Yet, the end result of a weed is that it runs wild and takes over everything and eventually chokes out all the good plants, leaving the yard in total disarray. As the prophet Hosea said, “They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.”
The Kingdom of God, however, is like the bamboo plant. It may go for years without any apparent results, and then, one day, in the proper time -- whoosh -- God brings a harvest. Here’s the truth. Sometimes you may be the waterer only. You could spend your whole life watering something and never see its results. Then, after you are gone, someone else comes along to see and harvest the fruit. Now, if it were YOUR plant then that would be frustrating and not seem fair. But, remember, it’s not your plant. It’s God’s plant. He has a plan and you are part of it. Just remember, when your seed is planted you will experience the fullness of glory. That is our hope. The watering and sowing to the Spirit in this life is not for us to reap benefit. It is because we are humble servants tilling and working God’s field in order to grow the Kingdom of God. Let us not give up doing good, because we know that 1) it’s not our field, we’re just workers, 2) sowing flesh will bring about a nightmare in the end, and 3) in the end God’s glory will reign supreme.
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