Here is the next entry in the series of quiet times from the Birmingham, England, church.All These Years I've Been Slaving For You
LUKE 15:1-2; 11-31
A few weeks back, it was on my heart to study the Pharisees in the Bible. As an older Christian, I do not want to be surprised by somehow, slowly, imperceptibly, turning into a Pharisee – more religious than spiritual, more concerned with appearances than heart, straining out a gnat
but swallowing a camel. Making a big deal out of things that don’t really matter and neglecting
what’s really important. I feel God calling me back to this theme, as I can’t stop thinking about our student Bible discussion on Monday night: the parable of the Lost Son. I felt like some fresh insights about the older son smacked me right in the face!
- Do I ever expect to get something from God without asking him for it? When? Under what conditions? This happens with me all the time! I had to think really hard to put my finger on this in my heart: when I feel like I work hard for God, I do expect him to bless me and bring me success sometimes without having asked for his blessing. My heart says: “Do I really have to keep coming back to God to ask for his blessing? He knows I want it! He knows I can’t do anything without him!” I think I reason that God often brings good into my life when I haven’t specifically prayed for it -- because God is good and generous and loving. Therefore, he SHOULD give me what I want even if I haven’t asked for it. What’s wrong with that? –( it doesn’t build my relationship with him; it allows me to be lazy and take God for granted; and in some way, be the one in control of expectations and outcomes…where’s my fear of God?)
- Is there anything I am expecting from God, but am not asking him for? Or anything I would really like from God, but don't feel like I should have to ask?
- Pray about these things specifically!
Angry Enough to Die
Jonah Chapters 3 and 4
There's a phrase, "he became angry," that appears only twice in the Hebrew Bible. One reference is to the older brother in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:28), and the other is in Jonah chapter 4. 1 What did God mean for me to find when I discovered He had linked these two passages in this way?
- Write down any similarities I can see between the prodigal son's older brother and Jonah. Why were they both angry, for example?
- Think about the ways in which both Jonah and the older son in Luke 15 tried to avoid conflict with God. Is there any dishonesty in their behaviour? What are they both most concerned about?
- Am I angry with God about anything at the moment? Do I have anything in common with the older son or with Jonah?
- Decide to identify and state my needs and wants to God in real time! Share this with someone who will pray with me about this, today.
1 Blue Letter Bible. "Dictionary and Word Search for 'he became angry' in the NASB". Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2011. 25 May 2011. http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/translationResults.cfm?Criteria=%22he+became+angry%22&t=NASB
Acknowledge Jesus
Matthew Chapter 10
My first question on reading through Matthew 10 this time cropped up in response to v. 22: “ALL men will hate you because of me”? How can that be true? Some people loved the disciples
because of Jesus – shown even in the very last verse of this same chapter. Charles Spurgeonexplained that the usage of this Greek word here translated “all men” means “some of all sorts of men.” 2 OK. That helps. I love it, that the closer you look at the Bible, the more its truth is affirmed!
v. 32-33: "Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven."
To acknowledge Jesus means to 1) accept or admit the existence or truth of Jesus; 2) recognise the fact of Jesus; recognise the importance or the quality of Jesus; to express gratitude or display appreciation of Jesus; to accept the validity or legitimacy of Jesus; to show that I have noticed or recognised Jesus; to confirm that I have received the good news about Jesus. DIsown means to refuse to acknowledge or maintain any connection with. 4
- Choose one or two of the following aspects of the definition of "acknowledge" to think about today:
- Make a short list of the most important facts that come to mind about the existence or truth of Jesus. 5
- If I were going to share with someone the quality of the gift God gave us in Jesus, how might I describe it? Write some thoughts down.
- If I were given the job of ambassador for the human race, and had to be the spokesperson on behalf of all people to express gratitude or display appreciation for the gift of Jesus, how might I do this? What might I say or do? Write some thoughts down. 6
- Could I imagine a situation that might come up today, in which I could show God and the people around me that I have noticed or recognised Jesus? Describe what I can imagine.
- How can I confirm to God and to people around me that I have received the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ? Write some thoughts down.
- Decide to obey this verse today and look for the opportunities God will give me to acknowledge Jesus throughout the day. Pray to do it in a way that doesn't come across as religious, but rather to come across as sincere, with great love for God and the person(s) I'm talking to.
2 Blue Letter Bible. "Dictionary and Word Search for pas (Strong's 3956)". Blue Letter
Bible. 1996-2011. 29 May 2011.
3 Charles H. Spurgeon, Particular Redemption, A Sermon, 28 Feb 1858
4 From the New Oxford American Dictionary definition for “acknowledge;” “disown.”
5 I think about the fact that he lived; is Lord; died, was buried, and resurrected to new life; and lives today, is at the right hand of God in heaven, interceding for us; that he is the only way; that by him and only through his name are we saved; that he is the light of the world
6 I got to share about this a little bit today, sitting in my back garden on a blanket on the grass, in beautiful, unusually hot, sunny, spring weather, with a sister in Christ and two young women who came to study the Bible with us. We were talking about how following your heart or your emotions can lead to some horrible places (Jeremiah 17:9); I was sharing with them how totally lost I had been in my early twenties – how I’d gotten sucked into the common view that you’re not normal if you’re not having sex with your boyfriend; and how I had been trying to find God and discover the way to him all by myself, in my selfishness, laziness, independence, and pride (of course, it wasn’t working)—I didn’t want to have to rely on any other person to help me; and how, to this day, after 25 years of trying my best to follow Jesus, I still fail miserably and wind up hurting myself and those I love. One example of this is by being stubborn about what I think I should get done in a given day (which is always more than is humanly possible). I know Jesus had to die for me. There’s no way I could ever fix the mess I made of my life. “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!| (2 Corinth 9:15)
