Tuesday, November 18
Matthew 17:14-21 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (v.20)
A saint revered by the Christian Church is reported to have advised that “you should pray as if everything depended on God, but work as if everything depended on you.” I understand the sentiment. One cannot help but appreciate the exhortation to work diligently for the kingdom. But there is a danger that attention to my efforts may overshadow my dependence on God.
Jesus chided his disciples for their “small” faith when they could not cure the young boy with epilepsy. Perhaps they doubted the effectiveness of their prayers and the name of Jesus in curing the boy. No matter, their faith was small. They did not believe that “nothing will be impossible” with faith no bigger than a mustard seed.
Faith acknowledges that everything depends on God. The faith of young David enabled him to confront Goliath with no fear. Faith enables us to embrace John’s vision in the book of Revelation of “the new heaven and the new earth.” Faith causes us to pray to the sovereign Lord with utter confidence, knowing that God’s power working in us can move the mountains of our doubt and fear. “Faith gives substance to our hopes and convinces us of realities we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). Let us pray for faith the size of a mustard seed.
1 Chronicles 16:7-36; Psalms 97, 99, 100; Revelation 21:1-8
Wednesday, November 19
Matthew 17:22-27 When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” And the disciples were filled with grief. (vv.22-23)
The disciples consistently have trouble paying close attention to Jesus’ words. After his transfiguration, Jesus predicts his suffering and death, and assures them that “on the third day, he will be raised again.” They hear only “delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him.” Immediately prior to this conversation, Jesus chides the disciples for their “small faith.” He has also revealed himself in glory to Peter, James, and John. Wouldn’t those events have been enough to enable the disciples to respond with something other than grief?
Their reaction is understandable. The human mind and heart are all too susceptible to fear and anxiety. We want security and happiness. We are especially sensitive and attentive to anything that seems to threaten them.
As a pastor, I have the privilege and responsibility to preach the Good News of God’s steadfast love for each of us revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ. I confess that I fret far more about the cross I am asked to carry than Jesus’ assurance of forgiveness and his promise of eternal life. Yet Paul tells me that in Christ “all joy” is mine. So why do I grieve?
1 Chronicles 20:1-8; Psalms 101, 109; Revelation 21:9-21
Thursday, November 20
Psalm 105:1-22 Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. (v.2)
I worship you, gracious all-loving and all merciful God, for the way you have made yourself known in your holy word and in the Word made flesh, Jesus your Son. What we can know of you lies plain before us. Pardon my silence when others doubt your existence or question your presence. Forgive my reluctance to tell others of the many ways you have made yourself known to me and blessed me.
Father, let me recognize your marvelous deeds in the humble circumstances of my life. You are a God of surprises, and I thank you for the unexpected ways you have relieved my sadnesses and lightened my burdens.
When my faith in your goodness and provision falters, grant me strength to continue seeking you. When I am discouraged, let your promises be my encouragement. When I am afraid to acknowledge you and your many graces, give my heart courage and my tongue words to make your deeds known. Make me sensitive to the doubts and concerns of others that I may readily, courteously and gently speak to them of the hope I have in the cross and resurrection of Jesus. Most of all, Father, give me a joyful heart that I may honor you in all I do. I ask this through Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.
1 Chronicles 21:1-27; Revelation 21:22—22:5; Matthew 18:1-9
Friday, November 21
Psalm 102 “The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death.” (v. )
Some Christians dislike Scriptural texts like Psalm 102. They don’t care for the complaining about God (one might even call it whining). “because of your great wrath, for you have taken me up and thrown me aside...he broke my strength; he cut short my days.” Other Christians find their sensibilities offended by the curses in several of the psalms. I cherish the psalms because they are the prayers of real people experiencing real life. There is no pious prettiness about them. They are cries from the heart, and they express the full range of human emotion.
Its subtitle accurately describes Psalm 102: “A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the Lord.” Its writer confesses that he is in “distress.”
Beset by sickness, terrified by the thought of death, agonized by the treachery of enemies, he nonetheless puts his hope in the Lord because the Lord “will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea.”
No matter how uneasy the psalms make us, we should take comfort from them. They hide nothing from God just as we should hide nothing from God. The psalms reveal the human condition, warts and all. They tell of our pain, our fear, our sinfulness, our joy, and our hope. They remind us that “The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death.”
1 Chronicles 22:1-19; Revelation 22:6-13; Matthew 18:10-20
Saturday, November 22
Matthew 18:21-35 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (vv.21-22)
I remember when the death sentence was imposed on the young man convicted of the 1995 bombing of the Federal Office Building in Oklahoma City. The reporters were pressing survivors and victims’ families for their feelings about the death sentence. I heard much talk about vengeance and retribution, some people even expressing an intense desire to be present when the execution is carried out.
The reporters interviewed one woman who stood outside the courthouse with a group protesting the death penalty. She was the mother of a daughter brutally raped and murdered. A Christian woman unashamed to speak to the reporter of her faith, she expressed her belief that Jesus requires us to forgive. Because this is what she believed, she had been led to organize a group of families of murder victims opposed to the death penalty. The reporters interviewed other Christians who considered the woman’s views incomprehensible. They believed Christ would certainly approve this death sentence.
Faith in Jesus Christ is not child’s play. Jesus constantly challenges us to move away from comfortable and complacent self-righteousness. He teaches us to pray that God forgives us as we have forgiven others. Seventy times seven. Lord Jesus, help us.
Isaiah 65:17-25; Psalms 107:33-43, 108; Revelation 22:14-21
Sunday, November 23
Romans 15: 5-13 May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. (v.5 NLT)
God, in His grace, has given His Holy Spirit to each believer. The Holy Spirit gives us his patience and encourages us to live in complete harmony. What a wonderful solution to the friction, trivial upsets, anger, and unforgiving spirit that we sometimes allow to plague our lives! I do understand what God has provided, but it is easy to be distracted. It takes time in the process of growing up in Christ to come to a full understanding of the gifts of the Spirit and to fully accept them.
In a working relationship recently, I was withholding love and forgiveness because the other person had hurt my feelings. It was a difficult time, a learning time. I could not be one with her—could not work with her as I needed to—because I had cut myself off from the freedom of the Spirit. In trying to protect myself from being hurt, I forgot that God’s love is my protection—but for it to work, I had to share it.
God made it clear to me that He loved both of us the same, and that He loved us abundantly. I was able to forgive her through that love and I confessed my sin and was forgiven. Only then could I join her with one voice, giving praise and glory to God.
Praise to You Lord God!
Isaiah 19:19-25; Psalm 118; Luke 19:11-27
Monday, November 24
1 Peter 1:1-12 God the Father chose you long ago, and the Spirit has made you holy. (v.2a)
Good News! We are chosen by God. His Spirit is making us holy. We respond to His gifts of life and holiness with obedience. God’s wisdom in His word is clear. We only need to remain as seekers who want to know the truth. Then, as we seek His will, He will lead us, love us, challenge us, be a presence to us, and forgive us.
Some years ago, I was in a Bible study and someone asked a question about a passage. We were in an involved discussion that went on and on. A man spoke up and said, “Pardon me, the question was asked about these verses and I suggest that God meant exactly what He said.” We all laughed and thanked God for His love and patience with us.
Listen to this thought on being child-like from God Calling by A. J. Russell: “Seek in every way to become child-like. Seek, seek, seek until you find the years have added to your maturity, that of the trusting child. Not only for the child’s simple trust, must you copy the child-spirit, but for its joy in life, its ready laughter, its lack of criticism, its desire to share all with all men. Ask continually, that you may become as little children—friendly and loving towards all—not critical, not fearful.”
Joel 3:1-2, 9-17; Psalm 106:1-18; Matthew 19:1-12
Tuesday, November 25
1 Peter 1:13-25 As the Scriptures say, “People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades. But the word of the Lord remains forever.” (vv.24-25a)
Shortly after we became believers, my husband, Howard, found a beautifully framed, antique embroidered sampler done by Mary Todhunter and titled “On the Fading Nature of Youth” that I would like to share with you. “There is a likeness between us and the grass and the flowers of the field, because both are constantly fading away. The flowers which now appear in their greatest beauty, will soon lose their gay coloring, they will fall to the ground and merge with the dust from which they arose. Blooming youth will soon be changed from childhood to maturity.”
Thus, if we are not cut off in early life, our health will decline at the arrival of old age, we will die, and our bodies will be placed in the tomb. When this glorious era arrives, the Christian, like a beautiful flower, will be planted in the house of the Lord and flourish in the courts of our God; the soul will bloom in heavenly splendor, increasing glory and everlasting felicity.
The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God shall stand forever.
Nahum 1:1-13; Psalms 120, 121, 122, 123; Matthew 19:13-22