Posts Categorized: Devotional

Born for Trouble

Scripture

Job 5:6-7 (NLT)

“But evil does not spring from the soil, and trouble does not sprout from the earth. People are born for trouble as readily as sparks fly up from a fire.”

Consider

When we experience hardship, we instinctively look for a cause. If we can determine the cause-and-effect relationship responsible for our trouble, then we not only validate our understanding of how the world works but also imagine that such understanding can help us avoid the same trouble in the future.

In the above quote, Job’s friend Eliphaz argues that humans are responsible for their own troubles.

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Piety That Counts

Scripture

Matthew 6:1-4 (NRSV)

“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Consider

How do you “practice your piety”?

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To Be the Potter’s Hand

Scripture

Jeremiah 18:5-6 (NRSV)

Then the word of the LORD came to me: Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the LORD. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.

Consider

Through the prophet Jeremiah, God is reminding Israel that a human being, like every other creature on earth, is fashioned according to the desire and purpose of God. Moreover, God holds a unique vision for each person and constantly works to shape and reshape one’s heart and life toward the perfection of that vision.

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How to Resist Mockers

Scripture

Psalm 22:6-8 (NLT)

But I am a worm and not a man. I am scorned and despised by all! Everyone who sees me mocks me. They sneer and shake their heads, saying, “Is this the one who relies on the LORD? Then let the LORD save him! If the LORD loves him so much, let the LORD rescue him!”

Consider

Scorned. Despised. Mocked. If you are a Christian who stands up for your faith, sooner or later you will be ridiculed. “Are you the one Jesus supposedly loves? Then why do you have problems? If your God is so great, then why isn’t your life perfect?”

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Four Corners of Christian Community

Scripture

Acts 2:42 (NRSV)

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Consider

This passage describes the earliest “new members class” of the Christian church. In response to Peter’s sermon on Pentecost, about three thousand men and women committed their lives to Christ and devoted themselves to living in community with one another.

There were, however, no programs in place to fold the new converts into the fabric of church life.

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