Grains of Sand

Reading: 2 Timothy 1-4 Paul saw in Timothy a younger version of himself. Paul referred to himself as a “… herald and an apostle and a teacher ” (2 Timothy 1:11, NIV) and told Timothy that because of the exercise of his gifts in the service of the Lord his mentor had suffered persecution. But Paul was not ashamed or deterred by the price he had paid in following the Lord and he didn’t want his young protégé to be either. As he began this second letter to his beloved son in the faith, he encouraged Timothy to use his gifts to the best spiritual advantage possible. But he didn’t make light of what this boldness was going to cost the younger man. What he, Paul, had suffered, so Timothy would also suffer. “… I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner...

Reading: Hebrews 5 I tripped over a little phrase this morning. The bulk of the chapters assigned were from Isaiah (49-51) but one chapter from Hebrews was also on my morning agenda. From Isaiah 40 on the Scripture tells us a lot about the “Suffering Servant” so it was appropriate to read something similar from Hebrews. Then I tripped. Here’s the verse that caused the stumble in its immediate context: “ During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and once made perfect , he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him… ” (Hebrews 5:7-9, NIV). It was the “ once made perfect ” that gave me pause. Jesus was always perfect. He had to be perfect if His sacrifice was to have any meaning at all. Only a perfect sacrifice could satisfy the righte...

“ Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me ” —John 12:26, NIV. Doesn’t this verse sound soooooo good? Yes, Lord, I’ll serve you. I’ll follow. I’ll be where you are. My Scripture reading program for this year only gives me one or two isolated verses each day—a dangerous thing because it’s possible to miss the point of the passage when I look at it apart from its context. I thought I should look this one up. Jesus has already entered Jerusalem on his first, and last, donkey ride. Though the occasion was triumphant, the crowds appreciative, and new interest in the gospel sparked, the Lord immediately hauled His disciples down from their “cloud nine.” The interest in Christ’s message came from an unexpected quarter, some Greeks who were in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. They asked to see Jesus. We can assume from the answer Jesus gave to their request that He was challenging them to count the cost of...

Welcome to MONDAY MANNA, hosted by Joanne at An Open Door . Go on over for more perspectives on the verse for today. We tend to think of God's will as a comfortable thing. God wants us to be happy, doesn't He? We ask for rescue, relief, restoration, relaxation, or recovery when we pray, and then dutifully tack on "your will be done" on the end, crossing our fingers in the hope that His will is the same as ours. Then we get to a verse like this one from Isaiah 53:10 and our theology takes a nasty tumble. " Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand " (NIV). The verse refers to the mission of Christ and His death, and while the latter half is full of promise for a positive outcome, we wish we could skip the first part. We have a hard time wrapping our minds around a loving Fathe...