distinctive

Posted on August 31, 2013 by Jefferson Vann

IMG_1624Daniel 1

These fantastic four exiles provide a lesson for believers today.  They have been taken out of their world and the world they live in is trying to conform them to it.  It is ironic that Judah had been put into exile because its people wanted to be like the nations around them.  But now these four heroes take a stand.  They will live among the Babylonians, even taking on Babylonian names, but they will be distinctive.  They will be different.  Their standards will be higher than their world.

LORD, make us people of a higher grade, a greater standard.

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when it’s the wrong time

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Jefferson Vann

IMG_1614Habakkuk 3

The prophet finds himself and his people at the wrong time.  He wants to be at the brink of deliverance, but he has arrived at the brink of judgment – on his own people.  What does a believer do?  Some choose to bury their head in the sand and not think about reality, hoping it will just go away.  Habakkuk chooses to do two almost contradictory things.  He chooses to quietly wait for deliverance, while continuing to rejoice in the LORD. 

LORD, when it’s the wrong time for deliverance, give us the wisdom to rejoice in who you are.

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by faith

Posted on August 29, 2013 by Jefferson Vann

IMG_1610Habakkuk 1:12-2:20

Habakkuk’s second complaint is that the LORD is overlooking the evil of Babylon as he metes out judgment through them.  The answer is an oracle against Babylon which will be fulfilled in due time. Meanwhile, how does a righteous person live in a time when his own people are being judged for their sin?  God’s righteous person lives by faith — confidence in the LORD regardless of the circumstances.

LORD, make us examples of your kind of person – the righteous who live by faith.

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wrong number

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Jefferson Vann

IMG_1609Habakkuk 1:1-11

Habakkuk begins with a complaint from the author to God, and God’s response was totally not what was expected.  It is like Habakkuk had put in an emergency phone call, and the reply was, “OK, I’ll send you an enemy army!”  Wrong number?  No, the prophet is learning to trust God to do what needs to be done his way.  His ways are not our ways. 

LORD, teach us to pray prayers which seek your solution to our problems, not to dictate to you what you must do. May your kingdom come, not ours.

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no promise

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Jefferson Vann

IMG_1608Lamentations 5

In perfect hindsight, the community now looks back and sees all the joy and peace Jerusalem once had before the LORD judged them.  They realize that they are bearing the consequences of their fathers sinning by rejecting the LORD and his covenant.  They can only appeal to the LORD to restore them, unless it is too late, and he has utterly rejected them.  That is how the book ends – with no promise, only a hope that God will act.  Be grateful that the scriptures do not end here.

LORD, thank you for revealing our sad condition without you, and for giving us hope by revealing your plan for our future.

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our eyes failed

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Jefferson Vann

IMG_1607Lamentations 4

Jeremiah recounts the sorrow and pain of watching the holy city besieged and destroyed.  He and others watched until they could see no longer.  Help did not come.  The leaders were ashamed to be seen, the mothers boiled their own children for food.  No help came.  Their end had come.

We are living in an age of grace, but God has not forgotten how to judge.  When Jesus comes, the saints will be caught away with him, safe from God’s wrath.  But those who are not his bride will face disaster.  The good news we share today is that no one living needs to experience that wrath.  Come to the LORD today. Don’t wait until he comes in anger. It will be too late then.

LORD, forgive us for hiding behind the message of grace, and failing to urge the lost to seek you while you may be found.

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my portion

Posted on August 25, 2013 by Jefferson Vann

IMG_1605Lamentations 3

These are the words of a man who has seen great trouble and sorrow and acknowledges that although it was done by his enemies, it was allowed as judgment from the LORD for his sins.  Yet, it is to this same LORD that this man turns for relief.  The LORD who was faithful to afflict him will also be faithful to deliver him, because he has seen all the wrong done, and has heard his cries for help. The LORD is his portion.

LORD, forgive us for wandering. We turn to you, because only you can deliver us.

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wailing wall

Posted on August 24, 2013 by Jefferson Vann

IMG_1604Lamentations 2

A broken wall stands as a lone symbol of the great city laid to waste by a violent enemy – because of the LORD’s judgment.  The people gather at that wall and pour out their hearts to the God they had despised.   The wall itself seems to have joined in the lament.  As the people mourn over the loss of their great city, and their children, they finally gather together to approach the God they had wandered from.  So it will be on judgment day.  The dead, great and small, will stand before him, no longer able to deny his existence and power. 

LORD, let your gospel of grace pour out of our hearts and mouths.  Teach us how to rescue your people from your wrath.

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from princess to widow

Posted on August 23, 2013 by Jefferson Vann

IMG_1600Lamentations 1

Jeremiah expresses the grief felt by the city of Jerusalem as it has fallen from its prominence  and joy as a princess to experience judgment, death and sorrow, like a widow.  He knows that God has been just to bring the judgment, because of Judah’s terrible sin.  Yet, that does not stop him from feeling their pain, and expressing his sorrow over them. 

LORD, if you do give us a word of prophecy for this generation, may we be like Jeremiah, and proclaim it with tears in our eyes.

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to be continued

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Jefferson Vann

IMG_1597Jeremiah 52

Jeremiah concludes his book by recounting some of the historical events, including the fall of Jerusalem and the deporting and deaths of many of its leaders.  The book begs for a sequel, but we do not get one.  The people of God must wait for the seventy years of exile to be completed, and trust that the LORD will make good his promises.  Sometimes we do not get the happy ending we long for in this life.  We can take comfort from the fact that our LORD has plans for us that will be fulfilled long after we die.  Nothing can separate us from his love.

LORD, give us patience to wait with confidence.

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