20-20 Blog

Scripture Focus:

Ezekiel 38:23 I’ll show you how great I am, how holy I am. I’ll make myself known all over the world. Then you’ll realize that I am God.

Ezekiel 39:27 I’ll use them to demonstrate my holiness with all the nations watching.

Psalm 145:8 God is all mercy and grace—
not quick to anger, is rich in love.

9 God is good to one and all;
everything he does is suffused with grace.

13 God always does what he says,
and is gracious in everything he does.

14 God gives a hand to those down on their luck,
gives a fresh start to those ready to quit.

Observation:

These verses demonstrate God’s character, his very nature. God’s nature can be a comfort or a terror, depending on which side of the fence you’re on.

Application:

I am to be like God. He wants me to be holy, just as he is holy. He wants me to be full of mercy and grace, not quick to anger, rich in love. He wants me to be good to one and all, do what I say and be gracious in everything I do. God wants me to give a hand to those down on their luck.

Prayer:

Father God, I cannot fulfill this vision unless you do it through me, so may your Spirit work in me to become like you.

Scripture Focus:

Lamentations 5:22 Bring us back to you, God—we’re ready to come back.
Give us a fresh start.
As it is, you’ve cruelly disowned us.
You’ve been so very angry with us.

Observation:

The chapters I read today in Lamentations and Revelation are full of God’s wrath. We don’t hear much about God’s wrath in sermons these days. It’s not really a popular subject, but it is true, none-the-less.

There comes a time, after God pleads over and over and warns us over and over, that his justice prevails, and his anger with sin takes action, but always—until we die, God is ready to receive us back, to completely forgive and restore our relationship with him, to give us a fresh start.

Application:

What am I doing that is breaking God’s heart? Am I living a life that brings God pleasure or makes him angry? If I’ve drifted away, I can ask God to bring me back. I can ask him for a fresh start.

Prayer:

Father God, give me a fresh start today. Give me a heart that willingly follows hard after you!

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Scripture Focus:

Lamentations 1:9 She played fast and loose with life, she never considered tomorrow, and now she’s crashed royally, with no one to hold her hand:

Revelation 14:3–5 They were bought from earth, lived without compromise, virgin-fresh before God. Wherever the Lamb went, they followed. They were bought from humankind, firstfruits of the harvest for God and the Lamb. Not a false word in their mouths. A perfect offering.

Observation:

In these two descriptions found in Lamentations and Revelation, we see opposite characteristics. Lamentations describes a person who was more concerned with personal pleasure. “Fast and loose” would describe someone who isn’t honest or reliable, someone who is self centered. This person does not consider tomorrow and only lives for today.

In Revelation another kind of person is described. This person lives without compromise to God’s principles. This person follows Jesus wherever he leads and is completely honest.

Application:

Every day I have a choice to live a life without compromise to integrity and dependability. I have a choice whether to follow where Jesus leads me today.

Tomorrow is coming where the choices I’ve made today will matter for eternity. What will I choose today?

Prayer:

Father God, give me the inner strength to walk with integrity today, and to walk where Jesus leads, for nothing else matters more than this.

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Scripture Focus:

Ezekiel 22:22
I’ll blow on you with the fire of my wrath to melt you down in the furnace. As silver is melted down, you’ll be melted down. That should get through to you. Then you’ll recognize that I, God, have let my wrath loose on you.

Revelation 9:20–21
The remaining men and women who weren’t killed by these weapons went on their merry way—didn’t change their way of life, didn’t quit worshiping demons, didn’t quit centering their lives around lumps of gold and silver and brass, hunks of stone and wood that couldn’t see or hear or move. There wasn’t a sign of a change of heart. They plunged right on in their murderous, occult, promiscuous, and thieving ways.

Observation:

The Old and New Testaments say the same thing: God is fed up with sin, and he promises to judge it, but even so, the prophets predict that people will go right on sinning.

Application:

Most people, myself included, like to focus on God’s love and mercy and grace—and that is certainly true of God. But over and over throughout the Scriptures, we are told that God will judge sin, if we do not repent.

I must remember that God hates sin and will judge it eventually, and I must remember to give the whole message to others when sharing the gospel. Yes, God is loving and has provided a way to forgive and forget our sins, but if we reject his offer of grace, all we have left to expect is judgment.

Prayer:

Father God, thank you for your grace. I can never measure up to your holy standards, but you have provided a way through Jesus for me to escape your sure and coming judgment.

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Scripture Focus:

Revelation 2:29
Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches.

Observation:

In Revelation 2 John hears God’s words to the churches. Here are some things that stood out to me:
vs 2–4 “I see what you’ve done, your hard, hard work, your refusal to quit. I know you can’t stomach evil, that you weed out apostolic pretenders. I know your persistence, your courage in my cause, that you never wear out. But you walked away from your first love—why?

vs 10 “Don’t quit, even if it costs you your life. Stay there believing. I have a Life-Crown sized and ready for you.”

vs 13 “I see where you live, right under the shadow of Satan’s throne. But you continue boldly in my Name; you never once denied my Name, even when the pressure was worst, when they martyred Antipas, my witness who stayed faithful to me on Satan’s turf.”

vs 19–20 “I see everything you’re doing for me. Impressive! The love and the faith, the service and persistence. Yes, very impressive! You get better at it every day. But why do you let that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet mislead my dear servants into Cross-denying, self-indulging religion?

vs 23 “I x-ray every motive and make sure you get what’s coming to you.”

vs 24 “scorn this playing around with the Devil that gets paraded as profundity”

Application:

God looks at my actions and my motives. I am completely transparent to him. He asks me to be real, to be faithful, and to endure to the end.

There are two deaths that most of us will face. Unless Jesus comes back first, we will all experience physical death, but the second death is the one of most concern. Jesus asks me to be faithful and to not quit, even if it costs me my life.

Prayer:

Father God, keep me faithful in my actions and motives.

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Scripture Focus:

Psalm 143:10
Teach me how to live to please you,
      because you’re my God.

Observation:

David asks God to teach him how to please God. How to please God is something that must be taught—not something we do naturally. It’s a learned behavior. What comes naturally is how to please ourselves.

Just like a child would be totally self-centered if not corrected by a parent, so we would be self-absorbed if we didn’t have God teach us how to walk in a manner that pleases him.

Application:

Don’t focus on your own comfort or having your own way today. Ask God to show you what would please him. Be willing to do what the Spirit of God whispers in your ear.

Prayer:

Father God, here I am. What would you like me to do today?

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Scripture Focus:

3 John 1:5–8 Dear friend, when you extend hospitality to Christian brothers and sisters, even when they are strangers, you make the faith visible. They’ve made a full report back to the church here, a message about your love. It’s good work you’re doing, helping these travelers on their way, hospitality worthy of God himself! They set out under the banner of the Name, and get no help from unbelievers. So they deserve any support we can give them. In providing meals and a bed, we become their companions in spreading the Truth.

Observation:

Hospitality makes our faith visible. God wants me to be hospitable to Christian brothers and sisters, even when they are strangers. The goal for hospitality is to make it worthy of God himself. When we extend hospitality to traveling evangelists, we become their partner in spreading the Truth.

Application:

I’ve never felt gifted in this area, but God isn’t asking me to be hospitable only if I’m gifted. I only need to do it as though I’m welcoming Him into my home.

Prayer:

Father God, when there is an opportunity to be hospitable, give me the grace to be gracious!

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Scripture Focus:

2 John 1:5–6 But permit me a reminder, friends, and this is not a new commandment but simply a repetition of our original and basic charter: that we love each other. Love means following his commandments, and his unifying commandment is that you conduct your lives in love. This is the first thing you heard, and nothing has changed.

Observation:

In our small group last night we were discussing the question: What is a disciple? What does that look like? One of the answers was they show love to one another. Here we see the same command repeated: Love each other, referring to other believers. Loving one another is one of the major distinguishing characteristics of a Christian.

The Bible also tells me to love God and to love the lost, but in this passage, the focus is on loving other Christians.

Application:

I must be in fellowship with other believers in order to love them. Loving others is doing to them as I would want done to me. How would that look like today?

Prayer:

Father God, when I see an opportunity to love someone today, please help me to respond with love.

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Scripture Focus:

Jeremiah 33:3 ‘Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.’

1 John 5:13-15 My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God’s Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion. And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he’s listening. And if we’re confident that he’s listening, we know that what we’ve asked for is as good as ours.

Observation:

God wants me to call on him. He not only promises to answer, but he promises to tell me marvelous and wondrous things I could never figure out on my own! Boldness and freedom to call on God come when I believe in Jesus, God’s Son, and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I have eternal life. Then I am free to ask according to his will, and I can be sure he’s listening and will give me what I ask for.

Application:

God invites you to call on him, so call on God with confidence, boldness, and freedom. Ask him for whatever you need that is according to his will. He will listen and answer.

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Scripture Focus:

John 12:47–48 “If anyone hears what I am saying and doesn’t take it seriously, I don’t reject him. I didn’t come to reject the world; I came to save the world. But you need to know that whoever puts me off, refusing to take in what I’m saying, is willfully choosing rejection.

Observation:

God does not reject people. He wants to save everyone, but he wants us to know that our procrastination is equal to willfully choosing to reject God. So whether I willfully reject God or simple put off making my decision, the end result is the same. I reject God’s offer of salvation.

Application:

This is an important thing to let people know who are considering the gospel. There is no guarantee they will have time to turn to God in the end.

May I always be one who does not put off the things of God—for I can procrastinate even after I accept Jesus. I can live life for myself, rather than choosing to walk daily following God’s direction.

Prayer:

Father God, here I am at the start of a brand new day. What would you like me to do?

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