20-20 Blog

Today’s Bible Reading: Psalm 124; 2 Corinthians 11, 12, 13

Scripture Focus:

2 Corinthians 11:3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.

Observation:

Becoming a Christian is not a complicated matter nor a set of convoluted rules to follow. Becoming a Christian is realizing I am a sinner and putting my trust in Jesus to forgive my sins and take over the position of “boss” in my life. (Become the Lord of my life.)

Religious people (sometimes that’s me) often create a set of rules that must be followed. This takes my focus off Jesus and onto myself and what I can do to be right in God’s eyes. Paul tell me to get back to the simplicity of the gospel and put my focus on Jesus being my Lord, one day at a time.

Paul also suggests that I periodically examine myself to see whether I am in the faith, whether Jesus lives in me.

Application:

Today I can trust Jesus in me to lead me. I don’t need to make it complicated, but I should examine myself to see if there’s evidence that Jesus is living in me.

Prayer:

Father God, may it be abundantly clear to me and to others that Jesus is living in me!

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Today’s Bible Reading: Isaiah 65, 66; Psalm 62; John 3

Scripture Focus:

John 3:36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

Observation:

When it comes to spiritual things, there is no middle ground. You either believe in Jesus and have everlasting life, or you don’t, and you’re destined for the wrath of God.

In Isaiah today I saw the same thing:
Isaiah 66:22 “ For as the new heavens and the new earth
Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the LORD,

“ So shall your descendants and your name remain.
23 And it shall come to pass
That from one New Moon to another,
And from one Sabbath to another,
All flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the LORD.
24 “ And they shall go forth and look
Upon the corpses of the men
Who have transgressed against Me.
For their worm does not die,
And their fire is not quenched.
They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”

There is so middle ground except for this: Isaiah 65:2 “I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people.” God’s pleads with us to turn to him, because it’s one or the other, life or death, heaven or hell.

Application:

I want to be like God who reaches out to those who don’t know or follow him. People are headed for hell unless they turn to the Giver of life.

It’s much easier to think of “the lost” as a large, faceless category that I can pray for—sort of like praying for “the poor.” It’s much harder to pray for, or doing something about, specific people I know who are poor or who need Jesus.

Prayer:

Father God, give me a heart that yearns to see sinners like me saved and headed for heaven.

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Today’s Bible Reading: Isaiah 15,16,17,18; Hebrews 10

Scripture Focus:

Hebrews: 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Observation:

I’ve heard this phrase many times, but always referring to the unsaved. I was surprised to realize, when I read the context of this phrase in Hebrews 10, that the author is talking about believers.

Verse 29 says, “Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?”

And verse 30 says “The LORD will judge His people.”

These verses speak of those who become Christians but later willfully turn their back on God. Of them the writer of Hebrews says, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Application:

I don’t believe a person can lose his salvation by sinning—otherwise, why would we need 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”?

I do, believe, however, that it’s possible for me as a Christian to turn my back on God and reject him, or to choose to continue to sin willfully, even when I know it’s wrong. Hebrews is clear that such people will receive a fearful fate. In vs 39 it says, “But we are not of those who draw back to perdition (affirming that it’s possible to do so), but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

No, I don’t believe in the “once saved, always saved” theory, but neither do I believe it’s a common or simple thing to lose my salvation. There is no need for the believer to be afraid of losing his salvation accidentally, but there is a place for a healthy fear of God when we deliberately choose to continue sinning even when we know it is wrong.

Prayer:

Father God, may I never be one of those who fall back to perdition, but may I always be counted with those who believe to the saving of the soul.

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Today’s Bible Reading: Jonah 1, 2, 3, 4; 2 Timothy 2

Scripture Focus:

Jonah 4:10–11 But the LORD said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”

2 Timothy 2:8–10 Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

Observation:

There is such a difference between Jonah’s view of the lost and Paul’s view. Jonah didn’t want to preach repentance to Ninevah and did his best to avoid God’s command to do so. When God made it clear that he wasn’t going to let Jonah off the hook, Jonah did preach to Ninevah, but he wasn’t pleased when the people of Ninevah repented, and God had mercy on them.

God demonstrated that Jonah was more concerned about his own comfort and reputation than he was about the lost, and he reminded Jonah that he is a God who has pity on the lost.

Paul, on the other hand, was so concerned for the lost, for the ones who didn’t yet know God, that he was willing to sacrifice his own comfort and even be taken prisoner for the sake of spreading the gospel, that he might lead the lost to salvation through Jesus Christ.

Application:

God wants me to be concerned for the lost. I’ll admit, this isn’t an area where I shine. I must ask God to give me his love for the lost. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Prayer:

Father God, You gave your only Son for the lost. Please give me your love for the lost.

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Today’s Bible Reading: Ecclesiastes 1–3; Psalm 45; Ephesians 2

Scripture Focus:

Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Observation:

I keep coming across this concept when I read the Bible: Christians are created for good works, not for some narcissistic nirvana. We cannot become a Christian by our good works—Ephesians is very clear that “by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”—but we are created FOR good works.

Application:

This leaves me with the question. What are good works, and which ones should I be doing? Am I doing any good works? Good questions, indeed.

The parable of the goats and the sheep (Matthew 25: 31–36) has some great examples of good works: “for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.”

Notice that many of the good works are relational. They involve people. The trick is to figure out what God wants me to do today—and do it.

Prayer:

Father, God, This is a hard one for me. My life is so busy that it’s hard to think of how I could have time to help other people, but that is what you want me to do. Give me a heart that cares for people like you do.

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Today’s Bible Reading: 1 Kings 7; 2 Chronicles 4; Psalm 98; Romans 2

Scripture Focus:

Psalm 98 8 Let the rivers clap their hands;
Let the hills be joyful together
9 before the LORD,
For He is coming to judge the earth.
With righteousness He shall judge the world,
And the peoples with equity.

Romans 2:5–11 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.

Observation:

Both Psalm 98 and Romans 2 speak of God’s judgment. In Psalm 98 there is a joyous anticipation of God’s judgment. You get the sense that the righteous are excited about God’s judgment because they know he’s going to straighten things out, make things fair and right.

But what if you’re on the wrong side of judgment? Romans describes both sides of judgement, where God will “render to each one according to his deeds.” Two of the bad qualities God will judge is a self-seeking attitude and disobedience to the truth.

On the positive side are those who patiently continue to do good, the opposite of self-seeking. For them God reserves eternal life.

Application:

The Day of Judgment is coming. I realize that my salvation is by grace alone through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, and that I cannot earn my way into heaven, but the Bible is also very clear that those who are saved will bear the fruit of salvation.

James puts it very clearly: the things we do demonstrate whether or not we have faith.

Prayer:

Abba Father, may my words and deeds today indicate that I’ve been born again and am heaven bound. Amen!

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Today’s Bible Reading: Ruth 3–4; Psalm 64–65; 2 Corinthians 6

Scripture Focus:

2 Corinthians 6:10 . . . as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

Observation:

Things can never make you rich. We can amass as much monetary wealth and as many things as we can, but true riches are not ours until they are not the focus of our life. Paul had given up everything, yet he thought himself rich and rejoiced to pass along those kinds of riches to others.

And what would those riches be? Salvation from our sins through Jesus would be first on the list, and then a changed character because of the transforming work of God in our lives. Paul mentions a few: patience in tribulations, purity, knowledge, longsuffering, kindness, sincerity of love, the ability to endure dishonor and hardship and the ability to rejoice, even in sorrow.

Application:

Wow. That’s quite a list. I’d like to be rich in those things. I don’t want to worry about stuff when there are true riches for the asking.

Prayer:

Father God, Your economy is so different from the world’s! May I seek and be satisfied with the riches that last for eternity!

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Today’s Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 19–21; Galatians 3

Scripture Focus:

Galatians 3:26–28 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Observation:

These were radical words in Paul’s day. Everyone fit into social categories and lived out their lives in essentially a “caste” system, but Paul declares that all have access to God through faith in Christ Jesus. This was good news for slaves and women. This was an equality they hadn’t experienced before.

Application:

The gospel is no respecter of persons. It is an equal opportunity proposition. In fact, God seems to especially reach out to the lowly and the outcast in society and says, “Join the party! You’re one of us, and you’re welcome here!” Doing so, raises their status in their own eyes and in the eyes of the community.

That’s the kind of attitude I want to have as well.

Prayer:

Father God, give me love for others that transcends status and position. Thank you for making the gospel an equal opportunity proposition!

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Today’s Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 16–18; Psalm 38; Galations 2

Scripture Focus:

Galations 2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.

Observation:

Our salvation, our acceptance into the family of God, is never brought about by what we do or the set of rules we follow. There seems to be a tendency for people to want to work to get favor with God, but Paul is adamant that it is through God’s grace alone, based on Jesus’ death on the cross, that we are righteous before God.

Application:

I think it comes naturally for us to start thinking in terms of doing things for God, so it’s a healthy thing, with some frequency, to get back to the basics: nothing I do can earn me the title of being righteous. My place in heaven is secured through the grace of God alone, based on Jesus dying for my sins.

The good works I do are a response of gratitude to a loving God.

Prayer:

Father God, thank you for grace! Thank you for taking my sins to the cross so I can stand fully justified before God. May I walk in your grace today.

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