20-20 Blog

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:

Matthew 23:28 People look at you and think you’re saints, but beneath the skin you’re total frauds.

Observation:

Wow! Today’s Scripture reading was pointed and convicting. God knows the truth about me. Everything. I may totally have other people fooled, but God sees everything, knows everything I do, and knows the motive behind it.

First I read from 2 Samuel 11 & 12 about David and Bathsheeba, and then in Matthew 23, Jesus tells the Pharisees their real character, the one nobody else sees.

Application:

All I can do is say with David in Psalm 51 (also today’s reading):
God, make a fresh start in me,
shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don’t throw me out with the trash,
or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile,
put a fresh wind in my sails!

Prayer:

Father God, help me live with the knowledge that you are WITH me at every moment, knowing all I say, do, and think. May that be a comforting thought. May that knowledge be like a plumb line that keeps me walking in your ways today. God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.

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Ezekiel 22:3 Then say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “The city sheds blood in her own midst, that her time may come; and she makes idols within herself to defile herself. 4 You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and have defiled yourself with the idols which you have made.

Revelation 9: 20 But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk.

Observation:

Idols are made by people. Sometimes we make our own idols—a business empire we’ve built, a home we pour all our time into, a reputation; sometimes we worship idols made by others—television, books, music. The things we worship—and whatever we give all our time to is what we treasure or worship—can never be a substitute for the living God.

These verses from Ezekiel and Revelation show how difficult it is for us to give up our idols. Even when God tries to get our attention through disaster or discipline, we tend to hang on to our idols.

Application:

As a Christian, a member of God’s family, I am not exempt from crafting idols with my own hands. Anything that becomes more important than God, anything I “idolize” is paramount to idolatry. The Ten Commandments tell us, “You shall have no other gods before me.”

Prayer:

Father God, keep my heart loyal to you. May I see the things made by my hand for what they are and not place them above you.

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Ezekiel 14:3 “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. Should I let Myself be inquired of at all by them?

Observation:

People set up idols in their hearts—things that they are devoted to in place of God. And they put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. Instead of getting rid of the thing that tempts, they place it in plain view.

God declares that with such people, he will refuse to answer them when they pray to him.

Application:

It’s good to ask the question frequently, “What is coming between God and me?”

Prayer:

Father God, show me what I have set up in front of me, and what I cling to in my heart, that I might get rid of it.

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Revelation 3:1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write,
‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.

Revelation 3:9 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.

Observation:

For each of the churches this phrase is repeated in Revelation 3: I know your works. In the case of the church at Sardis, God knew the truth. Even though Sardis had a reputation of being alive, he knew that they were really dead. It was all a show.

God rebukes and chastens those whom he loves with the hope that they will be zealous and repent.

Application:

No matter what other people see, God knows the truth about us. We can’t fool God with counterfeit spirituality.

What does God see when he looks at my life? Does he see life, or am I dead inside?

Prayer:

God, show me what you see when you look at my life. Help me to be zealous and repent even before you need to discipline me.

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Jeremiah 51:5 For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah,
By his God, the LORD of hosts,
Though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.”

Observation:

In the previous chapters we read about how God was using Babylon to punish his people for their sin, after years of pleading with them to repent. Even though God punished Israel and Judah, it was not with the purpose to abandon them, but to redeem them.

Application:

This verse gives hope to the vilest offender of God’s justice, and it gives hope to me, when I struggle to live a truly righteous life before God. If God must punish, it is for the purpose of redemption.

As Hebrews 12:8 & 10 says, “If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. . . God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.

Prayer:

Father, may I not chafe against your discipline, but learn from it.

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Amos 4:12–13 Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”
For behold,
He who forms mountains,
And creates the wind,
Who declares to man what his thought is,
And makes the morning darkness,
Who treads the high places of the earth—
The LORD God of hosts is His name.

Psalm 86:5 For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.

Observation:

The book of Amos is about the judgment of God on nations who worshipped false gods and oppressed the poor and needy while lounging in luxury. Those who do such things need to know that the day of judgment will eventually arrive, when God has had enough.

The phrase, “Prepare to meet your God!” is a fearful phrase to someone who has lived a life of sin and utter selfishness.

However, God’s heart is not for judgment, but for mercy and forgiveness as we read in today’s other passage, Psalm 86:5 For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.

Application:

I’m so grateful for God’s mercy and forgiveness! Even so, the phrase, “Prepare to meet your God!” makes me realize that I may not be entirely ready to meet my Maker at this moment. Living in God’s mercy and forgiveness is not a one time event, but a daily, ongoing, way of life.

Prayer:

Father God, You have my permission to be God in my life today. I am the steward of the life and gifts you’ve given me. I want to be ready at any moment to stand before you and give an account for how I’ve lived my life.

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2 Chronicles 12:13 Thus King Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned . . . and he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the LORD.

Observation:

This verse says King Rehoboam did evil because he did not prepare his heart to seek the LORD. Elsewhere we read that he reacted out of fear that the people wouldn’t be loyal to him if they went to Jerusalem for the feasts and to offer sacrifices, so he set up bogus idols and priests. The result was that the majority of the nation of Israel was led astray for generations.

Sin is like weeds in a garden. Weeds grow naturally without any encouragement whatsoever, but the good plants must be intentionally planted and nurtured.

Application:

If I’m not intentional about preparing my heart to seek and follow God, sin will fill the void. Today is an opportunity to prepare the soil of my heart to seek the LORD and reap a good harvest.

How do I prepare my heart to seek the Lord? I put him first. I look to him for guidance. I trust in his promises more than the circumstances around me.

Prayer:

Father God, I put you first today. May I not let fear or my own appetites rule my actions today. This is your day. What’s my next step?

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Ecclesiastes 7:9 Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry,
For anger rests in the bosom of fools.

Ephesians 4:26–27 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.

Ephesians 4:31–32 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Observation:

Anger is spoken of in several of today’s passages. I don’t usually consider myself to be an angry person, yet it’s amazing what can bring out anger. Sometimes it’s not even another person. Sometimes it’s circumstances, like delays on the freeways, missing a turnoff, wasting half an hour driving around in an unfamiliar part of town, and having to reschedule an appointment because of it. Yes, all that happened to me this morning, and I felt very angry.

From today’s passages I can see that:
• Quick anger is a characteristic of a fool. Hmmm. Don’t want that.
• Be angry, and do not sin” seems to indicate that how we handle anger determines whether we sin or not
• If we don’t handle anger well, we give place to the devil.
• God wants us to put away wrath and anger (along with bitterness, evil speaking and malice).
• God wants us instead to be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving.
• Remembering that God forgave me through Christ will bring much needed perspective.

Application:

Not much to say here except “Do it.” Let anger be a flare or signal that I need to stop and get my head straight.

Prayer:

Father God, you have forgiven me all. Help me to be as generous today.

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Proverbs 7:22–23 All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life.

Observation:

This foolish young man was where he shouldn’t have been, listening to a woman he shouldn’t have been listening to, and all of a sudden he makes the impulsive decision to go with her. The impression I get from these verses is that he didn’t stop and weigh the consequences. He did not know it would cost him his life.

Application:

Bad decisions are often made impulsively without thinking about the consequences. The example given in Proverbs is a serious sin, but I can do the same thing on a much smaller scale with impulsive decisions I make to eat something I shouldn’t, waste time with something that isn’t beneficial, or choose to ignore a person I should make time for.

In fact, I know the little warning voice, and even the physical sensation, that comes when I’m about to do something impulsively that isn’t productive or profitable. It’s foolish. It leads to consequences I don’t want. Why don’t I stop to think it through?

Prayer:

Abba Father, I’m tired of the impulsive decisions that are counterproductive to living the Christian life. I want to take the time to consult with your Spirit before making rash decisions, small or large.

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