Your COMPASS for the Journey…on the PATH of Discipleship: February 27-March 5, 2011
Posted by Isaac Butterworth | Filed under Discipleship, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation
Your COMPASS for the Journey on the PATH of Discipleship is a daily resource designed to help you find direction in your walk with Christ. It includes a ‘Compass’ (a daily reading), a ‘Map’ (a brief comment to aid your understanding of the reading), and an application section called ‘Journey.’
Saturday, March 5, 2011 SENT BY GOD
Compass:
Isaiah 6:8 ‘Here am I. Send me!’
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Map:
We return once more to Isaiah’s vision of God in the temple. Seeing God’s holiness, Isaiah was overwhelmed by his sinfulness. Confessing his sin led to his pardon. But this was not the end of worship for him that day. He heard God ask, ‘Whom shall I send?’ — a question God asks each time we worship, whether in private or with others. And Isaiah’s response should be ours — always: ‘Here am I. Send me.’
Journey:
The late Dick Halverson, one-time chaplain of the U. S. Senate, used to offer the following words at the close of worship. Consider saying them to yourself each and every day: ‘You go nowhere by accident. Wherever you go, God is sending you. Wherever you are, God has put you there. He has a purpose in your being there. Christ, who indwells you, has something he wants to do through you where you are. Believe this and go in his grace and love and power.’ It could be your way of saying, ‘Here am I. Send me.’
Tomorrow: WAITING FOR GOD
Friday, March 4, 2011 DELIGHTING IN GOD
Compass:
Psalm 37:1-4 ‘Delight yourself in the LORD….’
1 Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Map:
It is difficult to remain faithful to God when others seem to prosper by doing wrong. This Psalm encourages us not to be envious of others and not to be dissatisfied because we don’t have what they have. We have God, and having God is enough to bring true delight and ultimate satisfaction.
Journey:
Ask God to help you overcome any envy you may feel toward others, especially toward those who do not follow his ways. Pray that God would so form your heart that he would become your true and deepest delight.
Tomorrow: SENT BY GOD
Thursday, March 3, 2011 THE PATH OF LIFE
Compass:
Psalm 16:7-11 ‘…You will fill me with joy in your presence….’
7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the LORD always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
10 because you will not abandon me to the grave,
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
11 You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Map:
This Psalm shows that we display our trust in God when we regard God as Lord (v. 2), when we worship nothing and no one else (v. 4), when we see God himself (and not what we receive from him) as our greatest benefit (vv. 5-6), when we keep God in the forefront of our attention (vv. 7-8), and when we are confident in the face of death (vv. 9-11).
Journey:
Are each of these five elements of trust evident in you? Which ones are missing? Ask God to supply them and to nurture their growth in your life.
Tomorrow: DELIGHTING IN GOD
Wednesday, March 2, 2011 SEEK GOD
Compass:
Psalm 27:4 ‘…to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD….’
4 One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.
Map: In Psalm 27, David begins with an affirmation of confidence in God (vv. 1-6). Then he makes four requests of God (vv. 7-14): that God will hear, welcome, teach, and protect him.
Journey: Examine your heart. Are you, like David, confident in God’s power? Do you, like David, depend on God’s provision? Compose your own prayer, expressing your belief in God’s trustworthiness and your reliance upon him to meet your needs. Be sure to be specific about what you need from God.
Tomorrow: THE PATH OF LIFE
Tuesday, March 1, 2011 HOPE IN GOD’S WORD
Compass:
Psalm 130:1-8 ‘…In his word I put my hope.’
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
2 O Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.
3 If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness;
therefore you are feared.
5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
6 My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
7 O Israel, put your hope in the LORD,
for with the LORD is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.
8 He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins.
Map:
Psalm 130 is part of a larger collection of Psalms (120-134, entitled ‘Songs of Ascents’) and may have been sung by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem for any of the three required annual festivals (Deuteronomy 16:16). As James Luther Mays points out, this Psalm ‘has a remarkable history in the spiritual life of the church.’ Known as De Profundis (the opening words of the Latin version), it is one of seven penitential Psalms used in services of repentance. This Psalm documents our dependence upon God for mercy and ‘full redemption.’
Journey:
Determine today that you will abandon ever trying to justify yourself (make excuses) before God, that you will no longer rely on anything you have done or anything about yourself that you think might commend you to God. Resolve today to depend on God alone.
Tomorrow: SEEK GOD
Monday, February 28, 2011 HOPE IN GOD
Compass:
Psalm 42:5-6a ‘…I will yet praise him….’
5 Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and 6 my God.
Map :
Psalms 42 and 43 form one prayer with three parts, each ending with the same words: ‘Why are you downcast, O my soul? …Put your hope in God…’ (see Psalm 42:5, 11; Psalm 43:5).
Journey:
When you are beset by trouble, learn from these two Psalms how to pray. Ask God to send his ‘light’ and his ‘truth’ to guide you home (Psalm 43:3).
Tomorrow: HOPE IN GOD’S WORD
Sunday, February 27, 2011 THE REMOVAL OF GUILT
Compass:
Isaiah 6:6-7 ‘“…Your guilt is taken away….”’
6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
Map:
This is now the third Sunday in succession that we have looked at this account of Isaiah’s vision of God. Last Sunday, we witnessed his recognition of guilt and inadequacy before the holiness of God (v. 5). Today we see his guilt removed.
Journey:
Acknowledgment of our sin is required if we are to be relieved of the burden of guilt. Read Psalm 32:1-5 and 1 John 1:8-9. Then, make it a daily practice to confess your sins.
Tomorrow: HOPE IN GOD
Photo Credit: ‘Along the Road’ by p.Gordon
