Your COMPASS for the Journey…on the PATH of Discipleship: February 6-12, 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, February 12, 2011 ONE WHO FEARS THE LORD
Compass:
Psalm 112:1-9 ‘Blessed is the man who fears the LORD….’
1 Praise the LORD.
Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
who finds great delight in his commands.
2 His children will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man.
5 Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely,
who conducts his affairs with justice.
6 Surely he will never be shaken;
a righteous man will be remembered forever.
7 He will have no fear of bad news;
his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.
8 His heart is secure, he will have no fear;
in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.
9 He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor,
his righteousness endures forever;
his horn will be lifted high in honor.
Map:
This Psalm seems to say that the upright — those who fear the Lord — will never face adversity. This, of course, cannot be guaranteed. Usually, things go better for us when we honor God, live responsibly, and refuse to deceive and manipulate others. But both the Scriptures and Christian history demonstrate that, many times, people actually suffer for doing the right thing. Our Lord is the supreme example.
Journey:
Can you commit to living uprightly even when to do so does not ‘pay off’ in the near term? The long term is another matter. Scripture assures us that God will vindicate those who suffer for the sake of Christ. We are called to be like our Lord, who indeed suffered unjustly but who, in the midst of adversity, also ‘entrusted himself to him who judges justly’ (1 Peter 2:23).
Tomorrow: OUR EXALTED LORD
Friday, February 11, 2011 SURPASSING RIGHTEOUSNESS
Compass:
Matthew 5:17-20 ‘I have…come…to fulfill [the Law].’
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Map:
In this part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus makes it clear that we are not to set aside the Law of God. The practice of the Christian faith is more — much more — than merely keeping a set of rules. The Scriptures make it abundantly clear that legalism is a snare to be avoided. (It leads to pride and arrogance, not to mention fatigue.) Nevertheless, Jesus says our righteousness must exceed even that of legalists.
Journey:
Outward righteousness (merely keeping the rules) will exhaust us. Righteousness that surpasses comes from a changed heart. It has its source in our desires. Perform a ‘check up’ of your heart. Is it filled with a desire to please God (and not just to prove yourself to be ‘good’?) If so, give thanks; God is the source of such a desire. If not, ask God to give you such a heart.
Tomorrow: ONE WHO FEARS THE LORD
Thursday, February 10, 2011 SALT AND LIGHT
Compass:
Matthew 5:13-16 ‘You are the salt of the earth…. You are the light of the world.’
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Map:
These words from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount call us to make sure our presence in the world is a distinctive one. We are to bring the zest of life (salt) to a bland existence; we are to illumine this dark world — all for the glory of God.
Journey:
‘Good deeds’ provide the salt and light that bring glory to God and blessing to others. Be alert today to opportunities to do good in God’s name.
Tomorrow: SURPASSING RIGHTEOUSNESS
Wednesday, February 9, 2011 GOD’S SECRET WISDOM
Compass:
1 Corinthians 2:6-10 ‘…We speak of God’s secret wisdom….’
6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 However, as it is written:
“No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
Map:
Paul’s first readers were enamored by ‘the wisdom of this age,’ with its promises of status, prestige, privilege, and control. Paul offered instead ‘God’s secret wisdom’ which sees the true path to glory in the apparent weakness of Christ and his followers.
Journey:
How are you seduced by the promise of worldly wisdom? Picture the broad road of ‘this age’ as a blind alley, and choose, instead, the narrow road of Christ (see Matthew 7:13-14).
Tomorrow: SALT AND LIGHT
Tuesday, February 8, 2011 NOTHING BUT THE CROSS OF CHRIST
Compass:
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 ‘…To know nothing…except Jesus Christ and him crucified.’
1 When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
Map:
Paul counters his readers’ fascination with human wisdom by reminding them that the true ‘demonstration of the Spirit’s power’ is revealed in a definitive way in the Cross of Christ. In fact, he said, ‘I resolved to know know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.’
Journey:
Reliance on human wisdom leads to a form of pride and arrogance that is offensive to God. Furthermore, it produces no real change in us. Only God’s power, revealed in the Cross of Christ, leads to a transformed life. There can be no other way to renewal than dying and rising with Christ. ‘Mortifying the old man’ in repentance and ‘quickening the new’ in faith is what is required (see the Second Helvetic Confession, 5.101). Hold a funeral today for the things that separate you from God; celebrate the birth of things that unite you to him.
Tomorrow: GOD’S SECRET WISDOM
Monday, February 7, 2011 GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS?
Compass:
Isaiah 58:3-9a ‘Is this the kind of fast I have chosen…?’
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?’
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD?
6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
Map:
The Lord accuses his people of merely going through the motions when they fast. While being formally religious, they mistreat others.
Journey:
Do your ‘religious’ practices (prayer, worship, service, etc.) issue in treating others justly? Check to make sure you’re not just going through the motions. God changes our hearts; our actions follow.
Tomorrow: NOTHING BUT THE CROSS OF CHRIST
Sunday, February 6, 2011 EXTERNAL RELIGION
Compass:
Isaiah 58:1-3 ‘…They seem eager to know my ways….’
1 “Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?’
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.
Map:
The religion of Judah’s people was a sham. ‘They seek me out,’ God said. ‘They seem eager to know my ways,’ but the key word is ‘seem.’ They acted ‘as if’ they were faithful, but the implication is that they were only pretending.
Journey:
You and I may look religious on the outside, and no one is the wiser when it comes to the authenticity of our faith. Except God. ‘Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’ (1 Sam. 16:7). What does God see when he looks into our hearts?
Tomorrow: GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS
Photo Credit: Small Boy, Big Trees by Bies
