Who do you say that I Am?

S
Luke 9:20
But what about you? He asked. "Who do you say I am?"
O
Jesus questioned His disciples because many people were saying many things about who He was. Trying to "explain" who He was in their own understanding, they proclaimed Him John the Baptist coming back to life. Or Elijah reappearing after all these years, or possibly a prophet of old.
A
"But what about you?"
What about you. How do you see Him? Are you trying to figure it out with your understanding of who He is by what others say He is: or possibly by what is written about Him? Peter answered Jesus. He said, "You are the Christ." Peter's answer came from his heart. Peter knew who Jesus was because he knew Jesus, and he loved Jesus. Peter's answer came from his heart. Where will your answer come from?
P
Jesus, I want to know You with my whole heart, fully, unconditionally, because that's the place where I'll become aware of Who You truly are.

How do you think?

S
Luke 8:18
Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him
O
This is what Jesus said as he was summing up His parable of the seed and the sower.
A
The seed is the Word of God. We read the Word and we listen with our heart and mind. We hear the Word preached and we listen with our ears, heart and mind. And we study the Word. Again, we listen with our eyes, heart and mind. We all know the story: 1) some seed landed on the path but was stolen away. (Did they really listen with their heart or were they just using their ears and mind?) 2) some fell on the rocks but because of no water they withered. (Did they listen with heart heart or just their ears and mind? 3) Some fell in good soil but thorns grew up and choked them. These are hearers (listeners) who were carried away with life's worries and pleasures—politics, wars, jobs, bills, sports. They might have listened with their heart at first, but allowed worries and pleasures to crowd out what they had heard. I have read this parable many times and thought, "well, the seed certainly can't grow in rocks or in the midst of thorns (they are so pesky!)" Maybe the thorns grew or the seed was stolen because of how we listen. Jesus said, "consider—carefully—how you listen." Do you listen with your heart or just your ears, eyes and mind?
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Jesus, I want to listen with my heart. I want Your Word to grow a crop of love, grace, kindness, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness and faithfulness in my life. And when I'm not listening with my heart, would you remind me?

Life in HIm

S: You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. John 5:39-40

O: Jesus credits the Pharisees with being diligent students of the Word, but he says they've missed the One the Scriptures teach about—Him. They go to God's Word thinking it will give them life, but they fail to see that it teaches about Jesus—the One who can give them what they're looking for.

A: How often do I study the Scriptures with suspect motives. So I can feel good about checking off my spiritual duty. Or, so I can impress others with my biblical knowledge. God's Word frustrates those approaches, and the only time it rewards me is when I go there seeking Him. I believe the Bible is God's Word. I just don;t always treat it that way. If He's truly speaking in it, then I go there to hear Him, to hear Him speak the "words of life".

P: Dear Lord, make me hungry for you in your Word. Let me read it to learn the sound of your voice and hear your heart. Give me eyes to see and ears to hear, so that I don't miss the One who gives eternal life.

Props for God

S:
It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night,...Psalm 92:1-2

O:
What strikes me most about this passage is that the writer sees my motivation for thankfulness and praise in God's character—His steadfast love and faithfulness. And that when I do that, it's a declaration, presumably that encourages others, and it is "good."

A:
I so often give myself wholly in praise when I feel blessed; when things are going pretty good. What's weird about that is my praise becomes a reflection of me, how I'm doing. But this passage tells me that the praise I enthusiastically offer to God should be rooted in His faithful love. That's something I can count on regardless of how bad things might look.

P:
Dear Jesus, please remind me every day of your goodness towards me. Let me see with spiritual eyes the good You're working in all things so that I can declare it in joyful praise!

It All Ends the Same for Everyone

S: Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me, those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches? Psalm 49:5-6

O: The psalmist is asking questions. He’s wondering about arrogant rich people who “boast...of their riches”, and have cheated him. He is in trouble, and feels surrounded by them. He later answers the question by contemplating the fate of the rich, who, despite their wealth, cannot buy their way out of death.

A: Could there be a more applicable set of questions for these times? We can all see that much of the trouble we have today is the result of powerful people who are arrogant in their riches. It’s not the fault of those who are humbled by God’s blessings and bounty, seeking the good of others, but it can be charged to their selfish counterparts who revel in their riches, caring little for anyone but themselves. There's clearly more important issues in life than how much I have, and how "comfortable" I am.

P: Is that me, Lord? I tend to look at others who have more than me and think I need to be where they are, but I am wealthy compared to most in this world. Please keep me from the arrogance of riches, and make me a cheerful giver!

The Dust of Hope

S

(Psalm 102:14) For Your servants hold her [Zion's] stones dear and have pity on her dust.

O

Scholars usually see this psalm as having been written by one who was observing or remembering the destruction of the Temple. The stones that once easily evidenced God's beauty and goodness and glory were now broken and discarded in hideous piles, covered with the dust of disuse. But love resists abandonment. Love ("holding dear" and "pitying") creates value and purpose. And God's love makes possible the rebuilding of glory.

A

I, too, can look with despair on the damage that sin delivers, even upon the people who once magnificently displayed God's glory. I choose, instead of joining the haters and mockers, to hold dear these once-living souls. I choose to become a "living stone" that Jesus uses to build His spiritual home (1 Peter 2:5) even though I, too, was once discarded, useless dust (Matthew 27:7; Jeremiah 18:1-10; Matthew 16:13-27).

P

Dear Creator and Lord, You see order and design where I see chaos. I fear that often You find vanity in what I value, and purpose in what I find disgusting. Help me to set my heart aright so I align with the good You are doing. Help me to hold dear what You value, to pity what You pity--give me a "whosoever" heart that aches for the wholeness of others.

God is Good!

S: Psalm 100: 3-5

Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

O:

We're creatures who have a Creator. He has a right to us, as a ranch owner has claim over his flock. This same Creator tells us to come near to him, through His gates and into his presence with thankful praise, because He is loving and faithful.

A:

God made me for a purpose—to minister to Him. He is my first calling, and offering thankful praise to Him is among the most righteous and good things that I can do. But what is really beautiful about this Psalm is its sense of invitation. Though I belong to Him, he doesn't compel me to come. Instead, He communicates His loving faithfulness, and His goodness draws me.

P:

Dear Lord, let me always remember your goodness, especially when I gather with your people to praise you!