Archive for December, 2009

Read Habakkuk 2:4-14

God will not let sin go unpunished.

Sure, it may go unpunished for a season, or even a lifetime (from our own limited perspective), but God will not let sin go unpunished.

And beginning in verse six of this second chapter, God lets Habakkuk know that the Babylonians will not get away with their crimes. God will not let sin go unpunished.

In fact, God says that everything they’ve done to everyone else will be done to them.

He says that the…

The ones so popular for plundering will be plundered. (v. 6-8)

The ones so famous for being fortified will be dismantled- (v. 9-11)

The ones so legendary for their exploiting will be exploited (v. 12-14)

The ones so notorious for their shaming of others will be shamed (v. 15-17)

The ones so willing to worship idols will be abandoned by their gods (v. 18-20)

God is lets Habakkuk know that the Babylonians will reap what they’ve sown. Their reign won’t last forever. Their sin will not go unpunished.

And although we may not be as wicked as those cruel ancient Babylonians, our sin will not go unpunished either.

And more than that, it’s quite possible that just like the Babylonians experienced, what you’ve done to others will be done to you.

Read Habakkuk 2:2-4

I love the phrase, “the righteous will live by his faith” (v. 4).

There’s been some debate as to what this phrase actually means (and perhaps there are multiple correct interpretations), but I think Habakkuk is saying that righteous people live in conformity and submission to the claims of their faith.

He is saying that the righteous man or woman live a life of obedience, a life of faithfulness to God.

And isn’t that the truth?

I love how the Message paraphrases this particular verse: “But the person in right standing before God through loyal and steady believing is fully alive, really alive.”

And I have to say from experience that I couldn’t agree more.

Read Habakkuk 1:12-2:1

Have you ever felt the need to remind God of who He is?

I love how Habakkuk says, “O LORD, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, we will not die. O LORD, you have appointed them to execute judgment; O Rock, you have ordained them to punish.”

It’s like He’s telling God not to forget who He is.

Habakkuk is not sure God is operating the way God should operate and is simply trying to remind God of some of His attributes and qualities.

He also reminds God how wicked the Babylonians are.

In case God had overlooked how evil and wicked the Babylonians were, Habakkuk thought it might be good to describe them. And specifically He reminds God of their terrible tactics of war.

And then he finishes.

He has gotten his anger out in the open. He has gotten this problem off of his chest. Habakkuk is upset, but he is finished venting.

And he transitions from arguing to waiting.

He has let it all out and now he prepares to wait for an answer.

But more than that, he puts himself in a position to hear from God.

And I love that.

Most of us argue with God. But we don’t ever stop arguing with Him. And we certainly don’t every stop long enough to let God respond.

Maybe we ought to try that.

Read Habakkuk 1:5-11

Sometimes things get worse before they get better.

Sometimes God doesn’t answer our prayers in the way that we want Him to, but instead He allows our situation to get worse before it gets better.

Isn’t that what happened in Habakkuk’s case?

When Habakkuk thought God was ignoring the situation in Israel, God gave him an answer he didn’t like.

God says, “I’m not only going to do something, I’ve already started. I’ve seen this situation coming for a long time and I’m fully capable of handling it and here’s the plan”

And God’s answer to Habakkuk’s question is that He is raising up the Babylonians and that they are going to march through the entire nation of Israel, take over Jerusalem, burn it to the ground, destroy the temple until nothing was left, and then take every able-bodied woman and man and move them hundreds of miles away from their land and family roots, to Babylon and turn them into slaves or whatever else the Babylonians wanted them to be.

And Habakkuk learned in that moment that God doesn’t always answer our prayers the way that we hope He will.

Habakkuk thought God would answer His prayer in a different way, that He would come through in a better way.

But he learned as so many of you have as well, that sometimes things get worse before they get better.

Read Habakkuk 1:1-4

Have you ever felt like Habakkuk felt?

Have you ever been angry with God?

Habakkuk is angry because he looks at the world around him and he sees the horror of what evil is doing.

But he is most angry because he can’t figure out where God is in the middle of all of it.

I think most of us can relate.

After all, most of us have asked at one point or another,  ”Where in the world is God in the middle of all this?” I think we’ve all had times in our lives when we’ve said, “God, where in the world are you? How can you let these things happen to me?”

And Habakkuk was more than a little upset that God didn’t seem to be doing anything about the injustice that surrounded him.

HCrime is on the rise. Justice is not being served. Wickedness is prevailing over righteousness. And Habakkuk just can’t understand why God would allow it go on.

So in a very passionate and articulate manner, he accuses God of being silent and delaying His punishment of sin. He accuses God, essentially, of being inactive.

And I think all of us can relate. I think all of us have had similar thoughts about our Heavenly Father. I think we’ve all made similar accusations.

But maybe God is up to something and we just don’t know it.

Maybe, just maybe, God knows exactly what He is doing.

Read 1 Peter 4:1-2, 14, 19

This devotion was written by Drew Cook

I love how the Message paraphrases verse 2.

It says, “being tyrannized by what you want”!

I wonder how often I “tyrannize” myself? How often is my suffering (usually disappointment and frustration) due to MY wants?

As much as I want to think I’ve overcome my “sinful habit of expecting to get your own way”, God points out a new area in my life where He wants me to “pursue” what He wants, instead of being “tyrannized” by what I want.

I’d love to say I’m daily getting past verses 1-2 and moving on to 14 and 19, but my honest answer would have to be I’m often still stuck in verses 1-2. Hopefully 2010 will see me get daily get closer to verses 14 and 19!

Of course, I’m not sure I want to “find life difficult”, but I don’t want to live tyrannizing myself either!

I want to encourage you to start thinking about how you want 2010 to be better than 2009!

Read Matthew 1:24-25

Merry Christmas!!

I know it’s a cliche, but I’m going to say it anyway: Jesus is the reason for the season!

Make sure you spend time with the birthday boy today. In fact, take some time to sing Him “Happy Birthday!” as well.

I am so glad Jesus came on that first Christmas day so many years ago!

Hallelujah!!!

Read Matthew 1:22-23

God is with you.

Some of you reading this today are hurting. God is with you.

Some of you are discouraged. God is with you.

Some of you are so lonely. God is with you.

Some of you are fighting a disease. God is with you.

Some of you have lost a loved one this year. God is with you.

Some of you feel like you can’t go on. God is with you.

And isn’t this the best news ever? Isn’t it a joy to know that God is not way off in the distance doing things God does, but that He is with us, that He became one of us?

Aren’t you glad that God entered into our mess on that first Christmas morning and has stuck with us since?

So, wherever you are today and whatever you’re doing, take a minute to stop and think about how great it is to have a God who is with us.

Read Matthew 1:20-21

Names were more significant in ancient times than they are today.

Today, parents pick names for different reasons.

Some may choose a name because of how it sounds, while another may pick a name because it’s unconventional. And of course, there are also those who choose a name because it’s a family name.

But most don’t pick their baby’s name because of what the name means.

However, in days gone by, that’s exactly what they did.

For instance, Adam means “man”, which is intentional, since he was the first man.

God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, which means “Father of many nations”.

Abraham’s son, Isaac has a name which means laughter, which is sort of funny if you’ve ever read the details surrounding his birth.

I think you get the point.

The meanings of names were much more significant thousands of years ago.

And it’s into this world that Jesus is born. Of course, Jesus means, “The LORD is salvation”. And many people believe that their were lots of little boys named Jesus running around Israel.

And that may be true.

But the angel wants Joseph to make sure this baby is named Jesus because He really will be the LORD who is salvation. He really will be the one and only Son of God.

Read Matthew 1:18-19

I tend to believe the best about people.

I believe the best about people I do know.

I believe the best about people I don’t know.

But I’ve got to be honest, there are about trillion things that would be easier for me to believe than that my fiancee was pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

Don’t you feel the same way?

I think it would be easier for me to believe that my ten year old could make it snow or my five year old could fly.

And Joseph didn’t believe her initially either.

But as we’ll see tomorrow, he eventually came to believe the unbelievable.

He realized that as unbelievable as it seemed, God’s plan was for Jesus to be born of a virgin.

And Mary was just the virgin God was looking for.