SCRIPTURE:  1 Tim. 5-6; Tit. 1-3

Titus 3:8-11
I want you to put your foot down. Take a firm stand on these matters so that those who have put their trust in God will concentrate on the essentials that are good for everyone. Stay away from mindless, pointless quarreling over genealogies and fine print in the law code. That gets you nowhere. Warn a quarrelsome person once or twice, but then be done with him. It’s obvious that such a person is out of line, rebellious against God. By persisting in divisiveness he cuts himself off.

OBSERVATIONS: This passage is often used as a proof-text for ending relationships. Today, it is a chastening rod and a measure by which I am to reflect on my own actions and statement.

APPLICATION: Joey, you’ve had your share of mindless, pointless quarrels. Remember to put your foot down on solid ground. This is the job. This is your required task. Let the rest of it SLIDE.

PRAYER: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; And wisdom to know the difference. Through Christ I ask it, and for His sake, Amen.

“Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

This has been my prayer for the last week and a half after reading the book, Mysteries of the Jesus Prayer. I’m not sure I’m going to add this to my recommended books list, but it might just be for you if you have had trouble praying lately. Or if you have had trouble concentrating lately.

This is an opportunity for you to connect with the millions who have prayed this prayer contemplatively.

“Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

SCRIPTURE: Matt. 20-22

Matthew 21:28-32
²⁸“Tell me what you think of this story: A man had two sons. He went up to the first and said, ‘Son, go out for the day and work in the vineyard.’

²⁹“The son answered, ‘I don’t want to.’ Later on he thought better of it and went.

³⁰“The father gave the same command to the second son. He answered, ‘Sure, glad to.’ But he never went.

^31-32“Which of the two sons did what the father asked?”

They said, “The first.”

Jesus said, “Yes, and I tell you that crooks and whores are going to precede you into God’s kingdom. John came to you showing you the right road. You turned up your noses at him, but the crooks and whores believed him. Even when you saw their changed lives, you didn’t care enough to change and believe him.

OBSERVATIONS: Too often, people are quick to say “YES,” but slow to dedicate their lives to the practice of agape love and selfless discipleship. We cannot discount those who authentically repent after years of sin. And we cannot dishonor the Father by honoring a failing workforce in the kingdom, no matter how heartfelt their words. Deeds count.

APPLICATION: Joey, it is time to return to the vineyards. That doesn’t mean, “Build me a wine press, establish a winery, handcraft 3000 casks, and start glassblowing the bottles yourself.” It means tend the vines. Look for fruit. Prune when I tell you. Fertilize, but don’t BS. Care enough about the calling to change, and to help others to find changed lives.

PRAYER: God, thank you for a clear word today. Bless me to bless others. Through Christ I ask it, Amen.

SCRIPTURE: Matt. 14-16

Matthew 15

^10-11He then called the crowd together and said, “Listen, and take this to heart. It’s not what you swallow that pollutes your life, but what you vomit up.”

¹²Later his disciples came and told him, “Did you know how upset the Pharisees were when they heard what you said?”

^13-14Jesus shrugged it off. “Every tree that wasn’t planted by my Father in heaven will be pulled up by its roots. Forget them. They are blind men leading blind men. When a blind man leads a blind man, they both end up in the ditch.”

¹⁵Peter said, “I don’t get it. Put it in plain language.”

^16-20Jesus replied, “You, too? Are you being willfully stupid?

OBSERVATIONS: Peter is a dud. He wants to be sharp, but is sharp like a bag of hammers. Me too, sometimes.

APPLICATION: Joey, don’t be willfully stupid. Get the point. It’s clear here.

PRAYER: God, I need your guidance to guide others. Please give me clear words so I can avoid the ditch for both of us. In Christ I pray, amen.

SCRIPTURE: Matt. 8-10

Matthew 10:5-8
Jesus sent his twelve harvest hands out with this charge:

“Don’t begin by traveling to some far-off place to convert unbelievers. And don’t try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously.

OBSERVATIONS: The job is simpler than I make it sometimes.

APPLICATION: Joey, the list is here and it’s short. Go to the lost. Tell them the kingdom is here. Bring health. Revive the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out demons.

PRAYER: God, my work is before me. Strengthen me for the task. I go in Christ’s name, Amen.

SCRIPTURE: Matthew 5-7

Matthew 5:1-12
^1-2 When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:

³“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

⁴“You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

⁵“You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

⁶“You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

⁷“You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.

⁸“You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

⁹“You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.

¹⁰“You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.

^11-12“Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.

OBSERVATIONS: God continues to pull for the underdog, and expects those who are “overdogs” to do the same.

APPLICATION: Joey, there are too many people around you who are hurting, who are sick, who are less than. Reach out to them.

PRAYER: God, I hear your beatitudes and realize that I am not the recipient, but the hands and feet of Christ. Forgive me where I have failed you by failing them. In Christ, Amen.

SCRIPTURE: Matt. 1-4

Matthew 4:23-25
From there he went all over Galilee. He used synagogues for meeting places and taught people the truth of God. God’s kingdom was his theme—that beginning right now they were under God’s government, a good government! He also healed people of their diseases and of the bad effects of their bad lives. Word got around the entire Roman province of Syria. People brought anybody with an ailment, whether mental, emotional, or physical. Jesus healed them, one and all. More and more people came, the momentum gathering. Besides those from Galilee, crowds came from the “Ten Towns” across the lake, others up from Jerusalem and Judea, still others from across the Jordan.

OBSERVATIONS: God’s Kingdom is the precedent for government, a good government. Healing, wholeness, and recovery are the hallmarks of our Body. And when this is so, the people come.

APPLICATION: Joey, seek the best for the community by seeking the best for the individuals. My kingdom is the goal, not the backdrop.

PRAYER: Even so, Lord Jesus, quickly come. Let your Body become the means of power for the powerless, strength for the weak, and hope for the hopeless. And let it begin and continue here. By your Word, through your Power, and in your Name, Amen.

SCRIPTURE: Ps. 124; 2 Cor. 11-13

2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,

   My grace is enough; it’s all you need. 
   My strength comes into its own in your weakness.

Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.

OBSERVATIONS: God uses the weakness we embrace to become the strength that He is able to wield and display.

APPLICATION: Joey, you were pushed to your knees for a reason. Don’t get up until I tell you to get up. Meditate and pray harder. Prepare. Rest in readiness, but not in anticipation. I will bring the rhythms that will instruct your timing. Be still.

PRAYER: Yes Lord. I will rest. For Christ’s Name’s sake, Amen.

SCRIPTURE: 2 Cor. 3-6

2 Corinthians 6:14-15
Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own.

OBSERVATIONS: Be included in his life, a resurrection life. Jesus made it possible for us all to have a serious grasp on something previously beyond us.

APPLICATION: Joey, you are no greater than the next man. You are no less than he, either. Greet your congregations as Christ. And receive the hospitality of your community as if being received by Christ as well.

PRAYER: God, thank you for placing us on even ground, equal footing. Help me to guard my ego and my self-esteem in a healthy balance that is wrapped up in Christ. Through Him I pray, Amen.