READ: Psalm 99, Jonah 1, John 3, Galatians 5 BECOMING LESS It is God’s presence that compels, fuels, and demands mission. We cannot claim to be intimate with Jesus and not be passionately, radically stirred for the nations. To know anything about Jesus is to know that He burns to be glorified by every tribe, […]
Region: Arab World
Abiding in Jesus: September 5
READ: Psalm 98, Obadiah, John 2, Galatians 4 TRUE FRIENDSHIP Real friends hurt each other. Paul asks the Galatians if he has become their enemy “because he tells them the truth” (Gal. 4:16). Obadiah points out that brothers who do not help each other will be judged harshly by God and the opposite of the Golden […]
Abiding in Jesus: September 4
READ: Psalm 97, Amos 9, John 1, Galatians 3 UNDIGNIFIED Undignified for Jesus. We tend to despise those who cannot control themselves–even in worship. When God encounters a person, the “dirt and divinity” principle kicks in–a dissonance arising from the distance between the all-powerfully Holy and the limited sinful. If mountains melt like wax at the […]
Abiding in Jesus: September 3
READ: Psalm 96, Amos 8, Luke 24, Galatians 2 JESUS THEORY Abiding helps us understand. Post-resurrection two disciples are walking the Emmaus road, discussing the strange events surrounding the death and alleged resurrection of Jesus. “While they conversed and reasoned . . . Jesus Himself drew near and went with them” (Luke 24:15). The verse is obviously literal […]
Abiding in Jesus: September 2
READ: Psalm 95, Amos 7, Luke 23, Galatians 1 UNPOPULAR Where did we get the idea that the gospel makes people happy, that preaching God’s Word pleases the unconverted? The gospel offends more than it delights. For good news to have relevance it must be contrasted with the bad news of every man and woman being […]
Abiding in Jesus: September 1
READ: Psalm 94, Amos 6, Luke 22, 2 Corinthians 13 SIFTED LIKE WHEAT The expression “Live Dead” is just another way of saying “die to self” or the “crucified life.” To live dead is nothing new; it is just applying the principle of self-denial in a frontier missions context. The problem with taking up the […]
Abiding in Jesus: August 31
READ: Psalm 93, Amos 5, Luke 21, 2 Corinthians 12 ADORNED Holiness is beautiful, and God goes to great lengths to beautify His people. Lowliness is beautiful, and God uses extreme measures to make and keep His people lowly. Holiness and lowliness are inseparable; it is impossible to lack one and have the other. God […]
Abiding in Jesus: August 30
READ: Psalm 92, Amos 4, Luke 20, 2 Corinthians 11 WORSHIP’S WEAKNESS Humankind loves to worship–it was for this purpose we were created. Unfortunately we often worship foolishly. We love rituals, rhythms, and regularity, for they comfort us. Though we were designed to love worship, we were never intended to worship it. We were designed to use […]
Abiding in Jesus: August 29
READ: Psalm 91, Amos 3, Luke 19, 2 Corinthians 10 RUTHLESS JESUS There is a relentlessness about Jesus. Jesus must rule over all of me, all the earth, all creation, every atom, every galaxy; all things must be subject to Him. Jesus is the constant potter, shaping, cleansing, straightening, completing, and steadily bringing us to […]
Abiding in Jesus: August 28
READ: Psalm 90, Amos 2, Luke 18, 2 Corinthians 9 MERCY’S SURRENDER The quicker we surrender to Jesus, the better. Mercy (God’s best for us no matter how much it hurts) is so satisfying if only we would surrender to it. We tend to unwittingly fight God’s mercy, resist the very thing that will deliver […]
