From the Kitchen Table

The Kitchen Table Day 18

Today’s Reading:  Psalm 27; Judges 7:12-22; Phil 2:12-18

Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life  Philippians 2:14-16

Only those who surrender to the word of life shine in the world as light.  Only as Gideon surrendered to the word of the Lord, was he able to defeat his enemy.  Remember, it’s not who you are but who He is that matters.  It’s not what you could do but what He can do that makes the difference.  We don’t do things in our strength but His when we surrender to His word and His way.  The Psalmist writes, “I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living…”  Surrendering to God involves looking forward to what our victory looks like, not just at what our enemy’s defeat looks like.  See the difference.  Think about what God’s victory looks like for us who believer, not just at what defeat looks like for our enemy.  If we can see what victory looks like we can better surrender to what victory means. 

The Kitchen Table  Day 17

Todays Reading:    Psalm 27: Judges 6:11-24; Ephesians 5:6-14

Walk as children of light… Ephesians 5:7

Remember to live in words that mean something and on ways that do something good.  Don’t be deceived by empty words and worthless ways.  God has something better in store for you.  Live in what is good and right and true. Learning what pleases God.  He operates in what is good and right and true.  Our course in life is tied to our conversations in life.  The Psalmist says that all he asks for is to dwell in the house of the Lord.  Gideon finds the courage and calling sitting in the company of the Lord.  Our conversations in life have so much to do with our course through life.  Seek conversations with God and with God’s people.  You don’t want to live with empty words on worthless ways, there’s no joy in that for you or anyone else.  God will give you the words and the way of life.

The Kitchen Table  Day 16

Today’s Reading:    Psalm 4:1-6; 1 Samuel 10:1-8; Galatians 2:1-10

The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in power…  1 Sam 10:6

Whatever you do, don’t neglect the presence and power of God in your life.  He is the difference-maker.  He doesn’t just call us to Himself, He comes Himself.  He came to and on and in Saul and Paul and He made them different people, just like He will us.  It’s His presence that makes all the difference.  But we have a choice.  We can choose to live in His power, passion, purpose, and pleasure or we can choose to live in our own poverty, pain, perversion, and plans.  We do have a choice in it all.  We neglect Holy Spirit of God when we choose to hold onto our hurts, disappointments, and regrets waiting for someone else to do the right thing rather than waiting on and wanting the right thing of the Holy Spirit.  Saul would choose to live in the insecurities; and inconsistencies of life but Paul would choose to live in the incentives and inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in power.  Don’t neglect Him, don’t say no or not now.  Want Him, seek Him, know Him.  His presence makes all the difference and He will come, and He will make all the difference.

The Kitchen Table Day 15

Today’s Reading:    Psalm 27:1-6; 1 Samuel 1:1-20; Galatians 1:11-24

One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. Ps 27:6

One thing we all learn as we grow in our relationship with our Heavenly Father is that His presence is precious.  In His presence all things become beautiful.  His glory and majesty transform the hurt, hate and hollowness of humans.  Like we read today, God met Hannah in her hurt and Saul in his hateful, sinful, sabotage.  God’s presence changes everything and even though He is always around us, it’s when we seek Him that we know Him.  And as we gaze upon who He is and what He has that we lose sight of who are and what we need.  As we just gaze upon Him, we can begin to see what we can be and what we can have.  Sometimes, I’m certain, we spend more time groveling than gazing and just looking at our problems doesn’t make them go away but look at Him makes those other things lose their sway over our lives.  Maybe less words and more wonder would wake up our sense of hope for today.

The Kitchen Table  Day 18

Today’s Reading:  Isaiah 48:12-21; Matthew 9:14-17

I am the Lord who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.  Is 48:17

God is calling us to leave what we’ve know to live in what He knows.  He’s not calling us to patch up the old life but to live the new life.  There’s a new life He is calling us to like He was calling the Israelites to from Babylon.  There’s a new life He is calling us to that involves new clothes and new table service.  It’s about new lives and new thinking but Jesus is the one who teaches us what this new life looks like and how it works.  Those who try to fix up an old life end up with a nice-looking old life.  Jesus deals in new lives filled with new thoughts and new treasures.  God, who can bring water from a rock, knows how to lead you and me into a life that works, really works.  Don’t settle for a patched-up old life, get a new one from Jesus.

The Kitchen Table               Day 13

Today’s Reading:     Isaiah 53:1-12; Hebrews 10:1-13

He to the punishment and that made us whole…          Is 53:5 msg

Remember this!  Jesus took it outside to deal with everything that was wrong on the inside so that we might be saved, changed, and healed on the inside to be different on the outside.  Jesus didn’t just die for what sin did, He died for what makes sin live, a deceived, damaged, and dying heart.  He faced on the outside all the evil and anger and wickedness that can come out of a man to heal what is damaged, deceived and dying on the inside of a man.  And He did that to  heal us on the inside to be whole on the outside.  He took the fight outside to give us the fix on the inside.  Only the love and life of Jesus can fix what’s wrong on the inside to make us right on the outside.

The Kitchen Table  Day 12

Text:  Psalm 40: 6-17; Exodus 12:1-13, 21-28; Acts 8:26-40

You are my help and my deliverer…  Psalm 40:17

Don’t just look for God, listen for Him.  Hope, help and healing are in His word.  There was an old hymn we used to sing called “Trust and Obey” for there is no other way.  Hearing and honoring the word of God, the Israelites put the blood of the lamb on the doorposts preventing the death angel from entering their homes.  The Eunuch, after hearing the word of the Lord, chose to be baptized and God delivered him from his sinful situation.  Deliverance is in God’s word to us.  Listen to it, don’t just look for it.  Listen to His word, it will help you see His work and will for your life.

The Kitchen Table  Day 11

Text:  Psalm 40:1-11; Genesis 27:30-38; Acts 1:1-5

But you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit…  Acts 1:5

There is a blessing that comes to those who believe.  That blessing is the promise of position, power, privilege and prosperity.  That blessing is connected to believing.  In the Old Testament, Jacob believed in it and stole it from Esau by deceiving his father Isaac.  It all sounds so wrong, but Esau took it for granted and Jacob took it to heart.  Isaac could pass the blessing down to one, but Jesus passes the blessing to all who believe.  That blessing comes with the presence, power, privilege and passion of God and we all need that promise.  Believe in a way that causes you to behave, want and wait for this blessing of God’s presence, the Holy Spirit.  He will set you apart and set you up to live in heaven.  The Holy Spirit comes from heaven and He brings heaven with Him.  Believe and behave today, wanting and waiting for the Holy Spirit’s counsel, care and capabilities.  It’s a blessing!

The Kitchen Table Day 10

Text:  Psalm 40:1-11; Isaiah 22:15-25; Galatians 6:6-12

Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust…  Psalm 40:4

Don’t forget where you came from or where this whole new life thing started.  It wasn’t you; it was Him.  The one who continues to trust in Him will be blessed.  God’s promises are real, and His word is true.  Through witness and worship, a believer walks in the blessings of God.  It’s a love thing.  Keep living in God’s love while living to love God and you’ll see.  Don’t be like Shebna who became proud and forgetful and lost his secure place, like a nail that wiggles loose in the wall and eventually falls out, dropping what it was holding.  Don’t be like the Galatians who exchanged Holy Spirit revelation or man-made religion.  That too is pride prying us lose from our secure place.  Don’t forget where you came from and let your witness and worship glorify God and no one else.  God blesses those who trust in Him.

The Kitchen Table Day 9

Text:  Psalm 89:5-37; Isaiah 51:1-16; Matthew 12:15-21

Righteousness and faithfulness are the foundation of His throne;

steadfast love and faithfulness go before Him.               Psalm 89:14

A bruised reed He will not break and a smoldering wick He will not

extinguish until He leads just to victory.                        Matthew 12:20

Here’s something to think about.  The ministry of Jesus grew as much from who He touched as it did from who He told.  He touched people; He didn’t just tell people.  There’s a saying that says, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”  The Bible says that righteousness and faithfulness are the foundations of His throne.  Those aren’t things we just talk about; they are things that describe what we do.  A testimony comes from the people we touch more than the people we tell and that’s what grows influence, respect and revival.  Today, don’t just talk to someone about the power of God, touch them with the power of God.