1 Thessalonians 4:11 KJV
And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;
Minding My Own Business
Years ago, my son Josh and I were making our way up a mountain trail when we spied a cloud of dust rising in the air. We crept forward and discovered a badger busy making a den in a dirt bank. He had his head and shoulders in the hole and was vigorously digging with his front paws and kicking the dirt out of the hole with his hind feet. He was so invested in his work he didn’t hear us.
I couldn’t resist and prodded him from behind with a long stick lying nearby. I didn’t hurt the badger, but he leaped straight up in the air and turned toward us. Josh and I set new world records for the hundred-yard dash.
I learned something from my brashness: Sometimes it’s best not to poke around in other people’s business. That’s especially true in relationships with fellow believers in Jesus. The apostle Paul encouraged the Thessalonians to “make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands” (1 Thessalonians 4:11). We’re to pray for others and seek by God’s grace to share the Scriptures, and occasionally we may be called to offer a gentle word of correction. But learning to live a quiet life and not meddling into others’ lives is important. It becomes an example to those who are now outside God’s family (v. 12). Our calling is to “love each other” (v. 9).
Reflect & Pray
What happens when you meddle in other people’s business? What’s the first thing you should do instead for others?
God, teach me to know what it means to love others better.
Insight
The church at Thessalonica, imperfect like all human organizations, was nevertheless one of the premier congregations in the New Testament. Established by Paul, Silas, and Timothy (Acts 16:1–5; 17:1–3), this church quickly became a hub of missionary activity—in part because of the profound witness the Thessalonians presented of the transforming power of the gospel. Paul applauds this transformation in the opening verses of this letter, where he says that their witness had reached throughout their land: “They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9). In a first-century Greek culture that proliferated with idols, their turning away from them speaks of dramatic change—turning away from dead idols of wood and stone to the God who is not only living but life-giving to all who trust Him. From idolatry to a living faith in the living God, the Thessalonians displayed true transformation.
2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
Pleading with God
A family’s prayer time ended with a surprising announcement one morning. As soon as Dad said, “Amen,” five-year-old Kaitlyn proclaimed, “And I prayed for Logan, because he had his eyes open during prayer.”
I’m pretty sure praying for your ten-year-old brother’s prayer protocol isn’t what Scripture has in mind when it calls us to intercessory prayer, but at least Kaitlyn realized that we can pray for others.
Bible teacher Oswald Chambers emphasized the importance of praying for someone else. He said that “intercession is putting yourself in God’s place; it is having His mind and perspective.” It’s praying for others in light of what we know about God and His love for us.
We find a great example of intercessory prayer in Daniel 9. The prophet understood God’s troubling promise that the Jews would have seventy years of captivity in Babylon (Jeremiah 25:11–12). Realizing that those years were nearing their completion, Daniel went into prayer mode. He referenced God’s commands (Daniel 9:4–6), humbled himself (v. 8), honored His character (v. 9), confessed sin (v. 15), and depended on His mercy as he prayed for His people (v. 18). And he got an immediate answer from God (v. 21).
Not all prayer ends with such a dramatic response, but be encouraged that we can go to God on behalf of others with an attitude of trust and dependence on Him.
Reflect & Pray
When you pray for others, how are you seeking the mind of God? How do you seek His perspective?
Dear heavenly Father, help me to know You better so that when I pray for others, I can filter my requests through my knowledge of Your will.
Insight
The prayer in Daniel 9 was written near the end of the Israelites’ seventy years in Babylon. It had been prophesied that after seventy years God would bring His people back to Jerusalem (v. 2; see also Jeremiah 25:11–14; 29:10). To prepare for the return, Daniel “pleaded with [God] in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes” (Daniel 9:3). At the time, praying this way was common in difficult situations (see Esther 4:1–3; Jonah 3:6–9). Daniel’s prayer is now a model for believers in Jesus. He begins by worshiping God for His faithfulness (Daniel 9:4), then he pleads with Him for forgiveness for himself and the nation (vv. 5–7), and finally reminds God of His covenant and asks Him to restore their land (v. 19).
John 20:31 KJV
But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
The Reason for Writing
“The Lord is my high tower . . . . We left the camp singing.” On September 7, 1943, Etty Hillesum wrote those words on a postcard and threw it from a train. Those were the final recorded words we would hear from her. On November 30, 1943, she was murdered at Auschwitz. Later, Hillesum’s diaries of her experiences in a concentration camp were translated and published. They chronicled her perspectives on the horrors of Nazi occupation along with the beauty of God’s world. Her diaries have been translated into sixty-seven languages—a gift to all who would read and believe the good as well as the bad.
The apostle John didn’t sidestep the harsh realities of Jesus’ life on earth; he wrote of both the good Jesus did and the challenges He faced. The final words from his gospel give insight into the purpose behind the book that bears his name. Jesus performed “many other signs . . . which are not recorded” (20:30) by John. But these, he says, were “written that you may believe” (v. 31). John’s “diary” ends on the note of triumph: “Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.” The gift of those gospel words allows us the opportunity to believe and “have life in his name.”
The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) are diary accounts of God’s love for us. They’re words to read and believe and share, for they lead us to life. They lead us to Christ.
Reflect & Pray
How might it change the way you read the Gospels if you thought of them as diaries? How are you being led to the heart of Christ through them?
Gracious God, thank You for the gift of the Scriptures, written down by faithful hands so that I might believe and have life.
Insight
Thomas is mentioned among Jesus’ disciples in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but it’s John’s gospel that gives us a close-up view of him. John’s account of Jesus includes six scenes where Thomas appears (all in chapters 11–20), and he first speaks in 11:16 after the death of Lazarus. Jesus’ well-known words in John 14:6—“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”—were in response to Thomas’ query, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” (v. 5).
In John, we see Thomas as a pessimist and realist—inquisitive, human, honest. And he’s commonly referred to as “doubting Thomas” because of his words in John 20:25 and Jesus’ response to him in verse 27. But his last recorded words reveal that he was convinced of who Jesus is: “My Lord and my God!” (v. 28).
Job 37:6 KJVFor he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength.
Snow Muse
Named for a tough blue-collar neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio, the grassroots musical group Over the Rhine sings about a transformation that took place each year in the city. “Whenever we’d get our first real snowfall of the year, it felt like something sacred was happening,” explains band co-founder Linford Detweiler. “Like a little bit of a fresh start. The city would slow down and grow quiet.”
If you’ve experienced a heavy snowfall, you understand how it can inspire a song. A magical quietness drapes the world as snow conceals grime and grayness. For a few moments, winter’s bleakness brightens, inviting our reflection and delight.
Elihu, the one friend of Job who may have had a helpful view of God, noted how creation commands our attention. “God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways,” he said (Job 37:5). “He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’ ” Such splendor can interrupt our lives, demanding a sacred pause. “So that everyone he has made may know his work, he stops all people from their labor,” Elihu observed (vv. 6–7).
Nature sometimes seizes our attention in ways we don’t like. Regardless of what happens to us or what we observe around us, each moment—magnificent, menacing, or mundane—can inspire our worship. The poet’s heart within us craves the holy hush..
Reflect & Pray
What events or things motivate you to ponder God’s greatness and creativity? How can you experience His wonder in your ordinary moments today?
Father, help me to see Your hand in everything today. Give me a heart to appreciate Your amazing works.
Insight
The book of Job is renowned as a treatise on how suffering impacts us as human beings, so much so that the bulk of the book’s content is devoted to Job (and his friends) processing and trying to understand his pain and loss. As such, it breaks down into three major sections: the events of Job’s suffering (chs. 1–2), the dialogue about his suffering (chs. 3–37), and God’s response to his complaint about his suffering (chs. 38–42). In the lengthy middle section, Job and his friends engage in debate about the meaning of suffering, with three friends taking turns to reflect on Job’s situation. It’s a fourth friend, Elihu, who joins the discussion in today’s biblical text. The theme of his discourse? That Job is wrong for questioning God because His mysterious works are beyond our comprehension and should be viewed with trust in His perfect, trustworthy character.
Philippians 4:9 KJV
Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
Practice These Things
As I helped my son with his math homework, it became apparent he was less than enthusiastic about doing multiple problems related to the same concept. “I’ve got it, Dad!” he insisted, hoping I would let him out of doing all of his assignment. I then gently explained to him that a concept is just a concept until we learn how to work it out in practice.
Paul wrote about practice to his friends in Philippi. “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice” (Philippians 4:9). He mentions five things: reconciliation—as he urged Euodia and Syntyche to do (vv. 2–3); joy—as he reminded his readers to cultivate (v. 4); gentleness—as he urged them to employ in their relation to the world (v. 5); prayer—as he had modeled for them in person and in writing (vv. 6–7); and focus—as he had shown even in prison (v. 8). Reconciliation, joy, gentleness, prayer, and focus—things we’re called to live out as believers in Jesus. Like any habit, these virtues must be practiced in order to be cultivated.
But the good news of the gospel, as Paul had already told the Philippians, is that “it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (2:13). We’re never practicing in our own power. God will provide what we need (4:19).
Reflect & Pray
What things do you need to practice as you seek to imitate Jesus? How can you practice in the power of the Holy Spirit?
Jesus, give me the grace to practice Your ways by the power of the Holy Spirit. Empower me to live my life in a way that bears the fruit of the Spirit.
Insight
Addressing the believers in Jesus at Philippi, Paul encourages them not to be anxious about anything. The Greek word for anxious (merimnao) means “to be divided or distracted” in one’s thinking. Paul is suggesting that believers in Christ ought not to be pulled in multiple directions—like the doubter described in James 1:6–8. But he doesn’t simply leave the reader to figure out how to do this; he provides two-fold instruction for how to keep our minds focused. The first method for single-mindedness is taking our concerns to God in thankful prayer (Philippians 4:6–7). This will guard our hearts and minds with the peace of Christ. Second, the apostle encourages us to focus our attention on things that are true, pure, lovely, admirable, and praiseworthy (v. 8).
For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.
Out of Our Poverty
Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates made history when they launched the Giving Pledge, promising to donate half of their money. As of 2018, this meant giving away 92 billion dollars. The pledge made psychologist Paul Piff curious to study giving patterns. Through a research test, he discovered that the poor were inclined to give 44 percent more of what they had than wealthy people. Those who’ve felt their own poverty are often moved to greater generosity.Jesus knew this. Visiting the temple, He watched the crowds drop gifts into the treasury (Mark 12:41). The rich tossed in wads of cash, but a poor widow pulled out her last two copper coins, worth maybe a penny, and placed them into the basket. I picture Jesus standing up, delighted and astounded. Immediately, He gathered His disciples, making sure they didn’t miss this dazzling act. “This poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others,” Jesus exclaimed (v. 43). The disciples looked at each other, bewildered, hoping someone could explain what Jesus was talking about. So, He made it plain: those bringing huge gifts “gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything” (v. 44).We may have little to give, but Jesus invites us to give out of our poverty. Though it may seem meager to others, we give what we have, and God finds great joy in our lavish gifts.
Reflect & Pray
What does it mean for you to give out of your poverty? How can you give “everything” for Jesus today?God, I don’t feel like I have much to offer. My gifts feel puny and worthless. But I’m here. All of me. Will You receive me in my poverty?
Insight
The celebration of generosity shared by Jesus in Mark 12:43–44—especially the idea of giving out of one’s poverty—is also reflected in the apostle Paul’s account of the churches of Macedonia. During a severe trial, “their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity” (2 Corinthians 8:2). They gave “even beyond their ability” (v. 3) because they regarded it “the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people” (v. 4). The secret to the Macedonians’ generosity was that “they gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then . . . also to us” (v. 5). In other words, their prior allegiance to Jesus was expressed in their commitment to the welfare of others. Ultimately, generosity can’t be forced because it’s a dynamic of the heart. So, Paul says, “each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (9:7).
Ezekiel 37:6 KJV
And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
Every Breath
When Tee Unn came down with a rare autoimmune disease that weakened all his muscles and nearly killed him, he realized that being able to breathe was a gift. For more than a week, a machine had to pump air into his lungs every few seconds, which was a painful part of his treatment.
Tee Unn made a miraculous recovery, and today he reminds himself not to complain about life’s challenges. “I’ll just take a deep breath,” he says, “and thank God I can.”
How easy it is to focus on things we need or want, and forget that sometimes the smallest things in life can be the greatest miracles. In Ezekiel’s vision (Ezekiel 37:1–14), God showed the prophet that only He could give life to dry bones. Even after tendons, flesh, and skin had appeared, “there was no breath in them” (v. 8). It was only when God gave them breath that they could live again (v. 10).
This vision illustrated God’s promise to restore Israel from devastation. It also reminds me that anything I have, big or small, is useless unless God gives me breath.
How about thanking God for the simplest blessings in life today? Amid the daily struggle, let’s stop occasionally to take a deep breath, and “let everything that has breath praise the Lord” (Psalm 150:6).
Reflect & Pray
What will you thank God for right now? How can you remind yourself to thank Him more often today?
Thank You, God, for every breath You’ve given me. Thank You for the smallest things in life and the greatest miracles of life.
Insight
In the record of Ezekiel’s vision of the dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1–14), two repeated words paint the scene in particularly vivid imagery: bones and breath(e). These words set up the contrast between what Ezekiel sees and what God does. Twelve times the word bone(s) is repeated in these verses. The repetition creates the unmistakable image of death, but not that of the recently deceased. The death shown to Ezekiel by the Spirit of God is that of the long dead—no skin, muscle, or tendons are left; the dry bones lay scattered on the valley floor, no longer connected to each other.
In contrast to the dry bones is the promise and power of God’s breath. It alone undoes death. When “the bones came together” (v. 7) and were covered with sinew and flesh, they still weren’t alive. It was only when the breath of God entered them that they became a living army once again.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
God’s Storybook
Wanting to enjoy the beautiful day, I headed out for a walk and soon met a new neighbor. He stopped me and introduced himself: “My name is Genesis, and I’m six and a half years old.”
“Genesis is a great name! It’s a book in the Bible,” I replied.
“What’s the Bible?” he asked.
“It’s God’s storybook about how He made the world and people and how He loves us.”
His inquisitive response made me smile: “Why did He make the world and people and cars and houses? And is my picture in His book?”
While there isn’t a literal picture of my new friend Genesis or the rest of us in the Scriptures, we’re a big part of God’s storybook. We see in Genesis 1 that “God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God He created them” (v. 27). God walked with them in the garden, and then warned about giving in to the temptation to be their own god (ch. 3). Later in His book, God told about how, in love, His Son, Jesus, came to walk with us again and brought about a plan for our forgiveness and the restoration of His creation.
As we look at the Bible, we learn that our Creator wants us to know Him, talk with Him, and even ask Him our questions. He cares for us more than we can imagine.
Reflect & Pray
Where do you see yourself in God’s story? In what ways are you experiencing His fellowship?
Loving God, thank You for making me a part of Your story. May I love You and others as You love me.
Insight
We’re given two different accounts of creation in Genesis 1–2. The reason for two accounts is the source of much scholarly debate. One view is that having two creation stories is similar to having two birth narratives for Jesus (Matthew 1–2 and Luke 1–2) or to the presence of four gospel records—each provides details not presented in the others. Applying this approach to the two creation accounts, it’s not unreasonable to see Genesis 1 as an overview of the big picture of the world’s creation, with chapter 2 looping back to provide us with important details, particularly regarding the creation of the first man and woman.
Mark 4:40 KJV
And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
Storms of Fear
In a TV commercial I saw recently, a woman casually asks someone in a group watching TV, “What are you searching for, Mark?” “A version of myself that doesn’t make decisions based on fear,” he responds soberly—not realizing that she was just asking what he liked to watch on TV!
Whoa, I thought. I wasn’t expecting a TV commercial to hit me so profoundly! But I related to poor Mark: I too feel embarrassed by the way fear sometimes seems to direct my life.
Jesus’ disciples also experienced the profound power of fear. Once, as they headed across the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:35), “a furious squall came up” (v. 37). Terror gripped them, and they suggested that Jesus (who’d been sleeping!) might not care about them: “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” (v. 38).
Fear distorted the disciples’ vision, blinding them to Jesus’ good intentions for them. After He rebuked the wind and waves (v. 39), Christ confronted the disciples with two penetrating questions: “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (v. 40).
Storms rage in our lives as well, don’t they? But Jesus’ questions can help us put our fears in perspective. His first question invites us to name our fears. The second invites us to entrust those distorted feelings to Him—asking Him for eyes to see how He guides us even through life’s most raging storms.
Reflect & Pray
What storms are you facing right now? How can you entrust your fears and emotions to Jesus when the winds blow and the waters rise?
Loving Savior, thank You that You’re always present in the storm. As I move through life’s scary moments, help me each day to talk to You and entrust You with my fears.
Insight
The Gospels tell us of two separate times when Jesus calmed a storm. Here in Mark 4, Jesus is already with the disciples, but He’s asleep in the boat. Although they’d seen Him perform great miracles, the disciples didn’t yet understand the full impact of those miracles, which clearly demonstrated Jesus’ power over every situation.
The second time Jesus stilled the sea (Mark 6:47–52), He wasn’t with the disciples. He was “walking on the lake” during a storm. In both cases, the disciples were in great fear—the first time because of the dangerous storm, the second because they thought Jesus was a ghost. These dramatic stories both show how God was building the faith of His disciples. He permitted them to sail into the middle of a fearful situation in order to stretch their faith.
1 Peter 2:9 KJV
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;
Caring Letters
Decades ago, Dr. Jerry Motto discovered the power of a “caring letter.” His research found that simply sending a letter expressing care to discharged patients who had previously attempted suicide reduced the rate of recurrence by half. Recently, health care providers have rediscovered this power when sending “caring” texts, postcards, and even social media memes as follow-up treatment for the severely depressed.
Twenty-one “books” in the Bible are actually letters—epistles—caringly written to first-century believers who struggled for a variety of reasons. Paul, James, and John wrote letters to explain the basics of faith and worship, and how to resolve conflict and build unity.
The apostle Peter, however, specifically wrote to believers who were being persecuted by the Roman emperor, Nero. Peter reminded them of their intrinsic value to God, describing them this way in 1 Peter 2:9, “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession.” This lifted their gaze to God’s great purpose for them in their world: “that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
Our great God Himself wrote a book filled with caring letters to us—inspired Scripture—that we might always have a record of the value He assigns us as His own. May we read His letters daily and share them with others who need the hope Jesus offers.
Reflect & Pray
How does reading the Epistles as caring letters help you receive God’s encouragement? How will you share the hope of God’s caring letters today?
Loving God, thank You for the caring letters in the Bible!
Insight
In 1 Peter 2:9, Peter gives four characteristics of the church followed by a purpose statement. The apostle tells members of the church what and who they are and then tells them what their identity is meant to do. The description of the church in 1 Peter is similar to the description of the people of Israel found in the Old Testament. The church is a chosen people (compare Deuteronomy 7:6), a royal priesthood and a holy nation (compare Exodus 19:6), and God’s special possession (compare Exodus 19:5). These qualities allow the church to fulfill its mission: to “declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).
