October 27, 2019

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for October 27th: Joel 2:23-32, Psalm 65, 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18, Luke 18:9-14: Theme: Life always gets better Joel: The book of Joel was written in response to a national catastrophe. The entire country had been devastated by a swarm of locust. They came through and ate everything for three years. By the time they were done, there was nothing left. The country looked like a war zone. Joel tells the people that this is a result of sin, and that they need to repent. After the short book details what happened, he offers these words of hope for the people. God will restore all that they lost. As a matter of fact, being that they are stronger people, life will be that much better. We may not be able to relate to a locust attack, but there are many environmental disasters happening in our nation. There are many people who have lost everything and have to rebuild their life. God is with them just as God was with the people in Joel’s time. We are become stronger because of the struggles we go through in life. Luke: Jesus continues to teach us how to pray in this scripture. But instead now he talks about the attitude that we should have when we pray. Prayer is not a privilege, it is a gift. Prayer does not make us better than others, prayer should make us humble. More importantly, God answers our prayers all of the same. We are all sinners, even those of us who strive to be righteous. The Pharisees were supposed to be the leaders of society, and the tax collector was despised by society. The both come to God, but with different prayers, with a different attitude with different outcomes. The tax collector left feeling that God has heard his cry, the Pharisee was just satisfied with his own prayer. The lesson for us, is that when we pray that we should be humble and trusting that God hears us, in spite of our sins. Questions: What situation is going on in the world most in need of hope? Do you pray often?

October 20, 2019

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for October 20th: Jeremiah 31:27-34, Psalm 119:97-104, 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5, Luke 18:1-8, Theme: prayer pays off Luke: prayer is an important part of our life as a Christian. Prayer is our conversation with God. The old song encourages us to take everything to God in prayer. In this scripture, an old lady is persistent with a judge to give her justice. The judge says that he finally gives in just to get her to stop pestering him. In some ways this demonstrates how we should be with God, but God has nothing in common with the judge. God hears our prayers and answers because God loves us, not because God is tired of hearing from us. As a matter of fact, the exact opposite is true. God enjoys our prayers. Sometime we have to continually pray for the same thing in order for it to finally happen. In the end, justice, mercy, and peace always prevail. But all of these things take persistent prayer. Jeremiah: Jeremiah always struggled with telling his people the truth – they would reap the consequences of their actions. God was not pleased with them. When they lost their homeland and were sent into exile, Jeremiah went right along with them. But Jeremiah that his role as prophet was not to let the people become discouraged. He let them know that God still loved them and that eventually they would be restored to their land and their life. They would get a second chance to have a right relationship with God. God would forgive them for their past life. But in having hope, and forgiveness – they needed to make a true change in their heart and life and vow to serve God in all that had been restored. Questions: Is there something that you have been praying for fervently? What social ills need to be corrected in our world? Have you ever been given a second chance in life? How did that experience change your perspective on life?