TRAINING FOR LIFE

Training for Life

Read: Psalm 66:8–12
Bible in a Year: Psalms 66–67; Romans 7

For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver.—Psalm 66:10

My training for the long-distance race was going badly, and the latest run was particularly disappointing. I walked half the time and even had to sit down at one point. It felt like I had failed a mini-test.

Then I remembered that this was the whole point of training. It was not a test to pass, nor was there a grade I had to achieve. Rather, it was something I simply had to go through, again and again, to improve my endurance.

Perhaps you feel bad about a trial you are facing. God allows us to undergo these times of testing to toughen our spiritual muscles and endurance. He teaches us to rely on Him, and purifies us to be holy, so that we become more like Christ.

No wonder the psalmist could praise God for refining the Israelites through fire and water (Ps. 66:10–12) as they suffered in slavery and exile. God not only preserved them and brought them to a place of great abundance, but also purified them in the process.

As we go through testing, we can rely on God for strength and perseverance. He is refining us through our toughest moments. —Leslie Koh

Lord, I know that You allow me to go through trials so that I will be strengthened and purified. Teach me to keep relying on You for Your strength to endure.

Faith-testing times can be faith-strengthening times.

INSIGHT: Echoing the confident sentiment of Psalm 66:10, an Old Testament man named Job said, “When [God] has tested me, I will come forth as gold” (Job 23:10). Job was in financial ruin, his ten children had died, and he was afflicted with a painful disease (1:13-19; 2:7). In the midst of these trials, he sought to understand why he had to suffer so much. His three friends believed his suffering was God’s punishment for his sins (4:7-9; 8:4-7). But Job rejected their accusations and sought an answer from God (23:1-5). God seemed absent (vv. 8-9), yet in a moment of raw faith, Job expressed his intuitive conviction that God was testing him to prove the purity of his character. Job entrusted himself to God’s ways and drew strength from His Word (vv. 10-12).

In a similar way, God tests us to show the quality of our faith (Prov. 17:3; Isa. 48:10; James 1:12; 1 Peter 1:6-7; 4:1-13).

How has testing helped to refine your faith? What encouragement from Psalm 66 helps you remain faithful in the midst of testing? Sim Kay Tee

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SHOWING GRACE

Showing Grace

Read: Colossians 4:2–6
Bible in a Year: Psalms 68–69; Romans 8:1–21

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.—Colossians 4:6

The US Masters Golf Tournament began in 1934, and since then only three players have won it two years in a row. On April 10, 2016, it appeared that twenty-two-year-old Jordan Spieth would become the fourth. But he faltered on the last nine holes and finished in a tie for second. Despite his disappointing loss, Spieth was gracious toward tournament champion Danny Willett, congratulating him on his victory and on the birth of his first child, something “more important than golf.”

Writing in The New York Times, Karen Krouse said, “It takes grace to see the big picture so soon after having to sit through a trophy ceremony and watch someone else have his photograph taken.” Krouse continued, “Spieth’s ball-striking was off all week, but his character emerged unscathed.”

Paul urged the followers of Jesus in Colossae to “be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Col. 4:5–6).

As those who have freely received God’s grace, it is our privilege and calling to demonstrate it in every situation of life—win or lose. —David C. McCasland

Dear Lord, help me by Your Spirit to be gracious and kind to others and to represent You well.

Gracious words are always the right words.

INSIGHT: The grace we have received in Jesus is part of His mission. John’s gospel declares, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. . . . We have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:14, 16-17). He came “full of grace and truth” to bring us “grace in place of grace already given.” This emphasis on grace in the coming of Jesus was in direct contrast to the law of Moses that had become a heavy burden to the people of Israel. By fulfilling that law, Jesus provided us not only with the grace of salvation, but He also gave us what we need to live every day in Him.

How does knowing we have freely received God’s grace challenge us to show grace to others?

For more on demonstrating grace, listen to Discover the Word: discovertheword.org/Grace1229. Bill Crowder

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PEACE AND TRUST

Peace and Trust

Read: Isaiah 26:1– 9
Bible in a Year: Psalms 63–65; Romans 6

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.—John 14:27

When I was six years old I rode a roller coaster for the first time with my older brothers. As soon as we hit a turn at a high speed I started to yell: “Stop this thing right now! I want to get off!” Of course the roller coaster didn’t stop, and I had to “white knuckle” it, hanging on tight for the rest of the ride.

Sometimes life can feel like an unwanted roller coaster ride, with “downhill” drops and hairpin curves we never see coming. When unexpected difficulties occur, the Bible reminds us that our best recourse is to place our trust in God. It was in a tumultuous time when invasion threatened his country that the prophet Isaiah, inspired by the Spirit, discerned this powerful promise from the Lord: “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you” (Isa. 26:3).

The peace our Savior gives us as we turn to Him “transcends all understanding” (Phil. 4:7). I will never forget the words of a woman who was struggling with breast cancer. After a group from our church prayed for her one evening, she said, “I don’t know what will happen, but I know that I’ll be okay, because the Lord was here with us tonight.”

Life will have its difficulties, but our Savior, who loves us more than life, is greater than them all. —James Banks

Lord, help me to trust in You so that I may live in peace.

For help, read Navigating the Storms of Life at discoveryseries.org/hp061.

Jesus is our peace.

INSIGHT: The peace Paul referenced in Philippians 4:7 closely parallels the rest that Jesus offers us in Matthew 11:28-29. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” This gift of “soul rest” is the peace that every heart craves—a peace that comes from wholeness and rightness (Isa. 26:3). This peace is much more than the absence of conflict; it is the blessing that comes from resting in Christ and His strength. As we learn to rest in Him, we will experience the resulting peace of His presence and power.

Are there specific struggles that are wearing you down? How might you become more intentional about drawing on Christ’s strength? Bill Crowder

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THE PROFESSOR'S CONFESSION

The Professor’s Confession

Read: 1 John 3:11–18
Bible in a Year: Psalms 60–62; Romans 5

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.—1 John 3:16

Horrified by his students’ poor writing habits, renowned author and college professor David Foster Wallace considered how he might improve their skills. That’s when a startling question confronted him. The professor had to ask himself why a student would listen to someone “as smug, narrow, self-righteous, [and] condescending” as he was. He knew he had a problem with pride.

That professor could and did change, but he could never become one of his students. Yet when Jesus came to Earth, He showed us what humility looks like by becoming one of us. Stepping across all kinds of boundaries, Jesus made Himself at home everywhere by serving, teaching, and doing the will of His Father.

Even as He was being crucified, Jesus prayed for forgiveness for His executioners (Luke 23:34). Straining for every anguished breath, He still granted eternal life to a criminal dying with Him (vv. 42–43).

Why would Jesus do that? Why would He serve people like us to the very end? The apostle John gets to the point. Out of love! He writes, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” Then he drives that point home. “And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters” (1 John 3:16).

Jesus showed us that His love eradicates our pride, our smugness, our condescension. And He did it in the most powerful way possible. He gave His life. —Tim Gustafson

Father, we are so prone to look down on each other. Please forgive us. Give us the heart of love Your Son showed to us.

Jesus loved us by serving.

INSIGHT: In today’s reading, John uses the word love six times. He begins his teaching on love by stating the disastrous consequences of not loving each other. It is interesting that John correlates death with hate. His argument seems to go like this: If you don’t love, you hate (and here John means continuing to hate, not just an angry response); if you hate, you’re a murderer; no murderers have eternal life; therefore, if you love, you have life.

What does love look like? Verse 16 says, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” But it’s the practical examples that drive the point home: If we don’t take care of those in need, love is not in us.

People around us have many needs—whether physical, emotional, or spiritual. How can you show Christ’s love by serving someone today? 

For more on the topic of love read Compassion: Learning to Love Like Jesus at discoveryseries.org/q0208. J.R. Hudberg

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NOZOMI HOPE

Nozomi Hope

Read: 2 Corinthians 4:7–18
Bible in a Year: Psalms 57–59; Romans 4

We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.—2 Corinthians 4:7

In 2011, a magnitude 9 earthquake and a resulting tsunami took nearly 19,000 lives and destroyed 230,000 homes in the region northeast of Tokyo. In its aftermath, The Nozomi Project, named for the Japanese word for “hope,” was born to provide sustainable income, community, dignity, and hope in a God who provides.

Nozomi women sift through the rubble of homes and furnishings to discover broken china shards that they sand and insert into fittings to form jewelry. The jewelry is sold around the world, providing a livelihood for the women while sharing symbols of their faith in Christ.

In New Testament times, it was customary to hide valuables in the unlikely vessels of simple clay pots. Paul describes how the treasure of the gospel is contained in the human frailty of followers of Christ: jars of clay (2 Cor. 4:7). He suggests that the meager—and even at times broken—vessels of our lives actually can reveal God’s power in contrast to our imperfections.

When God inhabits the imperfect and broken pieces in our lives, the healing hope of His power is often more visible to others. Yes, His repair work in our hearts often leaves the scars of cracks. But perhaps those lines from our learning are the etchings in our beings that make His character more visible to others. —Elisa Morgan

Dear God, please show others Your power as I share the treasure of Your gospel in my broken, but beautiful life.

Welcome to Elisa Morgan! Meet all our authors at odb.org/all-authors.

Brokenness can lead to wholeness.

INSIGHT: Paul declared, “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness” (2 Cor. 11:30) because he had found strength through reliance upon God. While lamenting his “thorn in [the] flesh” (12:6-9), Paul affirmed, “I delight in weaknesses . . . . For when I am weak, then I am strong” (v. 10).

What areas of brokenness in your life can become pathways for Christ’s strength? Bill Crowder

A "NEW MAN"

A “New Man”

Read: Colossians 1:3–14
Bible in a Year: Psalms 54–56; Romans 3

Continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.—Colossians 1:23

As a group of teenagers visited a home for the elderly in Montego Bay, Jamaica, one young woman noticed a lonely looking man at the end of the room. He appeared to have little left in this world but a bed to sleep on—a bed from which he could not move because of his disability.

The teen began right away to share the story of God’s love for us and read some Bible passages to him. “As I shared with him,” she would say later, “I started to feel his eagerness to hear more.” Responding to his interest, she explained the wonder of Jesus’s sacrificial death for us. “It was hard for this man, who had no hope and no family,” she recalled, “to understand that Someone he’s never met would love him enough to die on the cross for his sins.”

She told him more about Jesus—and then about the promise of heaven (including a new body) for all who believe. He asked her, “Will you dance with me up there?” She saw him begin to imagine himself free of his worn-out body and crippling limitations.

When he said he wanted to trust Jesus as his Savior, she helped him pray a prayer of forgiveness and faith. When she asked him if she could get a picture with him, he replied, “If you help me sit up. I’m a new man.”

Praise God for the life-changing, hope-giving, available-to-all gospel of Jesus Christ! It offers new life for all who trust Him (Col. 1:5, 23). —Dave Branon

Lord, thank You for the new life we have in Jesus Christ. Help us to share the hope of that new life with others so they can be made new as well.

Jesus offers new life.

INSIGHT: Colossae, the destination of the letter to the Colossian church, was a city in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). It was a city of some significance commercially in the first century because of its location on a main trade route east from Ephesus. We are not told in the New Testament how this church was founded, but in this letter Paul writes to encourage and instruct the believers there as if it were one of the churches he himself had founded.  Bill Crowder

ALL GENERATIONS

All Generations

Read: Psalm 145:1–13
Bible in a Year: Psalms 51–53; Romans 2

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.—Psalm 145:13

My parents married in 1933 during the Great Depression. My wife and I are Baby Boomers, part of the dramatic increase in births following World War II. Our four daughters, born in the seventies and eighties, belong to Generations X and Y. Growing up in such different times, it’s not surprising that we have different opinions about many things!

Generations differ widely in their life experiences and values. And this is true among followers of Jesus. But no matter what we wear or the kind of music we enjoy, our spiritual connection is stronger than those differences.

Psalm 145, a mighty song of praise to God, proclaims our bond of faith. “One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts. . . . They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness” (vv. 4, 7). Within a great diversity of age and experience, we come together by honoring the Lord. “They tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might” (v. 11).

While differences and preferences could divide us, shared faith in Jesus Christ the Lord brings us together in mutual trust, encouragement, and praise. Whatever our age and outlook, we need each other! No matter which generation we belong to, we can learn from each other and together honor the Lord—“So that all people may know of [His] mighty acts and the glorious splendor of [His] kingdom” (v. 12). —David C. McCasland

Lord, unite Your people from all generations to honor and praise You as we bear witness of Your love.

God’s kingdom is alive and active in all generations.

INSIGHT: Generational differences are unavoidable, but exalting the God who created and redeemed us is always the starting point for building unity among believers. Our Creator-Redeemer God is celebrated in both the Old and New Testaments. Psalm 145 is a marvelous springboard for expressing such unifying praise. Especially meaningful is verse 9, which proclaims: “The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.” It goes on to reflect on the trustworthy character of the God of compassion in verse 13: “The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.”

How might this psalm inspire you to praise God and build unity with other believers?  Dennis Fisher

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