god and our world - 7 day reading plan

8/20/2019 God and Our World - 7 Day Reading Plan

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God and Our World

7 Doctrines of the Christian Faith

7 Day Reading Plan



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The problem with the people of Babel was not that they wanted to be near to God —don’t we all? No, the problem was that they wanted to make a name for themselves.They were hungry for power and glory, and they were willing to go to great lengths toacquire it. A Chinese proverb says, “Those who think they are building a mound may

only in reality be digging a pit.” We often secretly hope that our deeds andaspirations for promotions and acts of service will attract recognition or even earnGod’s approval. But we soon discover they may only drive us further from God andwreak havoc in our lives and the lives of others. When God saw the tower that the

people of Babel were building, he said, “Nothing they plan to do will be impossiblefor them” (Geneses 11:6), so he confused their language and disrupted their work.

It’s as if God had said, “If I let their sin go unchecked, there is no telling how muchworse it will get.” So there is grace even in this judgment: God graciously restrains usfrom digging our own graves, so to speak.



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Genesis 11:1-9 (NIV)

The Tower of Babel11 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2As people moved eastward,[a] they found a plain in Shinar[b] andsettled there.

3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake themthoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then

they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reachesto the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwisewe will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the peoplewere building. 6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the samelanguage they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do willbe impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse theirlanguage so they will not understand each other.”

8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and theystopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel[c]—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world.From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)

8 For it is by grace youhave been saved, throughfaith and this is not from

yourselves, it is the gift ofGod

9 not by works, so that no

one can boast.



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On August 7, 2007, baseball slugger Barry Bonds hit career home run number 756, thehome run that broke Hank Aaron’s record. However, many questioned whether or not thenew record should count because Bonds was alleged to have used steroids. Sports buffssaid if his name is listed in the record book, it should be accompanied by an asterisk to

indicate that the record is a sort-of record, a tainted record. In 2008 Mark Ecko, the man whobought the ball Bonds hit to set the record, branded the baseball with an asterisk and

donated it to the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. It’s not unusual for Christians toimagine we have an asterisk by our name. We may be destined for that Hall of Fame calledheaven, but aware that our lives our tainted, we’re left with a sour taste in our souls. We’regrateful to enjoy eternal life with God, but we wish there wasn’t that sense of being tainted.The gospel is hard to believe at just this point, but it is nonetheless the great truth. There isno longer a need for sin offerings. The forgiveness we are offered through Christ’s sacrificedoesn’t just make our sin null and void, it also erases the asterisk. God doesn’t see a fixedsinner, but someone righteous and pristine. We are in Christ, and Christ is in us. We are a

new creation. The old has passed away — so much so that there is no need for an asterisk— and all things have become new.



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Leviticus 6:6-7 (NIV)

6 And as a penalty they must bring to thepriest, that is, to the Lord, their guilt offering, a

ram from the flock, one without defect and ofthe proper value.

7 In this way the priest will make atonementfor them before the Lord, and they will beforgiven for any of the things they did that

made them guilty.”

Leviticus 4:26 (NIV)

26 He shall burn all the fat

on the altar as he burnedthe fat of the fellowshipoffering. In this way the

priest will makeatonement for the leader’s

sin, and he will be

forgiven.



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Sometimes we look for external reasons for our problems when the real explanation lies deepinside of us: A 61-year-old Texas man kept getting drunk, even though he claimed he hadn’tbeen drinking alcohol. The escalating problem compelled doctors to isolate him — withoutbooze — for 24 hours. He still got drunk. It prompted his physicians to look internally for theproblem, and they found it. In the absence of healthy gut flora, brewer’s yeast had taken up

residence in the man’s stomach and was turning any starch he ate into alcohol — andenough to inebriate him. The problem is by no means common, but it does happen from time

to time. It usually occurs after a round of antibiotics inadvertently wipes out the goodbacteria our bodies need to stay healthy and in balance. When the Pharisees questioned

Jesus about the fact that the disciples didn’t wash their hands before they ate, therebydefiling their food, Jesus responded by explaining that we are defiled when impure things —

evil thoughts — come from the heart. It’s easier to blame anyone or anything exceptourselves, but looking within is often the only way to find spiritual sobriety.



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Matthew 15:17-20 (NIV)

17 “Don’t you see that whatever enters themouth goes into the stomach and then out of

the body?

18 But the things that come out of a person’smouth come from the heart, and these defile

them.19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—

murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft,false testimony, slander.

20 These are what defile a person; but eatingwith unwashed hands does not defile them.”

1 Corinthians 6:13-14 (NIV)

13 You say, “Food for thestomach and the stomach

for food, and God willdestroy them both.” The

body, however, is not meantfor sexual immorality but forthe Lord, and the Lord forthe body. 14 By his powerGod raised the Lord from

the dead, and he will raiseus also.



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Author Tony Campolo tells the story of a funeral he attended for his friend Clarence when hewas 16 years old. For the last 20 minutes of the sermon, the pastor preached to the open

casket. He yelled at the corpse: “Clarence! Clarence!” He said it with such authority.Campolo said he wouldn’t have been surprised had there been an answer. “Clarence,” the

pastor continued, “there were a lot of things we should have said to you that we never saidto you. You got away too fast.” He listed a litany of beautiful things that Clarence had done

for people. When he finished, he said, “That’s it, Clarence. There’s nothing more to say. Whenthere’s nothing more to say, there’s only one thing to say. Good night. Good night, Clarence!”

He grabbed the lid of the casket and slammed it shut. Shock waves went over thecongregation. As the preacher lifted his head, you could see the smile on his face. He said,“Good night, Clarence, because I know God is going to give you a good morning!” Then the

choir stood and starting singing, “On that great morning, we shall rise, we shall rise.”



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Job 19:25-27 (NIV)

25 I know that my redeemer[a] lives,and that in the end he will stand on the

earth.[b]

26 And after my skin has been destroyed,yet[c] in[d] my flesh I will see God;

27 I myself will see himwith my own eyes—I, and not another.

How my heart yearns within me!

1 Corinthians 15:20-23 (NIV)

20 But Christ has indeedbeen raised from the dead,the firstfruits of those whohave fallen asleep. 21 For

since death came through aman, the resurrection of thedead comes also through aman. 22 For as in Adam alldie, so in Christ all will be

made alive. 23 But each in

turn: Christ, the firstfruits;then, when he comes, those

who belong to him.

Footnotes:

[a] Job 19:25 Or vindicator[b] Job 19:25 Or on my grave

[c] Job 19:26 Or And after I awake, / though this body has been destroyed, / then

[d] Job 19:26 Or destroyed, / apart from



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When pastor Clark Cothern was a child, his mother was the dean of women at GrandCanyon College in Phoenix, Arizona. What he saw of college presidents, he saw from floor

level, while he played beside his mother’s desk in the administration building. “I would watchas students walked down the hall toward the president’s office and stop. They would rubtheir sweaty palms on their pants or skirts, take a deep breath, straighten their shoulders,

and knock. The door would creak open. That’s when I would catch a glimpse of the

president’s shiny, black wingtip shoes. The student would then disappear inside themysterious chamber known as ‘The President’s Office.’ It was terrifying.” One day Clark wasplaying with his toy car in the hall outside the president’s office when the door opened. Then

he saw them — those shiny, black wingtip shoes. Unexpectedly, President RobertSutherland, dressed in his pinstriped, three-piece suit, knelt down and asked, “May I have aturn?” They played cars together, and President Sutherland asked young Clark to call him

“Dr. Bob.” The result? “That’s the day my opinion about the college president changed.”1 Ina similar way, God came to us in Christ to share his life with us and to reveal that he is not a

distant and terrifying being but a loving Father full of grace and truth.



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Hebrews 2:14-15 (NIV)

14 Since the children have flesh and blood,

he too shared in their humanity so that by hisdeath he might break the power of him whoholds the power of death - that is, the devil

15 and free those who all their lives were heldin slavery by their fear of death.

Galatians 4:6 (NIV)

6 Because you are his sons,God sent the Spirit of hisSon into our hearts, the

Spirit who calls out, “Abba,[a] Father.”

Footnotes:

[a] Galatians 4:6 Aramaic for Father



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Hachi: A Dog’s Tale is a film based on a real story from Japan and a delightful parable aboutpatiently waiting for the Lord’s return. When Parker Wilson, a college music professor in

Rhode Island, steps off his commuter train at the end of the day, he finds a stray Akita puppywith the name Hachi etched on his collar. Parker discovers the puppy escaped a damagedcrate after being shipped from Japan. Parker takes the dog home, determined to find the

owner. While waiting for responses to the posters he has placed around town, Parker and the

dog become friends. One day, Hachi follows Parker on his way to work, which begins with awalk to the train station. Despite Parker’s bidding, Hachi refuses to return home until hismaster walks him back to the house. At the end of the day, however, when Hachi hears thetrain whistle, he runs to the train platform, curls up and waits for his master to return. When

Parker sees him, he is stunned by this demonstration of loyalty. The next day the dog is thereto greet him again, and on it goes, day by day. One day Parker suffers a fatal heart attack inthe classroom. Hachi waits for hours at the station for his master to step off the train, but he

doesn’t return. This happens day after day for ten years, with the loyal dog waiting at thetrain platform each evening. And then one day, as Hachi drifts off to sleep, he sees his

master beckoning him, and the dog runs toward him.



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James 5:7-8 (NIV)

Patience in Suffering

7 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, untilthe Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waitsfor the land to yield its valuable crop,

patiently waiting for the autumn and springrains.

8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because

the Lord’s coming is near.

John 14:3 (NIV)

3 And if I go and prepare aplace for you, I will comeback and take you to be

with me that you also maybe where I am.



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Businessman Mike Herman tells of his lifelong attempt to catch a souvenir baseball atprofessional baseball games. A foul ball, a home-run ball or even a batting-practice ball—

anything would do. One day, at a batting practice for the St. Louis Cardinals, he got to knowJames, a 5-year-old boy who was also trying to get a ball. James tried hard to pronounce the

players’ names as he politely asked them for a ball. Herman describes the scene: “Before Iknew it, my mission became getting a ball for James. For about 20 minutes, I told him thenames of the players who had a ball near the fence we stood behind, and the players turned

and smiled as James tried to say their names. Still, no ball. Finally I told James he couldhave my ball if I caught one (I had been unsuccessful in catching a ball for almost 28 years,

so that felt like a safe promise). I wouldn’t be telling this story if you didn’t know whathappened five minutes later. I caught a ball, and yes, I gave it to James. I wonder how often

God waits to give us something until we are willing to give it away?”



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Malachi 3:8-10 (NIV)

8 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you robme. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’

“In tithes and offerings.

9 You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me.

10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse,that there may be food in my house. Test mein this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if Iwill not throw open the floodgates of heaven

and pour out so much blessing that there willnot be room enough to store it.

Proverbs 3:9 (NIV)

9 Honor the Lord with yourwealth,

with the firstfruits of allyour crops;



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