September 30, 2024
1 Corinthians 15:10 “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me”
The Apostle Paul was belittled by many during his ministry because he was not among the original disciples. In the popular opinion of his day, he fell far short of the honor some gave to Peter, James, John, and the other Apostles. Some of his critics even disregarded Paul’s preaching of the Gospel and snubbed it. But rather than argue with his critics and take offense at their attacks, Paul agreed and said in verse 9, “For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet (worthy) to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” He was looking back at the time he was an enemy of Jesus Christ and acknowledged that because he was so violently opposed to the gospel and the followers of Christ, it was only by God’s grace that he was saved, called to preach, and entrusted with writing much of the New Testament epistles that pertain to the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith. He writes in today’s verse, “By the grace of God I am what I am.” When we consider his fervor to stamp out Christianity and imprison or kill Christians, his remarkable conversion was all about God stopping him in his tracks and changing the course of his life. It was not about Paul coming to his senses on his own and making a personal choice to become a Christian. It was not about Paul being influenced by the other Apostles and converting to the faith. It was the grace of God when God acted against Paul’s will and knocked him down on the road to Damascus where he was headed to persecute believers. We all can identify with Paul’s statement because we know what we were before Jesus saved us and we know what He has done in our lives. Paul said God’s grace was not in vain because, after his conversion, he followed the ways of God and worked hard for God’s glory. That too was the result of God’s grace empowering him. Our testimony is the same. Everything we are and everything we do is as the scriptures say in Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
_______________________________________
September 29, 2024
Matthew 26:39 “And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt”
Before Jesus went to the cross, he agonized in the garden of Gethsemane in submitting to His Father’s will. The Bible says he prayed with such intensity that His sweat became drops of blood. God revealed that our Lord knew fully that after all the indescribable suffering was over, He would be rewarded with great honor and joy for the Bible says in Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Yet He still had to endure the hours of torment and torture and that was weighing heavily on His mind. Like with Jesus, God never allows us to face any trials or tests that aren’t for our benefit and when they are over, He brings us great joy and blessing. But submitting to His will doesn’t always happen quickly on our part and it doesn’t always happen completely at once. There’s something about completely submitting ourselves to another’s hands that makes us uncomfortable. And trusting someone else with the outcome of situations and trials can fill us with fear even though we know we can’t solve our circumstances ourselves. But when we come before God Almighty and bow before Him to completely offer ourselves to Him, every part, everything, and holding nothing back, knowing that whatever He does or allows it will be for our benefit, we are on a footing with Him that is claiming Him Lord of all. We’re saying, “Lord, I don’t know how You will get glory out of me but I give myself to You. I am Yours. Do with me as You will and give me grace to accept it with joy.” That doesn’t mean that God wants us to quit trying, to quit standing strong, or to quit using the talents and resources He has given us. But it means sometimes we get to the point where we are at the end of ourselves and have nothing left but to trust in God. That’s when we fasten our eyes on Jesus and declare the words of the old hymn, “I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.”
_____________________________________________
September 28, 2024
1 Corinthians 1:23-24 “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God”
Jesus Christ was born and lived when the Roman Empire ruled much of the world. The Jewish nation was under Roman rule and many people of Christ’s time hoped He would be the leader that delivered Israel from the Romans. That issue was raised many times during His ministry and the Bible tells us that after His resurrection, the Apostles asked the Lord in Acts 1:6, “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” Jesus didn’t reveal the events of the future to them but told them to just wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit and that they would become witnesses about Him to the world. That should speak to us today during this time of political upheaval in our nation and not only in the USA but in all the world. We all want a better direction for our country and our world and we have differing opinions as to which party and leaders can make that happen. But if you believe the Bible and what it tells us about the future, you know the only answer for this world is for Jesus Christ to return and set things in order. Politics, politicians, and seasons of government will come and go and all will declare they’re the ones that will save America. Speeches will be made, promises given, and the world will continue to follow the trajectory of Romans 1 and 2 Timothy 3:13, “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.” Our hope is in Christ alone and today’s verses bear testimony that Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. Wonder what would happen if we put as much attention, time, and dedication into honoring Christ and declaring His cause as we do in promoting our politics? What if we pledged our allegiance and love to Jesus and praised Him above all else? What if we preached and declared Christ and Him crucified, resurrected, and coming soon with the faith that when we do what is right then God will give us leaders who stand with us in the cause of Christ? What would happen if, before we line up at the polls, we would line up at the altars across this country, repent, turn from our wicked ways, and purpose to follow the ways of Christ? I believe those things would have a greater impact than who wins the next election.
______________________________________
September 27, 2024
Luke 19:8-9 “And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham”
The Bible tells us Zachaeus was the most prominent tax collector and he was rich. But when Jesus was passing through his hometown of Jerico, Zacchaeus was overcome by a desire to see Jesus, to know who He was. We know tax collectors, called publicans in the scriptures, were hated by the Jews because they collected taxes for the Romans. And, as part of their methods, they extorted money from people above what Roman law required. This is how they became extremely wealthy. When Jesus saw Zacchaeus and went home with him, people complained that the Lord had “Gone to be a guest of a man that is a sinner.” Today’s verse tells us that Zachaeus’ encounter with Jesus changed his heart and what he did in giving away half of his wealth and paying anyone he had cheated back four times what he had taken, was a remarkable display of repentance. When we are moved to repent, we acknowledge that we have done wrong and we stop doing the wrong and make things right. When King David sinned a great sin and was confronted with the truth about what he had done, we have his words in Psalms 51:3, “For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.” The truth of repentance is scarcely mentioned nowadays and many people habitually will not own up to their sins. Sometimes hearts are so hardened by the deceitfulness of sin that there is no longer any conviction when wrong is done. Zachaeus is an outstanding example of someone who, when he was in the presence of the Lord, was so convicted of how he had been living he made a public confession of what he was going to do to make things right. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 7:10, “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of.” This means that although repentance is sometimes a painful experience, when is it finished, we do not regret we have owned up to our sins. It is part of the process of becoming free. We cannot move forward until we are willing to take full responsibility for our sins, turn away from them, and do what is right.
_______________________________________________
September 26, 2024
Isaiah 40:1 “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God”
Every day and all around us there are people who are hurting, lonely, and afraid. Maybe it’s people who try to put on a brave face but inside they have anxiety, stress, and uncertainty. Their situations are varied but they all have one thing in common: They need comfort. They might be people in our families, people we attend church with, people we work alongside, or they could be complete strangers but they need the hope and assurance that comes from the Lord. The Bible describes God in 2 Corinthians 1:3 as, “The God of all comfort” and, it’s for sure that any comfort this world offers cannot compare to the deep, lasting comfort we receive from our Lord. Comfort is a word that has the meaning of compassion, relief, consolation, kindness, and mercy. When we comfort someone, we take the time to stop what we’re doing and focus on them and their needs. It means putting on the brakes on our own agenda and schedule and reaching out to someone who needs a friend. People who need comfort have often been wounded by others or they have become overcome by their needs and problems. Often, it doesn’t take a lot to offer this comfort. Some words spoken in love, a comforting gesture like a hug, a hand on a shoulder, and an offer to pray right there on the spot. These are things that come from the heart and they carry meanings that bring healing and strength. Sometimes it takes more than this and requires us to lay aside our plans and goals for a while to be what Jesus wants us to be in the life of another person. Our words and actions carry the power of help and healing to people who may feel they have no one to help them. The Lord is not calling us here to get pulled into the circle of someone who may need help beyond our abilities. They might need a counselor or therapist to help them work through issues over time. But we can be the source of God’s light and truth and we can speak words of encouragement, words of hope, and words that point them to the Savior. We can share our abilities and resources if needed and we can be the Good Samaritan that reaches out to them when they need comfort. God says, “Comfort my people.”
___________________________________________________
September 25, 2024
Luke 15:22-23 “But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry”
Countless sermons and Bible lessons have been preached and taught on this story of the prodigal son and a lot of the emphasis is placed on the dangers of walking away from our heavenly Father’s will. The pig pen destination for backsliders is always a vivid reminder of what can happen when we abandon the blessings God so wonderfully provides. But if I may repeat some of the thoughts from a devotion, I wrote almost four years ago on this verse, as I have gotten older my mind doesn’t think so much of the plight of the prodigal as it does the unfathomable love that was in the Father’s heart. The attitude and actions of the Father humble us because he showed no anger towards either of his sons although both, especially the wayward one, deserved at least a harsh tongue-lashing. The prodigal was expecting the worst, evident by the speech he had prepared for his dad. But he didn’t get, what even he, thought he deserved. The older son, sullen and angry because his brother was treated like royalty, got a gentle reminder of who he was, his sonship, and all that would come to him in time. The Father treated them both with compassion, mercy, forgiveness, and love. He ran to his prodigal son, kissed him, celebrated his return, and welcomed him back into the home. There was no reservation on his part in making a dirty, renegade, pig-smelling, money-wasting, and loose-living son know he was a child of his Father and had a right to his sonship. Sure, damage was done, bad memories were made, blessings were wasted, and that’s how it is with this life. We might all go there sometimes or have been there. But everyone involved in the prodigal’s return had to put all the bad stuff and the memories behind them and start over with a clean slate. That’s what humbles me the most: That God forgives us completely and never remembers our sins against us. Praise God for the words of Lamentations 3:22-23 “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” God, our Father in heaven, is not like us. But He calls to us through Jesus Christ and wants us to be like Him.
____________________________________________
September 24, 2024
Colossians 4:5-6 “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man”
Our Christian life is not spent huddled with other believers like a jury sequestered and shut off from the rest of the world until life down here is over. We are witnesses for our Lord to those who do not know Him. God calls us to be wise in the way we act in the presence of a lost world and to make the most of the opportunities we are given to represent the Savior. Opportunities to do good and to do what is right are everywhere and when we make choices to do what is right, we are showing that Christ lives in us and that we come from a place of love, mercy, and faith. The way we treat others, the way we handle ourselves in situations, and the way we respond with our words testify for or against our faith. When there are opportunities to be the light of the world God has called us to be and we step up with the willingness of Isaiah 6:8, “Here am I; send me”, we are sowing seeds of compassion and hope to a world that has no hope. It points us to our Lord’s Words in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Our words complement our actions as said here, “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” A paraphrase of this is, what we say to others should be kind, and pleasant, and our words chosen carefully so we know how to give good responses. The great news is that we can be that kind of Christian. One who looks for opportunities to be a blessing to others and one who uses words to encourage. We can complement instead of curse, serve instead of expecting to be served, and shine the light of hope and truth instead of timidly allowing darkness to shut us down. With the power of the Holy Spirit, our words can turn situations around for the good and bring relief. We have a treasure trove of spiritual gifts to offer a world starving for love. We are the light, the salt, and we carry the bread and water of life.
___________________________________________
September 23, 2024
Genesis 17:1 “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect”
When God appeared to Abraham here, it had been 25 years since the Lord promised him and Sarah a son. They had not seen that promise fulfilled. And, by the scripture record, it had been 13 years since God had last appeared to Abraham. Remember there was no written Word at that time for about 500 years passed before Moses wrote the first five Books of the Bible. Abraham’s faith rested on what God said to him and those words were the substance he held to, concerning God’s promises. At the time of today’s verse, he and Sarah were old and well past child-bearing years, both of them nearly 100. Even if the Lord had given them a son when He first promised, it would seem a great miracle since Sarah would have been 65 and Abraham in his 70’s. But we know God’s ways are not like ours and He waited until there was no doubt the child He promised them could not have been a result of the natural course of life. Isaac was a miracle baby, a result of the promise of Almighty God. That’s how God declares Himself to Abraham here. It’s the first time in the Bible that God calls Himself El Shaddai, Almighty God. It refers to God who is unlimited in power or as the Septuagint translates the Hebrew, “The One who has His hand on everything”. The words, “walk before me and be thou perfect”, mean “live obediently in my presence, and give yourself wholly to Me”. Abraham’s life was one of progressive separation unto the Lord from the world around him. At first, he separated from his family and homeland. Then he separated from Lot and Lot’s entourage. Then he separated from the other nations and people who lived in and near the land God promised him. And here, God calls him to a personal separation from all else except the presence of the Lord. I am sure this has a practical application for us all as we desire a closer, more fulfilling relationship with our Lord. He is calling us, like Abraham, to trust Him fully in all things, even when it does not make sense to our human reasoning. And, He is calling us to live each day in the presence of the Lord as those who will set their desire and love upon Him, the Almighty God. Not perfect as in sinless perfection but with our hearts completely His.
___________________________________________
September 22, 2024
Philippians 1:15-18 “Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice”
Paul wrote this letter to the Philippian church while he was in prison in Rome. It is an amazing work of the Holy Spirit that shows that even while we are in a season of suffering, we can still have the strength and joy of the Lord. At no place in the Book of Philippians does Paul complain or speak negatively about his circumstance of being confined in jail but his words are those of victory, peace, and encouragement. Today’s verses address the motives behind ministries and tell us that some see the ministry as a competition. That’s the idea behind those who preach empowered by envy, strife, and contention. They see themselves as competitors, competing with other ministers and ministries. In Paul’s time, they were trying to “outbest” Paul and the ministry the Lord had given him to show they were better than Paul and their message and methods were better. They thought this would “add afflictions to his bonds”, making him feel even worse about himself and his work for the Lord while he was in prison. But it had the opposite effect because Paul would not sink to their level of craziness but took the high road and praised the Lord that no matter what their motives were, Christ was still being preached and in that, He rejoiced. We can not mature as a believer until we celebrate the success and blessings of others in their work for the Lord even when it is far greater and more influential than ours. We are not in competition in the work of God but the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 3:7-9, “So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” Rejoice when others have larger churches, greater congregations, more influence, and more resources. Rejoice that we are all part of the work of the Lord and that in the end, God gets the glory.
__________________________________________
September 21, 2024
Mark 9:23-24 “Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief”
Jesus is unlimited in His power and ability to do the impossible. And yet, the Bible says in Matthew 13:58, that when He was visiting the area He grew up in, “And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” In their unbelief, the people in His hometown explained away the Lord’s unlimited power to do miracles by pointing out what they thought were “facts” about Him. The Bible gives us their words in Matthew 13:55-56, “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?” When we read the Bible and hear it preached in its fullness, faith arises in us because it is filled with accounts of God doing the impossible and people doing great acts in His name. We’re left with the sense and wonder of the words of our Lord in today’s verse, that all things are possible to him that believeth. But, when we’re in trials, we can think of every reason to not believe and our unbelief can quickly talk us out of trusting the Lord for a miracle. The people in Jesus’ hometown used their natural reasoning to block their faith and, in the process, they shut themselves off from great blessings. We can talk ourselves out of seeing God’s best for us when we try to explain our situations in detail. We can come up with scores of reasons why we can’t be healed, delivered, blessed, prosperous, and miraculously helped. We can use human reasoning as to why our sins are too great to be forgiven, why we can’t succeed, and why we should settle for less than God’s best for us. And, because of our unbelief, the Lord will do what He did or rather didn’t do, in His hometown. He’ll let us settle for what our unbelief brings us. The man in today’s verse who was trusting Christ for healing for his son recognized he was battling with unbelief and asked the Lord for help to overcome all that was attacking his faith. Maybe it’s time to stop thinking about all the reasons why God won’t answer our prayers and like a little child, look to Him only and believe. I’m not saying to deny facts but to stop obsessing with the facts and fight against unbelief by standing on the Lord’s words that, “All things are possible to him that believeth.”
_________________________________________________
September 20, 2024
1 Corinthians 2:14 “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned”
My dad and mom took us five children to church. And, when I say that, I don’t mean just on Sunday mornings, but Sunday nights, mid-week meetings, Saturday night singings, revivals, tent meetings, and crusades. They exposed us to all flavors of denominations and we saw all types of worship from the quiet, orderly, and serene to the pew-jumping and high-octane services where you never knew what was coming next. One thing I’ve marveled at is how God could use a man like R.G Lee with all his education and speaking abilities and then turn around and use someone who was mostly a farmer with little or no education and both men would preach, souls would be saved, and as they spoke, the anointing of the Holy Spirit would grip people in their hearts and transform their lives. It is what is called here, “The things of the Spirit of God”. Paul relates in the first part of this chapter, “And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” In my view, this is what’s missing in most places nowadays. There is a lot of Bible talking and speaking available everywhere and the internet is full of options. Many of the sermons and material are true and well prepared. But it’s like trying to eat a meal with no seasoning. It’s just bland and unremarkable without the anointing of the Holy Spirit. To be blunt, spiritually boring. If you’ve ever been pierced to the heart by the spoken Word of God or lifted to realms of glorious truth by its pounding power, you know exactly what I’m talking about. The natural, carnal reasoning of human nature will reject that right off the bat, framing it as emotionalism. But when you’ve been moved to repentance and faith towards God by a force greater than can be explained and walked away a different person, you know the difference between emotionalism and the things of the Spirit of God. We are in the age of Laodicea with our well-planned forms of godliness that deny the power of God. Praise the Lord it means the coming of our Blessed Savior is at hand.
_________________________________________
September 19, 2024
Psalms 139:7-10 “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me”
These verses tell us that there is no place in the universe where God is not present. And, there’s no way to explain that so that it can be comprehended. The way most people view God is that He is some kind of Being who sits on a throne somewhere beyond the earth and all the time, He is looking down on things. There is a sense of God being distant from His creation and allowing things to simply happen. Occasionally He may intervene in some way but for the most part, He is a silent observer. The reality of God being everywhere simultaneously changes the way we think about Him. God is everywhere in His creation as a person yet He is distinct, separated from creation. But that does not mean He is not fully involved with all He created and He is following a plan and purpose laid out before the world was created. In the 1700s, John Mason, the late Rector of Water-Stratford, wrote, “The presence of God’s glory is in heaven; the presence of his power on earth; the presence of his justice in hell; and the presence of his grace with his people. If he deny us his powerful presence, we fall into nothing; if he deny us his gracious presence, we fall into sin; if he deny us his merciful presence, we fall into hell.” This beautiful Psalm declares that our God who exists omnipresent, has us in mind. And, while the thought of Him being everywhere may seem overwhelming, we can take comfort in knowing He is leading us and holding us. He knows where we are because He is there with us. He knows our circumstances because He foresaw them. He knows how to help us and He will help us because all creation is subject to His authority. When we battle in prayer and feel our prayers aren’t making it all the way up to heaven remember that they don’t have to. God is with us, within us, and even in the place we’re standing, kneeling, or sitting. The blessed promise concerning Him is, “Thou art there.”
____________________________________
September 18, 2024
2 Corinthians 7:1 “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God”
The Corinthian church was a mess and in the two letters written to it, Paul addresses issues that sound like he could be talking about the church today. Considering the number of problems, it might look like they were a lost cause. But we need to read carefully the salutation given to the church before any of their problems are addressed. 1Corinthians 1:2, “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours”. It goes on to say in verses 4, 5, and 6, “I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; That in everything ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you.” The Lord knew there was hope for them. There have always been problems in the body of Christ and there always will be until the day we are translated into the Lord’s presence. Until then, we are a work in progress, and like the church at Corinth, we face our issues with the assurance of Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” When we are saved, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin and in God’s eyes, we are justified, as if we had never sinned. But there is also cleansing that takes place as we live daily, one that we participate in with the Lord’s help. As long as we are in contact with this world around us and as long as we have the battle of the flesh vs the Spirit within us, we practice personal sanctification as noted in today’s verse. All the things that contaminate our body and spirit hold us back from God’s best for us. As we, by the light of God’s Word, identify those things we turn from them and purpose to live better, cleaner, and more set apart for God’s glory and our benefit. These words to the Corinthians still ring true to us today. Certainly, they speak to the habits and overt sins that can harm and destroy us. But things like pride, legalism, self-righteousness, bitterness, revenge, and hatred can all keep us from living free in God’s grace. When we pursue holiness as a pattern for our lives, we are following a path that honors God and brings us great treasure.
_________________________________________________
September 17, 2024
Hosea 10:12 “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you”
The Lord often uses farming techniques and terminology to teach us truth and the principle of sowing and reaping is one that is used repeatedly. The world tries to use the Hindu teaching of karma to replace God’s truth that we will reap what we sow but the Word of God stands eternal as the everlasting truth. In Hosea’s day, Israel had turned away from the Lord and many people worshiped false gods. They had sown the seeds of sin and rebellion against the Lord and they were about to reap the horrible consequences of destruction, desolation, and captivity. In a plea for them to turn back to the Lord, Hosea preached today’s verse that if they would begin to do what is right, “sow to yourselves righteousness”, they would receive mercy. The principle still holds for us today. The world around us rejects God’s truth and will not acknowledge the things of God. They honor evil as good and despise the morals and principles laid out in the scriptures. As they follow the ways of sin, sowing seeds of rebellion against the truth, God has promised in Galatians 6:7-8, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption.” It’s not a matter of if trouble will come, but a matter of when it will come. But if we break up the fallow ground, a picture of breaking up hardened soil that illustrates our hardened hearts becoming soft again, and do what is right by seeking the Lord, we will see a harvest of mercy and God will rain blessings on us. God is not demanding that the church change the culture but that we do what is right and honor Him no matter what the world around us is doing. When we sow goodness, kindness, mercy, and truth, we will reap what we sow. When we sow love and compassion, we are sowing seeds that bring us a harvest of heaven’s blessings. Of all the places we should be sowing these seeds, it should be in our families first, into the lives of our spouses, children, and grandchildren. The Bible tells us, “It is time to seek the Lord.”
___________________________________________________
September 16, 2024
Colossians 2:9-10 “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power”
Many people just will not believe the truth about salvation; That it is a gift of God and our only part is to receive it by faith. One of the devil’s tactics is to continually point out our past mistakes, our imperfect present, our lifelong list of failures, and our inadequacies. He attempts to plant seeds of doubt in us hoping we will conclude that we are not saved because our actions prove we are sinners. He reasons that we can’t be saved because we are not good enough and our lives prove it. Part of his words are true because we are not good enough and we can never earn a home in heaven by our good works. What he doesn’t want us to grasp and hold tight to is the truth that because we can’t earn it on our own, Jesus stepped in and earned it for us. And then, He gave it to us as a gift and proof of His love for us. Today’s verses tell us that all of God was in Christ and now we are complete in Him. Our Lord made His divinity clear in St John 14:9, “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father” and again in St John 10:30, “I and my Father are one.” When God says that we are complete in Christ, the word “complete” means something that is so finished, so crammed full, that nothing can be added to it. If we look back to our new birth, our day of personal salvation, there is a truth we should have nailed down early. The offering of Jesus as our sacrifice sealed the deal of God’s plan and purpose for us once and for all eternity. A part of our completeness is the filling of the Holy Spirit which fulfilled the prophecy of Immanuel, “God with us”. It meant Jesus not only walked among us as Jesus of Nazareth but every second of every day by the gift of our Lord, He is with us now, by being tabernacled in us. Our complete salvation means Christ’s suffering, including His stripes, His unthinkable agony on the cross, His willing surrender of His life, His precious fountain of blood, His burial, His descent into hell, and His glorious resurrection was all for us, and secured our total forgiveness of sin past, present, and future. It also imputed to us, complete righteousness and justification and made us heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. We are complete in Him.
_______________________________________________
September 15, 2024
John 18:4 “Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?”
When Jesus and His disciples were in the Garden of Gethsemane the night of His betrayal and arrest, He spoke these words to the men who came to arrest Him. In the next verse, the Bible says, “They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he.”. When our Lord spoke, “I am he”, the Bible says, “They went backward (backed away), and fell to the ground.” They thought they were looking for just a man, but the man they were looking for was God in the flesh. People seek Jesus for different reasons. The devil came looking for Him to tempt Him. Some sought Him on behalf of people they loved such as Jairus and the Syrophoenician woman. They both came on behalf of their children. Two blind men near Jericho cried out for Him to open their eyes. Mary and Martha sent for Jesus because their brother Lazarus was at the point of death. One person in Luke 12 came looking for the Lord to solve a question of a family inheritance. Some came with great faith like the woman with the issue of blood that touched the hem of His garment. Others came because they had burning questions like the rich young ruler. Then there were the multitudes that came looking for Him because they wanted another free meal. We might ask ourselves a similar question: “Who or what are you looking for?” God promises us in Jeremiah 29:13,” And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” This verse is looking back to the promise in Deuteronomy 4:29, “But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.” This is not about religion, church stuff, or some abstract spirituality. It’s about looking to God with a heart that wants to know Him, one that is not afraid to be open and vulnerable to His searching eyes. A part of seeking the Lord is praying the prayer of Psalms 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” We seek Jesus, not to betray Him like Judas but to know Him as Paul declares in Philippians 3:10, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection.”
____________________________________________
September 14, 2024
Psalms 134:2 “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD”
It’s encouraging to see people in church, especially young people, lifting their hands in worship. How we posture ourselves isn’t the issue because we can worship sitting with our hands folded in our laps but when we raise our hands towards heaven, we are physically testifying that the Lord is great and greatly to be praised. Ancient believers also raised their hands when they prayed, acknowledged in 1 Timothy 2:8, “I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.” It is also a gesture of symbolically receiving something from heaven and is called by some, a wave offering. Why is it that for some people, the simple act of raising our hands in obedience to God’s Word becomes such a problem with our flesh? Some even wince at the very thought of such a thing. They might say they don’t feel like it or it’s not their custom. But it is an act of honoring the name of the Lord and it is done deliberately to physically declare His worthiness. This devotion isn’t to pressure us to do something against our will because that would contradict our liberty, our freedom to worship God as we choose. And it’s not saying we have to raise our hands every moment when we are praising God. But it is a conversation about the freedom to express our adoration of God by using our bodies to demonstrate praise to His Worthy Name. It may go against our traditions and it may mean we have to overcome some self-consciousness but the result is that when we engage physically in worship, our whole being, body, soul, and spirit are united to praise the Lord. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Psalm 63:3-4,” Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.” Again, the picture is of a worshipper with raised hands, praising the Lord for His goodness. Worship leaders should encourage people to obey God’s Word and offer their praise with their words and their bodies. Let go of pride and self-consciousness and become Christ-conscious. We see Him, arms stretched out on the cross in the sight of all who were standing by and we know His actions were saying, “I’m doing this for you.” We respond to that grace and mercy by giving ourselves a living sacrifice, unashamed to reach heavenward and receive Him fully.
________________________________________________
September 13, 2024
Psalms 122:6-7 “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces”
Jerusalem, whose name means “The City of Peace”, has not been a place of peace through the ages. It has been fought over, destroyed, and rebuilt several times in its history. Today, after five thousand years of inhabited history, it is still a continual hotbed of conflict. But this verse isn’t just talking only about the city of Jerusalem, it is using the city, Israel’s capital, to represent the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. For the past year we have been watching an outpouring of anger and rage, hatred openly displayed, against the Jews and their nation. For all who love Israel and especially we who share a common heritage of faith with them through God’s covenant with Abraham, we know the battle lines that are drawn go far deeper than the disturbing politics. The Bible says in Psalms 132:13-14, “For the LORD hath chosen Zion (another name for Jerusalem); he hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.” In another verse, Zechariah 3:2, the Bible says, “And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee.” The struggle for the city and the nation is between God who chose it for Himself and His dwelling place on earth and Satan who opposes it because the scriptures call Jerusalem in Matthew 5:35, “The city of the great King.” When our Lord returns, He will not reign from America, Europe, or any other spot on this earth but from Israel and specifically, Jerusalem. In one sense, when we pray for Jerusalem we’re praying a part of the Lord’s prayer that fits the words, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as in heaven.” While we must have compassion for those who are not descendants of Abraham through Isaac, we must stand in allegiance with the eternal Word of God in Galatians 4:29,” But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman”. Although this is an allegory for believers concerning the natural man and the newborn spiritual nature, it is still a principle of the eternal covenant between God and Israel and its fulfillment will be centered in Jerusalem. Those who pray inspired by Psalm 122:6 are praying with the heart of God towards His chosen City and His chosen people.
________________________________________________
September 12, 2024
Psalms 63:1 “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is”
Do you ever wake up early with your soul so thirsty for God’s presence that you begin to seek Him before you get out of bed? Do you ever lie there in the quiet darkness, before the sounds of the day begin, and reach up to Him like a child reaching for its Father? And, do you know that as you are reaching up to Him, He is already reaching down to you? That probably sounds naïve and silly to a lot of people but for those who know His presence, who long to be filled with His Spirit, it is an expression of today’s verse: “My flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is.” At 68, there’s not much on this earth I want besides my family and my precious wife. I have everything I need and God is taking care of all those needs day by day as He promised He would. What I want, is Him and for Him to have more of me. I understand the meaning of Psalms 16:11, “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” There are no words that can describe this phase of the journey with Him and the treasures of His grace. This is a dry and thirsty land where people scramble to find meaning and pleasure in the things this world offers. But when they hold in their hands the very things they thought would make them happy, they are still parched and thirsty within. Only the well that gushes with hope and peace can satisfy that thirst and that well is Christ. It brings us to Psalms 107:8-9, “Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.” In the past few years, I’ve sold, given away, and thrown away most of the things I’d accumulated in my life, and praise God, my footprint on this earth keeps getting smaller. But my anchor, fastened securely to the Lord’s throne of grace is stronger than it’s ever been. My earnest prayer is that my family, my children, and my grandchildren will know the Lord from a deep personal place of faith and relationship with Him and that the Savior will be more to them than anything this world offers.
________________________________________
September 11, 2024
The twenty-three years since America’s 9/11 terrorist attacks have gone by very quickly. Yet there are millions of young people out of school and in the workforce who have no memory of those events because they were either too young or hadn’t been born yet. Those of us who were raised during the Cold War and as children, lived under the shadow of possible enemy atomic bomb attacks, can remember how those terrorist attacks brought back the feelings of America’s vulnerability by enemies that were not invading our nation with waves of soldiers but by aiming at us from afar, plotting our destruction in secret and invisibility. And today, the heart and soul of our nation are at stake from turmoil within. The very foundations of families and communities have been shaken to their core and still, it all intensifies. Many of our rambling and fickle leaders, babbling doublespeak, meaningless slogans, promises, and political malarkey look brazenly into the cameras as if they carry some weight of believability. Yet, they continue to make decisions that push our nation further from God and further from our strong foundations. Yes, we’ve come a long way since that day when the towers fell but it hasn’t been an upward trajectory but a downward spiral with the average citizen loading up on guns and ammo, feeling the foreboding of evil days ahead. Then there are those, so removed from reality of where we are headed with their heads immersed in mindless entertainment. They are “influenced” and brainwashed by the pollyannish media and culture gurus who keep stammering we’re headed in a good direction because we’re finally erasing our history, casting off the chains of Puritanism, and embracing the diversity of anything goes, all that was good is now evil, and what was evil is desirable and chic. Meanwhile, we look back and remember that day when almost three thousand lost their lives suddenly and unexpectedly and our nation was changed. We can’t help but wonder will this country ever see days of hope, happiness, security, and faith again? Let’s pray that we will not forget that America is still on the hit list of people, organizations, and nations that hate us and our country and wish our total destruction. May God give us leaders with wisdom, courage, and faith in Him. Leaders that are not ashamed or afraid to stand up for America and the American people. May our churches have great revivals and may many people come to faith in Jesus Christ. Let’s proclaim Isaiah 59:19, “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.”
__________________________________________________
September 10, 2024
Psalms 27:13 “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living”
Let’s look again at this wonderful verse and consider its message. It’s easy to look around us and see all that’s wrong in the world. And, it’s easy to look at our lives and the lives of others and see the wrongs. The sum of it all is that nothing is perfect in this world as it is. No community, no home, no school, no government institution, no spouse, and nothing else as far as the eye can see can live up to some people’s expectations. When we view life with an overly critical eye, expecting everything to measure to a mark of near perfection, we’re going to spend most of our days in disappointment. This verse says unless we see the world around us through the view of God’s goodness, we might give up hope. Some people laud themselves as “realists” as they call people out for their errors, condemn everything they don’t like, and approach almost everything with a critical comment. What they call a “reality” view is more probably their own reality of pride and arrogance. Despite all that the fallen creation entails, God’s goodness overrides it all. In this Psalm 27, David describes how our enemies will come against us and how sometimes even our own parents and families will forsake us. But in those times, he declares God will remain faithful to protect and deliver us. It’s God’s faithfulness to walk with us, provide for us, and show us mercy and favor that keeps us from fainting and losing hope. There is evidence of a fallen world all around us but none of it cancels out God’s goodness. I just had my six-month follow-up PET scan a few days ago and the test showed me cancer-free from head to toe. That’s after a 4-year ordeal of surgeries, chemo, and radiation. I declare God is good and I see His goodness everywhere. But if it wasn’t this way and I had been taken from this earth, I would still be declaring God is good because I would be in the presence of my Lord. We need a great change of perspective to transform us out of the “woe is me” and “the world has no hope” mindset to a new way of seeing that says no matter what is all around us, we will live, walk, and talk the goodness, mercy, and grace of God.
____________________________________________
September 9, 2024
Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart”
The Word of God is described here as alive and powerfully working. Bible believers know that God’s Word is far more than just printed words on a page because it carries the very essence of God past our natural senses and human understanding. With the ability to pierce through us like a razor-sharp sword, the Word of God separates the natural from the spiritual and lays bare our thoughts and intentions. When we encounter God’s Word in its fullness, human reasoning and our stubborn unbelief are overpowered and God reveals us to ourselves the way He sees us. The battle called the “Good fight of faith”, is a war within us where our sinful nature tries to shout down God’s Word and block it from becoming effective. Some, like Jonah, try to stop the power of God’s Word by running away from it. The whole city of Nineveh needed to hear God’s Word and experience the power of its warnings and its offer of hope. Jonah tried to keep that from happening because He wanted Nineveh to be destroyed, not saved by God’s grace. Every day, in the battlefields of our minds, thoughts form that either propel us forward in faith or introduce and feed doubt and fear, distractions from the truth, and temptations that could open the door to our ruin. The Word of God, used by the Holy Spirit, is right there, encouraging us to turn away from everything that is not of God. Remember, we can’t usually control which thoughts pop into our minds but we can control how long we give them recognition. Whenever thoughts come that we know are not from the Lord, we withstand them by declaring the truth of God’s Word. We say, “Thank you God that I have the mind of Christ. I set my mind on things above and I bring my thoughts into captivity, to the obedience of Christ.” We cast down imaginations by purposefully directing our thoughts to the things of God. When we’re tempted to take revenge against someone, we proclaim, “I love everyone even my enemies and I overcome evil with good.” When we are tempted to sin, we declare, “Thank you God, that the blood of Christ has delivered me from sin and death.” When we are bombarded with thoughts of anxiety and worry, we stand against them with, “Thank You Lord that You are at work, working all things for my good.” As we learn to fight in faith, by God’s Word, the enemy can no longer use our thoughts and intentions as dumping grounds for unbelief. The sword of God’s Word fights on our behalf.
__________________________________________________
September 8, 2024
Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching”.
In these days before the coming of Christ, when the world around us is beginning to shake, we have to band together, support each other, and live as the family of God. When we are told “to provoke unto love and to good works”, it means to keep each other excited and stirred up in our spirits to love each other and do what is right. Doing what is right before God in a world that’s doing so much wrong in His eyes is testimony that we represent Him. No infighting among ourselves and no finger-pointing and squabbling over trivial doctrines but allowing God’s love and peace to rule. When Covid came, it caused great disruption to churches. Our normal practice of assembling to worship the Lord was greatly affected and many people stopped going to church. But part of the way we support each other in the faith is by coming together, worshipping together, hearing God’s Word taught together, and taking the Lord’s Supper together as the body of Christ. The words, “exhorting one another” means we encourage each other in our walk of faith. We are encouragers, not discouragers. We have words to comfort others, words to bless, and words to show compassion and love. We have jobs to do that add our talents and abilities to the cause of Christ and we’re not afraid to volunteer our time and resources in the name of the Lord. It’s encouraging to assemble to worship and see others around us looking to the Lord and honoring Him. It’s encouraging to shake hands and have someone say, “It’s good to see you today.” It’s encouraging to pray together and reverence the Lord as a member of His church and sense His peace and presence as He moves among His people. It’s encouraging to see the children, full of energy and life running around the church grounds and we know that they are being taught the Bible stories that we all grew up hearing, that formed the foundation of our faith. There can be no mistake; The day of Christ is coming and we can be at our best when we always look for ways to love and encourage each other.
____________________________________________
September 7, 2024
1 Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray without ceasing”
Do you believe God hears and answers prayers? He does, and that’s one of the reasons it’s such a battle to maintain a consistent prayer life. The enemy knows that God’s ears are open to His people and he knows the Lord delights to answer our prayers. So, he wears us down, keeps us procrastinating, and substitutes religious activities attempting to keep us from praying. He knows what the Lord has promised and he understands the power of James 5:16, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” A startling verse is found in 1 Samuel 12:23, “Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you” and shows us we are responsible before the Lord to pray for people in our care. Examples are pastors who do not pray for the people they pastor and dads and moms who do not pray for their children are negligent before God. The Lord is not binding us with a commandment here to restrict our liberties but showing that prayer is so important that its practice should be who we are. When Saul was converted and, on his way, to meet with Ananias, the Lord described him to Ananias in Acts 9:11, “behold, he prayeth.” So, the three little words in today’s verse, “Pray without ceasing”, are an encouragement to us to keep praying. People who believe in the power of prayer are known to pray about everything. They take literally the words of Philippians 4:6, “Be careful (worried, anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” This verse doesn’t mean we are to spend every waking hour on our knees, but that our thoughts and words are to always be directed to the Lord. When we get up, “Thank you Lord for another day”. When we’re driving to work, “Thank you God for my safety and that I have a job and the strength to do it.” Throughout the day, “Thank You Lord for your shield of favor that surrounds me. Show me open doors to be a blessing to someone.” This may not seem easy at first because our minds are conditioned by this world to save God for our Sunday mornings and spend the day operating in a mindset of worrying, complaining, and immersing ourselves in the things of the world. But as we follow the pattern, it becomes a natural way to live, always looking to the Lord and always praying and thanking God. These three words can be life-changing if you believe God hears and answers prayers.
___________________________________________
September 6, 2024
1 Thessalonians 5:16 “Rejoice evermore”
Here is one sentence with two words that are so important because they describe a pattern for believers that leads us to victory. In a dark, cynical, and discouraging world, they tell us to keep rejoicing. Having joy at all times might seem impossible but we have the mind of Christ and we know the truth about our situation and that of the world. It’s easy to get bogged down in the moment and lose sight of the fact that God has everything under control. The medical report looks bad, someone you trusted abandoned you, you didn’t get the job you applied for, and the children are going through hard times. And then, there’s the constant news of the world around us. Violence, threats of a world war, cultural upheavals, and the rising cost of living. But none of these things change who God is and nothing can change His plans for us. We have His promise that He will never leave us or fail us. In times like these, we turn our gaze away from the things of this world with its bad news and problems and look to the founder and perfecter of our faith. When we see Him high and lifted up, Lord of all, we can rejoice because He will never fail. Even when it seems hopeless and that there are no answers to our dilemmas, God always has an answer and He will always provide a way of escape. That’s why we can always rejoice because He has the final word. We walk by faith, trusting His promises even when we can’t see a way out. And, when we are tempted to complain about our problems, we know the Lord is working all things for our good and we praise the Lord anyway. Instead of a pattern where we always talk about our problems, how big they are, how groceries are too high, and how we never get any good breaks, let’s shift the pattern to talking about how great God is and how He will never let us down. Yes, the reality of the moment may seem overwhelming but we have eyes of faith that can see past the moment of trouble to the time when the Lord will deliver us. As the song says, we raise a Hallelujah in the presence of the enemy. When it seems all is lost, and when we can’t see an exit but we know there is one, we always rejoice.
________________________________________________
September 5, 2024
Jonah 3:1-2 “And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee”
When the Lord told Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach to them, Jonah tried every way he could to run from God’s call. We all know the story of how he ended up being swallowed by a whale. You’d think that after such a blatant act of disobedience, God would have said, “Alright big boy, since you won’t obey me, I’ll just call me another prophet that will.” But God’s grace to us isn’t cancelled out by our failures and His love for us is greater than all our sins. If God demanded strict obedience in all things and when we don’t obey, He casts us out, none of us would have a chance. Jonah may have thought, while he was in the whale’s belly, that he’d blown it and God was finished with him. The enemy may have whispered the same thing to him he does to us when we fall short of God’s will. “It’s over”, he says, “this time you’ve proven you’re not fit to serve God. You might as well quit and walk away.” Has that ever happened to you? Maybe you’ve made a blunder that you think is so big that the Lord will not open any more doors for you or give you any more opportunities. God knew you would fall short before He ever called you and He is ready to give you another chance. We don’t know what was going through the prodigal son’s mind as he made his way back home, but I’m not sure he was expecting the level of love, mercy, and grace he found when he arrived. Grace is not an excuse to sin and surely none of us who proclaim the message of God’s amazing grace implies that it is. But just as it was with Jonah, the Lord is a God of second chance. And not just second chances, but third, fourth, fifth, and so on. Jonah teaches us a lesson that when God calls us, the Bible says in Romans 11:29, “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” What a wonderful verse, “And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time.” The second time, fresh from the whale’s belly, Jonah obeyed.
___________________________________________
September 4, 2024
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed”
The life of a believer is not just easy livin good times and anyone who pictures it that way is wrong. We are indeed more than conquerors but that phrase in itself implies there is an enemy and a battle. When the Lord tells us in Ephesians 6:11, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil”, we are pictured as a warrior armed for war. And yet, despite what we are up against, today’s verses tell us that even when we are facing the onslaught of this world, by the power and grace of God we rise above it and emerge in victory. We are troubled on every side. Everywhere we look, the enemy has a foothold in our culture but we are not distressed, a word that means hemmed in. The Son of God has set us free and given us power over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). We are perplexed. That means not knowing which way to turn. But we are not in despair meaning we never give up even when it looks like there’s no way out. We are persecuted because the enemy is always trying to shut us and the message of Jesus down. That’s what the scripture is describing when it speaks of “the wiles of the devil”. But God never forsakes us. He goes in front of us, clearing the landmines the devil sets and He swings the sword of His Word. We are cast down meaning sometimes we get knocked to our knees. Sickness, heartaches, afflictions, and a host of other problems we call the storms of life come our way. But because we’re built on the solid rock foundation of Jesus Christ, we will never be defeated. Because we belong to the Lord, when we fight in Jesus’ name we can never be destroyed. We have to see ourselves as overcomers and victors. We are not victims, weak and helpless. We have the strength of Almighty God in front of us, over us, under us, and all around us. We have His promises of unfailing protection and the Bible declares in Ephesians 3:20, “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.”
_________________________________________
September 3, 2024
Acts 23:6 “But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question”
Paul was arrested for preaching the gospel and brought before the Sanhedrin, a religious court composed of leaders from both religious groups at that time, the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The Pharisees believed in life after death and that there would be a resurrection. The Sadducees were the extreme liberals of that day and denied an afterlife and resurrection. Paul introduced the subject of a resurrection at the beginning of his defense and divided his accusers against each other. The reality of a bodily resurrection is still at the heart of what people today believe about the future. Many believe in an afterlife but most of them believe only our spirits will live on after death. But just as Jesus rose from the dead in His body, we too will also rise from the dead in our bodies. Although, our bodies will be changed from what they are now into a glorified body like the Lord’s. Our blessed hope is that we will live eternally in a body that can see, feel, move, has substance, and in many ways, will be similar to the body we have now. When Jesus rose from the dead, He could be touched and felt, speak, hear, carry on a conversation, cook food, eat, wear clothes, and all this is given from the scriptures that describe Him after His resurrection. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15:52, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” Paul wrote in Acts 24:15, “There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.” When Jesus rose from the dead the Bible tells us in Matthew 27:52-53, “And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.” Our blessed hope is not only that we have eternal life, but that we also will have amazing, real bodies just like our Lord’s. Bodies in which we can enjoy the afterlife but bodies that have no pain and never grow old or wear out.
_________________________________________________
September 2, 2024
Jeremiah 6:15 “Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush”
This could well have been written about our world today. No matter what they are doing and how wickedly they live, many people have no shame in their sins. It’s the opposite: They laugh, parade it, and celebrate it. The seriousness is that when the sense of shame is gone, so is the foundation for conviction. And when there is no conviction, there is no conversion. When people are not convicted, that is convinced, that they are doing wrong, they no longer see God as The Righteous Judge and they will not confess their sins. The next step is that they will call their sins “Ok” and “good”. They will excuse them away as a society becoming “progressive” and before long, the things that once were terrible wrongs become daily practices. Several years ago, Pastor Ken Klaus wrote: “Drug dealers are not ashamed of the profits they reap from the addiction of little children. The wads of cash they flash justifies their sin. Pornographers, hiding behind freedom of speech, are not ashamed of the smut and sexual sewage they spew forth across the internet. A politician convicted on receiving bribes admits that he may have made some improper choices. A gang member gives a gold-toothed smile to the cameras when he is arrested for having killed an innocent child in a drive-by shooting. He makes it clear that he is not at fault: “That kid is dead because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time.” We know the list goes on continually of people doing wrong and feeling no shame. Today’s verse appears twice in the Book of Jeremiah, in 6:15 and again in 8:12. In both places, God said when the people became unashamed for their sins, “therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.” It’s disturbing to live in a world where people call evil good and good evil but these abominations will not continue unchecked. We can call it a day of reckoning, the final accounting, or the day when the score is settled but it means that when we will no longer acknowledge our sins, even when the Holy Spirit strives with us, God will balance our books. It might take a while, but just as He is faithful to forgive sins that are confessed, He is faithful to judge those that aren’t.
______________________________________
September 1, 2024
2 Samuel 7:29 “Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord GOD, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever”
The word house here means family and we would generalize it to mean, our home. David is praying for God to bless his family and not just those who were living at that moment, but for all who would descend from him. Do you ever pray for the Lord to bless your home? There is so much confusion, so much strife in many homes today, and the very place that should be our refuge from the growing darkness of evil has become a battlefield. Almost 200 years ago, there was a popular song, “Home, Sweet Home” and one of the lines said, “There’s no place like home.” But today many parents and children come home to a place of abuse, sorrow, and loneliness. Instead of looking forward to coming home at the end of the work day and school day, many people wish they had somewhere else to go. When we say and pray, “God bless America”, we should start by praying, “God bless our homes”. David’s house was by no means a perfect place. There was strife and drama among his children and at one point when his son Absalom rebelled against David and attempted to take the throne, it seemed the House of David had lost all its blessing. But when we go to God in faith and believe in His goodness, He will restore all the enemy tried to destroy. Maybe you have division and strife right now in your home. Maybe the enemy has sown the seed of discord and it seems like there is no way your family can get back to a place of peace and blessing. Remember that God wants our home to be a place where He is honored and He wants to bless us. We can start by declaring again, Joshua 24:15, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” And then, we can agree together to declare that Jesus is the Lord of our family and encourage each other to seek Him and His ways above all else. We can forgive each other, love each other, and unite. Let’s pray for each other and make an effort to have homes that give us and our children a refuge, a place of happiness and peace in a world of trouble.
___________________________________________________