February 28, 2021

Judges 6:11-12 “And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.”

It is here in Judges 6 when Gideon is first mentioned in the Bible and he is at work threshing wheat near the winepress. Wheat is usually threshed in open areas and especially on hills where the wind would separate the chaff from the wheat. But because Israel had turned away from the Lord and was under the oppression of the Midianites, Gideon was hiding his threshing operation among the grape vines and near the winepress, usually located in low lying areas, to keep the Midianites from seizing the grain.  The Bible reveals he and his family were farmers and Gideon happened to be the smallest person of his father’s house. That day, the angel of the Lord, most likely a preincarnation, bodily appearance of the Lord because in verses 14 and 16, the Bible says “the LORD looked on him and the Lord said to him”, appeared to Gideon and called him a “mighty man of valor”. Gideon may have thought, “huh? Are you talking to me?” and in fact when the Lord tells him he is called to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Midianites, Gideon argues against this call to service by telling the Lord how poor his family is and how small he is. But as it is with the Lord, He makes His choice, not by what men would choose or think, but because He purposes to use what He has set apart for himself and that’s often the very things that would be rejected by man’s wisdom: Gideon the small, poor farmer was not a trained military fighter and nowhere in the Bible does it say he had even held a sword in his hand or fought in a battle yet he is called a “mighty man of valor” by the Lord. It is God, calling him by a descriptive name that identifies his God-called purpose and that name carries the mind of God, the will of God, the strength of God, the victory of God and the person of God because the Lord promises Gideon in verse 16,” And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as (if it were) one man.”

Gideon’s call sounds a lot like that of Moses who argued he couldn’t do it because he had a speech impediment, David, who was just a young boy and nowhere the stature of his brothers and many of the prophets who were farmers, shepherds and simple country men. Consider when Jesus called his disciples: not a theology degree among them and Peter, the one who was chosen to kickstart the church and was given the anointing to open the door of salvation to both the Jews and the Gentiles, was a fisherman. The Lord calls us by a name that people would describe us with and if we have always seen ourselves as the person that people have declared us to be, we are missing the truth of who we really are in God’s eyes.  Man will always look on the outward appearance and name us by what that looks like but the Lord has a purpose for us that is from His will and determination and reflects all the talents, skills, abilities, wisdom and strengths He has built into us. Gideon wasn’t who he appeared to be and he wasn’t even who he thought he was and if someone who knew him had been standing by when the Lord called him a mighty man of valor, they would have said “nonsense, Gideon is just a poor, small farm boy” but time proved there was much more to Gideon that could be seen with the eye and far more than his poor, small farm-boy circumstances would dictate. He was God-chosen, called, anointed, powerful and victorious and he would accomplish what the Lord destined him to do and not only that, he appears in Hebrews 11 hall of fame of faith in verse 32 as one of the great heroes of faith.

We close with the thought: what has the Lord named you? Have you allowed what people have called you or how you see yourself to limit what the Lord has purposed for you? This is not talking about prideful self-will but just asking the question of, have you even considered that the Lord may have purposed much more for you than you are doing and have you allowed what He has put into your heart or the dreams He has stirred in you to become buried under a pile of “I can’t do it, that’s not my name, I’m too poor and just a farmer” and so on?  Maybe your name is actually, (your name goes here), mighty person of valor.

February 27, 2021

Ruth 1:16-17 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.

The book of Ruth opens with a heartbreaking story. There was a famine in the land of Israel and a man named Elimelech and his wife Naomi and their two sons, lived in the town of Bethlehem. Elimelech decided to move his family to the country of Moab for a while to see if conditions there were better. When they were in Moab, Elimelech died and the two sons married women of Moab but later both sons also died and the three widows, Naomi, Orpha and Ruth were left alone. It is hard to know from the text if Elimelech had acted in direct disobedience to the Lord in leaving Bethlehem, but we know the name Bethlehem means “house of bread” and the country of Moab was a pagan land of idolatry. It stands to reason that no matter what the circumstances are, when we leave a place that is connected to the Lord and chose to live in a place that is cursed, we shouldn’t be surprised when God allows us to experience hardship. Notice that first Elimelech died: He had made the choice to  lead his family into a land of curse and was responsible before the Lord for his leadership. Then the sons married women of Moab which was against the Lord’s will, for He had forbidden the Israelites to intermarry with the pagan nations, and both sons died. This makes us wonder what would have happened if Naomi had decided to return to Bethlehem after Elimelech died and before her sons married. But the tragedy took its toll on Naomi who decided to change her name from Naomi which means pleasant and beautiful, to Mara which means bitter. Difficult circumstances tempt us to try to do things our own way even if it means to move into a place of compromise, instead of waiting on the Lord to provide and staying where we know we are in the “house of bread”. Even though uncomfortable and seemingly uncertain circumstances can attack our faith and even cause us to fear, the believer has God’s unfailing promise He will provide and He will not withhold any good thing from those who follow Him. When the famines of life, the storms and trials come, our foundation in our Lord and His promises to us must be our fortress and strong tower: not our own reasonings, schemes and plans.  

When Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem, she did what many people fail to do because people often stay stuck in Moab, far away from the place of blessings and favor and they will not return to the Lord. Remember the passage in Jeremiah 6:16, “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.”  Not only did Naomi return, but Ruth her daughter-in-law made a decision to leave Moab and return with her. As far as Orpha is concerned, although she loved Naomi, she made her choice to remain in Moab and the Bible account of her life ends there. But Ruth not only turned her back on Moab, a type of repentance, but became a believer in the God of Israel and confessed “your God will be my God”, a decision of salvation, and vowed to remain with Naomi and in the land of Israel to her dying day. In spite of her great loss and suffering in Moab, Naomi had won Ruth to the Lord and forged a bond with her that would serve to make both their lives blessed again. What an awesome picture of the amazing grace of our Lord and His willingness to restore the broken and bruised and it gives us hope not only for ourselves when we make bad choices and end up in Moab, but also for our families and others when they abandon the “house of bread” and move where the Lord can’t bless them. After moving back to Israel, Ruth met a wealthy man in Bethlehem named Boaz, they fell in love, married, and had a son they named Obed. Obed grew up to become the father of Jessie who was the father of King David. It’s an unbelievable story that only the Lord could bring to pass: A gentile, pagan woman named Ruth is delivered from a cursed, pagan country, from a miserable tragedy and then her life is completely turned around and she becomes a believer in God and not only an ancestor of King David, but eventually of our Lord Jesus Christ and is listed in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1. As for Naomi, she became the joyful nurse to her little baby grandchild Obed and and the people rejoiced with her because they said Naomi has a son. She was called Naomi again because the Lord restored her joy, her purpose and gave her victory over her bitterness. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised.

The book of Ruth gives us God’s perspective for people and what they are able to become in His hands, showing us the mercy and grace of God reaches to us in spite of our errors, sins and unbelief and is always working to forgive, restore, bless, establish, promote and change us into heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. Romans 11:33-36,” O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counseller? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen.”

February 26, 2021

1Thessalonians 5:18 In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

The Bible says one of the characteristics of our times is that people are unthankful. This came to my mind this morning when Walmart delivered our grocery order and my wife and I were putting it away and we began to thank the Lord for His provisions and began to talk about how faithful God has been to us through the years to provide every good thing we’ve needed. Almost a billion people in the world don’t have electricity, another 780 million do not have running water and 690 million go to bed hungry every night and yet there are so many in this country that are always unthankful. The shocking thing is, that for most of us, the more we have the less thankful we become. 

This isn’t a new thing with humans. In 1 Kings 21, the Bible talks about King Ahab who, in spite of all his wealth and possessions, wasn’t happy because he wanted the vineyard of one of his neighbors and when the man wouldn’t let him have it, Ahab went to bed depressed, pouting and refused to eat. But the Holy Spirit and our new birth gives us power to rise above this insane human tendency by opening our eyes to who we really are, who our Father is and the exact truth of our circumstances. Several times in the Bible the Lord tells us to give thanks in everything and in the above passage, He says this is God’s will for us. This was easy this morning when we started realizing we had more groceries than we had room to store them but there are times when it takes an act of faith to be thankful. Last October, when the doctor told me I had cancer in my larynx, after the initial shock wore off, I began to thank the Lord, by faith alone, for His unfailing promise that I belong to Him and that my life is in His hands and however He works in me to perform His will, I accept it and give Him glory. He owns me body, soul and spirit and while at the time I wished there was another path for me, by God’s grace I found great joy and peace in submitting completely to the Lord and was able to pray the prayer that said, “Lord, I’m yours. Do with me as You will. You said I am healed by the stripes of Jesus and however You have purposed to lead me I give You thanks because Your Word says as for God, his way is perfect”. The scripture also says in 2 Samuel 22:33, “God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect”. At the time, my wife and I were still reeling from the diagnosis and the fact that to get the cancer, they would have to remove my vocal cords and larynx completely and I would be unable to speak. But my circumstances didn’t change who God is and my sonship in Him remained unaltered. So, by faith, I thanked Him and gave Him praise and honor. Now, almost five months later, our life has been radically changed but we are still thanking Him more than ever for all things because in His wisdom, He has brought me to exactly where He wants me or else, He would have taken me another direction.

 I encourage you, if it isn’t already a pattern for you, begin thanking God for everything even if you don’t feel like it and have to do it by faith alone. Start when you first get up, say, “Thank You Lord for another day and for letting me get up this morning.” As you drive to work, “Thank You for a job and for a car so I don’t have to walk.” If you’re stuck in traffic,” Thank You Lord for Your blessing on all these other people and if they don’t know You, open their eyes to the Lord Jesus.” If you’re not having an easy day at work, “Thank You Lord that these trials won’t last long but You will help me through them and soon, I’ll be home with my family”. When things are going right don’t forget to thank and praise the Lord and give Him credit and glory. When someone is mean to you, say “Thank You Lord that not everyone is mean to me and I remember how they were mean to You when You were on this earth. Thank You that they can come to know Your goodness and grace as I have”. All day, for everything especially the obvious blessings and even what seems bad, give thanks and let it be your daily pattern for your life. Replace all the complaining, negative comments, criticism, sarcasm and gossip with the constant giving of thanks for all things and watch God begin to move in your life in ways you never thought possible. At first, maybe it won’t seem natural because the patterns of the flesh and the world are ingrained in us and we have to renew our mind and act upon faith in what the Lord has taught us but after a while, the thanksgiving will become who you are and the inner man will be renewed in the Spirit of the Lord. The enemy might come and tell you that you’re being foolish and silly and thinking like a whack-a-doodle but rebuke him in Jesus; name and know that what was REALLY foolish and silly, is all the time you were not thanking God for all things because it was a failure to honor your Father and it was keeping you from great blessings. Finally, don’t be surprised when you start having more joy, peace and all those other fruits of the Spirit showing up daily in your life and maybe spilling over on those around you. 

February 25, 2021

1John 3:21-23 Beloved, if our heart condemns us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

Concerning the sense of guilt, people seem to come in one of two categories: Those who always feel guilty about everything and those who never feel guilty about anything. For Christians, this can be a quandary concerning the substance of our faith when we approach the Lord with our petitions. James 1:6-7 says, “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering (doubting). For he that wavereth (doubts) is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord”. Faith is what gets the job done and things that war against our faith must be identified and dealt with before a clear channel is opened and flowing between our heart and our God. The enemy is well aware of this and is always at work to interfere in this matter and destroy our confidence that the Lord is hearing and answering us when we pray. And because this is a most important part of our relationship with God, he then tries to wear us down over time until we get so defeated in our prayers, we simply give up. But there is victory in this and it isn’t complicated, we just look at what God’s Word says and follow the truth. The Lord has made it possible that we can all live as Apostle Paul describes in Acts 24:16, “And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.”

In 1 John 3:14, the Bible says we know we are saved because we love people and this love gives us the assurance we belong to the Lord. It goes a step farther and says this love moves us to do what is right in God’s sight, and that is to “lay down our lives” for others. This phrase means,” bow, commit, give, kneel down, lay down, purpose, set forth and is the ultimate demonstration of the love that’s within us. When we know we love and when we act on that love to others, there should be no condemnation in our hearts as to whether or not we belong to the Lord and are doing what is pleasing in His sight. After all, salvation by grace brought us to where we could never arrive by the law: to love God and to love one another because all the law and the old testament rest upon these two things: Matt 22:37-40.” Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” The guilt that tries to invade our conscience by telling us, “you’re not good enough, you’ve made too many mistakes, it might work for other people but it won’t work for you, you’ve failed to pray enough, you don’t read the Bible enough, and so on is trying to defeat us by pointing out that we are simply human. The truth is, no one is perfect enough, no one lives fault-free, no one is righteous enough but that’s why the blood of Jesus, God’s son, covers our sin. None of us can do it. But by the power of the Holy Spirit and God’s amazing grace, we CAN love one another and live in the power of this love, flaws and all, and we are doing God’s will when we do it! This is why Jesus came, not only to forgive us but to set us free to fulfil this will of God and carry out this purpose every day. 

Somewhere and somehow, people often completely miss this simple truth which is really the foundation of the scriptures and I have the suspicion that the enemy has blurred this truth and distracted people from it with all the legalism, guilt trips, religious and denominational hogwash and complicated doctrine quicksand, because he knows it’s how we really please God: To believe on His son and Love one another.  When we know this, and  believe this is what the Lord wants for us, we will have no guilt when we come to the throne of grace and our faith will be simple and pure and this faith will get results at the throne of grace.

February 24, 2021

1Samuel 30:6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.

When we think of David, we usually think of him defeating Goliath, his great victories as a King or we identify him with the Psalms he wrote. But here, in 1 Samuel, he is at one of the lowest moments of his life. He has been on the run from King Saul who is so jealous of him he is trying to kill David and David has his own army of 600 fighting men and their families with him. He flees into the land of the Philistines and the king of the Philistines gives David and his followers a city, Ziklag, where they can live and David and his fighting men begin living as bandits, attacking cities, looting them and killing all the men, women and children: The Bible says they left no one alive. To make matters worse, David forms an alliance with the Philistines and even calls himself a servant of king Achish, the Philistine ruler (1 Samuel 27:5). His fear and discouragement of running from Saul has caused him to hide out with the ungodly Philistines and seek their favor. One day while David and his men were away from their city, the Amalekites attacked Ziklag, burned it to the ground and carried the women and children away as captives. David and his men returned home, marching 25 miles in one day, and instead of finding their families there to welcome them, they found their city destroyed and their families kidnapped. The Amalekites actually showed more mercy to David than David and his fighters had been showing to the cities they had been destroying because the Bible says the Amalekites didn’t kill anyone in Ziklag.  Now David has no one standing with him because even his own men were so distraught, they spoke of stoning him. The scripture says, 1Sam 30:4 Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.

We have all, to some point, been where David was when we try to do things our own way and run away from God’s will for us. David’s problem began before he fled to the country of the enemy and we can find the source in 1Sam 27:1, “And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so, shall I escape out of his hand.” This doesn’t sound like the David of the Psalms where he declared things like Psalms 3:6, “I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about”, it sounds like someone who has a lapse of faith and is trying to save his own neck without trusting God even if it means living apart from the Lord in the land of compromise. But the sixteen months David lived as a bandit in an enemy country away from God’s land, didn’t mean he had lost complete sight of the truth. Notice that when he was at his lowest point and had no one to help him and offer him encouragement, the Bible says, “but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.” Here is the strength of our faith and the grace of our Lord: When we are up against the wall, all hope seems gone, fear is trying to master us, there are no comforting, soothing words from other people and we are in deep despair and discouragement, the Holy Spirit will come to our aid and by God’s grace we can encourage ourself. God Himself will lead us out of the valley of despair and restore us to a place of victory and peace.

The Bible doesn’t say how David put it into action, but most likely he began to remember and declare how he had been in similar situations before and the Lord brought him out. He reminded himself of the prayers God had answered, the truth of God’s Word against the glaring picture of the circumstances and the anointing that was upon him as a vessel of the Lord. Perhaps he clarified who he was, who the enemy was and who god is and got his business straightened out before the Lord. With God’s help, he defeated the Amalekites, recovered all the Amalekites had taken and within a few days, Saul was killed, David returned to Israel and became king. 

February 23, 2021

Psalms 85:6-7 Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee? Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation.

When we look back on what the Lord has done concerning the Body of Christ and its influence upon the world around it, there are several times in history that the light of the church seems to have grown very dim. Upheavals of countries, various political systems, massive wars, realignment of powers along with epidemics and plagues were constantly changing the world and nations, people and cultures were swept along by whatever current was flowing. Added to this, until the printing press was invented around 1436, the masses did not have Bibles and even the few people who could read, couldn’t read Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin or Greek, the languages of the Bible. Now days with Bibles everywhere, churches galore and centuries of religious freedom in our country, it’s easy to overlook that the Lord has protected His church through horrible times and maleficent circumstances that, without His supernatural intervention, would have destroyed Christianity. But He gave His promise, “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”. He sent waves of revivals, awakenings, migrations and movements that kept the fire of the gospel alive at times when it was nearly extinguished. The truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God cannot be destroyed or defeated. 

Here in our country alone since its inception, there have been several revivals and awakenings that have thwarted downward spirals of impending apostacy and changed people’s hearts, restored churches and changed the course of the nation. It seems that even when there were fierce battles within mainstream denominations for control of the doctrine and standards, often outright wars, the Lord would circumvent it all and raise up people and paths that would lead souls to Jesus in spite of the unrest within the groups. Many of us grew up in churches that were still under the influence of the post-World War Two awakening when great pastors and evangelists preached in tents, brush arbors, on radio and TV with fiery sermons of salvation. Billy Graham alone preached to over 180 million people in nearly 400 crusades not counting the untold millions more that listened to him on television. The emphasis was on the simple gospel truth of salvation and often during times of revivals at local churches, many people would receive Jesus as Savior and there would be large baptismal services following the revival. 

We wonder what lies ahead for the church and the world now: will there be another revival or awakening or will the Lord just allow things to continue as they are going until He returns for His church? Considering local churches, a lot of studies show there is a great decline in attendance for most mainline denominations and while many people still identify as Christians, they do not attend church regularly if at all. Although churches may have more affluence than in times past, they have less influence on their communities. They may serve some meals, have a clothing ministry and offer counseling but gone are the days when people came to church, followed the “roman road” of salvation and made a commitment of their soul to Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. We are awash in the current, prevalent thinking that everyone is “ok” and it’s going to be alright with God no matter what we believe. We’ve had a revival of sorts but it’s been a revival of secular philosophy and celebrity “bling” reasoning apart from faith alone in the inspired Word of God. Thank God many are praying for revival now. They see what is happening, where we are headed and know that unless the Lord gives revival, dark days lie ahead. The very foundations are being eroded from beneath us and we look to the Lord who has the power to turn us as we cry again the words of Lamentations 5:21,” Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.”

February 22, 2021

1Thessalonians 4:16-18 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

There is comfort for us every day, no matter if things are going great or not so hot. We have the Lord’s promise that all things are working for our good and that He will never leave us or abandon us. That doesn’t mean we don’t feel pain, hurt and fear but the Bible calls God the “God of all comfort” and He is faithful to His Word. By His grace, He comes through for us and all believers have experienced His unearthly strength as they went through trials they thought would never end and didn’t see any possible solution: God showed Himself to be greater than anything we could face. But no matter how much we trust the Lord for in the here and now, there’s a question that sooner or later we have to deal with: What’s going to happen to us when this life is over? Even people who do not believe there is a God know that even our star, our sun, has a limited life-span and at one point, all life as we know it, will end. Is there any comfort beyond this life? Is there hope for the future that we all will have to face? The Word of God declares emphatically there is and God tells us exactly where we can find that comfort.

Jesus is coming back. When He was leaving the earth after His resurrection, ascending upward towards the sky and people were watching him go, the Bible says in Acts 1:10-11,” And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” The purpose of His return is stated in the verses from 1 Thessalonians and that is to resurrect the dead, transform those who are still alive, and take them all to be with Him. For those of us who grew up in Bible Believing churches, we called this the second coming of the Lord and it was just as much a part of our fundamental beliefs as John 3:16. I’m not sure what has happened in the past few years, but many preachers and teachers have gone silent about this event as if either they don’t believe it, or think it’s not relevant or they’re so doctrinally poisoned and confused they’ve eliminated this truth from their belief system or they’re embarrassed to take a stand on it because it seems so surrealistic, they’re afraid they’ll appear as an unrefined, uneducated, clownish purveyor of fairy tales. Whatever the case, people need this wonderful Bible doctrine because the Lord tells us to use this truth to comfort people. It doesn’t have to be the constant focus of the church and shouldn’t be because we don’t know when he will appear and we do have to concentrate on living day by day but Jesus IS coming again, He WILL raise the dead, we which are alive at His appearing WILL be instantly glorified and the church WILL be transported out: period. It answers the question Job asked thousands of years ago in Job 14:14,” If a man die, shall he live again?” The answer, by the infallible Word of the Lord is, yes, yes and YES! 

Maybe another reason people shy away from talking about the Lord’s second coming, is because there have been some in the past who tried to establish “timelines” where they attempted to convince people of a specific date or period of the Lord’s return or they magnified certain events and said these are “proofs” of the Lord’s return. Often, they wrote books about their conjectures and made money on their unscriptural premises and what they promised and prophesied never came to pass. That is unfortunate because the enemy has now used the fallout from these failed “merchandisers” to cause other good preachers and teachers to become afraid to stand up and declare the second coming.  But we will pray the Lord gives us courage and wisdom to know what the Bible says and tell this truth to a people everywhere and bring back the comfort God said would come as we shout aloud Hebrews 10:37,” For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.”

February 21, 2021

Luke 14:16-18 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:  And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.  And they all with one consent began to make excuse.

The human race started out making excuses. When God confronted Adam and Eve with their disobedience, Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent. Some have pointed out that Adam indirectly blamed God when He said,” The woman you gave me, she gave me the fruit and I ate it” and the blame game continues to this day. Did you ever hear a politician step up to the microphone and say, “It was me, I messed up”? When something good happens, most everyone wants to take credit but when there’s a mess or even a chance of an undesirable outcome, duck and dodge then pass the buck becomes the maneuvers. The parable in Luke 14, is the story about the response of people who were invited to a feast: they didn’t want to go so to save face, they made excuses to “explain” why they couldn’t go. In all their cases, they implied they had things to do that were more important than attending the feast. Of course, we know the Lord is telling us by this parable, that people will make every kind of excuse rather than take the free gift of eternal life the Lord is offering them. We are truly foolish beings.

When you come across someone who has the backbone and integrity to be completely honest, it’s humbling and inspiring. When king David committed a great sin, in Psalms 51:3-4 he says,” For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight;”.  It’s no wonder the Lord called him a man after God’s own heart: he was painfully truthful and took responsibility alone for his actions. What if people would follow this example and stop making excuses, quit blaming others, quit spinning their tales and executing “damage control” and just admit their wrongs and try to make them right? What if husbands and dads, wives and mothers, children and grandchildren would start saying, “I was wrong, please forgive me” or “I did it and I shouldn’t have”? And how about if we all would fall on our face before a Holy God and come clean with the Creator of heaven and earth about every detail of our life, every wrong, every secret sin, every wayward manipulation, every covered transgression and let the Holy Spirit search us and reveal who we really are so we can live honest and open before the Lord our maker and the people around us?  Perhaps this would be some first steps toward true revival. After all, it was the Lord who said in Proverbs 28:13,” He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy”.  

The epidemic of the blame game in our world could be a result of people who are so filled with pride they refuse to take any responsibility for failure. They would rather destroy a relationship than to accept fault and they will burn bridges with family and friends, even their children or parents, rather than to say, “please forgive me, I was completely at fault and was wrong”. May the Lord help us humble ourselves before Him and before others and take personal responsibility for our own actions. 

February 20, 2021

Mark 2:12,” And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.”

Have you seen miracles happen that are so amazing and wonderful that you can say as these people did when they saw Jesus heal a paralyzed man, “I’ve never seen anything like this”? We’re not talking about the normal way things work like, when day breaks in the morning and you see the first rays of sunshine: that doesn’t make you slam on the brakes, jump out of the car and yell, “This is simply awesome! It’s a miracle!”. No, we’re referring to times when God Almighty steps into time and space and affects the “normal” order of life for you or someone you know, in such a way that it leaves you knowing without a doubt you have seen heaven touch the earth. From beginning to end, the Bible is full of such miracles performed by the Lord who doesn’t change and we have heard the stories and read them since most of us were children and our faith, no matter how weakened it may be at this moment, knows they were real. Jesus raised up hopelessly sick people but He also raised up the dead: even one who had been dead four days and was decomposing. A heavy axe head made of iron floated on water in Elisha’s day and Jesus walked on water. So did Peter. Many times, the specific miracles are not given but the text says things like Acts 19:11, “And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul”. In fact, there are so many miracles spread throughout the pages of scripture that if we call the Bible “a book of miracles”, we’re understating the case. The question for here and now is, have we settled for some form of Christianity that doesn’t believe miracles should be the norm for us? Don’t we want to believe God for things that will have us saying, “we’ve never seen anything like this”? 

Some people just will not believe. No matter what happens even if it’s clearly God at work, they will explain it away. Sometimes their explanation to show it’s not a miracle would be an even greater miracle if it happened their way but they will argue against the Lord because they simply refuse to have faith. But we are people of God’s Word and we know the Lord is ready to keep His promise 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”. Does that say, “Exceeding abundantly above all”? That means superior to, over the top, more than, utterly, entirely, fully, thoroughly, WAY above and beyond. Although we usually settle for the mundane when God wants to do the extraordinary, meditate on Ephesians 3:20 for a while and you will walk away expecting miracles to happen. Have you seen the Lord do miracles for you or someone you know?  Some of you, God has healed. Others, God has provided for you in a way that’s beyond explanation. God has broken addictions, brought wayward children back, delivered from accidents, solved problems for which there were no known solutions, brought companionship or maybe a spouse that you know was heaven sent, helped you through a crisis, brought people to your aid, delivered you from death, rescued you from self-imposed dilemmas and the list never stops. Then why should we NOT expect the Lord to continue to show us His good favor, power and grace and do for us what seems utterly impossible? It’s not arrogance to expect that, it’s arrogance not to expect it because He is a God of the impossible and He wants to show us His glory.  The prodigal could have lived out his life with the pigs. He would still have been his father’s son but he didn’t. Peter could have stayed in the boat but he didn’t. Blind Bartimaeus could have remained blind but he didn’t. David could have walked away from the giant and went back to his sheep but he didn’t. What’s our story going to be? Maybe it will be that we could have settled for humdrum, mediocre, Sunday-morning-style, Laodicean Christianity but we didn’t. Maybe our testimony will be that we woke up, we sat up, we stood up, we reached up, we prayed up, we believed up and heaven came down and we saw exceedingly, abundantly above all we could think, ask or even imagine! Miracles happened! 

February 19, 2021

Zechariah 4:10 “For who hath despised the day of small things?”

This question the Lord asked Zechariah, might causes us pause when we read it because most of us would have to answer, “I have” because when we find ourselves stuck in a day of “small things”, it’s fairly depressing. After all, we like the big stuff and we want to do some great things, jump some high hurdles, run up a big score and feel like we’ve really accomplished something. The account of Elijah praying down fire from heaven or the boy David taking down a giant over 9 feet tall with a rock and a sling shot inspire us to crave the days of large things. On the other hand, the poor widow in Luke 21 who caught Jesus’ attention when she put a couple of the smallest coins of that age into the offering and we hear Him say she has put in more than everyone, makes us change gears and reexamine what is large and what is small in God’s eyes. Then we take a closer look at the Bible and see that the Lord very often used the “day of small things” to get things done. Five loaves and two small fish, a small boy’s lunch, was all Jesus needed to feed thousands of people. In the story of David and Goliath, a stone small enough to fit in a young boy’s sling brought the enemy down. Even when these great miracles happened, the Lord set them up with small things to show His greatness. The Bible says in 1Cor 1:26-29,”For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.” Again, small things and small people that are less esteemed by the world, find a place of service in the work of the Lord and God gets the glory.

Moses spent 40 years as a shepherd tending sheep before God called him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. That was 14,600 days of “small things” while God was preparing him and his heart to do his part of God’s plan: And we get impatient when the Lord pulls us aside for a bit while He’s setting things up for the next phase of our journey. Or like the poor widow woman He keeps letting us just put our two cents in and all the while we’re wondering, is this it?  But the day of small things is just as much a part of the plan as the giant-killing seasons because without them the framework of God’s kingdom would not be built and when we see this we will not despise the day of small things but we will embrace them and rejoice in them because though they seem small, they are just as huge and important as anything else in God’s plan. There will be times when we seem to be set aside like Moses was or hanging out by a creek doing nothing for weeks and weeks like God had the fire-from-heaven praying Elijah do while He was setting things up or locked up in jail like Joseph was for over two years after being falsely accused but these “days of small things” are not to be despised but used as a time of prayer, refreshing, learning and growing. God is always working all things for good in our life and He controls the steps we take and when we will take them.  The seemingly insignificant events and seasons of grinding away at what seems like nothing are times to remain faithful, practice patience and wait on the Lord. The words He has spoken over You and the plans He has for your life will come to pass and You will see the day of small things move you to exactly where you need to be. When the Lord hands you a small rock don’t think, “is this all?”, think “giant killer”. When the only tool He gives you is a staff like Moses, don’t say “I need more”, think “red sea parting power”. When you see the enemy coming and the only weapon God gives you is the jawbone of a donkey like Samson, don’t think “I’m toast”, think “1,000 dead enemies”. Rejoice in the day of small things because the Lord is about to show Himself strong through you and do exceedingly, abundantly above all you are able to think of ask! 

February 18, 2021

Proverbs 30:7-9 “Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.”

These verses in the Holy Word of God, are the prayer of a wise man and even though the prayer is short, its content is a wonderful inspiration for the wisdom of a balanced life. A lot of people’s world view is from an extremism calibration and there’s perhaps no better place to see this than from the news media. Extremist stories make for drama and stir up emotions and the news producers seem to like this sort of fuel for their stories. A world of diametrically opposed positions and views generates a stress overload for people, families and communities and removes any aspect of balance and thereby, blocks peace.  Consider Romans 12:18, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” There will be times when living this way just can’t be done but that should never keep us from this pursuit and we should never stop trying. A balanced life, the aim being stated in 1 Timothy 2:2,” that we may live a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty”, is the goal and begins with a desire for this harmony within ourselves and our personal temporal state: Humble and honest and neither abjectly poor or extravagantly rich.

It’s not that the wise man didn’t trust the Lord, it’s that he didn’t trust himself and this is a most important point. It takes a mature and Spirit-filled believer to arrive at the stage in their Christian life of Philippians 4:11,” for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” and even then, we can never underestimate the corruptness and power of our flesh and of our adversary. A prayer for deliverance from deception and dishonesty should be an everyday heart’s desire because of our hatred of sin and the fear of what could happen if we yield to its charm. Anyone who has ever been tangled in a web of deceit and dishonesty can testify that the consequences of that stuff are a horrible mess and affects everyone around. It destroys homes, churches, costs jobs, can lead to suicide and homicide, destroys reputations, causes financial ruin, perpetual embarrassment, makes life-long scars and for believers, can cause damages to our relationships with fellow Christians that are heartbreaking and indescribably painful. Proverbs 8:13 says, “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward (fraudulent, perverse) mouth, do I hate.”

It might be an expected prayer for the Lord to keep us from wretched poverty but to pray for the Lord to keep us from wealth is most unusual. The state of poverty might cause us to become dishonest and dishonor the Lord and the problem with the riches is that they often cause people to become independent of the Lord as they growingly begin to trust their wealth for their security and sustenance.  Balance is what the wise man desires of God: A life where an honest, humble person’s needs are met without dealing with the temptations and pitfalls of either extreme. Perhaps this is one of the meanings of the Lord’s prayer that says, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” because being in the extreme of either of these two positions would certainly be a test for us, one that the wise man didn’t trust himself to pass. The balance of being on moderate circumstances means we can live in a contented state, our needs being met, food appropriate to our station and remain faithful to our Lord. Those who believe the lie that wealth is always the favor of the Lord, should meditate on Deuteronomy 32:15,” But Jeshurun waxed fat, (filled with abundance) …then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. Matthew 13:22,” He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.” In many areas of our life, the extremes are the most unstable, dangerous places to walk. May we learn the prayer of this wise man and ask the Lord to keep us in the place of moderation.

February 17, 2021

Jeremiah 9:1 Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!

As Jeremiah sees the unfolding destruction of Israel, the war-ravaged cities and the death of multitudes of people, his sorrow is so great he laments he does not have enough tears to shed to express his sorrow and wishes his head and eyes were filled with fountains of water and tears so he could weep enough that would be fitting to the heartbreak. In his words, which are the Words of the Lord, we can feel the tenderness of his love for the people and the nation in spite of their sin.  This is not something God wanted for His beloved people but it was the consequence of their rebellion against Him even though He gave them literally centuries to repent and return to Him. God’s mercy and longsuffering is beyond human comprehension yet there comes a time that He will bring the judgment that His holiness demands but it is accompanied here, with great anguish.  The Lord says in Ezekiel 33:11,” Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” 

These words of Jeremiah closely remind us of when our Lord Jesus wept over Jerusalem in Luke 19:41-42,” And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things [which belong] unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.” Just comparing these verses reveals the heart of God about the plight of people. It should also remind us of all the people we know: our families, co-workers, neighbors and all those within our sphere of contact. Do we weep for them? Are there times we see their destruction and misery and that moves us to a place where we feel their pain, their sorrow, their loneliness, their hopelessness and their ultimate separation from God eternally? Has the love within us for people who don’t know our Lord ever driven us to our knees and caused us to mourn for them because they are valuable to God and their immortal souls are at stake? 

For the past few decades, much of the thought and core of Christian theology, preaching, teaching, music and literature is primarily introspective. We want to be happy, feel good about ourselves, be healed of all our life-scars and succeed and that’s all good and well. But let’s back up far enough to see the whole picture apart from ourselves for a minute. Remember, we must have God’s vision to have an eternal view and that view is one where people will either live eternally with the Lord or be judged and cast into the darkness, eternally separated from the Lord. Has that view been entirely removed from our sight and maybe, perhaps, we can’t even acknowledge its reality anymore? Is becoming more successful in a life here, that is only a vapor and will very soon vanish away more real than things that are forever and forever and forever? I believe the Holy Spirit can stir us, open our eyes and fill us with God’s love for people until we see them as immortal souls: infinitely valuable to the Lord and precious in His sight. When we see people as they are and see them from an eternal perspective, suddenly all that we usually obsess and concern ourselves with seems foolish and trivial. Jesus loves them, Jesus suffered for them, Jesus died for them and Jesus wants them in heaven with him: Do we really, really believe that and want that too? Maybe we can cry with Jeremiah and with our Lord Jesus as we see them as they are now: lost, lonely, fearful, in chains, burdened, hurting and thinking no one really loves them. And then maybe we can see where they will be forever and forever and forever if they do not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and become His eternally.

February 16, 2021

Psalms 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

If you were to stand in church and say, “It’s God’s will for believers to prosper”, you would probably get at least one of three reactions. Some people, who see promised prosperity as a primary theme of the Bible would shout, “halleluiah!”. Other people who, anytime they hear the word “prosper” mentioned in a church setting, would say, “look out and hold on to your wallet, someone’s going to try to fleece the sheep with that prosperity gospel”. Then there are those who simply want to know what God’s Word says and they will search out the scriptures like those of Berea in Acts 17:10-11, to understand the truth. In the light of this Psalm, and the message it has for those who will follow the Lord’s ways, there is no doubt that God’s will for His people is to bless them and cause them to prosper.

Psalm 1 was written contrasting believers and unbelievers and in six verses, it describes the conduct of the believer and his blessings and the plight of the unbelievers. One thing is for certain: God says of the believer who follows His ways, “and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper”. There is no might, possibly shall, could or maybe they might prosper here, the language is clear: Shall prosper. The word “prosper” in its Hebrew root means “break out, come mightily, be good, be profitable, cause to, effect, make to, prosper”. Believers get planted like a fruitful tree and prosper when they follow four basic principles: They do not follow the advice of ungodly people, they do not stand in the path of sinners, they do not mock or scorn others and they love the Word of God to the point it is the foundation of their thoughts. 

Let’s consider the teaching of our Lord in Matt 7:11,” If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”. It gives us a picture of our Father’s heart concerning His children. We want our children to succeed and we want to give them things they not only need, but things they enjoy. We don’t want our children living in a hovel with no food, clothes or utilities. We will go to our extremes to make sure they have more than enough in this natural world and we are ecstatic when they excel. The Word says “how much more shall your Father which is in heaven”.  Our father wants to bless us, provide for us, cause us to prosper, answer our prayers, bring good things into our lives and show Himself faithful in all He does for us. This is His way because we are His children and Psalms 1 is but one of many, many places in the scriptures that declare God’s purpose for us not only in saving and forgiving us, but to bless us here and now and then eternally. Sure, He blesses us spiritually but He also blesses the labor of our hands, the obedience of our faith and causes as the Psalm says “whatever we do” to prosper.  The idea that Christians are supposed to barely get by in this life and live hand-to-mouth is not the teaching of the scriptures. If we are not prospering, there’s something wrong in our planting. We are like fruitful trees planted by rivers of water. We are not beggars or riff-raff, we are children of the King of heaven and earth and we are not at the mercy of this world to keep us from the path of poverty: our God will supply all our need and has promised when we follow His Word, He will not withhold any good thing from us (Ps 84:11). What would you think if your pastor was standing by the church door Sunday morning with a sign that said, “will preach for food?” We know that when people follow the Lord, He will care for them and His children will never be forsaken or begging for bread (Ps 37:25.).  God didn’t promise every believer an unlimited pile of cash but we will always have His favor and blessing. 

February 15, 2021

Nehemiah 4:19 And I said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another.

The Babylonians conquered and destroyed Jerusalem in 587B.C. The temple was demolished, the gigantic walls surrounding the city were dismantled and the Jewish people were driven into exile. After 70 years away from their land, the Lord allowed His people to begin to return home to Jerusalem. Nehemiah was designated by the Lord, to oversee the rebuilding of the walls around Jerusalem: A monumental task. Not only were the fallen walls, which were originally at least 22 feet thick and 25 feet high, lying in piles of rubbish and the stones scattered all over the place, Nehemiah was short of skilled labor and was facing threats and opposition from enemies who didn’t want the walls rebuilt. Despite the extreme difficulties, Nehemiah and his crew completed the job: the walls were rebuilt and the gates repaired and rehung. His rallying verses in this chapter 4, are a reminder to us today that we are doing what the Lord has called us to do and although it is sometimes very hard and we have lots of opposition, we can and will finish the task.

Like Nehemiah’s workers, we have often been separated far from one another in the Lord’s work and it has usually been our own doing. We have long allowed our differences of opinions, our tendency to align ourselves with favorite doctrines, our stubbornness and pride in taking dogmatic stands and our fear and reluctance to consider we might actually be wrong about some matters, to divide us to the point we have refused to cooperate in the smallest of matters. It has cost the body of Christ by making us the laughing stock of the world around us while we have split hairs with each other and fought own civil wars within our denominations and local churches. When I was a child growing up in small churches where my dad was the pastor, I remember the arguments, heated business meetings with the red-faced, loud participants showing their anger and the often-disgruntled church members dissatisfied over the most trivial things. Looking back, it was often a silly, embarrassing mess of church micro-politics which in no way represented who Jesus is: Just people wanting their way and not humbly seeking God’s will and submitting to each other as the Bible teaches. Yet as I remember, they all said they were “followers of the Lord”. 

This pandemic has shown us how vulnerable churches are: Whether their motives have been their need of constant offerings to maintain their staff salaries, mortgage payments and cost of operation or if their heart was completely focused on the Lord’s will believing that if He has called us, He has promised to supply us in all areas of His work. It has shown us that what we really need is each other if we’re going to be able to succeed in what the Lord has called us to do because God is, above all, still expecting unity from His people. It would be far more pleasing to our Father for a group of 10 to be meeting in a home and unified around their love and devotion to Christ and each other than a group of a thousand who are shooting each other in the foot and playing childish “church games”: maneuvering, scheming, complaining and in general, motivated by all the wrong reasons and empowered not by the Holy Spirit, but their own selfish wills. Today’s devotion is not a complaint but just a statement of desire that God’s people lay down all that is not of the Lord and take up their cross and follow Jesus. It’s a desire that we all allow the Holy Spirit to search us inside and out as we pray 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 actually own nothing and without Him we can do nothing. Oh, we might generate a lot of hot air and put on an impressive display but in the end, at the judgement seat of Christ, it’ll be just piles of ashes around our feet. Is that what we want, when it’s all said and done to be empty handed before our Lord when we’ve had a lifetime of opportunity  to serve Him faithfully and then receive reward to lay at His feet?

February 14, 2021

1Timothy 1:12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

Paul’s description of himself, (and we will call him Paul even though he was known as Saul before he became a Christian), prior to his conversion, sounds like a hit man for the mafia or maybe one of the thieves hanging beside our Lord when He was crucified.  One meaning for the word translated “injurious” is violent and when Stephen was stoned to death by a vicious mob, Paul consented to his death and held the coats of the people who were killing Stephen. Acts 9:1, before his conversion to Jesus, says he was spewing out threats and murder against Christians. Even though Paul was a fiercely religious Jewish man,  was well educated, highly respected among the upper ranks of the religious Pharisees and lived by a strict code of religious conduct concerning the Levitical law, in reality he was mean, unforgiving, blind to the truth and by his own description of himself, a wicked, unbelieving man. Did you ever wonder if, maybe when he was alone in a prison cell somewhere, the faces of the people he once persecuted, arrested and destroyed came back to haunt him about his past? Did he ever remember the children and how terrified they were when he and his henchmen came busting into their house and dragged their parents away to jail to be tried and publicly murdered? Yet this bad-man-turned-preacher met Jesus face to face, went on to receive the enlightenment of the doctrine of grace, write much of the New Testament, plant churches throughout the area and himself be martyred for his faith. He is outstanding proof that the Lord can and will use people with broken pasts, who have committed hideous sins and who are the worst of the worst: see Paul’s statement in 1Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief (the worst of them).

The enemy often comes to believers and points out their pasts and times when, even after they were converted, they made terrible mistakes, bad choices and fell into cycles of sin. Then he says, “God can’t use you because look what You’ve done”.  His words sound so convincing and true and we forget God delights in mercy (Micah 7:18), gives abounding grace (Romans 5:20) and never remembers our forgiven sin, Hebrews 10:17, “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more”. Sometimes, people lay the guilt on us because even though God never remembers our sin, people not only remember it, they use it as a weapon against us: even some who claim to be followers of Jesus, they show no compassion, no mercy and no hesitation to beat people down by trying to dig up what God has completely forgiven. But the Lord is greater than all the forces that are against us and He is unlimited in His scope and power to renew, restore and reward His children. He wants to use us to show the power of His grace. He wants to restore us to show the power of His mercy and He wants to bless us to show the power of His love for us. This is the mystery of God’s plan which He purposed before the world began: He gave the man he created free will, then He allowed sin to enter into creation through man’s choice. Then God set in motion the plan to demonstrate His love, kindness, goodness, mercy, grace and eternal forgiveness to the fallen creature and his descendants by sending His only begotten Son to die in their place. God did not display this path of redemption to the angels that rebelled against him (Jude 1:6) but offered it freely to the made-of-dirt human race: That is who He is and that is who we are.  Our sins are no match for his grace and mercy and our past is no problem for His plan. God not only wants to use us, it’s precisely His purpose to use us in spite of our mess: that demonstrates His attributes. If that sounds like sacrilege to you, it‘s because we’ve been systematically religiously poisoned against who God is and what He planned, by those who would rather hold back the truth and promote self-righteous glory rather than stand in slack-jawed awe of our God and give glory to Him alone. Romans 15:10-11, “And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people.”

February 13, 2021

Psalms 51:6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

Who is telling the truth? Is the government honest? Are politicians truthful? How about local leaders, state representatives, news media, non-profit organizations, civic leaders, business representatives, drug companies, investment firms, car dealerships, advertisers, religious organizations, medical firms and lawyers? We are sure some if not many of them are lying to us but it’s not always clear which ones. The fact is, we’ve come to the place where we expect to lied to and it puts an uncertainty on almost everything we see and hear. Over and over, we’ve been repeatedly duped by someone or some organization and now, when it comes out in the news, which we don’t really believe to start with, we’re not even surprised because we’ve seen it so much it’s the new “normal”. We grew up believing there were men like Abraham Lincoln who was honest, fair and wise and was worthy of our trust. Today, well it isn’t just a couple of bad apples in the barrel, we suspect the whole lot seems rotten to the core. For believers, we have to know where we stand on this issue of truth and apply the Bible’s principles to the matter.

 God not only wants truth in us as Psalms 51:6 says, He wants it deep within us: our very heart. In fact, Proverbs 6:16-19 lists seven things that God hates to the point He abhors them and two of the seven are dishonesty: A lying tongue and a false witness speaking lies. It stands to reason if God hates lying then He must love the truth and the Bible says this in 3 John 1:4, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” You might say, “well John penned those words”, but remember it is all the word of God and it is divinely given. God desires truth in us and he hates, (loathes, abhors, detests) lying. There should not be a moment when we even consider being untruthful, deceptive, manipulative and dishonest. God said He hates a lying tongue and someone who speaks lies about another person and this should be the very core of our being: to be honest, truthful, trustworthy and straightforward in every aspect of our lives. It is the way we honor the Lord, show respect for others and maintain a conscience clear of offense towards God and man, Acts 24:16. For a world that has fallen down to the place where it expects to be lied to, we should be the ones that bear the standard of truth and represent the One who said, I am the way, the truth and the life John 14:6.

Children often can’t be taught it is wrong to lie because their parents lie and the children know it and come to accept it. Sometimes the parents actually teach the children to be dishonest by encouraging them to lie in situations. For many, lying becomes habitual and such a normal part of their life they reach the point where they are no longer convicted by their conscience when they lie and the lies become so woven into the fabric of their lives they can’t be separated from the truth. In John 8:44, Jesus said the devil was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he’s speaking in character because he is a liar and the father of lies. How easily people convince themselves that it’s ok to tell a “little” lie and they fall into the trap of dishonesty like the world around us and will even argue, that it’s not a bad thing. But the Lord will honor and bless us when we are truthful from the inside out and it brings Him great joy. We are the people of God; His beloved children and He is always truthful to us. The Bible declares it is impossible for Him to lie. He wants to fill us with the truth and we will walk before Him in truth as lights in a dark world.

February 12, 2021

Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

There is an old phrase that says, “seeing is believing”. In other words, If I don’t see it then I don’t believe it. But God tells us to believe Him without seeing proof: Just take Him at His word by faith. This is the story of Noah as referred to in this passage in Hebrews. God told him a flood was coming and gave him specific instructions about building a large boat and Noah didn’t see a drop of rain or a storm cloud, but believed what God said and began working on the ark. He worked day after day, month after month and saw no evidence of a flood or even rain for that matter. He worked 120 years building the ark on faith alone and then the flood came. His faith in what God said, motivated by the fear of what was coming even though he hadn’t seen any sign of it, kept him working until he completed the ark and it saved his family and propelled him into the Hebrews chapter 11 hall of fame of faith.

God is serious about us believing His Word and acting on it by faith and says without faith, it is impossible to please Him (Heb 11:6).  On the other hand, He also says that with faith all things are possible for those who believe. In mark 11:24, Jesus said “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them.” Our unbelief, the seeing is believing frame of mind, and our impatience, poisons us against becoming people of great faith. We can read the accounts of people of great faith like George Muller and think that somehow, they are people different from us, but they are not. James 5:17 says Elijah was a man just as we are, he prayed earnestly and God stopped rain from falling for three and a half years. Then he prayed again and rain came, all for the purpose of getting the attention of the backslidden nation of Israel. Maybe we are afraid to really put our faith to the test and follow through with action: trusting God’s infallible Word and that fear stops us from living and walking a life of faith. The enemy says, “what if it doesn’t come to pass, what if he didn’t mean you, if you claim it by faith and it doesn’t happen, it’ll be embarrassing and so the battle against the faith begins and continues. Or maybe we’ve prayed for something and didn’t see an answer and even though we still believe in God, we lose faith that He meant exactly what He said.  

We have to return to the Word of God to solidify our faith that He will do exactly what His Word declares. Hebrews 11:6 says,” for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Once we believe to the point of absolutely knowing there is a God, the God of the Bible, then we “diligently” seek Him. This word means to search out, to crave, to investigate and to worship. No matter how much we talk about this point, the battle against our faith is so great that most people wear out at this point and they stop being diligent in their pursuit of God for His promises and rewards. It’s tempting then to just “go with the flow” of life and whatever happens, just happens and we settle. It doesn’t have to be this way because we are called and invited to live a life of aggressive faith where we know what God says and promises in His Word, we then go boldly into the throne room and search, crave, investigate and worship while we act, by faith, on the promise of the Word. Knowing what the Word says is key because God has given His promises in writing and He cannot lie. Open your Bible, lay it on the floor, point to the promise and call it out to your Heavenly Father and do it over and over and over like the widow in Luke 18. Write it down on a note card and carry it with you, tape it somewhere that you have to look at throughout the day, write it on your arm with an ink pen but keep at it: diligently seek Him and He said He will reward those who diligently seek him. Expect the answer, confess the victory even though you can’t see it and praise the Lord for it even though you haven’t received it yet. 

February 11, 2021

Galatians 6:2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

Our world has gone through some great changes in the past year and a lot of people are discouraged and some of them are sinking into despair and depression. The news just came out that children and teenagers are being treated for anxiety and depression in record numbers across the world and emergency room visits for mental health issues have skyrocketed since the Covid pandemic began. For example, at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, they are seeing at least 10 or more children every day for depression and anxiety related to the Covid crisis. Data published 2 months ago and compiled from 68 world-wide studies conducted during the pandemic, found that 1 in 3 adults are suffering from depression and/or anxiety due to Covid and other situations.  All ages, both men and women from 19 different countries were studied and the results were the same: People are under great duress. 

We fulfil the law of Christ, stated in John 13:34,” A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another”, by bearing one another’s burdens. This love looks outward, instead being primarily introspective like the world’s love model, and asks the question, “how can I show the love of the Lord to someone today and how can I be a blessing to them?”  The opportunity is here and it’s now: hurting, fearful, lonely and very discouraged adults and children need people of faith to speak up and pony up in one of the most challenging times in many decades. We have the love, the words and the power of the Holy Spirit to make a difference because we represent the name that brings hope, healing and health: The Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. It’s time for believers to walk and talk in faith, unplug from a steady diet of the depressing news, stop talking about how bad things are and start reminding and encouraging one another with the Word of the Lord and the truth that God never changes, that He is eternally faithful and we have immediate access to Him at any time. The Lord never fails and 1 Cor 13:8 tells us love never fails. It could be your pastor or Sunday school teacher, the elderly people you know that have been shut-in for months now, someone you work with or about anyone you know or come in contact with that’s needs you to help bear the burden and fulfil the law of love.

Our words and actions have much more power than we realize because the Lord uses us in His stead. When we act and speak in faith, in Jesus’ name, we are doing what He authorized us to do and it brings results in lives around us. The world speaks with a tone of hopelessness: we have heavenly hope. The world is brimming with hatred and violence: we know the Prince of peace. The world speaks of sadness and gloom: we have joy unspeakable.  The world has all problems but no answers: we represent the One that can solve any problem. The world leaves people thinking they are just animals: we know we are children of the most High God! Why would we want to keep silent in these times when we knew beforehand the Lord said these perilous times would come?  The truth of this strength in unity can be seen in Eccl 4:9-10,” Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.” Years ago, my dad had a serious operation and was in the hospital for a while. He was weak and very sick and I didn’t know how to help him. I started staying with him and just reading the Bible aloud to him. It was a great blessing to my dad and it brought us together in a special way. This is one of the blessings that comes with doing what this verse says: It bonds us with the people we are helping and makes both stronger.  To this day, about 40 years later, I still remember those times and can recall some of the scriptures I read and dad would say, “will you read that again?” When we fulfil the law of love we build precious memories.

February 10, 2021

Eph 5:18-21 “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

These verses, from 18 through 21, 64 words, are one long sentence, they form one thought and they concern a very important aspect of a Christians’ life: Being filled with the Holy Spirit. Maybe this is one thing many Christians never think about or desire, but it is God’s will for us for several reasons. The Holy Spirit lives in us and He is Almighty God. The Bible says we don’t really know how to pray as we should but the Holy Spirit prays for us. Anything that’s done for the glory of God, is done through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit searches all things including the mind of God and reveals God’s will to us. The Holy Spirit is our teacher, comforter, source of spiritual gifts, producer of the fruit of the Spirit, He seals us unto the day of redemption and He guides us in our journey. If believers would desire the filling of the Holy Spirit more than they desire food and water for their body, they would find joy, peace and purpose in their life that is indescribable. It is not a one-time event but the wording in the Greek makes it clear that it means to be constantly filled and the verb is imperative, meaning it’s not something we should consider as “optional” for a Christian. This filling of the Holy Spirit encompasses three things clearly laid out in this sentence. 

First, it involves talking to ourself in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs: making melody in our heart to the Lord. People may tell you, “don’t talk to yourself” but God says “do it” and He tells us how. Even if you can’t carry a tune, hum it, whistle it and sing praise to the Lord. Replace all the pop, rock, country, rap, metal, big band, blues, show tunes and all the other stuff that’s always running through us with things that give praise to the Lord. Sometimes you might just make them up like our little five-year-old grandson who calls it, “making up church songs” and he makes them up as he sings them. They don’t always rhyme but the Lord doesn’t mind. Fill your phone up with Christian music, find a good radio station that plays Christian music, borrow some music from a friend and learn some songs to sing to the Lord. Get into the book of Psalms and chant some verses. It’s the first part of this being filled with the Spirit. Even if you’re like me and because of an accident or surgery you can’t speak, these psalms, hymns and spiritual songs will play in your heart and mind and cause a stirring of the Holy Spirit within.

Second, there’s the giving thanks always for all things to the Father in the name of Jesus. Our world is often one where people fuss, argue, complain and speak strife. The filling of the Holy Spirit is connected to always giving thanks to God: for everything. Things that seem good, things that don’t. Things we like and things we don’t. When we’re running late or on time, when we get cut-off in traffic or when we’re the only car on the road, when the food isn’t perfect or when it’s our fav, when it’s hot or when it’s cold: always for all things. Complaining, finding fault, constant criticism, ingratitude are all habits we fall into but the filling of the Holy Spirit rests on the truth that we belong to the Lord and nothing happens to us that doesn’t come through His permissive will. So, we rethink, re-learn and begin to give thanks. “Thank You Lord for that car that pulled in front of me and slowed me down, it may be You saved me from a speeding ticket or kept me from being hit by another car by that two second delay”. Turn the complaints and criticism into thanks. Instead of “I hate this job” to “thank You Lord that I have a job and that I’m healthy and strong enough to work”. You can carry it further by faith and say, “Thank You Lord I have a job and I know You are moving me along to a place where I can be my very best for Your glory and my benefit”. All in Jesus’ name.

Then there’s the submitting ourselves to each other not for the fear of man but for the fear of God. The word submit here isn’t a cowing down of subservient posture, but has its roots in a word that means “to arrange in an orderly manner”. It is a military term that implies in an orderly fashion, I am to submit to you and you are to submit to me and no one has any more obligation to submit than someone else. We are all on level footing but should approach each other with deep respect, humble hearts and mutual willingness. Adam Clark comments, “Let no man be so stubborn in his own will or his opinion in matters indifferent, as to disturb the peace of the Church; in all such matters give way to each other, and let love rule.” We are all one body, we are under the authority of our Lord and His will for us is to be kind to one another, tenderhearted and forgiving (Eph 4:32). The filling of the Holy Spirit cannot happen when we are ruled by pride, vain-glory, arrogance, self-will, stubbornness or aspirations of preeminence. God’s will for us all is to be filled with the Holy Spirit and He will do it gladly for us when we want it and follow after it.

February 9, 2021

Psalms 126:3 The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.

It’s strange how often, when we remember the past, we forget what God has done for us. We can remember every insult and bitter word someone spoke against us and replay it over in our minds. We can remember embarrassing moments and when we remember them, the emotions come back with the memories and we feel them again. Most people have their favorite stories they tell about themselves and some people can talk endlessly about their exploits and chart-topping good times. Then there are those stories about our families we remember: when we were growing up, all the school days and summer vacations. Have you ever been with someone who can talk non-stop for hours about their job even if they’ve already told you the same things at another time? People who like sports or have a hobby they love can remember the most minute details of certain games or certain things that brought them excitement or pleasure and when they talk about what they love, you can see the enthusiasm in their face and hear it in the tone of their voice. Then there’s the scripture in Jeremiah 2:32 where the Lord said,” yet my people have forgotten me days without number”.

We should have kept a journal or diary from the day we got saved and made a record of every answered prayer, every rescue from trouble, every provision, every healing, every comfort, every blessing, every miracle, every deliverance, every person God sent to help us, every encouragement, every moment of awe at something He has done or created, every flood of peace, every filling of the Holy Spirit, every victory, every presence of joy, every relief from sorrow and every time He’s shown Himself to be a true friend. How is it we can forget all that? Sometimes it’s like He’s been too good to us: We are like a child that has received so many presents and has so many toys none of them really mean anything and all the new ones just don’t carry the weight of excitement. Or like someone who has so much to eat, so many choices and so much abundance, nothing ever sounds good. Maybe we’re like a spoiled brat that has always gotten their way and everything they want so they just expect it without a sense of thankfulness. But if we had made a list of all the Lord has done for us, what would it look like? How long, how many pages would it be and how would some of the entries describe in detail the situations and circumstances when God showed up strong, in His grace and in full control and it was great and good?

Shout it loud: The Lord has done great things for me and I am glad! The fact that He is the Savior and forgiver of sin is a good place to start. Psalms 103:3,” Who forgiveth all thine iniquities”. How can we forget and how can we stop talking about that? And that’s just the starting point because even before we were saved, He knew us before the world began and planned our eternal salvation. In Exodus 15, right after the Israelites had crossed the red sea in a miracle and the Egyptian armies were drowned trying to recapture them, they took the story of their deliverance, made it into a song and began to sing. They still teach this song and its story of God’s deliverance to their children and may the Lord help us to begin our own heritage to our children and grandchildren by telling them the great things the Lord has done for us. Do our children even know what God has done for us?  We’re in tight with Him and He’s more than a best friend or someone You can call to get you out of a jam. He never gives us evil or what we deserve: He is good to us and gives us favor we didn’t earn and blessings we shouldn’t receive. The Lord has done great things for me. It’s time to begin remembering just how good He’s been and begin to praise Him privately and publicly. It’s time to lift up His worthy name and give honor to the one who has been good to us. You might say, people don’t want to hear that stuff and it might get embarrassing. Well, let me tell you, they don’t want to hear the same stuff you’ve told them over and over and over for years, they’re tired and bored with it. Tell them how the Lord has been good to you and that He’ll do the same for them and maybe He already has and they’ve just forgotten it and then they’ll start telling how good God has been to them too!

February 8, 2021

1Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

These are the times spoken of in Daniel 12:4 when people will run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased. In the past few decades, we have seen so much change, at lightning speed, our world is hardly recognizable from what it was just a few years ago. The change is affecting everything: Families, cultural and societal norms, churches, schools, entertainment, transportation and individuals and it’s not just in America, it’s global. If our great grandparents could come back and see what’s happened in just a few years, they couldn’t believe it. In my own family, my mom and dad grew up without electricity, running water and indoor bathrooms. They cooked with wood stoves and heated their homes with coal and wood and eight and nine people lived in houses with two or three rooms. That was one generation ago. Now, there are two or three people living in houses that are several thousand square feet with six or eight bathrooms. People are loaded down with “stuff” and it doesn’t seem that having it all, has made them happier.

Everything is shaking and with the turmoil, anxiety, depression, stress, sleep disorders and drug use are common elements of today’s world. Child abuse, addictions, violence and upheavals in the financial world and the job scene are common news themes. And in the middle of all this, God’s Word is still telling us to be steadfast and unmovable and to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. How is this possible, to stand firm and strong in our faith when everything all around us is shaking, blowing, flooding, changing and becoming more frightening and stressful every day? How do we help our families and churches navigate through these times and stay on track for the Lord? 

There must first, be the assurance that we are standing on the rock of Jesus: the chief cornerstone, 1 Peter 2:6. Religious institutions and churches may not remain during these times but Jesus will never fail. Teach your children and testify to those around you that when we put our trust in Christ alone, we are trusting the Christ, the Son of the Living God and the gates of hell can’t overcome Him. He is the devil defeating, dead man-raising, water walking, miracle working Jesus of Nazareth and He is unstoppable, unshakable and undefeatable. Then we must take our stand like Joshua who, in some very troubling times in his age, said “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” Joshua 24:15. We don’t just say those words, we LIVE those words in the presence of this changing world. Dads and moms need to have this tattooed on their hearts with the ink of grace, faith and old-fashioned commitment. No matter the circumstances or the current flavor of society, Christ Jesus is why we live, how we live and who we live for. And finally, we need to make sure our anchor is set: Hebrews 6:19 “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil” When our hope is fixed on the fact that when Jesus died for our sins, we now have access to the throne room of God and we are invited to come there as often and whenever we want to obtain mercy and find grace to help us in the time of need, then we are strong and stable when the world around is is disintegrating.  When everything is shaking to pieces around us like an earthquake, our hope is anchored to a place behind the veil, the holiest of holies, the very presence of God Himself where we are welcome, wanted and worthy by the blood of Jesus. We CAN stand steadfast, unmovable, strong and in power because the Lord has made a way for us to get through any trial, endure any affliction, survive any change around us, triumph over any enemy and face any circumstance. We are strong in the Lord and well equipped with the Word of God, the Holy Spirit of God, the mind of Christ, the will of the Father, the company of angels, the prayers of the saints, the love of Jesus and unfailing grace. 

February 7, 2021

Exodus 32:26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD’s side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.

There are times in the lives of believers, in certain circumstances and situations, when they are called to identify with the Lord and this was the case here in Exodus. While Moses was up on the mountain receiving the commandments directly from God, the Israelites got impatient and bored and decided to make a golden calf to worship.  When Moses came down from the mountain and saw the people engaged in hideous debauchery, he demanded to know who of them was going to stand on the Lord’s side against the idolatrous mob. All the sons of Levi separated from the crowd and came to stand beside Moses for the Lord. This was a turning point for them and their descendants and from that day forward, their very lives became entwined in the worship and service of the Lord.

To see the importance of their decision to separate themselves to the Lord’s side, we have to look back several hundred years to prophetic words which were spoken by Jacob over his sons before he died. In Genesis 49, Jacob was dying and called his sons to his side to foretell what was going to happen to their descendants. When he got to Simeon and Levi, he pronounced a curse on them because they were violent and cruel men and said they would be scattered in Israel. For Simeon, this curse was carried out in the wanderings in the wilderness. When they started the journey, they were the third largest tribe at the census of Numbers 1:23. But by the times of the second census 35 years later in Numbers 26:14, about 63 percent of the tribe had perished and they were the smallest tribe.

But for the sons of Levi, because they identified with the Lord at the apostacy of the golden calf, God turned their curse into a blessing. And while the Levites were not given a large parcel of land as an inheritance, God chose them to represent Him in the worship at the tabernacle and then the temple when it was constructed: their heritage was that they were continually identified with the Lord. From their ranks came the priests and all the attendants of the tabernacle and temple. In fact, even the law is called the Levitical law because it is carried out under their direction and they have a book in the Bible named after them: Leviticus. That day when they chose to stand against the idolatry and separate themselves to the Lord’s side, they became a testimony for all of us that when we are not afraid or ashamed to identify with the Lord, great blessings come to us and God will not forget it.

Moving yourself over to the Lord’s side in a situation or circumstance usually doesn’t mean we have to create a spectacle. It’s often just doing what God wants us to do in a situation even when others, perhaps the majority, are choosing to do something else. In the breakroom when people are really speaking evil against someone, like the boss, it might mean politely removing yourself or at least not joining in the conversation and all the while, praying for all those involved in the verbal massacre: That would be the Lord’s side. It might be refusing to give in to a temptation that most people would say is ok but you know in your heart it is not God’s plan for your life. Perhaps it’s making the sacrifice of yourself, like the good Samaritan, when you see a need that you know Jesus would have you fill: this again, is the Lord’s side. In any case, it’s doing what is right no matter what others are doing and no matter what the costs or consequences: If we’re going to identify with the Lord, then come over to His side. He won’t forget it.

February 6, 2021

Hebrews 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

Jesus promised rest to everyone who came to Him in Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”. Up to that time, under the law, it took a lot of effort to become and remain right before God. Altars were constructed, animals were slaughtered, sacrifices were burned and a strict set of over six hundred moral codes must be followed. All this went on daily and continually for over fourteen hundred years. The repeated rituals and ceremonies, animal sacrifices and the daily cleansings and acts of obedience to the law, occupied so much of the believer’s time and energy that it was not only constant work, it was a continuous burden. When large, heavy animals like oxen were sacrificed, the preparatory work of preparing the sacrifice was laborious and then the disposing of the carcass took considerable effort. Likewise, the continual cleansing of the temple, the maintenance of the altars, lamps, articles of worship and the materials used in the temple was an everyday job. But Jesus changed all that.

The law and its ceremonies were a daily reminder of sin and death but the gospel of Jesus is a daily reminder of forgiveness and life. When we believe in Jesus, we enter into rest with Him because faith in Christ sets us free from the demands of the law for righteousness as is declared in Romans 8:2, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” And again, in Romans 10:4, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.” We do not have to do the continuous work demanded by the law to become and remain righteous, because now simply believing in Jesus Christ as our Savior is enough to satisfy God. We are finally at rest in what the Bible calls the new and living way and the rest is not a temporary halt to the business of becoming and remaining righteous, but the Bible says Jesus’ life, death, burial and resurrection has perfected us forever in God’s eyes: Hebrews 10:14. We are forgiven, free and completely at rest. 

It is very sad that many people do not enter into this rest that Jesus promised and prepared. They believe their salvation is still a continuous process of steps involving obedience to moral codes or participation in church rituals, rites and ceremonies, or the doing of good deeds and charity. Then they believe that God proclaims them righteous enough for heaven. They are afraid to trust only in Jesus and his finished work for them and believe God accounts them righteous by their faith. They are never at rest and still bear the burden of trying to obtain their own right standing with God through their own flawed efforts. It is what the Bible calls, “The yoke of bondage” and it may not be the law of Moses they are trying to follow, but the rules of their denomination or some interpretation of the Bible that frustrates the true doctrine of God’s way of salvation by grace through faith.

The argument some use against this rest provided by Jesus, it that it teaches people they can live immorally and still go to heaven but this is a false attack on the gospel of Christ’s grace. When we become believers in Jesus and trust Him alone for salvation, we become new creations, indwelt by the Holy Spirit and our nature is changed. We then do good works, not to obtain or remain righteous, but to imitate our Savior and bring honor to Him. Good works then do not produce righteousness but the righteous creation we have become through faith in our Lord, produces the good works. This is what is declared in Philippians 3:9,”And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.” Then and only then can we find that place of rest that Jesus secured for us.

February 5, 2021

John 15:11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. 

The Lord’s will for His children is that they have fullness of joy. Joy is not an emotion, although it can create an emotion, but it is a sense of well-being that emanates from deep within us.  One definition of joy is that it is a state of mind and an orientation of the heart. It is a settled state of contentment, assurance and hope. It comes from the confidence we have that God’s goodness and mercy surrounds us, that He is in full control and ultimately everything will work out for good in our life. It is not based on circumstance because its roots lie deep within our soul and it is fueled by the Holy Spirit. Happiness is dictated by circumstance and comes and goes but joy remains because it is one of the fruits of the Spirit described in Galatians 5:22. 

The world teaches people to pursue happiness and that is a trap because happiness never remains. Because it is a temporary and fleeting thing, our life then becomes a constant quest trying to find things, situations and people that we can use to create that feeling of happiness. We look for things outside our self attempting to create a happy emotion inside our self. But joy, that three letter word, is super powerful and once it is sourced deep within, it remains. The Bible says in Nehemiah 8:10, “the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Joy from the Lord is an ongoing miracle and when it’s at work, it’s really unspeakable.  It’s possible to feel sorrow, for example, and still have fullness of joy. A few months ago, my mother passed away and even though I felt waves of sorrow at her death, there was still an indescribable joy within me that cause me even to smile because I knew I would see her again. The joy of knowing God is in control far outweighed the sorrow of her death.   

Joy is such a wonderful gift and provides such power to believers, the enemy attacks us to try to diminish it whenever he can. He will try to use circumstances, people and the world’s teachings to attack the root of our joy. But the Lord has a path of victory for us that cannot fail. The Bible says in 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. We can pray the Lord fill us with the Holy Spirit and as His presence fills us, joy becomes full. We need this and so does our families: people who live from the power of joy have a lasting effect on those around them. Have you ever known someone who has so much joy they are undefeatable? Think of the impact on children in a home where joy is full and parents live from a joyful purpose as they raise their family. Compare this to the average home that operates from an entirely different source of power: one based on the world’s definition of success and that’s the never-ending pursuit of happiness and materialism. A fullness of joy will stop the arguing and fighting, stop the self-centeredness and start a lasting legacy of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy and peace being the first three.

February 4, 2021

1Thessalonians 5:5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

The contrasting themes of light and darkness are throughout the scripture from the beginning in Genesis 1:3 where God said, “let there be light” to Revelation 22:5 which says “for the Lord God giveth them light”. Jesus is called the light of the world, John 8:12, and we are called the light of the world, Matthew 5:14. On the other hand, the Bible says the world, apart from the Lord, is in darkness, Matthew 4:16. The Bible gives a description of the Lord in Psalms 104:2: “Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment” and again when Jesus was transfigured in Matthew 17:2, the Bible says “And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.”

The Lord shines with light and we shine with light. Jesus tells us that we are to let our light shine so people can see our good works and this will point them to the Lord God. He says we are not to hide our light but to let it shine. The children sing, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine”. We have light to offer this world of darkness because we are the children of light and of the day and the world has no light unless they see the light of the Lord in us. You can say, I’m defeated, I’m discouraged, I’m ready to quit, I’m depressed, I don’t know if we’re going to make it, I’m too old, I’m too young, I’m too tired, I don’t know enough about the Bible and yada, yada, yada or you can say, “I am the light of the world, I stand in Jesus’ name, God called me a child of the light, I am the righteousness of God in Christ, I am not in darkness nor a part of the darkness, I am a child of the day not of the night, darkness will never defeat the light because the true light now shines, I chose the candlestick not hiding under a basket.

Believers should never be intimidated by this world or anything about it: we have the armor of light: Romans 13:12 “let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light”. Ephesians 5:8 says “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light. This change in us, from darkness to light, came first through the light of the Word of God, Psalms 119:30 “The entrance of thy words giveth light”. When we heard the Word of God and received it by faith, Jesus became light to us, revealing truth and then the Word became part of us through the grace and mystery of the Holy Spirit moving inside of us, to live in us, making our body a temple of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can’t be defeated and through Him and the power of the Word of God, we shine as light into the darkness.

Many Bible studies can be done about the light of the Lord but one truth that emboldens us, is that when we speak the Word of God, we are speaking light. When the enemy says things like, “you’re a failure, you’ve made too many mistakes, you’re going to fall flat on your face” then darkness tries to come: the darkness or despair, sorrow, doubt, fear and weakness. But when we confront the lies with the truth of God’s word, “I’m more than a conqueror, I’m forgiven eternally and God’s mercy is new every day, God is for me and that’s more than anything the world can throw at me, the light shines and the darkness has to flee. It’s like this in every encounter with the world of darkness. When we know what God’s Word says and through the Holy Spirit and faith we use it to counter the darkness with the truth, the light shines. Maybe someone betrayed or offended you and the works of darkness would tempt you to get even, pay them back, make them hurt like they hurt you. But you know the Word of God and what it says about giving forgiveness and not to seek revenge and suddenly the fact that you choose to do what the Word says rather than follow the darkness of the worlds “solutions” becomes a shining light that others see in you. God’s way, through Jesus, is the way of light. He is the light and we are the light.

February 3, 2021

Exodus 5:1-2 And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.

When Moses and Aaron encountered Pharaoh the first time, they weren’t demanding the Israelites be released from bondage, but for a few days off “work” so they could go three days journey into the wilderness to worship. They began the conversation with, “Thus saith the LORD God of Israel”. Pharaoh came back with, ”who is the Lord that I should obey his voice?”. For Egyptians, Pharaoh was considered a god on earth and an intermediary between the gods and the people. His response was one of incredulous arrogance, after all he considered himself a god, but it was also true when he said “I know not the LORD”. By the time this story was said and done, he not only found out who the Lord is, he met his doom still trying to defy the only true and living God. 

There are still many people throughout the world that know and honor the God of the Bible. They are faithful to His will and are people of prayer. But there is also a growing number who have the same question Pharaoh had: Who is the Lord that I should follow him because I don’t know who he is. Sometimes they stand in defiance to Almighty God like Pharaoh but other times they are just being honest. They really have no clue who He is. Here in the USA, as there has been a falling away from the house of God and the things of God have been legislated away and pushed out of our society, there are now generations of people who know nothing of God, nothing of the Bible and nothing of the things of the Lord. We used to think the mission fields were far off somewhere in the world where there has never been a Bible and the people have never heard the name Jesus. But now it’s in America where children are growing up in families that are not only dysfunctional, they’re empty of the knowledge of the true God. Added to that, there is a famine of the Word of God even in the houses of God. 

The word “God” is still very much a part of this culture but the knowledge of God is not and when we say that, we mean the truth of who God is, the problem of sin, the need for Jesus and the teaching of how to follow the Lord. The message of grace is a foreign subject and the need for salvation through Jesus alone is mocked because the new teachings are, that there are many ways to God and all of them gets a person to heaven and it doesn’t really matter what you believe as long as you are true to yourself. What? How did we get to this point? How did we drift so far off course we don’t have a clue where we are but will continue to argue that everything is ok? No matter the prevailing collective thoughts, the Bible is still the only Word of God, the God that is on heaven’s throne is the same God that was there when Moses encountered Pharaoh and Jesus is still the only door to heaven. 

We are pressed upon by our duty to our Lord and our love for the people around us, to answer the question “who is the Lord” and we have the authority from the Lord to answer it loud and clear: Jesus is Lord of all. The Bible says in Romans 1:16” For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek(gentiles).” For those who know Him and have eyes to see what is happening in our families, our homes, our churches and our community, we pray the prayer given by our Lord in Luke 10:2 “Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.”

February 2, 2021

Matthew 18:7 Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!

When Judas stepped forward and said “hail master” (hello rabbi) and betrayed Jesus with a kiss, Jesus called him “friend”. The pain of the betrayal must have stung the Lord even though He knew it was coming but still our Lord didn’t insult or belittle the one who sold Him out for thirty pieces of silver. Of all the pain that we face, sometimes the pain of people’s words and actions can penetrate to the heart especially when it comes from someone who pretends to love us. Take the words of David in Psalms 55:12 “For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.” They went to church together and it was someone that should have loved him, should have upheld and respected him but instead, defamed and dishonored him. David said he could have taken it if it had been his enemy or someone he knew that hated him, but it was one that posed as a friend.

There are people who can’t, or won’t, stop wounding other people with their words. They accuse, find fault, criticize, berate, needle, harass, scorn, bully and badger others either continually or in cycles and they never seem to be convicted about it. Often, like the ones who wounded David and betrayed the Lord, they pass themselves off as friends. But the Bible says, a friend loves at all times (Prov 17:17). They love you when you’re good, when you’re bad, when you feel like having company and when you don’t. They love you for who you are not who they want you to be. They never try to control you but they support you in your journey and they pray for you. They let you run your own life and will have your back when the world is against you. Obviously, those who tear into you, pick you to pieces, magnify your human flaws and even invent some that aren’t there, are not friends, they’re offences and the Bible says, they will come. (and hopefully go…FAST)

In this body of Christ, we’re here to build each other up and speak comfort and peace to each other. Our words and actions should have the goal of supporting and blessing others and the ultimate goal is for all of us to come to a place of maturity where we operate out of a heart of compassion, kindness and mercy. Look at the words of Ephesians 4:31-32 “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” We’re demonstrating the unconditional love that flows through us by the Holy Spirit and we recognize each other’s identity as a “child of the living God”. None of us are perfect but we serve the same perfect Lord and the way we honor Him is by honoring each other. He said, “as much as you do it to these, you do it to me”. There will be plenty of offenses in this world to go around without us contributing to the melee. 

Let’s use our words, whether they are spoken or posted online, to encourage each other, to bless each other, to compliment and to strengthen. We are His body and we wear His name. We have His Holy Spirit within us and the testimony we give, that convinces the world that we are disciples of our Lord, is that we love one another. When offenses come, let’s help each other through them and be a part of the victory not a part of the offense. Let’s pick each other up when we fall and remember that if it wasn’t for the grace of God, there’d be no hope for any of us.

February 1, 2021

Psalm 13:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?

Sometimes it seems the Lord is so close you can almost reach out and touch him. Waves of blessings and power flood through us and we want to stay in His presence and enjoy that closeness forever. Maybe it’s during a time of prayer and you get transported into a special place where the reality of this life fades away and for a while there is such faith, such reassurance of the Lord’s glory that you have no words to speak and you’re not asking God for anything because you know the Holy Spirit is searching your heart and praying for you. It’s impossible to explain how those precious encounters come to be, just that they happen. It can occur just out of the blue, when you’re not really in a worship frame but God moves on you and suddenly and you are overwhelmed with His power.

And then there are times when it seems the Lord is a million miles away and, as David is calling out here, it feels like He has completely hidden His face. You try to pray but stumble over your words and it becomes more a frustration than a prayer. You get up and still sense the need to call out to God and maybe try again but still can’t pray and even if you do, it just doesn’t satisfy your soul and you feel like you haven’t prayed at all or you find yourself praying the same mindless stuff over and over. Sometimes your mind wanders off while you’re trying to pray and you can’t reel it in. David says “how long will you forget me o Lord, forever?” It’s a relief to know that even David, a man after God’s own heart, had times like this because it helps us know we’re normal.

As maybe I said in an earlier devotion, God never wants us to take our relationship with Him for granted. Even in our precious family relationships we know what will happen when a couple starts loosing the high level of love, respect and desire they have for each other: trouble lies ahead. In the workplace, when an employee is taken for granted, he will soon be overlooked and likely to be taken advantage of. It all “cheapens” the relationships and takes away their special qualities, making them ordinary and even disposable. God wants more for our relationship with Him than just a religious experience or a routine of a few prayers and some church going. He doesn’t want us to only desire His presence when we are in trouble or want something from Him. His love for us didn’t come cheap, it cost the horrible suffering and death of His son and that love is the foundation for all God’s desire towards us. My dad once said the most overlooked word in John 3:16 is the little adverb “so”: For God SO loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son. The “so” emphasizes the greatness of God’s love for us and tells us that we are the object of His desire.  

When God seems to hide Himself, He isn’t playing a selfish game: He’s drawing us to Him and it’s a wonderful thing. He wants our companionship and He wants to be precious to us as we are to Him. It’s His way of letting us know we are special to Him and He wants to give us His full attention and He wants ours. It creates a hunger in us for His presence and that desire moves us closer and closer to Him and when we then do enter into His presence, it is a time of refreshing and rest. In John 21:15 Jesus asked Peter, “do you love me more than these fish?” Peter answered “yes Lord, you know I love you”. Then Jesus asked him the second time and peter answered him. And then Jesus asked him the third time and by then Peter was frustrated and even though it seems Jesus was giving Peter the opportunity to make up for the three times he had denied him, the important part is that Jesus asked, “do you love me”. He was drawing Peter’s attention to what matters most: The love the Lord has for us and the love we have for Him.

God knows our love for Him but He knows our nature and He knows how to help us love Him more. He withdraws for a moment, hides His face for a bit and we begin to seek Him in earnest. I know for myself it is during these times my desire for Him grows and when He appears, my love and appreciation for Him grows. In these times, I can thank Him because His ways are perfect and so different from my ways. He is creating in me a heart for Him that I could not cultivate on my own and that nothing on this earth will teach me: to love the Lord with all my heart, my soul and my might.