December 31, 2021
Luke 4:13 “And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season”
Today is the last day of this calendar year and it’s a sort of artificial stop and start, out with the old and in with the new time of celebration. Most people seem to be looking back at 2021 as the second year of Covid hoping a new year means we don’t have to go through that again, a been there, done that, and glad it’s over prayer. I haven’t heard a single person say, “What a good memory. I wish it never had to end”. Today’s verse is the ending of the time Jesus fasted and prayed for 40 days in the desert and was tempted by the devil. The Lord defeated the devil, emerged victorious and was exhausted, hungry, and no doubt glad it was over. It’s hard to imagine Jesus saying, “that was some good times and I sure hope to do that again real soon”. The enemy seemed to be saying “you won this round but I’ll be back” because todays verse said the devil left him “for a season” which means until a more opportune time”. The scriptures reveal that Satan did come back to harass the Lord again and again throughout his ministry but each time, Jesus won the battle and finally, in the devil’s attack that lasted from the Garden of Gethsemane to the Lord’s death and burial in the borrowed tomb of Joseph of of Arimathea, it appeared the enemy had finally succeeded in delivering the knockout punch. But three days after His burial, Jesus arose victorious over death, hell, and the grave and only then was there a new beginning, a new year so to speak that changed everything forever.
There is an event that could happen in 2022 that would also change everything forever: If Jesus returns to claim those that belong to Him and sets in motion the events of what has already been declared to be “the Day of The Lord”. This is the dawning of a new age spoken of in places such as Titus 2:13 “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” and Hebrews 9:28 “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation”. Until the Lord comes, the new year will bring its share of problems but it also brings the promise of our Lord that He will never leave us or forsake us and that there will never be a trial or burden that will defeat us. God’s Word declares Romans 8:37 “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us”. We have the hope that whether the Lord returns in the clouds of glory or if we live through another year of Covid and all the other madness this world sloshes in, and even though the calendar turns over another number, God’s Word will not change. God will be just as faithful and true as He always has been, nothing will take Him by surprise, and nothing can stop His purpose and plans.
December 30, 2021
Psalms 98:1-2 “O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory. The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen”
You’re probably familiar with the phrase “the same old song and dance routine” referring to something that has been worn out until it’s boring and no one wants to hear it anymore, like all the hot air speeches and slogans of politicians. It’s also descriptive of the world system around us with its same old sins, same old fascination with its anti-God and anti-Christian rhetoric and posturing, and same old beliefs and arguments that making stupid decisions will one day magically work out for the good. The religious crowd is just as bad and humdrum with their never-ending overused, hackneyed phrases and repetitive tirades that can be summarized as “heard ‘em, once, you’ve heard ‘em a million times”. And we indeed learn by repetition and Biblical themes need to be repeated as referenced in a previous devotion, the bread of life is our staple diet, but it doesn’t mean the Lord intended for us to have a daily diet of the same stale, moldy bread of yesteryear. The idea in today’s verse of singing a new song speaks of freshness and a state of renewal and we find this idea repeated several times in the Bible. It isn’t about continually repackaging the truth with bling and forced gusto, but about what happens when the anointing of the Holy Spirit breathes life into it all and it becomes less about man and more about God. Notice the verse says he hath done marvelous things, he is the victor, he has revealed his salvation and righteousness. We all get stuck in a rut wearing the same style clothes and haircuts for decades and we do the same with our “twice dead, plucked up by the roots” religious routines (Jude 1:12). Maybe we can think about a New Year and our God who wants to use the same Word of God but do a new thing, in a new and different way, reaching new and different people, and refreshing those who are wilted and worn with the words of Psalm 40:3 “And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD”.
Some of the little churches I grew up in certainly weren’t perfect but looking back, that was probably one of the wonderful things about them. You never knew exactly what was going to happen. There might be singing, and there might not. Sometimes they’d start singing and the anointing would flow and they’d just keep singing and praising the Lord and the preacher would never preach because the congregation was enveloped in worship. People would testify, come to the altar, sing impromptu songs, play instruments, fellowship, confess their sins, shout praises, hug each other, and it would be fresh, unscripted, unprogrammed, untimed, and when the service would finally close, people would hang around still singing, humming, talking and enjoying the sweetness of the Lord’s presence for a long time. Many times, I’ve heard people say “I hate to leave, it’s been such a wonderful service”. Other times more than one preacher would preach and often it wasn’t even the pastor but they would encourage each other and the congregation would get involved in the preaching, answering back to the preacher with “amen”, “that’s right”, or “come on”. Mostly now, spiritually, its stale bread, cold vegetables, and no meat to be found served in a silence so settled it’s more like a morgue than a house of God. In Acts 3 when the lame man was healed outside the door of the temple, the Bible says “And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God”. Imagine someone today coming in walking, jumping, and praising God. Let’s start a New Year with a new desire for a new, fresh song to the Lord, from our heart and filled with the Joy of who He is, what He has done, and where He is taking us.
December 29, 2021
Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered”
There are days when we don’t think about Romans 8:28 which tells us the Lord is working all things for our good because we’re not having a particularly rough time. Those kinds of days, when life’s sailing is smooth, there’s no dark, foreboding clouds in sight, and we’re not caught up in some complex craziness, should be times when we’re acutely aware of how blessed we are and we should remember to give the Lord thanks and enjoy every moment to it’s fullest. But the other variety of days and seasons, when there are hardships, trials, and trouble our faith takes us to scripture where we are reassured of the Lord’s presence and His providential care for us and we have to batten down the hatches, hunker down, and wait until the storm passes by. We know the situation will pass but, in the meanwhile, we look to God for strength and wisdom to help us in our time of need. This brings us to today’s verse which tells us in all our situations we can probably think of a million things we wish the Lord would do or that might be a way to solve our quandary and as we pray, we may ask for things or solutions from the Lord that make perfect sense to us. But God’s ways are not our ways and this verse tells us we don’t know what to pray for because our view is limited and our solutions are not usually the Lord’s will as declared in Isaiah 40:13 “Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding? “.
On our part, prayers are not a way to change God’s mind, offer Him suggestions, or win Him over by persistent crying and begging. Prayers are a means for us to come into agreement with the Lord and His Word and yield to His promises, seeking His peace and the comfort of His presence. God’s will for us is to trust Him and therein lies the peace we seek. He has already purposed our path and He has already solved every situation and from heaven’s view, it’s a done deal because the Lord completed it all before it even started. Our prayers are really in the middle of something that has been finished before we were created and while that may seem too strange to be true, God doesn’t operate in the tenses of past, present, and future, it’s all the same to Him. He isn’t working out the details as we go along and adjusting the rudder of our ship to compensate for the changing situations. When Paul declared in 1Corinthians 15:10 “But by the grace of God I am what I am” he was speaking of his entire being, all his past, present, and future, his experiences, his entire life’s course beginning to end, and all the atom-sized details that comprise it all. We don’t know what to pray for but the Holy Spirit does and He intercedes for us, urging us, pushing us, conforming us to yield to the will of the potter and He will work everything for our good because He already has before the world began. The sickening blasphemy of today’s unholy theology has tried to dethrone our Almighty, all-knowing, all-powerful God and replace Him with one they’ve concocted from their wicked Cain-like religious idolatry. Their God which has limited scope, limited knowledge, and limited power doesn’t offer the comfort of the true and living God of the Bible. But when our God said in Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths”, He said it because He not only rules His creation, He directs and protects all who belong to Him.
December 28, 2021
Joshua 1:9 “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest”
The Bible says the Lord spoke these words to Joshua after the death of Moses and they are a repetition of the same words the Lord had spoken to him, through Moses, before Moses died in Deuteronomy 31 hence the phrase “Have I not commanded thee”. You would think of all the people of Israel, Joshua had already proven his faith, courage, and strength and didn’t need to be reminded to stay on point for the Lord. But that’s how we are and God knows we need the same messages and the same encouragement throughout our lives. If you had journaled every sermon and Bible study you’ve heard since the beginning of your Christian life and charted all their themes and Biblical texts, you would find they repeat the same ideas, the same encouragements, the same warnings, and the same supporting scriptures. There are different illustrations, different approaches, and different circumstances but as Billy Graham reportedly said once that no matter what Bible text he used in his sermons, they all had one common factor: they all pointed straight to the cross of Jesus. We need reminding repeatedly of the words of God as He said in Hebrews 2:1 “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip”. So, the Lord encouraged and charged Joshua to stay strong, courageous, fearless, and full of faith because God would be with him every step of his journey. The task laid before him, to take the place of Moses as Israel’s leader, was an enormous responsibility and there’s no doubt the enemy was attacking him trying to incite fear and confusion. He was entering a new season of his life and needed the comfort of the Lord’s promises more than ever.
Two years ago, when Covid came to our shores, we didn’t know what to expect, and even now after quarantines, over 800 thousand deaths, and social division over mandates, vaccines, and shutdowns, still no one has the answer as to what lies ahead. But the Word of God does not change and God does not change as He declared in Malachi 3:6 “For I am the LORD, I change not”. Some people have said Covid is a punishment from the Lord, others say it’s a weapon of China, and many other thoughts like it’s a conspiracy to decrease the population, especially of the sick and elderly. But believers know that the Lord has not lost His way in this matter and that he is still telling us to be strong, full of courage and faith, and do not be afraid. And if we are attacked by fear we have the words of Psalm 56:3 “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee”. It’s comforting to know that as the Lord was with the men and women before us, He is with us, and even when the times are uncertain as they are now, He never falters in His purpose to bless us and help us. We start 2022 with the hope we can return to some kind of normality, some resemblance of life before Covid and we learn more than ever the meaning of the words of Psalm 27:13-14 “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD”.
December 27, 2021
Luke 19:8 “And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold”
In the Lord’s day, the town of Jericho was much different than it was in Old Testament times. King Herod built an extravagant palace there and it was called “The City of Palms”, a moniker it still uses today. It was situated on a main trade route and was prosperous and well known for its exports of Balsam and dates which the Romans transported and traded adding to Jericho’s wealth. As such it was a great source of tax revenue and from this background, we find the story of Zacchaeus whom the Bible calls the chief publican or the principal tax-gatherer and describes him as short but rich. Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus for himself but what caused Jesus to stop beneath the tree where Zacchaeus was perched looking down is one of the mysteries of salvation for Jesus knew this man was looking for something other than just a glimpse of the Savior to satisfy his curiosity. A hint is given when Jesus told him to come down from the tree because he was going to his house the Bible says Luke 19:6 “And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully” and some have thought his faith is seen in his obedience and joy even before he showed his willful repentance. Of all the people in the town, Jesus went to one seeking soul and while all the people grumbled that he was the guest of a sinner, the Lord replied with these words in Luke 19:10 “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost”. For his part, Zacchaeus declared his intentions in today’s verse, showing he had a change of heart and desire. He would give half of his wealth to the poor and if he had cheated anyone, he would pay them back four times the value of what he had taken. We might call this a resolution he made, a firm decision to do (or not do) something, a promise to follow a course of action and it fits in well with us as we close out this year and look forward to a better year for the coming year.
People’s top New Year’s resolutions include things like exercising more, losing weight, getting organized, saving money, and so on. But for us believers, looking at Zacchaeus’ resolution might give us some thoughts about how we can make some prayerful decisions to become better Christians and more effective in the Lord’s work. Or, on another level, how we can be better people, better parents, or better employees. Zacchaeus’ resolutions were a part of his repentance, his desire to correct the wrongs he had done and we believe because he made the choices from his encounter with the Lord, they were based on a desire to do what was right, not to improve his public image. Some things in our Christian life are not automatic but they take a degree of commitment and follow-through because they don’t just happen. The reason some people don’t have a consistent walk with the Lord might lie in their lack of resolve to do what they know needs to be done to strengthen their relationship with Jesus. If I say I want to be a more faithful prayer warrior the Lord isn’t going to knock me to my knees throughout the day and force me to pray but part of the discipline might be to set aside times of prayer and ask for God’s grace and strength to fulfill my desire by establishing times when I give myself to prayer like Daniel’s custom to pray three times a day. The enemy knows how to distract us, how to steal our time, and how to push us off course. Maybe coming to the Lord with a prayer to direct us in ways to make the coming year better than the last and more in line with His purpose for us would help us set resolutions and ways to follow them. The wisdom to pursue the things of God above all the confusion of this world’s mess is wisdom from above and it’s ours for the asking according to James 1:5. How about you? Do you see the need for growth in any area for you and your family? If so, why not consider some resolutions, work to put them in action, and make the coming year the best of your life.
December 26, 2021
Matthew 2:12 “And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way”
When Christmas is over, all the torn wrapping paper and boxes are carried to the trash and the high levels of expectation and excitement drop down in the normal range, for some people there’s a sadness that sets in. An almost melancholy if not depressing feeling that is so common it has been given a name: the post-holiday syndrome. And for all those who started the season with the “I’ll be glad when it’s over” well, they got their wish, it’s back to work, back to school, and back to the regular humdrum rat race. The local radio station that’s been playing nonstop Christmas songs since Thanksgiving is back to its endless cycle of worn-out classic hits. Today’s verse gives us the account of what the wise men did after their Christmas encounter with baby Jesus was over, they went home but another way which the words mean, by a different path. While in its primary meaning this is referring to their choice, after a warning from God, to take another route to avoid King Herod, there is meaning on a deeper level that says once they saw Jesus, everything changed. They brought Him gifts but they received no materialistic reward, their only gift was being able to see the Messiah and worship Him. They found what they were seeking, the load of their desire to complete their journey lifted, and there’s no doubt they went home satisfied which brings us to the conclusion that maybe the reason for the post-Christmas blues is that people have engaged in a form of Christmas routines that produce false hopes and just don’t satisfy.
Then there are those who have not only seen the baby in the manger but have seen Him as their Savior on the cross. These are the ones that have found that the joy of Christmas is just the beginning for they have had a personal encounter with Jesus that changed them forever. As the Bible says in 2Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new”. People who follow the Christ Child from the manger to the cross then witness the empty tomb are the wise ones who walk a different path as stated in Romans 6:4 “even so we also should walk in newness of life”. Our joy does not come from the season we’re in whether it’s a season of life or a season of the year but our joy is from the water of salvation just as Isaiah said in 12:3 “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation”. Do you walk a different way from the world around you and have you found comfort in the shelter of the Lord’s arms? Maybe you have more joy now after the commercial part of Christmas has passed because the baby in the manger grew up and declared in John 8:58 “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am” and you know Him as the resurrection and the life. Not just eternal life when this one down here is over, but life right now and more than life, abundant life! Commercial Christmas may be over for a few months but the truth of Christmas will never end.
December 25, 2021
John 1:14 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth”
Matthew and Luke record Jesus’ birth from a human perspective and even though it was miraculous, it was the birth of a baby and the events surrounding the conception and birth. Luke tells some detail of how the miracle of conception took place when the angel Gabriel explained it to Mary in Luke 1:35 “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God”. With a better understanding nowadays of DNA and cellular biology, we can speculate that Jesus’ biological makeup was supernatural and everything about His physical body’s makeup and functions were divinely perfect. While John does not give the Christmas story from Matthew and Luke’s perspective, he gives the account in one verse, today’s verse, from heaven’s view with an astounding revelation of who Jesus really is. It is the mystery of the Word of God which is not just words spoken as we speak them, but the Word exists as a person of the Godhead and because God as a trinity being is impossible to mentally grasp, many people even in Christianity dismiss it. Yet before John gives us verse 14, He says in John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made”. Then in 1 John 5:7 we read “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one”. God spoke and all creation came into being and this same Word is Christ Jesus. God spoke and the incarnation took place, the Christmas story which happened through Mary but had its origin before time began.
The Bible says in Matthew 2:11 when the wise men came to baby Jesus, they fell down and worshipped him. This adoration along with the Word becoming flesh mystery, God incarnate, is the Holy Spirit’s revelation that baby Jesus was more than a child, He was divine. Look again at the prophecy in Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” then compare this to the Lord’s words in John 14:9-11 “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me.” Yes, the baby born on Christmas morning carried the body given by Mary but who he is, has nothing of Mary in Him for He is The Mighty God.
December 24, 2021
Luke 1:30-33 “And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end”
There is nothing said of Mary in the Bible until this account when God sent the angel Gabriel to the little village of Nazareth, a small hamlet with a population between 400 and 500 people, and informed her of God’s purpose for her. It has been pointed out this is the first time Nazareth was mentioned in the Bible and even historians never mentioned this tiny town further illustrating what was mentioned in earlier devotionals that God chose the small, the unknown, and in the case of Mary, she who was low in social acclaim that the honor and glory might be of God. Gabriel appeared to her, telling her she was highly favored, that God was with her, and that she was a blessed woman. The favor here, which we call grace, was not something Mary earned but it was by God’s choice for her and was grace she received from the Lord, not grace emanating from her to give to someone else. We honor her not because of what supernatural abilities she has to use on our behalf but because she was a vessel God chose to bring the Christ child into the world. Mary was confused as to what was happening so Gabriel reiterated telling her the words in today’s verse. This was the beginning of the fulfilling of Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” which was given over 700 years before Jesus was born. God had His eye on little Nazareth and the little virgin girl that lived there and had purposed it all before the creation of the earth. How this should speak to us who are insignificant by the world’s standards, unknown to the world’s elite, and living our lives in the smallness and shadows of society that the eyes of the Lord are seeing, searching, and knowing where we are, who we are, and what He can cause us to be. Without God’s favor on her life, Mary would have been just another unknown person that lived out her days in an unknown village and she, her husband and their family would have passed into eternity without any record of them having existed.
The Lord makes the difference in our lives when we belong to Him. Not one of His children are unknown and forgotten but all are highly favored through Jesus Christ and all are royal heirs of God and joint heirs of Jesus. The promise given to Mary in today’s verse is astounding because part of it has been fulfilled and part of it will be happening soon. The first five parts, that she would conceive, give birth to a son, call His name Jesus, He would be great, and be called the Son of God has happened. The next three promises which will be fulfilled at the close of this dispensation, are: He will be given the throne of David, He will reign over Israel, and His kingdom will be everlasting and while some accept the first five promises literally, they deny the last three as though God didn’t mean what He said and, in their unbelief, wave them off, scoffing at their implications. It would be a sad Christmas indeed if the story of Him who was born King of the Jews ended with Jesus gone back to heaven, Israel in disarray and confusion, the world wallowing in wickedness, death still claiming every person born, and Christianity fading from the scene like a old worn-out, outdated fable. But the Christmas story will never end for it is rooted in these eternal promises given to Mary and nothing can change these Words of God and nothing argued against them, all attempts to interpret them by human unbelief, and all the scoffing against them by religious wannabes will not stop their fulfilment. In the words of Mary Luke 1:46-47 “My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour”.
December 23, 2021
Luke 2:28-30 “Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation”
The verses above are from the account where Jesus was presented in the temple at Jerusalem, honoring the instructions of the Law in Leviticus 12. The Law’s formula for a male child would have Jesus 40 days old at that time and if the wise men had visited Jesus in Bethlehem during this 40 days, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus would be in Egypt since they left for Egypt immediately after the wise men’s visit. Today’s verses are from the words of Simeon, a man of God who had received a promise from the Lord he would not die until he had seen the Christ. It’s a beautiful account where Simeon is led by the Holy Spirit into the temple and instantly recognizes Jesus as the promised Christ then takes the baby in his arms and speaks a wonderful prophecy. He declares in verse 34 “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against” words that are rich in meaning both for the life of Jesus while He was on the earth and for the future of the nation after His death and His return for the Millennium. When Jesus ministered the Word, some people stumbled in unbelief and fell, falling away from the promises and hope He offered of which one prominent example is Judas. Others heard His words and rose to claim them in faith receiving healing, deliverance, and salvation like Mary Magdalene and the maniac of Gadarene. In a broader view, we see the fall of Israel as a nation 70 years after the Lord presented Himself as their King and they responded with “crucify him, we have no king but Caesar”. Yet the rising again looks forward to the future when Jesus returns and the Bible says in Romans 11:26 “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob”. Note the wonderous words of Simeon concerning Jesus in verse 32, declaring Him to be “A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel”, a prophecy that when fulfilled, would stun the Jews who thought they were the only ones on the receiving end of God’s grace.
For us, the phrase “For mine eyes have seen thy salvation” tells us salvation is not a process, not an emotional experience, not a baptism, and not something we achieve but it is a Person for this was declared as Simeon held baby Jesus in his arms: he was looking at God’s salvation. It is the essence of Colossians 1:26-27 “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory”. Simeon spoke these words while the law, of which the Bible says its offerings could never take away sin (Hebrews 10:4) was in effect and pointed us to 1 John 3:5 “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin”. Our faith points us to Christ alone for the assurance of salvation and we confess that faith in Him as Savior is what Simeon was talking about. Then the miracle of Christmas, Emanuel, meaning God with us, lives inside as a deposit gift of what awaits us at the Lord’s return. The words of the angels to the shepherds in Luke 2:11“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” was not only to the shepherds but to all of us who see the Christ child as Simeon saw Him: God’s Salvation.
December 22, 2021
Matthew 1:24 “Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS”
The Christmas story with its various themes and characters usually gives the greatest honor and accolades to Jesus and Mary. Despite the fact she has been unbiblically venerated far above her human reality, Mary herself said in Luke 1:48 “behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed”. But by her side every step of their journey, was a man that gets very little honor and is overshadowed by all the other figures of wise man and shepherds, is humble Joseph, earthly father to Christ. When the Bible introduces Joseph in Matthew Ch 1, he is presented as being betrothed to Mary and the Bible says he is a “Just man” meaning he was equitable, honest, innocent, and of upstanding character. Very little is said of him, nothing outside the Christmas story, but it is enough to tell us he stood head and shoulders above the ordinary and was a fit earthly dad to raise Jesus to manhood. Joseph obeyed the Lord every time he was instructed as in today’s verse and in the flight to Egypt and return. When he and his family returned from Egypt the Lord again directed him to settle Mary, Jesus, and himself in Nazareth. Such a pattern of obedience along with the courage and faith to believe God concerning Mary giving birth to a son Joseph knew was not his, causes us to respect this man and give thanks for his example of great character and strength. Ancient cultures were just as nosey and gossip-filled as today’s world and no doubt Joseph lived his life with the question of Jesus’ parentage hanging over his head for even the Lord Himself was backhandedly accused of being born out of wedlock in John 8:41 when people said to Him “We be not born of fornication”. Joseph is an example to us all of how God is calling us to make strong and loving homes for all our children and lay aside the accusations, prejudices, and blame that’s sometimes laid against innocent children. Even though Joseph was not Jesus’ biological father, the Bible gives us insight into the family when Mary and Joseph searched for Jesus when He was 12 and separated from them in Jerusalem and Mary said: “Luke 2:48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing”.
The Bible reveals Joseph was a carpenter when people said of Jesus in Matthew 13:55 “Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?”. Jesus himself was called in carpenter in Mark 6:3 when people were rejecting Him because they saw Him as just a common man “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him”. In Christ’s time, carpenters made farm tools and plows, doors and their frames, roofs, and storage chests. They felled their own trees for the lumber and prepared the wood themselves meaning they were strong and fit. We have this picture then of Jesus, raised by Joseph, an honest, God-fearing, strong, and upstanding carpenter in the tiny town of Nazareth testifying that when God chose to come to this earth to redeem us, everything about His birth and life identified with common, hard-working, average people. He was raised in a large family with 4 brothers and some sisters and God in the flesh, Emanuel, understands us and knows what we and our families need and He is ready to provide all things for us by Christ Jesus our Lord.
December 21, 2021
Matthew 2:1-2 “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him”
Luke gives us the account of the birth of Jesus and Matthew gives details of what happened afterward. When we set-up Nativity scenes or have Christmas plays of Christ’s birth, we usually have the wise men at the stable the night of Jesus’ birth but their visit came later and we see it in the descriptions of Matthew 2:11 where they found Jesus in the “house” (not a manger or stable) with his mother and the Bible calls the Lord a “young child” a term which usually refers to a child around a year old. Also, nothing is said of Joseph in their visit who could have been working in Bethlehem or the surrounding area to provide for his family. These men are not called kings and the term “these three kings” is from church traditions several hundred years after Christ’s birth and also, the Bible doesn’t say there were three, this is also a tradition based on the three gifts they presented to the Lord. The mystery of the star, sometimes called the Christmas Star, has created a lot of speculation as to what it was, and what makes it even more puzzling is that it moves, leading the wise men until it stopped over the place where Jesus was. Some have speculated it was a supernatural luminous glow but whatever it was, it fulfilled the beautiful prophecy over 1400 years before the Lord’s birth in Numbers 24:17 “there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel”. After the wise men worshipped Jesus and gave Him their gifts, they left and the angel of the Lord told Joseph to quickly take Mary and Jesus to Egypt and wait there until further notice. The scriptures do not say how long they stayed in Egypt but there was a large Jewish population there dating back centuries when the Jews were dispersed by the Assyrians and Babylonians and many Jews fled to Egypt.
The time Joseph, Mary, and Jesus spent in Egypt is a compelling study of that country in the light of Biblical prophecy. Their return to Israel after Herod’s death fulfilled the prophecy of Hosea 11:1 and quoted by Matthew in 2:15 “Out of Egypt have I called my son”. But Emanuel’s journey and stay in Egypt foreshadowed and prophesied by action a glorious event of the Millennium reign of Jesus when Egypt will be blessed and saved according to Isaiah 19 with such promises as Isaiah 19:21-22 “And the LORD shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the LORD in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and perform it. And the LORD shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the LORD, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them”. Then the threefold unity of Israel, Egypt, and Syria is declared in Isaiah 19:24-25 “In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance”. Egypt, which was cursed and plagued like all in the grip and power of sin, will be cleansed and set free. The young child Jesus has already been there on a visit, as an Ambassador of the Father’s will. But when He returns as King of King and Lord of Lords, He comes with healing and salvation to the outcast nation of Egypt as the Bible declares in verse 20 “and he shall send them a Saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them”. The Christmas story encompasses the glory of Jesus the Savior who was, and is, and is to come!
December 20, 2021
Micah 5:2 “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting”
Our Christmas carol says “O little town of Bethlehem” and it was (and is today) exactly that as described in today’s verse, small among the thousands of places Almighty God could have chosen as the birthplace of His Son. The prophet Micah spoke these words 700 years before Jesus was born and he was quoted by the chief priests and scribes in Matthew 2 when Herod asked them where Christ would be born. It’s amazing how these people knew what the Bible said centuries before about the coming of Messiah yet they remained in unbelief when He actually came. One of the many miracles in the story is not only that God chose the place from the beginning of time but He was working in the details of getting Joseph and Mary there in the exact timing for Jesus’ birth. The scope of this devotion is far too minuscule to even begin to consider the enormous number of miracles of Jesus’ birth and those are, by themselves, an eye-opening Bible study for anyone interested but one of the themes played out here in God’s design is that Bethlehem was also the birthplace of King David. The prophecy of Christ given by the angel to Mary includes the promise Luke 1:32 “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David”. This looks back to a promise the Lord gave to David in 2 Samuel 7:13 and reiterated by Isaiah in Isaiah 16:5 “And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness”. No wonder God pared Mary with Joseph for the Bible says in Luke 2:4 “And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David”. We stand in awe at the purpose, plan, and order of God’s will to send His son to redeem fallen humanity and do it in such a way that all the details line up to the glory of God. When God connects the dots, an amazing picture emerges.
The smallness and human insignificance of Bethlehem fit perfectly in the revealed truth of 1Corinthians 1:27-29 “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 nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence”. God continued to follow this course when He led Joseph and Mary back to Nazareth to raise Jesus to adulthood and from there, He began His ministry which caused Nathaniel to say in John 1:46 “And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see”. Yet throughout His ministry and even after His death, He was known as Jesus of Nazareth with even the demons referring to him as such in Mark 1:23-24 “and he cried out, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God”. When they nailed Jesus to the cross the Bible says in John 19:19 “And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS”. After His resurrection and ascension back to heaven, His followers continued to identify Him with His little hometown as in Acts 3:6 “Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk”. Greatness from small things to the glory of God is one of the major themes of the Christmas story and may that give us faith and hope that the Lord can and will use our smallness and weakness in marvelous ways.
December 19, 2021
Matthew 2:16 “Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men”
One of the saddest parts of the Christmas story, is King Herod’s unspeakable murder of children, little boys 2 years old and younger fulfilling the prophecy of Jeremiah 31:15 He was driven to a rage of madness when the wise men didn’t return to him, telling him where they had found the Christ child. It’s hard to imagine the horror of families when Herod’s soldiers came thundering through Bethlehem and the surrounding villages seizing and murdering those innocent babies. It takes us back to the time of Moses when Pharoah commanded all male babies to be killed at the moment of their birth. Also, It testifies to the hatred and vile scheming of Satan, trying to destroy the promised Messiah as given in the metaphor of Revelation 12:4 “and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born”. This hatred and anger with the desire to murder the Lord Jesus followed Him all His life, finally carried out in His torture and crucifixion. When He began His ministry and went to His hometown of Nazareth, He preached and the Bible says in Luke 4:28-29 “And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong”. It is, when you look at it honestly, a puzzling thing why people want to despise Jesus and push Him away, or even kill him. An example is when they screamed at Pilate to release Barabbas, a murderer, back into their community but kill Jesus who had done nothing but good by healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and pronouncing blessings on people while trying to help them escape the bondage of their religious mess. Yet the Lord said in John 15:25 “They hated me without a cause”.
My dad used to say the gospel, the preached Word of God will mostly have one of three effects on people. It will make some people mad because they find it uncomfortable and irritating and because it rubs them the wrong way, they put up a barrier to it and push back its words. When Stephen preached it made people angry and the Bible says in Acts 7:57-58 “Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him”. Others will react to the same gospel with sadness because even though they are not angry with the message, they are unwilling to embrace it and follow it such as the rich young ruler of Mark 10:22 “And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved”. But there are those that when they hear the Word of God it fills them with gladness because they believe it and want the free gift of eternal life and the joy that comes with it. Herod’s murder of the children is a picture of the rejection of the truth and should it seem to be just a story, a myth from long ago, we can’t forget that the wholesale slaughter of innocent life is not only normal in today’s world, it’s a legal money-making business. May the Christ of Christmas come quickly and bring us everlasting peace.
December 18, 2021
Luke 7:28 “For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he”
The birth and ministry of John the Baptist or baptizer, as it is literally rendered, is inseparably intertwined with the birth and life of Jesus. John’s birth was a miracle for his mother Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin, was unable to have children and the Bible says she and her husband Zacharias were “well stricken in years” a term which meant they were in the advanced age of their lives, well past child-bearing years. Yet God chose them to bring a child, John the Baptizer, into the world that would grow up to be a forerunner, an announcer of the Messiah. The scripture says he was filled with the Holy Spirit before he was born and declares his purpose in Luke 1:16-17 “And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord”. When John began to preach and baptize, his message had a powerful impact for the Bible says in Mark 1:4-5 “John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. There is proof that the ministry of John was more far-reaching and impacted people more than often considered because over 50 years after the resurrection of Jesus the Apostle Paul came across some believers in Ephesus in Acts 19 who were under the influence of John’s preaching as the Bible says Acts 19:3 “And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism”. Paul’s response is recorded in Acts 19:4 “Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus”.
Yet when Jesus spoke of the amazing power and ministry of John, he said those that are least in God’s kingdom are greater than he. Even though the record of John the Baptist is in the New Testament, he was still an Old Testament prophet born under the law, living under the law, and preaching under the law. He was not a born-again believer under the New Covenant of grace for he lived and died before the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord. And though he was a great, special prophet, announcing the Messiah and Jesus said he was the greatest man, the greatest prophet of all times, we who have been called, invited to believe in Jesus as our Savior hold a position of honor and greatness above that of John for, we are robed in the righteousness and excellency of Christ and declared eternally spotless. Spurgeon said, in his Exposition to The Gospel of Matthew chapter 11 “The least in the gospel stands on higher ground than the greatest under the law. How privileged are we who, by virtue of entering into the kingdom of heaven by faith, are made to see, and hear, and enjoy those things which even the prophet of prophets could not enter upon!”. Can you see how all the elements of the Christmas story are not about the things we have come to call Christmas but they testify of God’s love, our lost condition, and God’s willingness and purpose to do for us what we could not do for ourselves? Through the baby in the manger who, even before He was born had the old rugged cross already embedded within Him, we have received the greatest gift. And it was not a gift exchange as we practice it, but it was only God, with His only Son, giving us the only gift which we didn’t deserve, can’t repay, and have nothing to gift back to the Almighty to even the score. As the scripture says in 2Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift”.
December 17, 2021
Luke 2:8 “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid”
Every Christmas play brings the bedraggled shepherds to the Nativity scene and they have an honored place in the story of Jesus’ birth. When the Savior was born and God announced His birth, He didn’t send angels to the King’s palace, to the high priest, or to anyone of great social and religious importance but He announced the news to shepherds taking care of their flocks just outside Bethlehem. A point often overlooked in the story is that shepherds, in the time of Christ, were of the lowest ranks of society, right alongside publicans and others considered sinners by the religious leaders. There was a time in Israel’s history when shepherds were respected and beloved such as Abraham, Jacob, and Moses but after Israel settled in Canaan, shepherding fell out of favor as people began to build cities, prosperity came, and shepherds and their flocks were pushed away from the towns into the deserts and surrounding countrysides. The Rabbis in their writings, called shepherds “despicable sinners” and went as far as to say if you came across a shepherd that had fallen into a pit, don’t bother to rescue him. Shepherds were stripped of all their civil rights and were not allowed to testify in court. Yet it was to these, the outcasts, the despised, the socially rejected that God sent angels heralding the Savior’s birth. With this in mind, let’s picture again the Creator God in the flesh as a baby, lying in a manger, in a stable, with humble, poor, earthly parents, and His first visitors welcoming Him were vagrants, social castaways, the bums of that time. Sort of puts a tarnish on the glitter, glitz, and high-tech wreckage we offer up as the gospel today, doesn’t it?
When Jesus grew up and began His ministry, after being tempted by Satan and defeating Him, he went into his hometown of Nazareth and preached His first sermon recorded in Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised”. The first thing He said was that He came to preach the gospel to the poor. And in a time when shepherds were rejected and despised our Lord Jesus declared in John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” placing Himself with all who fit the description of His opening sermon salvo: poor, brokenhearted, prisoners, blind, and crushed. It’s touching for me to see children act out the Nativity and see the little shepherds in their bathrobes and headdresses of towels pay homage to the Christ child for they represent all of us to whom the good news was given and may we learn to shout His praise as did the angels on that Holy Night, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men”
December 16, 2021
Luke 2:7 “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn”
Countless Christmas plays have depicted Joseph pounding on the door of the inn in Bethlehem only to be turned away by a burley innkeeper. But as endearing as we have made it, this may not have been the case for the word translated inn comes from the word that means guest chamber from the Greek word kataluma. It referred to a customary place where travelers or merchants, who had no home or relatives in a town, might sleep and also served as a place where travelers might temporarily rest for a while with their animals such as horses or camels. It was normally a structure with several cubical-like compartments facing an open area, usually with an open fire, where travelers cooked food and gathered to swap stories or sell and trade merchandise. Such a place would not have been private and accommodating for a woman giving birth. The usual picture we have of an ancient hotel is not accurate and, in this case, the area of the manger, perhaps a shed or lean-to attached to a house, or even a cave, was more fitting to providing the privacy young Mary needed while giving birth to the Savior of the world. The Lord placed all the details of the birth of His Son exactly where He wanted.
From the moment of His birth, there has been no place on this earth accommodating to our Lord. The Bible said someone told Jesus they would follow Him and the Bible gives us His response in Luke 9:58 “And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head”. While He was dying, they gambled away His very clothes and even the tomb where He was buried was borrowed. The point is well made that the only thing that was His, was the cross upon which He died. Look around at the world and judge for yourself if there is any place for Jesus in our society. The name of the Lord is blasphemed continually and prayers in His name are now forbidden by many. His Word is dishonored and mocked and His principles of truth have been replaced by lies. Even closer to home for us is that most people have no place for the Lord in their lives and their homes or if they do, it’s just with a token appearance they make at church a few times a year or a prayer they make whenever they are in a jam. Jesus says to this final church age of Laodicea in Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” a description of the Savior standing outside with no room within. Yet His promise is wonderful and sweet, if anyone will hear His voice and open the door, He will come in. God, working through the Holy Spirit, will not force His way upon us but He gives us the opportunity to make room in our lives for the Lord and the things of God. May our prayer be this Christmas that we will examine ourselves and our homes and make room for the blessed Savior and begin to grow in His grace. May we look heavenward and say “yes Lord, there is room in my heart for You”.
December 15, 2021
Luke 2:1 “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed”
When we read the Christmas story we usually assume because of this verse, that Joseph and Mary traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem to pay their taxes. But the Bible doesn’t say they went there to pay tax but as a part of the taxation decree. The phrase here that all the Roman world should be taxed is from the Greek in its verb form here apographesthai, (which Luke uses in the corresponding noun form of apographē) and it means to enroll, to write in a list, to give a name for registration and was the first step of the Roman taxation process where each person went to the place of their family’s heritage and gave an account of who was in their family, how many members, what their occupation was, and an approximation of their income. The Romans then used this information to calculate the tax potential for all their conquered areas and carried out the taxation by using tax collectors. For the Jewish people, this would be the publicans the Bible tells about in the ministry of our Lord such as Matthew and Zacchaeus. So Joseph and Mary ended up in Bethlehem, not of their own will but forced to travel there even though Mary was nearing the time to give birth. The trip to Bethlehem took them at least five days on foot or possibly riding a small donkey although the Bible does not say how they traveled. The picture we have of Mary on the Donkey is, like many things about the Nativity, human conjecture. And while the detail as to whether Joseph was carrying money to pay the tax or if he was obeying the law to appear before the officials who were setting up the taxation process doesn’t seem too important, the real wonder here is that God was using the circumstances of that time to bring Joseph and Mary to the place where His plan to bring His Son into the world would be carried out the exact way He purposed. Though the couple lived in Nazareth, about 80 miles from Bethlehem, the scriptures had prophesied over 700 years before in Micah 5:2 “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting”.
We look often at how the purpose, the overriding plan of God is so important in understanding and making sense of all we see for without faith in God’s purpose, this life can seem to be a random, senseless mess of meaningless circumstances. Without knowing and believing God is at work in His creation fulfilling His design leaves us hopeless, victims to all the forces that are against us, and ultimately losers in the end when death appears to reign over all creation. But all the miracles of the birth of Jesus, along with the thousands of others that appear in the Bible and those we can testify to in our own lives and families point us to the workings of the Almighty God that never ceases to orchestrate all things according to His will. In the process, we can have complete trust and hope that what is happening to us and in our lives is according to this same plan. The detail of the taxation decree doesn’t say God caused the taxation process but it does say that He at least foreknew it and used it to bring Mary and Joseph to the little town of Bethlehem that first Christmas night. This same God is at work in us and the details of our lives so that the hope of Bethlehem is alive in us today.
December 14, 2021
Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool”
The book of Isaiah begins in chapter 1 cataloging the many sins of Israel and it is the Lord speaking directly to them. God even sounds weary in having to deal with their transgressions over and over in Isaiah 1:13 “Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them”. It’s like repeat offenders in our judicial system that are penalized, released, then go back to the same crimes, the same lifestyles, and continue this cycle throughout their lives. The Old Testament shows this pattern for Israel was their norm for hundreds of years and through it all, God was patient, kind, and merciful the Bible term, longsuffering which is an interesting word in that it uses “suffering” as part of its root indicating that Israel, whom the Lord calls His children, keeps pushing Him, vexing Him, and grieving Him. Consider verse 2 “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me”. In an earthly view, it gives the picture of a parent that had a child, doted on it, provided for it, and loved it with their whole heart only to have the child walk away despising its parents, its home, and all the good that had been done for it. If we could ever get a clear picture of what sin does, what it causes in our hearts, and what it drives us to do against the very Lord God Almighty, maybe we could love Him more for what He has done for us. God’s call to His rebellious, wicked, and ungrateful people is seen in today’s verse when He begins with the invitation word of “come” and sets the precedent of the Lord’s desire for us to return to him as echoed by Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”.
Sometimes there may be a bit of arrogance in those who believe they’ve gone too far for the Lord’s grace to reach them and for Him to forgive their sin. It’s almost as if they brag how deeply they’ve fallen as if they’re the worst sinner that’s ever been and the Lord is unwilling or unable to save them. But consider Micah 7:18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy” especially the part that says He delights in mercy meaning He is well pleased to demonstrate His mercy towards those who do not deserve it. When the criminal dying beside the Lord on the cross, a man who had committed such trespass he had been judged guilty and condemned to die a horrible death, asked the Lord for pardon, Jesus willingly and without restraint said to him “Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise”. (Luke 23:43) This is God’s way, to reach out a hand offering salvation to all who will receive Him and this is the foundation for this season of Christmas. God reaching to us through the gift of His only begotten son. The Savior that can fulfill the promise of today’s verse, “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool”.
December 13, 2021
Psalm 136:1 “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever”
This Psalm has a special place in the scriptures for each of its 26 verses concludes with the phrase “for his mercy endureth forever”. It is believed to have been used when the Levites would speak and the people would respond such as in Ezra 3:10-11 “they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel. And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever”. This phrase appears in the Old Testament over 40 times and is a testimony by the Holy Spirit to us of the unfailing, never-ending mercy of the Lord. There are times when it seems there is no mercy being shown us in particular situations such as when Joseph was falsely accused and placed in prison in Egypt but note what the Bible says in Genesis 39:21 “But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison”. God’s plan for Joseph included him being jailed unjustly but even in the trial, the mercy of the Lord was with him and God made the trial more bearable by extending His favor through mercy. This is how we can say He will not let us be tested beyond what we are capable of enduring because His mercy endures forever. Several times through the gospels people would cry out to Jesus “have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David” and Christ would meet them where they were and show mercy and compassion.
The Lord taught in the Beatitudes Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy” and set the standard for the Kingdom message to be rooted in the same provisions we are given from God. The Lord operates by extending mercy where none is deserved or merited manifesting His love and grace. We receive that mercy daily as the scripture says in Lamentations 3:22-23 “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness”. In the story of the Good Samaritan, the Lord asked the lawyer who it was that was commended for his good deed in the story and the Bible says in Luke 10:37 “And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise”. The enemy and false teaching have tried to destroy the doctrine of the Lord’s everlasting mercy (Ps 100:5) by saying He is a God of everlasting judgment and vengeance but the Bible says in Psalm 30:5 “For his anger endureth but a moment” while over and over in our verse for today and many other places in the Scriptures it is plainly taught His mercy endures forever and in Psalm 52:8 “I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever”. When we consider the sin debt we owed, which the Bible says its wages are death, and despite this being on our record and counted against us the Lord showed mercy and forgave all our debt, never to be remembered against us anymore, for the rest of our days and throughout eternity we too can repeat “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever”.
December 12, 2021
Mark 9:5 “And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias”
Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on a mountain and they witnessed incredible things. Jesus was transfigured before their eyes as He shone radiantly and His clothes became glowing, otherworldly white. This was not a light from heaven shining down on Him, but glory from within Him showing outwardly. Then Moses and Elijah, men who had been dead hundreds of years, appeared to them and talked with Jesus. The Bible said the disciples were “sore afraid” meaning they were scared out of their wits and Peter, who the Bible said didn’t know what to say about it all, blurted out the words in today’s verse. We’re not told James and John said anything, giving us a rather humorous picture of Peter who had stuff to say even if he didn’t know what to say. Some have said Peter sure reflected the mentality of most Christians because whenever they sense a movement of the Lord, they immediately want to start a building program. But it was one of those jaw-dropping moments of life, upon a mountain, where in the words of Peter, it’s a good place to be. That’s the way with mountain top experiences. They’re so incredible, so wonderful, and so out of the mundane, we want to stay there and experience them, enjoying the moments and soaking up the excitement. As we read on in this chapter, they came down off the mountain of glory and ran smack into a situation where a man had a son possessed with a demon that was trying to destroy the child. A sort of back-to-reality shock after the supernatural mountain experience.
The Lord puts the mountains of glory and victory in our lives and we get strengthened, built-up in our faith, and refreshed in our journey. But there are always valleys that follow with their share of problems and conflicts that also mark our path and they are necessary for us else the Lord would not allow them. The mountain of Jesus’ transfiguration was followed by the valley of the shadow of His death on the cruel cross and with it, the despair and confusion of His disciples, three of which had witnessed the heavenly glory of Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. Growing up in church, we heard songs like “Thank You for the Valley” and “God on the Mountain” which helped us understand that the Christian walk is marked by victory and glory, times of rejoicing and revival followed by times of tests and trials, seasons where we grow in faith and learn to lean on the Everlasting Arms. Maturity comes to us when we learn the valleys are good for us and we welcome and rejoice in them knowing we’ll come out on the other side better than when we entered them. And when the mountain tops come our way, we will enjoy them to the fullest, every part of their blessing is for us to replenish and refresh.
December 11, 2021
James 4:15 “For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that”
In the verses preceding this one, the scriptures address people who speak of their intentions to do this or that or go here or there as if everything they do or are going to do is a certain fact. But the Lord tells us we can not know with certainty how things will work out and we have no idea what the future holds as stated in verse 14 “ ye know not what shall be on the morrow”. He goes further to say that boasting we will have our way regardless is evil because even our life is uncertain and compared to vapor, like a mist of steam, that appears then is gone. The Holy Spirit then gives us today’s verse telling us we should approach every plan, every decision, and even life itself with the humbleness that says “if the Lord wills, I will do this or that”. We often shorten it to “God willing” and add it as a phrase after we make a pledge or promise such as, “I’ll meet you there at 11 o’clock, God willing”. We can make our plans and set our goals but our future and our abilities are in the hands of God and things may or may not work out as we plan. We have heard the words of the rich fool in Luke 12:18-19 “And he said, this will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry”. But, we know he didn’t even live to see the next day let alone do what he said he was going to do.
We go back to the scene when Jesus was so earnestly praying in the garden of Gethsemane, before His arrest and crucifixion, and listen to His prayer to His Father in Matthew 26:39 “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt”. And after going back to check on His disciples, He returned to His place of prayer and cried out to His Father again, “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done”. Jesus had a choice in what He was doing and He was willingly and completely giving up His will to the will of His Father and we also have choices we can make with or without submitting ourselves to the Lord’s will. Today’s verse is encouragement for us to make it a pattern for our lives, for everything we do, every plan we make, and every choice we have to see ourselves under the authority of the Lord and only want His will for us in every matter. Self-will, often fueled by pride and stubbornness, is the way of the rich fool and makes no allowance for the truth that the Lord’s ways are best because they are perfect and tailored by the Lord’s wisdom to chart our life’s course for what is best for us. In the life of Jesus, the Father’s will led Him through some unthinkable territory of sorrow and suffering but its destination is described in Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God”. He could have escaped the suffering and the cross but, dodging the bullet for that moment, would have kept Him from His purpose and destiny as Lord over all creation and would have stopped the plan to redeem us all. May our prayer be for the wisdom to see our lives as belonging to the Lord and that our hearts and lips will always say “God willing” in any of our endeavors.
December 10, 2021
Genesis 15:6 “And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness”
It could be that Genesis 15 from which today’s verse is taken, is one of the greatest portions of scripture when it comes to revealing how salvation is obtained, especially since this verse is the first time the words “believe” and “righteousness” are used in the Bible and they are connected here. This chapter is the presentation of the gospel of grace through faith being given almost 1800 years before Jesus came and today’s verse, and its meaning is phrased at least 4 times in the New Testament: three times in Romans 4 (1-3, 9-10,19-24) and in Galatians 3:5-7. Also in this chapter is the mystery of the day God appeared in person then delivered and sealed His covenant with Abraham and his descendants by a significant act of sacrifice. Abraham was fully aware of what was happening that day for it was a custom of those times when 2 parties made a serious contract that they killed animals, divided their bodies making a path between the cloven body parts, and both of the parties walked through this path of blood between the sacrificed animals. The ritual was saying the agreement was so important it was sealed by blood and if either side broke the contract, their blood and the blood of their animals should be shed. Yet in this most wonderful chapter, it is given that after the animals were killed and laid in order for the “signing” of the contract, Abraham fell into a deep sleep and God spoke to him in a vision, declaring the terms of the covenant and God Himself walked through the blood-path of the contract by Himself, Abraham watching from the side, establishing the promise on God’s Word alone, what we call a unilateral covenant. The promise given then was not based on who Abraham was, what he did or didn’t do, or anything else about Abraham’s abilities or person but it was made sure and eternal because of who God is, and since God cannot fail the covenant cannot fail or be broken.
Two things for us as believers are then established in this chapter and first is that our salvation, just like that of Abraham’s, is based on God’s grace, His willingness to give us mercy and pardon when none is deserved and that we receive this gift from Him by simply believing His Word. Second, the guarantee of this salvation is because God promised it and sealed it with blood, the final and eternal signing by blood was the precious blood of Jesus our Savior. This is the sum of Hebrews 6:17-18 “Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us” the two immutable things being God’s promise and His sealing of the promise by His oath. The Lord not only wants to save us, but He also Purposed a plan so complete, so failproof that He left nothing to chance or dependent on our human weaknesses. The promise given to Abraham will not fail and what lies in the very near future for his descendants will be the fulfilling of the Lord’s will in this matter even concerning the covenant of the land from the Nile to the Euphrates. What is now, and what is in store for us, who have been grafted into the root of this glorious promise, is the fulfillment of the promise of our Lord who said “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” and “so shall we ever be with the Lord”.
December 9, 2021
Deuteronomy 33:27 “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms”
These words are from the last blessing Moses pronounced on the children of Israel before he died and this verse is the summary of what God is to Israel and to us by extension of the covenant reaching through the ages to the faith-seed of Abraham. The word “refuge” here is a wonderful word that gives us the meaning of a hiding place, a place of safety but it is more than that for its primary meaning is a dwelling place and specifically points to a dwelling place of God. Wherever we are, He is there and because He is there, we are safe, sheltered, and protected with Him. This truth is often repeated in the Psalms, calling the Lord a resting place, a shelter, a strong tower, a rock of safety and it is all because He is with us. Notice the Word does not say the eternal God provides a refuge but that He IS the refuge. Verses in the New Testament say it like Colossians 3:3 “your life is hid with Christ in God” and the identity of Christ revealed in Matthew 1:23 “and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us”. God being with us was His plan from the beginning and is finalized in the new heavens and earth in Revelation 21:3 “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God”. Repeatedly we are told in the scriptures not to trust in weapons, our abilities, or any device of man but to trust in the Lord and with these words comes the assurance that He is our resting place, our shield, and our exceedingly great reward.
Then the verse continues to give us the assurance of safety with the picture of God holding us securely in His arms. We know God doesn’t actually have arms and legs but this is a figure of speech called an anthropomorphism, describing the indescribable God using human terminology that helps us better understand the Lord’s greatness and power. This image is of the almighty creator of all things holding us safe, keeping us from falling, and providing fatherly strength as a strong, powerful earthly father might hold his precious child in his mighty arms. In this verse, the Bible calls them his everlasting arms and uses the word “underneath” as a description similar to Jude 1:24 “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling”. We’ve seen dads playing with their children, swinging them around, holding them upside down, or raising them high over their head and the children laughing and screaming with delight, trusting their father’s ability to keep them safe. But we know there are limitations to our abilities concerning our children but there are no limits to the Lord’s power and grace to keep us safe and shield us from the enemy. What a comfort to know our salvation, our hope, and our security does not depend on how tight we are able to hold on to Him but on His eternal ability to hold us.
December 8, 2021
Psalm 85:6 “Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?”
Much of the religious world is like Samson, formerly strong and fearless but he laid his head in Delilah’s lap, she had his hair cut, and his strength disappeared with it but the Bible says in Judges 16:20 “he wist not that the LORD was departed from him”. He was still moving, walking, and talking but without God’s anointing and mantle of power. In a broader picture, the Book of Ezekiel chapter 10 describes how the glory of God exited the holy place then vacated the temple before the Babylonian destruction revealing God was leaving the spot He had chosen as a dwelling place between the two Cherubims above the mercy seat opening the door for the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by Israel’s enemies. The Temple with all its rituals continued as usual but without the glory of God just as today’s churches continue their normal services, make a lot of noise, but without the power of the Holy Spirit and like Samson, they don’t even realize He is missing. As hearts become increasingly hard against the Lord and the ways of God, the Bible describes this generation as “having their conscience seared (cauterized, rendered insensitive) with a hot iron”. The Christian world has been in this state before several times and it took true revival, sent from the Lord, to shake and awaken believers and drive back the darkness until the unbelievers were delivered and God’s work restored with the Holy Spirit in control. The work of the Holy Spirit in holding down the evil of the enemy is described in 2Thessalonians 2:7 “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth (holds back, holds down) will let (keep holding back, holding down), until he be taken out of the way”. We can call it worship, say it’s of the Lord, stream it live, post it on YouTube, and feel good about our execution of the details, and gather together under the big love umbrella but it’s just as spiritually dead and dying, devoid of the power of God as The Temple in Jesus’ time filled with religious themes, religious people, religious speakers, and religious trappings. We should rename it all “Ichabod” meaning, the glory of God has departed. (1 Samuel 4:21)
The hope is in revival, heaven-sent, and heart-changing. A revival that tears down our pride, self-will, alliances with sin, and apathy towards the things of the Lord. A revival that stirs us to repentance, turns us around on our paths, and bends our knees before the Lord God, our Creator, and Savior. A revival that brings back a love for the Word of God and a Holy anointing on those who teach and preach the truth. It’s the hope of a revival that will shine the Lord’s light on the souls in darkness and draw them to Christ Jesus, rescue those who are farm far from God, and restore a strong faith in the God who is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all we’re able to think or ask. Our verse today says such a revival will cause God’s people to rejoice in Him. Today, many people rejoice in iniquity, in confusion, in the overflowing search for pleasure, and at the expense of the souls of our children, while dragging the name of the Lord through the world’s muck. It is phrased as a question in today’s verse, “wilt thou not revive us again” and even though we know it was given to Israel it applies to us today just as well in our time of apostasy and indifference to Godliness. Sadly, check it out for yourself and watch all the videos of current church services and sermons and read the volumes of Christian self-help books flooding the market and see if you hear calls for repentance and revival. Take some notes and see the recurring theme that appears over and over: self, self, self.
December 7, 2021
Psalm 37:1 “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity”
A steady diet of the USA and world news is a sure way to increase anxiety and get discouraged. Every day when the evening news begins with the national news media, the big money-making hosts come on the screen, staring into our eyes with those semi-worried looks on the faces, announcing all that’s bad everywhere with video clips and “professional expert analysts” to explain it all to us as if we didn’t have a brain in our heads. It’s the same tired cliches, the same deadpan, overused experts, and the same format of filling the minds of anyone who will listen with the same depressing, recycled stories. A half an hour later, it’s always the same conclusion: no one can fix any of the problems so tune in tomorrow and we’ll tell you the same stuff again. The words “fret not” in today’s verse means to grow warm, to blaze up with anger, and is the effect we probably have when we are shown the evil, injustice, and deception all around us and it seems everyone’s getting away with it all and there’s no one to stop it and make it right. We want someone to do what’s right, to stand up against the corruption, to fix the mess all the morons have made, and get us on a good, fair, and honest path where we can have hope, comfort, and some security for our families. The final blows come when we then find out that those who were supposedly fixing it, the good guys, turn out to be just as corrupt and evil as the people who were identified as the perpetrators. Christians get caught up in this cycle and it takes the wind out of our sails, brings us discomfort, and causes us to fret because of evildoers. It might even cause the enemy to whisper in our ears “see, you might as well forget about trying to do what’s right, it’s those who bend the rules and break the laws that are having success and no one really cares”.
The answer to this verse is seen in the next verse where the scripture says, “For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb”. We want justice carried out swiftly but the Lord moves at His own speed and in His own way but let’s not fear, the Bible says Nahum 1:3 “The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked” and in Colossians 3:25 “But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons”. Looking to God’s Word for our news of the day is a sure path to the truth and with it, peace instead of the anger that comes when we sense the world is getting by with evil unrestrained. An example in our community was when a few months back a little 6-year-old girl was abducted from her home and as of yet, has not been found. At this point, it looks like an evil person or persons are getting away with something so vile it’s against every fiber of our sense of fairness and equity and we want the harshest penalty quickly and fiercely against them. It even makes us look to the heavens and ask why could this be? But God is unchangeable and will follow His will to the detail and this little girl’s situation is known to Him and we must, as believers, place our confidence in His Word that all scores and accounts will be settled in His own way and time. And even in circumstances that are not on the level with this example, ones where people hurt others with words, actions, or attitudes no one gets by without facing the consequences of their actions. The Bible says in Psalm 56:8-9 “put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book? When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me”. If He bottles up our tears as a sign that He’s very much listening to our cries, He will surely make all wrongs right.
December 6, 2021
Jeremiah 31:3 “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee”
In our previous devotions, we looked at the immutability of God especially concerning His love, mercy, kindness, and grace to us, and today’s verse is a statement He made to Israel as to the depth of His love for them. He calls it an everlasting love and even though it is a part of the revelation of Himself to the Jews, it applies to us who have been grafted into the root of the Abrahamic promises through grace by faith in Jesus. Again, His love is a part of His unchangeableness and is not only an unconditional gift but it is who He is for the scripture says in 1John 4:8 “for God is love”. Some people have trouble believing God loves them because much of what we call love is by a human definition where love is attached to expectations or behaviors and we’ve seen what’s been proclaimed as love fail, go away, or even change into hatred and disrespect. The Bible says love never fails and the Lord proclaims His love is a part of eternity, the very building block of His creation. It’s not our merits, achievements, good behaviors, desirability, efforts, successes, ability to return love, faithfulness, or any other thing or factor that causes God to love us. He does it because that’s who He is and that’s why Rom 8:38-39 is eternally true “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
It’s the last part of this verse that’s an eye-opener to us for it describes how the kindness of the Lord is the means whereby He draws us to Himself. No matter which side of the fence You’re on concerning the will of God vs the will of man in our salvation, the truth is that He loves us and wants us with Him. We are not passing a test down here to win His favor or approval nor is heaven a reward for our excellence and faithfulness but the means by which we come to the Lord is by His own power, working in His kindness, to pull us to himself. The picture here is of the good shepherd who goes after the lost sheep described in Luke 15:5 “And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing”. How often we miss the meaning of the Lord’s love and kindness towards us seen here when the shepherd holds the sheep across his shoulders and rejoices and not that of an austere, demanding shepherd that marches the sheep back to the fold with a goad and harsh words of reprimand. After describing our fallen state in Titus 3:3 the Holy Spirit then says “But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared”. Our repentance doesn’t open heaven’s door nor our broken spirit, pledges of faithfulness, or cleaned-up lives. Jesus is the door and we are drawn by the love and kindness of our God.
December 5, 2021
Malachi 3:6 “For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed”
When the Coronavirus came on the scene after the initial shock and uncertainty, we all started looking forward to the day when it would go away and life would get back to where it was before the sicknesses, deaths, quarantines, masks, and overall sense of doom and gloom. Then the virus began mutating, changing, and now, almost 2 years later, new variants continue to emerge along with the sinking realization we may have to deal with this disease for a long time, perhaps until the Lord returns. For all those who always yell “change is good” maybe they need to rethink their craziness. One of the attributes of God, the very characters of who He is, is that He is immutable, unchanging, and defined in Theology as such: God is a spirit, whose being, wisdom power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth are infinite, eternal, and unchangeable. Those things do not change. This is the reason the second half of today’s scripture is true because if God reacted as the actions of humans unfolded as in the continual backsliding of Israel, His growing wrath would have destroyed them. But the Lord doesn’t react, change His opinions, alter His course, or rearrange His plans. He remains faithful to His promises and follows His purpose exactly as He has willed to do it. This is a blessed comfort when we know what He has declared in His Word for nothing that happens is unforeseen by our Lord and what He has said is eternally true.
There are times when it seems God has changed His plans or changed the way He is dealing with people. An example of this is the transition that has taken place concerning the salvation of humanity from the Law given through Moses to the eternal salvation now through faith in the Lord Jesus. But this is not a matter of God changing because it was all planned and will be carried out according to the purpose of God before creation and what we witness that seems to show change is the progression of events forming the elaborate arrangement comprising God’s infinite wisdom in creating all things and bringing the entire creation to where He ordered it to be. Within this system and purpose are You and I and our families from beginning through eternity. What the Lord has promised us, He did so before He created us and nothing can alter His purpose and according to His immutability, that He changes not, we can declare Colossians 2:10 “And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power” more sure than the earth itself for heaven and earth will pass away but God’s Word will never fail. God’s Word is God declared in John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” which is the mystery of His essence but testifies to His unchangeableness. For our pale, limited understanding of His being He has shown us He is our rock, our foundation, the cornerstone, our unmovable, unshakable, unchangeable King. A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing.
December 4, 2021
Luke 10:40 “But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me”
The Lord was visiting His good friends Martha, her sister Mary, and their brother Lazarus in their home. Martha was so busy trying to make sure everything was just right and that everyone had what they needed the Bible says she was “cumbered about much serving” meaning she was worried, distracted, or as we would say, she had her hands full with all the work she was doing. But her sister Mary was sitting at the Lord’s feet listening to His words. We can hear the frustration in Martha’s words when she went to Jesus and asked Him “Don’t you care that Mary had left me to do all the work?”. Then she proceeded to tell Jesus to command Mary to get up and help her. In a sense, she was backhandedly blaming the Lord for her stressful situation, accusing Him of not caring about her. It is our human nature to blame someone for our ills and ultimately, we try to pin the blame on God for after all, since He has all power and here, we are like Martha, up to our eyeballs in situations surely if He cared about us He’d do something to fix the situation. It reminds us of the disciples in Mark 4;38 when they were in a boat with Jesus in a bad storm and they woke him up saying “don’t you care if we die?” and makes us stop and think that there they were, confronting the most caring, kind, compassionate person that ever lived and accusing Him of not caring about them. But sometimes people are this way and in the natural you can break your back, giving to them and helping them with every ability and resource you have and when they don’t like a particular situation, they’ll come at you with “you don’t even care about me”.
But Jesus cares for us beyond our comprehension as the scripture says in 1Peter 5:7 “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” where the word “care” in casting all our care also means distractions similar to the word “cumbered” in today’s verse. The Lord’s response to Martha, repeating her name twice “Martha, Martha”, an indication of His love for her, was to remind her that what was really important that day was not making sure everyone had something to eat or that they had enough refreshments or comfortable chairs, but it was to do what Mary was doing: listening to the life-giving Words of the Lord and keeping a close relationship with Him. It’s not that what Martha was doing was unimportant or that God doesn’t want us to work hard in our labor for His Name’s sake, but that there is a point where all the going, doing, energy expended, and keeping all the ducks in a row even in the Lord’s work becomes just another frustrating distraction from Him, who He is, and what He is saying. God will give us the wisdom to know when enough is enough and that every occasion doesn’t have to be picture-perfect, every lesson or sermon a chart-topping sensation, or every circumstance resplendent in its details but what matters is that the focus is kept on Christ and that His Words are heard and recognized above all our efforts. This is the meaning of the Lord’s response when He said in verse 42, “But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her”. Fix the food, get the drinks ready, set the table, and then stop all the commotion, come into the Lord’s presence, and listen to His Words.
December 3, 2021
2Corinthians 12:9 “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me”
The Apostle Paul had something that bothered him which he called “a thorn in the flesh” and it has long been debated as to just what it was. Some say a disability such as a problem with his eyes and others say it was an evil spirit that harassed him taken from a literal interpretation of his words in verse 7 “the messenger of Satan to buffet (hit with the fist) me”. There’s no way to know for sure but what we do know is that he asked the Lord three times to fix the problem and the Lord’s reply to him is given in today’s verse and that was that God’s grace would always be enough to deal with the problem and the Lord didn’t remove it because it was a safeguard for Paul that helped keep him focused on what God had called him to do. The scriptures tell us that Paul had received so much knowledge, so many revelations from the Lord that he might be tempted to swell in pride and become so haughty he would no longer depend upon the Holy Spirit’s power but would follow the guidance of his own will and flesh. It really doesn’t take much for human nature to get us all puffed up and energized by pride and self-will and the process is so deceptive we can be far from the presence and power of the Holy Spirit while believing He is actually in control. Paul was filled with knowledge, spoke several languages, had today’s equivalent of several educational degrees, and could have had a powerful resume to present as he himself declared in Philippians 3:4-6 “Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless”.
There seems to be a fine line where we grow as a person, get a better education, excel in our understanding, and yet remain humble and totally dependent on the Holy Spirit. The deception comes when we cross the line, operate in our own power and knowledge but think it’s the work of the Holy Spirit because we’ve convinced ourselves it is. This is precisely the reason Paul then says he thanks God for his infirmities, his weaknesses because they serve to remind him of the source of real ministry that’s empowered by the Lord through the work of the Holy Spirit as revealed in today’s verse “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me”. And then, he finishes with verse 10 “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong”. The Lord knows us and our tendencies to drift away from the reliance on the Holy Spirit into patterns where it’s our own abilities that take over and He keeps us drawn to Himself and dependent on Him by restricting us and allowing the afflictions to create the necessity of prayer to Him for help. We can see this in our lives when we are very close to the Lord followed by a period where we are distracted from Him and the things of God. The Lord will allow adversity to come our way and because of its appearance in our lives, we begin to pray, seek the Lord, and want to be back in a close, intimate place as we were before. The adversity is a goad, the shepherd’s rod, and staff that while it may seem uncomfortable it produces a wonderful result and we find ourselves back in full communion, contented, and at peace.
December 2, 2021
Mark 6:31 “And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat”
All the things Jesus said and did are for our learning and even though He did many miracles and during the three years of His ministry the Bible says in John 21:25 “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written”. Yet here, the Lord and His disciples were so busy and surrounded by so much commotion Jesus told them they needed to get away from everything for a while and rest. It’s not that Jesus and His disciples were doing back-breaking physical work, but we know it isn’t hard manual work that takes its toll on us as much as the weight of responsibility and the stress of being hurried, overwhelmed, or surrounded by constant commotion and change. The example of our Lord here is encouragement for us to purposefully find time and places where we get away from all the noise, stress, daily demands, and constant turmoil. There is rest in the Lord as the Bible says He will give us rest but that’s a spiritual rest where we cease from striving to please God by our own actions and merits and have the assurance of His eternal presence and our eternal salvation all on the merits of Jesus. The rest spoken of in today’s verse is rest for our fleshly bodies and mental health which is elusive in today’s world and pace of life where most couples and families start their day at a dead run and never slow down until they collapse in bed at night. Even on our days off and through our vacations we have acclimated ourselves to live non-stop until it’s the accepted norm.
The old nostalgic images of moms and dads relaxing on the front porch at the close of the day while the kids have some fun playing, sort of a Mayberry montage that pictures calm, peaceful, and quiet bliss are not our reality. Ours is more like a scene where eight TVs are blasting, half the family is in an argument, the washer, dryer, and dishwasher are all running, and the other half of the family is rocking their brains with their ear pods from their cell phones oblivious to everyone and everything. On top of our mindless, rushing lifestyles, most Americans, including children are living each day sleep-deprived with some teens getting less than 5 hours of sleep a night as they stay immersed in their electronics until the wee hours of the morning. Looking at today’s verse reminds us that God didn’t intend for us to rush through our lives, even our ministries like we’re fighting a fire and He surely doesn’t want us to exhaust, torment, and break down our bodies with needless and unfulfilling schedules and routines. Jesus told His disciples they needed time alone, where it’s quiet, where they can enjoy a meal in peace, and where they can shut out everything for a while and just rest. For believers, this would mean time to clear our minds and let the Holy Spirit teach us to meditate on God’s Word, reach out to Him in prayer, and enter into a place of worship and thanksgiving.
December 1, 2021
Psalm 115:3 “But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased”
Everything that exists and all that is in the unknown realms belongs to God and this includes the earth with all its inhabitants past, present, and future. The scripture describes it in Psalm 24:1 “The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein” and in Revelation 4:11 “for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created”. Often, the pride and unbelief of man will not acknowledge this basic truth and we lay claim to what is God’s as if we created it or somehow gained possession of it. But the ebb and flow of human life cycles are described in Ecclesiastes 1:3-4” What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth forever” and no matter how much people claim things as “mine, mine, mine”, the very atoms and their particles from which all things exist were made by the Lord and belong to Him. Today’s verse declares God is above His creation, the imagery of the phrase picturing Him watching over what belongs to Him and that He operates according to His own pleasure and purpose. It often looks like things are out of control and if anyone is having their way, it’s the devil but there has never been a moment in time or eternity when the Lord was not doing as He pleased. Everything, every detail, is under His control and going exactly as He has foreseen and planned.
If we look back to the crucifixion of Jesus, all the circumstances leading up to His burial look as if God’s plan failed and this must have been what the Lord’s followers and disciples thought. After the years of miracles and teaching, there was hope that the Lord would deliver Israel from the Romans and help the nation become independent again but when He was arrested, publicly beaten, His disciples were scattered, and He was nailed to a cross in sight of everyone to see, it seemed what He promised and what He had caused people to hope for had ended and He was a failure. But God had kept His plan concealed until even the devil had no clue what was transpiring for the Bible says 1Corinthians 2:7-8 “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory”. God’s purpose will not fail and the scriptures testify Isaiah 46:9-10 “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure”.