Passage of the Day: Romans 8: 1 – 2 … 1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, [in some later manuscripts, “Jesus, Who did not live according the flesh but according to the Spirit”] 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
My Journal for Today: I believe that many Christians, immediately prior to conversion, catch the vision of their own sinfulness, having their spiritual eyes opened by God’s prevenient grace, which is God’s Spirit drawing the sinner to the Savior. This yielding to the reality of their sin causes these convicted sinners to repent and receive the saving grace offered by Jesus through His Spirit, and those who do so are saved (see the description of this process in Romans 10: 9 – 13). That was yours truly on April 13, 1983, when for the first time at age 39, I was able to see the depth of my brokenness; and I was able to ask for Christ into my life.
However, it is also the case, as it was for me, that these newly saved souls, CHOOSE to allow the enemy’s spirit of condemnation to keep them incarcerated in those old chains [i.e., sinful habit patterns] that bind even Christians into fleshly disobedience. If you go back and read Romans 7, the Apostle Paul wrote about this in a very personal way. But today’s matchless passage from God’s declaration of liberty in the New Testament (i.e., Romans 8) is the same Paul declaring the truth of our freedom in Christ.
Yes, you and I, as born again Christians, are now free to receive our Lord’s enabling grace and, through His Spirit, to live free in the reality and truth of 2nd Cor. 5: 17 as well as Col. 3: 3 – 10, which is the boundless freedom I can have – and do now have - when I fully receive and appropriate God’s sanctifying grace, casting off any self-imposed shackles Satan would love for Christians to choose to wear which would bind our spirits to him in fear and condemnation.
But the truth, expressed in today’s verse, as well as 2nd Tim. 1: 7, is that I need not walk in any fear or to cave in to any feelings of condemnation, because I now have God’s Spirit of love and His power welling forth in my heart; and I can now walk in the reality that I am now dead to sin and alive in Christ (see Romans 6: 8 – 11). If we choose to believe these truths and receive God’s empowering grace, we will walk in freedom from our chains of self and sin, and we will have the self discipline and confidence, again mentioned in 2nd Tim. 1: 7, which may convict our hearts and help us to move away from sinfulness and onward toward Christlikeness. But it will never cause us to buckle under to the condemnation ploys of our enemy.
If you, who read this don’t know if you’re saved, and you are feeling the enemy’s condemnation, you need to recognize that God is convicting you to respond to His call for you to come to Him and be saved, finally and forever. I would charge you to contact anyone you identify as a strong Christian and ask that person how you can be saved and set free from your sin. Or you can do it right here by internalizing the passage I mentioned above in Romans 10: 9 – 13. If you do that … all you need to do is recognize, in a simple prayer to God, that you believe that Jesus died for your sins, and ask Him to save you, … then go and declare to someone [you can email me – billb13@bellsouth.net] that you have made that commitment of faith. If you do that, the promise of eternal life is yours forever (see John 3: 16).
However, as I’ve written here, Satan will then try to get you to think that you’re not worthy of God’s saving grace; and he will try to wrap you up in his chains of condemnation. He will try to get you to believe that your sins will never allow you to walk in the freedom and power promised by God’s Spirit. And if you choose to believe the lies of the enemy [and it’s always a choice], you will be thrown into your own self-imposed prison of self condemnation. But if you believe the truth of Romans 8: 1 – 2 above, as well as Romans 12: 1 – 2 and Galatians 2: 20, you can walk with power into the transforming freedom that God promises when your heart and mind is renewed by God’s Spirit through Christ Jesus.
Oh, how I pray that you will believe the truth of today’s passage and join me to walk in the freedom God’s Spirit has for you in following Jesus (see Luke 9: 23).
My Prayer Today: I walk free in You, Lord! Amen
Showing posts with label freedom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label freedom. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
Monday, July 04, 2011
July 4, 2011 … Standing In Grace
Passage of the Day: Romans 5: 1 – 2 … 1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
My Journal for Today: What an incredible truth we find in today’s verse related to the assurance of our salvation. Christ dying on the cross and His resurrection ushered in the New Covenant and allowed any, who are willing to receive Him as Savior/Lord, to have direct access to God’s throne of grace. Now, on this Independence Day, should we celebrate the ultimate in Independence, especially since the Lord is fully willing to dole out that grace in abundance, the grace that frees the captives to anyone (see Luke 4: 18), … anyone who would, in faith and obedience, stand with Him as proclaimed in the text for today from the Apostle Paul.
I embolden the world STAND above from Rom. 5: 2 because John MacArthur in Strength for Today on this date called my [our] attention to the origin of this word to help us understand the freedom we have in our relationship with Christ. In the translation from the Greek, our translated English word “STAND” comes from the Greek word, “histemi,” which not only implies standing, but also means being in a stance of balance and certainty. And that is what faith, or obedient belief in Christ, provides for the true Christian … standing as a faithful disciple of Christ. Christ’s finished work gives us the grace to be able to stand strong and to be free in our relationship with our Lord. And nothing we can do can detract from our ability to stand, balanced on the ROCK which Christ has provided for us (see Romans 5: 10). And isn’t it the ultimate in spiritual irony that we must surrender out lives, as slaves to Christ’s lordship, to allow Him to set us free through His saving grace.
It is through God’s grace that I was saved; and it is in His grace, i.e., being able to “stand” on the Rock of His enabling grace, that sustains me and frees me. Christ was the preeminent freedom fighter as we celebrate our freedom on this July 4th. Again, in Luke 4: 18, we read of Christ proclaiming, from the prophesy of Isaiah [see Is. 61: 1 – 2], that His mission in life was to proclaim the freedom of the gospel and to set us free from our shackles of sin. Prayerfully, I will always be able to stand with my Lord in the freedom He won on the cross and as He was raised from the grave; and I must choose to stand with Him in the balance of all I think, say, and do until that day He sees fit to take me home to be with Him so that I will attain that ultimate freedom in glory. There is no greater assurance I can have than to know that my freedom is eternal and that it is totally free for me in Christ.
My Prayer Today: I stand with You, Lord … free! Amen
My Journal for Today: What an incredible truth we find in today’s verse related to the assurance of our salvation. Christ dying on the cross and His resurrection ushered in the New Covenant and allowed any, who are willing to receive Him as Savior/Lord, to have direct access to God’s throne of grace. Now, on this Independence Day, should we celebrate the ultimate in Independence, especially since the Lord is fully willing to dole out that grace in abundance, the grace that frees the captives to anyone (see Luke 4: 18), … anyone who would, in faith and obedience, stand with Him as proclaimed in the text for today from the Apostle Paul.
I embolden the world STAND above from Rom. 5: 2 because John MacArthur in Strength for Today on this date called my [our] attention to the origin of this word to help us understand the freedom we have in our relationship with Christ. In the translation from the Greek, our translated English word “STAND” comes from the Greek word, “histemi,” which not only implies standing, but also means being in a stance of balance and certainty. And that is what faith, or obedient belief in Christ, provides for the true Christian … standing as a faithful disciple of Christ. Christ’s finished work gives us the grace to be able to stand strong and to be free in our relationship with our Lord. And nothing we can do can detract from our ability to stand, balanced on the ROCK which Christ has provided for us (see Romans 5: 10). And isn’t it the ultimate in spiritual irony that we must surrender out lives, as slaves to Christ’s lordship, to allow Him to set us free through His saving grace.
It is through God’s grace that I was saved; and it is in His grace, i.e., being able to “stand” on the Rock of His enabling grace, that sustains me and frees me. Christ was the preeminent freedom fighter as we celebrate our freedom on this July 4th. Again, in Luke 4: 18, we read of Christ proclaiming, from the prophesy of Isaiah [see Is. 61: 1 – 2], that His mission in life was to proclaim the freedom of the gospel and to set us free from our shackles of sin. Prayerfully, I will always be able to stand with my Lord in the freedom He won on the cross and as He was raised from the grave; and I must choose to stand with Him in the balance of all I think, say, and do until that day He sees fit to take me home to be with Him so that I will attain that ultimate freedom in glory. There is no greater assurance I can have than to know that my freedom is eternal and that it is totally free for me in Christ.
My Prayer Today: I stand with You, Lord … free! Amen
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
2010 – December 1 – With Freedom and Responsibility
BLOGGER'S NOTE: On January 1, 2010 I set a convenant goal with God and a number of my Christian accountability partners to read/study through the Bible this year. My "tool" to accomplish this was to use a Bible edited by Dr. F. LaGard Smith, The Daily Bible in Chronological Order, which, to the editor's campability and study, exposes the Bible in logical/chronological order. Dr. Smith also has a companion tool, a devotional book, The Daily Bible Devotional, which follows along with the Bible he has edited and presents daily topical snapshots for his readers to glean biblical truths for their lives. Thus far this has been a daunting discipline for me; but here I am, coming down the stretch in the last month of 2010; and GOD WILLING, on Dec. 31st, I'll be here bragging on God's enabling grace for giving me the discipline to finish my trek through His word. For those who've come along with me, all the way or part of the way, I hope this journey has been as uplifting for you as it has for me.
Study from God’s Word… Continuing on in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians (his second letter which we call his first) 1st Corinthians, Chapters 5 – 10 and 1Cor 11: 1 … Passage for Reflection: 1st Corinthians 10: 23 - 24 … NIV 23 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.
My Journal for Today: What should we, as Christians do; and what should we avoid? Christian freedom versus Christian discipline: Isn’t that one of the most perplexing and challenging confrontations we must deal with as disciples of Christ? Well, that was one of the main issues to which the Apostle Paul addressed in his letter to the Corinthians (and of course, extended to all Christians today in our Bible). And there were some tough issues the people and the Church in Corinth were dealing with in those days, … such things as idolatry, sexual immorality [such as homosexuality and even incest], and human greed, not to mention “smaller” categories of sin (though any/all sin, of course, is an affront to God).
And the Corinthians Christians, Jews and Gentiles alike, were also dealing with how to decide to live out their new found freedom from God’s Law with the responsibility to live in accord with God’s will. It’s like children who must have rules and discipline to prevent them from danger and even death; but then the kid grows up and has to learn how to handle the freedom he has in not needing the strict rules as an adult. It’s a matter of having the right to do X, Y, or Z; but knowing that doing X, Y, or Z will not honor God or give Him glory. Therefore, as today’s highlight passage depicts, there may be things I have the right to do; but I won’t do them because they can be dangerous to my health or certainly dishonor my God as an improper witness.
For example, you may have the freedom to cross a very busy six-lane highway where vehicles are traveling 70 miles per hour; but would you choose to exercise that freedom? Today in our permissive culture the laws may say that I have the right to engage in sexual relations with another man. Some may even say that such behavior is “normal;” … and yet if I had a desire to have sex with another man and I knew he was HIV+, would I exercise my “freedom” to do so? Of course, I wouldn’t; but am I FREE, as a Christian male, to have sex with any other male, even if he were not HIV+? Big debate going on in our culture today, isn’t it? And it was so back in Paul’s day as he addressed what the Corinthians were confronting in their world too.
Maybe you’re saying that my examples are too extreme. Well, let me take it down to a very human, and very personal level. When I go through a serving line at any of the buffet type restaurants, once I pay my front-end price, I’m “FREE” to eat anything on display there in the restaurant. And I can go back as often as I want to exercise that pre-paid freedom. But the question, as a Christian is, should I, as a disciple of Christ, who happens to be a diabetic, exercise my freedom in that restaurant and gorge myself on many, many dishes which could be or are hazardous to my health. And another serious question is … should I put my sin-weakness of gluttony on display for anyone to see, especially others who might know that I’m a Christian minister?
Yes, my dear ones, we are free from God’s Law as Christians; but Paul wanted the Corinthians – and God wanted us, through Paul’s letters – to know that our freedom as Christians can only be exercised to the extent of the perception of how others, especially non-believers, perceive our behavior. As Dr. Smith reminded his readers today: "There is a saying in law that your right to swing your fist ends at my nose." And I’ll leave you to contemplate that truth as well as the truth of what the Apostle Paul is relating to the Christians at Corinth, which is so applicable to our culture today.
Maybe it would be a good exercise for you to go back, as I’m being led to do by my devotional trek, and read – in depth – Paul’s admonition to the Christians in Corinth. I’ll leave you to that study; but I know it will be as productive for you as it is for me.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, You are my freedom; so help me to know that my freedom to be shines Your light for others to see; and I want them to see YOU and not me. Amen
Study from God’s Word… Continuing on in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians (his second letter which we call his first) 1st Corinthians, Chapters 5 – 10 and 1Cor 11: 1 … Passage for Reflection: 1st Corinthians 10: 23 - 24 … NIV 23 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.
My Journal for Today: What should we, as Christians do; and what should we avoid? Christian freedom versus Christian discipline: Isn’t that one of the most perplexing and challenging confrontations we must deal with as disciples of Christ? Well, that was one of the main issues to which the Apostle Paul addressed in his letter to the Corinthians (and of course, extended to all Christians today in our Bible). And there were some tough issues the people and the Church in Corinth were dealing with in those days, … such things as idolatry, sexual immorality [such as homosexuality and even incest], and human greed, not to mention “smaller” categories of sin (though any/all sin, of course, is an affront to God).
And the Corinthians Christians, Jews and Gentiles alike, were also dealing with how to decide to live out their new found freedom from God’s Law with the responsibility to live in accord with God’s will. It’s like children who must have rules and discipline to prevent them from danger and even death; but then the kid grows up and has to learn how to handle the freedom he has in not needing the strict rules as an adult. It’s a matter of having the right to do X, Y, or Z; but knowing that doing X, Y, or Z will not honor God or give Him glory. Therefore, as today’s highlight passage depicts, there may be things I have the right to do; but I won’t do them because they can be dangerous to my health or certainly dishonor my God as an improper witness.
For example, you may have the freedom to cross a very busy six-lane highway where vehicles are traveling 70 miles per hour; but would you choose to exercise that freedom? Today in our permissive culture the laws may say that I have the right to engage in sexual relations with another man. Some may even say that such behavior is “normal;” … and yet if I had a desire to have sex with another man and I knew he was HIV+, would I exercise my “freedom” to do so? Of course, I wouldn’t; but am I FREE, as a Christian male, to have sex with any other male, even if he were not HIV+? Big debate going on in our culture today, isn’t it? And it was so back in Paul’s day as he addressed what the Corinthians were confronting in their world too.
Maybe you’re saying that my examples are too extreme. Well, let me take it down to a very human, and very personal level. When I go through a serving line at any of the buffet type restaurants, once I pay my front-end price, I’m “FREE” to eat anything on display there in the restaurant. And I can go back as often as I want to exercise that pre-paid freedom. But the question, as a Christian is, should I, as a disciple of Christ, who happens to be a diabetic, exercise my freedom in that restaurant and gorge myself on many, many dishes which could be or are hazardous to my health. And another serious question is … should I put my sin-weakness of gluttony on display for anyone to see, especially others who might know that I’m a Christian minister?
Yes, my dear ones, we are free from God’s Law as Christians; but Paul wanted the Corinthians – and God wanted us, through Paul’s letters – to know that our freedom as Christians can only be exercised to the extent of the perception of how others, especially non-believers, perceive our behavior. As Dr. Smith reminded his readers today: "There is a saying in law that your right to swing your fist ends at my nose." And I’ll leave you to contemplate that truth as well as the truth of what the Apostle Paul is relating to the Christians at Corinth, which is so applicable to our culture today.
Maybe it would be a good exercise for you to go back, as I’m being led to do by my devotional trek, and read – in depth – Paul’s admonition to the Christians in Corinth. I’ll leave you to that study; but I know it will be as productive for you as it is for me.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, You are my freedom; so help me to know that my freedom to be shines Your light for others to see; and I want them to see YOU and not me. Amen
Thursday, May 14, 2009
2009 – Day 133.May 14 – True Freedom
2009 – Day 133.May 14 – True Freedom
Passage of the Day: 2nd Samuel 6: 14 – 23 … Link to 2nd Sam. 6 for study ...
My Journal for the Day: This passage illustrates the power of obedience to produce freedom in one’s life. And Chuck Swindoll brings out two specific points in that regard which relate closely to the way we view life, either vertically in our relationship with God or horizontally, following the world’s view. I’ve discussed this in past devotionals; and I believe that Swindoll’s study today illustrates the strong vertical focus David had on God. I’ve certainly seen this illustrated in my past studies by see David’s vertical focus on God in his slaying of Goliath and his honoring Saul as God’s anointed king in spite of Saul’s hatred and jealousy for David. And now we see it in the way he honors God as he prepares the Arc of the Covenant and worships God with open abandon.
And Swindoll points out that … the better you know where you stand with the Lord, the freer you can be. In today’s passage we see David boldly and gleefully dancing, almost naked before God, much to the chagrin of his wife, worshipping his love for his God openly and honestly. And in Michal, Saul’s daughter and David’s wife, we see what can happen when the world and the flesh come into contact with someone, like David, who boldly and openly proclaims his love for God. And it’s true that when you get bold and vulnerable in your witness for God, the world will likely recoil with embarrassment in the least or anger/hostility at worst. You’ll note Michal’s response in verse 16 of today’s highlight passage. She saw David dancing freely and joyfully, worshipping the Lord, and the verse says, "she despised him in her heart.”
And the second point Swindoll brings out, which is illustrated in today’s stud, is that the freer you are before the Lord, the more confident you will become. And this was certainly true of David as he danced with joy, throwing aside the conventions of “kingly” dress, and freeing himself to worship His Lord. David, in this scenario is the picture of vulnerability and unconventional witness. He didn’t care what others thought, … only that God knew how joy-filled he was in the presence of his God.
What about you? I know that at times I’ve found myself balking a bit and muting my enthusiasm in worship on Sunday mornings, letting my horizontal feelings dictate just how open I would be to raise my hands while worshipping God in our service. We’re a church that has come from a “tradition” of a more subdued, muted style of worship; and having broken away from the boundaries and traditions of our “denominational” style, we now find our newer worship style evolving and growing to be freer and more expressive, which makes some, especially the older members of our congregation, uncomfortable. And I, personally, love the newer, freer style of worship! But I’m convicted by today’s study that I’m not open and free enough in the way I personally express my worship of the God of the Universe and the One Who saved me.
Why should I care what others think when I raise my hands with joy on Sunday morning, singing my praises to my Lord? I need to have more of David in my worship and less of Michal.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, as I grow to know You more, help me to be free to worship You, letting Your Spirit witness my love for You openly and freely. Amen
Passage of the Day: 2nd Samuel 6: 14 – 23 … Link to 2nd Sam. 6 for study ...
My Journal for the Day: This passage illustrates the power of obedience to produce freedom in one’s life. And Chuck Swindoll brings out two specific points in that regard which relate closely to the way we view life, either vertically in our relationship with God or horizontally, following the world’s view. I’ve discussed this in past devotionals; and I believe that Swindoll’s study today illustrates the strong vertical focus David had on God. I’ve certainly seen this illustrated in my past studies by see David’s vertical focus on God in his slaying of Goliath and his honoring Saul as God’s anointed king in spite of Saul’s hatred and jealousy for David. And now we see it in the way he honors God as he prepares the Arc of the Covenant and worships God with open abandon.
And Swindoll points out that … the better you know where you stand with the Lord, the freer you can be. In today’s passage we see David boldly and gleefully dancing, almost naked before God, much to the chagrin of his wife, worshipping his love for his God openly and honestly. And in Michal, Saul’s daughter and David’s wife, we see what can happen when the world and the flesh come into contact with someone, like David, who boldly and openly proclaims his love for God. And it’s true that when you get bold and vulnerable in your witness for God, the world will likely recoil with embarrassment in the least or anger/hostility at worst. You’ll note Michal’s response in verse 16 of today’s highlight passage. She saw David dancing freely and joyfully, worshipping the Lord, and the verse says, "she despised him in her heart.”
And the second point Swindoll brings out, which is illustrated in today’s stud, is that the freer you are before the Lord, the more confident you will become. And this was certainly true of David as he danced with joy, throwing aside the conventions of “kingly” dress, and freeing himself to worship His Lord. David, in this scenario is the picture of vulnerability and unconventional witness. He didn’t care what others thought, … only that God knew how joy-filled he was in the presence of his God.
What about you? I know that at times I’ve found myself balking a bit and muting my enthusiasm in worship on Sunday mornings, letting my horizontal feelings dictate just how open I would be to raise my hands while worshipping God in our service. We’re a church that has come from a “tradition” of a more subdued, muted style of worship; and having broken away from the boundaries and traditions of our “denominational” style, we now find our newer worship style evolving and growing to be freer and more expressive, which makes some, especially the older members of our congregation, uncomfortable. And I, personally, love the newer, freer style of worship! But I’m convicted by today’s study that I’m not open and free enough in the way I personally express my worship of the God of the Universe and the One Who saved me.
Why should I care what others think when I raise my hands with joy on Sunday morning, singing my praises to my Lord? I need to have more of David in my worship and less of Michal.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, as I grow to know You more, help me to be free to worship You, letting Your Spirit witness my love for You openly and freely. Amen
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
2009 – Day 82.Mar. 24 – Sing It Out!
2009 – Day 82.Mar. 24 – Sing It Out!
Passage of the Day: Exodus 14: 23 – 15: 22 … Link to Exod. 14 – 15 for study …
My Journal for Today: Interesting to read about this wondrous deliverance experience in the history of the Jewish nation as they were delivered from the Egyptian army and they launched into their journey to Canaan through the desert. First there is the elation of their freedom, even stopping to record the songs they sung in Scripture, praising God for their deliverance. And then right after the joy and exuberance of this freedom experience, they begin to encounter the realities of life as they traveled through the wilderness of the desert, …hot and dry and dangerous … but free.
Isn’t that what many Christians experience in coming to Christ? We finally come to recognize that we’re in bondage to self and sin; and we repent of that life and receive Christ as our Savior and Lord. And He frees us to be able to walk free. Perhaps we feel the elation; and Chuck Swindoll in the devotional I’m using daily even encourages his devotional readers to do what the Hebrews did, … to write songs of praise. Many would say, however, that they don’t have the ability to write a poem or a praise song to honor God for saving us. But Swindoll exhorts us to try; … or at least perhaps, we can, as I do here, refer to a song or songs which express your feelings about your salvation experience. Right now I’m thinking of some wonderful songs I hear on my Ipod as I’m doing my morning devotional, … songs like …
I Will Choose Christ … sung by Kathy Triccoli;
Jesus, You Are My Life … sung by the Maranatha Singers;
Finally Free … sung by Nichole Nordeman; … or
He’ll Do Whatever It Takes … sung by Phillips, Craig, and Dean
In fact, as I do often when I’m drafting my journal entries early in the morning, as now, I have my earphones on, listening to songs like these, … songs which remind me of what God did to save me and just how much God’s amazing grace means to me. Maybe you have wonderful praise songs which are your favorites and express your love for the God Who reached down and saved you on that Cross from your enslavement to sin and set you free to walk in freedom. Right now I’m listening to the old hymn, Fairest Lord Jesus, sung by Scott Underwood. As I listen, I’m uplifted and filled with the joy of my salvation.
But after we’re uplifted by these songs and we turn off the music, we’re stricken by the realization of our salvation in Christ. Like the Hebrews in the Exodus story, we recognize that our sanctification and walk of freedom sometimes finds us walking in the desert, alone and seeing that we’re still enslaved. However, this time we come to see that we now must choose to realize we are bond slaves to Christ. He saved us so that we can realize how dependent we are on the God who graces us to walk in freedom. Right now as I’m sitting here I’m listening to another song by Phillips, Craig, and Dean entitled, Your Grace Still Amazes Me, which sings for me my wonder at the enabling grace of God which allows me, each day, as I fall on my knees, to recognize just how amazing is God’s grace, allowing me to live in and for my Lord and Savior, Jesus.
If you’re no poet or song writer, I hope you have songs in your life, as do I, which remind us of our wondrous love relationship with the God Who saved us and the God Who sustains us. If you don’t, write some or find some. They will help you in your freedom walk, especially when you find yourself in the deserts of life, needing to remind you to sing for joy in spite of your circumstances.
My Prayer for Today: Oh, Lord, Your Grace Still Amazes Me. Amen
Passage of the Day: Exodus 14: 23 – 15: 22 … Link to Exod. 14 – 15 for study …
My Journal for Today: Interesting to read about this wondrous deliverance experience in the history of the Jewish nation as they were delivered from the Egyptian army and they launched into their journey to Canaan through the desert. First there is the elation of their freedom, even stopping to record the songs they sung in Scripture, praising God for their deliverance. And then right after the joy and exuberance of this freedom experience, they begin to encounter the realities of life as they traveled through the wilderness of the desert, …hot and dry and dangerous … but free.
Isn’t that what many Christians experience in coming to Christ? We finally come to recognize that we’re in bondage to self and sin; and we repent of that life and receive Christ as our Savior and Lord. And He frees us to be able to walk free. Perhaps we feel the elation; and Chuck Swindoll in the devotional I’m using daily even encourages his devotional readers to do what the Hebrews did, … to write songs of praise. Many would say, however, that they don’t have the ability to write a poem or a praise song to honor God for saving us. But Swindoll exhorts us to try; … or at least perhaps, we can, as I do here, refer to a song or songs which express your feelings about your salvation experience. Right now I’m thinking of some wonderful songs I hear on my Ipod as I’m doing my morning devotional, … songs like …
I Will Choose Christ … sung by Kathy Triccoli;
Jesus, You Are My Life … sung by the Maranatha Singers;
Finally Free … sung by Nichole Nordeman; … or
He’ll Do Whatever It Takes … sung by Phillips, Craig, and Dean
In fact, as I do often when I’m drafting my journal entries early in the morning, as now, I have my earphones on, listening to songs like these, … songs which remind me of what God did to save me and just how much God’s amazing grace means to me. Maybe you have wonderful praise songs which are your favorites and express your love for the God Who reached down and saved you on that Cross from your enslavement to sin and set you free to walk in freedom. Right now I’m listening to the old hymn, Fairest Lord Jesus, sung by Scott Underwood. As I listen, I’m uplifted and filled with the joy of my salvation.
But after we’re uplifted by these songs and we turn off the music, we’re stricken by the realization of our salvation in Christ. Like the Hebrews in the Exodus story, we recognize that our sanctification and walk of freedom sometimes finds us walking in the desert, alone and seeing that we’re still enslaved. However, this time we come to see that we now must choose to realize we are bond slaves to Christ. He saved us so that we can realize how dependent we are on the God who graces us to walk in freedom. Right now as I’m sitting here I’m listening to another song by Phillips, Craig, and Dean entitled, Your Grace Still Amazes Me, which sings for me my wonder at the enabling grace of God which allows me, each day, as I fall on my knees, to recognize just how amazing is God’s grace, allowing me to live in and for my Lord and Savior, Jesus.
If you’re no poet or song writer, I hope you have songs in your life, as do I, which remind us of our wondrous love relationship with the God Who saved us and the God Who sustains us. If you don’t, write some or find some. They will help you in your freedom walk, especially when you find yourself in the deserts of life, needing to remind you to sing for joy in spite of your circumstances.
My Prayer for Today: Oh, Lord, Your Grace Still Amazes Me. Amen
Saturday, March 21, 2009
2009 – Day 79.Mar. 21 – Historical Joy
2009 – Day 79.Mar. 21 – Historical Joy
Passages of the Day: Exodus 12: 29 – 30 … 29 And it came to pass at midnight that the LORD struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock. 30 So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
Psalm 105: 26 - 38 … Link to Psalm 105 for study …
My Journal for Today: Today Chuck Swindoll focuses on the joy expressed by the elated Hebrew people as they recognized they had been passed over by the Angel of death; and they were leaving 400 years of slavery behind and heading toward the promised land of Canaan. Joy, joy, joy!!
And then Swindoll asks his devotional readers to compare that historical joy with the very personal realization of freedom when we left our chains of sin behind and walked from our slavery to self into the promised land of freedom in Christ; and I remember that day and time well. And yes, there great joy in my heart as I came to realize that this Jesus of Nazareth was THE CHRIST; and He had died for my sins, setting me free and giving me the grace to choose freedom rather than to wallow in my sinfulness. I still revel joyfully when I relive that morning when I was set free and began my walk toward the promised land of freedom in Christ.
Some of you, who read here, however, may not have had a clear time of passover and release into freedom as I did. Maybe you’ve been a Christian for as long as you remember, … maybe having come to Christ at a very young age. Maybe you’ve just come to forget the joy of being released from the prison of sinfulness and breathing freedom for the first time. I still remember that time, which was a little over 25 years ago; but Swindoll makes a good point for all Christians, whether they had a later life conversion or not. He asks us to remember that every day we can and should revel in the joy that there is more to our life than just being saved from our sinfulness.
Yes, any Christian at any time – like today – can (and should) live in joyfulness because God wants to move us even further out of our “Egypt” and away from the land of slavery to sin. Remember, fellow Christian, … God wants to lead us – everyday - toward His promised land of freedom. As Swindoll points out, God has given us a way – everyday – of celebrating joyfully the reality that we can, by His grace, choose to avoid sin and be free in Christ. Plan A for God, was salvation; but his Plan B in your life or mine is the walk to freedom which we should recognize and celebrate EVERY DAY of our lives as Christians.
So, let’s you and me join the voices of over 2,000,000 Jews at the time of the first Passover, singing God’s praises and joyfully thanking our Lord for setting us free on that Cross so that all who receive Christ as Lord and Savior can be freed from our bondage to sin; and we can march toward the promised land of freedom in Christ – FOREVER!
Yes, for sure … JOY, … JOY, … JOY !!!
My Prayer for Today: On this first day of Spring, as Your timing would have it, Lord, I walk to freedom, following You. Amen
Passages of the Day: Exodus 12: 29 – 30 … 29 And it came to pass at midnight that the LORD struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock. 30 So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
Psalm 105: 26 - 38 … Link to Psalm 105 for study …
My Journal for Today: Today Chuck Swindoll focuses on the joy expressed by the elated Hebrew people as they recognized they had been passed over by the Angel of death; and they were leaving 400 years of slavery behind and heading toward the promised land of Canaan. Joy, joy, joy!!
And then Swindoll asks his devotional readers to compare that historical joy with the very personal realization of freedom when we left our chains of sin behind and walked from our slavery to self into the promised land of freedom in Christ; and I remember that day and time well. And yes, there great joy in my heart as I came to realize that this Jesus of Nazareth was THE CHRIST; and He had died for my sins, setting me free and giving me the grace to choose freedom rather than to wallow in my sinfulness. I still revel joyfully when I relive that morning when I was set free and began my walk toward the promised land of freedom in Christ.
Some of you, who read here, however, may not have had a clear time of passover and release into freedom as I did. Maybe you’ve been a Christian for as long as you remember, … maybe having come to Christ at a very young age. Maybe you’ve just come to forget the joy of being released from the prison of sinfulness and breathing freedom for the first time. I still remember that time, which was a little over 25 years ago; but Swindoll makes a good point for all Christians, whether they had a later life conversion or not. He asks us to remember that every day we can and should revel in the joy that there is more to our life than just being saved from our sinfulness.
Yes, any Christian at any time – like today – can (and should) live in joyfulness because God wants to move us even further out of our “Egypt” and away from the land of slavery to sin. Remember, fellow Christian, … God wants to lead us – everyday - toward His promised land of freedom. As Swindoll points out, God has given us a way – everyday – of celebrating joyfully the reality that we can, by His grace, choose to avoid sin and be free in Christ. Plan A for God, was salvation; but his Plan B in your life or mine is the walk to freedom which we should recognize and celebrate EVERY DAY of our lives as Christians.
So, let’s you and me join the voices of over 2,000,000 Jews at the time of the first Passover, singing God’s praises and joyfully thanking our Lord for setting us free on that Cross so that all who receive Christ as Lord and Savior can be freed from our bondage to sin; and we can march toward the promised land of freedom in Christ – FOREVER!
Yes, for sure … JOY, … JOY, … JOY !!!
My Prayer for Today: On this first day of Spring, as Your timing would have it, Lord, I walk to freedom, following You. Amen
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
2009 – Day 76.Mar. 18 – Plagues That Preach
2009 – Day 76.Mar. 18 – Plagues That Preach
Passage of the Day: Exodus 7 - 10 … Use this link to read these four chapters …
My Journal for Today: God’s wrath is horrible. … But God’s grace is wonderful.
Normally I write a lot each day to document what God shares with me in these devotionals. But today I think I could just share what I’ve shared in these two sentences above; and that would say it all. I’ve experienced both sides of God … His wrath and His grace. And take it from me – or from these four chapters in Exodus, you don’t want to experience the purposeful wrath of God, which He uses to break the will of the Pharaoh’s of the world. I was one of those once; and it ain’t pretty.
But on the other side of that coin, having experienced God’s wondrous saving grace and His powerful enabling grace, which is offered freely by the sacrifice of Christ, it is a “no-brainer” to choose God’s grace over His wrath. When God’s wrath comes down, as it did upon Pharaoh or upon Sodom and Gomorrah, or when the flood wiped out all but eight on earth, you don’t want to be the one where God’s plague is preaching his deliverance. Those who experience the horror of God’s wrath either become heart broken or, like Pharaoh, they become heart hardened. Take it from me; you don’t want to be either of these if God is speaking to you through tough circumstances in your life.
But dear one, this story also shows us that it’s far better to be like the enslaved Hebrews, becoming the benefactors of God’s mercy and grace because they were willing to surrender to God’s love. The truth here to hold onto is this: If you won’t humble yourself and receive God’s free offer of grace, He will humble you with His wrath.
I’ve been on both sides of that fence; and take from the former hard-head, it’s a lot better to give it up and walk free FOR God, rather than being broken BY God. So, if you’re being Pharaoh and rejecting God’s grace, … BEWARE! At some time, God is going to release His wrath in your life; and you don’t want to be the hard-head who’s been turning away from God. Just give it up now; and take the grace which is freely offered by Jesus. Allow God to free you from yourself so that you can walk free with His grace.
My Prayer for Today: I choose grace, Lord! Amen
Passage of the Day: Exodus 7 - 10 … Use this link to read these four chapters …
My Journal for Today: God’s wrath is horrible. … But God’s grace is wonderful.
Normally I write a lot each day to document what God shares with me in these devotionals. But today I think I could just share what I’ve shared in these two sentences above; and that would say it all. I’ve experienced both sides of God … His wrath and His grace. And take it from me – or from these four chapters in Exodus, you don’t want to experience the purposeful wrath of God, which He uses to break the will of the Pharaoh’s of the world. I was one of those once; and it ain’t pretty.
But on the other side of that coin, having experienced God’s wondrous saving grace and His powerful enabling grace, which is offered freely by the sacrifice of Christ, it is a “no-brainer” to choose God’s grace over His wrath. When God’s wrath comes down, as it did upon Pharaoh or upon Sodom and Gomorrah, or when the flood wiped out all but eight on earth, you don’t want to be the one where God’s plague is preaching his deliverance. Those who experience the horror of God’s wrath either become heart broken or, like Pharaoh, they become heart hardened. Take it from me; you don’t want to be either of these if God is speaking to you through tough circumstances in your life.
But dear one, this story also shows us that it’s far better to be like the enslaved Hebrews, becoming the benefactors of God’s mercy and grace because they were willing to surrender to God’s love. The truth here to hold onto is this: If you won’t humble yourself and receive God’s free offer of grace, He will humble you with His wrath.
I’ve been on both sides of that fence; and take from the former hard-head, it’s a lot better to give it up and walk free FOR God, rather than being broken BY God. So, if you’re being Pharaoh and rejecting God’s grace, … BEWARE! At some time, God is going to release His wrath in your life; and you don’t want to be the hard-head who’s been turning away from God. Just give it up now; and take the grace which is freely offered by Jesus. Allow God to free you from yourself so that you can walk free with His grace.
My Prayer for Today: I choose grace, Lord! Amen
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