Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Judges, Chapters 19-21 … To study these chapters, go to this link -
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Highlight Reference Passage : Judges 21: 24-25… 24 At that time [i.e., the era of the Judges] the Israelites left that place and went home to their tribes and clans, each to his own inheritance. 25 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.
My Journal for Today: Reading through the last chapters of the book of Judges; and really touched by the last verse, highlighted above, is the bottom line for the history of God’s people in the time of the Judges. And I have summarized these times in a somewhat more colloquial title I’ve given to this morning’s journal entry: They Did Their Own Thing!
And if you’ve read through these last three chapters of Judges, one’s sensibilities are challenged, to say the least, by some of the horrible things which happened amongst these God-chosen people. For example there is the story of the Levite in Chapter 19 which is so reminiscent of that scene in Sodom and Gomorrah involving Lot. In this horrible scenario, the Levite sends his concubine out to be gang-raped by the men of his village; and when she comes back in, having been defiled, he cuts her into a dozen pieces.
And here is what my Parsons Commentary says about how we can look at the application of such a horrible Biblical story: ”When they [i.e., the Israelites] stopped letting God lead them, they became no better than the evil people around them. When they made laws for their own benefit, they set standards far below God’s. When you leave God out of your life, you may be shocked at what you are capable of doing.”
You know, we CHRISTIANS would like to think that we’re above such monstrous evil. We’d like to think that, being church-going believers, we could never become like a Ted Bundy, the monstrous serial killer. But my friend, if we turn away from God and His ways and His will, as did the Israelites, there’s no telling what our hearts and flesh are capable of doing. And God – at least for a season – will allow such ungodliness from His collective peoples (for example, from the Church in our day).
When I read the New Testament description – by the Apostle Paul – in Romans 1: 18-32 (linked here for your study). I shudder to think what my life might have become after 22 years of habitualized sexual sin if I hadn’t surrendered my life to Christ. Who knows, unchecked I might have become a monster like Ted Bundy.
BUT … (big “But” contrast), … I did not!!! Instead – and I’m only touting God for this! – I became something different. After I decided to do life God’s way in 1983, I stand here today as a poster child for the proclamation of truth in 2nd Cor. 5: 17 (which I hope you know by heart). I am that “new creation;” I have become like the man about which Rascal Flatts sings in their song to which I link you here. “I’m changed!”
But the Israelites in this day did their own thing; and God let them do it … over and over and over again. And it was not until their Messiah came to provide the way of redemption for His people that this cycle of disobedience and rebellion and degradation could come to a halt.
But even today, we Christians can easily let our lives get out of touch with God when we do life our own way rather than the way God has set forth for us in His word. My friend, we must ask ourselves if we are doing life our own way? If so, beware!!! … God will let us; and who knows where it will lead.
My Prayer Today: … Lord, I’m doing life Your way! Amen
Showing posts with label transformation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label transformation. Show all posts
Thursday, April 05, 2012
Saturday, October 15, 2011
October 15, 2011 … Dead WITH Christ
Passage of the Day: Romans 6: 6 - 7 [see verses in bold/underlined] … 5 If we have been united with Him [Christ] like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin — 7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
My Journal for Today: All good teachers know that redundancy is an effective teacher; and the Apostle Paul knew this as he drilled home an important point of Christian doctrine in today’s passage that he had made earlier in Romans, chapters 5 and 6. That point is the core doctrine that all believers in Christ’s victory over sin through His resurrection share in the victory He won over sin. And I will repeat this wondrous point as well. Christ shattered sin with His death on the cross and His resurrection; and those of us who truly believe this and have repented of our sin in faith, believing completely in Christ’s atonement at the moment of our conversion as Christians, now share in that victory (see Rom. 4: 25 and 1st Cor. 15: 54 – 57).
John MacArthur reminds his readers on this date in Strength for Today of the forceful pronouncement of this doctrine, which can also be found in the Book of Hebrews (e.g., see Hebrews 10: 10 – 14). And the Apostle Peter also hit hard with this point as well in 1st Peter 2: 24. And dear brothers or sisters in Christ, anytime God, the Holy Spirit, drives home a truth in this way, many times through multiple authors, we, who believe, ought to pay attention. However, sadly it pains me to see this truth ignored or overlooked by many whom I’m called to serve in ministry, where I deal with those mired in repetitive, habitual sin.
So many of these dear souls can’t seem to let go of their sin patterns, and they wallow in feelings identified by the Apostle Paul in Romans 7: 14 – 24, where he used himself to illustrate the humanity of sinfulness. But I believe that Paul did this, identifying his past struggles with sin, to help any believer to identify with such weakness; because he was laying a platform or foundation for the greatest victory treatise over sin in all of the New Testament … which is found in Romans 8.
I challenge you who read here to read and meditate on Romans 7: 14 – 24; and then read and internalize all of Romans 8. And when any Christian can believe and live in Romans 8, as opposed to Romans 7, he or she will be living the victory Christ has won for us by His death, resurrection, ascension, and re-glorification. Oh, my dear one, how I pray that we all can live in that victory.
My Prayer Today: With You, Lord, I live in victory! Amen
My Journal for Today: All good teachers know that redundancy is an effective teacher; and the Apostle Paul knew this as he drilled home an important point of Christian doctrine in today’s passage that he had made earlier in Romans, chapters 5 and 6. That point is the core doctrine that all believers in Christ’s victory over sin through His resurrection share in the victory He won over sin. And I will repeat this wondrous point as well. Christ shattered sin with His death on the cross and His resurrection; and those of us who truly believe this and have repented of our sin in faith, believing completely in Christ’s atonement at the moment of our conversion as Christians, now share in that victory (see Rom. 4: 25 and 1st Cor. 15: 54 – 57).
John MacArthur reminds his readers on this date in Strength for Today of the forceful pronouncement of this doctrine, which can also be found in the Book of Hebrews (e.g., see Hebrews 10: 10 – 14). And the Apostle Peter also hit hard with this point as well in 1st Peter 2: 24. And dear brothers or sisters in Christ, anytime God, the Holy Spirit, drives home a truth in this way, many times through multiple authors, we, who believe, ought to pay attention. However, sadly it pains me to see this truth ignored or overlooked by many whom I’m called to serve in ministry, where I deal with those mired in repetitive, habitual sin.
So many of these dear souls can’t seem to let go of their sin patterns, and they wallow in feelings identified by the Apostle Paul in Romans 7: 14 – 24, where he used himself to illustrate the humanity of sinfulness. But I believe that Paul did this, identifying his past struggles with sin, to help any believer to identify with such weakness; because he was laying a platform or foundation for the greatest victory treatise over sin in all of the New Testament … which is found in Romans 8.
I challenge you who read here to read and meditate on Romans 7: 14 – 24; and then read and internalize all of Romans 8. And when any Christian can believe and live in Romans 8, as opposed to Romans 7, he or she will be living the victory Christ has won for us by His death, resurrection, ascension, and re-glorification. Oh, my dear one, how I pray that we all can live in that victory.
My Prayer Today: With You, Lord, I live in victory! Amen
Friday, October 14, 2011
October 14, 2011 … Free From Sin
Passage of the Day: Romans 6: 6 - 7 [see highlighted verses in bold/underlined] … 5 If we have been united with Him [Christ] like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
My Journal for Today: In the last few days I’ve been reviewing truths written by a Spirit-inspired Apostle Paul in the 6th chapter of his prison epistle to believers in Rome in the 1st Century. He has written that true Christians become spiritually dead to sin and then are raised by their new birth [i.e., conversion] to live anew when as they choose to live in an ever growing relationship with Christ. As John MacArthur reminds his readers in Strength for Today, writing that some might argue that we Christians have a “type of spiritual split personality” with this battle continually raging in our souls between the old and new spiritual natures.
However, today’s passage (and others proclaiming the same truth in Galatians 2: 20 and Colossians 3: 9 – 10) negate that view. In Romans 6: 6 (above) Paul says that “ … the body of sin might be done away with.” This latter phrase, which can be translated “destroyed” (as in the NASB), is the Greek term “katargeo,” which actually could (and probably should) be interpreted that our sin nature is rendered inoperable when/if we, as believers, surrender the old being (i.e., the sin nature) to our new, more powerful, Spirit-driven being.
It’s like having a vehicle (i.e., the new life) with two distinct gears. Before salvation we only had one forward gear – the Satan gear. But now our life vehicle has a new gear – the Savior gear. Just like a car with two forward gears, we can choose which gear in which we drive – drive or overdrive; and when we choose overdrive, which is far more powerful at the speed of living than the natural drive gear, this latter gear must yield to the overdrive gear when overdrive is engaged. Overdrive takes over and the drive gear is no longer operating. And in overdrive the car is much more powerful, efficient, and effective than in the normal or natural drive gear.
And that’s the way life for the converted Christian has become. When we, as believers, choose to move out of Satan or self gear and into Savior gear, the old gear is rendered inoperable, yielding to the overdrive of Christlikeness. It’s not that the old gear is not there. It is. But our life vehicle will operate so much more powerfully and efficiently in the Savior gear than it can in the Satan gear. And when we choose to go into spiritual “overdrive,” putting Christ into control, we move ahead with direction and purpose that is far more effective than in the old gear, which will never work as effectively for God’s created purpose as can the new gear.
So, in which gear do you find yourself driving? How are you choosing to move forward in Christ’s overdrive? As for me, I choose to put my life vehicle into Savior gear … and goooooooooooo!!!
My Prayer Today: Help me, Lord, to always choose Your way! Amen
My Journal for Today: In the last few days I’ve been reviewing truths written by a Spirit-inspired Apostle Paul in the 6th chapter of his prison epistle to believers in Rome in the 1st Century. He has written that true Christians become spiritually dead to sin and then are raised by their new birth [i.e., conversion] to live anew when as they choose to live in an ever growing relationship with Christ. As John MacArthur reminds his readers in Strength for Today, writing that some might argue that we Christians have a “type of spiritual split personality” with this battle continually raging in our souls between the old and new spiritual natures.
However, today’s passage (and others proclaiming the same truth in Galatians 2: 20 and Colossians 3: 9 – 10) negate that view. In Romans 6: 6 (above) Paul says that “ … the body of sin might be done away with.” This latter phrase, which can be translated “destroyed” (as in the NASB), is the Greek term “katargeo,” which actually could (and probably should) be interpreted that our sin nature is rendered inoperable when/if we, as believers, surrender the old being (i.e., the sin nature) to our new, more powerful, Spirit-driven being.
It’s like having a vehicle (i.e., the new life) with two distinct gears. Before salvation we only had one forward gear – the Satan gear. But now our life vehicle has a new gear – the Savior gear. Just like a car with two forward gears, we can choose which gear in which we drive – drive or overdrive; and when we choose overdrive, which is far more powerful at the speed of living than the natural drive gear, this latter gear must yield to the overdrive gear when overdrive is engaged. Overdrive takes over and the drive gear is no longer operating. And in overdrive the car is much more powerful, efficient, and effective than in the normal or natural drive gear.
And that’s the way life for the converted Christian has become. When we, as believers, choose to move out of Satan or self gear and into Savior gear, the old gear is rendered inoperable, yielding to the overdrive of Christlikeness. It’s not that the old gear is not there. It is. But our life vehicle will operate so much more powerfully and efficiently in the Savior gear than it can in the Satan gear. And when we choose to go into spiritual “overdrive,” putting Christ into control, we move ahead with direction and purpose that is far more effective than in the old gear, which will never work as effectively for God’s created purpose as can the new gear.
So, in which gear do you find yourself driving? How are you choosing to move forward in Christ’s overdrive? As for me, I choose to put my life vehicle into Savior gear … and goooooooooooo!!!
My Prayer Today: Help me, Lord, to always choose Your way! Amen
Friday, September 16, 2011
September 16, 2011 … Filled with the Holy Spirit
Passage of the Day: Ephesians 5: 18b [see portion in bold and underlined below] … Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
My Journal for Today: If we, as Christians, are to live Spirit-controlled lives (i.e., to “walk in the Spirit”), we must be, as the Apostle Paul exhorted in today’s verse, “… filled with the Spirit.”
John MacArthur in his Strength for Today devotional for this date reminds his readers that the Greek concept of “filled with” from this passage is the word “pleroo,” which has three (3) shades of meaning in translation. One of these is the word picture of wind filling the sails of a sailboat and driving that boat toward its destination. This is a wonderful picture of what the Holy Spirit does for the Christian. When we surrender our ship to God’s Spirit, we turn our vessel of life into such an attitude as to allow God’s winds to fill our sails and drive us toward God’s destination (i.e., His will) for our lives … that of Christlikeness.
The second of the “pleroo” word pictures might be that of Alka-Seltzer tabs being dropped into water, totally changing the flavor and essence of the water into which it’s dropped. This is much like the transformation or “filling” [i.e., completion] that takes place in the soul/life of the believer when we receive the essence of God in His Spirit. After God, the Holy Spirit, is “dropped” into us by His grace and our surrendering to Him by our faith, we bubble and change over time; and others can taste and savor the flavor of that change as our lives are transformed into a new essence – again, that of Christlikeness. [see 2nd Cor. 5: 17]
And the final picture is one of a person yielding to the dominance of a higher power, as one might who obeys a higher authority in the military. It’s a total yielding of one’s behavior to the leading of a higher power. As MacArthur puts it, “In practice, the Spirit-filled walk is a matter of knowing God’s word and obeying it.” (see Colossians 3: 15) It’s a matter of yielding self to the ultimate authority of our Savior and letting His Spirit guide and lead us from His word (see Prov. 3: 5-6).
And using all three word pictures of “pleroo,” we can only be empowered, transformed, or guided when we are in complete SURRENDER MODE to God’s Spirit …i.e., “filled with” the Holy Spirit.
My Prayer Today: I am totally yours, Lord! Fill me! Amen
My Journal for Today: If we, as Christians, are to live Spirit-controlled lives (i.e., to “walk in the Spirit”), we must be, as the Apostle Paul exhorted in today’s verse, “… filled with the Spirit.”
John MacArthur in his Strength for Today devotional for this date reminds his readers that the Greek concept of “filled with” from this passage is the word “pleroo,” which has three (3) shades of meaning in translation. One of these is the word picture of wind filling the sails of a sailboat and driving that boat toward its destination. This is a wonderful picture of what the Holy Spirit does for the Christian. When we surrender our ship to God’s Spirit, we turn our vessel of life into such an attitude as to allow God’s winds to fill our sails and drive us toward God’s destination (i.e., His will) for our lives … that of Christlikeness.
The second of the “pleroo” word pictures might be that of Alka-Seltzer tabs being dropped into water, totally changing the flavor and essence of the water into which it’s dropped. This is much like the transformation or “filling” [i.e., completion] that takes place in the soul/life of the believer when we receive the essence of God in His Spirit. After God, the Holy Spirit, is “dropped” into us by His grace and our surrendering to Him by our faith, we bubble and change over time; and others can taste and savor the flavor of that change as our lives are transformed into a new essence – again, that of Christlikeness. [see 2nd Cor. 5: 17]
And the final picture is one of a person yielding to the dominance of a higher power, as one might who obeys a higher authority in the military. It’s a total yielding of one’s behavior to the leading of a higher power. As MacArthur puts it, “In practice, the Spirit-filled walk is a matter of knowing God’s word and obeying it.” (see Colossians 3: 15) It’s a matter of yielding self to the ultimate authority of our Savior and letting His Spirit guide and lead us from His word (see Prov. 3: 5-6).
And using all three word pictures of “pleroo,” we can only be empowered, transformed, or guided when we are in complete SURRENDER MODE to God’s Spirit …i.e., “filled with” the Holy Spirit.
My Prayer Today: I am totally yours, Lord! Fill me! Amen
Monday, September 12, 2011
September 12, 2011 … Focusing on Scripture and the Lord
Passage of the Day: Galatians 5: 16 … So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
My Journal for Today: All Christians know or learn that we will have to deal with the wiles of Satan and his system, the world, in our day-by-day walk with the Lord. However, probably our most dangerous spiritual enemy is found in today’s verse – “the desires of the sinful nature.” [In other translations, that phrase is translated, “… the desires of the flesh.”]
To counteract our personal anti-Christ desires, or even to deal with Satan and the world, Paul exhorts believers to “…live [or ‘walk’] by the Spirit.” That is strong rhetoric; but what does that command entail?
Well, John MacArthur in his Strength for Today devotional on this date posits that such a walk (or life) must first/foremost involve the daily intake, meditation, and yes, even the memorization of God’s word. Psalm 1: 2 says that the Godly man or woman delights in God’s word, “…meditating in it day and night.” And that was the same formula for spiritual prosperity and success given by God to Joshua as he was about to undertake the monumental task of taking God’s people across the Jordan and into the promised land (see Joshua 1: 8, which I really hope you have memorized). So, to follow MacArthur’s first premise, assuming all Christians desire to have spiritual success [i.e., to follow Christ’s mandate of Luke 9: 23], we must ask ourselves, “ Are we into God’s word with the consistency and with the intensity directed by God’s word itself?”
And the second point made by MacArthur in this regard concerns the seriousness or intensity of our commitment to live for God in God’s way; and MacArthur contends that we’ll never experience the full effect of the life-transforming ministry of God’s Spirit if we don’t CHOOSE to focus on God by becoming the “LIVING SACRIFICE” written about by Paul in Romans 12: 1 – 2 [and that is a memory verse which I really implore you have in your heart]. Our lives as Christians – which is our worship of our Lord - must become a 24/7 lifestyle of discipleship and worship in the Spirit (see also John 14: 23 – 24).
What God, the Holy Spirit, wants to do is to take our surrender and turn it into Christlikeness [see Phil. 1: 6]. So, what we have to decide is how much we want Him to do that!
My Prayer Today: I walk with You, precious Spirit. Transform me! Amen
My Journal for Today: All Christians know or learn that we will have to deal with the wiles of Satan and his system, the world, in our day-by-day walk with the Lord. However, probably our most dangerous spiritual enemy is found in today’s verse – “the desires of the sinful nature.” [In other translations, that phrase is translated, “… the desires of the flesh.”]
To counteract our personal anti-Christ desires, or even to deal with Satan and the world, Paul exhorts believers to “…live [or ‘walk’] by the Spirit.” That is strong rhetoric; but what does that command entail?
Well, John MacArthur in his Strength for Today devotional on this date posits that such a walk (or life) must first/foremost involve the daily intake, meditation, and yes, even the memorization of God’s word. Psalm 1: 2 says that the Godly man or woman delights in God’s word, “…meditating in it day and night.” And that was the same formula for spiritual prosperity and success given by God to Joshua as he was about to undertake the monumental task of taking God’s people across the Jordan and into the promised land (see Joshua 1: 8, which I really hope you have memorized). So, to follow MacArthur’s first premise, assuming all Christians desire to have spiritual success [i.e., to follow Christ’s mandate of Luke 9: 23], we must ask ourselves, “ Are we into God’s word with the consistency and with the intensity directed by God’s word itself?”
And the second point made by MacArthur in this regard concerns the seriousness or intensity of our commitment to live for God in God’s way; and MacArthur contends that we’ll never experience the full effect of the life-transforming ministry of God’s Spirit if we don’t CHOOSE to focus on God by becoming the “LIVING SACRIFICE” written about by Paul in Romans 12: 1 – 2 [and that is a memory verse which I really implore you have in your heart]. Our lives as Christians – which is our worship of our Lord - must become a 24/7 lifestyle of discipleship and worship in the Spirit (see also John 14: 23 – 24).
What God, the Holy Spirit, wants to do is to take our surrender and turn it into Christlikeness [see Phil. 1: 6]. So, what we have to decide is how much we want Him to do that!
My Prayer Today: I walk with You, precious Spirit. Transform me! Amen
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
September 6, 2011 … The Reality of the Promise
Passage of the Day: 1st Corinthians 12: 13 … For we were all baptized by [or “with”] one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
My Journal for Today: It has been over 2000 years since Pentecost. However, even today the most potent evidence of the reality of God’s Spirit is a unified and living Church where God is seen in the transformed lives of Christians coming together into the collectively fruitful ministry of the Body of Christ.
When one Christian is truly saved, we see that life metamorphose from a life lived for the flesh (see Gal. 5: 19 - 21) to one brimming with the fruit of the Spirit (see Gal. 5: 22 – 23). But when that life is joined into a collective body of believers, God’s Spirit is magnified and loosed into the world with the collective witness of many fruitful Christians, who become the river of living water written of in John 7: 37 – 39, … a torrent of God’s power working in an anti-God world. Many today try to find this kind of power in science, technology, politics, new-age pursuits, or far-eastern mysticism. However, as today’s passage declares, we really only find the evidence of God’s Spirit when we see Him in all of His presence and power working in a united and collectively surrendered church.
I have been privileged in my life to see this on display in my local church – Central Church in Collierville, TN – where God has transformed my life from one who was obsessively driven by sexual drives to an Elder and Ordained Minister in this body of believers. I could tell story upon story of God working through the life of our body of believers to help yours truly become what is described in 2nd Cor. 5: 17, “a new creation in Christ.” You’ll never be able to get this witness to deny what I’ve seen many times over when God’s people come together in what I call “surrender mode,” allowing God’s Spirit to be loosed in their collective and unified efforts for God’s glory.
Oh, I know that “the Church” collective is not perfect. There are many stories that can be told of churches splitting or becoming impotent in their outreach for Christ. However, in every one of those instances you can probably find a story similar to what caused the Church at Ephesus to fail (see Rev. 2: 4 - 5) by losing their “first love, which is ”… that singular, unified dedication to Christ and His great commission (see Matt. 28: 19 – 20). I pray that God’s Spirit flows in and trough your church in these days where God’s church is being surrounded and embattled by growing worldly evil.
But we should be uplifted by the promise of Jesus Himself, where He was teaching His disciples at Caesarea Philippi, and more specifically trying to show Peter, that once He [Jesus] builds His church with Himself as the cornerstone, the very powers of hell itself will not prevail against it (i.e., Christ’s Church) [see Matt. 16: 18].
My Prayer Today: Dear Lord, flow like a river through Your Church today. Amen
My Journal for Today: It has been over 2000 years since Pentecost. However, even today the most potent evidence of the reality of God’s Spirit is a unified and living Church where God is seen in the transformed lives of Christians coming together into the collectively fruitful ministry of the Body of Christ.
When one Christian is truly saved, we see that life metamorphose from a life lived for the flesh (see Gal. 5: 19 - 21) to one brimming with the fruit of the Spirit (see Gal. 5: 22 – 23). But when that life is joined into a collective body of believers, God’s Spirit is magnified and loosed into the world with the collective witness of many fruitful Christians, who become the river of living water written of in John 7: 37 – 39, … a torrent of God’s power working in an anti-God world. Many today try to find this kind of power in science, technology, politics, new-age pursuits, or far-eastern mysticism. However, as today’s passage declares, we really only find the evidence of God’s Spirit when we see Him in all of His presence and power working in a united and collectively surrendered church.
I have been privileged in my life to see this on display in my local church – Central Church in Collierville, TN – where God has transformed my life from one who was obsessively driven by sexual drives to an Elder and Ordained Minister in this body of believers. I could tell story upon story of God working through the life of our body of believers to help yours truly become what is described in 2nd Cor. 5: 17, “a new creation in Christ.” You’ll never be able to get this witness to deny what I’ve seen many times over when God’s people come together in what I call “surrender mode,” allowing God’s Spirit to be loosed in their collective and unified efforts for God’s glory.
Oh, I know that “the Church” collective is not perfect. There are many stories that can be told of churches splitting or becoming impotent in their outreach for Christ. However, in every one of those instances you can probably find a story similar to what caused the Church at Ephesus to fail (see Rev. 2: 4 - 5) by losing their “first love, which is ”… that singular, unified dedication to Christ and His great commission (see Matt. 28: 19 – 20). I pray that God’s Spirit flows in and trough your church in these days where God’s church is being surrounded and embattled by growing worldly evil.
But we should be uplifted by the promise of Jesus Himself, where He was teaching His disciples at Caesarea Philippi, and more specifically trying to show Peter, that once He [Jesus] builds His church with Himself as the cornerstone, the very powers of hell itself will not prevail against it (i.e., Christ’s Church) [see Matt. 16: 18].
My Prayer Today: Dear Lord, flow like a river through Your Church today. Amen
Saturday, September 03, 2011
September 3, 2011 … The Spirit of Transformation
Passage of the Day: 2nd Corinthians 3: 18 [see in bold] … 12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. 14 But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect [or “contemplate”] the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
My Journal for Today: Though today’s verse is from Paul’s teachings in 2nd Cor. 3: 18, and I give you the contextual passage from which it’s taken to help you understand the imagery of our being unveiled in God’s New Covenant so that we can be “transformed” into Christ’s likeness.
This transformation process, of course, is called sanctification, which is a progressively humbling and awakening experience in our lives life after conversion as a Christian. It is the process by which God, the Holy Spirit, reveals more and more of the reality of Christ in our being. It is the specter of growing newness also revealed by Paul in 2nd Cor. 5: 17. It is the opportunity we have, with God’s Spirit planted in our heart, to make choices which allow us to morph into Christlikeness. Now, … is that not wonderfully cool?!!
As Paul refers in today’s passage, it’s like looking at our reflection in God’s mirror of truth, which progressively reveals our unworthiness; and yet, at the same time, we see, excitedly (I hope for you as much as for me), more of what is wrought by the Spirit’s transforming grace as He molds and completes us into our predestined image of Christlikeness (see Romans 8: 29 and Phil. 1: 6). Just as in the allegory of The Ugly Duckling, one day (which will be in glory) our ugliness will be completely transformed into the beauty and full grace of the swan we desire to be and were created like in God’s image, and that image we are predestined to become … i.e., the image of Christ.
I hope it’s as exciting for you as it is for me, as I look into God’s mirror of truth (i.e., His word) day-by-day … to see more and more of Christ’s beauty being shaped into my countenance. The reshaping process is certainly not all that easy; but it most certainly is worth it! It’s as John wrote (see 1st John 3: 2), “ …now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known." Though we don’t exactly know what we’ll look like in our spirit-body (see 1st Cor. 15: 42 – 49), we do know that somehow it will reflect Christ’s image; and that’s good enough for me to have heightened hope in what God, the Holy Spirit, is doing in shaping my life – now and forevermore in this live – and the next.
How wonderful is the transforming power and grace of the Holy Spirit!
My Prayer Today: O Lord, shape me into Your image. Amen
My Journal for Today: Though today’s verse is from Paul’s teachings in 2nd Cor. 3: 18, and I give you the contextual passage from which it’s taken to help you understand the imagery of our being unveiled in God’s New Covenant so that we can be “transformed” into Christ’s likeness.
This transformation process, of course, is called sanctification, which is a progressively humbling and awakening experience in our lives life after conversion as a Christian. It is the process by which God, the Holy Spirit, reveals more and more of the reality of Christ in our being. It is the specter of growing newness also revealed by Paul in 2nd Cor. 5: 17. It is the opportunity we have, with God’s Spirit planted in our heart, to make choices which allow us to morph into Christlikeness. Now, … is that not wonderfully cool?!!
As Paul refers in today’s passage, it’s like looking at our reflection in God’s mirror of truth, which progressively reveals our unworthiness; and yet, at the same time, we see, excitedly (I hope for you as much as for me), more of what is wrought by the Spirit’s transforming grace as He molds and completes us into our predestined image of Christlikeness (see Romans 8: 29 and Phil. 1: 6). Just as in the allegory of The Ugly Duckling, one day (which will be in glory) our ugliness will be completely transformed into the beauty and full grace of the swan we desire to be and were created like in God’s image, and that image we are predestined to become … i.e., the image of Christ.
I hope it’s as exciting for you as it is for me, as I look into God’s mirror of truth (i.e., His word) day-by-day … to see more and more of Christ’s beauty being shaped into my countenance. The reshaping process is certainly not all that easy; but it most certainly is worth it! It’s as John wrote (see 1st John 3: 2), “ …now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known." Though we don’t exactly know what we’ll look like in our spirit-body (see 1st Cor. 15: 42 – 49), we do know that somehow it will reflect Christ’s image; and that’s good enough for me to have heightened hope in what God, the Holy Spirit, is doing in shaping my life – now and forevermore in this live – and the next.
How wonderful is the transforming power and grace of the Holy Spirit!
My Prayer Today: O Lord, shape me into Your image. Amen
Sunday, July 10, 2011
July 10, 2011 … Fellowship With God
Passage of the Day: 1st John 1: 3 … We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
My Journal for Today: It is always uplifting and encouraging for me to hear the testimonies of Christians – genuine Christians – who have had a conversion experience later in life. Not that early conversion testimonies are not pertinent or of interest; but maybe I identify with the former because my testimony is one of those where my life was turned around in 1983 at age 39 … from an angry “agnostic” [as I labeled myself – probably closer to “atheist” in reality] … to a seeking saint; … and from a desperate “lostling” [I know that’s not a word ;)] to a determined “foundling.” Testimonies, like mine, tell of a radical change of the heart, mind, and actions, … changes that come from a new and intimate relationship with the living Christ.
It is the reality of Galatians 2: 20 (a verse that I’d certainly exhort you to have memorized). It is the beginnings of the 2nd Corinthians 5: 17 process of transformation. It is the story of an Apostle Paul, who was a personal witness of the transformation that he later wrote about in Romans 12: 1 - 2 (and this is one passage you simply have to have memorized!), where he was changed from Christ-hater to a “living sacrifice” for Christ. [You should have all of these three scriptures deeply imbedded in your heart; so, I won’t dwell on an explanation from them here. If you don’t have these verses memorized in context, pardon me for sounding a bit like a Marine drill-sergeant; but a little digging on your part will be in order.]
However, testimonies of lives changed, such as mine or the Apostle Paul’s, become strong subjective evidence of the objective truth of a deep and abiding fellowship true believers who experience life transformation with their Savior/Lord. And it is strong evidence that should contribute to our assurance that salvation is a real and lasting truth when conversion in Christ truly occurs. Anyone who has seen the change in Bill Berry after April of 1983 would have to say that this change was way beyond the human norm for behavioral change – from angry agnostic, steeped in habitual sexual sin with a change to my current life as an Elder and Ordained Minister of the Gospel. Who, but God, could orchestrate such a change? What better assurance could there be that salvation is real … and lasting?
Today’s passage is the first of the eleven criteria the Apostle John presents; and John MacArthur asks his readers on this date, in Strength for Today, if they have experienced the deep/abiding fellowship (or “communion”) to which the Apostle John refers in 1st John 1: 3. So, I ask you, “Have you, as I have, felt God’s presence in your life in a deep way, … perhaps in tough circumstances where you knew that your strength was not enough to make it through “the storm?” Have you been touched by the excitement of a revelation from God’s word that was very personal to you and your circumstances in life? If so, then you have been given, as John teaches in today’s verse, an intimate and very personal confirmation of your salvation. No one can take that away from you; and it is the first, and best, assurance that you are truly saved.
My Prayer Today: O, Lord, I am blessed by your closeness. Amen
My Journal for Today: It is always uplifting and encouraging for me to hear the testimonies of Christians – genuine Christians – who have had a conversion experience later in life. Not that early conversion testimonies are not pertinent or of interest; but maybe I identify with the former because my testimony is one of those where my life was turned around in 1983 at age 39 … from an angry “agnostic” [as I labeled myself – probably closer to “atheist” in reality] … to a seeking saint; … and from a desperate “lostling” [I know that’s not a word ;)] to a determined “foundling.” Testimonies, like mine, tell of a radical change of the heart, mind, and actions, … changes that come from a new and intimate relationship with the living Christ.
It is the reality of Galatians 2: 20 (a verse that I’d certainly exhort you to have memorized). It is the beginnings of the 2nd Corinthians 5: 17 process of transformation. It is the story of an Apostle Paul, who was a personal witness of the transformation that he later wrote about in Romans 12: 1 - 2 (and this is one passage you simply have to have memorized!), where he was changed from Christ-hater to a “living sacrifice” for Christ. [You should have all of these three scriptures deeply imbedded in your heart; so, I won’t dwell on an explanation from them here. If you don’t have these verses memorized in context, pardon me for sounding a bit like a Marine drill-sergeant; but a little digging on your part will be in order.]
However, testimonies of lives changed, such as mine or the Apostle Paul’s, become strong subjective evidence of the objective truth of a deep and abiding fellowship true believers who experience life transformation with their Savior/Lord. And it is strong evidence that should contribute to our assurance that salvation is a real and lasting truth when conversion in Christ truly occurs. Anyone who has seen the change in Bill Berry after April of 1983 would have to say that this change was way beyond the human norm for behavioral change – from angry agnostic, steeped in habitual sexual sin with a change to my current life as an Elder and Ordained Minister of the Gospel. Who, but God, could orchestrate such a change? What better assurance could there be that salvation is real … and lasting?
Today’s passage is the first of the eleven criteria the Apostle John presents; and John MacArthur asks his readers on this date, in Strength for Today, if they have experienced the deep/abiding fellowship (or “communion”) to which the Apostle John refers in 1st John 1: 3. So, I ask you, “Have you, as I have, felt God’s presence in your life in a deep way, … perhaps in tough circumstances where you knew that your strength was not enough to make it through “the storm?” Have you been touched by the excitement of a revelation from God’s word that was very personal to you and your circumstances in life? If so, then you have been given, as John teaches in today’s verse, an intimate and very personal confirmation of your salvation. No one can take that away from you; and it is the first, and best, assurance that you are truly saved.
My Prayer Today: O, Lord, I am blessed by your closeness. Amen
Saturday, April 23, 2011
April 23, 2011 … A Special Testimony
Passage of the Day: 1st Corinthians 15: 3 - 8 … [see underlined verse in context] 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that He appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 … and last of all He appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
My Journal for Today: Paul’s eye-witness testimony to seeing the risen Christ allows Paul to be set apart as unto the office of “Apostle.” Prior to today’s highlight verse 8, in the context of 1st Cor. 15: 3 – 7, Paul writes of many other eye-witnesses to Jesus after His resurrection and before He ascended into heaven. However, Paul’s testimony of post-resurrection contact with Jesus was/is unique. His witness of Christ’s bodily appearance was the only such post-ascension contact recorded in the NT; and the event totally and radically transformed the former Saul of Tarsus, yielding the Apostle Paul, who would become Christendom’s preeminent outreach missionary to the Gentiles of the first century. Paul’s experience was a metamorphosis of character and witness which most certainly confirms his claim to the office of Apostleship.
As one can read in biblical and historical accounts, Paul first gave witness in his testimony to his former sinful life as a persecutor of Christians. Next, we all can read of him being transformed from a selfish Christian-hater into a selfless purveyor of God’s love, … one who was willing to endure horrible agony in his witness and ministry for Christ (read about Paul’s trials in 2nd Cor. 11). And finally Paul was totally changed, from one who wanted Christians killed into one who zealously desired to see all non-believers, even Gentiles, come to salvation in Christ (see Rom. 1: 16).
And may I say as humbly as I can, I identify with Paul’s metamorphosis. I, too, had a “Damascus Road” experience in my life where God brought me down from my anti-Christian attitude. No, Christ didn’t appear bodily to me as He did for Paul. Hence, I certainly have no claim to the office of “Apostle.” However, God’s Spirit and His prevenient grace did bring me down from my lofty perch of pridefulness to a humble place where I could respond to the life-transforming power of His Spirit. And like Paul, I was changed from persecutor to promoter of the Gospel. I, too, found the truth and reality of Paul’s writing in Rom. 12: 1 – 2…
SCRIPTURE: Romans 12: 1-2 ... Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Paul’s life and witness, as does mine, provides strong evidence for the life-changing power of Christ’s resurrection. And I can only pray that any who read this have surrendered to His saving grace as well as having experienced the fruit of God’s Spirit through His sanctifying grace. Tomorrow, this year, is the day we celebrate the risen Lord, Easter. I pray it will be the true day for you to celebrate having God’s resurrection power changing your life as promised in Phil. 1: 6.
Celebrate with me the truth >>> HE IS RISEN … HE IS RISEN INDEED!!!
My Prayer Today: I am one, Lord, who was changed by Your grace; and I praise Your Holy Name! Amen
Sunday, February 13, 2011
February 13, 2011 … Evidence of God’s Power
Passage of the Day: Ephesians 1: 18 – 19 … 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and His incomparably great power for us who believe.
My Journal for Today: How does one grasp the awesome power of God? In an abstract way, my mind will never be able to fully comprehend God’s omnipotence. However, in a personal way I can build an appreciation for God’s power into my faith.
First there is creation. I just look around and will always marvel at what God spoke into reality with no effort … merely a word (see Psalm 33: 6) …
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 33: 6 … By the Word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth.
Further, I think of how God, the Son, has preserved all that He created; and all He created is for the glory of His Father. [Hebrews 1: 3] …
SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 1: 3 … The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word.
Then my appreciation for God’s wondrous power gets very personal as I contemplate the Cross, where all mankind, including yours truly, were redeemed for eternity, … where sin/death were defeated, and where the Gospel becomes the power of God to salvation for all who believe in Christ’s omnipotent power to save. (see Romans 1: 16 – look this one up for yourself and meditate on it … and, if convicted, memorize it!)
This is God’s power, which I have experienced personally; so, I know it’s real … the power to bring me from my old bondage in sin to a new life when His power allows me to walk more and more in His likeness.
Not too long ago, in an online blog, I was challenged by a rather cynical atheist to prove there was a "god" by giving him evidence. I related to him that the only evidence I needed to KNOW that there was a very personal God was my own life and the change which God has wrought in my life. So, I gave him my testimony. ... I didn’t really think my witness was going to convince this hardened non-believer; and it didn’t. But the important thing – for me – was that I am convinced. I pray that you are too.
Read and meditate on 2nd Cor. 5: 17 and Phil. 1: 6; and you should know that God’s power is awesome … and that He can take one such as I was (before my conversion) and bring me to the place where I am as I write this.
SCRIPTURE: 2nd Cor. 5: 17 … Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
SCRIPTURE: Phil. 1: 6 … being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
The very power that God used to speak the universe into existence, … the very power He used to sustain it all for His glory, … the very power that God’s Son loosed in love to save mankind on the cross, … the very power that raised our Lord from His grave, … is the power which, when applied to my life, has brought about a total transformation of my soul and henceforth, my choices, habits, and living. So, with that realized and said, I declare that I have no trouble believing in and worshipping the awesome, omnipotent power of my God. And to think … all that power I have in my relationship with my Savior, Jesus Christ.
My Prayer Today: All power is mine in You, Lord. Amen
My Journal for Today: How does one grasp the awesome power of God? In an abstract way, my mind will never be able to fully comprehend God’s omnipotence. However, in a personal way I can build an appreciation for God’s power into my faith.
First there is creation. I just look around and will always marvel at what God spoke into reality with no effort … merely a word (see Psalm 33: 6) …
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 33: 6 … By the Word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth.
Further, I think of how God, the Son, has preserved all that He created; and all He created is for the glory of His Father. [Hebrews 1: 3] …
SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 1: 3 … The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word.
Then my appreciation for God’s wondrous power gets very personal as I contemplate the Cross, where all mankind, including yours truly, were redeemed for eternity, … where sin/death were defeated, and where the Gospel becomes the power of God to salvation for all who believe in Christ’s omnipotent power to save. (see Romans 1: 16 – look this one up for yourself and meditate on it … and, if convicted, memorize it!)
This is God’s power, which I have experienced personally; so, I know it’s real … the power to bring me from my old bondage in sin to a new life when His power allows me to walk more and more in His likeness.
Not too long ago, in an online blog, I was challenged by a rather cynical atheist to prove there was a "god" by giving him evidence. I related to him that the only evidence I needed to KNOW that there was a very personal God was my own life and the change which God has wrought in my life. So, I gave him my testimony. ... I didn’t really think my witness was going to convince this hardened non-believer; and it didn’t. But the important thing – for me – was that I am convinced. I pray that you are too.
Read and meditate on 2nd Cor. 5: 17 and Phil. 1: 6; and you should know that God’s power is awesome … and that He can take one such as I was (before my conversion) and bring me to the place where I am as I write this.
SCRIPTURE: 2nd Cor. 5: 17 … Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
SCRIPTURE: Phil. 1: 6 … being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
The very power that God used to speak the universe into existence, … the very power He used to sustain it all for His glory, … the very power that God’s Son loosed in love to save mankind on the cross, … the very power that raised our Lord from His grave, … is the power which, when applied to my life, has brought about a total transformation of my soul and henceforth, my choices, habits, and living. So, with that realized and said, I declare that I have no trouble believing in and worshipping the awesome, omnipotent power of my God. And to think … all that power I have in my relationship with my Savior, Jesus Christ.
My Prayer Today: All power is mine in You, Lord. Amen
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
2010 – November 23 – Radical Transformation
Study from God’s Word… Acts, Chapters 8 & 9, Luke writing of the entrance of Saul, who became the Apostle Paul … Passage for Reflection: Acts 9: 3 – 4 … NIV 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
My Journal for Today: The description of Saul’s conversion in Acts 9 has wrought an descriptive phrase in both Christian and secular expression, which we know of as “the Damascus road experience.” It refers to someone having a radical transformation of character, generally from something evil or malevolent to one who is obviously good for the world in some way. And for most Christians it means going, radically and dramatically, from sinner to saint.
I had one of those “Damascus road experiences” on April 13, 1983; and it would take too long to write about it here; but the experience and my sense of brokenness and change that day led me from being a self-absorbed, sin-driven atheist to what I’ve become, … an Elder in my church and an ordained Minister of the Gospel. My wife says that I went from a selfish sex addict to a compulsive Savior addict. She likes the latter better! ;>)
Only God could have wrought such a radical transformation. So, when I read about Saul becoming Paul, I have great empathy and understanding for the life transforming story of this persecutor of Christians who became the powerful protector of the Gospel of Christ.
But perhaps you have not had a “Damascus Road Experience;” and maybe you wonder if it takes such an experience to move from sinner to saint and become a born-again believer … a true Christian in every sense of your being. But, my friend, I hope you realize that it doesn’t take a vision of The Christ or some blindness to seeing episode in your life to be a transformed and born-again Christian. No, you may be one whose transformation began early in your life and you were much more slowly and steadily re-shaped to conform to Christ’s image.
My Pastor, in the church where we served as co-Elders, truly believes he was “saved” when he was five years old; and his growth in faith was slow and had some radical ups-and-downs. But in his case, and maybe yours, there was a transformation and maturing of the fruit of the Spirit (see Gal. 5: 22-23), which has led to fruitfulness in his called ministry.
But you may ask, “Well, does one have to be transformed into a Minister, an Elder, a Missionary or be called to lead some Christian ministry to see the transformation of conversion and growth in Christian discipleship?” And the answer to that one is also a resounding “NO!” What it takes was described in a powerful biblical nutshell by the same Saul, who became Paul, in Romans 12: 1 – 2; and let me embolden that passage in italics for you – though I hope you know it from memory:
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
One, like me who is wordy, could write or teach on that passage for weeks; and some have. But it all boils down to being transformed into a state of mind, as a Christian, of “living sacrifice;” and doing all we can intentionally to allow God to reshape us into His image, avoiding being transformed into the world’s image. If you have done that, …no matter how dramatically or slowly it has taken you, you are becoming the Christian God intends for you to be. It is the completion process Paul also wrote about in Philippians 1: 6, where God authored, … He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
But if you’re reading this and have doubts about your salvation or the conversion/transformation from non-Christian to one who is truly born-again, go read and study the letter from another great Apostle in the epistle we know of as 1st John. That whole letter was written to Christians to help them KNOW, beyond any doubt, that they are saved and “born-again” as Christians [see the purpose statement of the letter from John to the church in 1st John 5: 13 - linked here. Studying that letter will help you seal your status as a Christian and you can move on to be reshaped in Christ’s image.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, make over – completely – into Your image. Amen
My Journal for Today: The description of Saul’s conversion in Acts 9 has wrought an descriptive phrase in both Christian and secular expression, which we know of as “the Damascus road experience.” It refers to someone having a radical transformation of character, generally from something evil or malevolent to one who is obviously good for the world in some way. And for most Christians it means going, radically and dramatically, from sinner to saint.
I had one of those “Damascus road experiences” on April 13, 1983; and it would take too long to write about it here; but the experience and my sense of brokenness and change that day led me from being a self-absorbed, sin-driven atheist to what I’ve become, … an Elder in my church and an ordained Minister of the Gospel. My wife says that I went from a selfish sex addict to a compulsive Savior addict. She likes the latter better! ;>)
Only God could have wrought such a radical transformation. So, when I read about Saul becoming Paul, I have great empathy and understanding for the life transforming story of this persecutor of Christians who became the powerful protector of the Gospel of Christ.
But perhaps you have not had a “Damascus Road Experience;” and maybe you wonder if it takes such an experience to move from sinner to saint and become a born-again believer … a true Christian in every sense of your being. But, my friend, I hope you realize that it doesn’t take a vision of The Christ or some blindness to seeing episode in your life to be a transformed and born-again Christian. No, you may be one whose transformation began early in your life and you were much more slowly and steadily re-shaped to conform to Christ’s image.
My Pastor, in the church where we served as co-Elders, truly believes he was “saved” when he was five years old; and his growth in faith was slow and had some radical ups-and-downs. But in his case, and maybe yours, there was a transformation and maturing of the fruit of the Spirit (see Gal. 5: 22-23), which has led to fruitfulness in his called ministry.
But you may ask, “Well, does one have to be transformed into a Minister, an Elder, a Missionary or be called to lead some Christian ministry to see the transformation of conversion and growth in Christian discipleship?” And the answer to that one is also a resounding “NO!” What it takes was described in a powerful biblical nutshell by the same Saul, who became Paul, in Romans 12: 1 – 2; and let me embolden that passage in italics for you – though I hope you know it from memory:
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
One, like me who is wordy, could write or teach on that passage for weeks; and some have. But it all boils down to being transformed into a state of mind, as a Christian, of “living sacrifice;” and doing all we can intentionally to allow God to reshape us into His image, avoiding being transformed into the world’s image. If you have done that, …no matter how dramatically or slowly it has taken you, you are becoming the Christian God intends for you to be. It is the completion process Paul also wrote about in Philippians 1: 6, where God authored, … He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
But if you’re reading this and have doubts about your salvation or the conversion/transformation from non-Christian to one who is truly born-again, go read and study the letter from another great Apostle in the epistle we know of as 1st John. That whole letter was written to Christians to help them KNOW, beyond any doubt, that they are saved and “born-again” as Christians [see the purpose statement of the letter from John to the church in 1st John 5: 13 - linked here. Studying that letter will help you seal your status as a Christian and you can move on to be reshaped in Christ’s image.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, make over – completely – into Your image. Amen
Friday, October 16, 2009
2009 – Day 288.Oct 16 – A Desert Retreat
Passage of the Day: Devotional focus on Acts 9: 20 - 25 … Acts 9 linked for study …
2nd Passage for Study: Devotional focus on Galatians 1: 1 – 11 … Galatians 1 linked for study …
My Journal for Today: We know that Paul, the converted Apostle, spent about three years in the deserts of Asia-Minor, somewhere around Galatia, being prepared by God for the Ministry unto which he was called. It was there that this converted Jewish zealot really became a changed Christian missionary; and God, the Holy Spirit, along with Paul’s prodigious knowledge of Hebrew Scripture, transformed the theology and spiritual outlook of this man of God, morphing him into a truly Godly man.
Paul had to learn to examine all the theological and traditional teachings of his former teachers, like Gamaliel; and he had to surrender to the teachings of God’s Spirit thru the study of His word on such topics as God’s sovereignty, election, man’s depravity, and above all the divinity of Christ. But this brings up a very salient point. It’s difficult for us to be all we can be as Christians, … called as we are by the Great Commission (see Matt. 28: 19 – 20) or by God’s call to witness in His Name (see Acts 1: 8). Yes, it’s difficult to be these witnesses we are all called to be unless we understand and have a grasp on sound Christian doctrine.
There’s a reason why most young Christians, who have a calling into Christian ministry, go off by tradition/practice (usually to some accredited school) and learn about God’s truth in the way it’s preached and taught in God’s word, even studying the ancient languages of Hebrew and Greek so that these young Christians can become more Godly ministers or missionaries of the Gospel. The question becomes: “How well versed are most of us in God’s truth so that we can be effective witnesses for the Gospel in our lives?”
Personally I think there is much doctrinal and biblical illiteracy in the Christian church today; and many of those who call our selves “Christians” are not as well versed as we should be in the basics of the Bible so that we can effectively be able to witness for our about God’s truth.
Am I saying that all Christians should go off into the desert and get their Christian doctrine straight? Or should we become a monk for a number of years, as did Martin Luther, to understand the intricacies of Scripture? Or does the Christian life demand two or three years of Seminary to get what we need in foundational doctrine to be a witness for Christ? … Absolutely not!
However, I am saying that many of us need more foundation when it comes to Biblical doctrine so that we can stand and be witnesses for our Lord in a world that is becoming increasingly hostile to Christianity.
No, I don’t need to become an Apostle Paul or a Martin Luther; but I do need to be a Bill Berry who understands the Bible well enough to make sound, Godly decisions. I do need to be able to know enough scripture to be able to reject heretical teaching, like that put forth by crack-pot televangelists who are teaching a lot of the spiritual garbage found on so-called “christian” TV these days. It’s frightening to think how people like Oprah Winfrey and others are having so much influence over Christians when what they are putting forth are lies from the pit of hell. But Christians are buying in to many of those lies because they simply don’t know enough truth from God’s word to be able to recognize when Oprah is telling them a lie.
Here’s my bottom line today. Paul is an example of how God, the Holy Spirit, can transform the mind and heart of a Christian; but Paul had to do his due diligence to study and learn sound, foundational Christian doctrine; and so do we, my dear Christian friend! We need to be studying the world of God from trustworthy Christians teachers enough so that we can decipher the will of God and walk in the ways of God. I can only pray that we’re doing that.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, God … precious Holy Spirit, teach me in Your ways and make Your will clear from Your word. Amen
2nd Passage for Study: Devotional focus on Galatians 1: 1 – 11 … Galatians 1 linked for study …
My Journal for Today: We know that Paul, the converted Apostle, spent about three years in the deserts of Asia-Minor, somewhere around Galatia, being prepared by God for the Ministry unto which he was called. It was there that this converted Jewish zealot really became a changed Christian missionary; and God, the Holy Spirit, along with Paul’s prodigious knowledge of Hebrew Scripture, transformed the theology and spiritual outlook of this man of God, morphing him into a truly Godly man.
Paul had to learn to examine all the theological and traditional teachings of his former teachers, like Gamaliel; and he had to surrender to the teachings of God’s Spirit thru the study of His word on such topics as God’s sovereignty, election, man’s depravity, and above all the divinity of Christ. But this brings up a very salient point. It’s difficult for us to be all we can be as Christians, … called as we are by the Great Commission (see Matt. 28: 19 – 20) or by God’s call to witness in His Name (see Acts 1: 8). Yes, it’s difficult to be these witnesses we are all called to be unless we understand and have a grasp on sound Christian doctrine.
There’s a reason why most young Christians, who have a calling into Christian ministry, go off by tradition/practice (usually to some accredited school) and learn about God’s truth in the way it’s preached and taught in God’s word, even studying the ancient languages of Hebrew and Greek so that these young Christians can become more Godly ministers or missionaries of the Gospel. The question becomes: “How well versed are most of us in God’s truth so that we can be effective witnesses for the Gospel in our lives?”
Personally I think there is much doctrinal and biblical illiteracy in the Christian church today; and many of those who call our selves “Christians” are not as well versed as we should be in the basics of the Bible so that we can effectively be able to witness for our about God’s truth.
Am I saying that all Christians should go off into the desert and get their Christian doctrine straight? Or should we become a monk for a number of years, as did Martin Luther, to understand the intricacies of Scripture? Or does the Christian life demand two or three years of Seminary to get what we need in foundational doctrine to be a witness for Christ? … Absolutely not!
However, I am saying that many of us need more foundation when it comes to Biblical doctrine so that we can stand and be witnesses for our Lord in a world that is becoming increasingly hostile to Christianity.
No, I don’t need to become an Apostle Paul or a Martin Luther; but I do need to be a Bill Berry who understands the Bible well enough to make sound, Godly decisions. I do need to be able to know enough scripture to be able to reject heretical teaching, like that put forth by crack-pot televangelists who are teaching a lot of the spiritual garbage found on so-called “christian” TV these days. It’s frightening to think how people like Oprah Winfrey and others are having so much influence over Christians when what they are putting forth are lies from the pit of hell. But Christians are buying in to many of those lies because they simply don’t know enough truth from God’s word to be able to recognize when Oprah is telling them a lie.
Here’s my bottom line today. Paul is an example of how God, the Holy Spirit, can transform the mind and heart of a Christian; but Paul had to do his due diligence to study and learn sound, foundational Christian doctrine; and so do we, my dear Christian friend! We need to be studying the world of God from trustworthy Christians teachers enough so that we can decipher the will of God and walk in the ways of God. I can only pray that we’re doing that.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, God … precious Holy Spirit, teach me in Your ways and make Your will clear from Your word. Amen
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
2009 – Day 287.Oct 15 – A Forgotten Hero
Passage of the Day: Devotional focus on Acts 9: 20 - 25 … Acts 9 linked for study …
My Journal for Today: Hopefully, as we read about the Saul – to – Paul conversion and transformation, we’ll never forget that it was the faith, obedience, and courage of Ananias which triggered all we read in Acts 9: 20 – 25. So, with that said and recognized, we turn to what the faith of this Prophet produced. It was the Apostle Paul preaching Christ like no one had ever heard The Messiah preached to that day.
Can we grasp the scene? Here this former Sanhedrin hit-man was taking the pulpit of the Temple and giving the people sermons like they had not heard before. He was “proving” from the Old Testament texts that Christ was Whom He said He was, … the Son of God. And that word “proving” from Acts 9: 22 in the Greek is “symbibazo,” which means that Paul put his words together so skillfully that the people could not deny that Christ was, in truth, the son of God. And all these words were coming from the mouth of the man who had imprisoned and killed Christian Jews just days before. And to see and hear this, the people were astounded, amazed; but excitedly so. The Greek word used to describe their astonishment, which is found in Acts 9: 21 is “existemi,” from which we get our word “ecstatic.”
So, what we read in this passage is God’s ability to bring about scenarios which dumb-found the non-believer and open the eyes of the lost who’ve become blinded by their own selfishness. I think about the wall of communism which came falling down in a matter of days or weeks after so many years being built up by mankind to protect Godless communism. In my lifetime I never thought I’d see the effective elimination of the Soviet empire; but I did because God desired it take place. And when it happened, it dumb-founded us all, causing many thousands of godless atheists to take note of God at work.
And do you think it’s possible to see a revival the likes of which is described in 2nd Chronicles 7: 14 - linked here for your review? Well, God says it can and will take place if those called by His Name, i.e., Christians, will humble ourselves and pray and turn from our wicked ways. For how long do we need to do this; and how many will it take? That I don’t know; but I most definitely believe it will happen if we follow that formula. If God can take one former Christian hater and transform the world with him; we can be a party to revival in this world with our humility, prayers, and transformed lives.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, may revival begin with my heart, Lord. Amen
My Journal for Today: Hopefully, as we read about the Saul – to – Paul conversion and transformation, we’ll never forget that it was the faith, obedience, and courage of Ananias which triggered all we read in Acts 9: 20 – 25. So, with that said and recognized, we turn to what the faith of this Prophet produced. It was the Apostle Paul preaching Christ like no one had ever heard The Messiah preached to that day.
Can we grasp the scene? Here this former Sanhedrin hit-man was taking the pulpit of the Temple and giving the people sermons like they had not heard before. He was “proving” from the Old Testament texts that Christ was Whom He said He was, … the Son of God. And that word “proving” from Acts 9: 22 in the Greek is “symbibazo,” which means that Paul put his words together so skillfully that the people could not deny that Christ was, in truth, the son of God. And all these words were coming from the mouth of the man who had imprisoned and killed Christian Jews just days before. And to see and hear this, the people were astounded, amazed; but excitedly so. The Greek word used to describe their astonishment, which is found in Acts 9: 21 is “existemi,” from which we get our word “ecstatic.”
So, what we read in this passage is God’s ability to bring about scenarios which dumb-found the non-believer and open the eyes of the lost who’ve become blinded by their own selfishness. I think about the wall of communism which came falling down in a matter of days or weeks after so many years being built up by mankind to protect Godless communism. In my lifetime I never thought I’d see the effective elimination of the Soviet empire; but I did because God desired it take place. And when it happened, it dumb-founded us all, causing many thousands of godless atheists to take note of God at work.
And do you think it’s possible to see a revival the likes of which is described in 2nd Chronicles 7: 14 - linked here for your review? Well, God says it can and will take place if those called by His Name, i.e., Christians, will humble ourselves and pray and turn from our wicked ways. For how long do we need to do this; and how many will it take? That I don’t know; but I most definitely believe it will happen if we follow that formula. If God can take one former Christian hater and transform the world with him; we can be a party to revival in this world with our humility, prayers, and transformed lives.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, may revival begin with my heart, Lord. Amen
Saturday, January 24, 2009
2009 - Day 24 - A Vertical Focus
January 24, 2009 … Swindoll’s Topic for Today: A Vertical Focus
Passage of the Day: Genesis 43: 13 – 15 … [see focus passage in bold] ... 11 And their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best fruits of the land in your vessels and carry down a present for the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. 12 Take double money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight. 13 Take your brother also, and arise, go back to the man. 14 And may God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!” … 15 So the men took that present and Benjamin, and they took double money in their hand, and arose and went down to Egypt; and they stood before Joseph.
My Journal for Today: When I read this passage and meditated on it a bit before reading Swindoll’s devotional, I actually was struck by the same thing which Swindoll used as a teaching vehicle in his book today. We both apparently wondered what happened on that long trip back to Pharaoh which the 10 brothers had to take. In the passage, we are brought, through the author’s writing, directly from Jacob’s charge to Pharaoh’s court; but there was that long caravan back; and the men had a lot of time to contemplate, to commiserate, and to discuss what was going to transpire.
Yes, Jacob (“Israel”) had expressed the hope that “El Shaddai,” (Hebrew for “God Almighty”) would give his boys mercy; but did the 10 sons really contemplate that; or did they do what is the most likely human reaction as they traveled to Egypt … to contemplate, in fear, the worst which could happen? Certainly most of us, when we’re presented with the choice to think negatively or positively, will gravitate toward the negative. And in doing this we gravitate into horizontal thinking. At least for a moment, when his boys departed for Egypt, Jacob forced out a vertical perspective, hoping that God Almighty would intervene and give his boys mercy. But it is likely, as his boys traveled to Egypt, that there was a lot of horizontal thinking going on.
Today, Swindoll uses this scenario to teach the reality that it’s not easy to move from horizontal thinking to a vertical perspective on life. It’s like trying to get rid of a deeply embedded bad habit; and we know that habits don’t just change automatically. It takes intentionality and discipline. It takes at least a moment of reflection; … then it takes acknowledgment of the need for change; … and then there is a commitment to move from one pattern of life to another … followed by proactive planning; … and finally, there is the rigorous discipline to think or do something for long enough to replace one habit with another. This is not a finger-snap moment in life. It takes time.
In this case, it would have been NATURAL for Joseph’s brother to dwell in the negative – or horizontal thinking – all the way back from Canaan to Egypt. But Swindoll speculates and teaches what it would have taken for the brothers to change on the way back. Chuck speculates that it would take a three step process, if these brothers were to move from negative to positive on their journey. And the first of these steps is to "recognize and admit [the] negative mentality.”
As Swindoll points out, much of the cure and change of a course-correction in life comes in recognition, ownership, and confession … as well as an honest admission of the need to change. I don’t know about Joseph’s brothers, but unless they were able to reflect on their past mistakes and admit their sins, these dudes were not going to come before the Prime Minister of Egypt with the right, vertical perspective on life. It takes a commitment to change … to change. And that begins with the reality and vulnerability to admit failing and to seek a surrendered will, allowing God (our vertical thoughts) to do business with our heart and to transform our lives. And that is the tough process of decision which must lead to discipline.
Swindoll’s second point in this process is that we must … “force a vertical focus until it begins to flow freely.” I once had a friend, a leader in business, who often used to say, “Fake it until you make it.” When we recognize and acknowledge that our past patterns need to change, we’re insane if we expect a change to occur by doing the same things we have done in the past. It takes change to change. We have to intentionally do something different and keep doing it long enough for a new pattern, hopefully a successful one, to become a part of our choices and actions. And beginning that process takes repentance – i.e, the willingness to turn from one direction to another. And that’s not an easy thing to do. I’ve heard it said that it takes 80% of a rocket’s fuel to get that rocket just a few feet off of the launching pad. And for Joseph’s brothers to change from horizontally directed fear to vertically directed faith would take a decision on their part … a decision which would not be easy given their horizontal and very human past.
Finally, Swindoll posits that the process of habit change will more likely happen if we don’t demand too much of ourselves at the outset. He says, “Stay open to a new idea (or behavior) for at least five minutes.” What he means is that choosing a new direction (i.e., true repentance) may be too much to ask of our will power for even a full day in the beginning; but it’s not too much to ask for our minds to handle five minutes at a time.
Years ago, when my mentor realized that I did not have a disciplined, daily devotional life, he asked me if I might be willing to commit to ten minutes a day for a morning quiet time with God. When he asked me that, I was almost shamed into realizing that 10 minutes per day was not much time to intentionally schedule to begin building a more abiding relationship with my Lord. So, I did. I began with 10 minutes, which quickly became 20 and then 30 minutes over time, … which ultimately became an hour a day. And I had to decide and discipline myself to get up earlier to devote such time to God; but the more I did it, the more God poured His enabling grace into this time … and the more, I realized, I was getting from the time commitment. The whole process moved from horizontal decision to vertical discipline; and I changed.
From this meditation, I hope any reader can evaluate what might be needed to go from horizontal, and a very human, direction to vertical, and decidedly Godly, direction in life. Can we afford five minutes of vertical thinking in small spurts of decision daily to recognize, repent, and reorganize our thinking to head in new, vertical, direction in life? Jesus said that this was the process of discipleship, when, in Luke 9: 23 (hope you know that one by heart), “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” That is moving from horizontal to vertical; and I pray that is the direction of change in my life.
How about you?
My Prayer Today: Lord, help me to be a vertical thinking and doer in life. Amen
Passage of the Day: Genesis 43: 13 – 15 … [see focus passage in bold] ... 11 And their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best fruits of the land in your vessels and carry down a present for the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. 12 Take double money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight. 13 Take your brother also, and arise, go back to the man. 14 And may God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!” … 15 So the men took that present and Benjamin, and they took double money in their hand, and arose and went down to Egypt; and they stood before Joseph.
My Journal for Today: When I read this passage and meditated on it a bit before reading Swindoll’s devotional, I actually was struck by the same thing which Swindoll used as a teaching vehicle in his book today. We both apparently wondered what happened on that long trip back to Pharaoh which the 10 brothers had to take. In the passage, we are brought, through the author’s writing, directly from Jacob’s charge to Pharaoh’s court; but there was that long caravan back; and the men had a lot of time to contemplate, to commiserate, and to discuss what was going to transpire.
Yes, Jacob (“Israel”) had expressed the hope that “El Shaddai,” (Hebrew for “God Almighty”) would give his boys mercy; but did the 10 sons really contemplate that; or did they do what is the most likely human reaction as they traveled to Egypt … to contemplate, in fear, the worst which could happen? Certainly most of us, when we’re presented with the choice to think negatively or positively, will gravitate toward the negative. And in doing this we gravitate into horizontal thinking. At least for a moment, when his boys departed for Egypt, Jacob forced out a vertical perspective, hoping that God Almighty would intervene and give his boys mercy. But it is likely, as his boys traveled to Egypt, that there was a lot of horizontal thinking going on.
Today, Swindoll uses this scenario to teach the reality that it’s not easy to move from horizontal thinking to a vertical perspective on life. It’s like trying to get rid of a deeply embedded bad habit; and we know that habits don’t just change automatically. It takes intentionality and discipline. It takes at least a moment of reflection; … then it takes acknowledgment of the need for change; … and then there is a commitment to move from one pattern of life to another … followed by proactive planning; … and finally, there is the rigorous discipline to think or do something for long enough to replace one habit with another. This is not a finger-snap moment in life. It takes time.
In this case, it would have been NATURAL for Joseph’s brother to dwell in the negative – or horizontal thinking – all the way back from Canaan to Egypt. But Swindoll speculates and teaches what it would have taken for the brothers to change on the way back. Chuck speculates that it would take a three step process, if these brothers were to move from negative to positive on their journey. And the first of these steps is to "recognize and admit [the] negative mentality.”
As Swindoll points out, much of the cure and change of a course-correction in life comes in recognition, ownership, and confession … as well as an honest admission of the need to change. I don’t know about Joseph’s brothers, but unless they were able to reflect on their past mistakes and admit their sins, these dudes were not going to come before the Prime Minister of Egypt with the right, vertical perspective on life. It takes a commitment to change … to change. And that begins with the reality and vulnerability to admit failing and to seek a surrendered will, allowing God (our vertical thoughts) to do business with our heart and to transform our lives. And that is the tough process of decision which must lead to discipline.
Swindoll’s second point in this process is that we must … “force a vertical focus until it begins to flow freely.” I once had a friend, a leader in business, who often used to say, “Fake it until you make it.” When we recognize and acknowledge that our past patterns need to change, we’re insane if we expect a change to occur by doing the same things we have done in the past. It takes change to change. We have to intentionally do something different and keep doing it long enough for a new pattern, hopefully a successful one, to become a part of our choices and actions. And beginning that process takes repentance – i.e, the willingness to turn from one direction to another. And that’s not an easy thing to do. I’ve heard it said that it takes 80% of a rocket’s fuel to get that rocket just a few feet off of the launching pad. And for Joseph’s brothers to change from horizontally directed fear to vertically directed faith would take a decision on their part … a decision which would not be easy given their horizontal and very human past.
Finally, Swindoll posits that the process of habit change will more likely happen if we don’t demand too much of ourselves at the outset. He says, “Stay open to a new idea (or behavior) for at least five minutes.” What he means is that choosing a new direction (i.e., true repentance) may be too much to ask of our will power for even a full day in the beginning; but it’s not too much to ask for our minds to handle five minutes at a time.
Years ago, when my mentor realized that I did not have a disciplined, daily devotional life, he asked me if I might be willing to commit to ten minutes a day for a morning quiet time with God. When he asked me that, I was almost shamed into realizing that 10 minutes per day was not much time to intentionally schedule to begin building a more abiding relationship with my Lord. So, I did. I began with 10 minutes, which quickly became 20 and then 30 minutes over time, … which ultimately became an hour a day. And I had to decide and discipline myself to get up earlier to devote such time to God; but the more I did it, the more God poured His enabling grace into this time … and the more, I realized, I was getting from the time commitment. The whole process moved from horizontal decision to vertical discipline; and I changed.
From this meditation, I hope any reader can evaluate what might be needed to go from horizontal, and a very human, direction to vertical, and decidedly Godly, direction in life. Can we afford five minutes of vertical thinking in small spurts of decision daily to recognize, repent, and reorganize our thinking to head in new, vertical, direction in life? Jesus said that this was the process of discipleship, when, in Luke 9: 23 (hope you know that one by heart), “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” That is moving from horizontal to vertical; and I pray that is the direction of change in my life.
How about you?
My Prayer Today: Lord, help me to be a vertical thinking and doer in life. Amen
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