March 20, 2011 … No Pride of Position

Passage of the Day: Philippians 2: 5 – 6 ... 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, …

My Journal for Today: Well, the Apostle Paul lays it on the line here for the Christian, inspired by the Holy Spirit, to charge Christians in Philippi – and really Christians anywhere/everywhere – to develop and maintain attitudes that are “the same” as that of Jesus, The Christ. Now, I know, in my head, that God, The Holy Spirit, would never have breathed those words into Paul to write these truths if a believer, aspiring to Christlikeness, couldn’t attain that kind of an attitude of humility and meekness (pointed to by Christ, Himself, in Matt. 11: 29). However, my heart balks at this daunting challenge. I reflect on what Christ did for all mankind, being our model of surrender to the Father … totally and completely humbled; and I’m overwhelmed with the nature of Paul’s exhortation >>> to be humble … as was Christ.

Christ set aside His majesty in becoming a babe in a manger. He grew and matured and learned to be a humble carpenter as an apprentice to His dad, Joseph. He chose to be baptized by John, the Baptist, when John was overwhelmed to perform this act of surrender to the Father. Jesus washed the feet of His disciples; and Peter was blown away that He’d do that. Our Lord sweat blood in pain in the garden, just hours before He exhibited the ultimate in humility, … dying on that tree at Golgotha for the sins of all mankind.

Now, that’s humility personified; and I’m charged to be just like that! … Wow!

But then I read and internalize another of Paul’s writings (see Eph 1: 3 – 6, 13 – 14) …

SCRIPTURE: Eph. 1: 3-6 ... 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For He [the Son] chose us in Him [the Spirit] before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His [the Father’s] sight. In love 5 He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves. … Eph. 1: 13-14 … 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of His glory.

That passage both convicts me and lifts me up. And also knowing the truth of 1st Cor. 10: 13 … that no challenge set before me, especially any challenge God places there or allows into our lives, cannot be overcome or undertaken with success in His Name; because He is always faithful to provide me with the strength I need in my weakness (see also 2nd Cor. 12: 9). Hence, what Paul writes in today’s passage, that I’m to be humble, like Christ, I know that God, the Holy Spirit is sealed within me to give me the grace/power to be humble – even to humble like Christ.

And so, even though I have a sin nature, falling short of God’s glory (see Rom. 3: 23); and even though I have a wretchedly deceitful heart (see Jer. 17: 9), I know that my God, living in me, is greater than all of the spiritual forces which will come against me 1st John 4: 4); … and I can become humble like Christ … more today than yesterday … more tomorrow than today.

To that end, I move forward (see Phil. 3: 13 – 14).

My Prayer Today: Help me to be like You, Lord. Amen

March 13, 2011 … Understanding Who God Is

Passage of the Day: Ephesians 4: 1 – 2 - 1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

My Journal for Today: If you are reading this, I would hope that you have come to a humble place in your life where you have received Christ as your Savior AND Lord. In other words, as the writer here, I’m hoping that any reader here is truly “saved.” (See Rom. 10: 9 – 13) Notice I said that the entrance to this process was humility; and here we are back with this concept of “humility” again with this month of devotionals. And during this spring time, I’ve posited more than once that it’s absolutely necessary, if a believer desires to have a deep and abiding relationship with Christ, that the attitude of humility is the key that unlocks the door to God’s grace in that relationship. If you are saved, going deep into an even more abiding relationship with Christ is definitely – or should be – an overriding goal for you. However, humility should lead us to another goal which, I believe, precedes all others in the Christian life; and that is TO KNOW GOD.

John MacArthur presents the following in Strength for Today on this date: “The more we (Christians) comprehend the greatness of God, the more humble we become.” In other words, for the believer to be truly humble, he/she must have the driving desire to know the God whom he/she worships and serves. My dear Christian brother in Christ and mentor, Dr. Bob Ginn, exclaimed strongly to me many times that our primary goal in life as Christians should be to know God. So, both MacArthur and my mentor would say that striving to know God is at the heart of humility; and since all Christians desire to receive God’s grace (or I would assume so), it behooves us all to do everything we can to know God so that our posture will continually be humbled to receive His grace.

King David certainly knew his God when he declared the majesty of His Lord and the desire for fellowship with Him, in spite of the lowliness of mankind (see Psalms 8: 1, 4 below). But it is wonderful that God, in all His majesty, desires fellowship with His humble creatures, … mankind, … well, at least those who can humble themselves enough to get to know Him to let them into their lives. (see Ps. 138: 6 and Rev. 3: 20, also below)

SCRIPTURE: Ps. 8: 1, 4 ... 1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your Name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. … 4 what is man that You are mindful of him, the Son of man that You care for him?
SCRIPTURE: Ps. 138: 6 ... Though the LORD is on high, He looks upon the lowly, but the proud He knows from afar.
SCRIPTURE: Rev. 3: 20 ... Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone (of My disciples) hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him and he with Me.

God’s word is very clear that God will not extend His glory to sinful mankind. (see Is. 48: 11); but get this irony. God will extend His grace to me, a sinner … IF, and only IF, I can/will humbly received the mercy He has extended through His Son, my Savior and Redeemer, Who died so that I can be in a position to receive God’s grace. Complicated? Maybe; but it shows the critical nature of chosen humility when it comes to our desire to relate to God; and we’ve seen how we can get into that posture – i.e., by seeking to know God to the fullest extent we are capable.

So, are you with me in my quest to know my (our) God? Everyday and in every way I can, I will seek to know God as intimately as I can, pleading my humble posture in confession and contrition, as a surrendered sinner, so that He, my Lord, will pour His promised mercy and grace into my life.
And everyday, He does!

My Prayer Today: To know You, Lord … to know You … to really know You. That is my humble desire. Amen

2010 – June 27 – Words To Live By

Study from God’s Word… Micah, Chapters 6 and 7 … Passage for Reflection: Micah 6: 8 … NIV He has showed you, O Man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

My Journal for Today: In today’s highlight passage, we may read the greatest and most powerful rhetorical question in all of the Bible, save maybe what the rich young ruler or Nicodemus asked Jesus about salvation. And I’ll bet, like me, you’ve wanted to know the answer to that question, “What does the Lord require of us (His children)?” And right there, in Micah 6: 8 is the answer, which is essentially the same answer Jesus gave when He was asked about attaining eternal life by a lawyer. [see Luke 10: 27] I’ll bet you know it. Jesus, responded, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, [Deut. 6: 5] and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’” [Lev. 19: 18]

Check it out! Jesus’ answer is qualitatively the same as the answer God has for us about what is required of those who serve/follow Him … to love/serve others and to HUMBLY follow Him. Isn’t it also what Jesus said in Luke 9: 23, when he told His disciples (aren’t you one of His disciples?), Then He said to them all: "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. It’s all the same thing, isn’t it; … to deny ourselves by loving others and to walk with Him … by doing what it takes to humbly follow Him.

Yes, I know what you’re probably thinking; … “But Bill, … Dude [!], that’s a tall order!!” And you’re right; … it is. But when we can do the unnatural, … the super-natural, … and choose to deny our self, love others, and follow our Lord, the pay-offs are OUT OF THIS WORLD (i.e., eternal life as promised in John 3: 16).

I really need not dwell on this, do I? But the key is whether we choose – BY FAITH – to humble ourselves and follow our Lord. That’s the biggie question; and how we answer it depends on our eternal future in the next life and our transformation in this life. So, I leave you to answer God’s question about how we might please our Lord.

My Prayer for Today: Lord, in faith, You know my answer. I am nothing without following You. Help me to do that by humbly loving others. Amen

2010 – April 17 – Service, … the Great Equalizer

Study from God’s Word… 1st Chronicles 23: 1 – 32; 1st Chron. 24: 1 – 19; 1st Chron. 25: 1 - 31 … Passage for Reflection: 1st Chronicles 25: 8 … NIV Young and old alike, as well as student, cast lots for their duties.

My Journal for Today: In my service to God, I’m an Elder in my church; and I have achieved the title of “Reverend,” being an ordained Minister of the Gospel. And also in my local church, I’m designated as “Director” of a ministry outreach to Christians who are trying to walk free from patterns of sexual sin. Now aren’t you impressed? Well, other than the fact that God is pleased for me serving Him, I know He’s no more impressed with my Eldership and my being “Rev. Bill Berry,” maybe even less so, than others in our church who have no titles and are given no worldly credit in their service of God. But they are warriors and servants who serve “behind the scenes,” doing all they can with their time, talent, and treasures, with no regard to titles or recognition by the world, to serve their LORD.

Do you find it interesting, as do I, from today’s reading and Smith’s highlighted passage, that David had the duties of the Levites, when he was planning for the building and establishment of the Temple by his son, Solomon, that this tribe of “Priests” would divide up the duties God would ascribe for them by simply casting lots? It seems so capricious and random, doesn’t it? There was no strategic planning, as a worldly corporation might do it today, making sure that the duties matched up closely with the experience, rank, seniority, or titles of those needed to carry out the duties of the organization. No, God simply had David find all the Levites and designate what duties were to be handled by these men; and then he had them, thousands of them, cast lots for the duties. And if any of these were ascribed a given duty, no matter what it was, it was for God’s glory in the overseeing of the Temple by the Levites. No titles were given. No earthly credit system was established to reward a given servant with more recognition than any other.

This, I believe, is much more like God would have us go forth to serve Him in the church today. Oh, I’m not saying that gifting or volunteer commitment should not be utilized; but we who serve God and His Kingdom, especially in the church, put far too much credibility and credit on those with known years of service, or titles, or staff name badge recognition. It is a major fault of the modern church, I believe, to look to the paid, so-called “full time” church staff, to do the work of the church, rather than individually to seek out our God-given gifts, find our calling into service, and then, just dive in and do it for God.

Besides, God clearly designates, through His word, that all of His servants in the age of grace – i.e., in the Church - are “Priests” [see 1st Peter 2: 9 - linked], So, there are many priestly duties out there in the world to perform for God’s glory. So, we all need to find out is how God has gifted us; and then – almost as if by lots – just jump into the fray of service and serve our Lord, with no expectation of title or recognition … except the aspiration to hear in glory, from the lips of Jesus, Himself, “Well done, my good and faithful servant!”

My Prayer for Today: Serving You, my LORD, is all the recognition I need. Forgive me if I aspire to more. Amen

2009 – Day 337.Dec 4 – Stop and Surrender

Passage for Study: Acts 18: 1 - 17 … Acts 18 linked for study …

2nd Passage for study: 2nd Corinthians 11: 22 – 28 … [self search and study in 2nd Cor. 11 required]

My Journal for Today: Okay, if you’ve been with me, Chuck Swindoll has had us looking at how the Apostle Paul had gotten to the place where he recognized his weaknesses and overbearing trials; and he had gone into total surrender mode to God’s Spirit, residing within him; and because of that humility and complete submission to God, the Lord had poured all the power His servant, Paul, would need to deal with the pain and agonies of life.

Now Swindoll asks me – and you, “What about you?” And he begins a very personal litany of his own witness to pain, asking pointed questions about where you or I might be that would speak to the truths the Apostle Paul came to learn about and activate in his life. Though I don’t do this often in my journaling, let me quote one of the paragraphs from Pastor Swindoll for today …
>>> “At this moment I am facing a few impossible situations. No doubt, so are you. To be honest, I’m too weak to handle any of them. So are you in your life. I’m often near tears. I’m frequently discouraged. … Sound familiar? … Common, admit it. You’ve got moments like this. Some nights I don’t sleep well. There are times when I absolutely weep out of disappointment in some individual failure … my own or someone else’s. You too? Let’s face it, … you and I need to face the fact that we will never be able to handle any of these pressures alone. It’s only when we acknowledge this, and not until, that God’s strength will be released in us.”

So, Swindoll challenges me (and you), asking, “Are you ready to face the next battle with a new strategy?” And that question really resonates with me in the ministry God has called me to found and lead, Battle Plan Ministry [BPM] (go to the BPM website [linked here]). And the Apostle Paul’s strategy, reinforced by Chuck Swindoll’s testimony, has always been the first step in BPM we’ve used to help any Christian who is mired with habitual sin (really of any type, though we deal with habitual sexual sin); and that first phase of battle is SURRENDER. If you go to the BPM website, referenced above, and click on our resource page (see MEN and then RESOURCES), and if you open the foundational piece I wrote about 15 years ago entitled The Battle Plan That Works Against Habitual Sin, you’ll read that phase one of developing a battle plan against repeated sin is SURRENDER.

And that’s were we are here today. If you have a sin stronghold in your life, then until you can, as did Paul, get to a place where you avoid trying to gut it out on your own strength and you humbly turn it over to receive God’s enabling grace, you are going to continually be in the despair of your own failure. Maybe, like me, you fight a constant battle with gluttony. Or maybe, like our Battle Plan warriors, you’re going up Satan’s XXX stronghold of sexual temptation in the world. Or maybe you deal with a tobacco addiction which has you imprisoned; and you know you need to find freedom from its vice hold on your life.

I don’t know which battle front you are going up against now. Maybe you’re fighting on more than one front simultaneously. But I do know that you can’t fight Satan, the world, and your own deceit-ridden human heart alone. My dear one, when are we going to recognize that God resists the proud; but gives grace to the humble (that’s Prov. 3: 34, James 4: 6, or 1st Peter 5: 6)? … When are we going to go into surrender mode, receive God’s empowering grace, and walk in the freedom promised by God for the surrendered warrior who is in submission to his/her Lord?

Most certainly I have to answer that for myself. But so do you!

My Prayer for Today: Lord, like Paul, let me be a prisoner chained to You rather than one who, by my own pride, is chained to Satan or self. Amen

2009 – Day 164.June 14 – A Humble Servant

2009 – Day 164.June 14 – A Humble Servant

Passage of the Day: 1st Kings 17: 21 - 23 … 21 And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the LORD and said, “O LORD my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him.” 22 Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived. … 23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives!”

My Journal for Today: What a scenario! God answers Elijah’s humble prayer in private so that his faith can be built to even greater heights; and then God answers the woman’s humble surrender of her son to Elijah, who had quietly asked for his lifeless body to be place in his arms and had taken him to a quiet place to be alone with God.

And as Swindoll points out, no words of Scripture, which are used to describe this scene, can do justice to the emotions which Elijah must’ve felt and then the mother when she saw her boy come back to life. To say “Wow!” falls so short for what transpired, doesn’t it? And if you read ahead in Elijah’s prophetic life, you can see why he had such great faith in going back to confront the court of Ahab.

And the element of character which Swindoll emphasizes in today’s bit of this story is Elijah’s humility. When he brought the boy down to the mother, stirring with life, he took no credit. He simply and humbly handed him back to the mother, saying, “See, your son lives!” He did NOT think or say, “Look what I was able to do.” No, by just stating the obvious to the mother, God gets all the credit, … just as He should.

Tomorrow (I’ve read ahead a bit in Swindoll’s book), we’re going to see the results of Elijah’s humble faith; so come back and read about that. But right now we need to focus on how our faith should work; and Elijah becomes our model here. All he did was humble himself before His Lord, giving over a totally out of control situation to a totally in control God; and then God did what He needed to do to show Himself to His children.

And therein lies the faith lesson here. God can pour His grace and power into a child with humble faith; but His grace will never be seen in one who acts in prideful arrogance. You can read this truth in Proverbs 3: 34, which is repeated in the NT in James 4: 6 or 1st Peter 5: 6, … that “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Elijah was a humble servant; and God poured His grace into this humble servant’s attitude of surrender and used a moment in history to show all who believe, like you and me, the result of humble faith. Most certainly that mother got the message. Prayerfully we do too.

My Prayer for Today: Lord, the lesson is not lost on this one. So, help me to remain humble before your throne of grace. Amen

2009 – Day 114.Apr. 25 – A Teachable Spirit

2009 – Day 114.Apr. 25 – A Teachable Spirit

Passage of the Day: 1st Samuel 18: 5 - 16 … Linked for study to passage …

My Journal for Today: Today’s passage and Swindoll’s devotional presents an interesting and pertinent character study into another interaction and comparison between Saul, the king, and David, the king-to-be. And the focus verse for this study is found in verse 14 of 1st Sam. 18, which in the NKJV says, And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the LORD was with him.

You’ll note that I underlined the phrase “behaved wisely,” which has differing translations in our scholarly Bibles. It is the Hebrew word “sakai,” which is one of those Hebrew expressions which can take on different colors depending on the circumstances. And the focus of this study is on this Hebrew term, which was attributed to David.

In the NASB, the sentence from 1st Sam. 18: 14 reads thusly, David was prospering in all his way, for the LORD was with him. In the NIV, it reads, In everything he did he had great success, because the LORD was with him. If you read down through 1st Samuel 18 you see that term “sakai” is used four separate times to describe David’s persistent wisdom and/or his spiritual success, given the task of leading Saul’s armies into battle. And we also read the reaction it provoked from Saul, which was rage and jealousy, even to the point of throwing a spear at David in attempted murder.

But David’s character through all of this, even being attacked by Saul, remained quietly teachable and remarkably loyal to his king. David was consistently and persistently “sakai” because he had the Lord’s Spirit upon him. And Swindoll points to a study of the word “sakai” in Proverbs (see Prov. 10: 19 and Prov. 21: 11) that one who exhibits “sakai” is one who generally keeps his mouth shut and one who intentionally grows in “teachability.”

David was still young; but he was learning what to be and what not to be as king from observing Saul; and God was giving David the enabling grace to learn and grow in this quiet, but powerful, quality of teachability. I truly hope that I never lose my drive to be what the Hebrews call “sakai” before my God. And I see, from today’s study, just how much God wants me grow into Christlikeness, Who, of course, was our super model of “sakai,” the One who grew and became the likeness of His Heavenly Father, Jehovah, on earth.

My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to be teachable and to grow to be “sakai” in Your presence. Amen

2009 – Day 104.Apr. 15 – Humble Appointment

2009 – Day 104.Apr. 15 – Humble Appointment

Passage of the Day: 1st Samuel 16: 12 - 23 … Link to 1st Sam. 16 for study …

My Journal for Today: Now, in my study of the character and times of David, along with Chuck Swindoll’s devotionals, we finally come to our first real look at the young shepherd who would become king. He is called in out of the fields by Samuel and his daddy, Jesse, probably leaving his sheep and goats to a delegated sub-shepherd. I can just imagine him coming in to the family, smelling like sheep, and wondering what was going on. And here he’s confronted with this old man he doesn’t know, who takes a horn filled with scented oil and pours it over his head. The scene had to have been uncomfortable, at best, for David … and maybe even a bit comical.

BUT, this was serious business. Here a young shepherd boy was in the presence of God’s messenger, Samuel, who was telling Jesse’s family that David would become king of all of God’s chosen people one day. And after the anointing, we read on that Samuel left the young boy to go back out in the fields to continue shepherding his flocks. And in this scenario we once again see the quality of humility which God had seen in this young boy. However, David, from the moment that oil was poured over his head would never be the same. Why? Because, as we read, God’s Spirit came upon him, indwelling his heart; and now David was claimed by God’s favor and power for God’s plan and purpose.

And we see God’s plan beginning to unfold as Saul, the king, has the emotional need of someone, a musician, to calm his frayed nerves. And lo and behold, who, in God’s providence had the talent to become the king’s harpist? Surely we’re not naïve enough to think that it was a coincidence that someone in Saul’s court knew of David’s talent as a harpist and a writer/singer of songs. No, this was no coincidence. God was beginning to set in motion the events which would bring David together with Saul; and at this point, Saul seemed to be drawn to David. Later, we know that God’s Spirit, having departed from Saul, would cause Saul to be jealous of this young anointed one. But at this point in the historical account, Saul is also drawn to the humility of this boy who loved King Saul and had such a servant’s heart. And so, Saul makes David his armor bearer, a favored position with close access to the king. God is at work, moving these two toward the events which would change the course of Israel.

Can you see that the same Spirit of God Who came into the heart of God’s chosen king of Israel is the same God, the Holy Spirit, which now resides in your heart if you have received the anointing of God by receiving Christ as your Lord and Savior. And if you (or I) can be humble like David, willing to serve our King, Who is the King of kings, we can be God’s servant just like David was, … carrying out God’s will for our life and giving glory to God in the process. As I write this I am quickened by this reality; and I’m humbled to realize that God, as He did with David, has anointed me with God’s plan and purpose for my life. And our Lord has indwelt me – or you, fellow Christian - with His Spirit to give us the unction and power to carry out His purpose for our life – just as we read God is doing for David in today’s Scripture passage.

I hope that gives you “chill bumps” of direction and purpose, as it has done for me this day.

My Prayer for Today: Thank You, Lord, for you anointing on my life. Help me to be humble to receive it and become your servant. Amen