Study from God’s Word… Romans, Chapters 3 - 8 … Passage for Reflection: Romans 8: 28 … NIV And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been (the) called according to His purpose.
My Journal for Today: Well, in asking readers to read, study, and meditate through some pretty weighty passages, especially the great Christian victory treatise in Romans 8, it’s not surprising that Dr. Smith, my devotional author, picked Romans 8: 28 as the highlight text for today’s devotional concentration.
I say this because I believe this passage is one of the lightning rod passages in Paul’s charge to Christians (from 2nd Cor. 13: 5) to examine our faith and see if we’re really “in the faith.” We’ve also been charged by God to test what we learn in life against God’s truth [i.e., The Bible] so that we can hold on to what is true (see 1st John 4: 1 and 1st Thes 5: 20-21). So, with that charge from God’s word of truth, we come on to a passage like Proverbs 3: 5-6 and today’s text from Romans 8: 28; and our faith is really put to the test, isn’t it?
What about it, Christian? Do you really trust God in ALL things – not SOME things >>> but ALL things? That’s the thrust of the Prov. 3: 5-6 passage, isn’t it? And then there’s the acid test of faith, which we’re given in today’s passage. God – through Paul – incredibly claims that ALL THINGS, no matter what they are or how raunchy they are, are for my good. And why? Well, they are for my good because I’m in Christ; and being in me, Christ, in the presence of His Holy Spirit, has promised that he’s shaping me (i.e., completing) me in His image (that the promise of God in Phil. 1: 6). And even more, His word says (in 1st Cor. 10: 13) that He will not put us into any test or trial in life which we, as His own, cannot handle.
No, God doesn’t promise me (or any Christian) a rose garden in life. Today’s passage does not say that all things in life ARE good. It says only that all things in life are FOR THE GOOD of those who are the called to God’s purposes (that’s you and me as Christians). So, now the question becomes, if we believe in the truth of Prov. 3: 5-6, can we hold to the truth (i.e., can we trust the truth) of Romans 8: 28? And right now, as you read this, you may be dealing with some pretty tough stuff. So, how we doing in our pop-quiz of faith today?
Maybe you’re dealing with life-threatening cancer. Maybe you’re reflecting on the loss of a child at a very young age. Maybe _______________ … well, you fill in the blank with your own life challenge; and then we need to ask ourselves what Dr. Smith posits as today’s difficult devotional question: ”Do I fully trust that God is bringing about good even in the most dire circumstance I might face?” And if we use that question as our 2nd Cor. 13: 5 test of faith; and we say “NO” as our answer, we have to say that we’ve failed God’s pop quiz of faith today; and we’re going to have to go back to the drawing board and ask if we can receive God’s saving grace in faith, from a God Who give us, or allows, the tough stuff of life.
But if we can say “YES” to the Romans 8: 28 and Prov. 3: 5-6 tests of faith, we can move forward, KNOWING that God is moving us through life – yes, even through the toughest parts of life - for HIS reasons, … in HIS timing, … for HIS purposes, … preparing us for HIS eternal completion, which is our transformation into HIS image.
And as Lily Tomlin used to say, with a pronounced lisp, as little “Edith Ann” on the TV show Laugh-In, … “That’s the truth!”
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I believe Your word – Your truth – so, help me in my unbelief, when I’m tested by life, to hold to my trust in Your ever-present love. Amen
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Monday, December 06, 2010
2010 – December 6 – A More Mature Path to Righteousness
Study from God’s Word… Paul’s letter to the Roman Christians, written from Corinth – Chapters 1 – 3: 20 … Passage for Reflection: Romans 1: 17 (with verse 16, a powerful truth/verse you may know by heart) … NIV 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”[Habakkuk 2: 4 ]
My Journal for Today: Wow! I’m led in these next last days of December, in Dr. LaGard Smith’s devotional book and through his shepherding me through the Bible chronologically, to read/study Paul’s letter to the “people of The Way (i.e., Christians)” in Rome. And what a reading and study this is.
Sometimes Paul’s letter to the Romans is called “The Christian Manifesto” as the Apostle, in anticipating a trip to Rome in his future, wanted to lay out a clear, and Spirit-led, treatise on the Gospel message and how believers should not be misled by Jewish religiosity or traditions to mistake righteousness under the law with faith that comes from God’s grace in Christ. And our book (i.e., epistle) from Paul to the Romans does exactly that … theologically and practically. And study into this epistle is a study for all sinners, and especially for those of us who’ve received the saving grace of God through faith, as well as those of us who aspire, through that faith, unto righteousness.
And today’s verse, Romans 1: 17, is a hearty declaration of Paul’s theme to the Romans in the context of his clear message of the Gospel’s truth that salvation can – and will – come to any or all who surrender to its saving grace which will lead the saved believer unto sanctification and righteousness by the same faith which led him/her unto salvation. And we all, as does yours truly, struggle with how to be righteous under the conviction that we’re all sinners (see Rom. 3: 10-12, which is a restatement of the Old Covenant truth in Ps. 14: 1-3, Is. 53: 6, and Eccl. 7: 20. And, knowing and believing the truth of God’s power through His word (see 2nd Tim. 3: 16-17 and Is. 55: 11), anytime God’s word declares His truth openly and clearly in repeated ways, as Paul was doing for the Roman believers (and for us), we need to pay CLOSE attention to these exhortations or directions.
And this is, most definitely, one of those times to perk up our attention, learn, and apply God’s truth. My friend (i.e., anyone who might be reading here with me), we’re all sinners with a dogged sin nature (reading in Romans 3); and knowing that truth, many of us strive toward righteousness. But being one who struggles with the conundrum Paul was exposing for the Romans, I’m responsive today to Dr. Smith’s challenge question at the end of his devotional entry, which is … ”If I struggle with being righteous, could it be because I am still relying on my own effort rather than being truly transformed.”
It’s so easy to fall into the PERFORMANCE mentality rather than the SURRENDER mentality. My nature drives me to want to DO SOMETHING to be a good Christian, rather than letting God mature what is already in me to BE SOMETHING reflective of the Christ (i.e., through His Spirit) Who lives in me. Again I quote Dr. Smith, ”While deep faith invariable motivates actions (i.e., righteousness), actions alone never prompt deep faith. I have to continually and intentionally remember that it is my attitude of surrender to God’s enabling grace which drives me onward to righteous; and no self-directed drive or feeling will ever be what God needs from me … to enable me … to BE what He has already given me to become righteous.
And when you figure all that out, send me an email and give me some clear insight on how to make this happen for you [and me]. ;>)
My Prayer for Today: My Lord, I surrender in faith! Amen
My Journal for Today: Wow! I’m led in these next last days of December, in Dr. LaGard Smith’s devotional book and through his shepherding me through the Bible chronologically, to read/study Paul’s letter to the “people of The Way (i.e., Christians)” in Rome. And what a reading and study this is.
Sometimes Paul’s letter to the Romans is called “The Christian Manifesto” as the Apostle, in anticipating a trip to Rome in his future, wanted to lay out a clear, and Spirit-led, treatise on the Gospel message and how believers should not be misled by Jewish religiosity or traditions to mistake righteousness under the law with faith that comes from God’s grace in Christ. And our book (i.e., epistle) from Paul to the Romans does exactly that … theologically and practically. And study into this epistle is a study for all sinners, and especially for those of us who’ve received the saving grace of God through faith, as well as those of us who aspire, through that faith, unto righteousness.
And today’s verse, Romans 1: 17, is a hearty declaration of Paul’s theme to the Romans in the context of his clear message of the Gospel’s truth that salvation can – and will – come to any or all who surrender to its saving grace which will lead the saved believer unto sanctification and righteousness by the same faith which led him/her unto salvation. And we all, as does yours truly, struggle with how to be righteous under the conviction that we’re all sinners (see Rom. 3: 10-12, which is a restatement of the Old Covenant truth in Ps. 14: 1-3, Is. 53: 6, and Eccl. 7: 20. And, knowing and believing the truth of God’s power through His word (see 2nd Tim. 3: 16-17 and Is. 55: 11), anytime God’s word declares His truth openly and clearly in repeated ways, as Paul was doing for the Roman believers (and for us), we need to pay CLOSE attention to these exhortations or directions.
And this is, most definitely, one of those times to perk up our attention, learn, and apply God’s truth. My friend (i.e., anyone who might be reading here with me), we’re all sinners with a dogged sin nature (reading in Romans 3); and knowing that truth, many of us strive toward righteousness. But being one who struggles with the conundrum Paul was exposing for the Romans, I’m responsive today to Dr. Smith’s challenge question at the end of his devotional entry, which is … ”If I struggle with being righteous, could it be because I am still relying on my own effort rather than being truly transformed.”
It’s so easy to fall into the PERFORMANCE mentality rather than the SURRENDER mentality. My nature drives me to want to DO SOMETHING to be a good Christian, rather than letting God mature what is already in me to BE SOMETHING reflective of the Christ (i.e., through His Spirit) Who lives in me. Again I quote Dr. Smith, ”While deep faith invariable motivates actions (i.e., righteousness), actions alone never prompt deep faith. I have to continually and intentionally remember that it is my attitude of surrender to God’s enabling grace which drives me onward to righteous; and no self-directed drive or feeling will ever be what God needs from me … to enable me … to BE what He has already given me to become righteous.
And when you figure all that out, send me an email and give me some clear insight on how to make this happen for you [and me]. ;>)
My Prayer for Today: My Lord, I surrender in faith! Amen
Sunday, December 05, 2010
2010 – December 5 – Our Weakness – God’s Power
Study from God’s Word… 2nd Corinthians, Chapters 10 – 13; and Acts 20: 2-3 … Passage for Reflection: 2nd Cor. 12: 8 – 9 … NIV 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
My Journal for Today: This passage of the New Testament from 2nd Corinthians is one of my favorites in the Pauline Epistles. Why? Because I so identify with Paul in his testimony and witness to his own weaknesses being the perfect lesson for others about our human weaknesses being uplifted and overcome by God’s Power.
I’m sure you know Paul’s story here of how Satan was allowed by God to give Paul some permanent “thorn,” from which Paul prayed repeatedly to be relieved. But God showed Paul that he “needed” this thorn, whatever it was, to remain humble enough to receive God’s enabling and empowering grace so that He, Paul, could be God’s empowered servant.
LaGard Smith gets right to it with his final question for meditation today, as he writes, ”If I’ve prayed to God that He might take away some ‘thorn’ in my flesh, what might I miss out on if that ‘thorn’ were actually removed?”
I’d almost bet that any reading here have some weakness, some ailment, some nasty little recurring sin pattern, that you’d like stripped from your life forever. Maybe you’re like me and you have some weakness to a certain type of temptation which chronically is the bane of your existence; and maybe, like me, you’ve prayed – as Paul did – over and over and over again for this weakness to be taken away so that you could be a more powerful witness for the Lord. But have you considered that this very weakness may be the one thing that allows you to be humble and meek in this life, the only two qualities which Jesus used to describe Himself (see Matt. 11: 29)?
Yeah; maybe this “thorn” in your flesh is the one thing that allows you to be more like Christ and, therefore, able to receive His empowering grace … so that you can shine His light and glorify the Father in heaven (see Matt. 5: 16). God’s grace truly is sufficient for any/all things we encounter in life; but if we’re too prideful or self-sufficient to see that, God cannot – or rather, will not – pour His light-shining grace into and through our lives. It’s only when we acknowledge, with thankfulness, that our weakness is God’s proving ground and stage for His power, that He will pour His enabling grace into our lives for His glory.
We need to think about that any time we have a tendency to complain to God about some chronic problem or weakness in our life.
My Prayer for Today:Lord, thank You for my “thorn,” which keeps me humble. Amen
My Journal for Today: This passage of the New Testament from 2nd Corinthians is one of my favorites in the Pauline Epistles. Why? Because I so identify with Paul in his testimony and witness to his own weaknesses being the perfect lesson for others about our human weaknesses being uplifted and overcome by God’s Power.
I’m sure you know Paul’s story here of how Satan was allowed by God to give Paul some permanent “thorn,” from which Paul prayed repeatedly to be relieved. But God showed Paul that he “needed” this thorn, whatever it was, to remain humble enough to receive God’s enabling and empowering grace so that He, Paul, could be God’s empowered servant.
LaGard Smith gets right to it with his final question for meditation today, as he writes, ”If I’ve prayed to God that He might take away some ‘thorn’ in my flesh, what might I miss out on if that ‘thorn’ were actually removed?”
I’d almost bet that any reading here have some weakness, some ailment, some nasty little recurring sin pattern, that you’d like stripped from your life forever. Maybe you’re like me and you have some weakness to a certain type of temptation which chronically is the bane of your existence; and maybe, like me, you’ve prayed – as Paul did – over and over and over again for this weakness to be taken away so that you could be a more powerful witness for the Lord. But have you considered that this very weakness may be the one thing that allows you to be humble and meek in this life, the only two qualities which Jesus used to describe Himself (see Matt. 11: 29)?
Yeah; maybe this “thorn” in your flesh is the one thing that allows you to be more like Christ and, therefore, able to receive His empowering grace … so that you can shine His light and glorify the Father in heaven (see Matt. 5: 16). God’s grace truly is sufficient for any/all things we encounter in life; but if we’re too prideful or self-sufficient to see that, God cannot – or rather, will not – pour His light-shining grace into and through our lives. It’s only when we acknowledge, with thankfulness, that our weakness is God’s proving ground and stage for His power, that He will pour His enabling grace into our lives for His glory.
We need to think about that any time we have a tendency to complain to God about some chronic problem or weakness in our life.
My Prayer for Today:Lord, thank You for my “thorn,” which keeps me humble. Amen
Saturday, December 04, 2010
2010 – December 4 – Tough Love
Study from God’s Word… 2nd Corinthians, Chapters 1 – 9 … Passage for Reflection: 2nd Corinthians 2: 4 … NIV For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.
My Journal for Today: “Tough love” is not an oxymoron. It is tough to dole out a rebuke, confronting someone we love for a self-indulgence or maybe even something which is life threatening. With our little kiddies, in order to protect them or shape their character, sometimes we have to use a wooden spoon on a little delicate hand which has willfully gone where it’s been warned repeatedly not to go. As a parent I know the personal meaning of the old parental admonition, “This hurts me more than it does you.” But we exercise love that is tough because it’s the right thing to do, knowing that to avoid it could cause even more pain in the future for our loved one and for us.
But when the kid becomes an adult, such confrontations are even tougher; but doling out tough love is absolutely necessary; and it hurts … both the one who exhorts or intervenes in love and the one who is on the receiving end of whatever intervention has become necessary. In drug rehabilitation, we’ve heard of a loving family our a group of friends taking the drug-involved loved one aside with a show of force, demanding that the “drugee” do what is necessary to change. Yes, the one being confronted with such tough love must choose to do what it takes to change, but those who loved him/her must be there to forgive, confront, encourage, and patiently wait for the change to take place.
And we know that the toughest love of all was exercised on behalf of all of us fallen children, unredeemable sinners, who were redeemed because a loving Father was willing to let His only Son become a human and, in humiliation, to die on a cross so that we could be lovingly redeemed. As Dr. Smith wrote in his last sentence of today’s devotional entry: "Sometimes hurting the one we love is truly the greatest love."
And so I leave you to grapple with Dr. Smith’s tough-love question for his readers: "If I can sometimes dish out tough love when necessary, how do I take tough love when I’m on the receiving end?" Tough question about tough love!
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I pray that I can dole it out and take it in so that I can be reshaped in Your image. Amen
My Journal for Today: “Tough love” is not an oxymoron. It is tough to dole out a rebuke, confronting someone we love for a self-indulgence or maybe even something which is life threatening. With our little kiddies, in order to protect them or shape their character, sometimes we have to use a wooden spoon on a little delicate hand which has willfully gone where it’s been warned repeatedly not to go. As a parent I know the personal meaning of the old parental admonition, “This hurts me more than it does you.” But we exercise love that is tough because it’s the right thing to do, knowing that to avoid it could cause even more pain in the future for our loved one and for us.
But when the kid becomes an adult, such confrontations are even tougher; but doling out tough love is absolutely necessary; and it hurts … both the one who exhorts or intervenes in love and the one who is on the receiving end of whatever intervention has become necessary. In drug rehabilitation, we’ve heard of a loving family our a group of friends taking the drug-involved loved one aside with a show of force, demanding that the “drugee” do what is necessary to change. Yes, the one being confronted with such tough love must choose to do what it takes to change, but those who loved him/her must be there to forgive, confront, encourage, and patiently wait for the change to take place.
And we know that the toughest love of all was exercised on behalf of all of us fallen children, unredeemable sinners, who were redeemed because a loving Father was willing to let His only Son become a human and, in humiliation, to die on a cross so that we could be lovingly redeemed. As Dr. Smith wrote in his last sentence of today’s devotional entry: "Sometimes hurting the one we love is truly the greatest love."
And so I leave you to grapple with Dr. Smith’s tough-love question for his readers: "If I can sometimes dish out tough love when necessary, how do I take tough love when I’m on the receiving end?" Tough question about tough love!
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I pray that I can dole it out and take it in so that I can be reshaped in Your image. Amen
Friday, December 03, 2010
2010 – December 3 – The Eternal Make-Over
Study from God’s Word… From Ephesus to the Corinthian, Paul writes of the resurrection and the gospel message in 1st Corinthians, chapters 15 and 16, with his salutation to them being referred to in Acts 19: 23 – 20: 1 … Passage for Reflection: 1st Cor. 15: 35, 49 … NIV 35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” … 49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.
My Journal for Today: As a born-again, believing Christian, have you ever pondered or speculated about what your being will be like (and yes, I’m referring to your body) in heaven? There have been all kinds of thoughts and writings on the matter; some of which are bazaar and confusing; … but this I know. What Paul wrote about in 1st Corinthians 15: 35 – 58 is incredibly hope-filled for this old guy … where the aches and pains of aging are making me meditate all the more on these Scriptural promises about that new body I will have in glory.
I can recall visiting my dad in his last couple of years, residing in a nursing care facility because of all the physical ailments he had incurred in later life. He had emphysema, making it difficult to breath. He had severe arthritis and degenerating osteoporosis, making movement very difficult and painful. And in his last two years, he had had cancer in his jaw which required surgical jaw reconstruction, making chewing and swallowing very difficult, thus making eating very unpleasant, … the one pleasure he had had down the stretch of his life.
My dad had come to know Christ as Savior and Lord very late in his life (that’s a long and rather incredible story – not to be related here); and his last 3-4 years in that assisted living facility really taught me about the need for our hope resting solidly in the One Who had given us the way to be resurrected – as He was – and somehow restored into an image, predestined, to be like His.
I can remember sitting in my Dad’s room in that care facility; and he would ask me to “read the Bible about my new body.” And I would read to him from 1st Cor. 15: 35-58; and we’d talk about what it would be like one day to be without pain, having an eternal party with Jesus in heaven. Oh, the change that would come over his face when my dad imagined what Paul was relating as absolute truth. It really comforted my dad, who was languishing in such pain in his earthy body, to think about a pain free eternity in his new body. And now, my father, awaits that new body as He joyfully is with Christ in spirit in that intermediate heaven which all Christians “who sleep in Christ” await the Lord’s triumphant return and His reign in the New Jerusalem.
I hope that you get as much comfort and joy out of the promises from God, through Paul, in 1st Cor. 15 as do I.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I await, with great anticipation, how You will give me Your eternal make-over in Heaven. Amen
My Journal for Today: As a born-again, believing Christian, have you ever pondered or speculated about what your being will be like (and yes, I’m referring to your body) in heaven? There have been all kinds of thoughts and writings on the matter; some of which are bazaar and confusing; … but this I know. What Paul wrote about in 1st Corinthians 15: 35 – 58 is incredibly hope-filled for this old guy … where the aches and pains of aging are making me meditate all the more on these Scriptural promises about that new body I will have in glory.
I can recall visiting my dad in his last couple of years, residing in a nursing care facility because of all the physical ailments he had incurred in later life. He had emphysema, making it difficult to breath. He had severe arthritis and degenerating osteoporosis, making movement very difficult and painful. And in his last two years, he had had cancer in his jaw which required surgical jaw reconstruction, making chewing and swallowing very difficult, thus making eating very unpleasant, … the one pleasure he had had down the stretch of his life.
My dad had come to know Christ as Savior and Lord very late in his life (that’s a long and rather incredible story – not to be related here); and his last 3-4 years in that assisted living facility really taught me about the need for our hope resting solidly in the One Who had given us the way to be resurrected – as He was – and somehow restored into an image, predestined, to be like His.
I can remember sitting in my Dad’s room in that care facility; and he would ask me to “read the Bible about my new body.” And I would read to him from 1st Cor. 15: 35-58; and we’d talk about what it would be like one day to be without pain, having an eternal party with Jesus in heaven. Oh, the change that would come over his face when my dad imagined what Paul was relating as absolute truth. It really comforted my dad, who was languishing in such pain in his earthy body, to think about a pain free eternity in his new body. And now, my father, awaits that new body as He joyfully is with Christ in spirit in that intermediate heaven which all Christians “who sleep in Christ” await the Lord’s triumphant return and His reign in the New Jerusalem.
I hope that you get as much comfort and joy out of the promises from God, through Paul, in 1st Cor. 15 as do I.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I await, with great anticipation, how You will give me Your eternal make-over in Heaven. Amen
Thursday, December 02, 2010
2010 – December 2 – The Greatest Is Love
Study from God’s Word… 1st Corinthians, Chapters 11 - 14 … Passage for Reflection: 1st Cor. 13: 1 … NIV 1 If I speak in the tongues [or “languages”] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
My Journal for Today: Reading today, again from 1st Corinthians, in the section where Paul apparently is addressing some pressing/acute problems being experienced by the church in Corinth, including disunity, improper use of spiritual gifts, and the role of women in that particular setting. Apparently chaos was denigrating the impact of the God’s Spirit in their midst. And there has been a lot of controversy over the centuries about the interpretation of some of Paul’s teachings in these chapters.
However, in the proper context, the principles taught in 1st Cor. 13, the so-called “love-chapter,” are indisputable. Paul wanted the Corinthian believers and church, which by extension applies to today’s Christian and Church, to realize that they [we] might have all the Spirit-given gifts imaginable and they [we] might desire to apply them to “the greater good” of need in their [our] world; but if they [we] don’t express God’s love (i.e., agape love), their gifts would be like clanging gongs and accomplish nothing.
This section of the Pauline epistles is often read at weddings; and certainly the application of agape love should be exercised in a marriage. But the contextual application of 1st Cor. 13 goes way beyond the specific context of marriage. It speaks to how the church, with unity and Spirit-led fruitfulness, is shining the light of Christ, Who is our model of agape, into a world which desperately needs it. The world is dark, isn’t it? And it desperately needs the Light of God’s love to shine forth and dispel the darkness. But from whence does that light come?
Well, Jesus Himself said it (in Matt. 5: 16), … “… let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." It is those “good deeds,” activated by the expression of God’s love in/through the believer, which shine Christ’s light into the darkness. Love is so incredibly enlightening! And therefore, it empowers the believer to BE Christ in a Christ starved world; so, … it behooves you and me to answer Dr. Smith’s probing question for the day, as he writes, ”If perhaps appreciating ‘the good’ comes easy for me, how motivated am I by ‘the greater good?’ “ And for me that “greater good” is doing all I can to shine Christ’s light of love when I see darkness.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to be Your torch in an ever darkening world. Amen
My Journal for Today: Reading today, again from 1st Corinthians, in the section where Paul apparently is addressing some pressing/acute problems being experienced by the church in Corinth, including disunity, improper use of spiritual gifts, and the role of women in that particular setting. Apparently chaos was denigrating the impact of the God’s Spirit in their midst. And there has been a lot of controversy over the centuries about the interpretation of some of Paul’s teachings in these chapters.
However, in the proper context, the principles taught in 1st Cor. 13, the so-called “love-chapter,” are indisputable. Paul wanted the Corinthian believers and church, which by extension applies to today’s Christian and Church, to realize that they [we] might have all the Spirit-given gifts imaginable and they [we] might desire to apply them to “the greater good” of need in their [our] world; but if they [we] don’t express God’s love (i.e., agape love), their gifts would be like clanging gongs and accomplish nothing.
This section of the Pauline epistles is often read at weddings; and certainly the application of agape love should be exercised in a marriage. But the contextual application of 1st Cor. 13 goes way beyond the specific context of marriage. It speaks to how the church, with unity and Spirit-led fruitfulness, is shining the light of Christ, Who is our model of agape, into a world which desperately needs it. The world is dark, isn’t it? And it desperately needs the Light of God’s love to shine forth and dispel the darkness. But from whence does that light come?
Well, Jesus Himself said it (in Matt. 5: 16), … “… let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." It is those “good deeds,” activated by the expression of God’s love in/through the believer, which shine Christ’s light into the darkness. Love is so incredibly enlightening! And therefore, it empowers the believer to BE Christ in a Christ starved world; so, … it behooves you and me to answer Dr. Smith’s probing question for the day, as he writes, ”If perhaps appreciating ‘the good’ comes easy for me, how motivated am I by ‘the greater good?’ “ And for me that “greater good” is doing all I can to shine Christ’s light of love when I see darkness.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to be Your torch in an ever darkening world. Amen
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
2010 – December 1 – With Freedom and Responsibility
BLOGGER'S NOTE: On January 1, 2010 I set a convenant goal with God and a number of my Christian accountability partners to read/study through the Bible this year. My "tool" to accomplish this was to use a Bible edited by Dr. F. LaGard Smith, The Daily Bible in Chronological Order, which, to the editor's campability and study, exposes the Bible in logical/chronological order. Dr. Smith also has a companion tool, a devotional book, The Daily Bible Devotional, which follows along with the Bible he has edited and presents daily topical snapshots for his readers to glean biblical truths for their lives. Thus far this has been a daunting discipline for me; but here I am, coming down the stretch in the last month of 2010; and GOD WILLING, on Dec. 31st, I'll be here bragging on God's enabling grace for giving me the discipline to finish my trek through His word. For those who've come along with me, all the way or part of the way, I hope this journey has been as uplifting for you as it has for me.
Study from God’s Word… Continuing on in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians (his second letter which we call his first) 1st Corinthians, Chapters 5 – 10 and 1Cor 11: 1 … Passage for Reflection: 1st Corinthians 10: 23 - 24 … NIV 23 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.
My Journal for Today: What should we, as Christians do; and what should we avoid? Christian freedom versus Christian discipline: Isn’t that one of the most perplexing and challenging confrontations we must deal with as disciples of Christ? Well, that was one of the main issues to which the Apostle Paul addressed in his letter to the Corinthians (and of course, extended to all Christians today in our Bible). And there were some tough issues the people and the Church in Corinth were dealing with in those days, … such things as idolatry, sexual immorality [such as homosexuality and even incest], and human greed, not to mention “smaller” categories of sin (though any/all sin, of course, is an affront to God).
And the Corinthians Christians, Jews and Gentiles alike, were also dealing with how to decide to live out their new found freedom from God’s Law with the responsibility to live in accord with God’s will. It’s like children who must have rules and discipline to prevent them from danger and even death; but then the kid grows up and has to learn how to handle the freedom he has in not needing the strict rules as an adult. It’s a matter of having the right to do X, Y, or Z; but knowing that doing X, Y, or Z will not honor God or give Him glory. Therefore, as today’s highlight passage depicts, there may be things I have the right to do; but I won’t do them because they can be dangerous to my health or certainly dishonor my God as an improper witness.
For example, you may have the freedom to cross a very busy six-lane highway where vehicles are traveling 70 miles per hour; but would you choose to exercise that freedom? Today in our permissive culture the laws may say that I have the right to engage in sexual relations with another man. Some may even say that such behavior is “normal;” … and yet if I had a desire to have sex with another man and I knew he was HIV+, would I exercise my “freedom” to do so? Of course, I wouldn’t; but am I FREE, as a Christian male, to have sex with any other male, even if he were not HIV+? Big debate going on in our culture today, isn’t it? And it was so back in Paul’s day as he addressed what the Corinthians were confronting in their world too.
Maybe you’re saying that my examples are too extreme. Well, let me take it down to a very human, and very personal level. When I go through a serving line at any of the buffet type restaurants, once I pay my front-end price, I’m “FREE” to eat anything on display there in the restaurant. And I can go back as often as I want to exercise that pre-paid freedom. But the question, as a Christian is, should I, as a disciple of Christ, who happens to be a diabetic, exercise my freedom in that restaurant and gorge myself on many, many dishes which could be or are hazardous to my health. And another serious question is … should I put my sin-weakness of gluttony on display for anyone to see, especially others who might know that I’m a Christian minister?
Yes, my dear ones, we are free from God’s Law as Christians; but Paul wanted the Corinthians – and God wanted us, through Paul’s letters – to know that our freedom as Christians can only be exercised to the extent of the perception of how others, especially non-believers, perceive our behavior. As Dr. Smith reminded his readers today: "There is a saying in law that your right to swing your fist ends at my nose." And I’ll leave you to contemplate that truth as well as the truth of what the Apostle Paul is relating to the Christians at Corinth, which is so applicable to our culture today.
Maybe it would be a good exercise for you to go back, as I’m being led to do by my devotional trek, and read – in depth – Paul’s admonition to the Christians in Corinth. I’ll leave you to that study; but I know it will be as productive for you as it is for me.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, You are my freedom; so help me to know that my freedom to be shines Your light for others to see; and I want them to see YOU and not me. Amen
Study from God’s Word… Continuing on in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians (his second letter which we call his first) 1st Corinthians, Chapters 5 – 10 and 1Cor 11: 1 … Passage for Reflection: 1st Corinthians 10: 23 - 24 … NIV 23 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.
My Journal for Today: What should we, as Christians do; and what should we avoid? Christian freedom versus Christian discipline: Isn’t that one of the most perplexing and challenging confrontations we must deal with as disciples of Christ? Well, that was one of the main issues to which the Apostle Paul addressed in his letter to the Corinthians (and of course, extended to all Christians today in our Bible). And there were some tough issues the people and the Church in Corinth were dealing with in those days, … such things as idolatry, sexual immorality [such as homosexuality and even incest], and human greed, not to mention “smaller” categories of sin (though any/all sin, of course, is an affront to God).
And the Corinthians Christians, Jews and Gentiles alike, were also dealing with how to decide to live out their new found freedom from God’s Law with the responsibility to live in accord with God’s will. It’s like children who must have rules and discipline to prevent them from danger and even death; but then the kid grows up and has to learn how to handle the freedom he has in not needing the strict rules as an adult. It’s a matter of having the right to do X, Y, or Z; but knowing that doing X, Y, or Z will not honor God or give Him glory. Therefore, as today’s highlight passage depicts, there may be things I have the right to do; but I won’t do them because they can be dangerous to my health or certainly dishonor my God as an improper witness.
For example, you may have the freedom to cross a very busy six-lane highway where vehicles are traveling 70 miles per hour; but would you choose to exercise that freedom? Today in our permissive culture the laws may say that I have the right to engage in sexual relations with another man. Some may even say that such behavior is “normal;” … and yet if I had a desire to have sex with another man and I knew he was HIV+, would I exercise my “freedom” to do so? Of course, I wouldn’t; but am I FREE, as a Christian male, to have sex with any other male, even if he were not HIV+? Big debate going on in our culture today, isn’t it? And it was so back in Paul’s day as he addressed what the Corinthians were confronting in their world too.
Maybe you’re saying that my examples are too extreme. Well, let me take it down to a very human, and very personal level. When I go through a serving line at any of the buffet type restaurants, once I pay my front-end price, I’m “FREE” to eat anything on display there in the restaurant. And I can go back as often as I want to exercise that pre-paid freedom. But the question, as a Christian is, should I, as a disciple of Christ, who happens to be a diabetic, exercise my freedom in that restaurant and gorge myself on many, many dishes which could be or are hazardous to my health. And another serious question is … should I put my sin-weakness of gluttony on display for anyone to see, especially others who might know that I’m a Christian minister?
Yes, my dear ones, we are free from God’s Law as Christians; but Paul wanted the Corinthians – and God wanted us, through Paul’s letters – to know that our freedom as Christians can only be exercised to the extent of the perception of how others, especially non-believers, perceive our behavior. As Dr. Smith reminded his readers today: "There is a saying in law that your right to swing your fist ends at my nose." And I’ll leave you to contemplate that truth as well as the truth of what the Apostle Paul is relating to the Christians at Corinth, which is so applicable to our culture today.
Maybe it would be a good exercise for you to go back, as I’m being led to do by my devotional trek, and read – in depth – Paul’s admonition to the Christians in Corinth. I’ll leave you to that study; but I know it will be as productive for you as it is for me.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, You are my freedom; so help me to know that my freedom to be shines Your light for others to see; and I want them to see YOU and not me. Amen
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
2010 – November 30 – Carnal Christianity
Study from God’s Word… Chapters 1 – 4 of Paul’s second letter to the Church at Corinth, which we know of as 1st Corinthians since the first letter is not available in the canon of Scripture … Passage for Reflection: 1st Corinthians 3: 1 … NIV Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly – mere infants in Christ.
My Journal for Today: You’ve probably heard or read the term “carnal Christian” used to describe Christians who were [or are] handling life through human methods or ways of thinking rather than relying on God’s wisdom and the leading of God’s Spirit. So, as Dr. LaGard Smith points out today, that term, “carnal christian,” is somewhat of an oxymoron, isn’t it? If we’re truly Christian, we should be looking to God and following God’s truth rather than relying on self or man’s ways, shouldn’t we?
As the Apostle Paul was trying to point out to the Christians at Corinth (and to each of us in reading his epistles in the Bible), our ability to interpret life and to walk in truth has to do with our maturity and discernment of the truth of the Gospel and the ways of God, which are presented to us in His word. Hence we read in one of God’s later directives, again through Paul, this time to Timothy in 2nd Tim. 3: 16-17, reading that we, as disciples of Christ, are to follow God’s ways from His word in order to overcome the fallacies and foolishness of the world. That’s why Paul was addressing the foolishness of the divisions within the church at Corinth which had resulted by men following men rather than following God and God’s Spirit.
And when we read these charges and challenges Paul wrote to Corinth, we realize that we’re still being “carnal christians” in this world, following personalities rather than the Person of God’s Spirit, Who will lead us exactly where we need to walk, IF we follow HIM and HIS WAYS rather than, as babes, following the lures of carnality we hear today from worldly gurus like Mohammed, Confucius, Joseph Smith, or even one like Oprah Winfrey. Any time we act like children and follow the Pied Pipers of untruth, rather than being like the Bereans (again, see Acts 17: 10-15), we’re going to be led down the path to carnality and away from real Christianity, which relies exclusively on the truth of the Gospel and the message of the Cross which we find embedded in the truth of God’s word.
So, my fellow Christian life traveler, I hearken back to the truth of 2Tim. 3: 16-17, linked here for your review and meditation, keeping us away from human divisiveness and carnal foolishness by shining the light of truth (i.e., the message of Christ through His Spirit) imparted through His word for our direction and guidance through the travails of life.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, in the fogginess of life, I look to the harbor light which is Your truth in Your word. Amen
My Journal for Today: You’ve probably heard or read the term “carnal Christian” used to describe Christians who were [or are] handling life through human methods or ways of thinking rather than relying on God’s wisdom and the leading of God’s Spirit. So, as Dr. LaGard Smith points out today, that term, “carnal christian,” is somewhat of an oxymoron, isn’t it? If we’re truly Christian, we should be looking to God and following God’s truth rather than relying on self or man’s ways, shouldn’t we?
As the Apostle Paul was trying to point out to the Christians at Corinth (and to each of us in reading his epistles in the Bible), our ability to interpret life and to walk in truth has to do with our maturity and discernment of the truth of the Gospel and the ways of God, which are presented to us in His word. Hence we read in one of God’s later directives, again through Paul, this time to Timothy in 2nd Tim. 3: 16-17, reading that we, as disciples of Christ, are to follow God’s ways from His word in order to overcome the fallacies and foolishness of the world. That’s why Paul was addressing the foolishness of the divisions within the church at Corinth which had resulted by men following men rather than following God and God’s Spirit.
And when we read these charges and challenges Paul wrote to Corinth, we realize that we’re still being “carnal christians” in this world, following personalities rather than the Person of God’s Spirit, Who will lead us exactly where we need to walk, IF we follow HIM and HIS WAYS rather than, as babes, following the lures of carnality we hear today from worldly gurus like Mohammed, Confucius, Joseph Smith, or even one like Oprah Winfrey. Any time we act like children and follow the Pied Pipers of untruth, rather than being like the Bereans (again, see Acts 17: 10-15), we’re going to be led down the path to carnality and away from real Christianity, which relies exclusively on the truth of the Gospel and the message of the Cross which we find embedded in the truth of God’s word.
So, my fellow Christian life traveler, I hearken back to the truth of 2Tim. 3: 16-17, linked here for your review and meditation, keeping us away from human divisiveness and carnal foolishness by shining the light of truth (i.e., the message of Christ through His Spirit) imparted through His word for our direction and guidance through the travails of life.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, in the fogginess of life, I look to the harbor light which is Your truth in Your word. Amen
Monday, November 29, 2010
2010 – November 29 – "Lord Willing !!"
Study from God’s Word… Reading the 2nd letter to the church at Thessalonica and in Acts 18: 12 – Acts 19: 22 about Paul’s third missionary journey. … Passage for Reflection: Acts 18: 21 in the context of verses 19 - 22 … NIV 19 They [Paul and his traveling companions] arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to spend more time with them, he declined. 21 But as he left, he promised, “I will come back if it is God’s will.” Then he set sail from Ephesus. 22 When he landed at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch.
My Journal for Today: That’s an interesting phrase, “…if it is God’s will;” and Dr. Smith points out today that its use appears to be diminishing in even our Christian social interaction. Paul’s use of the directional phrase in today’s highlight passage had to do with his expressed belief that God was the one guiding his journeys (in this case in his third missionary journey to Ephesus and other spots in Asia-Minor).
When I was a kid, I used to hear folks, Christian and non-believers, use a social phrase when trying to express quandary over what might transpire. They’d say about some future questioned possibility, “Well, … God willing and if the creek don’t rise.” And the implication was – either from tradition or belief – that God was the one Who was in control; and any future event was in His hands and not in the purview of the one speaking those words. But these days, in a culture which is becoming more secularized and where human control is more and more valued, the phrase “God willing” is just disappearing from our social mindset; and I’m afraid that’s even the case for Christians.
Dr. Smith’s probing evaluation question for the day is one we all should answer for ourselves. He posits, ”Do I ever consciously factor God’s will into my future plans?” Good question, huh?
In other words, when we’re trying to live and move within the will of God, which I assume is a goal of any Christian reading this here today, do we really believe and actively pursue God’s way as we set out in a given direction or make choices which have lasting impact on our own lives, let alone the lives of our family and others in our sphere of influence?
You know, God, through Paul, charged Christians in Ephesus (and all of us, by extension) to beware of our directions and choices, especially in troubled times [please meditate on Paul’s exhortation in Ephesians 5: 15-16 - linked here]. Jesus was clear to His followers (the people of “the Way” - see Luke 9: 23) to deny self and, when things get tough, to follow Him (and His ways). So, we need to, as disciples of Christ, be seeking – and finding – the “God willing” way in life rather than the way of SELF actualization or SELF determination, toward which so many are turning and pointing in our world.
I believe Christians began to turn away from seeking the “God willing” ways to the “self willed” ways back in the 50s, under the influence of “positive thinking” gurus like Norman Vincent Peale; and now we see a great proliferation in the secularized spiritual teachings of those like Oprah Winfrey as well as “word-of-faith” false preachers, touting themselves as “christian,” … people like Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Joyce Meyer and all of the other “prosperity gospel” advocates. They all point mankind toward self-will and thereby away from the “God willing” point of view.
I hope we all, as followers of Christ, are doing what Paul was trying to teach the Christians in Thessalonica and on his various missionary journeys, as well as through God’s teachings in Paul’s epistles, … and that is to actively, and in surrender to God’s Spirit, seek out God’s will and become a “God willing” advocate rather than a pusher of the “self willing” points of view.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I surrender to say that “God willing” I will seek Your way rather than my way. Amen
My Journal for Today: That’s an interesting phrase, “…if it is God’s will;” and Dr. Smith points out today that its use appears to be diminishing in even our Christian social interaction. Paul’s use of the directional phrase in today’s highlight passage had to do with his expressed belief that God was the one guiding his journeys (in this case in his third missionary journey to Ephesus and other spots in Asia-Minor).
When I was a kid, I used to hear folks, Christian and non-believers, use a social phrase when trying to express quandary over what might transpire. They’d say about some future questioned possibility, “Well, … God willing and if the creek don’t rise.” And the implication was – either from tradition or belief – that God was the one Who was in control; and any future event was in His hands and not in the purview of the one speaking those words. But these days, in a culture which is becoming more secularized and where human control is more and more valued, the phrase “God willing” is just disappearing from our social mindset; and I’m afraid that’s even the case for Christians.
Dr. Smith’s probing evaluation question for the day is one we all should answer for ourselves. He posits, ”Do I ever consciously factor God’s will into my future plans?” Good question, huh?
In other words, when we’re trying to live and move within the will of God, which I assume is a goal of any Christian reading this here today, do we really believe and actively pursue God’s way as we set out in a given direction or make choices which have lasting impact on our own lives, let alone the lives of our family and others in our sphere of influence?
You know, God, through Paul, charged Christians in Ephesus (and all of us, by extension) to beware of our directions and choices, especially in troubled times [please meditate on Paul’s exhortation in Ephesians 5: 15-16 - linked here]. Jesus was clear to His followers (the people of “the Way” - see Luke 9: 23) to deny self and, when things get tough, to follow Him (and His ways). So, we need to, as disciples of Christ, be seeking – and finding – the “God willing” way in life rather than the way of SELF actualization or SELF determination, toward which so many are turning and pointing in our world.
I believe Christians began to turn away from seeking the “God willing” ways to the “self willed” ways back in the 50s, under the influence of “positive thinking” gurus like Norman Vincent Peale; and now we see a great proliferation in the secularized spiritual teachings of those like Oprah Winfrey as well as “word-of-faith” false preachers, touting themselves as “christian,” … people like Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Joyce Meyer and all of the other “prosperity gospel” advocates. They all point mankind toward self-will and thereby away from the “God willing” point of view.
I hope we all, as followers of Christ, are doing what Paul was trying to teach the Christians in Thessalonica and on his various missionary journeys, as well as through God’s teachings in Paul’s epistles, … and that is to actively, and in surrender to God’s Spirit, seek out God’s will and become a “God willing” advocate rather than a pusher of the “self willing” points of view.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I surrender to say that “God willing” I will seek Your way rather than my way. Amen
Sunday, November 28, 2010
2010 – November 28 – Raising Our Ambitions Lower
Study from God’s Word… On his second missionary journey, Paul writes two letters to the church of Greek converts in Thessalonica, where he had visited on his way to Corinth during this journey. Reading today through the 1st Letter to the Thessalonians … Passage for Reflection: 1st Thessalonians 4: 11-12, in the context of Paul’s letter to Greek Christians on how to live a life more pleasing to God … NIV 1 As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. …
9 Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. 10 And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, 11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
My Journal for Today: If you’re a new convert or a relatively immature believer (spiritually), reading through Paul’s letter to relatively new Christians in Thessalonica is a good read for direction in sanctification. Well, actually it’s a good study for mature Christians too; … as a check-up to see if one is living the Christian life the way it should be lived to please God.
Today’s highlight passages pose an interesting lesson for those of us Christians who, today, live in a world which honors assertive, if not aggressive, ambition. And Dr. Smith’s devotional title for today is an interesting one: Raising Our Ambition Lower. And what the Apostle Paul was teaching in 1Thes 4: 11-12, and Dr. Smith is reinforcing with his title, is that Christians in any pagan or assertively non-Christian culture need to avoid getting caught up in the magnetic draw of the world to “climb the ladder” of worldly success by being ambitious to get ahead.
But Paul is not trying to get Christians (that’s us, as well as the Thessalonians) to not be ambitious. No, he’s just trying to get the focus of our ambition on what is pleasing to God and not necessarily to mankind … or even more so to self. Whereas Satan, the world, and most certainly our own flesh would have us being ambitious to climb over others, God’s ambition would be for us to help others who need support. It’s the message Jesus continually taught while on earth … that the last will be first and the first will be last.
So, Dr. Smith is asking us to evaluate where, and to what, we direct our ambitions. Is our drive to please others or live according to God’s way of living? Is our motivated purpose to be ahead in the world or ahead in God’s kingdom by serving others? Are we compulsively driven to stand and help others rise to God’s standards; or are we ambitious to climb on top of others on the way up the human ladder of worldly success?
Well, I used to be driven to be seen by others and to get feedback from others as to my professional prowess. Now, my driven ambitions are to know my God as intimately as possible and to follow His lead as closely as possible. I guess I’m in that later-life mode as a Christian to become what Paul was writing about to the Thessalonians. So, I pray we’re all “raising our ambitions lower” to honor and glorify God.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to make less of myself so that You may be elevated in the eyes of all who see You in me. Amen
9 Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. 10 And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, 11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
My Journal for Today: If you’re a new convert or a relatively immature believer (spiritually), reading through Paul’s letter to relatively new Christians in Thessalonica is a good read for direction in sanctification. Well, actually it’s a good study for mature Christians too; … as a check-up to see if one is living the Christian life the way it should be lived to please God.
Today’s highlight passages pose an interesting lesson for those of us Christians who, today, live in a world which honors assertive, if not aggressive, ambition. And Dr. Smith’s devotional title for today is an interesting one: Raising Our Ambition Lower. And what the Apostle Paul was teaching in 1Thes 4: 11-12, and Dr. Smith is reinforcing with his title, is that Christians in any pagan or assertively non-Christian culture need to avoid getting caught up in the magnetic draw of the world to “climb the ladder” of worldly success by being ambitious to get ahead.
But Paul is not trying to get Christians (that’s us, as well as the Thessalonians) to not be ambitious. No, he’s just trying to get the focus of our ambition on what is pleasing to God and not necessarily to mankind … or even more so to self. Whereas Satan, the world, and most certainly our own flesh would have us being ambitious to climb over others, God’s ambition would be for us to help others who need support. It’s the message Jesus continually taught while on earth … that the last will be first and the first will be last.
So, Dr. Smith is asking us to evaluate where, and to what, we direct our ambitions. Is our drive to please others or live according to God’s way of living? Is our motivated purpose to be ahead in the world or ahead in God’s kingdom by serving others? Are we compulsively driven to stand and help others rise to God’s standards; or are we ambitious to climb on top of others on the way up the human ladder of worldly success?
Well, I used to be driven to be seen by others and to get feedback from others as to my professional prowess. Now, my driven ambitions are to know my God as intimately as possible and to follow His lead as closely as possible. I guess I’m in that later-life mode as a Christian to become what Paul was writing about to the Thessalonians. So, I pray we’re all “raising our ambitions lower” to honor and glorify God.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to make less of myself so that You may be elevated in the eyes of all who see You in me. Amen
Saturday, November 27, 2010
2010 – November 27 – A Holy Hunger for Truth
Study from God’s Word… Acts Acts 5: 36 through chapter 18: 11, documenting Paul’s second missionary journey to Asia-Minor and southern Greece … Passage for Reflection: Acts 17: 11 [in the context of verses 10 – 12] … NIV 10 As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.
My Journal for Today: What is truth, anyway? And that’s a question which rattled Pilate when he was adjudicating Jesus’ fate [see John 18: 37-38]. Pilate was weighing two truths; and all he could really focus on was the worldly, political truth that he had a man before him who was touted as “a king;” and the truth of Roman power during that time was that only Caesar could be king. So, for Pilate, political truth weighed more heavily that the pursuit of absolute truth; and THE truth, as it turned out, was standing right before Pilate in the person of The Christ.
But, as we read, in the book of Acts, of the 2nd missionary journey of Paul and some of his compatriots, including Silas, Timothy, and Luke, we read of Paul being led by the Holy Spirit to Berea; and from Acts 17: 10-15 [linked] we have today’s highlight passage, one I hold to strongly because of the example set by the Berean Jews who encountered Paul and heard him preaching the Gospel. These Berean believers, in the one, true God, were well trained and well-versed in the Scripture as they knew it, which was The Law and the written words of the Prophets. So, when they encountered Paul, preaching a new type of truth, the first thing that they did was to go back and match what Paul was teaching with THE TRUTH of Scripture to see if the word Paul was bringing could stand up to the plumb of truth as they knew it from God’s Holy Word.
And that, my fellow Christian, is exactly the attitude which we should have when we hear people of worldly influence (and I’m now thinking of people like Oprah Winfrey), spouting messages they claim to be truth, especially messages which do not square up with Scripture, as we know it, which, of course, includes the canonized and scholarly translated Bible.
We need to be Bereans in our beliefs, holding closely to truth, absolute truth, such as is found in 2nd Tim. 3: 16-17, which I hope you know, which says, All SCRIPTURE is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. And this scriptural plumb of truth, the Bible, teaches (in 1st John 4: 1 and 1st Thess. 5: 21) for believers to test out all espoused doctrine and ideas to see, as the Bereans did, … if worldly ideas are in accord with God’s truth as we know it from the Bible.
As today’s devotional title by Dr. Smith posits, we, as Christians, need to have a "holy hunger for truth" as we live live in a world of growing secularism and increasing relativity of ideas. Therefore, as we are trying to know what is “truth,” we must have a solid, believable, and steady standards upon which to stand in the world of ideas. And as we glean from what God has shared with me today, this TRUTH is found – and only found - in the person of Jesus Christ and documented in His Holy Word.
Therefore, when you hear doctrines being taught or preached in the marketplace of ideas and ideals, such as those by the likes of Oprah and even false “christian” teachers, like the so-called word-of-faith proponents, we need to be like the Bereans and go back to check these teachings to see if they test out positive when it comes to the plumb and standard of Biblical truth.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help us to become Holy obsessed with Your TRUTH which is found and give to us by Your word, the Bible. Amen
My Journal for Today: What is truth, anyway? And that’s a question which rattled Pilate when he was adjudicating Jesus’ fate [see John 18: 37-38]. Pilate was weighing two truths; and all he could really focus on was the worldly, political truth that he had a man before him who was touted as “a king;” and the truth of Roman power during that time was that only Caesar could be king. So, for Pilate, political truth weighed more heavily that the pursuit of absolute truth; and THE truth, as it turned out, was standing right before Pilate in the person of The Christ.
But, as we read, in the book of Acts, of the 2nd missionary journey of Paul and some of his compatriots, including Silas, Timothy, and Luke, we read of Paul being led by the Holy Spirit to Berea; and from Acts 17: 10-15 [linked] we have today’s highlight passage, one I hold to strongly because of the example set by the Berean Jews who encountered Paul and heard him preaching the Gospel. These Berean believers, in the one, true God, were well trained and well-versed in the Scripture as they knew it, which was The Law and the written words of the Prophets. So, when they encountered Paul, preaching a new type of truth, the first thing that they did was to go back and match what Paul was teaching with THE TRUTH of Scripture to see if the word Paul was bringing could stand up to the plumb of truth as they knew it from God’s Holy Word.
And that, my fellow Christian, is exactly the attitude which we should have when we hear people of worldly influence (and I’m now thinking of people like Oprah Winfrey), spouting messages they claim to be truth, especially messages which do not square up with Scripture, as we know it, which, of course, includes the canonized and scholarly translated Bible.
We need to be Bereans in our beliefs, holding closely to truth, absolute truth, such as is found in 2nd Tim. 3: 16-17, which I hope you know, which says, All SCRIPTURE is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. And this scriptural plumb of truth, the Bible, teaches (in 1st John 4: 1 and 1st Thess. 5: 21) for believers to test out all espoused doctrine and ideas to see, as the Bereans did, … if worldly ideas are in accord with God’s truth as we know it from the Bible.
As today’s devotional title by Dr. Smith posits, we, as Christians, need to have a "holy hunger for truth" as we live live in a world of growing secularism and increasing relativity of ideas. Therefore, as we are trying to know what is “truth,” we must have a solid, believable, and steady standards upon which to stand in the world of ideas. And as we glean from what God has shared with me today, this TRUTH is found – and only found - in the person of Jesus Christ and documented in His Holy Word.
Therefore, when you hear doctrines being taught or preached in the marketplace of ideas and ideals, such as those by the likes of Oprah and even false “christian” teachers, like the so-called word-of-faith proponents, we need to be like the Bereans and go back to check these teachings to see if they test out positive when it comes to the plumb and standard of Biblical truth.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help us to become Holy obsessed with Your TRUTH which is found and give to us by Your word, the Bible. Amen
Friday, November 26, 2010
2010 – November 26 – Dead Men Walking
Study from God’s Word… The entire letter to the church at Galatia … Passage for Reflection: Galatians 2: 20 … NIV ... I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
My Journal for Today: Today, my devotional shepherd, Dr. LaGard Smith, in his book of devotions based upon my reading of The Daily Bible in Chronological Order had me read through the entire letter Paul wrote to the churches in Galatia, that region in Asia Minor where Paul and Barnabas had traveled and evangelized. At the time Paul wrote the letter to these beloved Christians he had helped bring to Christ, a group of misguided Jews, claiming to be converted Christians, were trying to convince the Galatian believers in that region that they needed to be circumcised and follow the Old Covenant of the Law closely to be “real” Christians. And Paul wrote the truth that we read in the letter to the Galatians that the Gospel of Christ has freed them as Gentiles, not requiring any acts of the flesh to be converted for them to walk as heirs to God’s promise of salvation.
And the focus of today’s oft quoted passage from Galatians 2: 20 [a passage, by-the-way, I hope you have memorized] points all Christians to the identification we should have in the only way we can be saved; and that is to die to self by having surrendered faith in what Christ did for us on the cross. As Smith says today, when/if we acknowledge our sinfulness and surrender ourselves unto the death Christ experienced for us on the cross, we become “the walking dead.” But because Christ died so that we could be raised again, as He was from the grave, our spiritual death to our selves will become – one day in glory – spiritual and eternal life with Christ, which is so vividly portrayed in the witness of Christian baptism.
Today, Dr. Smith, my devotional author, closes his entry for the day with what he calls an “excruciating” question. He writes, ”Am I a dead person walking with Christ, or a pretend Christian who has yet to truly die (to self)?” For the receipt of God’s gift of salvation, all who walk with Christ must have been crucified to self for us to be “dead men (or women) walking.” I pray that this includes all who read here. If not, now is the time to choose to live in Christ and die to self. And if you have questions about that, you can email me now [Email Address - billb13@bellsouth.net]. Or you can go read the entire book of Galatians as I did this morning; and then go to Romans 10: 9 – 13 [linked] and read exactly what all must do to die to self and be reborn in Christ.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I pray that all here join me as the walking dead to self who’ve been reborn in Your for eternity. Amen
My Journal for Today: Today, my devotional shepherd, Dr. LaGard Smith, in his book of devotions based upon my reading of The Daily Bible in Chronological Order had me read through the entire letter Paul wrote to the churches in Galatia, that region in Asia Minor where Paul and Barnabas had traveled and evangelized. At the time Paul wrote the letter to these beloved Christians he had helped bring to Christ, a group of misguided Jews, claiming to be converted Christians, were trying to convince the Galatian believers in that region that they needed to be circumcised and follow the Old Covenant of the Law closely to be “real” Christians. And Paul wrote the truth that we read in the letter to the Galatians that the Gospel of Christ has freed them as Gentiles, not requiring any acts of the flesh to be converted for them to walk as heirs to God’s promise of salvation.
And the focus of today’s oft quoted passage from Galatians 2: 20 [a passage, by-the-way, I hope you have memorized] points all Christians to the identification we should have in the only way we can be saved; and that is to die to self by having surrendered faith in what Christ did for us on the cross. As Smith says today, when/if we acknowledge our sinfulness and surrender ourselves unto the death Christ experienced for us on the cross, we become “the walking dead.” But because Christ died so that we could be raised again, as He was from the grave, our spiritual death to our selves will become – one day in glory – spiritual and eternal life with Christ, which is so vividly portrayed in the witness of Christian baptism.
Today, Dr. Smith, my devotional author, closes his entry for the day with what he calls an “excruciating” question. He writes, ”Am I a dead person walking with Christ, or a pretend Christian who has yet to truly die (to self)?” For the receipt of God’s gift of salvation, all who walk with Christ must have been crucified to self for us to be “dead men (or women) walking.” I pray that this includes all who read here. If not, now is the time to choose to live in Christ and die to self. And if you have questions about that, you can email me now [Email Address - billb13@bellsouth.net]. Or you can go read the entire book of Galatians as I did this morning; and then go to Romans 10: 9 – 13 [linked] and read exactly what all must do to die to self and be reborn in Christ.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I pray that all here join me as the walking dead to self who’ve been reborn in Your for eternity. Amen
Thursday, November 25, 2010
2010 – November 25 – A Rough Road to the Kingdom
Special Blogger's Note: Your ElderBerry friend, Bill, here wanting to relate to any/all who come here - maybe today and maybe other days - to read or even meditate on what God leads me to write here in these daily devotional blogs. It's THANKSGIVING DAY; and I'm so very thankful to be reading through the entire Bible this year (still on track into the 11th month). And I'm thankful to have followers like you, who, knowing you're there, have helped to keep me accountable and motivated to <'KOKO>< , which means "to keep on keeping on in Christ!" Thanks to you, to God's willingness to give me a little more than a month more, and mostly to God's enabling grace, keeping me on track in this covenant to Him on January 1, 2010, I'm going to read/study through the entire Bible this year; and doing it will be all to God's glory. Thanks, some of you, for coming along with me. I'm so grateful for your presence. =====================
Study from God’s Word… Acts, Chapters 13 – 15 … Passage for Reflection: Acts 14: 21 - 22 … NIV Then they [Paul, revived after being stoned by offended Greek Jews on his first missionary journey to Asia-Minor, and Barnabas, traveling with Paul] … returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch (in northern Syria), 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
My Journal for Today: Okay, today is Thanksgiving in this year as I read today’s chapters from Acts and, led by Dr. Smith’s devotional, highlighting a passage attributed to the teachings of both Paul and Barnabas, who were teaching Jewish and Gentile Christians on their first missionary journey to Asia Minor. And in this study, I come upon another of those perplexing doctrinal conundrums which cause us to pause to ask how much of good works, in the face of persecution or worldly, human trial, is necessary for a believer in Jesus, as The Christ, to enter the kingdom of God, which is our heaven-bound home as born-again Christians after we’ve lived out our lives here on this earth.
We know a lot as Christians; and we really learn the basics from the Bible about salvation by God’s grace, through faith, leading to good works and kingdom as we read and internalize Christ’s sermon on the mount and then Paul’s letters later to the Church. In passages like Ephesians 2: 8-10, we read that salvation only comes through receiving the free gift of God’s saving grace by faith in Christ’s death and resurrection for our sins; and then in verse 10 of that passage, we see that fully receiving this saving grace leads to the enabling/empowering and sanctifying grace of God which shapes Christians to be able to withstand the very “hardships” which Paul and Barnabas are teaching Christians about in today’s passage.
The question and the Christian conundrum though the age of the Church has always been what Dr. Smith wrote out in his devotional challenge for the day, writing, In light of Jesus’ teaching, how far do I have to go to enter the kingdom of God?” Well, let me comment on that briefly.
I KNOW that I will enter the kingdom of God upon my exit from life because first of all my commitment in faith to Christ as Savior AND LORD, is very real. I KNOW and have declared repeatedly to others that I was (and still remain) a sinner; but I’m a sinner who was saved by the blood shed by Christ on the cross; and furthermore I believe and KNOW the truth of His resurrection from the dead to show God’s power over death. And then finally, KNOWING the truth of God’s word in Romans 10: 9-13, where the process of salvation is clearly laid out, my life since I let Christ into my heart has been a process of confrontation with the world, Satan, and my own sinful flesh. But these hardships have happened with me experiencing the enabling grace given to me by God’s presence in my heart to become the “living sacrifice,” described by Paul in Romans 12: 1-2.
I believe; and I KNOW it’s true, as Paul/Barnabas taught to Christians (in the above verse) that one cannot expect to be in the kingdom of God unless the trials of life have shown the believer that he/she has the presence and power of God’s Spirit in them and working through them in order for us, as true, born-again believers, to exhibit the fruitfulness described in John 15 and Galatians 5: 22-23.
I’ll leave it to you, if you don’t know those passages I’ve referred to above, by heart, to look them up and meditate on them here at Thanksgiving; and if you are like me on this special day, you’ll be so thankful that you let God’s grace into your life so that you can be saved from your self and allowed and empowered to deal with the hardships of life. Be thankful today, my Christian friend, that you are in, and always will be in, the Kingdom of God.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, on this Thanksgiving Day, I’m so thankful that You, Lord, led me into Your Kingdom. Amen
Study from God’s Word… Acts, Chapters 13 – 15 … Passage for Reflection: Acts 14: 21 - 22 … NIV Then they [Paul, revived after being stoned by offended Greek Jews on his first missionary journey to Asia-Minor, and Barnabas, traveling with Paul] … returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch (in northern Syria), 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
My Journal for Today: Okay, today is Thanksgiving in this year as I read today’s chapters from Acts and, led by Dr. Smith’s devotional, highlighting a passage attributed to the teachings of both Paul and Barnabas, who were teaching Jewish and Gentile Christians on their first missionary journey to Asia Minor. And in this study, I come upon another of those perplexing doctrinal conundrums which cause us to pause to ask how much of good works, in the face of persecution or worldly, human trial, is necessary for a believer in Jesus, as The Christ, to enter the kingdom of God, which is our heaven-bound home as born-again Christians after we’ve lived out our lives here on this earth.
We know a lot as Christians; and we really learn the basics from the Bible about salvation by God’s grace, through faith, leading to good works and kingdom as we read and internalize Christ’s sermon on the mount and then Paul’s letters later to the Church. In passages like Ephesians 2: 8-10, we read that salvation only comes through receiving the free gift of God’s saving grace by faith in Christ’s death and resurrection for our sins; and then in verse 10 of that passage, we see that fully receiving this saving grace leads to the enabling/empowering and sanctifying grace of God which shapes Christians to be able to withstand the very “hardships” which Paul and Barnabas are teaching Christians about in today’s passage.
The question and the Christian conundrum though the age of the Church has always been what Dr. Smith wrote out in his devotional challenge for the day, writing, In light of Jesus’ teaching, how far do I have to go to enter the kingdom of God?” Well, let me comment on that briefly.
I KNOW that I will enter the kingdom of God upon my exit from life because first of all my commitment in faith to Christ as Savior AND LORD, is very real. I KNOW and have declared repeatedly to others that I was (and still remain) a sinner; but I’m a sinner who was saved by the blood shed by Christ on the cross; and furthermore I believe and KNOW the truth of His resurrection from the dead to show God’s power over death. And then finally, KNOWING the truth of God’s word in Romans 10: 9-13, where the process of salvation is clearly laid out, my life since I let Christ into my heart has been a process of confrontation with the world, Satan, and my own sinful flesh. But these hardships have happened with me experiencing the enabling grace given to me by God’s presence in my heart to become the “living sacrifice,” described by Paul in Romans 12: 1-2.
I believe; and I KNOW it’s true, as Paul/Barnabas taught to Christians (in the above verse) that one cannot expect to be in the kingdom of God unless the trials of life have shown the believer that he/she has the presence and power of God’s Spirit in them and working through them in order for us, as true, born-again believers, to exhibit the fruitfulness described in John 15 and Galatians 5: 22-23.
I’ll leave it to you, if you don’t know those passages I’ve referred to above, by heart, to look them up and meditate on them here at Thanksgiving; and if you are like me on this special day, you’ll be so thankful that you let God’s grace into your life so that you can be saved from your self and allowed and empowered to deal with the hardships of life. Be thankful today, my Christian friend, that you are in, and always will be in, the Kingdom of God.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, on this Thanksgiving Day, I’m so thankful that You, Lord, led me into Your Kingdom. Amen
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
2010 – November 24 – Joy Beyond Belief
Study from God’s Word… Acts 9; 32 through Chapter 12… Passage for Reflection: Acts 12: 14 – 15 … NIV 14 When she [Rhoda, a servant girl in the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark] recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed [to those in the home gathered to pray, likely for Peter’s release], “Peter is at the door!” … 15 “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”
My Journal for Today: Do you see the interesting – and very human – conundrum in the highlight passage above. Here were a group of Christians gathered in a home, knowing that King Herod, the grandson of Herod, the Great, had executed James, the brother of John, and would likely do so to Peter, their beloved leader, as well. And so, these fellow “Christians” had likely gathered in the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, to pray that Peter would, some how, be spared death. And then, when Peter shows up at the door and is announced to the praying throng, they cannot believe it’s really him. >>> “Oh, ye, of little faith!”
But isn’t that the very human way we are as Christians? Have you ever prayed for a miracle of healing or deliverance; and low and behold, .. it happens; and then you’re astounded that it did? I certainly have had that happen; and I hope I never lose my AWE for what God does that is really humanly impossible. However, the fact remains that such instances point to the abnormal – or rather, the “supernatural” – and we, even as believers, are really blown away by God doing things that we may pray for but have trouble believing could ever occur.
Dr. LaGard Smith’s devotional title, “Joy Beyond Belief,” is a good one today to describe this point, which resonates in Dr. Smith’s prayerful self-evaluation question, which is quoted for you: ”Do I pray with such confidence in God’s power that I would never be surprised if He answered even the most challenging of [my] prayers?”
And this raises a follow-up question of my own: If I truly believe my God is omnipotent, why am I not praying for impossible things rather than just for the humanly possible?” If I could pray, knowing – beyond a doubt – that God could, would, and should do something miraculous, and well beyond man’s abilities to do something, for what “impossible” event or occurrence what would I be praying? Perhaps we should be praying for the release of Christians imprisoned with the threat of death, much as Peter was imprisoned by King Herod I. Maybe we should be praying for ALL abortions to cease in our world? Perhaps, being a leader of an ministry dealing with sexual sin, I should be praying more diligently and with discipline for the eradication of p0rnograpy from our culture.
And if (and when) God sees fit to grant us with a “YES” answer to our prayers for such miracles – which we know He could do, but maybe not always does do – shouldn’t we simply – in faith – express joy beyond belief for His mercy and grace? I think so; … what about you? And shouldn’t we, as believers in an omnipotent God, be challenged to up the ante of faith on our prayers, praying for many things which are way beyond mankind and considered in the realm of the miraculous? I think so; … what about you?
My Prayer for Today: Lord, forgive my short-sightedness and personal spiritual anemia when it comes to my prayers. Help me, IN FATH, to believe and pray big; because You, my Lord, are a BIG GOD, … far bigger than I could – and have – ever imagined. Amen
My Journal for Today: Do you see the interesting – and very human – conundrum in the highlight passage above. Here were a group of Christians gathered in a home, knowing that King Herod, the grandson of Herod, the Great, had executed James, the brother of John, and would likely do so to Peter, their beloved leader, as well. And so, these fellow “Christians” had likely gathered in the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, to pray that Peter would, some how, be spared death. And then, when Peter shows up at the door and is announced to the praying throng, they cannot believe it’s really him. >>> “Oh, ye, of little faith!”
But isn’t that the very human way we are as Christians? Have you ever prayed for a miracle of healing or deliverance; and low and behold, .. it happens; and then you’re astounded that it did? I certainly have had that happen; and I hope I never lose my AWE for what God does that is really humanly impossible. However, the fact remains that such instances point to the abnormal – or rather, the “supernatural” – and we, even as believers, are really blown away by God doing things that we may pray for but have trouble believing could ever occur.
Dr. LaGard Smith’s devotional title, “Joy Beyond Belief,” is a good one today to describe this point, which resonates in Dr. Smith’s prayerful self-evaluation question, which is quoted for you: ”Do I pray with such confidence in God’s power that I would never be surprised if He answered even the most challenging of [my] prayers?”
And this raises a follow-up question of my own: If I truly believe my God is omnipotent, why am I not praying for impossible things rather than just for the humanly possible?” If I could pray, knowing – beyond a doubt – that God could, would, and should do something miraculous, and well beyond man’s abilities to do something, for what “impossible” event or occurrence what would I be praying? Perhaps we should be praying for the release of Christians imprisoned with the threat of death, much as Peter was imprisoned by King Herod I. Maybe we should be praying for ALL abortions to cease in our world? Perhaps, being a leader of an ministry dealing with sexual sin, I should be praying more diligently and with discipline for the eradication of p0rnograpy from our culture.
And if (and when) God sees fit to grant us with a “YES” answer to our prayers for such miracles – which we know He could do, but maybe not always does do – shouldn’t we simply – in faith – express joy beyond belief for His mercy and grace? I think so; … what about you? And shouldn’t we, as believers in an omnipotent God, be challenged to up the ante of faith on our prayers, praying for many things which are way beyond mankind and considered in the realm of the miraculous? I think so; … what about you?
My Prayer for Today: Lord, forgive my short-sightedness and personal spiritual anemia when it comes to my prayers. Help me, IN FATH, to believe and pray big; because You, my Lord, are a BIG GOD, … far bigger than I could – and have – ever imagined. 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
Monday, November 22, 2010
2010 – November 22 – The Purpose of Prayer
Study from God’s Word… Acts 6: 8 – end of Chapter 7 … Passage for Reflection: Acts 7: 59 – 60 … NIV 59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”
My Journal for Today: Today, moving on in the reading of the accounts in the Acts of the Apostles in the early church, recounted by Dr. Luke, we come on the prayer prayed by Stephen, the first recorded martyr in Christianity, who prayed the prayer in our highlight text as he was being stoned to death. And any reader of Luke’s account of the passion (see Luke 23, verses 46 and 34) probably gets a sense of déjà vu in reading Stephen’s prayer; because it was essentially the same prayer that Jesus prayed on the cross for those who were carrying out the crucifixion of our Lord.
And this raises an age-old conundrum about prayer. Stephen, who was filled of God’s Spirit, prays for the forgiveness of his enemies [i.e., for their spiritual well-being], as Jesus had instructed His disciples to do in the Sermon on the Mount [see Matt. 4: 43-44]. Okay, understood! But does this mean that God, hearing the prayer of even the purest of hearts, like that of the Son of God Himself, is obligated to what is evoked from the heart and lips of the one praying the prayer.
And this is the conundrum; … that we are commanded to pray with a humble, thankful, and forgiving heart; yet God is not obliged to answer with a solid and responsive, “Yes” to our prayers. How many times have believers been frustrated in sincere and earnest and expectant prayers for the healing of a dying loved one only to see that one be ushered out of life into the next life? So, does that mean that our prayers are useless?
Absolutely not! So, … why pray for our enemies? Well, Dr. Smith answers his own rhetorical question at the end of his devotional for today as he writes, “Could it be that prayers for others [like the one uttered by Stephen as he was being stoned] are more for OUR soul’s good than for theirs?” And the answer to that one is a resounding “YES!” And therefore, I ask the self-evaluation question that Dr. Smith writes and says is DYING TO BE ASKED: ”Have I considered that I am spiritually shaped by the prayers that I pray (or don’t pray) on behalf of others?”
Well, that one has nailed me to the cross by Christ; and I’ll let you deal with it for your own relationship with Spirit-led shaping.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I stand convicted by my prideful lethargy and willful selfishness in not praying often enough for those who willfully pursue and persecute me or my fellow Christians. Forgive them, Lord, (as I think of them here and now); and help them to come to know You as Lord and Savior. Amen
My Journal for Today: Today, moving on in the reading of the accounts in the Acts of the Apostles in the early church, recounted by Dr. Luke, we come on the prayer prayed by Stephen, the first recorded martyr in Christianity, who prayed the prayer in our highlight text as he was being stoned to death. And any reader of Luke’s account of the passion (see Luke 23, verses 46 and 34) probably gets a sense of déjà vu in reading Stephen’s prayer; because it was essentially the same prayer that Jesus prayed on the cross for those who were carrying out the crucifixion of our Lord.
And this raises an age-old conundrum about prayer. Stephen, who was filled of God’s Spirit, prays for the forgiveness of his enemies [i.e., for their spiritual well-being], as Jesus had instructed His disciples to do in the Sermon on the Mount [see Matt. 4: 43-44]. Okay, understood! But does this mean that God, hearing the prayer of even the purest of hearts, like that of the Son of God Himself, is obligated to what is evoked from the heart and lips of the one praying the prayer.
And this is the conundrum; … that we are commanded to pray with a humble, thankful, and forgiving heart; yet God is not obliged to answer with a solid and responsive, “Yes” to our prayers. How many times have believers been frustrated in sincere and earnest and expectant prayers for the healing of a dying loved one only to see that one be ushered out of life into the next life? So, does that mean that our prayers are useless?
Absolutely not! So, … why pray for our enemies? Well, Dr. Smith answers his own rhetorical question at the end of his devotional for today as he writes, “Could it be that prayers for others [like the one uttered by Stephen as he was being stoned] are more for OUR soul’s good than for theirs?” And the answer to that one is a resounding “YES!” And therefore, I ask the self-evaluation question that Dr. Smith writes and says is DYING TO BE ASKED: ”Have I considered that I am spiritually shaped by the prayers that I pray (or don’t pray) on behalf of others?”
Well, that one has nailed me to the cross by Christ; and I’ll let you deal with it for your own relationship with Spirit-led shaping.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I stand convicted by my prideful lethargy and willful selfishness in not praying often enough for those who willfully pursue and persecute me or my fellow Christians. Forgive them, Lord, (as I think of them here and now); and help them to come to know You as Lord and Savior. Amen
Sunday, November 21, 2010
2010 – November 21 – Discipled in a Special School
Study from God’s Word… Acts, Chapters 3 – 6: 7 as the new Church grew in Jerusalem … Passage for Reflection: Acts 4: 13 … NIV When they [the Sanhedrin and Priests] saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
My Journal for Today: The Jewish religious/political leaders in the 1st century, as the Church was established and grew in Jerusalem after Jesus’ crucifixion, were befuddled by the astounding wisdom, Scriptural acumen, and powerful preaching of these the two men whom they knew had been common fishermen. However, now that Jesus, the Galilean rabble rouser was gone from the scene, the only identification that they could/would give these fishermen, who called themselves “disciples” of The Christ, was that they had been schooled “with Jesus.”
These men were not to be called “Christian” until much later under the mission work of the later Apostle, Paul; but now those who were sharing the good news of the crucified Messiah and were leading the new followers, whom we know of as the early Church, had walked with Jesus for three years; and now they had seriously taken up His banner and commission and call to become like The Lord and to really be DISCIPLES of the risen Lord.
Are you a “DISCIPLE” of Christ? It’s one thing to be a believer in Jesus as The Messiah. Even Satan’s demons believe that. But to be Christ’s disciple, one must be committed to that part of the great commission [Matt. 28: 19-20] which states, ”teaching them (i.e., new converts) to obey everything I have commanded you.” Well, then, … a disciple, in order to teach others what Jesus has commanded, must first know and live what The Lord commanded. The disciple must become like the Apostle Paul did when he was teaching converted followers in the Church of Corinth, when he declared (in 1st Cor. 11: 1), Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
And I think you’ll agree that following – and teaching – the example of Christ is not an easy deal, is it? BUT … it’s the commission Christ gave to all of us who call ourselves – and are truly, born-again, as - “Christian.” Dr. Smith, in his daily probing way, asks this compelling question today: ”Isn’t it time I moved beyond merely being a Christian to being a serious DISCIPLE of Jesus?” I’ll let you grapple with that one as I must, from the inside out, here this day.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to receive Your enabling/empowering grace to be YOUR disciple; and let others see me shining YOUR light of truth; … AND … help me to help others do the same. Amen
My Journal for Today: The Jewish religious/political leaders in the 1st century, as the Church was established and grew in Jerusalem after Jesus’ crucifixion, were befuddled by the astounding wisdom, Scriptural acumen, and powerful preaching of these the two men whom they knew had been common fishermen. However, now that Jesus, the Galilean rabble rouser was gone from the scene, the only identification that they could/would give these fishermen, who called themselves “disciples” of The Christ, was that they had been schooled “with Jesus.”
These men were not to be called “Christian” until much later under the mission work of the later Apostle, Paul; but now those who were sharing the good news of the crucified Messiah and were leading the new followers, whom we know of as the early Church, had walked with Jesus for three years; and now they had seriously taken up His banner and commission and call to become like The Lord and to really be DISCIPLES of the risen Lord.
Are you a “DISCIPLE” of Christ? It’s one thing to be a believer in Jesus as The Messiah. Even Satan’s demons believe that. But to be Christ’s disciple, one must be committed to that part of the great commission [Matt. 28: 19-20] which states, ”teaching them (i.e., new converts) to obey everything I have commanded you.” Well, then, … a disciple, in order to teach others what Jesus has commanded, must first know and live what The Lord commanded. The disciple must become like the Apostle Paul did when he was teaching converted followers in the Church of Corinth, when he declared (in 1st Cor. 11: 1), Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
And I think you’ll agree that following – and teaching – the example of Christ is not an easy deal, is it? BUT … it’s the commission Christ gave to all of us who call ourselves – and are truly, born-again, as - “Christian.” Dr. Smith, in his daily probing way, asks this compelling question today: ”Isn’t it time I moved beyond merely being a Christian to being a serious DISCIPLE of Jesus?” I’ll let you grapple with that one as I must, from the inside out, here this day.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to receive Your enabling/empowering grace to be YOUR disciple; and let others see me shining YOUR light of truth; … AND … help me to help others do the same. Amen
Saturday, November 20, 2010
2010 – November 20 – The Presence of God’s Spirit
Study from God’s Word… Acts, Chapters 1 & 2 … Passage for Reflection: Acts 2: 38 … NIV Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
My Journal for Today: And now my guided tour (by the Bible editing and devotional authorship of Dr. LaGard Smith) in the New Testament continues as I’m led to begin reading in the book we know of as The Acts of the Apostles, which begins with that astounding sermon delivered by Peter to thousands of Jews who had gathered in Jerusalem for the traditional Jewish feast known as Pentecost, which takes place annually on the Hebrew calendar 50 days after Passover.
And after Peter preached his evangelically powerful sermon about repentance in Christ, well over 3000 men (and probably man thousand women and of-age children) were brought into the kingdom of God as new, born-again Christians that day. This was the launching of what we now know of as “The Church;” and in today’s excerpt from Peter’s sermon, we read of Peter’s “altar call,” (if you will) with a declaration that these Jews repent and receive the indwelling of God’s Spirit, which had been promised by Jesus Himself before He ascended to heaven. And as we’ve just referenced, thousands did exactly that on Pentecost; and what followed was a miraculous exhibit of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit from these newly indwelt believers, many of whom even had a new, Spirit-led, gift of being able to speak in tongues with others who could interpret that gift for those who were not so gifted. But all of these new believers had been given various spiritual gifts which benefitted the new community of so-called (later) “Christians,” which we now know of as “the Church.” And all of these new, born-again believers were endowed with fruit of God’s Spirit, which Apostle Paul would later list in his letter to the church of Galatia [see Gal. 5: 22-23], to include love, joy, peace and other attributes which demonstrated that these new believers were changed – i.e., transformed – people, enabled by God’s Spirit to live, love, and interact in ways non-believers could not.
And Dr. Smith today, uses a word picture of this transformation process being like Jesus, with righteous intent, coming in and radically cleansing the Temple, as He did on at least two recorded occasions in the Gospel accounts [the 1st account in John 2 and the second documented in Matt 21 and Mark 11]. Jesus came in to a corrupted Temple; and as we know, cleaned it out so that the Temple would honor God’s presence as His house of worship. And this becomes a picture of what God, the Holy Spirit, does in the corrupted and sin-ridden temple, we know of as our body or “heart,” indwelling us with His grace and, over time, cleaning out the temple God has given us (our bodies) where He can dwell and be in a place of residence which glorifies God. The later Apostle Paul would also write about this to the Church in Corinth, when he asked the believers there (see 1st Cor. 6: 19-20), “19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
Dr. Smith, as he usually does, challenges his readers with a question at the end of his devotional entry, which today he calls a “purifying question.” He writes, ”If I truly wish to have the presence of God in my life, have I allowed my temple to be washed and filled?” I hope and pray all of us, here, either writing or reading this day, can answer that challenging question with an unqualified “YES!” Because, …only those who are truly born-again and surrendered to God’s Spirit in their lives will be able to do so.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, please, … PLEASE … purge my “temple” of anything unclean so that my heart may glorify You. Amen
My Journal for Today: And now my guided tour (by the Bible editing and devotional authorship of Dr. LaGard Smith) in the New Testament continues as I’m led to begin reading in the book we know of as The Acts of the Apostles, which begins with that astounding sermon delivered by Peter to thousands of Jews who had gathered in Jerusalem for the traditional Jewish feast known as Pentecost, which takes place annually on the Hebrew calendar 50 days after Passover.
And after Peter preached his evangelically powerful sermon about repentance in Christ, well over 3000 men (and probably man thousand women and of-age children) were brought into the kingdom of God as new, born-again Christians that day. This was the launching of what we now know of as “The Church;” and in today’s excerpt from Peter’s sermon, we read of Peter’s “altar call,” (if you will) with a declaration that these Jews repent and receive the indwelling of God’s Spirit, which had been promised by Jesus Himself before He ascended to heaven. And as we’ve just referenced, thousands did exactly that on Pentecost; and what followed was a miraculous exhibit of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit from these newly indwelt believers, many of whom even had a new, Spirit-led, gift of being able to speak in tongues with others who could interpret that gift for those who were not so gifted. But all of these new believers had been given various spiritual gifts which benefitted the new community of so-called (later) “Christians,” which we now know of as “the Church.” And all of these new, born-again believers were endowed with fruit of God’s Spirit, which Apostle Paul would later list in his letter to the church of Galatia [see Gal. 5: 22-23], to include love, joy, peace and other attributes which demonstrated that these new believers were changed – i.e., transformed – people, enabled by God’s Spirit to live, love, and interact in ways non-believers could not.
And Dr. Smith today, uses a word picture of this transformation process being like Jesus, with righteous intent, coming in and radically cleansing the Temple, as He did on at least two recorded occasions in the Gospel accounts [the 1st account in John 2 and the second documented in Matt 21 and Mark 11]. Jesus came in to a corrupted Temple; and as we know, cleaned it out so that the Temple would honor God’s presence as His house of worship. And this becomes a picture of what God, the Holy Spirit, does in the corrupted and sin-ridden temple, we know of as our body or “heart,” indwelling us with His grace and, over time, cleaning out the temple God has given us (our bodies) where He can dwell and be in a place of residence which glorifies God. The later Apostle Paul would also write about this to the Church in Corinth, when he asked the believers there (see 1st Cor. 6: 19-20), “19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
Dr. Smith, as he usually does, challenges his readers with a question at the end of his devotional entry, which today he calls a “purifying question.” He writes, ”If I truly wish to have the presence of God in my life, have I allowed my temple to be washed and filled?” I hope and pray all of us, here, either writing or reading this day, can answer that challenging question with an unqualified “YES!” Because, …only those who are truly born-again and surrendered to God’s Spirit in their lives will be able to do so.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, please, … PLEASE … purge my “temple” of anything unclean so that my heart may glorify You. Amen
Friday, November 19, 2010
2010 – November 19 – Evidence Dispels Doubt
Study from God’s Word… The resurrection and post resurrection appearances of Jesus recorded in chronological passages from Matt 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 20 – 21,as well as the Lord’s instructions and commission in Acts 1 … Passage for Reflection: John 20 : 6 – 7 … NIV Then Simon Peter … saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.
Also from John 20: 30, 31 … Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
My Journal for Today: I’m glad Dr. Smith, my devotional book author, pointed with specific reference in his entry for today to that little detail, which I’ve put in bold above from John 20 : 7, especially when this incredibly important bit of eye-witness evidence was reported in the context of what John later reported in this chapter of His Gospel account, that which I’ve made reference to in John 20: 30-31, his purpose in carefully recording the details of the miracles of Jesus so that others, even two millennia latter, like you and me, could believe on Christ as The Messiah, the Son of God, and our Savior and Lord. [Man, that was a Pauline run-on sentence, wasn’t it?]
I’ve heard preachers and teachers make reference to the power of that one little detail about the tomb of Jesus when, upon entry, Jesus’ disciples, including the reporter in this instance, John, noted that the burial cloths were neatly folded where Jesus had lain in the tomb. Have you ever thought about that little detail?
At a middle-eastern dinner of the day, the master of the home would signal the end of the meal by getting up from his reclining position to head toward the doorway of the home. The guests would follow the host; and immediately the servants in the home would come behind the master and guests and fold the dinner linens neatly on the table. They did this so that, if the master or the guests were to have second thoughts and return, the table linens would neatly be there to receive them.
Now you may be wondering where I’m going with this; but remember what Jesus had made a repetitive point of in His earthly ministry … that He was not only the MASTER; but He also was THE servant of His Father in Heaven; and He declared, “The greatest among you will be your servant.” (see Matt 23: 11) And that little detail of the linens being folded, showed all who would see (and understand) that Jesus was master over death; but that He had died and was risen again to serve mankind.
So much power and pertinence in a minute detail of God’s word! But these are the kinds of details which I didn’t discover for years after I surrendered my will, in faith, to become a born-again Christian. In fact there were many details about my professed faith that I would later come to learn about, understand, and find greatly confirming for my faith. I learned that it’s okay to have questions and to pursue answers for those questions … just like Thomas, the doubting disciple, when he heard that Jesus was risen.
But evidence like this one, wrapped up in a folded burial linen, is mostly available in the Bible to help the believer who has already come to faith in Christ as Lord … to confirm that faith. Oh, it is possible that some, like Thomas, will need hard details and evidence to have faith. Prominent atheist and intellectuals like C.S. Lewis, Josh McDowell, and Lee Strobel certainly needed, and later wrote about, their need for evidence to seal their belief; but many, if not most, like me, come desperately to Christ and surrender to Him as their only way to deal with life or brokenness. And after we’ve surrendered our life and faith to the Lordship of Jesus, the Christ, having little details, like the folded linen, help to seal and protect our faith; and such evidence also motivates us to go and share the joy and truth of the Good News of Christ with others, just as the women did when they found the tomb empty and the linens neatly folded where Jesus had lain.
I hope all who read here are believers and find the evidence of a folded linen greatly encouraging for us to go forth and shout out the truth that JESUS LIVES!!!
My Prayer for Today: Lord, Jesus, You live in my heart and the lives of all who believe You were the One who folded those linens to show me that You serve me as my Lord as I serve You forever as my Savior. Amen
Also from John 20: 30, 31 … Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
My Journal for Today: I’m glad Dr. Smith, my devotional book author, pointed with specific reference in his entry for today to that little detail, which I’ve put in bold above from John 20 : 7, especially when this incredibly important bit of eye-witness evidence was reported in the context of what John later reported in this chapter of His Gospel account, that which I’ve made reference to in John 20: 30-31, his purpose in carefully recording the details of the miracles of Jesus so that others, even two millennia latter, like you and me, could believe on Christ as The Messiah, the Son of God, and our Savior and Lord. [Man, that was a Pauline run-on sentence, wasn’t it?]
I’ve heard preachers and teachers make reference to the power of that one little detail about the tomb of Jesus when, upon entry, Jesus’ disciples, including the reporter in this instance, John, noted that the burial cloths were neatly folded where Jesus had lain in the tomb. Have you ever thought about that little detail?
At a middle-eastern dinner of the day, the master of the home would signal the end of the meal by getting up from his reclining position to head toward the doorway of the home. The guests would follow the host; and immediately the servants in the home would come behind the master and guests and fold the dinner linens neatly on the table. They did this so that, if the master or the guests were to have second thoughts and return, the table linens would neatly be there to receive them.
Now you may be wondering where I’m going with this; but remember what Jesus had made a repetitive point of in His earthly ministry … that He was not only the MASTER; but He also was THE servant of His Father in Heaven; and He declared, “The greatest among you will be your servant.” (see Matt 23: 11) And that little detail of the linens being folded, showed all who would see (and understand) that Jesus was master over death; but that He had died and was risen again to serve mankind.
So much power and pertinence in a minute detail of God’s word! But these are the kinds of details which I didn’t discover for years after I surrendered my will, in faith, to become a born-again Christian. In fact there were many details about my professed faith that I would later come to learn about, understand, and find greatly confirming for my faith. I learned that it’s okay to have questions and to pursue answers for those questions … just like Thomas, the doubting disciple, when he heard that Jesus was risen.
But evidence like this one, wrapped up in a folded burial linen, is mostly available in the Bible to help the believer who has already come to faith in Christ as Lord … to confirm that faith. Oh, it is possible that some, like Thomas, will need hard details and evidence to have faith. Prominent atheist and intellectuals like C.S. Lewis, Josh McDowell, and Lee Strobel certainly needed, and later wrote about, their need for evidence to seal their belief; but many, if not most, like me, come desperately to Christ and surrender to Him as their only way to deal with life or brokenness. And after we’ve surrendered our life and faith to the Lordship of Jesus, the Christ, having little details, like the folded linen, help to seal and protect our faith; and such evidence also motivates us to go and share the joy and truth of the Good News of Christ with others, just as the women did when they found the tomb empty and the linens neatly folded where Jesus had lain.
I hope all who read here are believers and find the evidence of a folded linen greatly encouraging for us to go forth and shout out the truth that JESUS LIVES!!!
My Prayer for Today: Lord, Jesus, You live in my heart and the lives of all who believe You were the One who folded those linens to show me that You serve me as my Lord as I serve You forever as my Savior. Amen
Thursday, November 18, 2010
2010 – November 18 – The Perfect Passover Lamb
Study from God’s Word… Documentation of Christ’s Passion from selected/edited chronological passages from Matt 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19 – the crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus at Golgotha (i.e., Calvary) … Passage for Reflection: John 19: 33 … NIV But when they (the Roman soldiers) came to Jesus and found that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.
My Journal for Today: And why is this latter fact (in today’s text) so important – i.e., that Jesus’ bones would not be broken as was the practice to hasten death at a crucifixion? Well, we know that Jesus was God’s Lamb, the perfect paschal Lamb being sacrificed for mankind at the ultimate Passover; and according to Jewish law, the selected Passover lamb had to be perfect, with no broken bones (see Exod 12: 46 or Num 9: 12). And in Ps 34: 20 we have the Messianic prophesy of no broken bones at the time of Messiah sacrificing for mankind. Hence, when the Jewish leaders asked that the Romans hasten Jesus’ death to avoid having to take down the body on the Sabbath, the soldiers went to break his legs but discovered that he was already dead; and this allowed for God’s Passover Lamb to be bruised, but not broken [see also Is 53: 10].
Many times, being an Elder in our church I’ve been called upon to serve the Eucharist; and during the service, offering up the bread, I have said, “Christ’s body, broken for you.” But from now on, I will not say that, learning this small, but very important detail. I’m now led to say, “Christ’s body, bruised for you” to be more in accord with Scriptural truth. Oh, well … moving on >>>
The more one reads, studies, and meditates upon Christ’s passion, the Christian has to come away in awe of how all of the events fit together to cry out the truth that of that fate-filled day; and, having been prophesied by many Old Testament prophets, God, the Father, sacrificed His beloved Son as the perfect Passover Lamb so that the sins of all mankind would be propitiated. And if you’ve seen the Mel Gibson portrayal in movie version of The Passion of The Christ, you probably wept, as I did, during the visual representation of the mocking, the cruelty, and the degradation of the cross; and that it happened all for you and for me, is almost overwhelming.
A couple of years ago I was in Jerusalem; and our pilgrimage group was led to the place where archeologists strongly believe they’ve uncovered where Jesus was nailed to the cross. I stood on those very stones; and looking down at my feet on the place where the Roman soldiers pounded those three nails into Christ’s wrists and feet; and I wept – almost uncontrollably; because I realized that it was MY SIN which nailed my Lord and Savior to that cross; and it was for MY SIN for which He hung on that tree; and it was for MY SIN that He died, was buried, and was resurrected again … to save ME from MY SIN.
Yes, again I say … HALLELUJAH !!!
My Prayer for Today: You became God’s Lamb FOR ME! Praise Your Holy Name!!! Amen
My Journal for Today: And why is this latter fact (in today’s text) so important – i.e., that Jesus’ bones would not be broken as was the practice to hasten death at a crucifixion? Well, we know that Jesus was God’s Lamb, the perfect paschal Lamb being sacrificed for mankind at the ultimate Passover; and according to Jewish law, the selected Passover lamb had to be perfect, with no broken bones (see Exod 12: 46 or Num 9: 12). And in Ps 34: 20 we have the Messianic prophesy of no broken bones at the time of Messiah sacrificing for mankind. Hence, when the Jewish leaders asked that the Romans hasten Jesus’ death to avoid having to take down the body on the Sabbath, the soldiers went to break his legs but discovered that he was already dead; and this allowed for God’s Passover Lamb to be bruised, but not broken [see also Is 53: 10].
Many times, being an Elder in our church I’ve been called upon to serve the Eucharist; and during the service, offering up the bread, I have said, “Christ’s body, broken for you.” But from now on, I will not say that, learning this small, but very important detail. I’m now led to say, “Christ’s body, bruised for you” to be more in accord with Scriptural truth. Oh, well … moving on >>>
The more one reads, studies, and meditates upon Christ’s passion, the Christian has to come away in awe of how all of the events fit together to cry out the truth that of that fate-filled day; and, having been prophesied by many Old Testament prophets, God, the Father, sacrificed His beloved Son as the perfect Passover Lamb so that the sins of all mankind would be propitiated. And if you’ve seen the Mel Gibson portrayal in movie version of The Passion of The Christ, you probably wept, as I did, during the visual representation of the mocking, the cruelty, and the degradation of the cross; and that it happened all for you and for me, is almost overwhelming.
A couple of years ago I was in Jerusalem; and our pilgrimage group was led to the place where archeologists strongly believe they’ve uncovered where Jesus was nailed to the cross. I stood on those very stones; and looking down at my feet on the place where the Roman soldiers pounded those three nails into Christ’s wrists and feet; and I wept – almost uncontrollably; because I realized that it was MY SIN which nailed my Lord and Savior to that cross; and it was for MY SIN for which He hung on that tree; and it was for MY SIN that He died, was buried, and was resurrected again … to save ME from MY SIN.
Yes, again I say … HALLELUJAH !!!
My Prayer for Today: You became God’s Lamb FOR ME! Praise Your Holy Name!!! Amen
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
