Category: devotional

Bow to Jesus’ Deity (John 8:57-59)

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John 8:57-59 – 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
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Thinking only in a this-worldly way, the Jews simply point out that Jesus is not old enough to have seen Abraham. Jesus is under 50. In fact, he is likely around 32 or 33. Abraham lived approximately 2,000 years before that time. So, in the minds of the Jews, Jesus must be crazy. No way could Abraham have seen him.

Then Jesus makes a statement that carries the force of a nuclear bomb. It starts with the double truly, telling us to listen and listen good. Then Jesus says, “before Abraham was, I am.” Literally, he says that he existed before Abraham’s time. He existed more than 2,000 years before. Jesus is claiming eternal existence.

Besides claiming a long existence, the phrase “I am” carries an incredible meaning. God, in Exodus 3:14, calls himself “I Am Who I Am.” When Jesus says “I am” here in John 8:58, he uses the same phrase as In the Greek translation of the Old Testament where God calls himself “I Am.” Jesus, with this phrase, can only be claiming one thing. He can only be claiming to be God.

And, lest anyone argue that claiming to be God is not what Jesus just did, look at verse 59. The Jews immediately, without hesitation, pick up stones to stone Jesus. They are not waiting for a trial. They were not picking up stones in verse 57. But something changed with what Jesus said in verse 58 that changed what the Jews thought of him. Before, they called him crazy. Now, they think that Jesus has uttered blasphemy. Why? Because they know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that Jesus has just claimed to be God. Since they assume he can not be God, they only have one alternative, and that alternative is to stone him for blasphemy. This is, by the way, an alternative they fail to carry out, because it is not yet time for Jesus to give his life.

How should you and I respond to this amazing statement from Jesus? If Jesus is God, we must worship him. Nothing else will suffice. If he is not God, we must reject him and hate him as the greatest liar or fool the world has ever known. But, if Jesus is God, we must give him our lives. What will you do?

Honor God By Believing in Jesus (John 8:48-50)

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John 8:48-50 – 48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge.
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If the Jews dishonored God by dishonoring Jesus, we should expect that the same would be true of us. You can not please God without honoring his Son. God has sent his Son, Jesus, to earth. Honoring and believing in Jesus is the only way to please the Father. To think for a moment that anyone can please God while refusing to follow the Son is absurd. Therefore, if you want to please God, you can do so only through Jesus.

How many of you have heard the awful stories in the news about that supposed church in Kansas, the Westboro Baptist Church, that has been traveling across the country demonstrating at the funerals of US soldiers killed in Iraq? Can you imagine the depth of the insult that the families must feel? They are grieving the loss of their loved ones who gave their lives in service of their country, and across the street are people who call themselves Christians declaring that the family has lost their loved one in vain, that the death is God’s judgment on the US, and that no good came of the sacrifice. Take a moment to let the emotion sink in. What if that was your brother, your sister, your husband, your wife? How angry would you be?

Now, I want you to take that level of emotion that you would feel as the people demonstrate at your own relative’s funeral, and I want you to magnify it a thousand times. You still are not caught up to the level of outrage that God the Father has toward those who dishonor his Son. God sent his Son to earth to suffer an infinite punishment to pay for our sins. What would you expect God to do in response to those who say to him, “I don’t need Jesus’ blood. I’m just fine on my own thanks. I don’t believe in Jesus and will not follow him. I just want to have some fun with my life, and I’ll think about religion later.”

Hebrews 10:26-31 – 26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Tremble, ladies and gentlemen, tremble at the concept of any person spurning the blood of the Son of God. God will not take lightly anyone’s refusal to place his or her faith in Jesus Christ. Do you want to escape that wrath? Do you want to honor God? Then you must honor God by believing in Jesus. Remember, God will judge. Do not dishonor God by dishonoring his Son. Honor God by believing in Jesus.

First Memory Verse – Deuteronomy 7:9

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Deuteronomy 7:9 – Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.
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It makes great sense for this verse to be the first verse on the list of memory verses in a program. This passage does a wonderful job of reminding us of who our God is and what he is like. In fact, knowing who God is and what he is like is exactly the command for Israel in this verse.

What are we supposed to know as we read this text? We are supposed to know that the LORD (not simply a title there, but an actual name) is God. There is only one God. That God is the LORD, Yahweh, the God of the Bible. There are not other gods out there.

Second, we are supposed to know that God is faithful. God is trustworthy. When he promises something, he does it. He does not change his mind. He does not mess with us, pretending to be one thing and then change on us when we’re not looking. He is faithful to what is right, to who he is, and to his promises.

Third, God keeps covenant and steadfast love. He is faithful to his covenant. He is not one to renege on his promises. And he keeps steadfast love, covenant-keeping love. He loves those who are his with an unbreakable love.

Fourth, notice to whom it is that God is faithful. He is faithful to those who love him and keep his commandments. Those two things go hand-in-hand. To love God is to keep his commandments (see John 14:15, 21, & 23). If you love God, you will strive to do what he commands, and you will grieve when you fail. And God is loving and faithful to those who love him and keep his commands.

Finally, this loving faithfulness of God lasts a very long time. God is faithful to a thousand generations of those who love him. This is not to say that, if you obey, God will bless your family line for a thousand generations. Instead, it is to say that no generation will come that God is not faithful toward if they love him and keep his commands. No matter how far removed we are from this verse being written (I’d guess around 2,400 years or so), we still have the joy of knowing that, if we love God and keep his commands, he will be faithful, loving, and covenant keeping toward us.

This verse leads us to worship our God, because he is the only true God who exists. It calls us to praise God for his faithfulness and his covenant-keeping love. It challenges us to love our God and keep his commands. And it encourages us to remember that God is faithful for thousands of generations. Let us learn to love this great and faithful God.

Sadness Like God’s (Ezekiel 33:11)

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Ezekiel 33:11 – Say to them, “As I live,” declares the Lord God, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?”
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If you know me, you will know that I believe in the Bible’s teaching of God’s sovereignty over all things, including over our salvation. I do not doubt for one minute that, if any person is saved, they are saved by God and not by their own righteousness (including righteous decision-making). In this, I do not negate that God commands all people to have faith in Jesus Christ. However, as Romans 3:10-12 makes it plain, no person will, on their own, come to faith in Christ without God first doing something to change them.

With that said, I want to make a comment in verse 11 of Ezekiel 33 that needs to be heard by my own camp in this discussion. God takes no pleasure, absolutely none, in the death of the wicked. God has no pleasure in pouring out his wrath over a sinner who has, by that sinner’s own free will, chosen not to repent of his or her sin and come to Christ for mercy. God is never indifferent to the lostness of the lost. Though we may not be able to work out how this all works in the light of his sovereign grace, we can not deny the truthfulness of the fact that God does not want the wicked to perish.

Two things at least should come of this thought. First, we too must learn to have God’s heart when thinking about the lost. If God’s heart breaks at the thought of a lost person being damned, ours should break too. If God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, not even in the death of international terrorists and pedophiles (the very people whose deaths do not tend to bother me), that we need to learn to find even those deaths to be occasions of sorrow in our own hearts.

Second, this verse ought to effect our evangelism. No matter how strongly you believe in God’s sovereignty, you can not escape the conclusion that God does not like it when people perish. Thus, if you love your God, you will share the gospel with passion, regardless of any discussion of election. The fact is, we love God’s sovereignty because it is taught in scripture and it frees us to share the gospel with confidence, honesty, passion, and trust that God will do his own will. At the same time, sovereignty does not remove God’s own sadness over the death of the wicked; and sovereignty must not remove our sadness over the death of any lost person. Let us learn to share the gospel passionately, because we too are touched by the horror of the lostness of the lost.

God is sovereign. When eternity rolls around, we will not sit there and say that something happened in the eternal scheme of things that was not right. Yet, we also should want to sit on the other side of eternity with the understanding that, so far as it depended on us, we shared the gospel with every person we possibly could in the deep desire that as many as would be saved were saved.

You Are the Watchman (Ezekiel 33:6)

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Ezekiel 33:6 – But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.
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Some verses of the Bible are fun ones to read. Others are piercing and a touch frightening. This morning, as I read through Ezekiel 33, I find one of those verses that should shake any of us to our very bones.

Look at the logic. You and I are called, like Ezekiel, to be watchmen. We can see destruction coming upon people we know, people who do not have God’s forgiveness in Christ. If we warn them of the danger, their response is entirely up to them. Warning them honestly is what frees us from obligation regarding their future. But, if we do not warn them about the danger to come, their response is still up to them. However, we too bear the guilt of seeing the coming wrath of God and not calling the lost to repentance. This is perfectly logical, and it should be perfectly terrifying to us.

God has made it plain to his children what is our responsibility. We can not, by our own power or charisma, persuade any person to come to know Jesus Christ. That work is the work of God’s Holy Spirit alone. We must, however, take an active roll in communicating the good news of Jesus Christ to all the peoples of the world. If we fail to tell them about God’s offer of grace in Jesus, God’s wrath toward our sin, and God’s command of repentance, we are guilty of not warning the people as God commands us to.

I do not fully understand what it will mean that God will require their blood of us. IF we are in Christ, all the guilt for all of our sin is covered by the blood of Jesus. However, I know that I do not want to be in any way held responsible for another’s damnation. Again, the one damned is ultimately responsible for his or her rejection of Jesus Christ. At the same time, I must share. Let us never be guilty of holding back the truth from a world destined for the wrath of Almighty God.

A Forever Mindset (Philippians 3:18-21)

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Philippians 3:18-21 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
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How much does your mindset matter? There are times when I hear some of those positive thinking gurus out there who tell me that everything changes based on how I think, and I find that annoying. I’m just not that touchy feely. I do not think, for example, that anything about my mindset makes a 15 degree day warm or a rainy day dry. Positive thinking does not get my work done or feed my family. But, with that all said, there are some things about how we think, how we set our minds, that are absolutely crucial.

At the end of Philippians 3, Paul talks about the difference between two groups of people. One group is a group of men that he calls enemies of the cross of Jesus Christ. There is another group that are clearly not enemies of God. What is the difference? In large part, the difference is mindset.

The enemies of the cross have a mindset that is focused on this world and this life. Paul says that “their god is their belly.” What could make someone so messed up? The answer is that a mind set on earthly things will always, absolutely always, be a mind that leads a man away from God and toward being an enemy of the cross of Christ.

What is the alternative to the mindset that leads a person to be an enemy of God? It is a focus on eternity. When Paul describes in the final verses what characterizes a servant of Christ, it is all about a heart focused on heaven, on the return of Christ, on what we will one day be. Paul clearly understands that, if we truly set our minds on things above, we will live in this world in a way that honors and serves Christ. If we set our minds on eternity, we will serve God here and now.

So, as you think about all this, ask yourself where your mind is set. Are you someone who thinks and lives only for today? If you do, you are likely in danger of missing what God has for you. God wants you to set your mind on forever. Do not let your life be lived for the temporal things that this world has to offer. Focus on forever, and you will find that the things that we think we can not live without are actually not all that important. What we truly can not live without, eternally live without, is the blood of Jesus Christ and the glory of his majesty. If we want life, we will do what pleases Jesus. If we want to please Jesus, we will order our lives around forever.

The Death of the Wicked (Ezekiel 18:23)

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Ezekiel 18:23 – “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord God, “and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?”
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How do you feel about the death of the wicked? All of us are concerned about the life, death, and perhaps even the eternal state of our loved ones. We are all interested in the well-being of those we consider to be good people. But what about the evil? What about the wicked?

God’s heart is pretty plain on this topic. Here in Ezekiel 18, God is totally open with us. He takes no delight in the death of the wicked. God finds no joy in a wicked person suffering the appropriate consequences for their sin. This negates neither God’s sovereignty nor our responsibility to carry out justice. But it shows for us his heart. God will do what is right. God will be just. But God will take no pleasure in the death or the ultimate, eternal punishment of the wicked.

So, the question is, “Is your heart like that of God?” I would guess, if we are truly honest with each other, that all of us could use a little heart work here. We ought never find ourselves celebrating when a wicked person dies. We ought never find ourselves indifferent whenever we hear about the death of anyone. We should find no joy when we hear that a murderer’s death sentence was carried out (even though such a sentence is just and within biblical parameters). We ought not find it joyous to hear that terrorists were taken out by our military or that the police took down a gunman. Again, though those things may be right, they are not things that bring us joy. Nor should we simply allow ourselves to be cold or indifferent when we hear of tragedies in third world countries or in the neighboring county.

Why should we find no joy in the death of the wicked? The answer is, hell. Hell is the ultimate punishment for a sinful humanity that has rebelled against a holy, loving, perfect Creator. Hell is just. Hell glorifies God, as God’s perfect hatred of sin is eternally demonstrated. But, make no mistake about it, there is nothing that should give us joy in thinking that anyone, and I mean anyone, is headed there.

God demonstrated his love in that, while we were all still sinners, Christ came to die (Romans 5:8). If we are to be like God, we need to do our dead-level best to take that love of God to as many people as we can in order that some might be saved. We want people to be forgiven. Remember, we who know Christ are not different than those who are lost. We are the wicked who were snatched from the fire. So, let us learn to have our hearts be like the heart of God, finding no joy, no pleasure, in the death of the wicked.

The Armor of God (Ephesians 6:13-18a)

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Ephesians 6:13-18a – Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.
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The “armor of God” passage in Ephesians is one of the most famous passages in all the Bible. Christians everywhere, from all denominational backgrounds, make reference to “Putting on God’s armor.” Sermons, sermon series, youth retreats, books, conferences, and whatever else you can think of have been dedicated to teaching the principles of the armor.

One thing that I find a bit sad, in our day, is that more emphasis is often given to the metaphor than is given to the actual attributes which Paul is trying to teach the people of God. If you have sat through a sermon or series on the armor, you likely learned a great deal about the way that Roman soldiers were dressed in the first century. You may have even been given a deeply meaningful lecture on Roman warfare, or perhaps one on the fact that none of the armor protects a soldier’s back in retreat. And, if you are in a more prayerful setting, someone might have even taught you to actually go through the motions of strapping on that armor to prepare yourself for your day.

So, today, as we think through the armor, I want us to go to the opposite extreme. Let’s just look at the list of attributes without thinking of them as pieces of spiritual armor.

· truth
· righteousness
· readiness (given by the gospel of peace)
· faith
· salvation
· the word of God
· prayer

How likely is it, if you were thinking of spiritually defeating Satan, that you would list those things in that way as your tools to win the spiritual war? Sadly, I think it unlikely. Most Christians think of spiritual warfare as something mystical, something emotional, something that is totally unorthodox. But look at that list: Truth, righteousness, readiness (given by the gospel of peace), faith, salvation, the word of God, and prayer. Which of those things is mystical? Which of those things is even difficult to grasp. These are simple concepts, and they are what we use in our battle against the enemy.

Truth – You battle against the enemy by battling with truth. You never deceive. You never shade reality. You simply use truth. No gimmicks are necessary. No unseen spiritual incantations are necessary. Just use truth. See the truth; know the truth; embrace the truth, and the truth will protect you.

Righteousness – Part of defeating the enemy is righteousness. In Christ, we have perfect righteousness imputed to our account. At the same time, we are to live in righteousness to defeat the enemy.

Readiness – If you want to live a victorious Christian life, be ready with the gospel. Be ready to share your faith. Be ready to get up and go where God calls you. Do not be unprepared to live as a Christian. Be ready, and your life will be victorious.

Faith – Believing in things you can not see is crucial to the Christian life. It is impossible to please God without faith. It is also impossible to live victoriously in spiritual warfare if you are not willing to believe God, even when you can not see evidence.

Salvation – This one should be a given. If you want to succeed in spiritual warfare, you had better have the salvation of God as your protection. An unsaved person will not live victoriously. A person who has been saved and who is under God’s protection can stand.

The Word of God – No one can live a victorious life without living that life in the word of God. The Bible is the tool that is used by the Spirit of God to teach us who God is and what God wants. A devotion to the word of God is absolutely essential to a Christian life of victory.

Prayer – Talking to God, expressing your trust in him and your need for him, is a final crucial element to spiritual warfare. A prayerless life is very likely to be a life without victory.

Now, not to overemphasize the point, do you see anything hyper-spiritual about those things above? No. There is nothing strange about the armor of God. And, let me say from my own point of view, praying and pretending to put on these things as a soldier’s uniform is not going to make you somehow invulnerable to spiritual attack. What will protect you is if you actually live with these things marking your life. God is telling us all that, if we want victory, we live in truth, righteousness, readiness, faith, salvation, scripture, and prayer. Is your life covered in that kind of armor?

More Lamentations Verses (Lamentations 3:37-40)

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Lamentations 3:37-40

37 Who has spoken and it came to pass,
unless the Lord has commanded it?
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
that good and bad come?
39 Why should a living man complain,
a man, about the punishment of his sins?
40 Let us test and examine our ways,
and return to the Lord!
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Wow, I don’t have time to write about these verses, but I had to just put them out there. God is in control. God’s ways are always right. We have no right to ever complain about how he has allowed our lives to unfold. Simply, wow!

If you are reading these verses, let God challenge you to bow to him as the sovereign King. He is Lord. Revere him as such. Return to him and seek his grace.

Great Is Thy Faithfulness (Lamentations 3:21-23)

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Lamentations 3:21-23

21 But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
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This passage is one of the most amazing passages I have ever read in the scripture. It is not so amazing for what it says, but it is amazing for where and when it says what it says. If you looked at my last entry, you saw that the book of Lamentations are songs of great sorrow and mourning that Jeremiah wrote as he thought of the destruction of Jerusalem. In that event, the Babylonian armies came into Jerusalem and utterly decimated the people of God. The scene was as horrible as any scene that I have ever heard described. And because of the horror of the scene, I am amazed at what Jeremiah wrote in verses 21-23 (you really should go back and read them again).

(Really, look up and read them again.)

“Great is your faithfulness!” This is amazing. God’s mercy never ends. He never turns his back on his people. You know, “Great is Thy Faithfulness” is a great hymn to sing during a Thanksgiving service, but who would ever think to sing it as they looked upon the people of God being slaughtered by an invading foreign army? The only person who could sing such a thing during such a time would be a person who had a truly God-centered worldview. And, while it may seem totally strange to want, we must want to have God’s view in such matters.

God is truly faithful. His destruction of Jerusalem—using the Babylonians as his tool of course—was perfectly in keeping with his promises. God promised Israel that, if they rebelled against him and his law continually, he would send in armies to wipe them out. They rebelled, and God’s faithfulness was great. While this may not seem song-worthy to you, to Jeremiah, it caused him to break forth in song. Why? Jeremiah knew that God also promised that a descendant of David’s would ultimately reign forever. Jeremiah knew that God would still have mercy on those who love him. Jeremiah knew that God’s wrath is holy, and so is God’s loving kindness. Jeremiah knew that God is truly faithful, trustworthy, and always—absolutely always—right in everything he does.

Is your worldview such that you can follow God faithfully even when you see tragedy around you? Can your heart handle to see God’s justice? Can you call God faithful, even when the world around you looks like it is falling apart? I hope you can, because God is faithful. God is always right. God’s ways are always perfect. God’s faithfulness really is great.