Category: devotional

James 5:19-20 (ESV)

 

19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

 

            Connection, active fellowship, with believers in a local church is an important part of the Christian life. God has placed his people together on purpose. Such purposes include encouragement, comfort, and even testimony—Jesus said the world would see us as his disciples if we love one another (John 13:35). Sadly, many Christians miss out on one of the key purposes for the local church to exist that is listed in the verses above: correction.

 

            James writes to his readers that, should one of us go astray in our thinking, wandering from the truth, and if somebody in the church brings him back, it is a really big deal. God intends that part of the life of the church is that we work with each other to keep each other in the truth of the word of God.

 

            Most Christians, I think, would affirm that statement. Most would say that they agree that we are to help each other out here. But, I wonder how many of u have the privilege of being a part of a church where such action actually takes place?

 

            In order to be a part of a church where what James just wrote would happen, some characteristics have to be a part of your church. One is that your church has to care about doctrine. If your local church hides from doctrinal teaching for the sake of supposed unity, or even for the sake of outreach—a very good thing—the church will lack the strength and courage to correct you unless it is on something quite obvious and egregious. Truthfully, if the church does not teach doctrinally, it is likely that, even when one falls into egregious error, the most likely outcome is for the leaders to send the errant person off to another church rather than trying to correct and restore a wayward thinker. Church discipline is generally out of the question.

 

            Speaking of church discipline, this too must be a characteristic feature of a church that would see happen what James here affirms. I am by no means arguing for a church to be aggressive and harsh in discipline. If you read through passages like Matthew 18:15-17 and Galatians 6:1-2, there is no hint of harshness or cruelty. There is honestly little hint of formality until things get deep into the process. No, church discipline is simply one believer approaching another and lovingly helping an errant brother to turn around. This should mark our lives and our churches. But, if your church will only enact discipline if a person is going to jail, it will probably lack in the kind of God-honoring restoration James wants for us.

 

            Now, before anybody suggests that the things I just said in the last two paragraphs are reasons not to be a part of a local church, let me affirm that God wants believers to be connected to the local church. Find the best one you can. Do not make the excuse that, because your local church is imperfect that you cannot have any church to be committed to. God wants you under the care of elders in a local church body. God wants you to be served by or to serve as a deacon, a servant, caring for needs in a local church body. God wants you to sing together with saints, to hear the word read and preached, and to love and be loved by others.

 

 

            The truth is, God wants us to have relationships in which we speak into each other’s lives and we challenge each other’s thinking. God wants us to talk theology. God wants us to get into each other’s business for each other’s good. Please, for the good of others and the glory of God, do not be only partly connected to others in the church. Find a church that teaches the word of God, that emphasizes doctrine, that is willing to discipline, and that will not compromise on the Scriptures. Find believers who are willing to be challenged when someone raises a point with grace and kindness. Find a place where the believers will challenge you. Open your life to others who love you and love God’s word even more.

Jeremiah 29:10-14

 

10 “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.”

 

        I’ve never liked the question, “What is your favorite Bible verse?” As I have grown as a Christian, I think I am beginning to understand why. Asking this question motivates a person to pull a sentence out of its context and apply it in ways that God may not have intended.

 

        Of course, I have a great example above. Many people will tell you that Jeremiah 29 11 is a favorite of theirs. How great to hear God say to me, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Sadly, this verse is not being quoted in anything like its original context or intent.

 

        What is the context? The people of Judah are going to be exiled to Babylon. But, after the time of the nation’s punishment is over, God intends to bring his people back out of exile and into the land. After the 70 year exile is over, the people will pray, seek God, and be restored. They will repent, and God will show his faithfulness to his promises.

 

        That original intent is not at all what most people are thinking about when they quote that verse. Instead, most who quote that verse are “claiming” it as a promise that God only has plans to let them experience good things for all their lives. That has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with the verse.

 

        Do I mean that we have no reason to love Jeremiah 29:11? Of course I do not. What we need to see from it, however, is the character of God. We also need to see the implications of the gospel. God’s character is one of a faithful promise maker and promise keeper. God always, absolutely always, keeps his word. He has plans. His plans will be fulfilled. He never leaves anything to random chance. Nor does he even leave his big plans in our hands. He is sovereign. That is comforting in this verse.

 

        Also, this verse is full of gospel. Just as God has plans to restore Judah after the exile, God has great plans for his children who are in Christ. This is no guarantee that our lives will not be full of hardships. Rather, it is a guarantee that, at the end of our sojourn on earth, God has perfect plans of eternal joy for his children. We can see that hinted at in a verse like Jeremiah 29:11.

 

        No, I’m not wanting to ruin anybody’s favorite Bible verse. But, I would like to call us to be careful, really careful, in the way we handle Scripture. Let verses like this, in their context, show us the glory of God and the perfection of his character. Let verses like this point us to the gospel of Christ. But let’s not pull something out of context and say that it applies to us in ways that God did not intend for it to apply.

Jeremiah 26:4-5 (ESV)

4 You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law that I have set before you, 5 and to listen to the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you urgently, though you have not listened, 6 then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth.’ ”

 

            Here is a quick thought on the prophets of the Old Testament. Look at what God told Jeremiah to prophesy to the people. The word pretty much said that, if Israel does not begin to obey the commands of God, God will enact a particular punishment on the nation. I would hasten to say, without any actual measure, that this is the theme of most Old Testament prophecy.

 

            Here is what I think we need to consider. Jeremiah was not communicating anything that should have been new to the people. In Deuteronomy, the nation of Israel had been reminded that if they obeyed the laws of God, they would be blessed, but, if they rebelled, they would be punished. The prophets’ job, then, was to communicate to Israel the way in which God would enforce the very laws that he had already given and they had already agreed to as a nation long ago.

 

            Gordon Fee says the following about the prophets in How to Read the Bible for All It’s Worth (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003), page 184:

 

 

Through them God announced his intention to enforce the covenant, for benefit or for harm—depending on the faithfulness of Israel—but always on the basis of and in accordance with the categories of blessing and cursing already contained in Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 4; and Deuteronomy 28-32. If you will take the trouble to learn those chapters from the Pentateuch, you will be rewarded with a much better understanding of why the prophets said the things that they did.

 

            Understanding that the prophets most often spoke for God as they applied his already-given law to the present situation may be very helpful in opening our understanding of their words. The prophets are not as mystical as we often think. Yes, they spoke for God in a different way than a New Testament preacher may speak. But they did not often spend their time predicting the future in ways that are not basically God saying, “OK, I promised that this would happen if you did not obey, and here is how I’m going to actually do what I promised.”

 

            We learn from the prophets that God is faithful, that he keeps his word, and that he enforces his laws. We learn that God does not ignore his promises. We see that God wants his people to hear his commands and to be challenged to obey them. God also wants his people to hear his promises of blessing and to be encouraged by those promises to faithfully follow him.

 

            So, Christians, let’s be careful with the prophets. Let us not make them mystical giants who were hearing brand new, never heard of, predictive revelation all the time. Yes, they did hear such things from God and communicate it from time to time. But, when you read the prophets, what you most often see is them applying the already-given promises of God to the present situation as God led them to do so.

John 3:31-36 (ESV)

 

31 He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

 

            One of the ways in which the world around us does not understand the Christian faith has to do with how belief in Christ could have such a determining impact on one’s eternity. How, the world wonders, could God make the difference in heaven and hell simply be whether or not we believe this or that. Isn’t it OK to believe whatever you want to believe so long as you are sincere?

 

            John the Baptist, speaking in the verses above, understands the significance of believing the testimony of Christ. He makes it plain for us all to grasp. And, he shows just how it is that faith is so central to our eternity. This is because, whatever we choose to believe about Jesus is a statement about how we wish to stand before God.

 

            Christ has come. He has testified to the world that he is God in flesh who came to die for the sins of God’s children. He has had this testimony confirmed by rising from the dead and ascending to heaven. Then that testimony was further clarified by the writings of the holy apostles.

 

            What we do with this testimony of Christ is evidence of what we declare to be true of the character of God. John the Baptist said, “Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.” Thus, to refuse to believe the testimony of Christ is to declare that God is false, evil, untrustworthy. To turn from the testimony of Christ to your own beliefs is to look at the God of the universe who has offered you salvation and to say to him, “No thanks, I do not believe that you are honest or good.” To make such a statement against God is just as destructive as Eve choosing to eat the fruit in the garden and declare to God that she preferred to rule her own universe rather than obey him.

 

            John also said to us, “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.” To refuse to place your trust in Jesus is to say to the Father, “I refuse to love what you love. I refuse to receive that which you say is most important.” This is rebellion against God.

 

            This is how we end up with John the Baptist saying, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” The conclusion is simple. God equates faith in the Son of God with obedience to God. God has called us to believe in the Son of God. If we do so, we receive grace and life from God as we yield to his goodness and mercy. If we reject the Son of God, we have disobeyed God, and we then face God’s wrath for our rebellion against him.

 

            The world would say that one’s belief or disbelief in Jesus is simply a matter of opinion. People would argue that this is little different than preferring jazz to classic rock. But, in reality, what you believe about Jesus is the determining factor as to whether or not you are willing to submit to the God who made you. He has made a way, one way for you to be saved. That way is also a person, and one whom the Father loves above all else. To reject that way is to reject God altogether. To embrace that way is to embrace God and his mercy.  

Ecclesiastes 7:5-6 (ESV)

 

5 It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise

than to hear the song of fools.

6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot,

so is the laughter of the fools;

this also is vanity.

 

     To be rebuked is a good thing. What a strange thought for our modern sensitivities. We live in a world of autonomy. We assume that each individual has the perfect right to rule over his own life, making his own decisions, determining his own morality. But God gives us, in his word, a call to actually embrace being rebuked.

 

     Why is rebuke good for us? We are not perfect people. We think and act in ways that oppose God and his ways. And, when we are thinking and acting wrongly, we are quite often the very last ones to notice. But, when we have godly friends, we can hear that we are messing things up and be challenged to change.

 

     On the other hand, if the only friends we have are fools—the biblical term for people who do not know or care about God—we will not have any sort of faithful rebuke. Instead of warning us, fools just laugh right along with us. Solomon, here in Ecclesiastes, tells us that fools laugh and laugh through life. Their laughter at things that they should not laugh at becomes as regular as the crackling of a fire under a cooking pot.

 

     So, the point here is that we need real, wise, godly friends who will tell us that we are messing things up. Such friends are a treasure. Such friends sober us and help us to see the world and our own lives through the lens of reality. But, if we are not careful, we will only surround ourselves with people who giggle along with us as we destroy ourselves.

 

     These verses give us a great example of why we need a good, godly church. We need pastors who will preach the actual word of God to us from the pulpit so that we will know more than just a few principles for life. We need men who show us God’s word and God’s ways so that we will be challenged, encouraged, and rebuked. We also need solid believers to live around us, to know us, and to speak into our lives.

 

     And, Christian, know that God wants you to be this kind of friend too. God does not just want you to have people who will speak into your life. God also wants you to be the kind of person who will lovingly speak into another’s life. When you see a fellow believer in spiritual danger, warn them, gently but firmly, in order to help them to grow and to turn from danger.

 

     Who speaks into your life? Into whose life are you speaking? Are you a committed part of a local church where the word is taught and where lives are shared? These are things you need in order to live in a world that prefers to grin and giggle through life.

John 2:18-21 (ESV)

 

18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

 

            The Jewish religious leaders were quite upset with Jesus. He walked into the temple like he owned the place. He drove out the thieving money-changers and price-gouging sellers of animals. He frightened off the customers. He even brought up the original purpose of the temple in the faces of those who thought they knew.

 

            When the Jews asked Jesus to do something amazing to prove that he had the right to do what he had just done, Jesus told them something odd. He told them to tear down “this temple,” and he would have it back up in three days. Of course, this sounded impossible. It is impossible to rebuild a building that took over four decades, not to build but simply to renovate. No way could anybody do that.

 

            But, as we see in the text, Jesus was not even talking about the physical temple building. Instead, he was talking about something even more impossible than the Jews understood. Jesus was talking about the fact that, in a couple years, the Jews would kill him, but he would rise from the grave three days later. This was more impossible, because, Jesus would die a death in which he wore the guilt of all of the people God would ever forgive. Jesus bore the wrath of God for all the sins that God would not choose to punish in people like you and me. For anyone to take the brunt of that punishment and then get up again, that is more unfathomable than a man rebuilding the ancient temple of Herod in less than a week.

 

            What impossibilities do we face? It seems impossible for sinners like us to be forgiven. Jesus’ resurrection shows us that we indeed can be. Some hurts seem impossible to overcome. Jesus’ resurrection shows us that he can help us overcome anything. Some people seem like they would be impossible for God to save. Jesus’ resurrection shows us that God can do the impossible, even bringing the dead to life. Some churches seem like it would be impossible for them to grow and thrive. Jesus’ resurrection shows us that God can build up the body just as he brought up the body of Christ from the tomb.

 

            Jesus showed the Jews that he had every right to own the temple because he could do what no person in the universe could do. Jesus did what only God could do. He died the death of the perfect Lamb of God. He rose from the dead. He is infinitely superior to the temple as he embodies and fulfills all of God’s promises. So, Christians, let us worship Jesus and find our hope in him.

Jeremiah 12:1-2 (ESV)

 

1 Righteous are you, O Lord,

when I complain to you;

yet I would plead my case before you.

Why does the way of the wicked prosper?

Why do all who are treacherous thrive?

2 You plant them, and they take root;

they grow and produce fruit;

you are near in their mouth

and far from their heart.

 

     Sometimes, the best thing for us to see in the Bible is the honest struggle and pain of the people of God. How great a help this is for those of us who, though we know better, can drift toward doubt and discouragement. God has chosen to show us, in inspired Scripture, that men of God have expressed frustration at the seeming lack of justice and success that his people face from time to time.

 

     Jeremiah was frustrated and confused. He looked out over the world, and he saw that the false and the wicked were succeeding. Nations of evil men were thriving. Leaders of godless religions were leading many astray. People who mouthed the name of God though their hearts were not for God were growing their followings while Jeremiah’s influence seemed not to be strong.

 

     Of course, the main message that we are to gain from Jeremiah 12 is to see that God is acting, even when Jeremiah cannot see it. God promises to judge the wicked and to ultimately set all things right. We have hope in knowing that our Lord will not be ultimately defeated.

 

     But there is something else good to see here. Jeremiah struggled. People of God can and do struggle. Your questioning is not unheard of. This is not to say that it is OK to accuse God, for God is always right and always perfect. But, it is still comforting to know that we are not alone when we feel the dissonance of a world that is going in the wrong direction even though we know God is in control.

 

     So, today, Christians, let your hearts be honest before God. Do not feel that you are the only ones to have ever doubted or hurt. Do not feel that you cannot pose your questions to God. Yes, trust him. He will always do right in the eternal end. He will always be faithful. But, when you hurt, know that he knows. Know that he cares. Know that he inspired authors of Scripture to share with you their hurts so that you would see that such things happen, even to the prophets of God.

John 1:51 (ESV)

 

And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

 

            Knowing our Old Testament can help us to know some important things about Jesus and the gospel. Here, Jesus says something really strange about himself. Yet, if you know the book of Genesis, you will be able to see something fascinating that Jesus is claiming.

 

            When Jacob was running away from his family, he had a vision. You probably have heard of “Jacob’s ladder.” That is a reference to what Jacob saw in a dream in Genesis 28:12. There Jacob saw a structure, like a ladder or staircase, connecting heaven and earth. Angels of God were traveling between heaven and earth on that structure, and the Lord stood at the top declaring his promise and plan to Jacob.

 

            What does that knowledge bring to the table when we hear Jesus say to Nathanel that he would see angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man, Jesus himself? In those words, Jesus is claiming to be the structure, the ladder, that Jacob saw. Obviously, Jesus is not an actual ladder. But, we can understand that, figuratively, what Jacob saw connecting God to mankind is what Jesus actually is.

 

            We learn, then, that there is one way that God is connected to humanity. It is through the person and work of Jesus. Jesus is the ultimate communication and completion of all of God’s promises. Jesus is the way that God speaks to humanity and works out his plan to rescue humanity.

 

            So, do you want to know God? Do you want to communicate with God? There is one way that God has given for this to be done. Know God through Jesus. Communicate with God by knowing Jesus. Connect to God through Jesus and Jesus alone. There is no other way.

 

            In our world, people are often offended when someone dares to make some sort of exclusive claim about their religion. However, Jesus is exclusive. He tells us time and time again in a variety of ways that he is the one God has promised. Jesus is the way to God. Jesus is the communication of God to man. Jesus is the person of God on earth. And we have no right, absolutely none, to demand that God make for us a different way to him. 

Jeremiah 9:23-24

 

23 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

 

Pride is so very dangerous for believers. It is sadly easy for us to think that, because we know something that is true or do something that is right, we somehow are better people than others who do not know such things. Some people would find it tempting to boast in their personal goodness, in their possessions, in their physical appearance, in their intellect, in their spirituality, or in some other area of life. And all such boasting is dangerous and deadly.

 

            But God tells us in what we are to boast. We are not to boast in any part of ourselves. We are to boast only in the sweet truth that we, if we are his, know the Lord. Of course, as we see in Ephesians 2:8-9, we cannot boast that it was something good in us that brought us to the knowledge of God. We are saved by grace, through faith—which is itself a gift from God. Thus, God is the one who gets all the glory and all the credit for our knowledge of him.

 

            Knowing God includes knowledge that God is loving, just, and righteous. These characteristics of God are the areas in which our world sadly misses understanding who our God is.

 

            The world likes to think of God as loving, but they fail to grasp that God’s love does not make him tolerant of sin. Love is not a permission slip to do anything you want without consequence. Love is not a blanket approval of all a person’s thoughts and actions. None of us would consider a parent loving who allowed their children to run out of control and into self-destruction. Love, rather, is a commitment to another’s good. God is loving, and that love directs people to get under God’s grace and God’s rule for their good and for God’s glory.

 

            God is also just. He will not let sin go unpunished. There is no human sin that will not be appropriately judged and punished by God. We need to understand this. Every sin is either punished in the person of Jesus on the cross or punished in the person of the sinner in hell. To know God is to know that he is not merely loving, but he is also just.

 

            God is righteous. All that God thinks and does is perfectly right. One thing that this means for us is that we have no right whatsoever to question God’s standards. His ways are perfect. His judgments are true. His standards are beyond the fallen standards of man’s best reasoning. God is right. We, in any point that we disagree with God, are wrong.

 

            And, in the passage above, God says that he delights in these things that are true of him. He loves when those who know him are loving, just, and righteous. We are to love others, being committed to doing them good. This does not mean that we are to allow others the freedom to rebel against God without a warning. We tell the truth to others out of love for their good.

 

            We are to be just, loving the justice and goodness of God. We do not judge others, punishing them for sin. It is not our place. But we do clearly identify the truth that certain actions and ideas may be contrary to the ways of God. We tell others of the justice of God and invite them, lovingly, to find grace in the person of Christ.

 

            And we are to live righteously. We are to obey the commands of God, not to earn favor, but to find the joy of showing the world how great God is. We live and think differently. We hold to biblical standards, even when the world around us mocks those standards. We do what the word calls us to do, not because it appears best to the world, but simply because the righteous God of the Bible commands it.

 

            Christians, may we boast in knowing the Lord. May we then reflect the Lord we know by living out lives that mirror his values. Let us love as he loves. Let us value his justice. Let us model his righteousness. Let us find joy in his perfection and his perfect ways.

Isaiah 7:9b

 

If you are not firm in faith,

you will not be firm at all.’ ”

 

Isaiah 8:11-13

 

11 For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 12 “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

 

            Ahaz was one of the most wicked kings that Judah ever had. He led the nation away from the Lord, and he brought upon them the chastisement of God. He participated in some of the worst pagan and idolatrous practices including child sacrifice. Ahaz reshaped the temple and brought foreign religious practices into the very holiest of places.

 

            In that context, it is no surprise to see God bringing on Ahaz and Judah enemies who would threaten their very existence. Yet, as we know from a faithful understanding of the word of God, he would not let the nation be completely destroyed. God was still going to use that nation, as messed up as they were, to bring Messiah to the world.

 

            Ahaz and the people of Judah were scared. Syria and Ephraim had teamed up to destroy Jerusalem. But God says that he would not let it happen. And God spoke to and through Isaiah to remind him of how the people were supposed to deal with the fear they were facing.

 

            In chapter 7, Isaiah simply told Ahaz from God that if he was not firm in his faith in the Lord, he would not be firm at all. In chapter 8, God told the people to stop fretting about all the talk of all the people about who was conspiring with whom. Instead, God told the people that the way to survive this troublesome time was to put their fear where it belongs, in the Lord.

 

            There are lessons here for us as American Christians. The world is going nuts. People are opposing the word of God and the ways of God left and right. It looks like groups are working together all across the nation to make things harder for people of faith to survive in our nation, a nation founded on the concept of religious freedom. What do we do?

 

            If our faith is not in the Lord, we will not stand firm. If we put our hope in anything else we are in trouble. The government is not going to fix our problems. The courts are not going to stop legislating from the benches. The media is not going to suddenly shift and start treating us fairly. At least none of this is going to happen on its own. But there is a God in heaven who is still on his throne. He will not let his people be destroyed.

 

        “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.” “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.” These words are as good for us today as they were for the people who were dreading the consequences of the godless Ahaz messing up their nation.

 

        So, what do we do? Stop fearing the mean old world out there. Stop fearing the government or the courts or the media or the entertainment industry. Fear God. Set your hope in God. He is faithful. He will not lose. He will not fail. Yes, we may face hardships. We may face persecution. But Christ will reign. God will not ultimately let this world fall apart. He will be glorified, and we will rejoice in that glory.