Heavenhigh

Why?

# 32.1. 2020 Dev. Ecc. 3:1. Why! Read chap.3:1-14. The purpose of this devotional is to reflect on a hero of faith who God called home un-expectantly this week. All passages are taken from the NIV.

Ecclesiastes 3:1“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:”

The theme of Ecc. Is to explore human existence on this earth not based on faith in God. The purpose is to point out the limitations of human knowledge and wisdom, limited by experience on earth and by not knowing what we experience when a life on earth ends.

The questions begin with: why God? We also ask: why do bad things happen to good people? Here we have a relatively healthy, very happy and friendly person and the next day that person is in heaven. I say in heaven because this person had faith in Jesus and lived out faith by involvement in the church, one of the founding members, a person gifted as an organizer and a volunteer in the community.

One thing we know, we are on earth for a short time and only God knows the day of our passing and that followers of Jesus are placed in this world to serve. Everything we do is preparation for a much bigger and never ending job in heaven. The second truth we know is that every person that turns to Jesus in faith is qualified for a job. The third thing we know is that followers of Jesus will see each other again and when we do, she will show us the ropes. Our lives are in God’s hands, every person, but living and the quality of life is in our own hands.

At the end of this section, Solomon, the author, gives us amazing comfort: “I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. ¹³That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God”. Let us pray that God will comfort the many thousands of people who have lost a loved one over the last three months. Lord Jesus, heal our land and comfort her people!

Rejoice!

# 32 2020 Dev. Psalm 92:4. Rejoice! Read all of Psalm 92. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.

Ps. 92:4 “For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord; I sing for joy at what your hands have done.”

Psalms 90 through 100 are a series of 11 Psalms that open and close with “Lord” (Adonai) or “the Lord” (Yahweh). Psalm 92 is a praise song for the Sabbath, sung or spoken as liturgy. The Psalm draws a contrast between what happens to the righteous and wicked, “senseless people”. The Psalm proclaims God’s care and assures God’s protection and proclaims the vigor and fruitfulness of the righteous.

Ps. 92:1-3 proclaims God’s love and faithfulness to His people continuously, day and night.

Vs.4-7 The author addresses God in the first person praising Him: “You make me glad, I sing for joy” for all you have done for your people. “Senseless people do not know, fools do not understand”; unbelievers do not know their end.

Vs.8-11 draws an antithetical parallel of the friends of God and His enemies and of the result of their lives.

Vs.12-15 Paints a picture of the righteous “planted in the house of the Lord”, flourishing, bearing fruit in old age, ending this Psalm with praising God for His salvation.

In America, we are in a bad place right now; not only are we suffering physically, the many deaths attributed to the virus, financially, but we are also suffering spiritually. The virus, the partial lockdowns and even some people are getting blamed for our problems but as we see in this Psalm, wickedness has been with us since the fall, Satan is alive and well. Everyone can be a good person but everyone is also capable of wickedness. We are a country of laws that sets the boundaries in our lives, legitimate freedom exists within those boundaries when adhered to by all, but when those boundaries are removed or ignored we have what we see today. You watch the news; I don’t need to elaborate. Part of the answer is in Rom. 14:1-7. Please read! The rest of the answer is found in the Old Testament; “If people would humble themselves, pray and seek God, turn from their wicked ways, God would hear, forgive and heal our land” (II Ch. 7:14 paraphrased).

The end of the Psalm gives us comfort today: “the righteous will flourish like palm and cedar trees when planted in God, (the Devine in us), they will still bear fruit in old age, they stay fresh and green proclaiming, The Lord is upright; he is my rock” (He is my salvation}. Thank You Lord Jesus, comfort our land!

Works of Compassion!

# 31 2020 Dev. James 2:18-19. Works of Compassion! Read all of Ch. 2:14-26. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.

James 2:18-19 “But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. ¹⁹You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.”

James begins this section, “Faith and Deeds” with a question: “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?” He points out the responsibility of followers of Jesus to care for one another when in need. He appeals to human compassion and to the the royal law of God, love one another and your neighbors as much as yourself. According James, people who claim to have faith but do nothing to help anyone, don’t have faith or faith is dead. Also, on the down side, deeds without faith, as good as they may be, do not count as works done in the name of Jesus and do not last into eternity.

He uses the rest of the passage to prove the point that authentic faith demands action. James gives Abraham as the ideal example: “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness”. Not only did Abraham believe against all odds but he acted on what he believed to be true, thereby completing his faith. Abraham’s faith in the promises of God is the same faith in the fulfilment of the promise, Jesus Christ. The faith of followers of Jesus drives our compassion, our sense of justice, our love for others and for the lost. For true Christians, faith is the knowledge of God in our heads that we have allowed into our hearts and with the help of the Holy Spirit we address the needs around us.

We all know that works do not save us spiritually but we do deeds because we are saved and deeds are done out of gratitude. What is amazing is that work done in the name of Jesus, with His mercy, with His justice, with His love and with the Holy Spirit follow us to heaven and become the building blocks for the New Heaven and the New Earth. Praise the Lord always!

Trust!

# 30 2020 Dev. Psalm 91:4. Trust! Read all of Psalm 91. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.

Ps. 91:4 “He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.”

Ps. 90 through 100 is a series of 11 Psalms that open and close with “Lord” (Adonai) or “the Lord” (Yahweh). Psalm 91 is a statement of assurance, it proclaims God’s care and assures God’s salvation for those who love Him.

PS 91:1-2 introduces God’s assurance and the trust of His people: “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘he is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust’. But the Psalm also draws a contrast between good and bad, see v. 8.

Vs. 3-8. Describes the various physical dangers that plague people and the protection that is extended to those who love and trust God.

Vs. 9-13. “If you say,” ‘The Lord is my refuge,’ and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you”, indicates the imperative of proclaiming God as your God and the importance of living one’s life accordingly.

“Draw close to God and He will draw close to you”. How? “For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” Yes, there is divine intervention in our lives!

Vs. 14-16. ‘Because he loves me’ says the Lord. ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.’ God addresses His people in the first person: God will rescue, will protect, will answer, be with him, will deliver and honor, give long life “and show him my salvation.”

Given our situation today we may want to identify with every verse in this Psalm. This Psalm is our comfort and our assurance in this life and and assurance for the next life. God’s assurance is based on His love and grace to all those who believe on Jesus and follow Him. But let’s be realistic; Bad things also do happen to good people.

Today, we have the answer: ” And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Rm. 8:28-29) Today,trust in God!

Love!

# 29 2020 Dev. James 2:5. Love! Read all of Ch. 2 1-13. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.

James 2:5 “Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?”

The second chapter of James is divided into two very important subjects for the followers of Jesus and for those who may want a better understanding of Christianity. James is talking about showing favoritism and true faith. We take up favoritism in this devotional.

James makes his point with an extreme example of showing favoritism to a rich person over a poor person. Let’s be honest, being materially well off in this world is considered not only a good thing but is the life goal for many people. Being rich is not the issue here, God has blessed many a faithful people who use their wealth for the good of the community in order to glorify God. What James is referring to is that in secular society rich people are given deference and expect it from those not as well off. This was the way of the world in James’ day as it still is today and he points out that for believers in Jesus this is discrimination and you make yourselves “judges with evil thoughts”. The issue is not being rich or poor, our station in life is providential and a blessing from God: “Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?”

The followers of Jesus love Him and James encourages us to “keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’. In other words, discrimination breaks the law of love as does murder and adultery. We are not only talking about discrimination among believers, No, the royal law of love covers every person God places in your path of this life, it is a matter of how believers judge and if you prefer the word “discern” over “judge” you still are making a choice.

James puts it this way: “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, (the royal law)¹³because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” Amen!

Time!

# 28 2020 Dev. Psalm 90:12. Time! Read all of Psalm 90. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.

Ps. 90:12 “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

Ps. 90 is the only Psalm of Moses in the Psalter and may be the oldest of the Psalms. It appears to be written during the enforced 40 years of wandering in the desert after the rebellion at the border of Canaan. The introduction vs.1-2 sets the tone and the theme; “Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

Vs. 3-6 Moses highlights the fragility of mankind and the meaningless of time to God. “A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by,”

In vs.7-12 we are reminded of the people’s shortcomings and the shortness of life on earth. If only we understood the shortness of our days and the diminishing opportunity to repent in the fear of our God. “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Life is short and wisdom in this life comes from God, not wisdom of the head but the wisdom of the heart that is dedicated to serve Him. Along with Moses we also say: “Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.”

Vs.13-17 Is Moses’ prayer for God to forgive and to restore His people: “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days”. This is the prayer for followers of Jesus as well, we all have wandered in the desert at one time or an other and we all need to be restored at one time or an other. Lord, redeem the time, redeem the days, redeem the years when our hearts wandered, when our faith was weak, and when we did not count our days.

Over the years we have seen God working in our lives, guiding us, protecting us, drawing us to himself by the power of His Spirit. Along with Moses we pray: “May the favor^[a] of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands.” When we live and work in God’s wisdom, our work is established in the name of Jesus! Praise be to God!

Good Works

# 27 2020 Dev. James 1:22. Good Works! Read all of Ch.1:13-27. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.

James 1:²²“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says!”

James is all about doing and at first glance he appears to be at odds with Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. Certainly, Martin Luther thought so, James was the last book he translated into German, he called it “a book of straw”. James and Paul back up to the same value; gratitude for God’s Salvation in Jesus Christ.

James uses the metaphors that Jesus would use; temptation is “conceived” within by our “own evil desires” giving “birth to sin” and leads to death. Temptation is not the sin but allowing it to linger in our mind leads to sin, and sin not confessed and un-repented leads to spiritual death and contributes to physical death. “God chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.”

James goes on, “take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, accept the word that is planted in you”. We all know how quickly we forget most messages we hear from God’s Word. One of the reasons for these devotionals is to apply God’s truth to our daily living. Further, as is pointed out in this passage (vs.22-25), if you meditate on God’s Word and practice it, not only will we not forget but we “will be blessed in what we do”. Faith is a gift, grace is a gift, salvation is a gift, God’s Word is gift and James encourages us to practice what we believe.

If we really want to be thankful for God’s gifts to us James points us into the direction of missions, here at home and around the world; “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world”.

James is talking about the poor, the disenfranchised, injustice, children, born and unborn, the lost and being politically correct: the pollution of the world. All the attitudes and actions that Jesus spoke against while he was on earth. Now from heaven He still opposes those attitudes and actions in people and nations but draws near the persecuted, the disenfranchised, the poor and the unborn. Jesus is humble, compassionate, forgiving, and He loves with no limit. Praise be to God!

Faithfulness!

# 26 2020 Dev. Psalm 89:8. Faithfulness! Read all of Psalm 89. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.

Ps. 89:8 “Who is like you, Lord God Almighty? You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you.”

Ps 89 is the last Psalm of a series of six (84-89) that end Book Three of Psalms. The Psalm is a prayer for the nation and repeats many of the themes found in this series. The prayer is in the first person and is divided into two parts: vs. 1-37 praises God for His faithfulness and for His salvation, “You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior”. The second part, vs 38-51, complains to God about what is perceived as His rejection, “you have rejected, you have spurned, you have renounced the covenant with your servant” (David). The author, Ethan the Ezrahite, a Levite, paints a picture of major disruption of the nation.

This is a prayer that followers of Jesus are tempted to pray today because this prayer is about the lineage of Jesus Christ, it is about God’s choosing his people by Grace and God’s subsequent discipline of the nation for the short comings of David and the descendants of Abraham. We may read the genealogy of Jesus in the book of Mathew Ch.1:1-16 and in Luke Ch. 3:23-38, a long list of people who fell short of God’s ideals. The two genealogies are somewhat different because both Joseph and Mary are in the line of David. Followers of Jesus may want to identify with both sections of this prayer.

Certainly, we identify with the first part of this prayer: “Who is like you, Lord God Almighty? You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you. Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.” Here we see God’s grace, His forgiveness and His love. Along with the Psalmist we say: “Praise be to the Lord forever!”

The second part of the prayer is more difficult to identify with, not that the whole world is in trouble, it is, but let us look at our own situation for the purpose of this short devotional. The second part of this prayer comes about due to the short comings of the Nation of Israel, unfaithfulness, idolatry, and the rejection of God and of God’s ways. That is the very situation we find ourselves in right now. As we saw in the book of Hebrews some time back, God tests and teaches (disciplines) those whom He loves. How easy it is to point at the secular culture around us, but no, we also bear a responsibility; are we praying for all that is going on around us; leaders, federal, state, local, and church leaders? How about those who oppose us? All legitimate (dully elected) authority comes from God, Romans 13:1-2. Are we practicing what we say we believe? Are we speaking the words that bring life, words of encouragement, words of healing, words that glorify God and His Salvation? Followers of Jesus, we have our work cut out for us and that is what God is preparing us for, by drawing us closer and closer to Jesus by His Holy Spirit. Amen and amen!

Perseverance!

# 25 2020 Dev. James 1. Perseverance! Read all of Ch.1:1-12. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.

James 1:2,3 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,^[^a^] whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”

The book of James is a unique letter that comes to us as “Wisdom Literature.The author, by most commentators’ opinion, is the brother of Jesus and the leader of the the church in Jerusalem. The book moves from proverb to proverb with commentary directing the reader to apply faith and ethics to true Christian living, which are the two themes that bind the diverse subjects of this letter together. The letter is directed to true Jewish Christians living “among the nations”. Further, God’s Word is relevant today and is relevant at all times, both past, present and future, applying to all people everywhere!

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters”. Really, must we rejoice at persecution and opposition to living out our faith? Yes! But James qualifies his statement by pointing out the results of being tested: perseverance in faith, growth to maturity and to receive wisdom, given on request “from the Lord”. God lovingly shapes, grooms, and prunes His followers for the tasks at hand and prepares us for work in heaven.

In God’s eyes you are rich when you are poor, and you are poor if you are rich.The poor trust in God with a fervent faith, the rich must trust God in humility, thanksgiving and in generosity. In God’s eyes all men and women are equal and in need of salvation. We all are born with nothing and we die with nothing, only our faith in Jesus remains forever.

James ends this section with v. 12 “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” Jesus loves those who love Him and He loves those who do not love Him (Jn. 3:16-17). Jesus builds us up, using a variety of events in our lives, including unpleasant ones, to prepare us to serve Him and to strengthen us to be able to build the Kingdom of God where He has placed us, according to His will. Praise be to God!

A Cry For Help!

# 24 2020 Dev. Psalm 88:1. A cry for help! Read all of Psalm 88. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.

Ps. 88:1 “Lord, you are the God who saves me; day and night I cry out to you.”

Ps 88 is a personal prayer for God’s grace and salvation. The psalmist acknowledges that God is his Savior, but the whole Psalm asks God for relief from his situations. The Psalmist is close to death, he has lost his friends, he has lost his family, he has lost his station in life, he has no where to turn but to the God who saves. There are times in our lives that we feel this pain as well, illness that could lead to death, loneliness because a loved one rejected us, poverty due to the loss of income. At those times and many are in that situation right now, we feel abandoned like the Psalmist.

God, how can we “show your wonders” at a time like this? How do we “rise up and praise you”? How do we “declare your faithfulness in destruction”? God, are “your wonders” visible in this situation? God, how do we find “your righteous deeds” at such times we are in right now?

The answer is that we “cry to you (Lord) for help” every morning and every evening we pray for God’s grace, for His care, for His love, for His salvation. Prayer is the highway to the throne, fervent prayer is the way to the heart of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, prayer and fasting opens our heart to hear the Word of the Lord. Let all followers of Jesus be in fervent prayer for our country, for her people, for our leaders. Let all followers of Jesus pray for justice, for repentance, for a return to God and pray that God will heal us, heal the people of this land, forgive us and may God heal our land. Praise be to God!

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