# 13 2020 Dev. Heb.3:1. Believe! Read all of Ch. 3. 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.

Hebrews 3:1 “Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.”

Again, the author points back to what he wrote in chapter 2. Let’s review what he wrote about Christ’s humanity: “For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. ¹⁸ Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” Christ is the living sacrifice, the final sacrifice foreshadowed in the sacrificial system of the Old Testament who makes atonement for us and for all those who have believed, all those who will believe. Salvation is a free gift of God’s grace, we can do nothing to earn it and our shortcomings do not negate it as long as we believe.

The author also gives us his second warning about unbelief: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” The only condition that negates God’s grace is: “a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.” In our situation today we are tempted to ask: God where are you, how is it that a loving God allows this virus and economic devastation around the world? There may be a lot of different reasons. Does God want to get our attention, does God want us to call on Him, does God want us to turn back to Jesus, and to prayer? I am asking the question but I do not have a definitive answer.

God’s ways are not our ways, nor are His thought our thoughts but I know that if you hear His voice today: believe. I also know that in the situation we are in we do not how we should pray but “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. ²⁷ And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” (Ro. 8:26-27) Those who believe are in good hands, we are in the very hands of Jesus! Praise be to God.

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# 12 2020 Dev. Heb.2:3-4. Pay Attention! Read all of Ch. 2. 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.

Hebrews 2:3-4 “how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. ⁴ God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.”

Chapter two begins with the first of five warnings in the book, highlighting the fact of Jesus’ superiority and “so great a salvation, ushered in by the new covenant of Jesus’ blood. (New Test.) Let us take this as the back story for today: what else must happen for people of the world and of this country to “pay attention”. Instead of a commentator trashing prayer on the air (last week), we now hear more calls for prayer and calls for calm in a situation that is beyond human control. But thankfully, the impact of this virus may be minimized with positive action by listening to our leaders and with faith instead of fear and prayer instead of deviance.

The author points back to the first four verses of chapter one: pay “careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”He is referring to the amazing and complete omnipotent Jesus. In the next section he refers to passages of the Old Testament to show us that Jesus is “made fully human, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” Our Savior made “perfect through what he suffered”. Jesus is perfect but now experiencing suffering, He is made perfect as the God Man carrying with Him His “sons and daughters” who by faith are holy as God is holy. “So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.” Again the author quotes Old Testament passages to make his point. (see footnotes)

Christ shares in our humanity “so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— ¹⁵ and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” We no longer fear death, we no longer fear the future, we no longer fear the current events in our world and in our country.

Ro. 8:37 “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us.” Amen?

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# 11 2020 Dev. Heb.1:1-2. The Living Word of God! Read all of Ch. 1. 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.

Hebrews 1:1-2 “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe.”

In this Easter season it is good to be reading the book of Hebrews. The book’s author is anonymous but appears to be well known to the recipients of this letter. Some commentators think Barnabas wrote the book but most think it was Apollos, it is however universally accepted as part of Scripture.  It is a letter sent to Hebrews who are Christians but may be subject to the influences of the Judaizers. The author calls his letter: “a word of exhortation (13:22)” He knows the Old testament well and expounds on eight different passages.

The first four verses are the prologue and sets the theme of the whole letter. The author begins with: “God’s Final Word: His Son”, Jesus Christ, His incarnation, His ministry on earth, His sacrifice and His resurrection is God’s final revelation to human kind and God’s final revelation to reconcile all things back to Him.

The first four verses are an amazing statement about Jesus: He is the “heir of all things, all of creation was through Him. He “is the radiance of God’s glory, the exact representation of His being”. He upholds “all things by His powerful word”. His sacrifice “provided purification for sin”. He sits at The Father’s right hand as our intercessor and He is much “superior to angels.” Amen! Get your head around the above statements if you can, and let us meditate on the attributes of Jesus during this Easter season.

Verses 5-13 are given as proof of Jesus’ superiority as the incarnate Son of God. See the footnotes of chapter 1.

Verse 14 stands alone and validates the work of God’s angels: “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” This rhetorical question shows that guardian angels are considered as part of God’s care for His people while we are on this earth. May all true followers of Jesus praise Him!

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# 10 2020 Dev. Psalm 83:1. Opposition! Read all of Ps. 83. 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. 83:1 “O God, do not remain silent; do not turn a deaf ear, do not stand aloof, O God.”

Ps. 83 is the last of the series Ps 79-83. They are Prayers (songs) of requests for God to intervene into what is happening to the nation of Israel, which is under attack. The on going situation, particularly in the time of the Judges but at other times as well, is Israel’s unfaithfulness, their repentance, God’s restoration and peace again and again. This series of Psalms may have have been prayed and sung at one of those times. The theme of this series is restoration, forgiveness, anticipating God’s mercy, God’s promise of peace and wellbeing. God is the judge of the nations.

The Psalm is divided into four sections: vs. 1-8 are the people’s request, in the first person, and describes who is against them. Put into the context, “See how your enemies growl, how your foes rear their heads.” There is a long history in scripture, that we also understand today, those who oppose God’s people are actually apposing God.

The next section is vs. 9-12 is a reminder to God of His merciful dealing with them, by opposing those who attacked them in the past.

The third section is vs. 13-16. Here the psalmist moves into the immediate presence of those praying, using metaphoric language for God to deal with the attackers. But the sections end with a request for God to glorify Himself: “Cover their faces with shame, Lord, so that they will seek your name.”

The last section is vs. 17-18. The Psalmist glorifies God: “Let them know that you, whose name is the Lord— that you alone are the Most High over all the earth”.

Today, there is much opposition to true followers of Jesus. I recently heard a commentator expressing her disappointment that Vice President is leading the fight on the corona virus with the comments: “prayer has no place in modern society”. Our country is full of unfaithfulness, rejecting God and full of gross sin.

The fact is that, because of the fervent prayers of God’s people, God blesses our country. Along with the Psalmist we say: “O God, do not remain silent; do not turn a deaf ear, do not stand aloof, O God.” Our God is faithful!

© cgvanwyk, all rights reserved                

# 10 2020 Dev. Psalm 83:1. Opposition! Read all of Ps. 83. 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. 83:1 “O God, do not remain silent; do not turn a deaf ear, do not stand aloof, O God.”

Ps. 83 is the last of the series Ps 79-83. They are Prayers (songs) of requests for God to intervene into what is happening to the nation of Israel, which is under attack. The on going situation, particularly in the time of the Judges but at other times as well, is Israel’s unfaithfulness, their repentance, God’s restoration and peace again and again. This series of Psalms may have have been prayed and sung at one of those times. The theme of this series is restoration, forgiveness, anticipating God’s mercy, God’s promise of peace and wellbeing. God is the judge of the nations.

The Psalm is divided into four sections: vs. 1-8 are the people’s request, in the first person, and describes who is against them. Put into the context, “See how your enemies growl, how your foes rear their heads.” There is a long history in scripture, that we also understand today, those who oppose God’s people are actually apposing God.

The next section is vs. 9-12 is a reminder to God of His merciful dealing with them, by opposing those who attacked them in the past.

The third section is vs. 13-16. Here the psalmist moves into the immediate presence of those praying, using metaphoric language for God to deal with the attackers. But the sections end with a request for God to glorify Himself: “Cover their faces with shame, Lord, so that they will seek your name.”

The last section is vs. 17-18. The Psalmist glorifies God: “Let them know that you, whose name is the Lord— that you alone are the Most High over all the earth”.

Today, there is much opposition to true followers of Jesus. I recently heard a commentator expressing her disappointment that Vice President is leading the fight on the corona virus with the comments: “prayer has no place in modern society”. Our country is full of unfaithfulness, rejecting God and full of gross sin.

The fact is that, because of the fervent prayers of God’s people, God blesses our country. Along with the Psalmist we say: “O God, do not remain silent; do not turn a deaf ear, do not stand aloof, O God.” Our God is faithful!

© cgvanwyk, all rights reserved                

# 9 2020 Devotion, Philemon 1. Forgiveness! Read all of chapter 1. The purpose of these devotionals is to be drawn closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.

Philemon 1:6 “I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ.”

Philemon is a short personal letter to what appears to be a leader in the church of Colosse. The letter is about a domestic matter; Onesimus is Philemon’s slave, who stole from him and ran away. In Roman times his crime demanded a death sentence. However, there is a twist in the story, Onesimus has become a follower of Jesus, I assume, through the efforts of Paul and his fellow workers whom Paul mentions in his letter.

Paul is in prison, not house arrest but in a dungeon, literally chained. Yet, it seems he is allowed visitors and is able to write letters. Paul petitions Philemon to forgive Onesimus who has now become Paul’s son. Before Paul makes his requests he starts with thanksgiving and prayer, he thanks God for Philemon and for his work on behalf of the brothers and sisters of the faith, he is encouraged; “because brother, you have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.”

Paul writes a personal and intimate letter as if writing to a close family member and is, as should be, among real followers of Jesus, there is to be joy and excitement for the faith. Paul emphasizes his partnership in the faith with Philemon and that partnership “may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ.” This should be how we do church: celebrating God’s good gifts to us as a community of which forgiveness is the greatest of gifts. First, forgiveness in Christ is what makes us brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. Second, God’s forgiveness demands we forgive each other, even if we are not asked to forgive and even if the person does not know you forgave him or her. Third, forgiveness is for ourselves, for our own peace of mind and our own well being. Forgive because God forgives us! Amen

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# 8 2020 Dev. Psalm 82:5. Understanding Love! Read all of Ps. 82. 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. 82:5 “The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing.
    They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.”

Ps. 82 addresses the issue of unjust rulers. God is the one who rules the rulers, “gods”, they are to rule in God’s place and God judges the rulers of the earth. The cry of the Psalmist: how long rulers “will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked”? He calls instead “defend the cause of the weak and fatherless.” Rescue the poor and needy, deliver them from exploitation.

The New Testament confirms the universal truth of supporting the repressed, the underdog, as Jesus did, James tells us: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (Jas.1:27). This is the understanding that the psalmist is teaching us: the poor, the disenfranchised, the repressed, the rejected, the disabled are those God wants followers of Jesus to pay attention to, to help, to support and comfort, that is what the Bible calls justice!

The issue of justice is misunderstood in many churches; justice has become political but the Scriptures tells us it is spiritual. God’s intention is to reconcile all people and creation back to Himself; what is unjust is when we are not committed to God’s program of reconciliation. We agree with the Psalmist: “rise up, O God, judge the earth”.  We, the church are in danger of judgment as well.  Amen!

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# 7 2020 Devotion, Titus 3:4-6. Doing Good! Read all of chapter 3. The purpose of these devotionals is to be drawn closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.

Titus 3:4-6 “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,”

In Ch. 2 Paul talks about “doing good for the sake of the gospel.” In Chapter 3 Paul’s theme is: “saved in order to do good”. He begins with the current situation, the very same issue we are struggling with in our time: “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, ² to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.” Doing good is being law abiding, obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good. Live in peace and be gentle to others.

But Paul quickly switches us to what he calls: “This is a trustworthy saying.” Vs. 3-7 lays out not only the opposite of doing good but also why we do good and why we are able to do good. We do good because of God’s love, mercy and grace given us in Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Paul points out that righteousness does not save us, we are saved by God’s love alone. This is a good reminder because “grace alone” and as inheritors of hope in eternal life, we are to live that out daily. Paul adds: “And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.”

The bottom line is that followers of Jesus do not do good in order to be saved but do good because we are saved, we do the good we do because we are thankful to God for His salvation. Praise the Lord!

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# 5 2020 Devotional, Titus 2:11. What is Good? Read all of chapter 2. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw Gremar and I closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.

Titus 2:11 “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.”

In this chapter Paul tells Titus what to teach his people at Crete: “doing good for the sake of the gospel.” He covers all the age groups, the older men, the older women, the younger married women, the young men and those who are slaves.

Doing good here is how we live out our Christian lives; men should be “temperate, worthy of respect self-controlled and sound in faith in love and endurance”. The older women should “be reverent in the way they live”, not idle talkers or drinkers and teach what is good. Both older men and older woman should be the example to the younger generation. What Paul says about slaves can be applied today to all who work for others.

The gospel; the grace of God in Christ Jesus is offered to all people and it teaches us how we should live “so that no one will malign the Word of God” so that our lives “will make the teachings about God our Savior attractive”.

The culture in Titus’ day was loose, fast and idolatrous, our culture today is not much better, even so God offers salvation to all people. Paul is saying that how we live as followers of Jesus has a direct effect, either positive or negative, on the offer of God’s grace to this world. This passage is a wake up call for us to

re-evaluate our lives, to consider where we fall short, and to look to God’s Word and to much prayer in order to be better examples of God’s grace in our lives.

All of God’s people say: Amen!

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