# 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!

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# 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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# 4 2020 Dev. Psalm 80:7. Restoration! Read all of Ps. 80. 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.

Ps. 80:7 “Restore us, God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.”

This series, Ps. 79-83, are located in the center of Book III of the Psalter. The series is a lament framed by two communal prayers; Ps.79 and Ps.83. The themes of this series are restoration and forgiveness, anticipating God’s mercy and God’s promise of peace and wellbeing and God is the judge of the nations. These are written during a time of extreme attack on Israel, perhaps the Assyrian attack and captivity of the Northern ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom.

Ps. 80 is a prayer (song) petitioning God for restoration with increasing intensity.Vs.1-2 reminiscing on God as the Shepherd of His people, some of the Northern tribes are mentioned here. This stanza ends with “Restore us, O God.”

Vs. 4-6 begins with the request: “How long, Lord God Almighty, will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people?” The people are “fed with the bread of tears, drink tears by the bowlful and our enemies mock us.” This second stanza ends with “Restore us, God Almighty”.

Vs.8-18 moves to the metaphor of a vine that God transplanted from Egypt, calling to mind God’s awesome power and care for His people, a vine that “filled the land”, shaded the mountains and reached to the sea. God has removed His protection, “broken down the walls”, wild animals and insects “ravage it”, in todays vernacular, we are dying Lord! By the power of the Holy Spirit the Psalmist introduces a phrase outside of this historical context: “Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for your self.” This may be a reference to king David but for us, in our time, it is a reverence to the grace and salvation of God, Jesus Christ. “Restore us, Lord God Almighty”.

As followers of Jesus we identify with the Psalmist, not with physical but spiritual attacks. Religion, including Christianity is under attack all over the world. In our own land, USA, it may not seem like that because we still have some freedom of religion, but that is starting to be limited. The church today has less impact on secular society: prayer, Christian values, Christian education and Christian families are under attack. As a minister of the Word, speaking out against the legal abuses of society, such as abortion and gender issues, we are suspect of hate speech and maybe subject to prosecution. True followers of Jesus may expect more difficulty since many main line churches have caved to societal pressure to validate non biblical positions on the miracle of birth, on the blending of gender and on family values. The problem is within the church.

So what is the answer? This is what God says to us: “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). Along with the Psalmist we pray: “Restore us, Lord God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.” Amen!

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# 3 2020 Devotion, Titus 1:6. What is true! Read all of chapter 1. 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 1:6 “An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believeand are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.”

Titus is one of Paul’s Gentile converts who worked along side Paul as a father and son. “To Titus, my true son in our common faith.” Paul left Titus in Crete to organize the converts, to emphasize the true gospel, correct the deception of “those of the circumcision group” and to appoint leaders for the converts living there.

In his greeting Paul gives us his mandate given to him by Jesus himself: “to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness— ² in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time,” This the mandate of the true church and the mandate of the true followers of Jesus!

In vs 5-9 Paul lays out the qualifications for leadership in the church. Not only must a person be blameless in his/her personal life but must also be grounded in sound doctrine of the faith. A leader must know what he/she believes, basing his/her actions and his/her thinking on the Word of God.

In vs, 10-16 Paul is concerned about “those who fail to do good.” Failing to do good in this case is the adulteration of the gospel; false teachings, deception, Jewish myths and human commands which have distorted the truth. In the church today we face similar situations, political correctness, redefining the family along worldly lines, not Biblical truths, and gender issues.

Today, we would do well to listen to what Paul says to Titus: “To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. ¹⁶ They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him.” Let’s get real about the influence of the world on the church and on our thinking. We will trust God!

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# 1 2020 Devotion, 2 Tim. 4;2. Be Prepared! Read all of chapter 4. 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.

2 Timothy 4:2 “² Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.”

This last chapter of 2^nd Timothy continues Paul’s charge to Timothy in chapter three. Paul continues promoting the truth that the Word of God equips a person for every good work. That truth applies to all work, whatever that may be, done in the name of Jesus Christ. The work of Jesus turns around the life and world view of His followers.

In chapter 4, Paul qualifies his charge to Timothy and to us I might add, by invoking the Kingdom of God and by His Christ the “judge of the living and the dead. “Preach the Word” Paul commands. I am reminded of the the words of Spurgeon or was it Francis of Assisi: “Preach always, use words if necessary!”

Paul as well makes living the Gospel a full time work; “be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.” How often don’t we forget that much encouragement, great patience and sound instruction from God’s Word goes along with correction.

Paul is discouraged, people he trusted have left him and only Luke is with him; he asks for Timothy to bring Mark, the same Mark Paul and Barnabas disagreed about and went their separate ways. “Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.” Paul himself learned the importance of encouragement.

As a minister of the Word, the encouragement and support of the congregation, in spite of differences of opinions or disagreements, is what makes ministry successful and a joy to experience. In this New Year make it a goal to pray for your church and your leaders daily! God is faithful may His church and the true followers of Jesus be blessed in this New Year.

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