# 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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# 52 2019 Dev. Psalm 78:5-7. Faith! Read all of Ps.78. 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. 78:5-7 “He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children,⁶ so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.⁷ Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.”

Psalm 78 is the last Psalm of this series and it has the most verses. The length of it is beyond the scope of our short devotionals. However, we will give a short overview. The Psalm is a warning to God’s people to keep His covenant, to be faithful, as He is faithful, to continue to trust in God’s care and goodness to us, His people. The Psalm begins with a long introduction vs 1-8. It probably was written during the time of the split of the kingdom into the Northern and Southern Kingdoms after the reign of Solomon.

 Vs.9-55 is a long history of the escape from Egypt by God’s power and care for His people; the people’s rebellion while in the wilderness and God’s punishments and many restorations of His people. Even so, God is faithful and merciful, He brings His people into the promised land and established them during the reign of king David and Solomon.

Vs. 56-64 continues the history after entering the land and it is much of the same rebellion but then God’s punishments are harsher and more extensive.

Vs.65-78 God relents, “He remembered that they were but flesh,” God rejected Joseph and Ephraim and chose the tribe of Judah. “God chose David His servant”. We already see that in Jacob’s blessings of his sons, Judah is the lion who will always reign. This is what we celebrate at Christmas; Jesus is the son of David and He is the Son of God, Immanuel. God with us! Praise God! But that is also part of this Psalm because we are privileged to be on this side of the history of God’s people, yet the warning in this Psalm is for us as well.

We are in the covenant of Jesus’s blood, He died for our sins, forgave us and re-created us Spiritually.  We have the responsibility to live the Gospel and as the Psalmist writes in the introduction God “commanded our ancestors to teach their children,⁶ so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.⁷ Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.” Christ must be visible in our lives for all to see, especially our children. Amen?

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# 51 2019 Devotion, 2 Tim. 3 The Word of the Lord! Read all of chapter 3. 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 3:16,17 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

In Paul’s last days he was starting to see Satan’s opposition to the gospel message. This is still going on today. Paul lays out a long list of actions not compatible with the Word of God vs. 1-5. “There will be terrible times in the last days.” We tend to think that the last days are way ahead of us but that is not the case; the last days are from the time of Jesus’ ascension to His coming again at the end of time. We are in the last days. What we are experiencing today in terms of disregard for life, for the unborn, the lovers of money, the lack of respect and love, we may put every word Paul writes into our experience today. At the risk of being discouraging we would be wise to recognize the signs of the times.

We take comfort in Paul’s charge to Timothy: “you know my teaching, my way of life, my purpose,” Paul’s way of life, teaching, and purpose is to live the gospel of Jesus, to teach the gospel of Jesus, and to promote the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul’s purpose is the purpose of every true follower of Jesus. That purpose involves faith; we all know what we have believed.  That purpose involves patience with those not yet saved, with those who reject the gospel. That purpose involves love for the lost, for those searching peace, and salvation.

that purpose involves endurance, and sadly, persecution at times. Paul also warns us that “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Persecution is increasing in our time; Satan knows his time is short.

God’s comfort comes to us by way of the Holy Scriptures, making us “wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” The bottom line for true followers of Jesus is this: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” May God continue to equip us to fulfil his purposes in our lives on earth.

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# 50 2019 Dev. Psalm 77:13. God’s Ways! Read all of Ps.77. 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. 77:13 “Your ways, God, are holy.  What god is as great as our God?”

The Psalmist in Ps.77, the fifth Psalm of this series, now calls into question the themes that highlight the first four Psalms of this series: Does God not listen? Is God angry? God’s unfailing love, God’s promises, God’s mercy and God’s compassion all seem to be missing in the experience of the Psalmist (vs.1-9).

There are times in our lives as well that God seems to be missing. The Psalmist deals with this apparent rejection in the same way we may want to deal with it; by meditating on God’s past deeds (vs. 10-12). He further contemplates God’s ways, God is Holy and great, performs miracles and redeems his people (vs.13-15). We may well want to identify with the Psalmist’s conclusion: God’s ways are holy and He is always with His people!

In vs.16-19 The Psalmist meditates on one of the main events in the redemption of God’s people; God breaking the chains of slavery, by leading them through the the Red sea (waters) out of the hands of Egypt’s Pharaoh and leading his “people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.”    

The Psalmist here gives us the back story to our own salvation: the slavery of sin’s chains is broken in our lives by Christ’s death on the cross, we are baptized into Jesus’ death and resurrection by faith. The power of God’s Holy Spirit is given to us as a gift. God has provided leaders to lead and guide us to the promised land. We now have the great privilege to live out God’s salvation and God’s purpose of redeeming His people and world. From our baptism to the time of entering the promised land God prepare us for service here on earth and for our service in The New Heaven and New Earth. Praise be to God! 

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# 49 2019 Devotion, 2 Tim. 2:1-2. A Pure Heart! Read verses 14-28. 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 2:15 “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”

Paul continues his urgent letter to Timothy by warning him of the controversies that have been introduced to the church. At this time Gnosticism was beginning to raise its ugly head. Paul mentions two leaders of this movement that deny the bodily resurrection because according to them that had already happened, a spiritual resurrection is what was left for Followers of Jesus. The physical was rejected only the spiritual had value. This led to a decedent lifestyle with a pretense of holiness. Paul encourages Timothy by the solid foundation of the church in his time: “God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: ‘The Lord knows those who are his,’ and, ‘Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” Paul further urges Timothy and us today: “Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

Paul here is talking about making choices: so often people see their place in the world conditioned by events, biases, rejections, poverty and condemnations that are beyond their control. I suppose that a world view like that makes it easier to deal with many disappointments in their lives. However, as Paul points out in his metaphor of articles in a big house, God has given people different stations in life but “those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.” The issue of stations in life comes down to making choices. We chose for righteousness and God makes us holy and useful to Him.

Today the firm foundation of the church is undercut by churches that make political correct choices that are contrary to the Word of the Lord. But the true followers of Jesus make righteous choices making us useful and holy by God’s grace. Holiness is kind of a catch 21 that we do not understand completely because our human thinking and actions are not divine thinking and actions: we are pure in heart, making righteous choices by the gift of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. After all is said and done our righteous choices are a gift. We thank Jesus for His work making us useful for the work of Kingdom. What a blessing and a comfort, thank you Lord Jesus!

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# 47 2019 Dev. Psalm 76:8-9. God’s Care! Read all of Ps.76. 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. 76: 8,9 “From heaven you pronounced judgment, and the land feared and was quiet—⁹ when you, God, rose up to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land.

Psalm 76 carries the themes of reassurance and God’s care for his people, God’s care for the oppressed. The themes are in the context of praise for God. The Psalm opens with vs.1-3 “God is renowned in Judah”, God’s mighty power is acknowledged. The Psalm is closed by vs. 11-12 “Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them”, the Psalmist encourages us to fear God in the sense of worship.

The main body of the Psalm vs.4-10 is addressed directly to God; “You are radiant with light”. The personal pronoun “you” and “your” is used eight times attributing this stanza completely to praising God for His care. This Psalm may be praising God for many events in Israel’s history; from the crossing of the Red Sea to the rout of the Assyrian Sennacherib and every major battle in which God intervened.

This is the back story of God’s care for us. Do we need that kind of God intervention today? Yes, we do! “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour”.  1 Pe. 5:8. Today, whatever side of the political aisle you are on, we all may have the wrong perception of who the real enemy is!

Today is a good time to reflect on Psalm 76; God is in control! “God is radiant with light”, the truth! “It is you alone who is to be feared”, worshiped!  “From heaven you pronounced judgment”. You O, God “save all the afflicted of the land” (earth).

Today, the Holy Spirit lives in us and among us, it is His job to promote Jesus, to restrain the evil of mankind and it is His job to empower the followers of Jesus to live our salvation in the face of a world desperate for peace and reconciliation. Let us all continue to worship God and pray daily for our churches, for each other, for our country, and for world we live in.

Thank you Lord Jesus for your care, even in our short comings.  Thank you for loving us and for judging us righteous in your sight. We Praise You!

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