Heavenhigh

God Hear Me!

# 3 2019. Dev. Ps. 54: God Hear Me! Read all of Ps. 54. 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.

Psalm 54:4 “Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.”

Ps 54 is a short prayer by David after he had been betrayed by the people among whom David was hiding from Saul. Prayers like this are the most common type of prayer turned into songs in the Psalter, often used liturgically in the the Temple. Further, this is one of a series of prayers when Saul was seeking to end David’s life. The structure is typical; the main body is framed by an introduction and conclusion, the center of the Psalm is verse 4, David acknowledging God’s care for him.

Vs. 1,2 David begins with a request; “Save me, O God” David calls on His name, on God’s might and asks God to hear his prayer.

3 Ruthless and godless men are trying to kill David.

4 David confirms God’s care for him.

5 David asks for evil to be restrained and the perpetrators to reap the result of their actions.

Vs. 6,7 David ends his prayer with a promise to sacrifice and to praise God. He steps out in faith anticipating God’s salvation.

This prayer is a meaningful prayer for David’s time and place. How does this prayer apply to our time? Although we are not in danger of losing our lives like David, our time and place is not much different than David’s. Modern times give us many good and beneficial things but there is a dark side to much of it, evil and unrighteousness is all around us leading society astray and our souls are in extreme jeopardy. People not in Christ do not understand the danger they are subjected to every day. Followers of Jesus should know better but often the reality of Satan and his intention to kill off our second life (our souls) is minimized, ignored, or denied. Therefore, David’s prayer is relevant for today. We are blest with God’s Word, like David we trust God for our salvation, we have the Holy Spirit promoting Christ in us and through us to the world and the Holy Spirit restrains sin. Praise be to God!

Love Over All!

# 2 2018. Dev. Col.3:12-14. Love Over All! Read verses 1-17. 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.

Colossians 3:12-14 “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

Paul ends chapter two with the freedom we have from religious practices and rules made by man that do not contribute to our salvation. In Christ our sins do not condemn us and our good works do not save us. But because we are in Christ and made alive by Him we are told to: “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” We wait for Christ’s return when the salvation of our souls and bodies is complete and we “appear with him in glory.” This does not mean that we are now no earthly good, we live on earth temporarily, but the demands of the Gospel; proclaiming the Good News and living it is now even more urgent.

Therefore, in vs. 5-10 Paul lists for us practices that are incompatible with being in Christ and with living for Him now. We “have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” Being alive in Christ means that there is no tribe, no country, no human condition or situation, and no man made rules that separate us from Christ, “Christ is all and is in all.”

We turn to the the three verses, 12-14 which is the heart of the message of Jesus. Surround yourself and your life with; “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” always forgive and overflow with love. These are the practices of the new self, the new creation we are in Christ Jesus, the fruit of the Spirit, (Gal.5:22,23) and has profound implication for how we live our lives on this earth.

We end with what could be a New Year resolution: “¹⁶Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.¹⁷And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Amen and Amen!

The Unrighteous!

# 1 2019. Dev. Ps. 53: The unrighteous! Read all of Ps. 53. 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.

Psalm 53:1 “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.”

We start this New Year with hope but the reality of a broken world is always with us, Ps. 53 reminds us of that reality. This Psalm is the last prayer of this section of Psalms started at Ps.49. The Psalm is very much like Ps. 14. The title however is much different: “according to mahalath” the name of a tune but the Hebrew word means suffering or oppression. Further, it is also titled as a “maskil” meaning instruction or righteous understanding. The psalmist has suffered at the hands of godless men and he speaks out. Here the unrighteous are described in vivid terms: their actions, their lack of understanding, their refusal to seek God, and they do not know or do good works.

We see and we hear about the unrighteous today, in the Middle East evil actions have risen to an unbelievable level destroying whole cities and decimating people groups. Evil is at work everywhere as well as here where we live. Let us call evil for what it is, and where evil comes from; unrighteous people are controlled by Satan. We hear them say: “we love death but you love life”! They say that because they are confronted with life! The righteous have nothing to loose! How? As the Psalmist tells us: “There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous” and “the Lord is their refuge.” Ps 14: 5,6.

God in Christ is always with us in every situation and through every trial. Truly we have everything to gain and nothing to loose! Thank you Lord Jesus.

Man’s Regulations!

# 52 2018. Dev. Col.2:16. Man’s Regulations! Read verses 16-23. 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.

Colossians 2: 16 “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.”

This time of the year is a time to celebrate; we celebrate The birth of the Christ Child and anticipate His coming for the second time, we are thankful for the year now past and we anticipate the blessings of the year ahead. This is a time to celebrate and we often over indulge with food, drink and gifts. Moderation in all things is always a good thing but that is not what this passage is about.

Paul points back to what he wrote before: We are set free from our “indebtedness.” Our sins “nailed to the cross” and freed from the “powers” and the “authorities” of this world. The issue here is perceived obligations that have nothing to do with salvation and that our own efforts are useless, salvation is only by the Grace of God. I remember when people started to skip the evening service, even church leaders were starting to be absent, yet the pastor had to be there. When we moved to a church plant we decided to have only a late morning service spending much time before and after the service in fellowship. That gave all of us a new sense of freedom. The bottom line is our personal relationship with Jesus, He is the head of the body, the church held together, “as God causes it to grow.”

“Since you died with Christ, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules:‘Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch’? ²²These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings.” There are churches that expect attendance twice always, sing only certain traditional songs, have organ music of course, no Christmas tree anywhere near the church and offer communion only to the righteous. All that flies in the face of the freedom Jesus offers us. Praise God for your religious freedom, not only politically but also spiritually which is rooted in our personally relationship to Christ! Thank you Lord Jesus for coming to set us free, we praise You!

Unfailing Love!

# 51 2018. Dev. Ps. 52: God’s unfailing love! Read all of Ps. 52. 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.

Psalm 52:8 “But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.”

Ps. 52 is a song and a prayer of condemnation on the one hand and a praise song and prayer on the the other. It is closely related to the first Psalm of this series, Ps 49- 53. Verses 1-7 is a condemnation in the first person. V. 1. David addresses Doeg directly or is it King Saul he is addressing; they add up the same; “you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God.” The statements are formulated as a question, demanding why? Vs. 2-4 without a legitimate answer, David shows him his failures: “you love evil, you love every harmful word.” He had plotted against David by giving Saul his location. In vs.5-7 David tells him what God will do to him, repeating it three times for emphasis. The righteous will learn from your downfall because you trusted in your own strength and wealth.

Vs. 8-9 David draws a comparison between good and evil. Those who trust in their own efforts, who trust in their own words, wealth and strength do not recognize the evil they do. David’s world and life view: “I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.” In contrast of life styles; “But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of the God.” He is alive and useful in the presence of God. David praises God among his people and even under the opposition of Saul he puts his hope in God for He is good!

During the Christmas season the contrast cannot be more radical: we celebrate the birth of a baby, weak, dependent, unwanted by many. “When I am weak I am strong” Paul says. Then there are those striving for more things, for gifts, for more power and for more status. This is the contrast we live in among those who reject God. Along with David may we also trust God for our strength and may God empower us with his Spirit to live that contrast as a witness to God’s goodness to all who come in contact with us! Praise Him!

Spiritual fullness

# 50 2018 Dev. Col. 2:6. Spiritual fullness! Read verses 1-15. 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.

Colossians 2:6 “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, ⁷rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”

Paul begins chapter two with an introduction; stating his purpose and his desire for all to have a full life in Christ. Paul had not met the people of this church personally nor had he met the the people of the church at Laodicea. Paul is contending hard for both of these groups “and for all who have not met me (him) personally.” Paul is in a spiritual battle with those who would lead them astray, contending in prayer for all who were being led astray. He prays for unity, for love, for understanding “the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Other self proclaimed leaders were promoting a gospel that included human effort to be saved; secret knowledge, circumcision, refraining from certain foods, participating in religious festivals. Paul draws a comparison in vs. 6-7 with vs. 8; pointing to what he said before, he encourages believers to live their lives in Christ as they did when they first believed. “Rooted and built up in him”, Christ living in our hearts by faith and overflowing to others in thankfulness.

Verse 8 paints a picture of emptiness, an unfulfilled life chained by evil forces of this world. People, often blessed with worldly goods, who have nothing to live for and nothing to look forward to.

I ask, how do I fit into this comparison? How do you?

Paul continues, pointing out Christ’s fullness of God and by Him we are also filled to complete fullness in the Holy Spirit. “Your whole self ruled by the flesh as put off when you were circumcised by Christ, ¹²having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.” That puts an end to any human philosophy, and baptism replaces circumcision. Further, our debt and condemnation is removed, “nailed to the cross”, only by the power of God are we saved and by faith we are filled in the Spirit. Amen!

Repentance!

# 49 2018. Dev. Ps. 51: Repentance! Read all of Ps. 51. 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.

Psalm 51:10-12 “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.¹¹Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. ¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me”.

We read in the title that Psalm 51 is David’s response to God’s condemnation of his affair with Bathsheba. This Psalm is also one of seven penitential Psalms. You may read the event in 2 Samuel 12:1-7. David himself said: a man blessed with everything but steals from a poor man what is dear to him should die! Yet God spared his life and removed his sin from him. If you read the story you will see that God’s forgiveness came about before repentance on David’s part; highlighting the truth that salvation and forgiveness is solely by God’s Grace. Yet there are consequences to sin; David’s children lose their respect for him and from this time forward the sword does not leave David’s house.

David begins his prayer of repentance by appealing to God’s mercy and highlighting “God’s unfailing love and his great compassion” vs.1-2.

He moves on to acknowledging his sin, he admits doing “evil in God’s sight and to you, you only have I sinned”. He admits to being a sinner from birth and in the womb and that God’s judgments are right because God desires righteousness and teaches him wisdom vs.3-6.

David asks to be washed, to be clean again, “let me hear joy and gladness; blot out all my iniquity” vs. 7-9. Hearing joy means that David wants to include the whole community. He prays for the city v.18.

Now we come to the heart of the matter; David realizes that he can not do this on his own. We would do well to remember that forgiveness is by God’s Grace and that repentance can not be done by our own efforts. “Create in me (us) a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me (us).” Don’t leave me (us) don’t allow me (us) to leave your presence, to distance ourselves from you. Grant your Holy Spirit power in my(our) life, “to sustain me(us)”.

With forgiveness comes responsibility; “then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you” v.13. “Open my (our) lips, Lord and my (our) mouth will declare your praise” v15. “My (our) sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you God will not despise” v.17. We do not deserve forgiveness or salvation for that matter, but our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ will not refuse a broken and contrite heart! Praise be to God!

Omnipotence!

# 48 2018 Dev. Col. 1:19 Omnipotence! Read verses 15-29. 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.

Colossians 1:19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him (Christ) ²⁰and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

In this section Paul establishes Christ’s omnipotence in God; as the Son in the triune God. Paul refutes the concept of worshiping angels, of worshiping knowledge, and relying on human knowledge. The Colossians were being led astray by those promoting a gospel that appealed to mankind but it was a false gospel.

What is leading people astray today? Given the decline of the church it is a question long over due and it is a question we all must answer for ourselves. Obviously those who do not acknowledge Christ can not know God and are led astray by every new idea and concept of worship. Christians vary in belief; there are hundreds of thousands different denominations. The problem today is a misunderstanding of Jesus Christ; His humanity, His radical approach to life on earth when He came to walk among us, His purpose made clear in His life and His radical love for the whole world.

Who is Christ anyway? Paul gives us the answer: “¹⁵The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.”

As followers of Jesus here in the West, we are a very tame example of Christ! We have become afraid to listen to the Holy Spirit, afraid to speak out, we are afraid to speak to others about Jesus. We are afraid of those people who do not know Jesus, but those are the people who Jesus came for! Fear allows us to condemn everyone not like us! We are afraid of change; tradition has misled many of us. We also fear suffering, but as Paul says Christ’s suffering is not yet filled up in him, it definitely is not yet filled up in us. The answer is recommitment to follow Christ in Spirit and in truth. We should be known as radical Christians and as Jesus “geeks”!

When reading Paul’s description of Jesus, we should be amazed and we should be encouraged because along with everything else, Jesus is the head of the body the church. That means the church will survive and expand, she may be different than we know her, because if we continue to worship as we do now she is slowly dyeing. If she is to expand she may not do so in this country, we are much too comfortable and have no sense of the demands of the gospel on our personal lives, but she will expand. Further, Christ is above all things “and in him all things hold together, if God is for us who can be against us” Let us rejoice and rededicate ourselves during this holiday season!

Thanksgiving!

# 2018. Dev. Ps. 50: 14,15. Thanksgiving! Read all of Ps 50. 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.

Psalm 50:14,15 “Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High,¹⁵and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”

Ps. 50 is God addressing Israel; the faithful and the unfaithful. At the same time God speaks to us today. Vs. 1-6 is a preamble to God’s greatness, his power, his righteousness and justice; all of creation proclaims God’s greatness. In Ps. 50 God comes in judgment, perhaps anticipating David’s confession in Ps.51. V. 7 begins God’s voice in the first person. “Listen my people… I am God, your God.” God addresses all humans, believers and unbelievers. Although your sacrifices are continual, I do not need sacrifices, I have no need for them because all the animals (creation) everything is mine.

God does not need our sacrifices; our worship, our praise, our good works, we have nothing to offer up to God. Apart from God’s grace we are empty, devoid of goodness, or righteousness. This harsh truth is unacceptable to the world and is hard to accept for followers of Jesus, we all like to think there is some good in us. When Jesus was called good, he answered “why do you call me good, only God is good”. It is not that we do not do good things, we do, we are created in God’s image after all, but only those recreated in Jesus Christ do work that is acceptable to God and follows us to heaven, becoming the building blocks for the New Heaven and the New Earth.

God also addresses the unfaithful; vs.16-22 you will be destroyed, you join the thieves, the adulterers, those who reject me, hate me and my precepts. God says to them: “Consider this, those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me, and to the blameless I will show my salvation.”

This is where vs.14,15 comes in, what God wants from us is thanksgiving, exactly what we do this week. Thanksgiving that includes our response to God’s grace; dependence on God, a Christ like World and Life View, good works in Christ’s name and living Christ in the face of the extreme opposition of the world. May the Spirit of Christ empower us! Thank you Lord Jesus for making us good. May we be truly thankful during this holiday time.

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Hope!

# 46 2018 Dev. Col. 1:1-5. Hope! Read verses 1-14. 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.

Colossians 1: 3-5 “ ³We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people — ⁵the faith and love that spring from the hope⁽^I⁾ stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel…”

Colossians is one of the prison letters written by Paul while incarcerated in Rome. Paul’s theme is the superiority of Christ’s actions and teachings compared to human philosophy. The Colossian Church, most likely planted by Epaphras one of Paul’s Gentile converts, was under attack by a group of Judaizers promoting a heretical approach to Christ’s teaching. The heresies include: food restrictions, circumcision, worship of Angels and Christ minimized; a form of Gnosticism and Humanism. Colosse was on the main trade route from the Euphrates river valley but had declined in importance by trade in surrounding cities.

Paul begins with a greeting and a prayer for the Colossians, vs.3-14. Paul thanks God for their faith, love and hope. Please read the full prayer here summarized. I have not stopped praying, Paul says, asking God to fill you; knowing God’s will through spiritual understanding, live a life worthy of Christ, bearing fruit and knowing God. Be strong, have great endurance with patience and joy, thanking God for His Kingdom and Salvation in Christ from the dominion of darkness to life in the Kingdom of light!

There has been a shift in our culture and in the idea of a Christ centered world and life view; no longer is prayer and seeking the guidance of the Spirit a daily practice in Christian homes. Fear has set in; information is suppressed, followers of Christ are deprived of meaningful prayer and God is deprived of legitimate praise. Therefore, on a daily basis, this is a prayer every follower of Jesus must pray, for him/herself, for all true believers and for the church. Practice love, faith and hope by praying always and always praising God!