# 45 2018. Dev. Ps. 49:15. Depend on God!  Read all of Ps 49. 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 49:15 “But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead;
    he will surely take me to himself. “

 Ps. 49 begins a series of five wisdom Psalms. The Psalm is addressed to all people: “Hear this…all who live in this world” and he addresses every level of society: “both low and high, rich and poor alike”. The Psalm still speaks to us today; the goal today is to be well off, the American dream. This in itself is not sinful, what we have gained by hard honest work is a blessing from God. The problems start when we no longer give God the credit and we start to rely on ourselves and on our possessions. Death Is assured for all persons despite wealth or position.  The issue here is life and death. The Psalmist makes it very clear: “No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them—⁸ the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough—“ No one is righteous, all who live on the earth are doomed, as the Psalmist puts it, all will descend stripped of wealth and glory. What then is our hope?

 The Psalmists hope is in God: faith in Him and in His promises v.15 “God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself.”  This is our hope as well: it is a hope but also assurance of salvation because Jesus paid the ransom for us when we put our faith in Him. No amount of wealth, no amount of good works, no amount of church attendance will suffice without faith. Only faith in Jesus makes us righteous; real faith means that we love Him, follow Him and live out Jesus’ love in the world. Thank you Lord Jesus! 

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# 44 2018 Dev. Php. 4:8. Stand Firm! Read Ch.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.

 Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things”.

 Paul ends this letter to the Philippians with an exhortation to “stand firm in the Lord” and he tells us how to do it: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice”. Be gentle, do not be anxious, pray and be thankful. And Paul gives us the result of standing firm: “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” God’s peace in every situation of our lives is not always understood but comes to us by God’s grace.

 V 19, Paul thanks the Philippian church for their support, the Holy Spirit set aside Paul and Barnabas at Antioch, now the Philippian church is fulfilling the mandate of the Holy Spirit. On the denominational level, the mandate to fund mission is not much adhered to today, putting the responsibility of funding on the missionary. As a missionary, under the present fund raising scheme it is my experience that this makes mission work more difficult and in some cases some would be missionaries are not.

 Paul moves to his final exhortation v.8 “whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things”. That is how we stand firm “think about such things”. Standing firm is important today and very much at this time. Think about these things as you vote. May God be pleased.

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# 43 2018. Dev. Ps. 48:8. God’s Presence!  Read all of Ps 48. 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 48:8 “As we have heard, so we have seen in the city of the Lord Almighty,
                    in the city of our God: God makes her secure forever.”

 Ps. 48 is the last of this series of 3 praise Psalms. We read these with the eyes of faith as in the time of use in temple worship. This is a liturgical praise song. The first three verses and the last three verses frame the main them, as we see it in the central verse, v. 8. “God makes her secure forever”.

 Vs. 1-3 is praising God’s presence with His people using metaphoric language, but the meaning is real. As followers of Jesus we identify with God’s presence in this world.

 Vs. 4-7 praises God for His great power, again using metaphorical language. We have experienced His great power in our salvation in Jesus!

 V.8 is the center of this Psalm. It is all about God’s care for His people but it is also about the faithfulness of God’s people. “As we have heard, so we have seen”. We talk about the faith of our fathers and mothers, sometimes in a negative light, but because we have heard, we have believed, by the Spirit. Today, some things seem right but are against Gods laws. Do we have our eyes open to see the truth of what was believed before us?

 Vs. 9-11 praises God for His love, His righteousness and for His justice. As followers of Jesus we experience His love, we practice His righteousness and we promote His justice.

 Vs 12-14 is the end bracket and again praises God for His presence, reminds us of our responsibility to pass God’s love forward and praises God for His guidance even to the very end. Today, we also praise God; “For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end”. Amen!

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# 42 2018 Dev. Php. 3:7,8. Confidence! Read Ch.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.

 Philippians 3:7,8 “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ”

  In Ch. 3, Paul doubles down on sacrificing everything for Jesus. He draws a comparison of confidence in the flesh and confidence in the Spirit. He uses his own experience as the example of moving from flesh to Spirit. We would think that this would be a non issue today, but in fact it is alive and well in two ways.

 First, sacrifice is a bad word today, real sacrifice is unheard of except in the military. As followers of Jesus we just don’t stand for something but for peace, justice, righteousness and the grace of Christ. Do these issues demand sacrifice? Yes, they do! Think about peace in today’s self-seeking society. Road rage, indiscriminate killings every single day, just to mention a few. Think about justice, the housing and homeless issue, the nasty political adds, and the problems of the poor. Think about righteousness, guilty before proven innocent,

a string of false convictions, laws that contradict God’s laws in the name of choice and equality. Think about grace, some personal actions alienate us from each other and from God but the grace of Jesus forgives and addresses all the issues we have mentioned. Are we ready to forgive?

 Second, many Christians still depend on themselves (flesh). Self-reliance is subtle and comes to expression with self righteousness, arrogance, condemnation and lack of forgiveness. Relying on tradition, order of worship and music is detrimental if that is what defines worship. The Biblical standard is to worship in Spirit and in Truth. In the sanctuary of God’s creation all of life is worship and the demands of the gospel is for followers of Jesus to live in Spirit and in Truth.

 So what do we take away from Ch. 3? How does this chapter change our perception of “flesh” and “Spirit”? Giving the pressure of the world around us (Satan), living by the Spirit is a daily commitment to Jesus and daily decision to seek and listen to the Holy Spirit. How does it change our perception of serving Jesus? Not all that claims to be spiritual is spiritual, not everything that seems right is right. We need to evaluate and discern everything by God’s Word. Thankfully, we have the Holy Spirit living in us and He never leaves us! Are we seeking Him and listening to his urging? 

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# 41 2018. Dev. Ps. 47. The Ascension!  Read all of Ps 47. 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 47:5,6 “God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets. Sing praises to God, sing praise; sing praises to our King, sing praises.”

  Ps 47 is one of three praise songs. They are liturgical songs used for temple worship initially, but later Ps. 47 was used during feast days like the feast of tabernacles. During the time of the synagogue it was sung at the Jewish New Year. After the Reformation the Psalm is sung for the celebration of the ascension of Christ.

 In vs. 1-4 the Psalm is addressed to all nations of the world, “the great King over all the earth”, God is in control with His power and His love.  God’s intention for the people of God, Israel and the new Israel, the church, is to bless all the nations of the earth (Gen 18:18).  Vs 5,6,7 are the center of the Psalm, God ascending up to and into the temple, the Holy of Holies. The temple was the model of the sanctuary in heaven.  Today the followers of Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, are the sanctuary of God. Therefore, “sing to Him a Psalm of praise.” Vs 8,9 establishes God as the ruler of the earth; “the earth belongs to God; he is greatly exalted”.

 For Christians today this song of praise resonates, His power, His love, His reign, but the Ascension of Christ not so much. Given the state of scientific knowledge the idea of ascending up to heaven from the earth is not believable. The Protestant Church mentions the Ascension of Christ but no special service as in the past. Yet, the Ascension is the climax of the Incarnation and was the condition for sending the Comforter. Of course the ascension is possible, God exists in an other dimension; spiritual but also physical, Christ is there in his physical body!

 How do we explain it all? By faith, the Incarnation, the Resurrection and the Ascension!    God’s ways are not our ways, God’s understanding is not our understanding of the world. “God is seated on his holy throne, God reigns”. Praise the Lord!

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# 40 2018 Dev. Php. 2:12,13. Work Out! Read verses 12-29. 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.

 Philippians 2:12,13 “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,¹³ for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose”.

 Again Paul begins with therefore, pointing back to what he said before: Jesus’ glorification vs. 9,10,11. Paul also gives us some insight into his situation he is in house arrest but he hopes to be released. He commends Timothy and Epaphroditus.  “He hopes in the Lord to send Timothy” to Philippi, Paul holds Timothy up as an example to them and to us. Timothy does what we should do: he looks to the interest of others as the interest of Christ. Paul also commends Epaphroditus who apparently risked his life to bring the help the Philippians sent Paul. Whenever Followers of Jesus cross borders and cultures to bring the Gospel by way of evangelism, education, developing infrastructure and agriculture, we risk our lives. Paul tells the Philippians to rejoice “and honor people like” that.

 Verses 12-13 tells us, “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling”. We are saved by grace alone, but this tells us we play a role in salvation in terms of our faith response to God’s grace. It would be like a physical work out contributing to our physical health and in this case contributing to our spiritual health.  Paul says: “do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure “children of God”. Let us put it into the terms that minimize the church today: pride, self-righteousness, condemnation and a disregard for those who have not yet responded to the grace of Jesus.  As Paul points out, this is a serious issue because “it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” God’s will and good purpose is to bring every person back to Himself!  In the power of the Holy Spirit we “will shine among them like stars in the sky ¹⁶ as you hold firmly to the word of life.” Some translations: “as you hold out the word of life”. The implication is that we live the word in our daily lives for others to read!

 How do we work out our salvation? By obeying the “Word of life”. God’s Word sets the direction for followers of Jesus in this life. That means that we spend time with the Word, that means we take time to listen to the Holy Spirit and it means to learn Jesus: His thoughts, His teachings, His actions while He walked on this earth. When we work out our salvation we work alongside God!

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# 39 2018 Dev. Ps. 46: 10 Our Refuge! Read all of Ps 46. 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 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God;

                         I will be exalted among the nations,

                       I will be exalted in the earth”

 This devotional was published in 2015, we republish it here, slighted edited. The book of Psalms is a book of prayer and praise songs to God. Ps 46 is a praise song; the title suggests a liturgical and probably a responsive song with two or three groups of singers answering each other, initially used in temple worship but later also sung in procession up to Jerusalem/temple. The Hebrew term “alamoth” in the title means; young women, but here may also mean youth.  The term suggests the participation of women dancing with tambourines to accompany the song.  It may also suggest youth answering their elders in a responsive song.

 As a praise song, it praises God as our protector and comforter in tumultuous times, stanzas one v.1-3. Also, He is our provider by his Holy presence, stanzas two v. 4-5. God is in control of the earth and the nations on it, stanzas three v. 6-7. God’s works are on display and He opposes war in dramatic fashion, stanzas four v. 8-9.  To the men’s/ women’s back and forth praise, God responds with a command and man responds with God “is our fortress”, stanzas five v. 10-11.

 Martin Luther wrote the Hymn; “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” based on this Psalm which has been called “The Battle Hymn of the Reformation”.  In early Reformation times the song was sung in many situations: at times of war before battle, while Christians were being led to the inquisition by fellow Catholic Christians, while being led into exile, and while heading for martyrdom. Later it became a favorite Christian song for Lutherans and other Christians in many denominations. In more modern times the song has been used and abused by the entertainment industry (Wikipedia).

 Verse 10 begins with two Hebrew imperatives: “be still and know”, God is commanding us to be silent before him. Stop! Don’t speak! Don’t think! Do know Him, suggesting not a superficial awareness but a deep and intimate knowledge of God.  This is God’s response to the praise of the stanzas’ that are sung before this last one. It is a difficult command to come to grips with as Christians. As in the past, Christians today are led off to be killed and they call on God. The answer “be still and know that I am God!” But God, we are about to be beheaded, thinking now of Coptic Christians who refused to apostate! “Be still and know that I am God!” What matters here is that Christians will not suffer the “second death”. Rev. 20: 4-6 Nothing, nothing will hurt us spiritually and nothing, nothing will separate us from God’s love (Rom 8: 28-38). I think that the tribulation Scripture talks about has been going on for centuries and is increasing and will continue to do so until it becomes the “great tribulation”. Christians are not exempt from it, but God is our refuge and strength. 

God continues in verse ten with, “I will be exalted among the nations and in the earth”. Those who are faithful exalt God, and those who choose death over apostasy exalt God!  God is exalted now! Also, the Hebrew terms indicate “I am”. Therefore, God says: “I am exalted and I will be exalted among the nations”.  “I am exalted and I will be exalted in the earth” (my translation). The Lord, our God is not mocked and those who do so are playing with fire!  In contrast God is with those who acknowledge Him; He is our refuge and strength.  In these troubling times of spiritual decline, the decline of civil politics and decline of the respect of human life around the world, let us trust God and let us continue to promote the love of Jesus. God is in control, therefore, let us bring our praise and exaltation to Him! “Don’t trust yourself; trust God only. Do what you can do: God will help you.” (The imitation of Christ p 20)

# 38 2018 Dev. Php.2:5 Imitating Christ! Read verses 1-11. 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.

 Philippians 2:5 “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:”

 Paul begins this chapter of Philippians with “therefore”, pointing back to verse 29 of Ch.1: “for it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, Ch.2: Therefore, if you have any encouragement, any comfort, from his love, sharing in the Sprit, if any tenderness and compassion, be like minded.” That means to have the same love, be one in spirit and of one mind.

 Paul is leading up to his main theme: Imitating Christ in our relationships. Verses 3 and 4 set the direction for our relationships with others in Christ Jesus: ^“3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Selfish ambition and vain conceit is obviously not Christ like, but valuing others above ourselves, really? Yes! Not only that, Christ demands action: “Look not only to your own interests but also to the interest of others!” For followers of Jesus it is a difficult command, but for those not in Christ this is a ridiculous idea, self destructive.  

 Paul continues in verses 5-8 giving the example of Christ’s sacrifice for our salvation, the ultimate example of love, giving one’s life for a friend, in Christ’s case for the whole world.

 Paul ends this section with: “Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place.”

Jesus taught that principal: “Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,” and whoever wants to be first must be your slave…” (Mt. 20:21-28).

This section of Philippians reminds me of a popular book, perhaps the most read book besides the Bible: The Imitation Of Christ  by Thomas a Kempis 1380- 1471.

The book begins with: “He who follows me doesn’t walk in darkness” These words tell us to imitate Christ in life and behavior. This is how we find light and avoid darkness. Now we have our assignment: Meditate on Jesus (p.11). Amen!                            

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# 37 2018 Dev. Ps. 45:6 The Wedding Made in Heaven. Read all of Ps. 45. 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 45:6 ”Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
    a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.”

 This Psalm is titled  a wedding song. it may have been used for a number of royal weddings. The Psalm is divided into two sections that are also divided by two sections addressing the king and addressing the bride.

 The king is advised in vs. 1-5. He is praised for justice and righteousness, for championing the “cause of truth, humility and justice;” in vs. 6-9. The bride is also advised; “forget your people and your father’s house” she is a foreigner, not from the King’s land. She is told to “honor him, for he is your lord.” Vs. 10-12,

she is praised for her beauty, for her gown, for her joy and gladness. Vs. 13-15,

finally, the future is predicted and the longevity of the relationship is proclaimed, nations will praise you for ever and ever.

  When reading this Psalm, it very quickly is obvious that this couple is not an ordinary couple and this is not an ordinary wedding. By the power of the Holy Spirit this is nothing less than the wedding of the lamb, Jesus Christ and his bride the church. When you read Psalm 45, click on the cross references to get the full picture. We take away two things: The King is about justice, humility and truth. That is what we look forward to in the New Heaven and the New Earth and the church is not some ill thought out institution, but she is the bride of Christ, purified and the apple of His eye! Those of us who follow Jesus are blessed without measure. In humility and grace, we understand that the church is God’s instrument to impact the world with the salvation of Christ. The church is not about us, not about our needs or wants. The church is not about religion. She is God’s voice to all who do not yet follow Jesus.  Congregations that are not missional, not reaching out to each member’s neighbors and not taking every opportunity to do so, is not the church that God’s intends. By listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit, disregarding secular culture, and speaking the radical message of Jesus, we will put the churches current decline behind us. Pray for revival in our lives and in the church. Amen and Amen!

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# 36 2018 Dev. Php.1: 27,28. A life worthy! Read verses 12-30. 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.

 Philippians 1:27,28 “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel²⁸ without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you.”

 We take the rest of chapter one because the two sections: the “Advance of the Gospel” and “Live a Life Worthy of the Gospel” compliment each other. Paul is writing to the Philippian church thanking them for their gift and he is reporting on the progress he is making for Christ during his incarceration. He appears to be in house arrest and has the freedom to minister to all who come to him, including the Roman guards.  The first thing we note is that Paul is an evangelist in whatever situation he finds himself. The next thing we notice is that what is happening to him is a continuation of the true command to the church to promote the gospel. Paul and Barnabas received their call from the institutional church through the power of the Holy Spirit. Acts 13:1-3: While the church at Antioch was “worshiping the Lord and fasting the Holy Spirit said: set apart for me; Paul and Barnabas for the work I have called them. So after they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them off”. Did they send them off empty handed? Unlikely. The command continued with the gift of the Philippian church to Paul.

 This command to the church is not much listened to today, missionaries go about for up to six months begging churches, family, friends and even strangers to raise the money needed to do the work that the Spirit has called them to. This goes on while church members enjoy the blessings God, live in la la land and in luxury compared to the people missionaries are trying to reach. The problem today is that politicians, some Christians and sometime a pastor or two do not practice what they preach. This is eroding our families, our Christian freedom, our churches and our society. The sad part is that prayer is what motivates and empowers missions as Paul tells us in this section of Philippians: “Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, ¹⁹ for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.” God is faithful and will provide the funds needed for missions but who will provide the power of prayer? 

 Paul goes on to encourage the church to live a life worthy of the Gospel, still very much needed today. Paul wants to “know that they stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel²⁸ without being frightened in any way by those who oppose them. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God.” That sign that the Philippians display, standing firm in the Spirit, striving as one in the faith of the gospel and for the gospel without fear is lacking today. What is the answer?

 The answer is that the institutional church must again live the life worthy of the gospel of Christ. Church leaders must again look to leaders at Antioch, worship, in Spirit and in truth, fast and pray to hear again the voice of the Holy Spirit. He is not absent, but we can’t seem to hear Him right now. Pray for revival and live a life worthy of the gospel of Christ!

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