Heavenhigh

The True Gospel

# 41. 2017 Dev. Gal.1:11 The True Gospel. Read verses. 11-24. 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.

Galatians 1:11

^“11I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin.”

As we go through Galatians and Paul’s other writings, what comes out is the real gospel, the same gospel we celebrate with the 500^th year of the Reformation defined by: Sola Scriptura (“by Scripture alone”)

So la fide (“by faith alone”)

Sola gratia (“by grace alone”)

Solus Christus or Solo Christo (“Christ alone” or “through Christ alone”)

Soli Deo gloria (“glory to God alone”)

Paul was concerned that his calling and the gospel given him by Jesus was the same gospel given to the apostles who were taught by Jesus as he walked this earth. As Christians we all want to know that what we believe and our call to serve Jesus comes from God. Is our call real? How do we know?

Paul gives us a good understanding of God’s call. Paul writes: “But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being.” However, later Paul sought out Peter. We are chosen by God Himself the before the creation of the earth (Eph. 1:4)! Get your head around that! And Jesus Christ is revealed in us by grace, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Further, our calling, like Paul’s call, comes from the Holy Spirit and is confirmed by our peers in Christ. What are the implications of our call?

Paul, a Jew and former persecutor of Christ’s church, was called to preach to the Gentiles. This is our calling as well, along with worship, supporting our Christian families, living out our faith in this world and presenting the gospel to those who have not yet received and believed in Jesus. The fact is, Jesus places people he wants to influence in our path every day. We are not alone in this.

Paul expands on his and our call in the next couple of chapters. For now, suffice it to say: God’s Word confirms our call, supported by fellow Christians and we are empowered to carry it out every day. Praise be to God!

“The Lord Answers”.

# 40. 2017 Dev. Ps. 20:5b. “The Lord Answers”. Read all of Ps. 20. 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.

Psalm 20:5b

“May the Lord grant all your requests.”

Ps. 20 is a prayer from the people for the king facing opposition perhaps facing a battle with overwhelming odds. He is facing uncertainty, he hopes for a good outcome and the people hope for victory. The Psalm starts out in a tentative way using: “May he, or ‘may the the Lord” six times. This section of the prayer makes no assumption of victory nor assumes an answer from God.

We can identify with the king, although not very obvious, we also face a battle of overwhelming odds. Satan is working hard to lead us astray and destroy our relationship with Jesus Christ. In verses 1-5 the king and the people are asking for a blessing. When we say “be blessed”, that is what we mean: may God strengthen and protect you. May God remember the good work done in Jesus’ name. May God listen to your requests. As in David’s times there is uncertainty in our lives as well.

But verses 6-9 moves the prayer in a different direction: here there is assurance, a witness to God’s faithfulness and to God’s care for his people. Here the psalmist speaks from what he knows, from what he has experienced as one who believes in God. Today, God still answers us from heaven, he forgives and saves us in Jesus. Praise Him! We are encouraged to trust in the Lord our God and not in the things of this of World. As a result, we who are followers of Jesus live in a different reality than those who do not know Jesus.

Therefore, we have assurance in Jesus whatever the distress of our immediate situation. We are always protected spiritual and physically according to God’s will, in overwhelming odds “we rise up and stand firm”. That is the reality of God’s love in David’s time and that is our reality in Jesus Christ today. Know Jesus, follow Him and experience His Love and salvation!

“Grace and Peace.”

# 38. 2017 Dev. Gal.1:3. “Grace and Peace.” Read verses 1-10. 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.

Galatians 1:3

“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

We just finished Jesus’ Sermon Mt.5-7 laying out for us the blessings and the tenants of the Kingdom of God. Now we move to areas where the Kingdom of God is in action. Paul writes to the Roman province of Galatia, an area he visited on his first missionary journey (46-48 AD). Galatians was probably written before the Council of Jerusalem Acts 15. There are differing options on the date but what is clear is that Paul wrote to them about “Judaizers” trying to put Jewish legal restrictions on the Gentile converts, the very issue discussed at the Jerusalem Council. Paul visited this area on three of his four missionary journeys.

First, in Paul’s introduction he validates his call as an apostle given him by God, the Father and by God, Jesus Christ. Further, he validates the brothers and sisters who are with him; those who understand the true gospel of Jesus. This is an important issue for all who desire to follow Jesus today. It is God who calls us, not man; Jesus calls, Jesus forgives, Jesus redeems, Jesus empowers us, and Jesus sends us to those He chooses to impact. Amen!

Paul continues by defining grace and peace: Grace is Jesus’ love, giving His life according to God the Father’s will in order to negate our sins and rescue us from the evil around us. That is how it was then and how it is now! Glorifying God in our salvation. Wow!

Second, Paul is clear about what he sees as the adulterated view of the free Gospel of Jesus Christ. “I am astonished” Paul says that you traded your free grace for enslavement of legalism. Paul is talking about Jews demanding from Gentiles legal rituals of Jewish practice, like circumcision, the Law and ceremonial practices. What does that have to do with today? I am astonished as well that in our work as Church Planters accusations such as, “you are minimizing sin and cheapening God’s gift of grace” came to us on a regular basis. As well as converts being told that their sins will limits their reward in heaven. Really???? We are all in the same boot! Free grace does not get any cheaper because there is nothing anyone can do to earn it. Grace not only minimizes sin; it eliminates it all together for those in Christ Jesus (Ro. 8:1). Praise be to God!

The voice of Nature, the Voice of God, the voice of Man!

# 38. 2017 Dev. Ps 19:7. The voice of Nature, the Voice of God, the voice of Man! Read all of Ps 19. 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.

Psalm 19:7

^7 “The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.”

The section of Palms we are looking at are Ps. 15-24. These 10 Psalms glorifies God and lays out what it means to practice “Moral Purity” for those who claim to worship God. Ps. 19 is central, picking up both themes of this series.

Verses 1-6 of Ps.19 represents the voice of nature; we know it as Natural Revelation: creation glorifies God in every aspect, the beauty and the power. Created perfect, the Garden of Eden is corrupted by human actions: the fall (Ge. 3), greed, pollution and global warming. Genesis 3 also gives us a way out of corruption v.15, Jesus: expecting us to practice humility, un-selfishness, love, compassion and forgiveness. Even in brokenness Nature speaks: “Yet their voice^[^b^] goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” Nature still displays God’s glory and God’s power!

Verses 7-9 is the voice of God we know as Special Revelation. This section depicts the benefits of obeying as well as a way to live. The law: perfection heals the soul, we are perfect in Christ, wisdom is learned and lived, obeying brings joy to the heart leading to a life of joy even in adversity, obeying brings light to the eye giving our lives special insight into the light of Jesus, obeying brings a sense of purity into our lives, obeying brings the knowledge of righteousness into our lives. Take note the song includes: The law, the statues, the precepts, the commands, the fear of the Lord and the decrees. This takes in all of Scripture!

Verses 9-14 presents the human voice we know as the human spiritual response to God. They praise God’s law (God’s will) and understand that obedience leads to God’s blessings in their lives. V.12 asks a rhetorical question about our own inability to recognize our short comings. God is asked for forgiveness and for guidance, recognizing our own inability to deal with sin in our lives; we need the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Ps. ends with a prayer entreating God for acceptance and for a solid foundation (Jesus) for our lives in a constantly changing world. “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer”. Meditate on God’s Word on a daily basis to find a deeper relationship with Jesus and may this prayer become a daily prayer!

“The Wise and the Foolish!”

# 37. 2017 Dev. Mt.7:24. “The Wise and the Foolish!” Read verses 24-29. 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.

Matthew 7:24

²⁴“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

Where as the Beatitudes are the introduction to Jesus’ Sermon and to the precepts of the Kingdom of God, the Wise and Foolish passage we look at today is the conclusion of Jesus’ message.

This section begins with, therefore, pointing back to the passage before it. That passage, looked at in Dev. 35, is about true and false disciples, Mt 24: 21-23, about our actions, done in the name of Jesus and for Jesus.

Wisdom is listening to the Word of God, to the Words of Jesus. How often do we hear the Word or read the Word of God? I suspect that for those who read these devotionals and attend church it is a fair amount. However, listening is only half of it because Jesus qualifies listening to His Words by: “and puts them into practice”. Today, we hear many sermons that come out of much research of Scripture proclaiming lofty theological ideas that appeal to our minds and we feel fed with the “meat” of Scripture. But do those words sink into our hearts? I believe that the “meat” of Scripture is found in our application of the Word; application, that should be laid out in clear and practical terms, in every sermon.

As Jesus points out, and He is referring to all that is contained in His Sermon, that is how we get through the storms of life. Listening to and Doing the Word is what grounds our lives on the Rock, on the foundation that is Christ Jesus. How do we do that?

It begins with prayer: every issue, situation or event, no matter how large or small, should be prayed about multiple times and is beneficial when combined with fasting at critical times. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective (James 5:16).

Second, faith. Followers of Jesus confess their faith on a regular basis in church, in prayer and by reading God’s Word. Does our faith come alive in our lives, in everyday happenings, and in our relationships?

Third, the Holy Spirit. His job, besides glorifying Jesus Christ, is to resist sin in the world and in our lives. Are we allowing Him to lead us?

Pray, practice your faith, hear and act on the guidance of the Spirit will place your life squarely on the Rock that is Jesus! Lord Jesus keep us safe in your loving arms, Amen!

“Exalted be God my Savior!”

# 36. 2017 Dev. Ps 18:46. “Exalted be God my Savior!” Read all of Ps.18 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.

Psalm 18:46

^46 “The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!”

As the title points out this is a Psalm of David. He sang this song to praise God for deliverance from his enemies, including Saul the former King. The introduction v.1-2 sets the tone for this song and I think the tone for David’s life.

David is completely dependent upon God: “I love you, Lord, my strength. my rock, my fortress, my deliverer; in whom I take refuge, my shield^[^b^] and the horn^[^c^] of my salvation, my stronghold.” How many words in the introduction dictate your relationship with Jesus? What sets the tone in your life?

Verses 3-19 describes the extent of God’s deliverance and describes God in terms of absolute power and control over natural law and creation. David believed it and experienced it! Do we today understand the extent of the power of evil opposing us? Do we understand the awesome power of our God ready to keep us safe?

Verses 20-27 describes God’s grace to David. Although not perfect, David describes the existent of his righteousness in his life serving God in every aspect of living in his time. God always extends grace and generally speaking blesses those who make every effort to sincerely serve God. Jesus always extends his grace but in our time what is the extent of our efforts to serve God?

Verses 28-45 describes God empowering David. He is empowered in physical and spiritual terms. He writes: “As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.” How does Jesus empower you?

Verses 46-50 David glorifies God: “The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be God my Savior! Therefore, I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing the praises of your name.” How have you glorified God? How will you glorify God?

Why is this song, written in David’s time, important in our time today?

Why? Because: we are redeemed! We are given the grace of Jesus! We are empowered by the Holy Spirit! Therefore, glorify Jesus in your life! Amen and Amen!

False Disciples

# 35. 2017 Dev. Mt. 7:21. False Disciples. Read verses 21-23. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living with family, friends and others. All passages are taken from the NIV.

Matthew 7:21

²¹“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

In the last section of His sermon Jesus talked about true prophets and false, here Jesus compares true disciples and those who are false. One of the pressing problems today is people who talk the talk but do not walk the walk the walk. This is a difficult passage. How is that those who do not belong to Jesus cast out evil spirits and perform healings and miracles? We need to look at scripture for the answer. We look at Mt 25:31-46

Jesus Says:³¹“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.”

³⁴“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

³⁷“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “⁴⁰“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “

A true disciple sees Jesus in the people in need around him! A false disciple does not.

⁴¹“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “

⁴⁴“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “⁴⁵“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “⁴⁶“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

The answer to our question: If you are not with Jesus, you are with Satan. If you want to walk the talk, open your eyes, and open your heart!

In the Shadow of God’s Wings

# 34. 2017 Dev. Ps 17:8. In the Shadow of God’s Wings. Read all of Ps.17 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.

Psalm 17:8

“Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings”

In this series of 10 Psalms (Ps.15-24) about God’s majesty and the need for moral purity, David inserts a prayer. The prayer is a personal prayer, it is in the first person and anticipates God’s answer. By David’s faith and intimate knowledge of God the prayer becomes a two-way conversation! Yet, David continues to glorify God and displays moral purity in his life.

How do we as followers of Jesus connect with David’s prayer today? The first thing we see is that David points out that he has not transgressed with his mouth, not with his eyes, not with his thoughts, nor with his actions and has not strayed from the path of God’s commands, verses 2-5. “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16b).

Second, we see that David glorifies God. David, fueled by faith (the Spirit) is confident of God’s answer. He has experienced God’s great love, God’s salvation and has made God his refuge in a broken and changing world, verses 6-7. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Paul asks us in Ro. 8:35 and he gives us the answer: nothing in heaven or on earth! “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” Ro.8:37.

Third. David moves to the evil he is praying to be protected from. All the faculties of men are involved in practicing righteousness as they are in evil living: the eyes, the mouth, the mind, and all action of men and women, “whose reward is in this life” verses 9-14. “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (I Pet. 5:15).

Our comfort and our strength is in David’s request in verse 8. Along with David we ask God to keep us, to hide us and shade us. “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Ro.8:38-39).

Therefore, we will see His face!

Good Fruit.

# 33. 2017 Dev. Mt. 7:17-18. Good Fruit. Read verses 15-20. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living with family, friends and others. All passages are taken from the NIV.

Matthew 7:17-18

¹⁷Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.

We continue with the teachings of Jesus in what is known as the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus begins his teaching on the “Kingdom of God” with the introductory “Beatitudes”; Kingdom thinking and blessings as the result. In the second section are the ethical expectations of the Kingdom, ending at the end of Ch. 5. Chapter 6 begins the comparison of Jewish legalism and the ways of the world to the Kingdom that is continued to the end of Ch.7.

In our passage today Jesus warns against false prophets, comparing true prophets with false ones. Prophets are a special group of people in that they speak for God. They foretell and tell forth (interpretation). In our tradition the followers of Jesus are considered as prophets, priests and kings; the Spirit of God indwells all of us. However, there is a gift of prophecy that is a different level of understanding but the same Spirit, the same Lord and the same God give different kinds of gifts (Ro.12:4-6). I think that Jesus is talking about those people in this passage; those who claim the gift of prophecy but have not the Spirit and those who claim the gift and do have the Spirit.

How do followers of Jesus know the difference? Jesus uses the analogy of good and bad fruit and good and bad trees. Are we able to recognize the difference? For example, is gathering up a lot of goods and money in a world with so much disparity, good fruit? I think not. Do we as followers of Jesus produce good fruit? “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Gal. 5:22-23). Do you produce good fruit?

In this passage bad trees are and remain bad, and good trees are and remain good. Not so for people, by the miracle of God’s salvation in Christ bad will become good and good stays good by the miracle of God’s grace in our lives. Praise the Lord always!

“The Path of Life”.

# 32 2017 Dev. Ps.16:11. “The Path of Life”. Read all of Ps.16. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living.

Psalm 16:11

“You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand”.

The path of life starts in verse 2 “O Lord, you are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing”. David continues to glorify God and acknowledges his total commitment to God. Like David we are surrounded with other gods; the desire for power and influence, desire for financial gain, desire for the opposite sex, or the same sex, even sports and social media. There is no end to it but much of is not sinful in itself but in the priority they take in our lives over serving God.

David rejects everything that competes with God in his life; “You alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure”. David is confident of God’s salvation; it is one of my favorite thoughts, “the boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance”. That is true for us as well.

David also makes a messianic statement with a reference to Jesus; “you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay”. This is also a statement for us! Really? Yes, we die in Christ but we will be raised with Him to life eternal with new and imperishable bodies! The second death will not touch followers of Jesus,

That takes us to the last verse, v 11; we are completely dependent on God to lead us into the path of life. We will rejoice in God’s presence and we will enjoy God’s presence for evermore! Thanks be to God!