Heavenhigh

Meek and Strong

# 36 2016 Dev. Mt. 5:5. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God by memorizing selected passages of Scripture. Further, to view the passage in context and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living with family, friends and others. All passages are taken from the NIV.

Matthew 5:5

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”.

This verse is part of “The Beatitudes”. The meaning of the word beatitudes is: “A state of absolute bliss” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). On this earth that state is the result of human kindness. Therefore, Jesus starts out with the attitudes of the Kingdom of Heaven. The sermon is about our attitudes, our actions and our ethics as people belonging to the “Kingdom of Heaven”

“Blessed are the meek”. What does it mean to be blessed? Is Jesus talking about material blessings, spiritual blessings or both? He is talking about both but blessings can be very modest and spiritually poor indicating the we don’t have all the answers; blessings are relative to understanding how God works in our lives and to what God calls us to do for the “Kingdom of Heaven”. Having that understanding and acting on it go together in God’s call to serve and translates into His blessings by grace.

What is meant here by “the meek”? It does not mean being a doormat or easily bowled over. No, it means meek but strong, unassuming, not aggressive, also realistic. Jesus is meek, yet he holds all of God’s power, more power we are able to comprehend. In meekness we have the power of the Holy Spirit working in us and through us.

What does it mean to inherent the earth? This is reference to the New Heaven and New Earth but also to this earth but not in the way the world sees it. We belong here and yet we don’t as long as it is a broken place. Therefore, in this life we have hope as from the very beginning as we read it in Heb. 11: “¹³All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. ¹⁴People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵If they had been thinking of the country they had left; they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them”. Amen!

Such a Time Like This

# 35 2016 Dev. Ecc. 3:11. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God by memorizing selected passages of Scripture. Further, to view the passage in context and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living with family, friends and others. All passages are taken from the NIV.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

^“11He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

The author of Ecc. is not named but he is the son of David and is the King, drawing the conclusion that the author is Solomon. He was endowed with great wisdom; it is a gift from God (I Ki. 3:8-12, 4:29-34). The book seems very negative “everything is meaningless” but it is also realistic, human wisdom is limited, unable to solve all the problems in life. However, the overriding theme is positive, life is positive and it is meaningful when God in Christ Jesus is at the center of our lives.

Chapter 3 is the the well known chapter containing, “a time for everything”. It is one of the more optimistic chapters and includes the verse we look at. Verse 11 must be put into the context that there is a time for everything and that God is in control of the times of our lives. Solomon had great accomplishments in governance, in science, and in politics but ends up with a simple conclusion: “I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. ¹³That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.”

God “has made everything beautiful in its time”. Our life as followers of Jesus, the ups and downs, the trials and successes, the sad and happy events is a beautiful thing in God’s eyes and should be in our own eyes as well. “He has also set eternity in the human heart”. Humans have a sense of the divine we are created with, diminished by the fall but part of us just the same. We are created to live forever and we all will live forever with our bodies and souls after the end of time. That truth is more than we can get our mind around but is assured by faith and God’s re-creation in Christ Jesus. Solomon himself did not understand it; “no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” Solomon however believed it. Paul in I Co. 13:12 tell us the same thing, we see only a poor reflection of reality but at the end of time we will see clearly and know fully. For such a time like now, we “live by our faith”. Praise be to God!

Absolute Bliss!

# 34 2016 Dev. Mt. 5:4. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God by memorizing selected passages of Scripture. Further, to view the passage in context and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living with family, friends and others. All passages are taken from the NIV.

Matthew 5:4

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

Mt. 5:4 is in the first conversation of Jesus in Mt. and is part of Jesus’ introduction to the Sermon on the Mount. The sermon is about our attitudes, our actions and our ethics as people belonging to the “Kingdom of Heaven”. This verse is part of what is called “The Beatitudes”. The meaning of this word is: “A state of absolute bliss” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). On this earth that state is the result of human kindness. Therefore, Jesus starts out with the attitudes of the Kingdom of Heaven. Humans were created with the ability to practice all of the nine attitudes that Jesus lays out but now we are fallen people (Ge. 3 pay attention to v.15). Therefore, it is difficult if not impossable to act on what Jesus is telling us because we are not only unwilling but unable to practice these attitudes.

Thanks be to God, followers of Jesus are recreated in Him, our willingness and spiritual ability is restored by faith in Christ. Vs. 4, what does it mean to mourn? To mourn is a natural reaction when there is loss of a loved one or loss of what a person loves, it is a reaction that all people have. But what is meant here is a deeper action as followers of Jesus, we share in people’s grief, even people we do not know. We also grieve over the brokenness of the world, over the decadence of the world and we grieve over our own sins and the sins of other people.

This attitude also has a two-fold benefit. We are blessed in all that we do and we are comforted when we grieve. Tonight we visited with a friend, his brother died at age 50 after a long struggle with illness and now Scott is rejoicing because his brother belongs to Jesus. Truly he is comforted, praise be to God!

Following Jesus

Following Jesus, Luke 9: 18-25 Aug 14, 2016

In the NIV Luke 9 has eight divisions and is full of the major themes from Jesus’ ministry on earth. We are looking at two sections: Section3, Peter declares Jesus as the Messiah and section 8, the cost of following Jesus. We will be looking at the cost of following Jesus. But we begin at verse 18 through verse 25. That is in the context of Jesus as the Messiah, and Jesus’ prediction of his death. But the issue is discipleship and about following Jesus at that time and it is about following Jesus and discipleship today. Jesus says to us who do you think I am? Who is Jesus to you? READ Luke 9: 18-25

We highlight verses 23-25 where Jesus says take up your cross and follow me. Don’t hold onto your life but loose your life for me Jesus says.

We want to follow Jesus. The Holy Spirit is at work in us to make a full commitment to follow Jesus but life often gets in the way. Following Jesus is not just going to church as important as that is. It does not mean just studying God’s Word as essential as that is. It is not only living as Christians at home and with family as important as that is. Those actions are included but it goes deeper. Following Jesus means that His humility, His spirituality, His compassion, His love, and His forgiveness are applied to all areas of our lives. It means making disciples: praying for and seeking the lost, setting direction for those who have lost their way, loving and helping those stuck in a destructive life with no way out on their own. God wants to reconcile mankind back to Him and He uses followers of Jesus to do it! Paul tells us in II Cor. 5:11-21 “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:” God makes His appeal through us!

The above is the Great Commission that Jesus commands and continues to command to all those who follow Him, as we read it in II Cor. and Matt 28:16-20.

Talking about taking up our cross, the end of the chapter (v. 57-62) is more definitive of the cost of discipleship. Jesus gives us several examples of those who want to follow Him but life gets in the way. Read. v.57-58 It appears this person decided not to follow Him. This person has the wrong financial priorities. Jesus is not asking us to be homeless, but serving Him must be our first financial priority. Lack of paying Ministry Shares has hurt overseas mission work in our denomination. We thank God for our supporting churches.

Read v. 59-60 What was this person doing there? Jewish custom dictates that the person is buried as soon as possible. Maybe he is talking about the future? Jesus sets his priority straight: “you go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.” Jesus tells him. Sometimes we are in the wrong place. Jesus is speaking to us also. Go and proclaim the Kingdom!

Read v.60-62 Here is an other family issue. Again it is a matter of priority, I don’t think Jesus calls us to reject or ignore our families, my family is my first mission field, but family should not prevent us from accepting or minimize what God calls us to do. These two issues, financial and family can be a big hindrance to ministry here and in Nigeria. We have lived in Niger State a very Muslim state but we worked with Traditional African Believers. Most of the elders in that community oppose conversion to Christianity and they oppose western education. When a person converts to Christianity they could lose their wife or children, they lose the support of the community they lose out economically. Jesus is asking them to make a huge sacrifice, humanly speaking. For us that kind of opposition is much more subtle but it is here just the same.

Even missionaries are under pressure. As missionaries working over seas educating our kids is a challenge for them and their children because most of the time it means sending your child to boarding school starting at first grade. Our son Steve spent all his lower ed. that way and when children go to collage in their home country there are unique difficulties when parents are out of the country.

This is what Jesus is talking about in Lk. 9:23-24 Where Jesus says: “Take up their cross daily and follow me” Jesus carried his cross willingly, knowing He would be crucified on it. Are we willing to deny ourselves like Jesus did, always putting others before ourselves, willing to give our physical lives to follow Jesus? Saving one’s life, as Jesus puts it, means to have only earthly ambitions, living only for ourselves, grabbing all we can out of this physical life with no thought about the after life. That means living apart from God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in this life and takes away our eternal life with Him.

The opposite of that kind of earthly living is losing our life to follow Jesus and having eternal life with God. Does that mean only suffering in this earthly life? No! Not necessarily, but it may, many of Jesus followers are persecuted in many places today. Even so, as a general rule those who follow Jesus have greater joy, live longer, are happier, have peace, love more than those who do not follow Him, and have eternal life beginning the day we commit to follow Him. That is what Jesus means in Verse 24: “whoever loses their life for me will save it.”

What do these passages really mean for us today? Well, 55% of the people living around us are not committed Christians or not Christian at all. God wants to reconcile the world back to Him and He makes his appeal through us. If Jesus is to be visible in the world today, His humility, His spirituality, His compassion, His love, and his forgiveness HE must be seen among us! That starts at home with family, moves to fellow Christians, we appeal to our friends, to our co- workers, and to our neighbors. Our succees and comfort is that God promises to be with us, whatever we do in His name, even unto the end of the age. Amen?

Seek Wisdom!

# 33 2016 Dev. Pr. 2:6. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God by memorizing selected passages of Scripture. Further, to view the passage in context and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living with family, friends and others. All passages are taken from the NIV.

Proverbs 2:6

“For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

The purpose of Proverbs is clearly laid out in the prologue (Pr. 1:2-7) summarized here: “for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding, insight; doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence, knowledge and discretion to the young—let the wise listen and add to their learning… The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools^[^c^] despise wisdom and instruction.” Generally speaking, in our time Proverbs is a “World and Life View” that glorifies God, resulting in a long, peaceful and satisfied life that shines the light of Jesus Christ on all those around us.

Chapter 2, labeled as the “Moral Benefits of Wisdom” is a first person and intimate conversation between a father (mother) and his (her) son. Verses 1-5 is the search for wisdom, V. 6 is the source of wisdom. Vs. 7-8 the benefit of wisdom. Vs. 9- 11 understanding wisdom. Vs. 12- 19 wisdom restrains evil. Vs. 20-22 the comparison of good (wisdom) and bad (evil).

V. 6 Points to God as the source of wisdom, it is a gift. The gift comes from the mouth of God. Knowledge and understanding comes from the Holy Spirit in our hearts and by the Spirit of the Word of God, written by many authors, directed by God’s Spirit and discerned by the power of the Spirit. Without God’s Spirit in our hearts God’s Word is only another book to us. Scripture, by God’s Spirit is a Living Book giving us understanding and knowledge. Further, v.6 points back to vs. 1-5 the personal search for wisdom and points forward to vs. 7-22 the predictable results of wisdom or the lack of it. Take responsibility for the search for wisdom in God’s Word and give thanks to God for the results of God’s gift many of us enjoy!

Be Blessed

# 32 2016 Dev. Mt. 5:3. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God by memorizing selected passages of Scripture. Further, to view the passage in context and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living with family, friends and others. All passages are taken from the NIV.

Matthew 5:3

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The book of Matthew is a series of 7 sections: an introduction, five conversations, (ch. 5-7 ch.10, ch.13, ch. 18, ch. 24-25) and a conclusion with material in between leading up to each conversation. Matthew’s main theme is that Jesus is the Messiah prophesied about and predicted in the Old Testament. Secondly, that Jesus is the Son of God and the Son of David (Mary).

Mt. 5:3 is in the first conversation and is part of Jesus’ introduction to the Sermon on the Mount. The sermon is about our attitudes, our actions and our ethics as people belonging to the “Kingdom of Heaven” as Matthew calls it. This verse is part of what is called “The Beatitudes”. Jesus was preaching and healing people before this time but this appears to be the first teaching session to His disciples and to a large group of people following Him.

v. 3 is a two-fold statement: have this attitude and this is the result. It is non the less a function of God’s grace. This attitude of “poor in spirit” is not possible but for faith in Christ Jesus. What attitude is this? It is the ultimate humility and confession about our own inability to attain salvation on our own. It recognizes our own short comings and Jesus’ perfect love for those who have faith in Him.

There are two results: one, blessed in this life (see Rom. 8: 28-39). Does that mean we never have a problem? No! But God is in control, He takes care of us. Second, we are given the Kingdom of Heaven; life forever! We don’t have to wait for it, that gift is ours the day we have faith in Jesus. V.3 is like Ps. 1:1-6: “Blessed is the man (and woman) who…. for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,”. This is the ultimate blessing!

Seek God!

# 31 2016 Dev. Ps. 73:28. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God by memorizing selected passages of Scripture. Further, to view the passage in context and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living with family, friends and others. All passages are taken from the NIV.

Psalm 73: 28

“But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds”.

Meditating on God brings us grace, peace and comfort for all of life!

The Psalms in general is a five volume section in Scripture of poems, songs, and prayers all praising, confessing to, and petitioning God. It is a Book of intimate fellowship with our Creator. The structure of Book III is three fold and symmetrical; Ps. 73- 78, 79-83, 84-89. Ps 81 is a song of praise central to the Book. On a practical level Book III is about seeking God’s special love for His people, seeking fellowship, seeking God’s protection and His blessings for our lives. This Book is the back story in our changing and unpredictable situation today.

Psalm 73 is at the beginning of Book III and it may be seen as an introduction beginning with a “Confession of Faith”. Ps. 73:28 is the last verse and between this verse and the profession of faith in v.1, is a confession of weakness, a lament about the prosperity of the wicked, a realization of God’s purposes for those who reject Him and a personal confession of faith.

The Psalmist confesses: “You hold me… you guide me… earth has nothing I desire besides you. My strength and heart may fail but God is the strength of my heart”. Then there is verse 27 as an antithesis to v. 28: “Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.”

“But as for me,” along with the Psalmist make that decision today; choose to seek out God now, “He will draw close to you”! For followers of Jesus, He is our refuge, our rock, our strength, comfort and our guide in this life!

Along with choosing to seek God the Psalmist also make a promise; to “tell of his deeds”. Jesus deals with us personally; He forgives, protects, guides, prepares the way ahead and draws us to Himself. Therefor, are you willing to proclaim God’s care for you, for His people and for His creation? May we continue to praise God in every situation!

Perfection

# 30 2016 Dev. Mt. 5:48. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God by memorizing selected passages of Scripture. Further, to view the passage in context and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living with family, friends and others. All passages are taken from the NIV.

Matthew 5:48

“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

We have been looking at Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount” Mt.5-7. The verse we see today (vs.48) is in a larger section of the Jesus’ instruction called “Love for Enemies”. Think about the title! Jesus is turning religious thinking of His day and the thinking of today upside down. There is no rationalization today that would suggest that we should love our enemies. In our political climate today enemies are quickly established, in our society today enemies are many, in our religious culture today fellow Christians often are the enemy! The reality of today is such that different views and different interpretations are being forced on those who disagree; there is no tolerance for dissenting believers or dissenting opinions.

In God’s realm all people and all of His creation belongs to Him and He wants to be glorified. He is not looking for clones, He wants all people to honor Him in diversity and respect His creation that highlight the riot of diversity we see all around us. Today the ability to “agree to disagree” is lacking among followers of Jesus and in society in general. We no longer are allowed to act on or speak about following our conscience because it is now deemed as a hate crime or hate speech if that disagrees with the majority opinion.

How then are we to be perfect as our verse commands? The verse points back to what goes before it Mt. 5:43-47. In the covenant of Jesus’ blood, we are not allowed to hate!

We are starting to see that “the New Testament is in the Old Testament contained and the Old Testament is in the New Testament explained”. Love those who hate us, love those who oppose us and love those who seek to hurt us. “Love Wins”. Love wins not only because it gives light to our enemies but it puts us together with Jesus as “children of God”. Wow! We are perfect only when we live in Jesus’ presence, He perfects us, faith in Jesus covers us with perfection in God’s eyes as it was in Abraham’s time (Gen 17:1). Loving our enemies in Jesus’ name is glorifying to God our Father, lights up the dark places of our world and draws us closer to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the God of Scripture. Praise be to God!

Peace

# 29 2016 Dev. Ps. 85:8. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God by memorizing selected passages of Scripture. Further, to view the passage in context and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living with family, friends and others. All passages are taken from the NIV.

Psalm 85:8

“I will listen to what God the Lord says; he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants—but let them not turn to folly.”

The Psalms in general is a five volume section in Scripture of poems, songs, and prayers all praising, confessing to, and petitioning God. It is a Book of intimate fellowship with our Creator. Psalm 85 is near the end of Book Three and is part of a 6 chapter set; Ch. 84-89. Book Three is about seeking God’s special love for His people, seeking fellowship, seeking God’s protection and His blessings for our lives. This Book is the back story in our changing and unpredictable situation today.

The last section of the Book Ps. 84-89 is comprised of individual prayers and communal prayers to which Ps. 84 is a powerful introduction. The emphasis in this section is on the “Lord Almighty”, His faithfulness, His everlasting love, His protection, His shield, and His anointed one. The anointed one refers to King David but ultimately is a reference to Jesus Christ who fulfills Ps. 89:4 quoted in Lk. 1:32-33,69.

Ps. 85 is a communal prayer seeking God’s mercy during a difficult time. This Psalm is addressed to everyone who follows Jesus. We live in a broken world and a broken country but there is room for optimism as this prayer indicates. We praise God for his past mercies and care (1-3). We petition God for restoration, for His unfailing love and for His forgiveness and salvation (v. 4-7.)

Verse 8 is a promise to listen to God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and claims God’s promise of peace but not to just anyone; to his righteous followers. The verse ends with a “but’ let them (God’s people) not turn to folly”. This phrase may also be translated as

“let them turn from folly”. Thinking about the issues churches are dealing with today, which translation of that phrase applies to us?

In verses 9-13 the Psalm goes on with an optimistic vision we have the opportunity to experience today. God’s salvation and glory is near to us! In the context of love and faithfulness, righteousness and peace kiss each other, they are intimately connected and go together. Our faithfulness by God’s Grace and God’s righteousness; forgiveness, salvation and unfailing love will bring us what is good. Are you ready to experience God’s goodness? The answer is verse 8; promise to listen to God and act on His will and experience His peace in an unpredictable world!

The Light!

# 28 2016 Dev. Mt. 5:14. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God by memorizing selected passages of Scripture. Further, to view the passage in context and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living with family, friends and others. All passages are taken from the NIV.

Mathew 5:14

¹⁴“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden”.

This verse is part of the Sermon on the Mount. The introduction tells us there was a large crowd, Jesus moved to a high place, called his disciples to Him and started to teach. Jesus taught his disciples, He taught the crowd and now He also teaches us. Jesus’ message covers three chapters of Mt. 5,6,7. His teaching is revolutionary! He turned a very legal understanding of God’s Word, probably the Septuagint, upside down! This is a guide to all the teachings of the New Testament, the New Covenant of Jesus’ blood, His sacrifice for us, this is the way of Jesus.

Mt. 5: 3-12 is the baseline for the message, these nine attitudes and accompanying blessings allow us, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to hear the Way of Jesus and follow the Way of Jesus. From Jesus’ time on earth true Christians are people of the Way. Jesus teaches on murder, adultery, divorce, punishment, love, giving, prayer, wealth, worry, judging others, and trusting. He ends his message with the parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders. (Mt. 7:24-27)

Therefore, Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount compels His followers to be light in the world. Not only because Jesus commands it but also because they hold the key to the Light of God. The verse for this week is part of a larger section beginning in verse 13-16 called “Salt and Light”. Following Jesus is a complete experience, we see the light, we feel the power, and we taste the goodness. But Jesus warns us that salt affects taste, life is sweet, spicy and good, we are the salt in society but if we lose our saltiness we lose our good affect on those around us.

We also “are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.” A light is lit for the purpose of giving light and must not be hidden, Jesus tells us. God’s light shines through Jesus’ followers, let’s keep it high and bright. Jesus wants everyone to see our good works, not for our own praise but to the praise of God our Father! Shine on!