#14 2016 Devotional Mt. 5: 14-15. 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 5:14-15

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. “

Matthew 5 is the first chapter of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount Ch. 5-7. This sermon is revolutionary and turned the perception of people in His day upside down. The sermon still does that today. These three chapters tell us what Jesus wants us to do if we follow Him. Further, Jesus tells us what not to do. The introduction to the sermon are the eight beatitudes. They set the stage for Jesus ministry. Jesus is humble, He put others first, He is compassionate, He loves the poor and the disenfranchised, He practices righteousness, He is merciful, His love is from the heart, He is forgiving, Jesus is a peace maker reconciling us to the Father. Jesus ends His sermon with the parable of the wise and foolish builders. It is about listening to the words of Jesus. Those who hear but do not practice what Jesus is telling us is like the foolish builder in the parable, he/she is building on the sand. Those who practice what Jesus tells us build on the rock which is Jesus Christ.

The verse we are looking at is what the sermon is all about. When you do the things Jesus asks us to do you are a light that lights up this dark world.  Jesus came to light up all the dark places. Now that Jesus left us to be His body in this world we are to be that light on a hill for everyone to see. Jesus is the light of life and if we follow Jesus then you, and me are the light that guide people on the path of life and the path to life. There is no other way, people try every other thing to find peace and fill that empty place we all have in our hearts. People seek power, money, sex, drink and food but nothings fills our need, only serving Jesus fills that empty place and gives us meaning in this life and the assurance of eternal life. We are concerned about this life, but it is only temporary, short and preparation for our eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven. However, while we are in this life we are to help others find the way back to Jesus. That is why Jesus calls us and equips us and promises to be with us. What we often don’t think about are the blessings that come along with serving Jesus. It is not easily explained but it is easily experienced. Praise Him!

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#13 2016 Devotional Psalm 90:17. 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 90:17

May the favor^[a] of the Lord our God rest on us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.

The Psalm 90 begins book 4 and is part of a section of 11 Psalms that begin with a prayer that end with the praise of Psalm 100. Psalm 90 is a prayer of praise and intercessory prayer, the prayer begins praising God for His everlasting faithfulness; He is our refuge, our hiding place, the only place we run to for protection. God is also a just God holding his people to account. Moses, the author, experienced that many times during the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. You, O Lord “have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence”. Moses interceded for the people on numerous occasions and he does so in this Psalm asking for compassion and mercy. Moses here is a type of Christ “relent, O Lord how long will it be?” reminding God of His splendor and unfailing love.  At one-point in Moses’ time God repented of choosing the Israelites and had decided to destroy them but Moses offered himself instead. (Ex.32:7-14) (see v. 31)

We face God’s wrath as well, our iniquities and secret sins are before the Lord day and night. Praise be to God, Jesus intercedes for us and died in our place so that we may be forgiven when we “call on the name of the Lord” and live!

We turn to the verse we are looking at; it is obviously a benediction (Num.6: 24-26).  Moses asks for God’s favor to be upon them, or to go with them and to “establish the work of our hands for us”. Moses makes this personal and also practical. The work of his hands came close to being completely destroyed several times, only God establishes what man kind does. For us today this is a meaningful and important prayer. God establishes our work when done in the name of Jesus. Not many followers of Jesus are missionaries, pastors or evangelists. Therefore, I do mean all work that we do and that is done in Jesus name is work that will last for ever, follow us to heaven and become the building blocks for the New Heaven and the Earth. May God establish the work of our hands!

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# 12 2016 Devotional Gal. 6:9. 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.

 Gal. 6:9

⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good,

for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

The purpose of the letter to the Galatian Church was to expose legalistic and Old Testament ceremonial practices being taught by Judaizers as necessary for salvation. Chapter 6 is the end of Paul’s arguments for salvation by faith and by God’s grace alone. He encourages the Galatians and us to do good to all, restore those gone astray gently, do not think more of yourself than you should, and help each other especially fellow followers of Jesus.  Secondly, he puts to rest the fallacy of salvation by works by appealing to the new covenant recreating us in Jesus Christ. The old is become new!   

The verse we are looking at is part of Paul’s encouragement to the Galatians and to us to become new in Christ Jesus. To be new in Jesus means that we not only change from what we are and how we live but that we live in opposition to the way the world lives. “Let us not become weary”, Paul tells us. Helping others, walking along side someone to work through sin in order bring healing, and carrying each others burdens is hard work.From my experience as a church planter, the power of the Spirit cultivated in prayer keeps one from burn out.  

Don’t tire of “doing good”, Paul adds. As followers of Jesus what is “doing good”? Paul makes it very clear it means building up the Kingdom of God. He starts with the brokenness of this world. “Restore sinners gently” not condemnation, not a better than thou attitude so many project, not isolation but love. The love of Jesus!  We must begin with ourselves, our own attitudes, failures and short comings before we attempt to help others. It has been my experience that as we walk along side people with God’s Word He builds both persons spiritually and we are drawn closer to each other and Jesus. That is one example of doing good but it translates to all situations in our lives. In Christ all of life becomes worship pleasing to God.

Paul continues with: “for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up”. Church planters plant churches but mostly we plant seeds. Sometimes there is a harvest but only after a lot of watering and cultivating and time. Sometimes the seeds lay dormant until such time as the Holy Spirit moves that person or persons to seek Jesus’ love and forgiveness. Let us who follow Jesus not give up planting the seed of life in people God places on our path, by our actions, our words and our love for them. There will be a great harvest indeed but only if we keep on planting!

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# 11 2016 Devotional Pr. 16:9. 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.

Pr. 16:9

“In his heart a man plans his course,                                                                                                          but the Lord determines his steps”

Proverbs are a series of short concise statements about God’s will for man kind and the results of human behavior both good and bad. The English word, proverbs, does not convey the meaning of the Hebrew word which includes: byword, discourse, parable, parables, proverb, proverbs, taunt, taunt-song (Strong’s Concordance 4912). The bottom line according to the purpose and theme of the book, Pr.1:7 is: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline”.

The verse we are looking at is part of a lager section that revolves around the plans, the motivations and actions of men but God is in control. Is that what this proverb is about, God’s sovereignty? Yes, I believe this to be a problem with many contemporary interpretations of God’s Word. God is understood as reactive to man’s actions and to the events in today’s world. That is a popular and comfortable position as opposed to God having complete sovereignty in the universe. It is further complicated with man’s free will.

 How do we come to grips with the horrendous events we see in the world today? Do we blame God, His sovereignty? Or do we blame man, free will? Neither, Satan is responsible for all the misery in this world, all wars and diseases. However, our choices have ramifications and we are held responsible for the choices we make. Our choices are made in the context of God’s allowable will, God does not exercise his complete sovereignty in every situation in our lives or in this world. How God’s will and our free will work together is more of a mystery than it is understood by us His creatures. See Ro. 9:14, Paul asks if God is unjust? God’s answer: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion”. (See also, Questions)

 How then shall we understand Pr. 16: 9? (1) Our plans must be made in the context of God’s will. (2) God’s Word must direct our plans. (3) God allows all things and events according to His eternal will, for His glory and for the advance of His Kingdom including the church. Praise be to God!

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# 10 2016 Devotional I Co. 16:13-14 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.

I Cor. 16:13 -14

³ Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.

¹⁴ Do everything in love.

The first section of Chapter 16 is about the collection taken up for the Jerusalem believers. They may have become poor due to a famine or perhaps due to the persecution they were under. Be that as it may, this collection seems to be the beginning of regular collections on Sunday for the work of the Lord and is the basis for our collections today.

The chapter also is preparation for Paul’s upcoming visit to Corinth. He wants to spend time with them and Paul recommends Timothy and Apollos to them. Paul writes I Cor. to address several areas of difficulty in this church particularly moral laxness and it appears that Paul had written them about it previously. Many commentators have suggested that Paul wrote the Corinthians three, if not four times and that I and II Cor. is a combination of those letters.

 That may be why the verses we are looking at today seems to be out of place and seems to be inserted into a section concerning Stephanas’ household and their dedication. But that does not take away from the importance of these two verses.

Paul tells us to have five spiritual characteristics: (1) “be on your guard”. He is referring to the moral laxness of this city. As we see today how easy it is for the followers of Jesus to be influenced by the culture around them. (2) “Stand firm in the faith” appears to be a command. Stand on the Word of God as the unchanging standard for your life and faith. (3) “Be courageous” be unafraid, valiant, be convinced of your stand for Jesus. (4) “Be strong” not afraid of ridicule or persecution, unwavering. (5) “Do everything in love”. Love is the bottom line, love those who think differently than you, proclaim your faith in love, love your enemy and love yourself. Love is the most difficult of the five characteristics the Spirit wants us to display: it means practicing patience, kindness, forgiveness, humility, joy, gentleness, self control and living in peace “Love wins”. Jesus teach us your love!

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# 09 2016 Devotional Ps. 46:10 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. 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”.

Psalm 46 is a song celebrating the security of Jerusalem and the reign of the “Great King” over all the earth. The song could be liturgical but was sung with the participation of the people, probably accompanied by maidens with tambourines (according to alamoth). This Psalm was the inspiration to Martin Luther’s: “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”

The song has three stanzas of 3 verses each. The first stanza is about absolute trust in God. The disruption of the natural order of things will not affect our trust because “God is our refuge and ever present help”.

The second stanza taps into creation, “there is a river whose stream makes glad the city of God” It is an apocalyptic vision connecting this song to Rev. 22 ‘The river of Life”,ending with the refrain; “The Lord almighty is with us” This comforts us as well.

The third stanza draws us to God’s mighty acts to end war and bring peace but ends with God speaking in verse 10.

“Be still”, God says or it is enough! Be still O man, enough already, don’t you know that I am God? “I am God; I will be exalted among the nations.” We are pointed to Philippians 2:9-11, every person, “every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the father”.

We live in a noisy culture where everyone is clamoring for attention, the right to life, women’s rights, sexual orientation rights, victim rights, and the rights of law breakers, there is no end to it. God says it is enough, be still! I am the ruler of the earth and my will is done, even if we do not understand at this point. The Psalm points us to faith, to trust, and moves us to meditate on what faith and trust mean for us who follow Jesus.

The Psalm ends with the refrain and gives us an answer:”The Lord Almighty is with us;The God of Jacob is our fortress. God with us means what it meant for the Patriarchs of old, those who curse us are cursed and those who bless us are blessed. If God is with us who can be against us? Praise be to God!

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# 08 2016 Devotional Matt. 5:16 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. All passages are taken from the NIV.

Matthew 5:16

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matt. 5 is part of the Sermon on the Mount Matt 5-7. Verse 16 comes right after the Beatitudes and is part of the section called:”Salt and Light”. The Beatitudes are a great introduction to the Sermon on the Mount, they are eight blessings proclaimed by Jesus with eight promises that begin on earth but end in heaven. They are short, concise statements that contain main Biblical themes that reflect not only the message of Jesus but also the way for following Him: the way of salvation and for peace on this earth.

The very first section after the Beatitudes sets us on the path. There are good reasons for God to call us to follow Jesus by the power of His Spirit. Salt is a staple some people would say an essential ingredient in our food. But salt only works if it flavors, when it does not accomplish that purpose it is useless. This metaphor is the negative side of this section and points to our reluctance or our refusal to perform the call of God on our lives.

The positive metaphor of this section is to light up a room. If one lights a lamp it is put up on a stand to give light to everyone. Verse 16 encourages us to be a light in this world. Let your works , let your way of life be a light to the world so that God is glorified. How do we do that today?

We need to look to Gal. 5:22. Life by the Spirit involves “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control”. This fruit of the Spirit as it is called stands in direct opposition to the way of the world. Our society calls followers of Jesus to compromise, put a little balance in our way of living. According to that position it is unloving, not enfolding, a one sided dialogue and a unbending position in a world that calls for flexibility and compromise. Not so! Jesus in this verse says, “let your light shine, the brighter the better, the longer the more effective. He is the Light of the world sent not to condemn but to save the world. Jesus followers are to be that light powered by a life in the Spirit. Jesus says: Shine on! Light up the dark places in this world!       I am with you!
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# 07 2016 Devotional Ps. 121: 1-2 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. All passages are taken from the NIV.

Psalm 121: 1-2

1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from?     2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 121 -134 are a group of Psalms called accents. More than likely accents refers to the Psalms sung on the annual pilgrimage up to Jerusalem but it could also refer to the 12 steps up to the Temple and used as liturgical songs. There are four sections. The first, v. 1-2 is confirmation of God’s help. The second v. 3-4 confirms God’s constant care, God “neither slumbers nor sleeps” and He upholds us spiritually and physically. The third section v. 5-6 the Lord provides protection, comfort, peace, and tranquility (“shade at your right hand”), He controls the elements (sun and moon) for His people. The last section, v. 6-7 expands on God’s care (“keep from all harm”) in every situation, at all times.

Sections 2-4 really explains the introduction v. 1-2. It is in the first person, I look up to the hills of Zion; are those hills a help, a refuge, a place to seek God? No! I need to lift my eyes higher, I need to look to the creator of the hills and mountains, I need to look to God, the creator and the sustainer of the earth and the heavens.

Every sections begins with a personal help from God. 1. “He will not let your foot slip”. 2. “The Lord watches over you” 3.“The Lord will keep you from all harm”. Section 4 is the culmination of verse 1-2, a conclusion of the Psalmist’s pondering about who it is that helps the people of God. On a pilgrimage to Jerusalem there is much to think about, the road is long, the heat and dust oppressive, there are dangers on the way and as he comes in sight of the heights of Jerusalem he asks his question: from where is my help? He answers it in all three sections but God’s care is expanded in each one as we see in the beginning personal help statements. He ends with comfort and assurance: The Lord “will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your comings and goings both now and forevermore”! Praise be to God!

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