#28. July 13, 2015

 2015 Devotional. Our goal for these weekly devotionals is to grow in humility and to grow spiritually by memorizing selected passages, putting them into context, and by applying them to our daily living. These passages are taken from: “100 Verses Every Christian Needs to Know” by Freeman-Smith. All passages are from the NIV.

Matthew 23:11-12

 ¹¹”The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹² For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Matthew 23 is about the hypocrisy of the teachers of the law during Jesus’ time on earth. Most of the religious leaders of the day had rejected Jesus because he exposed their comfortable situation in society, He threatened their authority, and they were extremely jealous of Jesus’ popularity with the people. Yet because they held the position of Moses Jesus tells the people listen to them, but “do not do what they do for they do not practice what they preach”.

Today the church in America is on the decline for that very reason; young people and others as well see a lot of hypocrisy in some of the leadership and in many of those who claim to be Christian. We do not practice what we preach and we have lost our connection to the Holy Spirit! I know many of us would like to think that the church building and the people who attend are a light in the community and in some cases that is true. But it has been my experience for the 6 years I worked as a church planter in Mich. that the physical shape of the building and the label “Christian” has bad connotations for many people who have experienced the condemnations of the church and the resulting disregard for their spiritual well being. Condemnation is easy to do; we can do it by not saying a word. The fact is that sin is sin: a gossiper or an adulterer is equally sinful in God’s eyes. We must not condone sin but we must walk along side the sinner and guide them to a better place, a place that is pleasing to God. That is an important aspect of the work of the church that has been ignored for too long.

 Jesus gives his disciples the solution to the problem of prideful and condemning leaders of his day and what must change for leaders and Christians today. The answer is in the verses we are memorizing v. 11-12. Here we find a solution and a negative promise but also a positive promise to those who really follow Jesus. Jesus the Messiah is our instructor, no one else; He came to serve and to suffer on a cross. “We are not greater than our master” Jesus tells us. Therefore, leaders must be servants to the flock and especially to those outside of the flock because Jesus “came to save the lost”. It takes humility to serve other Christians but great humility to serve those broken by sin, those over-whelmed with life, and those antagonistic to the church and all it stands for. Serving the lost involves disappointment and suffering. Human nature in us wants recognition even glory but that leads to being humbled, Jesus tells us. Humility in serving leads to glorification but not our glorification but the glorification of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Let us humble ourselves for God’s glory and for the building up of the church!

 

© 2015 cgvw all rights reserved.

 

#27. July 06, 2015

2015 Devotional. Our goal for these weekly devotionals is to grow in humility and to grow spiritually by memorizing selected passages, putting them into context, and by applying them to our daily living. These passages are taken from: “100 Verses Every Christian Needs to Know” by Freeman-Smith. All passages are from the NIV.

John 15:9

⁹ “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”

The first division of chapter 15, “The Vine and the Branches”, is the introduction to verse 9 and to the rest of the chapter. This chapter is about being with Jesus, more specifically being in Jesus and “remaining in His Love”. The introduction tells us to stay in Christ like a branch to the vine. Apart from the vine the branch is dead and so with us we cannot do anything apart from Jesus Christ. That is a truth we easily forget, we want to serve but sometimes we go in our own strength not getting the results we should, yet, God is faithful and uses us, even in our short comings. Further, we may “ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you”, if we remain in Him. This is in the context of bearing fruit for God’s glory, and showing us as disciples of Jesus. “Bear much fruit,” indicates the fruit of the Spirit. (Gal. 5:22-23)

Verse 9 “As the Father has loved me” Jesus here is teaching us God’s love, Devine Love that does not fail, never gives up on a person, always forgives, always gives us multiple chances,    and lays down His life. As Jesus loves us we are to love each other, the passage here is speaking of a Devine Love taught us by Jesus Christ. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” We are commanded to remain in Jesus’ love. We make that choice for ourselves but we do so in the Spirit of God. Jesus says: “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.” (Emphasis mine) It is an amazing concept made clear in Eph. 1:3-14. Why us, why me Lord? It is a matter of God’s grace, His election, and His eternal plan, and His blessings with no imput or value on our part. We cannot understand God’s purposes, but we can respond to his choosing with thanksgiving and service; we acknowledge God’s love by bearing fruit. Bearing fruit is the concept behind “Now remain in my love”. God’s love is to be our love insofar as we are able to use the gifts God gives us and He is with us (Mt. 28:20). Praise be to God!

© 2015 cgvw all rights reserved.

#26. June 29, 2015

2015 Devotional. Our goal for these weekly devotionals is to grow in humility and to grow spiritually by memorizing selected passages, putting them into context, and by applying them to our daily living. These passages are taken from: “100 Verses Every Christian Needs to Know” by Freeman-Smith. All passages are from the NIV.

Luke 9:23-24

²³ Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ²⁴ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.

In the NIV Luke nine has nine major divisions and is full of the major themes from Jesus’ ministry on earth. The verses we are memorizing are in the context of discipleship verses 20-26. 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.

 Do you wants to follow Jesus? Is the Holy Spirit at work in you to make a full commitment to follow Jesus but things get in the way? I don’t mean going to church as important as that is. I don’t mean studying God’s Word as essential as that is. I don’t mean living as Christians at home and with family as imperative as that is. 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, showing direction to 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! (II Cor. 5:11-21) “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:”

 The above is the Great Commission that Jesus commands and continues to command to all those who follow Him (Mt. 28:16-20). If Jesus is visible today, His love, His forgiveness, all of His perfect human attributes, they can only be found in Scripture and among true followers of Jesus. 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 lives to follow Jesus? Saving ones 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. Living apart from our Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in this life take 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 Jesus followers are persecuted in many places today. Even so, as a general rule those who follow Jesus rejoice, 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.” Praise God!

 

© 2015 cgvw all rights reserved.

 

 

#25. June 22, 2015

2015 Devotional. Our goal for these weekly devotionals is to grow in humility and to grow spiritually by memorizing selected passages, putting them into context, and by applying them to our daily living. These passages are taken from: “100 Verses Every Christian Needs to Know” by Freeman-Smith. All passages are from the NIV.

 Proverbs 4:23

Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.

Proverbs is part of “Wisdom Literature” in Scripture. In chapter one the author gives us the theme and purpose of the book: ² for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; ³ for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; ⁴ for giving prudence to those who are simple, ^[a]knowledge and discretion to the young—⁵ let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—⁶ for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.^{[b 7} The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools^[c] despise wisdom and instruction. The theme is summarized in: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Knowledge”.

The context of the verse we are memorizing is what the NIV labels as: “Get Wisdom at Any Cost”. The author speaks in the first person speaking to his son and we would add daughter. God our Father is the source for his wisdom.  He tells of his own father who instructed him. Again and again he speaks of the virtues and the benefit of wisdom for a happy and long life. He compares wisdom with lack of wisdom and equates the lack of it with those who cannot help themselves to stop walking in evil ways; they cannot rest until the evil deed is committed. The path of evil is dark and oppressive but the righteous attains health of body and walks in bright sunshine. The Father uses the pedagogy of repetitions, examples, comparisons, and simile but it comes down to the heart.

Moving on to verse 23 the author comes down to the heart. The heart contains and retains the virtues of wisdom. Therefore, he says: “above all else, guard your heart,” the condition of the heart is above all he has mentioned before now. Both good and evil comes from the heart (Lk. 6: 44-45). Therefore, guard your heart, we have a choice, what we talk about, what we ponder on, what we allow ourselves to see, and the places we willingly go. Garbage in garbage out! Verse 24-27 talks about how to guard your heart. So far all this is directed to the son or daughter and to us but wisdom plays a much larger role to play in our lives; it affects every person we interact with and with our permission is able to shine the light of Jesus on all we do and say.

 

© 2015 cgvw all rights reserved.

 

#24. June 15, 2015

 2015 Devotional. Our goal for these weekly devotionals is to grow in humility and to grow spiritually by memorizing selected passages, putting them into context, and by applying them to our daily living. These passages are taken from: “100 Verses Every Christian Needs to Know” by Freeman-Smith. All passages are from the NIV.

 Ecclesiastes 3:1

 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

 Ecclesiastes is what is called ”Wisdom Literature”, written by King Solomon in the opinion of most commentators. It is a genre of literature that addresses issues of good and evil in the world, issues of God’s peoples’ faith, and the issue of understanding God and His providence for His people and His world. Ecc. is written by one who has lived a full life but is coming to the end of it. Chapter three is in the context of what the author says that all of life is meaningless (Ecc. 1-2).

 The next two paragraphs are a summary of Chs.1 and 2. “Everything is meaningless”. He asks this question: “What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?” This question we will want to ask ourselves. He moves to “wisdom is meaningless”, his conclusion: “For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.” He moves on to, “pleasures are meaningless” he “says to himself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” We may well ask that question for ourselves. He moves to, “wisdom and folly are meaningless, like the fool, the wise too must die!” He moves to, “Toil is meaningless”, he surmises: “All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest.”

 At the end of all this negativity the writer brings us back to what is important and meaningful for God’s people: “ A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, ²⁵ for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? ²⁶ To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, (emphasis mine) but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” Also, see his conclusion, Ecc. 12:13-14.

 The above is an introduction to the book and the context for Chapter 3. “There is a time for everything”, God is the one who gives us time for everything, He orchestrates our lives but we make our own decisions. God is in control of all things but that is not obvious very often in our daily living, but when it is obvious God builds our faith. A “season for every activity” is as God’s timing. He directs it. As followers of Jesus we are in the Kingdom of God. He puts us in the place, the situation, and with the people He wants to impact in order to build His Kingdom on this earth. We need to broaden our view of the world and of God’s purposes! There are times, seasons, and activities to practice our faith during all of our life, building the Kingdom as followers of Jesus. Thanks be to God!

 

© 2015 cgvw all rights reserved.

 

 

#23. June 8, 2015

 2015 Devotional. Our goal for these weekly devotionals is to grow in humility and to grow spiritually by memorizing selected passages, putting them into context, and by applying them to our daily living. These passages are taken from: “100 Verses Every Christian Needs to Know” by Freeman-Smith. All passages are from the NIV.

II Timothy 3:16-17

¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of God^[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

The verses we are memorizing are found in the second letter to Timothy, one of the “Pastoral Letters” written by the Apostle Paul to Timothy and Titus. The purpose of these letters is to give pastoral care to Timothy in Ephesus and Titus in Crete. Chapter 3 of second Timothy has two sections: “The Godlessness of the Last Days” and “Paul’s Charge to Timothy”. The first section is a continuation of Paul’s advice on dealing with false teachers at the end of chapter 2 and it is a commentary on the last times. It is a dark description of people’s actions when biblical principals are ignored and the truth not taught to those wanting to move closer to God. Even so, Paul encourages Timothy to continue living out his faith. Jesus’ disciples (Acts 2:17-21)and the writers of the New Testament (Heb. 1:2) considered themselves to be in the “Last Days”, Paul is no exception.

Yet Christians have waited 2000 yrs. Early on there was terrible persecution of Christians under Roman Emperor Nero through the time of Diocletian 303 AD, if there ever was a time for the end it was then. Yet, the attitudes of people that Paul writes about in the first section of chapter 3 has increased from those days to today’s decadent lifestyles and the appalling ignorance of God’s Word. Not to mention the unbelievable treatment by terrorist groups of Christians and everyone else who think differently than they do. Are we near the end of time right now? Jesus says: be careful about predicting the end, (Mt. 24:36-44) only God the Father knows the end of things.

 Meanwhile, we live in this less than holy environment and we have these two verses, II Tim. 3:16-17 to apply to our daily living. Paul sets before us the “Holy Scriptures” as the only standard for life and faith because it is God breathed. Not a part of it but all of it! I tell my students as I hold up the Bible that this is a living book written by men but by the Holy Spirit teaching us the thoughts of God. The Bible is alive in two ways: God breathed and secondly comes alive in us by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. We have to pick it up, open it, read it, know it, and pray for the Holy Spirit to guide us. Paul begins with theology; “useful for teaching” we learn the thoughts of God: His commands, His love, His grace, His forgiveness, and His providence.

He moves to rebuking, correcting, and training. Paul instructs Timothy that “Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth,” … The goal is “righteousness” we choose to be good people applying the fruit of Spirit to our daily living but we are truly righteous only in Jesus Christ. The affect of these instructions is, “so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Servant may also be translated, “the man of God”. This instruction and equipping therefore applies to all who follow Jesus. Paul uses superlatives and gives us a brief glimpse into the eternal purposes of God for his people and we participate in it as we do good works qualified in Jesus’ name, glorifying God.

© 2015 cgvw all rights reserved.

 

#22. June 1, 2015

 2015 Devotional. Our goal for these weekly devotionals is to grow in humility and to grow spiritually by memorizing selected passages, putting them into context, and by applying them to our daily living. These passages are taken from: “100 Verses Every Christian Needs to Know” by Freeman-Smith. All passages are from the NIV.

I John 2:3

³ We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.

I John 2 is divided into five sections, plus an introduction. The introduction sets the tone for the chapter: “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin”, but John allows for our shortcomings. John addresses fellow believers as a father addresses his children; “But if any one does sin, we have an advocate with the Father – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Believers struggle with sin as Paul also experiences (Rom. 7: 14-25}. John adds to that the sins of the whole world. John shows us an amazing vision. How does Jesus atone for our sins? Jesus in His righteousness and in His perfect obedience is the only one qualified to fulfill God’s justice required for sin. By God’s grace and by the love of Jesus we become righteous in Christ when we by faith believe in Him. We are forgiven and set free (Eph. 2:1-10)! By God’s power Jesus’ righteousness covers all the sins of the world, salvation is sufficient for all those who have been born and who are yet to be born if one turns to God (John 3:16-18).

Verse 3 in I Jn. 2 is part of the section labeled in the NIV as: “Love and Hatred for Fellow Believers” It is in the context of obedience, love for Jesus, and love for each other. If we love Jesus, we obey the Word of God, we love fellow believers, and we love those who do not yet believe. The command to love is in the Old Testament: “Love the Lord your God”… (Duet. 6:1-9 ) and love your neighbor as yourself (Lev.19:34). Jesus quotes this law when questioned by a teacher of the law (Mk.12:28-34). John calls it a new command because if we “claim to live in Jesus we must live like him”. The truth of the command to love one another becomes a new command because it is seen in Jesus and in us, as John tells us: the “love for God is made complete in” us. Obedience to God’s Commands, God’s Word. is the difference between light for the path of life or stumbling blindly in the dark through life. John uses the word ‘hate” when love is absent because there is no in-between. If one of our fellow believers falls short/sins and we reject him without showing the way, is that hate? If we refuse to extend forgiveness to a fellow believer, and isolate ourselves from them, is that hate? Yes it is total hate because we hold back the grace of Jesus that He gives us to share (II Cor. 5:18).

This verse we are memorizing is much deeper than these few words may suggest. How does one know when God is known? We know God by his Word and the witness of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Faith is difficult to explain, it is a gift from God and grows in as much as we respond to the gift.  By faith we accept the Bible as God’s Word and Jesus, God’s Word in the flesh. What does it mean to know God? It means that we have His light in our hearts, His commands, His Love, His Grace, and His Forgiveness. When we know God we live like Jesus lived on this earth! That light of Christ is extended to others as we proclaim the Good News and as we practice what we say we believe. “By our love they will know us.” Thanks be to God!

© 2015 cgvw all rights reserved.

 

.

#21. May 25, 2015

 2015 Devotional. Our goal for these weekly devotionals is to grow in humility and to grow spiritually by memorizing selected passages, putting them into context, and by applying them to our daily living. These passages are taken from: “100 Verses Every Christian Needs to Know” by Freeman-Smith. All passages are from the NIV.

 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.”

Psalm 16 is a song of David. It is one of the Messianic Psalms. David in the power of the Holy Spirit refers to Jesus and what He will experience while on this earth. On the day of Pentecost, Peter the Apostle quotes this Psalm in reference to Jesus’ resurrection from the dead (Acts 2:25-31). It is a song of praise with devotion to God, and an answer to David’s own petition.

David starts with the petition: “Keep me safe, my God” and David declares that God is his refuge. David uses the first person, he speaks to God directly and Ps. 16 becomes a moving personal prayer of praise.

It is a prayer from which we may learn humility and grow spiritually. Apart from the Lord he “has no good thing”. He is completely dependent on God. Are we able to say that about all the things we have: our homes, our careers, our families, our wealth, and for many, good health? Ask yourself: what or whom do you really depend on? When push comes to shove is God alone your security?

Verses 5-8 are a source of encouragement. No matter what our circumstance as children of God we dwell in “pleasant places” and have a “delightful inheritance”. The present and future is for us assured because God, as David says, “is at our right hand” and we stand firm. Like Jesus who is the first born of the dead we will share in the blessing of being resurrected to eternal life.

How is it that God keeps us safe and protects us in this life and into the next? The verse we are memorizing answers that question: We are shown the way of life by God’s word so that we may live in peace in a broken world and that we may show others. God fills us with his Holy Spirit so that the world may see our peace, our joy, and God’s love. We have the assurance of eternal life and now have the mandate to guide others to eternal life in Jesus (II Cor. 5:11-21) The moment we accept and trust Jesus as our Lord and Savior “eternal pleasures” begin! Along with David and as believers we say: “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places”. Praise is to God!

© 2015 cgvw all rights reserved.

#20. May 18, 2015

 2015 Devotional. Our goal for these weekly devotionals is to grow in humility and to grow spiritually by memorizing selected passages, putting them into context, and by applying them to our daily living. These passages are taken from: “100 Verses Every Christian Needs to Know” by Freeman-Smith. All passages are from the NIV.

 Psalm 55:22  

²² Cast your cares on the Lord
and he will sustain you;
he will never let
the righteous be shaken.

 The book of Psalms is a book of prayer and praise songs to God. Ps. 55 is a prayer of petition that is set to music and according to the title it is a Psalm of David. It is a very personal prayer that many of us identify with because it is about betrayal of a friend (v. 12-14). This is a serious situation because now David’s life is at risk, threatened by someone who at one time held him in high regard. Many have connected David’s suffering with the suffering of Christ when betrayed by Judas. By the spirit David is in some cases, identified with Christ in what are called the “Messianic Psalms”; Ps. 55 is not included in that list but a follower and former friend betrayed Jesus.

 Certainly, there is nothing more painful than to have a friend turn on you with murder in mind and in this case a fellow believer making it most egregious. David wants to escape the reality of what is taking place, v. 6 “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest”. When preaching at the jail the song “I’ll fly away” was the most requested song by the inmates. We identify with it as well when overwhelmed and seem stuck in a bad situation; we simply want to fly away like a dove. Thank God we can do just that!

David describes the subtle ways of a former friend. He is an enemy we also face at times. David gives us a discription of Satan’s tactics: v. 20-21 “my companion attacks his friends; he violates his covenant. His speech is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords”. From such deception David and us fly away to Jesus: v22, “cast your cares upon the Lord and he will sustain you”: God’s promise in difficult times, He sustains us! David goes on: “he will never let the righteous fall” This is a general truth that applies to the righteous. Was David’s prayer about Absalom and Ahithophel’s betrayal? (2 Samuel 15:11-13) God sustained him, and physically restored his throne and kingdom. But we have to come to grips with the fact that righteous and innocent people do suffer and many have met death, many millions of innocent Christian women, children, and men even on this day. Even so, God’s promise is true for them as well; those who trust in God will not experience the spiritual death of the wicked but live forever! Praise is to God.

© 2015  All rights reserved.

#19. May 11, 2015

2015 Devotional. Our goal for these weekly devotionals is to grow in humility and to grow spiritually by memorizing selected passages, putting them into context, and by applying them to our daily living. These passages are taken from: “100 Verses Every Christian Needs to Know” by Freeman-Smith. All passages are from the NIV.

Matthew 7:12

¹² So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

The last time we saw this passage is was in the context of “Asking, Seeking, and Knocking”. (See the March 30 2015 Dev.) We find the same passage in Luke 6:31but it is in a different context. It is still part of the “Sermon on the Mount” as told by Luke, but the context is: “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you”.

The precept of turning the other cheek is one of the most difficult precepts that Jesus asks us to follow. It is rooted in the love of Jesus, the love of God. Interpreting Scripture with Scripture we turn to Rom 13: 9-10. Here we are commanded: “Love your neighbor as yourself, love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.” Christ has fulfilled the law for us (Mt. 5:17-19) the law does not condemn those in Christ Jesus but those who ignore it without repentance will be least in the “Kingdom of Heaven”.

A lot is made of Christian freedom, but freedom always has parameters that make us free; there is no question about the boundaries. Galatians 5:13-14 interprets that concept for us: “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh ^[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. ¹⁴ For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself”. Jesus tells us to “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Luke 10:27) Jesus connects God and neighbor! In God’s command to love are we able to truly love one and not the other in the way Jesus describes?

© 2015  All rights reserved.