Heavenhigh

God’s Wisdom

#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: ²for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; ³for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; ⁴for giving prudence to those who are simple,^[^a^]knowledge and discretion to the young—⁵let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—⁶for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.^[^b⁷The 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.

God’s Time

#24. June 15, 2015

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, ²⁵for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? ²⁶To 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!

God’s Breath

#23. June 8, 2015

II Timothy 3:16-17

¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷so 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.

God Speaks: My Dear Children…

#22. June 1, 2015

I John 2:3

³We 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!

Pleasant Places

#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!

God Sustains His People

#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

²²Cast 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.

God, You, and Others

#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

¹²So 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, ²⁸bless 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. ¹⁴For 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?

Open Your Ears and Close Your Mouth

#18. May 4, 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.

James 1: 19-20

¹⁹My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

These verses in Chapter one are part of a larger section that is about “Listening and Doing” (Jas 1:19-27). James, Jesus’ brother takes the more intimate approach of family: we are brothers and sisters in Christ and brothers and sisters of Christ. Amen! In this section James begins with excellent advice that is applicable to every person regardless of persuasion. He comes down on anger as displeasing to God. Therefore, pointing back to his advice, “accept the word planted in you”. He is speaking of the Good News of salvation, faith in Christ, His work for us, and what Jesus teaches us.

In verses 22-25, James relates the foolishness of listening to the Good News but not applying it to our lives, something that his brother Jesus taught him and teaches us in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 7:24-27). James uses the mirror metaphor: looking into it and immediately forgetting what one looks like. He expands it by encouraging us to look into the “perfect law”(Jesus’ moral teachings and The Ten Words) and looking into ourselves “remembering what they (we) have heard and doing it –they (we) will be blest in what they (we) do”.

At the end of his instruction of “Listening and Doing,” James moves to practical application. It is a surprising turn in his thinking, after pointing to the perfect law he gives unencumbered advice, it is not complicated, not heavy theology, easy to understand, and pleasing to God: take care of the poor, the disenfranchised, those who have no help, and stay away from the ways of the world. We are not to hide away in our churches and homes but engage our culture: taking care of those in need and hurting but rejecting the culture that allows and perpetrates injustice and work to correct it.

James begins this section with verse 19 and 20 showing us that he is a hand on kind of guy. Open your ears, close your mouth, and stay away from anger. Religion is never passive: “religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is” grace, compassion and forgiveness in our lives. (See devotional # 17) Let us get out of our churches and get our hands and feet dirty! James assures us that God blesses our efforts. Praise is to God!

The Work of God

#17. April 27, 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.

Ephesians 2:8-9

⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast.

Ephesians is about the Church, about what “God prepared… for Christians to do.” At the beginning of the letter Paul highlights reconciliation by God’s love for his people and ends the letter with practical ways to serve God and each other.

I grew up in religion and from the time I started to understand God’s grace I found that religion often stood in the way of it. What was so important about wearing dress pants to church or catechism instead of the jeans we wanted to wear? As teenagers, a couple of us wanted to join the church Bible Study but because we had not yet made Profession of Faith we were not qualified to join. Really? We had to be in church twice on Sunday “come hell or high water”. Heaven forbid you bought something on Sunday, like gas when on empty or food if hungry, if you did, apparently hell was your next destination. OK, true, that was a long time ago but more recently when I wore my sandals while preaching and Alisha joined the Praise Team with her great voice and her many tattoos some people were uncomfortable: grace went missing. There are many other recent examples but suffice it say that salvation by works is alive and well. That means that grace, compassion, and forgiveness are also missing. When God’s love (Jn. 3:16-18) is missing in our church or our lives it minimizes God’s grace extended freely to everyone.

God’s free grace is what the verses we are memorizing are all about but this discussion starts at verse 1 of chapter. 2 and continues through verse 10. Paul tells us that we are “dead in our sins and trespasses”. How would that truth fly in our secular postmodern culture? That does not even go over well with religious types. We are dead and we deserve all of God’s wrath and that goes for all of us, every person and every Christian “but because of his great love for us God, who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ even when we were dead” That is a once and for all event set in motion before the beginning of Creation (Eph. 1:3-6). And it is an everyday event because the old man is very much with us and spiritual death still stalks us but God’s grace by faith in Christ has set us free.

That is what it means to be alive in Christ, not perfect lives, not by our own efforts, but as “a gift from God” in Christ Jesus and “not by works”. Paul gives us God’s purpose and God’s goal for our lives: We are His “workmanship” recreated in Christ “to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Good works in Jesus’ name is the result of God’s grace in our lives.

Who Will You Serve?

#16. April 20, 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.

Joshua 24:15

¹⁵But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua 24 is about the renewal of the covenant that God made with Abraham and with all the people of Israel by Moses receiving the “Ten Words, The Ten Commandments”. Reviewing the history of God’s grace to His people, Joshua begins with Abraham and his line from Ur beyond the Euphrates. He continues with God’s care for the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, their offspring’s salvation from Egypt and God’s care of His people in the wilderness. Now they are standing in the “Promised Land” and Joshua challenged them v. 15. Who will you serve?

We know that the god’s of Ur came along with Abraham’s company and were still around with Jacob’s people and I suspect were still with some of the people standing there in front of Joshua. Will you serve them Joshua asks? Or will you serve the god’s of the people among whom you now live? Joshua makes the people choose and sets the direction God wants for them. “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord”. All of the people answered. Yes! We will serve the Lord!

We know from Scripture that it turned out badly for Israel. It is encouraging for us to see great faithfulness and great blessings, King David and Solomon the most obvious examples. There is also the discouragement of apostasy, like King Ahab and the Kings of Samaria after God split the Kingdom of Solomon and the Kings of Judah who did evil in God’s sight. In the end we read in 2 Ch. 36:15-16 “the wrath of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.” First Samaria and second Jerusalem were sent into exile.

But after 70 years of Judah’s exile God brings back to the land a remnant in order to fulfill His promise to Abraham and to David and fulfill His purpose of bring His people, His creation, back to Himself through Jesus Christ His Son. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior we are standing where Israel stood in Joshua’s day, we are standing in the Promised Land, our life of service ahead of us. The very same question faces us: Whom will you serve? Will you take the easy way out? Follow the trends of our culture or will you follow Jesus? Will you allow the secular culture you are familiar with to set direction for your new life or allow the radical and controversial actions of Jesus to set direction for you? It is a personal decision that we must make every day. In faith and in the power of the Holy Spirit we must answer: “as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

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.

#20. May 18, 2015

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

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