#15. April 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.

John 10:10

¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

In the March 23, 2015 devotional, “I am” Jesus says, we referenced the seven “I am” statements in the Gospel of John. Jn.10 contains the third statement: “I am the gate”. Jesus is the “gate” the ”way” to the Kingdom of God, the way to salvation in Jesus’ own words, Jn.10: 9. This discussion begins in verse 1 of chapter 10 and is directed to the Pharisees. The Pharisees however did not understand, or do not want to understand. Jesus uses the metaphor of sheep and the sheep pen, only the shepherd is allowed into the sheep pen because the gatekeeper knows the shepherd and the sheep know the shepherd. The Pharisees are the gatekeepers but in this case they do not know the shepherd. Everyone else is a thief; Jesus is referring to the legalistic self-righteous theology of the Pharisees influenced by the thief, Satan. They heard but were blinded by their self-righteousness and did not see. Jesus repeats the concept in a way they were able to understand in v .7-10.

Who are the gatekeepers today? They are the pastors, the elders and other church leaders. Like the Pharisees many are blinded by our culture, by what is acceptable to most people, by what is popular today. You know the issues of today. Where is the church today? Who are the gatekeepers inviting into the sheep pen? Do we confront those issues with condemnation or with love and understanding but not condoning the sin? The true sheep will listen only to Jesus.

In verse 10 we cannot get away from the contrast that Jesus gives us. The thief is Satan who sneaks in under cover, in sheep’s clothing, pretending to be Jesus, but if we really know Jesus it soon becomes obvious that the thief, he/she, is here to “kill and destroy”. Sadly many gatekeepers claim that the thief is the Jesus of Scripture, citing love, tolerance, harmony, and dialogue. The life we have in Jesus can’t be duplicated! Only Jesus Christ forgives, accepts, saves, and moves us to a full life of joy, happiness, and peace. That life to the full comes by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and by His words to us everyday: I do not condemn you! Go and sin no more! (Jn. 8: 10-11) We only need to follow and listen to the one and only Shepherd!

#14. April 6, 2015

2015 Devotional. These passages are taken from: “100 Verses Every Christian Needs to Know” by Freeman-Smith. All passages are from the NIV

Exodus 20:3

³ “You shall have no other gods before ^[a] me.”

This verse is the first commandment of the “Decalogue” the Ten Words. The Ten Commandments are covenantal standards for Israel in their relationship with God (also see Dt. 5: 1-21). God reminds them of His loving care and gives them 10 commands: four commands regulating their relationship with God and six commands to regulate their relationship with each other.

The Ten Commandments still apply to Christians today. Today, in our covenantal relationship in Christ Jesus the Ten Commandments are a rule for living, teaching us how we may please God. The Ten Commandments were not a way to salvation in Moses’ day but salvation was by faith in the promises of God (Rom 4:18-25). The sacrifices of the Old Testament were a foreshadowing of the ultimate and once and for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Today the Ten Commandments are not a way to salvation. We obey God’s commands because we are saved, not to work for our own salvation. Salvation is in Christ Jesus alone: by faith in the works of God are we righteous before God as it was at the beginning of God’s covenantal relationship with mankind. (Rom. 4:1-6; 16-17)

Getting back to verse 3 and the introduction to the Ten Commandments: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery”. Today God says to us: “I am the Lord your God who loves you and brought you out of the slavery of sin, the slavery Satan imposes on you but I gave Myself for you. My Son died for you so that you may live forever! Therefore, “ you shall have no other god’s besides me.” The concept of “no other God besides me” is clarified by commands two through four. (v. 4-11).

What does it mean to have other gods? It means to hold something in this world more important to you than God. It often is a subtle allegiance to something. Sometimes we do not realize that we hold something more important to us than God. It could be our family, as important as that is, our spouse, our children, and the success of our children. It could be our work, success in our careers, economic security. It could be sports, a favorite team, or our participation in a sport. None of these things are wrong in and of themselves and God wants us to give our efforts and talents to them but they must not be more important to us than our relationship with God. The bottom line is that in all we do, we glorify and thank God for all we are able to do in this life. Everything we do in Jesus’/ God’s name and do for His glory is work that will last forever and are the building blocks for the New Heaven and the New Earth. Praise be to God!

#12. March 23, 2015

2015 Devotional. These passages are taken from: “100 Verses Every Christian Needs to Know” by Freeman-Smith. All passages are from the NIV.

John 15:5

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

The purpose of the Gospel of John is to show that Jesus is the Son of God and that His ministry is evangelistic. See John 20: 29-31. Further, Jesus spent much of his time with those considered to be the down and out of proper society of the day. It is surprising therefore that many churches and many Christians spend very little time evangelizing or seeking out sinners as Jesus did and what, Biblically speaking, Jesus still expects from believers. We are to be like Jesus as the following metaphor teaches.

“I am the Vine“ is the last of Jesus’ seven “I am” statements in the Gospel of John. I list them here: 1.“the bread of life” Jn. 6:35; 2. “the light of the world” Jn. 8:12; 3.“the gate” Jn.10:9; 4. “the good shepherd” Jn. 10:11; 5. “the resurrection and the life” Jn.11: 25; 6. “the way and the truth and the life” Jn. 14:6.

The theme of this passage, Jn.15: 5 begins in v. 1 and continues through v.8. (Jn.15:1-8) Jesus begins with “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.” Jesus is the true vine in distinction from other vine metaphors used in Scripture. God, the gardener does the pruning of unproductive branches on the vine “so that it (they) will be even more fruitful”. That means that the branch is cut back but still has the ability to produce fruit. The bad part of the branch is cut away along with the bad fruit that God rejects like sexual sins, arrogance and pride plus a host of other worldly action Christians sometimes participate in: (see Galatians 5:19-21, but also see I Cor. 3:11-15). What kind of fruit is Jesus talking about? It is not the salvation of the believer because Jesus says: “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you”. But he says: “No branch can bear fruit by itself “. Jesus must be in us and we must be in Him.

In v. 5 Jesus repeats his statement indicating the importance of what he is saying: “If a man (women) remains in me and I in him (her) he (she) will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing”. That may be hard to hear for some who depend too much on themselves. What kind of fruit is Jesus talking about? Surely Jesus means the fruit of the Spirit, Gal 5: 22-23. I believe it is more than that because the fruit of the Spirit shows those around us what Jesus is like. That he is not condemning but compassionate, loving, and encouraging, and seeking the lost. Is Jesus not like his Father? “For God so loved the world that He gave”…. You know the verses by heart. (John 3:16-18) I believe that is the fruit Jesus is referring to and that is the fruit, along with the fruit of the Spirit that glorifies God! The words of Jesus in us witnesses Jesus to the world. We “are letters from Christ” (II Cor. 3: 2- 6) “read by everybody” Therefore, we ask God for what we want in order to produce more fruit and He gives us all we need to that end. Praise be to God!

#11. March 16, 2015

2015 Devotional. These passages are taken from: “100 Verses Every Christian Needs to Know” by Freeman-Smith. All passages are from the NIV.

Proverbs 3: 5-6

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.^[a]”

In many ways this passage is my personal “World and Life View”!

 The book of Proverbs is part of the Hebrew cannon known as “The Writings”, Biblical “Wisdom Literature” along with Job, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs. The prologue of the book Prov. 1:1-7 gives the purpose and teaching and can be summarized as: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge”.

The passage Prov. 3:5-6 is part of a larger section of the book titled in the NIV as “Exhortations to Embrace Wisdom” beginning at Ch. 1:8 and ending at the end of Ch. 9. This passage is also part of a bigger section of Ch. 3, Ch. 3:1-6 and v. 5-6 should not be separated from it. It is a father speaking to his son in the first person. He charges his son not to forget what he has taught him. But observe the commands of attaining wisdom; Keep them in your mind/heart. For, pointing back to verse one, “they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.” This is a general truth and a promise from God but it is applied in different ways, not all are rewarded in this life but certainly in the next.

The father goes on with the importance of love and faithfulness “bind them around your neck” This is a strong Hebrew word in the sense of binding, tying, binding together, in other words in your very demeanor show love and faithfulness, it is obvious for others to see but it is rooted in the heart. “Write them on the tablet of your heart”, the meaning here is to inscribe, to chisel into stone, wood or metal. The New Testament speaks of being “written by the Spirit of the Living God” (II Cor. 3:3) The father goes on; “Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man”. That also is a general truth certainly favored by God but not always by man. Today, love and faithfulness is not a priority, and sometimes is outright rejected.

In verses 5-6 the father continues his instruction with: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart”. What does it mean to trust, do we trust in difficult times? Yes! We do! Trust means to completely depend on God. However, trust, hope, and faith go together, Rom 5: 1-5 shows us why we rejoice in good times and when we suffer. Why? Because we have the Holy Spirit in our hearts given us by Christ Jesus. The father goes on; “and lean not on your own understanding” The meaning here is “intelligence, insight, or skill” look to God’s Word for guidance. “In all your ways acknowledge Him”; acknowledging God in the course of our lives is to know God intimately and to always be learning to know Him deeper. “And he will make your path straight”, meaning direction for life, a way to live. The path in life is unique for every believer; God directs what path we follow. it may not always be the path we would choose, it may be up and down, a path into and out of many places and among many peoples’ lives but a path that builds the Kingdom of God by his grace. Continue to seek his guidance, and listen to the Holy Spirit!

#10. March 9, 2015

2015 Devotional. These passages are taken from: “100 Verses Every Christian Needs to Know” by Freeman-Smith. All passages are from the NIV.

Matt. 6: 33-34 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

This passage is part of Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount”, Mt. 5-7. In these three chapters Jesus turns the rules and ideas of the legalistic religious leaders of the day upside down.

Chapter 6 starts out with pretending to have type fruit of the Spirit : giving (v. 1-4). There was money giving to the temple at the time that was for the purpose of impressing people and giving that was no effort, giving out of abundance. (Mk. 12;43-44) There is a way of praying that does not please God (v. 5-15). Some people and leaders prayed in public for the purpose of appearing more righteous than others. In the end Jesus teaches us a simple prayer (see Dev. #4 Jan. 26 2015). Jesus includes fasting (v. 16-18): fasting used and abused by people/ leaders seeking to glorify themselves. Jesus moves on to idolatry: (v. 19-24) mainly our treasure, He draws a comparison of temporary treasure and permanent treasure stored in heaven. From treasure Jesus moves to a related subject, worry, (v. 25-32) worrying about all that we need in life is natural. Yet, Jesus points out that excessive worry about all that we need in this life is a lack of faith and he reminds us that God “knows that you need them”.

Jesus is moving us to prioritize. The two verses that we are looking at the end of this chapter are a summary of what goes on before it and answers questions raised by chapter six. Jesus says, “seek God’s Kingdom first”, this must be a believer’s priority. God’s Kingdom is in our hearts. “Open the eyes of our hearts Lord?” And seek His righteousness first. Are we to perform acts of righteousness like giving, praying, and fasting? Yes! but it begins in the heart. The acts of righteousness we read about in the first part of chapter six did not come from the heart but from selfish ambition. When believers have their priorities correct all that is mentioned in chapter six will be given to us. We will have all we need physically, and spiritually. Jesus also addresses the issue of anxiety. Live today, let God take care of tomorrow. Who knows tomorrow? Don’t drag tomorrow’s troubles into the day God has given us today. This is the faith issue that we struggle with when we think about the future. Allow God to take care of today! Allow God to take care of tomorrow! He has the believer’s best interest in mind. Praise Him!

#9. March 2, 2015

2015 Devotional. These passages are taken from: “100 Verses Every Christian Needs to Know” by Freeman-Smith. All passages are from the NIV.

 

I Corinthians 13: 13 “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love.                                                                                     But the greatest of these is love.”

This well-known chapter on love begins in Chapter 12, “Spiritual Gifts” and goes on to Chapter 14, “Gifts of Prophecy and Tongues.” The major issue in these three chapters is unity; unity of the Spirit and unity of the body of Christ, the church. This is what Jesus prayed about in his High Priestly Prayer in John 17. Verse 21 stands out: “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” In a practical way Paul picks up on the divisions in the Corinthian church over the gifts of the Spirit. He points out in Ch. 12:11 “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them (gifts) to each one, just as he determines.” Also, verse 7 “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” When are we going to learn that truth and practice it? So many Christians and congregations are doing their own thing. Paul goes on with an example of the unity of the Body, verse 25,26 “so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” When, we ask, will there be concern for each other, when will there be concern for those outside of the body? (Jesus’ prayer Jn. 17:20-25).

I believe that the lack of unity in the church and among Christians is the crucial issue of today. There is a lack of unity in our own denomination. “Ministry shares” unifying our recourses for ministry continues to decline, there is no sense of unity in the denominational agencies. It is becoming difficult to work together and the leadership lacks a spiritual vision for outreach. The Mission that the Holy Spirit calls us to do together (Act 13:1-3) is almost non-existent. Individuals and congregations, claiming they have all the gifts, are doing their own thing. There is no longer a unified vision for “making disciples of all nations” using all the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given the Church. It is the way of society today, we are divided socially, economically, politically, religiously, educationally and instead of the church setting direction for society, society sets direction for the church.

This all sounds rather negative, and it may be more comfortable to pretend we are living in “la la land” but it is a reality we must not ignore. Paul tells us there is a “most excellent way”, it is the way of love, chapter 13. Whatever gifts we (the church) have, whatever we have accomplished, whatever we have planned for the future is meaningless without love. “Love is” v.4-7 and it “never fails”! All things will pass away but faith, hope, and love, the greatest of the three remain.

Faith: we believe what we do not see,

Hope: we always expect the best for us and for others,

Love: the Greek uses a superlative, is much greater because it is God’s love (I Jn. 4:19), the kind of love with which we love God, love ourselves, love our fellow believers, and love those who God loves but have not yet turned to Jesus. This love is the definition and the foundation of the church of Jesus Christ, and is the motivation for missions! Amen!

#8. Feb. 23, 2015

2015 Devotional. These passages are taken from: “100 Verses Every Christian Needs to Know” by Freeman-Smith. All passages are 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”.

The book of Psalms is a book of prayer and praise songs to God. Psalm 46 is a praise song; the title suggests a liturgical and probably a responsive song with two or three groups of singers answering each other initially used in temple worship but later also sung in procession up to Jerusalem/temple. The Hebrew term “alamoth” in the title means; young women, but here may also mean youth. The term suggests the participation of women dancing with tambourines to accompany the song. It may also suggest youth answering their elders in a responsive song.

Besides Psalm 46 being a praise song it praises God as our protector and comforter in tumultuous times, stanzas one v.1-3. Also He is our provider by his Holy Presence, stanzas two v. 4-5. God is in control of the earth and the nations on it, stanzas three v. 6-7. God’s works are on display and He opposes war in dramatic fashion, stanzas four v. 8-9. To the men’s/ women’s back and forth praise God responds with a command and man responds with God “is our fortress”, stanzas five v. 10-11.

Martin Luther wrote the Hymn; “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” based on this Psalm which has been called “The Battle Hymn of the Reformation”. In early Reformation times the song was sung in many situations: at times of war before battle, while Christians were being led to the inquisition by fellow Christians, while being led into exile, and while heading for martyrdom. Later it became a favorite Christian song for Lutherans and other Christians in many denominations. In more modern times the song has been used and abused by the entertainment industry (Wikipedia).

Verse 10 begins with two Hebrew imperatives: “be still and know”, God is commanding us to be silent before him. Stop! Don’t speak! Don’t think! And do know Him, suggesting not a superficial awareness but a deep and intimate knowledge of God. This is God’s response to the praise of the stanzas’ that are sung before this last one. It is a difficult command to come to grips with as Christians. As in the past, Christians today are led off to be killed and they call on God. The answer “be still and know that I am God!” But God, we are about to be beheaded, thinking now of Coptic Christians who refused to apostate. “Be still and know that I am God!” What matters here is that Christians will not suffer the “second death”. Nothing, nothing will hurt us spiritually and nothing, nothing will separate us from God’s Love (Rom 8: 28-38). I think that the tribulation Scripture talks about has been going on for centuries and is increasing and will continue to do so until it becomes the “great tribulation”. Christians are not exempt from it but God is our refuge and strength.

God continues in verse ten with, “I will be exalted among the nations and in the earth”. Those who are faithful exalt God, and those who choose death over apostasy exalt God! God is exalted now! Also, the Hebrew terms indicate “I am”. Therefore, God says: “I am exalted and I will be exalted among the nations”. “I am exalted and I will be exalted in the earth” (my translation). The Lord our “God cannot be mocked” and those who do so are playing with fire! In contrast God is with those who acknowledge Him; He is our refuge and strength. Let us bring our praise and exaltation to Him!

#7. Feb. 16, 2015

2015 Devotional. These passages are taken from: “100 Verses Every Christian Needs to Know” by Freeman-Smith. All passages are from the NIV.

Isaiah 40:31 But those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah is a very poetic book and is divided into two parts: God’s judgment of the nations including Israel ch.1- 39 and God’s comfort and salvation for Israel ch.40 – 66. The hint of redemption begins already in Isa.35 and is the back story of ch.40.

Verse 31 for this week is a promise and a great source of comfort beginning at verse 28-31. “ Did you not know? Have you not heard?” If we are listening to nature (God’s creation), if we are listening to the Holy Spirit in our hearts, and if we are listening to the Word of God, then we hear God and we know Him in so far as he is revealing Himself to us. Verse 28c,“He will not grow weary”; His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isa.55: 8-9). He is able to make strong those who are weak (all of us!) Further, Isaiah makes a comparison to those in the prime of life; the self-assured, the strong, those not needy, yet they “stumble and fall;” “but (not) those who hope in the Lord”.

We go back to the beginning of chapter 40. “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God”. God is speaking directly to Isaiah and to us. The wages of sin is death but tell them their sin, our sin is paid for. Ch. 40 is the back story of John the Baptist v. 3-5, the story of mans inability to save himself v.6-8, the story of salvation v.9-11, the story of God’s majesty, the works of his hand, the folly of men v.11-27, and the story of God’s grace v.28-31.

Verse 31 speaks about us: “Those who hope in the Lord”, those who seek Him, those who trust Him, and those who turn to Him with the expectation of grace being extended. We “will renew (our) their strength.” We will and do exchange weakness for power! We are set free to soar like the eagle saved from the entanglement of sin, freed to heaven from this earth, untangled from the anxiety of life without Jesus. We have the energy to run (Heb. 12:1) and the ability to walk in the Light Pr. 8:20. We are blessed!

#6. Feb. 9, 2015

2015 Devotional. These passages are taken from: “100 Verses Every Christian Needs to Know” by Freeman-Smith. All passages are from the NIV.

II Peter 3:18   “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen”.

The context of I Peter is persecution from outside the church and II Peter addresses heresy inside the church. That is the background of the passage that we are looking at. The emphasis of II Peter is: 1. Biblical faith informing and conforming our everyday life. 2. Heresy is exposed by the knowledge of God’s Word, 3. The “Day of the Lord” is assured. The Lord is on the way! (my emphasis) Scripture in general is not only theological (about God) but also how it is applied and proclaimed in our lives by our thoughts and deeds. Peter gives us the reason for writing the book: he writes to remind believers that they should listen to the prophets and the commands of our Lord Jesus. In other words, know and apply the Word of God. (See II Peter 3:1-2)

This verse 3:18 should not be separated from what comes before it (II Peter 3:10-17). Peter is making a comparison of true believers to those who distort the Scriptures calling them lawless, ignorant, and unstable men/women. It appears that a very early stage of Gnosticism was rearing its ugly head in the church. As the last verse of the book, we see this as a benediction, but it is a benediction that instructs us.

“Grow in the grace and knowledge” of Jesus Christ. The grace of Christ! Are we able to attain it? We are saved by grace Eph. 2:8-9, “God’s grace to us is undeserved favor”. I believe we are to be like Jesus and extend His grace to others: having His compassion for sinners, for the sick, for the disenfranchised (Phil. 2:1-8). Peter adds: grow in the knowledge of Jesus. That means knowing and applying the Word. The Bible is a living book, the Holy Spirit instructs us as we read it. Further, the Bible is living in that it instructs us based on our need. The same passage may touch us in different ways at different times of our lives, when we depend on Jesus all Biblical knowledge is available to us. Jesus brings it to mind as the need arises. In contrast to those glorifying themselves in their esoteric knowledge, Peter gives all glory to Jesus “both now and forever! Amen”