Lord Jesus, we thank You for the brave members of our armed forces who have given so much of themselves in the behalf of this great nation that was established on the principles of Your Word and that was laid at Your feet by our Founding Fathers at its inception.
From the Revolutionary War to the current war on terror, this land is blessed with heroes who are willing to put themselves on the line in order that we may be free. We thank You because they sacrifice so much for us.
We pray You will have Your hand of protection and blessing upon them, that Your Holy Spirit will fill them with Your presence, that Your holy angels will stand watch over them and bring each of them home safely to families that love them and to a nation that evidences its gratitude for all they've done by maintaining the freedom for which they have sacrificed so much.
Freedom, indeed, is not free. Help each citizen of this great land--from the loftiest and most powerful among us to the most humble--to recognize and to esteem highly the sacrifices of our military. Other than Jesus Himself who died to set us free from sin, we have only those who serve at the vanguard of freedom from tyrany to thank for the peaceful lives we enjoy.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Second Chance
May 31
Adulterer, thief, extortionist, alcoholic, liar, hate monger, racist…these are not things we want to come to mind when people think of us. Even if we know better than to entertain a grandiose opinion of ourselves, we distain the thought of having anything negative associated with our name.
Ecclesiastes 7:1 tells us that a good name is to be preferred above fine ointment, so we understand that our reputation is to be valued, that it precedes us in our social relationships, in our places of employment and in our neighborhoods. Wherever we go, people want to know who we are. Who we really are.
Not just the façade we carry around, but the inner character that is the essence of our selfhood. In His first letter to the Corinthians, chapter five, verse seven, Paul put it this way: “Clean out the old yeast so you may be a new batch, since you are unleavened for Christ our Passover that has been sacrificed.” You are a new batch. You have a fresh chance to do things right.
Paul placed great significance on the second chance a believer receives the moment he embraces Jesus as his Savior. Paul makes us aware that our great opportunity is to empty our lives of all the rot and corruption and accumulated decay of sin and embrace the fresh start Jesus gives to us. It’s too good a chance to ignore so shed your old identity today, according to II Corinthians 6:2.
Adulterer, thief, extortionist, alcoholic, liar, hate monger, racist…these are not things we want to come to mind when people think of us. Even if we know better than to entertain a grandiose opinion of ourselves, we distain the thought of having anything negative associated with our name.
Ecclesiastes 7:1 tells us that a good name is to be preferred above fine ointment, so we understand that our reputation is to be valued, that it precedes us in our social relationships, in our places of employment and in our neighborhoods. Wherever we go, people want to know who we are. Who we really are.
Not just the façade we carry around, but the inner character that is the essence of our selfhood. In His first letter to the Corinthians, chapter five, verse seven, Paul put it this way: “Clean out the old yeast so you may be a new batch, since you are unleavened for Christ our Passover that has been sacrificed.” You are a new batch. You have a fresh chance to do things right.
Paul placed great significance on the second chance a believer receives the moment he embraces Jesus as his Savior. Paul makes us aware that our great opportunity is to empty our lives of all the rot and corruption and accumulated decay of sin and embrace the fresh start Jesus gives to us. It’s too good a chance to ignore so shed your old identity today, according to II Corinthians 6:2.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
The Only True Spirit Guide
May 30
The role of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer is different from those of the First and Second members of our Triune God. The Lord stated what the role of the Spirit would be even prior to His being sent on the day of Pentecost. Before His crucifixion, Jesus apprised His disciples of what they should expect.
In John 16:13 Jesus said, “When He, the Spirit of Truth is come, He will guide you into all truth, for He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak; and He will show you things to come.” There is a significant revelation into the Spirit’s interaction with the believer in these few words.
First, He will guide the believer into truth. The presumption is that the believer desires truth and will follow the Spirit into the knowledge of truth. Second, the Holy Spirit will not reveal Himself to the seeker, He will reveal Jesus to the one who desires to know Him to whom he owes his salvation. The Holy Spirit will deepen a believer’s understanding of the Christ who died to save him from sin.
Third, the role of the Holy Spirit will be as revelator of things to come. As events at the culmination of time unfold, when signs perplex mankind and cause him to wonder exactly what might be the significance of the unusual events happening all around him, the Holy Spirit will speak to people of faith and affirm to them the import of the signs they see and their significance to Christ’s eminent return
The role of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer is different from those of the First and Second members of our Triune God. The Lord stated what the role of the Spirit would be even prior to His being sent on the day of Pentecost. Before His crucifixion, Jesus apprised His disciples of what they should expect.
In John 16:13 Jesus said, “When He, the Spirit of Truth is come, He will guide you into all truth, for He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak; and He will show you things to come.” There is a significant revelation into the Spirit’s interaction with the believer in these few words.
First, He will guide the believer into truth. The presumption is that the believer desires truth and will follow the Spirit into the knowledge of truth. Second, the Holy Spirit will not reveal Himself to the seeker, He will reveal Jesus to the one who desires to know Him to whom he owes his salvation. The Holy Spirit will deepen a believer’s understanding of the Christ who died to save him from sin.
Third, the role of the Holy Spirit will be as revelator of things to come. As events at the culmination of time unfold, when signs perplex mankind and cause him to wonder exactly what might be the significance of the unusual events happening all around him, the Holy Spirit will speak to people of faith and affirm to them the import of the signs they see and their significance to Christ’s eminent return
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Snared by Our Own Deception
May 29
In order for a snare to be effective, it must be cleverly camouflaged. Any fisherman knows he can’t simply toss a hook into the water. If he expects a fish to bite, the hook must have a lure, something attractive to the fish to first draw him to the hook and then entice him to bite…a juicy worm, perhaps.
Proverbs 1:17, 18 puts it this way, “It is foolish to spread a net where any bird can see it, but they set an ambush to kill themselves, they attack their own lives.”
Wait a minute! This is more than mere advice on how to snare a bird for dinner! There is a meaning of even greater import in these words!
Here the writer of Proverbs is acknowledging something any hunter knew in those days when food was obtained through ones own effort, not at the meat counter at the grocery store. Part of the strategy to capture the intended meal was to disguise the trap. When we disguise our sin, when we make it attractive, we are setting ourselves up to succumb to the same kind of lure that will destroy our spiritual well-being.
Though we grasp the need to hide our agenda from the unsuspecting menu item, we overlook the ambush we set for ourselves when we elect to venture into the snare of sin! We veil our intent with self-justification—everyone does it, it won’t hurt anyone—and we fail to recognize the deadly end of our self-made trap! Jesus came to set us free from the enemy of our souls and from our own complicity in his attempts to snare us!
In order for a snare to be effective, it must be cleverly camouflaged. Any fisherman knows he can’t simply toss a hook into the water. If he expects a fish to bite, the hook must have a lure, something attractive to the fish to first draw him to the hook and then entice him to bite…a juicy worm, perhaps.
Proverbs 1:17, 18 puts it this way, “It is foolish to spread a net where any bird can see it, but they set an ambush to kill themselves, they attack their own lives.”
Wait a minute! This is more than mere advice on how to snare a bird for dinner! There is a meaning of even greater import in these words!
Here the writer of Proverbs is acknowledging something any hunter knew in those days when food was obtained through ones own effort, not at the meat counter at the grocery store. Part of the strategy to capture the intended meal was to disguise the trap. When we disguise our sin, when we make it attractive, we are setting ourselves up to succumb to the same kind of lure that will destroy our spiritual well-being.
Though we grasp the need to hide our agenda from the unsuspecting menu item, we overlook the ambush we set for ourselves when we elect to venture into the snare of sin! We veil our intent with self-justification—everyone does it, it won’t hurt anyone—and we fail to recognize the deadly end of our self-made trap! Jesus came to set us free from the enemy of our souls and from our own complicity in his attempts to snare us!
Friday, May 28, 2010
Cherish Freedom--It Comes at Great Cost
May 28
There is a cycle that wends its way from bondage to freedom. That happens when men rise up and assert their God-given right to liberty. Once that liberty is attained, however, the generations that follow become complacent. They presume upon the freedom they have always known.
They neither cherish it nor defend it. They simply take it for granted and in doing so, relinquish it—bringing themselves back to bondage. Empires have risen and fallen following that predictable cycle. Our day is one of complacency. It portends the likelihood that it won’t be long until we have slipped into bondage—political and spiritual.
The Word admonishes that we be on guard against that eventuality. We dismiss it to our peril. Galatians 5:1 says, “Christ has liberated us into freedom. Therefore, stand firm and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Our spiritual freedom is the essence of our political freedom. Our founding fathers were Christians who esteemed Christ’s work above all else. They not only left their homeland to realize the fullness of that freedom, they laid their lives down for it!
They pledged their fortunes, their lives, their sacred honor on the faith they had that Jesus had died to make men free. If we are unwilling to do the same, our freedom may be subtly stolen from us when we begin to believe that all religions are equal, that all paths lead to freedom. Study! Search history and God’s living Word the Bible and find the only path to true freedom.
There is a cycle that wends its way from bondage to freedom. That happens when men rise up and assert their God-given right to liberty. Once that liberty is attained, however, the generations that follow become complacent. They presume upon the freedom they have always known.
They neither cherish it nor defend it. They simply take it for granted and in doing so, relinquish it—bringing themselves back to bondage. Empires have risen and fallen following that predictable cycle. Our day is one of complacency. It portends the likelihood that it won’t be long until we have slipped into bondage—political and spiritual.
The Word admonishes that we be on guard against that eventuality. We dismiss it to our peril. Galatians 5:1 says, “Christ has liberated us into freedom. Therefore, stand firm and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Our spiritual freedom is the essence of our political freedom. Our founding fathers were Christians who esteemed Christ’s work above all else. They not only left their homeland to realize the fullness of that freedom, they laid their lives down for it!
They pledged their fortunes, their lives, their sacred honor on the faith they had that Jesus had died to make men free. If we are unwilling to do the same, our freedom may be subtly stolen from us when we begin to believe that all religions are equal, that all paths lead to freedom. Study! Search history and God’s living Word the Bible and find the only path to true freedom.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Sharing the Faith
May 27
How do we know what transpired in the early days of God’s history with His ancient people? How can we rely on the words that we read in the pages of scripture about that history? We know that Moses was the chronicler of the Lord’s workings with the ancient Hebrew people.
He shares with us in the first five books of the Bible the interaction that transpired between God and man. Some of it, from Eden, for example, was handed down through oral tradition; it had been passed from generation to generation of people who valued the unique position they had in the plan of the Almighty.
In subsequent generations, God provided prophets and scribes who kept meticulous records of the workings of God in the lives of His people. We know those scribes were so meticulous that they counted every letter and every punctuation mark to be sure of the accuracy of their writings. If they were off by a ‘tittle,’ the tiniest punctuation mark, they would destroy the page and start again. They knew there is life in the Word so it must be shared accurately.
As these ancient prophets and scribes desired that the knowledge of the Holy One of Israel be unfolded to all generations, so must we. Psalms 145:4, 5 says, “One generation will declare Your works to the next and will proclaim Your mighty acts. I will speak of…Your wonderful works.” The key word in that passage is “I.” Each of us must make it our business to share our knowledge of and faith in Jesus with the lost of our generation—and with the next generation.
How do we know what transpired in the early days of God’s history with His ancient people? How can we rely on the words that we read in the pages of scripture about that history? We know that Moses was the chronicler of the Lord’s workings with the ancient Hebrew people.
He shares with us in the first five books of the Bible the interaction that transpired between God and man. Some of it, from Eden, for example, was handed down through oral tradition; it had been passed from generation to generation of people who valued the unique position they had in the plan of the Almighty.
In subsequent generations, God provided prophets and scribes who kept meticulous records of the workings of God in the lives of His people. We know those scribes were so meticulous that they counted every letter and every punctuation mark to be sure of the accuracy of their writings. If they were off by a ‘tittle,’ the tiniest punctuation mark, they would destroy the page and start again. They knew there is life in the Word so it must be shared accurately.
As these ancient prophets and scribes desired that the knowledge of the Holy One of Israel be unfolded to all generations, so must we. Psalms 145:4, 5 says, “One generation will declare Your works to the next and will proclaim Your mighty acts. I will speak of…Your wonderful works.” The key word in that passage is “I.” Each of us must make it our business to share our knowledge of and faith in Jesus with the lost of our generation—and with the next generation.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Lost in the Truth We've Found
May 26
When we actually discover the truth of God in Christ, we are elated. When we first see the Light of Jesus’ love and salvation, the truth that brought us to it becomes our delight. The person who led us to the Lord often becomes our mentor, and perhaps a life-long friend.
The Bible, whose pages pealed back layer after layer of erroneous thinking and false doctrine becomes our favorite book! We devour its pages and when we have concluded our reading of this amazing Book, we read it again—and again! Many people of faith have read it more times than they can count.
Many people of faith have memorized passages of the scripture that have been particularly meaningful to them in their walk with Jesus. In Jeremiah 15:16, the prophet expresses his delight in the Word in a way that makes it clear that he counts it more essential than the food he eats.
He says, “Your words were found and I ate them. Your words became a delight to me and the joy of my heart.” When God’s revelation of Himself, of His plan of salvation, of His journey to earth as our Savior, becomes clear, we cannot help but desire to lose ourselves in the truth that allowed us to find ourselves.
When we actually discover the truth of God in Christ, we are elated. When we first see the Light of Jesus’ love and salvation, the truth that brought us to it becomes our delight. The person who led us to the Lord often becomes our mentor, and perhaps a life-long friend.
The Bible, whose pages pealed back layer after layer of erroneous thinking and false doctrine becomes our favorite book! We devour its pages and when we have concluded our reading of this amazing Book, we read it again—and again! Many people of faith have read it more times than they can count.
Many people of faith have memorized passages of the scripture that have been particularly meaningful to them in their walk with Jesus. In Jeremiah 15:16, the prophet expresses his delight in the Word in a way that makes it clear that he counts it more essential than the food he eats.
He says, “Your words were found and I ate them. Your words became a delight to me and the joy of my heart.” When God’s revelation of Himself, of His plan of salvation, of His journey to earth as our Savior, becomes clear, we cannot help but desire to lose ourselves in the truth that allowed us to find ourselves.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
He Raises Believers
May 25
God is in the grace-giving business. Just as we tend to be lenient with our children when they are young and in need of loving guidance and instruction regarding the rules of the house, the rules of the school, and the rules of life, so the Lord of all mercy is lenient to us when we fail Him.
Yet, there is a growth process that He anticipates in believers, just as we expect our ten-year old to behave in an improved fashion over our two-year old. We expect that maturity will come in its appropriate time. If our twenty-year old college student acts as he did at age ten, we will wonder how we failed ‘Child-Rearing 101’ so abysmally.
Essentially, we apply the same philosophy to raising our children as the Lord applies as He raises believers from one level of faith to the next. He knows we won’t be completely like Him until we get to heaven, but He doesn’t excuse us if we continue in the same foibles over and over.
I Timothy 1:13, 14 puts it like this, “Since it was out of ignorance that I acted in unbelief, I received mercy and the grace of our Lord overflowed to me.” When we’re facing a new level of faith and obedience, He will be much more inclined to give us some slack than in the areas where we’ve willfully refused to mature.
God is in the grace-giving business. Just as we tend to be lenient with our children when they are young and in need of loving guidance and instruction regarding the rules of the house, the rules of the school, and the rules of life, so the Lord of all mercy is lenient to us when we fail Him.
Yet, there is a growth process that He anticipates in believers, just as we expect our ten-year old to behave in an improved fashion over our two-year old. We expect that maturity will come in its appropriate time. If our twenty-year old college student acts as he did at age ten, we will wonder how we failed ‘Child-Rearing 101’ so abysmally.
Essentially, we apply the same philosophy to raising our children as the Lord applies as He raises believers from one level of faith to the next. He knows we won’t be completely like Him until we get to heaven, but He doesn’t excuse us if we continue in the same foibles over and over.
I Timothy 1:13, 14 puts it like this, “Since it was out of ignorance that I acted in unbelief, I received mercy and the grace of our Lord overflowed to me.” When we’re facing a new level of faith and obedience, He will be much more inclined to give us some slack than in the areas where we’ve willfully refused to mature.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Facing the Self to See the Lord
May 24
The Word of God, the Holy Bible, admonishes us to recognize our insufficiency. That is probably one of the most difficult things for mankind to do. We delight ourselves in our accomplishments. We revel in the accolades that are heaped upon us when we attain goals that elude those of lesser ability. Part of what drives us is the sense of superiority that accompanies our achievements. But the Word of God, the Holy Bible, admonishes us to recognize our insufficiency.
Lest we become high and lifted up in our own conceit, may we reflect for a moment on a few basic truths: We cannot outsmart the stock market apart from His investment of insight within us. We cannot avoid natural disasters unless He shields us from them. We cannot assure our children will grow up safely if He removes His hedge from around them. We cannot even draw our next breath unless the Living God allows us to do so.
But, if we hold fast to Him; if we allow Jesus to be our Savior and Lord; if we invite His Holy Spirit to dwell within us, Jesus promises us that He will, “teach us all things” John 14:26. He will teach us how to live successfully in life and how to take hold of eternity.
As II Corinthians 13:4 says, “We also are weak in Him, yet toward you we will live with Him by God’s power.” It’s not about us; it’s about Jesus! Though we are weak, He gives us the power to succeed in life, to gain wealth, to lay hold on His Eternal Kingdom! Give Him the glory for the blessings He’s given you.
The Word of God, the Holy Bible, admonishes us to recognize our insufficiency. That is probably one of the most difficult things for mankind to do. We delight ourselves in our accomplishments. We revel in the accolades that are heaped upon us when we attain goals that elude those of lesser ability. Part of what drives us is the sense of superiority that accompanies our achievements. But the Word of God, the Holy Bible, admonishes us to recognize our insufficiency.
Lest we become high and lifted up in our own conceit, may we reflect for a moment on a few basic truths: We cannot outsmart the stock market apart from His investment of insight within us. We cannot avoid natural disasters unless He shields us from them. We cannot assure our children will grow up safely if He removes His hedge from around them. We cannot even draw our next breath unless the Living God allows us to do so.
But, if we hold fast to Him; if we allow Jesus to be our Savior and Lord; if we invite His Holy Spirit to dwell within us, Jesus promises us that He will, “teach us all things” John 14:26. He will teach us how to live successfully in life and how to take hold of eternity.
As II Corinthians 13:4 says, “We also are weak in Him, yet toward you we will live with Him by God’s power.” It’s not about us; it’s about Jesus! Though we are weak, He gives us the power to succeed in life, to gain wealth, to lay hold on His Eternal Kingdom! Give Him the glory for the blessings He’s given you.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Jesus Will Endure and Prevail!
May 23
The Romans plowed the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem under. They endeavored to stamp out the Jewish people and to destroy Christianity. In the Middle Ages, the Spanish Inquisition turned belief in the Lord Jesus Christ on its head, employing evil rather than love in order to secure the faith.
In the 1800s, some philosophers asserted that before the turn of the century, people would have lost all faith in God. The 1930s and 40s saw the Holocaust. In the 1960s some had the audacity to declare that God was dead and life should be lived in abject freedom to be as wanton as one pleased—self was the only god to be satisfied.
But none of that is what God says. In Psalm 135:13 the psalmist states emphatically, “Lord, Your name endures forever. Your reputation, O, God, will abide through the generations.” Today, when we see a rise in the occult, an increased interest in eastern mysticism and we see religions of hatred and blood lust on the ascendency, be mindful of the Word that cannot fail and cannot lie.
As in the past, times of trial may come. The Church of Christ, believers in His truth as well as His ancient people Israel may endure persecution once again. Worldly havens of peace and freedom may be torn asunder by evil politicians or by terrorism, but the Bible, the Living Word of our Eternal God will stand. It will endure. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will endure—and prevail!
The Romans plowed the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem under. They endeavored to stamp out the Jewish people and to destroy Christianity. In the Middle Ages, the Spanish Inquisition turned belief in the Lord Jesus Christ on its head, employing evil rather than love in order to secure the faith.
In the 1800s, some philosophers asserted that before the turn of the century, people would have lost all faith in God. The 1930s and 40s saw the Holocaust. In the 1960s some had the audacity to declare that God was dead and life should be lived in abject freedom to be as wanton as one pleased—self was the only god to be satisfied.
But none of that is what God says. In Psalm 135:13 the psalmist states emphatically, “Lord, Your name endures forever. Your reputation, O, God, will abide through the generations.” Today, when we see a rise in the occult, an increased interest in eastern mysticism and we see religions of hatred and blood lust on the ascendency, be mindful of the Word that cannot fail and cannot lie.
As in the past, times of trial may come. The Church of Christ, believers in His truth as well as His ancient people Israel may endure persecution once again. Worldly havens of peace and freedom may be torn asunder by evil politicians or by terrorism, but the Bible, the Living Word of our Eternal God will stand. It will endure. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will endure—and prevail!
Even Me
May 22
Those of us who are believers in Christ ponder the wonder of the disciples who had the privilege of walking beside Him as He trudged the dusty streets and by-ways of ancient Palestine. We contemplate the amazing transformation that came to the lives of those who were privileged to be touched by His ministry.
We wonder how our own lives may have been impacted had we had the opportunity to be among the throngs who saw Him, among the blessed who were touched by His hand of deliverance and healing and provision. We know that there was no need placed before Him that He did not supply.
Yet, in his message in II Corinthians 5:16, Paul makes an amazing assertion. Here he says, “Even if we have known Christ in a purely human way, yet now we no longer know Him like that.” To know Jesus in a human way is not the epitome of blessing to the believer.
Though Paul had been touched by the Lord and had his blindness removed, he knew this human touch was not the greatest result of his confrontation with the Lord. Paul knew his life and his purpose for living were forever transformed when he came to know the risen Lord who set him on a path to eternal glory—so are ours.
Those of us who are believers in Christ ponder the wonder of the disciples who had the privilege of walking beside Him as He trudged the dusty streets and by-ways of ancient Palestine. We contemplate the amazing transformation that came to the lives of those who were privileged to be touched by His ministry.
We wonder how our own lives may have been impacted had we had the opportunity to be among the throngs who saw Him, among the blessed who were touched by His hand of deliverance and healing and provision. We know that there was no need placed before Him that He did not supply.
Yet, in his message in II Corinthians 5:16, Paul makes an amazing assertion. Here he says, “Even if we have known Christ in a purely human way, yet now we no longer know Him like that.” To know Jesus in a human way is not the epitome of blessing to the believer.
Though Paul had been touched by the Lord and had his blindness removed, he knew this human touch was not the greatest result of his confrontation with the Lord. Paul knew his life and his purpose for living were forever transformed when he came to know the risen Lord who set him on a path to eternal glory—so are ours.
A Life Illumined; a Soul Redeemed
May 21
Anyone who has pondered the loss of one of the five senses has probably concluded that the richness of life would be greatly diminished if any one of them were to be lost. They are among the blessings we take most for granted; we enjoy them without thinking about them.
We could not enjoy food as fully without the senses of taste and smell. Children require the gentle touch of caring adults to flourish into well-adjusted adulthood. What would we do without the ability to hear glorious music performed in great cathedrals or on CD players in our own homes!
But when all is concluded, perhaps the sense we would most feel lost without is the ability to see. Without our vision, we would stumble in the dark. We could not traverse from place to place without assistance. We would feel helpless and lost—and that is precisely how we are affected by spiritual blindness as well. One of medicine’s great achievements is the surgery that can restore sight to blind eyes.
One of Christianity’s greatest miracles is the transformation from darkness to light that comes to men who have walked in spiritual darkness when, “He touched their eyes saying, ‘Let it be done according to your faith,’” (Matthew 9:29). When blind spiritual eyes are opened, a life is illumined for time and a soul is redeemed from the penalty of hell and the grave—a rich inheritance is seen and claimed.
Anyone who has pondered the loss of one of the five senses has probably concluded that the richness of life would be greatly diminished if any one of them were to be lost. They are among the blessings we take most for granted; we enjoy them without thinking about them.
We could not enjoy food as fully without the senses of taste and smell. Children require the gentle touch of caring adults to flourish into well-adjusted adulthood. What would we do without the ability to hear glorious music performed in great cathedrals or on CD players in our own homes!
But when all is concluded, perhaps the sense we would most feel lost without is the ability to see. Without our vision, we would stumble in the dark. We could not traverse from place to place without assistance. We would feel helpless and lost—and that is precisely how we are affected by spiritual blindness as well. One of medicine’s great achievements is the surgery that can restore sight to blind eyes.
One of Christianity’s greatest miracles is the transformation from darkness to light that comes to men who have walked in spiritual darkness when, “He touched their eyes saying, ‘Let it be done according to your faith,’” (Matthew 9:29). When blind spiritual eyes are opened, a life is illumined for time and a soul is redeemed from the penalty of hell and the grave—a rich inheritance is seen and claimed.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
May we pray together?
If you have a need and would like someone to bind with you in agreement for that need, please post your need along with your e-mail address and there will be a personal response sent to you that we may carry together to the Lord's Throne of Mercy and Grace.
Our loving and gracious God has told us that we are to "weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice" Romans 12:15, so let us avail ourselves of this opportunity to approach Jesus together that we may see Him work among us.
Our loving and gracious God has told us that we are to "weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice" Romans 12:15, so let us avail ourselves of this opportunity to approach Jesus together that we may see Him work among us.
Even Me
May 22
Those of us who are believers in Christ ponder the wonder of the disciples who had the privilege of walking beside Him as He trudged the dusty streets and by-ways of ancient Palestine. We contemplate the amazing transformation that came to the lives of those who were privileged to be touched by His ministry.
We wonder how our own lives may have been impacted had we had the opportunity to be among the throngs who saw Him, among the blessed who were touched by His hand of deliverance and healing and provision. We know that there was no need placed before Him that He did not supply.
Yet, in his message in II Corinthians 5:16, Paul makes an amazing assertion. Here he says, “Even if we have known Christ in a purely human way, yet now we no longer know Him like that.” To know Jesus in a human way is not the epitome of blessing to the believer.
Though Paul had been touched by the Lord and had his blindness removed, he knew this human touch was not the greatest result of his confrontation with the Lord. Paul knew his life and his purpose for living were forever transformed when he came to know the risen Lord who set him on a path to eternal glory—so are ours.
Those of us who are believers in Christ ponder the wonder of the disciples who had the privilege of walking beside Him as He trudged the dusty streets and by-ways of ancient Palestine. We contemplate the amazing transformation that came to the lives of those who were privileged to be touched by His ministry.
We wonder how our own lives may have been impacted had we had the opportunity to be among the throngs who saw Him, among the blessed who were touched by His hand of deliverance and healing and provision. We know that there was no need placed before Him that He did not supply.
Yet, in his message in II Corinthians 5:16, Paul makes an amazing assertion. Here he says, “Even if we have known Christ in a purely human way, yet now we no longer know Him like that.” To know Jesus in a human way is not the epitome of blessing to the believer.
Though Paul had been touched by the Lord and had his blindness removed, he knew this human touch was not the greatest result of his confrontation with the Lord. Paul knew his life and his purpose for living were forever transformed when he came to know the risen Lord who set him on a path to eternal glory—so are ours.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Nurture Salvation's Seed
May 20
Beyond a physical fruit that the Lord supplies in great abundance to those who delight in Him, He also has a spiritual fruit that those who love His name may reap without measure. In fact, the spiritual fruit is ultimately to be desired above the temporal.
The fruit of our spiritual pursuit is infinitely to be desired above that of our earthly work, for the labor we perform to live sustains only this physical body; while the labor in which we engage in the pursuit of knowledge of the Holy One will abide and enrich us for time and for eternity. The garden of our lives will flourish if we allow the Son to bathe our lives with His Light.
In Ephesians 5: 9, 10, we are told, “The fruit of the Light results in all goodness, righteousness and truth, discerning what is pleasing to the Lord.” JESUS is the Light we have, and He not only illumines us, but He produces the fruit of good works in us, the fruit of righteous works, of true works that please God.
And these good works, this fruit, should nurture others as we let His light shine in the garden of their lives. So continues the sowing and reaping that perpetuate life. When we have been brought into the Light of Christ, we then shine it upon those around us, so all may receive His salvation and sow and reap its seed.
Beyond a physical fruit that the Lord supplies in great abundance to those who delight in Him, He also has a spiritual fruit that those who love His name may reap without measure. In fact, the spiritual fruit is ultimately to be desired above the temporal.
The fruit of our spiritual pursuit is infinitely to be desired above that of our earthly work, for the labor we perform to live sustains only this physical body; while the labor in which we engage in the pursuit of knowledge of the Holy One will abide and enrich us for time and for eternity. The garden of our lives will flourish if we allow the Son to bathe our lives with His Light.
In Ephesians 5: 9, 10, we are told, “The fruit of the Light results in all goodness, righteousness and truth, discerning what is pleasing to the Lord.” JESUS is the Light we have, and He not only illumines us, but He produces the fruit of good works in us, the fruit of righteous works, of true works that please God.
And these good works, this fruit, should nurture others as we let His light shine in the garden of their lives. So continues the sowing and reaping that perpetuate life. When we have been brought into the Light of Christ, we then shine it upon those around us, so all may receive His salvation and sow and reap its seed.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
A Stable Economy
May 19
God’s desire is to bless His people lavishly. When He fashioned man from the dust of the earth and created for him a helpmate from a rib in his side, the Lord set them in a rich place. He informed them that all His creation was there for their enjoyment.
The first couple was given the honor of naming all the animals, discovering all the lush fruits and vegetables, partaking of the sparkling, fresh spring water. They could lie in the cool grass and enjoy the breeze as they bathed in the warm sunshine. They had the ultimate vacation. Only one thing was forbidden them.
And they lusted after that one thing, and they were seduced to partake of that one thing. From that time, their progeny have endured the same curse that was put upon our first parents. We must now labor to acquire the good things of life. It is with the sweat of our brow, the application of our intellect, that good things may come to us.
And His promise is still that if we will toil faithfully, He will supply the increase. His provision extends beyond the minimal requirement for maintaining life. In Deuteronomy 8:8, He tells us, “A land of wheat, barley, vines, figs and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey,” will be supplied to His people as they labor to His glory. His economy never falters.
God’s desire is to bless His people lavishly. When He fashioned man from the dust of the earth and created for him a helpmate from a rib in his side, the Lord set them in a rich place. He informed them that all His creation was there for their enjoyment.
The first couple was given the honor of naming all the animals, discovering all the lush fruits and vegetables, partaking of the sparkling, fresh spring water. They could lie in the cool grass and enjoy the breeze as they bathed in the warm sunshine. They had the ultimate vacation. Only one thing was forbidden them.
And they lusted after that one thing, and they were seduced to partake of that one thing. From that time, their progeny have endured the same curse that was put upon our first parents. We must now labor to acquire the good things of life. It is with the sweat of our brow, the application of our intellect, that good things may come to us.
And His promise is still that if we will toil faithfully, He will supply the increase. His provision extends beyond the minimal requirement for maintaining life. In Deuteronomy 8:8, He tells us, “A land of wheat, barley, vines, figs and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey,” will be supplied to His people as they labor to His glory. His economy never falters.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Profound Expression of Love
May 18
We serve a God who can make hailstones pound an attacking army to the ground; He can cause the natural order of day and night to halt in order to rescue His people from an onslaught against them (Joshua 10), but the reality is that He prefers to use ordinary means to effect His purposes. He’s not a ‘showboat.’
One of His favorite means of manifesting His power in the lives of people is that which is extolled in I Corinthians 13. This chapter begins, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become as sounding brass and tinkling cymbals.”
In other words, one may possess obvious spiritual gifts yet be a mere clamorous noise—if his gifts are not exercised with love.
I Corinthians 13:13 says in fact, “Now abide these three (gifts): faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
Faith can move mountains (Matthew 17:20); hope can encourage the heart—or its lack can make one heartsick (Proverbs 13:12); but love covers a multitude of sins (I Peter 4:8). Nowhere is that miracle of love more profoundly expressed than in Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself for our sins.
We serve a God who can make hailstones pound an attacking army to the ground; He can cause the natural order of day and night to halt in order to rescue His people from an onslaught against them (Joshua 10), but the reality is that He prefers to use ordinary means to effect His purposes. He’s not a ‘showboat.’
One of His favorite means of manifesting His power in the lives of people is that which is extolled in I Corinthians 13. This chapter begins, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become as sounding brass and tinkling cymbals.”
In other words, one may possess obvious spiritual gifts yet be a mere clamorous noise—if his gifts are not exercised with love.
I Corinthians 13:13 says in fact, “Now abide these three (gifts): faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
Faith can move mountains (Matthew 17:20); hope can encourage the heart—or its lack can make one heartsick (Proverbs 13:12); but love covers a multitude of sins (I Peter 4:8). Nowhere is that miracle of love more profoundly expressed than in Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself for our sins.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Whatever Is Necessary
May 17
How far will God go to bless His people? Do we dare to hope He will throw the weight of His power behind us at our time of need? Well, in actuality, no matter how desperate our need may be, the full weight of His power is never necessary
--Jesus casts out evil by pointing His finger! (Luke 11:20)
Yet, the manifestation of His power can seem quite dramatic to us. We all have had those ‘little coincidences’ that turned our circumstances around for good. When it appeared that the worst was about to happen, His finger pointed the seemingly inevitable evil away and our worst fear did not occur.
An extraordinary manifestation of His power over the natural order occurred when the Israelites were in the throes of a battle whose odds were stacked against them. To affect their deliverance, God “threw down great hailstones from heaven” upon their enemy in Joshua 10:11, and went so far in Joshua 10:13 to cause the sun to stand still to allow the army of His people to conclude the battle!
The reality is that God will do whatever is necessary to rescue His people when they are facing an overwhelming foe. Will He cause the sun to stand still for you? If it’s necessary, yes, He will. But don’t be surprised if your battle doesn’t require such an extraordinary manifestation of His power. Usually the answer to our prayers can be achieved by Jesus pointing His finger.
How far will God go to bless His people? Do we dare to hope He will throw the weight of His power behind us at our time of need? Well, in actuality, no matter how desperate our need may be, the full weight of His power is never necessary
--Jesus casts out evil by pointing His finger! (Luke 11:20)
Yet, the manifestation of His power can seem quite dramatic to us. We all have had those ‘little coincidences’ that turned our circumstances around for good. When it appeared that the worst was about to happen, His finger pointed the seemingly inevitable evil away and our worst fear did not occur.
An extraordinary manifestation of His power over the natural order occurred when the Israelites were in the throes of a battle whose odds were stacked against them. To affect their deliverance, God “threw down great hailstones from heaven” upon their enemy in Joshua 10:11, and went so far in Joshua 10:13 to cause the sun to stand still to allow the army of His people to conclude the battle!
The reality is that God will do whatever is necessary to rescue His people when they are facing an overwhelming foe. Will He cause the sun to stand still for you? If it’s necessary, yes, He will. But don’t be surprised if your battle doesn’t require such an extraordinary manifestation of His power. Usually the answer to our prayers can be achieved by Jesus pointing His finger.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Satisfy Us in the Morning
May 16
Some people endeavor to diet by consuming just one meal a day. The strategy may cause the pounds to roll off—if the dieter can stick with the regimen. The likelihood is, however, that his one meal will be laden with everything that was avoided all day long!
Experts tell us that a successful diet begins with a good breakfast. So does a good spiritual diet. We should, upon arising, allow the Lord to fill our first thoughts and our first activities. We should wake up early enough to allow our spiritual hunger to be satisfied before we begin our day.
Psalm 90:14 puts it this way: “Satisfy us in the morning with your faithful love so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days.” If we are willing to partake of the goodness and mercy and love of our Father, our Savior, our God in the morning, His joy will be our portion all day long.
He will accompany us through all the challenges we face; He will empower us to pray through to victory in every difficulty. When we have tasted and seen that the Lord is indeed good, we will be motivated to repeat the process the next day and the next—through our lifetime of partaking of His love each new morning.
Some people endeavor to diet by consuming just one meal a day. The strategy may cause the pounds to roll off—if the dieter can stick with the regimen. The likelihood is, however, that his one meal will be laden with everything that was avoided all day long!
Experts tell us that a successful diet begins with a good breakfast. So does a good spiritual diet. We should, upon arising, allow the Lord to fill our first thoughts and our first activities. We should wake up early enough to allow our spiritual hunger to be satisfied before we begin our day.
Psalm 90:14 puts it this way: “Satisfy us in the morning with your faithful love so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days.” If we are willing to partake of the goodness and mercy and love of our Father, our Savior, our God in the morning, His joy will be our portion all day long.
He will accompany us through all the challenges we face; He will empower us to pray through to victory in every difficulty. When we have tasted and seen that the Lord is indeed good, we will be motivated to repeat the process the next day and the next—through our lifetime of partaking of His love each new morning.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Invited In
May 15
Who are we, really? How can we define our ‘selfhood’ in any meaningful way that has not only temporal but also eternal significance? Many of us define who we are by what we do—by how we make a living—I’m a lawyer, I’m an engineer, I’m a teacher, I’m a salesman, I’m a banker.
If we go deeper than the very superficial aspect of our ‘self’ that ceases to be upon retirement, perhaps we can identify ourselves by what we enjoy—the sports activities in which we participate or watch, the card games we use to release tension. But, “What are we, really?” persists as a viable question.
The Word, in Ephesians 4:22-24, gives us some insight: “You put off your former way of life, the old man that is corrupted by deceitful desires and put on the new man, who is created after God in righteousness and holiness.” No matter what façade we may carry, the only one that matters is the one that originates in the depth of who we are in the inner man.
Once we have given Christ the right to dwell within our heart, we have opened our ‘self’ to Him and invited Him to transform us from what we’ve been to what HE is, our outer man takes on new attire. Whatever we are in the natural, our natural self takes on the accouterments of Jesus! When He makes our heart holy, our outer man becomes clothed in His robe of righteousness.
Who are we, really? How can we define our ‘selfhood’ in any meaningful way that has not only temporal but also eternal significance? Many of us define who we are by what we do—by how we make a living—I’m a lawyer, I’m an engineer, I’m a teacher, I’m a salesman, I’m a banker.
If we go deeper than the very superficial aspect of our ‘self’ that ceases to be upon retirement, perhaps we can identify ourselves by what we enjoy—the sports activities in which we participate or watch, the card games we use to release tension. But, “What are we, really?” persists as a viable question.
The Word, in Ephesians 4:22-24, gives us some insight: “You put off your former way of life, the old man that is corrupted by deceitful desires and put on the new man, who is created after God in righteousness and holiness.” No matter what façade we may carry, the only one that matters is the one that originates in the depth of who we are in the inner man.
Once we have given Christ the right to dwell within our heart, we have opened our ‘self’ to Him and invited Him to transform us from what we’ve been to what HE is, our outer man takes on new attire. Whatever we are in the natural, our natural self takes on the accouterments of Jesus! When He makes our heart holy, our outer man becomes clothed in His robe of righteousness.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Rolled Away
May 14
We can be bound by slavery to sin for so long that we no longer recognize that we are slaves to a harsh task master who has stolen our dignity and denied us a hope. We can be so sucked in to the quagmire of sin that we no longer realize we’re living in a pit that is preventing us from rising to fulfillment in Christ.
But, we can be set free. In Joshua 5:9 we are told that, “The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Today I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you.’” Perhaps Joshua hadn’t recognized the imprint the chains of Egypt had made upon him but the Lord saw them and determined every vestige of slavery must be removed!
The God who delivered His people would not allow any remnant of their bondage to dog their heels as they were delivered to freedom! The male children born to the Israelites in the wilderness had not been circumcised. God required this rite of them as an evidence of their delivery from sin.
Just as the cutting away of the flesh is painful, so is the cutting away of sin. Though we can be accustomed to the natural state in the wilderness where the rite of circumcision has not been performed, so can we become accustomed to the natural state of sin. He requires that sin be cut away so we can be fully His.
We can be bound by slavery to sin for so long that we no longer recognize that we are slaves to a harsh task master who has stolen our dignity and denied us a hope. We can be so sucked in to the quagmire of sin that we no longer realize we’re living in a pit that is preventing us from rising to fulfillment in Christ.
But, we can be set free. In Joshua 5:9 we are told that, “The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Today I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you.’” Perhaps Joshua hadn’t recognized the imprint the chains of Egypt had made upon him but the Lord saw them and determined every vestige of slavery must be removed!
The God who delivered His people would not allow any remnant of their bondage to dog their heels as they were delivered to freedom! The male children born to the Israelites in the wilderness had not been circumcised. God required this rite of them as an evidence of their delivery from sin.
Just as the cutting away of the flesh is painful, so is the cutting away of sin. Though we can be accustomed to the natural state in the wilderness where the rite of circumcision has not been performed, so can we become accustomed to the natural state of sin. He requires that sin be cut away so we can be fully His.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Our Study Partner
May 13
Have you ever crammed for a test? No matter what your area of expertise, there is always more to glean in a subject than you have had the ability to absorb. When the test day arrives, you feel woefully inadequate to regurgitate the information you have tried so diligently to digest.
The only area of life where that sense of devouring information in order to be prepared for a later exam is not present is in the realm of the Spirit. Jesus has given us the assurance that it is totally unnecessary for us to feel the pressure of endeavoring to know everything we need to know.
We do want to please Him, of course. We do know His Word admonishes that we, “Study to show yourself approved of the Lord, a workman rightly dividing the word of truth” II Timothy 2:15, yet we also know our study need not be stressful or tedious. We needn’t pour over study guides or memorize long lists of facts relevant to our faith.
The Lord made a promise in John 14:26 that we may claim and apply as we endeavor to know Him and to be prepared for the ultimate test of our faith and commitment. He says, “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit…will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.” We aren’t alone in our quest for Christ and His truth. The Third Person of the Godhead is our study partner.
Have you ever crammed for a test? No matter what your area of expertise, there is always more to glean in a subject than you have had the ability to absorb. When the test day arrives, you feel woefully inadequate to regurgitate the information you have tried so diligently to digest.
The only area of life where that sense of devouring information in order to be prepared for a later exam is not present is in the realm of the Spirit. Jesus has given us the assurance that it is totally unnecessary for us to feel the pressure of endeavoring to know everything we need to know.
We do want to please Him, of course. We do know His Word admonishes that we, “Study to show yourself approved of the Lord, a workman rightly dividing the word of truth” II Timothy 2:15, yet we also know our study need not be stressful or tedious. We needn’t pour over study guides or memorize long lists of facts relevant to our faith.
The Lord made a promise in John 14:26 that we may claim and apply as we endeavor to know Him and to be prepared for the ultimate test of our faith and commitment. He says, “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit…will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.” We aren’t alone in our quest for Christ and His truth. The Third Person of the Godhead is our study partner.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Rid of It All!
May 12
How does the Lord expect us to deal with the negative character traits that we have indulged within ourselves? We all have them. They are the “little foxes that spoil the vines” (Song of Solomon 2:15), those aspects of our personhood that do not honor the Christ, whose we profess to be.
When we came to the point of salvation, we emptied ourselves of the worst of our lifestyle choices to that point. We allowed the Holy Spirit to shine the candle of God deep within our hearts and we gladly rid our lives of the negative and destructive things we’d indulged until we recognized the evil of them.
But when it came to the ‘little things,’ the proclivity to gossip, the tendency to twist the truth to our advantage, the inclination to project ourselves as pious in order to impress those around us, we did not recognize them as what they are—indulgence of sin! I Peter 2:1 identifies these things for what they are—wickedness—and orders us to rid ourselves of them!
Peter, who had denied Christ, perhaps recognized the danger of hidden sin better than any of the other apostles, for he had hidden his rejection of Christ until the moment he denied Him! The searing memory of that denial compelled him to say to us, “Rid yourselves of all wickedness, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander.” To indulge any of it, to any degree, is to diminish the Christ in us.
How does the Lord expect us to deal with the negative character traits that we have indulged within ourselves? We all have them. They are the “little foxes that spoil the vines” (Song of Solomon 2:15), those aspects of our personhood that do not honor the Christ, whose we profess to be.
When we came to the point of salvation, we emptied ourselves of the worst of our lifestyle choices to that point. We allowed the Holy Spirit to shine the candle of God deep within our hearts and we gladly rid our lives of the negative and destructive things we’d indulged until we recognized the evil of them.
But when it came to the ‘little things,’ the proclivity to gossip, the tendency to twist the truth to our advantage, the inclination to project ourselves as pious in order to impress those around us, we did not recognize them as what they are—indulgence of sin! I Peter 2:1 identifies these things for what they are—wickedness—and orders us to rid ourselves of them!
Peter, who had denied Christ, perhaps recognized the danger of hidden sin better than any of the other apostles, for he had hidden his rejection of Christ until the moment he denied Him! The searing memory of that denial compelled him to say to us, “Rid yourselves of all wickedness, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander.” To indulge any of it, to any degree, is to diminish the Christ in us.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Nourish Daily
May 11
In Psalm 119:15, 16, the writer makes some profound assertions that we would do well to make ourselves. Here he says, “I will meditate on Your precepts and think about Your ways. I will delight in Your statutes. I will not forget Your Word. Meditate. Think. Delight. Remember.
To meditate is to ponder deeply. The psalmist is here vowing that he will not be merely a hearer of the Word of God. He will not be among those who enjoy a good sermon or read an up-lifting scripture passage then walk away from them without allowing them to make a difference within himself.
He also asserts that he will think upon the Word. This is a very important decision on his part because it is the things about which a man thinks that propel him to action. If a man’s thoughts are turned toward perversion, his actions will be twisted. If a man thinks about the Word of God, his behavior will be godly.
The psalmist makes the Word of God his delight. It is his meat and drink. He counts it more vital to his existence than his daily bread. As he would not forget to nourish his body with food each day, neither will he forget to nurture his spirit, the eternal part of himself, with the Bread of Life. Let us do likewise.
In Psalm 119:15, 16, the writer makes some profound assertions that we would do well to make ourselves. Here he says, “I will meditate on Your precepts and think about Your ways. I will delight in Your statutes. I will not forget Your Word. Meditate. Think. Delight. Remember.
To meditate is to ponder deeply. The psalmist is here vowing that he will not be merely a hearer of the Word of God. He will not be among those who enjoy a good sermon or read an up-lifting scripture passage then walk away from them without allowing them to make a difference within himself.
He also asserts that he will think upon the Word. This is a very important decision on his part because it is the things about which a man thinks that propel him to action. If a man’s thoughts are turned toward perversion, his actions will be twisted. If a man thinks about the Word of God, his behavior will be godly.
The psalmist makes the Word of God his delight. It is his meat and drink. He counts it more vital to his existence than his daily bread. As he would not forget to nourish his body with food each day, neither will he forget to nurture his spirit, the eternal part of himself, with the Bread of Life. Let us do likewise.
Monday, May 10, 2010
The Eternal Word
May 10
There is no area of human endeavor or need that is not addressed in the Bible, the Word of the Living and Eternal God. Jesus, ‘the Word become flesh,’ embodies the essence of the Word. He said of Himself, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by Me” John 14:6.
Because He is the Living Word, the full expression of God, Jesus addressed every human need and every human concern when He walked among us on the shores of Galilee. He met every need—for healing, for deliverance, for salvation. He assured His followers that He is all they need for time and for eternity.
If we doubt the veracity of the efficaciousness of the Word in our day, in our behalf, we need look no further than the writing of Paul the Apostle. In his letter to his beloved spiritual son, he said, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, and for training in righteousness” II Timothy 3:16.
When we factor in Paul’s willingness to sacrifice his political influence, his temporal authority in the religion for which he had spent himself the entirety of his life, as well as his willingness to lay down his very life for the Word of God, for the Living Christ, we cannot doubt the importance of this eternal Word to him—and to us today!
There is no area of human endeavor or need that is not addressed in the Bible, the Word of the Living and Eternal God. Jesus, ‘the Word become flesh,’ embodies the essence of the Word. He said of Himself, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by Me” John 14:6.
Because He is the Living Word, the full expression of God, Jesus addressed every human need and every human concern when He walked among us on the shores of Galilee. He met every need—for healing, for deliverance, for salvation. He assured His followers that He is all they need for time and for eternity.
If we doubt the veracity of the efficaciousness of the Word in our day, in our behalf, we need look no further than the writing of Paul the Apostle. In his letter to his beloved spiritual son, he said, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, and for training in righteousness” II Timothy 3:16.
When we factor in Paul’s willingness to sacrifice his political influence, his temporal authority in the religion for which he had spent himself the entirety of his life, as well as his willingness to lay down his very life for the Word of God, for the Living Christ, we cannot doubt the importance of this eternal Word to him—and to us today!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
...They Are Life
May 9
Some people think the Bible is a book of fables and are prone to disregard its wisdom. Others think it is the timeless Word of the eternal God. I cast my lot
with the latter. Because I trust the inerrancy of the Word, I stake my hope upon it for time and eternity.
The Word encourages me when I am down because it offers me hope in every circumstance I face in life. The Word anchors me because its historical passages abound with evidence of God’s faithfulness to past generations. The Word convicts me because it requires me to live by its just admonitions.
It is unlike any other book that I may read and enjoy and set aside for another work by another author. It is a treasure trove of wisdom and insight because I find something to meet my need, no matter what that need may be, every time I open its pages. I am drawn to it again and again. I cannot exhaust its benefit to me.
Proverbs 4:20-22 affirms the Lord’s own position regarding His Word through Solomon, the primary human author of the book. Here he says, “Pay attention to My words, listen closely to My sayings…for they are life to those who find them, and health to ones whole body.” They are spiritual life eternally, and they are emotional and physical life in this realm of time—worthy of all my trust and hope.
Some people think the Bible is a book of fables and are prone to disregard its wisdom. Others think it is the timeless Word of the eternal God. I cast my lot
with the latter. Because I trust the inerrancy of the Word, I stake my hope upon it for time and eternity.
The Word encourages me when I am down because it offers me hope in every circumstance I face in life. The Word anchors me because its historical passages abound with evidence of God’s faithfulness to past generations. The Word convicts me because it requires me to live by its just admonitions.
It is unlike any other book that I may read and enjoy and set aside for another work by another author. It is a treasure trove of wisdom and insight because I find something to meet my need, no matter what that need may be, every time I open its pages. I am drawn to it again and again. I cannot exhaust its benefit to me.
Proverbs 4:20-22 affirms the Lord’s own position regarding His Word through Solomon, the primary human author of the book. Here he says, “Pay attention to My words, listen closely to My sayings…for they are life to those who find them, and health to ones whole body.” They are spiritual life eternally, and they are emotional and physical life in this realm of time—worthy of all my trust and hope.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
The Real Source of Power
May 8
We like to feel competent. We enjoy being in charge. We like the acclaim that comes with being perceived as a person of resolute determination and ability—determination and ability that result in our success in every endeavor, professional and personal.
The Apostle Paul had been that kind of individual. He described himself as having been, ‘a Pharisee of the Pharisees…’ Philippians 3:4-10. He had been a man who placed achievement above all else. He was determined to excel at what he did. He was a man of esteem in the hierarchy of his religion—and he had earned that notoriety.
But it wasn’t because of his determination to attain personal perfection and to reach the top of the heap in his religious faith that he became useful to the purposes of the Kingdom of Christ. It was because he released all his successes when he beheld Jesus as He is. In II Corinthians 12:9, Paul acknowledged the futility of his own accomplishments in God’s scheme of things.
He was able to see the reality behind the self-delusionary desire for power that had motivated him and he said, “I will most gladly boast about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power may reside in me.” The great Apostle acknowledged the futility of his own efforts and the total efficaciousness of the Lord’s work through him. He knew the real source of power was not himself, it was—and is—Jesus.
We like to feel competent. We enjoy being in charge. We like the acclaim that comes with being perceived as a person of resolute determination and ability—determination and ability that result in our success in every endeavor, professional and personal.
The Apostle Paul had been that kind of individual. He described himself as having been, ‘a Pharisee of the Pharisees…’ Philippians 3:4-10. He had been a man who placed achievement above all else. He was determined to excel at what he did. He was a man of esteem in the hierarchy of his religion—and he had earned that notoriety.
But it wasn’t because of his determination to attain personal perfection and to reach the top of the heap in his religious faith that he became useful to the purposes of the Kingdom of Christ. It was because he released all his successes when he beheld Jesus as He is. In II Corinthians 12:9, Paul acknowledged the futility of his own accomplishments in God’s scheme of things.
He was able to see the reality behind the self-delusionary desire for power that had motivated him and he said, “I will most gladly boast about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power may reside in me.” The great Apostle acknowledged the futility of his own efforts and the total efficaciousness of the Lord’s work through him. He knew the real source of power was not himself, it was—and is—Jesus.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Deliverance from Bondage
May 7
“The Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing. Then they will return to the Lord and He will hear their prayers.” Isaiah 19:22 is a message of hope to the downtrodden and weary believer. At first glance, its message may not register and the import of it may be missed, but upon contemplation, it is most refreshing.
Egypt represents a place of bondage. After Joseph had been sold into slavery there, he became second only to Pharaoh through a series of God-ordained events that propelled him to power. Eventually, Joseph’s entire family was welcomed into Egypt, but ultimately, they were bound in slavery.
A Pharaoh who didn’t remember the deliverance that had been wrought through Joseph felt threatened by the growing number of thriving Israelites in his midst, so they were bound until God sent Moses as their deliverer (Genesis 37-Exodus 14). As the Israelites became captive to Egypt, which had once esteemed them, so we can become captive to things that initially appear attractive.
When this happens, God is faithful to His promise to strike down the things that bind us. He is there to set us free from the chains of sin and sickness and deliver us into a place of promise! In order for this to occur, believers must turn to the Lord and He will hear the cries of their hearts. He has already sent Jesus as our Deliverer. We need only appropriate the salvation He has supplied for us.
“The Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing. Then they will return to the Lord and He will hear their prayers.” Isaiah 19:22 is a message of hope to the downtrodden and weary believer. At first glance, its message may not register and the import of it may be missed, but upon contemplation, it is most refreshing.
Egypt represents a place of bondage. After Joseph had been sold into slavery there, he became second only to Pharaoh through a series of God-ordained events that propelled him to power. Eventually, Joseph’s entire family was welcomed into Egypt, but ultimately, they were bound in slavery.
A Pharaoh who didn’t remember the deliverance that had been wrought through Joseph felt threatened by the growing number of thriving Israelites in his midst, so they were bound until God sent Moses as their deliverer (Genesis 37-Exodus 14). As the Israelites became captive to Egypt, which had once esteemed them, so we can become captive to things that initially appear attractive.
When this happens, God is faithful to His promise to strike down the things that bind us. He is there to set us free from the chains of sin and sickness and deliver us into a place of promise! In order for this to occur, believers must turn to the Lord and He will hear the cries of their hearts. He has already sent Jesus as our Deliverer. We need only appropriate the salvation He has supplied for us.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Blood-bathed, Forgiven, Redeemed!
May 6
Were we left to our own devices, our plight would be hopeless, for we sin again and again. The evil one continues to set his traps and we continue to stumble into them. Our proclivity to sin is relentless and our inability to overcome our own particular foible testifies to the stranglehold the world has on us.
Yet we know we are blood-bathed, forgiven, redeemed and on our way to Heaven! We know the Lord is coming for His Bride and that she—the Church, believers—will be without spot or wrinkle. We cannot but praise Him for His faithfulness in helping us overcome and be cleansed from our sin.
We understand that our deliverance is not our doing, it is His! We recognize that if we were left to our own, the pit of our sin would swallow us. The mire of our failures would render us beyond redemption, for our faithlessness, our willfulness, our penchant for iniquity would be beyond cleansing.
But Revelation 19:7 assures us that we may, “…be glad, rejoice, and give Him glory because the marriage of the Lamb has come and His wife has prepared herself.” The Church, believers will be prepared, for He cleanses us again and again—and He does not count our iniquity against us.
Were we left to our own devices, our plight would be hopeless, for we sin again and again. The evil one continues to set his traps and we continue to stumble into them. Our proclivity to sin is relentless and our inability to overcome our own particular foible testifies to the stranglehold the world has on us.
Yet we know we are blood-bathed, forgiven, redeemed and on our way to Heaven! We know the Lord is coming for His Bride and that she—the Church, believers—will be without spot or wrinkle. We cannot but praise Him for His faithfulness in helping us overcome and be cleansed from our sin.
We understand that our deliverance is not our doing, it is His! We recognize that if we were left to our own, the pit of our sin would swallow us. The mire of our failures would render us beyond redemption, for our faithlessness, our willfulness, our penchant for iniquity would be beyond cleansing.
But Revelation 19:7 assures us that we may, “…be glad, rejoice, and give Him glory because the marriage of the Lamb has come and His wife has prepared herself.” The Church, believers will be prepared, for He cleanses us again and again—and He does not count our iniquity against us.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Revive to Rejoice!
May 5
We know we deserve God’s wrath. We know we live lives that are often a stench in His nostrils and that we should be abandoned by Him—cast out of His presence and left to the abysmal garbage heap we’ve littered around ourselves. But that‘s not what we want and that’s not what we hope for.
Though we know we’ve broken the heart of Jesus by our sin, by our indifference to the great salvation He has held out to us, we still want something from Him that defies reason and allows our fullness of blessing in time and our assurance of Heaven in eternity.
When we fall short of His blessings, we know it’s what we deserve. We know that His wrath unleashed against us would be our just due, yet we cry out to Him as David did in Psalm 85:5, 6, “Will You prolong Your anger for all generations? Will You not revive us again so Your people may rejoice in You?”
We know He is justified in His anger against us; we know that we deserve His wrath to be prolonged against even future generations as the Word says it will be (Exodus 20:5), yet we long for His mercy to us and our children. We long for revival that will enable us to rejoice in the fullness of His salvation once again!
We know we deserve God’s wrath. We know we live lives that are often a stench in His nostrils and that we should be abandoned by Him—cast out of His presence and left to the abysmal garbage heap we’ve littered around ourselves. But that‘s not what we want and that’s not what we hope for.
Though we know we’ve broken the heart of Jesus by our sin, by our indifference to the great salvation He has held out to us, we still want something from Him that defies reason and allows our fullness of blessing in time and our assurance of Heaven in eternity.
When we fall short of His blessings, we know it’s what we deserve. We know that His wrath unleashed against us would be our just due, yet we cry out to Him as David did in Psalm 85:5, 6, “Will You prolong Your anger for all generations? Will You not revive us again so Your people may rejoice in You?”
We know He is justified in His anger against us; we know that we deserve His wrath to be prolonged against even future generations as the Word says it will be (Exodus 20:5), yet we long for His mercy to us and our children. We long for revival that will enable us to rejoice in the fullness of His salvation once again!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Totally Unique
May 4
Do you suppose Jesus was concerned about public opinion? If He were like modern politicians, He would be reading the polls and redefining Himself with every new indicator of exactly what the public perceived Him to be and whether that perception met their approval.
But, Jesus wasn’t in the business of conforming Himself to a standard established by public opinion. He was what He came to be and He knew many found that offensive. Why then did He ask of Peter in Matthew 16:13, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
Perhaps because it gave Peter the opportunity to articulate his understanding of Christ’s mission, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” Matthew 16:16. It gave him the chance to say it, although he did not fully understand it at the time. In fact, Jesus went on to say in the next verses that “…flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but My Father…”
And perhaps in posing the question to Peter, believers through the ages are given the opportunity to express faith in the One who has come as the Son, the full representation of God. Perhaps this was Jesus’ way of pressing us to a point of recognizing how totally unique He is. As the Second Person of the Trinity, He encompasses the entirety of our salvation package—revealed by His Father.
Do you suppose Jesus was concerned about public opinion? If He were like modern politicians, He would be reading the polls and redefining Himself with every new indicator of exactly what the public perceived Him to be and whether that perception met their approval.
But, Jesus wasn’t in the business of conforming Himself to a standard established by public opinion. He was what He came to be and He knew many found that offensive. Why then did He ask of Peter in Matthew 16:13, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
Perhaps because it gave Peter the opportunity to articulate his understanding of Christ’s mission, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” Matthew 16:16. It gave him the chance to say it, although he did not fully understand it at the time. In fact, Jesus went on to say in the next verses that “…flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but My Father…”
And perhaps in posing the question to Peter, believers through the ages are given the opportunity to express faith in the One who has come as the Son, the full representation of God. Perhaps this was Jesus’ way of pressing us to a point of recognizing how totally unique He is. As the Second Person of the Trinity, He encompasses the entirety of our salvation package—revealed by His Father.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Fulfillment and Glory
May 3
A lot of people erroneously believe that rules and restrictions inhibit freedom. They are of the opinion that everyone should be free to make his own choice in every situation. This thinking pervades modern society and encompasses everything from electing to be sexually permissive to choosing to abort an unwanted pregnancy.
Such a mindset, when it has reached its full capacity to affect society, will result in abject lawlessness. It is impossible to perpetuate the ‘do your own thing’ mentality without taking a heavy toll on our ability to interact with one another with civility and respect and honor. Indeed, those time-honored words will become passé.
The Word of God presents another perspective in the matter, a perspective that is rooted in the Lord’s love for man and His desire to establish His beloved children on the path that leads to fulfillment in time and glory for eternity. If a man will hear and heed the truth as it is stated in the Bible, he will be rescued from the earthquake that is crumbling the foundations of society.
Deuteronomy 10:13 says, “Keep the Lord’s commands and statutes that I am giving you today, for your own good.” There is no mincing of words. A man is not advantaged when he chooses his own way; rather he is advantaged when he determines to live his life in accordance with the law of the Lord. To have a strong foundation in a collapsing world, build upon the unchanging truth of God.
A lot of people erroneously believe that rules and restrictions inhibit freedom. They are of the opinion that everyone should be free to make his own choice in every situation. This thinking pervades modern society and encompasses everything from electing to be sexually permissive to choosing to abort an unwanted pregnancy.
Such a mindset, when it has reached its full capacity to affect society, will result in abject lawlessness. It is impossible to perpetuate the ‘do your own thing’ mentality without taking a heavy toll on our ability to interact with one another with civility and respect and honor. Indeed, those time-honored words will become passé.
The Word of God presents another perspective in the matter, a perspective that is rooted in the Lord’s love for man and His desire to establish His beloved children on the path that leads to fulfillment in time and glory for eternity. If a man will hear and heed the truth as it is stated in the Bible, he will be rescued from the earthquake that is crumbling the foundations of society.
Deuteronomy 10:13 says, “Keep the Lord’s commands and statutes that I am giving you today, for your own good.” There is no mincing of words. A man is not advantaged when he chooses his own way; rather he is advantaged when he determines to live his life in accordance with the law of the Lord. To have a strong foundation in a collapsing world, build upon the unchanging truth of God.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Reap the Fruit of His Faithfulness
May 2
We look with dismay upon not only our nation’s faltering economy but also upon the failing world economy. The nation of Greece is bankrupt. The state of California cannot meet its obligations. The United States, the most generous nation that has ever existed is a debtor nation.
If our hope as citizens of the U.S., as citizens of the world, is in the machinations of our politicians to right the looming global disaster, we have no hope at all. The most ordinary thinkers among us can recognize the mess we’re in and getting out of it seems as impossible as unscrambling eggs.
Yet, there is One in whom we may place our absolute confidence and utmost faith. There is One whose Word is ‘yea and amen’—and His promises are not contingent upon the success of the political or economic endeavors of man. The Lord Jesus Christ can and will see His people through the most difficult of times and fulfill the promises the Word holds out to them.
In Deuteronomy 8:7,9, we are told, “The Lord your God is bringing you into a good land…where you will eat food without shortage…where you will lack nothing.” These words were spoken to His ancient people Israel, but all His spiritual children may claim them—whether here or in eternity, we shall reap the fruit of His faithfulness.
We look with dismay upon not only our nation’s faltering economy but also upon the failing world economy. The nation of Greece is bankrupt. The state of California cannot meet its obligations. The United States, the most generous nation that has ever existed is a debtor nation.
If our hope as citizens of the U.S., as citizens of the world, is in the machinations of our politicians to right the looming global disaster, we have no hope at all. The most ordinary thinkers among us can recognize the mess we’re in and getting out of it seems as impossible as unscrambling eggs.
Yet, there is One in whom we may place our absolute confidence and utmost faith. There is One whose Word is ‘yea and amen’—and His promises are not contingent upon the success of the political or economic endeavors of man. The Lord Jesus Christ can and will see His people through the most difficult of times and fulfill the promises the Word holds out to them.
In Deuteronomy 8:7,9, we are told, “The Lord your God is bringing you into a good land…where you will eat food without shortage…where you will lack nothing.” These words were spoken to His ancient people Israel, but all His spiritual children may claim them—whether here or in eternity, we shall reap the fruit of His faithfulness.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Hope Does Not Disappoint
May 1
Nothing is more painful than disappointed expectations. The romance that began with much promise then inexplicably turned sour, the promotion that seemed sure until it was given to someone else, the purchase that seemed to be such a good investment until it tanked—name it; we’ve all been there.
We tend to transfer the worst of our disappointed expectations toward God Himself when we pray. It’s almost as though we’re afraid to take Him at His Word—though He says He “cannot fail or forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:8). Because others have disappointed our hope, we fear that Jesus will, too.
But in Romans 5:5, Paul assures us that our apprehension that the Lord will let us down is unfounded—and he tells us why: “Hope does not disappoint because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
The role of the Third Person of the Trinity is to teach, to guide, to assure, and to affirm the nearness of the Lord in the circumstances of our lives. Paul tells us here that because He dwells within us, we may rest upon the Holy Spirit to affirm our hope when we pray. We shall not be disappointed—His love covers us.
Nothing is more painful than disappointed expectations. The romance that began with much promise then inexplicably turned sour, the promotion that seemed sure until it was given to someone else, the purchase that seemed to be such a good investment until it tanked—name it; we’ve all been there.
We tend to transfer the worst of our disappointed expectations toward God Himself when we pray. It’s almost as though we’re afraid to take Him at His Word—though He says He “cannot fail or forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:8). Because others have disappointed our hope, we fear that Jesus will, too.
But in Romans 5:5, Paul assures us that our apprehension that the Lord will let us down is unfounded—and he tells us why: “Hope does not disappoint because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
The role of the Third Person of the Trinity is to teach, to guide, to assure, and to affirm the nearness of the Lord in the circumstances of our lives. Paul tells us here that because He dwells within us, we may rest upon the Holy Spirit to affirm our hope when we pray. We shall not be disappointed—His love covers us.
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