Devotions

The last couple days we have been looking at some of the “one things” I have found when I searched the Scriptures.  Yesterday’s one thing uplifted me – God is strong and God is loving.  Today’s one thing saddens me. It comes in the encounter Jesus had with a rich young ruler in Mark 10.

The ruler wondered what he had to do to gain eternal life. Jesus took him to what the law said. The ruler countered with the fact that he had always kept those external commandments.  Jesus then took him to what the heart was clinging to.  “Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.’”  [v17-22 NKJV]

It all came down to a choice, either a heart that had only one treasure, that of loving God to the extent nothing else mattered, or a heart centered on earthly possessions.  The rich young ruler could not give up his earthly treasures.

Jesus asked the young man to pick up his cross. It was right there before Him. Jesus invited him to follow. But the call of worldly riches caused him to leave his cross at the feet of Jesus and turn away. It says, “he went away sorrowfully.”

Still, he went away. There was only one thing he lacked, a heart that hungered more for God than for the treasures of this life.  How many go away because of similar one things?  I fear too many leave their crosses at the feet of Jesus and turn their backs because of their one thing.

January 31

I found another “one thing” in Psalm 62 when I was searching in the NIV:  “One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.” [v11-12 NIV]

It reads a bit differently in the KJV and NKJV. “God has spoken once, twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God. Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy; For You render to each one according to his work.” [NKJV]

God is strong; all power belongs to God.  The Lord is loving; mercy belongs to the Lord. God rewards /renders to each one according to what we have done.

Our God is strong and all power does belong to Him. If we remember one thing about Him, we remember He is all-powerful. Would we want to serve a God who does not have the power to keep His promises? Every year we elect people to positions of authority based on the promises they make to us, and most often those promises are not kept because they lack the power to do so. God has the power to keep His promises.

But there is another one thing we need to remember about our God. He is loving, mercy belongs to Him.  The all-powerful Right Hand of God is extended to us in mercy and love. We need never be afraid of rejection or refusal.

And our God will reward us – He will render to us according to what we have done. And the one thing we have done is trust in Jesus. Amen and Amen.

Writing about the one thing David wanted yesterday had me researching other “one thing” passages in the Scriptures. My search took me to one of my favorite stories in 2 Kings. It is the story of Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he also had leprosy. A slave girl captured from Israel told of a prophet in Samaria (Elisha) who could cure Naaman. You can read his story in 2 Kings 5:1-19.

Initially Naaman goes to the king of Israel who fearfully passes him off to the prophet Elisha. Elisha’s simple command is to go wash in the River Jordan. Naaman balks at the simplicity of the command and departs until his soldiers convince him to return and give it a try. Naaman goes down in to the Jordan a leper and arises from it cleansed.

Naaman gives glory to the LORD God of Elisha, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel,” and then he promises to “never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the LORD.” 

He ends his visit with Elisha with one thing – a request for forgiveness.  “’But may the LORD forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I bow there also-when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD forgive your servant for this.’ ‘Go in peace,’ Elisha said.” [vs 18-19 NIV]

One thing. Naaman understood that his official duties would require him to accompany the king in religious ceremonies and asked forgiveness of Jehovah’s prophet. Elisha granted it – “Go in peace.” I wonder if we’ll meet Naaman when we get to glory. I hope so. I hope that his heart remained true to the God of Israel.

January 29

I have been reading a book as part of a launch team prior to its release. I am only in chapter 3, but today’s reading quoted one of my favorite thoughts out of Exodus 33, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.” [v15 NIV]

To paraphrase Moses, “God, if you’re not going, I’m not going.”

Later in the morning I was reading in the psalms and focused on Psalm 27:4: “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.” [NIV]

“One thing.”  David wants one thing from the LORD … one thing. He wants that one thing that Moses also wanted, to remain in the presence of the Lord all His life. That made me ask myself, is this the one thing I truly want from God?  Or is my life consumed with wanting many things?

I think my focus is too often diverted to many things. At times I feel like the dog that has its attention set on its master until it sees the squirrel cross its path and it’s off and running, only to return to the master a bit bedraggled after much calling and coaxing.

Father, one thing I ask of You this morning … to remain in Your presence all the days of my life. May I forever gaze upon the beauty of my LORD Jesus. Amen

In the spring of 2016, Bob and I took two of our grandsons on a road trip. We headed from Modesto to the coast and then up the coastal highway into Oregon. As we traveled that highway, we would dip down at times to sea level right next to the ocean and then a few miles later we would be heading up into the coastal mountains.  Each time we headed down by the ocean we were warned that we were “Entering Tsunami Area” and to be prepared to evacuate when warned. Then as we headed back up into the higher regions we were informed we were “Leaving Tsunami Area.”

This remembrance, of course, was prompted by the recent Alaska earthquake that generated a Tsunami warning for these very coastal areas we traveled.  Tsunami is a great sea wave that is produced by under-ocean movement (earthquakes) or volcanic eruptions.

Ever feel like you were hit by a tsunami? Maybe there was a great shaking event in your life and suddenly this wave of trouble was coming straight at you ready to overwhelm you.  There have been times in my life when troubles seemed like great tidal waves ready to drown me.  Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a “tsunami warning” so we could flee to higher ground? Ah, but we do. Jesus warned us that life brings tribulation. That’s a given. That’s our warning. [John16:33]

But there is also the promise of higher ground in Christ Jesus and deliverance through the tsunamis of life.  “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.”  [Isa 43:1-2 NIV]

Notice that wonderful phrase “through the waters.” Christ has promised deliverance through.

Ps 9:9: “The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.” [NIV]

The word translated refuge and stronghold in this verse is the same Hebrew word, misgab.  It means a cliff or other lofty inaccessible place. Psalm 9 is attributed to David in most Bible translations, but apparently some scholars disagree with that. If it was David, he surely knew about refuges and strongholds, having been pursued by both Saul with his armies as well as the armies of the Philistines on far too many occasions.

In this world we can experience oppression or trouble from many sources. Sometimes it comes to us from others, sometimes from the enemy of our soul. Life, itself, often crushes and injures us. We face difficulties, diseases, dying.

Under the law, God established six cities of refuge, Levitical towns where those who caused the death of another could flee for refuge from the family member designated to revenge the death. There they would be safe as they waited until a trial could be held to determine if the death was an act of murder of unintentional. [Number 35]

Under the Gospel, Christ is our city of refuge.  No matter what the affliction, oppression, or trouble, we can flee to Christ Jesus as our refuge, our stronghold. Safe in His High Place, nothing can reach us, no matter what its source!

Thank you, Father, for sending Your Son to be our City of Refuge. Amen.

“Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever.” [Isaiah 9:7 NKJV]

One last thought this week on the government of Christ Jesus, and that is, Christ’s government will be eternally established with judgment and justice.

How often we hear the complaints about the inequity/unfairness of government. We hear the lament that there is no justice. In our nation, we claim that “justice is blind,” meaning impartial.  We have all seen images of Lady Justice blindfolded and holding a balance scale and a sword. Unfortunately, justice is as imperfect as the people who have the authority of it. I think Lady Justice often peaks out from behind her blindfold. She is very cognizant of wealth, social status, race and other factors.

That will not be so when the perfect Christ, the King of Kings, Prince of Peace, Savior, Lord bears the responsibility for government. In that kingdom to come, judgment and justice will be established forever. Everything will be done in holiness and truth and none of His subjects will ever have cause to complain.

Ps 9:7-8: “The LORD reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment. He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice.” [NIV]

Praise Your Holy Name. Amen & Amen.

Isaiah 9:6 promised that Christ Jesus shall one day bear the badge and burden of government upon His shoulders: “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder.”  [NKJV]

And Isaiah didn’t leave it there. He gave us a beautiful picture of what government will be like under the King of Kings. “Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever.” [9:7 NKJV]

The first thing God points out through the prophet is that Christ’s government will be an increasing one.  That is in direct opposition to the kingdoms of this world. Kingdoms, governments decrease over time. They become corrupt and begin to fail. Remember Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the great statue with the head of gold and feet of clay? Remember Daniel’s interpretation?  The original kingdom was of gold, but each one that followed became less valuable, less strong. It was a picture of decreasing governments down through the ages. [Dan 2]

But Christ’s government, born on His shoulder, will not decrease, in fact, it will increase! It will increase in size and in luster and in honor and in peace. He is not only King of Kings, He is Prince of Peace. As such, He will rule in men’s hearts and He will rule by love. And wherever He is, Peace rules and reigns, whether on earth or in heaven.  How different from what we experience under the rule and reign of mankind.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

I woke up Sunday morning to the news that the US government had shut down (it has since re-started). My first thought was “will anyone notice?”. Of course, we’ll notice. Maybe not right away, but probably at some point when it touches us personally.

I also read that when the government is shut down, social security checks are still issued, veterans’ hospitals remain open, and the military is still on alert. Most government employees do not get paid, but some do. Congress would still get their paychecks (Ah).

Winston Churchill said in a speech to the House of Commons on November 11, 1947: “Many forms of Gov­ern­ment have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pre­tends that democ­ra­cy is per­fect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democ­ra­cy is the worst form of Gov­ern­ment except for all those oth­er forms that have been tried from time to time.…”

 Imperfect people cannot create a perfect government, no matter how hard they try. Isaiah 9:6, however, promises that a perfect form of government will be ours one day: “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder.”  [NKJV]

 The government will be upon Christ’s shoulders. The ensign of office used to be worn upon the shoulder, symbolic of sustaining the government. Unlike our government which seems to sustain the politicians running it; Christ shall sustain His government in righteousness.  Christ will not only wear the badge of government, He will shoulder the burden of it.

Father, I long for the day when all governments of earth shall pass away, I long for the day when imperfect people, and often evil people will no longer rule us. I long for the day when the Perfect Christ shall sustain the government. I long for that Benevolent Theocracy to come! Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus. Amen.

Romans 12:9: Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. [NIV]

Romans 12:9: Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. [NKJV]

Romans 12:9: Let love be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. [Christian Standard Bible]

When I’m studying a verse or passage of Scripture, one of the first things I do is look at it in different translations.  Then the I look at it in the original language through one of the study lexicons or guides.

The verse above caught my attention this morning.  Love, of course, is the same in each translation. It is agape in the Greek and represents that unconditional love that isn’t based on anything of worth in the recipient. Love must be sincere, unfeigned, meaning real and without hypocrisy.

We are also to abhor, detest utterly¸ all things evil. Evil is poneros, and it covers just above every kind of evil, bad, grievous, harmful, lewd, malicious wickedness there is.

Last, we are to cling to, cleave to all that is good. Good is, well — good. But what really interested me this morning was that word kollao, translated as cling to or cleave. It comes from kolla (glue).  Kollao (cling to) means to glue.  While we abhor and detest evil, we glue ourselves to what is good! Does that capture your imagination as it does mine?

Good, good Father. I want to glue myself to You. I want to cling to all the good that flows from You! Amen.