Past Devotions

Despite all the advancements of our modern era, people are still the same. We may claim to be more sophisticated or advanced or civilized, but we haven’t really changed. We share most of the same attitudes as our ancestors. We handle things very much the same way.

 I was reading in Isaiah this week and got to chapter 39 about King Hezekiah. Hezekiah did some things well and other things not so well. When Sennacherib, King of Assyria came against Hezekiah and the nation of Israel, Hezekiah turned to God and God delivered them.  When he fell ill and was close to death he prayed again, and God granted him an additional 15 years. 

 But when Merodach-Baladan, King of Babylon, sent Hezekiah a gift through envoys, Hezekiah got a bit puffed up in pride and showed off everything he had. So, God sent Isaiah to Him with a word that the time was coming when everything – all the glory of Israel – even some of Hezekiah’s very own descendants – would be carried off to Babylon. 

 It’s Hezekiah’s response that always reminds me of us … “The word of the LORD you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my lifetime.”  [39:8]

Ah, at least everything will be good for me … people who come after me can deal with the rest of it!  Isn’t that us, today? Greed influences some corporations to do long-term damage to environments. We drive governments into debt that our children will struggle to repay. We pollute, we destroy, we “advance” without thinking of long-term consequences or even if we should!   

 We are very good at passing off the consequences of our actions to the next generation. At least, “there will be peace and security in my lifetime.”  God forgive us.

Love. Mercy. Grace. Truth.

God loves us. Oh, how we love the fact that God loves us!  We can’t get enough of God’s love, and that is as it should be.

 God is merciful to us in Christ Jesus, not giving us what our sins deserve – judgment – but giving us mercy.  We need God’s mercy!

 We are recipients of God’s abundant grace – giving us what we don’t deserve, His divine attention, His peace, His indwelling Spirit.

 Truth. Oh,. Wait …. Truth isn’t always something we want to hear, nor follow. It often stands in opposition to what we want to pursue. It’s usually difficult. It’s even offensive. It divides. It’s … well … convicting. Just give us love, mercy, and grace, and keep quiet about truth.

 But as Jesus told His disciples, it is truth that sets us free.  “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  [John 8:31-32]

 Truth remains inviolate, whether we like it or not. It is not opinion, nor popularity, nor majority rule.  Truth is truth, and it is God who determines what truth is.  As for me, I agree with the Psalmist (even when it is difficult to do so):  “I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws.”  [Ps 119:30]

 “My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.” 

 Abraham Lincoln said that when questioned about whether God was on the side of the North in the Civil War. They are words we should really reconsider in our day and age. So many people claim God is on their side, but I wonder if they could make the claim that they are on God’s side? (I also wonder if God would agree with that claim that they are on His side!)

 God has only one agenda, one plan – His Kingdom Agenda.  Jesus told us we were to pray about God’s Kingdom agenda.  “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” [Matt 6:9-10] 

To be on God’s side means we live to see God’s glory and His Kingdom reign in this world, just as it reigns it heaven.  

We need to make sure we’re working on God’s plan not ours. To know God’s Kingdom agenda means you must know God’s Word. Whether you like what is in it or not, is not the point. It’s His Kingdom, His Agenda, and He sets the rules.

Remember Paul’s warning?  “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” [Colossians 2:8]

Beloved, we need to get on board with God’s Kingdom Agenda.  We have allowed too much of hollow, deceptive philosophy and human tradition to infiltrate the church. Time to get back on God’s side.

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority [exousia] in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” [Matt 28:18]

 There are a few Greek words for power in the New Testament. The two primary ones are “dunamis” and “exousia.”

 “Dunamis” is the word from which we get our word dynamite! There is a great struggle for power in our world. Even if we don’t look outside our own nation, we can find that struggle daily in the Halls of Congress, White House and Supreme Court, as well as in our state and local governments. Political parties want the power to rule. And people within those political parties struggle for the power to rule and set the direction of the parties themselves. We can read about this “dunamis-struggle” every day in the media.

 “Exousia” goes beyond power and means the authority to use that power.  Jesus said that all “exousia” had been given to him, “exousia” for both heaven and earth.  Who gave it to Him?

 God the Father did. He did it when he raised Jesus “from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.” [Eph 1:20-22]

 Jesus has all authority now and one day that authority will be manifest for all to see. The petty power struggles of this world are temporary and will one day disappear when Christ our King, the King of kings and LORD of lords returns and claims the cosmos and all in it for God’s glory.  I. can’t. wait.

A couple times a week I receive a poll question in my email. Usually the sender wants me to answer either “yes” or “no” to their question. Sometimes that’s possible but most times the questions are far weightier than a yes or no response. In fact, yes or no questions are usually the least valuable to elicit a meaningful response.

 I remember part of a counselling course I took was dedicated solely to learning how to ask other than yes or no questions.  It’s not easy, but it is certainly a good technique if we want good answers. And to get a good answer, you must ask a good question.

 The most important question ever asked was recorded in three of the Gospels. “But what about you?” [Jesus] asked. “Who do you say I am?”  [Matt 16:15, Mark 8:29, Luke 9:20]

 It’s the most important question because how you answer that question will determine how you spend your eternity. Who do you say Jesus is?  A good teacher? An example to follow?

 Unfortunately, in our modern church, we are tossing out the parts of “Jesus” that we don’t like.  We are dissecting Him and taking out for ourselves only the fragments that fit our own programs. Some have tossed out His virgin birth; others His Resurrection and Ascension. Some embrace all His words about love but omit His warnings of judgment and hell for those who don’t repent of their sin. 

 Jesus, however, asked a good question and the only good answer – the only answer that will allow you to abide with Him forever – was given by Simon Peter.  “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” [Matt 16:16]

 To answer that way means we accept all of Jesus, all He is, all He claimed to be, all He said.

I was sure out of it in church last Sunday. Saturday began well, went for a long walk, did a few chores, worked more on my message. But as the day wore on, a headache developed. I didn’t eat well, too much fat and salt, and paid for that mistake. Neck hurt more than usual. Went to bed early but didn’t sleep well.

 Sunday morning, I was “off” all morning. My vision was so blurry I could barely read the Scriptures from my big-print Bible during the message. I stumbled over words. I couldn’t quite say what I wanted to say. After it was all over, I thought I should have just eliminated the message and continued on with music and prayers, but at the time I couldn’t get myself in tune with the Spirit of God to realize that is what I should have done.

 When I looked back, I realized the week was hectic. Bathroom remodel took two days, waiting for the stove to be installed took another. I had an eye appointment and lots of running around. We had trouble with car repairs. Bob wasn’t feeling well. He broke his brand-new phone. Common every day frustrations ruled the week. 

And, of course, the message was on the realities of spiritual warfare.  Reality number one: we are in a war with spiritual foes and we can’t let our guard down.  I apparently let my guard down. I didn’t spend near enough time in prayer. I handled the week in my own strength and got depleted quickly. By Sunday, I had nothing left.  Thankfully, God anointed three people in the church who followed the leading of the Spirit and ministered to others.

This week, I am going to follow one of my favorite Scriptures. When His disciples became so busy with too much going on, He invited them to “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” [Mark 6:31]

I hope that is what my week holds!

Yesterday I reminded us that we are at war, a spiritual war, with spiritual foes. That’s a spiritual reality, but it is a reality that we don’t always handle well.  The enemy of our soul has two primary tactics – both of which will work to defeat us.  They are 1) over-emphasis; and, 2) under-emphasis.

We fall victim to over-emphasis when we blame everything – every sin, attitude, problem and struggle on a demon that needs to be cast out. I knew someone like that. Every time they lost their temper or came up against any opposition, they said it was because of demons. They would tell you that the devil was always out to get them personally. Most of the time their problems originated in their own lack of self-control and arrogant attitudes.

To under-emphasize, however, can be just as dangerous a position.  We can’t ignore the spiritual realm  The fact is, the Bible tells us our battle is against spiritual powers.  “What you can’t see” can hurt you!

The key is to find biblical balance. It means to know that, yes, as citizen-soldier of the Kingdom of God, we will be called upon to do battle with “rulers, authorities, the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” [Eph 6:12-13]

 But we also are aware that we are not to fear. We are promised that our God will be with us. “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” [Isaiah 41:10]

The battle is the LORD’s and He never loses!  Glory!

We are at war. At church this morning we’ll be talking about that war.  It’s a spiritual war. With spiritual foes.  The Bible is quite clear, we are not at war with people. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” [Eph 6:12-13]

 One of the church’s greatest demands is to discern between the spiritual struggle and other social, personal, and political difficulties.  You can’t fight spiritual battles with earthly weapons; spiritual battles demand spiritual weapons. Too often we become distracted and begin struggling with human adversaries instead of using spiritual weapons of prayer and intercession.

As Christians, we must always remember that our true citizenship is in the Kingdom of God. “For [God] has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” [Col 1:13-14]

 There are only two citizenship domains, the “dominion of darkness” and the “kingdom of the Son.” We are either with God or we are against God. There is no neutral ground.  

As citizens of God’s kingdom, we are citizen-soldiers.  We are at war. Spiritual War. With Spiritual Foes.  

My news feed Thursday morning had two stories I actually wanted to read.  The first involved the massive heatwave hitting the eastern half of the USA. About 185 million people are under a heat watch as of Friday morning and the heat has the potential to break records and turn deadly over this weekend. Cities in the region are rushing to mitigate the heat for many of their residents. (According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA], June was the hottest June on record for the world.) 

 The second involved homelessness in Los Angeles. More and more people are being forced to live in their cars as home prices and availability soar beyond the average persons ability to keep up. There are now companies parking “rental vans” along the streets. Renters have keys to the back doors, but not the ignition. That has various city councils scrambling to update ordinances.  

 Both articles made me wonder about God’s warnings.  2 Peter 3 tells us about those who scoff and wonder about the end times, saying “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”  

 Peter reminded his readers that God can move in the blink of an eye; everything can change in an instant. Remember the flood which brought God’s judgment on the earth in the days of Noah? He also reminded that God is not slow in keeping His promise of judgment, He’s restraining His Hand because He doesn’t want any to perish, but all to come to repentance.  [vs 4-19]

 While God is restraining His Hand now, He won’t forever. “The day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.”  [v 10]

Our master bathroom was remodeled this past week. Everything new except the vanity base. The major problem was that old fiberglass shower. It wasn’t in very good condition when we bought the house in 2007 and it had not improved over the last 12 years.  It was evident that the original owners used a harsh abrasive to clean it. That removed the shiny protective finish. Continual use had only made it worse.

 We looked at simply re-finishing the old shower, possible, but the results have not proven very good or long term. There are companies that will put a new unit on top of the old one, but the configuration of ours eliminated that possibility. It seemed the only good, long-term option was to do away with the old and replace it with a brand-new shower unit (this time with something more resilient than fiberglass).

 As I watched the workmen rip out that old damaged shower and haul it away, never to be seen again, I thought a lot about my soul. As a young person I treated it harshly. I was arrogant and abrasive, sarcastic and rebellious. All that left my soul damaged, my heart hopeless. I longed to be different but no matter what I tried, nothing truly worked. I could not refinish or cover up my lostness. Then I surrendered my life to Christ Jesus, and everything changed.

 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”  [2 Cor 5:17]

 When I opened that door and allowed Jesus into my heart, I became new!  Not re-finished, or cosmetically covered up, but brand new.  Hope found me. Peace found me. Love found me. Life found me. I still struggle to be the kind of person I should be, of course, but now I’m not alone in that struggle.  I now have the Indwelling Spirit of the Living Almighty God with me to guide and keep me. Thank you, LORD!