Past Devotions

I had a wonderful conversation with a young pastor last Wednesday. He came out to The Way in Middleton from his church in Boise to talk about prayer. We did talk about prayer, but mainly we talked about Jesus and some of our life experiences of what God has done in us, our families, our churches.  It was very easy to see immediately how much he loves the LORD.

Romans 8:29 gives the awesome promise that “those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son.” [NIV]

That pretty much sums up God’s will for our lives – that we be conformed to look like God’s Son, Christ Jesus.  How the Holy Spirit produces that likeness in us is individual. What produces Christ in me will be different than what produces Christ in you.

The image of Christ Jesus is to be seen in us in ever-increasing measure. But as we become more conformed, we do not lose who we are as individuals. Instead that Christ-like image is seen through our desires, in our personalities, our intellect, our emotions, our decisions and our talents.

I don’t know if you have ever had the experience of meeting someone new and realizing as soon as the conversation begins, that they are a servant to the LORD-ship of Christ. When that happens, it truly is the Jesus-in-me meeting the Jesus-in-them. It is a wonderfully edifying experience.

Beloved, may we all be more like Christ each day. Amen and Amen.

I love the irony found in 1 Peter 2:16: “Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.”

The word Peter chose to use for “servants” in this passage is doulos in the Greek. It means “slave.”  What Peter wrote is, “Live as free men…live as slaves of God.”

We have been set free. But set free for what? To use our freedom as a cover-up for evil? Heaven forbid, as Paul might say.  No, we have been set free so that we can willingly and enthusiastically take this free life and place it under the authority and LORD-ship of Christ Jesus.

Our salvation is more than mere words spoken one day at an altar. Our salvation is more than simply repeating “The Sinner’s Prayer.” Our salvation decision is merely that, a decision. (and I’ve made a lot of decisions that I never carried through on when I found the path was too difficult or the cost too great.)

Our salvation decision is a good first step, but it must be followed by a true conversion, which encompasses producing fruit from our repentance and a willing and complete surrender of our will, our life, to the LORD-ship of our Savior. To stop short of that is to live in a very dangerous place. We may think it is enough to just get by, but when it comes to being saved, I sure don’t want to “just get by.”

I want to freely give all to the One who loved me and died for me. I want the world to know I love Christ Jesus and am willing to lay it all down for Him.

I am a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What did you think when you read that? Was the first thought that came to your mind … she’s in full time, pulpit, pastoring ministry in a church?  Or was your first thought … “so am I.”

 It should be the latter.  The Greek word for minister is diakonos. That comes from diako which means to run errands. Minister simply means “servant.” I could just have easily began this devotion with the sentence “I am a servant of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Paul advised Timothy: “If you point these things out (godless myths, lies, deceiving spirits) to the brothers, you will be a good minister [servant] of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed”. [1 Timothy 4:6]

There is another Greek word we should consider when we speak of being servants of the Lord. It is the word doulos. It means simply “a slave.”  Paul used this word in 1 Corinthians 4:5: “For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants [slaves] for Jesus’ sake.”

 A servant is usually paid staff. A slave is owned by someone. We are both paid servants of Jesus Christ, in that we will receive rewards for things we have done with eternal value; and, we are slaves of Jesus Christ, owned by Him, bought with His precious blood.

I am a willing servant and surrendered slave of the LORD Jesus Christ. I am a minister of the Gospel.  So are you! I can think of no higher calling, can you?

The Gospel of Luke (Chapter 4) tells us that following Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness He returned to Galilee “in the power of the Spirit.” Eventually, He ended up in Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As was His custom, He went into the synagogue. When He stood up to do the reading, He was handed the scroll that contained the writings of the prophet Isaiah.  He unrolled it to a certain place and began to read.

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”  [61:1-2a]

Jesus read that day from what we now know as Chapter 61 of Isaiah. Isaiah’s words perfectly fit the purpose of Jesus’ First Coming among men. Good news. Freedom. Recovery. Release. Proclamation of the Year of Jubilee when the captives were set free.

It is interesting that Jesus stopped reading where He did in that section, because the next part of the line reads, “and the day of the vengeance of our God.”  [vs2b]

The vengeance of our God was not part of the mission of Jesus’ First Coming. It will, however, be part of the mission of His Second Coming. I must admit that I have always focused on the Good News in my preaching … people do need to hear that God loves them, desires to be with them, and wants them to experience all He has for them. I have failed, however, to remind people that to reject that Good News now, will make them vulnerable to experience the other side of Good News … “The day of the vengeance of our God.”

Father, forgive me, help me now to preach the whole truth! Amen

Jesus and His disciples were headed to Jerusalem. He had already told them that His death awaited Him there. The hour had come for darkness to reign, and for His own people to despise, reject Him, and call for His execution.

Mark tells us that as Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city of Jericho, “a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’”  [Mark 10:46-47]

Bartimaeus’ shouting got the attention of those around him, who promptly rebuked him and told him to be quiet. That response only got Bartimaeus to shout a little louder until finally the LORD Jesus heard him and stopped. Jesus commanded that they bring him closer.

Knowing that Jesus heard his shouts, and now wanted to speak to him, Mark says Bartimaeus threw his cloak aside, jumped to his feet and went to Jesus. When Bartimaeus met Jesus, his blindness became a thing of the past.

The world wanted Bartimaeus to shut up, but he would not. Instead of quieting, he grew louder. And because Bartimaeus would not quiet, healing came, light invaded his darkness.

Beloved, Jesus is walking by … are we going to remain quiet? Are we going to heed the world to quiet or follow the example of Bartimaeus and get even louder?  As for me … I’m shoutin’!

Savior do not pass us by! Amen

I have been thinking a great deal about “shouting” since I got back from retreat. Looking at “shout” in my concordance has led me to a number of occasions where God told His people to “shout.”

Please understand as I write about what I think God is saying to the church about “shouting” that I am not talking about shouting at people. The giants in our land are spiritual giants, giants that have ingrained themselves in our culture. We do not struggle against people, as Paul reminded us, 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]

I believe God is calling His church to raise a spiritual “shout,” one that is heard by those forces of evil in the heavenly realms. The psalmist commanded us to: “Sing to [God] a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.”

Not only did he command us to sing, play and shout, he even told us why we should do so. “For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.” [Ps 33:3-5]

For too long, beloved, we have allowed the enemy to pervert the Word of the LORD from what is right and true. And while God’s love is unfailing, God will never compromise His holiness. The LORD loves righteousness and justice and will settle for nothing less. Sin and compromise have no part in Him.

So church, it’s time to repent, time to sing, and it is time to shout!

“When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city.” [Josh 6:20 NIV]

If you read Joshua 6 about the taking of the fortified city of Jericho as he began his campaign to claim the Promised Land, you notice that the people did the same thing for six days, and nothing happened. Then on the 7th day as they continued to follow the LORD’s command to march, God added something to their warfare. They shouted! And when they shouted! the walls of the city gave way.

Beloved, the Church of Christ Jesus has lost her voice in our culture. We are silent not because we’ve grown hoarse from the shouting; we are silent because we have surrendered our voice in the face of the fortified city of the enemy. And because we’ve been silent, the enemy has pushed his walls out and claimed more and more of our culture.

Well, no more. It’s time the church started shouting. We need to give the enemy notice. We will not remain silent about abortion … we will preach the truth of The Word of God completely … we will worship our LORD and Savior Christ Jesus both inside our dedicated buildings and out of them. We will preach of the love and goodness of our God for everyone, but we will also remind that God’s goodness will never compromise His holiness. “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God!” [Hebrews 10:31]

Church arise! Shout! Kneel before our LORD. Plead for His Presence! Blow the trumpets of war! Aren’t you tired of being told your God is irrelevant? And so are you? Well, I am. I intend to shout! The enemy has no authority to tell me I can’t!

Joshua and all the people crossed over the Jordan River. Their feet are standing on the Promised Land, but there are many enemies in their pathway. One of the biggest is right in front of them, the walled city of Jericho. God’s instructions to Joshua seem very strange.

“You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.” [Josh 6:3-5 NKJV]

The people shall shout with a great shout!

“I Raise a Hallelujah” (link below) is a song published by Bethel Music. The story behind the song is fascinating and you can find it on YouTube. I believe this song captures the essence of the taking of the walled city of Jericho. “The people shall shout with a great shout then (and only then) the wall of the city will fall down flat.”

Beloved, the church has been silent way too long. It’s time to march. It’s time to blow the trumpets of war. It’s time to shout with a great shout! The walls of the enemy are vulnerable to our shouts of Hallelujah! Praise the LORD Almighty!

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=raise+a+hallelujah+lyrics&view=detail&mid=171DCAD83DFECCA6E1C4171DCAD83DFECCA6E1C4&FORM=VIRE

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” [Joshua 1:9]

That command to be strong and courageous was given twice to Joshua at the command of God in Deuteronomy. [31:6, 23]

It was given to Joshua three times by the LORD in the opening chapter of the Book of Joshua and echoed once by the people back to him.  In Joshua 1:7, God even added the adjective ‘very.’ “Be strong and very courageous.” [1:6, 7, 9, 18]

They were at the border of the Promised Land. Moses was dead. Those who had experienced the power of God in the Exodus from Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, and the destruction of Pharaoh’s army were dead. Joshua knew the kinds of people (giants) that were across that border. He was one of the 12 spies sent there earlier to survey the land, and 1 of only 2 who brought back a favorable report. Caleb was the other.

Now they had arrived and the job to take the land … without the power of Moses behind him … was all Joshua’s. God wanted Joshua to know with a certainty that while Moses wasn’t there, He was.  “….for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

 God wanted Joshua to understand that what made Moses the powerful man of God that he was, was the Presence of the LORD God with him. Now that same Presence was with Joshua to enable him to also be that powerful man of God.

And what did Jesus say to us?  “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” [Matt 28:20 NKJV]

Be strong, church, and very courageous. We are in a land of giants!

Last Retreat Post:

Thursday, I had every intention of staying until Friday, but I woke up with thoughts of things I needed to do, a bill I forgot to pay, an appointment I needed to keep. I realized in that moment, I was done. God had accomplished all He wanted to do in me for the moment. So, I gathered up my things, checked out and headed home. The words of Psalm 73 came to mind as I left.

“Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.”  [Ps 73:23-28]

Funny, because as I sat here this morning writing, my Daily Bible Verse arrived in my email. And it was from Psalm 73: “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

 God is reminding me that while I may be back to the daily routine and the work He has called me to, that He is my strength and my portion, forever.  I may no longer be on a quiet retreat, intentionally cut off from the rest of the world. I might not see the mountains clearly from where I now sit writing. Bob may have the news on in the other room and noise has returned to my life. Still, God is with me. He is my strength. He is my portion.

There is nothing I desire more than to “know” Him here and to “see” Him in eternity.

Amen.