Past Devotions

Titus 2:12-14:  “…while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own eager to do what is good.”  [NIV]

For years I have heard the saints of God speak of that Blessed Hope. They mean, of course, what Paul wrote to Titus. That Blessed Hope is the Second Coming of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.  We long for that time when Christ returns for His own, when His Kingdom is established across the cosmos. I can’t wait to see it all play out!

In the meantime, however, we aren’t sitting idly by, rocking in our rocking chairs, bemoaning the fact that it is taking so long! We aren’t arguing or debating the timing. We are to be eagerly doing what is good while we wait.

Jesus said that we need to be dressed and ready for service and keep our lamps burning as we wait for our Master to return.  He said it would be good for those servants if the master finds them ready for His return. (Luke 12:35-40)

I truly believe that being ready means we anticipate the Lord’s return at any moment but we keep working (and when we cannot physically work anymore, we pray for and with others)  – eagerly doing what is good as we wait. I may or may not see the Lord return in my lifetime; I have far fewer days in front of me than I have behind me. I cannot miss even one opportunity to do what is good!

Father, keep my heart set the anticipation of that Blessed Hope, and my eyes constantly searching for where I can do what is good. Amen.

Today at The Way Assembly of God in Middleton we begin a new series titled “Godly Principles – Belief Impacts Behavior.” The first principle is simple, “You Are Not Your Own” out of 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. We were bought with a price, the precious blood of our Savior, Christ Jesus. We are to honor God with our bodies.  As Romans 12 says, we are to “present” our bodies to God as a living sacrifice.

In the Old Testament, believers made a sacrifice; in the New Testament, believers are to be a living sacrifice.  That means we need to learn self-control.  Honestly, I am not sure I like that phrase “self-control.” It makes it sound like something I must work up or find within myself.

We need to understand that being self-controlled is really being grace-controlled.  Paul wrote to Titus: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age….”  [Titus 2:11-12 NIV]

I’m not sure I have ever thought of grace as a teacher, yet among all the other functions of grace in our lives, teaching is a primary one … through grace we learn to turn from sin and the world’s passions. We learn how to live lives that are pleasing to God … which is what a sacrifice is to be after all—even a living one.

Father, may I learn from grace all that it means to be a pleasing sacrifice to You. Amen.

James 3:18 “Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.” [NIV]

James 3:18 “Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” [NKJV]

Matthew Henry comments on this verse, “That which is sown in peace will produce a harvest of joys.”*

I think the key word in this verse no matter which translation is used is the word “sown.” It means to scatter, as a farmer scatters seed to produce a harvest.  Interesting that it follows James’ description of wisdom.

Godly wisdom is not to be hoarded. Godly wisdom is meant to be shared; it is meant to produce righteousness in our own lives and in the lives of others. Wisdom doesn’t turn us inward – it turns us outward.  It’s not about sitting in our little caves and contemplating the universe, it’s about moving in the world among people who are struggling, hopeless, and desperate and bringing to them God’s harvest of peace and righteousness and joy.

When I began the week, I wondered where I was going to begin the year. Apparently, the beginning of 2018 is all about wisdom.

 Father, set us on a course in 2018 of wisdom. May we apply Your wisdom not just to our own struggles and challenges, but may we share it with others. Amen.

James 3:17:  The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

Wow. What a description James gives of godly wisdom – the wisdom that comes from heaven. Look at the words James uses.

Pure. In the Greek it comes from the same root word as holy. God’s wisdom is uncorrupted, morally pure. James says it is holy first of all. Holiness is its origin and its foundation.

Peace-loving, considerate (gentle) and submissive.  Godly wisdom is neither harsh nor demanding. Instead it is … Full of mercy (active compassion). Don’t you love that word “full!” There is no lack of active compassion in God’s wisdom.

 Good fruit. (And it is after all by their fruits that we shall know them. Matthew 7:16-20)

Finally, it is impartial and sincere (without hypocrisy).

I was thinking as I focused on those words how lacking our society is in wisdom. We are perhaps one of the most knowledgeable in the world, but I really doubt we could apply James’ description of wisdom to our politicians, universities, media, corporations or organizations. Maybe we could not even apply them to our churches!

Father, as we begin this new year 2018, help us to strive for wisdom in all areas of our lives.

James, Chapter 3, is one tough chapter! It begins with a warning to teachers that they will be judged “more strictly,” and then goes on to talk about the tongue (our speech) being unruly and a “world of evil among the parts of the body.” And he doesn’t stop there, he reminds us of the hypocrisy of using our tongue to bless and praise our Lord and Father one moment and curse men who are made in God’s likeness the next. (Both of which I seem to accomplish on my daily traffic-laden commute!)

James then turns his attention to wisdom.  “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.”  [James 3:13-14 NIV]

Read James’ instructions again, “Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done….”

How often we think of wisdom as being expressed solely by words, James says wisdom is expressed by “deeds done.”  Then he adds a caveat … our deeds are done “in the humility that comes from wisdom.”

Knowledge alone often gives rise to arrogance. Wisdom, on the other hand, breeds humility. Wisdom governs how we use our knowledge and apply our good deeds so that they produce a good life. A good life is one that has its focus on God and His good and pleasing will.

Father, may I be wise as well as knowledgeable about the principles and ways of the Lord for my life. Amen.

My son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons head back to California today.  It’s hard for us to say goodbye. While they were here we tried to make memories, snow ball fights, building a snow man, movies, time together just talking. Building good memories with my grandsons is important to me since I have very few memories of my own grandparents.

My paternal grandparents were never close. My maternal grandmother died before I was born. The only memory I really have is of my mother’s father.  He was a tough atheist, a house painter by trade who liked to visit the “French Club” and drink with his cronies. He’d often take me with him.

That ended when my parents moved out of town. I started Catholic School and began to write letters to him about God and going to heaven. They were a little child’s viewpoint and he never responded nor acknowledge them. We moved again, this time to California, and he died shortly after.  As he was dying, he asked for a priest and turned his life over to God through a sinner’s prayer.  Later my aunt found all my letters tucked away under his mattress; he’d kept everyone.

When I think of my grandfather, I think of the thief crucified next to Jesus, and how he waited until the very end of life to get right with God, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus promised that He would.  [Luke 23:42-43 NIV]

I am thankful that I will see my grandfather again, but it sorrows me that he waited until the very end to find God. What opportunities and delights he missed.

Father, I pray as we begin this new year, we embrace loving You and delighting in You. May we not miss any opportunities you place in our path in 2018. Amen.

Back to work today for the final two weeks of my 4-month temporary placement with the State of Idaho.  I’m tired. Not the kind of tired that a good night’s sleep cures. I’m the bone-weary kind of tired that has slowed my thinking processes as well as my body’s.  It’s going to take a couple weeks or maybe even a month of not having to drive a 60-mile commute each day and work an 8-hour day to recover my energy.

If there is a way to describe this past autumn season it would be ‘too busy.” I was too busy to read my Bible the way I should, too busy to pray as I should, too busy to study, too busy to do the things I needed or wanted to do … too busy.

In a way, my past autumn season reflects our culture … too busy.  We are too busy with the trivial and immediate, too busy trying to stay ahead financially, too busy with activities and sports and what-not to do the really important time investments.

Each of us has a daily allotment of time. No one gets more, no one gets less.  It’s 24 hours per person per day. Some of those hours are relegated to sleep, the rest are ours to spend wisely. That’s the hard part – applying wisdom to the allocation of our time.

Eph 5:15-16a:  “Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity….” [NIV]

Father, help me to apply Your wisdom to my hours. May I make the most of every opportunity You place before me, and never be “too busy” to hear Your voice and do Your will. Amen.

Ah, where to start at the beginning of a new year? Today, of course, is just another day. Football, both college and pros are wrapping up the previous year with playoff games in the next couple weeks. It’s a new tax year, that deserves a big “yippee” and who knows how the new tax laws are going to affect us. I started a new sermon series yesterday on “Godly Principles – Beliefs Impact Behavior.” That seemed a good place to begin a new year’s study at church.

But how to begin a new year. Just before years end I got an email from a business trying to sell me something I probably don’t need.  The subject line read … “How to Stop the Aging Process.”

Well, maybe that is something I need; however, I doubt they have discovered the secret to stopping the aging process altogether.

I know I can fight the aging process.  I may be able to postpone it by eating right and exercising. I can get cosmetic surgery to make me look like I’ve halted the aging process.  I could lie about my age.  But those are only stop-gap measures.  The aging process came in with the curse on mankind because of sin and it will remain in place until sin is banished completely.  Then upon Christ’s return, with our newly resurrected bodies, we will at last understand what it means to be completely ageless.

Rev 21:4: “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” [NIV]

Thank you, Lord, for the giving of eternal life.  Thank you for the promise that one day our bodies will experience what our spirits now enjoy. Oh Father, I long for that great and final “new year!” Amen.

Tomorrow is a new year, in a way it is a new beginning.  But I thought it would be great to end this year with this verse from Galatians 4:7:  Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Therefore.  The reason the therefore is there for is to remind us that this is the outcome of what preceded it.  Because God brought forth His Son in the fullness of time, because God brought forth His Son so that we might be redeemed and receive the adoption as sons and daughters, because God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts so that we might share the same intimacy Jesus had and call God our Father, we are now no longer a slave but a son, and in addition an heir of God through Christ.

No longer are we a slave bound to sin, serving the god of this world, frightened by death and the grave, outcast, shunned, unclean, full of evil thoughts and desires.  Now we are a son and have been qualified to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.  [NIV Col 1:12]

Too often as we approach a new year, we look back on the old one thinking only about the things we want to do differently.  We want to eat better, lose weight, make better choices, save money, spend less, be more thankful, find a new job, etc.  This year however, I want to approach this New Year knowing that I certainly did something right so many years ago when I came to Christ.  I want to remember that I am no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

“Wonder of Wonders!”  See you in the New Year!

Gal 4:6:  And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”

 Because we are sons (and daughters).  I love the past tense, especially in Scripture.  We are already sons and daughters of God.  We are not waiting until we get there to become sons and daughters.  Our adoption is a done deal.

Isn’t it interesting also that in the Old Testament God is not addressed as Father?  He is referred to as the Father, but the intimacy of addressing Him as Father is absent.  Not until the New Testament when Jesus arrives on the scene do we hear God addressed as Father, and not just Father, but our Father.

God, as part of the redemption brought to us by Christ, has now placed the Spirit of the Son in our hearts so that we can share the same intimacy that Jesus had.  We can boldly approach God as our Father and not fear that we will be spurned or ignored.

We need to remember that this intimacy comes to us when the Spirit of the Son is in our hearts.  It is not an intimacy shared with those who have rejected God’s plan of salvation.  They may think of God as a Father, such as the Father of Creation, but without the Spirit of the Son, which comes to us through redemption, they cannot understand the intimacy found in those two little words … our Father.

“Wonder of Wonders!”