Category: Bible

Devotional 32: Let Them Grow Together…

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Matthew 13:24-30

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

This parable is often not preached, in deference to the one about the Sower and the seed, which is the Word, but I found myself drawn to this for a few years now, especially as the times upon us now continue to unfold in seemingly unchecked aggression, fighting for rights, and strife along racial and economic lines.

I am reminded of the admonition to take the lowly place, so that we may come up higher when called by the host, instead of taking the high and lofty place, and lose it to someone of greater stature. Jesus said the least in the kingdom of Heaven was greater than His cousin and herald, John the Baptist. As Christians act like Pharisees, and compromise with the world (me included), and don’t practice grace and judging righteously, speaking Truth in love, and loving one another even inside the Way, we must walk in faith while watching, praying, and making disciples of ALL nations, not just the ones who look like us. We must be, as Jesus said, wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

What draws me to this parable is that:

1- the landowner’s property had to be big, if an enemy was able to get in and sow weeds undetected (figuratively speaking).

2- the plants looked enough alike that weeding them before the harvest would’ve culled the good along with the bad.

3- the good crops are utilized, protected by the barn, and used by the landowner for the good of others, feeding them on that which is whole and good.

4- the tares are to be destroyed, consumed by fire, and made to disappear.

But here’s the main thrust of it: They looked so enough alike as they grew that the servants would not be able to tell them apart.

There are former Christians who have left the faith for various reasons. John says they were not of the faith or they would have remained.

John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

There are new believers entering the faith:

Luke 23:39-43

39 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ,[j] save Yourself and us.”

40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord,[k] remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

I would be among the sheaves of joy, going into the Kingdom, forever protected, forever sinless, forever useful, forever praising God and serving Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore I pray:

King Jesus, remember me indeed, O Lord, when you come into your kingdom.

I bless Your holy Name above all names that took my wretchedness into your dying body, and purged me of fault before the Father, that I might be with you, on that day, resurrected in Paradise.

Help me then, Lord, to store up my treasures in Heaven, where thieves don’t break in and steal. Strengthen my desire to be ever like You, and less like me. Cover the filthy rags of my self-serving righteousness in Your spotless blood, and save me from the fires waiting for the unfruitful and purposeless, and the outer darkness of the rebellious and faithless, in the time of Harvest.

Do not blot my name from the Book of Life, that I may eat of the fruit of the Tree of Life in the Garden, and live forever with You as my Savior, Brother, Master, Lord and King.

I ask it in Your Name, in faith believing.

Amen.

A Father’s Day Devotional 2016

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Matthew 7:11

11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

Our sons, marrying, continue our family line. Our daughters, given in marriage, continue the families of their husbands, but are no less a part of us.

What, then, should be our legacy as fathers? What values do we impart to them that will reflect the best of us as they grow into their individuality? As adults, they will either hold on to those lessons, or release them, based on our examples.

Jesus says that as men, we are evil, yet will not give our children things that are bad for them. While this is not true for all men, it is true according to G-d’s plan for the family.

We are evil not because we are mean people, but because we were born to sin, and trouble, as surely as sparks fly upward.

Unable to earn grace, and undeserving of mercy, we yet have it through our Lord and Savior, Who tells us that if we keep our eyes on Him, we see the Father. He tells us that He and the Father are one: in purpose, in will, and in action. Jesus will not gainsay the Father, for He tells us that He only speaks that which the Father has given Him to say.

As we grow to manhood and undertake the roles of husband, father, head of house, spiritual leader, and priest of our Lord, we are yet sinners, and hence evil, but also capable of love. We smile when our children our happy, and comfort them when they’re sad. We rejoice in their victories, and counsel them in their setbacks.

We teach, and discipline, and guide them in times of adversity.

And as they grow and watch us, let us keep praying psalms of ascent, when the men were called apart to climb the mountains and do kingdom business with the Lord our G-d.

This is not just a calling, but a ministry, a responsibility like no other. It is not to be entered into casually, with a loose connection born of lust. Children in the hands of their fathers, we are told, are like arrows. Let us consider carefully where, how, and who they will impact when they land.

And when the time comes to go the way of all flesh, and rest with our fathers, hopefully we see our legacy of Lord’s love in our children’s eyes.

Therefore I pray:

Let every man who reads this consider the cost of the sacrifice, for the children You give him, O G-d, will once again face You for judgment, and we, as fathers, will be held accountable for that which we imparted to them; that which was of You, and that which was not.

Teach us to love as the Father loves us, giving good things, wanting to bless, and show favor, but not favoritism.

Lord, put a special anointing on the fathers of children with special needs, and guide them in the way they should go, if You do not grant healing. according to Your sovereign will.

Help us to see the Father’s love through Christ’s example, and to emulate, and to turn to You for strength when we waver, and make mistakes, and sin against our children.

Help us to keep our promises.

Help us to be good providers.

Above all, Lord, I pray, let our legacies of the gifts you gave us be pleasing to You, so that when we give account of our fatherhood, You will say to us, Well done.

Amen.

 

 

Devotional 29: “But If Not…”

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Daniel 3:16-18

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

There are Scriptures that speak of testing by fire: .tests of our faith, our works, our hearts, and our love.

In general, when those who follow the Way speak of trials, our tendency is to link them to fire.  In days of old, to profess the sovereignty of Christ at the expense of a powerful and corrupt church often did, in fact, end in trial by fire.

Captives away from their homeland, their names changed, and under the constant threat of death or the promise of reward based on the whims of a volatile, arrogant king, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego gave the ultimate answer to their impending doom, obeying G-d’s commandment to have set no gods before Him, to not worship images of the created, nor images of man.

“We have no need to answer you in this matter…” Their minds were already made up. Surely they already knew of the king’s decree, and didn’t do it. Their hearts were set on G-d, and if they were to meet Him tragically and painfully, they would do so willingly.

Honestly, how many of us would have the faith and courage to say that in the face of impending, indeed, imminent death. The devout and pious young men were not even tranquilized to face their doom, and were excessively bound so that there was no escape from the flames that were so hot they killed some of Nebuchadnezzar’s mightiest men. (I think G-d was sending the king a message even then, I digress…)

They affirmed their faith with an even more fantastical statement. “…but if not…”

We are reminded of ‘the others’ in the Book of Hebrews, who had no last minute rescues, who saw no divine intervention, who were torn apart by various means with their faith in G-d intact in their hearts, and the kingdom of Heaven on their minds.

In these days, as the love of many grows cold, and the once-faithful turn away, as we are all tempted to do when see the flint-like face of our Savior leading His people to a new Promised Land, our Shepherd leading His sheep to the green pasture where the lions lay next to them, we are reminded to let not our hearts be troubled, nor afraid, and to believe in G-d, and the Son he sent for us to reconcile us to our Creator, and to  redeem us spotless and blameless, without sin, into His eternal kingdom, redeeming us from the flames of the Prince of this world.

We are reminded He will be with us, even to the end of the age, and He revealed Himself as He did, in fact, redeem His good and faithful servants from the flame of a worldly king, who then testified as a pagan witness to the presence of Jesus.

25 “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”[a]

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus, You have said the world will hate us because it hated Your first, and that it hates You because You testify that its works are evil. You never wavered in the face of temptation, or persecution, or crucifixion, or death. And even as You died, You took a repentant thief into Paradise.

Give us the resolve to stand, O Lord, as Your three servants who set the example for us on earth, as You set it for Heaven. Help us to keep discernment through the eyes of the Holy Spirit in us, and know that the battle is spiritual, and not of flesh and blood.

In an age of faithlessness, compromise, and blasphemy, we ask You to increase our faith, and help our unbelief.

We need You now more than ever, to impart Your strength to our quavering voices and shaking knees, to shout from the rooftops what You’ve whispered, and to set our holy lights on the hills of a land in decline, and be voices in the wilderness, proclaiming the Year of the Lord’s favor, and to seek Him while He may yet be found.

By the Power of Your Holy Name, I pray,

Amen.

 

 

Devotional 27: Stretch Out Your Hand

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Matthew 12:9-14

Healing on the Sabbath

9 Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.10 And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—that they might accuse Him.

11 Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. 14 Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.

The Sabbath, the sacred day of rest, when no work is to be done, knows no rest from the Pharisees’ plotting, yet Jesus said He came to fulfill the Law, not replace it.

We read where crowds are astonished at the way Jesus teaches, because He ‘taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes,’ who taught what they were able to glean, or manipulate, to keep the people docile, uninformed, intimidated, and under control of the powerful, and wealthy, religious leaders.

Yet their jealousy persisted, and with every attempt to trap Jesus in the things He said, they lost face with the people, and control of their power.

What they failed to realize is that the Sabbath itself is given to us as a day of restoration, to rest from our labors, restore our strength, our family ties, our relationships with others and our communities, and to reflect on the goodness of the Lord.

Their question “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” was therefore a foolish one.

Jesus, ever teaching to the secrets of the heart, answers them with an analogy that speaks to their need to preserve their wealth, for livestock was wealth, and they would rescue a sheep from a well in order that they might continue to profit from it, because they loved wealth rather than G-d and their fellow man.

But men are more valuable to G-d than livestock. Isn’t that why He sent us His Son?

Also, Jesus asks something of the man with the withered hand. We don’t know if the Pharisees brought him to the synagogue to be complicit in their plans, but we do know he didn’t go unnoticed and ignored by Jesus even if that was the case.

And so, a test of faith and obedience:

“Stretch out your hand.”

Jesus doesn’t touch him, but as the hand draws closer to the presence of the Lord, it’s made whole again, and useful now to the kingdom of G-d.

Obedience and faith must be our hallmarks as believers. We must act, ‘in faith believing,’ and pray ‘as if (we’ve) already received,’ and the restoring power of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, will do its part.

Therefore I pray:

This, O Lord, is simply a prayer of praise and thanksgiving for restoring me to G-d, that I might see the light of His glory and not die, for You are the light of the world, and the bread of Heaven, and You have promised me eternal life through belief in your Name, and obedience to your Word.

Today, I stretch forth the withered hand of my faith, Lord Jesus, right where I am, right now, knowing You will make it whole again the closer it gets to Your presence.

Your unworthy servant bows low before You, to thank You for paying my debt, and granting me the mercy of Your shed blood for my sake, and Your grace to help me up when I stumble.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for making my spirit whole through Your broken body, now in glory, and seated at the Father’s right hand.

I long for the day we meet, and I am made whole anew, and forever.

Amen.

 

Devotional 26: They Begged Him to Depart

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Matthew 8:

31 So the demons begged Him, saying, “If You cast us out, permit us to go away[a] into the herd of swine.”

32 And He said to them, “Go.” So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.

33 Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.

Demons are ever evil, but they are also subject to the will of God. Our fallen state, our inability to grasp the mind, heart and will of God, narrows our focus on earthly things and earthly matters.

There is a reason why Jesus admonishes us to abandon those things if we follow Him.

Here Jesus comes to Gergesenes, and not one, but two demon possessed men, described as ‘exceeding fierce,’ sense His presence, and come to him with a fearful question: “Do You come to torment us before the time?” They too, as the other man Jesus delivers from possession, live in the tombs, for demons can only be themselves among dead people (in they spiritual as well as the physical sense).

They ask His permission to go into the pigs so they can steal the herd, kill the livelihood of the city, and destroy the wealth of those who’ve prospered from them.

Jesus knows this too, but He grants it, because the souls of pigs are worthless to the kingdom of G-d, but the souls of men are not, and Jesus’ kingdom, as He told us, is ‘not of this world.’

In v. 34 we read: “And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus.  And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.”

What a contrast to the story of the other man, who went around telling others what Jesus had done for Him, about his deliverance, or those who came out with Samaritan woman, and asked Jesus to stay with them, the sworn enemies of Israel, and minister to them.

But this city, concerned with earthly matters of commerce and profit, took no pleasure in the divine deliverance of their countrymen, no rejoicing in the presence of the Messiah, who even the demons recognized as Lord. We read these sad words instead:

“…they begged Him to depart…”

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When Christ entered my life, I never thought I would ever ask Him to depart, but there were times when I did, and times when I still do, because my nature is fallen, my heart is evil, my motives impure, and I am fixed on earthly comfort, overly concerned with what the Prince of this world has to offer.

You’ll recall after the Resurrection, Peter told Jesus: “Depart from me Lord, for I am sinful man.” It was done in repentance, in the agony of the fact that Jesus loved him no matter what, would restore him no matter what, and that there was nothing he could do to earn it, deserve it, or drive it away.

How often do we use those words differently. “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful person.” It’s because I want to sin, and the power of the Spirit is beginning to bring the Word to mind so I don’t, but I want to, and I convince myself sometimes that I even need to, in order to keep my sanity when surrounded by stupid people who are making my life difficult, in order to make myself understood, because I have a right to be happy, and because I can, if all else fails, exploit and abuse the covenant of grace, sinning more that it may abound.

Have you asked Him to depart from the region of your soul, as it rages among the tombs?

As we sit on the fence, on one side, we see all the splendors of the world, the adoration, the wealth, the instant gratification, and the sibilant whisper of the serpent underneath: “All these things I will give you, if…”

On the other, we see the narrow road, leading to the narrow gate, full of stones and thorns and bloody brambles, with little to recommend it other than the promise that on the other side is where something better, greater, and far more lasting awaits us, if we’ll only follow…

Will we choose exceeding fierceness, or exceeding peace?

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus, there are times when I run from the Father’s presence, manifested in You, because the darkness of my heart, which comprises the dark where I sin, is as bright as the noonday sun to both of You.

Pluck me from Hell’s fence into Your embrace, for You said no one can snatch me from Your hand; yet there are times when I would pry your fingers open, and fall into the unquenchable fire.

I would not be a drowned, unholy pig, having demons savage my condemned soul, for as Yu say, the grave has power too. You’ve broken it, but I need to receive Your power to be free of it. I would not t have You depart from me.

Take me with You, and I will follow.

In Your Name I pray.

Amen.

 

 

 

Devotional 25: He is Out of His Mind

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Mark 3:20-21 Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. 21 But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.”

How can it be that the family of the Messiah missed the fact that He was among them?

How could it be that His mother, who pondered the sayings of Simeon, Anna, and the Wise Men in her heart on the things concerning her Son, go after Him with His siblings, believing Him to be mentally unsound?

He is unlike anything we’ve ever known, and yet He is the most accessible to the most lowly man.

“If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father.” You’ve seen the heart of G-d toward mankind, that we be reconciled to Him through the spilled Blood of the Son, and come to Him through the risen spotlessness and glory of His resurrection, fastened in body, mind, and spirit to Him for eternity, as He was fastened to the cross for our mortality.

The cares of the day press down on us, however, and thoughts of Him fade as we go through the traffic and mayhem of daily life, suffering slings and arrows that assault our psyche when we would be holy, when our minds are in silent prayer, when we take a moment to sigh our thanks in an empty room, and request strength for the remainder of what lies ahead.

There are those who think us stupid to proclaim Him our Lord and Savior on the basis of faith alone, believing in the Promise of One long departed, yet alive and glorified. “The foolishness of the cross,” as the Apostle Paul says. Are we willing to be out of our worldly minds, and have them stayed on the One who came to save, or do we risk denial on earth to please man, and be cast into the outer darkness?

“I would that you were hot or cold.” Indeed, He’ll be more involved with you when you’re out of the will of God, then He will if you walk between earthly and heavenly realms of influence. He can convert sinners through the Spirit, but a double-minded person is wind-tossed, rudderless, without roots, and unstable.

Feed the spirit-man, for you cannot save the fleshly one; he is out of his mind.

That’s why He came to us.

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus, there are times I too, thought this message foolish, its standards untenable, its sacrifice of self too great a price to pay, and I turned, and backslid, and became a profane vessel unfit for service, unwashed within.

There are times I said that if your love is steadfast and eternal, I could indulge my fleshly desires, and it would be all right in the end.

There are times I said that the problem was with You, and not within me.

I, like Your family, like Mary herself, forgot who You were, and where You came from, and why. I was bent on backsliding, because it felt good, and eased my loneliness, and assuaged my pain in ways that I appealed to You to do, but You did not, for reasons I couldn’t understand.

So I went away and looked on the outer darkness waiting to receive me, and said it was good, and it was well with my soul.

Lord, forgive me. 

It’s I who am foolish, not the message of the cross.

It is my standards that are untenable, for they lead me to perdition.

It is the sacrifice of filthy rags of self- righteousness that is too great a price to pay.

And looking on the outer darkness, I am a blind sheep, unconcerned with Your worry as You leave the ninety-nine to come rescue a fool and bring him home, in love and grace and mercy.

Help me always to hear your voice when the void whispers prettily, and smells of jasmine and honey and clean earth, but holds the horrors of eternal separation from Your glory in unquenchable, agonizing fire that tortures my damned soul with no respite, and mocks the hope I once had as it burns the tears of sorrow away, and singes the cries of my hopeless, helpless heart on my tongue, and burns the praise from my throat.

Goad me along the narrow road to the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and I will not kick against them.

Amen.

 

 

Devotional 24: Cry Out All the More

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Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus

46 Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

49 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.

Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.”

50 And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.

51 So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”

52 Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

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Bartimaeus had reached a point of weariness with his affliction, blindness, so when Jesus was near, he called to Him, his voice carrying above the excited din of the crowd as they saw Jesus approaching.

In his cry, Bartimaeus gives the designation of recognition of Jesus as the Messiah as ” Son of David,” and pleads for mercy.

Why mercy? Isn’t that something granted to the sinful? How would a blind man, begging alms, be sinful? We can only guess that Bartimaeus cursed his lot in life, and blamed God, and was angry at being treated as human refuse for depending on the patronizing, pitying kindness of strangers.

In his state, the people nearest him tell him to be quiet; he is a poor, blind beggar, and Jesus is a King, so they marked him as unworthy to be in Jesus’ presence by those who probably either ignored him everyday, or mocked him as they gave of their surplus.

Continuing to place his faith in Jesus, obeying the prompting of the Spirit within him, he cried out all the more. In his weariness with his affliction, he saw an opportunity to be free of it, and in his acknowledging of Jesus as Messiah, the faith in his cry for mercy caused Jesus to stop, and command Bartimaeus to approach.

The fickle crowd who at first told him to shut up, now tells him to cheer up, and to rise and go forward. Though none offer to help him stand, Jesus’ command also removes the human barrier of doubt, so neither will they hinder his way.

As Matthew left all, and Lazarus was loosed from his burial shroud, and the bedridden man lowered through the ceiling rose to carry his bed outside to throw it away, Bartimaeus throws aside the garment that marked him as an afflicted pauper, worthy of little more than pitied contempt and whispered judgement as to the nature of his sins, and stands before Jesus.

He answers Jesus’ question (though He knew what the man wanted; he wanted him to say it, to proclaim that he wished to be healed, and free), and says he wants to receive his sight.

Immediately, with no touching from Jesus, with no mud-making, with nothing more than the power of His Word, Jesus heals him through his conduit of faith, and tells him so:

“Go your way, your faith has made you well.”

We read that Bartimaeus did not go his way, but followed Jesus down the road, no doubt giving thanks and praise and glory to the Father.

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Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus, You admonish us to ask, seek and knock. These are not only acts of faith, but of persistence, of effort with a goal in mind of building our faith to have our prayer answered.

Help me to understand, Lord, that as I persist in my petitions to You they will not be granted without these two things:

  1. faith in You, and the promise that You said all things are possible through the Father,

2. being in Your presence, for You said apart from You I can do nothing, nor can You work in me if I possess a sullied spirit and a skeptical mind.

Help me to listen to the still, small voice when the devil’s hordes are shouting for me to be quiet, to sit down, to trouble the Master no longer, for my prayers are stillborn in my mouth.

I thank You that in Your presence, we leave the garments of our afflictions in the dirt, no longer begging for strangers’ alms, but sitting at the King’s table, partaking of the bounty of Your mercy on us, and the goodness of your grace towards us.

Let me cry out to You all the more, Son of David, that You may say to me:

“Your faith has made you well.”

Amen.

 

 

 

Devotional 23: The Third Day

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Hosea 6:  1- 3

Come, and let us return to the Lord;
For He has torn, but He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will bind us up.
2 After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.
3 Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
His going forth is established as the morning;
He will come to us like the rain,
Like the latter and former rain to the earth.

 

The thought of giving an account to the last Judge, King, Ruler, Savior, and Creator of the Universe is at once something we view as ‘far off’, as it depends to some extent on how soon we shuffle off these mortal coils (depart from life, for you non-Shakespeare readers).

Yet we are told by the Apostle Paul that to be absent in the body is to be present with the Lord, and that the spirit of man returns to G-d while the body returns to the earth. We are told by him that we shall be like Christ in glorified bodies when we are called forth from the grave, ‘sown corruptible’ and harvested as ‘incorruptible.’

If our spirit returns, and our bodies are raised at a later time, what are we called to do in the interim before flesh and spirit reunite? Daily, our flesh sins, and while we’d like to think most of it is unintentional and unplanned, that doesn’t mean we’re not called to repentance.

We also make choices to sin when we know better. Just yesterday, I skipped people in a line at a convenience store when another registered opened to reduce the backlog. A man gently touched my shoulder to stop me, but I ignored it and paid for my item ahead of others who’d been standing there. It was a Saturday morning, and I wasn’t late for anything, so I don’t know why I did it other than that I just didn’t feel like waiting. It was wrong, and rude, and I felt bad for doing it, but not enough to hang around and apologize to the person who tried to correct me. I didn’t even look at him, because to acknowledge him meant I knew what I was doing.

Are there more heinous sins than line-jumping? Yes, but that didn’t make it right to do, especially since I know that Christ Himself would not have done that, and I profess to be a follower. It was a moment of fleshly weakness, and I indulged it as fast as the thought occurred to me. We must be ever-vigilant. Let him take heed who thinks he stands, lest he fall, right?

This doesn’t even speak to our so -called secret sins. They’re only secrets from others, but not from G-d, who sees all we do, no matter the time of day. We can also sin through neglecting our spiritual lives by not praying, not confessing our sins, not meeting in fellowship, not reading G-d’s Word, that which He holds higher than His Name.

So how much like Christ can we be then?

Let’s take comfort in the words of this verse, but let’s also obey it, for there is no other way to salvation.

Verse 1: We must act. In order to return, we must stop going that way and turn ourselves, around, that we may stop being afflicted and disciplined for our sins. The Shepherd walks behind us and before us, calling to us that He may remove our sin by the power of His Blood.

Verse 2: We experience restoration though revival, and on the third day, as the Father raised the Son, that we might know it’s by His power and through His will, the Lord Jesus Christ will summon us forth with a great shout, and we too, will feel that power.

When we repent, He resurrects that part of the Holy Spirit in us that we’ve neglected to communicate with, that we live and not die in His presence.

Verse 3: We must learn. From that perspective, we are to pursue of knowledge of Him as a lifelong endeavor, discovering the wonders of Our Father, our Savior, and the revelation of the Spirit anew, without ever coming to the end of our knowledge.

We read that when we seek this knowledge, we are refreshed in our spirits when He comes to us like rain to a dry land, with times of refreshing, covered in the covenant of Grace.

Therefore I pray:

Lord, when move out of your Presence to seek my own way, when I disconnect myself from that power of your healing, the protection of Your hand, I am never out from under the covering of Your blood.

I thank you, Lord Jesus, for not giving up on me, for not turning me away when I stop to pick up the shiny, worthless objects of the world strewn along my path.

Thank You for forgiving me.

Thank You for restoring me.

Thank You that I am free to pursue knowledge of You, without restriction.

Thank you for replacing the rags of my righteousness with Your perfect ones.

Thank you for allowing me to live and not die in the Fathers presence.

Thank You for times of refreshing, for the rain of your reign over my vaporous life, giving it substance, and calling it blessed.

I will return to You, O Lord, for You have said that You would return to me.

“Let it be unto me as You have said.”

Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Devotional 22: Do You Believe This?

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John 11:25-26

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Today we celebrate the Risen Christ, and though He was speaking to Martha, who had professed her faith that her brother Lazarus would rise on the last day, Jesus tells her that the power of G-d that granted Him life through the Spirit is ever with Him.

This little family believed in Jesus as Messiah, and Jesus therefore tells her that even those who’ve already died, if they believe, shall live.

It seems a paradox, but it’s not. We are admonished to seek G-d while He is near, while He may be found, while we are in the Year of the Lord’s Favor. Jesus tells us He would prefer if we were hot or cold, for the lukewarm He will spew out. That means He’s more involved with those who are cold than with those who believe ‘there are many roads, but they all lead to G-d.’ To their eternal peril, those paths lead to dead ends and outer darkness.

I read of gods who’ve said similar things that Jesus said, but none ever said “No man comes to the Father, but by Me.”

Jesus never wavered in His statements of identity, but the question is now put to a mere mortal about matters beyond her scope. “Do you believe this?”

It is a question that has resonated through the ages, and it is there in our hearts, in our thoughts, and in our world spinning slowly out of control, as He said it would.

Martha had a decision to make, and she answered rightly:

“Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

On this Resurrection Sunday, what is our response to this question?

Let us count the cost of our answer, be willing to leave all, and take up our cross, so that we, like Christ, can say:

“It is finished.”

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus, I celebrate Your risen Presence in my life today. I praise the Father, that He allowed me to come to You, to come under the covering of your Blood, through the power of the Holy Spirit, that I may enter Your eternal kingdom.

You know my weaknesses, and see my secret sins, and know the motives of my heart that are not in alignment with Your will, even now, after I profess to believe, and struggle to follow.

But Lord, underneath my unrighteous rags, I believe in the Atoning work of the cross, I believe in Your promise that I will live after I die, I believe that I will be reconciled to my Heavenly Father through You, His Son, and live eternally under Your perfect rule, and live out the ultimate purpose of all created humanity:

To glorify G-d and enjoy Him forever.

Resurrect a renewed and righteous heart and spirit within me today, Lord, celebrating that You are Risen.

You are Risen, indeed.

Amen.

Devotional 21: So he left all…

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Luke 5  27 After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” 28 So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.

The Lord requires we carry nothing to distract us from what He would have us do in His service. When he sent out the disciples, he told them to take nothing, so that they would not be distracted with the things they carried over the preaching and ministry they were assigned to do.

I’ve heard the Gospel of Matthew referred to as the ‘testimony of Jesus’ enemies’ (Pr. James McDonald, Walk in the Word Ministries). The phrase stuck with me because it amazed me to realize that even your enemies can see the Power of G-d in your life, and come against it. But the Lord is our vindicator in these matters, and indeed, sets a table before us in their presence, that we might either make peace, or watch the Lord move them aside, as He fights our battles.

While the tax collectors weren’t necessarily enemies to Christ, their corruption and greed were widespread and well known, and Jesus often preached the evil of riches in the hands of greedy, corrupt men. So when He calls us to Him, we, like Matthew, must leave behind earthly treasures.

In Luke 18:18-23 we read the account of the rich young ruler:

18 Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

19 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”[a]

21 And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.”

22 So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

23 But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.

This was the only thing that separated him from the kingdom of God, but it was also the greatest thing, and he chose it over the kingdom. His heart was in the right place, but it was not prepared. Many of the things Jesus spoke about doing regarding wealth escaped the understanding of those who had it, as it was in this instance.

Yet when Matthew, called Levi then, heard the voice and saw the love in the countenance of Jesus, he left everything: his books, his writing tools, possibly even the stashes of overage he collected that day, and had a feast that night, as much to celebrate his own freedom as to honor Jesus.

The widow gave all with her two mites, and even Zacchaeus, called out of a tree by name,  gave half his wealth to the poor, and paid quadruple what he stole by the time Jesus was done, and the Lord blessed the tax collector’s house by saying it was now under salvation

So we see there is a spiritual currency for following Jesus, a currency for faith, and many of us are not sure we’re willing to pay sometimes. Yet Jesus makes several references to this currency throughout His ministry. He speaks of casting unprofitable servants into outer darkness, he speaks of being unfruitful, and counting the cost of taking up our crosses, and leaving everything, never to go back again. He speaks of taking on work we are not able to finish when we fail to count that cost.

 

And it is to our earthly shame, and our eternal peril that we do so.

Therefore I pray:

Lord, let me be willing to leave all for the sake of following You.

Don’t let my emotions of doubt and fear and loneliness lead me into temptation, where I would blame Your absence for my present, yet transitory plight.

Help me to empty my hands and heart of idols of my own making, however temporary, for tomorrow is not promised to me, and I would not die in sin.

Help me to know that my heavenly mansion is financed by my heavenly treasure, for I will take nothing with me from this world when my time is done, except a spotted soul made spotless by Your holy blood, which redeems me into the kingdom, that I may achieve what you say is the chief end of man: to glorify G-d and to enjoy Him forever.

In Your Name I ask it, believing I have received.

Amen.