Tag: Paul

Devotional 191: Lovers of This World

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The Abandoned Apostle

9 Be diligent to come to me quickly; 10 for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica—Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry.

Demas, like the disciples of Jesus, saw Paul do hard teaching, with hard concepts for the hedonistic, polytheistic people he ministered to understand. And he made a tragic, fatal decision to backslide, indeed, desert, the teachings of Jesus under the covenant of grace, casting his lot with the world.

Those of the flock that abandons the leadership of the Good Shepherd and his hand-picked ministers (and Paul was definitely hand-picked) are prone to attack, to theft, and to death.

Doubtless the persecution Paul suffered and the constant threat of death helped Demas decide he had no heart to persist in Kingdom mission work, and wasn’t willing to give his life for it. He traded his eternal soul for worldly trinkets and counterfeit comfort.

As Jesus tells us no one who undertakes the work and turns back is fit for Kingdom service. (Luke 9:62)

They cut themselves off from the promises of an unchanging, faithful Father to take comfort in the lies of a would-be usurper who will cull the souls of the gullible, skeptical, and unrepentant.

One is well reminded that the prince of this world, as powerful as he may be, is still subject to the almighty King of the universe, maker of Heaven and Earth, the seen and the unseen. In this, we are advised by our Lord not to fellowship with darkness.

John 14 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.

But he does in the rest of us, in matters of degree, in aspects of our lives where we don’t realize he’s operating. It is only through faith in Christ our enemies’ weapons will not prosper, and our sinful souls and corrupt flesh restored and reconciled to enter into our Father’s rest forever.

In pursuing this, we are admonished to love our Father with all of our being, and fear His power to cast soul and body into hell. (Matthew 10:28)

Much like the multitudes followed Jesus at first only because He healed them, the modern multitudes fill the churches when disaster strikes, but they quickly leave when the floodwaters recede and the wildfires are put out. They treat Heaven as an earthly safety net, and not as their eventual fate.

They will know nothing of living on the new Earth in the light of G-d’s glory. (Rev 21:1)

But G-d will not be mocked, and His eyes are open to their motives; it is to their eternal peril, and not by His glory and honor, that they shall be judged. The covenant of grace is not a safety net for the faithless, and there will be no salvation for the followers of Demas back into the groaning, waiting world.

Choose, this day, whom you will serve. (Joshua 24:15)

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus

It is to You the Father has given all things (John 5:22), including the Throne of Judgment, for You have proven worthy to the Book of Life, to call your faithful out of the world once more (John 15:19), call us to repentance and obedience, that we might not be cast out into the unquenchable fire, feasted on by the immortal worm.

I confess, Lord Jesus, the times I have been tempted to follow Demas and renounce the promise of grace through Your sacrifice on Calvary, giving Your last moments to give that grace to repentant thief and to pray forgiveness for Your persecutors.

In those times, help my unbelief and strengthen me to do likewise, for I know that to love my enemies and pray for them is not in me, not in my own strength, and not in my own will. Nor is it in me to walk the extra mile, and turn my cheek.
I know what You say to do, but it is a command I find myself unwilling to obey. It is, as those who turned back from You said, a hard teaching.

Give my prayers the power then to help me do the Father’s will, in fellowship with the power of the Holy Spirit, to love my neighbor as myself.

In the midst of the world’s clamoring for my attention, give me discernment to hear Your voice, and to follow You back through the windblown crowds chasing all manner of false doctrine. Let me turn my back to the backsliders, and yield to You so that I return in joy to the safety of Your unyielding hands.

May Your words be sealed to my spirit, now and forever.

Amen.

Devotional 154: Having Never Studied

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John 7:14-19

14 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. 15 And the Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?”

16 Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. 17 If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. 18 He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him. 19 Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?”

The son of an obscure carpenter, poor, and from the bad side of town where the rabble lived, came Jesus sitting in the midst of the structure of power and influence among the Jews, teaching with such power and authority that the people who heard Him ‘marveled’ at His style, yet continued to place Him back in their own earthly boxes despite all the works He’d performed in their streets and temples.

Remember when He rebuked Nicodemus for his question, “How can these things be?” when He spoke to him of being born again. (John 3:7-10), and His rebuke of the Pharisees and how they taught the people of Israel (Matthew 23:15).

As a child even in the temple, when He sat in the midst of the rabbis they were also amazed at His understanding and answers (Luke 2:41-52). When He sent out the disciples, also unlearned men, He told them not to worry about what they would say. (Matthew 10:19), and in a wry twist of divine comedy, His most steadfast and learned disciple was once one of His fiercest opponents who not only repented, but planted international churches through tremendous victories and demonic opposition who went on to write most of the New Testament (Phillipians 3:1-7)

We join churches, follow pastors, radio preachers, and ministries where we find like-minded believers, but we are not to surrender the unique power the Holy Spirit, who was so graciously given to guide us into all truth. (John 16:13)

Being His disciples here in the modern day then, we must not be irresponsible and neglectful in reading G-d’s Word. It matters, the Word says, that we study and show ourselves approved (2 Timothy, 2:15). Though it’s primarily for Timothy stepping into his new role as a pastor Paul founded, it still resonates down to the ages that when we fail to ground and center ourselves in the foundation of all things related to our salvation, we surrender that power to others and become slaves to egos that fall into temptation, believing themselves to be the voice of a god and not of a man. Remember what befell Herod before the crowds issuing this deadly flattering phrase: ‘The voice of  a god and not of a man.’

We are to point others to the glory of G-d, not share it, and definitely don’t proclaim that we are human divinity, for though the kingdom of G-d is within us, it certainly doesn’t mean attempting to ascend to the Almighty’s throne.

What Jesus said of the disciples could also be true of us: (Matthew 11:24-26)

Jesus Gives True Rest

24 At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. 26 Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.

So yes, we may rest in His power, but we must also read, study, speak, and most importantly, live in such a way that we might have an answer for everyone who asks of us (1 Peter 3:15):

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus, 

    As Your enemies gather in strength, growing louder in opposition, and those who once sowed and plowed with You have turned back, proving not fit for the Kingdom of G-d, subtle and flashy in their deception among those who surrender the power of Your word to serpents and wolves in sheep’s clothing who lead astray, heedless of the greater condemnation to come, we pray that You gird us up to speak by faith in boldness.

    As Peter caved under the pressure of the moments that heralded Your death, denying You out of fear for his own life after vowing to be by Your side as others fled, we too, are subject to this frailty.

    We are untried, untested, and though You count us worthy as the Father has granted You to reveal Him to us, we count ourselves as unworthy because of all the earthly things we’ve done, denying You in the moment out of fear and a desire to see the results of our emotions manifesting themselves in our flesh, and in the lives of those around us.

    Forgive us, Lord, and once again grant us the grace of the New Covenant under Your blood to start anew, as we once again attest our love for You in godly sorrow and repentance. (John 21:15)

    As we begin this new year, strengthen us to increase our faith and be obedient to the calling we have under Your commission to preach the gospel to every man, and as St. Francis gently admonishes us, ‘If necessary, use words,’ in the time that remains to us.

    May it be done to us as You have said.

   Amen.

 

Devotional 122: I Make All Things New

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Revelation 21

All Things Made New

21 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

I once saw Richard Gere on an interview talking about children, and he said that babies were having moments of epiphany all the time. Among Webster entries of definition is this list:

3a(1): a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something
(2): an intuitive grasp of reality through something (such as an event) usually simple and striking
(3): an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure
b: a revealing scene or moment

 

Yet within those moments, those revelations, the object of the epiphany has a familiarity; we’ve just come to a different level of understanding it.

It is in Christ that we are under a New Covenant, yet the matter of covenants is familiar to us. It is the breadth, depth, and inexhaustible nature of its grace, mercy, and long suffering that is the epiphany when He breaks through our barriers and reveals the truth of our Father’s kingdom, and the truth of our unworthy state to inherit it, to us through the baptism Holy Spirit.

It is as frightening a moment as it is wonderful to realize that yes, your soul’s eternity is at stake in these matters, and so many are so blind. The devil is a busy liar, tripping people up, making them focus on the fallibility of man rather than the unerring truth of divinely inspired writing. On skin color and actual birth days rather than the principles of brotherhood and love. On equating a popular majority with morality. And of course, the ever tightening focus on self, and self-gratification in all things.

Yet, when we turn from resistance to faith, Paul tells us: (2 Corinthians 5:13- 17)

13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; or if we are of sound mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

The epiphany that we miss here is that appearances, ethnicity, attractiveness, wealth, and all the other things we associate with as being the ‘good things in life’, don’t matter to the message we are to preach.

Paul encapsulates the mission of Christ as well as his own when he tells us:

1 Corinthians 9:19-22

Serving All Men

19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; 20 and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the [a]law, that I might win those who are under the law; 21 to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; 22 to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.

The Father provides ministers at every level for every aspect of life, that the lowest unbeliever among us might attain salvation at the highest level, for all eternity.

We call spring a season of renewal, yet we are familiar with it. The colors and warmth of it provide a much needed break from the ice and snow that marks our winters, and gives to the earth what it needs at that time. It is what we do in our season that makes us new: learning a new thing, traveling to somewhere strange to us, or volunteering to do something for a cause we hold dear.

The renewal is always there, dormant and waiting for release. The flowers and birds remain the same in the same regions. The tourists descend like locusts, and the bugs and gnats and flies also return, just enough to keep us from romanticizing warm weather.

But the renewal of ourselves is a constant thing. There are times when we surprise ourselves and rise to occasions we never thought we’d encounter. They beat down are comfort zones and snatch us away, unprepared, unplanned, and unqualified to do that which lies ahead of us.

But G-d…

Isaiah 43:18-20

18 “Do not remember the former things,
Nor consider the things of old.
19 Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.

In this season of renewal, in Nature, self, and spirit, let us come to know our Father on a deeper level, to have an epiphany of him that was unrealized before now, if not unsought. And let us give thanks that our meditation on His goodness to us has so pleased Him, He will reveal more of Himself to us.

Therefore I pray:

Father in Heaven,

I thank You for sending Your Son to make me a new creation, though You knew my days before one of them came to be.

I am a new creation in that Your wrath no longer abides on me, and You call me to remove it from the lives of others, to those who will receive the Christ as the only way to be reconciled to You, spotless, blameless, and worthy of the inheritance of sons and daughters in their Father’s kingdom.

We thank You for the seasons we’ve endured, both physical and spiritual, and for seeing the fruit of our labors bear rewards, both small and great, and sometimes, undeserved.

We thank You for a New Covenant. Let us now be faithful in it to do our part as You have been in Yours to redeem us. Help us to remember that You take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, and have placed the burden on us to do such work in the Light that mankind will see it and glorify You.

Let us, in this season of renewal, cast off the shells of things dead within us, around us, and let us bear them on our backs no more, nor carry them in our hands, nor keep them in our presence. We leave them, right now, at the Throne to be consumed as chaff by Your holy fire.

Grant to us perception of the new things, opportunities, people, and ways we might cultivate to assure ourselves of our calling while bringing the lost to the harvest.

We ask for continuous epiphanies of Your will, plan, and purpose, for Your mind is unfathomable, yet You have given each of us a part in accomplishing that which You would have us do, and called us to ministry.

Let our work not be unfruitful, but let us be faithful sowers of the Gospel, for whether we plant, water, harvest, or all three, it it You, and You alone, who gives the increase.

May it be done to us as You have said.

Amen.

 

Devotional 117: To the Unknown God

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Acts 17:22-32

Addressing the Areopagus

22 Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; 23 for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:

TO THE UNKNOWN GOD

Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: 24 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ 29 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. 30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

32 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again on this matter.”

It’s interesting to note that in such a polytheistic society that put the wisdom of man and the study of human nature above at the center of the universe, there was still a blind spot, but still a longing of the spirit.

The list of Greek gods in comprehensive, and their attributed powers were formidable, but in their natures and emotions they were as capricious and prone to error as the flesh they ruled over, and were indeed, sometimes jealous of human beauty or strength, and visited terrible affliction on the objects of their wrath.

Yet in the midst of all the paganism stood an altar that spoke to the void in their hearts,  a G-d they felt might be there, but one they didn’t know, because they didn’t create Him, He created them. And there was Paul, the Lord’s messenger, to finally proclaim Him, remove their ignorance, and give them fulfillment.

And yet the passage concludes:

33 So Paul departed from among them. 34 However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

Not everyone who heard Paul that day came to the faith.

G-d is never not worshiped by those He reveals Himself to, He is only unknown by those who choose not to believe.

And so it is today. G-d is proclaimed, the message of salvation is shared more rapidly, more internationally now than ever before, and yet there are still those who mock, and those who put it off until later, if they decide at all.

Like Paul, we are not to lose heart, we are not to stop working, we are not to turn aside because our words don’t reach the rich and powerful, or the mockers who place creation above the created, or those who feel the tug in their spirits of a greater calling, and run because it means they’ll have to change their lives to meet G-d’s standard, and not the other way around.

Do we know people like this?

Pastors read volumes on growing churches, and seem no longer content to preach the Word, but put on showcases, and events, and grand conferences, and wonder why nothing is happening.

It is G-d who gives the increase, the anointing, the blessing, and the silver and gold is His, also the land. We are to stay humble, and keep planting.

Luke 17: 1-10 Faith and Duty

5 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”

6 So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. 7 And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? 8 But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. 10 So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’ ”

The implication is that they did not do more than their service required, in their own strength, and of their own will.

How far in our service are we willing to go? What are we willing to do? Who are we willing to love as Christ would love? What are we willing to give to show that we serve Him, and keep His commandments, building our heavenly homes on rock, and not sand?

Or are we the rich young ruler, who leaves and was sad because he had great possessions? Are we afraid to approach the unlovely, the different, the scary?

Not every ministry is for every temperament, granted, but there is a temperament for every ministry, and there is an altar carved with the Unknown God on its heart in the spirits of our fellow man.

Are we proclaiming that G-d to them?  “What I tell you in secret, proclaim from the rooftops.”

Will we?  “If they will not hear you or receive you, let your peace return to you.”

When?  “The time is coming, and now is….”

It is what we unprofitable servants are called to do, not in our own strength, or of our own will.

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus,

Your most headstrong apostle outside of Peter used the fire of his zeal that persecuted You to then proclaim You to others who were like himself before You encountered him. 

He then confounded those learned men with the same vast knowledge, only with a difference: You had opened His eyes to see You as the Father’s emissary to mankind, that we might be reconciled, and in the middle of a land that had gods for everything, he found the one altar set aside to the Father, but they did not know Him.

Such was the longing in their spirit, such was the power of creation’s testimony, that even in their explaining it away with emotional gods, they knew there was yet another presence, but had blinded themselves to it by creating gods in man’s image.

And again, so it is today; they know, but they are waiting until later, and mocking the resurrection, the gift of eternal life. They see the proliferation of evil, and the rise of hatred, the frenzied greed of the wealthy, and the needless death and destruction we are constantly visiting on each other as countries, as people, and say to us: “There is no G-d.”

If we are honest, Lord, though You said these things must be and come to pass, it is hard to look at, and defend. And yet, it’s not at its worst point, and You did not command us to give up. 

As You are coming at an unknown hour, in a day where mankind will be living normal lives before the sign is revealed, I ask for all who hear Your voice, that You strengthen us as You did Paul to stand before the mobs, and when they tell us

“There is no G-d,”

to answer them in love, truth, and steadfast faith,

“The kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Repent, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved from the Father’s wrath to come, for He will purge the earth and heaven of his enemies. Believe, and live.”

Strengthen us, Lord, for we are unprofitable servants, doing as we are commanded.

Let it be done to us as You have said.

Amen.

 

Devotional 112: The Jesus Whom Paul Preaches

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Acts 19:11-

Miracles Glorify Christ

11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. 13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 

At some point, as believers, we’ve walked into places and felt a presence, either of the Holy Spirit, or something else, an ‘off’ feeling, or an outright feeling of malevolence. What is fortunate is that the powers Jesus imparted to His disciples weren’t just given to the twelve, or to the seventy, but to all who put faith in His Name that He empowers to preach the Gospel.

Paul and the itinerant Jewish exorcists were not of the Twelve, yet the Word states that the miracles performed through them by G-d’s power were unusual in and of themselves. People were healed by inanimate objects that were in Paul’s possession, anointed with holy power in that the Spirit abided on them, and did the work He was supposed to perform on the afflicted where Paul preached.

Jesus Himself said to the Twelve,

Jesus Forbids Sectarianism

38 Now John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.”

39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. 40 For he who is not against us is on our side.

It stands to reason that if we are grafted into the Branch, we are not forbidden to carry on His work. In fact, He expects that, and calls to account those who don’t as unprofitable servants.

The work of the Kingdom supersedes all, and the work must be carried out by the faithful, for that’s the only way the power of the Spirit can work.

John 14:12 The Answered Prayer

12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.

But He also cautioned the disciples He sent out: Luke 10:19-20

19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

More, as we understand it, is not given in greater measure to one than another, Paul says:  (1 Corinthians 12:4-6)

4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.

If the gifts were of diverse gods, or diverse paths to G-d, there would be no need to preach the Gospel to every nation.

The Christ Paul preached is the same one we hear about on Sundays, and read about in our Bibles, and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, until He comes again in His fearful glory, ready to vanquish His enemies and judge His people, to be redeemed to the Father, or separated forever.

G-d did not spare Christ from His absence when He took our sins to the cross to the point where Jesus physically felt Himself forsaken; how then, are we spared His wrath?

Let us, like the itinerant priests of Israel, be steadfast in the unity and consistency of our faith as we drive out the darkness while we pray, sow, and reap by the power of the Holy Spirit, done in the Name of Jesus.

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus,

The veil tore not only the barrier between man and the Father, but between the Chosen and the unworthy, the Jew and Gentile, and we who are now grafted in through grace now know, too, that the joy of salvation is ours through faith in You.

We have sometimes taken grace for granted, and put You in a human box of tolerance and acceptance of that which G-d did not allow. Those You forgave, You also told to repent. It is a hard calling to deny our flesh, take up our crosses, and follow a narrow road to unseen glory. Sin feels good, and we justify our evil by twisting the Word to our purposes, by putting repentance on a schedule, and by continually removing ourselves from G-d’s presence.

Suffering with You is better, but not desirable, and when You tell us that to find our lives with You we must lose the earthly one, seeds of doubt sprout in the heart.

As we spiral downward toward tribulation, increasing our own sorrows, we who believe will continue to pray and intercede, as You did for your disciples, sent out as sheep among wolves, trusting You to fill us with the power of the Gospel for present times.

Yet Your love and power converted one of your most staunch detractors into the most powerful ministry of the Gospel, and he reminds us that You are the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that the Father is not a man that He should lie, and that we must suffer to attain the promises.

We want redemption on our terms, but that is being lukewarm water, unfruitful, unprofitable, tasteless salt, and a dim lamp indeed if on our best days, our righteousness is as rags in the Father’s sight.

Strengthen us, Lord, to continue on with You as the days grow dark, and the signs of the end You spoke of manifest themselves through the evil hearts of powerful people who do not know You, and the beauty of the grace You offer. You tell us they have their reward, and there will be none to be found on the new earth, or in the Kingdom of G-d.

I would not be among that company, Lord. Rekindle in me the love and reverent fear of the Father, who will not compromise and make exceptions for me, having revealed You to me, for the life I now live, and the parts of it I do not, will not, give to You. Help my unbelief, but complete my submission as well, for my heart is hard, and my head is filled with earthly concerns so that my focus is not on You, or the Narrow Road.

Without You, Lord, I will fall, and stumble, and embrace the darkness, believing it light.

Without You, I am only fit to be burned out of existence, never knowing peace, and never entering into my Father’s rest.

You are the Christ whom Paul preaches, even now, reaching down to strike me from my pedestal, and newly open my eyes, continually. Let what miracles You manifest through me, if any, always give the Father greater glory, as You have done.

And with a grateful heart, I thank You.

May it be done to me as You have said.

Amen.

 

Devotional 104: Everyone’s Chains were Loosed

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Acts 16:25-34

The Philippian Jailer Saved

25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. 27 And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. 28 But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”

29 Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.

Beaten for driving out a divining spirit, and ruining the profits of a servant girl’s masters, not only Paul, but his companion Silas, suffered ‘many stripes’ for doing so. In Rome, facing great resistance, Paul continued his steadfast preaching, unwavering and uncompromising, setting the Jewish leaders on fire with jealousy as the people gathered to hear the words Christ gave Paul to speak.

Silas was a prophet of G-d, (Acts 15:32), so He would have been acquainted with the teachings of Christ as well, and was under the anointing by his proximity to Paul. They made a dynamic team, going to the churches of Syria and Cilicia after parting with Barnabas over Mark.

In the midst of their affliction and the loss of their freedom they began to praise G-d, and where praise is, His presence is in the midst of where two are gathered in His name. This pleased the Father to the extent that even though it was Paul and Silas who suffered, He freed everyone, though Paul didn’t intercede for them directly. It says, however, that the prisoners were listening, and are we not told that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word? (Romans 10:17)

Yet, so caught up were they that even though their chains were loosed, no one had the presence of mind to run, but stayed near where the Lord’s presence was strong. “We are all here,” Paul tells the anxious jailer, who is so fearfully reverent that he asks the question every Christian witness longs to hear: “What must I do to be saved?”

More often than not, in these times, we are told to keep silent; unfortunately, the powers that be in the places that can negatively affect us are in agreement. Bibles, prayer groups, praying over meals, and especially witnessing,  are severely discouraged, and going against it comes with dire consequences that may involve our livelihood if we are found out.

Yet when those around you are in crisis, have you not received a private, personal request to pray? I have, on more than one occasion. Maybe to themselves, they’re ‘hedging their bets,’ like those who go to church on Christmas and Easter, ‘just in case,’ but if you’ve professed yourself a believer, they know who to find when they’re really in need.

Understand that when you present yourself to the Lord, it is not just for You alone, and when you praise G-d in the midst of your afflictions, people are not only watching, they are listening. Are you steadfast, bold, unwavering, and uncompromising in your faith, believing you and your household saved through the atoning work of the Son?

Have you been freed from the chains of sin, and delivered out of bondage?

Have you driven out the spirits who come against you in the places you inhabit, and have you suffered for it?

Be assured, you are in the Father’s favor, the Son’s hands, and the Spirit’s power, and all the glory goes to Him who delivered not only you, but everyone around you, for it seemed good in His sight, and to his glory, to do so.

Therefore I pray:

In the midst of receiving my spiritual and earthly stripes, Father, I praise you in the midst of those who don’t understand what I do, and why I do it. Let it be as a seed, Lord, planted in fertile soil so that I may glorify You when they ask of me: “What shall I do to be saved?”

Let me always have an answer for seekers, a light for the blind, a rebuke and purging of diviners, and shield me from such, for I’m weak, and likely to entertain them, making them equal to prophets, when they are in fact demons that would see me persecuted.

Let the Spirit fill me with what I should say, and use my gifts and talents as Jesus used all of Paul’s scholarly gifts, and Barnabas’ ability to encourage and see beyond fault, and Timothy’s charisma and courage. I would be fruitful to the Vine into which I’ve been grafted through the covenant of grace.

As I pray, and intercede, and stand in the gap, let those who are watching see the movement of Your hand, and touch those souls that would be ignited through the work You would have me do, and let me not stumble or do anything that would turn them away. 

I would finish the race, and receive the crown, to Your honor and glory Lord, that I may rest and live forever in the Power’s light, in Your eternal Kingdom full of peace, praise, and love everlasting, now and forever.

May it be done to us as You have said.

Amen.

Devotional 102: In That Day…

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Luke 17:26-31

26 And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.

31 “In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back.

    The final day and hour unknown by all, even Jesus.
(Mark 13:32) 32 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
    What we do see is the acceleration of the world’s technology, and the continued use of the word ‘unprecedented’ as it pertains to natural events, the ‘chipping’ of employees by their companies, the continued exploitation of people for cheap labor, and the siphoning of wealth and natural resources to those who can afford to pay.
    What we do see are homeless cities in the shadows of luxury buildings that may or may not be filled.
    What we do see is the decline of education, the return and rise of prison slave labor, and  detached and unresponsive, self-serving governments.
    What we do see is a press dedicated to fear-mongering, and creating a sense of ‘other.’
    And it is all of G-d, who has not abandoned His throne, and even now does not share His glory, and even now, is in control.
    We keep thinking there’s going to be a sign, or a warning, where if we got it wrong or walked away, somehow we’d be able to get back. Jesus warns us of being lukewarm, doubtful, and unfruitful. We don’t get those days back, and that’s why He tells us to count the cost before we commit.
    His plan is one of salvation of our corrupted souls, not our earthly flesh. His plan is one of forgiveness and the purging of sin through the blood of Christ, not to wink at it and let it slide because it’s legal under man’s law, and popular in public opinion. His plan is to create a new Heaven and a new earth, not leave us on a planet made dead through the works of His enemy. His plan is destroy evil forever, and let us be under the rule of He who is without sin, our Good Shepherd, Friend, Brother, Judge, King, and Savior, who will come again as Lion, not Lamb.
    But the signs are already here, it’s just that no one believes them to be related to the Word of the Lord. We are witnessing, as signs, only the inexorable, incremental fulfilling of Christ’s prophecies.
    It will be an unprecedented ordinary day, in the context of whatever ‘ordinary’ looks like at that point.
    In the meantime, we move slowly forward, like a celestial iceberg, toward the day of our titanic reckoning. (Matthew 24:3-14)

The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age

3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

The Great Tribulation

14 “So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.15 Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house.16 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.17 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!18 And pray that your flight may not be in winter.19 For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be.20 And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.

21 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, He is there!’ do not believe it.22 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.23 But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.

Everyday events will be ongoing, and then eternity will impose itself on time, and the law, judgment, and will of G-d will supersede the fragile and compromised dominion of men.

In the meantime, the suffering of those of us who will not renounce His Name in order to continue to exist will also increase. We must hold fast to the fact that this is not our permanent home, and the rubber of our faith will meet the road of reality when the pain of their torture hits, and we are confronted with our own mortality, and He does not deliver us in spectacular fashion, as with the Hebrew children, but we become one of the ‘others’ delivered up, and cut in two.

We have, to our peril and on a global scale, disregarded the words of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Galatians:

7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

And if our righteousness on our best day is as filthy rags before the Father, how much more then should we heed Christ, and prepare the way of the Lord?

Therefore I pray: 

Lord Jesus,

As we strive in a fallen world to hold fast to its polar opposite, and do the Father’s will, that we may be reconciled to Him in word and deed, and live with You in eternity, give us a bold spirit to endure to the end that we might be saved.

We ask this so that we might not hold onto the Truth as a selfish thing, for You tell us none can come to You unless the Father grants it. We ask that You put the seeds in us to plant, and call us to where they’re needed, which You have said is not already among the righteous.

A lot of churches have become culture clubs that don’t serve their communities, that do outreach like Pharisees, seeking their rewards among men, patting sinners on the head, and saying ‘Keep warm and well fed,’ while providing no coat or food. The minds of their shepherds are on earthly pleasures even as they preach. They seek power they can’t keep in a world where they can’t stay, and don’t honor You with their hearts.

The tares are planted, and the wolf and serpent stalk and slither among the flock, seeing to their own profit and posterity like Simon the Sorcerer, who sought Holy Spirit’s power as a magic act. They have forgotten Your words: ‘They have their reward.’

Yet we are tried, mocked, tempted, grow weary, and even now as the prophecies of unfold, we are doubtful if any of this will come to anything resembling what You’ve told us.

In those times, remind us to seek You, that we might be comforted, given rest, and imbued once more with power from on high; let us seek times of refreshing, and let our peace return to us.

Bring to mind the Psalms and Proverbs of Your two greatest kings, for one teaches us how to do business with G-d, and the other, with man.

I would endure to the end, Lord, that me and my house, and the ones that You’ve given me as I sow will be saved.  I ask that You grant this also to my Brothers and Sisters around the world, that it will be as You have said:

Mark 13:27

27 And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.

and (Matthew 24):

42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

In that day, we will ask You no more questions, there will only be unspeakable joy, and the memory of this fallen world will be washed away forever.

May it be done to us as You have said.

Amen.

 

Devotional 83: Appointed to Eternal Life

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Acts 13:44-48

44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. 45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. 46 Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us:

‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles,
That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’”[a]

48 Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.

Paul’s missionary journeys ran the the gamut from natural, spiritual, and physical threats no matter where he went, and he indeed suffered for the Lord’s Name. He found in his own ministries patterns that were similar to those of Christ’s when confronting the religious leaders: the size of the crowds equaled the effectiveness of their ministry, and the number of converts added to their coffers, which for them reflected the favor of G-d, though they weren’t concerned with Heavenly things.

Like Christ, Paul taught with authority, but guided by Christ, Paul spoke to their spiritual needs and drove them into rages by his ability to prove, consistently, that Christ was the Promised One from the original scriptures they so loved to use to control the masses under the Law. (Acts 9:22)

22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.

As Peter serves us as an example of our spiritual volatility, Paul serves as an example of what it can be in its constancy. He even challenged Peter when Peter began to compromise with those who weren’t willing to let grace be sufficient. (Galatians 2:18 – 21)

11 Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; 12 for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. 13 And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.

14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?

In this particular instance in the Book of Acts, we are told that as Paul ministered in Antioch, those who were appointed to eternal life believed. As was with the multitudes that followed Christ, not all were converted to faith, but those on the fringes of the crowd who dared to hope that G-d might yet find something in them worth redeeming would come closer as words of  G-d’s love, redemption and grace drew them in.

The King, in his sovereignty, gets to decide who is part of his kingdom, and when his messengers go out, they don’t pass its borders. Yet we have a High King, who loved us before the foundation of the world. We have an Overlord, who takes care of us, for the lord of the land was to see to it that all under his rule had bread.

And He is the Bread of Life.

As we celebrate the coming season of our Risen Lord, let us give thanks that we have been marked as a divine appointment to be part of the Kingdom of G-d. We are the chosen of Christ, grafted in with the Chosen of Israel, our calling and election assured and sealed by the Holy Spirit through our faith in His redemptive work at Calvary.

The appointment is over. Where we go and what we do next is no less subject to His will.

It may not be as dramatic as building churches around the world, but it has no less impact if it is the center of His will, and part of His eternal plan for our eternal lives.

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus, 

I approach the throne today not in a spirit of boldness, but reverent fear that You deem one such as me, in my wretched, unclean state, to be sanctified and cleansed, rendering me guiltless before Him who is able to cast my soul and body into hell.

Paul told those who countered him with contradictions and blasphemies, who denied the Truth in their lust for earthly comfort and the praises of men, that they marked themselves as unworthy to receive the gift.

Let it not be so with me, Lord, for You tell us all who come to You will not be turned away. When I speak of You, let those who stand on the fringes of the crowd come close, that they too may be appointed for the work You will begin and complete in their lives.

Let me not take on undue burdens, that I may compromise the Father’s Word, and deny You before men. You’ve appointed me as an ambassador for You, and anointed me with talents and gifts to be used for Your glory, according to the those things You have spoken over my life.

I pray for integrity in all things, and strength in the face of the trials and persecutions You tell us are the price of obedience and ministry. Send appointments across my path, that I may sow and pray, rejoicing with them that You have called them to life everlasting in Your kingdom.

May it be done to me as You have said. 

Amen.

 

Devotional 82: A Chosen Vessel

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Acts 9:11-15

11 So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. 12 And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.”

13 Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.”

15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.”

The art of selection, depending on what you’re looking for, and why, is largely a matter of outward appearance: quality, sturdiness, appearance (decor, if you prefer),  your perception of whether or not the item you’ve chosen meets the criteria to do the job you require.

The Father doesn’t work with appearances that way, and he surely didn’t work that way in the life of the most ardent, unlikely disciple: Saul of Tarsus, arguably the most legalistic and zealous Pharisee of his day, to the point where he had a fearsome reputation among those who followed Christ as a cruel man who embarrassed believers by leading them off in chains.

If nothing else, the Word is full of the unlikely, the lowly, and the outcast standing before the mighty, the powerful, the rulers, and proclaiming the even more fearsome Word of the Lord.  It was to their own peril, and the peril of those around them, if they focused on the outward appearance of the man instead of the selection of the G-d who sees, and tests, our hearts.

This goes back as far as Joseph, the runt of the litter, but the favored of his father.

This goes back as far as Samuel, who immediately went for the tallest and strongest among those who would be king over Israel, until the Lord checked him, and led him to inquire about David, the shepherd, regarded as the least likely of Jesse’s sons to do anything great, much less rule.

It goes all the way through to Amos, a tree gardener, with no credentials in the clergy at all, a man on the periphery of an already obscure service.

It’s in the humble birth of Jesus, born to poor parents in a humble setting, for an event as simple as gathering for a census count.

It happens again when the thief on the cross, after a life given over to sin, receives salvation in the last hours of his life, through a simple statement of faith.

But not so for Paul; his educational credentials were unimpeachable, and he admonished men to show themselves approved of their callings (2nd Timothy 2:15)

The spectrum continues on in us, called of Christ, confirmed by the Spirit, chosen by the Father to do the mission work of the Kingdom in pointing lost souls to the Way.

We fail along the Way ourselves, but we are chosen vessels all the same. The Lord repairs us with times of refreshing, and only bids that we open our mouths, and through faith let Him speak to the needs of those who are standing before us, before Him, in the hope that they have ears to hear.

We are sowers, church builders, teachers, living sacrifices, living stones, priests, kings, gods (John 10:34) prophets, healers, and artists and craftsman of every stripe.

And so it was with Paul: the same zeal he had to persecute the Church was the very same zeal he used to defend it, to the point where it says he ‘confounded’ the Jews by proving Christ was written of in what we now call the Old Testament.

Jesus told them: “If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about Me.” (John 5:46)

Out the billions born since then, we too are chosen vessels, made to His purposes, filled with His will, for the Gospel of Christ and the salvation of all nations, and to the Father’s glory.  Such zeal as we have, and such persecutions as we suffer for our faith, let us not waver, even unto death.

He chose us before the foundation of the world, and ordained us to his purpose, giving us the gifts to fulfill them, shaping us that we may withstand the tests and trials to come, and tells us: “Be of good cheer,” and “Do not be afraid.”

He knows, and He will bring the work to completion.

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus, 

You say no ones come to You unless the Father draws them, and the Spirit will come to reveal the Truth of the Word to those whom the Father chooses. 

You tell us no one can snatch us from Your hand, but You never said we could not wriggle out.  I fear sometimes that I may fall of my dark volition, my unrepentant desire to walk in two worlds, when You tell me I too, at the peril of my eternal soul, must choose You over all. (Luke 9:24-25)

Yet Your disciple, Paul, tells us that Your message is foolishness to those who are perishing. (1 Corinthians, 1:18)  You tell us that persecution and the delivering up to faithless authorities is our earthly reward, but that to lose our lives is to gain the kingdom. 

Paul tell us also, “For me, to live is Christ, to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21)

We ask, in these times, that You gird us, and help our unbelief. Give us new hearts, and a spirit of boldness. Give us a mustard seed of faith to speak to our mountains, and let us abide in You, that our fruit may be good as well as abundant. 

Let us rejoice in the trials that beset us, and keep our eyes focused on You, with the Word of G-d as a lamp, held higher than His Name to light our paths that lead to the Narrow Road, through the torn veil, to Your throne at G-d’s right hand, and to the Kingdom of Heaven in His presence forever.

Let the dark glass of the world be cleansed, that we may finally see, and understand, as You wipe the tears from our eyes, and bid us enter into Your rest, having fulfilled our purposes as Your vessels.

We would hear, “Well done.”

May it be to us as You have said.

Amen.

 

 

 

 

Devotional 73: The Wisdom of G-d

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Christ the Power and Wisdom of God

18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”[a]

20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks[b] foolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

The modern world insults the intellect of the believer, but here in Paul’s letter we read they did the same in the ancient one.

Jesus took a learned man in dramatic fashion to preach a foolish message that did not bring him fame and riches, but put him before the kingdom courts of that world to preach the Gospel and get imprisoned, beaten, and eventually killed. Yet His impact on the Gospel has been enduring, and influential beyond question.

I love that with the same zeal Paul went after the church, the Lord used that to His purposes, and with the same zeal Paul preached, and once convinced, never wavered, even calling out Peter when he tried to return to popularity among the Jews! (Galatians 2:11-13)

The problem with all of them, the Pharisees and other religious street gangs of the day, is that they kept looking for the man-made in Heavenly things. Jesus whole birth was simple, with no adornment, indeed, in a place where you’d expect an outcast to be born, not a king.

And Paul reminds us that G-d is not a man. Jesus tells us He is spirit.

Jesus was homeless, He rode on donkeys, not horses, He taught in the deserts and mountains as well as the synagogues, and He died a criminal’s death.

That’s why He tells us the road is narrow, for who would believe this to be the story of a king, much less an eternal ruler?

Paul didn’t, at least not at first, but who would still be an unbeliever after an experience like that on the Damascus road? He suffered, and the impact of his writing still anchors us in the Gospels today. Do we think to be spared if we’re to bear fruit?

All of the Apostles, save John, were martyred. Do we think we couldn’t be?

I’m reminded of the scene in one of those Indiana Jones films when the soldier picks the cup he thinks is the Holy Grail, and it’s gold and studded with precious gems, and it’s the wrong one. It was the simple cup made of clay.

Where are we looking for G-d? Who is it we think makes us worthy of salvation?

Matthew 23: 16-22

16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’ 17 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? 18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.’ 19 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? 20 Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. 21 He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells[b] in it. 22 And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it. (letters in bold for emphasis).

See, the wood and stones of a building in and of themselves, we don’t consider valuable, and the wood or stone of an altar in and of itself, is not considered valuable. But when it is used to the purposes of G-d, and is sanctified by those He’s called through Christ, then, indeed, are we not standing on holy ground? The sanctuary is therefore a sacred place, and is profaned when churches devolve into performance, and defiled when ungodly messages are preached.

It is Christ who makes us worthy, and His message is simple: You believe in G-d, believe also in Me.

Let our words be few: Even so, come Lord Jesus.

Therefore I pray:

Today, O Lord, I lay my gifts on the altar of Your grace and mercy, seeking forgiveness if I’ve misused and neglected them. Sanctify them, and use them for Your glory. Take what I have and increase it, according to Your will.

Forgive me for letting the clamoring of the world distract me from Your purpose for my life.

Keep me from falling into enemy hands, and enemy work. I would not enter that kingdom, which You have marked for destruction and everlasting separation, where my very soul will wink out of existence, and my life forgotten, even by You, though You take no pleasure in my death.

There are days I bend under the burden, smile grimly at the storm clouds, thinking of them as my portion according to Your will,  and  panic at the emergencies that occur, then question Your love for me.

And yet, I’ve heard You speak to me through those clouds, and in the quiet moments, and I feel Your presence, sense Your touch, and remember that You set a table before me in the presence of my enemies, and restore my soul.

Even Pilate, not knowing what He wrote, proclaimed You as King.

Help me to keep my vows to G-d, whether I take an oath or not, and let me remember that Your family is those who do His will. (Mark 3:31-35)

Let me abide in You, that I may accomplish the work You’ve given me to do, remembering to give thanks in all things, and be content in all circumstances, lifting my eyes to where my help comes from. Let me remember to bless Your Name in the quiet moments, where nothing opulent and grand is happening, and let my praise be pleasing to You, that I may enter into Your joy, and life everlasting, reconciled to my Father, praising Him forevermore.

I ask in Your name, believing I’ve already received.

Amen.