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Colossians 1:1, Various

Who Am I?

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 27, 2024

I love the way Paul begins his letters to the churches. They are not all perfectly the same, but they reflect the apostle’s heart. His introduction expresses his role as God’s servant. When he introduces himself in the first verse of his letter to the Colossians, he says, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.” It’s Paul’s way of saying that whatever he is, he is because that’s what God made him to be. I like to think it’s like Paul’s “I Gotta Be Me” song. He accepts himself and God’s role in his life. He doesn’t question it. He doesn’t fret over it. He doesn’t wish he was someone else. He doesn’t wish he had a different calling. This is an important concept for us all. We might not be what we once thought we would be. We might not be all that someone else is. We might not be what others might want us to be. But, like Paul, we are what we are “by the will of God.” When Paul ends this letter to the Corinthians, he ends it with the phrase, “By the grace of God, I am what I am.” John Newton wrote the hymn “Amazing Grace.” As he thought upon the words: ‘By the grace of God, I am what I am,’ he said, ‘I am not what I ought to be. How imperfect and deficient I am! I am not what I wish to be. Though I am not what I ought to be, I can truly say that I am not what I once was—a slave to sin and Satan. I can heartily say with Paul: ‘By the grace of God, I am what I am!’”[1]

Joshua had to go to war against three of the Giants who lived in the land that God wanted him and the Israelites to occupy. They’re called “sons of Anak.” They have names. According to Joshua 15, they are “Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.” In Hebrew, the names have particular meanings. Sheshai means “who I am.” Ahiman means “What I am.” Talmai means “What I can do.” Adrian Rogers says in his sermon on this passage, “I tell you, friend, before you’ll ever live on the mountaintop, you’re going to have to deal with those three giants, right?”[2] These are the giants that stand between us and the land God wants us to occupy. Coming to grips with who you are, what you are, and what you can do will make all the difference in life.

Elizabeth Elliot, in her book Let Me Be a Woman, records the story of Gladys Aylward, unable to accept the looks God had given her. Ms. Aylward told how when she was a child, she had two great sorrows. One, that while all her friends had beautiful golden hair, hers was black. The other was that while her friends were still growing, she had stopped. She was about four feet ten inches tall. But when at last she reached the country to which God had called her to be a missionary, she stood on the wharf in Shanghai and looked around at the people to whom He had called her. “Every single one of them,” she said, “had black hair. And every one of them had stopped growing when I did.” She was able to look to God and exclaim, “Lord God, You know what you’re doing!” He knows what He’s doing with you and me also!

[1] Tan, Paul Lee. 1996. Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc.

[2] Rogers, Adrian. 2017. “How to Live on the Mountaintop.” In Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive, Jos 14:6–15:15. Signal Hill, CA: Rogers Family Trust.

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Amos 9:14-15, Jeremiah 29:11

God’s Good Plans

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 26, 2024

God’s prophetic announcement of judgment on sin is one of the most prominent themes in the Old Testament. The writing prophets, of course, carry the dominant message of “The Day Of The Lord” throughout their writings. That term usually refers to the time of all times when God’s justice is administered to an unjust world.  The climactic message of Amos is that God’s judgment will even fall upon his own people, Israel & Judah, for their sins. Yet, God never leaves his sinful people without hope.  In chapter 9:14-15, He closed his prophecy with a message of hope. He says, “I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them, says the LORD your God.”

One of my favorite verses is from another Old Testament prophet who also prophesied the judgment of God upon his own people, Judah.  Jeremiah’s prophecy was the last before the destruction of Jerusalem took place, along with the destruction of the temple. But God left his people with hope. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “I know the plans I have for you declares the lord, plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” I have heard pastors try to limit this verse only to the restoration of the remnant back to their own land, as recorded in Ezra and Nehemiah. I like the way Randy Alcorn summarizes his discussion on this subject. He writes, “Yes, Jeremiah was writing to his fellow Israelites. But so were Moses, Samuel, and David, and nearly all the prophets. That’s true of virtually the entire Old Testament, which, in hundreds of cases, the New Testament freely applies to the church, followers of Christ, Jews and Gentiles alike. Israel was God’s people, and it’s no stretch to say that today’s believers, the church, are also God’s people. So verses that were written to Israel are also written for the church.”

The coming of the Lord is called “The Blessed Hope” of all believers in the New Testament. No matter what befalls us in life, we have this hope.  In Christ, our sins are forgiven, and we can stand secure in our relationship with God. We, as children of God, have a great and blessed hope in the return of our Savior Jesus Christ.  Titus speaks to us in Titus 2:13 about “Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” Knowing that the Lord is going to return and take us to be with Himself as he promised in the Gospel of John, we have a “Living Hope,” as Peter calls it, that carries us through our toughest days on earth. This is what Jeremiah intended for the children of Israel in Slavery in Babylon. This is also what God intends for his children, you and me, as we suffer in the “valley of the shadow of death” awaiting the blessed day of His return.

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Amos 8:9

On That Day!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 25, 2024

Amos’ prophecies concerning the fall of Israel and Judah came about just as described in his writings. It took several hundred years for these events to transpire, but Amos writes about them as if they’ve already happened. His detailed accuracy is astounding. One of the prophecies that Amos adds to his description concerning the day of God’s judgment on man’s sin is found in Amos 8:9. It says, “And on that day, declares the Lord GOD, I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.” The day referred to as “that day” is reminiscent of “The Day Of The Lord,” at which time God judges the sins of mankind.

The ultimate fulfillment of that prophecy occurred the day Jesus was hung on the cross about 500 years later. The New Testament writers tell us that the sun was blackened out, and there was darkness over the land at midday when Jesus died for the sins of the world. But this is only one of hundreds of Old Testament prophecies that give specifics about the day of Christ’s death for the sins of the world. Ryrie has pointed out that “by the law of chance, it would require two hundred billion earths, populated with four billion people each, to come up with one person who could achieve one hundred accurate prophecies without any errors in sequence. But the Bible records not one hundred but over three hundred prophecies fulfilled in Christ’s first coming.” Dr. George Sweeting once estimated that “more than a fourth of the Bible is predictive prophecy…Both the Old and New Testaments are full of promises about the return of Jesus Christ. Over 1800 references appear in the O.T., and seventeen O.T. books give prominence to this theme. Of the 260 chapters in the N.T., there are more than 300 references to the Lord’s return—one out of every 30 verses. Twenty-three of the 27 N.T. books refer to this great event…For every prophecy on the first coming of Christ, there are eight on Christ’s second coming.”

The book of Revelation, therefore the whole Bible, ends with the prayer, “Come, Lord Jesus.” We definitely want to see that day.  It will be like the age of Aquarius, “Peace will guide the planets, and love will steer the stars.” All evil will be gone. When Jesus ascended into the clouds, His disciples wanted to know when they could expect that day. He told them not to worry about the timing. David Jeremiah has it right, “We simply can’t set a date for the return of the Lord. We don’t know it. The angels don’t know it. God the Father knows when it will occur, and all we can do is prepare ourselves for that day, for it is coming soon. If we could figure out the date of Jesus’ second coming, some people would live in sin right up to the appointed week, then clean up their lives and prepare for the return. Other people would stop everything they were doing and then wait for the return of the Lord. And if others knew when Christ was coming, they wouldn’t establish any future plans or long-term relationships at all. In His infinite wisdom, the Lord chose not to reveal to us the exact time of His return.”[1]

[1] Jeremiah, David. 2007. Until Christ Returns: Living Faithfully Today While We Wait for Our Glorious Tomorrow (Study Guide). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

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Amos 5:18f

Relationship Not Religion

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 24, 2024

In Amos day, Israel longed for God’s justice to fall on the nations all around them. They wanted their enemies destroyed! Israelites referred to this event as “The Day Of The Lord.” He would ride into Israel on a white steed, draw his brilliant sword, and smite all the enemies of God’s people. This became the common thought of Israel up to and including the day of Jesus. They thought Jesus would come and smite the Romans and set Israel free. That’s exactly what Israel wanted from the Messiah when Jesus offered Himself at the triumphant entry. They wanted “The Day Of The Lord.” This phrase makes up a technical term and has several facets to it, but the main one is the coming judgment of God on the ungodly. I’m afraid that we’re a lot like Israel in that we long to see our enemies face God’s judgment. We seem to think, as Israel did, that God is on our side.

Amos warned Israel about calling for The Day Of The Lord. In 5:18-19, he says, “Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! Why would you have the day of the LORD? It is darkness, and not light, as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall, and a serpent bit him.” Israel thought they would be exempt from God’s judgment because they observed the religious rituals of the Old Testament. But they were mistaken. Amos tells them in 5:21-23 that God hates their religious ritual and won’t accept their sacrifices. This passage says, “I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.  Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them.  Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps, I will not listen.” I can’t imagine a harsher criticism of the religious practices of the Jews. I don’t think they are that different from our own. We have feasts. We offer sacrifices (tithes and offerings). We sing songs and play musical instruments. Israel did these things thinking it would curry favor with God. He will be good to us, or we will get something from it. We sometimes see it that way also. It’s just a lot of noise to God.

The greatest commandment is to love God and then let God’s love work through our lives and out as love for others. These are the two most important commandments, according to Jesus. They are far more important than religious rituals. God is not into religion! He’s into relationships. Jesus reminds us that we are to love others as he has loved us. It’s love that will cover a multitude of sins. When I pray and still hate someone, I should stop it because God cares more about my relationships than he does my prayers. When I get it right, then he’s ready to hear my prayers. If anyone has trespassed against me, I’m to forgive as I want God to forgive me. I should not return evil for evil but good for evil. I should live at peace with all men as far as it’s up to me. I should be filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. I must be kind and tenderhearted in all my relationships: at home, on the job, at school, in the community, and in the world. God is not into religion but relationships. Radmacher said, “The sad truth remains that often the religious of the world do more to keep people from Jesus Christ than most worldly atheists. But the gospel is not religion. It is Good News that can free even the most horrible sinner.”

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Amos 1:3f, Proverbs 24:17-18

Rejoicing When Our Enemies Fall

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 23, 2024

Amos begins his prophecy by condemning the nations that surround Israel. Each time, the prophecy begins with the same refrain. It’s almost like a song. The literal Hebrew rendering of this chorus would be, “For three sins and for four…” But this idiom probably means “again and again.” 1:3 says, “The people of Damascus have sinned again and again, and I will not turn back my anger.” Verse 6 says, “The people of Gaza have sinned again and again, and I will not turn back my anger.” Verse 9 says the same thing about Tyre, and then comes Edom, Ammon, and Moab. Each passage begins with the exact same phrase. Israel and Judah would explode with applause at such a prophecy. They had been persecuted at the hands of each of these enemies. Just as God promised to curse the nations that cursed His people, Israel, that promise was now about to be fulfilled, and the evil nations around them were going to get what they deserved. They offered their children to Baal as burnt sacrifices. They tortured and murdered the children of Israel.

Everyone was in favor of God judging their evil neighbors. The Northern Kingdom of Israel, at this time, was especially alienated from the Southern Kingdom of Judah. As Amos’ prophecy continues to point out, Judah has sinned time and time again, and God will not hold back His anger. Israel would have rejoiced, and there would have been raucous applause. But then there would be dead silence in Israel when Amos continues in Chapter 2 and Verse 6. He says,  “The people of Israel have sinned again and again, and I will not turn back my anger.”

It’s so wonderful to see people get what they deserve! Right?  It’s not that way with God. He does not take pleasure in the destruction of the wicked; rather, he delights in forgiving sinners! MacArthur writes, “But to make friends from enemies; to transform the children of wrath into children of adoption; to accomplish such a mighty and a wonderful change from the state of guilt to the state of justification; to make servants of sin into willing servants of God; to chase away the darkness of sinful nature and make everything light and comfort around the redeemed; to take people who are slaves of their feelings and invest them with a preference for the things of eternity; to pull down the strongholds of corruption within and raise one who was spiritually dead to a life of new obedience—this is the victory that God delights in! The destruction of the wicked brings Him no pleasure.”[1] Jesus referred to those who pointed with delight at the sins of others while ignoring their own sins. It was displeasing to God. He deeply dislikes us playing God.  Using the similar Hebrew phrase about “turning away His anger, “ God tells us in Proverbs 24:17-18 “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the LORD see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him.” The “Handbook for Translators” explains this phrase from Proverbs, “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls: The warning Do not rejoice means “don’t be happy” (as the Contemporary English Versions puts it) don’t take pleasure, because of what happens to someone else.”[2] The Contemporary English Version translates this idea, “Don’t be happy to see your enemies trip and fall down.” The force of this proverb includes the idea that joy at the fall of others turns God’s attention from them to you. This is what Amos was telling Israel. Jesus taught us to pray, “Father, forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

[1] MacArthur, John F., Jr. 1996. The God Who Loves. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

[2] Reyburn, William David, and Euan McG. Fry. 2000. A Handbook on Proverbs. UBS Handbook Series. New York: United Bible Societies.

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Haggai 1:5, Luke 11:31

Think About It

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 22, 2024

Haggai’s prophecy calls for the people to think about their lives. In 1:5, we read, “Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways.”  Haggai calls God’s people to reflect on their lives. At least six times in this short book, God says, “Consider your ways.” He wanted the Israelites to think about their lives. That causes me to want to think or consider my life as well. It’s one thing to ask about what you believe, but it’s another thing to ask if what you say you believe is really acted upon in the way you live. He suggests that we should be looking at what we do. By looking around at their activities, the Israelites would be able to discern their priorities. We can readily discern our major priorities also. Haggai points to the fine houses they are living in and contrasts them with the broken-down temple, God’s house.  He’s saying, “Think about it. Doesn’t your actions really indicate what you truly believe in?” Jesus once said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” I think Haggai is making a similar point.

I don’t think any warning could be more relevant for us today in a world that is running rampant with more things to do and activities to be involved in. We all live at such a hectic pace today, and we often get so caught up with it that we have no time for God. I went to meet some friends for coffee the other day and left my cell phone at home. I was halfway there before I realized it and decided to go on without it. That was a hard two hours! I need that lifeline in my life. I couldn’t wait to get home to my phone. My grandsons, all teenagers now, come over for dinner twice a month and I’ve noticed them checking their phones on and off throughout the dinner. When we become obsessed with things like that, it is not good for us. When this happens, we truly lose out on what matters most in life. Such obsessions rob us of the joy of our moments. The technology and fast-paced lives we live do not bring a sense of fulfillment and meaning to our lives. As a matter of fact, it seems to take them away.

Haggai wanted the people to look at the business of their lives and “consider” it. The people were planting but harvesting little. They ate but would never have enough. They would earn wages that would be stored in a bag with holes. The end result of all the effort was more dissatisfaction and discontentment. It reminds me of Jesus’ words to the woman at the well in Samaria. “Whoever drinks this water will thirst again.” The things of earth will never satisfy. That includes all the modern Xboxes, PlayStations, computers, and high-definition television screens. I’m not speaking against all those things. I have them. But, if we let them rob us of our intimacy with God, we’ve lost what matters most. We do want what it takes to live a satisfying life. Everyone does. Jesus tells us that he wants us to have those things as well and instructs us, “Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God… and all these things will be added unto you.” Luke 11:31

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Habakkuk 2:14, Isaiah 11:6-9

A Tsunami Of God’s Presence

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 21, 2024

I watched the news with great interest when Japan had its major earthquake sometime back. I remember seeing the tidal waves break through the levies and sweep away everything in their path: cars, houses, buses, trucks, trains, and even huge buildings. It was incredible. Just a few years ago, we had bad floods in eight states. The news reads, “Police were going door to door in search of more possible victims and drawing up lists of the missing in the US north-east on Friday, as the death toll rose to 49 across eight states in the region after the catastrophic flooding set off by the remnants of Hurricane Ida after it roared up from Gulf coast.” Then, last year, 2023, over 400 people perished in the floods in Northern India. Water can become unstoppable. Nothing can escape! Genesis also tells of a flood in the days of Noah. During the deluge, the waters engulfed all life.

Habakkuk is using that image of the floods to give us, in powerful symbolic language, the picture of a coming spiritual deluge. Yes, there will come a time when no one will be able to escape the grandeur and glory of God Almighty. “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” Just as the waters overtook all life on earth, the knowledge of God will similarly overtake all life on earth. It will be catastrophic for those who have turned their back and rejected God. For those who embrace God, it will be a time of great rejoicing. Evil will be washed away from the face of the earth as the knowledge of the Lord seeps into every nook and cranny of the earth.

Injustice and suffering will be totally destroyed. When Isaiah uses this same language in 11:6-9, he says, “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together, and a little child shall lead them.  The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” We live our lives in this world of evil, pain, and much suffering with the conviction that God will set it all right in the end. We trust God to do what he says he’s going to do, and that helps us live with an optimistic spirit, like Habakkuk did, no matter how dark the days may be. We trust God. Indeed, Habakkuk 2:4 says, “The just shall live by faith.”

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Habakkuk 2:3, Romans 8:24

Wait For It

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 20, 2024

I hate waiting! We live in a society that hates waiting. The faster, the better. It’s especially obvious for me when I’m on the computer. I want the fastest processor available, and I want the wait time to be microseconds! I can’t stand it when I have to wait for the processor to catch up to me. When it’s time to eat, I want my food when I want my food. Like the rest of us, I want what I want, and I want it now! I just found this entry in my daily journal from 2018. “Kathy was up, and I had to wait for her to get her coffee before I could get mine. I hate waiting. I set my clock five minutes earlier to prevent that, but it doesn’t matter. I still can’t guess when KJ is going to be at the coffee machine.”[1] Wow, that’s bad! Bouchelle confesses to a similar problem. He writes, “As a child, my impatience caused me problems in school. In junior high science class, we were all instructed to plant two red beans in separate styrofoam cups. We were to place one in a window and the other in a dark closet and water them both regularly. The idea was to chart the difference in how they grew. My experiment did not work. I kept digging in the soil to see what was happening and killed both plants. Waiting seems so unproductive—like nothing is happening. I am ready to get on with it. I want things to happen now, in a hurry. My epitaph will no doubt read, ‘Come on, let’s go!!’”[2]

Habakkuk knows what that’s like, but his impatience is for something much nobler than Mr. Bouchelle or mine. He wants the fulfillment of God’s promises now. His “vision” of God’s putting the world right is what he’s longing for and yearning for, and he wants it now.  There’s been enough evil and injustice in the world. He calls for its resolution now! Even for something as important as this, God has a purpose in making us wait. Habakkuk 2:2-4 gives us God’s response to his impatience. God consoles him in verse 3, “Wait for it. If it seems slow, wait for it. It will surely come.” God wants us to trust Him. That’s why in 2:4, he says, “The Righteous shall live by faith.”

 I’m truly an impatient, restless person. When I have to stop and stare at the screen for a few minutes, or even seconds, for the process to complete, I get restless. Yet, slowing down and waiting is part of the human condition. I like how Henri Nouwen talked about waiting. He said, “Waiting is a period of learning. The longer we wait, the more we hear about him for whom we are waiting.” Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of Romans 8:24 is a perfect expression of the positive aspects associated with not getting what we want when we want it. He says, “Waiting does not diminish us any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting.” In our hours, days, and months of waiting, God is vibrantly at work within us.

[1] Larsen, Charles. 2020. 2018 February Journals. MYJOURNALS. Larsen.

[2] Bouchelle, Dan. 2005. Acts 1–9: The Gospel Unleashed. 3:16 Bible Commentary Series. Joplin, MO: HeartSpring Publishing.

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