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1 John 1:7, Hebrews 9:22

Cleansing Power

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 27, 2025

In 1 John 1:7, we read, “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.” It has true cleansing power. The Greek word for “cleanse” is “Katharidzo.” My wife’s name is “Kathy.” All forms of that name usually refer to the idea of “the pure one” or the “clean one.” It’s the word that’s used in the Gospels for “cleansing” lepers as well as external washing. The Pharisees, for example, “cleansed” the outside but left the inside rotting like a corpse in a tomb. Hebrews 9:22 says, “Under the law, everything was ‘cleansed’ with blood, and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin.” It’s also the word from which we take the medical term for “catheter.” It’s the tube that is attached to our urinary system to help cleanse the poisons from our system. The blood of Jesus can cleanse us from our sins and guilt. When we cauterize something, we purify it. When we speak of a catharsis, we’re talking about a cleansing.

One of the key identifying characteristics of a Christian cult is the blurring of the divine nature of Jesus. Whereas the New Testament makes it clear that Jesus’ conception and birth were miraculous, resulting in a divine presence of God “with us” and a unique physical composition of all man and all God at the same time. It was this miraculous birth and the nature of His being that made the shedding of His unique blood capable of cleansing us all of all our sins. Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Christian Science movement, said, “The material blood of Jesus was no more efficacious to cleanse from sin when it was shed upon ‘the accursed tree,’ than when it was flowing in his veins as he went daily about his Father’s business.” As with most cults, the true supernatural nature of Christ is denied or ignored, yet it’s that divine nature that provides the cleansing power for our sins. Just as Jesus calls the lepers, he calls all sinners to come to him for cleansing. He will wash away our sin and guilt! He will make us whole again. He can because of who He was and is!

The late James Boice wrote, “The gospel of the crucified Christ has been preached in palaces and halls of state, and the mighty of this world have come to him. It has been preached in the dirtiest and most dangerous of the back alleys of our cities, and the weak and outcasts of this world have come to him. It has been preached to Americans, and Americans have come. It has been preached in the nations of Africa and Asia and South America, and citizens of those nations have come. It has been preached to children, and children have come. It has been preached to the aged, and the aged have come. It has been preached to the intelligent and the not-so-intelligent, to the socially favored and to the socially disadvantaged, to blacks and whites, to Jews and Moslems and Buddhists and total pagans, and men and women from each of these groups have turned to Jesus as the One who is able to cleanse from sin and lead them in the way everlasting.”

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Job 5:2, Deuteronomy 32:35, Hebrews 10:30, Romans 12:19

Vengeance is Fine!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 26, 2025

I’ve watched many revenge movies. They all draw the watchers into the depth of the pain of the innocent victim and bring some interesting satisfaction when the victim becomes the victor over those who have harmed him or his loved ones. I would argue that in today’s society and in the mass media (Movies & TV especially) that it believes the Bible says, “Vengeance is fine, sayeth the Lord.” But the truth is, the bible instructs us not to take matters into our own hands but to entrust vengeance to the authorities who are in the hands of the Lord Himself. God promises He’ll take care of it, either now or in the future. The reminder that vengeance is the Lord’s appears three times in the Bible, twice in the New Testament, and once in the Old Testament. Hebrews 10:30 reads, “For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” Romans 12:19 says, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’” These are both references to Deuteronomy 32:35, where God first said, “Vengeance is mine.”

Vengeance becomes a prison cell with its own personal torture chamber for those who sentence themselves to such a fate. It might taste good for the moment, but, as C. S. Lewis said, at the feast of vengeance, the carcass we end up devouring “is ourselves.” It’s like the old Amos and Andy routine. Amos asks Andy what that little bottle is he’s wearing around his neck. “Nitroglycerine,” he answers. Amos is stunned that Andy would be wearing a necklace of nitro, so he asks for an explanation. Andy tells him about a fellow who has a bad habit of poking people in the chest while he’s speaking. “It drives me crazy,” Andy says. “I’m wearing this nitro, so the next time he pokes me, I’ll blow his finger off.” Job teaches us that “Anger (or resentment or revenge?) will kill the fool” (See Job 5:2).

In his usual creative wisdom, Max Lucado explains it this way: “Anger has a way of increasing in volume until it’s the only sound we hear. The louder it gets, the more desperate we become. When we are mistreated, our animalistic response is to go on the hunt. Instinctively, we double up our fists. Getting even is only natural. Which, incidentally, is precisely the problem. Revenge is natural, not spiritual. Getting even is the rule of the jungle. Giving grace is the rule of the kingdom? X-ray the soul of the vengeful and behold the tumor of bitterness: black, menacing, malignant. Carcinoma of the spirit. Its fatal fibers creep around the edge of the heart and ravage it. Yesterday you can’t alter, but your reaction to yesterday you can. The past you cannot change, but your response to the past you can.”

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Matthew 6:14, Ephesian 4:32, Colossians 3:12-13

The Law of Forgiveness

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 25, 2025

In Matthew chapter six, there is a passage that has caused many believers great stress and serious difficulty in their Christian walk. Jesus said, “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions” (Matthew 6:14-15). I’ve heard sermons in which it was suggested that “forgiveness” is a necessity for salvation. To me, that sounds like forgiving others is a good work that brings God’s forgiveness and our salvation. If we forgive, then we will be forgiven. Some of you may disagree with me on this, but I’m convinced this is not true for the believer today. Forgiving others is not a good work that saves you any more than baptism or any other attitude, act, or deed. I know some deeply committed Christians who have needed to extend forgiveness but needed time and prayer to work through the depth of the offense before they could do so. This means there is a time when these believers could leave this world without being forgiven by God. What would happen to them if this happened?

Jesus often used the law to do what it was intended to do. It was intended to bring all mankind to their knees in recognition of their sinfulness. When He spoke to the lawyer and several others who wanted to know what they needed to do to earn eternal life, Jesus always pointed them to the law or to specific exhortations that should have brought them to the realization of their sinfulness and of their need for a savior. There are some things that we should do that we are just not capable of at the moment. But Jesus’ reply to the rich ruler and the lawyer ended with either an attempt to justify themselves or in great despair, knowing that He was asking something way beyond their ability to provide. It’s the same today. If you try to apply everything that Jesus said to your own life today, you will end in utter despair. Jesus’ exhortation to his followers to “be perfect as your father in heaven is perfect” wasn’t instruction on how to gain God’s approval and earn entrance into the Kingdom of God. It was the presentation of standards that sinners are totally incapable of attaining.

When we read the words of Jesus recorded in the Gospels, we must keep this in mind. When Jesus taught, “You must forgive in order to be forgiven,” He was magnifying the demands of the law in order to provoke people to understand their need for a Savior. Paul clarifies the truth about forgiveness in several of His letters. We don’t forgive so that we’ll be forgiven. Quite the opposite. We forgive because, and only after, we’ve been forgiven. Ephesians 4:32 instructs us on forgiveness. It says, “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” Further in Colossians 3:12-13 we read, “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other…just as Christ has forgiven you.”

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Philippians 1:6, 1 Peter 5:11

He Sustains Me!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 24, 2025

Paul, as well as the author of Hebrews, uses the analogy of a race when talking about the Christian life. It’s not a 50-yard dash; It’s not the 100-meter sprint or any other short-term effort. The Christian life is more like a marathon. It takes perseverance and an understanding of how to pace ourselves and sometimes even pit stops for water. Along the way, there will be hills and valleys, long stretches, and sharp turns. But the thing is, we’re not running it alone. God sends his sustaining grace to keep us on course and hold us true until the end. Paul told the Philippians (1:6), “God, who began a good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished…” Peter says (1 Peter 5:11), “My purpose in writing is to encourage you and assure you that the grace of God is with you no matter what happens…”

Paul tells us (Romans 8:28) that God is the great choreographer of all life and all our circumstances. He “works all things together for good for those who love Him.” Every valley, mountain, crevice, and pasture in our lives is specifically designed by God to bring the best out in us and for us. This is God’s marvelous sustaining grace. John Piper wrote this short poem about sustaining Grace:

Not grace to bar what is not bliss,
Nor flight from all distress, but this:
The grace that orders our trouble and pain,
And then, in the darkness, is there to sustain.

He goes on to explain, “I stress this because to celebrate a grace that bars what is not bliss, and gives flight from all distress and does not order our pain would be biblically false and experientially unrealistic.” Through the long, boring stretches of life, God’s there. Through the ups and downs, God’s there. Through the sharp turns and rocky roads, God’s there. Not only is he there, but he has laid out the path, set the course, designed the trials, and ordered the events. Piper goes on to say, “Our experience and the Bible teach us that grace does not prevent pain, but orders and arranges and measures out our pain, and then in the darkness is there to sustain.” Piper then illustrates this by telling the story of a close friend. “For example, yesterday, Bob Ricker, the president of the Baptist General Conference, spoke of precious reminders of God’s sustaining grace. Not quite ten years ago, Bob and Dee’s daughter was in a serious automobile accident. She is alive today for one reason. In the car behind her was a doctor who happened to have an air tube in his pocket. By the time he got to her, she was already turning blue. He forced the tube into her throat and saved her life. At her wedding a few years later, Bob told her: those facial scars you have to live with—they are memorials of sustaining grace.”

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2 Timothy 2:1, Revelation 22:21

Strengthened by Grace

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 23, 2025

God’s sustaining grace is always with us. When things are going well, it’s there, and when things are going bad, it’s there. God is good all the time! All the time, God is good. But sometimes, it’s hard to see God’s sustaining grace at work when bad things happen. When someone dies before their time, when terrible things happen to innocent people, and when evil people hurt others, it’s often hard to find God’s sustaining grace at work during those times.

Salvation is by grace through faith. I’d argue that salvation is a term that fits both our life’s circumstances in the present as well as our eternal destiny. We are saved by grace through faith. It’s our faith that God puts to the test in order to make us stronger. That’s why he “tested” Abraham’s faith in Genesis 22 when he told him to offer his only son as a sacrifice on the altar. Abraham passed the test, and his faith has been an example of what it means to trust God in all the trials of life. He had learned through his life that he could trust God’s word. God said he’d have a son in his old age, and he did. God blessed him in numerous ways along life’s path, and he learned through all the ups and downs of life that God had his best interest foremost in mind, regardless of his circumstances or what God called him to do. He walked by faith. It was God’s grace that sustained him through it all.  But it not only sustained him. It made him stronger! Paul understood this principle well. He said in Philippians 4:13 that he could rejoice in God in every situation of life because he understood God’s promises.  Each beating, each imprisonment, each stoning, and each persecution of every kind made Paul’s faith stronger.  But the important thing to notice is that Paul realized that this strengthening was a result of God’s grace. When Timothy was going through tough times in his ministry, Paul wrote to him and said, “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:1).

Let me call to your attention the fact that the command “be strengthened,” or in some translations it says “be strong,” is a passive verb in the Greek text. Timothy is not the subject of the action but the recipient of it. Our strength through trials and pains and sufferings comes not from our own effort but from the reality of God’s grace at work in our lives. Bill Haynes put it this way, “Relying on God’s strength alone is something each of us must learn. The grace of God does not merely save us (although it does do that). It also continues to sustain us. It empowers our lives and gives us the ability to stand firm.” As Paul learned, through every thorn in the flesh and hardship of life, “God’s grace will prove sufficient.” Paul and other New Testament writers love to include in their salutation or benediction “grace to you” in various forms. Notice also that the Bible itself ends with Revelation 22:21. It says, “The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen!”

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1 Peter 5:9-10

Eternal Sustaining Grace

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 22, 2025

In the recent movie “The Grey,” Liam Neeson plays the lead character who leads a group of airplane crash survivors through the Alaskan wilderness. They are attacked and killed off one by one by wolves. When he’s the sole survivor, he screams into the sky at God, cursing and begging for God to do something to save him from his fate. An interesting observation is that the movie begins with his failed attempt to commit suicide. But now, life has become precious to him. Of course, there is no answer from heaven, thus leading to his rejection of the existence of a benevolent, sovereign God. He sets out to solve his own problem with his own strength, and the viewer is left to choose the ending of the movie for himself.

I’ve known many people like that and have read about many others. They ignore, doubt, or deny the existence of God until they find themselves in a situation where they need a miracle, and then they look to the heavens and cry out for one. But a greater difficulty for me is why people are willing to settle for deliverance from a temporal situation when God’s sustaining grace far exceeds the short years we spend on earth. I’m always astounded by those who demand God’s grace to save them from predicaments in this life while denying or doubting the eternal nature beyond this life. Salvation from situations that spare our lives here and now are merely salvations that will eventually be denied us all. Surely, everyone knows that the mortality rate for all mankind is still 100%! It is appointed for every person to die. We all walk through the valley of that shadow of death, and there is no escape for any of us.

Yes, we live in a world that is often filled with pain and suffering. But God has promised to see us through them all. It’s assumed by the writers of the New Testament that this salvation extends into eternity. Peter sees these episodes of suffering to be the instruments of Satan designed to rip our hearts away from God. They are permitted by God in order to strengthen our faith. That’s why he tells us (1 Peter 5:9-10) to “Resist him (the Devil) and stand firm in your faith.” Further, he reminds us that we are not alone in our suffering. He goes on to say we can find strength because we know “that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world” (we all die eventually). Then, he lets us know that God’s sustaining grace is at work even in the midst of trials that lead to death. He guarantees us that all this suffering is temporary and something better will take its place forever. He continues and says in verse 10, “And after you have suffered a little while, (how long? – a little while!) the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”

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Psalm 55:22

Do You See God’s Grace?

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 21, 2025

God does not promise that he will save us from every temporal trial and suffering of life. But He does promise to see us through them. Since death is part of everyone’s life, and since death is the ultimate suffering assigned to all people, we must clearly recognize that God’s unbreakable promise of Sustaining Grace through “all our trials” refers very specifically to our eternal existence. There will always be some trial, sickness, disease, or accident that will end our lives eventually. That’s undeniable.

But if we’re honest, and if we understand the sovereignty of God over the minute details of our lives, even the specific details of our sufferings, he has given all of us plenty of evidence of his sustaining grace even in the expanse of our short time on earth. Even if one only looks at the next breath, the next meal, and the next morning as evidence of God’s sustaining grace, it should be undeniable. Yet, I’d argue that any honestly soul searching individual can relate particular events in life through which God has sustained them in unexplainable ways. I’d argue that there is no such thing as coincidences in our lives. A coincidence is merely God’s way of remaining anonymous. Yet, many (if not most) people in our secular society would rather attribute such deliverances as accidental coincidences of nature. Think for a moment about such coincidences that have touched you in life. What do you consider to be the source? God will often move in our lives to get our attention. Sometimes, he moves through suffering, and sometimes, he moves through unexplained blessings. It’s beyond me how some will blame God for the suffering yet attribute their blessings to coincidence.

Psalm 55:22 tells us to “Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you.” This was the favorite verse of an old hymn writer from many years ago. The brief description of his life was the subject of one of the “daily bread” devotionals some time ago. It said, “The hymn writer Georg Neumark was a dedicated Christian who was afflicted with blindness in his later years. This infirmity was just one more trial in a life already filled with heartache. While still a young man, he had been reduced to poverty and was down to his last penny. Yet his trust in God did not fail, for he found great strength in the promise, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you.” He prayed earnestly for God’s help. The answer came in the form of an unexpected appointment as a tutor for the family of a rich judge. Relieved and delighted, he was prompted to compose one of his best-known hymns, “If Thou but Suffer God to Guide Thee,” to thank the Lord for His sustaining grace. Later, Johann Sebastian Bach saw such beauty in the hymn that he used it as the basis for a cantata, and Mendelssohn included it in his oratorio Saint Paul.”

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1 Peter, Luke 12:33

Not Fade Away!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 20, 2025

According to 1 Peter 5:4, upon our arrival in heaven, the chief Shepherd will give to the undershepherds the “unfading crown of glory.” This phrase carries the idea that was illustrated by Moses’ “fading glory” when he returned from spending time with God on Mount Sinai. His face would shine brightly, but the glow would wear off in time. Time always wears away the glow! I look at my old scrapbooks and see what 75 years have done to my appearance. At 15, I had a full head of hair and a youthful vigor, and now I have a shining bald spot. And what’s left is thinning out and turning grey. My hearing isn’t as good as it was then.  According to my wife, my favorite word is “what?” The world around me has faded into such a fuzzy picture that I need glasses to bring it all back into focus again. I have to have my eyes checked every year. They seem to be getting worse. I’m not sure that I’ve ever glowed, but the “shine” of life gets dimmer with each passing year. In one of my favorite verses, 1 Peter 1:3-5, our inheritance in heaven is described as being “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.”

The Greek word for “unfading” is the word for amaranth. It’s from the same root word as the “unfading crown of Glory” in 1 Peter 5. Amaranth is the name of a particular flower. According to Robertson’s “Word Pictures in the New Testament,” this Greek verb is derived from the name of a particular flower “…so called because it never withers and revives if moistened with water, and so used as a symbol of immortality.” Milton also used the amaranth to symbolize immortality in “Paradise Lost.” He suggests that the amaranth bloomed near the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden. Some flowers today are called “everlastings” because even when picked, they maintain their brilliant colors. The amaranth is one of those. It’s a beautiful, deep scarlet color.

Heaven is the place where nothing will fade, nothing will wear out, nothing will rot, and nothing will be destroyed. We have a home there! It’s waiting for us who have come to faith in Jesus and are trusting in His work of salvation accomplished on the cross. Our eternal home is so much different from our temporary residence in this world that Jesus emphasized the importance of living more for the coming reality than the present “fading away” reality. He tells us, “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys” (Luke 12:33). As we look forward to eternal life it becomes easier to loosen our grip on our possessions and money and to share what we have and to give when we can and to serve others as much as we can while on temporary assignment. This brings treasures that will not wear out or, like the amaranth, they will not fade away. Easter corrects our fading vision. The truth of Jesus’ resurrection adjusts our eyes to look at and see more clearly what is most important in life.

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