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John 19:34

Blood And Water

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 10, 2024

When the soldiers came to break the legs of the three hanging on the cross to finish them off, they found that Jesus was already dead.  They did not need to break his legs to accelerate the dying process, but John 19:34 tells us, “But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.” Commentators have gone to great lengths to identify the symbolic meaning of the “blood and water” that flowed from Jesus’ side when pierced by the spear. Wiersbe suggests that blood and water illustrate two aspects of salvation: blood to atone for the guilt of sin and water to wash away the stain of sin. The blood speaks of justification, and the water of sanctification. The two must always go together, for those who have trusted the blood of Christ to save them should live clean lives before a watching world.  In this respect, others have said that the blood represents the sacrifice for sin, and the water represents the water of purification.

However, others see the water differently since, in John, water is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. The death of the Saviour means a life-giving flow: blood for the cleansing from sin and water for the representation of the new life in the Spirit. Some suggest it serves to fulfill Old Testament prophecies concerning the piercing of the Messiah. ( Ps 34:20; Zech 12:10).  Others suggest it refers to the healing power of Christ. The name of the soldier who pierced Christ’s side was Longinus. According to tradition, blood and water spattered his eyes, and he was immediately healed of “distemper” in his eyes. Much legend has been built around such fables, which involved searching for the Holy Grail & other notions of achieving eternal life.

Others see reference to the two ordinances of the Church. The Blood is symbolized during Communion with the cup of wine. The water signifies the water used in baptism. Dr. W. Stroud (Physical Cause of the Death of Christ ) argues that this fact proves that the spear pierced the left side of Jesus near the heart and that Jesus had died literally of a broken heart since blood was mixed with water. Dr. Stuart Bergsma agrees and says, “To the effect that blood and water flowing from a spear wound could have only come from a ruptured heart.”[1] Regardless of Blood & Water’s symbolic nature, never forget it was for you and Me! He didn’t swoon! He didn’t fake it! He indeed died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and purchase a place in heaven for us, which he offers as a free gift to all who receive it by faith. We have been born again. Valerie Geer compares it to childbirth. She writes, “Blood and water came out of me also. My water broke, and amniotic fluid mixed with blood flowed out of my womb and down my legs. In pain and labor, with much toil, I brought forth a child. My own body was torn asunder in an episode of great suffering. This is the story of life. Life out of the blood and water that flowed mingled down. Life is born out of self-sacrifice. I am speaking of childbirth, yes, but even more, I am speaking of the redemption of humanity.”[2]

[1] Duffield, Guy P., and Nathaniel M. Van Cleave. 1983. Foundations of Pentecostal Theology. Los Angeles, CA: L.I.F.E. Bible College.

[2] Geer, Valerie. 2015. “Blood & Water Flowed: Becoming New through the Feminine Imagery of Redemption.” Mutuality Magazine, 2015.

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1 Chronicles 4:10

The Prayer Of Jabez

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 9, 2024

Bruce Wilkinson’s little book, “The Prayer of Jabez,” is based on this one verse in 1 Chronicles chapter four. Verse 10 says: “Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, ‘Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!’ And God granted him what he requested.” Jabez is said to be more noble than his brothers. That seems to be reflected in his prayer. According to some Jewish historians, Jabez was an eminent doctor in the law whose reputation drew so many scribes around him that a town was called by his name.  His mother named him Jabez, which means suffering because that’s what he caused her at his birth. Yet, in his life, his mother must have been delighted by the joy he brought her as a man of God.

Wilkinson’s book is not without its critics. Some argue that it displaces the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples to pray. That one highlights a humble spirit, wanting nothing more than daily bread and to be kept from temptation. One writer says of Wilkinson’s book, “Readers of the book may come to imagine God as a cosmic Santa Clause, merrily doling out gifts to any individual who asks. And asks. And asks. It is more edifying to read The Prayer of Jabez as a wry leavening of Scripture than as a motivational mantra or a magical success formula. Besides, the church already has a model prayer.”[1]

I appreciate the criticism, yet Jabez’s prayer is in the form of a vow. It seems to have been prayed as a preliminary to embarking on a major task that God had given him. The task may have been occupying his portion of the Land, ousting the pagan inhabitants, and setting up the worship of the one true God. He prayed, “that it may not grieve me” or “that I may have no more sorrow” may be an allusion to his name.  He prays, “Let me not experience the grief which my name implies.” The important thing to notice here is that Jabez did not look to his own strength, ability, or wisdom to live his life or accomplish a task. He trusted in God as His prayer testifies. Whether he was simply praying for God’s particular blessing on his life as a whole or for the success of a particular undertaking, Jabez enjoyed a remarkable degree of prosperity, and God, in this instance, proved that He was not only the hearer but the answerer of prayer. He still is!

[1] Sailer, William, J. Creighton Christman, David C. Greulich, Harold P. Scanlin, Stephen J. Lennox, and Phillip Guistwite. 2012. Religious and Theological Abstracts. Myerstown, PA: Religious and Theological Abstracts.

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Matthew 5-7, Various

The Sermon On The Mount

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 8, 2024

Easton’s Bible Dictionary tells how the Mount of the Beatitudes got its name: After spending a night in solemn meditation and prayer in the lonely mountain range to the west of the Lake of Galilee (Luke 6:12), on the following morning, our Lord called to him his disciples, and from among them chose twelve, who were to be henceforth trained to be his apostles (Mark 3:14, 15). After this solemn consecration of the twelve, he descended from the mountain peak to a more level spot (Luke 6:17), and there he sat down and delivered the “sermon on the mount” (Matt. 5–7; Luke 6:20–49) to the assembled multitude. The mountain here spoken of was known by the name of the “Horns of Hattin,” a ridge running east and west, not far from Capernaum. It was afterward called the “Mount of Beatitudes.”

We visit this site during our trips to Israel. From its rocky sides, you can see the flat plains of farmers’ fields spreading out for miles, eventually giving way to the Sea of Galilee. It could have easily held the great multitudes that followed Jesus in His early ministry. There is a beautiful church on that site today.  It’s shaped like an octagon, and each side represents one of the eight beatitudes. These are the eight blessings that Jesus pronounces on those with certain characteristics. Some might number them differently, seeing 7, 9, or even 10 blessings, but it has been mostly understood as containing eight. The Greek word translated “blessed” means “happy, blissful” or, literally, “to be enlarged.” In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus uses the word to refer to more than superficial happiness; in this context, blessed refers to a state of spiritual well-being and prosperity. The happiness is a deep joy of the soul. Those who experience the first aspect of a beatitude (poor, mourn, meek, hungry for righteousness, merciful, pure, peacemakers, and persecuted) will also experience the second aspect of the beatitude (kingdom of heaven, comfort, inherit the earth, filled, mercy, see God, called sons of God, inherit the kingdom of heaven). The blessed have a share in salvation and have entered the kingdom of God, experiencing a foretaste of heaven.

The Beatitudes set the tone for the entire Sermon on the Mount by emphasizing man’s humility in view of God’s righteousness. Each of the eight Beatitudes portrays the ideal heart condition of a kingdom citizen—a condition that brings abundant spiritual blessing.  The eight heart conditions are: 1) Poor in spirit refers to an awareness of spiritual bankruptcy apart from Christ. 2) To mourn is to be grieved and broken over sin.  3)The meek, like Christ, exemplify gentleness and self-control.  4) “Hunger and thirst” is a vivid description of those who crave God’s righteousness. 5) The “merciful” is both forgiving and compassionate.  6) To be “pure in heart” refers to that internal cleansing necessary for entering God’s presence. 7) The “peacemakers” are those who invite men to be reconciled to God and to one another. 8) Finally, there is a blessing for those who are “persecuted for righteousness.” It is normal for the world to oppose kingdom citizens.

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Matthew 8:23f, Various

A Great Calm

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 7, 2024

According to Nelson’s Illustrated Manners and Customs of the Bible, there were two mountains in Galilee that were formed by earthquakes.  They are Mount Tabor and Mount Arbel.  We climbed the gentle rising ascent to Mount Arbel on all five of our tours of Israel. On the top of Mount Arbel, we can see the whole lake of Galilee. The view is simply magnificent! From this perspective, you can see the arena of Jesus’ ministry: the valley of Gennosar, the Mount of the Beatitudes, Capernaum, the blue waters of the Sea of Galilee, and the Golan Heights beyond.  This rise is known as the Arbela. Across from it is the Golan. It’s a rise as well, and these two, the Golan and the Arbela, according to one commentator, “are responsible for creating the winds that blow over the lake and produce ferocious storms. The lake is 690 feet below sea level; it is 15 miles long and six miles wide.”  Because of the hills surrounding the lake, which produce wind tunnels, it is prone to violent storms that come upon it quickly. Several of Jesus’ disciples made their living as fishermen on this lake. They feared these storms that were not uncommon.

In Matthew 8:23-27 we read about one of these storms overcoming the boat in which Jesus and his fishermen disciples were. As the storm increased in intensity, the disciples cried out to Jesus for help. Jesus was resting peacefully in the boat and sleeping soundly. No storm could shake Him! The disciples woke Jesus and pleaded for help. Jesus rebuked them for two things. They were afraid, and they lacked faith. Butler says, “First, the rebuking of their fear. ‘Why are ye fearful?’ The word translated as fearful in meaning ‘denotes cowardice and timidity and is never used in a good sense’ (Vine). The disciples’ fear was an insult to Christ.  Our fleshly fears dishonor God. Second, the rebuking of their faith. ‘O ye of little faith.’ Christ’s evaluation of their faith was doubtless not what they thought about their faith. We have a tendency to evaluate ourselves much higher than God does. They probably thought they had great faith, but Christ says they had ‘little faith.’ Faith is important to God. ‘Without faith, it is impossible to please Him’ (Hebrews 11:6). We all need more faith, and if the disciples only had ‘little faith,’ how much greater would Christ rebuke us who are far less spiritual than the disciples.”

Don’t we have Jesus with us? Isn’t He in our boat? We have nothing to fear! Every storm in life is under His control.  Jesus takes care of storms. He not only rebuked the disciples for their fear and lack of faith, but He went on to rebuke the storm itself. Verse 26 says, “He…rebuked the winds and the sea.” Knowing humans and being one myself, the rebuke to the natural world was more effective than the rebuke for being afraid and lacking faith in us. Christ ordered the storm to stop. The emphasis here is on God’s authority over nature. Christ spoke, and it was done.  There followed, as the text says, “…a great calm.” But, humans, unlike the natural order, have been gifted, or cursed, with some sense of free will. We don’t have to obey or take rebukes to heart. I struggle with this, don’t you? In my life, fear is always the result of little faith. There are so many passages in the Bible where God directs us to “fear not.” Yet, I find myself afraid of a lot of things in life. One example is in 1 Chronicles 28:20. It says, “Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the Lord God, even my God, is with you.” Christ told his disciples that he would be with us until the end of the age. May that truth bring a “great calm” to our lives during the storms we experience in this life.

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Matthew 6:25-34, 1 Peter 5:7

What, Me Worry?

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 6, 2024

While waiting in the Doctor’s office, I was reading a magazine article about COVID-19 coming back strong in the United States. I’ve already had it a couple of times in the last three years and don’t want to end up in the hospital again, as I did on both occasions.  As I read the article, I thought for sure I had it again. I even thought I was experiencing the symptoms again. I began to worry about it. Have you done that? I don’t need this! I have plenty of things to worry about! Later that day, I began to study for a new devotional thought and read Matthew 6:25. It says, “Don’t worry about your life…”  Thanks, Lord, I needed that!

“Worry is just unnatural,” Jesus explains. “Consider the birds. They don’t worry.”  Just a few mornings before, a Robin sat outside my bedroom window at 4:45 AM, singing up a storm. I could have killed him! But, following Jesus’ advice, I “considered” him. He didn’t live in a nice home! He didn’t have a week’s worth of groceries in the kitchen. He didn’t even have a retirement plan! If anything is on God’s welfare role, it’s that bird. But there he was, singing at 4:45 in the morning! How carefree can you get? “You see,” Jesus explained, “Your Father knows when even one bird falls to the ground, and you count far more to Him than birds.” I thought it was interesting that Jesus said, “Your Father,” not “the bird’s father.” It does seem unnatural. Nothing in all creation seems to worry except mankind!

“Think of the wildflowers growing in the field,” do you think they worry? So, I thought about them. Yes, they are beautiful! Jesus continued, “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers – most of which are never even seen – don’t you think He’ll attend to you?” Have you ever considered the fact that most wildflowers in the world are never viewed by the eyes of man? Yet, there they are in all their splendor! It’s also unhelpful. “Has anyone, by fussing in front of the mirror, ever gotten taller?” Jesus asks. Of course not! Worry won’t help. Worry is unnatural, it’s unhelpful, and it’s un-Christian. In 6:31, Jesus repeats himself with an additional twist. “So don’t worry…why be like the pagans?” Worry, in a sense, is the opposite of faith. It’s a practical atheism. Finally, Jesus also says that worry is unnecessary!  Your heavenly father cares for you. 1st Peter 5:7 tells us to throw all our worries on Him “because He cares for you.” Jesus wraps up his discourse on worry by saying, “Never worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Thanks, Lord, I needed that!

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Genesis 39:23, Various

Full Of Enthusiasm

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 5, 2024

The Word “Enthusiasm” comes from two Greek words; “en,” the preposition meaning in or with, and “theos,” the noun meaning God. Enthusiastic living is living with or in God. Sometimes, it’s expressed by saying, “God in or with You.” The source of enthusiasm is God’s presence in your life. Often in the Bible the phrase Christians are referred to as being “in Christ.” Several times, it says of Christians that “Christ is in you.” Thus, the Bible expects believers to live “enthusiastic” lifestyles as part of their testimonies to a cold, dark world. Of course, there are all kinds of “enthusiasm” as we understand the word today. It’s used to describe any kind of excitement or interest in anything. We can be “enthused” over just about anything. But, that’s not what the word originally meant. It referred to a passion and excitement for life even when things go wrong. Having God with you, or the Spirit in you, meant that you were able to live above all life’s sorrows and circumstances.

Joseph in the Old Testament is an excellent example of a man who lived an “enthusiastic” life even amidst the many trials and injustices he suffered. In Chapter 39 of Genesis, after Joseph had been sold by his own brothers (talk about a dysfunctional family), and after Potiphar’s wife had lied about him, which resulted in his incarceration on the “Green Mile,” He continues to actively serve others regardless of where he is; a slave? He’s the best slave! A prisoner? He’s the best prisoner! Four times in this chapter, it says that “God was with Joseph.” He knew it, but more importantly, everyone around him knew it. Even at the end of the chapter, when he’s thrown into prison, the very last verse, verse 23 of Chapter 39, says, “The chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph’s charge, because the Lord was with him, and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.” When he kept books, he was the best bookkeeper. When he counted crops, he was the best crop counter! Everything he did prospered because God was with him. Isn’t it strange that the bible can say that God made Joseph prosper in everything he did when he was sold by his brothers, lied about by a seductress, and imprisoned on false charges? Joseph remained enthusiastic in all of his circumstances.

When Joseph was in prison, Pharaoh’s butler and baker were thrown into the prison with him. One day after they had dreams, They were downcast! They had no “enthusiasm.” In Chapter 40 of Genesis, Joseph asks them, “Why are you so sad?”  He wanted to know why they had no enthusiasm. After all that had happened to Joseph, he wasn’t focusing on all his sufferings but looking out for the needs of others. He was singing a happy song, so to speak. I think of Paul and Silas in Philippi when they were beaten and thrown in prison. After midnight, Paul and Silas were “singing” songs. It doesn’t say which ones, but it says that all the prisoners were listening to them, and the conclusion is that many trust in the God who is “with” (or in) Paul and Silas. I’m sure they weren’t singing, “Nobody knows the troubles I’ve seen! Nobody knows my sorrow!” Neither were they singing, “I see the train a-comin’ it rollin’ round the bend, and I ain’t seen the sunshine since, I don’t know when… I’m stuck in Folsom Prison, and time keeps dragging by… when I hear that whistle blowing, I hang my head and cry.” No! Those are not the songs that Joseph, Paul, and Silas were singing! God was with and in them! They sang a happy song.

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2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Various

Stepping Into The Light

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 4, 2024

I remember watching my Dad die in the VA Hospital and seeing him deteriorate during the last few months of his life. My mom went faster but cancer got her too a couple of years later. For about three months we watched Kathy’s mom wasting away a little each day. It was a difficult time for her and for us as well. Jean had some hard moments, but she also had some courageous moments as her faith sustained her through this struggle. It caused us to think about and talk about how we will face our own passing from this world. We’re not afraid of death, but dying does give us pause, and well, it should. It’s easy to lose heart in the face of such a reality that sits before each and every one of us. Paul knew what that was like himself. He suffered the failings of the flesh. As he grew older, he couldn’t see, or hear, or walk as well as he had as a younger man. I’m feeling that now that I’m in my 70s also. Paul watched death on its pale horse approaching and drawing closer with each passing year, yet he did “not lose heart.” He said that even though his “outer man was wasting away,” his faith in Christ and what awaited him in the afterlife sustained him through it all. He wrote it down by the inspiration of God’s Spirit so that we could follow his lead. He said in 2 Corinthians 4:16, “We do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.”

Paul explains that his ability to maintain courage in the face of “wasting away” in the flesh is based on something he cannot see. The renewing of his heart, the very source of his courage to face his own decaying body, is found in something rather strange. In verse 18 of the same passage, he writes, “We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” Just a few passages later, Paul adds a summary describing his life on this earth, in this flesh, with these weaknesses. In 2 Corinthians 5:7, he says, “We walk by faith, not by sight.”

John Piper writes his commentary on this verse in his work entitled “Future Grace.” He says, “This (walking by faith, not by sight) doesn’t mean that he (Paul) leaps into the dark without evidence of what’s there. It means that the most precious and important realities in the world are beyond our physical senses. We ‘look’ at these unseen things through the gospel. By the grace of God, we see what Paul called ‘the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God’ (2 Corinthians 4:4). We strengthen our hearts—we renew our courage—by fixing our gaze on the invisible, objective truth that we see in the testimony of those who saw Christ face to face.” This means that our hope is built upon the revealed truth of God’s promises recorded for us in the Bible. Living by faith is not a leap in the dark. It’s a step into the light! A step into the light is a step into the truths of Jesus Christ! After all, He is “the light of the world.”

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1 Corinthians 3:9, Various

Co-Workers

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 3, 2024

1 Corinthians 3:9 says that we are “co-workers.” Some translations say “workers together.” Others say “fellow workers.” The Good News Bible says that “we are partners, working together.” The traditional King James says, “We are laborers together with God.”  But I still like “co-workers” best. We are working, along with God, in the building of His church on the one foundation laid by the apostles: the Lord Christ Jesus. One commentator says, “Within the context of this passage, co-worker means that God allows us to PARTICIPATE TOGETHER WITH HIM IN HIS KINGDOM’S work.” We all have the same mission. It’s called the “Great Co-mission.” Jesus commanded us all to embrace this mission and join together with the various gifts, passions, abilities, personalities, and experiences that God gave us for the furtherance of this mission of “making disciples.”  Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18–20 NKJV)

This mission bonds Christians together and unifies our efforts. The commentator quoted above goes on to say, “It is God’s agenda, not ours, and we work together to achieve our common goal. That’s what it means to be co-workers. We have the same objective, and we are working together to achieve it.” Many of us remember the rescue of 18-month-old Jessica McClure, who was trapped in an abandoned water well for over 58 hours. This happened in Texas a few months after we left Texas and moved back to Michigan. One reporter said that the rescue was performed by “up to 50 on-site mining engineers, firefighters, paramedics, drillers, jackhammer operators, law enforcement officers and other support people.” The common goal brought out “the higher quality and better part of the human soul and the human spirit.”

Many of the workers normally competed with one another in the oil drilling business. But all petty jealousies and completion were set aside to accomplish something more important: the physical salvation of a little girl. “The biggest thing … was the teamwork of the people involved,” David Lilly recalled. “It worked beautifully. Every person there was just willing to do everything above and beyond (their duty). There was no arguing or bickering.” A final report said, “One-time business partners turned bitter rivals were working side by side, and even hugged one another after the rescue.” In the matter of making disciples, we are co-workers. Paul told the Philippians to “Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:2-4)

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