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Romans 15:13

A Growing Hope!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 28, 2025

When we sink our roots down deep into God’s Love for us and begin to fully apprehend how deep, how high, how long, and how wide God’s love for us really is, our faith grows. We get stronger and stronger, and life’s tidal waves and tsunamis may bend and twist us, but they will never break us! Being a true disciple means a growing faith that withstands the trials and hardships of life. Another major element of spiritual growth is our “Hope.” Now, the Bible teaches us that “hope” is the substance of things not seen. Hope reaches into the future to better times and better circumstances. If our love has its roots in God’s love, it looks back to the cross and draws sustenance for the present. Hope, on the other hand, sets its sights on the future, also drawing sustenance for the present. Knowing what awaits us in the Kingdom of God has a powerful, sustaining effect on our lives as we walk hand in hand through this valley of the shadow of death. In this life, we all need something to look forward to.

The key verse regarding a growing hope is Romans 15:13. It’s another prayer that Paul prays for the believers in Rome and in every city in the world. He writes, “May God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace by means of your faith in him so that your hope will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit.” God is always the source of it all. It all comes from Him! His love is the nourishment that feeds our faith. I like to see joy as the water! I think of the tree of Psalm 1 that is planted by the living water and has all the nourishment it needs. Its limbs get big and strong and hold many branches, which hold many leaves, and it is a joy to behold. Peace is the sunshine. If he “leads me beside still waters and puts me in green pastures,” I’m overcome by a sense of peace that feeds and nourishes my soul to continue its journey in this valley, looking forward to the meadow of heaven that awaits me at the end.

Heaven is often presented to us in unattractive ways! Most of us don’t want to spend eternity floating around on clouds playing harps in white robes! How boring does that sound? When I think of heaven as the scriptures present it, I think of complete healing. I think of complete peace and contentment and perfect communion with God and with those we love. I think of pleasures far exceeding the lame excuses we have in this life, but the details of which haven’t been completely revealed. Paul said, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” But God has revealed the general idea. They are enough to nourish us and sustain us in the present through any trial and hardship life might bring our way. Paul told the Philippians, “Our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory.” Philippians 3:20-21

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Philippians 1:9

A Growing Love!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 27, 2025

When Paul prayed for the believers at Philippi, he told them, “…it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more…” (Philippians 1:9). As Christians, we need to grow not only in faith and hope but also in our love. Paul not only prayed for this for the Philippians but also for the Ephesians. He wrote to them (Ephesians 4:15-16), “…we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” God’s love, (LOVE), is the soil into which we must sink our roots to draw up the nourishment we need to grow. It was so important that the Holy Spirit insisted on Paul repeating the idea a third time in his prayer for the Thessalonians. He writes to them (1 Thessalonians 3:12), “May the Lord make your love grow. May it be like a rising flood. May your love for one another increase. May it also increase for everyone else.” John, the Apostle of Love, teaches us that we learn to love only when we receive God’s love. That love was expressed for us on the cross of Calvary.

There are actually four words for love in the Greek language of Paul’s day. Paul chose the word “agape” to emphasize the self-sacrificial love of Christ. It is a selfless action to benefit someone else. The model for this love is Christ, who gave himself for the sins of the world. We are to love our spouses that way. We are to love our children that way. We are also to love each other that way. Each of those relationships requires a different kind of sacrifice, each with a depth appropriate for itself. When the lawyer answered Jesus’ question about the greatest commandment, he said to love God and love your neighbor. This brought a discussion about what constituted a neighbor. Jesus told the parable of the good Samaritan who sacrificed of himself to help the injured man.

There are two phrases in Philippians 1:9 worth looking at. First, Paul wants our love to “abound.” The Greek word means to “be present in abundance.” It’s like having a million dollars in your checking account. There’s more than enough to meet your day-to-day expenses, and you can live liberally with others. The word is present progressive and should be translated as “keep on abounding.” We must continue to make deposits in our “love” account so that we can continue to dispense it as needed in every situation. Notice also the phrase “more and more.” Growing up involves learning to love each other liberally more and more with each passing year. Paul had already commended the Philippians for their love for each other. Even though they had it, there was always room for more! And more! John explained this was the true mark of a Christian. In John 13:35, he wrote, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples if ye have love one to another.”

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Philippians 1:4-5

Growing in Joy!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 26, 2025

Growing in our faith, hope, and love will also result in an ever-increasing life of joy. When Paul wrote the Philippians his central theme of that small book was all about the joy involved with those who know and walk with the Lord. In that small letter he was struggling with his emotions and being in prison, he wasn’t sure he was going to live through the experience or not. He argued that he could live a contented life with whatever circumstance that God allowed in His life. He often longed to go home to be with the Lord, but because others needed him, he was certain God would deliver him from the current imprisonment. He writes in chapter 1:4-5, “But it is more important for you that I stay alive. I’m sure of that. So, I know I will remain with you. And I will continue with all of you to help you grow and be joyful in what you have been taught.

Joy is the result of living healthy and wholesome lives in an open and honest relationship with our creator. Paul didn’t make up this idea, because it’s mentioned several times in the Old Testament. Real joy, a contented, satisfying life, is not found in wealth, fame, or the pleasures of our world. Rather, real joy is found in a close walk with the Lord. Isaiah said, (Isaiah 29:19) “The lowly will find ever more joy in Yahweh and the poorest of people will delight in the Holy One of Israel.” All the wealth in the world and all the security in the world cannot compare to a close walk and an intimate connection with the God that made us. The Psalmist sings (Psalm 4:7), “You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.”

When Christ was born, the angels declared, “Behold, I bring you tidings of great joy which shall be for all the people.” (See Luke 2:10-11). No matter who you are, where you’ve been, or what you’ve done, the man or woman who receives Jesus will find joy, great joy! The absolute highest joy in life comes from being rightly connected with God. Jesus’ very purpose for coming was to make the connection for us and plug us back into the only true source of real joy. The closing of the book of Jude contains one of the most frequently recited blessings in the Bible. It’s all about joy! It says, “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy…, Verse 25 identifies that one as Jesus. The closer our walk with Jesus, the greater our joy! John explains why his writing his first letter in 1 John 1:4. He says, “And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.” 1 John 1:4 Back in my younger days (1965-69), I was a wild young thing, not to mention stupid. I simply pursued all the pleasures of this world. I was into the Steppenwolf scene. I was born to be wild! Yet, during those years, Edwin Hawkin’s Singers had a hit song that made it to number one in many places around the world. Whenever it played, it caught my attention. I would always stop and think about it. At the time I didn’t understand how a song like that made up the list in popular music alongside songs like, “Magic Carpet Ride.” I remember a group named “The Crazy Word of Arthur Brown.” They did a song entitled, “Hellfire.” Its opening line was “I am the god of hellfire, and I bring you fire!” During those crazy wild days, “Oh, Happy Day” always caught my attention.  I puzzled how that song was so popular. I wondered how such a song could make it to the number one spot on the chart.  The Edwin Hawkin’s song was “Oh Happy Day.” It repeated that often but explained it by describing it as the day “That Jesus took my sins away.” It was a decade before I learned that personally in 1978.

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Colossians 1:9, Philippians 1:9

Growing in Knowledge!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 25, 2025

As we grow up into Christ, as the New Testament puts it, we grow in faith, hope, love, and joy. It seems to me the nourishment for this growth comes from the rich soil of God’s great love for us. As our roots sink down into that, we draw all the nourishment we need to produce the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. These fruits grow into plump, delicious aspects of our lives that cannot be nourished without our roots set deep into God’s love. God’s love is most purposefully communicated to us through His Son Jesus. He died for us. What greater love is there? This great love is written down for us in God’s love letter to us, His Word, our Bibles! As we grow to know it better, we will be constantly drawn to the rich depth of love from the sweetest well in the world. It’s the well from which flows the living waters of life.

When Paul writes to the Philippians, he suggests that as our love continues to grow and we grow to appreciate God’s love for us more and more, along with the growth in love comes a growth in knowledge. He writes in chapter 1, verse 9, “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment.” But in Colossians 1:9, Paul makes it clear that the knowledge he’s praying for is an in-depth understanding of God’s Purpose for our lives. He says, “…we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will…”

As we learn more about God and His plan and purpose for our lives and grow in our comprehension of His great love for us, we are moved by the Holy Spirit to let that knowledge control us. I like what Anders said in his commentary on this passage. He writes, “God’s will is not a spiritual Easter egg he hides from us. No, God wants us to know his will, and so clearly reveals that will in his Word.” As I’ve studied the Bible, looking for God’s purpose for my life, I’ve tried to grasp the Biblical mandate for living the Christian life well. It seems that I repeatedly found that it was what Paul prayed for the believers In Philippians 1:9. He wanted love to grow as it is firmly grounded in the knowledge and discernment of God’s love as revealed to us through the person of His Son Jesus and clearly demonstrated on the cross. Romans 5:8 summarizes, “God demonstrated His own love for us in this, while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” As we grow in our knowledge and understanding of the overall message of the Bible as it culminates at the cross, we experience the true fruits of the spirit. Fruit doesn’t appear in a moment. It takes time to grow and ripen. We need to be patient with ourselves and others as we “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 2:18)

 

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2 Peter 1:2

Take Your Time!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 24, 2025

Peter prays for us. This is his prayer: May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. (2 Peter 1:2) As our roots go down deep into God’s love, we get the nourishment we need to develop stronger branches and then produce spiritual fruit. You know what that is. Galatians 5 lists nine kinds of fruit that should develop in us as we “grow in our knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.” They are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. It takes time in our lives to take in the nourishment from God’s word and let the Holy Spirit water the seeds that are planted, and then sometimes it takes a long time for the flower to bloom, the fruit to emerge, and then to mature. It never happens overnight and without “sinking our roots down deep.”

Do you remember the Jack and the Beanstalk story? Jack was a bad boy. He took his mother’s money to buy groceries. He bought magic beans from a flim-flam man instead. When he got home and his mother found out what a stupid thing he’d done, he was punished and sent to bed without dinner. He threw the magic seeds out his window. In the morning, he woke up to a huge beanstalk outside his window, reaching far up out of sight. The rest of the story is about the adventures in a giant’s land. I mention the story because it’s the only place I know where a plant grows overnight! Only children’s fairy tales and Disney productions with time-lapse imagery can make that happen.

In real life, all growth takes time, nourishment, frequent watering, and nurturing. We live in a world where we want everything to be instant. There’s instant rice, instant coffee, instant… well, just about everything. If it’s not instant, we can put it in the microwave and make it instant! There are remote controls and other technological marvels that give us instant access. I’ve watched recent TV commercials for cellular phones that give you data and information seconds faster than your neighbors, and how cool that is and how everyone should really want one of those gadgets because it’s 4G, 5G (or whatever), and they can get the information much quicker. The best things in life truly take time. Spiritual growth is the most important. You can either be a dandelion that sprouts in a day or an oak tree that takes years. Remember, the Psalmist tells us that the tree planted beside the waters is the one that grows strong and healthy. The changing weather conditions of life do no harm. Although it bends, it does not break. So, when we get discouraged, we can relax and focus on our roots sinking into God’s love for us. Paul tells us, “Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.” 2 Corinthians 4:1

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1 Corinthians 3:6

It’s Always a God Thing!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 23, 2025

It takes time for anything significant to grow. More importantly, it needs the right kind of soil in which the Spirit of God had prepared for the seed. It needs some tending to once it’s been planted, but all the tending to and caring for the seed will not guarantee any kind of true spiritual growth. Spiritual Growth is just that: it’s Spiritual, and no one can harness the Spirit. Jesus said it comes and goes as it wills. Jesus said, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Jesus said, “Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:6-8) The true source of Spiritual Growth is what we call a “God Thing.”

We are all called to make disciples of Jesus in His Great Commission, but all we can do is plant and water. Just like any other plant, the rest is out of our hands. Paul made this clear in his letter to the Corinthians. He writes in 1 Corinthians 3:6, “I planted the seed. Apollos watered it. But God made it grow.” The focus of our faith is not on the one who planted; neither is it on the one who waters. Hopefully, there will always be workers in the field, but God gets the proper credit for any growth. That’s what Paul meant when he continued the following verse: “So the one who plants is not important. The one who waters is not important. It is God who makes things grow. He is the One who is important.”

If I were to ask you what the book of Jonah in the Bible is about, you’d probably say it was about a man who got swallowed by a whale while he was running from God. That’s true, but it’s not really about a great big fish swallowing a man. The whale is only mentioned four times. It’s not about the repentance of a great city. Nineveh is only mentioned 9 times. Really, it’s not even about a disobedient prophet. Jonah is only mentioned 18 times. Many players are in the story, including a fish, a plant, a man, a storm, a ship, a crew, and many others. But it’s really all about God, who is mentioned 38 times in the four short chapters of Jonah. The book of Jonah is really about How God uses his people to reach others, even when they don’t want to be used. It’s also about how God works in Jonah’s life to help him grow in love and care for others. We need to let God do “His Thing” in our lives. “Christ…is the head of the body. Under Christ’s control, the whole body is nourished and held together by its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God wants it to grow.” Colossians 2:19

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1 Corinthians 12:27

Care for one another

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 22, 2025

I’m an insignificant flake in a snowstorm! No one would even notice if I were gone. I contribute nothing to the whole, and my absence would not even be missed. I’m a drop of water in an endless sea! I’m a ripple in the sands of time. These are just some of the thoughts that run through my mind in dark times.  Being retired now, for about 8 years, I don’t contribute much to the world around me. More than ever, a good grip on God’s Word is so important. When I find myself thinking such things I remind myself of what Peter taught me in his first letter, chapter 5, verse 7. He says, “…humble yourselves under God’s mighty hand by casting all your cares on him because he cares for you.” I also remember Hosea 14:8. In that verse, God says to me and you, “I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always green.” I love God’s comparison of himself with the evergreen tree. In the summer, what color is it? In the fall, what color is it? In the winter, what color is it? In the spring, what color is it? Just as the evergreen is always green, so too is God’s constant care and concern for us, always alive.

God’s care for us often comes from His servants and other people. We see that often in the Bible. When Paul was thrown in prison, the warden gave orders to the jailers that “none of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs.” (Acts 24:23). When you study Paul’s prison epistles, you see that many people came to minister to Paul and to care for his needs. It is well known that God often reaches down and touches our lives through others. Even the Roman soldiers recognized this truth. We see it expressed again in Acts 27, verse 3. Luke writes, “And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for.” The Church had its first disagreement in Acts 15. It was resolved at what we know as the Jerusalem Council. Although there were disagreements over some things, there was wonderful agreement on other things. When Paul reported the results of the conference, he said, “Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do” (Galatians 2:10). Everyone in the universal church recognized the importance of caring for each other. We are all parts of one body, and we all need each other.

God has created each and every one of us for a purpose. That purpose involves taking care of others in the body of Christ. No matter how down we get or how low we feel, we cannot escape the fact that God made us for a purpose. It’s primarily to focus our attention on the needs of others. When we do that, we find meaning and purpose in our lives again. When Paul concludes his discussion on the various parts of the body being like various members of the church in 1 Corinthians 12:27, he says, “Now here is what I am trying to say: All of you together are the one body of Christ, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it.” When we do what God calls us to do, we find our joy will be restored. Paul again reminds us in 1 Corinthians 12:24-25, “God has so composed the body….that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.”

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1 Thessalonians 4:17-18, Hebrews 3:12-13, Hebrews 10:24-25

Coming Along Side

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
January 21, 2025

Most of my sea time in the Navy was spent on Navy Destroyers. Our primary mission was ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare), which involved accompanying aircraft carriers and protecting them from submarine attacks. We would come alongside them, and our sonar was always busy watching for contacts. The carriers couldn’t do everything themselves. When we had trouble, there were Destroyer Tenders that we could come alongside to get help. No ship could do it all by itself. People are the same way. We don’t all serve in the same ways. I believe Paul was aware of that when he explained the responsibility of those with certain gifts. He says God “gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” Paul realized that if one person, or even just a few people, were called upon to do all the “work of the ministry,” they would do a poor job and would eventually burn themselves out. A pastor’s role should be to equip the congregation to care for the needs of the many members. How the congregation is to care for itself is expressed in the many “one another” passages in the bible. One way we are called to take care of one another is through encouragement.

The Greek word for encouragement is “parakaleo.” It literally means “to come alongside.” While in the Navy, I made a Mediterranean cruise and two Western Pacific cruises. When at sea for a long time, ships often run low on fuel, food, or fresh water. They may also need a particular part because of some kind of damage. These needs are met by other ships that “come alongside” and transfer to the depleted vessel whatever is needed to get on with its mission. It’s the same for us Christians. In the course (cruise) of life, we, too, run low on resources. We need other Christians (vessels) to come along side and help us out. We often need to be refueled, resupplied, or fixed.

There are three kinds of encouragement we might need. The first kind is when we suffer a loss in life or are “broke” by life’s painful circumstances. Paul addressed the Thessalonians when they saw their loved ones die. He explained that we need not let the grief of such a loss overwhelm us. He wanted them to know that their loved ones were not lost but were with the Lord, and one day, we’d see them again. He said, “We who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” He adds, “Therefore encourage one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:17-18). We are also called to encourage one another in their service to the Lord and God’s people. We need to be refueled at times.  The author of the book of Hebrews tells us, “and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another…(Hebrews 10:24-25) We are also to encourage one another to live godly lives as well and stay away from sin’s ravages. Hebrews 3:12-13 says, “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” Paul told the Corinthians, “But God has so composed the body…that the members may have the same care for one another.” 1 Corinthians 12:24-25

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