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1 Timothy 5:8

The Most Important Thing

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
December 8, 2023

 I’m sure you’ve wondered what it might have been like for you to have been born to a rich family or a famous family. I’ve also wondered what it would have been like to have been born into a third-world family and had to struggle with daily survival as many do in our world today. Regardless of what I’ve imagined, the truth is that God chose to put me where He chose to put me.  We were born into the family that we were born into. That family, not the fictional family, is important. God says it is. All the instructions regarding honoring parents, remaining faithful and loving to our spouses, and accepting responsibility for those in our household are just general expressions in the scripture that instruct us on the importance of our earthly families in God’s eyes. Once a family is formed by marriage, that unit becomes sacred in God’s eyes. I’ve heard numerous stories of how ministers have sacrificed their families in order to serve, as they say, “The family of God.” I don’t think that is honoring God.

The first and most important ministry that God has assigned to any of us is the ministry we are called to regarding our families. Paul made it perfectly clear to his young disciple, Timothy. He wrote to him and said, “… if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8). Ministry must always begin in the home. When you study the other instructions that Paul gave to both Timothy and Titus, we learn that those who are called to serve as “ministers” in the church must first have the ministry needs of their family satisfied. No one should be giving attention to others when those in their own families are suffering or struggling. That must always remain our first priority.

In that same chapter, Paul exhorts the family on the importance of ministering to its own members before ministering to others. He says, “But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God” (1 Timothy 5:4). The phrase that struck me is “let them first.” Some translations say, “of primary importance” or “the highest priority.” Sometimes we must sacrifice our personal interests and desires for the welfare of others in our family. God’s family values are such that we must always make those in our own household the primary recipients of our ministries. Then, working together, the family as a whole can serve God in many ways. One writer said, “When we submit to God’s family values, we put ourselves in a place of blessing. Any other values will soon prove to be an insufficient base for a permanent and joyful union.”

If you’ve ever watched the Discovery Channel’s series, “Alone,” you would know that it doesn’t take too long to live alone in the wilderness to find out that what you miss the most is the family you left behind. May contestants in that show will tap out early and forego the possibility of winning half a million dollars because they miss their families too much. One contestant said after tapping out early because of loneliness, “You don’t know what you have until you lose it.”

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2 Thessalonians 2:2, Various

Nothing To Fear!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
December 7, 2023

Megiddo is one of the most interesting archeological sites in Israel. In my five trips there, it has remained a favorite stop. There are nearly 20 layers in the excavation, each representing an older civilization. It was one of the earliest Canaanite cities and had a long history. It’s mentioned often in Scripture. According to Judges 1:27, the Israelites failed to drive out “the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages.” According to 1 Kings 9:27, Ahaziah, Judah’s king, died there, as did Josiah, as recorded in 2 Kings 23:29. There are other mentions of the site as well. But the most famous mention is its mountain “Har-Megiddon” or Armageddon.  In the valley is the plain of Megiddo stretching out for miles. That’s the plain on which the last battle on Earth will take place, which will result in the end of the world as we know it. It’s also referred to as the Valley of Decision.

This place is made famous in the Book of Revelation. It’s this place that gives its name to the last battle on earth, which will usher in the day of the Lord. In Revelation 16:12-16, we read, “The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east. And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs, for they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. … And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.”

Armageddon is a term used to describe the war to end all wars. WWI was touted to be that war. It wasn’t. In the “Hunt for Red October,” parts of this passage were read to allude to the fact that the caterpillar-driven submarine, Red October, was built as a doomsday weapon designed to start Armageddon. Terms such as “the Dragon,” “The Day of the Lord, “the beast of Revelation,” “the False Prophet,” and “Armageddon” are often part of the vocabulary modern prophets use to elicit fear from the people. It conjures up “end of the world” scenarios. But for the sincere believer, there’s nothing to fear. We know who wins. Further, Paul tells us in 2 Thessalonians 2:2, “Do not become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, false report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the Day of the Lord has already come.”  Further, Jesus tells us not to believe them. He said, “If anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.” For the sincere believer, we have God’s Word about heaven. We have nothing to fear. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mark 13:31-32). We know that He is preparing a place for and He has promised to take us to where He is. We have nothing to fear.

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1 Thessalonians 5:8, Various

The Breastplate Of Faith

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
December 6, 2023

Exodus tells us about the breastplate of judgment that the High Priest wore as he entered into the presence of God. On it were the precious gems with the names of each of the twelve tribes. He represented his people with the sacrifice to secure their forgiveness. Christ, as our High Priest, represents us as he entered the Holy of Holies while on the cross, bearing our sins upon his heart. As the veil of the temple was torn in half, we see that Christ’s sacrifice was the final payment for our sins. The cross is the center of all my courage. It is all about Christ’s work on my behalf that evil can be defeated in my life. My courage comes from his work for me. As Romans 8:1 says, because of Christ’s work on the cross, “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ.”  Christ bore the breastplate of judgment for us!

In 1 Thessalonians 5:8, Paul tells us, “Since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith…” When Paul talks about the full armor of God in Ephesians, Chapter Six,  he exhorts his readers to don the full armor as we struggle against the powers of spiritual evil in heavenly places. Really, the armor is all about Jesus. If we put on Christ, we put on the armor. The Bible seems to suggest that when we put on Christ, we put on the armor. They seem to be one and the same. Consider the pieces. Regarding the belt of truth, Jesus said, “I am the truth…” (John 14:6.) Regarding the breastplate of righteousness, Jesus is our righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30). Regarding the boots of the gospel of peace, Christ is our peace (Ephesians 2:14). Regarding salvation, Jesus is the author and finisher of it all. Regarding the sword of the spirit, the word of God, Jesus is the living word (John 1:1). He seems to be our all in all. But what about the shield of faith or Paul’s reference in 1 Thessalonians regarding the “breastplate of faith?”

The New Testament quotes Habakkuk 2:4 several times; Romans, Galatians, and the book of Hebrews. But all of them say, “The just shall live by faith.” In the book of Habakkuk, in the original, it actually reads, “The just shall live by HIS faith.” You might wonder what the antecedent is to the third person personal pronoun, “His.”   What exactly is it referring to? Let me speculate a little. All the other pieces of armor might be illustrated as characteristics of Christ. Could the “faith” be a reference to Christ’s faith and not our own? Well, Galatians 2:20 says, “The life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God.” There is so much more security in my victory when the faith that I wear is HIS faith instead of my own. I’m like the apostles in many instances where Jesus asks them, “Why do you have such little faith?” Donald Grey Barnhouse took it this way. He concludes this observation with this comment: “There I discovered the second great fact. The faith of Christ is the source and fullness of life. Christ is everything and all that we need to win the battle. All truth is related to Him. All true righteousness has its source in Him. And so on through the list. Put on Christ, and you put on the whole armor of God. Put on the whole armor of God, and you put on Christ.”

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Colossians 1:9, Various

The Knowledge Of God’s Love

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
December 5, 2023

As we grow up into Christ, as the New Testament puts it, we grow in faith, hope, love, and joy. It seems to me that 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 as 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.” People find purpose in life in the Bible. They find significance, meaning, and something to believe in greater than themselves. When Paul prayed for the Ephesians, he specifically prayed that their roots would sink down deep into God’s love so that they might know the magnitude of God’s love for them in all of its glorious dimensions. When he writes to the Romans, he tells them that God doesn’t just say he loves us. He actually demonstrates that love by dying on the cross for us while we were yet sinners. Peter encourages his readers to “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” It seems that when Paul prays for his readers to have knowledge. He’s not speaking about general information. He’s speaking specifically about God’s love. Whitlock is right, “A firm knowledge of God’s love and of one’s place in His family motivates the self-sacrifice necessary for Christian life.”[1]

[1] Whitlock, Luder G., R. C. Sproul, Bruce K. Waltke, and Moisés Silva. 1995. The Reformation Study Bible: Bringing the Light of the Reformation to Scripture: New King James Version. Nashville: T. Nelson.

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Philippians 1:3-5, Genesis 2:28

Unity in Diversity

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
December 4, 2023

We are all social animals. We yearn to share our lives with others. Those who don’t know how to play well and get along with others are sometimes referred to as sociopaths. It’s a condition contrary to our normal drive to share our lives with others. Some people are better at it than others, but we all want it.  There may be times when we need to be alone to reconnect with God. People so surrounded Jesus that he regularly took time away from people to reconnect with the Father. But that was always a temporary practice. It ended, and Jesus returned to His ministry with others. God never intended for us to be lone rangers and to enjoy the things of life as individuals, totally apart from a larger community.  There would be no need for the Church if He did! No one is wise enough to live alone. No one is strong enough or good enough to go it alone. When we try to isolate ourselves from others sooner or later, we’ll learn that God was right when He said in Genesis 2:18, “It’s not good for man to be alone.” We need others.

The Church is God’s program in which we share our lives with others, and others share their lives with us. The Greek word that is usually translated as “church” is ecclesia. Its literal translation is “gathering of people.” Only in communion with others can we find fulfillment and happiness in life. When Paul was isolated in a Roman prison, he wrote the letter to the Philippians. In Chapter 1, verses 3 and 4, he writes, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy.” What would cause his memory of them to be so joyful? The answer is in verse 5; “because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now.” The comment about the first day drives me back to Acts 16 and the founding of the church. He only had three converts; two women and one man. They were extremely different from each other. Lydia was a rich businesswoman. The slave girl was just that; a slave! Then the soldier comes to Christ. In all, you have three economic statuses. You have three classes of people. You have two genders. Some have argued that you also have three races. And yet these three came together in a “partnership” to promote the Good News about Jesus.

It reminds me of the Fellowship of the Ring. J.R.R. Tolkien’s task force is made up of individuals of disparate origin and ridiculous diversity that exceed any of our ethnic or social differences: four hobbits, tiny beings with large, hairy, shoeless feet; two men, warriors of the first rank always dressed for battle, one wizard, Gandalf the ancient nemesis of evil, an elf, Legolas, from a fair race of archers of the forest with pointed ears; and a dwarf, Gimli, a stout, hairy, axe-wielding creature from the dark chambers under the mountains. These are very different kinds of beings yet they were bound together by their great mission to defeat the forces of darkness and save the world. The church is also made up of many different kinds of people, but our common bond, The Gospel, unites us with an unbreakable bond.

David Platt argues that it’s the differences we have that attract us to one another and make us more effective in what we do in groups. “It’s challenging at times, but it’s good. And what makes it good is that we are not the same, but that our differences are what make it good.”[1] This is not only true in a marriage but also in all community relationships. Although God was talking about the creation of the woman in Genesis 2, I believe he had the whole idea of community in mind when he said, “It’s not good for man to be alone.” Even though Paul wasn’t married, he wrote many letters promoting unity in diversity.

[1] Platt, David. 2011. “Biblical Manhood & Womanhood—Part 1.” In David Platt Sermon Archive, 3032. Birmingham, AL: David Platt.

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Ephesians 2:10

God Will Focus My Life

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
December 3, 2023

I was one of the men assigned to handle the six-inch (diameter) water hose as part of the fire-fighting team on board the USS WALLER, a Navy Destroying in the mid-’60s. When you run water through a six-inch fire hose, you get a great volume of water, which has great potential. At sea, we suck the salt water up out of the ocean for that purpose. But there were three different settings on the fire hose nozzle. When you shift it from fog or spray to stream (I think the three settings were fog, spray, and stream – stream was finely focused), you get a lot of force and a longer range, and the ability to put the water exactly where you need it at any given time. Water that is focused and directed has a great impact. You can feel the recoil in the hose, and it takes four men to keep the hose from shooting out of control and waving about dangerously.

It seems that there are different times in my life when my life is set on fog, spray, or stream. When it’s on stream is when I seem to get things done. I need to focus my life on a particular goal and aim carefully and put all my energy into getting that thing accomplished. Our lives can really have an impact when it’s finely focused. I think God created each of us for a life that makes that kind of impact. We have all been shaped and positioned by God Himself to make a contribution to the Kingdom. Paul says clearly in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” When I read verses like this (This is not the only one in the Bible), I’m inspired to put my life on the “stream” mode.

God has shaped us all differently. I’ve found that when I put my energy to work in reading, teaching, and communicating the Bible, I feel like my life is in the “stream” mode. I enjoy what I do. I get fully engaged in what I’m doing. It’s hard to distract me from my task. I begin to feel that I’m doing what God made me to do. I used to joke that God had created me to accomplish certain things in my life before I die, and today I’m so far behind I’ll never die! That’s a joke, in case you missed it!

But it’s different for everyone. I’m convinced that the above-quoted passage applies to everyone. Everyone has something that God has prepared for them to accomplish in life. This has caused many Christians to become stressed out trying to find their place in the world. That’s not what Paul intended. The work of salvation was done by God. It’s His “masterpiece,” as the word in Greek for “workmanship” really means. God was the one who prepared them in advance for us. The final phrase in the verse becomes clearer when we see it in the original text. Hoehner, one of my Greek professors at Seminary, said that for us “to do them” should really say for us “walk in them.” He wrote, “The purpose of these prepared-in-advance works is not ‘to work in them’ but ‘to walk in them.’ In other words, God has prepared a path of good works for believers, which He will perform in and through them as they walk by faith. This does not mean doing work for God; instead, it is God’s performing His work in and through believers.”[1] God has control of the firehose of my life and will put it into stream mode when He’s ready. Relax, and walk in faith.

[1] Hoehner, Harold W. 1985. “Ephesians.” In The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, edited by J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, 2:624. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

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Galatians 1:6

Oh, Happy Day!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
December 2, 2023

When one first experiences God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness through faith in Jesus, it is a wonderful thing. I remember a song back in the 1960s before I was a believer, that made it high up on the charts. I think it might have been number one for a little while. It was by the Edwin Hawkin Singers, and it was “Oh, Happy Day.” The happy day was when Jesus washed my sins away. It’s hard to imagine that a song about the wonders of salvation in Christ made it to the popular charts at all and possibly to number one. But it did.  Unfortunately, the joy of salvation seems much more profound at first. Something happens to our human psyches after some time passes. We begin to take things for granted and look for a new, different, and more earthly pleasure. It doesn’t take long for the aura of our initial salvation to wear off. As a matter of fact, it didn’t take very long for the Galatians to turn their attention from their Savior to their own efforts again. Paul says so in Galatians 1:6. He writes, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.”

 The term translated by “deserting” in many modern translations was always confusing to me when I studied King James. It says, “Removed from.” But it has been widely acknowledged that the phrase in Greek translated as “deserting” is actually a Military term. It’s used by those who deserted in times of war. According to Richison, “The Galatians changed from the gospel of grace to the gospel of works. They became renegades from the true gospel and capitulated to another gospel. The present tense indicates that the defection of the Galatians from the gospel of grace is not yet complete. They are still in the process of shifting to another gospel. They are transposing the gospel from grace to legalism. They are altering the gospel itself and thus were deserting or turning apostate from the true gospel. This changes the nature of the gospel into a works gospel.” James Boice says, “It is not merely that they have deserted an idea or a movement; rather, they have deserted the very one who had called them to faith. This one is God the Father. According to Paul’s reasoning, embracing legalism means rejecting God because it means substituting man for God in one’s life.”

 We are “called in the Grace of Christ.” This means that it is the Grace that comes through faith in Christ’s finished work on the cross to which we’ve been called to come for salvation. Christ procured our salvation for us on the cross. It comes to us as a gift. That means it’s all of Grace, not of works. Richison adds, “It comes from the unadulterated generosity of God with no strings attached. Christians are the objects of God’s eternal favor. To revert to law is to completely miss this truth. God saves and sustains us by the finished work of Christ on the cross.” Some people today, much like the Galatians of Paul’s day, believe that some form of religious ritual, performance, or sacrifice is essential in order to receive God’s grace. This is patently false! Others might believe that Grace saves them through faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross, but that works must sustain their salvation. That is also patently false and makes our salvation dependent upon ourselves and not on the wonderful, marvelous grace of our God and Father and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s only when we recognize the complete sufficiency of Christ in our salvation that we can sing, “Oh, happy day!”

 

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2 Corinthians 13:5, Various

Examine Yourself!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
December 1, 2023

We all have buttons. When those buttons are pushed, it’s like we’ve been turned on. We might sit quietly through a conversation, and then someone will bring up something that stirs us, and we are all of a sudden engaged in the conversation in a way we weren’t previously. Not long ago, in one of my many coffees with veterans, a guy brought up a local politician and said he liked him except for the fact that he was against abortion! My ears really perked up. Professing to be a believer in Jesus, I needed to let him have his say. I listened to his reasons and came away convinced even more that abortion is wrong no matter how you look at it. Even though this veteran has a much higher rank than me, he is still wrong. I told him so. But It’s always a good idea to take time to examine ourselves and actually spend some time thinking about what those subjects are. Sometimes the things that excite us the most must be exposed to the light and reconsidered. Actually, being exposed to the light is the root idea of “examine.” 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.” Paul not only addresses the Corinthians on this subject, but he also tells the Galatians, “But let each one examine his own work…” (Galatians 6:4). He tells the Thessalonians, “But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good…” (1 Thessalonians 5:21.) Later, I examined my biblical reasoning on the subject of abortion and came away satisfied with my stance. I held on to what I believe is “good.”

 Some believers come to life when we discuss Genesis chapters 1 and 2 about the creation of the universe and man. It gets them excited. Others get excited about issues such as abortion, pornography, homeschooling, ecology, women’s rights, economic justice, racial justice, serving and caring for the poor, marriage and the family, and many other worthwhile subjects. Unfortunately, I’ve known Christians who focus all their energies on unworthy causes, such as certain styles of worship, particular expressions of faith, or even specific bible translations. There are worthwhile causes that fit the life instructions in the bible, and then there are what I believe are unworthy and divisive causes that bring down the church rather than building it up.

 Particular causes that are true concerns of Christ can inspire us in our lives and focus our attention on what God wants us to do with our lives. Christians whom these causes have inspired have changed the world; slavery was abolished, trade unions began, prisons transformed, child labor laws enforced, the sick healed, the poor fed, and the list could go on. But without exception, every one of those reformers had a central passion that made it more than just social reform. It was the centrality of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They lived it, and they talked about it, they preached it, and they revealed it in every aspect of their lives. It doesn’t matter what you are; homemaker, doctor, lawyer, Indian chief! You might be a plumber, a chemist, a salesman, a ditch digger, or a chicken on the street corner advertising for a fast food restaurant! The Gospel should turn you on in how you live your life.

 

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