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2 Corinthians 5:20, Isaiah 33:7

Ambassadors Of Peace On Earth

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 11, 2023

I’ve been watching the News more than I should this week. Hamas has set its heart on the destruction of Israel. Pharoah did it in Egypt. God responded with plagues and destruction of the entire army in the Red Sea. Hitler tried it in Germany, and God responded with total destruction of the Nazi Regime. The hatred of the Jews has been a theme throughout history. The two mentioned are just the most famous episodes. There have been other attempts to eradicate Israel from the face of the Earth. As I watched the News, saw some of the scenes of devastation, and heard the report of total disregard for the lives of innocent women and children, I couldn’t help but remember what the Prophet Isaiah foretold about the Nation of Israel. Isaiah 33:7-8 says, “Behold, their valiant ones cry without; the ambassadors of peace weep bitterly. The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceases. The enemy has broken the covenant. He has despised the cities and the witnesses. He regards no man.”

In the Middle East, two religions are at war. Judaism is at war with Islam. Islam is at war with Judaism. They will fight each other to the death for the sake of their religion. I wish the world would understand that Jesus did not come to set up another competing religion, which is the way the world shapes the struggle. The world presents Christianity as the third religion in the world, alongside Judaism and Islam. Jesus came to reconcile the world to God, not to add another player to the world scene. God sent Jesus to be the mediator, the representative who would reconcile sinful man to a holy God. His task was accomplished when he said, “It is finished,” before he died on the cross. We now have been given the task of being God’s spokesman for this wonderful message. Paul makes this perfectly clear in 2 Corinthians 5:20 when he says, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you, on behalf of Christ, to be reconciled to God.”

Notice the emotion connected with the plea. It says, “We implore you.” This is a passionate plea. Instead of killing people in the name of religion, Jesus pleads with the whole world to set aside their cultural and religious differences. There is no distinction between Jew and Gentile or any other distinction that pits one group against another. All have sinned and fallen short of God’s plan for man. The passive voice of the verb must be translated as “be reconciled.” It’s to receive God’s offer, not to make a contrary offer. There’s no negotiation in God’s offer of peace. This is a passionate offer of peace because peace with God is the result of reconciliation. The atoning, substitutionary death of Christ brings reconciliation and peace with God.  Beautifully, the promise of this peace was made long ago by the prophet who condemns us for our sins. Isaiah says, “But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.” As Ambassadors, we’ve been entrusted with the most wonderful message in the world.  The Angel announced it at Jesus’ birth, “Peace on Earth.”

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1 John 1:6

The Light Of The World

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 11, 2023

Jesus is the light of the world, according to John. He says as much in both his Gospel and his epistles. Living in the light is living in the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The light is living in the knowledge of our eternal destiny. God created us in His own image, and we have meaning, purpose, and an eternal destiny. Living in the darkness is to live in the moment for the here and the now. Like Satan, those living in the dark only take their nourishment from the earth. Their appetites are only fleshly and earth-bound. When God cursed the serpent, he would crawl along with his belly on the ground. His diet would be the dust of the ground. Those that are deceived by Satan draw their nourishment only for their flesh. But in Christ, our appetites are spiritual and eternal. It is only in the light that we can have fellowship with Christ. Living in the dark recesses of our flesh destroys our walk with Christ. John says in 1 John 1:6, “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” In John’s gospel, Jesus claimed to be the “light of the world.” In the opening Chapter of that gospel, John informs us that the light of the world came into the world, and the world would not accept it. It could not, however, extinguish it either. John then adds, “But to those who receive Him, to them, God gives the power to become children of God.”

Receiving Jesus is a step into the light. It is also a step into the truth. Jesus also told us that he was the way, the truth, and the life. Many, if not most, commentators consider this passage to be about how allowing sin in our lives is what John means by walking in darkness. Obviously, a person living and preaching license to live any way the flesh might draw us is promoting the feeding of our earthly appetites. That’s walking in darkness, not walking in the light. Those who proclaim to be Christians and support and have “pride” in an immoral lifestyle are surely walking in darkness and are not practicing the truth. To reject the moral standards taught in the Bible and then claim to be a follower of God is inconsistent with the truth. “God accomplishes His will on earth through truth, and Satan accomplishes his purposes on earth through lies.” As the father of lies, Satan wreaks havoc on families.  Every time there is destruction among God’s people, it’s because the deceiver has been allowed to have just a little bit of a foothold in someone’s life. Today, the spirit of deception is rampant. But let’s not forget that in the midst of this problem, there is Jesus. In the midst of the deception, there is the Truth. In the midst of all of the seduction of our society, there is the absolute, rock-solid person of the Lord Jesus Christ—the Way, the Truth, and the Life. When we put our trust in Him, we can live above deception and on the level of truth.”[1]

I don’t want to miss the fact that many who profess to be Christians have not truly believed in the Son of God as we find Him in the Bible. “Historically, Christians have believed that Jesus is nothing less than the incarnate Son of God in whom the fullness of the Deity dwells in human form; fully divine and fully human– the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Recent evidence suggests that what Christians have historically affirmed is now up for grabs. A surprising number of Christians, including evangelicals, are not convinced of Jesus’ unique nature.” The current religious diversity practices have diluted Jesus’s person and work. He is the truth! Paul warned the Galatians about believing in or embracing “another gospel.” Even if an angel would tell you, or if someone proclaiming to be Paul would proclaim a gospel different from the one proclaimed at the beginning, you should not accept it. It is the church’s calling to continue to bear witness to Jesus and demonstrate the significance of his person for the whole fabric of the Christian faith. If we fail to stand fast here, everything else will be in vain, and the Christian church will lose its bearings.”[2]

[1] Jeremiah, David. 2002. Sanctuary: Finding Moments of Refuge in the Presence of God. Nashville, TN: Integrity Publishers.

[2] 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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2 Peter 1:3, various

To God Be The Glory

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 10, 2023

On the basis of God’s unconditional love, he has given us life. He made us simply because he loves us. And in this life, He has also provided all the things we need. Peter tells us at the end of 2 Peter 1:3, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.”

 God has given us all we need for temporal and eternal life. Both are free gifts. Both have been granted to us through His divine power. Temporal life is given to us before we are born. God weaves us together in our mother’s wombs. In Psalm 139:13-14, the Psalmist sings about it, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” God brought forth the gift of life from our mother’s wombs. In Psalm 71, Another Psalmist says, “Upon you, I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you.” It is the power of God that brings about our temporal lives. God’s power provides all we need for our lives on earth as long as we live. As children of faith, children of Abraham, we see God’s power from before time began until the day we leave this world. Isaiah 46:3-4 speaks for God, “Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.” Jesus tells us that he not only wants us to have life but also says in John 10:10, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Peter wants us to understand that the life we have been given is not only in this world but into eternity.

When Nicodemus was talking with Jesus, he was told that he must be born again to receive eternal life. He replied in John 3:4, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” We receive our physical life by passing through our mother’s birth canal. As we are born through the birth canal of our mothers by the power of God, we are also born again through the birth canal of faith into spiritual life by the power of God. In His further conversation with Nicodemus, he said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish, but would have eternal life.” Both our physical existence and eternal life awaiting us are produced solely by the power of God. That’s why the Psalmist can always praise God’s glory for his life. Our lives in every capacity result in the praise of His Glory. We get no credit for our temporal life or the eternal life that comes through faith in Jesus. They are both gifts from God. In Acts 17:24-25, Paul says, “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”

 

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1 Peter 1:5-6, Hebrews 12:1-2

Finding Joy Amidst Trials

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 9, 2023

I heard a recent sermon in which the preacher said, “Heaven is not the default destiny for all believers.” I held my breath in my disbelief. That’s a blatant contradiction of what Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:16. “God so loved the world that He gave his only son so that whoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life.” Then John writes in his first epistle, “I have written these things to you who believe so that you would know you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). If we cannot have certainty regarding our heavenly destiny, Jesus did not bring “Good News.” Instead, he established another religion where a man could try to earn or deserve heaven through hard work. This is not something we can rejoice over. But Peter wants us to know that the truth of our destiny gives us joy. In 1 Peter 1:5-6, he says, “Who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this, you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials.”

The Lord’s coming to us, or our going to Him, is something we should be confident of. Not because our faith is so strong. Rather, it’s because God is the one guarding the salvation of all believers. I’m not strong enough. I struggle at times with fear and even have sharp pangs of doubt. I do get over them, but they come. I could never rejoice over my own strength, but I have no problem finding joy in the Good News of salvation by grace through faith alone. It is based on God’s work on my behalf, not on my work on His behalf. I would not be able to find any joy in that. But I can rejoice in God’s power to secure my eternal destiny. I think McGee is right, “Every believer is eternally secure. But it is possible for a person to be saved and not have the assurance of it. May I say that a believer who is saved and does not have assurance is a subnormal or an unnatural believer. Certainly he can be a believer, but God does want us to have the assurance of our salvation.”[1]

Peter also knows that life’s trials, temptations, and pains can upset our joy in the present. We might even be shaken in our certainty of God’s love and begin to doubt. But Peter wants us to know that these trials are only for a short time. They will not last forever, but God guarantees and guards our salvation to last forever.  Richison concludes, “God guards us throughout our earthly pilgrimage. There is never a moment when God does not guard our inheritance. God always keeps those he saves. We can never lose our salvation. If we are a Christian, we are eternally secure.” He then adds, “The joy of the believer rests in God’s grace. Joy is independent of circumstances because the Christian life transcends circumstances. The Christian has an eternal future. He will never lose this joy no matter what comes his way. True joy comes from eternal possessions. Peter rejoices in his possession in Christ Jesus.”[2] We look forward to our joy with Jesus and all the saints. This helps us find joy even when we’re going through trials and hardships in life. The Epistle to the Hebrews writer insists that we gain motivation to be strong through life’s trials by following Jesus’ example. He writes in Hebrews 12:1:2, “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder, and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross.”

[1] McGee, J. Vernon. 1996. Doctrine for Difficult Days. Thomas Nelson.

[2] Richison, Grant. 2006. Verse by Verse through the Books of 1 & 2 Peter. Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems.

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James 1:7-8, 4:8

The Double-Minded Man

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 8, 2023

We are called to trust in the one to whom we offer our prayers. We are not to trust in a particular outcome. We do not know what the future holds. We are not omniscient like our God. He sees the beginning and the ending of all things in our lives. James calls us to trust in the goodness of love of our God. Isaiah tells us that God will keep the one whose mind is anchored to God at perfect peace because that man trusts God. Those who let the trials and temptations of life shake their confidence in God’s love will not know peace. James tells us in Chapter 1, Verses 7 and 8, “For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” The Law of non-contradiction tells us that A cannot be non-A at the same time. You cannot trust God and doubt God at the same time. No matter how a particular problem comes out, we will always be cast to and fro by the storms of life. One web blog says, “We cannot be both ‘certain’ and doubting, as is the double-minded person. One part of his mind is sure of something, while the other part doubts. It brings to mind the “pushmi-pullyu” of the Dr. Doolittle stories, an animal with a head at either end of its body and which was constantly trying to walk in two directions at once. Such is the double-minded man.”[1]

The double-minded man reminds me of a deer that got caught in my headlights. I was driving to Blair, Nebraska, from Omaha late one night, and a deer appeared ahead of me, just starting to cross the road from the right to the left. When he got to the middle of the road, he saw my headlights, changed his mind, and returned. When he left my headlights, he changed his mind again and went to cross the road again. Thankfully, I saw him far enough ahead of me, and there was no traffic, so I could slow down enough for him to finally get across the road safely. I can’t help but think that this is why we see so many dead deer on the side of the highways. Indecision is very dangerous. An agnostic author recently wrote a book called “The Divinity of Doubt.” He argues that doubt is a good thing. I know a man going through a serious trial in his life that took this book, vodka, and a gun to a hotel room and killed himself. Doubt is a very dangerous thing.

There’s more than one kind of doubt, though. Hardcore doubt rejects the existence of God. Adrian Rogers preaches on the cure for this kind of doubt. He says, “There’s a perfect cure for doubt. Do you know what it is? Time—time. There won’t be any atheists in hell. Atheists are going to hell, but there won’t be any atheists in hell. Jess Moody said, ‘Old atheists never die; they just go to hell.’ But they won’t be atheists when they get there. There’s a perfect cure for doubt, and it’s time.”[2] It’s not that radical doubt that bothers me. It’s the kind that sneaks up on you at times. All of a sudden, you realize that you’ve been harboring doubt. How do you handle that doubt? I often relate to the father who came to Jesus, requesting that Jesus come to his home and heal his son. Jesus asked him if he believed He could really heal the boy. The man said yes, and Jesus told him to go home, and he would find the exact outcome he believed he would find. I relate to the father’s answer. He fell on his knees and cried, “I believe! I believe! Please help my unbelief.” Adams has a good answer for handling this kind of doubt. He calls for repentance. He writes, “What is the solution to the problem of doubt? Unlike many today who laud doubt as philosophically sophisticated, James considers doubt a moral matter and calls for the repentance of those who are double-minded about God and His Word.”[3] James will also call for repentance for doubters in a later passage. James 4:8 says, “Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

[1] Got Questions Ministries. 2002–2013. Got Questions? Bible Questions Answered. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

[2] Rogers, Adrian. 2017. “The Man of God.” In Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive, 2 Ki 13:20–21. Signal Hill, CA: Rogers Family Trust.

[3] Adams, Jay E. 2020. “Doubt.” In The Practical Encyclopedia of Christian Counseling, 57. Cordova, TN: Institute for Nouthetic Studies.

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James 1:6, Isaiah 26:3

An Anchor In Storms

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 7, 2023

It’s not easy to trust God and to maintain our conviction that He loves us and has our best interest foremost in mind when we are suffering. We need help to do that. James invites us to ask God for the wisdom we need to manage life’s pains with faith. He reminds us that God is always ready to help us with those struggles, but he also advises the person who needs help not to doubt God’s good intentions toward him. James 1:6 says, “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”

James uses one Greek word to refer to both trials and temptations. Both of these ideas tend to draw a believer away from trusting in God’s love and good intentions for them. A trial is when we lose something that we have. Job’s hardships were trials. He lost his possessions, his family, and his health. Trials make us ask God, “Why me, Lord?” It was a temptation when Adam and Eve were presented with the apple. They were encouraged to believe that God wanted to keep something good from them. When God tells us no, we are tempted to doubt God’s good intentions toward us. When God allows something that we have to be taken from us, we are tempted to doubt God’s good intentions toward us. The Greek word is the same word James uses for a trial and a temptation. As James advises, we should pray that God will give us the wisdom to understand trials and temptations for what they are. When James speaks to us about not doubting God, he’s speaking about trusting God through trials and temptations. No matter what we are going through, we must never doubt that God loves and cares for us. Holloway says, “To doubt that God will hear their requests for wisdom is to doubt his generosity and character. Such a doubter is like a wave blown by the wind, a common metaphor in ancient literature for indecision.”[1]

When James says we should have faith when we pray, he is not instructing us to have faith in having our prayer answered as we would like. He’s telling us to have faith or to trust in the one to whom we are praying. Faith is always the same. No matter how hard the wind blows, it is never wavering regarding God’s love and good intentions toward us. We are called to believe in God, not in getting the right answer to our prayer. Besides, we often don’t see what God has in mind for us in the end. Only God is omniscient. Mullins writes, “We often see only part of the picture in our own lives and are unable to see the end of the matter. We have all prayed fervently, with deep faith, for some dear one to be cured from a deadly disease, only to see them waste away and pass. We have prayed to be delivered from a personal crisis and then the burden only grows heavier. The sickness, death, and resurrection of Lazarus teaches us that God may be at work on a better thing than what we want Him to do. It teaches us God has His reasons for saying no, and his reasons are good.”[2] Faith is not believing that God exists. James is going to tell us that even the demons believe that. Faith is trusting God always to be positively disposed toward us through the trials and temptations of life. This kind of faith will be like an anchor to keep us firmly grounded through the storms of life. Isaiah 26:3 teaches us, “You (God) keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you.”

[1] Holloway, Gary. 1996. James & Jude. The College Press NIV Commentary. Joplin, MO: College Press Pub.

[2] Mullins, Philip. 1997. “Unanswered Prayer.” Edited by Paul Earnhart. Christianity Magazine, 1997.

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Hebrews 1:5-6

Worship Jesus = Worship God

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 6, 2023

Jesus is far superior to angels. Jesus is God’s only begotten “Son” and thus the heir of all things. Angels are simply “messengers” who were both created by Jesus and sent in service to Him. Hebrews Chapter 1, Verse 5 says, “For to which of the angels did God ever say, You are my Son, today I have begotten you? Or again, I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? These two Old Testament quotes serve nicely as a pair that supports the Old Testament teaching that Jesus fulfills the requirements as “heir” according to Psalm 2 because he’s the firstborn of God and has priority in the family of God. The second quote from the Davidic Covenant in 2nd Samuel explains the permanent role of the heir to the throne of David. David wants to build a house for God and informs the prophet Nathan accordingly. Nathan agrees at first, then hears from God (as was the custom in times past) and brings David’s God message. “You won’t build a house for me,” God says, “But I will build a house for you.” It’s not about what you do for me. It’s about what I do for you.

Jesus was not “a” son, as the angels were referred to collectively. He was “The Son” of the Old Testament messianic prophecies. Jesus is not “a” son in the same sense that Christians are, as they are collectively called in the New Testament. Jesus is “The” son and the fulfillment of all the Old Testament from the first mention of the child to be born of a woman in Genesis 3 throughout all the Old Testament prophets and writings. Thus, he both was the most important message from God, and He proclaimed the most important message from God. That’s why God opened the heavens and spoke Himself, as recorded in Mark 9:7, “This is my beloved Son, Listen to Him.” Jesus is the actual physical manifestation of God! When we hear from Jesus, we hear from God. That’s why we worship Jesus.

The angels did too! Hebrews, Chapter 1 and Verse 6 contrast Jesus with the angels. It’s sometimes easier to understand something and communicate it when you contrast it rather than compare it with something. The writer of Hebrews wants us to see the weakness of one and the strength of the other. That’s why he quotes the Old Testament in which God says, “And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,’ Let all God’s angels worship him.’” He is not only the heir of all things in contrast to the angels; He’s worshipped by the angels. This is the most frequently recorded activity of angels. They worship God. Check out the following verses: Job 38:7; Psalm 103:20; Isaiah 6:1–3; Revelation 4:8; 5:9–12.  I like what Hughes said in his commentary here; “Angels (unless they are fallen angels) do not worship other angels, for that would be angelolatry! The only one they can and do worship is God. Our job is to lift up Jesus![1] Jesus must have priority! The Old Testament is all about Jesus, and the New Testament is all about Jesus. Keep Jesus at the center of it all. It’s all about keeping our eyes and thoughts on Jesus! When we look at the wind and the waves around us and take our focus from Him that we begin to sink.

[1] R. Kent Hughes, Hebrews: An Anchor for the Soul, vol. 1, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1993), 38.

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Philemon 1:7, Galatians 3:28

Against Slavery

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
October 5, 2023

After telling Philemon that he thanks God for him because of his role with his fellow believers, he prays that his efforts will continue to be successful and effective for Christ’s glory. Paul then tells Philemon how much he means to him. Philemon, verse 7, says, “For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.”

Paul says he gets much joy and comfort from Philemon’s love. We know that Philemon was a rich man. He owned slaves, of which Onesimus was one. I wonder if Paul’s “comfort from Philemon’s love” might include financial assistance. It seems that Paul was under house arrest in Rome, and although under the care of the Roman government, he was still responsible for his upkeep. It’s not unusual for Paul to refer to the financial sacrifices of others on his behalf, and he is always grateful for them. I also think that Paul may consider Philemon’s ownership of Onesimus. He will request that Philemon make a concession for him and change his view of Onesimus from slave to brother in Christ. This may be why Paul makes it a point to use the endearing term “My brother” when addressing Philemon. Kent thinks this is a possibility as well. He writes, “The statement concludes with the warm, affectionate address, ‘brother.’ The reality of the Christian koinonia has constituted each believer a brother to every other member of the body of Christ. The mention of this relationship would surely have brought Philemon renewed rejoicing as he basked in the glow of Paul’s written acknowledgment of him as a brother. He soon learned that Paul wanted him to do the same for Onesimus.”[1]

When Paul says that Philemon has refreshed the hearts of the saints, it could easily refer to the fact that Philemon was gracious and kind to all the others in the church at Colossae. Bird suggests that it has something to do with some “assistance.” I think it includes financial or physical in some way. He writes, “A further reason for Paul’s thanksgiving is that Philemon’s love for the saints occasions Paul’s joy and comfort. This extends not only to Paul but to other saints (i.e., those of Paul’s circle who know of Philemon, such as Epaphras) whom Philemon has refreshed. The connotation here is of relief from toil and frustration through assistance. Once more the compliment implies a question. Philemon has been a means of comfort and consolation to others before; on the issue relating to Onesimus, will he be so again?”[2] It seems that Paul is subtly preparing him for the request he will make on behalf of the enslaved person Onesimus later in the letter. Philemon had the gifts of hospitality, encouragement, and financial support. He was well known for these gifts. The slave-master relationship that had previously existed between the two men would be changed forever. They were now brother-brothers. They had become spiritual brothers in Christ. As Paul says in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither slave nor free man, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” The work of Christian men abolished slavery as a whole. William Wilberforce, a member of Parliament and a Christian man like Philemon, worked his entire life to abolish slavery through the British Empire. It led the way for slavery to be abolished in the United States as well.

[1] Kent, Homer A., Jr. 2006. Treasures of Wisdom: Studies in Colossians & Philemon. Revised Edition. The Kent Collection. Winona Lake, IN: BMH Books.

[2] Bird, Michael F. 2009. Colossians and Philemon. New Covenant Commentary Series. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books.

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