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Him alone

24 Aug

Him alone

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

I have just begun a new semester at Liberty, and this time I am taking an eight week course on the Gospel of John. I am excited for what God will reveal to me during this time studying His Word. I loved this quote by Leon Morris, “I like the comparison of John’s Gospel to a pool in which a child may wade & an elephant can swim. It is both simple & profound.” The book of John points to the deity of Christ, and the salvation found in Him like none other. The lost can be pointed to read the book and come away with a heart forever changed; the theologian can get lost in the endless study of the Spirit inspired words that John penned. Last night I learned that John’s Gospel was likely the last New Testament book written. John likely wrote it when he was 100 years old, at the end of his life, at the peak of his understanding with incredible memory and attention to detail. He was the closest to Christ;  Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. (John 13:23)

John’s Gospel contains my favorite scripture in the Bible, John 14:6 above. I could write at length on the many roads to go down that wonder away from the simplicity in that scripture. We, just like those 2000 years ago, have made our way to God through some other way. I thought for much of my life it was found in the church pew on Sunday; I thought it was because I really wasn’t that bad a guy; I thought my good deeds outweighed my bad; then Christ began to show me how bad I really was, and how lost I was without Him. That point in your life where your sin in revealed is extremely painful, but joyful in the same. The realization that you cannot do any work to earn your way to heaven is relief. You would, and will fail eternally if you believe in any works based religiosity system in any way. Only through a humble, repentant heart, is Salvation found in Jesus Christ alone.

The are many religions out there, and all try to point you to eternal paradise. All others point you to some way of earning your ticket to paradise. No other religion teaches what Christ teaches. Sadly, some twist the teaching of Christ to fit into their own doctrines, and many times their doctrines rest on works based faith. Your prayers to any person, even supposed saints, means you are worshipping a person, and not a deity. I remember a point in my life, where I lost a best friend; I found myself even praying to him for help. No help, no repentance, no Salvation should ever be directed to, or expected from, anyone or anything other than Deity. Christ was answering Thomas’s question in a direct response, no parable, no metaphor, a clear concise answer when he asked, John 14:5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”

 
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Posted by on August 24, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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The Inevitable Penalty (borrowed)

02 Jul

The Inevitable Penalty (borrowed)
Matthew 5:26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
As I sat down this morning I saw the opened devotional from yesterday; one that struck a deep chord inside me. Mr. Chambers spoke of the power of the conviction of sin through the Spirit; he spoke of giving our lives up for Christ completely; he spoke of the desire of God to make us more like his Son at all costs. So much that is being preached in the pulpits today is lush Christianity; lost is the work of the Holy Spirit in the convictions of sin and all that come with it through a repentant heart. You cannot claim the promises of heaven and continue to live in sin today. An assurance of Salvation is a heart that desires to flee from that sin that ensnared us for so long. What do you believe? Are you submitting to those convictions, or are you denying that wrenching inside you to continue in that temporal pleasure of sin that has eternal consequence? Mr. Chambers wrote:
“There is no heaven that has a little corner of hell in it. God is determined to make you pure, holy, and right, and He will not allow you to escape from the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit for even one moment. He urged you to come to judgment immediately when He convicted you, but you did not obey. Then the inevitable process began to work, bringing its inevitable penalty. Now you have been “thrown into prison, [and] . . . you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny” (5:25-26). Yet you ask, “Is this a God of mercy and love?” When seen from God’s perspective, it is a glorious ministry of love. God is going to bring you out pure, spotless, and undefiled, but He wants you to recognize the nature you were exhibiting— the nature of demanding your right to yourself. The moment you are willing for God to change your nature, His recreating forces will begin to work. And the moment you realize that God’s purpose is to get you into the right relationship with Himself and then with others, He will reach to the very limits of the universe to help you take the right road. Decide to do it right now, saying, “Yes, Lord, I will write that letter,” or, “I will be reconciled to that person now.”
These sermons of Jesus Christ are meant for your will and your conscience, not for your head. If you dispute these verses from the Sermon on the Mount with your head, you will dull the appeal to your heart.
If you find yourself asking, “I wonder why I’m not growing spiritually with God?”— then ask yourself if you are paying your debts from God’s standpoint. Do now what you will have to do someday. Every moral question or call comes with an “ought” behind it— the knowledge of knowing what we ought to do.”
God’s goal is to make you more like Christ; period. All that He places on your heart requires that action that Mr. Chambers speaks of; the knowledge of knowing what we should or should not do. That response will determine your walk with God; that obedience either draws you closer to him, or lets you drift away if you deny it. Let the Spirit do His work in you. Respond with pleas for strength to fight the temptations of sin, the heart of forgiveness, the heart of compassion for others who struggle too. Let go and let God do his work in you. Your life will never be the same.

 
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Posted by on July 2, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Access Denied

17 May

Access Denied

Galatians 4:8-9    Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?

Paul had written this letter to encourage those in Galatia to remain in their faith alone in Christ Jesus; to not return to the ways of the Law. The Jewish legalists were demanding circumcision as a means to obtain righteousness, and all the demands of the Law. The Judaizers had demanded that Salvation was obtained in the Law, and Paul had refuted that claim; that Christ had come to compete the Law that no man could ever obtain righteousness in. The Law points us to our need for Christ, but we do not gain access to Christ through it. That is a works based faith system, and puts the power of access to God in your ability, and not in the grace of God through Christ’s sacrifice. The understanding of justification through that grace is the only means of salvation and access to God. Justification by faith alone. Galatians 2:16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

It is sad to see so many religions today that still preach justification by works; to gain access to God by ritualistic methodology that places the faith in ones own works, or the completion of the tasks required to gain access alone. The only task that is truly required by God is repentance, and on that repentance comes the understanding of His grace found in His Son. That humble, repentant heart is a heart that has found faith and Salvation in Jesus Christ alone. That humble, repentant heart now seeks to live a better life; to seek to fulfill the requirements of the Law as a disciple of His; not to gain the access already given, but to live their life as an example of one saved by grace and not of works. The transformed heart seeks to model a life consecrated to the One who gave them life, not stand in the pride of ones own accomplishments. Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”

Reflect on your own “religious system”. What do you truly believe? You are defined at the core by what you believe. It affects your decisions, your actions, your daily life. Do you go through the repetitions of ritualistic worship; monotony exemplified in your faith? Do you feel those rituals, and or requirements gain you access to God? More directly, do you feel in them you gain Salvation? That is a works based faith; it does not save, it condemns. You will pay eternally for your mistake. Galatians 3:11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” Access to God is only gained by the humble heart that sees its need for Christ. Access to God is found in the faith of the grace of God. Access to God is never found in self; it is found in only in Christ.

 
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Posted by on May 17, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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It is all about the hope

06 Apr

It is all about the hope

Ephesians 1:17-19     that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power

The apostle Paul had been called by Christ to spread the gospel to the Gentiles. The Gentiles were simply those nations that were not of Jewish descent. The Jews had lived as God’s promised people throughout history, and those outside their culture came to understand that. But Paul was teaching that Christ, the Son of their God, was now available to everyone. He was teaching that Christ had died on a Cross to pay for everyone’s sins, and to make Himself, by the grace of His Father, available to everyone. Those that feared the Jewish God, could now be accepted, welcomed,  and free to worship Him. They got it; they got what Paul was preaching, and their hearts were stirred by God in their pursuit of Him. 18a the eyes of your understanding being enlightened.

The false teacher throughout the day taught of special sects, only the privileged or selected could gain access to God. Christ paid the price for all; none are special, but all are special that step forward with a humble heart to answer that call that God places on it. If you have felt that tug on your heart, and denied it for any reason, you will pay for your mistake eternally. God chose you, he is pursuing you, and how you respond has eternal consequence. If you respond  with a humble repentant heart, your life will never be the same. 13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

The gift of the Holy Spirit is Christ living inside of you. The Spirit is the one who brings understanding to the things of God. He begins to open your eyes and mind to the scriptures that seemingly had no meaning before. The light goes on above your head with “ah-ha” moments in what He shows to you. He begins to show you how he has been at work all around you; you just never noticed before. He puts Godly influences in your life to speak words of wisdom to you as messengers of God. He orchestrates coincidences that are better described as, God orchestrated circumstances. All of these place the hope of eternity with Him in you. 18b that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. This eternal hope is what is needed in a world far from God. This hope of your eternal blessing and life guaranteed with Him will allow you to handle your short time here. There is nothing you cannot face that the hope that lies within you cannot overcome as a child of His.

 
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Posted by on April 6, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Man, have I got a story to tell you

13 Nov

Man, have I got a story to tell you

Acts 26:19-20   “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.

The Jews sought to kill the Apostle Paul. He had been rescued of sorts and had been taken to a Roman prison to stand before Governor Felix.  It was at times almost as a house arrest with privileges, because Felix could find no charges against him to merit punishment. For two years Felix’s curiosity with Paul and his message kept Paul close to Felix. Felix was succeeded by Festus, and Paul’s case was brought before him by the Jews again. Festus confronted Paul, and Paul witnessed to him of his faith and the case against him; then he asked to go before Caesar. In the interim, King Agrippa came to see Festus, and they brought Paul before them to hear his story again. Time after time Paul shared his faith and testimony of how Christ changed his life; and of how he could change theirs too. These were the men who held the power of life and death in their judicial system in their hands; and Paul boldly shared his faith.

Are you a walking, talking testimony of the power of Christ in your life? Are you an example of a life with new meaning once you discovered the hope of eternity; the forgiveness of sin; the power of God to transform your heart? Do those around you wonder what changed? Do they ask; do you tell? Your life’s story has a beginning and an end. Somewhere along that line is the point in your life that you experience Salvation through a humble repentant heart. That mark in your life becomes your testimony of the conversion of your life through Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you. Every part of your life before and after that mark comes under new light. The before Christ mark allows you to witness to those in the same struggles and place hope in them for a change. The struggles you face as a disciple of Christ show you how to suffer for Christ; to take these challenges and focus in on Christ for strength. All that we face as Christians is to be used to draw glory to God.

There are three things you cannot be taken away: Salvation, your testimony, and God’s Word that you plant in your heart. Your story matters to God, and your story can be used by God to draw others to Him. Are you keeping it to yourself? Are you being bold as Paul and witnessing to those you see every day in your circle of influence? Do they even know you are a Christian by your actions? We live in a nation in dire need of hope, and you can share your hope of an eternally changed life by sharing your testimony. Most likely; the person who needs to hear it most is the person standing before you that God placed there. 1 John 5:11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

 
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Posted by on November 13, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Is there a Before & After?

19 Oct

Is there a Before & After?

Philippians 3:7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. (ESV)

The Apostle Paul was writing to refute the Judiazers, and their teaching that everyone had to become Jewish and adhere to the law to be saved. This went directly against what Christ had fulfilled in the law, and God’s saving grace to all people alike. There is no special sect, but God’s saving grace, (giving us what we do not deserve) is openly available to all who will believe. Paul was writing a strong letter revealing his testimony and conversion through Christ. Paul was a former persecutor of those who followed Christ, and was held in high regard as a Jew with his education and zeal. Christ grabbed ahold of his heart, and that zeal led him to become one of the greatest apostles and writer of the much of the New Testament.

I prepared and gave a long version of my testimony recently. It forced me to reflect of my life before Christ, and that reflection brought about the humbling realization of many and great sins. I fell away from the church in my late teens, and lived for all the temporal pleasures of the world in many areas, far from, and headlong against God. I can’t even look back and call any of it gain; like Paul, I count it as loss. There is a true before and after Christ in my life. Do you have that line in the sand? Can you look back and see change in your life after you came to claim Him? There must be a conversion with change, or it is not true conversion. There must be a Before & After.

There is no sin that you cannot be forgiven for with a humble repentant heart. Romans 6:14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. Paul was murdering Christians and through God’s grace he was forgiven. 1 Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.  God’s mercy can be defined as not giving us what we deserve. God’s grace can be defined as giving us what we do not deserve. When we become followers of Christ, the realization of Mercy and Grace should impact our heart. It should move us to a focus on Christ and not the things of this world. It should move us to the After and pursuit of growing our lives as disciples of His. We should feel so pressed to share with those that are in our circle of influence Mercy and Grace. All else should be left in the Before of our lives as loss.

 
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Posted by on October 19, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Rudder or Sail?

26 Sep

Rudder or Sail?

John 5:39-40   You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

They were missing it; missing the Messiah they had been looking for that was standing before them. The Jews searched the scriptures, yet didn’t open their eyes to see God witnessing of Himself in their midst. What do you find yourself searching for? When that is asked the most common answer would be happiness. Another might be answers to questions; for those answers might bring happiness. Are eternal questions something that you seek? You are wired with that inquisitiveness by your Creator. You have that need to know to question of life after this one, embedded in your soul. We all have it for God “placed eternity in their hearts” (Ecc. 2:11).

“You are what you believe” a best friend once told me. That drive is what propels us down the road of life and affects every decision that we make. If we are pursuing happiness in careers it drives the ethics of decisions; if it is through possessions it drives the debt and idolatry; if it is through sexual pleasure it drives the hearts we destroy; if it is through Christ it blesses those He places in your path. Our faith should be the rudder of life, not the wind that drives the sail. Search your heart to find that core and examine it. Pray that God will reveal it to you, and change it through Him.

John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” Christ was speaking to Martha, and He was about to go raise her brother Lazarus from the dead. But in these scriptures is the Gospel, or the Good News of Christ. When you believe in Him you gain everlasting life. He demands a humble, repentant heart of your life as a sinner. Luke 13:3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. When you gain this Salvation, your heart is transformed, your faith is changed, and your eyes opened. You should see life in a different light, and should be humbly moved to a life of thanksgiving to the One who gave you eternal life. A life lived in that faith is a life headed down the path as a disciple of Christ and those daily decisions are made through the discernment He provides.

 
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Posted by on September 26, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Are you in the right gear?

25 Sep

Are you in the right gear?

Ecclesiastes 3:10-12   I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives,

Solomon, the wisest man to ever live is believed to have written Ecclesiastes. He is believed to have written it near the end of his life after his return to God through confession and a repentant heart after falling into deep sin. The book points to the very real pursuit of things of this world, things without God, and the futility of a life without God. It is full of wisdom just as many of the Proverbs, and speaks to our world today in the pursuit of all things that do not pertain to God. In the commentary it states this book should be read in the light of it’s conclusion: 13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all.

I have pursued all the stuff that the American dream dictates we do: careers, money, materials, success, excess, idolatry, and the list goes on. I have tried and poured my heart into these pursuits which may have brought temporal pleasure, but it always faded or failed entirely. I was in the end always disappointed in these pursuits. When God starts stirring in your heart you tend to loose the drive for these pursuits. You discern the eventual disappointment that will come, and your bent to Him that does not disappoint. That joy and understanding of a heart bent towards God and the things of God will drive you to verse 12; I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives.

11 Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. By God’s design you are wired with an internal drive for your destiny of the future and eternity. This is a gear that drives the motion of your life. This is in everyone, and a heart that recognizes God in their plans is a heart that desires to follow God’s Will for their life. This small understanding of His Sovereignty produces hope, and this hope does not disappoint as earthly pursuits will. Romans 5:5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. What are you going to pour your heart and energy into today; temporal or eternal?

 
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Posted by on September 25, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Mystery revealed

30 Aug

Mystery revealed

Colossians 1:26 -27  the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

A biblical mystery is a sacred secret kept from the people of the Old Testament. The mystery that the apostle Paul is speaking of here is God reaching out to the Gentiles and not reserving His kingdom for only the Jews as they believed. This was the breaking down of the division between Jew & Greek, and the availability alike to everyone who heard the Gospel preached and heard. This continues today in an open call to everyone who will accept God’s grace. Their is no exclusivity nor sin, that a humble repentant heart cannot be forgiven.

There are those around us that seem different. It is a mystery to us why they have the outlook on life they do. They handle themselves and life’s situations differently. They seem to possess something, but yet we do not know what it is. Many times it is Christ; “which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” That is the life application of the phrase, “You may be the only Bible someone ever reads” comes into practice. They watch and want to know what you possess that they do not have. In that moment God has opened the door for you and them; for you to share your faith and hope in an eternal Savior. He has used you to help solve a mystery.

The hope that we possess, is the mechanics of our inner soul. That hope’s work is the Spirit living in us, striving to make us more like Christ. The inner work when we walk a life of obedience is a life transformed and reflective on the outer shell to others. Romans speaks well of that summary of a life as a disciple of Christ. Romans 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Let it be known to those whom you influence of the mystery of the hope that resides in you. We live in a world full of disappointment, and we all need the eternal hope that never fails.

 
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Posted by on August 30, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Thank you Jesus for……

16 Jul

Thank you Jesus for……

Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

I believe it was Adrian Rogers who said, “Grace is God giving us what we do not deserve. Mercy is God not giving us what we do deserve.” You are born into sin, and your heart is bad no matter how much of a good person you feel that you are. There is a false religion out there saying we are all good at heart, and why would God make us bad. Our freedom of choice is where we fell into sin in the garden with Adam and Eve, and like it or not you are a descendent of them; therefore you are born into sin.

Now the good news: A humble, repentant heart can be saved from eternal punishment by the way of Christ. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever will believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. This paves the way for us to obtain that grace and mercy. Matthew Henry summarizes it well. “Mercy and grace are the things we want; mercy to pardon all our sins, and grace to purify our souls. Besides our daily dependence upon God for present supplies, there are seasons for which we should provide in our prayers; times of temptation, either by adversity or prosperity, and especially our dying time. We are to come with reverence and godly fear, yet not as if dragged to the seat of justice, but as kindly invited to the mercy-seat, where grace reigns. We have boldness to enter into the holiest only by the blood of Jesus; he is our Advocate, and has purchased all our souls want or can desire.”

The scriptures before Hebrews 4:16 are speaking of the power of God’s Word. Both in the context of Christ as the Word, and the context of His written Word. Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.You must come to know Christ in your heart before the written Word is revealed to you. His Spirit will dwell inside of you and begin to reveal His written Word as never before. You can’t have one without the other, and grace and mercy are found in both.

 
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Posted by on July 16, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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