Month: November 2017

God created nature. He created the earth and all that is in it. He created the atmosphere, He created the wind and the waves. When God created the earth, He did it by speaking it into being. When God spoke, the oceans came into existence. When God spoke, the mountains appeared and the earth was filled with all kinds of plant and animal life (Genesis 1:1-2:3). Creation was the result of God speaking, the result of His Word. Scripture tells us that Jesus is the Word of God and that it is through God’s Word that all of the nature around us came into being (John 1:3).

Nature is a powerful force, as evidenced by the power of the elements, the power of wind, water, and fire. But nature was created by a power far greater than the force of nature. The power that created nature is the power of the One who has conquered sin and death. It is the power of the One who has provided the way for us to have eternal life with our heavenly Father. It is the power of the One who has the ability to tear down strongholds in our lives. It is the power of Jesus Christ, the Word of God who became flesh and walked among us (John 1:14).

Jesus showed His power over nature through some of the miracles that He performed. At the wedding feast in Cana, through Jesus, the nature of water changed and it became fine wine (John 2:1-10). When a storm hit while He and His disciples were out in a boat, Jesus simply spoke and the wind, the rain, and the waves ceased and became peaceful (Luke 8:22-25). And, it was through Jesus that five small loaves of bread and two fishes became a meal for thousands of people, with food left over (Luke 9:10-17).

By accepting Jesus as our Savior, by repenting of our sins and giving our hearts to Him, we can experience the power that turned water into wine, the power that calmed the storm, the power that turned a few loaves and a couple of fish into a meal for a multitude. We can experience that power in our lives as our sins are washed away, our strongholds come down, and our storms are quieted.

Several years ago, my wife and I were planning to move to Florida. We had chosen a lot and put a down payment on it. The next order of business was to get our home in New Jersey ready to sell. One of the things that needed to be done was to have the retaining walls in our driveway replaced. We hired a local mason who was doing a lot of driveway paving in our neighborhood and he began to do the work. The old wall was torn down and the new one started going up. And that’s when the trouble began. To make a very long story short, the mason walked away from the job, leaving us with a half-built wall and several deep holes in our driveway that filled with water and became a home for frogs.

When we give our lives to Christ, the Holy Spirit begins doing a work in us. Like my old retaining walls, the old person is torn down. As the Spirit works in us, the old person becomes new, becoming more and more like Christ. In Christ, we become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). Our minds are renewed and we begin to bear a greater resemblance to our heavenly Father as righteousness and holiness replace the sin in our lives (Ephesians 4:23-24; Colossians 3:10).

The best part about all of this is that, unlike the mason who left me with an unfinished wall, the Holy Spirit will complete the work in us. The good work that He begins in us when we give our lives to Christ will go on throughout our lives and the Spirit will not stop working until it is completed at the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6). On that day, Jesus will return to judge His enemies and to deliver His people as He establishes His reign on earth. Because of the completed work by the Holy Spirit in our lives, those of us who have given our lives to Christ can look on that day not with fear, but with rejoicing.

Let’s say that a new business is opening up in your neighborhood and the owner is looking for people to help him get everything ready. He is offering $100.00 for a day’s work that coming Saturday. Needing some extra cash, you decide to take him up on the offer. When Saturday comes, you arrive at 9:00AM. There are three other workers there and you all begin working hard. Late that afternoon, two more people show up looking for work. Seeing that there is still much to be done, the business owner hires them and they join in on the work. When the work is finally done, the business owner calls you and the other workers over and hands each of you a one hundred dollar bill. How does that make you feel? Slighted? Treated unfairly?

Sometimes God speaks to us through things that happen in our daily lives. Sometimes it’s through our work, sometimes through our kids, and sometimes it’s even through our pets. Today, God spoke to me through my two retired racing greyhounds, Toby and Flo. This afternoon, I needed to go out to the store. Since I wasn’t going to be going to a pet-friendly store, I left the dogs home, got in my car and headed out.

“Rain, rain go away. Come again another day.”

This familiar line from a nursery rhyme expresses the way many of us feel about rain. We would prefer it stay away. The same holds true for snow in winter. The rain and the snow come down from the heavens and don’t return there. Instead, they water the ground, providing what is needed for seeds to sprout, for grains, fruits, and vegetables to grow. And, of course, those grains, fruits, and vegetables provide sustenance for all of us (Isaiah 55:10). So, as much as we may complain about the rain and the snow (I admit that I do!), we know that it serves a very useful purpose.

The same holds true for the Word of God. Isaiah 55:11 tells us that God’s Word comes from His mouth to our ears and our hearts. It waters the soil of our hearts and will not return to God empty. His Word is sent for a purpose and that purpose will be achieved. Scripture tells us that the Word of God is alive and active. It is sharper than a two-edged sword and has the ability to penetrate through soul and spirit. This means that the Word has the ability to reach our innermost being. It judges our thoughts and our heart attitudes (Hebrews 4:12).

In his second letter to Timothy, the apostle Paul wrote that all Scripture is God-breathed. Although the words were written down by men, they were divinely inspired, coming from the heart of God. God has given us these words for a purpose. The words of Scripture are used to teach, to reprove, to correct, and to provide training for righteousness. And all of these things serve the purpose of making each of us complete, equipping us to do the good work He has intended for us to do (2 Timothy 3:16).

Just as the rain and the snow are instrumental in the growth of the grains, fruits, and vegetables that we need for our physical bodies, God’s Word is instrumental in the growth of our spiritual bodies, helping us to become the people that God desires us to be.

Amazing grace (how sweet the sound) that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.

One of the most beloved and often sung hymns is Amazing Grace. Written in 1779 by John Newton, this hymn is Newton’s testimony of how his life was changed and how, through God’s grace, he was saved from a life of sin. At the age of eleven, Newton had gone off to sea with his father and his life spiraled out of control. He was punished for attempting to desert from the Royal Navy, was held captive by a slave trader, and became the captain of a slave ship himself. But God had a better plan for Newton. Following his conversion, Newton went into ministry and eventually wrote 280 hymns including Amazing Grace. At the end of his life, Newton said, “There are two things I’ll never forget: that I was a great sinner, and that Jesus is a greater Savior!”

Grace is the act of a more powerful person extending gracious or merciful behavior toward another. It is one of God’s greatest attributes. Since the beginning of time, God has continually extended His grace to mankind. When the evil of men caused God’s anger to burn and made Him regret that He had created man, God decided to destroy what He had created (Genesis 6:5-7). But, through God’s grace, one man, Noah, had found favor with God (Genesis 6:8). God’s grace made a way for Noah and his family to escape the flood and repopulate the earth (Genesis 9:1).

When God had freed the Israelites from captivity in Egypt, despite all that He had done for them, the Israelites complained, grumbled, and even began to worship idols. But, through His amazing grace, God still brought them to the Promised Land. When David, who had been a man after God’s own heart, sinned against God by having an affair with Bathsheba and then causing the death of her husband, God was merciful and continued to allow David to reign. David understood God’s grace. In Psalm 41:3, he asked God to be gracious to him, despite the fact that he had sinned against God.

Perhaps the greatest picture of God’s amazing grace is the cross of Calvary. Despite the fact that we are all sinners and that the penalty for our sins is death, God showed His love and grace by allowing His Son, Jesus, to be nailed to that cross, dying to pay the penalty for our sins. The grace shown at the cross was a grace that is greater than all of our sins. Because of God’s grace, not only are our sins pardoned, but we are given eternal life. And all we need to do is believe in Jesus, believe that He died for us, accept Him as Savior and turn from our sins. Now that is grace that is truly amazing!

Born in Dublin in 1730, Irish statesman Edmund Burke was an author, speaker, and philosopher who also served as a member of the British Parliament from 1766 to 1794. During his time in Parliament, he was an outspoken critic of the British treatment of the American colonies, although he opposed the attempt to achieve independence. Burke was once quoted as saying, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” This was a quote that in another form (“All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”) has been attributed to Thomas Jefferson.

The embodiment of tyranny and evil is the devil, the enemy of our souls. His goal is to destroy us by causing division among us. He takes great delight in seeing conflict rise up between believers. One of the strategies that the devil uses against us in order to achieve his goal is anger. When we allow anger to fester, to take root in our hearts and lead to bitterness, division, and conflict, we are giving the devil an opening that he will gladly seize. It gives the devil a foothold. To paraphrase the quotes by Burke and Jefferson, “All the devil needs to gain a foothold is for believers to remain angry.”

One definition of a foothold is a position that can be used as a springboard for further advancement. When we allow the devil to have a foothold in our lives we are giving him a position from which he can further advance. When we allow unresolved anger to exist in our lives and in our relationships with others, we are giving the devil that foothold. Now, anger in itself may sometimes be justified. There is a righteous anger. But it is what we do with that anger that makes all the difference. Scripture gives us the right way to deal with our anger (Ephesians 4:26-27).

Scripture tells us that, in our anger, even righteous anger, we should not sin and give the devil a foothold. Rather, we are not to let the sun go down on our anger. In other words, we are to keep short accounts. We are to deal with our anger before the sun goes down. Don’t go to sleep angry. Don’t let anger fester, but rather take whatever steps are necessary to resolve that anger. When we resolve our anger rather than let it turn into conflict, division, or bitterness, we close that door of opportunity right on the devil’s foot.

When we accept Christ as Savior, we become part of a family, the body of Christ. We are adopted sons or daughters of God. As part of the family of God, we have a responsibility to love and care for each other. We also have a responsibility to pray for each other. Ephesians 6:18 begins by telling us that we should pray in the Spirit at all times. It goes on to say that we need to stay alert and be persistent in our prayers for other believers throughout the world. We need to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

But, our prayers should not be just for fellow believers. In his first letter to Timothy, the apostle Paul urged that we pray for all people (1 Timothy 2:1). Not just for our brothers and sisters in Christ, not just for our earthly families, and not just for our friends. We need to pray all people, for everyone. That means that we are to pray for those who may have hurt us, those who have may have offended or even persecuted us. It means praying for our enemies.

Praying for all people means praying for those with whom we do not agree. It means praying for people of all walks of life, of all beliefs, of all nations. It also means praying for those who seek to do evil in this world, for violent dictators, for terrorists, for sinners. It means praying for those whose lifestyle goes against the Word of God. When we pray for all of these people, we are to ask God to help them, we are to intercede for them.

In 1 Timothy 2:2, Paul continues by singling out a particular group of people that we need to pray for, for kings and all other people in authority. There are leaders in the world who seek to do harm to others. We need to pray for them. There are leaders in our own country we may dislike, from the president of our nation down to the mayors of the cities in which we live. No matter how we feel about those in authority, we must still pray for them, as well.

Praying for all people, praying for those in authority, is something that, as believers, should do. We should pray for their salvation and that they will come to know and understand our heavenly Father. We should do this not just because it is our responsibility as believers, but also because we want to please God. Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 1:3 that, when we pray for all people, especially for people in authority, it is good and pleasing to God. It pleases Him because He desires that everyone be saved and that everyone will come to know and understand the truth.

After reading my daily devotions this morning, I got up from the sofa to go into the kitchen and get a bottle of water. Two steps into the short walk to the kitchen, Toby and Flo, my two greyhounds were right behind me, following like a parade to the kitchen. I got my water and made my way back to the living room, the dogs right behind me. This scene goes on several times a day. No matter where I go in the house, the dogs are right there with me, following in my footsteps. They know that I am the one who feeds them, lets them out, and takes care of their every need. And no matter where I go, they will follow me.

Being a Christian means following in the footsteps of Jesus. It means living by His Word, following in His ways, striving to become more and more like Him. When we accept Jesus as Savior and give our lives to Him, we are called as His disciples. Being a disciple of Jesus gives us the gift of salvation, the promise of eternal life with God. But there is a cost to following Jesus.

In Luke 9:57-62, Jesus addressed the cost of following Him. As He traveled with His disciples, someone said to Him, “Jesus, I will follow You wherever You go.” Jesus responded by saying, “Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Jesus was pointing out that if we want to follow Him, we must be willing to face hardships and make sacrifices.

As Jesus and His followers continued on the journey, Jesus turned to one of them and said, “Follow me.” When that person asked if he could bury his father first, Jesus responded by saying, “Let the dead bury the dead. As for you, go and proclaim God’s kingdom.” Here, Jesus was telling us that our call to discipleship takes precedence over everything else in life, over all other duties. Our number one priority should be His kingdom.

Finally, as they continued on their way, another follower said, “I’m ready to follow You, Lord. But first I’d like to go home and bid farewell to my friends and family.” Jesus responded with, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and then stops to look back is fit for God’s kingdom.” Jesus wanted us to know that we need to be focused on the work of God’s kingdom. That kingdom work must be more important to us than anything else in life.

When we decide to follow Jesus, as the old hymn says, there’s “no turning back.” We need to put the world behind us, pick up our cross, and follow Him.

More years ago than I’d care to admit, I appeared in a community theatre production of Richard Rodgers’ Two by Two, a musical about Noah and the ark, in which I played one of Noah’s sons, Japheth. In one musical number, Noah and his three sons, Ham, Shem, and Japheth, are arguing over the need for a rudder on the ark. Noah insists that, since God didn’t mention a rudder when He gave the plans for building the ark, then the ark did not need a rudder. The sons, of course, insist that a boat needs a rudder in order to steer it.

A rudder is an underwater blade found at the stern of a ship that allows the pilot at the helm to control the movement of the ship. When the helm is turned, it moves the rudder and the ship moves in the direction in which the helm was turned. The rudder is a very small part of the ship, yet it has the ability to move that large ship wherever the pilot wants it to go. In his letter, the apostle James compared the rudder to the tongue. Like a ship’s rudder, the tongue is a small part of the body, yet it is capable of great things (James 3:4-5).

The tongue is capable of great things, both good and bad. For that reason, the tongue needs to be tamed. When taming a horse, a bit is used. The bit, placed in the horse’s mouth, allows the rider to guide the horse in the direction in which he or she wants it to go (James 3:3). What was once a wild animal is tamed. The horse will obey the rider’s pull on that bit. People have the ability to tame wild animals, they have the ability to steer large ships, but no person can tame the tongue (James 3:8).

The same tongue that is used to bless the Lord, to worship Him and give Him praise, may also be used to curse others. When we curse others, we are cursing people who, like ourselves, are made in the image of God (James 3:9). The untamed tongue is capable of both blessing and cursing but, as James points out, this should not be (James 3:10). A careless tongue not only hurts the person to whom our words are directed, but it also defiles us and can destroy our lives through broken relationships.

In order to tame the tongue, we need to rely on the Holy Spirit. When we allow the Spirit to work in us, when we surrender control of every aspect of our lives, He will guide us and help us to live righteously, to become more like Christ. Like the pilot who steers a ship by controlling the rudder, the Holy Spirit can help us to control and tame our tongues. We just need to step out of the way and allow Him to do so.