Category: Devotional

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Trust the Lord Nevertheless

For November 10, 2019
In John 1:29, John the Baptist introduces Jesus to the assembly as “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Shortly thereafter, those who heard His teachings and witnessed His miracles would follow the Lord in droves wherever He went.

One of His more reluctant followers initially was Simon who encountered the Lord near the shore at the Sea of Galilee. On that particular morning, as recorded in Luke 5, a large crowd surrounded Jesus, listening intently to His every word.

Then, stepping into a nearby fishing boat, Jesus asked Simon to pull it away from the shore so that He could use it as a speaking platform to accommodate the large crowd that gathered along the shore.

Simon and his brother, Andrew, along with the brothers, James and John were exhausted after returning from an unsuccessful, all-night fishing expedition. In their minds, they were distracted by this meddling teacher, who kept them from washing their nets and performing other necessary chores in preparation for a more productive fishing expedition that evening,

One can imagine how the entire crew must have dozed off to sleep occasionally while the Lord taught. After all, they were exhausted from the night before. Even more stressful for Simon was when the Lord finished teaching, He instructed him to launch into deeper nearby waters, and prepare to catch fish.

Knowing that Jesus was not a skilled fisherman, Simon’s initial response was: “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything!” (Luke 5:5a NIV): In other words, Simon was saying: “Lord, I realize you are a great teacher, but we are experienced fishermen. We’ve  spent all night fishing and we’ve caught absolutely nothing!” (Your idea does not make any logical sense!)

We can identify with Simon when we feel our efforts have gone for naught. When we have tried to do things “our way” with disappointing or even disastrous results. The anger, frustration, and disappointment can be most unbearable when we have “taken matters into our own hands” and have failed—miserably.

After his initial angry feelings subsided, Simon had the good sense to surrender to the Lord and say: “But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” (Luke 5:5b NIV) In essence, Simon chose not to trust in his feelings, or unfortunate circumstances. Instead, he chose to surrender everything he had to the Lord, and trust in Him for the results.

Then immediately, Simon and his crew were so overwhelmed by the vast number of fish that they had to call James and John on the other ship for help collecting the fish.

When our work yields futility, surrendering to and trusting in the Lord is always the best response. This may require us to:

    • Spend time fasting and praying for clarity of the Lord’s will and purpose for our lives,
    • Perform an honest reassessment of our purpose, mission and goals to confirm they exalt Jesus Christ—not us, or
    • Reverse our current course immediately so that we can conform to the Lord’s divine plan for our lives and others.

Ultimately, we choose to obey the Lord’s instructions and trust Him for the results, nonetheless. Then, we can experience His excellence and our fulfillment just as Proverbs 3:5-6 (N KJV) teaches:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

Won’t you trust in the Lord today?

 

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We Are Still Secure

November 1, 2019
Three stories of Old Testament heroes evoke comforting and compelling images of God’s tender care as He intervenes in the lives of His precious Children.

For instance 1 Kings 18 presents the contest for validity between Elijah and 850 prophets at Mount Carmel. Those who witnessed the challenge saw the “Fire of the Lord” fall from Heaven to consume an animal sacrifice—drenched with water—that distinguished the True and Living God from the false god: Baal, and validated Elijah’s position as the “Prophet of the Lord.”

In addition, the Three Hebrew Boys presented in Daniel 3, were rewarded for their faithfulness to God demonstrated in their unwillingness to bow down and worship Nebuchadnezzar’s image as they were commanded. As result, they were thrown into a fiery furnace, which was heated seven times hotter than its normal level. Onlookers saw a fourth person in the furnace, who Nebuchadnezzar described as, “the Son of God.” The three were delivered from the flames–with not even the smell of smoke!

Moreover, 1 Samuel 17 presents the story of David, the young shepherd boy, who defeats the mighty giant Goliath with slingshot. After the victory, the people heralded David’s bravery and conquest. Life was good for the young shepherd boy who would eventually marry the King’s daughter and experience the opulence that accompanies royalty. Unfortunately however, persecution and adversity would soon follow as well.

King Saul sought to kill David, and as he ran for his life, hundreds of other outcasts joined him.

Over time, the Lord leads David to Abigail, the wife of wealthy Nabal.  She gives David and his men ample food and supplies to sustain them in their journey. She also affirms the Lord’s protection along with his succession to the throne as recorded in 1 Samuel 25:29 (KJV):

A man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall He sling out, as out of the middle of a sling.

David’s life appeared to be full of uncertainty and turmoil. Yet he found comfort knowing that he was “bound in the bundle of life with the Lord his God.” In other words, the Lord cared for David and would meet his needs and fight his battles.

In Psalm 23, David illustrates how the Lord, his Shepherd, would keep him safe and secure throughout his life:

The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

The Lord Jesus Christ is our Good Shepherd, and He promised that we as His sheep will never perish, nor would be taken out of His (or His Father’s) hands. 1

Nearly two thousand years have since passed, and we are still secure today. What a wonderful Savior!

 

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He Still Wants Your Heart Today

October 12, 2019
From the time of God’s Creation until now, it has always been the His design to have eternal, unbroken fellowship with the centerpiece of His Creation: humanity. So while addressing us, the Lord Jesus Christ cites Old Testament Law (Deuteronomy 6:5) to revise the old, established model of faith.

Here, He establishes a new faith-fellowship paradigm not based on our works, (although works can serve as evidence of our faith), but upon our affection instead:

Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40 NIV)

We delight in those whom we love. We like to be around them and want do all we can to please them. Thus, to love the Lord with all of our heart infers that we have a sincere, passionate, single-minded attraction towards Him, as the only true and living God, Redeemer…and Friend.

The heart represents the seat of our emotions. No other person or object can dominate our attention or command our affections when the Lord owns our hearts. However, His access is by our invitation only as Revelation 3:20 (NIV) teaches:

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”

The Lord also wants our soul and mind, which means that our love for Him is evident in every facet of our lives. In essence, both who we are and what we do. In other words, we surrender not just our emotions, wishes, desires, feelings, affections, understanding, intellect, but also our character, personality, thoughts, words, deeds, lifestyle, goals, aspirations and so forth.

All these things and many more should resonate a deep love for our Lord with every fiber of our being. In short, we are commanded not love the Lord half-heartedly, but wholeheartedly.

The Lord Jesus Christ could rightly demand such love from us because He demonstrated His when He died on Calvary’s Cross to pay the menacing, unbearable debt of sin, which we could not pay for ourselves.

Then He rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven where He intercedes for us today. While we await His glorious, imminent return, His Holy Spirit lives within us, communing with us while preserving us as His precious children. What a wonderful Savior!

We may not arrive at this level of love towards Him in all its intricacies and implications 24/7 in this life. Nevertheless, we can give Him our hearts daily as we set our affections on things above, as Colossians 3:1 teaches.

Although many may dread our Lord’s return, we can look forward to it, as the day when we unite with those other redeemed saints at the Great White Throne Judgment to hear the King of Kings and Lord of Lords say to us, as His beloved and redeemed children: “Well done!”

Then we shall forever experience His holy, unbridled love in its fullest measure just as this theologian observes:

But in heaven there is an undisturbed reign of holy love. All the inhabitants of that bright world love God supremely and love one another subordinately…The satisfaction arising from this consciousness will never be disturbed by a single doubt or solitary suspicion.2

Won’t you give the Lord your heart today? He’s given you His already!

 

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We Have Another Comforter Today

For March 5, 2019
The Holy Spirit or the Comforter shares God’s full essence and deity. Terms like the Spirit of Christ, Spirit of God, Spirit of Truth, Holy Spirit, and Holy Ghost are synonymous. Although the Holy Spirit is a person, He has been described using the pronoun “it.”

Thus, consequential notions: “it” can be manipulated by human whim; “it” comes or goes, or “it” can be turned on or off—like an electric current—are not consistent with our Lord’s description of the Comforter  (Greek: parakletos) in John 14:16-18 (KJV):

I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Jesus promises He will be inside us; abiding with us forever. In His description, He uses the Greek word: Paraclete: one who is “called to one’s side” or “called to someone’s aid,” which conveys the idea of Helper and Advocate.3

Additional characteristics worth noting about the Comforter are:

    • He is Christ’s representative, keeping company with us and living inside us to reveal the Lord’s grace and glory each day.
    • As Advocate, He provides us with the means of identification and association with the Lord Jesus Christ; distinguishing us from those who are not associated with the Lord.
    • He is the Spirit of Truth whom the world will not understand or receive.
    • As Teacher, He constantly reminds us of the Lord’s incomparable teachings, and He enables us to share those wonderful truths with others for their benefit.
    • As Helper, He empowers us to emulate the Lord’s impeccable lifestyle so that He is glorified in what we say, think, and do.
    • As Spirit of God, He permeates our hearts and minds with abiding peace, joy, and strength to sustain us through those difficult times all of us will face.
    • As Sprit of Christ, He helps us to fix our minds on Christ as we confidently await His glorious and imminent return.

The Holy Spirit of God—the Comforter—draws us to Christ, brings us to life (quickens us), secures our identity with Christ (seals us in Christ), guides us, makes us one in Christ, and He prepares us for Heaven.

In this way, our victory over the Enemy in this life, and our victory over death in the next are certain. What a wonderful Savior!

 

 

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Who Do You Say I Am?

For February 15, 2019
In Matthew 16, the Lord and His Twelve Disciples are in Galilee near Caesarea Philippi, where He asks: “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

Their responses were varied: “Some say you are John the Baptist; others say Elijah; while others say you are Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

Not concerned with public opinion. Jesus asks a question that is far more pertinent and personal: “But what about you?” or “Who do you say I am?”

 

Peter’s response, although impulsive, revealed his understanding of the Lord at that time in his life: “You are the Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah) the Son of the Living God!”

With that, the Lord replies:

 

“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:17-18 NIV).

I am glad Jesus Christ is never concerned about satisfying the latest public opinion poll regarding His identity. Even today, some refer to Him as a prophet or a great teacher; others say He was a good man who died a horrible death on a cross.

Chatting with a friend recently, I was reminded of the many poignant discussions about the “Who is Jesus?” question, which occurred over the course of my life. Upon reflection, these discussions seem to be variations of one central question: “How could anyone believe in a dead man’s religion?”

Those who ask this question are looking through the prism that views Jesus only as the Son of Man, who died on a cross between two thieves one fateful Friday afternoon. But if all we knew about Jesus Christ was His tragic death, then as 1 Corinthians 15:19 (KJV) reads, “we would be most miserable!”

But thank God; death is not all that we know about Jesus Christ!

There is also the Son of God, who arose on that glorious Sunday morning leaving us with a tomb that remains empty today. Objectivity demands that this historical event has to be acknowledged and considered as well.

When we consider both (i.e., Jesus’ death and resurrection) equally and objectively, everything about Him as the God-man becomes crystal clear. Like Peter, we too can understand and acknowledge He is more than just a person who suffered a tragic death on a cross. Also, He is our:

Advocate, Alpha and Omega, Bread of Life, Bridegroom, Christ, Deliverer, Faithful and True, Friend, Good Shepherd, Great God, Great Physician, High Priest, Immanuel, Intercessor, King of Glory, King of Kings, Lamb of God, Light of the World, Lion of Judah, Lord, Lover of Our Soul, Mighty God, Mediator, Messiah, Prince of Peace, Redeemer, Resurrection and Life, Righteous Judge, Rock and Fortress, Savior, True Prophet, The Truth, The Way, and The Word.

Isn’t it amazing how God is not too big to care for each of us individually? He is omniscient, having “all knowledge” of every detail of our lives including the exact number of hairs on our heads as promised in Matthew 10:30. Yet He is small enough to care for us personally by asking even today: “Who do you say I am?”

Ultimately, He wants us to trust in Him completely (by giving Him our hearts as it were). Then He can perform His perfect spiritual work inside us that will forever resolve all false assumptions and presuppositions about Him, and give us fellowship with Him that lasts forever.

What a wonderful Savior!

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