Posted by Charlie on Aug 12, 2011 in
Devotions Scripture: John 14:23
“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”
Observation
I’ve long been familiar with the concept in chapter 15 that says, “Abide in me, and I in you…,” but it struck me this morning that in the upper room discourse Jesus uses the concept of abiding all the way back to the beginning of chapter 14.
Application
As I read John 14 in Greek today the concept of abiding jumped off the page in a fresh way for me. Verse 2 is familiar from the King James: In my Father’s house are many mansions…. The word translated “mansion” in the KJV is actually the noun μονἠ, which means a place to stay—an abode. Guess what the verb form of that word is? You bet—to abide. What a cool connection: Jesus has gone to prepare a place for me to stay with him. Then in verse 23 he promises to come make his home with me (same word). Then in chapter 15 he asks me to abide (μἐνω)— to stay with him. Comforting!
Prayer
Jesus, thank you that you promise a place of dwelling both now and forever. Please take up residence with me today and give me the grace to take up residence with you too. Amen.
Tags: abide
Posted by Charlie on Aug 11, 2011 in
Devotions Scripture: Jeremiah 9:23–24
“Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”
Observation
Jeremiah is a tough book to read. God goes on chapter after chapter lamenting the pitiful state of his people who have forsaken him, and it becomes very repetitive.
Application
The repetition is the point. They aren’t getting the message that they need to change their ways. God laments their stubborn, self destructive hearts, but continues to reach out to them with a plea for them to change their hearts. In Jeremiah 9:23–24 he spells out exactly what he is seeking from them. He’s still looking for it with me too.
Prayer
God, I’m staring at a big assignment as I begin to focus on a new season of service with you, and I’m a bit scared by it. Thanks for the reminder today that the most important thing is to know and understand you. Help me to walk humbly with you today, and I will trust you to bring to pass the plans and purposes you have for my life.
Tags: humility, trust
Posted by Charlie on Aug 9, 2011 in
Devotions Scripture: John 11:39
Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”
Observation
Even though the people present as Jesus arrived in Bethany had seen him do the impossible before, the fact that Lazarus was dead marked the boundary of their paradigm regarding who Jesus is. Jesus delayed his arrival in Bethany deliberately so he could push that boundary far beyond where they thought it could reach.
Application
I am confident there are things God wants to accomplish through my life that will require an expanded view of who Jesus is. His power is so far beyond my ability to comprehend, and it is very real and present. What can happen through me if I will simply recognize his presence and trust in his willingness to work in and through me?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I come to you this morning asking for a bigger paradigm of who you are and what it means that your kingdom is active all around me. Please open my eyes to see your fingerprints in my world today, and grant me the grace to enter in to all you want to do in and through me. Amen!
Tags: faith, paradigm
Posted by Charlie on Aug 8, 2011 in
Devotions Scripture: Jeremiah 2:11–13
Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the LORD, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
Observation
My strongest impression upon returning from Israel last week is that they are able to maintain cultural identity as Jewish people, while 60% of the nation is completely non-religious. Many still eat kosher and celebrate Shabbat dinner together on Friday evening or Saturday, yet in large part it has become divorced from any sense of connection with the God of Israel.
Application
God created us for relationship with him. The message of Jeremiah, from one end to the other, is God pleading with his people to return to him, lest they self-destruct. Today I want a heart that yearns to abide in the Source of true living water.
Prayer
Jesus, today I incline my heart to you. You promised that out of my belly will flow rivers of living water, and I look for you to flow through my life today. Be with me and guide me I pray, amen.
Tags: apostacy
Posted by Charlie on Aug 7, 2011 in
Devotions I’ve been gone for a whopping 21 days total, and just returned from Israel. It was too difficult to post my journal while I was gone, but I’m going to start back up now that I have returned. Israel was wonderful, but HOT! I went as an escort on the International Air Cadet Exchange, and was the guest of the Israel Air Force for two weeks. We got to go places and see things nobody gets to see. The experience was an A+.
Scripture: John 9:6–7
Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam”
Observation
When Jesus healed the man born blind he could have simply said, “Be healed,” and it would have been done. Why did he spit on the ground, make mud, smear it on the man’s eyes, and tell him to go wash? It seems clear to me that he was deliberately provoking the Pharisees, who saw both the mud-making and face-washing as work, which violated their interpretation of the Sabbath.
Application
So who was right, Jesus or the Pharisees? The weight of the miracle speaks for itself. The message? God is concerned with the souls of people, and legalism isn’t. It’s a good moment to take a quick look at my own life to see if I have any areas where rules are more important than people’s welfare.
Prayer
Father, please reveal your heart to me. Help me today to see people the way you do. I also cry out to you to touch them through my life. Bring your healing and your life as you work in and through me. Amen.
Tags: legalism, Sabbath
Posted by Charlie on Jul 17, 2011 in
Devotions Scripture: James 1:19–20
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
Observation
James cuts to the chase from the first verse forward. His directives are forceful, practical, and easier said than done!
Application
James 1:19 packs a massive punch. If the advice he gives in this verse is actually followed, it absolutely transforms relationships.
Prayer
Father, I cry out to you today and ask for your help with my listening and my speech. Please help me to hear others well today, and to guard my tongue. Please guide me in my relationships according to this principle from your Word, and be present in all I hear and say. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Tags: anger, listen, speech
Posted by Charlie on Jul 16, 2011 in
Devotions Scripture: Isaiah 26:19
Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.
You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!
For your dew is a dew of light,
and the earth will give birth to the dead.
Observation
Isaiah delivered this prophecy around 750 BC, and by the time of Jesus’ ministry, the doctrine that God would raise the dead was well rooted in conservative theology. Paul was brought up as a Pharisee, and used the Pharisee’s conviction about future resurrection to his advantage when he was on trial near the end of Acts. Arguably, the Scriptures declare the concept of resurrection as far back as Job, one of the earliest books in the Bible.
Application
It is vital to keep an eternal perspective because life on this planet tends to obscure the long view. The here and now presses in on me and cries for my constant attention. I just lost my mother on May 21st, and death seems so final. God, however, declares that this is just the beginning, and that death will be swallowed up by life. Bring it on!
Prayer
Father, thank you for the assurance that you know me and that even death cannot wrest me from your grasp. Please help me to have an eternal perspective today. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Tags: death, life, resurrection
Posted by Charlie on Jul 15, 2011 in
Devotions Scripture: Hebrews 12:14–15
Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God….
Observation/Application
There is an old Russian proverb that says, “Pray to God but row for shore.” This is the essence of Hebrews 12:14–15, which asserts, Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God….
Finding balance in these verses is key. No matter how I strive, it always comes down to grace. But I will demonstrate my response to grace by striving for holiness.
Prayer
Thank you for grace, without which holiness would be an impossible objective. Help me to press into you through grace today, and I trust you to work out your holiness in me. Amen.
Tags: balance, Grace
Posted by Charlie on Jul 14, 2011 in
Devotions Scripture: Hebrews 11:7
By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household.
Observation
This is one of the most amazing claims in the Bible, bar none.
Application
Okay, so I’m on kind of a wild hair tonight. For some time I have been following the Chinese Noah’s Ark research expedition. They claim to have found the remains of the ark on Mt. Ararat in Turkey in April of 2010, and have the intention to return with another team to do further archaeological work.
Many, including Randy Price, a prominent Christian archaeological researcher of my acquaintance (I created all the maps and charts for Randy’s book, Ready To Rebuild, Harvest House Publishers: 1992) claim the reported finds of the Chinese team to be a hoax. The Chinese team has rebutted with the threat of defamation lawsuits, and insist that the find is genuine.
If it turns out to be the real deal, what will the world say? It’s still going to be a faith issue in the end.
Prayer
God, when you provide evidence of what your Word says it is delightful, but Hebrews 11 says that it still requires faith to please you. Please help me to walk with you, firmly grasping those things that are hoped for and yet unseen.
Tags: faith
Posted by Charlie on Jul 13, 2011 in
Devotions Scripture: Hebrews 10:14
For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
Observation
If there is any message that stands above the others in the Old Covenant, it is the pure and awesome holiness of God. His holiness demands my holiness, and I fall short immediately and completely.
The first half of Hebrews chapter 10 paints a strong contrast between the sacrifices involved in the Mosaic law, which had to be offered over and over to cover sin, and the single sacrifice offered by Jesus in his Passion, which once and for all time puts an end to the penalty for transgressions.
Application
The freedom that comes from this truth is amazing. I have no delusions about my fallenness. I also have no ability through my own resources to make myself acceptable before a holy God. The infinite degree to which Jesus paid my penalty is honestly beyond the reach of my comprehension. All I have to do is rest in it.
Prayer
Thank you Jesus, for the extent to which you paid my penalty. Thank you, also, for the extent to which you disarmed my spiritual enemies. Please be near me today as I draw near to you, and help me to walk in the freedom you paid for with your own blood. I love you!
Tags: freedom, holiness, sacrifice
