Tag: devotional thought

Philippians 2:1-4 (Devotional Thought)

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So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:1-4 ESV)

The church at Philippi had people from different backgrounds. Remember the fashion CEO Lydia, the demon possessed girl, and the jailer? They were all as different as can be. I imagine that they all had different ideas and thoughts about how things should be, or might should go and I’m sure that each one had their own issues or personality quirks.

The Apostle Paul reminds them (and us) that believers are to be a humble people. Humble doesn’t mean poor or that you tear yourself down (this can actually be a weird source of pride). Being humble involves how you treat and think about other people.

Paul gives some clear examples of what humility doesn’t look like. He says don’t do anything out of rivalry. Rivalry is an attempt to outdo someone else. Paul says that we don’t need to be the guy constantly attempting to one-up everyone. A great way to check for that is think back to conversations you have with your friends. Do you find yourself trying to come up with a story or idea to top everyone’s story when you talk? You might want to check your heart for rivalry.

Paul also warns us about conceit. Conceit is tricky. It can sneak up on you. It sits in the back of your mind and it judges everyone around you. You constantly compare yourself to everybody else and you win every time! Of course you tend to overlook the bad things you have done because you know what you “intended to do” while at the same time you judge everyone else’s actions harshly. Take a few moments and check your heart for conceit. Ask God to reveal if you’ve been motivated by either one of these false motives.

So how do you battle wrong attitudes like rivalry or conceit? You count others as better than yourself. This isn’t to put you down, but it does serve to build up other people. I’ve found that It’s very difficult to have these bad attitudes if I’m constantly putting the needs of others ahead of my own and encouraging people around me. It’s hard to try and one-up someone when I take time to genuinely be happy for something cool that’s happened in their life. It’s very difficult to be conceited when I’m constantly giving other people the benefit of the doubt and judging my own missteps with a little more discernment.

If you find yourself guilty of rivalry or conceit, confess your sin to God. Ask Him to give you an attitude of humility.

James 5:1-6 (Devotional Thought)

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Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.
(James 5:1-6 ESV)

I heard the story once of a weary traveler who came upon a fairy glen. The glen was filled with all sorts of gold and treasures. He was told by the fairy king that he could take all that would fit in his pocket and so throughout the night the man madly filled his pockets and attempted to find ways to fit more and more gold into them. Then at the moment of dawn all the gold the man had filled his pockets with turned to straw and all he could hear was the fairies laughing at him.

James writes a lot about rich and poor people. In his day most rich people became rich by taking advantage of poor people. James reminds us that there is a greater treasure than gold and while some people spend countless hours and effort to make lots of money that at the end of the day gold is worthless because it can’t save you and what’s even more tragic for the unrighteous rich is that we will all answer to God for how we have mistreated others. Like the man who filled his pockets with gold only to find out it was straw, those who value money over people will one day soon wake up to see all their efforts have been wasted.

River of Living Water (John 7)

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Lots to unpack here. Do you notice the theme again… Jesus is making reference to the fact that he healed a man on the Sabbath.  It’s like an issue that he can not shake.  He won’t be moved.  He was justified in healing on the Sabbath and yet he is condemned by people who are claiming to uphold the Law of Moses.

Jesus points out that they don’t even uphold the Law (John 7:19)… not that he is removing the law, but questioning how they judge the law (John 7:24).  He points out that even when the law appears at odds with itself they show preference to care for people over the sabbath (7:23).

This isn’t a side show debate.  Jesus is forcing the real issue.  The real issue is that we have unclean hearts and we cannot see just how sinful we really are.  These men were no zealous for the law, they were zealous for the reputation they had gained in interpreting the law.  They had become experts in a law that foretold of Jesus everywhere, yet when they were confronted with him they did not recognize him.

Jesus sets himself up against this backdrop of dead religion and offers salvation to all those who would believe.  He had come to set captives free.  He had come to satisfy the thirsty.  He had come to set things right.  Yet, somehow his righteousness exposed them for the fraud they were and they could not handle being in the presence of the king, so they set about with a plot to assassinate him.

Application: When you see others growing in Christ are you provoked to joy or bitterness?  If provoked to bitterness examine your heart for dead religion.  It comes in all shapes and sizes but at the end of the day claims that God owe’s you. God doesn’t owe you any thing and you owe him everything.  Repent today and cling to Jesus who is the author and perfecter of our faith.

Father,

I cling to you today.  I have tried to be righteous by my own merit.  I have tried to live as though the world were mine and I were in charge.  I was so foolish.  thank you for loving me, even in my worst state and still offering to me eternal life if I would but trust you and believe. Thank you.

Morning: Psalm 9

Mid-Day: Psalm 57

Evening: Psalm 109

Who Get’s the Glory? (Meditations on John 5)

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Just a side note before we get started.  I’ve been blessed beyond measure for the last few weeks of my life have been revolutionary in terms of my walk with God and my understanding of His Word.  Familiar passages have taken on new meaning as I have been digging deeper.

John 5 is rich with meaning.  God has blessed me with more than I will ever be able to share here, but here are a few highlights that I hope are a blessing to you…

Who Get’s the Glory (John 5:44).  The folks mentioned in this chapter were busy keeping rules.  They were rule keepers.  They gave each other props for figuring out how to do things by keeping all the rules and a few extra traditions along the way.  They were in the business of giving each other glory.

Basketball hadn’t been invented yet and so I guess they were glad to become fan’s of different guys who could parse the scriptures and teach diligently.  But these guys were missing it.  Jesus was standing in their midst and they were worried about the rules (some of which they made up). They didn’t want to share their “glory.” They didn’t want to give him credibility.  They said he was breaking the Law…coincidentally the Law pointed right to him.

You see that’s the big deal.  That’s the big hairy monster in the room that no one wants to talk about.  The scriptures (Old and New Testament) reveal Jesus.  Yet how many times do we examine passages or hear sermons preached that share the “moral of the story” like they were just fables. The truth is that the scriptures are true and they point to Jesus.

The story of Jesus walking on Water and Peter coming out to meet Jesus… is actually about Jesus… It isn’t about having faith to step out of the boat… It’s about the savior that can walk on water and who will come to us in our deepest storms and even when our faith fails will stick out his arm to save us… The first way leaves people with a “moral” a principle if you will on how to live… “Have faith”… the second way points us to Glorifying God.  To be fair these statements are two sides of the same coin, but one way says it was my faith that kept me afloat… the other way says it was Jesus who kept me a float even when my faith was sinking.  In the first order I get the glory for faith (or shame for no faith). In the second order Jesus get’s the glory (and he should… the story is about how he saved Peter)…. You see you’ll never really have the faith to get out of the boat until you trust the one who has come to you in the middle of the storm.

The story of Daniel isn’t about picking your friends wisely or even how to live godly in an ungodly world.  The story of Daniel is ultimately about Jesus.  One way to preach Daniel is to talk about standing up to peer pressure and how we should all take a stand like Daniel did.  But the Story of Daniel is really about Serving the King of Kings.  You see you will never have the courage to stand before an earthly king and defy his edicts if you do not have a relationship with the king of kings.

one way of interpreting the scriptures says that you should “live better” and you should, but this ultimately just leads to a form of legalism.  The second way seeks out Christ at every turn and provokes our hearts to praise and worship.  By coming to a place of worship we relinquish our grasp on the things that would stop us from fully worshiping God.  In essence… We have faith to step out of the boat and we have boldness to defy a king… but only after we have come to a place of worship.

Jesus says here in this chapter that these men who were so excited about seeing the “moral of the story” would one day be judged by the “moral of the story” and be found wanting… The stories were never really about the moral as much as they were about Jesus.  These men were too busy looking for the moral that they missed Jesus.

Father,

Save us from staring at your scripture and missing the obvious truth about you.  We beg that We would see Jesus at every turn in your word.  Where our eyes are week, bring us teachers to strengthen our sight so that we might see you.  Give us grace to grow in knowledge of you.

Morning: Psalm 105

Mid-Day: Psalm 53

Evening: Psalm 5

My Food is to do the will of Him who Sent Me (John 4:34)

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The disciples see themselves as providers for Jesus, they don’t get that ultimately He is the one who is going to provide for them.  They imagine that someone else has brought a party tray by and fed the master.  Perhaps they become indignant. It was their job to go into town and buy lunch.

Jesus lets them wrestle with the issue long enough and then fills them in on what he really means when he says, “I have food that you don’t know about.”  They need to know that they ultimately do not provide for Jesus, but that Jesus provides for the whole world.  They need to see what really drives their master, beyond human appetite.  Beyond the desire to have a full stomach, Jesus desires to obey they father.  This is worship.

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. (John 4:34, ESV)

He challenges his disciples to see past hungry stomachs and see hungry souls, to look beyond the physical reality of a hungry tummy to see that true worship is a heart rightly submitted to God.  What fuels Jesus?  The disciples must learn here that food is for the body, but worship is for the soul.  Jesus is seeing past the physical into the spiritual.  If the disciples are ever to be like him they must come to a place where they desire God’s will to be done more than they desire their daily bread.  Indeed later Jesus will teach them to pray to the father and before daily bread comes the request that God’s will would be done.

Now like the Samaritan woman before them, he presses his disciples to see all the people coming out of the city.  See them with spiritual eyes.  They walked into the city to get food, never once did it cross their minds to see the great spiritual need, but now they see it as the whole city comes out to the well.

Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.” (John 4:35-42, ESV)

It was a common saying in the day of Jesus to say, “there are four months till harvest.” It was a way of saying, “relax,” don’t worry, don’t be in such a hurry, there isn’t anything you can do right now.  Our modern saying is something like this, “Good things come to those who wait.”  Here Jesus is saying the opposite.  He is saying, “look!  You didn’t plant anything and now there is a harvest field.”  You didn’t tell anybody in the city about me and now the whole city is coming out to meet me.

Application: You will never be able to serve God fully until you realize what Christ has done for you.  Only in the power of Christ can we see the world around us the way that He sees it.

Father,

Thank you for the cross and all that Jesus did to purchase me from my sin.  I ask that you will give me eyes today to see people the way that you see them.

Morning: Psalm 104

Mid-Day: Psalm 52

Night: Psalm 4

As Moses Lifted Up the Serpent (John 3:14)

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A little background: In Numbers 21:1-9 the people of Israel sinned against God by grumbling about their deliverance. God sent serpents upon the people and many people were bitten and died.  The people cried out to God in repentance and God told Moses to create a bronze serpent and put it in the middle of camp.  Everyone who looked upon the serpent would be healed of their bite.

In Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus he tells Nicodemus that just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must he be lifted up.  In other words.  We all have a sin problem and only those who look to Jesus will be healed.

In the midst of this passage Jesus reminds Nicodemus the he hasn’t come to condemn the world, but to save it.  Just like those who looked at the snake were healed of their bite, so to, those who look to Jesus in faith will be delivered from the consaquences of their sin.

Jesus is the True and better Moses.  Where Moses obeyed God and constructed a serpent for the healing of his people, even more Jesus offered his own body and took in the flesh the penalty that was due you and I so that we might free from the debt of sin and have life in Him.

Application:  You will never be able to deal with the sin in your life until you look to the one who bore your sin on the cross.

Father,

Thank you for the atoning work of Christ on the cross for my sin.  Thank you that he paid the price for my sins so that I can look to him by faith and be delivered from your wrath.  Thank you for my salvation and the great price that was paid.  I am walking in your freedom today.

Morning: Psalm 103

Mid-Day: Psalm 51

Evening: Psalm 3

What Sign Do You Show Us for Doing These Things? (John 2:18)

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Read all of John 2 to grasp the context.

Do you get it?  Do you see the logic?  The reason behind the question?  Jesus flips tables.  He takes a whip and clears the Temple.  The people around start asking for a sign.

They get it.  They realize that here is a man who has no position or title to give him authority in the Temple, yet he is acting out like he has authority in that sphere.  He is acting like a prophet.  They know their history.

Moses performed miracles when he approached Pharoah. Elijah called fire down from heaven.  They want to know if Jesus is a prophet, possibly even the messiah.  If he is, they reason, he should show them a sign.

Jesus doesn’t play any parlor tricks here.  He has already changed water into wine back at Canna of Galilee.  He could easily do something here, but instead he points to the temple they are in and says, destroy this temple and in 3 days I’ll build it back.  They thought he was talking about a building.  He was talking about his body.

They had perverted worship by bringing money making schemes into the Temple.  Their offerings were an offense to God, but they would offend God further by putting Christ to death.  But that would not be the end of it.  The ultimate sign that He would give is that he would rise from the dead.  Worship would no longer center around an earthly temple made by human hands, but would center of Jesus Christ.  (There is a great depth and richness to this passage, but not enough time to go through it all here).

Also note 2 things. 1. The disciples immediately recall Psalm 69:9 in reference to Jesus’ actions here (John 2:17). 2. When Jesus is raised from the dead the disciples remember this event and it causes them to believe the scripture (John 2:22).  Remember the New Testament hadn’t been written yet.  The scripture that the disciples  believe is the Old Testament in reference to Jesus as the Messiah.

Application: Jesus is the True and Better temple that was destroyed and ressurected so that we might also be raised from the dead and enjoy eternal life with God. Thank God today for all Christ has done for you and live in free worship of Him by how you live.

Father,

I thank you for the work of Christ on the cross and his ressurection for my benefit that I might enjoy the pleasure of knowing you.  I rejoice that your word is singularly focused on the message of the gospel.  I ask for grace to walk worthy of Christ in thefreedom that you have given me.

Morning: Psalm 69

Mid-Day: Psalm 3

Evening: Psalm 102

“He Has Made Him Known” (John 1:18)

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What great news! This indeed is the gospel.  God has not left us without a way to know Him.  We do not have to blindly search our world for evidence of God.  We are not left alone in our depraved and fallen nature, cursed to wander through life aimlessly.  God has come to our rescue.  He has made Himself known.

What a marvelous plan.  God has not demanded that we be able to ascend to heaven.  We could never reach up to God by our merit or deeds… God has reached down to us.  You see this was the mistake at Babel (Genesis 11).  Man by his own devices was trying to reach unto the heavens.  He was trying to regain admission to the kingdom of God through force.

You see, that is why Jacob’s ladder was so important (Genesis 28).  It was a symbol, a promise that though man could not reach God, God could still reach down to men.  He spoke to Jacob there and made a promise.  A promise that was also made to his father, Abraham.  A promise that included the message that through Jacob’s offspring all the families of the earth would be blessed.

This is the picture.  Man can not reach up to God, but God will reach down to man.  The rift, the separation of people that was caused at the tower of Babel would not ultimately last.  There is still hope for all the families of the earth.  There is one who stands in the line of Jacob who has come to bring us to God.  There is one who has come to gather together people from every tongue, tribe and nation (Revelation 5:9).  There is one who has made God known to us.  His name is Jesus.

Father,

Our only hope is in Jesus Christ.  He is indeed the way the Truth and the Life.  I ask today that I would walk in Him.  Thank you for working in my life.  Thank you for saving me.  Changing me. Cleansing me.  Making me a new person in Jesus Christ.  I want the world to know you .  Give me grace to share your gospel with others today.

Morning: Psalm 100

Mid-Day: Philippians 4:4-8

Night: Psalm 1

(Lk. 24:27) why was the Bible written

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Is the Bible about how to live or about the one who lived for you? Is it about a list of rules to obey or about the only one who was ever perfectly obedient to God? Is it a guide book on how to live in a fallen world or a news cast containing the good news that Jesus has come to save us from our sins?

You see that’s what is at stake here! How will you view the scriptures? Is it about what God has done or what you must do!

Don’t you see? It is about what God has done! The gospel, the good news of the kingdom of Heaven, is about what Christ has done for us. He has taken our sin. He has born our transgressions. He has suffered the wrath of God in our place and he has risen from the grave.

Now we must hear. We must understand. We cannot miss the message. We simply turn to Him. We look to Him who bore our iniquity and shame. We must embrace Him. We must surrender. We must turn to trust in Him. We must walk in Grace.

Father,

Thank you for saving me. Thank you that I am counted righteous by the work of Christ. Thank you that your Bible is the message of what you have done for me in Christ. I will live in your grace.

Heads up to those of you following along.

I’ll be back Monday in another book of the Bible. I’ll be taking a slightly different approach. I’ll read each day until something strikes me. I may read only a few verses from the previous day or I may read a few chapters. Each post will be around 150 to 300 word meditation with a brief prayer. I’ll also post references to 3 passages of scripture that I’m praying through that day. I read one passage in the morning, one at noon, and one in the evening. I’ll post the references. Feel free to look them up and pray along.

If you haven’t caught on yet I do not post devotional thoughts on Sundays or Thursdays. I’m still in the word, but I choose to reflect on the Sunday message my pastor preaches and the Wednesday night message that I deliver.

“he was looking for the kingdom of God” (Lk. 23:51)

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Have you ever been desperate to see God move?  Have you ever looked around and realized that apart from God doing something, it’s hopeless? Have you ever hoped beyond hope that God would move in a significant way in your lifetime?

Joseph did.  He was looking for the kingdom of God.  Then one day on the worst day in history Joseph did something that put him right in the middle of seeing the kingdom of God come together.

You see He put the body of Jesus in his tomb.  When it looked like all was lost he did the right thing.  He provided a burial for the peasant that everyone had thought was the Messiah.  He gave his tomb to Jesus.

Even on a terrible day, Joseph was prepared to be busy doing something.  He was going to take care of the body of this peasant and put him in his own tomb.  Joseph was a man of action.

I guess that looking really involves doing.  Looking for the kingdom of God isn’t sitting on the sidelines hoping to see a miracle or something.  That was what Herod was doing and he wasn’t looking for the kingdom of God.  He just wanted a show.

Joseph was looking and as he was looking he was doing.  His action put him in the middle of the kingdom of God.

Father,

I am seeking to follow you today.  I don’t want to be a spectator.  help me to do even small and menial tasks as unto you today.  Thank you for my salvation that was accomplished on the cross.  Use me to tell others about you today.