this lasts about 10 minutes
|
Tag Archives: Devotional
Psalm 66
This seems to go right along with today’s reflections on Manufacturing Hope.
Psalm 66
1 Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;
2 Sing the glory of His name;
Make His praise glorious.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are Your works!
Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will give feigned obedience to You.
4 “All the earth will worship You,
And will sing praises to You;
They will sing praises to Your name.” Selah.
5 Come and see the works of God,
Who is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men.
6 He turned the sea into dry land;
They passed through the river on foot;
There let us rejoice in Him!
7 He rules by His might forever;
His eyes keep watch on the nations;
Let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.
8 Bless our God, O peoples,
And sound His praise abroad,
9 Who keeps us in life
And does not allow our feet to slip.
10 For You have tried us, O God;
You have refined us as silver is refined.
11 You brought us into the net;
You laid an oppressive burden upon our loins.
12 You made men ride over our heads;
We went through fire and through water,
Yet You brought us out into a place of abundance.
13 I shall come into Your house with burnt offerings;
I shall pay You my vows,
14 Which my lips uttered
And my mouth spoke when I was in distress.
15 I shall offer to You burnt offerings of fat beasts,
With the smoke of rams;
I shall make an offering of bulls with male goats. Selah.
16 Come and hear, all who fear God,
And I will tell of what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
And He was extolled with my tongue.
18 If I regard wickedness in my heart,
The Lord will not hear;
19 But certainly God has heard;
He has given heed to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God,
Who has not turned away my prayer
Nor His lovingkindness from me.
Manufacturing Hope
In my devotion today I had these thoughts and prayers.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Cor 1:3-4
And what is that comfort that we receive from God? One ought to think about that if he believes this verse to be true. What is the comfort that we receive from God in our affliction?
I do not know what it is for you, but for me I find God’s comfort in the following thoughts:
2 Cor 1:8-11 For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; 9 indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves…
What was Paul’s predicament? Paul describes a very serious and painful experience both physical and emotional – “beyond our strength” he says. Notice it isn’t just “beyond his strength” but “beyond our strength”! It would be one thing to be alone and outdone; it’s a whole new level of despair when your whole team is massacred and lying on the field dead! His whole support system had been wiped out.
Paul says, “we despaired even of life.” What does that mean? Think about it and come up with your own answer. Then after you have done that ask if that is characteristic of your own trial; have you despaired even of life. Is your trial worse than his or less than his?
Now, why had this great torment come upon Paul and his companions? Why would God allow this to happen to people who had dedicated their lives to serving Him?
In their case it was…
…so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; 10 who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope.
God put Paul and his friends through enormous trials to learn just two things. First, you can’t do it by yourselves. Secondly, God can do the impossible!
They had proof that this was true. They knew God had raised the dead. Upon that solitary fact alone they found strength and hope and life. So much so that in the midst of this severe trial Paul was able to crawl out from underneath it, climbed up on top of it, and encourage everyone else to move forward! He wasn’t dying under the sheer weight of the trial; he was living.
I get this picture of this skinny little running back getting gang tackled on the football field. As he begins to collapse under the enormous weight and blows of the opposing team he remembers “God who raises the dead.” He then miraculously finds a little opening from underneath that pile and squirts out and runs away from them. Not only did he overcome the enormous weight of a team but he lifted a large number of fans off their seats as well!
Such is the power of this one single fact – God raises the dead.
Later in this same letter Paul says again how this fact kept him going.
2 Cor 4:7-10 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; 8 we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
If we have the hope of eternal life within ourselves, if we know that God raised Jesus from the dead, then how can we not have this same attitude toward the trials we face? Is God with us or not? If He is with us then…
…He will yet deliver us…2 Cor 1:10
How will this come about? Look at the next verse.
11 you also joining in helping us through your prayers…
It would be through prayer. Our prayers help the afflicted.
11…so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for
the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.
Notice the source of the favor that had come upon Paul. It was through the prayers of many.
I may not be able to do much, but I can pray. Yet one of the most neglected things I do is pray. I am challenged by this to pray and to pray more fervently.
I imagine God delights to hear our prayers and is eager to answer them as they come in agreement with His desire and will. Is He not glorified in this way?
Reflections on James 3:1-12
Memorize
Passage #1
The prudent sees the evil and hides himself, but the naive go on,
and are punished for it.
Did I recall this passage correctly? No
Passage #2
Psalm 15
1 O Lord, who may abide in Thy tent? Who may dwell on Thy holy hill? 2 He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart. 3 He does not slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; 4 In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord; he swears to his own hurt, and does not change; 5 He does not put out his money at interest, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.
Did I recall this passage correctly? No
Passage #3
Luther Statement
If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking I am not confessing Christ however boldly I may be professing Christ. Wherever the battle rages there the loyalty of the soldier is proved and to be steady on all the battlefield besides is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that one point.
Did I recall this passage correctly? Yes
Passage #4
Start memorizing 1 Thess 4:3-8.
I am writing this passage out daily until I become familiar with it. Repetition
helps the memory.
Did I recall this passage correctly? n/a
Scripture Reading
| The Message | NASB |
|---|---|
| 3 Don’t be in any rush to become a teacher, my friends. Teaching is highly responsible work. Teachers are held to the strictest standards. 2 And none of us is perfectly qualified. We get it wrong nearly every time we open our mouths. If you could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, you’d have a perfect person, in perfect control of life.
3 A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. 4 A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. 5 A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything — or destroy it! It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. 6 A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell. 7 This is scary: You can tame a tiger, 8 but you can’t tame a tongue — it’s never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. 9 With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. 10 Curses and blessings out of the same mouth! My friends, this can’t go on. 11 A spring doesn’t gush fresh water one day and brackish the next, does it? 12 Apple trees don’t bear strawberries, do they? Raspberry bushes don’t bear apples, do they? You’re not going to dip into a polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear, cool water, are you? |
3 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. 3 Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. 4 Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. 5 So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things.
See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. 7 For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. 8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; 10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. 11 Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh. |
Reflections
Sticks and stones may break my bones and wicked words will do even more harm.
This past week I have struggled to keep my own tongue and have been hurt by another’s. James goes to great lengths to illustrate the tremendous power and damage the tongue can have. How many illustrations does he give?
I concur with his assessment of the tongue, but what are we to do James?
Maybe his point is found in his opening words in this passage; don’t become a teacher unless you have a good deal of self-control. An easy road to humility is to take a look or listen to your tongue.
How well do I control my tongue; well enough to be a teacher?
The teachers that have made the biggest impact upon me have been those with the highest level of character.
Why I memorize. It challenges my mind. I find these statements helpful in my fight for truth and morality both within and without my life.
Reflections on James 2:14-26
Memorize
Passage #1
The prudent sees the evil and hides himself, but the naive go on, and are punished for it.
Did I recall this passage correctly? No
Passage #3
Luther Statement
If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking I am not confessing Christ however boldly I may be professing Christ. Wherever the battle rages there the loyalty of the soldier is proved and to be steady on all the battlefield besides is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that one point.
Did I recall this passage correctly? Yes
Passage #4
Start memorizing 1 Thess 4:3-8.
I wrote this out phrase by phrase correcting my mistakes along the way. Repetition helps the memory.
Did I recall this passage correctly? n/a
Scripture Reading
| The Message | NASB |
|---|---|
| 14 Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? 15 For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved 16 and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup — where does that get you? 17 Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?
18 I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, “Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I’ll handle the works department.” Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove. 19 Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That’s just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? 20 Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands? 21 Wasn’t our ancestor Abraham “made right with God by works” when he placed his son Isaac on the sacrificial altar? 22 Isn’t it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are “works of faith”? 23 The full meaning of “believe” in the Scripture sentence, “Abraham believed God and was set right with God,” includes his action. It’s that mesh of believing and acting that got Abraham named “God’s friend.” 24 Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works? 25 The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn’t her action in hiding God’s spies and helping them escape — that seamless unity of believing and doing — what counted with God? 26 The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse. |
14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
18 But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” 19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. |
Reflections
James cuts through the hypocrisy and preserves true Christianity. While most professing Christians “learn all the right words but never do anything” James sets the matter straight. His brother taught the same thing.
Luke 6:46-49
46 Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not DO what I say? 47 “Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words AND ACTS ON THEM, I will show you whom he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 “But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”
John says it this way.
1 John 1:5-8
5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 IF WE SAY that we have fellowship with Him and yet WALK IN THE DARKNESS, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but IF WE WALK in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
He is pretty much saying we are not a Christian.
1 John 2:5-6
By this we know that we are in Him: 6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
Paul understood the need to couple the two as do I and like Paul, my cry is the same; how I need help making my walk match my talk.
I truly believe that if a few more “Christians” would convert their profession into practice there would be less war and more peace.
Rom 7:15
15 For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.
Rom 7:24
24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?
Why I memorize. It challenges my mind. I find these statements helpful in my fight for truth and morality both within and without my life.
Reflections on James 2:5-13
Memorize
Passage #1
The prudent sees the evil coming and hides himself, but the naive go on, and are punished for it.
Did I recall this passage correctly? No
Passage #2
Psalms 15
Did I recall this passage correctly? Yes
Passage #3
Luther Statement
If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking I am not confessing Christ however boldly I may be professing Christ. Wherever the battle rages there the loyalty of the soldier is proved and to be steady on all the battlefield besides is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that one point.
Did I recall this passage correctly? Yes
Scripture Reading
| The Message | NASB |
|---|---|
| 5 Listen, dear friends. Isn’t it clear by now that God operates quite differently? He chose the world’s down-and-out as the kingdom’s first citizens, with full rights and privileges. This kingdom is promised to anyone who loves God. 6 And here you are abusing these same citizens! Isn’t it the high and mighty who exploit you, who use the courts to rob you blind? 7 Aren’t they the ones who scorn the new name — “Christian” — used in your baptisms? 8 You do well when you complete the Royal Rule of the Scriptures: “Love others as you love yourself.” 9 But if you play up to these so-called important people, you go against the Rule and stand convicted by it. 10 You can’t pick and choose in these things, specializing in keeping one or two things in God’s law and ignoring others. 11 The same God who said, “Don’t commit adultery,” also said, “Don’t murder.” If you don’t commit adultery but go ahead and murder, do you think your non-adultery will cancel out your murder? No, you’re a murderer, period. 12 Talk and act like a person expecting to be judged by the Rule that sets us free. 13 For if you refuse to act kindly, you can hardly expect to be treated kindly. Kind mercy wins over harsh judgment every time. |
5 Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? 7 Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called? 8 If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. 11 For He who said, “DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,” also said, “DO NOT COMMIT MURDER.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. |
Reflections
Some of this is easy to understand and some of it hard.
Note the remarks about the tyrannical rich.
Is there a difference in meaning between “the royal law” and “the law of liberty”?
Is this a rebuke to those that clung to the idea that keeping the Law saves?
Who is James addressing this letter to?
Can mercy be shown without first entering the halls of justice?
Why Blog Devotionals? I do this for accountability and for my
family’s benefit.
Reflections on James 2:1-4
Memorize
Passage #1
The prudent sees the evil coming and hides himself, but the naive continue on, and are punished for it.
Did I recall this passage correctly? No
Passage #2
Luther
If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Wherever the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved and to be steady on all the battlefield besides is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that one point.
Did I recall this passage correctly? Yes
Passage #4
Start memorizing 1 Thess 4:3-8.
I wrote this out phrase by phrase correcting my mistakes along the way. Repetition helps the memory
Did I recall this passage correctly? n/a
Scripture Reading
| The Message | NASB |
|---|---|
| 1 My dear friends, don’t let public opinion influence how you live out our glorious, Christ-originated faith. 2 If a man enters your church wearing an expensive suit, and a street person wearing rags comes in right after him, 3 and you say to the man in the suit, “Sit here, sir; this is the best seat in the house!” and either ignore the street person or say, “Better sit here in the back row,” 4 haven’t you segregated God’s children and proved that you are judges who can’t be trusted? |
1 My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. 2 For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, 3 and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? |
Reflections
Pay Special Attention to the one who is not wearing the fine clothes.
Why I memorize. It challenges my mind. I find these statements helpful in my fight for truth and morality both within and without my life.