Devotionals Topical Index Up

A topical index of devotionals posted on this blog is now available. Check it out!

Committed

“And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.”  – Matthew 28:20

God’s level of commitment to humanity is mind-blowing.  Even before Creation, God foreknew that Man would sin, and yet God not only chose to create Man, but God had already crafted the plan to redeem Man from sin.  The hands of Christ that created the universe were already nail-scarred.

God is true to His word.  He covenanted with Man that He would triumph over evil.  Back in the Garden of Eden, God promised that He would “put enmity between [Satan] and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”  Genesis 3:15.  Later, God made this covenant with Abraham:

“I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”

Genesis 12:2-3.  But Man failed to fulfill its end of the arrangement and rebelled again.  Therefore, God made a new covenant:

“The time is coming,” declares the LORD,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah.

It will not be like the covenant
I made with their forefathers
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them,”
declares the LORD.

“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time,” declares the LORD.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.

No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the LORD.

“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”

Jeremiah 31:31-34.  This covenant does not change God’s redemption plan.  Actually, the covenant affirms God’s previous covenants despite the fact that Man broke the former covenant.  Again, this shows the heart of God for Man, and in more ways than just that God wants to save humanity.  God’s mission is to exterminate evil, and He intends us to be part of that mission.

Sadly, Man did not trust God enough to partner with Him.  Man turned away from God.  Man was not interested in the mission of God and instead chased after selfish desires.  In the face of Man’s rejection of the covenant, God took it upon Himself to carry the mission forward.  But look!  The way He carries out the mission still includes humanity.  God sent His Son to become human.  It was God who died on the Cross, but also a human.  God said Man would be integral to the redemption plan, and He never strayed from that commitment.  God’s redemption plan shall not fail.

So when Jesus told his disciples that he would be with them always to the end of the age, he was not merely saying nice words before ascending into heaven.  He was reminding them of God’s commitment to the redemption plan.  Jesus’ death and resurrection was the plan’s climax.  However, there is work to be done after the resurrection, and Jesus would continue to see the mission through to the end.  With whom would Jesus partner in bringing the mission to completion?  The Church.  See how committed God is to humanity?

Which brings us to the subject of marriage.  The hue and cry these days among Christian conservatives is that same-sex unions are an affront to the institution of marriage and must be stopped.  They are correct, at least in aim.  What has been lacking though is an articulation of the theology of marriage–and by theology, I don’t mean discourse of an academic nature.  I mean, does marriage really matter to God?  And if it does, why?  Why should anyone care what the Bible says about marriage?  Does God truly care that much about marriage that it should be one of the defining issues around which Christians rally?  Or is the concept of same-sex marriage offensive simply because it is anti-intuitive?

The explanation I’ve often heard is that marriage is an institution created by God, and therefore holy.  True.  That explains “what” marriage is, but it doesn’t answer the “why” question.  Why did God create marriage?  Why is marriage so important?

Marriage is the very expression of God’s love.  You could say that marriage is an object lesson of God’s love for humanity.  God’s covenant relationship with humanity is in the nature of marriage.  The Bible often uses marriage to describe the relationship between God and human to marriage (think Song of Solomon and the prophetic messages of Hosea and Jeremiah, among others).  The relationship between Christ and the Church is likened to that between the bridegroom and his bride.   Ephesians 5:25-32.  Marriage demonstrates the love that God has for man, the crown jewel of His creation.  Marriage is about commitment to a covenant, even when one spouse betrays the other, as Man did to God.  God’s unwavering commitment to His covenant with Man is the model of what the marriage relationship is about.

This tells us that God knows a thing or two about marriage.  Not only did God create marriage, but He expresses His nature through marriage.  So what God says about marriage is pretty important.  He is the most authoritative source there is on the subject.  And He says that marriage is to be between a man and a woman (the rationale for that design is the subject of an earlier post) .  That means that marriage between people of the same gender is not part of His design.  Same-sex marriage is a counterfeit.

What happens when we redefine marriage as a union between two people of any gender is declare that God’s definition of marriage isn’t good enough.  That’s not just a rejection of the institution of marriage.  It’s a rejection of God.  It’s saying, “God, you don’t know what you’re saying about the subject of marriage.  You can have your definition, but I’ll have mine.”  That kind of attitude is the height of arrogance.  It’s exactly that pattern of thought that induced Adam and Eve to sin.  They thought, “What God said about the tree might not be true.  Perhaps there’s an exception.  Let’s do it our way – God is either wrong, or He won’t mind.”  No, what God says matters.  He is committed to His word.  He is committed to us.  His level of commitment should convince us of the truth of what He says and His authority to say it.

We Are Family

“Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’”  — Galatians 4:6

If we were to name the things we are thankful for, among friends and our health, many of us would include family on the list.  Our families certainly give us reason to be thankful  (though it might not feel like it at times).  They are such an important part of our lives.

The warmth and support we draw from our earthly family gives us just a glimpse of the delight of being part of a spiritual family.  By receiving the free gift of salvation given to us by Jesus, we become adopted sons and daughters of God.  We get to call God our father and Jesus our brother.  Our Heavenly Father has our back.  He is there to mentor us, to give guidance when we ask for it, and discipline us when we need it.  He delights in us as a father delights in his sons and daughters.  His power over sin is our inheritance. And deep in our souls, we can finally say we “belong.”  We are accepted and loved, part of something more amazing than we can imagine.  We are family.

This Thanksgiving, give thanks for your family — in more ways than one.

 

Unfailing Love

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  — Romans 5:8

At a recent business awards dinner, the winner of the top award was asked by the emcee what drove him to succeed as a businessman.  The winner replied, “Fear of failure. . . . I just cannot fail.”

He’s not alone.  To some degree or another, fear of failure is a motivating force for us.  No one enjoys the humiliation and negative consequences that come with failing to meet a standard, whether it is set by ourselves or someone else.  Which makes the love of Christ all the more spectacular.  The reality is that we all have failed and will continue to fail.  None of us is perfect.  Jesus knows that.  He knows every failure in our past, and he knows the failures that await us in the future.  The disease of sin will never let us live up to the perfection of God — that is failure of cosmic proportions.  Despite knowing all this, Jesus still chose to die for us.  Yes, all our failures — past, present, future — were known to him when he took his place on the Cross.  Not only did Jesus die in spite of our failures, but he died because of our failures so that we can be made perfect in God’s eyes.  That’s how seriously God loves us.

Let us be driven not by fear of failure, but by gratitude for grace.

Eclipsed by Glory

There’s a line from David Crowder’s song How He Loves Us that’s been staying on my mind:

When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

I’ve been feeling kind of down lately.  There’s no one specific reason; just the combined weight of various burdens, I guess.  These lyrics remind me of what will lift me out of my doldrums.  “Afflictions eclipsed by glory” — yeah.  I’ve experienced that before.  I can remember times when my outlook was grim like it is now, and then God allowed me to see His glory.  All I could think of then was Him, not me, His love for me, not my self-pity.  I’d like to get to that place again.  Any time now . . .

P.S.:  Check out Crowder’s new album, Church Music! 

Not Just Insurance

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.  When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy and went and sold all he had and bought that field.”  — Matthew 13:44

What’s the value of knowing Christ?  For some, being a Christian is like purchasing an insurance policy — a guarantee that life after death will be spent in heaven.  That’s not bad, but no one ever gets excited about insurance.  Try singing the praises of your auto insurance policy sometime, and see if others won’t call you looney.

Jesus explained that citizenship in the kingdom of heaven is precious. Priceless, in fact.  Like a a field containing hidden treasure, the kingdom of heaven is worth giving up everything we have that we might possess it.  Why?  Not just because of the kingdom of heaven itself.  It’s the King of the kingdom that matters most!  He is the one who gives us a new life that we can start living immediately.  He is the one who frees us from the grip of sin.  He is the one who gives us guidance and counsel in the midst of chaos.  There’s nothing sweeter than knowing the King who graciously loves us.  Now, that’s worth singing praises about!

Tireless Hope

“Do you not know?  Have you not heard?   The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.   He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.”  — Isaiah 40:28

When starting a program of strenuous exercise, it’s a good idea to do it with a partner.  Better yet, geta  partner with more endurance than you so that you will have someone to motivate you when you’re ready to quit.

Isaiah 40 speaks of God as the perfect partner.  In the chapter, we find the people of Israel in a woeful state.  Because they fell away from God, he withdrew his protective hand, and they were conquered by other nations and exiled from their homelands.  No doubt hope was in short supply.  But God tenderly reminded His people that He is the everlasting God.  He does not grow tired or weary, and he has a plan.  If they put their hope in Him, they too would renew their strength.  “They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”  Isaiah 40:31.   God was reminding His people that he ran alongside them.  From that, they should draw hope.

Life is the ultimate endurance test.  In times when you’re drained of energy and hope, who will motivate you then?  Have you asked God to be your partner?  Will you draw hope from him running alongside you?

Flawless Worship

“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”  — John 4:24 (NASB)

The majesty of God is evident in things all around us — take in the beauty of a sunrise, for example — but oftentimes we are oblivious to it.  But then there are moments when the enormity of God hits us at a gut level.  Then we realize how great God is and how utterly small and flawed we are in comparison.

We need such moments of epiphany to learn what kind of worship God deserves.  How could we ever adequately worship a God who is flawless us in every way?  The word “worship” might evoke thoughts of singing or engaging in some kind of ritual, but worship is so much more than that.  Singing songs of praise does not begin to be worship God in the way he deserves.  Nor does taking part in ceremonies or keeping religious rules.  Worship by human effort is, ultimately, human.  Worship fit for God is inspired by the Spirit of God.  Complete submission to the Spirit is what molds us into instruments of worship fit for the King.

It’s the Place to Be

“Now remain in my love.”  — John 15:9b

Most decisions we face each day present us with choices that have either loving or unloving implications.  Which will we choose?  Jesus counsels us to remain in his love.  Remaining in his love is different from having syrupy feelings for Jesus.  Jesus is presenting a choice of residences.  We could live in a world ruled by hatred and brokenness.  That is the realm of sin.  Or, we could live in a world where God’s unconditional love is the governing standard.  That is where Jesus resides.  Jesus advises us to live in his world, and not just that, but to remain there.

So when enemies provoke us to respond in anger, remain in his love.  When we are tempted to further our interests at the expense of others, remain in his love.  In times when our faith in God’s goodness is attacked, resolve to remain in his love.  You might not feel like it.  In the moment, you might want to live elsewhere.  But really, there is no better place to be than God’s love.

The Perfect Giver

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”  — James 1:17

A person’s idea of a blessing might be very different from God’s.  While waiting for a blessing to come, one might dream of what the blessing will be like.  “Oh, it will come in this way,” or “God must bless me in this area of my life or I shall not be satisfied.”  Be careful of fantasizing about how God will bless, down to the color of the gift wrap and the ribbons, so to speak.

God gives good and perfect gifts.  What makes a gift perfect is usually beyond our ability to grasp.  Human notions of blessing are like child’s play to an infinite God.  The intensity of desire for a certain blessing can hinder our ability to evaluate objectively whether the blessing we want (and the way we want it) is truly good.  Thankfully, God will  bless us a way that is good to the core, not necessarily in the way that we want.  It might be that the blessing, to be perfect, must come from a direction you did not expect.  The timetable for receiving the gift could be longer than what you consider ideal.  It might even be His plan to bless you in an area you did not think you were in need because He knows this blessing must come before the one you crave.

The key is this: Focus your anticipation not on the gift, but on the goodness of the Giver.

The Father’s Blessing

On my walk in the neighborhood park this afternoon, I spotted a father picking up his son from what appeared to be basketball practice.  The kid was about 10 years old.  He was dressed in a snazzy outfit, complete with jersey and droopy basketball shorts.  I can only imagine how much the kid wanted to be like his favorite basketball star (I couldn’t tell which basketball player’s name was stitched on his jersey).  The kid walked with a swagger, projecting about as much bravado as a 10-year old could muster.  As father and son walked side by side, I saw the father place his hands on son’s shoulder.  “I’m proud of you,” the father’s gesture seemed to say.  The son responded by nudging his head ever so slightly into his father’s side in an embrace.  His father’s approval gave him more confidence than a jersey could ever inspire.

That got me thinking — how often do we act like the son did?  In comparison to our heavenly Father, aren’t we just like powerless children?  Yet, we try to build up our self-confidence in artificial ways.  We puff out our chests, tout our titles, dress ourselves in the accouterments of power and wealth.  We work hard to get others to like us.   We feed on their approval.  None of that actually works.  In the end, it’s the approval of our heavenly Father that makes us confident of who we are.  Thank God that if we receive Christ as Savior, God looks upon us and sees Jesus.  Does He approve of Jesus?  Oh, you better believe it.