Final Reminders

Job 16-17

Psalm 97

Hebrews 13

-Devotion by Paula Kirkpatrick (originally posted for SeekGrowLove on Oct 27, 2021)

When children finish high school, and they go off to college or to live on their own for the first time, those frenzied final weeks before leaving are usually a flurry of activities.  To-do lists are checked off and then added to, last minute shopping trips become a daily occurrence, and packing everything needed seems an impossible task.  Finally, the day arrives, and the slightly panicked parents are often confronted with this stark realization:  did I prepare them sufficiently for the challenges they will face in life?  And so ensues final reminders, gentle warnings, and many sentences starting with “Don’t forget,” or “Remember.”  The parents want the best experience for their children at college and in life.

The writer of Hebrews also desires the best outcome for his dear readers, his spiritual children, as he finishes his letter.  Of course, that best outcome is eternal life in the Kingdom of God.  Thus, Hebrews 13 concludes with straightforward instruction to reach this prize.

Consider the direct instructions found in verses 1-7, and the reasons WHY these instructions are important.  

  • “Keep on loving each other as brothers”
  • “Do not neglect hospitality to strangers—(WHY?)—”for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.”
  • “Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are badly treated—(WHY?) – since you yourselves also are in the body.”
  •  “Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; – (WHY?) – for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.”
  • “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; – (WHY?) – for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever abandon you.”
  • “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; – (WHY?) – considering the result of their way of life, imitate their faith.”

Verse 17 goes hand in hand with verse 7.  “Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, – (WHY?) – because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.”

Hebrews 13:8 can be a stand-alone statement and beloved promise, easy to memorize (and it should be) and underlined in your Bible.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

What an assurance to us that Jesus has not changed and will not change—he is our Savior and coming King.  Perhaps the writer felt a plain statement of our basic hope was warranted after his beginning list of directives. 

Building on that simple reassurance, verse 9 warns the early Christians and us today, not to “be carried away by varied and strange teachings,” just as parents might advise their departing children—stay true to your foundation, the principles of your upbringing.  It is firm, it is solid, it will keep you grounded. 

Now, remember our reading from Hebrews 10 a few days ago. 

“But He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God,waiting from that time onward until His enemies are made a footstool for His feet. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” (Heb. 10:12-14)

Continuing in Hebrews 13, verses 15-16 should be OUR response for this sacrifice. 

 “Through Him then, let’s continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips praising His name.  And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”

Our Salvation Gift from God:

Jesus—ONE SACRIFICE for all time

Our Response:

CONTINUAL SACRIFICE of

  • Praise
  • Doing good
  • Sharing

As the end of verse 16 says, “for with such SACRIFICES God is pleased.”

The writer concludes with a benediction or ending prayer in verses 20 and 21 that sums up his thoughts in this chapter. 

“Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, that is, Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

This prayer serves as the perfect final reminder for young adults off to college, and for each one of us. 

Reflection Questions

  1. What reminders would you pass on to your children (biological, adopted and spiritual children)? What spiritual instruction do you want them to hear one more time?
  2. What did you need to hear again (or for the first time) from Hebrews 13?
  3. What do you love about Jesus’ once for all sacrifice? What will your continual sacrifice look like today?

Prayer

“Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, that is, Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

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Looking Unto Jesus the Captain of Our Salvation

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith
Job 14-15
Psalm 96
Hebrews 12

-Devotion by Tom Siderius (MI)

We just returned from General Conference in Atlanta and wonderful fellowship with all the people that were there.  The theme of the conference is “Pillars and Pathways”.  As we read the eleventh chapter of Hebrews yesterday, we were shown what the pillars of faith from the Old Testament had stood for and with.  The pillars of our faith run back to Abraham who believed God and it was counted for righteousness because of his faith.  As we begin chapter twelve the focus turns to the central theme of the whole Old Testament.  All this faithfulness from the believer in the OT brought us to Christ who is the perfect representative of the Father who formed him and filled him with the holy spirit giving him power to do God’s will.

Look together at the first verses of chapter 12:

Hebrews 12:1-3(NLT) Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.

The direction of our walk following Christ is a straight path of endurance that we follow as our champion and captain of salvation goes before us showing us the way to walk.  The path he has given us is straight and direct, going to the Father God that has called us to a life of faith and service.

Matthew 6:22(NKJV) The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.

What we focus our eyes and our mind on will be the things that come into our thoughts and hearts.  The word “good” in verse Matt 6:22 can also be translated as “simple” or “straight”.  When our eye is looking “straight” at our champion, and we follow him in this race of life our path will be straight and our way direct.  Following Jesus is a simple path, he has shown us the way.  For our lives, families, fellowships and churches the path has been given to us by the pillars of our faith, and Jesus Christ has shown us the path to follow. 

When our eye is simple, following Jesus, our whole life will be filled with the light of God’s presence and fellowship with us.

Psalms 96:1-4(NLT) Sing a new song to the LORD!
Let the whole earth sing to the LORD!
2 Sing to the LORD; praise his name.
Each day proclaim the good news that he saves.
3 Publish his glorious deeds among the nations.
Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.
4 Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise!

Psalms 96:11-13(NLT) Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice!
Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise!
12 Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy!
Let the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the LORD, for he is coming!
He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with justice,
and the nations with his truth.

All the peoples of the earth will be judged by the Word of God spoken to us by the pillars of our faith, and by our Savior Jesus Christ. 

Reflection Questions

  1. What Old Testament pillars of faith do you love to look to for example, encouragement and instruction? Who in your life has been a pillar of faith for you, teaching you the wonderful words of God and what to do with them?
  2. What do you love about Jesus? What have you learned from him? How would you describe the path he is setting before you?
  3. Would you describe your eyesight as good, simple and straight, following Jesus to the Father? Is anything clouding your vision or is anything in your peripheral vision distracting you from good, simple and straight vision following Jesus? How can you improve your eyesight?

Prayer

Father God, we reach out to follow your champion of faith that is before us.  Make our eyes and hearts straight to follow him.  Give us this day the bread of our need and keep us from turning to the right or left away from You.  We sing Your praises from our hearts of joy that You have given us.  In the name of the champion of our faith, Jesus Christ we pray.

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Title Deed to Our Hope

Job 12-13

Psalm 96

Hebrews 11

-Devotion by Tom Siderius(MI)

Hebrews 11:1-3(NLT) Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. 2 Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.
3 By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.

Hebrews 11:1(AMP) Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].

Faith is our complete believing trust in the Word of God and it’s truth. It  comes from mixing the personal believing of our hearts with the trustworthy and perfect words which God has given for us to know and understand.  When we completely trust the Word in our hearts then we will act in accordance with that trust.  This is why the Amplified Bible shows the phrase “title deed” to things prayed for and hoped for.

If I have the title deed for my farm in my hands do I have the farm in my hands?  No it is impossible to have the farm that way.  But the reality is that when we have the deed with Tom and Sandy written on it, with no lien or obligations connected with it, we have the farm.

This is the way that we trust God in our hearts and then receive the promise for the things that God has made.  Ephesians 1 gives us another assurance of God’s plan.

Ephesians 1:4-5(NLT) Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

God chose you before the foundation of the earth!  Wow!! And it says that it gave Him great pleasure to save you in Christ. Double Wow!!  Then we get a guarantee even better.

Ephesians 1:13-14(NLT) And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

Have you believed God in your heart about what God has testified about Christ?

Did you receive the gift of holy spirit when you believed and became God’s child?

What does that mean for your life?

We have received the title deed and seal of promise to the future hope of Christ’s rulership and kingdom to come.  You have the proof in your hands that what God has said will come to pass in the future.  The faithful of the past all believed this and received the same sure promises. Please read Hebrews 11 for the rest of the story.

Hebrews 11:13-16(NLT) All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. 14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. 15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. 16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

The title deed we have received is the deed to a future with God and a place to live in righteousness and peace with our Savior Jesus Christ and his and our Father God.  As you go from here be the child of God that you are with all the rights and privileges that come from the trust that God is faithful to that which He has promised and performed.

Reflection Questions

See Questions above – and also – Where do you keep your title deed of faith?

Are you excited by the future hope you have received?

Prayer

Father please be with us this day, and we thank you for the bread of our need as we walk with You.  Thank you for the kingdom to come, that what You have promised will come to pass.  Please give us living hearts of faith and trust in You in all we do.  God bless the prayer and works of our lives to honor You.  Love in Christ, your children

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God is Worthy of Our Praise and There Is No Other

Job 10-11

Psalm 95

Hebrews 10

-Devotion by Tom Siderius (MI)

What a great day to be in Christ and have the praise of our Father on our lips and in our hearts.  Is there truly anything else we can do for God?  Our gifts to Him can only be from our hearts and lips.   Psalm 95 gives us the beautiful music of this praise of our hearts.

Psalms 95:1-7(NLT) Come, let us sing to the LORD!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come to him with thanksgiving.
Let us sing psalms of praise to him.
3 For the LORD is a great God,
a great King above all gods.
4 He holds in his hands the depths of the earth
and the mightiest mountains.
5 The sea belongs to him, for he made it.
His hands formed the dry land, too.
6 Come, let us worship and bow down.
Let us kneel before the LORD our maker,
7 for he is our God.
We are the people he watches over,
the flock under his care.

We are the flock cared for by the God who is our Shepherd and help in time of need.  Jesus is now given the power to gather the church of God today with the same care as the Father who has loved us.  He is the shepherd of our hearts and lives today.

Hebrews 2:11-15(NLT) So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. 12 For he said to God, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters. I will praise you among your assembled people.” 13 He also said, “I will put my trust in him,” that is, “I and the children God has given me.” 14 Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.

How does it feel to know that you are the child of God Almighty and the brother of the Christ who died for you.  Raised with him from the grave and set free from the chains of sin and death.  Only God and His Son are worthy of our praise.

Ephesians 1:5-11(NLT) God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. 9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan. 10 And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. 11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.

Reflection Questions

Why did God choose YOU?

What is the response of your heart to Him and our Lord Jesus Christ?

What do we need to do today?

Prayer

Father, Father, we love You so much and look in awe on all You have done for us.  We praise You with our hearts and mouths.  Be with us this day as You have promised and give us the bread and help we need to do Your will.  We love You because You first loved us. In our precious Savior’s name Jesus Christ

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The Mediator

Job 8-9

Psalm 95

Hebrews 9

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)                

            We begin our reading today with Job again arguing with his “friends”.  His buddy Bildad leads (in chapter 8) with “2′How long will you say these things, And the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?‘”, which seems to be a less-than-gracious approach at best (and pretty rude at worst) from someone who’s supposed to be your friend when you’ve hit rock bottom.  He then goes on to say that God rewards the righteous, and offers a number of helpful suggestions to Job on how to regain his righteousness, assuming that Job has become unrighteous in some way.

            Job steadfastly insists on his innocence, but points out the futility of arguing with God.  In Chapter 9 he says “5God is the One who removes the mountains, they know not how, When He overturns them in His anger; 6The One who shakes the earth out of its place, And its pillars tremble; 7The One who says for the sun not to shine, And sets a seal upon the stars; 8Who alone stretches out the heavens, And tramples down the waves of the sea;” to highlight the futility of arguing with such a powerful being, and then comes a key understanding later on in this same chapter.  This is the heart of his argument, the point of pain in his disagreement with his treatment.

            Job understands that he is just a man, a mortal human being, and that God is the creator and master of the universe.  What argument can you offer?   Job feels hard done by, and it boils down to this: “32For He is not a man as I am that I may answer Him,That we may go to court for judgment together. 33There is no adjudicator between us, Who may lay his hand upon us both.“.  He feels as if he has no recourse, there’s no one to stand between him and God and offer up a defense.

            David also, even though his tone and approach are different at the time, acknowledges this simple fact in Psalms 95: “3For Yahweh is a great God And a great King above all gods, 4In whose hand are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are His also. 5 The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land. 6Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before Yahweh our Maker 7For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand...”.  All of this is true, God is the Creator of all, the ruler of all, a great King above all, who owns the very earth we live on because He created it.  The very level of His power can be, to a tiny insignificant human, a little bit intimidating.  Enraging the Most High God is generally just not considered to be a good career plan. 

            Throughout scriptural history though, there are a few very special men who pleaded with God on behalf of others, insanely brave men who placed themself in the gap and risked their own selves for the compassion of others.  Abraham pleaded for Sodom and Gomorrah in Gen 18:23. If Moses had not interceded with God on behalf of the Israelites after the events of the golden calf in Exodus 32, we might have had a very different account in scriptures.  Very rarely, historically, a man would stand in the breach and plead with God for the sake of others.  Then Jesus came.

            So here’s a quick age test: did you ever watch an older black and white episode of Perry Mason?  What would have happened to any of his innocent clients if Perry had not taken their case?  Our reading today in Hebrews 9 explains to us fully that now we have a mediator, that we now have a new covenant, and that our mediator is the Christ: “15And for this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the trespasses that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”.  Hebrews 9 goes on to list a number of the differences between the old and the new covenants, and explain how and why the new covenant is better.  A very good portion of Hebrews is written for the express purpose of showing that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ, whom God had chosen from among the people (see Heb 5) to become the high priest and mediator of the new covenant.  He’s representing us as a mediator right now, in the Courts of Heaven (see Aug 5 devotion for a better understanding of the Courts).

            Think about this for a moment.  If Jesus had succumbed to temptation in the wilderness, would we be reading about Jesus today in scripture?  Jesus became our mediator specifically because of his complete devotion and utter obedience to God.  We know that sin and death entered the world through the actions and disobedience of one man (Adam), and we also know that through the actions and obedience of one man (Jesus) that God grants us grace and life (Romans 5).  It specifically says that in Romans 5, “through one man”, go read it.  I have some friends of a more “complex” interpretation of scripture that this is a hugely difficult text for, because they say “how could a mere man atone for the sins of the world?“, and they will usually offer the rationalization of “oh, well that was because when he died it was as a man…” as an argument (implying that after the resurrection and ascension, Jesus wasn’t a man any longer).

            That argument doesn’t hold water though.  Scripture is very clear, that there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim 2:5).  This was written by Paul in @62-65 AD.  That’s about 30 years after Jesus died and was raised again by God, well after the ascension of the Christ.  What’s the holdup?  What’s wrong with Paul, doesn’t he understand who Jesus was?  The answer is clearly yes, Paul has a very clear understanding of who Jesus was but today’s modern orthodox understanding has become greatly confused except by a very lucky few:  Jesus was born as a man, died as a man, and sits now even still at the right hand of the Ancient of days as a man (see Dan 7:13-14).  A man glorified by God, but a man nonetheless.

            That is the reason Jesus is qualified to act as our high priest (for every high priest is taken from among men, Heb 5:1), and being a man is the only reason he is qualified to act as a mediator between God and the other humans, because he went through the exact same trials and temptations that we go through every day.  The difference is, our mediator, our high priest…he passed every test.  He was obedient, even unto death (and beyond).  He is the perfect role model of humanity, and teaches us the way of complete love and obedience to the Father, while acting on our behalf as a compassionate and understanding intercessor between us and God.  God is an ultimately fair and righteous judge, but I am still very thankful to have Jesus to plead my case before the Father.  I can only speak for myself, but I need all the help I can get.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

Have you ever had to go to court  (or seen a court trial taking place on tv)?  Do the defendants usually fare better or worse without representation?

We have a great big God, and God is loving and fair, but have you ever considered how blessed we are that we have a mediator who speaks to God on our behalf when we fall short?

PRAYER

Father God, you are just and fair.  You have created us, and loved us, and we have been rebellious and proud.  Please forgive us.  Thank you for sending us Jesus, help us to follow his instructions, please grant us your spirit and teach us wisdom.  In Jesus name, Amen.

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What is man, that You magnify him?

*Job 6-7

Psalm 94

Hebrews 8

 -Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            I’ve  been married for 28 years now, and even in the depths of my dumbness (which as mentioned previously in other devotions, can run pretty deep), one of the things I learned early on in the relationship is that we hear and react to conversation differently.  For the longest time this caused conflict, because when a problem is presented to me (eg, “I feel like I’m being unproductive at work”), my problem-solving skills as a man immediately kick in and I started proposing a (very helpful, in my opinion) list of solutions that would help my wife overcome the “problem” of X (in this example, being unproductive).  “Oh, a problem? That’s what I do, I’m a manly man, I fix stuff! Let me give you a list of solutions.”  If you’re laughing out loud right now, you’ve been there too, and know exactly where this is going.

            As I presented my (again, extremely helpful) list of solutions to my wife, I could see the stormclouds gathering in her expression.  When the storm burst, she would always exclaim something along the lines of “I don’t want you to fix it! I just want you to listen!”.   The keyword in the beginning of her statement, that I didn’t key in on, was “I feel.”.  She just wanted me to listen to, understand, and sympathize with her feelings.  What I heard instead was, “here’s a problem I need your help resolving.”, which is not at all what she was saying.  It’s just a social (and perhaps cultural) difference in how we’re wired as men and women.  Sometimes, life is hard, and we just want a little empathy.

            This sounds like exactly what was going on in the early chapters of Job.  His friends are all offering an extremely helpful list of solutions (eg, “God is good to the just and only punishes the wicked, what did you do? let’s talk about it, and maybe we can fix you”…), but what Job needs is just a little bit of empathy.  In our reading of Job 6-7 this morning, we can really see the stormclouds bursting as Job replies to his friends “I don’t need you to fix me, I just want you to listen!” (obviously paraphrased).

            Why do bad things happen to good people?  Why would God allow X to happen to this person?  These are great questions, and cause a lot of people to reject God, but we know that “time and chance happen to all men” (Ecc 9:11).  We also know that God tests men (James 1:3, 1 Pet 1:7), and that the reason for this testing is not only to gauge where we’re at spiritually, but to refine us and provide spiritual growth (Prov 17:3, Rom 5: 3-4).  God disciplines those he loves (Heb 12:6, Rev 3:19), just like a parent disciplines their child at times, in order to correct their behavior.  Here’s the thing, nobody likes to be tested.  It’s usually stressful physically, mentally, and emotionally.    Tests are, by their nature, testing.  Here are a couple deep points to consider though: we do not advance without tests, and we usually don’t get the test results immediately.  You may not even get the results in this lifetime, but keep in mind: *beeeep* this is a test, this is only a test.

            In Job 7:7-8, Job laments his fleeting mortality and then asks God a question in 7:17-18: “17What is man that You magnify him, And that You set Your heart on him, 18That You examine him every morning And test him every moment?” (LSB).  In v19, Job then asks “Will You never turn Your gaze away from me, ,,,” because he’s basically saying “I’m an  insignificant man, why are you testing me so hard?”.  Interestingly, in Psalms 8:4, David asks the same exact question: “What is man that You remember him, And the son of man that You care for him?” but when David asks it, it’s out of a devout awe of God, an awestruck attempt at understanding why God would show such favor to him, an insignificant man.  So let’s think about it for a moment: what is *man? (*by man we are clearly not talking about gender, but mankind or humanity in general, more accurately).

            In Genesis 1:26, God says “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, so that they will have dominion …”. (LSB, See 8/5/26 devotion on my opinion why God says “us” here, btw).  So, God made us in His image so that we would have dominion on the earth.  That is a much bigger deal than most people think.  Consider this for a moment: rulers both ancient and recent alike  put their “stamp” on things, in order to claim ownership.  In ancient times, one of the first things a ruler/king/pharoah would do when they conquered a land would be to put up a statue of themselves in that place.  This is just a plain statement to everyone that “This is mine!”.  That’s why you’ll find all across the ancient world statues, obelisks, steles, arcs, and other various memorials.  Each one makes a specific claim, each one has specific communications it’s trying to convey, but at the end of the day what they are all saying is “MINE!”.  We see that even today.  Modern rulers don’t go in for statues as much as they used to in ancient times, but they will paste their names on large buildings, monuments, or bridges.  It’s all just a claim of ownership.

            In Psalms 24:1, it says “…The earth is Yahweh’s, as well as its fullness, The world, and those who dwell in it “.  Let’s consider that for a moment: everything, and everybody, on this planet belongs to God.  “But what about the…” Yep.  “Well, what about the…” Yep, that too.  “But surely you don’t mean…” Yep.  EVERYTHING, and EVERYBODY that are existing, have existed, or will exist on this planet belong to God, because He created us.  If you can see it, smell it, hear it, taste it, feel it, talk to it, etc…it belongs to God.  As humans, we have taken a rather proprietal view of “our stuff” and “our lives” and “our (insert anything here)” but the reality is: both we and everything that we think we own belong to God.  Everybody.  Everything.  It all belongs to God.  Full stop.

            So in answer to the question “What is man, that You magnify him?”, well, God told us at the beginning.  We are created in the image of God, because we are here as representatives of God, and we have been given dominion over this earth, in God’s name.  We’re actually a big deal, not because we are anything more than insignificant little winds passing quickly through His marvelous creation, but because He placed us here with His image so that we could represent Him.  This particular iteration of creation was created for us, and we are supposed to be representing God in it.

            So as representatives of the Most High God, as human beings who have been given dominion/rulership over this beautiful creation, a good test question might be “so, how’s that working out for you?”.  Unfortunately, as we look around at our society, at our dysfunctional systems, and our hardened hearts I think if we’re being honest the reply would be “Not great, Bob.“.  There is coming a day though, and coming very soon unless I am greatly mistaken, when the Kingdom of God will be established here on the earth.  When our king the Christ will return and cause us all to seek to represent God again, with all our hearts.  When all of us who have passed our tests and pleased our God will enter as citizens of the kingdom.  What is man?  We are God’s representatives.  Let’s act like it.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Think of a test or trial in your past: when it was over, looking back, are you able to see how you had advanced or developed because of it? 
  2. Think of a test or trial that you are currently undergoing: what do you think the intent or desired outcome of this test is? 
  3. If you are not undergoing a test right now, consider that God tests those He loves, and ask why not and what can you do differently?

PRAYER

Father God, what is man?  Help me to be the person that I was created to be.  Help me to reflect and represent Your perfection here on Your creation.  Please forgive me of the many times I fall short, and when I stumble please lift me up.  Help me to overcome.  In Jesus name, Amen.

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Testing the Spirits

Job 4-5

Psalm 94

Hebrews 7

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            There are going to be some bits in today’s reading that are going to be a little bit scary once we dig a little, fair warning.  Potentially terrifying, if you hyperfocus on it (don’t).  If you are an anxious type of person already, you may want to skip over today’s devotion and quickly skim over the Job portion of the reading without looking too closely, and I’m being completely serious.  Nothing to see here folks, move along, move along…

            Last chance.  No?  Ok, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.  Today we’re going to be talking about some disturbing stuff.  If you are ever fortunate enough to look at a really, really old world map (mappae mundi, or “map of the world”, there are about 1100 surviving from the middle ages) that ancient mariners used, you’ll see a number of interesting illustrations and often a written note to warn the sailors along the lines of “Heere therre be Monsters“.  Well, they be here too, let’s talk about it.

            Firstly, are you aware that God sometimes tests and instructs us in our dreams?  It’s true, it’s scripturally and experientially proven.  If you want to do a deep dive on that subject, check out the devotion from 2/21/26 (my birthday!).  Job 33:14-18 has one of the clearest explanations of that: “14Indeed God speaks once, Or twice, yet no one perceives it. 15In a dream, a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls on men, While they slumber in their beds, 16Then He opens the ears of men, And seals in their discipline, 17That He may turn man aside from his conduct, And keep man from pride; 18He holds back his soul from the pit, And his life from passing over to death by a weapon.” (LSB).  This tells us clearly that God (or, God’s agent/s) not only speaks to us in our dreams, but instructs us, for the purpose of correcting our conduct and keeping us safe and from dying.  It also lets us know it’s often subtle, so subtle that we may not perceive it (unless we’re really paying attention).

            In Job 4:12-19 (or -21 if you prefer the longer reading) we see a very disturbing thing.  It appears that spiritual beings that are not of a benevolent disposition can also communicate in this same manner.  “12“Now a word was brought to me stealthily, And my ear received a whisper of it. 13Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men, 14Dread came upon me, and trembling, And made the multitude of my bones shake in dread. 15Then a spirit swept by my face; The hair of my flesh bristled up. 16It stood still, but I could not recognize its appearance; A form was before my eyes; There was silence, then I heard a voice: 17‘Can mankind be right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker? 18He puts no trust even in His slaves; And against His angels He charges error. 19How much more those who dwell in houses of clay Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before the moth!” (LSB).  Is it just me, or does this diatribe seem like it’s coming from a disgruntled former employee?  The scary thing to me is, this is clearly not a benevolent spirit.  I’m not sure if it’s actually malevolent or not, but it’s certainly seditious.  It reminds me of the character Wormtongue, in the Lord of the Rings books/movies; using clever words to plant seeds of death and decay. 

            I pointed this out a few months ago to a beloved friend of mine who attends a bible study with me, and the information genuinely disturbed her.  The thing is, in our modern “scientific” world, we often disregard anything that we can’t explain away conveniently.  Scriptures tell us, however, that the world around us is much, much bigger than we perceive with our limited senses.  We know that there are spiritual beings, because scripture tells us there are.  I’m not talking about ghosts and stuff like that, I’m talking about spiritual beings that are outside our immediate range of perception, other species that exist differently than we do.  Do we understand it entirely? Probably not.  Do we have evidence of it’s existence in scripture? Absolutely.

            2 Kings 6:16-17 describes Elisha praying for his terrified servant to “open his eyes”, the servant can then see the myriad flaming chariots of God’s army surrounding them.  In Daniel 10: 12-13 we see a messenger angel telling Daniel that he was delayed because “a prince of the kingdom of persia” resisted him (we assume this is a spiritual being).  In Acts 12, we see Peter freed by an angel from a prison where he was soon to be executed.   Paul warns us explicitly in Ephesians 6:12 that we don’t fight against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil, and John tells us in 1 John 4:1 that we must “test the spirits, to see whether they are from God.”.  As human beings, our perceptions are limited, there are things unseen that we dwell within and among.  It’s very scary, it’s hard to punch something in the face if you can’t see it, even harder if you can’t or won’t even acknowledge it’s existence.  So, what are we to do?

            Right now would be a very good point to ask you to take a peek at yesterday’s devotional about the “Courts of Heaven” if you haven’t already.  In it there’s a very important understanding: every heavenly being and spiritual creature is under the authority of the Most High God.  In Job 1, when Satan (literally, “The Adversary”) wanted to do Job harm, God’s express permission was required before it was allowed.  EVERYTHING IN EXISTENCE IS UNDER GOD’S AUTHORITY.  That’s not in and of itself a guarantee of your personal safety, but here are a couple practical steps that you can take to help you in the spiritual battle:

PRACTICAL SPIRITUAL SELF DEFENSE (AND OFFENSE)

  1. Be a child of God.  Fathers protect their children, fiercely.  God will tear apart anything that tries to harm His children.  If the spirit of God is within you, lesser beings will flee.
  2. Pray, constantly and without ceasing.  When you see a cute bear cub you’re unlikely to go try and pet it if Mama bear is staring at you, growling loudly, hackled up and drooling while baring her teeth.  If you are talking to your Father, He is listening and watching closely and the spiritual enemies that seek to offer you harm will slip away and try to avoid notice.
  3. Put on the Armor of God.  Read Eph 6:10-18, it’s no accident that this comes during the same talk about being in spiritual warfare  Every defensive item listed is there to protect you.  Examine and then put on every item discussed.
  4. Carry a Sword.  In that little Armor of God section, there is only 1 offensive weapon that we have, and that is the word of God.  It’s not a coincidence that as a response to every temptation that Jesus overcame, he responded with scripture.  Carry your sword, the bible.  I don’t mean just put a bible in the glove box, I mean read it, study it, memorize it, and apply it to your life.  Don’t take lightly the fact that God gave His words, the same words that can birth galaxies and life, to you as a roadmap.
  5. Love God.  Know in your heart that God is supreme.  There is nothing greater than God.  No force, no power, no being, nothing is more powerful than God.  Lean into that, and cling to God.  If God allows something, even if it may be painful momentarily, know and trust that it will be for your benefit in the long run because “God works all things together for the good of  those who love Him”. (Rom 8:28)

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Have you thought about this much?
  2. Were the above steps helpful to you? What other ideas can help?
  3. Have you ever been under spiritual attack?  Consider the instance(s) and the outcome(s), what could you have done better?

PRAYER

Father God, Creator and Ruler of all things, thank you for my life.  Please guide me, teach me, help me to be a child who pleases, and keep me safe from those who wish to do me harm.  Instruct me on the way that I should go, and grant me Your spirit.  Thank you, in Jesus name, Amen.

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The Courts of Heaven

*Job 1-3

Psalm 93

Hebrews 6

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            The book of Job offers us insights and understanding in some areas that surpass any other sources: it’s a really good book to study deeply.  Authorship of the book of Job is commonly thought to be Moses by the majority, but as with anything that old there is some debate among scholars.  Job is thought to be the oldest book written in the Bible as well due to it’s linguistic and thematic antiquity, written as a stand-alone book.  It also just happens to be the book that has “my” verse in it,  technically verses: which would be Job 33:14-30 for those of you who are interested (it’s why I’m alive).  That bit is not technically in today’s reading, so no need to look it up unless you’re really interested, or want the extra credit points.

            The thing that stands out to me the most in today’s Job reading is the description of the Courts of Heaven.  This picture of God is one that resonates within me, as a great and omnipotent ruler, sitting on a heavenly throne and being attended to by myriads of the “sons of God” (ie, angels or spiritual beings, heavenly creatures created by and serving God, but not human).   The picture of all of these heavenly beings acting as supplicants before the Almighty, attending to Him like a group of courtiers, and seeking how best to serve and gain favor with their King is just fascinating to me.  I imagine the vying to get nearer, to be favorably noticed, and to advance in the politics of the heavenly realm.  I do not understand it completely, because I’m just a man, but the mental image of it strikes a chord in my heart.  I actually have a theory about the members of the heavenly court, but as it is complete speculation I’ll keep it to myself.  Suffice it to say that it is absolutely understandable to me that the Most High God should have thousands upon thousands of intensely powerful beings in attendance, all seeking how to please the Most High God and gain favor in His courts.

            When God says “Let us make man in our image…” back in Gen 1:26, I think this court described in Job 1 is who He was talking to.  I’ve heard other theories, some better than others, but I tend to lean into this explanation.  Without getting too deep into physics, dimensions, or the nature of God (that’s a very deep speculative pond that we could dive into), we do know a couple things because scripture specifically tells us.  Firstly, God is spirit (John 4:28).  Do we fully understand that?  Of course not, we’re dumb humans: but it’s safe to say that God exists at a whole different level than we do (eg; eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, etc etc).   Secondly, no man has ever seen God (at least His face) directly,  See for clarification Ex 33:20, John 1:18, and 1 John 4:12.  Now this would seem to be contradictory at face value to some specific interactions that men have had with God at different times, until you understand the “law of agency” or “shaliah”.  Basically that’s just a fancy way of saying “God interacts with His creation through designated agents”.  Not exclusively mind you, but in large part.

            Let me give you what (I believe) is the first example of this in scripture.  If you flip over to Ex 3:2-4 the law of agency (or, shaliah) is clearly shown for the first time (although it can be implied in a number of earlier interactions in Gen) by comparing and contrasting Ex 3:2 (“And the angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of the bush“, LSB) with Ex 3:4 (“And Yahweh saw that he turned aside to look, so God called to him from the midst of the bush“, LSB).  In the above example, the angel of Yahweh is addressed as Yahweh.  In Jewish culture “the one who is sent” speaks with the full authority of the sender, so it’s absolutely kosher to address the angel of Yahweh as Yahweh, but it’s caused some confusion among modern non-Jewish readers because we didn’t understand the culture or the context properly.  This is also exhibited in Ex 23: 20-21 when God says to listen to the angel because “My name is in him” (ie, the angel has been granted the authority to speak on God’s behalf), and repeatedly throughout the book of John when Jesus explains (about 40 times) that he has been sent, and further explains that the words he speaks are not his own.  There are innumerable examples of God interacting with his creation through agents in scripture, moving on.  God also interacts with His creation through dreams and visions, and in the purest form, the pouring out of the holy spirit upon flesh.

            Before I dug into this, as a child I had a somewhat solitary picture of God; not the thriving, active, and busy central hub of governance that is described in scripture.  Job 1 is one of many chapters that offer a description of the Courts of Heaven and their functionality.  1 Ki 22:19-22 and 2 Chron 18:18 show the prophet Micaiah having a vision of God on His throne and the entire host of heaven in attendance, deciding on earthly matters.  Daniel 7:9-10 shows a vivid vision of the Ancient of Days on a flaming throne with thousands attending.  Ps 82:1 states that God presides in the divine assembly.  Rev 4-5 depict a throne in heaven with “myriads upon myriads” of angels and heavenly beings praising God and The Lamb (the latter for his obedience to God), and describes a scene of continuous worship and governing.  Zech 3:1-5 depicts a scene reminescent of a Perry Mason courtroom, where Satan accuses Joshua the high priest before the angel of the Lord, who in turn rebukes him.  Rev 20:11-12 depicts the final judgment at the great white throne, where all humanities deeds are weighed and they are rewarded accordingly.  These are all great verses, look them up if you get a chance.

            I love these small peeks behind the curtain, where we get little glimpses of the sovereignty of God, get small nods of understanding as to how just and truly merciful God is, and how holy He is.  Here’s the thing: do you remember the story about when 1 angel (see June 16th devotional for this year) killed 185000 of the most technologically advanced troops of it’s day?  There are myriads upon myriads of those beings, angels or whatever title you want to give them in the Courts of Heaven.  There are at least 3 distinct types of these beings (Seraphim-Isaiah 6, Cherubim-Ez 1, and Living Creatures- described in Rev) in scripture.  We have no idea as to the actual number of them, but each one has the potential ability and power to wipe out an entire army or nation.  Each one of  them has power and wisdom beyond our understanding.  Even though they are different in form and function though, they all have one thing in common, even our Adversary who occasionally makes an appearance at the courts.  Have you figured out what it is?

            They are all subservient to the Most High God.  Every single one of them.  They are mostly described as awaiting His pleasure, to determine how they can best serve the Most High God.  Innumerable beings of immense unfathomable power, all with the bended knee and bowed head to YHWH God, the Creator and Sustainer of all life.  This is the same God, the ruler of the entire universe, the entire multiverse (if such a thing exists), the ruler of all things…who reached out His mighty hand to save me, a tiny insignificant nothing.  Who reached out to save you, even when you were ignoring Him.  It is fiercely humbling, when you consider the scope of His authority and power, that He takes the time to draw you to Him.  He knows you by name, and knows the number of hairs on your head.  He knows you better than you know yourself, and He still loved you enough to send His son to die for you, to cleanse your sin.  Holy God above have mercy, we are completely undeserving of such high favor.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Had you ever previously considered the hierarchy and governance of the Courts of Heaven?

Did considering this and some of the other descriptive verses of the Heavenly Courts change how you perceived God?

Have you ever considered just how blessed and highly favored you are that God seeks you?

PRAYER

Father God, Most Holy Creator of all things, who gives life, breath, and all things; thank you.  I am completely undeserving of the high favor you have shown me.  Please forgive me when I fall short, lead me into your will, and help me to be a servant who pleases, in Jesus name, Amen.

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Every High Priest

Esther 9-10

Psalm 93

*Hebrews 5

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            Hebrews 5 is a critical chapter in the Bible that gives us a better understanding of the Christ, and really leans in to the explanation that Jesus is now our high priest.  Hebrews 5-8 really focuses in on this topic, but to my mind one of the most important bits of understanding that’s normally quickly brushed past is right at the beginning of chapter 5, in v1-5 it states: “1For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God… 4And no one takes this honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was. 5In this way also Christ did not glorify Himself to become a high priest…” (LSB).

            So where is every high priest taken from? From among men.  Who then calls them out from among men to fulfill that role? They receive the position when they are called by God.  We are very blessed to have the simple understanding that there is one (1) God (Deut 6:4, Mark 12:29) and that there is one (1) mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim 2:5).  So when we read that God has called His high priest out from among men, it’s a very simple and straightforward understanding.  Allow me to elaborate.

            To be the high priest or the Messiah, according to scriptures and prophecy, it is a requirement to be a man.  We know that Jesus was a man because he told us so (John 8:40), because that’s what his best friends understood (Matt 16:16, Acts 2:22), and because that’s what God told us, as was prophesied from the beginning (Gen 3:15, Deut 18:18, 2 Sam 7:12, Ps 89:19 to name just a few).  This is not a “mere man”, but the chosen man to redeem, judge, and rule the entirety of humanity (Acts 17: 24-31), chosen by God.  This is the man through whom  the singular sin of Adam which cursed all humanity would be removed (Romans 5:15).  As Christians we like to say that Jesus (Yeshua) rules in our hearts, but we also know that one day he will also physically rule over our bodies, in the kingdom.  

            We see from Hebrews 5 that Jesus is our high priest, and also The Christ (the anointed one, or, the king).  This was prophesied as happening in both Psalms 110 and Zechariah 6 where the Messiah would be “a king and a high priest”.  This is the first time historically that these two positions are consolidated, another fulfillment of prophecies which grants an even higher status to Jesus, which partially explains the phrase “crowned with many crowns” in Rev 19:12.   This is a huge deal.  We know from Hebrews 5:1-5 that God Himself selects the high priest from among the people, but who anoints the king?

            1 Samuel 10:1 states (REV translation) “1Then Samuel took the vial of oil and poured it on Saul’s head, and kissed him and said, “Is it not that Yahweh has anointed you to be ruler over his inheritance?”.  So who anointed Saul?  While we can see that while it was Samuel’s hand that poured out the oil over Saul’s head, it was God who commanded it and then Samuel clearly says to Saul that “Yahweh has anointed you”.

            In 2 Kings 9:1-3 it says (REV) “1Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Tuck your cloak under your belt and take this vial of oil in your hand and go to Ramoth-gilead.2When you arrive there, find Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi; and when you have come, have him rise up from among his brothers and take him to an inner room.3Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, ‘This is what Yahweh says: “I have anointed you king over Israel.”’ Then open the door and flee; do not linger.” So who anointed Jehu?  According to “one of the sons of the prophets” that Elisha sent, the one who physically poured the oil over Jehu’s head, Yahweh has anointed him king.  Over and over again, repeatedly in scripture, we see that God sends an agent to anoint the man that He has chosen to be king.  It is Yahweh God who ultimately anoints the king, even if it is His agent that carries out the actual pouring out of the oil.  God does regularly interact with His creation through agents, though.

            This perfectly aligns with  1 Corinthians 11:3, which breaks down exactly and in no uncertain terms the “corporate flowchart” of the Christian believer: “3But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man…and God is the head of Christ.” (LSB).  Jesus the Christ is our king, the king anointed and chosen by God, and God is Himself in authority over our king (unless you’ve got a very imaginative alternate reading of that verse).  Who anoints the king? God does.

            To say that God has become the Anointed One (as many Christians today do) is to completely misunderstand:  God has no need to be anointed, He is already the Most High God, the Creator and Sustainer of all life, He already is the highest and most exalted authority and being in existence.  Yahweh God is the one who anoints (or, causes to be anointed by an agent) the king, thereby granting that king the authority of rule over a kingdom, but that anointed king is still in every way subservient to the Most High God Yahweh.  Anointer, anointee: there’s a very clear delineation of authority, and the power that the latter has is granted by the former.  Jesus is, according to all of scripture, “The Christ” or “The Anointed One”, so who is he anointed by? Again, GOD.

            In much the same manner, it is God who chooses the high priest from among men, and the purpose of that high priest is to act as a mediator between God and humanity, to reconcile the Creator with His creation.  That’s why it’s a requirement that the high priest be a human. This is all a very important understanding to be able to interpret scripture properly: if you are trying to adjust the lens of an orthodox traditional understanding of the nature of God and of His Christ, you will be tweaking the lenses all day and still may never get a clear picture. 

            Do you know what’s even more important though? Listening to the king and high priest that God has appointed.  Many times we get so caught up in our theology, and our correct understanding of it, that we aren’t focusing on what our king actually says.  I am fully convinced that everything that any person needs to know about salvation and how to attain it can be found in Matt 5-8.  Every now and then, go back through and read all the red letters (assuming you’ve got a red letter version).  While it’s very important to understand the nature of the scriptures that we read,  it’s even more important to try and follow what it says (and that’s a fair bit more difficult, if we’re being honest). Read Matt 5-8 again, and see if you agree:  everything that any person needs to know about salvation and how to attain it can be found in Matt 5-8.  Test it out, see what you think. 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

  1. Have you given much though to the responsibilities of a high priest/king, and the importance of having those positions combined?
  2. What is a “son of man” ?
  3. Which is more important: a proper understanding of who Jesus is, or a humble attempt to do what he said?  Why?

PRAYER

 Father God, thank you for life, breath, and all things.  Please circumcise our hearts, and grant us the wisdom to listen to and live out the words of Your chosen king.  Please help us to see the world through holy eyes, and to be servants who please you.  In Jesus name, Amen.

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So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God…

Esther 7-8

Psalm 92

*Hebrews 4

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            Today I’d like to challenge you a bit, and ask you to examine some things that you believe traditionally.  I think tradition is a fine thing, for the most part, and helps to give a certain amount of structure in our worship and daily routines in general.  I think scripture is an even finer thing, and should be the guidebook of our life: the word of God given to men as a template by which we should structure ourselves.  Both are important, I just give more weight when comparing them to scripture (since the traditions of men are rather flexible and change constantly); but the word of God is “living and active, sharper than any 2 edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12).  Out of love I’m going to do my best not to be too passionate, so I’m touching this very lightly, but please check it out for yourself.

            The thing is; sometimes our traditions can be good, and sometimes our traditions can be silly.  For instance: when we’re crossing the street here in America, the “tradition” is to stop and look both ways to make sure the way is clear.  This isn’t a “law” as such, but is what is considered a “rule” of tradition, and it’s a good one: countless injuries have been avoided by following this simple tradition.  It just makes sense.  There are hundreds of these in play every day that we don’t even stop to consider anymore because, well, it’s tradition and it just works, so there has to be a good reason, right?

            Here are some rather interesting traditions that are still active in our world, and some of them raised my eyebrow a bit when I researched them.  In Madagascar, the Malagasy people exhume the bodies of their ancestors every 5-7 years, wrap them in silk shrouds, and dance with the corpses around the tomb to live music (this is called “Famadihana”).  In Brazil, young men of the Satere-Mawe tribe wear woven gloves filled with live “bullet ants” for 10 minutes, 20 times (200 minutes total), as a coming-of-age ceremony, enduring stings that are compared to being shot by a bullet.  In Cooper’s Hill, England, a 7-9 pound cheese wheel is rolled down a steep uneven hill and chased frantically by participants in the event, frequently breaking bones and incurring serious injuries (there are videos of this that are…quite educational, incidentally).  In the Karnataka region of India, infants born after the parents vow devotion to the Sri Santeswar temple are thrown from the roof of the temple into the waiting arms of their parents below, who believe the ritual brings good luck (as long as you can catch).

            In the church, we have some fine traditions as well, some of which have been handed down for hundreds or thousands of years: the longer a group is around, the more traditions they come up with.  Some of these are very useful for organization and structure, and some of these could possibly be considered a little bit silly when compared with scripture.  The problem is, as humans, we tend to just keep on doing what’s familiar.  It’s interesting to note historically that moving the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday (the “glorious day of the Sun”) occured around the same time (Mar 7, 321 AD, look up the “Edict of Constantine”) for the purpose of unifying the empire  and from the same source that we got other popular traditions, like the theory of the trinity for instance.  Remember that the Bereans were commended because they questioned what they had been told, and sought out and compared the teachings with scripture to come to a conclusion.

            Today I’d like to offer you the opportunity to re-examine the Sabbath.  This can be a very polarizing and divisive thing, and I know for a fact that churches have split over the topic.  Let’s establish some ground rules before you dig: this is for your personal edification, not a call to revise corporate worship.  I live in Knoxville TN and I am here to tell you, if you are blessed enough by God to have found a group of mostly like-minded worshippers who believe even 80% like you do, praise God and thank Him every day for such a blessing.  We need to focus on unity, not necessarily uniformity (we don’t always have to believe the same exact thing, but we should be united in our focus and our purpose).  I’m a member of the Unitarian Christian Alliance for that reason (among others):  there are a great number of folks in that group who have slightly different beliefs on some various things than I do, but we share a common understanding of the important bits and agree that this is more important than pushing any specific particular.  Let’s embrace that mindset, in humility.

            I grew up going to church every Sunday with my parents.  Statistically, you probably did too.  I still go to church every Sunday, but I’ve also started honoring the Sabbath.  I came to this on my own, by reading scripture.  When I compared verses like Gen 2:3, Ex 20:8-11, Matt 5:17, and then today’s reading of Heb 4:9, and then read the frequency of the topic throughout scripture, it convicted me in my heart that I should also honor the Sabbath.  So, on Saturdays now I don’t do any work, don’t buy stuff, and try to read the bible and focus on God for the entire day.  On Sabbath, I rest.  I still go to church every Sunday too, that’s my “corporate” time with God, but the Sabbath is my personal time with God: not a burden but a gift.

            Do I think that everybody needs to believe the exact same thing as I do? Nope, not even close.  We must each with fear and trembling work out our own salvation (Phil 2:12).  Am I saying that if you come to a different understanding that you should march up to your pastor and demand that worship be done on Saturdays now instead of Sunday?  May the God in heaven forbid it, no, that’s not even close to what I’m saying.  What I want you to do is simply this: examine what you believe and why, and compare it to scripture.  If you still believe the same way, great!  If you believe differently, that’s fine too.  This is a personal journey, I don’t want to change the corporate structure of worship, but I would like us each to strive to change our hearts towards God.

            Look at it this way: irregardless of your specific belief in the topic of the Sabbath, if you were to take a specific day (Saturday) and devote it to seeking to get personally closer to God, what’s the downside?  At worst you lose some productivity/shopping/garage sale time; compare that against potential gain.  Cost vs Value, that seems to me to be a positive net outcome. Conversely, what if you’ve been wrong about the importance of the Sabbath?

            I have had people who are better than me, some of my former professors and current relatives, that have argued (sometimes passionately) with me about my belief.  There have been some very good arguments made, but here’s the thing: it’s my belief, and I came to it through reading scripture and praying. I don’t mind if you disagree, but I feel as if God has led me in a specific direction and if you disagree, should I listen to men or to God? (Acts 5:29). 

            I absolutely and certainly do not wish to cause division within the body of Christ, there’s already been enough of that.  What I do want (and want you to do as well) is to seek God with my whole heart.  I want to please God, and I acknowledge with great humility that I’m a very imperfect being, doing the best I can to worship and please a perfect God.  “So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God” (Heb 4:9, LSB), and as people of God, I invite you to join me in it.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Have you ever given this much thought? Why or why not?
  2. Are there any traditions in your church that are different than other groups? What are they, and how did they come about?
  3. The Sabbath is listed as one of the 10 commandments.  Why do you think that is, and do you think it applies to Christians today? Why or why not?

PRAYER

Father God, please lead us and grant us wisdom.  Forgive us of our many shortcomings, and help us to be servants who please you.  Thank you for the many blessings that you have given us.  Place a deep love for all of our brothers and sisters in our heart.  In Jesus name, Amen.

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