Tag: Jeremy Martin

Set Apart

Exodus 25-26

Psalm 4

Matthew 18

Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

Ps 4: 3a “But know that Yahweh has set apart the holy one for Himself;…” (LSB)

In Hebrew, the word for “holy” is “qodesh”.  Like many of the words that we translate over into English, the original word in Hebrew has a number of meanings and we try to summarize it nicely to the word that most closely matches in our language, but in doing so we also sometimes lose a lot of the “flavor” that the original word encompasses.  We translate “qodesh” as “holy”, but it  also means “seperated”, “set aside”, and “set apart”.  When we read the above verse with that in mind, you can also read it as “Yahweh has set apart the set apart one for Himself” entirely accurately.  It’s a clever word play.

But what does that mean?  It’s simple, look around you at our society.  We live in a world that is rife with sin, carnal images, narcissistic encouragements, pride, immorality, etc.  It’s everywhere.  We are a people that has largely forgotten about our God, it’s painfully apparent in almost every aspect of our society.  God wants us to set ourselves apart from all of this, to remember and honor Him, and to obey His will.  In return, He promises that He will set apart for Himself those who set themselves apart.  But how are we to do that?

Ps 4:4-5 “Tremble, and do not sin.  Ponder in your heart upon your bed, and be still.  Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And trust in Yahweh.” (LSB)

The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom (Pr 9:10).  Fear, and do not sin.  Think about God as you’re laying in your bed, and be still.  Another translation of “be still” is “quit kicking”, which I’m personally a fan of.  This is all about attitude and understanding your place.  Acknowledge God as not only your creator, but the creator and master of ALL THINGS, He’s in charge and you’re not.  A roommate of mine in college had a fantastic poster that read “2 Foundation Facts for Human Englightment: 1 There is a God, 2 You are not Him.”.  

Are you living a righteous life? That is the sacrifice that God requires, not the cattle on a thousand hills, not a specific percentage of your income, not writing the big checks you see on TV that take 2 people to even hold up, but righteousness.  It’s a sacrifice, you put aside some of the things you think you’d like to do to set yourself apart and obey God.  

Do you trust God?  Our society has taught us to trust in ourselves, to trust in the system, to trust authorities, and to trust in our abilities but has largely obscured this critical aspect of trusting in our creator.  There are a thousand and one things to distract us, to divert us, to capture our attention and take it away from this critical foundational concept of trusting the God that made us.  I will put forth for your consideration that anything you trust in more than God has become an idol to you.  Anything that you delight in more than God can become an idol to you, and cause you to focus on things aside from our heavenly Father.

God specifically and repeatedly tells us not to have idols, not to focus on things that are worthless, and remember Him.  We look back in history at some of the false gods that the Israelites worshipped and just shake our heads.  Then we go back to watching TV, getting on social media, watching movies, trying to get ahead at work, playing video games, reading books, getting a better car/house/mate…anything that diverts and distracts us from what our real job should be; setting ourselves apart and offering up to God the sacrifice of our righteousness and trust.  If any of those things is taking more of your focus than you are giving to God, it has become an idol to you.  I will tell you a painful reality: if you swim for too long in the sewer, you’re going to smell like poop.   Everything that takes your attention away from God is the sewer.

I do trust God, because do you remember the story of the prodigal son?  That was me.  My Father came running down the road to greet me when I started coming back to Him.  I am ashamed that I ever turned aside, and humbled that despite my vast unworthiness, my God came running to me the moment I started back towards Him.  I promise, if you have veered off the path, return to God.  He will come running to meet you. 

In our Matt 18 reading today, in 18:12-14 is the parable of that lost sheep.  That was me, too.  God came looking for me when I was lost, and found me.  Notably, He found me when I pointed my head back in His direction because I heard Him calling; if I would have kept wandering away, who knows what would have happened?  In Luke 15:7 it says that when that lost sheep is found, there is rejoicing in heaven.  I get a little choked up just thinking about it, God cares so much about me, about you, about all of us, that He is actively seeking us to find ways to bring us home.  There is rejoicing in heaven when we start heading back towards God.  This should melt your heart, when you realize the depth of love and compassion that our creator has towards us.

So what about you?  Are you trusting in the God that loves you and offering up the sacrifice of righteousness to Him?  Have the idols of this present evil age distracted you?  Are you playing on the field, and not spectating from the seats in the game of life?  Here are a few practical daily tips to help you focus on and trust God.

  1. Pray.  Not just at meals, but when you wake up, when you shower, before you go to bed, while you’re driving.  Let your heart be melted by the love God has shown to you, and reciprocate it back towards God.
  2. READ SCRIPTURE!  Daily.
  3. Fast occasionally.  It doesn’t even have to be food, take a break from some of the things that distract you from God and spend that time seeking God instead.  Man does not live by bread alone, but he also doesn’t live by TV, social media, or anything else that isn’t something that comes out of God’s mouth.
  4. Love others.  God doesn’t just want us to love Him, He says that one of the ways that we can show Him that love is to love the rest of His creation.  This includes jerks, hostile enemies, addicts, ugly people, people with different cultures and colors, that person who uses weird pronouns, that guy who took your parking spot, the lady who was gossiping about you at work…every other living being is a creation of God, and by loving them (whether we agree with them or not), we honor God.  
  5. Do you want to find Jesus?  He’s probably in the parking lot at Walmart, and he’s probably hungry.  Go buy him a sandwich. (Matt 25:40).  Or maybe he’s lonely, in a nursing home, and wants a visit. Or maybe he’s doing time in prison and needs to talk.  Or maybe, he’s a lonely widow who can’t mow their own lawn because they’re feeble.  Maybe he just needs a ride.  Go find him.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

  1. What are your idols?
  2. How can you do better at “setting yourself apart”?
  3. What is your biggest obstacle to living a righteous life?  How can you change that?
  4. Do you trust God more than yourself?  Why, or why not?

PRAYER:

Father God, you have been faithful and kind to me throughout my entire life.  Thank you.  Please help me to focus on you, to remove the things that distract my focus, and to live a life that pleases you.  Help me to be a servant who pleases his master.  Lord, look deep in my heart and show me my flaws, and help me to remove them so that I can love you fully.  Thank you for sending us your son.  Please forgive me of my flaws, and lead me to You, in Jesus name, amen.

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God’s Character

 Exodus 23-24

Psalm 3

Matthew 17

Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

What a powerful moment in history.  God has redeemed and claimed His chosen people the Israelites, and is laying down a few ground rules for their behavior towards Him and towards each other.  The 10 commandments have just been given a few chapters back, and Ex 23 begins with a continuation of some guidelines for interaction.  Read through these carefully, do you see a common theme?  These rules that God is giving really highlight His character.  When I read through these (Ex 23:1-19) what stands out to me isn’t that God wants a bunch of rules followed, but that the character of God is shining through.  Look closely.

God is just.  God is merciful.  God is forgiving.  God is loving.  God wants us to respect each other, and Him.  God will punish the guilty.  These characteristics are easily seen by the rules he asks us to follow.  When I read these verses, 23:19 really stands out to me: “You shall not boil a young goat in the milk of his mother.”.  Why?  Because that would be unjust, and not fair.  God is so full of love for all of his creation, that he’s concerned with even a baby goat, and is concerned about justice for it.  Which makes sense, when you consider that the earth and all that is in it belong to God (Ps 24:1), and you consider the beauty of God’s character.

If we turn ahead a few chapters to Ex 34, God actually tells Moses (1) who He is and (2) what His character is like.  This is one of my dad’s favorite verses: “…Yahweh, Yahweh God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving-kindness (or, mercy) and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished…” (LSB translation, Ex 34: 6-7).  All of the “Children of the Book” agree on the nature of God, because He has revealed it to us.  In the Quran 1:3 it describes God as “Most Gracious, Most Merciful.” (a loving nod to some of our Muslim brothers and sisters).  I urge us all, let us exhibit God’s characteristics within ourselves, not only to our creator but to our fellow creation.

In Ex 23:20-23 we once again clearly see the concept of “shaliah” demonstrated, and it’s important to note that God actually clearly states “My name is in him”, granting the angel full authority.  I suppose the American equivalent would be “active Power of Attorney”, but that doesn’t quite cover the fullness of the concept.  We also see Jesus stating clearly in John 17:11 that he has been given this same name, the name of God, so he is acting with the full authority of the God who sent him.  If you’d like a more detailed understanding of “shaliah” you can scroll back to the 1/27/2026 devotional, or just ask a jewish person.

In Ex 24, God cuts a covenant with Israel.  The phrase “cuts a covenant” was at the time quite literal and involved animal sacrifice and blood, and was considered a binding promise.  In this chapter we see a beautiful moment where God speaks to a large number  of the priests and elders of Israel and makes a deal with them.  In Ex 24:7 it states “Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “all that Yahweh has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!”” (LSB translation).  Can you just feel the excited vibe amongst these people, who have witnessed an amazing and miraculous covenenat being formed, with the glory of Yahweh “like a consuming fire on the mountain top, in the eyes of the sons of Israel”?

What an amazing event!  Never before had something like THIS happened, this was huge!  This is what would be described by most folks as a life altering event, something that would change your outlook and destiny, something that would inspire you for a lifetime and change the very fiber of your being for the better. How long do you think something like this would stick in your memory? 

40 days, that’s the answer.  Moses disappears up the mountain, into the fiery glory of God and is gone for 40 days and nights before it all goes bad.  While God and Moses are chatting, the sons of Israel are getting restless.  Despite seeing miraculous signs and wonders, if you flip ahead to Ex 32: 1-2 it says “Then the people saw that Moses had delayed to come down from the mountain.  So the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “arise, make us gods who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” (LSB translation).  Forty days.  It’s just embarrasing.  It’s really a good thing that God is so forgiving and merciful, because that could very easily have been turned into what the scientific minded folk would call an “Extinction Level Event” for the Israelites.

God not only doesn’t wipe them out, but He continues to shelter them, to love them, and to keep them safe and fulfill the promises he’d made both to them and to their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  WHY? Because God always keeps His promises. Because he is the Most Merciful, the Most Gracious.

Do you need further proof?  Flip over to our NT reading today.  In Matt 17:5 God states audibly (for the second time) “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him!” (LSB Translation).  Then later on, he offers up this man Jesus, His own beloved obedient son, as a sacrifice to grant redemption to humanity and to cut a covenant of salvation.  Folks, let me tell you something; I’m a father, and although I absolutely do love a lot of you people out there that I know, if it came to a choice between you and my son…well, let’s just say you would not come out ahead in the equation, I’m sorry.  “But God…” (I love that phrase) is the perfection of character, the perfection of love, the highest example of what our own character should be.  

What a beautiful God we serve.  I know that He is beautiful, because His creation is beautiful.  The mist as it gathers at the tops of the mountains is beautiful.  The sun arising through the clouds and shedding new light on the world every day is beautiful.  YOU are beautiful, as is the entirety of the creation of God, and the voice that spoke all of this creation into being.  It should humble and awe you, when you think about the utter depth of the love that God has towards all of His creation.  We do not deserve it… “but God…” is the most compassionate, the most merciful, praise His holy name.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

  1. Stop for a moment and think.  How many times has God done something amazing and miraculous in your life?
  2. How long did it take after that amazing and miraculous thing that God did for you before you “moved on” in your mind?
  3. Why do you think that we, as humans, have this inclination, and what can we do better to hold on to that “awe and wonder” that is rightfully due our God?
  4. Are WE gracious, compassionate, and merciful to our fellow creation? (Answer for all:) What about people of different denominations? Different cultures? Different faiths?  Our “enemies”?  Why, or why not?  What can we do better?

PRAYER:

Father God, thank you.  

You are the Most gracious, the Most merciful.  Time and time again we have disappointed and failed You, we’ve broken the covenants that we’ve made with You, but You forgive us over and over.  Father, help us to have Your character, to love our neighbor as ourself, and to never forget You who gave us life, breath, and all things.  Thank You for Your never ending mercies, which are made new every morning.  Help us to humbly seek Your face, to obey Your will, and to be servants who please You.  Thank you Yahoveh God, in Jesus name, Amen.

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God’s Mighty and Miraculous Hand

Exodus 21-22

Psalm 3

Matthew 17

Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            I want you to know that my parents are amazing, wonderful, spirit-filled, and God-led people, who have strove their entire lives to live in a manner pleasing to God, and to instill in me that same holiness and humility.  That being said, I want you to know that I was a truly terrible person, rebellious and narcissistic, and largely ignoring everything they said until God grabbed me and my attention.  Today as a devotion, I am going to give you just a small portion of my personal testimony.  This will be the “highly edited” version and summarization, but please know that I was a truly terrible person, despite my awesome parents, and my awesome God.  As a spoiler alert, know also that God saved me with a mighty and miraculous hand.

Psalms 3:1-2 (LSB): “O Yahweh, how my adversaries have become many!  Many are rising up against me.  Many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God.””

            When I was between the ages of 18-25 I was basically a career criminal, and that is far more a reflection of my own stupidity than my parents efforts.  I found that the easy way was…well…easier, so I took it.  Then I kept on taking it.  I was doing lots of drugs, and drinking too much, and doing things I shouldn’t.  Mom and Dad could see that I was drifting away and prayed for me constantly, which is likely why I am alive.  I became involved with bad people, doing bad things, for bad reasons.  Then as I moved deeper into those circles, I became privvy to  information that I shouldn’t have, and as a result I found myself in mortal peril.  Those people I’d thought of as my friends began to seek my life.  Things got dark and ugly.  People that I knew and loved died.  It was a hot mess, and in a moment of desperation I called Mom and Dad.

Psalms 3: 3-4 (LSB): “But You, O Yahweh, are a shield about me.  My glory, and the One who lifts my head.  I was calling to Yahweh with my voice, and He answered me from his holy mountain.”

            Miraculously quickly, my parents sent me a plane ticket in another young man’s name, who had just cancelled a trip but not the ticket yet.  This was before 9/11 so you could get away with those types of shenanigans.  I escaped and moved in with them in Atlanta, where dad was teaching at the Atlanta Bible College.  I was expecting to die at any moment, and so I threw myself wholeheartedly into scripture, looking for God to save me, which He did.  I was the only kid in history, to my knowledge, to go to the Atlanta Bible College with a mohawk (but nicely done up in a pony tail, usually).  I met some great people there, TRUE friends, who loved God and lived in a manner that was pleasing to Him.  I immediately stopped doing all of the bad things I’d been doing, and started to study up on scriptures.  I was really trying to seek God.

            When you’ve lived immersed in a sewer for a long time, though, it’s hard to keep yourself from stinking.  When I took up a professional (legitimate) career, I started to get puffed up with myself, and some of the bad habits I’d had started to look appealing to me again.  Does this sound familiar, from the stories in Exodus?  Even though I’d been miraculously saved, from overwhelming odds and contrary to all worldly sense, I soon began to do some of the things that I had before: namely drinking and smoking various things in my case.  The issue was not what I was doing, necessarily, but that in my heart I had determined that I could decide, not God but me.  I began to be what I call a CINO, a Christian in Name Only.  I was living for myself, seeking advantage for myself, taking care of myself…but I’d still check all the boxes to be considered a “Christian”.

            I’d still go to church (check), still pray before meals (check), sing when I was at church (check), and had a bible at the house (check)…but I forgot in my heart about the God who had saved me miraculously and without my deserving to be saved, and started trying to make my own decisions again, instead of listening to God.

Psalms 3:5 (LSB): “Then I lay down and slept: I awoke, for Yahweh sustains me.” 

            Then, on Feb 14, 2022, I died.  I’m not saying this metaphorically, I am saying I died, for a bit over 5 minutes.  Specifically, I had a widowmaker heart attack with a 100% blockage (“Wot? I got better!”-Monty Python). In retrospect, this was God tapping me on the shoulder to remind me.  Any sane person would have recognized it for what it was, but me?  Nope: I got up, kept checking the boxes, and kept on being stupid.

Psalms 3:8 (LSB): “Salvation belongs to Yahweh…“

            About a year later, my dad went blind.  Now, I knew I wasn’t a good guy…but my dad, my dad was a righteous man, who had tried his entire life to live in a manner pleasing to God, with better succcess in this endeavor than most men.  Not perfect, by any means, but he REALLY TRIED.  It affected me in a way that my own death did not.  I got on my hands and knees and started praying and fasting, asking God to heal dad.  About 3 days into a hard fast, I realized through scripture that God would not listen to the prayers of an unrighteous man, so I began to systematically get rid of everything in my life that led to unrighteousness.  I burned the things keeping me from God in a fire, and said I was sorry.  Then I kept fasting, and praying.  I talked to God a lot.  A while later, He started talking back.

            So now it’s been almost 2 years since I’ve fully submitted myself to God’s will.  I’m almost 58 now, but some fools are just slow learners.  There have been hills and valleys in my walk, but God has taken me by the hand and leads me.  Why?  I don’t know, I absolutely don’t deserve it, probably because my parents never stopped praying for me.  I have seen miracles.  God has spoken to me.  Crazy things have happened, too many to detail to you without you thinking I was absolutely insane.  So many miracles that I started keeping a journal.  I’m not talking about “oh, it was a miracle that I got that job” miracles, I’m talking about “oh look, the Red Sea just parted so we could go through” miracles. 

Jeremiah 29:13 says “You will seek me and find me when you search with your whole heart.”  Let me just tell you this with absolute sincerity and conviction: God absolutely exists and He still intercedes miraculously for those who seek Him with their whole heart.  This is not a knowledge attained from books, this is an experiential knowledge that I am sharing with you, with 100% conviction.  My dad is still blind, but God is opening up other things for him (and me) that we wouldn’t have suspected or expected.  I live in a state of awe and wonder.  I am humbled and amazed that God would seek me out, of all the terrible sheep who have gone astray…but He did.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

  1. Have you ever made a conscious decision to do something different than you knew God wanted you to do?  If so, why, and how did that work out?
  2. Has God ever saved you?  Was it miraculously?  Are you sure?
  3. Have you ever tried completely submitting yourself to God, to praying and fasting intently, to speaking to Him almost every moment in awe and worship and love?  If you did, did you witness miracles too?  If you haven’t tried yet, why not?

PRAYER:

Lord God, Father, I have failed you more times than I can count, but you have been kind and faithful to me despite my foolishness.  Please God, forgive me!  Help me to be the servant who pleases you.  Teach me your ways, and circumcise my heart.  Whisper to me the way in which I should go, and lead me by the hand.  May the lips of all your creation offer you the praise you deserve, thank you God!  In Jesus name, Amen.

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House Rules

Exodus 19-20

Psalm 2

Matthew 16

Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

In today’s reading, we find our heroes the Israelites 3 months out from escaping horribly oppressive slavery in Egypt and after being led through the harsh desert miraculously arriving safely at Mt Sinai.  This is the first time in recorded history that anything like this had ever happened: God has redeemed His chosen people en masse and brought them to Him.  This is a direct act of intercession from the hand of a loving God, because He had made promises and covenants with Abraham, and God always keeps His promises.  Always, every time, and forever, God keeps His promises.  If you remember nothing else from this devotion, remember that.

God tells Moses (Ex 19:4-6): “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I lifted you up on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself...”(LSB).  That is just beautiful.  Pay special attention to 19:5, wherein God clearly states “…for all the earth is mine…” (See also Psalm 24:1).  What beautiful imagery!  You really need to imagine the setting of Ex. 19; there are most likely millions of people waiting expectantly at the base of the mountain, who all answer together “All that Yahweh has spoken we will do!”, after which God gives them very specific instructions to purify themselves, and then much like to Lt. Dan in the movie Forrest Gump, “…right then God showed up.”  Never before had anything like this happened that we are aware of, God speaks to an entire people and gives them the “House Rules”.

This may shock some of you, but I was a rather rebellious child.  I remember that the day I turned 18, I thought I had complete autonomy and authority because now I was an adult, and nobody could tell me what to do.  Keep in mind that at the time, being a ripe 18 years of age, I already knew everything (most of which I have sadly since forgotten), so I was pretty certain I could just do anything I wanted.  I made the mistake of mentioning this to my father at the time to justify a series of extremely poor decisions on my part, in what became a rather fervent discussion.   In retrospect, perhaps I was not as smart as I thought I was.

Keep in mind that all of this took place while I was staying rent free in my parents house, the one they’d paid for, paid the bills for monthly, and stocked up with food for my consumption on a regular basis, without any contributions at all from me (aside from my stunning insights and wisdom about my own autonomy, of course).  My parents at the time were also paying all of my bills, feeding me regularly, buying me clothes, had bought me a car, etc.  So, you know, I was an adult taking care of myself… *ahem* .  During this highly needed and educational discussion, my father made the statement “Well, you can absolutely make your own decisions since you’re technically an adult now, but as long as you’re living in my house, you will abide by my rules.” 

The conversation that God has with the Israelites in Exodus 20 really strongly reminds me of that conversation, without the fervency perhaps, but with more clarity.  Note that God has already defined “My house” in Ex 19:5, so when God is giving us the 10 commandments in Ex. 20 He is basically telling us “when you are living in my house, this is how I expect you to behave,” in advance.  

“But…” some folks will say, “these commands were given to the Israelites, they don’t apply to us today as Christians..”.  Fair enough, let’s look at what Jesus says about them.  Turn over to Matt 19:16-29.  In this passage, Jesus first humbly points out that the man shouldn’t call him good because only God is good (which is a bit confusing if you’ve accepted a confusing post-biblical theory about Jesus’ identity), and then states very clearly “…if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” (LSB).  Then he goes on to refer to some of the actual commandments, so we know what he’s referring to: it’s right here in Ex 20.

So are we as Christians responsible to keep the commandments?  Only if we listen to our Christ, I would say.  If you are an adult now, and no one can tell you what to do, and you have full authority and autonomy over your own life, well…you probably, like me at 18, already know everything and you don’t have to listen to anyone, ever (if you didn’t dectect the irony and sarcasm there, read it again slowly).  

If, however, you are a humble Christian, seeking to please both Jesus and his God (yes, Jesus has a God, see John 20:17) then you may want to rethink that.  You are, after all, living in God’s house.  You should probably abide by His rules;  particularly if you want a room in the kingdom, on the new earth that has been promised (and God always keeps His promises).  Trust me when I tell you, you do NOT want to get kicked out of His house.

I love how God clearly identifies himself to his people, this has been grossly altered in most modern bibles, but what God actually says to preface his commandments is; “I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt...” (Ex 20:2, LSB).  So we know exactly who’s talking.  Then he lists his expectations while we’re living in His house.  The first 4 commandments have to do with us and our interactions towards God.  The next 6 commandments have to do with us and our interactions towards our fellow man(kind).  These are all neatly summed up by our king, the Christ,  in Mark 12:29-34 when Jesus says that the greatest commandment is “Hear O Israel!  The LORD our God is one LORD, and you shall love The LORD your God with all your heart…”, and the second is this, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Please note that this does not REPLACE the original commandments given by God, but summarizes them nicely.  

Praise God that we serve a God of clarity and not confusion, He tells us His expectations right up front, and then lets us make our own decisions about whether or not we will listen and obey.  We serve a wonderful, powerful, and amazing God who has shown that He will intercede on behalf of His people in miraculous and powerful ways throughout the scriptures, which cannot be broken.  The only real question is: are we going to listen and obey and thereby be God’s People?  Choose now for yourself, but as for me and my household, we will serve Yahweh the living God, who has sent us our Christ in order to bring us to Himself.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

  1. Do you keep all of the commandments?  Why, or why not?
  2. Read Gen 2:3.Do you believe the 4th commandment (the Sabbath) is just for the Jews? Why, or why not?  When did it change, if it did?
  3. When Jesus summarized the commandments in Mark 12, did it seem like commandment keeping alone was sufficient to enter the future Kingdom of God, or was there something else we should do?  Summarize in your own words what else we should do, if you feel like there’s something else.

PRAYER:

Father God, you have created us and this place, and all things belong to you.  Thank you for giving us life, and breath, and all things.  You are beautiful.  Every blessing that we have has come directly from your hand to us, an undeserving and rebellious people.  Please forgive us, and teach us, and help us to follow your commandments.  Lead us toward your kingdom, Father, and help us to enter into it.  In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

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The Anointed One: The Son of Man

Exodus 17-18

Psalm 2

Matthew 16

Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

In our Exodus reading this morning, we see once again that after a string of miracles and rescues, the Israelites are grumbling; to the point that Moses tells God he’s worried about them stoning him (17:4).  God miraculously provides yet again for their provision, and then miraculously provides for their safety and security (17:11-13).  Then, some of the in-laws decide to stop by for a visit (18).

Moses’ father-in-law Jethro comes to visit and sees an overwhelmed Moses, struggling from sunup to sundown daily taking care of the (very demanding) people he was leading.  Keep in mind, this was not a small group, this was likely millions of people (Ex 12:37-38 “600,000 men, not counting the little ones (or women), and a foreign multitude also”) all clamoring for his attention at once.  Can you even imagine the chaos? Jethro gives Moses some VERY good advice (18: 17-23) that applies to us today as well: organize and prioritize if you want to get results, delegate if you have to.  I think we too many times take on more than we can reasonably accomplish, and don’t have a good plan to do it, and just end up getting frustrated and upset.  Many times we just give up because we feel overwhelmed.  But couldn’t we take Jethro’s advice, and plan better?  If we organize ourselves, and approach our problems systematically, they become less overwhelming.  This applies to every aspect of our lives: work, social, spiritual.  We could actually have written the entire devotional on just this bit alone, but there are some other VERY important scriptures in today’s reading.

Moving on to our second portion of scripture today (Ps 2), we see some absolutely critical theological points that need to be highlighted (in your bible) and remembered .  Do you remember what “Christ” or “Messiah” means?  It ‘s a title, and means (literally) “The Anointed”.  It represented a man who was chosen and anointed by God (usually through his agent, or “shaliah”…see Jan 27 devotional) to be his king, it’s all throughout the Old Testament, check and see.  The  Hebrew “Messiah” (or “Christos” in greek) means simply “the anointed one” and the term came to be one of prophetic expectation waiting for God to send his king to rule the earth (See 2nd Samuel 7 for the details of the prophecy, we’ll get deeper into that one in a later devotional).    The New Testament continuously states that Jesus of Nazareth was this man anointed by God to be His king on earth by reiterating it over and over when describing him as “Jesus Christ”.  That’s not his last name ya’ll, that’s a title (I’m Southern, I’m allowed to say “ya’ll”, it’s culturally appropriate).  Most of the gospels directly state that the purpose for their writing was to show that Jesus was that Messiah, and that he had come, in their thesis statements.

In Psalm 2:2 it says “The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel together, against Yahweh and against his Anointed, saying…” (LSB Translation).  We see clearly here that there are 2 individuals that the kings and rulers are taking a stand against.  This does not match up with what some mainstream orthodoxy teachings relate, but this is stated explicitly and repeatedly in scripture and we know from Jesus that “scripture cannot be broken”.  This is one of the many reasons why it is so absolutely critical to study for yourself, and not rely on people to tell you what you should believe.  Men are just human, and can fail, but scripture cannot be broken(John 10:35), so read it for yourself (and show your work).  Be a good Berean, and test everything that you hear against the scriptures.  Our God is a God of truth and not deception, so if something you are hearing from men confuses you, study scriptures!  If you can read Deut 6:4 and Mark 12:29-34 and not be fiercely monotheistic, like the ancient Jews, then you have learned mental gymnastics worthy of an olympic level athlete…but why change it?  Man was made simple, his complex problems are of his own devising (Ecc 7:29).

Ps 2: 11-12 states “Serve Yahweh with fear and rejoice with trembling.  Kiss the Son, lest He become angry, and you perish in the way…”(LSB), another clear delineation between our creator and our king.  It is terrible and sad that we have confused this simple message through the centuries, whenever possible I suggest we should with love, patience, and respect suggest the simpler reading to our brothers and sisters who have reached a different, more “complex”, understanding.  In instances that opportunities present themselves for you to do this, may I humbly suggest that “love” is far more important for you to convey than truth.  The truth will come in time, if presented deeply with love, according to God’s will.

To wrap this up in a nice tidy bow, we can then turn over to Matt 16, where one of the clearest statements of Jesus identity is made by his guy, Peter.  First let me pose you this question, what is a son of man?  I would respectfully answer this with the very common sensical answer of “a man”. What if you capitalized that, and said a Son of Man?  Well, I’d have to say, still a man: although this does have prophetic overtones (See Daniel 7, and note again the clear delineation between God and his anointed).  Did you know that in addition to God using his name (YHVH) almost 7000 times in the Old Testament, Jesus is referred to as the “son of man” (add capitilization however you like, the NT translators did…)  81 times, and 80 of those times were by Jesus himself in the gospels.  A “son of man” was how Jesus self-identified.  It’s pretty important to remember that.

In a conversation about identity, Jesus asks Peter who people were saying that he was (Matt 16: 13-14). To further clarify who he was, Jesus asked Peter “but who do you say that I am?”.  Peter replies, “You are the Christ, the son of the Living God.”  Remember that Christ and Messiah mean the same thing, anointed one.  I would like to point out the obvious at this point and say that God has no need to anoint himself.  By his statement Peter is clearly stating “You are the one that was anointed by God, and the son of the Living God”.  This is in a direct fulfillment of the prophecy in 2 Sam: 7 wherein the Messiah MUST BE: 1-the son of David (a human descendant of King David), 2-the son of God, 3-the king who will rule forever.  Note Jesus response to this answer in v17: “Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” (LSB).  If Peter was mistaken about Jesus’ identity as the Christ, this would have been an excellent opportunity for Jesus to correct him don’t you think?  Just some things to think about, may God bless you as you study his word.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

  1. What can you change in your approach, like Jethro suggested to Moses, to more effectively govern your own life? Your own work? Your own spirituality?
  2. When Jesus says that scripture cannot be broken, he is referring to the scripture they had at the time, the Old Testament.  How often do you take time to “stand by the ancient ways” and read the Old Testament deeply? Why?
  3. Do you check everything the pastor tells you from the pulpit against scripture?  Why, or why not?  Now think of the same question, but instead of your pastor insert “anyone”, and instead of the pulpit insert “youtube”, “social media”, or “friends”.  Is your answer different?  Why, or why not?
  4. Who do you say that Jesus is?  Is it different than Peter, and if so, why?

PRAYER:

Lord God Most High, please open my eyes so that I can see clearly.  Please open my ears so that I can hear clearly.  Circumcise my heart, so that I can walk humbly before you.  Thank you for sending your son with your words to teach and redeem us all, please help us to listen and to obey.   Forgive us our pride, and grant us humility and understanding.  Thank you, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Remembering God’s Care

Exodus 15-16

Psalm 1

Matthew 15

Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            In our Ex 15: 1-20 reading today, we find the Israelites flushed with joy (and probably a bit surprised and amazed) at their very recent miraculous escape from Pharoah’s army through the Red Sea.  The song that Moses and the Israelites sang, which is beautiful, highlights their joyous wonder and details the miraculous hand of God in their redemption.  Then they walked for 3 days to the well of Marah (Ex 15:22-27) and began a pattern which would repeat pretty regularly throughout the book: complaining and whining.  Kind of like us, right?  How many times in your life has God done something miraculous and then within days or weeks you’ve completely forgotten about it and moved on with your life?  It sounds painfully familiar because at heart most of us are exactly the same.  God will do something utterly and completely miraculous, and we celebrate it and praise Him, and then forget about it and are looking for our next blessing.  Why are we like that?  How can we act differently? (There are some practical answers towards the end, if you want to skip down)

            So after God once again miraculously cared for them by giving them water to drink, predictably, the sons of Israel once more started grumbling (Ex 16:2).  God then began to provide for His people, and did so for 40 years (Ex 16:35) from this point, until they came to the promised land.  In the morning he gave them manna, a miraculous bread from heaven, and in the evening he gave them meat (in the form of quail) (Ex 16:13-14).  During these 40 years of provision, the Israelites where physically and spiritually trained in the concept and keeping of the Sabbath (Ex 16:22-29).  There is a neat description of the texture and taste of manna in Ex 16:31. 

            I have 2 very large dogs (Bo and Luke): they’re very sweet, very large, and very pushy.  I’ve had them now for about 7 years, they’re good boys (mostly).  I bring them up only to make a point.  Every day I’ve had them, I have fed them the exact same dog food, in the exact same portions, twice a day.  Do you know how they react?  They LOVE it.  Every single time, it’s like they just won the lottery, like they got the family pass to Disneyland and it’s Christmas morning, they are SO excited.  Bo does standing jumps up in the air about 4′ high from the moment I go to the back to get the food until the moment I put it down for them, and Luke wags his entire backside so hard that he’ll knock you over if you get in the way (I have this on video, it happens daily).  They are SO happy and just excited and grateful to get that same exact dog food, in that same exact bowl, at the same time daily.  Then when they are done, they come lick my face happily (and for a bit longer than I’m usually comfortable with) while wagging their whole bodies to let me know how much they appreciated the food.

            So what about you?  When God gives you your daily provision, every day, do you show Him how grateful you are?  Do you do standing jumps 4′ in the air and wag your whole bottom?  Do you then go and lick God’s face repeatedly in thanks (figuratively, of course)? Think about it.  Most of us would be more along the lines of the ancient Israelites “Ugh, manna and quail AGAIN??!“, while completely overlooking the fact that we have been provided for.   Our creator, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and you gives us blessings every day.  I urge you, as I urge myself; jump for joy, wag your tail, kiss the hand of the Almighty who has given us such abundant blessings undeservedly.

PRACTICAL STEPS

  1. Pray when you wake up.  Gush.  Get on your hands and knees and thank God that you woke up today, that He has seen fit to grant you another day of life.
  2. Look at your blessings, consider how ALL of them come from the hand of God (Ps 24:1)
  3. Look at the sky in the morning, and praise God that He’s given us, His children, such a beautiful playground to live in.
  4. Breathe in, Breathe out.  That is the breath of life that God put inside you, thank Him for it.
  5. Love the people you meet, God created them too, they are your brother/sister and it pleases Him when you acknowledge this.
  6. When you struggle, thank God for refining you and strengthening your spirit.  Ask for his help if you are failing.
  7. When you eat anything, thank God.
  8. When you bathe, thank God for the cleansing water.  Ask Him to cleanse your heart as well.
  9. When you go to bed, thank God for the day He gave you, and you’re still alive.  Ask for forgiveness if you’ve failed in any way to please Him, and then wake up in the morning and do better.
  10. Glorify God at all times, in everything you do, in every thought you have, in every action you take.  Diminish your “self” and enlarge God’s spirit within you.

            I’ve went on a bit long about our OT reading this morning, but I would be absolutely remiss if I didn’t point out a couple things in our Matt 15 reading.  When the pharisees confront Jesus about some legalistic violations, Jesus calls them out (Matt 15:3) and points out the difference between honoring God with your heart and just “going through the motions”.  It’s important to note that the traditions of men are not necessarily the commandments of God, we need to honor God and love him in our hearts.  If we’re not doing any of the things we do daily as rituals out of pure love for God, then we too are missing the whole point. 

            I have a friend who believes firmly (and I don’t disagree) that “unconditional love towards the Father” is in itself perfect religion lived properly.  I humbly suggest that some of the daily rituals suggested above may help us to refocus our attention and gratitude to where it belongs.  May God bless you and lead you, and touch your heart with His spirit.

Reflection Questions:

  1. Do you (figuratively) wag your tail and lick the hand that fed you, every time you get food?  Why or why not?
  2. God physically and spiritually trained his children the Israelites to keep the sabbath every week for 40 years.  Do you think it was important to him?
  3. Should we keep the Sabbath nowadays?  No cheating by repeating whatever you were told by someone else: look it up in scripture, use your own words to answer, and show your work.

Prayer:

Father God, THANK YOU! You have provided for my every need, every day, and given me far beyond what was needed.  I have not deserved it, I have not earned it, but you have been a gracious and loving God to me anyway.  Lord God please forgive me, help me to love you with that same fierce love that you have loved me with since I was born, and teach me the depths of your awesome love.  Thank you for life, and breath, and all things.  Please guide me and be with me, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Shaliah

*Exodus 3-4

Proverbs 27

Matthew 12

Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            When we start Exodus 3, the Israelites have been demoted from a position of honor to a position of slavery (Ex 1).  Moses was born into these turbulent times and through a series of miracles survived and was promoted to a position of authority, and then fled when he was near 40 and remained in exile for 40 more years (Exodus 2, Acts 7: 23-30).  This puts Moses at the spry young age of about 80 years old when the story of the burning bush kicks off in Exodus 3.  This is one of the most important stories and chapters in the entirety of scripture for a couple different reasons: firstly,  for the first time the concept of  “shaliah” is indisputably revealed to us in scripture, and secondly God reveals himself to a human (Moses) by name for the first time in recorded history.  There are a few chapters in Genesis where the concept of Shaliah can be strongly inferred, but this is the first time I’m aware of that it’s plainly revealed. 

            If you are not familiar with this concept,  understand it is absolutely critical to understanding scripture.   You are apt to get a number of scriptures wrong if you don’t view them from the perspective of it’s original authors, that is to say, the ancient Jewish people. This is what wikipedia states about the Law of Shaliah (it is a legal term):

( Quoting Wikipedia) “In Jewish law, a shaliaḥ (in Hebrew : שָלִיחַ or pl.שְלִיחִים , sheliḥim (pl) or sheliah, literally “emissary” or “messenger”) is a legal agent. In practice, “the shaliaḥ for a person is as this person himself.” Accordingly, a shaliaḥ performs an act of legal significance for the benefit of the sender, as opposed to him or herself. “

            This concept is shown to us clearly in scripture by comparing and contrasting Ex 3:2 to Ex 3:4.  “And the angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a blazing fire…And Yahweh saw that he turned aside to look, so God called to him from the midst of the bush…” (LSB translation).  In essence, the messenger that God sends (be it angel, donkey, or human) speaks with the full authority of God, as if they are God.  So when “the word of The LORD” comes to the prophets and they speak, they are speaking with the full authority of the Most High God.  When God placed His name in the angel leading the Israelites in Ex 23:20-21, He explained to them that this angel spoke with His authority.  When the donkey spoke to Balaam, through the “angel of Yahweh”, it states clearly that “Yahweh spoke” (Number 22:22-28).  The one speaking was not the donkey, not the angel, but The LORD (YHVH) Himself (through His agent).  This is why it’s so critical to understand Shaliah, because the one who is sent by God speaks with the full authority of God.  This does not make the messenger mysteriously transform into God, but God lets us know that this messenger is speaking with the full authority of God so we’d better listen up. 

            This concept is repeated constantly throughout scripture but a lack of understanding of this concept, along with the introduction of a number of popular Greek philosophies later on, have caused numerous misinterpretations of scripture and much confusion amongst believers.  That concept carries over into the New Testament as well.  Jesus states in the book of John about 42 times that God sent him: he is not only the Messiah prophesied, but the man chosen to be the Shaliah of God.  The title “Christ” in Greek means “The Anointed One”, and we see from the OT that you are anointed by God from among men, so every time you see “Jesus Christ” in scripture, it is an affirmation that Jesus of Nazareth was the prophesied messiah, the anointed one, the man chosen by God to be his Shaliah.  Christ is a title, not a name, and it affirms Jesus’ humanity every time it is spoken while at the same time affirming that he speaks with the authority of God.

            Exodus 3 is one of my favorite chapters in the bible.  In it, God clearly reveals himself through his agent (Shaliah, we just talked about that) by name to a human being, for the first time recorded in history.  This is both awesome and humbling: that the creator of all things would reach back out to we who bear His image in another attempt to draw us closer to Him speaks to the never ending mercy and lovingkindness of our heavenly Father.  While there is some debate as to the proper pronunciation of the most sacred name (YHVH: is it Jehovah, or Yahovah, or Yaweh….?), the fact remains that He chose to reveal his identity to us, and that is wonderfully beautiful.  Some people say that every breath that we breathe, in and then out, whispers the name of God.  Try it, and visualize the name.  That is also wonderfully beautiful, and seems to me like an amazing “made by” stamp like you might see on the bottom of a fine piece of pottery, but in our very breath.      Praise God!

            Personally “The LORD” really bothers me.  Most of your Bibles will say something in the preface notes to the gist of “…and honoring tradition, all references to YHVH (the actual transliterated name of God) have been translated as “The LORD””.  This is a horrible mistranslation, as has led to a whole lot of terrible confusion and mistaken identity later.  Let me be very clear: GOD HAS A NAME.  He reveals it to us, and gives us a command, in Ex 3:15: “And God furthermore said to Moses, Thus shall you say to the sons of Israel, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’  This is my name forever, and this is My memorial-name from generation to generation.”  (LSB translation).  Did you know that in the Old Testament, the actual name of God is used almost 7,000 times?  Why have we stopped using it when we pray or worship?  Think about it. 

Reflection Questions:

  1. If you had seen the burning bush, would you have turned aside to go investigate or would you be too busy with work/school/life?
  2. How many times in a week do you think that God is trying to get your attention to tell you something important?  Of those times, how many times do you stop and listen?
  3. Do you call on God by name when you pray or worship?  Why, or why not?
  4. When you breathe in and out, and listen closely, do you hear the name of God?

Prayer

Blessed be the Lord God Yahovah, creator of the the heavens and the earth, who has made all things and us with them, who causes the sun to go down and the sun to rise, and all things to be made anew every day.  Lord God, renew me today, help me to listen when you are trying to get my attention.  Open my eyes so I can see you, and my ears so I can hear you.  I thank you in your son Jesus’ name, Amen.

Side Note: A brief mention of 1 of the 2 verses in the Old Testament that baffled me a bit: Ex 4:24 has always confused me.   If God had wanted to kill something, it would die, period.  In my Bible currently, I have a handwritten note by Ex 4:24 that says “possible confusion among the host?”.  I think this is one of 2 verses in the Old Testament that tend to point out that in some very rare instances, and in some minor matters, there may be some level of miscommunication amongst the Shelihim (legal agents of God; the story of Balaam is the other).  This is absolutely inconceivable if it were the most high God performing the actions directly, but becomes understandable if beings lower than God are acting on their own perceptions but with God’s authority,  particularly if there are multiple agents in play simultaneously.  Just a theory.

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