Tag: Jesus

Faith in God

Isaiah 36-37

Psalm 116

Revelation 18

-Devotion by Tom Siderius (MI)

Isaiah 37:1-7(NLT)When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes and put on burlap and went into the Temple of the LORD. 2 And he sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the court secretary, and the leading priests, all dressed in burlap, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 3 They told him, “This is what King Hezekiah says: Today is a day of trouble, insults, and disgrace. It is like when a child is ready to be born, but the mother has no strength to deliver the baby. 4 But perhaps the LORD your God has heard the Assyrian chief of staff, sent by the king to defy the living God, and will punish him for his words. Oh, pray for those of us who are left!”
5 After King Hezekiah’s officials delivered the king’s message to Isaiah, 6 the prophet replied, “Say to your master, ‘This is what the LORD says: Do not be disturbed by this blasphemous speech against me from the Assyrian king’s messengers. 7 Listen! I myself will move against him, and the king will receive a message that he is needed at home. So he will return to his land, where I will have him killed with a sword.’”

Psalms 116:6-8(NLT) The LORD protects those of childlike faith;
I was facing death, and he saved me.
7 Let my soul be at rest again,
for the LORD has been good to me.
8 He has saved me from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling.

Our subject today is that of our faith.  We use the word “faith” very freely here in the United States, in the churches here, but I do not know that we always realize the full measure of what the word means. We tell each other to have faith or greet each other with the word faithful but often it is very shallow in its meaning.  We need to examine what Hezekiah does in the face of an overwhelming army and disaster from Sennacherib the king of Assyria.

Where does Hezekiah turn?  And what does he petition God for in his message to Isaiah?

The word “faith” in Hebrew in the Old Testament comes from the Hebrew word “emunah” which gives us two other words of “faithfulness” and the word “Amen” which means “full agreement”.  The word faith in the Hebrew gives a meaning of action and movement in our lives.  We do not only have faith in God, but we should live out our faith in God.

Habakkuk 2:4(NKJV) Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.

We cannot separate our intellectual understanding of the Words of God from action about them in our lives.  We may agree with what the Word says in our minds, but this is just a mental assent intellectually that the Word is true.  When we truly believe the Words of God then we will live out our lives in accordance with what they say, we will live by our faith.

 You do not merely think that you have faith,  you should walk it, breathe it, make it your own. This is our relational trust in the truth of what God says to us in all of life.  We show what we believe by what we do in our lives.  Do you put your full trust in our God?  Or do we secretly in our hearts not fully believe His Words?

Look at our father Abraham in Genesis where God tells him to go to a new land where God will bless him and give him land and descendants.  Did he live out his life with full agreement of what God told him to do?  The central theme of Abraham is that we are saved by our faith, and not our meager works of righteousness.

Galatians 3:6-7(NLT)  In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” 7 The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.

Our salvation in Christ comes from putting our full trust of our lives in the truth that God saves us because He wanted to do it.  God is our Savior in the sense that He is the author of salvation for us.  Jesus Christ is the agent of salvation for us because he is how God did the saving of us.

Our faith must stand in this truth, that God so loved us that He sent Jesus to be the payment for you and for me. We have no works of righteousness that we can do to save us.  We should be morally good, and strive for virtue in our lives, but this is a response to the saving grace we have received, not a means of gaining eternal life. What a wonderful truth for us to see. 

Do we rejoice in our hearts over the love and grace that God has given each of us?  Where are our joy and rejoicing? 

We should get so excited by God’s love and relationship with us that we will live out the grace that he has called us to. We also are proud to call Jesus Christ our brother and Savior, ready to tell any man or woman about what God has done for all of us.

1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

The evil kingdom of this world lies to us and tells us that we are helpless, hopeless, broken, and worthless.  The kingdom of God within us tells us that we are loved, cared for, restored to life, and valuable children of the God who created the heavens and the earth. All that happens to us in life must be seen through the reality of this conflict between the two kingdoms. Do not be deceived by the Adversary and his lies.

2 Peter 1:2-4(NKJV) Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

We have exceedingly great and precious promises through Christ who brings us to God.  We need to give our hearts fully to God who called us and saved us for His own purposes. 

What has God called you to do?  What are the works of righteousness that God has prepared for you to do?

Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

The good works of our lives that we do for God are the ones that He has prepared for us to do.  This is acting out our lives with the full agreement that Jesus is our guide, showing us the way to go and lighting the path for our lives.  We need to trust that God has us by the hand guiding our thoughts and our lives towards Him because He loves us. 

This trust does not easily grow because we want to be the ones in charge of our own lives and hearts.  We want to be the god of our lives and have control of everything.  But we need to ask how well does that work out? 

Are you a success by your own efforts, or do you need the Father to show the way to walk?

John 20:30-31 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

We have confidence in our God because we have the history of His faithfulness to His own promises to read about and understand.  When we see God being faithful, it gives us the confidence to let Him guide our thoughts and lives, and not to take back our hearts from Him.

Romans 15:4-6(NKJV) For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. 5 Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, 6 that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

When we see that God is able and willing to do all that He has promised in the past, then we will have confidence, meaning, hope and salvation in this world and the promise of life in His kingdom to come.

Reflection Questions above in bold TExt

Prayer:

Father God, we love You and praise You from our hearts.  We are so thankful for all You have done to save us and bring us to You, Father. We thank you for the bread of our need this day, and the promise of our future life in Your kingdom.  Help us to change our hearts and give us the steadfastness of Your love to keep us firm in our lives.  We pray this in the name of our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ.  

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He Will Save You

*Isaiah 34-35

*Psalm 116

Revelation 17

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            Isaiah 35: “2 They will see the glory of Yahweh, The majesty of our God.

3Strengthen limp hands, and give courage to the knees of the stumbling.  4Say to those with an anxious heart,“Be strong, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you.” Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. 6Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy.”  LSB.

            So yes, your God is coming with vengeance, and the recompense of God will come, but He will save you.  Be strong, and fear not.

            Listen, Isaiah talks a lot about the blind seeing again, and it just gets me every time.  If you know me or have read a few specific devotions I’ve written in the past, you’ll know that my dad is blind.  It’s a terrible affliction, and I hate it.  At the same time, without the act of  my father going blind, I would still probably be lost; just another dumb sheep who had wandered off heading for the edge of the cliff, that stupid prodigal son who never had the sense to realize he was sleeping in pig crap.  So while I hate the fact that my father has the affliction of blindness, I love the fact that our merciful God used that affliction to redirect me, and to save my soul.  Dad has said much the same thing to me.  So, whenever I come across a verse in the Bible that talks about restoring the sight of the blind, it makes me tear up a little. 

            I recently had an interview with Sean Finnegan on his podcast website “Restitutio.org” about a lot of that stuff, and if you are interested in the details you can give it a listen.  If you do, note that I would probably have named it a little differently, and the episode number is #666 which is a little disturbing but I think that the content of the interview was good, and may be beneficial to some folks out there who are, like I was, being foolish.  Look it up, it was released Aug 20, 2026.* 

            Back to Isaiah 35: “8And a roadway will be there, a highway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not pass by on it, But it will be for him who walks in that way, And ignorant fools will not wander on it. 9No lion will be there, Nor will any vicious beast go up on it; These will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there, 10And the ransomed of Yahweh will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion, With everlasting gladness upon their heads. They will attain delight and gladness, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.” (LSB)

            So there will be a way called the Highway of Holiness and it will be for him who walks in that way (holiness).  Even though there may be vicious beasts around you, none of them will be allowed on this path.  The unclean, the vicious, the ignorant fools probably won’t even be able to find it, much less walk on it.  The redeemed though, the ransomed of Yahweh will return along it.  That’s me, I’ve been ransomed, and that ransom wasn’t cheap.  It’s a deeply emotional thought for me that when I was unclean and a fool and seeking only my own desires that I may have been standing right beside this path and was never able to see it, because this is the way to God and life.

            Psalms 116 says: “1 I love Yahweh, because He hears My voice and my supplications.  2Because He has inclined His ear to me, So I shall call upon Him in all my days. 3The cords of death encompassed me And the distresses of Sheol found me; I found distress and sorrow. 4Then I called upon the name of Yahweh: “O Yahweh, I beseech You, provide my soul escape! 5Gracious is Yahweh, and righteous; And our God is compassionate. 6Yahweh keeps the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me. 7Return to your rest, O my soul, For Yahweh has dealt bountifully with you. 8For You have rescued my soul from death, My eyes from tears, My feet from stumbling. 9I shall walk before Yahweh In the land of the living.”  LSB. 

            This is a part of my story too, because I literally died, and came back.  In 2/14/2022, for about 5 and 1/2 minutes, I was dead on the table from a 100% blockage in the widowmaker (left anterior descending artery): happy valentine’s day!  If you ever read Job 33:14-30, that’s a pretty good breakdown of “my story”, I also detailed it a little bit during the interview mentioned above.  God saved me though, and then redeemed me.

            Ps 116 continues: “12What shall I give to Yahweh in return For all His bountiful dealings with me? 13I shall lift up the cup of salvation And call upon the name of Yahweh. 14I shall pay my vows to Yahweh, Oh may it be in the presence of all His people. 15Precious in the sight of Yahweh Is the death of His holy ones. 16 O Yahweh, surely I am Your slave, I am Your slave, the son of Your maidservant, You have loosed my bonds. 17To You I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, And call upon the name of Yahweh. 18I shall pay my vows to Yahweh, Oh may it be in the presence of all His people, 19In the courts of the house of Yahweh, In the midst of you, O Jerusalem.  Praise Yah!” LSB.

            That question in v12 is probably the best question any of us could ever ask, and leads to salvation.  The answer is probably best answered in v16.  The cost of a soul is high.  When Peter’s life is redeemed in Acts 12, the cost of his salvation was the lives of 16 soldiers.  When I initially escaped the environment that was going to kill me in my youth, it cost the life of at least 1 other man.  I am certain, even this many years later, that the sole reason that I lived and others did not is because even in the depths of my depravity, I feared the name of God.  Whether you are aware of it or not: God paid a very high price for each of us.  We are not bought cheaply, but at a cost higher than we could ever repay: the blood of His only begotten son.

            I have noticed that sometimes folks who haven’t gone through as much terrible stuff as I have don’t appreciate the little things that God has done for us.  Offering up His son in exchange for us was a big thing though, just think about it for a moment.  We can never repay such a high price, but if God is willing, we can spend a lifetime trying to His glory.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Is there a verse, or group of verses, that speaks to you personally and deeply?
  2. How can we better remember with awe the terrible price that was paid for us?
  3. What are the best ways in which we can honor that price, and He who paid it?

PRAYER

Father God, Thank you.  You saved me, and I wasn’t worth the cost.  You are gracious beyond my understanding, and I am Your servant forever.  Thank you.  In Jesus name, Amen.

*Sean Finnegan Restitutio interview with Jeremy Martin on Aug 20, 2026

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From the Rising of the Sun…

*Isaiah 21-22

*Psalm 113

*Revelation 11

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            Here in America where I am from, most of us have been so richly blessed and for so long that we have come to view a position of comfort as an expectation, like a child who has grown up never wanting for anything, and like that child unfortunately the mentality often becomes one of entitlement and self promotion. Additionally, most humans tend to think “regionally” (look up the theory of the Monkeysphere for an interesting theory on the limitations of human empathy).  We also tend to think in terms of “us” and “them”, which is a mistake when you consider that there is only “us” (God made all mankind), and we are told to love our neighbor as ourselves.

            I love the reading of Psalms today, as it not only highlights a very important (and sometimes forgotten) fact about God, but also has one of my favorite songs in it (From the Rising of the Sun).  The song goes like this “From the rising of the sun, to the going down of the same, the name of the Lord shall be praised” and then repeats and goes into a chorus of “So praise ye the Lord!”.  Beautiful, beautiful stuff.  In my LSB translation of the Bible Ps 113:1-4 reads (more accurately, but perhaps slightly more difficult to sing) :  “1Praise Yah! Praise, O slaves of Yahweh,Praise the name of Yahweh. 2May the name of Yahweh be blessed From now until forever. 3From the rising of the sun to its setting The name of Yahweh is to be praised. 4Yahweh is high above all nations; His glory is above the heavens.”

            All servants of the Lord, praise His name.  From now until forever, from the rising of the sun, every day, the name of Yahweh is to be praised.  It doesn’t matter where you’re at regionally, or what your circumstances are:  because our God is high above all the nations, and bigger than any of your circumstances.  Why is that important?  The next few verses tell us:  “5Who is like Yahweh our God, The One who sits on high, 6The One who brings Himself low to see The things in heaven and on the earth? 7Who raises the poor from the dust And lifts high the needy from the ash heap, 8To make them sit with nobles, With the nobles of His people. 9He makes the barren woman of the house sit As a glad mother of children.  Praise Yah!” Ps 113: 5-9, LSB.  Our God is watching what we do (see verse 6*), and He’s paying attention to His creation.  He is actively helping and blessing us.

            There’s a theory called “Deism” that states that while God did create the world, He is no longer involved in it, and just letting it wind down on it’s own to see what happens (this is also called the “Clockmaker Theory”).  I disagree with that theory pretty strongly.  Ps 113 seems to contradict that theory, because not only is God observing, but He is taking action.  Additionally, we know that in the last days God will pour out His spirit upon mankind, and I believe I’ve personally experienced some of that.

            While we tend to equivolate blessings with divine accolade and approval (particularly here in America where I’m writing from), it is very clear in our Isaiah reading today that there are times when we should eschew some of the finer things, and humble ourselves before our God.  Isaiah 22:14-16 says: “12Therefore in that day Lord Yahweh of hosts called you to weeping, to wailing, To shaving the head, and to wearing sackcloth. 13Instead, behold, there is joy and gladness, Killing of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, Eating of meat and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die.” 14But Yahweh of hosts revealed Himself in my ears, “Surely this iniquity shall not be atoned for you Until you die,” says Lord Yahweh of hosts. “ (LSB).

            Today in our Revelation reading, we see the fascinating and intriguing story of the 2 witnesses who will come, just before the last trumpet is sounded.  This is right near the end of the reign of nations, just before the kingdom of God is established on the earth** (as it is written in scripture).  I’ve always been fascinated by these guys.  First and foremost to keep in mind, these are witnesses of God.  They will come and judge the earth, speaking a witness to God’s word and having authority to inflict massive damage in various methods upon the earth for it’s transgressions.  We know from previous studies that God (who is love) generally inflicts punitive action in order to change behavior (see yesterday’s devotion) for our benefit.

            Most people now don’t like to be corrected though.  The people of the earth are so caught up in living the good life in these final days that they see this effort from God as an intrusion more than the attempt at restoration that it is.  That’s why it says (in Rev 11: 10) about the witnesses after they are killed: “10And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.”  LSB.  This should worry us all, because it seems like these are the times that we are living in.

            I remember as a very young lad, when my life had no worries in it except for if I would get to go play by the river that day,  running from my father once to avoid a spanking.  It did not work out well for me, and my actions increased my punishment exponentially.  Had I been wiser, I would have humbled myself before my father, admitted my shortcomings, and begged for his mercy.  Do you see what could be a simple correlation for the modern day believer?  May I suggest that even when your life is overflowing with rich blessings and goodness; take the time occasionally to humble yourself before God, admit your shortcomings, and beg Him for mercy.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Do you ever take time to fast and pray? How often?
  2. Do you ever pay forward the blessings that God has given you, to His glory (and not your own)?
  3. How else can we diminish ourselves and grow God in our life?

PRAYER

Father God, Abba, I’m sorry for my many shortcomings.  Please forgive me.  Correct me gently, and restore me.  Help me to grant you ultimate authority over all aspects of my life, and guide me in the best way to honor and glorify You.  Have mercy upon me, a sinner.  In Jesus name, Amen.

* In the interests of non-biased and complete transparency, I am going to throw some of my more traditional, “orthodox” brothers who like to claim “sola scriptura” (scripture alone) as the basis for their doctrine a very small bone here.  Ps 113:6 says “brings Himself low”, which is the closest thing I’ve been able to find in scriptures that could even possibly be construed as “God became a man”.   It’s pretty slim, admittedly,  and it’s not really enough in my opinion to base an entire Christology on, but since there is literally no scripture that says “God became a man” this is the closest you’re going to get using only the Bible as a validation for this later developed theory of the nature of the Christ.  I’d still recommend reading  1-all of the prophecies regarding the requirements of the coming messiah (Gen 3:15, Deut 18:18, 2 Sam 7, Ps 89,  etc, etc), 2-who the disciples thought Jesus was (Acts 2:22, Romans 5:15, and 1 Tim 2:5 etc, etc), 3-who Jesus thought he was (a “son of man” @80 times, ie a human, also see John 8:40, and John 20:17) , and finally 4-reading closely again through the stories of the birth of Jesus (in Matthew and Luke).  Then compare all of that to the things that God actually does reveal about himself through scriptures and see if that matches up with what’s been taught .  A much clearer scriptural understanding is that Jesus was an Israelite man born of the line of David who was empowered by the holy spirit of God to perform miracles due to his overwhelming obedience to God, but feel free to use the above as a proof text if you couldn’t find one that scripturally backed the (admittedly slim) traditional stance.  You’re welcome!-J

** “Heaven” in scripture refers to the area above (outside) of the earth, wherein God and the heavenly host/heavenly court dwell currently, not a vacation residence upon demise.  The “Kingdom of God” or the “Kingdom of Heaven” (as it is alternatively called) will be established here upon the earth, according to scripture, see for reference Zech 14:9, Rev 11:15, Rev 21:12, among myriad other verses).  The Christian hope is that after being resurrected and judged that we may be made citizens of this Kingdom (see for reference Acts 17:31, Matt 25: 31-46).  When we die we don’t “go” anywhere; we just rest in the dirt until these events occur as it is written in scripture  (in direct opposition to some later teachings of the “orthodox” church in the 4th century which have become prevalent in modern day interpretations).

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The 7th Seal

Isaiah 15-16

Ps 111

Revelation 8                   

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)                                    

            “The time has come,” the walrus said, “to talk of many things: Of shoes—and ships—and sealing-wax— Of cabbages—and kings” – Lewis Carroll, The Walrus and the Carpenter, (Through the Looking Glass, Chapter 4, 1871)

            Forget all that other stuff, today we’ll be be speaking of kings.  There is a famous line from a Mel Brooks movie where Mel repeats numerous times throughout the show, “It’s good to be the king!”  Being the king isn’t always a fun job though, sometimes being the king means doing the hard things that need to be done, sometimes doing the hard things that no one else can do.

            There is a nice little supplemental to the many prophecies of the coming Messiah, when it says in Isaiah 16:5:  “And a throne will be established in lovingkindness, And a judge will sit on it in truth in the tent of David; Moreover, he will seek justice And be prompt in righteousness.” (LSB).  This seems to be a nice foreshadowing of our king Yeshua, the Messiah, the Christ.  These little bits are all throughout the Old Testament, just a little nod that one day our king will be coming, and a reminder that he will be from the house of David, and that he will also seek justice and be righteous.

            Here’s the thing though: most of us don’t want justice, we want mercy (and with good reason, if we’re being honest).  In our Revelation reading today we see an ominous revelation (thus, the name of the book) of things to come, and we begin to see some of the harder things that the king must do to fulfill his function. 

            Earlier on in the book (Rev 5) we see that God has in His hand a scroll with 7 seals and that initially no one was found in heaven or on earth or under the earth that was able to open the scroll, and then we see that our king, the lamb of God, the Christ (or Messiah) from the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has overcome so as to open the scroll and it’s 7 seals. 

            Revelation 5 is a very clear picture of the hierarchy of heaven.  There is God, all powerful and holy, surrounded by “myriads upon myriads” of angels and the elders, sitting on the throne and holding a scroll of great power that is sealed.  Then coming before the throne is the Lamb who was slain and by his obedience granted authority by the God who rules over all, the man chosen from the house of David to be given authority, by God.  This is a very clear and unambiguous picture of the relationship of the Most High God, and of His chosen king whom He has granted authority: the Lamb of God.

            In Rev 6 we see that the Lamb (whom we understand to be Yeshua/Jesus) takes the scroll from the right hand of God and begins to open the seals.  It’s important to understand that only the ruler whom God granted authority and dominion would be able to do such a thing.  There was no one else found worthy in heaven, earth, or under the earth to do this job.  We see back in Rev 5:9-10 that he is worthy specifically because: “…you were slain and purchased for God with your blood people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and you made them to be a kingdom…”. Observe that God is still seated on his throne, the ultimate power, when the Lamb (Yeshua/Jesus) begins to open the seals, to perform one of his first functions as the chosen king.

            We see clearly that the Lamb is the one who is opening the seals in Rev 6:1, under the authority of God.  This is what I referred to earlier as having to do the hard things as king.  It should be noted that all of these seals as they are broken have a calamitious effect upon the earth, getting progressively more horrific.  The first 6 seals that are opened (in Rev 6) sound pretty scary.  When we get to our reading today of Rev 8, it sounds downright terrifying.  When the 7th seal is opened, there is complete silence in heaven for about half an hour (Rev 8:1).  That sounds ominous.  I have a couple points to make here. 

            Point 1 is, we aren’t 100% sure of the timeline of these events.  Like all prophecy, it is somewhat obscured.  Different folks have different beliefs on how much of this we’re going to have to endure.  There are Pre-tribulation, Mid-tribulation, and Post-tribulation theories on when the faithful will be taken, each theory having their own supporting scriptures or interpretations.  I have my own opinions, but I also believe that stating them dogmatically is foolish since I’m just a man.  Here is my suggestion though: hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.  I would also suggest that it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets any better.

            Point 2 is: all of the earth, and everything (and everybody) in it belongs to God (See Ps 24:1).  Before we get all “ach, waily waily waily, how could a merciful God…”: stop it.  It’s all God’s, including us, and He can do whatever He wants with His stuff.  Yes, this might be a terrible time, but consider that anytime you are building a new and magnificent structure, the first thing that needs to be done is a demolition of the old rickety structures that were there already.  This is that.  Do you remember that guy who lived in the bamboo hut underneath where the Taj Mahal is located now?  Me neither, because that hut had to go to make room for the new building.  That’s what’s going on here.  All of these things need to happen so that the kingdom of God can be established here on the earth.

            After the 7th seal is broken, the trumpets begin to sound.  The 1st trumpet brings hail and fire mixed with blood and a third of the earth and trees and all of the grass is burned up.  Trumpet 2 brings a great burning thing thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea turns to blood and a third of the living creatures in the sea die and a third of the ships are destroyed.  The 3rd trumpet brings a star falling that causes a third of the waters to become poisoned, or “wormwood”.  The 4th trumpet causes a third of the sun, moon, and stars to be struck so that a third of them would be darkened.  This is literally some apocalyptic stuff going down.

            As if that wasn’t enough, the last verse in chapter 8 is the most worrying: “13Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!””  (LSB).  This is going  to be a dark and scary time for any of those left on the earth.  Knowing this, we as Christians should be taking extreme steps to make sure that we’re living a holy life that is pleasing to God, seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.  Are you living in a bamboo hut right now? Well, act right and you might be relocated once the new facility is in place.

            The best advice I can offer is from Zeph 2:3 –

“Seek Yahweh, All you humble of the earth

Who have worked His justice; Seek righteousness, seek humility.  Perhaps you will be hidden In the day of Yahweh’s anger.” (LSB)

REFLECTION QUESTIONS -based on the above verse

  1. Are you humbly seeking Yahweh?
  2. Are you working His Justice here upon the earth?
  3. Are you seeking righteousness and humility?

PRAYER

Father God, blessed be Your name.  You have created the earth, and all that is in it.  You have told us in advance of the things to come.  Please help us to humble ourselves and to be servants who please You.  Help us to work Your justice.  Help us to be a righteous and holy people who do Your will.  Protect us in the coming troubles.  In Jesus name, Amen.

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Struggling to Change

The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." Psalm 110:1
Isaiah 10-12
Psalm 110
Revelation 6

-Devotion by Daniel Smead (MN)

I found it difficult to produce a devotion for Psalm 110. I realized that it is hard, anymore, for me to look at this text without considering its uses in the New Testament, and in theology (accurate and inaccurate), and start working out its links with other Old Testament passages, and so on, and on. That may be nothing like your experience. (O.k., I hope for you that it isn’t like your experience.) But it is mine, at least it is at this point in my life. I find that having studied theology a fair bit is helpful in some situations, and not as much in some others, like when I find it difficult to see a text as a “whole” piece of thought.

I could produce several paragraphs on the psalm’s heavy use in the New Testament (most quoted verse, here is how it was used by Jesus, Peter, Hebrews, etc.). I used up over an hour (o.k., maybe two) tracking down Hebrew word usage because I wasn’t sure if it would lead me anywhere helpful. (I found some interesting things about the “day of wrath” I may use for something sometime, but not today.)

I did try reading a commentary that covered the text. It was Derek Kidner’s, Psalms 73-150, published in the Tyndale Commentaries series in 1975. I went on out to the garage and pulled it from “Box 45” of my books. (Yeah, I’m not kidding. I’m fortunate to now have a list showing which box has which books; a year ago I didn’t.) It’s not bad. Kidner makes an interesting suggestion about verse 7, that it pictures the psalm’s king-priest in similar terms to Gideon (Judges 8:4), after a victory, but having continued in a pursuit of his enemies and just pausing at the stream. I like the image, but I’m not sure it is accurate. And did it inspire me with devotional ideas? No.

Eventually I recognized that in all my notes I didn’t have a devotional. Not even an outline for one. May as well dump it all.

Blank.

PRAYER

Lord, please help me to see this text anew. Please free me from the blinders on my eyes, or mind, or wherever they are, that sometimes prevent me from viewing your scripture with emotion, be it joy or conviction, resolution or guilt, pride or shame. Soften my heart, Lord, if that is what is needed, and let me see within your scripture more than words.

Let me try again.

The people of Israel knew things about the Torah, and the kings in David’s line, that you or I will never even attempt to know. And all too often they were locked-in to perspectives on what their knowledge meant about God’s intentions, and which options were available. Dozens of places in the Hebrew Scriptures align with general expectations: kings and priests were separate. They died and needed to be replaced. And quite often kings and priests didn’t serve God well, but because of God’s mercy the system kept going.

In a few places, like Psalm 110 for instance, God let people know that the general expectations were not enough. Things were not going to stay as they had been. I don’t know how many people put these facts together before Jesus came on the scene, and how many of those then acted on what they understood.

Is anything ever guaranteed to stay as it has been? Not the business you work at, or the school you attend. Not the country you live in. Not me. Not you. God is permanent; some things God has decided on we know won’t change, either. Jesus interceding for us with God is a “forever” thing. Please, figure out the things God intends to last, and put more care into them than some of the other stuff. You may end up more prepared for when things change.

I wish you well.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Have you been unable to connect with a passage of scripture (due to over-intellectualizing; comprehension – language, background, etc.; inattention)? Were you able to overcome the issue?
  2. Do you see yourself as mainly expecting what you experience to remain as it is, or are you expecting changes? How does that expectation relate to efforts you are making to preserve and/or change things around you?
  3. If you could lock-in one thing about yourself to remain the same throughout your life – an attitude, perhaps a personality trait or a passion – would you? And, if so, what would you choose?
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Insecurity and Love

Song of Songs 1-2

Psalm 106

2 John

-Devotion by Jerry Wierwille (NY)

The book Song of Songs (also known as the Song of Solomon) is one of the most beautiful and captivating books in the Bible. It is a collection of love poetry that celebrates affection, desire, beauty, commitment, and the joy of belonging to another person. Rather than treating romantic love as something embarrassing or unspiritual, Song of Songs presents it as something to be sought after, treasured, and protected.

Throughout Christian history, many believers have read Song of Songs as a figurative representation of the love between God and His people, or the love of Christ for His church. But that allegorization should not be the primary way to understand the book. Nevertheless, while we should read Song of Songs primarily as romantic poetry celebrating human love, the vivid imagery and language of longing, delight, pursuit, and belonging, though not romantic in nature, can also help us to understand the depth of affection found in our relationship with God—our love for Him and His love for us.

Song of Songs begins with a description about a deep longing. The unidentified woman figure desires the presence of the one she loves, and throughout the first chapter there is a strong sense of mutual delight between them. They speak about their admiration, affection, and tenderness toward each another. They take note of what they see as beautiful, and they are not afraid to express it.

Yet right in the midst of this jubilee of love is a hint of the woman’s insecurity. She says, “Do not stare at me because I am dark, because the sun has looked upon me” (1:6). Apparently, she is quite self-conscious about how she appears to others. She says that she works in the sun and seems aware of the fact that she has become dark because of it, and that may not fit the standards of beauty in her culture.

I think this expresses something deeply human as we all know what it is like to feel exposed, inadequate, or less than what we think others expect of us. We compare ourselves to others; we think about our weaknesses or our failures; and we often wonder whether people would still accept us if they knew everything about us.

What comes next pierces through that chatter. The response of her beloved counteracts her insecurity: “O most beautiful among women,” (1:8), and “Behold, you are beautiful, my darling!” he says (1:15). He does not respond to her insecurity by pointing out her flaws but speaks words of love, affirmation, and delight. He seeks to overwrite her negative self-image with truth. In his affirmation of her, the lover does not trivialize her mistaken view, but simply paints an entirely different picture on the canvas of her mind so that she can begin to believe a different narrative than the one she has been telling herself.

This can remind us of the way God sees us. God sees us more clearly than anyone else ever could. He knows every weakness, every hidden thought, every regret, and every place where we have failed. Yet through Christ, we are not defined by shame, guilt, and unmet expectations. Instead, we are forgiven, accepted, and brought near.

In our insecurity, we might imagine that God merely puts up with us. But we know that He loves us dearly since Scripture tells us He does. But perhaps we struggle to believe that He actually delights in us. And so, if we think about that passion and eagerness of desire that the woman and her lover express in the first chapter of Song of Songs, even though it is a picture of human love, then it can challenge us to dismiss any fictional view of God’s love that is less than the truth.

Let’s have the truth God has told us in Scripture be the narrative we believe, and not the distorted story our fears, insecurities, failures, or past experiences try to write for us. So when insecurity, shame, comparison with others, or regret begin to creep into how we see ourselves, don’t let it! Instead, allow the truth of God’s love and grace overwrite that false portrait of who we are. We are God’s beloved. And He desires us!

Reflection Questions

  1. What lies about yourself do you tell yourself? What insecurities, shame, comparison with others, and/or regret have you allowed to distort your image?
  2. Have you accepted Jesus’s sacrifice to save you? What do you think God sees when He looks at and in you? Pray for God to show you.
  3. How can you help someone else see the truth and the beauty (inside and out) God has made them to be?

Prayer

Dear God, You are worthy of all my desire and love and it boggles my mind that You indeed desire a deep relationship with me. The lengths of Your great love for me, which Your Son then learned from You, are extraordinary. Help me to see clearly who You have made and saved me to be, removing all lies, attitudes and actions that interfere with me receiving Your love, returning love back to You, and spreading Your love.

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Adding More and More

Job 40-41

Psalm 102

2 Peter 1

-Devotion by J.J. Fletcher (MN)

(2 Peter 1:5-10 ESV) …make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.

In contrast to the list of negative attributes to avoid in the second chapter of 1st Peter, we see in the first chapter of 2nd Peter a list of attributes that we should aspire to. Believe, absolutely, but belief must be supplemented with action. Virtue = moral excellence; let your character be representative of Christ. As one called to redemption in the name of Jesus, your motivations and behaviors should be indicative of Jesus’ righteousness (he is your righteousness, so honor it with your lifestyle). As we strive for moral excellence, we should seek to understand. 

Sir Francis Bacon coined the term “knowledge is power.” Knowledge gives us an advantage. Simply hearing that we should behave in a certain way is one thing, but studying the scriptures to understand WHY we should behave a certain way is more powerful and compelling. As someone who grew up in the 90’s, “The More You Know” PSA’s come to mind. To be discerning in addressing the many challenges of life, the knowledge and understanding of scripture is crucial.

Our knowledge gives us a basis to exercise self-control. Having an understanding of scripture gives us a metric by which to measure our behavior. If we know what we should do, then we can aspire to behave that way and recognize where we might fall short. Our salvation is not based on our works or actions, but our works/actions speak, or bear witness to our faith. If the way we behave is supposed to point others to Jesus, then we should be passionate about being self-controlled. If we can’t manage our emotions or behaviors, what message is that sending to others about our faith and character?

Add to your self-control steadfastness; this is understood as endurance or staying power. It is one thing to exercise self-control for an hour, a day, a week… Even someone who is convicted or passionate about something can get worn down or discouraged over time; so we continually need to renew our minds and evaluate ourselves.

Godliness can be understood as the way that we submit and respond to God and the way that we look at and respond to his creation, namely that which is created in his image (spoiler alert, that means people). Brotherly love (or affection) and agape: general love, care, concern, and treatment of people in general, are the logical and spiritual outpouring of our submission to God’s will in the way that we relate to and treat others.

Lacking these characteristics is tantamount to blindness, but practicing them is indicative of absolute victory. We don’t have to be perfect in our execution, but we need to strive for all of them in our behavioral orientation.

J.J. Fletcher is a 2009 graduate of Atlanta Bible College and has been pastoring Pine Grove Bible Church  (Brooklyn Park, MN) since 2017. He has been married to Hope (Kirkpatrick) for 18 years and has 4 children.

Reflection Questions

  1. Why is just having faith not enough?
  2. Virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. Why is having just a bit of any of these not enough? What would it look like to add more and more of each of these qualities?
  3. Is one (or two) of these harder for you than the others? How could you especially focus on that/those? Is there something to get rid of in order to make it easier to build more of this/these qualities?
  4. When have you been blind – missing these? How does your blindness affect your relationship with God? How does it affect your relationship with others?

Prayer

Dear God – I praise You for being the One True God – perfect in all your qualities. Forgive me for the times my faith is incomplete and blind. Help me see where I need to add on more and more that I will be effective and fruitful. And help me do what is pleasing to You, living like Jesus. In his name I pray, Amen.

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A Humble Shepherd Leader

Job 38-39

Psalm 102

1 Peter 5

-Devotion by J.J. Fletcher (MN) – J.J. Fletcher is a 2009 graduate of Atlanta Bible College and has been pastoring Pine Grove Bible Church  (Brooklyn Park, MN) since 2017. He has been married to Hope (Kirkpatrick) for 18 years and has 4 children.

Humility is a key trait that Peter homes in on in chapter 5. Leaders who lack humility will be ineffective and often destructive to those who are under them and to the work of the church. 

Leaders in the church need to exercise oversight of the church, but do so because they are willing to (elsewhere in Scripture we see the idea of desiring the work) and not under compulsion or for their own gain. Some people like control and attention, but that is not a godly way to view or pursue leadership. Good leaders garner the respect of those they are charged with overseeing, or shepherding, because they are looking out for the flock and are stewarding the direction of the church. Respect is not something that should be demanded or expected. Certainly, general respect for certain offices is warranted, but poor character, behavior, and leadership style can erode respect. 

Leading by example, as Peter writes, is key. It’s hard to ask people to make sacrifices if you yourself are not willing to sacrifice. People will work with you and follow you into the trenches of ministry if you are leading them into it and not simply trying to tell them what they should do.

Those who are younger, submit to the elders. Why? Because they’ve been doing life and ministry much longer and should have valuable insight that will help you mature in Christ. We may disagree on methods and approaches to ministry, but we can have conversations about why we should do some things and refrain from others. 

Submitting doesn’t just mean doing what someone else says, but can be as simple as working under someone else’s wisdom and authority, throwing ideas off them, and asking for insight and advice. A good leader is not simply going to say no to an idea, but help individuals discern the appropriateness or feasibility of an idea or ministry. Sometimes we have to say no to good ideas because of resources (money, staffing, business, etc.). 

One thing that leaders should be doing is helping people discern their spiritual gifts and guide them to appropriate roles in ministry and leadership. 

God opposes the proud. Humility is a trait that we all should strive for. After all, Jesus didn’t want to suffer, but he humbled himself to the point of death, even death on a cross, to submit to the will of God, his Father.

Reflection Questions

  1. In whom have you seen the beauty of a humble leader?
  2. Whether you are an official church leader or not, how can you approach life and others with more humility? Why do you think that is pleasing to God?
  3. How well do you submit to elders?
  4. No matter what position you do or do not hold, someone is always watching you – how can you lead by example?

Prayer

Dear God, Thank You for being a loving, guiding, providing Shepherd. Thank You for the gift of Your Son who learned from You and who took on the shepherd role even to the point of giving his life for his sheep – including me. Thank You for the humble shepherds You have supplied in my life – church and family leaders who have guided me to You. Help me to be a good and humble example in the way I live my life for You, that when the Chief Shepherd appears again I and the sheep who have followed my example will be ready for those crowns of glory.

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Preparation

Job 31

Psalm 100

*1 Peter 1

Devotion by J.J. Fletcher – J.J. is a 2009 graduate of Atlanta Bible College and has been pastoring Pine Grove Bible Church  (Brooklyn Park, MN) since 2017. He has been married to Hope (Kirkpatrick) for 18 years and has 4 children.

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

This quote is often attributed to Abraham Lincoln, but there is no evidence that he said or wrote it. It’s a good quote, nonetheless. Preparation is critical to proper execution.

John Kruck, a former Philadelphia Phillies baseball player, once joked that he drove hitting coaches crazy because he once used 6 different batting stances in an at-bat and ended up striking out. Baseball players work on their batting stance to get their timing and swing path to a consistent, repeatable motion so that they are not inaccurately flailing at incoming pitches. Preparation is critical to proper execution.

In 1st Peter 1:13, Peter calls on his readers to “prepare their minds for action” and to be “sober-minded.” This is a call to preparation for the goal of living holy lives. As Jesus lived a life filled with holy conduct, Peter says that “you also be holy in your conduct.” 

Peter recalls the former ignorance of his readers, living outside the redemption of the Gospel, living lives motivated and marked by their passions or desires, and encourages them to instead strive for holiness.

We all have issues with things that are not holy. Temptation abounds, whether it’s lust, pride, laziness, excess, or the myriads of other things that we might struggle with. Deciding to follow Jesus does not magically eliminate all of these temptations. Whether we’ve been a believer for 5 minutes or 50 years, the struggle remains, but the way that we prepare ourselves for daily spiritual warfare will help determine how successful we are at avoiding the traps of sin.

The language that Peter uses for prepare is literally to “gird up.” In antiquity, men would wear long, baggy outerwear that would be cumbersome to perform many tasks in, so to gird up your loins meant that you would tie up the loose fabric around your belt so that it would not clench up or be a tripping hazard. That is the imagery we are to see here: prepare your mind for the life and battles ahead, just as you would adjust your clothing for a particular task. Being sober-minded means being self-controlled. Self-control is an intentional practice that takes preparation and is marked by discipline. We must be mindful of where/what our temptations and weaknesses are and have an action plan for how we are going to respond when sin is crouching at our door. We should pray for strength, and God will help us, but we must also actively work to orient our lives in a way where we don’t find sin backing us into a corner. Preparation is critical for proper execution.

Reflection Questions

  1. What has become reoccurring tripping hazards for you? Consider specific temptations, bad habits, attitudes.
  2. How would you rate your self-control? How can you strengthen your self-discipline muscles? How can stronger self-control help you make better use of the time, gifts, body, and blessings God has given to you?
  3. What specific exercises, attitudes, thoughts, activities, accountability, verses, songs, etc…would be helpful to prepare your mind for holy action?

Prayer

Dear Father – You are perfect in all Your ways and thoughts, attitudes and actions. And I am not. Forgive me for the times I have not heeded Your word and Your will and instead became tripped up by a lack of self-control and fell to selfish sinfulness. Thank you for all the blessings You have provided for me, including life. Help me to use my mind, body, time and blessings in ways that are pleasing to You. In Your Son’s name, I pray, Amen

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Endurance and Confession

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