Tag: victory in Jesus

Peace with God through Christ

1 Chronicles 18-19

Psalm 73

Ephesians 2

~ Devotion by Cayce Fletcher (SC)

Cayce Fletcher is a wife and homeschool mom of three. She writes and podcasts at amorebeautifullifecollective.com where she helps women grow in grace, build with purpose, and live beautifully. Read the latest post in the Systematic Theology series here. 

My brothers were older when I was born, so apart from occasionally being hit on the head with a basketball and called dumb when I teased them about girls, I didn’t live through the brunt of a boy’s household. With the birth of my oldest, however, I have been immersed in all things monster truck, dinos, and tractors—Minecraft, sports, and construction. The highlight of his day – no matter what I do – is to play ‘dinos’ with his dad, which really just means wrestling for 15 minutes. 

When his cousins are over, he loves to play ‘battle,’ and he’ll tell me sometimes of the preparations he’s making in his room for when the next war erupts between the girls and the boys. (It really is comical to watch the boys find wherever they can in the house to hit each other, while the girls play ‘kids’ and rock their little stuffed animals to sleep.) 

Today, we read of the battles that David waged against the neighboring nations. David is described in 1 Samuel 16:18 as someone “who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the Lord is with him.” We just get a glimpse of these exploits today in our readings from 1 Chronicles. In 1 Chronicles 18:6b says, “The Lord made David victorious wherever he went.” 

David was continuing the work that the first Israelites who entered the promised land were called to do. He was conquering the land for the Lord and ridding it of the influence of the Canaanites. 

Interestingly, later on, one of the reasons that God gave David for not being able to build the temple is the fact that he is a warrior. 1 Chronicles 28:3 says, “but God said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for my name because you are a man of war and have shed blood.’” 

David followed God’s command to conquer the land, but in doing so, he was also limited in what he was able to do. In obedience, he had to let the dream of building the temple pass to his son. He used the time he reigned to help gather and prepare so that Solomon would have what he needed to build the temple. 

Solomon, whose name means peace (it is derived from the Hebrew word Shalom), would go on to build the temple. In his reign, the Israelites experienced unprecedented peace and prosperity. 

I find it interesting to think about the battles that David faced (and the foreshadowing of the peace of Solomon’s reign) as we consider Ephesians 2. This chapter lays out the gospel in its full glory. Ephesians 2:14 says, “For he is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility.”

In the gospel, we recognize our original place before God – as someone removed from him, hostile to him, and dead in sin. And, we also recognize our way to peace: Through Christ, the hostility between God and us is torn down. 

In David’s time, the enemy was the surrounding nations, but we know that our enemy is not against flesh and blood (Eph. 6:12). David had to wage war, and victory against the enemy was only accomplished through bloodshed. We have victory in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57)! The battle is already won. David could not build a temple but had to wait for peace in this world. Our peace is not tied to any physical circumstance; it rests on the peace we already have in Christ. 

“Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory in Christ!” 

Reflection Questions

  1. Why do you think that God told David he was not able to build the temple? Why did the temple need to be constructed by a man of peace, not war? 
  2. If the Israelites were battling against surrounding nations, what are we battling against now? How does this change how we live? 

Prayer

Lord, 

Thank you for the gift of your son! We praise you and are so thankful that we have peace with you in Christ! Help us to fight the battles we are called to against sin and darkness in the world – knowing that you have the victory in Christ! 

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

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Be Strong

1 Corinthians 15-16

Welcome back to our final chapters in 1st Corinthians!

Chapter 15 must be one of the most powerful and hopeful chapters that Paul has written.  There is no one that can leave this chapter feeling defeated with a message taunting Death asking “Where is your victory?  Where is your sting?” (15:55).  We have a victory in Christ that no one can stop, not even something that feels as permanent and powerful as death.

This year has brought many challenges.  People have experienced financial struggles, people have dealt with severe illnesses and deaths, people have experienced mental and emotional turmoil, people have disagreed with those they are closest to, people have felt betrayed, silenced, oppressed, offended, and defeated.  It is so easy this year to become discouraged, and no one would blame anyone if they did not focus on something as far away as the Kingdom.

But that focus on the Kingdom must be at the front of our minds daily, because without it, the darkness that is this world today will all too easily take over our own life.  Paul calls us to be steadfast, immovable, working enthusiastically for the Lord, and knowing that our work is not in vain (15:58). 

In a world where so often the struggles and challenges we face are in front of us due to someone else’s choices, it can be incredibly uplifting to remember that Jesus will abolish all of the rule and power on earth, God will put the enemies under his feet, and our world will be at peace for the first time since the fall of man.  There is a point where things will be made perfect, and those who have committed themselves to Christ will have an opportunity to experience that perfection.

What strikes me while reading these passages is how even when though this was written to a specific church however many hundreds of years ago, the message has never changed and is incredibly applicable in 2020.  Our God is unchanging, despite our world changing so rapidly away from Him.  In this changing world we must put our faith, trust, and hope in an unchanging God.  I don’t care how cheesy that sounds!

So where does Paul leave the church in this letter?  He doesn’t just finish with a message of hope.  True to form, Paul gives the church one more reality check in chapter 16.  Verse 13 says “Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong.”  To me that message is one that you leave when you know something’s coming…  Paul wasn’t finishing on a happy-go-lucky victory note because he knows that the victory doesn’t come without a battle.  As we grow closer and closer to Christ’s return, we can expect our world to continue to fall.  Yes, we have a hope.  Yes, that hope should carry us through the hard times.  And yes, we should be ready for a spiritual fight. 

We shouldn’t be living in fear of the battle, because we already know the outcome.  We should be living with the intention of being on the winning side.  When we are confidently standing with the winner, we should be finding everyone else we can to bring them to victory as well.  That is our mission.

I am so excited to jump into 2nd Corinthians with you all tomorrow!  Until then, My love be with all of you in Christ Jesus.

-Sarah Blanchard

Today’s Bible passage can be read or listened to at BibleGateway here – 1 Corinthians 15-16

Tomorrow we will begin 2 Corinthians (chapters 1-4).

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Lukewarm Caterpillars

2 Corinthians 5_17

A few weeks ago, we got to experience an up-close view of a bit of a twist on the classic caterpillar to butterfly spiritual analogy. Maybe you’ve heard the classic version in youth group, Bible School, or a devotion book….the idea that we are all new creations if we are Christians. That we start as these creepy, crawly, fuzzy little beings and then as a gift of God, through faith in Christ….voila….we are made completely new into creations of beauty and wonder like a butterfly.

Thanks to our friend, Terri Tschaenn, and her milkweed stash….we have gotten to watch this truly amazing experience of God’s creation several times, and it hasn’t gotten old yet. We’ve gotten to feed those adorably cute little caterpillars as they grow at amazing rates each day. We’ve watched the miraculous chrysalis formation, and we’ve gotten to hold brand new monarch butterflies on our pinky fingers before they fly off. It is amazing. It is beautiful. And, it certainly is representative of the hope of new life and transformation God tells us about in 2 Corinthians 5:17.

But. . .does every caterpillar turn into a butterfly? Hmmm.

Terri told us the unfortunate story of one of her baby caterpillars that accidentally met a predator while she was trying to keep it safe in her school classroom….and….chomp. All gone. No butterfly.  And, recently, we watched our caterpillar which we had been watching grow for several weeks, for some unknown reason, never develop his chrysalis at all. Instead, he slowly wasted away and died. It was rather depressing to watch. He had eaten milkweed like all the rest, had gotten to full size, and had looked “just right” to us from the surface. But, inside….something was wrong. He never experienced the stage of transformation. And, instead of achieving beauty and new life, he died a caterpillar. It is common. It is sad. And, it is also certainly representative of what God tells us about in scripture whether or not it makes for as many Sunday School craft ideas on Pinterest.

The Bible warns us about the Christians who look like Christians, but who haven’t experienced a transformation through repentance and faith in the Messiah, Jesus Christ. These Christians are lukewarm. Just like the caterpillars who die, they lack something inside. But mind you, these aren’t atheist caterpillars or caterpillars who don’t go to church. These are Christian caterpillars. Ones who look just like us. Ones who go to church with us. Maybe us. They haven’t achieved the transformation of repentance and faith in Christ which leads to obedience. And their demise if they don’t repent? “I will spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16, NASV).

Truth can hurt, but it matters. It matters because God and Jesus love us. And true love includes speaking honestly and intentionally. It also matters because unless we repent, at the judgment day, we do not become “butterflies” to live eternally with God and his son Jesus in the kingdom of God. The alternative to that option is death. Today, we live in a world telling us that almost any belief imaginable is “Christian”, and it can get quite confusing as we seek to be on the narrow road and not in the lukewarm masses. It requires diligent searching of scripture and faithful prayer on our parts. We cannot rely alone on our teachers, our families, our churches, and traditions of men. We must not just believe “in” God and Jesus, but know what they say and apply those words to our lives. So, if we find ourselves lukewarm and amongst lukewarm believers. . .what does Jesus say to us?

“Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.” (Revelation 3:19-21, NASV).

Let’s seek and pray to be more than lukewarm this week and to be victorious in Christ.

-Jennifer Koryta Hall