Category Archives: Devotional

GROW CHRISTIAN GROW!

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Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,

Hebrews 6:1 NAS

The writer to the Hebrews makes no secret of the fact that Christians must take action in order to grow in spiritual maturity.  Notice that he tells us that we are to “press on.”  This means we are to be actively involved in our maturation process.  It is sad to see Christians who believe that spiritual maturity is a process of osmosis.  Those individuals believe that if they are faithful in their church attendance, read a chapter a day in their Bibles, and then pray before they go to sleep at night, then they will automatically grow into a mature Christian.

Here’s some bad news for those people – you don’t grow without being an active participant in what God describes as the process for growth.  Here the writer to the Hebrews says we are to leave the elementary things behind.  What things?  He says the elementary teaching about the Christ.  In other words, there is much more to learn and live about Jesus than that He died on Calvary’s cross.

It may be in vogue today to forsake theology in favor of the warm-fuzzies.  But fuzzy thinking will not draw you closer to Christ and will not provide the impetus for spiritual growth of the kind the Bible describes.  The “meatier” issues of the faith are not apprehended by a novel Christianity.

May we press on to break through the elementary teachings of the Scriptures to attain the status of workmen that are not ashamed!

LOVE AND UNITY

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Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

Philippians 2:1-2 NAS

There is a humorous illustration that has made the church rounds over the years. It asks a question something like, “Did you know the disciples preferred foreign cars?”  The punch line states, “Yes, the Scriptures say that they were all in one Accord.”

Being of one accord, being of the same mindset is a powerful factor in the church.  It is no small thing for the Holy Spirit to work this out in the lives of any fellowship regardless of size.  In our culture of “rugged individualism” it becomes a daunting task in the least from a human perspective.

To the Philippian Christians however it was a badge of honor and courage.  The apostle Paul exhorted them to demonstrate the love and unity that the Spirit of God births in the hearts and minds of every believer.

Was this unity and love an end to itself?  Did the Philippian Christians “arrive” spiritually by demonstrating a single-mindedness of purpose?  The key to answering that question is found in the first word of the passage cited above.  “Therefore” is there for a reason.  Verses one and two are the conclusion of what Paul has already stated in chapter one and supplies us with the need for love and unity in the church today.

Verse twenty-seven of chapter one tells us that a key to living in a manner worthy of the gospel and our calling as God’s children is to stand firm in one spirit, of one mind, striving together to uphold the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Why is this necessary? Because as verse twenty-nine states we will suffer for His sake.

Brothers and sisters, keep the faith.  Stand firm in the Spirit of God.  Seek love and unity above all else within the body.  In this way is God glorified and you are strengthened for the battles of life.

STAY TUNED IN

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“For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream. For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,’ declares the LORD.”

Jeremiah 29:8-9 NAS

The prophet Jeremiah lived in similar times to ours today.  His was a lone voice calling out for repentance and a returning to the Lord.  On more than one occasion he was physically threatened because of his message of impending judgment.

There were competing prophetic voices in Jeremiah’s day that proclaimed a message diametrically opposed to the one true message Jeremiah received from God.  It is important for us to note that God declares clearly that we are not to listen to the voices of false prophets because they do not represent Him.

Of course this requires us to know the voice of the true Shepherd doesn’t it?  This is the point Jesus made when He said that the sheep will know the right voice to follow as recorded in John 10.  Clearly then, we can and must be able to distinguish between true and false messages today.

One way we can do that is by comparing the message of the false prophets of our day to God’s Word.  A second way is to listen to the leading of God the Holy Spirit.  We can rest assured that God will never lead us into error but always lead us into the light of His truth.

With the cacophony of voices today it is imperative for the Christian to stay “tuned in” to the voice of God and thus avoid the myriad and convoluted teachings that have clearly departed from the one true gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

HEALED OR STILL HURTING?

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“But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court.”

John 8:7-9 NAS

Let me ask you a question.  If you were to look at your fellowship through the eyes of a visitor, what would you see?  Would you see stiff and mechanical people, going through the familiar but phony motions of hand shaking and smiles?  Would you see the barely masked smirks and the thinly veiled sneers of people who want to be accepted but fear letting their guard down even for a moment?

The obvious point in the event described in John 8 was that the accusers were themselves as sinful as or worse than the accused.  It is quite possible that Jesus pointed that out by the things He wrote in the dirt.  Jesus was about forgiving the hurting and pointing out the sin of the prideful.

It is no coincidence that in John 8 Jesus offered forgiveness in the temple. Our fellowships must be places of healing.  Jesus offered healing wherever He found the hurting.  Shall we do anything less?

When God Smiles

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WHEN GOD SMILES

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Colossians 3:17 NAS 

Are you consumed with Jesus?  Is Jesus pouring out of every pore?  That is the thought expressed to the Colossian believers in the verse above.  Have you considered how exhaustive everything we do in either word or deed is?  What is left unsaid is assumed here – our thoughts are included in “whatever.”

We know that our thinking results in our words and our deeds so Paul is saying that in everything you do, say, or think do it all because of Jesus in you.  Hold every word, deed, and thought captive to the Savior.  Elsewhere the Bible instructs us to take “every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”

When we come to this place in our relationship with the Lord we can praise God in the good times and in the bad.  We can praise Him when the sun is shining and when the storms are raging.  The writer to the Hebrews knew this well and stated, “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased” (13:15-16).

Brothers and sisters, I pray that your lives will be continually yielded to God through Christ.