Loving Jesus Style

  Scripture: Revelation 21:1-4 (ESV) Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Devotion:             We are almost to the new year. 2021 was a year of struggle and illness for many people. Our nations death toll from the virus topped 800,000. While we mourn the loss of so many people, we read the Bible as a word of hope in this distressing time. Things will not always go from bad to worse. God has pr

  Scripture: Isaiah 9.8 (ESV) And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” Devotion:             In this devotion we highlight another dangerous prayer that God may be calling us to pray. The prayer is the one found above from the lips of Isaiah when God was seeking someone to go and proclaim His words to the people. When Isaiah said these words God’s immediate response was “And [God] said, “Go, and say to this people:”. The issue with the prayer “send me” is that God may send us somewhere we would not otherwise want to go to.             The Bible is full of people who got sent to places they would not otherwise go. From Abraham being told to leave his family and his home and travel to an unknown distant land. At least Abraham went willingly obeying the direction of God. However, Jonah wanted no part of going to Nineveh but went unwillingly and did what God commanded him to do. So, it is with us. We

  Scripture: James 1:2-4 (ESV) 2  Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3  for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Devotion:             This devotion will discuss a very dangerous prayer. This prayer is so bizarre according to the worlds standards that it is laughable. Yet, it is a prayer that God longs to hear from his children. This prayer is simply; “break me Lord.” Why would anyone want to pray a prayer like that? In modern culture with its desire for a life of carefree ease, it simply makes no sense. The world says enjoy the pleasures of life. Flee from suffering, pain, and dis-ease and the people of God follow the way of the world in this desire. Honestly, who would prefer hardships and suffering to a life of happiness and joy?             The Bible is full of men and women who suffered greatly. We say thei

  Scripture: Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT) 23  Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24  Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Devotion:             The prayer given here by the psalmist David is a dangerous one to pray. You are asking a holy and powerful God to examine your whole life and make the corrections as He sees fit. If one is at all self-aware of how sinful and weak one is spiritually inviting this kind of thorough inspection is dangerous. However, our God is trustworthy and usually gentle in his correction of His wayward sheep. Therefore, inviting God to search us should not intimidate us. Indeed, God loves us so much that we can be assured that whatever correction He makes will be only for making us into better Christians.             This prayer touches us in sensitive places. First it invites God to examine our very heart. The heart is the most sensitive part of the human sou

  Scripture: Colossians 2:6-7 (The Message) 6–7         My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well-constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. Devotion:             We have just celebrated the Advent season and Christmas Day. What do we do with the baby lying in the manger? If we truly possess Jesus in your heart and mind, shouldn’t we be living differently now? That is the challenge before us now. We who have just celebrated the birth of Jesus as our savior have no excuse not be speaking to others who don’t know Jesus about the good news of his birth.             The promise that Jesus’ birth is before us. We have learned what this child will become from angels, shepherds, and

  Scripture: John 1:14 (NIV) 14  The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Devotion:             The Holy Spirit moved the apostle John to tell about the birth of Jesus in an indirect way. However, it is no less a birth proclamation than we find in Matthew, and Luke. John’s gospel takes our minds off of the stable with its animals and visits from shepherds and wise men. John instead focuses our minds on what God was really doing on that first Christmas.             In the scripture above we are asked to believe that the very God who created the universe and everything in it has stepped out of his glory and has somehow been made flesh in a tiny helpless infant. The Creator God has created himself in human form. The wonder of that sight should hold us in awe and reverence of what God did on that first Christmas so long ago. Jesus came as the exact representa

  Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:22-25 (The Message)             While Jews clamor for miraculous demonstrations and Greeks go in for philosophical wisdom, we go right on proclaiming Christ, the Crucified. Jews treat this like an anti -miracle—and Greeks pass it off as absurd. But to us who are personally called by God himself—both Jews and Greeks—Christ is God’s ultimate miracle and wisdom all wrapped up in one. Human wisdom is so tiny, so impotent, next to the seeming absurdity of God. Human strength can’t begin to compete with God’s “weakness.” Devotion:             In this post I want to consider the seeming weakness of God being born as a human baby. Let us explore what the world thinks a savior should look like versus what God’s savior actually looked like. This world system is always attracted by power, prestige, and money. Those who have these things are naturally attractive to us as natural men and women. This was true in the world in which Jesus was born and continues to

  Wise Men   Scripture Matthew2:1-12 (NIV)   After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2  and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3  When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4  When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5  “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6  “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people, Israel.’ 7  Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8  He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too

  Scripture: Luke 2:8-18 (ESV) A nd in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9  And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10  And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12  And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,             14           “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” 15  When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

  Scripture: Luke 2:1-7 (ESV) In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2  This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3  And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4  And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5  to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6  And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7  And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. Devotion:             As we come to the heart of this advent time let us remind ourselves of those events that we celebrate during this season of waiting, hoping, and loving. In Luke’s gospel we encounter perhaps the most detailed account of the birth of Jesus and the events

  Scripture: Jerimiah 29:12-14 (ESV) 12  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13  You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14  I will be found by you, declares the Lord, Devotion:             Today’s scripture is an excellent promise from God’s word. Although it originally was said to the Jewish exiles in Babylon, we as Christians can claim it as our own because Jesus said this in Matthew 7:7-8 (ESV) 7  “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8  For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” Jesus reaffirmed Jerimiah’s promise. Declaring it to a new generation of God’s people.             Our God is a God who wants to be found by us. Whether it is the God who was hidden from Job or the wise men who sought after the Christ child. God will always ultimately reveal himself to us if we seek him wholehea

  Scripture: Acts 16:19-22 (The Message) When her owners saw that their lucrative little business was suddenly bankrupt, they went after Paul and Silas, roughed them up and dragged them into the market square. Then the police arrested them and pulled them into a court with the accusation, “These men are disturbing the peace—dangerous Jewish agitators subverting our Roman law and order.” By this time the crowd had turned into a restless mob out for blood. Devotion:             Today’s scripture comes from the book of Acts where Paul had just cast out a demon from a young slave girl in Philippi. It seems that Paul and his companions were busy causing trouble wherever they went. (see Acts 17:8, 19:23) The church today in America tries to keep a low profile. We keep our heads down and hope not to attract fire from the enemy. How should the church live in the world? Should we be trouble makers or peace makers or are we called to be both depending on the circumstances?            

  Are You a Martha or a Mary? Scripture: Luke 10:38-42 (ESV) 38  Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39  And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40  But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41  But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42  but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Devotion:             Today’s scripture is a familiar one to many people. Everybody likes to think that they are more like Mary than they are like Martha. At least I always thought I was definitely a Mary not a Martha. But I recently came across a new way (to me anyway) of reading this familiar story that I want to share with you now. It chang

           Scripture: 1 Peter 1:8-9 (ESV) 8  Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9  obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Devotion             In this devotion we are going to praise the Lord for his salvation. We will be solely concerned about lifting the name of the Lord up because of the wonderful things he did, is doing, and will do for us his children. It is too easy, in this world, to be distracted from the love and adoration of our Lord. We could fill pages and pages of things that the world has and does that distract us from the worship of God. Let us not fall prey to the things of the world, the flesh, and the devil that would distract us now.             The scripture above is full of praises for our Lord. Sometimes we fail to praise the Lord appropriately because he is not visible to us. Like the Hebrews at the Red

  Put on the Armor         Scripture: Ephesians 6:11 (ESV) 11  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. Devotion:             We are told to put on the armor of God. It is for our own protection. We have an enemy that is pleased when he is able to do us harm. This enemy is the Devil, and he is constantly looking for weaknesses in us that he can exploit for the benefit of his infernal kingdom. The devil is constantly looking for souls he can lure away from the safety of our Heavenly Father. Therefore, God has provided us with complete armor that we can withstand the attacks of the Devil, subdue the rebellious flesh, and overcome the temptations of the world.             What are some of the common schemes of the enemy of our soul?  First, we have the vanity of the things of this world. How many a Christian has gotten lost in their profession of faith by the enticements of worldly wealth? The number is probably in the millio

  Take Up Your Cross Scripture: Mark 8:34-38 (NLT) 34  Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. 35  If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. 36  And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? 37  Is anything worth more than your soul? 38  If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Devotion:             This scripture bids us to come and follow Jesus even to the point of death on a cross. But who is called to do this? Before giving this teaching Jesus invites the crowds to join his chosen twelve to hear this teaching. This teaching was for everyone, not just for religious “professi

  Scripture: Psalm 126:4-6 (NIV) 4  Restore our fortunes Lord, like streams in the Negev. 5  Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. 6  Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.   Devotion:             Psalm 126 verses 4-6 is really a dialog. First, in verse 4 the people cry out to God to restore their fortunes. Meaning that the people had somehow become lax in their devotion to God. They had great joy in returning to the promised land but somehow that joy had faded, and they were asking for God to rekindle their lagging faith.             This is really a human trait. We as Christians are prone to that same decay of our love for the Lord. The Apostle John writes in Revelation 2:4 to the church at Ephesus the following: “ 4  But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5  Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the works you di

  The Restoration   Psalm 126:1-3 (NIV) 1  When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. 2  Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” 3  The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.   Devotion:             The psalm we will begin to look at today provides a glimpse into what the Jewish people felt upon returning from exile in Babylon. The people had been taken captive by Babylon for 70 years. When they finally got to return to the land of Israel they rejoiced greatly. This psalm expresses the great gratitude the people of God had for the restoration of their homeland. They had been punished for their sins and now they were being restored.             Since this psalm has a definite place in the history of Israel what truths, if any, are we able to take from this psalm and apply to us today. While we