Loving Jesus Style

  Scripture: Isaiah 8:11-13 (ESV) 11  For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 12  “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13  But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread Devotion:             Today, conspiracy theories abound everywhere in our culture. Especially via the internet these wild rumors have taken root like a weed that refuses to be removed. We plainly see from today’s scripture that these conspiracies are not a new thing. God here instructs Isaiah to warn the people centuries before Christ was born not follow the conspiracies of the day. Of course, Israel did not possess the internet, but the damage that can be done by rumors and conspiracy theories was just as intense.             The Lord hates these conspiracy theories because they spread fear and panic am

  Scripture 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NRSV) 4  Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5  or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6  it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7  It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Devotion:             Today there are many ways to finish this sentence. In fact, I looked it up on Google and found over 17 billion entries. One wonders if there are so many ideas about what love is how could a person ever decide between these competing ideas. Can we ever truthfully say we know what the secret to what love is? It is fair to say that a majority of these solutions to the question of love are recent when compared to these words we have above from the Apostle Paul. Yet these ancient words seem to have the “ring of truth” to them that many of their modern counterparts do not. However, the first result is from a Boston church

  Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (NRSV) If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2  And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3  If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Devotion:             You may recognize the scripture passage above. It is common to hear read out at wedding services. Paul, however, was not writing this passage to be a declaration of love to be used at weddings alone. He was writing to a church at Corinth which had lost stability because of their over emphasis on certain flashy gifts. He had in mind such attention grabbers as speaking in unknown tongues, prophesy, and divine words of knowledge. While not degrading these important gifts he was putting them into proper context. The co

  Scripture: Romans 8:28 (NIV) 28  And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Devotion:             It is safe to say that the above quoted verse is certainly one of the most loved and memorized verses in all of scripture. Its promise seems unreservedly good. And it can be a great comfort in time of distress or loss. But it was intended for more than just a pleasant thought in times of distress and pain. It is a call to greater belief in the Creator God. It confirms that God does watch over his people with a jealous love that seeks to have every last detail of life work out for the benefit of God’s children             The first question we come to in verse 28 is this. What do these words actually mean as the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write them down for us. One thing they cannot mean is that every person regardless of their relationship with God is promised that they will be saved in the end

  Pro-Life: A Victory and a Challenge Scripture: Matthew 19:13-15 (ESV) 13  Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, 14  but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15  And he laid his hands on them and went away. Meditation:             Today the Supreme Court of the United States handed down a ruling overturning nearly 50 years of legalized abortion in the United States. Tens of millions of unborn children lost their lives to this abhorrent practice. It has been a long hard struggle to get to this place. Yet I am afraid we have more work to do. Arguably harder more demanding work must begin in earnest. We cannot lay down our weapons and relax. God has called us to be the church in a way we have not been used to.             You see while abortion was legal, we could celebrate when some blessed soul saved a baby through sidewal

  Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV) 5  Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6      In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.   Devotion:                         One of the problems with society today is that we lean on our own human understanding. The problem with this way of life is that human ways often cause unintended consequences (mostly bad). We seem to be able to drive our proverbial car into any number of ditches. Our hearts left to themselves will make any number of poor choices. Solomon who wrote these words must have been a keen observer of the human bent toward self-destruction. Just look at the problems that we, as humans, have brought upon ourselves. From war, inflation, addictions of every kind imaginable.               The answer to our sinful ways is right there in this scripture. How simple it sounds. Just lean on the Lord, acknowledge God as the Lord of everything and God will strai

  Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV) ,  7  for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Devotion:              I have observed that many  folks  who call themselves Christian are living lives of fear. They are afraid that if they say the wrong thing, the not politically correct thing, they will be fired from their job.  They fear they  will suffer harassment and embarrassment in front of coworkers, friends, and family. Perhaps even, God forbid, physical violence. Such reactions are all too human. We have probably all choked back some criticism of some action or situation out of fear of the consequences. We all have that part of us that wants to be liked and approved of by our peers and coworkers.             What Paul is teaching here to his son in the faith Timothy was that we do not need to be timid and shy about our faith. On the other hand, we are to follow Ephesians 4:15, we are to speak the truth in love. And in 1 Peter 3:15 we read “ 15  but in your h

  Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-16 (NLT) 11  Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12  Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13  This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. 14  Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever, they sound like the truth. 15  Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16  He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing an

  Scripture: James 3:13-18 (ESV) 13  Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14  But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15  This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16  For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17  But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18  And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. Devotion:             In these brief words James introduces us to true godly wisdom. James began this chapter by admonishing his readers that few should aspire to be teachers. Teachers are to be held to a stricter accounting for the words that they utter when instructing believers. Likewise, here James is admonishing the

  Scripture: Psalm 104:1-4 (ESV) Bless the Lord , O my soul! O Lord my God, you are very great!        You are clothed with splendor and majesty, 2          covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent. 3      He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;        he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind; 4      he makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire.   Meditation:                         Today I felt moved in my soul to offer God praise and worship. So instead of commentary on each line of scripture I will simply use this psalm as a basis for proclaiming God’s glory and his wonderful gifts to those of us who are blessed to be God’s image bearers.                         When we praise God the urge to worship comes from deep within us. It comes from that part of us we call the soul. When our souls are tuned in to God praise cannot help but stirred to worship o

  Scripture: Isaiah 11:1-3a (ESV) There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.             2            And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.             3            And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.   Devotion:               Here in Isaiah, we find a prophesy that was most certainly fulfilled centuries later with the birth of Jesus. There is no Old Testament figure that meets the qualifications of this prophecy. Jesus is truly the offspring of Jesse and a branch that bears much fruit. The historical situation is that the stump of Jesse is dried up; There seems to be no heir to of Jessie to claim the throne. However, the New Testament reveals Jesus as an heir to the throne of David. But Jesus is revealed as more than an earthly heir to the throne he is one wh

  Scripture: Luke 17:30-33 (ESV) 30  so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.  31  On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back.  32  Remember Lot’s wife.  33  Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. Devotion:             Luke records for us what it will be like on the day the Lord returns to save his people. The people who are alive in that glorious day and are watching for his return will know that the day is at hand. Luke offers their life in opposition to those who are not waiting and prepared for the Lord’s return. They will be destroyed because they have not kept alert to what God was doing in the last days. They will perish much as the world did in the day of Noah and the great flood.             Even so, the people who are aware of the Lord’s coming must be prepared to leave every material

Scripture: Hebrews 10:36-39 (NLT) 36  Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.   37  “For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. 38  And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.”   39  But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.   Devotion:                         There is no doubt we live in trying times. We are dealing with a pandemic which stubbornly refuses to end, runaway inflation affecting everything from gasoline to groceries, and war in Europe threatening to lead us into World War three. What is a person to do to cope with all the stresses of our lives in the year 2022? The author of Hebrews urges us to have patient endurance in the face of all our trials. How can we endure what seems to be never-ending problems? We wish there wer

Scripture: Luke 21:34-36 (NLT) 34  “Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, 35  like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. 36  Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.” Devotion:             The words of Jesus above concern what will happen in the last days of this earth. They contain wisdom for us to apply to our lives. What they do not contain, however, is an exact date and time for us to know when the end will come. There have been oceans of ink spilled regarding the end times and what will happen then. What is contained in the above paragraph is a reliable guide for us to live in these days. They are good advice whether the end is near or still aways off,             Jesus starts this teaching by commanding us to “Watch out.” He is plainly telling us to a

Scripture: Luke 21: 1-4 (NIV) As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury 2  He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3  “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4  All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” Devotion:             In this passage from Luke’s gospel, we see a poignant scene. Jesus sees what God sees in the giving of gifts in the temple. He knows what is in the heart of each person giving to the work of God through their offering. Our Lord still knows what is in our hearts as we give our money for his work through the church. It is a sobering thought. How will we be judged by God in relation to our giving? Do we give of our time and talents in addition to our cash? These questions are good questions to ask ourselves every so often. If the answer is convicting, we must change.             The poo

Scripture: Matthew 22:17-21 (ESV)   17  Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18  But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19  Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20  And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21  They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22  When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away. Devotion:             In today’s scripture we find the Pharisees trying to get Jesus in trouble by asking a trick question. But Jesus knowing their plot answered the question wisely and well. Jesus thereby avoided the dilemma that the religious leaders trap that they had laid. They had hoped he would answer with a simple yes or no response thus trapping Jesus. A yes answer would get him in trouble with the Jews who despised this t