Loving Jesus Style

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15.3-5 (ESV) 3  For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5  and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Devotion:             We turn now to a passage from 1 Corinthians 15 that contains the oldest creed of the church. Paul shortly after his conversion on the road to Damascus was taught this creed by the Christians that he associated with after he was converted. This would have been in the A.D. 35-40 range. Here we have it written to the church at Corinth in the A.D. 50’s. The early dating of this creed is importance because it dispels the notion the death and resurrection of Christ was a tradition that was somehow added later by the church.             The creed reported here is important also because it has become part of the Bible and is thus considered insp

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NRSV) And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit. Devotion:             There is a hymn in our hymnbooks called  Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.  That hymn captures perfectly what Paul is trying to communicate to the church at Corinth in this scripture passage. We all must learn to contemplate who Jesus is and what His suffering and death on the cross mean for His people today. There is light and love in no other that compares with the light and love we see in the face of our Savior. Jesus Christ came to show us the way to everlasting life if we will but turn away from our newsfeeds and other social media activities to see Him as He is.             In this age of smart phones and social media we more often have our faces lit up by the glow from our screens than the glow from contemplating

Scripture: James 2:1-4 (ESV) 2  My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2  For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3  and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4  have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Devotion:             Do we show favoritism? In today’s scripture we see an obvious example of partiality at work. Are we so sure that in the church today such games are not being played? While we may not be discriminating against the poor necessarily, we still have not been able to consistently integrate the races in our churches. And we may be less obvious in our favoritism than to enforce some kind of seating chart. I believe we still practi

Scripture: James 1:26-27 (ESV) 26  If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.  27  Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. Devotion             Here in today’s scripture the author of James gives a prescription for what ails the church in every generation. The church so easily loses track of its reason for existence. We as a church are in constant danger of losing our collective minds over trivia, and neglecting the important work of loving God, our neighbors, and ourselves with all our being. Jesus kept the main thing, the main thing throughout His ministry. He shut down all attempts by others to speak about matters that did not concern Him.             For the church today there is much in our culture that needs addressing. However, how to address these issues is the focus of the mes

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:             Today’s scripture passage seems to ask the impossible of us. James’ words are like sandpaper on steel asking us to be joyful in times of testing and trial. It just isn’t logical or natural for humans to be joyful under the stress and strain of daily life or under some particularly difficult circumstances. We all have or will have medical conditions, job difficulties, relationship problems, or other trials that seem to suck the joy right out of life. How can we be expected to be joyful under these conditions?             Yet we read in these words a call to be joyful in times of testing. Although God tests no one, tests will come and according to the text we are to use these periods of test

Scripture: James 1:22-25 (ESV) 22  But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24  For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25  But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. Devotion:             Today’s message from the Holy Spirit comes to us through the pen of James, Jesus’ brother. It is helpful to remember these words at regular intervals in our walk with the Lord to check in and see how we are doing faith wise. Our culture puts much emphasis on image and perception. In God’s kingdom we are to emphasize actions and faithfulness. How many of us have spent a few seconds (maybe even minutes?) looking for a cell phone that is in our pocket or even our hand? It is so easy to ge

  Scripture: Luke 21:20-24 (ESV) 20  “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. 21  Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, 22  for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. 23 Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. 24  They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. Devotion:             It seems that the tiny nation of Israel is back in the headlines again. Jesus who is speaking in the passage above made the prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the nation Israel. This was accomplished in A.D. 70. What then is going o

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:3-5 (NIV) 3  For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5  But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. Devotion:             In this scripture, Paul is writing to his young disciple Timothy. Paul wants to encourage the young man to continue to be on fire for the Lord. Paul knows he is at the end of his life. His time as a prisoner of Emperor Nero in Rome is nearing its conclusion. So, he wants to warn Timothy of the obstacles that Paul knows this young man will face as he ministers to the people around him. However, it is not a big step to apply this teaching to our lives today. There is much we can learn from Paul’s words to the yo

Scripture: Romans 5:6-8 (ESV) 6  For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.  7  For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—  8  but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Devotion:             We humans are weak, frail, and prone to sin. How is it that God, who we believe is a good and kind God, would allow such faults as these in His special creation? Why would His rescue plan be to become incarnate only to die a humiliating death on the cross? A logical and philosophical answer to those questions would require more knowledge and skill in reasoning than exists on planet earth today. So why bother tackling them in a short 500-word blog post? Because the simplest answer can be found in today’s scripture quotation.             Paul writes here in the 5 th  chapter of Romans the explanation the Holy Spirit led him to while pondering the condition

Scripture: Psalm 41:1-3, 11-13 (ESV) 1  Blessed is the one who considers the poor!                 In the day of trouble, the  Lord  delivers him; 2      the  Lord  protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; you do not give him up to the will of his enemies. 3      The  Lord  sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health. . . . 11     By this I know that you delight in me: my enemy will not shout in triumph over me. 12     But you have upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in your presence forever. 13     Blessed be the  Lord , the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.   Devotion:                         This psalm ends book one of the psalms. It proclaims God’s blessing on His people. It begins by pronouncing a blessing on one who considers the poor. The word translated considers means to give thoughtful assistance. This is like the idea of teaching a man to fish rather than giving him a fish when h

Scripture: Psalm 40:1-3 (NIV) 1  I waited patiently for the  Lord ; he turned to me and heard my cry. 2  He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. 3  He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the  Lord and put their trust in him.   Devotion:               The scripture for today is a hymn of praise to our God. In the larger psalm we see this theme and a section of complaint and petition. It opens, however, with a hymn of praise to God for all the wonderful things He has done. The psalmist begins by professing that he has been waiting for the Lord. Waiting is a lost art in our modern microwave, smartphone, instant everything culture. If we wait for more than a few seconds for anything we begin to feel the impatience growing in our bodies.               God is a big enough God to deal with our impatient nature. We need to trust in Him more because we know that although w

  Scripture: Psalm 39:4-5 (NIV) 4  “Show me, Lord , my life’s end and the number of my days let me know how fleeting my life is. 5  You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.   Devotion:                   Our psalm for today contains some very sobering, yet very wise thoughts about life and death. Just as life is full of ups and downs so the psalms help us face these changing seasons of life in the same way God prepares us for the change of seasons in the weather. As much as we think life should be all play and no work. The author in these verses reminds us there will be a time when we will have passed from this life into death.             The writer of this psalm encourages God to show us, and us to look at how few days we humans really have to live on this planet. We are urged to number our days. Counting them should humble us as we compare our impermanence

Scripture: Psalm 38: 1-8 (NIV) 1  Lord , do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath 2  Your arrows have pierced me, and your hand has come down on me. 3  Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin. 4  My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. 5  My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly. 6  I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning 7  My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body. 8  I am feeble and utterly crushed; groan in anguish of hear   Devotion:               I live and minister in a facility. I am quite well acquainted with the issues that slow us down as we age. The psalmist here declares that that no part of his body is full of health ad life. This author finds himself without much hope in the world. There is apparently no suggestion of hope within this text. The first thing that seems obviously In fact this