Loving Jesus Style

Scripture: Psalm 51:15 (ESV) 15           O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise Devotion: Psalm 51 is a prayer of repentance from King David, who had committed adultery with Bathsheba and arranged the murder of her husband, Uriah. David was confronted by the prophet Nathan and convicted of his sin. He cried out to God for mercy and forgiveness, and asked God to restore his joy and fellowship. This passage is a powerful example of the transformative power of God's forgiveness and the restoration it brings to our lives. Verse 15 is part of David's plea for restoration. He asks God to open his lips, so that he can declare God's praise. This implies that David's sin had silenced his praise. He had lost his ability and desire to worship God, because he knew he had offended God and broken his covenant. He felt ashamed and unworthy to speak of God's goodness and glory. But David also knew that only God could heal ...

Scripture: Philippians 2:6-11 (ESV) 6  who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7  but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9  Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10  so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Devotion:             The final creed/hymn we will examine is found early in the letter to the Philippians. Theologians have described it as a hymn of kenosis, a term that means self-emptying. This hymn was likely a familiar part of the early Christian liturgy, and its inclusion ...

  What Christ-like Love Looks Like Scripture: Philippians 2:1-4 (NKJV) 2  Therefore, if  there is  any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,  2  fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love,  being  of one accord, of one mind.  3  Let  nothing  be done  through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.  4  Let each of you look out not only for his own interests but also for the interests of others. Devotion:             In today's scripture passage, Paul looks at the ideal standard of behavior for Christian Churches. Because of Christ's love for His church, we are always to love and serve one another. Without the presence of the Holy Spirit, such mutual love is impossible. We all have differing opinions about how things sh...

Scripture: Colossians 1:15-20 (ESV) 15  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  16  For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.  17  And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  18  And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.  19  For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,  20  and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. Scripture:             Today’s scripture stretches the imagination. Imagining Christ as being preexistent boggles our poor human minds. It is difficult to imagine Jesus as a baby growing i...

  Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV) 8  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9  not by works, so that no one can boast. 10  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. Devotion:             If you have been around the church for any length of time you have heard these verses from Ephesian quoted by someone. These verses are a simple way of stating the basic truth of the salvation which we have been given. They are a bold statement of God’s great love for us. They are in sharp contrast to all the other major religions in the world. All the other religions promote ways achieving God’s favor by doing good works. One is never sure if one has done enough to secure salvation.             Christianity on the other han...

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8:9 (ESV)   For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. Devotion:             The purpose behind Paul’s writing here in 2 nd Corinthians was to encourage the believers in Corinth to give generously to help their brothers and sisters in Macedonia. Paul does this by pointing back to Jesus’ self-giving in the incarnation, death, and resurrection. It is amazing to consider that the God who created the entire universe cared so much for His creation that He would die for us. It makes no earthly sense. However, the wisdom of God who came to us is not based on human reason.             Indeed, we must be grateful for God’s grace. While we were still stuck in our sinful ways we were made right with God through the impossible gift of His So...

Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-13 (NIV) 11  So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors, and teachers,  12  to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up  13  until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Devotion:             We continue in Chapter 4 of the Ephesians today. Here we see Paul encouraging members of that church, and by extension us, to be involved in the day-to-day life of whatever Christian fellowship we belong to. One temptation in our Christian walk is to leave everything up to paid staff members and just sit back and enjoy the show. Christian living is never just bread and circuses. Our leaders need people to wash the dishes and bake the bread. Otherwise, we run the risk of burning our leaders out.   ...

Scripture: Exodus 3:13-15 (ESV) 13  Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, “What is his name? what shall I say to them?” 14  God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: I am has sent me to you. ” 15  God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. Devotion:             In this scripture passage we consider the divine name of God. Moses who had turned aside from what he was doing to see the awesome sight of a bush that was on fire yet not consumed, was being instructed to go back to Egypt to lead the Hebrew slaves out of slavery. However, Moses had several objecti...

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 (NIV) 7  But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8  We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9  persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10  We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11  For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12  So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. Devotion:             Paul, in today’s scripture, is attempting to show the power of God that is at work through his own life. By refusing to take any credit for the fact that he has survived so many trials and tribulations, Paul affirms the power of God that is at work through his l...

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.         ...

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 ph...

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 b...

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 ou...

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.          ...

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:                      ...

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.         ...