Loving Jesus Style

Scripture: Jonah 1:17-2:3 (NIV) 17  Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. 2  From inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. 2  He said: “In my distress, I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead, I called for help, and you listened to my cry. 3  You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. Devotion: The story of Jonah is well-known to many of us. We know how he tried to run away from God's call to preach to the wicked city of Nineveh, how he boarded a ship that was caught in a storm, how he was thrown overboard and swallowed by a great fish, and how he finally obeyed God and delivered his message. But do we ever stop to think about what Jonah felt and learned in the belly of the fish? The Bible tells us that Jonah pray...

A Devotion on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice Always In his letter to the Thessalonians, the apostle Paul issued a powerful command: 'Rejoice always' (1 Thessalonians 5:16). This is not a mere suggestion, but a directive that holds immense significance for our spiritual journey. The key to maintaining a constant state of joy, even in the face of trials, troubles, and temptations, lies in understanding that our joy is not contingent on our circumstances, but on our unchanging relationship with God. He is the wellspring of our joy, and His love, Salvation, strength, and eternal presence are our constant sources of rejoicing. No matter our challenges, we can find solace and joy in the Lord, our unfailing hope and help. Pray Continually Paul's instruction, 'Pray continually' (1 Thessalonians 5:17), “It is not in the moving of the lips, but in the elevation of the heart to God, that the essence of prayer consists’ (Lightfoo t ), and it is this that enables us t...

  Scripture: Revelation 21:3-4 (ESV) 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:                 These verses, like a soothing ointment, heal the weariness of our spirits and illuminate the path of hope for our grieving hearts. They speak directly to our present, a time when the fractures of our fallen world are yet to be healed, when the distance that sin has placed between our Creator and us is still a chasm. Envision, with eager anticipation, a world unmarred by sorrow, untouched by loss. Picture a reality where the sting of death is but a dis...

Scripture: 1 John 5:13-15 (ESV) 13  I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. 14  And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15  And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. Devotion:  The Apostle John writes with a pastoral heart in his first epistle, particularly in the concluding affirmations of chapter 5. Verses 13 to 15 serve as a beacon of assurance, illuminating the path of every believer with the promise of eternal life and the confidence we can have in approaching God. Verse 13  begins with a profound purpose: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” This statement is not merely informative; it is transformative. It has the power to shift the believer’s per...

  Scripture: Acts 20:35 (ESV) 35  In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” Devotion:             These words from the Book of Acts serve as a direct challenge to each one of us in the church community. As followers of Christ, we bear a significant responsibility in our current society, where the number of needy people can be overwhelming. We often find ourselves, like the lawyer in Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan, trying to limit the number and kind of people who qualify for our “compassion.” However, this scripture reminds us that it is our duty, as followers of Christ, to help the weak and needy, regardless of their number or circumstances.             Confronted with this scriptural truth, we ...

  Scripture: Ephesians 3:17-19 (ESV) 17  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18  may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19  and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Devotion:             The scripture above is part of a prayer that the apostle Paul prays for the church at Ephesus. Paul asks God to provide the people to whom this was written with special knowledge and insight into the things of God—the knowledge they would need to thrive and be productive for the kingdom—not knowledge that was some secret, but the knowledge that God makes available to all who ask Him for it. Therefore, this prayer is as much for us as it was for the people of Ephesus.          ...

    Let's delve into the words of Habakkuk 3:17-18 (ESV), a scripture that speaks of unwavering faith in the face of adversity.   17           Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines,                         the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food,                         the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls,             18           yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. Devotion:             These words from ...

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 20:12 (ESV)   O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” Devotion:             Many people despair at the state of our nation and, indeed, the world today. Everything seems to be going wrong at once, and no matter your news source, everything is up for grabs. There are wars and rumors of war across the globe—unrest on college campuses and general discontent with the direction the country is heading. We ask with the chronicler what God would have us do in these unsettled times.             The historical situation that prompted this heartfelt plea for help is this: The tribe of Judah was just told that they were about to be invaded by a great army of their enemies. At this time in their history, they were milit...

  [This creed] first appeared in southwest France sometime in the late 6th or 7th century. Its present text is found in the De singulis libris canonicis scarapsus of Priminius, which is dated between 710 and 724. [1] I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.             This creed was not developed to deal with any specific heresy. I...

            The Nicene Creed in the form used today in worship was finalized in 381 AD: I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy...

  Scripture: Luke 24:44-49 (ESV) 44  Then [Jesus] said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45  Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46  and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47  and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48  You are witnesses of these things. 49  And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Devotion:             Jesus calms the fears and removes the misunderstandings about Himself and His mission that the first disciples and we have in this passage. It was commonly thought that t...

  Scripture: Luke 23:44-46 (ESV) 44  It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45  while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46  Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.             Today, let us meditate and pray over the things that happened to Jesus on that Friday so long ago. Let us try to imagine the great sorrow those first disciples must have felt watching their teacher die upon that cross. Prayer:             Heavenly Father, today we try to enter into your great sorrow as you watched with the waiting world for your Son to die on the cross. We read about the great sorrow of Jesus’ first followers, and we ask you if there was not some other way Jesus could h...

Scripture: John 14:26-27 (ESV) 26  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. Devotion:             Jesus, whose prayer we are eavesdropping on in this passage of scripture, is praying for His inner circle of disciples. Jesus knows that they will need help once Jesus has left the earth. Indeed, we read in the book of Acts that they were a pitiful band of unbelieving disciples who believed that their Master and Lord had been taken from them, and they were not sure how to proceed from there.             We all resemble that inner circle of disciples. We sometimes feel that God has orphaned us and...

  Scripture: Matthew 5:44-45 (NIV) 44  But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45  that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Devotion:             The double commands found in verse 44 above are the most difficult commands to obey in the Bible. They are counter-intuitive. The last thing any human wants to do to someone who hates us (with or without cause) is to show them Christlike love in return. Praying for the well-being of such a one is not a natural act. It is clear, however, from the Greek text that loving and praying for those we do not like is an imperative, a command, not a suggestion.             Since it is a command, we must find a way to accomplish it. The Lord’s commands are notoriously difficult f...

  Scripture: Luke 7:36-38 (NIV) 36  When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37  A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38  As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them. Devotion:             First of all, some warnings to my readers. This post will exceed the 500 words I try to limit my posts. Second, this post will contain content people may find offensive or otherwise unfit for print. Please understand that my purpose is neither to offend nor upset but to provoke thought and, hopefully, respectful dialog.             We will use Luke chapt...

Scripture: Matthew 5: 43-45 (NIV) 43  “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44  But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45  that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Devotion:             Today’s scripture may be one of the most radical sayings of Jesus. Our polarized society is steeped in culture wars, which denigrate those who believe differently than ourselves. These words of Jesus appear hopelessly irrelevant. Everyone seems perfectly content to look down on and disparage those who disagree with them. This command of Jesus is rarely lived out. Furthermore, it is denigrated and made fun of when it is lived out. In light of all this negativity, what do we gain by loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us? ...

  The Sign of the Fleece Scripture: Judges 6:36-40 (ESV) 36  Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, 37  behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” 38  And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. 39  Then Gideon said to God, “Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground, let there be dew.” 40  And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew. Devotion:             The Lord told Gideon he would give him victory over the forces o...

Scripture: Philippians 2:5-8 (ESV) 5  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 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. Devotion:             In today’s scripture passage, Paul tells us that we are to have the same mind that Christ Jesus had toward us. This sounds like an impossible task for any mere mortal. How should a flesh and blood mortal think and love like God? In this section of scripture, Paul describes what that mind and love look like. So, today, we look at what the Son of God endured to save us from the mess that sin has made of our lives.            ...

  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...