Loving Jesus Style

8  Come, behold the works of the Lord , how he has brought desolations on the earth.   9      He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. 10      “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” 11      The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah   Devotion:             Today’s scripture is most famous for the first line of verse ten, “Be still and know that I am God.” When put in context of the entire psalm this line takes on even greater meaning. What was the psalmist trying to convey with these words?             The entire psalm encourages us to look and see what God has done in the world and invites us to look fo...

Scripture: Luke 9:23-25 (ESV) 23  And he [Jesus] said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  24  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.  25  For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? Devotion:             Jesus had been speaking before this passage only to his twelve disciples. In these verses Jesus has words of instruction for the crowd. That crowd includes us. Jesus words here are not a pep talk or inspirational message of any kind. These words are meant to challenge people, to challenge us. There are many things in these verses that we may overlook since we have heard these words more times than we can count, or we know nothing about them because they appear too difficult to follow. Let us look carefully at these words to grasp what Je...

Scripture: Luke 9:18-20 (ESV) 18 Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19  And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” 20  Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” Devotion:             Jesus asks his disciples, Who do the crowds think that I am? The disciples lay out various options that the crowds have in mind. Some make more sense than others. But they all fall short of the vision Jesus wishes them to have. The same thing happens, however, when we ask the crowds in our world; Who is Jesus? Some will say a good moral teacher. A great teacher, some may even admit to him being a miracle worker. Others will say he was a personification of evil who kept women and other minorities under subjection. Ther...

Scripture: Psalm 63:1-4 (ESV) 1  O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you;        my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.   2      So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.   3      Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.   4      So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.   Devotion:                         Today, we continue the theme of seeking after God. Here David, the psalmist, writes a beautiful song about seeking God with our whole being. David affirms that if we seek after God, we will find him. Our seeking must be sincere and involve our total commitment to find...

Scripture: Hebrews 11:5-6 (ESV) 5  By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken, he was commended as having pleased God. 6  And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Devotion             Today’s scripture tells the story of Enoch from Genesis chapter 5. The details of Enoch’s life are sparse in the Biblical record. However, many legends and folk tales have grown up around this mysterious figure. One central theme can be sifted through the sands of legend and stories about Enoch, and the writer of Hebrews captures it well. “He [Enoch] was commended as having pleased God.”             O, that all people could have this simple testimony to claim as their own. Alas, ...

Scripture: Acts 1:6-9 (ESV) 6  So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”  7  He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.  8  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”  9  And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. Devotion:             We now come to the end of Jesus sojourn upon the earth. With his disciples gathered around him some 40 days after his resurrection he gives them his final instructions. The disciples are apparently still confused about Jesus' mission here on earth. They are still looking for a political kingdom. They want Jesus to rid them of their Roman ...

Scripture: Luke 21:34-36 (ESV) But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. 35  For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36  But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Devotion:             In these verses Jesus is speaking to the crowd. He has warned them of the things that will happen before the judgement day. He was not telling the crowd what they wanted to hear. He did not tell them that He was about to bring about the restoration of the kingdom to Israel. What he did tell them was a long list of things that would happen before the kingdom would be established anew.             Jesus foretells many thin...