Category: Devotion

Check it Out to be Sure

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It’s always good to check out what people say about the Bible, make sure it is true. How many times have you heard someone say that “something” was in the Bible, only to discover it’s not. Many people never discover the truth, they just continue to pass on the misinformation.

And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to check up on Paul and Silas, to see if they were really teaching the truth. (Acts 17:11)

Yesterday, Skip challenged us to finish out this season of Lent with a 27-day challenge: spend 15 minutes or more in God’s Word every day and see if you can form a new habit.

Habits can be good because they prevent us from forgetting to do things. Getting into the habit of reading the Bible daily is good; however, habits can also go under the radar without much thought given to them. Like the people of Berea in the verse, don’t forget your passion when reading God’s words. They listened eagerly, and researched faithfully.

Read it not just for information, but for developing a relationship with God. These words we read in the Bible apply directly to our lives everyday.

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To Be Successful or Faithful?

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There has been a debate on whether we are called to be successful in our lives and ministries or simply faithful to what God has called us to do. For pastors, we often view success in terms of numbers; we are successful if the numbers increase.

I read a book by a guy named Kent Hughes called, “Liberating Your Ministry from Success Syndrome.” Imagine a pastor of a small church in a transitional community who faithfully preaches week after week, cares for the congregation, invests in leaders, witnesses regularly, and serves the community; but the numerical growth is just not there. At the Convention he hears stories from other pastors with churches experiencing tremendous growth. The conclusion is often, “I’m not successful in what I am doing. Maybe I should be in a different vocation. God has not blessed with response to he must not be pleased with me.”

So, we beg the question, “Has God called us to be successful or faithful?” Sometimes we see both; but often we have to resign to the fact that even with the hardest work and best laid plans, God is the only one who can bring about growth (1 Corinthians 3:6, 7).

Check out what God says to Ezekiel:

“He said to me: Human one, listen closely, and take to heart every word I say to you. Then go to the exiles, to your people’s children. Whether they listen or not, speak to them and say: The LORD God proclaims!” (Ezekiel 3:10-11)

Getting people to respond to your ministry is hard. If we are doing it in our own strength, it is sure to fail (John 15:5), but even when we rely upon God to make it happen, we must faithfully do our part and leave the results up to him. Let’s look at evangelism as an example.

Most Christians know that they should be sharing their faith with others, that it is part of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. But, most Christians feel very uneasy about doing it. Many Christians rarely share their faith with others.

  • Some don’t because they don’t want to look foolish in the eyes of their co-workers.
  • Others hold back because they don’t want to offend someone.
  • Many believers choose not to share their faith because their afraid they won’t do it right.
  • Others fear they’ll mess up the message or be unable to answer unexpected questions, so they don’t talk about it.

If you can relate to these statements or if you’re someone who keeps the lid on our faith because you’re afraid of what might happen if you talked about it, then you’ll be encouraged and challenged by Ezekiel 3:10-11. In this passage, the Lord told Ezekiel to take his word to heart and then to share it with the Jewish exiles in Babylon, where Ezekiel was himself an exile. God told him to speak, “whether they listen or not” (Ezekiel 3:11). In other words, Ezekiel’s calling was to be faithful, not successful.

There’s nothing necessarily wrong with success, whether in life or in serving the Lord, but our chief calling as God’s people is to be faithful to him, to serve him with excellence, to obey him wholeheartedly. If God chooses to bless our efforts with success, that’s great, but many times we cannot guarantee success. We should always choose to be faithful and do what God tells us as well as we can.

How do you feel about sharing your faith with others? What about seeing the fruit of your labor (like success)? What do you find uncomfortable about this? What about setting goals and action plans to reach them? What encourages you to continue serving the Lord even when it does not appear to be successful? What would it mean for you to be faithful as a servant or witness for Christ?

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When God Has Other Plans

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We spend most of our younger years planning our lives… which college, which degree, job choices, spouse choices, where to live, what to drive, where to vacation, retirement goals. What happens when all of a sudden you realize that all your plans and dreams have fallen short of your expectations? Perhaps you find yourself somewhere totally different than what you had planned? Let’s look at the prophet Ezekiel.

The Introduction: Ezekiel ministered to his generation who were very sinful and totally hopeless. Through his prophetic ministry he attempted to bring the people to immediate repentance and to confidence in the distant future when God would bring the people back to the promised land. He taught that:

  1. God works through human messengers
  2. Even in defeat and despair God’s people need to affirm God’s sovereignty
  3. God’s Word never fails
  4. God is present and can be worshiped anywhere
  5. People must obey God if they expect to receive blessings
  6. God’s Kingdom will come

Take a look at this passage of the Bible:

On July 31 of my thirtieth year, while I was with the Judean exiles beside the Kebar River in Babylon, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. This happened during the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity.  (The LORD gave this message to Ezekiel son of Buzi, a priest, beside the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians, and he felt the hand of the LORD take hold of him.) (Ezekiel 1:1-3)

The first three verses of Ezekiel introduce us to the prophet and his unexpected calling. In Ezekiel 1:1, the prophet explains the context of his encounter with God. He was thirty years old and in Babylon with other Jewish exiles. They had settled along the Kebar River, and there, Ezekiel tells us, “I saw visions of God.”

Ezekiel 1:3 was added by an anonymous editor of Ezekiel’s book, in order to help the reader understand more about the prophet and his peculiar calling (notice the parentheses in the text). We learn interesting information…

  1. We learn that Ezekiel was a priest, the son of Buzi.
  2. We learn that the word of the Lord “came expressively” (NASB) on him and the Lord “took hold of him.”
  3. We learn that it was “in the fifth year after King Jehoiachin’s deportation”
    1. The year would be 593 B.C. (see 2 Kings 24:8-17)
    2. The date would be July 31, The text actually says, “On the fifth day of the fourth month,” but refers to the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. A number of dates in Ezekiel can be cross-checked with dates in surviving Babylonian records and related accurately to our modern calendar. So the NLT tells us this event occurred on July 31 of that year.

The Irony: It would be easy to miss an ironic and moving element in this parenthetical introduction. Ezekiel 1:1 indicates all this happened in the thirtieth year, which was likely Ezekiel’s age at the time. As a priest (Ezekiel 1:3), he would have had the extreme honor of serving in the temple in Jerusalem (Numbers 4:3, see below). No doubt he spent much of his young life looking forward to this opportunity. He would have been eligible for priestly service when he turned thirty years old, but his hopes were dashed because he was exiled to Babylon during the time when he could have been serving in the temple. It’s not hard to imagine Ezekiel’s disappointment with how his life turned out.

The Interpretation: God had other plans for Ezekiel. When the priest turned thirty, the Lord began to reveal amazing visions to him. God spoke to him and told him to speak his word to God’s people. Ezekiel would have the chance to serve God in a most influential and difficult way, as a prophet of judgment and hope. God took Ezekiel’s plans and reinterpreted how he would be of service to the kingdom.

The Intersection: God has plans for each one of us and at times his plan must intersect with our plans. Sometimes God’s plans line up with our expectations, but often, they surprise us. We have plans for our life, but God may have other plans. His plans are always the best, though they might come in the midst of disappointment, discouragement and difficulty. They might also lead us into greater challenges than we would have chosen for ourselves.

The Inspiration: God wants to use you for his purposes, perhaps as he once used Ezekiel. How will you respond to his call for a new direction or ministry? How will you respond to the call of God on your life, family and work? Are you willing to hear what God wants you to do, even if it’s not what you were expecting?

NOTE on the age of service for a priest: Numbers 4:3 tells us that the priest begins his service age age 30, and must retire at age 50. But also notice that Numbers 8:24, 25 indicates that 25 is the minimum age for service. So, what’s up? It is likely that age 25 began the priest’s five year apprenticeship, before he was fully prepared to be a leader.

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Being a Man of Persistence

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I recently read a story about a TV preacher who said that you should never ask God for something more than once. To pray for something even twice, he said, was proof of a lack of faith and meant that God wouldn’t respond positively to the request. When we ask God for something and he doesn’t answer right away, we tend to ask him again. So, is this okay? Or is this wrong?

“And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9)

In this passage, Jesus uses a story to encourage us to pray and keep on praying. In his parable, he asks you to suppose that a friend visits you late at light. Since you have nothing to eat, you go next door and ask for food. This neighbor at first does not want to be bothered, but, Jesus says, if you keep on knocking, eventually you’ll get the food you need, thanks to your “shameless persistence.”

Jesus is not saying the Father is like the selfish friend who won’t get out of bed, but rather, he’s pointing out that even someone who is slow to respond will eventually give in if you are persistent.

The next verse provides a punch line for the parable: “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9). Rather than the traditional “ask, seek, knock,” the New Living Translation has a better grasp of the verbs.

Greek verbs have different imperative forms. The present imperative form, used in Luke 11:9, was used for repetitive or continual action. So, in fact, “Keep on asking… Keep on seeking… Keep on knocking” reflects the original words more precisely. Following this story of the shamelessly persistent friend, Jesus makes the application to our prayers crystal clear.

So, it is okay to persist in prayer. In fact, it’s not only acceptable, but it is exactly what Jesus commands. There are times when God will answer our prayers immediately, but there are other times when we will need to ask and seek and knock, and then ask and seek and knock, and then ask and seek and knock….

We may not be able to fully fathom the theological reasons for this, but Jesus couldn’t be clearer about the need for persistence in prayer. I personally believe that the persistence is for our benefit, it does something for us and in us, rather than changing God (who is immutable).

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Being a Seeker of Men

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About twenty-five years ago, a new way of speaking spread throughout the church. Those whom we used to call “non-Christians” were all of a sudden identified as “seekers.” This shift in language was felt to be less alienating, and it recognized that all human beings have a deep longing for God. Seekers might not know God yet, but they are on the path toward enlightenment.

In some ways, there may be a God-shaped hole that only Christ can fill, on the other hand, the Bible is clear that no one seeks after God, no not one (Isaiah 31:1 NASB, Jeremiah 30:14 NASB, Romans 3:11). God must draw the person to himself (John 6:44), and we have the promise that when we seek God, he will be found (Jeremiah 29:13).

“Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?” (Luke 15:4)

In Luke 15, Jesus uses similar imagery to describe those who are separated from God, but in a surprisingly different manner. In Luke 15:3-7, he paints a picture of a sheep that has strayed from the flock and the shepherd’s care. The sheep is not so much a seeker as it is one that is lost. Yet there is a seeker in Jesus’ story… the shepherd! The shepherd leaves the rest of the flock in order to search for the lost sheep. When he finds it, he brings it home and calls together all of his friends so that they might rejoice with him because the lost sheep was found.

Jesus is underscoring something essential about God’s nature and his own kingdom-centered mission. He is also drawing from a vivid description of God found in the Old Testament. In Ezekiel 34, the Lord revealed himself as the good shepherd who searches for his lost sheep (Ezekiel 34:11-12). Jesus represents this kind of God, and is this kind of God has come in the flesh.

Whether we refer to non-Christian people as seekers or not, we must remember that God is the Seeker. He is the Good Shepherd who seeks after those who are lost, including you and me. This is such an amazing truth.

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Being a Man of Faith

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As men, we are called to invest into our families. Sure, it means investing a lot of money, but think more about time, resources and bringing up our kids to love God and obediently follow Jesus for a lifetime. When you think of working hard toward a future result, I tend to think of farming.

And hardworking farmers should be the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor. (2 Timothy 2:6)

Paul brings up a farmer as one of three illustrations of a faithful servant of the gospel. The other two (soldier and athlete) sound a bit more exciting. Although it’s not Paul’s intent, the truth is that a farmer leads quite an exciting life. Really, he does!

A farmer works one of the most dangerous careers a person can choose. Soldiers may face greater dangers from time to time, but a farmer lives and works between sky and earth everyday. In our day, farming always outranks any other career in producing work-related injuries and death. Farming is not for dabblers, cowards, or the lazy. Farmers can teach us a lot about faith.

In comparison with athletics and soldiering, farming helps us understand the persistent and patient parts of faith. Action and results come fairly quickly for athletes and soldiers, but not for farmers. They place a seed in the ground and later return to harvest the results, but the time between those two actions can be considerable. Successful farmers know how to wait. That is what faith is all about (Hebrews 11:1). Faith looks toward the future. Farmers may not enjoy waiting; but they learn to do it. Waiting doesn’t usually mean doing nothing, but the hardest part of waiting is the waiting.

Farming comes up various times in Scripture.

  1. Jesus used many farming situations in his parables (Matthew 13).
  2. Paul discussed the parallels between farming and the development of believers (1 Corinthians 3:1-9).

In these passages, the farmer usually represents God or an evangelist.

In 2 Timothy 2:6 we get to see ourselves as farmers, and with that privilege comes responsibility. If we’re going to “enjoy the fruit” of our labors, then we had better be “hardworking.” The farmer who is not hardworking will reap what he sows; little or nothing.

A wise farmer knows what he can’t do.

  1. He can’t put life in a seed.
  2. He can’t make it rain.
  3. He can’t force the seed to grow.

There’s much that’s out of his hands. But he does his part. He plants, he waters, he cultivates, and he waits! As believers,

  1. We plant seeds (acts of obedience to God) in one another’s lives.
  2. We deposit seeds (the gospel) in the lives of those who don’t know Christ.

The actual results of these actions are in God’s hands, but we often get to be the first to enjoy those results because we’re there. If we recognize the way we are farmers, we remember we are in the field every day. Every moment becomes a new opportunity to persistently plant, followed by patient waiting to see what God will do.

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Being a Man of Steel

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I have recently discovered that we find Superman in Psalm 45! Take a look at this:

In your majesty, ride out to victory, defending truth, humility, and justice. Go forth to perform awe-inspiring deeds! (Psalm 45:4)

When I was younger, I remember watching the Adventures of Superman on our black-and-white Motorola television set. I wanted to be just like that “strange visitor from another planet” who fought a “never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way.”

Superman, ironically enough, has much in common with the king who is praised in Psalm 45. This psalm is unusual in that it is addressed, not to God or to the people of Israel, but to the king on the occasion of his wedding (Psalm 45:13-15). In Psalm 45:4, the psalmist urges the king to “ride out to victory, defending truth, humility, and justice.” That’s not exactly “truth, justice, and the American way,” but two out of three ain’t half bad.

When we pray for our leaders, as Scripture urges us to do (1 Timothy 2:2), we should ask God to lead them in the ways of truth, humility, and justice. Yet Psalm 45:4 also provides a model for our behavior in this world. We are also to be people of truth, humility, and justice.

  1. As people of truth, we will speak and live in a way that reflects God and his revelation. In a world of falsehood, in which truth itself is under attack, we will seek the truth in all things, stand for the truth in what we say and do.
  2. As people of humility, we will never speak the truth in a way that is prideful, as if the truth belongs to us. We will always see ourselves as subjects of the King of kings, and offer our lives to him, and to others as servants. We will imitate the humble servanthood of Jesus.
  3. As people of justice, we will treat all people fairly and will work for a world that offers justice for all. We will be especially committed to doing justice for the poor and powerless. Where we have been given authority, in our work, our families, our churches, or our community, we will strive for just systems that reflect the character of God.

When you “ride out” today into the world, defend truth, humility, and justice as God’s servant. How can you express your commitment to truth today? How can you live with humility? How can you seek God’s justice in your part of the world?

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Being a Man of God

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We ask our young children all the time, “What would you like to be when you grow up?” Then we often expect a reply in terms of career choices.  In Paul’s letter to his protégé, he didn’t instruct Timothy to become a power pastor of a megs-church; rather he reminded him of who he was; that he was a “man of God” (1 Timothy 6:11, 2 Timothy 3:17).

Interestingly, as far as I can tell, there’s only one person in the New Testament who’s called “a man of God,” and that’s Timothy. This term is frequently used in the Old Testament. In fact, it’s used about 70 times and always in reference to a spokesman for God—someone whose duty and responsibility is to speak the words of God.

Here in 1 Timothy 6:11-21, Paul points out four characteristics that mark a man of God:

  1. He flees: “Run” (1 Timothy 6:11). This is the Greek verb fuagay from which we get the word fugitive. In other words, the man of God is a man on the run. He’s constantly fleeing the love of money (1 Timothy 6:10), ungodly behavior (1 Timothy 6:20), lust, and sin (2 Timothy 2:22).
  2. He follows: The man of God pursues “righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness” (1 Timothy 6:11). These are worthy goals.
  3. He fights: Not with his wife or others, but using the truth, the man of God is engaged in daily warfare against the kingdom of darkness. He’s not coasting toward the gates of heaven (1 Timothy 6:12).
  4. He is faithful: The man of God “holds tightly to the eternal life to which you were called” (1 Timothy 6:12). He views faithful Christian living and service as his necessary responsibility to God (1 Timothy 6:20-21).

If someone asks you, “What would you like to be?” would “I want to be a man of God” be your response? That type of man personally belongs to God, proclaims His Word accurately, and lives his life as an example to others.

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Partnership Potential

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Baptists need to work together, that is the beauty of the Cooperative Program. We can do so much more together than we can do alone. Works for people, churches and denominations. Paul mentions partnership in the New Testament:

Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. (Philippians 1:4-5)

Partnership is the ability to accomplish more together than apart. It recognizes that a team is stronger than an individual. A group committed to each other will help the struggling and those who have fallen.

  • Mother Teresa said, “You can do what I cannot do. I can do what you cannot do. Together, we can do great things.”
  • An anonymous author wrote, “It is better to have one person working with you, than three working for you.”
  • Andrew Carnegie confessed, “I owe whatever success I have attained, by and large, to my ability to surround myself with people who are smarter than I am.”
  • John Wooden, perhaps the greatest basketball coach of all time, reminded his team, “The man who puts the ball through the hoop has ten hands.”

Call it whatever you want–teamwork, association, synergy–partnership is the remarkable ability of two or more people working together to accomplish more than what each could do alone.

This truth is an appropriate reminder to God’s people that when we are working together in harmony, the talents and gifts of the body minimize the weaknesses and shortcomings of the body, thereby making a stronger unit (1 Corinthians 12:14). Just as a baseball team needs nine players on the field or the game is forfeited, the local church needs everyone participating, or the strength of the body is weakened and the advancement of the gospel is threatened (1 Corinthians 12:26). If you took away one musician from an orchestra, the symphony would be incomplete. So, too, if one member of the family of God is missing, the church is incomplete.

We need each other. You need someone, and someone needs you.

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The Verse for 11/11/11

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This past Saturday (November 12) the Men of Steel had a men’s breakfast, about 25 guys came to fellowship and eat together. We discussed the Manger Build and make plans. I was also able to share a verse that I read in November 11, 2011.

So now the Lord said to him, “Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed my decrees, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you…” (1 Kings 11:11)

I see a challenge and a warning in this verse: On the positive side, God was speaking to Solomon even though he was not being obedient (that tells me there is hope for us, since none of us is perfect).

Look at what God says: there is a principle at work here. All Solomon had to do was stay faithful, but he was disobedient instead. The consequence was that the kingdom would be taken away from him and split in two.

As men, husbands and fathers, it is important to allow this verse to permeate our soul. It causes me to ask the question of myself: have I been obedient to what God has called me to do, as a husband and a father? The Courageous movie challenged us to resolve to be all that God wants for us to be, and that “good enough” is not acceptable.

The consequence? Could it be that our disobedience and failure to lead our families will bring about the destruction of our families? Our own little kingdom can be torn away simply because we choose to walk in disobedience. Let’s avoid this unhappy ending by walking in obedience. Be the men of God that He desires for us to be, and our wives and kids deserve. We are in this together. We do not have to walk this path alone.

Stay tuned for a re-launching of the Men of Steel.

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