What's the point?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ecclesiastes 1-4; Psalm 8

TO CHEW ON: "What profit has a man from all his labor

In which he toils under the sun?" Ecclesiastes 1:3

'What's the point" Solomon seems to be saying as he begins the little book of Ecclesiastes. This collection of only twelve chapters discusses the purpose of human endeavor. Scholars believe that Solomon wrote it at the end of his life, when he may have returned to God from the state that is described in 1 Kings 11.

Our reading today seems like the ruminations of an old man, or if not old, surely jaded:

- What's the purpose of all one's work, he asks. The next generation comes along and it's all forgotten anyway. (Ecclesiastes 1:4)

- Nature carries on in it its cycles uninterrupted (Ecclesiastes 1:5-7).

- Work is never done (Ecclesiastes 1:8a).

- Desire is never satisfied (Ecclesiastes 1:8b).

- Mankind really has no control over anything; what will be, will be (Ecclesiastes 1:9a).

- Everything supposedly new is really a rehash of something old (Ecclesiastes 1:9b-10).

- We forget the past, refusing to learn from or be changed by it (Ecclesiastes 1:11).

- Even what I (Solomon) learned in the quest for wisdom didn't satisfy (Ecclesiastes 1:17-18).

He seems, in all this, to be driving toward the conclusion that there is no point to anything.

I must admit, especially as I've grown older, that I have had some of the same thoughts. Witnessing loved ones die and seeing how quickly their memory and influence fade from this earth underlines the truth of what the preacher is implying. Does the perspective of increasing age doom one to adopt such a pessimistic outlook? Not at all.

As the writer of the Introduction to Ecclesiastes in my Bible says:

"The Preacher's constant probing of all existence for meaning shows him to be an optimist, not a pessimist, and his failure to discover any absolute, abiding value in this life ("under the sun") does not mean his quest is a failure. Instead, he finds himself compelled (by his observation that God placed order in the universe at the time of its creation, Ecclesiastes 3:1-14) to seek the value he seeks in the world to come (not "under the sun" but "above the sun" so to speak)....

The Preacher's failure to find real value in earthly things and comfortable lifestyles challenges the Christian who lives in this age of greed and materialism to concentrate on the things that are above (Colossians 3:1-2) and not to glorify greed and possessions." William C. Williams, "Introduction to Ecclesiastes," New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p, 844.

Before we succumb to the Preacher's negativity, let's remind ourselves, there is a point. But it's not to be found in this world.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 8

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me not to view this life and human endeavor as ends in themselves. Help me, instead, to view all of life within the context of eternity. Amen. 

The Bible Project VIDEO: Ecclesiastes (Read Scripture series)



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Dull hearts

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Isaiah 5-8; Psalm 110

TO CHEW ON: “And He said, ‘Go and tell these people;
“Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.”’” Isaiah 6:9


Isaiah’s encounter with God brings an overwhelming sense of his own sinfulness. But after the angel purifies his lips with a live altar coal, he responds to God’s call for help with “Here am I! Send me.”

It is then he gets the bad news. The people God is sending him to have dulled understanding. They will see but not see. Hear but not hear. Their hearts are blunted toward God and will be unreceptive to Isaiah.

A footnote in my Bible says:

“The same message that softens a receptive heart also hardens an unreceptive heart. So in sending forth the message to a people known to be unreceptive, their condition is worsened” - Nathaniel M. Van Cleave, New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p.881.

In our society, which prides itself on skepticism toward claims of absolute truth, an unreceptive attitude toward the Gospel is common. Is there a chance some of that attitude has seeped into us and begun to calcify our own hearts?

The Bible speaks eloquently of the by-products of a dull, unbelieving heart.

1. Theological confusion and dithering - 2 Timothy 4:2-4; 3:7.

2. Moral confusion - Romans 1:28-32

3. Marriage breakdown - Matthew 19:8.

4. We become blind to the fact that sin’s attractiveness is a lie - Hebrews 3:13

5. Miracles don’t happen - Matthew 13:58

6. We become vulnerable to calamity - Proverbs 28:14

7. We become vulnerable to premature death - Proverbs 29:1

8. There are repercussions on how we spend eternity - Romans 2:5

I don't know about you - but I don't like these!

PRAYER: Dear God, please give me a sensitive, believing heart. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 110

MORE: Keith Green sings his prayer for a softened heart in “My Eyes Are Dry.”





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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Orient your fragile life by the North Star of eternity

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Leviticus 24,25; Psalm 38

TO CHEW ON: “My heart pants, my strength fails me;
As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.” Psalm 38:10

It doesn’t take much to knock the breath out of us. An accident, a natural disaster, or a bout of sickness (as David seems to be suffering in this psalm) and we are flat on our backs and wondering if we’ll see next month, let alone next year.

Bible imagery of the brevity and fragility of life brings home the sobering facts. A lifespan is referred to as a shepherd’s tent and a weaver’s loom (Isaiah 38:12), grass and field flower (Isaiah 40:6), and a faded leaf carried away by the wind (Isaiah 64:6).

God is aware of our slightness: “He remembered that they were but flesh, / A breath that passes away and does not come again” (Psalm 78:39); “He knows our frame;/ He remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14).

But are we as aware? Most of the time, probably not. But when our lives are threatened (as David’s was by Saul - 1 Samuel 20:3), or we get sick (Psalm 38:10-12), suddenly we’re face to face with our mortality.

These can be depressing thoughts. However,  the facts of our fragility, brevity and apparent futility lose their power to get us down when we shine on them our hope of spending eternity with God. I love how Paul expresses this hope in 2 Corinthians 5:

“For while we are still in this tent, we groan under the burden and sigh deeply—weighed down, depressed, oppressed; not that we want to put off the body (the clothing of the spirit), but rather that we would be further clothed so that what is mortal (our dying body) may be swallowed up by life [after the resurrection]” - 2 Corinthians 5:4 AMP.

Whether life is good for us now and we would love for it to go on like this indefinitely or we’re down and seemingly at death’s door, let’s hang onto the fact that when life here ends (which it will for all of us sooner or later) it’s not all over for us. And let’s orient our lives by the North Star of life in eternity with God:

“Therefore, whether we are at home [on earth away from Him] or away from home [and with Him] we are constantly ambitious and strive earnestly to be well pleasing to Him” - 2 Corinthians 5:9 AMP (emphasis added).

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to orient my life here and now by the coordinates of eternity with You in heaven. Amen.
 
PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 38


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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Thanks for reading! This year we are using The Bible Project "Timeless Reading Plan" to read through the Bible in 2018. If you'd like to read along in your own Bible, you can download a pdf of the reading plan HERE.

Somday we'll meet Jesus

"Christ the Redeemer" statue - Rio De Janeiro - Photo: Pixabay.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Thessalonians 2:9-3:5

TO CHEW ON: "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?"  1 Thessalonians 2:19


First Thessalonians contains several references to Christ's return. In chapter 2 Paul mentions it in verse 19 when he describes how he anticipates presenting the Christians in Thessalonica to Christ and how that will work out: "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?" - 1 Thessalonians 2:19.  He looks forward to meeting Jesus with joy. His victory crown will be the believers he brings with him.

The Bible speaks in other places of meeting Jesus and being in His presence.

• There will be joy in His presence - Psalm 16:11.

• We will enter His presence on the "today" of our death - Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8 - or on the day He returns, whichever comes first - 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17.

• Jesus' servants on earth will someday join Him in heaven where even the Father will honor them - John 12:26.

• Appearing before Jesus will be just the beginning of living with Him - John 14:3.

• When we appear before and live with Him, we will experience Jesus' and God's glory in all its eternity - John 17:25.

What motivation to serve God and in that serving win the crown of others standing with us at Christ's appearing on earth or our appearing before Him in heaven.

What a reason to live each day well, for none of us knows the day He will return or the day we will die.

What a hope for the future as we soldier on in the world of sometimes difficult relationships, unpredictable circumstances, and wearing out bodies.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for Your promise to return and accept me into heaven to live with You. May this hope motivate my living. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Worry and Fear

Before the Sanhedrin - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 10:16-31

TO CHEW ON: " ' And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.' " Matthew 10:28

What a grim result Jesus predicts for His disciples as He sends them out. Two words jump out at me from our reading: WORRY and FEAR.

Jesus says, when, as a result of their message, they are brought before synagogue councils, governors and kings, they are not to WORRY beforehand about how or what to say (Matthew 10:19).

[Worry - merimnao comes from merizo which means to divide into parts. The word suggests distraction, a preoccupation with things causing anxiety, stress, and pressure - Dick Mills, Word Wealth, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1301.]

They are not to be distracted, preoccupied, stressed and pressured over how to defend themselves because if they are, they'll miss the best defense they could have—the one from the Holy Spirit: " 'For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you' "  Jesus says - Matthew 10:19-20.

You'd think words coming from God Himself would guarantee freedom. But not so. For Jesus goes on to speak of continuing persecution and even death which they are not to FEAR (Matthew 10:26,28).

[Fear - phobeo is a panic that grips a person causing him to run away, be alarmed, scared, frightened, dismayed, fill with dread, intimidated, anxious, apprehensive. (Notice the similarity with our word phobia) - Dick Mills, Word Wealth, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1308.]

At first this appears puzzling. If the persecutors can do the ultimate—kill one—why would the objects of their persecution not fear?

Because, Jesus implies, killing the body isn't the worst thing that could happen to one. The worst is something only God can do (and reason to fear Him): "destroy both soul and body in hell."

So, Jesus tells His disciples, take the long eternal view. Life doesn't stop here. So don't let your witness be extinguished by worry or fear of the worst that can happen in life. Rather, set your course by how you want to spend eternity.

Jesus' advice about worry and fear is timely for us in our day when expression of our Christian worldview and faith is being met with increasing hostility.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, Your command to not worry or fear goes straight to my heart. Help me to be so controlled by Your Spirit that I will not only stop worrying about how to defend the gospel, but will speak it with Spirit-breathed boldness. Amen.

MORE: Trinity Sunday

I love how a reference to the trinity (God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit) is embedded so subtly in our reading.  Persecution comes because of allegiance to Jesus. The Spirit of the Father gives the persecuted one the words to speak in a good defense (Matthew 10:19,20).

Today the church celebrates Trinity Sunday. The liturgy for the day begins with this prayer:

Almighty and everlasting God, you have given to us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to see you in your one and eternal glory, O Father; who with the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

You are kept

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Psalm 121:1-8

TO CHEW ON: “The LORD is your keeper…” Psalm 121:5

The action of God toward us in Psalm 121 is “keep.” This psalm is full of the reminder that God keeps His people.

[Keeps—shamar—means to keep, guard, observe, have charge of, protect, guard, watch.]


It occurs six times in Psalm 121, translated (in the NKJV) as keeps, keeper, and preserve - Psalm 121:3-5; 7-8.


[The word keep in English is a verb and a noun with a multitude of meaning shades. Some that are particularly appropriate for its use here are: "to hold or retain in one’s protection, hold as one’s own, to maintain, to make good on a promise, to keep watch, to have care, charge, or custody of, to guard and protect, to take care of."]

All that is what God promises to do for us and to be to us: our Keeper.

We are in the company: 

Of Jacob, to whom God said: “I am with you and will keep you wherever you go…” Genesis 28:15.

Of the disciples hearing the prayer of Jesus: “‘Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me …’” John 17:11.

Of the early church reading Paul’s encouraging letters and in them reminded:

* We are guarded by the peace that comes after we have offloaded our concerns on God in prayer - Philippians 4:6,7.

* We are kept from the evil one - 2 Thessalonians 3:3.

* Our lives, committed to Jesus, are kept by the One whose keeping power reaches into eternity - 2 Timothy 1:12; Jude 1:24.

* We are kept by the power of God - 1 Peter 1:5

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for Your promise to keep me. Help me to go through this day remembering that I am in Your custody. You hold, guard, protect, and care for me. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Works that last; works that burn

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Corinthians 3:1-23

TO CHEW ON: "If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire." 1 Corinthians 3:14,15


The older I get, the more I ponder the meaning of these verses as they relate to my own life. Will my life's work last or will it burn?

Here are some things the Bible calls enduring or lasting:

• Riches and honour whose source is God - Proverbs 8:18.

• Spiritual food that "endures to everlasting life" - John 6:27. The whole chapter of John 6 is Jesus declaring and explaining his role as the Bread of Life that lasts.

• Spiritual works that endure (1 Corinthians 3:14). The works Paul talks about here relate to building the church and Paul uses the metaphor of Jesus as the foundation of this building and each one of us as builders.

• Faith, hope and love - 1 Corinthians 13:13.

• Unseen eternal things - 2 Corinthians 4:18.

• The kingdom of God, which cannot be shaken - Hebrews 12:27-29.

Here are some of the things the Bible names as frail and destructible:

• Our lives - Psalm 49:12; 78:39; 103:14.

• Our righteousnesses—the good things we do to try to earn salvation - Isaiah 64:6.

• Our pleasures - Luke 12:19,20.

• Human knowledge - 1 Corinthians 13:8.

• The glory of man - 1 Peter 1:24.

• Material things—the earth - Psalm 102:25,26.

• Spiritual works that don't pass the fire test (1 Corinthians 3:15). Though these works will burn, Paul makes a special point of saying that the person who built the works will be spared, barely, and with no reward.

These two lists leave a lot of room for self-searching and discernment, as you and I compare how we spend our lives with what will last, and what won't.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to discern what is a worthwhile use of my limited time on earth. Help me to bring this perspective to all the activities of my life. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

A divine tatoo

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Revelation 21:22-22:5

TO CHEW ON: "And they shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads." Revelation 22:4

Two wonderful things about the future of the redeemed ones in heaven (our future) stand out in these verses:

1. "They shall see His face…"

Looking at God in the face is certainly something people could not do in Old and New Testament times (Exodus 33:20). Though some prophets had visions of God (Isaiah 6:1; Ezekiel 1:1), looking at Him face to face was something Bible writers only anticipated (Psalm 17:15; Isaiah 33:17).

But here, in his vision, John sees what he has looked forward to: "…but we know that when He is revealed we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" - 1 John 3:2.

Seeing His face, writes my Bible commenter, means "The redeemed enjoy perfect fellowship with God and the Lamb" - Earl Wesley Morey, notes on Revelation, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1846.

2. "… His name shall be on their foreheads."

A divine tattoo!

We mark things in this way now. Cattle are branded with their owner's mark to show whose possession they are. Slaves were once tattooed or physically marked in some way. Revelation 3:12 also speaks of such a mark: "He who overcomes … I will write on him the name of My God ... And I will write on Him a new name."

Such marks, say my Bible's footnotes, show "… possession by God, a spiritual citizenship, and a reflection of the character of Christ" - Ibid, p. 1822 (emphasis added).

Won't that be grand! No more barriers to seeing Him face to face, but marked as His possession and having His character!

"For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known" - 1 Corinthians 13:12.

PRAYER: Dear God, what a thing to look forward to! Help me to be an "overcomer" in this life as I anticipate perfect fellowship with You in heaven. Amen.

MORE: We Shall Behold Him - sung by Sandi Patti




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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Heaven - a fabled or real destination?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Isaiah 65:17-66:6

TO CHEW ON: "For behold I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind." Isaiah 65:17

I used to subscribe to "A Word A Day" a five times per week article that focused on interesting words. At one point the featured words were all names of what writer Anu Garg called "fabled destinations, places that exist only in our collective imagination." He included the Land of Oz, Shangri-la, the Garden of Eden, utopia and cockaigne. On reading today's passage, I think the "new heaven and new earth" the prophet describes would fit right in. Only, as people of faith, we resist the implication that this is a "fabled destination" existing only in imagination. Instead, we believe that the description is of someplace real, and that someday we will actually experience its delights.

Let's take a minute to note them:

1. New heavens and a new earth (Isaiah 65:17). A brand new creation? That's what it sounds like.

2. It will be a place where regrets and bad memories don't come to mind (Isaiaj 65:17).

3. There will be an abundance of joy ("the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying" Isaiah 65:18,19).

4. There will be longevity (Isaiah 65:20).

5. There will be productive, satisfying work (Isaiah 65:21,22).

6. Families will be blessed (Isaiah 65:23).

7. God's responsiveness will not be hindered (Isaiah 65:24).

8. Even members of the animal kingdom that now prey on each other will coexist in peace (Isaiah 65:25).

When will these things happen? A footnote in my Bible says, "These conditions will likely begin during the Millennium (Revelation 20:4-6)."

With our feet firmly planted on earth and our lungs full of the oxygen of here and now, it's easy to be cynical when reading such a description. It does all sound like someone's hopeful imagination gone wild. Until we look our mortality square in the face. As Joni Eareckson Tada says in her book Heaven:

"We really don't believe it's all going to end, do we? If God hadn't told us differently, we'd all think this parade of life would go on forever.

"But it will end. This life is not forever, nor is it the best life that will ever be. The fact is that believers are headed for heaven. It is reality. And what we do here on earth has a direct bearing on how we will live there. Heaven may be as near as next year, or next week; so it makes good sense to spend some time here on earth thinking candid thoughts about that marvelous future reserved for us." p. 15

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for these glimpses of Your future for me. Help me to live with their reality in mind. Amen.


MORE:  Victor Hugo at 80+

"When Victor Hugo was past eighty years of age he gave expression to his religious faith in these sublime sentences:

'I feel in myself the future life. I am like a forest which has been more than once cut down. The new shoots are livelier than ever. I am rising toward the sky. The sunshine is on my head. The earth gives me its generous sap, but Heaven lights me with its unknown worlds.


'You say the soul is nothing but the resultant of the bodily powers. Why, then, is my soul more luminous when my bodily powers begin to fail? Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart. I breathe at this hour the fragrance of the lilacs, the violets, and the roses as at twenty years. The nearer I approach the end the plainer I hear around me the immortal symphonies of the worlds which invite me. It is marvelous, yet simple."

Quoted in Streams in the Desert by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman (May 31st reading).

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

Glory that lasts

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Corinthians 3:1-11

TO CHEW ON: "For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious." - 2 Corinthians 3:11

Throughout the Bible we read about mortals catching glimpses of God's glory. The Israelites saw it on the face of Moses. Elisha saw it in the chariot that came down to catch up Elijah and take him to heaven. Stephen reflected and saw it during his message to the Jewish council.

Paul in his treatise to the Corinthians argues, if the Old Covenant—that system of laws he calls the "ministry of death"—led to glory appearing on Moses' face, how much more will there be glory associated with Jesus whose victory over sin and death is a final one?

In our humdrum lives, where God's presence, and certainly His glory, often seem muted at best, it's easy to lose sight of the glorious destiny that awaits us. Here are a few promises God has given us about how we will experience and participate in this glory that remains:

Matthew 13:43 - "Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father."

Philippians 3:21- "...who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body."

Colossians 3:4 - "When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory."

Revelation 7:9 - "After these things I looked, and behold a great multitude which no one could number of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands."

Revelation 22:5 - "There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light."

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for these promises of a future glory that is eternal and won't fade or change. Help me to keep my sights on lasting, eternal things as I go through this transitory life. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Heaven's work

TODAY'S SPECIAL:  Revelation 21:22-22:5

TO CHEW ON: “And there shall be no more curse but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.” Revelation 22:3

“They say there’s a heaven for those who will wait
Some say it’s better, but I say it ain’t
I’d rather laugh with the sinner than cry with the saints.
Sinners are much more fun" – Billy Joel

“Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company.” – Mark Twain

The attempt to put down something we don’t understand by making jokes about it, as the above quotes do about heaven, is something I’m sure you’ve encountered. C. S. Lewis had his own comeback: “There is no need to be worried by facetious people who try to make the Christian hope of 'Heaven' ridiculous by saying they do not want to 'spend eternity playing harps'. The answer to such people is that if they cannot understand books written for grown-ups, they should not talk about them.” He goes on to explain that much of the imagery of heaven is symbolism and not meant to be taken literally.

While Lewis's interpretation may or may not be accurate, it seems clear that the notion of sitting around heaven playing harps all day is pure fantasy. The Bible talks about the inhabitants of heaven doing something far more prosaic: they serve.

It is interesting to follow the idea of servanthood through the New Testament.

• Jesus taught that for the servant, faithfulness and going beyond one’s comfort is a duty (Luke 17:5-10).

• Serving like He served us involves giving up all rights – even the right to life (John 12:23-26).

• The apostles carried on this idea of serving to the death. In Romans 14:7-8 Paul talks of living and dying to the Lord.

• They equate their service to God with slavery. (Romans 1:1; James 1:1 ; 2 Peter 1:1).

• On earth, serving faithfully in your place of employment (whether voluntarily or as a slave) can be counted as faithful service to Jesus because if you are His, everything you do is service to Him (Colossians 3:22-24).

• Jesus, in the parable about the minas, indicates that our faithfulness in stewarding His gifts and opportunities in this life will lead to future responsibility in the kingdom. (Life on earth is our training ground; our service seminar – Luke 19:16-20).

• In today’s focus verse Jesus’ servants “serve Him.” In Revelation 7:15 they “serve Him continually in His temple.”

So our time in heaven won’t be taken up with playing harps – at least not exclusively (although it might involve some of that; one of the shades of meaning of “serve” [latreuo from latris] is to worship). We will be working, serving God. But that work will be under “no more curse.”

It makes me want to serve here on earth with more intention, realizing my service to Him here is part of a continuum of meaning and purpose that stretches into eternity.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for this glimpse into eternity that helps me put my earthly life into perspective. Help me to view all my service on earth as really done for You. Amen.

MORE: In the chapter “Made to Last Forever – of his book The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren says:

"Life on earth is just the dress rehearsal for the real production. You will spend far more time on the other side of death – in eternity – than you will here. Earth is the staging area, the preschool, the tryout for your life in eternity. It is the practice workout before the actual game; the warm-up lap before the race begins. This life is preparation for the next….


[…] Measured against eternity our time on earth is just a blink of an eye, but the consequences of it will last forever. The deeds of this life are the destiny of the next. ….Matthew Henry said, “It ought to be the business of every day to prepare for our final day.”

- Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life, page 36, 40.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

Heaven's out-of-the-box life

Photo courtesy Pixabay.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Mark 12:18-34

TO CHEW ON: " 'He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly mistaken.' " - Jesus, Mark 12:27


Continuing on with the theme of resurrection and the resurrected life, in our passage today we read of the Sadducees (who didn't believe in a resurrection) trying to trip up Jesus. They posed a situation (based on Deuteronomy 25:5-10) to which there was no resurrection-consistent answer—at least that was their hope.

Jesus turned their question into an exposure of their mistaken thinking by answering with Scripture (a bit from the Pentateuch—something they did believe in). He took them back to the story of the burning bush, where God said to Moses, "'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob' " (Exodus 3:6,16). Of course by Moses' time, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were long dead. Yet God said "I am…" (present tense) their God now. Therefore, Jesus reasoned, they were not dead but existing in some post-dead, resurrected state, for "He is not the God of the dead but the God of the living."

Jesus' answer to these Sadducees, in addition to affirming that there is such a thing as resurrection, gives us another little glimpse behind the scenes into the afterlife—a glimpse that is both revealing and mysterious. The writer of my Bible's notes says:

"It is erroneous to think of heaven in terms of earth. Life in heaven will not be an extension of the present temporal existence. The power of God will provide for new and greater relationships that transcend the physical relationships of the present order" - J. Lyle Story, study notes, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1332.

This bit "Life will not be an extension of the present temporal existence" got me hunting for more details about heaven's out-of-the-box life. Here are some things I found:

• We won't be in marriage relationships but like the angels (from our passage - Mark 12:25).

• Death will no longer exist - Isaiah 28:5; 1 Corinthians 15:54.

• God will be the panacea to all the sorrow, crying, and pain we may feel on our arrival and banish those things forever after - Revelation 21:4.

• Inhabitants of heaven will have transformed bodies - Philippians 3:21.

• People "… of all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues" will be there, praising God - Revelation 7:9.

• There won't be night there or the need of physical light-producing stars like the sun - Revelation 22:5.

• In heaven, we'll see earth's trials and hardships in true perspective - 2 Corinthians 4:17; Ephesians 1:18.

• We will be with Jesus (John 14:3), see His glory (John 17:24) and contribute to it (Matthew 13:43; Romans 8:17).

There are probably more but I'm sure you get the picture.

So today, when you and I are tempted to let the realities of this life get us down, let's remember to meditate on the future and our post-earth life, till we can identify with Paul who said: "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" - Romans 8:18.
 
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I long for the time when the things I've listed above are fact. "Even so, come Lord Jesus." Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Jesus revealed as King and Priest

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Hebrews 6:13-7:14

TO CHEW ON: "For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law." Hebrews 7:12


Have you ever read the Old Testament laws and sacrifices and imagined living under that system? It was a system that was detailed, complicated, and time-consuming for both the priests who carried out the sacrifices and rituals, and the people who brought the animals, grain, meal, oil and commemorated the feasts etc.

In our reading in Hebrews the writer is building a case to prove that that system has been changed by Christ. He uses the mysterious Old Testament character Melchizedek in his proof.

Melchizedek lived during Abraham's time. When Abraham met him he called him "priest of God most high." Melchizedek blessed Abraham and Abraham gave him a tithe of his possessions (Genesis 14:18-20).

Melchizedek appears again in Psalm 110 where David, addressing Messiah, said,  
"You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek" - Psalm 110:4.

Here in Hebrews 7, the writer draws our attention to many facts about Melchizedek. Those of us familiar with Jesus and what the Bible says about Him recognize Jesus in these details:
* He was a king as well as a priest - Hebrews 7:1.
* His name meant "king of righteousness" - Hebrews 7:2.
* He appeared without ancestors or descendants - Hebrews 7:3.
* He resembled the Son of God - Hebrews 7:3.
* He was superior to Abraham in that he blessed Abraham and Abraham gave tithes to him (Hebrews 7:7,9).
*He lives on—doesn't die like mortal men - Hebrews 7:8.
* Levi, the father of the tribe of priests, acknowledged Melchizedek as his superior through Abraham (in that Levi "was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him") - Hebrews 7:10.
* This new priest was from the tribe of Judah, not a member of the priestly tribe of Levi at all - Hebrews 7:14.

The writer of today's portion promises that this new new priestly order (Melchizedek / Christ) will impact the system of laws and sacrifices that God dictated to Moses (Hebrews 7:12, our focus verse). Tomorrow we'll see how.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for pictures of Jesus woven through the Old and New Testaments.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Deathbed assurances

Photo courtesy RGBStock.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 116:1-19

TO CHEW ON: "Precious in the sight of the Lord
Is the death of His saints." Psalm 116:15

In a psalm where the writer can't thank God enough for sparing his life, he takes a moment to reflect on what almost got him—death. It's like he's saying, That wouldn't have been so bad. After all, the death of a saint ("His loving ones" AMP) is something that is precious  ("important, no light matter" - AMP) to God - Psalm 116:15.

The Bible has more positive implications, claims, and promises about death to those who are in a right relationship with God:

Death will be a reunion.
To Abraham God promised that death would be a time when he would join his fathers (Genesis 15:15). The poor man in Jesus' story found himself, after death, in Abraham's bosom (Luke 16:22).

The way we live may impact our peace and well-being at death.
God-fearing king Josiah ruled during an era when the pendulum of good and bad kings (and the good and bad actions of the people) swung back and forth. The prophetess Huldah predicted his death when he was only 26. She said God would judge the nation's evil but Josiah, because he feared God, would die without having to see it - 2 Chronicles 34:28.

God's presence with us during death overcomes our fear (Psalm 23:4).

Death can be a refuge and blessed (Proverbs 14:32, Revelation 14:13).

We can look forward to death because it means we'll be with Jesus (Philippians 1:21; Romans 14:8).

We can experience a good end even though some of our prayers remain unanswered and we leave behind unfinished business (Hebrews 11:13,21,22).

The way we've lived our lives will impact us in eternity—our works will follow us (Revelation 14:13).

May we all find comfort in these deathbed assurances.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to live my life soberly and intentionally in the knowledge that death creeps closer every day. Help me to be always ready for it. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

What God wills He will do

" 'I will raise him up at the last day' " - Photo - RBGStock.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 6:36-51

TO CHEW ON: " ' And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life and I will raise him up at the last day.' " John 6:40

When I became a Jesus-follower as a child of eight, my mother, anticipating doubts I might have, gave me Jesus' words in John 6:37 as a verse of assurance: " 'All that the Father gives me will come to Me. And the one who comes to Me, I will by no means cast out.' "

It uses one of the forms of "will"—a word we find eight times in today's reading (at least "will" is used in the NKJV). The repetition is enough to get one's attention!

The two forms of "will" used here are:
1. "Will" as a verb. It means to decide on, choose, resolve upon as an action or course, to determine. "Will" appears as a verb twice in John 6:37, and once in each of John 6:40 (the second "will"), and John 6:44.

2. "Will" as a noun. In the original text it's the Greek word thelema. 
1] What one wishes or has determined shall be done:

a] of the purpose of God to bless mankind through Christ.

b] of what God wishes to be done by us of commands and precepts.

2] Will, choice, inclination, desire pleasure.
In our reading we find this form of "will" used twice in John 6:38, once in John 6:39 and  John 6:40 (the first "will").

All these "will"s hold some wonderful promises for us:

1. The Father gives the Son individuals - "all" and "the one," which He (the Father) draws. In other words, God initiates the attraction between the individual and Jesus - John 6:37, 44.

2. When those individuals come to Jesus, He accepts them - John 6:37.

3. Jesus' will (wish, purpose, choice) is the same as God's. They want, choose and desire the same thing - John 6:38.

4. God (and Jesus) want all those He has given to the Son to be saved and resurrected (John 6:39).

5. God (and Jesus) want those who see and believe in the Son to have everlasting life (John 6:40).

6. These people will be raised or brought back to life on the last day, and live on through eternity - John 6:40,50,51.

This can be a comfort, a challenge, and an encouragement to us:

It is a comfort to know that our attraction to Jesus is not of our own initiative but God's, and that Jesus accepts all who come to Him; He doesn't turn anyone away (John 6:44, 37).

It's challenging in that our will continues to be part of this process. We have seen Jesus with the eyes of faith and have believed in Him, but need to continue to be taught by God, and to daily "eat" Jesus the bread (John 6:40, 44, 50).

It's encouraging because no matter how bad or good things are down here this life is not all there is. Ahead there is a "last day," a day of raising up, and a life that lasts forever (John 6:39, 40, 50, 51).

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You that You have willed to draw me and keep me. Help me to continue to believe in You and "eat" You as daily spiritual food. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Unfading Word

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Isaiah 40:1-17


TO CHEW ON: "The grass withers, the flower fades,

Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it;

Surely the people are grass.

The grass withers, the flower fades,

But the word of our God stands forever." Isaiah 40:7,8

Who can read Isaiah 40:1-17 and not hear the strains of Handel's Messiah echo in the belfry of imagination? "Comfort Ye, Comfort Ye My People," "Every Valley Shall Be Exalted," "And the Glory of the Lord Shall Be Revealed," "He Shall Feed His Flock." It's a reminder, Advent is all but upon us. Again! So soon!

This Christmas we will all be one year older than last year, and one year closer to our own grass-withering, flower-fading end. In fact, some of the loved ones who were with us last Christmas are already gone.

But there is something that lasts. "The word of our God stands forever." The longevity of Isaiah's words, which Handel helped immortalize for us, is an object lesson of this. Isaiah has been dead for over two and a half millennia. Handel died two and a half centuries ago (in 1759). Yet God's word lives on in Scripture, in song, and in the hearts of each generation that encounters it.

My own fragile mortality in contrast to God's invincible, indestructible Word reminds me to place my hope and spend the short time I have on things that God's Word recommends and approves.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to make Your word my standard, my light, my food, my song, my guide, my meditation, my hiding place. May my short life have significance as I anchor it on Your indestructible word. Amen.

MORE: God's word is:

Our Standard - Psalm 119:5-6, 11
Light - Psalm 119:105, 130
Food - Psalm 119:103, Jeremiah 15:16
Song - Psalm 119:54
Meditation material - Psalm 119:97
Fire - Jeremiah 23:29
Hiding place - Psalm 119:114
Guide - Psalm 119:133
Hammer - Jeremiah 23:29
Sword - Ephesians 6:17, Hebrews 4:12
Seed - 1 Peter 1:23
Mirror - James 1:22-25
Effective - Isaiah 55:11


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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Majesty

St. Edward's Crown. It was last 
used to crown Queen Elizabeth II 
on 2 June 1953. 

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 93:1-5

TO CHEW ON: "The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty." Psalm 93:1a

The word majesty takes my mind to royalty and royal occasions. I was a very little girl when Queen Elizabeth was crowned queen of England and the Commonwealth. Though we didn't watch the coronation on TV (didn't even have a TV then), I do remember poring over a glossy commemorative magazine that came to our house sometime later. I studied the photos of the white horses pulling the golden coach, was fascinated by the queen's ermine-lined cape, and spellbound by the crown of gold, jewels, and purple velvet.

The clothes and ceremony of royalty display human majesty. However, for the psalmist God's majesty is evidenced not in physical robes or pomp, not even in the majesty of creation, but in His essence and attributes. Let's take a close look at what the psalmist finds majestic about God.

He begins by talking about God's clothes: "The Lord is clothed, He has girded Himself with strength" (vs. 1b). He describes God's strength as mightier than the noise and power of the sea (vs.3-4). The theological word for God's strength or power is omnipotence. I love my old systematic theology textbook's definition:

"By the omnipotence of God we mean that He is able to do whatever He wills; but since His will is limited by His nature, this means that God can do everything that is in harmony with His perfections" H. C. Thiessen, Lectures in Systematic Theology, p. 126.

Next, the psalmist describes God's throne: "Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting." God's everlastingness is part of His being or essence. Theologians refer to it as eternity. Thiessen describes the eternity of God:

"By the eternity of God we mean His infinity in relation to time; we mean that He is without beginning or end; that He is free from all succession of time; and that he is the cause of time" - Thiessen (Lectures...) p. 122.

Finally, the psalmist speaks of what decorates the palace of this great King: "Holiness adorns Your house" (vs. 5). Consider this mind-stretching definition of God's holiness:

"By the holiness of God we mean that He is absolutely separate from and exalted above all His creatures, and that He is equally separate from moral evil and sin. In the first sense His holiness ... denotes the perfection of God in all that He is. In the second sense it is viewed as the eternal conformity of His being and His will. In God we have purity of being before purity of willing. God does not will the good because it is good, nor is the good good because God wills it; else there would be a good above God or the good would be arbitrary and changeable. Instead, God's will is the expression of His nature, which is holy" - Thiessen, (Lectures...) p. 128-129.

We ponder these things, trying to grasp the majesty of God as displayed in His strength, eternity and holiness. There is, finally, only one appropriate response: Worship.

PRAYER: Dear God, You are mind-bendingly awesome! Thank You for Your power. Thank You that You are forever, transcending time. Thank You that You are holy. Thank You for sending Jesus, to make a way for measly me to have a relationship with You. Amen.

MORE: "Majesty" by Jack Hayford

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

Illusion of the seen

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:15


TO CHEW ON: "... we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18

You are no doubt familiar with optical illusions where your eyes see an object two ways. For example, there is a figure of a girl that rotates clockwise, and then counterclockwise. Or the black-and-white sketch (pictured) where your eye picks out a crone face with a hawk nose, or the profile of a young woman wearing a fancy hat.

Paul here is talking about the optical illusion of life, in that we can also view it two ways. There is the view that sees only the obvious, tangible, day-to-day stuff as real. And there is the view that sees the invisible things of eternity as real.

This eternal view is what we as followers of Jesus aspire to. It's the view that forgives one's enemies, is okay with being low instead of exalted, stores treasures in heaven, gives away one's coat to one's enemy, values and aspires to childlikeness (for lots more examples read Jesus' Sermon on the Mount—Matthew 5, 6,7).

Picking out the alternate picture in an optical illusion needs focus and concentration. So does living life from the perspective of eternity. As a sidebar article in my Bible explains it:

"We must learn that trials and difficulties will seem light and temporary when viewed from the perspective of the immeasurable glory that awaits us in eternity. We must learn to live by faith and not by what we can or cannot see with our natural eyes.... Set your focus and faith on unseen and eternal things. See the present from the perspective of the future. Look forward to God's great and eternal glory" - Leslyn Musch, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1627 (emphasis added).

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You that this life isn't all there is. Help me to see the things and people around me with an eternal perspective.

MORE: Christian vision

"Christian vision ... is an act of imaginative seeing that combines the insight of faith, which goes to the heart of things below the surface, and the foresight of faith, which soars beyond the present with the power of a possible future. This combining of the not-yet-combined is the secret of visionary faith. Vision and reality, word and fulfillment, present and future, situation and possibility, restlessness and reaching out, anger at what is wrong and an aim for what is better—whatever the contrast between the pair, visionary faith is out to close the gap" - Os Guinness, The Call, p. 177.