An effective ransom

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Galatians 3-4; Psalm 6

TO CHEW ON: "But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons." Galatians 4:4,5

Kidnapping is a crime that strikes fear into a parent's heart. Though the demands for ransom that sometimes accompany kidnappings give a glimmer of hope, the stories of abduction victims never redeemed but found dead even after ransom was paid, are chilling (10 Unsolved Ransom Kidnappings).

God is a parent whose human children were, in a sense, abducted—kidnapped by Satan. As such they (we) were in bondage, not tied up in the trunk of a car or hidden in an out-building, but prisoners to Satan and his workings in circumstances and through our enemies, captive to our default setting of sin, to our inability to keep God's law, to the curse of sin on creation, and to death.

But, praise the Lord, our kidnapping has a happy ending. The ransom paid—Jesus' death on the cross—was effective. Because of it we are or can be redeemed from:

• circumstances - Psalm 34:19-22.

• enemies - Psalm 69:18.

• the bondage and guilt of sin - Psalm 130:7,8.

• the need to keep the law - Galatians 4:5.

• And we look forward to a time when this ransom will effect the release of nature from the curse of sin (Romans 8:19-23), including death (Psalm 103:2-4).

Do we appreciate God's ransom—His Son Jesus become human for us, dying for us? Have we applied it personally to our own lives? Do we live by faith, as freed sons and daughters of the Father who has redeemed us?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for sending Jesus who laid down His life as a ransom for me. I no longer belong to Satan but to You. When I forget this, please remind me by Your Spirit that I am Your daughter—that You are my "Abba" - Daddy. Amen.
 
PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 6


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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.

Slaves - of what?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Romans 5-6; Psalm 135

TO CHEW ON: "Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness?" Romans 6:16.

Slaves? That sounds extreme. By using the startling analogy of slavery, Paul pictures our life choices in a very either/or, black/white way. Is he saying Christians can actually still be slaves of sin?

What I understand this passage to mean is that even as people who have accepted God's gift of salvation and are legally free, it is possible to live as slaves of our old master, sin. We humans have been born with a nature to which sinning comes naturally. How easy it is, even after we've been set free, to slip back into old habit patterns of worry, envy, pride, anger, unforgiveness etc. etc., that is, patterns of sin.

Paul urges these Roman Christians to resist old reactions and instead prove that they are slaves of Christ by living in obedience to His standards of righteousness.

But, I can hear you say, slavery has a bad connotation. I don't want my life with Christ to be characterized in such a negative way.

Even Paul acknowledges the unfortunate aspect of this metaphor: "I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh..." he says. But then he goes on to extend and explain it even further: "For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness" Romans 6:19.

But Paul is not giving a mere "just do it" message. Something real happened when we gave our lives to Jesus and began living in the realm of grace. Romans 6:23 reminds us we have been "set free from sin" and have in a real sense "become slaves of God."

So let's use this slavery picture to flesh out and affirm our freedom from sin and our enslavement to the "fruit of holiness and the end, everlasting life" (Romans 6:22).  Today when we're at a decision crossroads:
- about whether to fret about the difficult thing on today's to-do list, or place it in God's hands and refuse to worry about it any more.
- about whether to eat one more helping or push back from the table.
- about whether to react to the person who cuts us off in traffic — or not.
- or about a hundred other situations
we can ask ourselves: What would a slave of Jesus do in this situation? And then choose to do it.


PRAYER: Dear God, please show me where I am a slave to sinful tendencies and am habitually making sinful choices. Help me to enslave myself to You today. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 135


The Bible Project VIDEO: Romans - Part 2 of 2 (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.

Is it time for a burning?

"Saint Paul and the burning of pagan books 
at Ephesus" by Lucio Massari (1559-1633)

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Acts 19-20; Psalm 128

TO CHEW ON: "Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them and it totaled fifth-thousand pieces of silver." Acts 19:19. 

I love the beginning of a year. I like starting new calendars and a new daybook. I get the urge to purge old papers from my files and junk from my closets and the garage. I want to unburden myself of the past and make a new start.

The people in Ephesus made such a new start too. However, for them it wasn't a new year thing where they rid themselves of their abundance of clutter, but a spiritual housecleaning where they gathered and destroyed their how-to-do-magic books.

At dinner with friends a few weeks ago, a couple told of how they did something similar. Shortly after they became Christians, the man burned all his masonic artifacts, the woman her astrology jewelry. No pastor or leader told them to. They just knew it was necessary to make this spiritual break with the past. Why? Because physical objects can be weighted with spiritual power for good or bad. Earlier in this chapter we see how people used handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched Paul to bring healing to the sick (Acts 19:12). And in our focus verse, they destroyed those magic books.

Perhaps we need to do more of this—physically destroy those objects in our lives that signify and bind us to our life before Christ: the CDs, books, jewelry, good luck charms, masks...whatever.

Occult expert Kurt Koch says:

"Every object of sorcery must be destroyed. In the great revival which Paul experienced in Ephesus, many of those who were now believers brought their books on magic arts and burned them in the sight of all (Acts 19:19).


In the revival in Indonesia the natives brought their fetishes and occult objects together in heaps and destroyed them in a similar way.


Magical books and occult objects carry with them a hidden ban. Anyone not prepared to rid himself of the ban will be unable to free himself from the influence of the powers of darkness" - Kurt Koch, Occult Bondage and Deliverance, p. 90.

PRAYER: Dear God, please open my eyes to anything that is keeping me in Satan's bondage. Help me to make a break with any darkness from my past. Amen.

MORE: Collecting masks and objects of heathen worship

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 128

Kurt Koch makes this observation about collecting what some might call anthropological artifacts:

"Some missionaries are actually enthusiastic collectors of devil's masks and similar objects of heathen ritual worship. Through hanging the trophies up in their homes they burden the whole house and all who live in it .... These idols have sometimes been used for years or even decades in heathen rituals. In this way they become crystallization points for demonic powers in houses where they are displayed as works of art. The Spirit of God does not dwell with idols, even in a so-called Christian home" - Kurt Koch, Occult Bondage and Deliverance, p. 92.

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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.

Community transformation—is it possible?

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Chronicles 13-17; Psalm 74

TO CHEW ON: “… and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the LORD God of their father.” 2 Chronicles 13:18

“O God, how long will the adversary reproach?
Will the enemy blaspheme Your name forever?” Psalm 74:10


Three things come together for me in today’s readings:

1. In the recitation of good and bad kings from 2 Chronicles, what stands out is that all the bad kings were guilty of occultism, idolatry, and seeking to do things on their own without God. God’s blessing flowed again when godly kings destroyed these things and returned to true worship.

2. In the psalms reading, psalmist Asaph’s pleading with God (to again make His name famous, to make His cause prevail, to restore sincere worship and purity to the land) resonates. It’s how I would pray for my own land and people in the 21st century.

3. I watched a video about community transformation last night. In it the filmmakers tell the story of several communities (one in Mexico, one in Guatemala, and one in California) that experienced community-wide spiritual revival in the 1990s. It happened when the church and concerned pastors became modern-day Asaphs and pleaded for their cities, with prayer and fasting.

When God revealed to them the occultic roots of their community’s enslavement to the drug cartels (Mexico), poverty, drunkenness, and abuse (Guatemala), and addiction (California) they confronted and took authority over dark forces with, again, prayer and fasting.

If we are burdened for our land and community like Asaph was, let’s follow the example of the Christians of the 1990s and contend (with prayer, fasting, church unity etc.) for another transformation!

PRAYER: Dear Father, I believe the kind of turnaround You brought to Judah and Israel under godly kings, and the transformation witnessed in the 1990s is possible today. Help me to contend for it in my country and town. Amen.
PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 74

MORE: Transformations (the documentary film)





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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.

Plagued hearts

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 8-10; Psalm 96

TO CHEW ON: "... when each one knows the plague of his own heart, and spreads out his hands toward this temple, then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive and act, and give to everyone according to all his ways whose heart You know (for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men)" 1 Kings 8:38,39



In his prayer at the dedication of the temple, Solomon covered a myriad of scenarios for when the Israelites would need God's answered prayers from that building. He prayed that:

• when someone was forced to take an oath before the altar because of an accusation, God would hear and judge rightly.

• when Israel was defeated because of backsliding, God would hear, forgive and bring her back.

• when the consequences of their sin led to drought, God would forgive sin and send rain.

• when there was famine, blight, mildew, locusts, grasshoppers, enemy oppression ...

It's as if Solomon was trying to think of every instance and reason they could need God, and he lands finally on the picturesque: "when each one knows the plague of his own heart..."

That is still the heart of the matter for us. The plague of our hearts is the sinful condition into which we're born. It evidences itself in rebellion against God and friction between us and others as we give in to our self-centered bent. Want to diagnose it in yourself? Just compare your life to the ideal in Matthew 5, 6 & 7, or 1 Corinthians 13.

There is only one cure for our chronic, terminal heart condition. It's Jesus:

Isaiah: "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him and by His stripes we are healed" - Isaiah 53:5.

Peter: "Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed" - 1 Peter 2:24.

Jesus: "'The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind. to set at liberty those who are oppressed'" - Luke 4:18.

PRAYER: Dear God, with Solomon I bring to You the plague of my heart. Thank You for making me healed and clean in Your sight because of Jesus, who paid  my sins' penalty. Help me to deal with my sin-sick heart practically every day, as I bend my will and actions to Your Spirit. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 96

MORE: Original pollution

Wayne Grudem talks about the plague of our hearts in the Sin chapter of his Systematic Theology.

He defines sin: "Sin is any failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude or nature" - p. 490.

He makes two points in the section called "The Doctrine of Inherited Sin," stating and discussing in detail how we are born with:

"1. Inherited Guilt: we are counted guilty because of Adam's sin - Romans 5:12-21... 

2. Inherited corruption: we have a sinful nature because of Adam's sin. ...This inherited sinful nature is sometimes simply called 'original sin,' and sometimes more precisely called 'original pollution (Psalm 51:5)'" which Grudem  calls "inherited corruption."

Mr. Grudem comes to this sobering conclusion:

"But if we have a total inability to do any spiritual good in God's sight, then do we still have any freedom of choice? Certainly, those who are outside of Christ do still make voluntary choices—that is, they decide what they want to do, then they do it. ... Yet because of their inability to do good and to escape from their fundamental rebellion against God and their fundamental preference for sin, unbelievers do not have freedom in the most important sense of freedom—that is freedom to do right, and to do what is pleasing to God.

The application to our lives is quite evident: if God gives anyone a desire to repent and trust in Christ, he or she should not delay and should not harden his or heart heart (cf. Hebrews 3:7-8; 12:17). This ability to repent and desire to trust in God is not naturally ours but is given by the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and it will not last forever. 'Today, when you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts' - Hebrews 3:15"  - Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, pp. 494, 496, 498 (emphasis added).  

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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.

Breaking the bondage of confusion

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Isaiah 61:1-11

TO CHEW ON: “… And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion.” Isaiah 61:7

Today, as I read amazing Isaiah 61, verse 7 jumps out at me:

“Instead of your shame, you shall have double honor,
And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion.
Therefore in their land they shall possess double;
Everlasting joy shall be theirs.”

I’d like to focus especially on one snippet of verse 7: “And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion.”

Isaiah wrote this (entire chapter) to a nation that would spend many years in exile. This prophecy in the immediate spoke to them of a time they would again live in their own land.

A few word definitions:

“‘Shame’ and ‘dishonor’ describe the experience of the Babylonian exile of the sixth century” - Reformation Study Bible (accessed through Biblegateway.com).

“Confusion” (kalimmah) is also translated humilation, disgrace, reproach, shame, dishonor, insult, ignominy.

“Portion” (cheleq) means one’s share, part, territory, one’s possession.

To the exile, this prophecy spoke of a time when they would come out of the confusion or “humiliation” (NAS) of being exiled outsiders to again owning and rejoicing in their own “portion” or possession of land.

One of the reasons this verse speaks to me at this time is that in our western society, one of our most precious possessions, our gender norms and sexual identity, are under attack. New theories that claim our birth sex means nothing and that we can decide whether we are wishing to identify as male or female on any given day, are being instituted and upheld in society at large. Of special concern to me is that these new theories are now mandated instruction and practice in the schools—whether religious or secular.

This is leading to the need for new pronouns in our dictionary to address those who feel they are neither a “he” nor a “she,” genderless bathrooms, changes on official forms to accommodate those who don’t want to be identified with their biological sex—in other words, a whole lot of confusion.

This is especially troublesome for children who are now to be taught this new fluid sexual identity theory as truth. Who, if they question their birth sex as defining their gender identity are being encouraged to experiment with living as the other sex and in some cases given puberty blocking medications* (drugs that may make them sterile).

As a Christian who lives by the principles of the Bible, I see this gender identity confusion as only one more evidence of the “Has God indeed said...?” rebellion first sown in the human heart way back in Eden (Genesis 3:1). For God has indeed said “…male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27) and has made His position on sexual relations between genders and gender identity clear in passages like Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; Romans 1:27 and Deuteronomy 22:5.

Male and female is how He made us. This is not some cruel edict from a stern, unfeeling deity. It’s wisdom. It’s love. Living as a male or female, according to our physical biology is how we work best. We’re only asking for trouble when we defy the way we were wisely and lovingly created (see Romans 1:24-27).

So Isaiah 61:7 gives us the hopeful assurance that Jesus (who declared this passage was speaking of Him as the One who can bring liberty to the captives - Isaiah 61:1 compare Luke 4:17-21) can also set free from from this. Instead of the bondage of confusion over whether we, our children, and grandchildren are and should identify as the gender we were born, we can rejoice in our portion (our possession of a sure male or female identity).

Let’s pray this for and over ourselves, our children, and grandchildren in these days, as we are forced to navigate this tsunami of lies and confusion.

PRAYER: Dear Father, I pray for the children of this generation. Deliver them from confusion. Help them to recognize this theory as the lie that it is. Please help us as those who believe You created us wisely and well to know how to express Your loving intentions toward all people. Amen.

MORE:

*Additional reading about puberty suppression from The New Atlantis:
Growing Pains: Problems with Puberty Suppression in Treating Gender Dysphoria


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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.

Celebrating darkness

Halloween jack-o-lanterns (pixabay.com)

TODAY’S SPECIAL: John 8:31-47

TO CHEW ON: “‘And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’” John 8:32

Today is Halloween. Tonight children dressed up in all kinds of costumes, cute to ghoulish, will knock on doors and expect us to toss candy into their plastic jack-o-lanterns or pillow cases. It’s a lot of fun for the kids. Many consider it the highlight celebration of the year.

Halloween’s roots are not quit as innocent. The Samhain holiday observed by the Celts on this day was a time that spirits of those who had died in the last year were believed to roam. People offered food and drink to ward off these spirits.

When the Romans conquered Britain, the holiday morphed into a harvest celebration honouring the fruit tree goddess Pamona. During the Middle Ages, the day—though officially abandoned—took on religious overtones linked to the Christian belief in evil spirits (info from The Christian Almanac by George Grant & Gregory Wilbur, p. 639).

The modern celebration seems to get bigger each year with store displays for Halloween set up earlier and targeting a wider age range. Though it is mostly lighthearted and fun for the children, the creatures associated with it—skeletons, witches, ghosts, vampires, werewolves etc.—honor death, fear, the occult, the paranormal.

Because of the above, I have always felt uneasy about celebrating Halloween. It seemed contradictory to me to honor forces and beings of darkness when I claimed to belong to the creator and bringer of light. A friend of mine who works in the deliverance ministry recently asked for more prayer covering because she deals with a lot of deep and real darkness rooted in occult involvement.

And so this Halloween day, let’s focus on Jesus who said earlier in John 8: "'I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life'" - John 8:12,   “'I am the way, the truth and the life'” - John 14:6 and “'You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.'” - John 8:32.


PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for defeating all the power of the evil one. Your shed blood on the doorposts of my life means he can’t touch me. I pray protection on families, homes and communities tonight when darkness is celebrated as innocent fun. Amen.

MORE: The Vigil for All Saints Day
Some churches celebrate a Vigil for All Saints Day. An article on the Share Faith site describes the vigil and what it means in different denominations:

"All Saints Day begins with a vigil, the observance of which originated with the Antioch Church. The night time hours of All Saints are devoted to prayer and fasting. The Catholic ceremony for the day is a solemn one, and includes the observance of Mass, followed by prayers offered to the Virgin Mary and all the saints. Lutherans and Episcopalians remember the day by giving thanks to God for all saints, living and dead. The Orthodox Churches continue to honor all Christian martyrs on the first Sunday after Pentecost." Read the entire article...

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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.

Don't slip back into legalism

Image: Pixabay.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Galatians 2:15-3:5

TO CHEW ON: "'For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.'" Galatians 2:18

It's easy for us to slip back into legalistic ways if we have been brought up under a legalistic system. Our reading today is Paul's reasoning against that.

In the first part, Paul repeats to the Galatians what he said to Peter and other apostles (Galatians 2:14-21). It is the argument he made in Jerusalem for justification (appearing pure before God—"just as if I had never sinned") by faith, not by keeping the law (Galatians 2:16).

Then he addresses the Galatians directly about their tendency to do the same thing: "O foolish Galatians! … Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?" (Galatians 2:1,2).

I love how Leslyn Musch sums up this principle in the "Truth-In-Action Through Galatians" article in my Bible. Under the title "The Walk of Faith" she writes:

"Faith accepts God's testimony in a trusting, childlike manner and salvation as a free gift. The Law was given to lead us to Christ; thus any use of the Law as a means of earning our salvation is a distortion. By nature mankind presumes to seek salvation by works. It seems offensive to the flesh to believe we cannot. But God's word says it is an offense to Him to believe we can" - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1641.

And so Paul would say to us, who feel in our heart of hearts that God loves us more and accepts us on the basis of what we do and how we live—No.

 "Tell me this one thing: did you receive God's Spirit by doing what the Law requires or by hearing the gospel and believing it? How can you be so foolish! You began by God's Spirit; do you now want to finish by your own power? " - Galatians 3:2,3 (GNT).

Let's not rebuild for ourselves and others the legalistic structures of our time—church attendance, financial giving, time spent in fasting and prayer, amount of serving and ministry we do, etc.,—as ways to gauge how well we and they are living the Christian life and how much we're pleasing God and earning His love. For it's all a gift:

"Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing" - Ephesians 2:8-10 (MSG) emphasis added.  

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for paying the complete price for my salvation. Help that my motivation for living in ways You condone arises from my love for You and the realization that Your ways are designed for my best present and future. 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.

Scripture quotations marked GNT are from the Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition). Copyright © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.


Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

A reason to celebrate

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Nahum 1:1-15

TO CHEW ON: "Behold, on the mountains
The feet of him who brings good tidings,
Who proclaims peace!
O Judah keep your appointed feasts,
Perform your vows.
For the wicked one shall no more pass through you;
He is utterly cut off." - Nahum 1:15

These beautiful words, made famous by the chorus "O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion" from Handel's Messiah, are part of Nahum's comforting prophecy to Judah (and Isaiah's too: Isaiah 52:7). Nahum prophesied shortly before 612 B.C. His prophecy concerns the Assyrians and Nineveh their capital city.

The Assyrians had been a thriving force for centuries. One hundred years earlier (722-721 B.C.) they had conquered the northern king of Israel (2 Kings 17:6). After that they threatened Judah. It was only God's intervention that saved Judah at that time (2 Kings 19:33-37).

Now Assyria's doom is near (Nineveh fell in 612 B.C.) and Nahum's message is one of comfort. He assures Judah that good tidings are on the way. Even now the messengers bringing the news are climbing the mountains that surround Jerusalem. Soon the people will be able to worship and celebrate with freedom again.

Nahum's prophecy is an example of how Bible prophecies do double duty—for though Nahum's words were a prediction of the fall of Assyria, they also predict the fall of another enemy—our enemy Satan. The plan for that fall went into high gear when Jesus came to earth—the incarnation we celebrate this season. Leslyn Musch sums up our appropriate response so well. You and I can:

• Thank God for the good news of the gospel.

• Worship Jesus who has given us the victory over Satan.

• Surrender our hearts fully to the One who has delivered us and set us free (Romans 10:13-15; 16:20)" - Leslyn Musch, Truth-In-Action through Nahum, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1221.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for coming to earth and defeating Satan by Your death and resurrection. Help me to live out in my life the fact of Your victory. Amen.

MORE: "O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion" by G. F. Handel

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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.

How to live free

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 8:23-47

TO CHEW ON: "Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, 'If you abide in My word you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.'" John 8:31-32

The Bible connects the ability to discern truth with obedience in several places. Paul does it in Romans 1 when he talks about sinful people "who suppress the truth in unrighteousness (or wickedness)" (Romans 1:18). Their refusal to acknowledge God as God and glorify Him (which surely includes obedience), results in foolish darkened hearts and lives that are enslaved to physical lusts, passions and outright rebellion (Romans 1:18-32).

In our focus verse today Jesus states the same idea only coming at it positively, maybe because of the sympathetic crowd ("Those Jews who believed Him"):

"If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 

And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free."

Let's look closely at Jesus' words to see how He connects obedience, to  knowing truth, to freedom.

"If you abide in My word..." Abide (Meno) means to remain as one, not to become another or different. A cross-reference to this verse in my margin is John 14:23-24: “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word." The NIV says "If anyone loves Me he will obey My word" (NIV).

"...You are My disciples indeed..." Disciple (Mathetes) comes from the root "math" which means thought with effort. My Bible defines disciple as "a learner, one who follows both the teaching and the teacher" (Word Wealth, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1307).

"...And you shall know the truth..." Know (Ginosko ) means to perceive, understand, recognize, gain knowledge, realize, come to know. "Ginosko is the knowledge that has inception, a progress and an attainment. It is the recognition of truth by personal experience" (Word Wealth - New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p. 1459).

"...and the truth shall make you free." Made free (Eleuthero) means to make free; set at liberty from the dominion of sin.

What does this mean for you and me? We could say that obedience to God and what He tells us of His will in the Bible is key to us being  disciples and to understanding truth in a way that is only possible once we've actually lived it. Oswald Chambers expresses the connection between obedience and understanding truth so well:

"The golden rule for understanding spiritually is not intellect, but obedience. If a man wants scientific knowledge, intellectual curiosity is his guide; but if he wants insight into what Jesus Christ teaches, he can only get it by obedience. If things are dark to me, then I may be sure there is something I will not do. Intellectual darkness comes through ignorance; spiritual darkness comes because of something I do not intend to obey."

- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, July 27th reading (emphasis added).

A corollary of living this way is that I'm set free from sin being the boss in my life. Ironic, isn't it, that freedom comes through putting oneself under the will of Another.

It sounds great in theory... now to consistently put it into practice!

PRAYER: Dear God, I want to live free. Help me to identify where I am still in bondage because of disobedience that keeps me blind to the truth about You and myself. Amen.

MORE: Halloween

Today is Halloween. It is a secular holiday that has sacred roots. It is still listed in the Lectionary as a holy day: Vigil of All Saints.

An All Saints Vigil Liturgy (found on an ecumenical liturgy site) includes a renewal of Baptism. The leader begins that part of the service with the invitation: "I invite you (to stand) to affirm your commitment to Christ and your rejection of all that is evil."

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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.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Law and liberty

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 119:33-48

TO CHEW ON: "And I will walk at liberty (Lit. "in a wide place")

For I seek Your precepts." Psalm 119:45

Does it not seem strange that in the middle of a psalm that is all about keeping laws, commandments, precepts, and statues, the writer talks about liberty? Don't laws keep us hedged in by boundaries thus taking our liberty away?

A brief pass through the Bible to look at other places it speaks of liberty may shed some light on this seeming contradiction.

- Psalm 107:14 talks about liberty from darkness and the shadow of death. It's a reminder that we're prisoners of our decaying disintegrating bodies.

- Isaiah 61:1 quoted by Jesus as a reference to Himself in Luke 4:18 tells us liberty comes through Jesus:

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,

       Because He has anointed Me

      To preach the gospel to the poor;

      He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

      To proclaim liberty to the captives

      And recovery of sight to the blind,

      To set at liberty those who are oppressed;"

With a little imagination we can relate to our lives the liberties Jesus declared. Who doesn't need liberty from disappointment, destructive habits and addictions, ignorance, and the oppression of others?

- In John 8:32 Jesus reminds us of the power of truth to set us free. And don't we remember the claims of Christ in this regard: "I am the way the truth and the life..." Freedom points back to Jesus.

- 2 Corinthians 3:17 tells us this liberty is guaranteed by the Holy Spirit and His presence in us. But we can lose it if we let our focus drift from trusting in Jesus to anything else for our liberty. As Paul warns the Galatians.

It's all a reminder that our apparent freedom when left to ourselves is not freedom at all but bondage to other things that tend toward our destruction. And we are back to our psalm writer who knew by faith that loving, studying, and adhering to all God's laws, commandments, precepts, and statues really did lead to liberty—a liberty that, hundreds of years after this psalm was written, was bought by Jesus' death and resurrection so that we, through His life in us, can live free now.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to place my will under Your dominion, for I will be captive to something or someone in any case. I want that Someone to be You. 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.

Legalism--still alive and well?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Galatians 4:21-5:6

TO CHEW ON: "You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace …. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love." Galatians 5:4,6

Though the legalism that insists circumcision is mandatory to be 'in'  has never been an issue in my life, there are other legalism manifestations. What about the legalism that insists on a certain mode of baptism, that judges lifestyle liberties (like drinking alcohol), that insists on certain versions of the Bible? What about the legalism that comes in the guise of its symptoms—irrational, unexplainable fears (like the fear of dying because at some level I feel like I haven't measured up to God's standard)?

Paul's theme in this whole letter is to explain and extol how the gospel is not the good news of which laws to keep but the good news of grace that results in spiritual liberty.

A brief overview of that LIBERTY shows its rich dimensions:

• It frees us from the fear of death - Psalm 107:14; Romans 8:2.

• It puts us in a servant / master relationship of choice, not coercion - Psalm 116:16; Romans 6:18.

• It springs us from the prison of spiritual blindness - Isaiah 42:7; John 8:32.

• It gives us a compelling message - Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:18.

• It impacts all of creation - Romans 8:21.

• It makes for a liberated life - 2 Corinthians 3:17; Galatians 2:4.

The "Introduction to Galatians "in my Bible sums up the book's message and impact well:

'The same perversion of the gospel that Paul combats in this letter keeps appearing in various forms. Legalism, which teaches that justification or sanctification depends upon a person's own efforts, thus denying the sufficiency of the Cross, is the most persistent enemy of the gospel of grace. Circumcision and other requirements of the Mosaic Law may no longer be issues pertaining to salvation, but oftentimes the observance of certain rules, regulations, or religious rites is made coordinate with faith in Christ as the condition of Christian maturity. Galatians clearly declares the perils of legalism and establishes the essential truth of salvation by faith alone" - Jerry Horner, Introduction to Galatians, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1629.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Your gift of salvation. Help me to never make it something I have to earn or expect others to try and earn. Amen.

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

Beware of...

"The Scribes and Pharisees 
sit in Moses' seat" 
by Alexandre Bida, c. 1874

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 20:27-47

TO CHEW ON: "Then in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples, 'Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues and the best places at feasts, who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.'" Luke 20:45-47

Jesus' sharp public criticism of the scribes in this passage, coming seemingly out of nowhere, may surprise us.

To set the scene, Jesus and the various religious experts are going back and forth on the fine "what if" points of religion. The Sadducees try to catch Jesus in a question about the resurrection — their hobby horse: they claim there is none. Jesus shows them from Scripture that there is.

Then He goes on to talk about David addressing Christ — who is his son or descendant — as "Lord." "How is He then his son?" Jesus asks, rhetorically posing a theological riddle that insists on the answer that Christ is more than just David's descendant.

And after that He lashes out against the scribes.

However, a parallel passage of this incident shows that Jesus was here actually critiquing what the scribes taught: "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David..." (Mark 12:35-37).

Such sharp criticism from Jesus comes out only when He speaks to or about the religious leaders of the time. We can come to some conclusions about what offends God as we watch Jesus interacting with and responding to them here.

• He is not impressed with their fine-points questions — designed more as a way to show Him up than as sincere inquiries about how to believe and live (vs. 27-44).

• "Beware the scribes..." (vs. 46) Jesus warns, pointing out their love of display and public deference. I think His warning is double-edged, telling the disciples don't get taken in by their show, and don't do this yourselves.

• He disdains their show of piety that would saddle others with the rules they make. In this example, Jesus unmasks its root of greed (vs. 47).

• He singles them out for "greater condemnation" — to a worse punishment than others would get because they should know better (vs. 47).

We search our hearts to see if they contain similar hypocrisy. Do we ever discuss and argue for the sake of proving our brilliance instead of with a sincere desire to know? Do we love the respect and praise of people? Are we ever guilty of priggish religiosity that would make others conform to our rules and has at its root a different motivation than to bring glory to God? Would Jesus ever tell people to "Beware" of us?

PRAYER: Dear God, sometimes the thought of how well You know human nature is unnerving. Help me to know myself with the same insight and, with the help of Holy Spirit, to make the changes you point out. Amen.

MORE: Jason Upton sings "Freedom"

Vs. 2: "Well, we live in a country supposedly Pharaohless
But all over town and in churches abide
Powerful weaklings who practice their politics
Stealing from Jesus his beautiful bride
Whether you're Pharisees, Sadducees, heresies
You best get outta God's way!
(God is sayin')


Freedom..."

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

How to live free

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 8:23-47

TO CHEW ON: "Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, 'If you abide in My word you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.'" John 8:31-

The Bible connects the ability to discern truth with obedience in several places. Paul does it in Romans 1 when he talks about sinful people "who suppress the truth in unrighteousness (or wickedness)" (Romans 1:18). Their refusal to acknowledge God as God and glorify Him (which surely includes obedience), results in foolish darkened hearts and lives that are enslaved to physical lusts, passions and outright rebellion (Romans 1:18-32).

In our focus verse today Jesus states the same idea only coming at it positively, maybe because of the sympathetic crowd ("Those Jews who believed Him"):

"If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 

And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free."

Let's look closely at Jesus' words to see how He connects obedience, to  knowing truth, to freedom.

"If you abide in My word..." Abide (Meno) means to remain as one, not to become another or different. A cross-reference to this verse in my margin is John 14:23-24: “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word." The NIV says "If anyone loves Me he will obey My word" (NIV).

"...You are My disciples indeed..." Disciple (Mathetes) comes from the root "math" which suggests thought with effort put forth. My Bible defines disciple as "a learner, one who follows both the teaching and the teacher" (Word Wealth, New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p. 1307).

"...And you shall know the truth..." Know (Ginosko ) means to perceive, understand, recognize, gain knowledge, realize, come to know. "Ginosko is the knowledge that has inception, a progress and an attainment. It is the recognition of truth by personal experience" (Word Wealth - New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p. 1459).

"...and the truth shall make you free." Made free (Eleuthero) means to make free; set at liberty from the dominion of sin.

What does this mean for you and me? We could say that obedience to God and what He tells us of His will in the Bible is key to us being  disciples and to understanding truth in a way that is only possible once we've actually lived it. Oswald Chambers expresses the connection between obedience and understanding truth so well:

"The golden rule for understanding spiritually is not intellect, but obedience. If a man wants scientific knowledge, intellectual curiosity is his guide; but if he wants insight into what Jesus Christ teaches, he can only get it by obedience. If things are dark to me, then I may be sure there is something I will not do. Intellectual darkness comes through ignorance; spiritual darkness comes because of something I do not intend to obey."

-- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, July 27th reading.

A corollary of living this way is that I'm set free from sin being the boss in my life. Ironic, isn't it, that freedom comes through putting oneself under the will of Another.

It sounds great in theory... now to consistently put it into practice!

PRAYER: Dear God, I want to live free. Help me to identify where I am still in bondage because of disobedience that keeps me blind to the truth about You and myself. Amen.

MORE: Halloween

Today is Halloween. It is a secular holiday that has sacred roots. It is still listed in the Lectionary as a holy day: Vigil of All Saints.

An All Saints Vigil Liturgy (found on an ecumenical liturgy site) includes a renewal of Baptism. The leader begins that part of the service with the invitation: "I invite you (to stand) to affirm your commitment to Christ and your rejection of all that is evil."

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

Liberty

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Galatians 4:21-5:1

TO CHEW ON: "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage." Galatians 5:1

At the time I am writing this we are in a season of TV program finales. Last Sunday night the final episode of "Survivor" aired. Last night twitter was full of anticipation over the final episode of "Lost." I watched the ending of "Celebrity Apprentice" (oh foolish woman) -- and vowed next season I wouldn't let myself start following one of these entertaining time-wasters. Because they sure get their hooks in you so you want, no need, to see the next episode, and the next, and the next…

It's a type of bondage, what the dictionary describes as "subjection to any influence or domination." And it's the topic of our today's reading in Galatians.

The bondage that Paul is pleading with the Galatians to throw off once and for all is bondage to keeping the ceremonial law as a way of earning God's favour. The whole reason for that law is because we're under another kind of bondage -- a slavery to ourselves and our own sinful natures. Our dilemma is depicted throughout scripture.

- We show our entrapment when we sin: "His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, and he is caught in the cords of his sin" (Proverbs 5:22).

- We can't change this predilection to sin on our own (Jeremiah 13:23).

- Paul articulates the pinch we're in in Romans 7. Even the rules (law) which God gave to help us understand Him and His standards work against us in that they arouse sinful passions instead of quelling them (Romans 7:5). We find ourselves, despite our best efforts, in bondage to our sinful natures so that Paul cries out in frustration "Who will deliver me from this body of death?" (Romans 7:22-24).

Paul answers his own question in Romans 8. We get free from our sinful selves not by trying to keep laws but by walking according to the Spirit: "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:1-2). It is in this freedom that Paul is pleading with the Galatians to "Stand fast."

What does living in this freedom look like in everyday living? Oswald Chambers says:

"Always keep your life measured by the standards of Jesus. Bow your neck to His yoke alone, and to no other yoke whatever; and be careful to see that you never bind a yoke on others that is not placed by Jesus Christ. It takes God a long time to get us out of the way of thinking that unless everyone sees as we do, they must be wrong. That is never God's view. There is only one liberty, the liberty of Jesus at work in our conscience enabling us to do what is right." (My Utmost for His Highest - May 6 reading)

As I see it, it's a life lived by a conscience formed and sharpened by the Word of God and applied by the Holy Spirit. Your thoughts?

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me to life under Your light yoke. May I recognize and stay away from anything that would enslave me under a different yoke. Amen.

MORE: Jason Upton sings "Freedom Reigns"

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