Category: Daily Devotionals

LOVE DOES NOT GIVE UP

If the first fruit is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.  Romans 11:16

         The technicalities associated with a scriptural passage are important but I should not get lost in the minutia and miss the beauty of the larger meaning.  All scripture is to cause me to worship God.  This verse is no exception.

         To be holy is to be set apart by God.  Devoted and consecrated for His pleasure.  Once God sees me, chooses me by His grace and sets me apart for Himself, I am considered holy – even if rebellious before my conversion.  God’s love does not waver and He is true to His promises.  How unlike my love!

• The firstfruits and lump refer to the first Jewish converts and the lump is the whole nation.
• The root is Abraham and the branches are all his descendants.

         So what God doesn’t want me to miss is this ~ Whom He loves, He loves.  He does not give up no matter how long it takes and no matter how obstinate we are.  Israel may be blind and rebellious for thousands of years but God still considers her ‘His people’ and sees them as set apart for Himself.  She is considered holy.

         If God has made me a promise that someone I love will be saved ~ a father, a son, a friend ~ then their rebellion does not jeopardize that.  Continue reading “Love Does Not Give Up” →

BEYOND HUMAN POSSIBILITY

For if their (the Jews) rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?  Romans 11:15

         Does it seem far-fetched to believe that the Jews can one day be reconciled to God out of their unbelieving state?  Has their long history of antagonism toward Jesus painted a picture for us that is hopeless?  Just because it’s always been that way, do we have a hard time believing that this kind of transformation is possible?  Why should the gathering of Israel seem inconceivable when it is God who is doing it?  Is this too hard for him?  “With God, all things are possible.”  Matthew 19:26

         Women tell me all the time that their situation is hopeless and their problem un-solvable.  “It’s always been this way,” is their defense.  The path of hopelessness is not the path for the believer!  Just because something has been broken, or someone has been alienated, or a marriage has been excruciating, is no grounds for unbelief.  How can any of us pick up our face out of the dust and look up with eyes of faith?  By standing on the promises of the Word of God and reviewing His track record.

         The man at the pool of Bethesda had been crippled for 38 years.  The Israelites had been slaves in Egypt for 400 years.  The Jews have been blind to Jesus for 2000 years.  Lazarus had been dead in a tomb for 4 days and had already started decomposing.  These obstacles are nothing to God.  One mere breath from His mouth puts flesh on skeletons.  One command of Jesus brings a dead man out of the tomb.

         Where do you smell death today?  Where has it become a way of life; a comfortable mindset that embraces despair like an old friend?  The Word of God is a sword that cuts through deception and unbelief.  Repentance breaks the power of it over my life.  Standing on the promises and character of God, out loud, will begin to infuse my soul with well-founded hope.  The God who will one day bring a spiritually dead nation to new life is still invested in that which I have dismissed.

It’s time to hear the call of Jesus on the other side of the tomb.  “Come out!  Step into the light where resurrection power is the norm and where hopelessness is banished.”

Someone I love hasn’t yet been fully transformed by your love.  I’m waiting, but not without hope.  I put their name in scripture and make these my prayers.  I praise You.  You are the God of the new-birth. Amen

STUMBLING AND GOD’S GLORIOUS OUTCOME

So I ask, did they stumble so that they might fall?  By no means.  Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!  Romans 11:12

            When one I love stumbles over Christ, even vehemently rejects him, can that act mysteriously bear fruit in the kingdom?  Yes!  A rejection of Christ, temporary as in the unbelief of present day Israel, can be used in a sovereign way by God to advance the kingdom.  The Gospel came to Gentiles like me because Israel stumbled.  And it will be the Gentiles who become the catalysts to lead the nation of Israel back to God.  Things come full circle in the mysteries of God.  He weaves a path mankind could never think of.  We get lost in the tragic story line.  God’s plotline transcends tragedy to culminate in redemption.

            Example. Earth was once pristine.  Perfect.  Man’s sin cursed it.  Now, it is broken and will ultimately come to completely destruction.  God will redeem it and make it new again.  We will enjoy a new Earth and walk again in Eden.  Full circle.

            What does that mean for any loved one who can’t yet see the glory of Jesus?  He stumbles over the Gospel, stumbles over the concept of sin and his need for a Savior, stumbles over losing his life in this world to invest in life eternal.  His stumbling and life of sin is, even now, being used mysteriously for others’ good.  If that person is my parent, Continue reading “Stumbling And God’s Glorious Outcome” →

Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking.  The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor.”  Romans 11:7-8

         Many who are familiar with the Bible, with the sacraments, with the history of the church, even with basic doctrine don’t have a personal relationship with God.  Their knowledge and familiarity is really their enemy.  When their pastor preaches under the fire and anointing of the Holy Spirit, they are interested only for drama’s sake and the opportunity to talk about it over Sunday dinner.  The fire did not make their heart burn.  The anointing did not bring tears.  This is the stupor of which Paul refers.

         The blessings (scripture, covenant, vast love of God, undeserved privilege of being a chosen child of God) actually become their stumbling block.  What is so familiar deceives them into believing that they really possess it.  Continue reading “Familiarity and Stupor. A Blessing Becomes a Curse.” →

But if it (God choosing a remnant to be His) is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.  Romans 11:5

People can tell a lot about what’s important to me by how much I talk about it.  I have stories I repeat, I know that.  Part of it might be aging but most of it is due to a desire to keep talking about what has impacted me the most.  These are the defining moments of my life.

For Paul, it was the moment God snatched him from unbelief by an enormous act of grace.  A moment before his conversion, he orchestrated the stoning of Stephen.  He held the coats of those who needed a free arm to throw the stones but the next minute, he put his face in the dirt of the Damascus road.  The one who had offended Jesus was offered outrageous forgiveness and grace.

From that moment on, Paul’s theme was grace.  Nearly every reference to the topic of grace in the New Testament is Paul’s reference.  A hundred and twenty eight times.  He never forgot his sinfulness.  But then, he also couldn’t get over God’s graciousness.

Grace and a sense of our unworthiness must go hand in hand.  If I ignore either side of the equation, it distorts badly.  Grace without unworthiness is entitlement.  Unworthiness without grace brings self-condemnation and misery.

It seems to me one side of the equation describes most everyone in the church who experiences some kind of spiritual imbalance.  A spiritually ill believer is either self-righteous or self-punishing.  My father-in-law, a well- known evangelist now with Jesus, used to say that you can’t get a person saved until you get them lost.  Kind of another way of saying that they won’t be attracted to grace until they know they feel unworthy.

As a Christian, I must continue to acknowledge my need of grace.  If I’m afraid of my issues, running from any reminder of my own brokenness, I will live in the deception of self-sufficiency and turn my head the other way when God graciously offers me Himself.  I will believe that the only thing I needed was salvation and nothing else.

The themes of my life need to be an awareness of my sin and God’s incredible grace.  My joy is God’s goodness.  My lament is my sin.  And oh, how the first outweighs the latter.

You are so gracious to me that I cannot take it in.  Exploring your goodness will take me an eternity.  Amen

Save

NEVER FORGOTTEN

I ask, then, has God rejected his people?  By no means!  For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.  Romans 11:1

         Even though God took His love and grace to people outside of Israel, does that mean that His grace was closed to Jews?  Not at all.  Paul used himself as an example.  Though he had once been antagonistic to Christ, killing so many who declared themselves to be disciples of Jesus, even he came to faith.

         There is always a remnant.  God is always looking for those who have a heart that is bent toward him, even in the slightest way.  Even though there may be a history of antagonism, of spiritual blindness and failure, God’s love prevails over all of it if I move toward him with my whole heart.  Even though God may deal with men harshly, we are not utterly rejected.

         Oh, how his love is unlike mine.  He woos, keeps his arms extended, through years of slander.  He keeps His invitation open though others vow never to respond to it.  He sees what a person can be through the life-changing work of the cross even though they love to sin and offend Him.  Continue reading “Never Forgotten” →

THE PAIN OF BEING INVISIBLE

And Isaiah says boldly:  I was found by those who were not looking for Me; I revealed Myself to those who were not asking for Me.  Romans 10:20

         God disciplines Israel for their rejection of His Son by taking the gift of salvation and relationship to someone else, the Gentiles.  To the Jews, He was virtually invisible or, if perceived, unwanted.

         There is pain in being invisible.  I’ve been in many family rooms while traveling over the years.  Sometimes there was a child in the family who acted out, and even cried out, “Look at me.  Look at me.”  Initially, their antics were cute.  When they turned desperate, it wasn’t funny anymore.  There was an undercurrent of rejection and the child pulled out all the stops to get noticed.  As a guest, I came to realize that this was a way of life for this child.

         It’s almost unbelievable that God could be invisible. Continue reading “The Pain of Being Invisible” →

PROOF OF TOTAL CONFIDENCE

So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ.  Romans 10:17

            Life-saving advice means that what was shared with me was so valuable that I couldn’t wait to go away and apply it.  I have complete confidence in it.

            One of the meanings for faith, in the Greek, is ‘to have complete confidence in something.’  The evidence of confidence is application.

            Abraham had faith in God.  How do we know that?  He left his home village of Ur and took off for a new life.  Saul had faith after experiencing Christ on the road to Damascus.  How do we know that?  He went from hunting down Christians to becoming ‘the hunted.’  Peter and Andrew had faith after hearing Jesus’ call to them.  How do we know that?  They left their fishing business and their families to follow Jesus, even unto death.

            Many today say that they believe in God; that he lived, died, and spoke the truth.  They equate belief with faith.  Yet, there has been no action that has proven their confidence.  Words are cheap without evidence of life-change.  Continue reading “Proof Of Total Confidence” →

WHY IS THAT?

But all did not obey the gospel.  For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our message?  Romans 10:15-16

         When Isaiah laments about how few believe, he has spoken for God’s servants past and present.  Evidence for God is all around us.  Evidence for the life, death, and resurrection of Christ is irrefutable.  Yet still, so few believe.  Why is that?

         Sin is so infectious and has done such a number on the spiritual condition of people that they cannot see the Light.  Sin deceives and blinds.  When a preacher delivers the Gospel under the most powerful anointing He has ever experienced, and then only a small percentage of his audience responds, he may cry out in his spirit as Isaiah did.  “Why, Lord?  Why don’t more get it?” Continue reading “Why Is That?” →

IDOLIZING MY REPUTATION

But how can they call on Him they have not believed in?  And how can they believe without hearing about Him?  And how can they hear without a preacher?  And how can they preach unless they are sent?  As it is written:  How beautiful are the feet of those who announce the gospel of good things!  Romans 10:14-15

         It seems that in almost every instance in the New Testament, the apostles are preaching the Gospel in a way that includes their story.  They reveal when they met Jesus, what they believed at the time, how lost they were, how they came to understand that He was the Christ, and how that is changing their lives.  Even when Paul stood before King Agrippa and his life was at stake, Paul told his story.

         I am convinced that some are not in the kingdom yet because of the way the Gospel is communicated.  People fail to include their story in the presentation.  With a wagging finger, they talk of sin and its consequences.  With persuasive speech, they speak of Christ’s coming, His death and resurrection.  But there is one important element missing ~ a personal testimony.

         What do you and I have in our hands?  Our story.  If I am a Christian and I’m not on a continuous growth curve, if I’m not living ‘in Christ’ and in the Word, if I’m not in an experiential relationship, then my story is sterile. Continue reading “Idolizing My Reputation” →