Someone Else’s Living Hope: Will You Be the One Who Steps Forward?

Will You Be the One Who Steps Forward to be someone else’s Living Hope?

I have read that when D.L. Moody was just starting out in the ministry he heard a preacher say, “The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully who is surrendered to Him.” That night Moody said, “By God’s grace I will be that man!” Moody had little formal education, and he was not a polished speaker. But God used Dwight L. Moody to reach two continents with the Gospel. He presented the plan of Salvation, by voice or pen, to at least one hundred million people. He often spoke to audiences of ten to twenty thousand people. It is estimated that over a million souls came to Christ as a result of his ministry.

Now, it may or may not be that you will reach a vast number of souls on a multitude of continents or in as many nations that claim sovereignty over a population of people within its borders and boundaries. It might be just as simple to be someone else’s Living Hope by just coming upon them in their situation and aiding or helping them when they appear to be in some need. They may ask for your help or they may not, but you make yourself available anyway. You may or may not know what exactly is going on in that moment, but it will be for them a moment in time when they’ll know that at least one person cares.

Throughout the length and breadth of the Bible we have many inspirational examples where God used a single surrendered individual to accomplish great things for Him. God used Noah to build an Ark and preach repentance to a corrupt generation. God used Moses to deliver His people from the strong hand of Pharaoh. God used His Prophet Elijah to oppose the evilness of Ahab and Jezebel. (He prayed fire down from Heaven and slew 450 prophets of Baal.)

God used a reluctant preacher named Jonah to bring revival to Nineveh. God used a little shepherd boy named David to slay the Giant of the Philistines named Goliath. God took a Tree Dresser named Amos, God took a Cup Bearer to rebuild. God took a handful of fishermen, a publican and a few other common men and used them to turn the world upside down in the name of Jesus Christ! God took a man named Saul of Tarsus who had been the greatest persecutor of the church and transformed him into the greatest Christian who ever lived.

Today’s devotional offering looks upon the inspired life of that Cup Bearer.

Nehemiah 1 Easy-to-Read Version

Nehemiah’s Prayer

1 These are the words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: I, Nehemiah, was in the capital city of Susa in the month of Kislev. This was in the 20th year^[a] that Artaxerxes was king. ²While I was in Susa, one of my brothers named Hanani and some other men came from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had escaped captivity and still lived in Judah. I also asked them about the city of Jerusalem.

³They answered, “Nehemiah, the Jews who escaped captivity and are in the land of Judah are in much trouble. They are having many problems and are full of shame because the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”

⁴When I heard this about the people of Jerusalem and about the wall, I sat down and cried. I was very sad. I fasted and prayed to the God of heaven for several days. ⁵Then I prayed this prayer:

“Lord, God of heaven, you are the great and powerful God. You are the God who keeps his agreement of love with people who love you and obey your commands.

⁶“Please open your eyes and ears and listen to the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night. I am praying for your servants, the Israelites. I confess the sins we Israelites have done against you. I am confessing that I have sinned against you and that the other people in my father’s family have sinned against you. ⁷We Israelites have been very bad to you. We have not obeyed the commands, rules, and laws you gave your servant Moses.

⁸“Please remember the teaching you gave your servant Moses. You said to him, ‘If you Israelites are not faithful, I will force you to be scattered among the other nations. ⁹But if you Israelites come back to me and obey my commands, this is what I will do: Even if your people have been forced to leave their homes and go to the ends of the earth, I will gather them from there. And I will bring them back to the place I have chosen to put my name.’

¹⁰“The Israelites are your servants and your people. You used your great power and rescued them. ¹¹So, Lord, please listen to my prayer. And listen to the prayers of all your other servants who are happy to honor you. Help me today as I ask the king for help. Make him pleased with me so that he will be kind and give me what I ask for.”

At that time, I was the king’s wine servant.^[b]

The Word of God for the Children of God. In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

God did not stop with the men we read about on the pages of the New Testament. He has continued to use men and women throughout Church history to bring glory to His name. People like: Martin Luther, John Calvin, John and Charles Wesley, George Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards, C.H Spurgeon, Dietrich Bonhoffer, Corrie Ten Boom, R.A Torrey, A.W Tozer, D. L Moody, Billy Sunday, Annie Armstrong, Lottie Moon, Billy Graham and O’ so many others.

These individuals were successful in the Kingdom work because they chose to become fully entrenched into and surrendered to the will of God in their lives.

God does not seek out those with the greatest ability or the most education. He chooses to use those faith-filled, faithful and fervent servants. He uses those men and women who possess a great burden and a big desire to move forward.

It is abundantly clear that the church needs restoration and revival. There is no shortage of people who claim that they want to see revival. But there is also a tragic shortage of those who are willing to actually do something about it!

The problem is that the majority are always waiting on “someone else” to do something. However, nearly every great move of God began with one or two people who developed an immense burden. That was the case in Nehemiah’s day. Jerusalem had been ruins for many years. Many of the Israelites noticed the problem, but no one did anything about it. In Nehemiah, God found a man with a king sized burden. And that burden led to action and that action led to revival!

Here in chapter one, we get a glimpse of the immense burden of this man named Nehemiah. As a young man, Nehemiah had been appointed to the office of “Royal Cupbearer”. A cup-bearer was one who would serve drinks to the King. The cupbearer had the burden and responsibility to guard the cup in order to prevent the King from being poisoned. At times he would be required to test the wine personally before serving it to the King. The position of cup-bearer was greatly valued and not given to just anyone. One who held this position would often gain a trust and great favor and great influence with the King.

At this time in history, Artaxerxes was the King. Artaxerxes and Nehemiah had developed a close relationship. So much so that one day Nehemiah was heavily burdened and the King could tell by his demeanor that something wasn’t right.

Nehemiah began to explain to his master the reason for his sudden, sorrowful demeanor. One day his brother arrived and Nehemiah asked about the people of God and the city of Jerusalem. Hanani informed him that the people of Judah and the city of Jerusalem were in a terrible condition. – verse 3.

Verse 3 – “And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.”

Over 150 years earlier, Nebuchadnezzar and the armies of Babylon invaded Israel and carried many of the people away as slaves. At this point, Cyrus has released the Israelites and allowed them to return to Jerusalem. But not all of the Jews returned to Jerusalem, Nehemiah was still residing at the palace in Shushan. Notice how Nehemiah responded to what he learned from Hanani.

Verse 4 it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, Nehemiah was greatly burdened for his city and his people.

Nehemiah did not know it at the time but God was preparing him for a great work. God was moving in his life and would soon use him to restore Jerusalem. God had found a man with a vision, God had found a man with a burden, God had found a man of prayer, and God had found a man of action! God was going to use him to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. Furthermore, God was going to use this humble servant to bring about the restoration of the nation of Israel.

Many people have the idea that they are only one person and alone they cannot possibly have any measurable impact. That pessimistic mindset has been proven false time and again. It was President John F. Kennedy who famously said; “One person can make a difference and everyone should at least try”. Are you willing to “at least” try to make a difference? Will you be that willing vessel that God can use to accomplish a great work for someone in this day and age? If you are that one, then you will surely possess the same attributes as Nehemiah.

1. You will have a concern for the things of God.

2. You will have a burden for the people of God.

3. You will have a passion for the work of God.

Nehemiah 1:1-6 NASB

Nehemiah’s Grief for the Exiles

1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.

Now it happened in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in Susa the ^[a]capitol, ²that Hanani, one of my brothers, ^[b]and some men from Judah came; and I asked them about the Jews who had escaped ^[c]and had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. ³And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and disgrace, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates have been burned with fire.”

⁴Now when I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. ⁵I said, “Please, Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps the covenant and faithfulness for those who love Him and keep His commandments: ⁶let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open, to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have committed against You; I and my father’s house have sinned.

Let us take a hopeful, hope-filled look to verses 1-6 and ask the question:

I. WILL YOU BE THE ONE WITH A CONCERN FOR THE THINGS OF GOD?

Though Nehemiah was serving the King in Shushan, his mind was focused on his homeland. He asked his brother Hanani about Jerusalem. Jerusalem is often called “the Holy City”…. it is the “city of God.” Nehemiah would come to learn that God’s city lay in ruins. The walls were broken down, the gates had been consumed with fire. In these first two verses of chapter one, we can see where Nehemiah’s heart was. He was a man who was focused on the things of God.

What an incredibly inspired response from Nehemiah! Oh how we need people like this in our day. There is such a great shortage of men and women who are focused on the things of God. One of the most devastating issues plaguing the Church today is the transitioning priorities of its members. There are many men and women who claim to be born again, many who profess their un- dying love for Jesus yet they seem to put everyone and everything else in front of Him.

Where are the “other people – our neighbors” on our list of priorities? Where is our worship on our list of priorities? Where is prayer on your list of priorities?

Where is bible study on our list of priorities? Where is evangelism on our list of priorities? Where is our Acts 3 Christian service on our vast lists of priorities? Do the things of God come before or after our career? Do they come before our family? Do they come before our recreational activities? Do they come only after our leisure time? Do the things of God come before our hobbies? What is the focus of our lives? What is most important to you? Where is God in your life?

Let me remind you what Jesus had to say about priorities.

Matthew 22:35-40 NASB

³⁵And one of them, ^[a]a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him: ³⁶“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸This is the great and ^[b]foremost commandment. ³⁹The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰Upon these two commandments ^[c]hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”

Matthew 6:19-21 NASB

¹⁹“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; ²¹for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Do the priorities in our lives reveal an immense love for the Lord? Nehemiah’s priorities certainly revealed that he was concerned about the things of God! Will we likewise be the one’s who are concerned about the things of God? Will we be the one who is concerned about the condition of our communities? Many would love to quickly answer that question with a hearty… YES! But as the old cliché goes “Actions speak louder than words”! If we are really ones with a concern for the things of God, it will be evident not by what we say, but, too, by what we do!

Let’s move on to question number 2:

II. WILL WE BE THE ONES WITH A BURDEN FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD?

Verses 2b – 4

Even worse to Nehemiah than the news concerning Jerusalem was the report he heard concerning the Jews that survived the exile. They were enduring “great affliction and reproach”. The Jews were a despised people and oppressed by the neighboring nations. Anyone one of us can easily say that they have a burden for the needs of others and not mean it, but a true burden will prompt action.

Nehemiah had such a burden that it caused him to grieve for his brethren – v4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven …,

There was a 4 step response by Nehemiah…. He Wept, He Mourned, He Fasted and He Prayed.

Nehemiah says that he “sat down and wept”.

He was brought to tears by the condition of the people and the city of God. Oh that we would be brought to tears by the condition of our communities.

When we see how far our communities have drifted from God’s original intent we should be moved to tears. When we see the “I will just cancel everything” that is prevalent in our society it should move us to tears. When we see the apathy among any professing Christians in our day it should break our hearts!

When we consider that many of our brethren are being persecuted, brought to shame and reproach because of the name of Christ we should weep and mourn!

When we think of the multitudes of hopeless people who are not being reached with God’s Gospel, we should not hesitate to all fall down and weep and mourn.

One of the greatest pictures of Jesus in the Bible, is when He approached Jerusalem and wept over the city. Jesus saw the people as “sheep having no shepherd”. He had so much love for those people… (the very people who would crucify Him) that He was brought to tears over the condition of their souls.

As His followers we should have that same compassion. How long has it been since we have wept over one single soul? How long has it been since we have cried out to God on behalf of our Acts 3 lost loved ones? We say that we have a burden that needs Jesus’ focused attention, if so WHERE ARE THE TEARS????

Nehemiah did not just weep and mourn, he also fasted and prayed. Fasting had become a frequent practice among the Jews during the captivity. Daniel fasted (Daniel 9:3; Daniel 10:3), Esther fasted (Esther 4:16), Ezra fasted (Ezra 10:6). Now we read in Nehemiah, that he was crying, praying, and fasting before God.

Though he was a close friend of the King, Nehemiah went way over his head with this issue. Nehemiah humbly bowed and cried out to God almighty on behalf of his people! In great anguish, great hope and great faith Nehemiah prayed one of the most beautiful and powerful prayers recorded in the Bible. This was not a selfish prayer, this was the prayer of an intercessor. Nehemiah went to God on behalf of his brethren. Take a moment and listen to his cry:

Nehemiah 1:5-10 ERV

⁵Then I prayed this prayer:

“Lord, God of heaven, you are the great and powerful God. You are the God who keeps his agreement of love with people who love you and obey your commands.

¹⁰“The Israelites are your servants and your people. You used your great power and rescued them.

As he cried out to God on behalf of his people, Nehemiah recounted, reclaimed the heritage and promises of God. God would soon honor that heritage and His request, but, in the process, God would require a commitment from Nehemiah.

Do you have a burden for the people of God? How long has it been since you’ve prayed for the people of God? You cannot profess to have a burden if you are not moved to tears and prompted to intercede on their behalf! If you will go to the extra mile, to Lord in prayer… if you will be an intercessor on behalf of others, then you (like Nehemiah) can claim the heritage and the all promises of God.

What promises you ask? Here are just a few:

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” (Matthew 7:7)

“And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” (Matthew 21:22)

“And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:13-14)

“And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.” (John 16:23)

These are promises that we can cling to!

But also I want you to notice that when Nehemiah began to claim the promises of God, God enlisted Nehemiah to go to work for Him.

The prayers concerning the vast burdens of the people of God would be timely answered, but Nehemiah would have to roll up his sleeves and go to work. This is the part of the devotional where I sadly expect to lose quite a few people.

You and I will start talking about Acts 3 work and people will tune us out and turn us off in less time for our hearts to beat. We wont like it, but it is necessary for the people of God to do more than just pray to God, we must labor for Him!

To explore this, pray look with me to verse 11 as we consider question number 3:

III. WILL YOU AND I BE THE ONES WITH A PASSION FOR THE WORK OF GOD?

Nehemiah 1:11 AKJV

¹¹O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king’s cupbearer.

Please take careful notice of that last phrase “for I was the king’s cupbearer”. This speaks to the selflessness and the sacrifice of Nehemiah. He was a man who lived a great life. It was a life of peace, prosperity and power. He spent his days tasting the kings food and wine before it reached the king. His duty was to protect the king. King Artaxerxes quite literally trusted Nehemiah with his life.

Nehemiah was a man who lacked nothing. He didn’t live with the others in the ruins of Jerusalem. He spent his days in the king’s palace. He ate the best food and drank the best wine. He was protected and provided for.

But God was doing a great work in his life. God had placed an immense burden in his heart for Jerusalem and the people of Israel. Nehemiah was about to step miles out of his comfortable lifestyle, he would “sacrifice his life of plenty” to leave his trusted job with the king in order to do a great work for God almighty.

i. He had a concern for the things of God.

ii. He had a burden for the people of God.

iii. He had a passion for the work of God.

His burden to accomplish this God given task was so passionate and purposeful that King Artaxerxes could see it all over his face. (Nehemiah 2:1-8)

The king supported Nehemiah and allowed him to return to Jerusalem for a time in order to rebuild the walls and replace the gates of the city. And immediately, Nehemiah went to work doing what God had called him to do.

I genuinely believe that it was a direct result of Nehemiah’s prayers that God worked in the heart of Artaxerxes to allow his servant to go to Jerusalem and do this work. If you continue to read this great book of the bible you will see how God used this one man to have a tremendous impact on Jerusalem and the nation of Israel. Jerusalem needed to be restored and Israel needed revival.

Today, undoubtedly, there are many of the things of God and our neighbors which absolutely need to be refreshed and restored – things like hope, trust.

We need people in our communities, who (like Nehemiah) are willing to step even a few inches outside of their comfort zone and get to work. We need some people who will dare to look around and realize that the walls are broken down and the gates of somewhere or another now lay in ruin and it is time to rebuild.

Will I be the one?

Will you be the one?

Will we be the one?

a) who will say that we have a genuine concern for the things of God?

b) who will say that we have a genuine burden for the people of God?

c) who will say we have a genuine passion for the work of God?

If we will be the ones that God can use to spark that fire that is needed: It will begin with us being passionately concerned about the current situation of our community. God will reveal what is broken and in need of repair. He will show us those people that hurting and in danger. He will give us such a burden that it will cause us to weep, mourn and pray. Following that period of grieving and prayer, God will show us the proper steps to begin the process of restoration.

As for myself, I am publishing this Blog titled “LivingRomans15verse4Hope.”

As for you, I cannot say, nor will I even begin to speculate your contributions.

God is the only One who can bring revival and accomplish the restoration of His people. But in His infinite wisdom He has chosen to use His people to do a great work in this world. It is vital that we become willing vessels that God can use to bring revival and restoration. “Will I be the one? Will you be the one? Will we?”

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Let us Pray about it,

Savior Jesus, I embrace You as my Burden Bearer. I name each burden one by one (take time here and be speciﬁc) and release them into Your care. I thank You that You daily bear my burden. I thank You that Your yoke is easy and Your burden is light. I am so used to working things out on my own that I need Your help so I can depend on You more. I am sorry for all the times I have tried to bear my own burdens-not leaning on You.

I lift before You Father, those in my community who are weighed down with cares and burdens too great for them to bear. May they be filled with joy and peace and overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Give them grace to trust You in all things. (Pause and pray for those people and places the Holy Spirit brings to mind.)

May we at (name of community or church) become those who reach out to those who are burdened with cares of all kinds or who have fallen away, become discouraged or doubtful in their faith journey. May those who are weak in faith, in hope and in love be raised and strengthened and all who stumble be lifted up!

Lord I need Your peace that surpasses my understanding, so according to Your Word I open my heart and receive it from You. I have cast my cares on You, and I am grateful that this peace will guard my heart and mind. Thank You Jesus for being a Burden Bearer! Blessed be Your holy Name, Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

Obtaining Our Living Hope: That In My Flesh, I Know That I Shall See God

“Obtaining A Living Hope”

I would like to introduce, or perhaps reintroduce or reacquaint us with a very unusual text. It was a statement made that very few people would have ever made given the circumstances this person found themselves in. It was Job.

Job 19:23-27 NRSV

²³“O that my words were written down!
    O that they were inscribed in a book!
²⁴O that with an iron pen and with lead
    they were engraved on a rock forever!
²⁵For I know that my Redeemer^[a] lives,
    and that at the last he^[b] will stand upon the earth;^[c]
²⁶and after my skin has been thus destroyed,
    then in^[d] my flesh I shall see God,^[e]
²⁷whom I shall see on my side,^[f]
    and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
    My heart faints within me!

The Word of God for the Children of God. In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

These words are not what someone would normally say under such horrific circumstances. Not only did Job ‘suddenly’ lose everything that he had, all of his flocks and herds, but he also lost all of his children to a freak storm. Later, he was smitten with a horrendous disease of boils from the top of his body to the souls of his feet. And these were not little boils, but big huge form altering boils.

What we might say, to an extent, is that this man, Job, is where many people are suddenly finding themselves today in the midst of this current Covid pandemic sweeping the globe, as they are experiencing the loss of a job, finances, a place to live, their family, freedoms, and even their health, or the loss of a loved one.

But here’s the kicker, and what holds this life gripping story out amongst so many, and that is in the midst of these horrendous circumstances, Job not once had a “once in a lifetime” temper tantrum, criticized nor complained against his God. Instead, we see from our verse that he worshipped God through it all.

And when we take a considered look at what Job said, and understand its vast implications for us today, we wonder ‘how could he say this,’ especially seeing all the horrible things that happened to him and the adversity he had to endure, including his wife telling him to “Cancel his Faith” and “Curse God and die.”

But Job knew God, and knew the folly of criticizing and complaining against God even though everything had been taken away on the physical side of the equation. But what we see is that Job still possessed a faith and a hope that is far too often missing in our “cancel” culture and society, not to mention, church.

Today, too much of humanity places its living hope upon science and education, that these will in some way come up with the solutions to what has plagued our world since the beginning of time. But, reality is, in the end, all these things which humanity has pegged their hopes upon have come up severely, seriously empty, and it’s because all the scientists, philosophers, and educators have yet to find the cure for what plagues humanity, which is nothing less than death.

Except, Job’s hope was not placed in humanity’s solutions. Instead, Job’s only hope was in the Lord. Job knew death is the inevitable outcome of life, but he also knew this life isn’t all that there is to life. He knew that one day he would die, and that after death he would be in the presence of the Lord in bodily form.

Job 19:26-27 NRSV

²⁶and after my skin has been thus destroyed,
    then in^[a] my flesh I shall see God,^[b]
²⁷whom I shall see on my side,^[c]
    and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
    My heart faints within me!

Job knew he only had exactly one shot at this life, and when once this life was over he would stand before his God and give an accounting of the life he lived.

This is what the author of Hebrews brings forward saying, “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27 NKJV)

Further, Job knew that this had nothing to do with his righteousness, how good he was, or if he had ever done enough good deeds to outweigh the bad ones, but rather he knew that it all had to do with his faith and his living hope in the Lord.

The Apostle Paul knew this same truth when he penned these words,

⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— ⁹not the result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)

So, in the midst of his greatest personal tragedy, Job did something that most would never consider doing, and that is, he blessed and thanked God, having an abiding faith and an ever living hope, in Him and Him alone. And it was such a living hope and faith that saw Job return to health and even greater prosperity.

The anonymous writer of Hebrews wrote of this hope that the men and women of the Old Testament had as they went through horrendous times as well, and that, in and by faith. So, Why? So that they could “obtain a better resurrection” (Hebrews 11:35 NKJV).

Consider what it says about Abraham; that he dwelt in a foreign land that was not his own, and by faith Abraham waited, “for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:10 NKJV).

This man Job was able to handle the worst tragedies of life because he believed and hoped in the Lord. Therefore, he had this hope that even after his death that he would still see the Lord, not only in his soul and spirit, but also in his body as well. And for Job, this became his “pearl without price,” it became a living hope.

Matthew 13:44-46 ESV

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

⁴⁴“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value

⁴⁵“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, ⁴⁶who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

It is this same living hope that we can each have as well through the tragedies and disappoints of life. And this living hope only comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in what he did for us upon the cross, as He took our place and died our death because of our sins, and then on the third day rose from the dead. And it is this hope, that is the hope of the resurrection, that Jesus gives to everyone.

John 14:1-4 ESV

I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life

14 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God;^[a] believe also in me. ²In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?^[b] ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. ⁴And you know the way to where I am going.”^[c]

And the reason we can implicitly trust our Living Hope in Jesus in this promise is because of what He went on to say just a few verses later;

John 14:6-7 ESV

⁶Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷If you had known me, you would have known my Father also.^[a] From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

It is this living hope that Jesus talked about, that through faith in Him we will likewise be raised up on that last day to be with Him.

“This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 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 6:39-40 NKJV)

When we place the entirety of our lives into the hands of God and Jesus, and into the ministry and works of the Holy Spirit, we will never need to fear the pain and horror of being forever separated from Him. Nor will we ever have to worry about whether we are good enough. And here is the promise, that no one who places their faith and hope in Jesus would ever be lost, but have that living hope.

“We do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 NIV)

And then Paul ends saying, “Comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:18 NKJV). It has been, and always will be God’s desire to comfort us in our darkest hour. Therefore, In inexplicable love, He sent Jesus to live among us and take our place and die our death; to be that perfect sacrifice for sin that we can have this assurance that we will be with Him for all eternity.

Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, had asked Jesus to come and heal their brother who is close to death. But Jesus did not come when they had asked Him to. So when Jesus finally arrived, the sisters asked why He did not come sooner when their brother was still alive so that he could then have been healed by Jesus, because they believed that if He did, then Lazarus would not have died.

Jesus, seeing their distress asked them if they possessed this same living hope that we saw in Job. He said, “Your brother will rise again.” And then He said,

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26 NIV)

He then called into Lazarus’ sealed tomb, and raised Lazarus from the dead, and after they unwrapped him, the very first face Lazarus saw was that of his Jesus.

It is when we make this our own belief; when we make this living hope that Job possessed that saw Him healed and restored, then abundantly blessed, when we make our own “being called out” our living hope, then we too, will see Jesus.

And this hope, this faith will bring to us new life, which will not only see us through this world full of “limitless” pain and sorrow, but it will also bring us into an eternity in the presence of a living Jesus where we will immediately see His smiling face when those death shrouds are remove from our eyes as well.

So why write and publish this devotional message? It is because it is my hope that everyone will find this same living hope for their lives. That through the losses we experience, loss of loved ones, health, finances, or whatever else these losses may be, that we do not have to grieve as those who have no hope.

Instead we can possess that living hope for our lives through faith in God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, fully knowing that, with maximum assurance, when death inevitably overtakes our bodies, that we will be in the presence of Jesus.

This is brought out quite beautifully in Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church.

“We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:1-8 NASB)

And so, no matter what tragedy strikes, when tragedy strikes, how tragedy strikes, we can have this living hope, the same living hope which carried Job through a time of suffering that very few have ever, or if ever, experienced.

But that’s not all. There were a couple of other things which Job did which helped see him through these tragedies, and I would like to take this time to share them with you in order to help us strive to get through them as well.

1. Express Our Grief

Job expressed his grief through tearing his robe, shaving his head, and falling down to worship. These were acts performed by those who were experiencing grief. But then he went even further; he sat in the midst of ashes so everyone would know the immense grief he was going through.

We should not be ashamed or think that it’s a lack of faith to grieve our losses, and I am not just talking about death. There are other losses that we grieve as well, like the loss of our health, marriages, jobs, finances, security, freedoms, and even treasured possessions. Losses come in all sizes and shapes, and the normal response to these losses is that of taking the time to be in grieving.

But there is the blessing that Jesus gives to those who express their grief.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)

Here is God’s promise that when we express our grief, that is, when we mourn, that He will comfort us through it. And because of that living hope, that is, the hope of heaven for those who believe, there is the comfort knowing that God will wipe away all our tears (Revelation 7:14-17, 21:4).

2. Acknowledge God is in Control

This was Job’s acknowledgment when he said, “Naked, I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away” (Job 1:20-21). And at the end of his time spent with the Lord, Job made this same declaration that God is in control. (Job chapter 39 through 42)

It was such an acknowledgment that the Apostle Paul made as well.

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Read Romans 8:28-39)

Knowing that God works all things out to the good brings me to the third thing we should do during these times of loss, and that is to look for the good.

3. Look for the Good

After it was all over, Job received blessings from the Lord, where it says that his latter days, that is, the days following his trials, were more than his beginnings (Job 42:12).

Far too often we get so caught up with what has happened that we do not take time to look around to see the good, and the good God is bringing into our lives.

To help, Paul gives us this bit of advise,

“I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14 NKJV)

He was looking to the ultimate good that is available to all those who believe in Jesus Christ.

To bring this devotional offering to a conclusion,

The Bible’s idea of hope is very different from our normal thinking about hope. The world’s current thinking of hope is more like wishful thinking. Like, “I hope this or that will or won’t happen.” But this is not a living biblical hope.

A living Biblical hope is observed and experienced from what Peter says in 1Peter 1:13, “Hope fully in the grace that is coming to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” To “Hope fully” means to be intensely desirous and 100% fully confident that Jesus Christ is coming again with grace and hope for his people.

Hope, is then the full assurance, and having complete confidence, that God is going to do good by us through our faith in Him, not only right here and now, but in the future as well as heaven awaits.

Therefore, we obtain that living hope by faith, and it is this living hope that has the power to change our lives.

And so, I would like to end where the Apostle Peter began.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3-5 NKJV)

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Let us take time to Pray,

Father I thank you for this day and breath of life in Jesus name

My father forgive me in any way I have allowed the trials of life to create a doubtful mind towards your resurrection power in me in Jesus name.

Heavenly father open my eyes to see beyond my trials so that I can continuously glorify you in all situations of life in Jesus name

Father increase my trust in you and let me always remember that you will never walk out on me in Jesus name

Heavenly father give me grace to live my life in a way that my trials will not draw me away from you but draw me closer to you in Jesus name

Lord help me to stand firm in you in my strength and weakness father put me on your shoulder in Jesus name

Father increase your fear in me so that my heart will continue to yearn for more of you in Jesus name

Thank you Jesus for answered prayers in Jesus name.

For Whatever Was Written in Former Days was written; Part 4: So that with One Voice we Should Glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Are any of us weary of listening to news reports which seems to be filled with little hope? Is the atmosphere that we are living and working in heavy with a feeling of gloom? Is it beginning to seep into your spirit? Let us be encouraged to lift our voices to glorify our God today and receive His fresh joy and strength.

Psalm 100 NRSV

Psalm 100

All Lands Summoned to Praise God

A Psalm of thanksgiving.

¹Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
² Worship the Lord with gladness;
come into his presence with singing.

³Know that the Lord is God.
It is he that made us, and we are his;^[a]
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

⁴Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him, bless his name.

⁵For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

The Word of God for the Children of God. In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Psalm 100 is a reminder of a sure and certain and true hope, a call to glorify and worship the Lord, with highest joy and greatest thanksgiving. It is a reminder to glorify and praise God for exactly who He is, as the Creator of this world.

But also who He is in relation to us, our Creator. We belong to God, and without a relationship with Him, there will always be a void, something missing from our lives – hope. We have the privilege to be His people, tended and cared for by Almighty God. Let us remind ourselves that we are much-loved children of God.

We belong to Him, the Sovereign ruler, we are His people, He is our benefactor.

We are the sheep of His pasture. God cares for us, and we can absolutely trust in His infinite mercy and goodness. This psalm gives a call to enter the place of God’s presence, His gates, and courts with praise. This Psalm of course referred to the Temple in Jerusalem. But now we no longer need to go to a particular place, to a Mountain or to a Temple — we worship in the Spirit and in truth.

The place of worship is irrelevant, because true worship is in keeping with God’s nature, which is Spirit. We glorify and praise and worship in the power of the Holy Spirit and in the truly undeniable truth of Jesus Christ. (John 4:19-26)

Praise is the key

The way for us to enter now into our Living Hope, being our God’s presence, is with thanksgiving — praise is but one key. When we remember that unexpected and undeserved gift (the gift of our salvation); when we remind ourselves of the hope and joy which we first felt when we received that gift of life, then out of the overflow of hopeful, hope filled, and grateful hearts, praise will flow. As we lift our hearts, minds, and voices in praise to the Lord, our perspective changes.

Our faith is mightily encouraged and strengthened to the possibilities in God. When we make a sacrifice of praise, choosing to thank God regardless of how we are feeling exactly right now, we are lifted up. As we praise God, as we bless Him with our thanksgiving, God pours out His blessing upon us. We receive joy and a strengthening in His presence — for our God inhabits the praises of His people.

The Point the Psalmist is trying to emphasize is this:

Our hearts warm up with the fires of hope, gladness and thanksgiving as we meditate on God’s goodness and approach corporate worship with His people.

How do we feel when we recite this Psalm?

We prayerfully feel warm sentiments of joy, gladness, and gratitude. When we really feel the true import of the words, “God is good to us,” we cannot help but respond in joyful praise. In a world that is lost without truth, we have found the ONLY One we can trust Who is the very paradigm of truth Himself. In a world of terrible sin and condemning guilt, we receive mercy from the God of all mercy. We are comforted to know we are God’s sheep, and He absolutely guarantees for us His feeding, protection, and salvation from the enemies of each of our souls.

What does this Psalm reveal to the reader?

Verses 1–2. As you have noticed, the Psalter in the Bible provides a specific categorization for every psalm (and there are very many “Praise Psalms”). Nevertheless, this is the only psalm which comes with the title “A Psalm of Praise,” which is provided, we will go on to assume, by the divine author.

The psalm begins with an invitation to the whole world to join in with glad praise to Yahweh God, the Creator of heaven and earth. This is in keeping with many other psalms (Psalms 67, 96:1, 97:1, 98:4, 99:1).

This psalm is part of a cluster of these “international psalms.” Our God is over the whole earth, and nothing short of the whole world giving Him glory and praise is appropriate. But this is far more than a general call to worship God. This is a call for “joyful” worship and glad service to God. True believers will always be “hopeful,” “hope-filled,” and “glad” servants of the Lord God.

In the Parable of the Talents told by Jesus, the fellow with the single talent was condemned to hell, but why? According to his own testimony, he buried the talent in the ground because he considered the Lord a hard and unreasonable Master, “reaping where he did not sow” (Matthew. 25:14–30). It was his perception of the Master that produced such miserable, unfaithful service.

If we are to provide glad service to our Lord, we must first begin with a right relationship with Him. If we think of God as a slave master or a harsh judge requiring something that we cannot possibly provide Him, our service will be that of a grudging slave, wretched, hopeless soul. Surely believe, our God is not some exacting Master and harsh Judge Who “reaps where he does not sow.”

In truth, He is so merciful, longsuffering, and gracious that He sent His Son in order to pay the penalty for our sins and reconcile us to Himself! (John 3:16-17)

As this is the case, we have every reason in the world to worship Him with gladness and enter into His glorious courts with singing. This is why merit-based salvation schemes are so dishonoring to God. They reduce millions of people to play the part of the miserable, unprofitable servant who was given a single talent. It minimizes, and takes for granted, the maximum Grace of God!

Verse 3. The rest of the psalm gives good reasons for our hopeful, hope-filled and joyful worship. First, we recognize God as our Creator. We look at our hands and know God made them for us, (Psalm 139:13-18) so we gladly raise them in worship. We think about our minds and voices, heart and soul, and ask, “What kind of a God would have given us these good things?” So we raise glad voices and worship the God of all goodness with the most joyful words we can find!

Not everybody will worship the God Who made them because they are in sinful rebellion against Him. Those who gather to sing this Psalm call themselves “the sheep of His pasture” (see also Psalm 95:7). They identify Jesus Christ as their Shepherd (Hebrews 13:20), they confess themselves to be His sheep. They trust He knows what He is doing as He leads them through trials and tribulations.

They submit themselves to His leadership. They receive His words of promise, hopeful encouragement, and rebuke through the reading and preaching of the Word. They listen carefully for His voice, knowing with maximum assurance that He will surely and certainly and TRUTHFULLY one day lead them to glory.

Verses 4–5. Our hope-filled joyful praise is also laced with words of gratitude and sentiments of thanksgiving. Continually, we recount the good things that He has done for us. We even interpret our trials as opportunities for growth. We see every good thing as a gift of His life coming down from the Father of lights.

Is there any other way to approach His courts? Yes! Sadly, there are some who discount and even dismiss God’s goodness and instead focus on their hopeless suffering and misery. They enter into the worship more focused on themselves than on God. They cannot see every good gift is undeserved because they do not, cannot view their own condition from God’s perspective. Their fundamental assumption is wrapped up in one simple statement, “I am not all that bad!”

This is a tragically, fatally-flawed assumption. In actuality, if Adam’s sinful progeny receive anything better than death and hell, they are recipients of something good from a God of beyond infinite forgiveness and mercy. If they are in God’s fold and yet receive chastisement from His rod and staff, there is good comfort here as well (Psalm 23:4). This is our hope-filled perspective.

How we perceive God will define our relationship with Him. When Charles Darwin’s daughter Annie died, this tragedy profoundly affected his view of God. He “became more willing to proclaim his theories—and his religious doubts.” Nine years later he published his famous book that redirected the entire world toward a godless naturalistic materialism. If a man cannot believe that God is good, he is walking into an old mine field in covenant rebellion against Him.

But for us, God’s goodness is the great presupposition of our lives. We hang all our hopes on this basic assumption. Whatever difficulties come our way, we say, “God is good.” Whatever crushing loss is suffered, God is good. Whatever blessing we receive, God is good. When things are at their worst, we are still holding to this great truth. When faced with the monumental problem of evil, we won’t surrender hope in God’s goodness. God is good, we are sinners.

God has a morally acceptable reason for the evil in the world because He is good. But even more importantly, God’s goodness provides a way of salvation for those who recognize and recognize and with hope-filled hearts, confess God to be good! When sinners finally admit that they are sinners and beg for mercy on the basis of the goodness of God, they shall obtain mercy from an infinite store.

We also recognize the goodness of God in providing us with His truth. We rely on the light of His truth to uncover our hypocrisies, self-deceptions, and sinful behavior. We need His truth to show us who we are, and then we cry out to Him for His mercy to deliver us from our sinful condition. Absent God’s truth and God’s mercy we would be forever lost. We thank God, We glorify God, We praise God, that He has mercifully revealed His truth to us, guides us to Christ’s cross for everlasting mercy, and then leads us on our way by the same light of truth!

How do I apply Psalm 100 to our lives now?

1. Be grateful. Be grateful. Be grateful! The sine qua non, or the “essential characteristic,” of the wicked is of their ungratefulness (Romans 1:21). They do not, cannot see that God is good. They eat His food and enjoy His blessings, cursing His name and refusing to give thanks. May God by His mercy keep us from this indescribable ingratitude! Every day, let us glorify and thank our God from the heart and soul for His good gifts, the chief of which is His redemption.

2. May our service and worship be filled with joy. Every single person in the world serves and worships something or somebody. Other people’s gods make promises in glossy brochures which they give to their followers. But we know from the Bible’s promises that service to the true and living God yields the most immeasurable degrees of hope-filled hope and abundance of blessings. Such a God Who is good, gracious, and longsuffering, even to those who hate Him, is worthy of our joyful and enthusiastic service today and for the rest of our lives.

Does Psalm 100 teach us to worship God?

This is a corporate psalm, a “we” psalm. “We” gather as God’s people and call ourselves “God’s sheep.” We do this in unity and humility. Without humility and unity in the expression of corporate joy, there is no church. May the church learn to express hope and joy together! As the Apostle exhorts us, “Rejoice with those who rejoice!” Too often, a third of the church comes to church rejoicing, a third of the church shows up in a grumpy mood, and a third is just disinterested and bored. The goal of the church is to learn to joyfully worship—in unison.

Draw near to God today, with hope-filled praise and thanksgiving, and His Living Word promises that He WILL draw near to you. Come back to the source and receive afresh, His love, joy, hope and peace, and give glory and thanks. He is worthy of all our praise. And hope is infectious, it changes the atmosphere!

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Let us all PRAY,

Heavenly Father,

We want to link our voices with the whole of creation and rejoice in Your goodness and grace.

We want to glorify you and shout “Thank You” for Your great and might works and for the gifts and graces that You have bestowed on us.

We want to glorify you and shout “Thank You” Your grace is sufficient for all and that no-one is excluded from Your good and gracious offer of salvation – through faith in Christ.

We want to glorify you and shout “Thank You” that You loved us so much that You sent Jesus to be the propitiation for our sins and thank You that by faith You have removed our sin as far as the east is from the west – and are prepared to do the same for all who will trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins.

May the entirety of our lives be a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving – for You alone are worthy of all of our praise and worship. in Jesus name we pray, AMEN.

For What Was Written in Former Days …….. Part 3: May the God of Steadfastness and Encouragement Grant Believers a Spirit of Unity.

One of the hardest things in life is to get along with others. We are all different, we are all singularly unique in our personalities and we will surely have our own opinions. We will have disagreements and disapproving of what others may do.

Sadly, in our impossibly fractured culture, we live with the tension of disunity every waking moment. Hate, dissension, and contempt flood our news feeds daily. Whether we are discussing politics, racism, cultures, parenting, church practices, or “social justice,” we set up divisions, demand everyone take a side.

We freely do the “slice and dice” thing against our “opponents” with snarky wit and verbal ingenuity but only leave behind a trail of broken relationships.

While this may come across as being normative of the social media culture, as believers, this should not be so! Our unity is crucial for the sake of the Gospel. From Genesis through Revelation there is only one overarching message we all should be remembering and striving for: We Love God, Love Neighbor and Self.

If one is claiming to be a Christian, we should be getting along with all others, especially those non believers. After one is born-again into the family of God, one has an obligation and is commanded to get along with all fellow Christians. But, somewhere along the space time continuum, it all got seriously messed up!

And God, through His Son Jesus Christ and the ministry and works of the Holy Spirit has been trying everything under the sun to restore that unity of purpose.

There is much in God’s Word about getting along – even with those who seem our alleged enemies – those who would hate, divide, sow dissension among us.

We even get a sense of what that experience of His Unity is supposed to feel like.

Psalm 133 NRSV

Psalm 133

The Blessedness of Unity

A Song of Ascents.

¹How very good and pleasant it is
    when kindred live together in unity!
²It is like the precious oil on the head,
    running down upon the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
    running down over the collar of his robes.
³It is like the dew of Hermon,
    which falls on the mountains of Zion.
For there the Lord ordained his blessing,
    life forevermore.

The Word of God for the Children of God. In Excelsis Deo! Amen.

Today, Let Us Each Ponder This Thought:
“Love is the doorway through which the human soul passes from selfishness to service and from solitude to kinship with all mankind.” — Author Unknown

There is something both truly delightful and refreshing about unity among the Children of God. When our senseless divisions are removed and long-standing conflicts are resolved, unity breaks through and love finally wins. For example, most people delight in beautiful ambiance, romantic music, fine wines, and a sumptuous meal. These are considered the finer things of life. But God defines the very finest of all delights—the unity of the Body of Christ – The Church.

What does the Psalm say to us today?

Verse 1

What are the best delights for God and man? What are the highest achievements a human can have on this earth? Only the right values can tell us the right answers to these questions, and only God Himself can establish these values. Man impresses himself with his military prowess, his intellectual capacities, technological developments. Henry Ford and Albert Einstein are heroes to many because they developed technology and greatly expanded the bounds of science.

But what does God’s Word define as the highest values of all? What is Jesus Christ’s perspective on this? What was His primary prayer petition while He was here on earth? “I in them, and Thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one” (John 17:23). He repeats this petition three times in His wonderful prayer spoken at the end of His earthly ministry. Jesus loves oneness in His body. He desires it. He preaches it, He intercedes, prays for it, and nurtures it.

Truly, sustained unity among men is a supernatural thing. It is a refreshing, beautiful reality in the Church of Jesus Christ. If there is restored relationship and peace between a holy God and the believer and the non believing who are still our neighbors, there had better be some reflection of a living unifying hope between the professing communities of believers and non professing neighbor.

If church-going professing Christians have lost the unity between themselves entirely and all is unreconciled, then they must still need to be reconciled with God. If they have no love of the brethren or affinity for uniting with those who are still their neighbors, the love of God must not reside in them (1 John 4:20).

Thus, the miracle of Christ’s reconciling work must be witnessed first and foremost within the body of the church. Nothing on earth is of higher value than the love between brethren. David and Jonathan seem to have experienced it (1 Samuel 18). Within the Church established by Jesus Christ, friendship and unity should be normative, a tremendous testimony into the world around us.

Verses 2-3

Two analogies are used in these verses to help us understand the beauty of true biblical unity. It is like precious ointment poured upon Aaron’s head at his installation as High Priest in Israel (Exodus 29:7, 30:23, Leviticus 18:12).

Like a fragrant oil that creates an extremely pleasant and peaceful atmosphere, genuine unity between brothers and sisters in the church makes the church a comfortable and attractive place to be. Disunity in the church, especially among the leadership, or between laity and leadership results in extreme discomfort, loss, pain, spiritual decay, and sometimes even the collapse of entire churches.

The second analogy describes unity between brothers as something like the well spring of life. Without the morning dew from the heavens watering down upon our earth, no vegetation will ever grow, no life sustained (Deuteronomy 33:28). That is what distinguishes all those green covered hills of Zion from the desert. Typically, water runoff from the highest mountains (such as Mount Hermon at 9,230 ft.), served as a major source of irrigation for the fields and hills below.

Without unity in the body, we will have dried up, untillable or dry rocky fields, withered fruit, and a languishing kingdom work. May God give us this blessing of unity in rich abundance, here and now! When the early church gathered with one accord, with a unified faith in the risen Christ, the Spirit of God came upon them and filled the place with His power (Acts 2) and many souls came to belief. Unity is the precursor to powerful work in the church of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Not only does our Lord Jesus Christ desire the blessing of unity, He commands it. It is more than a directive. It is a certain reality, because He will ordain that unity. One way or another, He will bring it to pass in Zion. You can count on it.

Of course, He may bring it about through persecution, trials, and by pruning the vine (John 15:1-17). Our local churches may face obstacles along the way, such as -false brothers, divisive factions, and heretical schisms. But, do please mark these Gospel words well. Our Lord commands the blessing and He will have it.

How should I apply Psalm 133 to My life?

Let us appreciate unity and seek unity in the church body. We ought to strive to keep the unity of the Holy Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:1-3 NRSV).

Unity in The Body of Christ

4 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ²with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

This text may come about by humbling ourselves, confessing our sins, and sacrificing and imprisoning our own pride and comforts in the process. We may need to go the extra ten miles to open up communication channels and resolve conflicts with our brothers and sisters. Unity 101 happens within the Christian family. Whenever there are offenses, we should be less about anger, carrying a grudge, quick to confess our own sins, and even quicker to forgive one another.

Does Psalm 133 teach me to worship God?

Corporate worship pleasing to God is based upon Truth, genuine love for one’s neighbor and self, and one unified confession (John 4:19-24). We have the greatest basis for unity on earth, because we know that we are undeserving, wretched sinners who have all been wonderfully saved by the same Savior.

We ought to have a special appreciation for the gifts that the Spirit of God pours out upon Aaron, and any other person who ministers in the church. To despise prophesying or any other gift in the church is to despise the Spirit who is the Giver of these gifts (1 Thessalonians 5:20, James 1:17-18, Hebrews 2:1-4).

Hebrews 2:1-4 NRSV Warning to Pay Attention

2 Therefore we must pay greater attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. ²For if the message declared through angels was valid, and every transgression or disobedience received a just penalty, ³how can we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? It was declared at first through the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him, ⁴while God added his testimony by signs and wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, distributed according to his will.

When we are despising the preaching, the prayers, or any other contribution to the church, we quench the Spirit of God. Why should He pour out any more gifts upon a congregation that despises the gifts He has already given? The oil which is pouring off of Aaron’s head represents the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:1-3). This unity is complemented by a multiplicity of gifts that will only come from the outpouring of the Spirit of God upon the church.

Family and Koinonia Discussion Questions:

1. What are the things that create disunity in our families? in our communities? and in our church? Did we play a role? Have we witnessed any of these things?

2. Do we appreciate the gifts which God has given our family, our communities our churches? Who are the generous ones in our family? In our community? Who has been sharing gifts lately in our church, how can we appreciate them?

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Let us, in Unity, pray!

Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I pray that I may learn to live together with all my brothers and sisters in Christ in godly love and unity, and to Your praise and honor and glory. Protect me, protect us, from wanton discord, disunity or division and help all Your children to stand firm in the faith, once offered to the saints through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has caused us to be united together in Him – in Whose name I now do pray, AMEN.

For Whatever was Written in Former Days ….. Part 2: Through Endurance, Through Encouragement, We Might Reap and Sow Hope from the Ruins!

The question I have for each of us today is this: Are we an optimist, or are we a pessimist? Are we a glass half-empty person, or are we a glass half-full person?

Do we complain that rose bushes have thorns, or do we rejoice because thorns have roses? Do we see the storm clouds, or do you see the silver lining coming?

There are various activities and things in life that can show us whether we are either optimistic, or pessimistic. There are many things from life’s experiences that can pull this trait out. Perhaps, the thing that does this best is gardening.

The pessimist surely says, “Why plant anything if nothing results because birds, bunnies, insects, deer, weeds, creeping Charlie, blight, the hail, or bad weather can and truly ruin and kill what I’m trying to grow?! What is the point? Why take the risk and waste the time? Why expend the energy, spend money?”

The optimist, despite potential failure, plants. Why? Because there is a good possibility that both New Life, Good Food and Fresh Hope will eventually emerge from the untilled ground. A good farmer, or an avid gardener, lives in the confident hope of a rewarding harvest. Not every seed will produce, but enough effort will make it worth all the while. That is the parable of the Sower.

Today’s devotional looks at the hope and promise of sowing God’s Word. It deals with the failures, but also the joys that we can experience with this! It reaches back to Isaiah’s words and goes through Jesus’ parable of the sower.

Matthew 13:1-9 NASB

Jesus Teaches in Parables

13 On that day Jesus had gone out of the house and was sitting by the sea. ²And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.

³And He told them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; ⁴and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. ⁵Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and they sprang up immediately, because they had no depth of soil. ⁶But after the sun rose, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. ⁷Others fell ^[a]among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. ⁸But others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much. ⁹The one who has ears, ^[b]let him hear.”

Word of God for the Children of God. In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

In our Gospel reading, Jesus compares sharing God’s Word to planting a field. He uses worldly realism that alert us to the potential failures, but He still calls us to faith and to action which leads us to potential success. He promises and teaches, that “If you are willing to work hard at it, to plant it, it will grow.” Our goal is to sow and grow in faith that produces the fruit of the Spirit, including the desire to be tillers of all types of ground, planters of the seed of God’s Word.

Except, we each have our own individually unique life experiences, whether we consider ourselves optimists or pessimists, what is it which will give us a secure and certain enough foundation to risk taking that very first step into the fields? We know what will move us forward without hesitation, but we all know what will give each and everyone of us the greatest rationales and reasons to pause. So, where can we place our confidence, our trust in the surety of our first step?

I suggest we all direct our faith unto the ancient words of God’s Prophet Isaiah;

Isaiah 55:10-13 New American Standard Bible

¹⁰For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
And do not return there without watering the earth
And making it produce and sprout,
And providing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
¹¹So will My word be which goes out of My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the purpose for which I sent it.
¹²For you will go out with joy
And be led in peace;
The mountains and the hills will break into shouts of joy before you,
And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
¹³Instead of the thorn bush, the juniper will come up,
And instead of the stinging nettle, the myrtle will come up;
And ^[a]it will be a ^[b]memorial to the Lord,
An everlasting sign which will not be eliminated.”

From Isaiah’s ancient text, we read Isaiah’s testimony, we witness the sure foundation and confidence for such a promise, “if you plant it, it will grow.”

God starts by using a simile to introduce His promise.

He says, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,”.

Before the rain and snow are taken back up into the sky (as mist), they achieve the purpose for which they are sent. God then makes His point and gives His promise. “…so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

God’s living Word (Hebrews 4:12) will do the same! Whether we are either an optimist or a pessimist or perhaps somewhere in between, His living Word both accomplishes and will accomplish that task which God alone sends it out for!

It is an all-powerful word He sends forth! His Word spoke all of creation into existence. “Let there be…and there was….” This powerful word tears down and make alive, it strengthens, sustains, pardons, justifies, enlightens, and guides.

In Matthew, Jesus’ word brings people to faith, forgives sins, heals diseases, casts out demons, calms a storm, multiplies bread and fish, and calms anxious hearts. It is a word that does exactly what it says! This is no ordinary Word! This all-powerful Word will accomplish what it is sent out to do. Plant the Word, and it will grow! To teach this point, Rabbi Jesus gives us the Parable of the Sower.

Jesus says the Sower goes out to sow, and he throws seeds everywhere! Some seed fell alongside the path. The birds then came, and they picked and pecked that path clean. Not a single seed remained to be found. Jesus says that these people hear the Word, but they do not exercise a choice: to listen to the Word.

Jesus says the devil, the evil one, snatches away that seed, that word. “Snatch” evokes a powerful image. It is an overpowering, a wrestling away, a show of force. It is a ripping out of someone’s hands. It is a disregard for someone else.

I envision a bully ripping something out of the hand of a weaker individual. It is never a pleasant experience to have something maliciously snatched from you.

Sad to say, there are too many things in our modern culture that provide open ground for the devil, our sinful flesh, and our evil world, to rob people of the Gospel message before it ever takes root. It gets snatched from them, and with deadly consequence. But, the sower continues on. He still spreads that seed.

Jesus says some seed fell on rocky ground.

Believe it or not, soil can be quite rocky. Growing up, my father had a corner lot on a busy thoroughfare. For several years, we would have family gardens there. The first year we set the boundaries of our garden. The ground had never been tilled prior to this effort. So with my garden shovel in hand, I set to working in the hardened unworked soil. Almost immediately, I struck rocks – big rocks just underneath the surface of the grass. My garden shovel just stopped right there.

It took a whole lot more effort and a bigger shovel and still I had little success. We borrowed a rototiller from a neighbor to see what progress we could make. The only reward for me was a sore chin when those handles crashed upwards. It became an all hands on deck effort – two with shovels, one rock mover and me! We were all anxious and excited to see what success our first efforts will bring. So, we just kept right at it until virtually our whole front yard became a garden.

Some seed fell on rocky ground, where there wasn’t much soil. The seed quickly sprouted, but since there wasn’t much depth, it withered away once the sun hit it. Jesus says these people will hear and listen to the Word, but only for a while.

Their faith blossoms quickly, but then just as fast wilts and withers, often when under pressure. When my father was in and out of the hospital, I remember my Mom commenting, “You see a lot of people searching and calling out for Jesus, here.” She was right. You would see many people praying or talking about faith.

But, I often wondered, how many people continued to do so once they left! Once their crisis passes, faith can disappear. Once the need is gone, they have no need for Jesus. Their seed withers away. But, despite of this, the sower continues on.

Jesus says some seed fell among thorns. To the sower, this seemed like good ground. The perennial thorn roots weren’t visible. Initially, it looked promising. But, once the seed sprouted up, the thorns grew faster and grew first, and they eventually, inevitably choked the seed, limiting it, killing it. It was unfruitful.

Jesus says these people hear and listen to the Word, but imagine that God does not somehow and in some way continue to need their undivided attention and devotion. Jesus presents the challenge of faith in good times, as well as the bad.

Notice the word He uses: “choke.” It is a brutal and violent word. Being choked is a slow process, where you lose all power, life, awareness, and ability to resist.

It is where you tense and shrivel up. Jesus does not mince words here. What is it that chokes? The cares of the world and the deceitfulness of pride. Jesus says these things can slowly choke and kill off that seed, kill that Word. This is the context we find ourselves in. This is the soil of too great degree of our world!

With the lack of success so far, it is enough to make this optimistic sower a truly pessimistic one! It is enough to make anyone go home, throw the bag of seeds, and say, “What is the use? It seems pointless! Nothing is working!” But, hold on. The harvest is to be expected. All is not lost. This Word does that for which it is sent. Work the ground! Plant the seed (Word), and it will grow. God promises!

The harvest is to be expected! Be the optimistic gardener! Some seed fell on good ground, and it produced an extravagant harvest! It produces 100x, 60x, 30x, what was sown. The sower’s work wasn’t in vain. Jesus says these are those who keep on hearing and listening to the Word. They grow in their faith and sanctification. The Gospel always bears fruit. It will always make a harvest.

This Word makes a harvest within us. God’s Word does not come back empty or void; it does exactly what it is sent to do. This word delivers Jesus Christ. It gives all that He has and all He is: His righteousness, His works, and His merits. It gives us all what Jesus gives and does: His grace, forgiveness, life, salvation, won at the cross, confirmed at the Tomb. Jesus comes in that Word through baptism and His Supper. Jesus comes in that Word that is spoken and read. This Word, this Gospel message, always produces a harvest. It always bears fruit.

What does this look like? Paul gives us this picture in Galatians 5:22-25.

Galatians 5:22-25 AKJV

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, ²³meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. ²⁴And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. ²⁵If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit produces this fruit, this harvest in us through the Word. He also produces another fruit, too, good works.

In Matthew 25, Jesus tells the sheep, the elect, some of their good works.

He says, “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty, and you gave me drink, I was a stranger, and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison, and you came to me….as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”

Talk about difficult places to both plant and sow seeds. Talk about difficult places to work the hardest soils beneath your feet. Talk about a harvest! God produces a harvest in others through us, through His Word, by the Spirit.

Work the ground. Plant the Word, Sow the seeds of God’s truth and it will surely grow. This promise and reality encourages, emboldens, and also empowers us! It encourages us to be patient sowers, so others can enjoy the same harvest, too.

Let’s all now contemplate the Word of God as it has now been planted and sown within us. Let us move that much closer to Jesus Christ – our ONLY living HOPE!

Holy God, you are the wisest teacher. I pray that through your living Word you will instruct me in such a way that I show wisdom to others. I pray to ask for patience so that I can understand information and not get defensive. Help my words to matter. Help them to plant seeds in the hearts of other people. Work in the hearts and minds of them so that wisdom grows in them. Alleluia! Amen.

For Whatever was Written in Former Days ….. Part 1, Can we Claim the Old Testament Covenant in these Times?

Not too long ago, this question came up in a bible study. Can an Old Testament Covenant promise of God made specifically to Israel be claimed by Christians?

On the surface, it would seem rather obvious the answer is; “of course we can!”

Perhaps, what seems rather obvious today, may not be really that. A new phrase has been introduced and sledge hammered into our psyche lately; “Fake News!”

While the obvious may remain exactly that despite that phrase, Claiming one of God’s Covenants in our 21st century, requires further discovery and exploration.

Let’s turn to the Word of God to a familiar text from Genesis – Noah’s Covenant.

Genesis 9:8-17 NKJV

⁸Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: ⁹“And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your ^[a]descendants after you, ¹⁰and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. ¹¹Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

¹²And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: ¹³I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. ¹⁴It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; ¹⁵and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” ¹⁷And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

The Word of God for the Children of God. Thanks be to God! Alleluia! Amen.

There are many promises of God in the Biblical text. Some are given to specific individuals, such as Abraham, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and Solomon. There are also many promises given to entire groups of people and even unto nations. God would seal His promises by making a covenant, which is a conditional contract, with them.

I am one of those who believes that the Bible is not written to us but is for us. People often fall into the trap of what is known as eisegesis, which is reading words and passages in the Bible and applying them to their own circumstances and surroundings without looking at the grammatical and historical context, which is known as exegesis. I was once told by a Pastor mentor that the three major rules of diligently studying the Bible are context, context, and context.

The word “covenant” (Heb:berith) means alliance, a divine ordinance with signs or pledges between God and humanity and first appears in Genesis 6. The word is used with reference to God’s creative and providential activity where He showed Himself to be completely faithful (Jeremiah 33:20,25; Genesis 8:22).

The standard Hebrew phrase (ka·ra berith) is used of God’s covenant with humanity (Genesis 15:18; Exodus 24:8; Deuteronomy 4:23; 5:2; 2 Kings 17:15; Jeremiah 11:10; Ezekiel 34:25),

but the emphasis is laid on the initiative of God by the use of the verbs;

“Establish” in Genesis 6:18; 9:11; 17:7; etc.,

“Grant” in Genesis 9:12; 17:2; Numbers 25:12,

“Set Down” in 2 Samuel 23:5,

“Command” in Joshua 7:11; 23:16; 1 Kings 11:11.

All these verbs at times have as their objects the noun ‘berith’ (https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h1285/kjv/wlc/0-1/.

In addition, there are numerous references to GOD having “commanded” and given only Israel a “law,” “statutes,” “commandments,” “judgments,” etc. Israel alone was expected to “obey” God’s word of command, to “keep” His covenant, to “remember” it, to “do” it, and to “walk in” it.

However, the Bible shows that Israel “forgot” the covenant, “broke” it, “sinned against” it, “rejected” it, “transgressed” it, and “profaned” it, and as a result, experienced the curses of the broken covenant in the form of natural calamities, war, sickness, exile, and death. Had Israel kept the covenant, it might have enjoyed the blessings of the covenant instead (Lev 26; Deuteronomy 27-28).

God made covenants with individuals such as Noah that affected the entire Earth. God was so pleased with Noah that He said in His heart “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. While the Earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”

God blessed Noah and his sons and said only to them,

“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the Earth. (Genesis 9:7)

It was God who took the initiative to make a covenant with Noah. God’s single promise to Noah was there would never again be a rainstorm causing a FLOOD that would cover the entire Earth, and He signed His promise with a rainbow.

God also made a single covenant with Abraham where He promised a land and descendants to him as numerous as the stars in the sky and the grains of sands upon the sea shores. and he was summarily commanded to “keep” the covenant (Genesis 15:7-21, Genesis 17:1-14, Genesis 22:15-19).

When Abraham was ninety-nine years old, God said to Him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless,” so that He would make a covenant with Abraham that would multiply him greatly.”

Abraham fell on his face before God, who then said to him that His covenant was with him alone, and that he would be the father of many offspring and give him all the land he traveled, including all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession, and that he would be their God.

God also told Abraham that he and his offspring must keep His everlasting covenant by having every male be circumcised when they are eight days and if they are not throughout the generations they shall be cut off from his people because they broke the covenant. The faith obedience of Abraham was not a condition of the covenant but rather his expected response inside a religious relationship. There could be no blessings and no fellowship without obedience.

God also made a covenant with Israel at Mt. Sinai (Horeb) after He reminded them of His divine acts and His call to obey Him. Then, GOD established Israel alone as a “peculiar treasure,” a “kingdom of priests,” and a “holy nation,” and gave them stipulations that would guarantee the continuance of fellowship between them and He. The covenant was ratified by an animal sacrifice and the sprinkling of blood (Exodus 24:4-8).

God established a covenant with King David and promised him that his direct descendants would have an everlasting kingdom and be known as his sons (2 Samuel 7:12-17; Psalm 89:3,26,34; Psalm 132:11; 2 Samuel 23:5; Isaiah 55:3).

God kept His Covenant Promise – Our Savior Jesus came from the line of David.

God made a promise to King David’s son, Solomon. He appeared to Solomon at the dedication of the Temple and declared it would be the place where all Israelites were to bring their burnt-offerings and sacrifices. God tells Solomon that has heard his prayer and says after he built and dedicated the Temple to the Lord (2 Chronicles 6, 7:1-22).

“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

The words “my name” refers specifically to the entire nation which was called by God (El), Isra-El, translated “those who struggled with El” or God.

They were a Theocratic nation and not a minority of true believers within the nation. Isra-El had a unique supernatural covenant with God that He initiated from His side. No other nation had that privilege. Their laws and constitution were the first 5 books of Moses called Torah. Any citizen that worshipped another God or prophesied in the name of another God was killed as part of their theocratic covenant.

In the immediate context of the verse noted, God spoke to Israel’s king, saying Israel should obey the Lord’s covenant. God was specifically pointing him back to the covenant that He made with his forefather Abraham. At a specific point in the history of Israel, God told Abraham about his descendants, saying, “I will be their God” and “They will be my people.” That’s what “My people” means.

God reminded a people who had been exiled, enslaved, and defeated that a rebuilt temple or a displaced nation cannot change who they were. They were God’s chosen people and would definitely see the future God has for them.

God had chosen the Temple built by Solomon to be a house of sacrifice (verse 7:12, 15-16) for the people, Israel He had chosen (descendants of Abraham). If there were to come a time when God withholds rain or sends plagues on the land (v7:13), the people are covenanted to pray, with the text seeming to imply this time of covenanted community prayer would happen there specifically.

If the people prayed, did as God commanded, then He would respond, and they would enjoy the abundant blessings of the covenant which included the healing/restoration and fruitfulness of the physical land itself (verse 7:14).

However, if they disobeyed, God would “shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people” (verses 19-20). This is part of the covenant that God made through the ministry of Moses with the people.

A similar promise of physical blessings was made by God previously to Israel if they remained faithfully obedient to His covenant and also what the negative consequences were if they did not (Deuteronomy 28:1-6, 8, also Leviticus 26). The King of Israel and his people are to keep the covenant with God, and in doing so, He would abundantly bless them, even the very land of Israel itself.

The Old Testament is about Hebrews in ancient Israel who receive Old Covenant promises. The New Testament is about people receiving God’s New Covenant promises. The book of John demonstrates that the promises and blessings given to New Covenant people, those who are Born-Again, are fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who is the better Temple, people, sacrifice, high priest, etc. God made the New Testament Covenant which builds upon the Old Testament covenants, which were given to different peoples of God that were dealt with differently by God.

It was at the Cross where Jesus died, and then was raised from the dead after three days, that the old covenant of Law passed away in its entirety, and every person who becomes Born-Again are then under the new Covenant of grace (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Galatians 3:15-4:7; Romans 6:14-15; 7:4-6; Hebrews 8:1-10:18). The Old Testament is still the Word of God, and along with the Gospel and the New Testament writings of Paul, Peter, Jude, James, John, are the final authority as the infallible, inerrant Word that was divinely breathed out by God.

The Born-Again Christian is no longer under the requirements of the Law and stipulations of the old covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:26-27; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 8:8-13).

They are grafted into the vine of Israel (John 15:1-11), the people of God, and become with them, “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession” because they were once not His people, but, through Jesus Christ, they become “God’s people” (Romans 11:17-24; 1 Peter 2:9-10).

Rabbi Jesus said that all 613 laws of the Old Testament (365 thou shalt not’s and 248 thou shalt’s, or thou art surely in big trouble!) depend on just two laws which are really one and the same, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind”… and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:34-40, Mark 12:28-34). The law all pointed to fulfillment in Jesus, and it still functions as a moral standard for every Born-Again Christian to live their life in the love of God (Romans 13:8–10; Galatians 5:14; 6:2; 1 Corinthians 9:20–21).

Out of all the nations on the Earth, God chose to covenant with Israel. They did not choose to covenant with God. Every person of that individual nation was required to repent just like every person in Nineveh, from the king down to all the citizens, and even all the animals, were required to wear sackcloth, fast and repent, which they did, and God spared them all (Jonah 3). There has never been another nation in the long history of the world or seen in the Bible that had a covenant with God.

The New Covenant that we see promised in the Old Testament texts and made through Jesus is not about a nation but about a community of people who have a steadfast and unyielding faith in God, and the goal of this covenant is not about wealth and prosperity. It is more about the mission of bringing God’s message to the world and for every Born-Again Christian to live as always God intended.

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Let us take time to Pray,

Loving heavenly Father, thank You for Your many precious promises – and Lord, when the storm-clouds of life are thundering in on all sides, help me to trust Your Word and remember the precious promises You have made to all Your children – for Your Word cannot be broken in Jesus name I pray, Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

That We Might Have Hope

Psalm 121 Authorized (KJV)

Psalm 121

A Song of degrees.

¹I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills,
from whence cometh my help.
²My help cometh from the Lord,
which made heaven and earth.
³He will not suffer thy foot to be moved:
he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
⁴Behold, he that keepeth Israel
shall neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵The Lord is thy keeper:
the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
⁶The sun shall not smite thee by day,
nor the moon by night.
⁷The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil:
he shall preserve thy soul.
⁸The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in
from this time forth, and even for evermore.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

A journey of a thousand miles will always begins when we take that first step.

However, who is it who has ever told you how big that first step had to be or by what sophistry of reason we should even contemplate why we want to journey the thousand miles in the first place. Is it not less risky just to stay in one place? I mean who is it who has ever been seriously injured by remaining a homebody? I mean too, who is it who will give that iron clad guarantee of “it will be okay?” We all need blessed assurance our journey of a thousand miles will be ‘worth it.’

What is the risk to our souls if we risk nothing to go anywhere else in the world? What is the risk to our hearts and our physical beings if we just decide to be that “stay at home” person? The risk is probably minimal to us because we do not in any fashion challenge our physical or spiritual selves – time will still march on. What hope is there beyond the hope which already exists, never changes in day to day drudgery? Is our hope only sourced from the day to day bubble we live in?

Risk nothing! Accomplish nothing! Place all of our hopes in allowing our status quo remain just that – OUR STATUS QUO! All of our hopes for the present time, our hopes for the future are defined and delineated quite nicely by Status Quo! By all means if you are content and happy with your status quo – “march on!” You have every right in the world to let your status quo define your whole life. I pray fervently that your status quo will provide you all the necessary comforts. The journey of a thousand miles remains that other guys hopeless adventure!

Why not try to just sort this thousand mile journey of hope or hopelessness out. Let us dare to contemplate taking that first step towards hope or hopelessness. It cannot hurt us that much to move one of our two feet forward even one inch. One foot in front of the other is a natural thing for us to do to move from point ‘A’ out to point ‘B.’ In our “static” status quo we do it all day, everyday anyway.

So, you are now reading these words and without moving an inch, you have now taken that very first step and have just started that journey of a thousand miles. Your status quo has just been interrupted for perhaps your first time in forever! Ask yourself now, since that miraculous moment when your journey began, did you stumble at all? Did you remain safely and securely upright on your two feet? Are you wheelchair bound? Need another assistive device to help you get around your home or elsewhere, it’s the same. You just risked moving yourself forward.

Well now, imagine that! Without even thinking twice about it, You took that 1st step toward you know not what and you did not stumble or fall flat on your face. Hope has just been conceived within you. One Hope is now being given a chance to grow and mature within you – as an embryo grows within its mothers womb! How about that, new life, a new status quo has begun to take shape within you! And you personally expended little to no energy in the effort – maybe 1 calorie?

What is this new life? What is this new and emerging “status quo” growing in your inward parts (Psalm 139:13-18) and who put it there without your input?

What exactly is this new life, this new and emerging status quo called? HOPE! And I personally hope and pray this devotion will increase your understanding of a genuinely great principle of the Christian faith: “God IS our only hope!”

The first thing we have to do is to answer the question, “WHAT IS HOPE?”

One answer to this question is “hope” is our desire for a future significantly or even marginally or minimally better than our own present one. Its object, just like faith, is our moving ourselves forward, towards something yet unseen. It is different than expectation, because an expectation lacks that element of desire.

Try to frame HOPE as a progression of events which begins with our first vision, an observation of the ground we are walking on. Our very first “untrained” look at the ground we might observe a tiny ant hill with the ants moving in and out to find and then return carrying food to nourish their Queen. (Proverbs 6:6-9) What little you see of the ant hill on the surface, is significant under the ground. In other words there’s infinitely more to HOPE than what we see on the surface.

Now as the Psalmist did in Psalm 121:1 “¹I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.” Lift up your eyes from the tiny, barely visible anthill, upward towards the hills somewhere off in the distance but getting Oh so much closer with every step you take. Fixate both of your eyes upon those far distant hills observing how much bigger they get the more steps forward taken, how much taller they seem to become the closer your steps move to get to them. Then you arrive at the base of the hills to look up feeling gratified “I made it!”

Now look to the further distant mountains echelons beyond the hills. You have made it from the ant hill, to the hills, and now the mountains beyond beckon to you: “Come unto me! You made it this far! You have conquered the worst of it!” An invitation to further cast away our old stale and all too worldly “status quo,” invitation to discover the truth of our Christian faith: “God IS our only hope!”

Isaiah 2:1-5 AKJV

²And it shall come to pass in the last days,
that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established
in the top of the mountains,
and shall be exalted above the hills;
and all nations shall flow unto it.
³And many people shall go and say,
Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob;
and he will teach us of his ways,
and we will walk in his paths:
for out of Zion shall go forth the law,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
⁴And he shall judge among the nations,
and shall rebuke many people:
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruninghooks:
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.
⁵O house of Jacob, come ye,
and let us walk in the light of the Lord.

I have never been to the mountains and hills of Israel. I know not what they physically look like so I cannot fully conceptualize climbing them like these Israelites did and continue to do everyday of their lives. It helps me to frame these first steps taken in my grinding and winding personal thousand mile journey towards God’s HOPE: a “once in a lifetime” Mountain Top Experience.

Every continent on earth has mountains. Some are cold, rugged, and too, very difficult to climb. Others are favorite vacation spots. Still others are sources of water, timber, and other natural resources. Those of us who live within view of a mountain range are reminded daily of God’s greatness and our smallness.

Psalm 121 asks us to consider that same contrast.

Setting out for their long trips to Jerusalem for a festival, pilgrims often sang this song to remind each other of the dangers of the journey ahead and of the assurances of God’s protection. God is greater than any so-called god of the hills or mountains—the Lord God is earth’s Creator. God is more powerful than any force of the sun or moon—the Lord created them too. The false gods of other nations might have had to take “cat naps” during their days, vacations to refresh themselves, but not Lord God Almighty, who never slumbers or sleeps.

Whenever we set off on a journey—whether it is a trip of hundreds of miles or only a few steps—we can remind ourselves, as those pilgrims did, that we travel with God. We need not fear the dangers of the road or threats from others; every step of our way towards God’s Mountain is seen by God, who watches over us.

Our God, the Creator of earth’s highest mountains and deepest valleys—and everything in between—is also the protector of ALL the HOPE of our small lives.

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Let us take the 1st step;

Thank you Lord, that you are my hope and my future. Thank you for the truth of this Bible verse, that my help and my hope comes only from you. Thank you Father, that you are always there. I lift my eyes up to you. I thank you that I can turn to you at any moment. Today Lord, I bring you all of my situations. Where does my help come from? It comes from you – the maker of heaven and earth!

Please guide me as I take each step of faith towards you, as I work with the people whom you have brought across my path today. Help me to respond in a way that reflects my hope and trust in you. In all my difficult stuff today, Lord, please help me. Give me wisdom and understanding for each situation. I trust you Lord, to be with me through each and every moment of my day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Can One Have Hope Without God?

Romans 15:13 Amplified Bible

¹³May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you will abound in hope and overflow with confidence in His promises.

The Word of God for the Children of God. In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

We live upon a globe, where for the most part, too many people have lost hope. We see it in this country, through social media we see the isolative effects of the Covid19 pandemic, we cannot help but notice poverty, homelessness, high rates of violent crime and drugs in our streets. We look to the borders between the United States and Mexico and witness the human tragedy of massive waves of people trying to enter the United States from Mexico and Central and South America. Whole families leaving their homes behind them for America’s Hope.

If we all could go to Mexico, South America, Central America, even Africa, the Middle East, or Asia we would find huge numbers of people who feel they have no hope. Even here, in America, as I have already noted, there is hopelessness among those who are sick, or poor, or homeless. I believe there are some there where you live, who feel the same way. But we must have hope! Life without a hope is nothing but undefinable misery. Hope is the subject for today. And there is a question that we will strive to answer; “Can one have hope without God?”

Here is our Hope that God hears us because He hears Christ, and He loves us the way He loves Christ. In a nutshell, identity in Christ means every child of God can point unto Jesus and before the Father’s throne testify: “I am with Him.”

That is a significant promise of hope for the present and for the future for those who identify themselves as “Children of God,” professing Christ as their Savior.

There are those, however, as we all know, who for one rationale or another have not made not chosen to make their heartfelt profession of Christ as their Savior.

Why? They do not accept Christ as being anything but a myth. They are mad at God and they have “cancelled” out God as having zero influence over their lives. Or as might genuinely be the case, they were never introduced to God or Jesus and now they find themselves where they are in a most acute state of “I want!”

Psalm 13:1-2 New American Standard Bible

Prayer for Help in Trouble.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

13 How long, Lord? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
²How long am I to feel anxious in my soul,
With grief in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

King David had far more than his “fair share” of moments when David’s heart and soul grieved and perceived that God was “not there” in the midst of his life.

We too get into those places and spaces along the long concourse of our lives where our hearts and souls feel severely grieved with no outlook for any hope.

Psalm 42:1-3 New American Standard Bible

BOOK 2

Thirsting for God in Trouble and Exile.

For the music director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.

42 As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So my soul pants for You, God.
²My soul thirsts for God, for the living God;
When shall I come and appear before God?
³My tears have been my food day and night,
While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”

It begs the question which ever so desperately needs to be asked in these 21st century technology driven days, “Can one have genuine hope without God?”

This is the over arching question we will seek to answer through a process of discovery, exploration and diligent search and study of God’s Holy Scriptures.

The overarching goal of these writings is through these devotionals, readers may come to have a “transformational experience” with the ever living God. Our hope in God becomes an ever dynamic, ever inspiring ever living moment. That one “God in Christ” moment becomes two, then multiplied exponentially!

Genesis 22:15-18 New American Standard Bible

¹⁵Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, ¹⁶and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand, which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. ¹⁸And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

It is fervently prayed that through God’s wisdom alone, our standing in the long shadow of the empty cross, standing firmly upon the Rock of our Salvation who is Christ Jesus, Reminded by the Holy Spirit of God of His unchangeable truths, that we come to a deeper understanding of what hope means for God’s Children.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Let us now stop what we are doing for the world, to give ourselves over to the Will of God and to pray;

Psalm 91 New American Standard Bible

Security of One Who Trusts in the Lord.

91 One who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will lodge in the shadow of the Almighty.
²I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!”
³For it is He who rescues you from the net of the trapper
And from the deadly plague.
⁴He will cover you with His pinions,
And under His wings you may take refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and wall.

⁵You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
Or of the arrow that flies by day;
⁶Of the plague that stalks in darkness,
Or of the destruction that devastates at noon.
⁷A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But it shall not approach you.
⁸You will only look on with your eyes
And see the retaliation against the wicked.
⁹For you have made the Lord, my refuge,
The Most High, your dwelling place.
¹⁰No evil will happen to you,
Nor will any plague come near your tent.

¹¹For He will give His angels orders concerning you,
To protect you in all your ways.
¹²On their hands they will lift you up,
So that you do not strike your foot against a stone.
¹³You will walk upon the lion and cobra,
You will trample the young lion and the serpent.

¹⁴“Because he has loved Me, I will save him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
¹⁵He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
¹⁶I will satisfy him with a long life,
And show him My salvation.”

Nehemiah 1 Easy-to-Read Version

Nehemiah’s Prayer

Nehemiah 1:1-6 NASB

Nehemiah’s Grief for the Exiles

Matthew 22:35-40 NASB

Matthew 6:19-21 NASB

Nehemiah 1:5-10 ERV

Nehemiah 1:11 AKJV

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Job 19:23-27 NRSV

Job 19:26-27 NRSV

Matthew 13:44-46 ESV

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value

John 14:1-4 ESV

I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life

John 14:6-7 ESV

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Psalm 100 NRSV

Psalm 100

All Lands Summoned to Praise God

A Psalm of thanksgiving.

Praise is the key

How do we feel when we recite this Psalm?

What does this Psalm reveal to the reader?

How do I apply Psalm 100 to our lives now?

Does Psalm 100 teach us to worship God?

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Psalm 133 NRSV

Psalm 133

The Blessedness of Unity

A Song of Ascents.

How should I apply Psalm 133 to My life?

Does Psalm 133 teach me to worship God?

Family and Koinonia Discussion Questions:

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Matthew 13:1-9 NASB

Jesus Teaches in Parables

Galatians 5:22-25 AKJV

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Genesis 9:8-17 NKJV

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Psalm 121 Authorized (KJV)

Psalm 121

A Song of degrees.

Isaiah 2:1-5 AKJV

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