Romans 15:4 "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
For the Roman governor Pilate, it was not that he might have known better if he’d just had more information. It was not that he might have acted differently if he’d had a better understanding of how things worked among the people he ruled in the province of Judea. The case that confronted Pilate was not vague or unclear.
Several times Pilate gave the Jewish high priests the chance to submit all the evidence they could. Repeatedly Pilate recognized that the evidence added up to no case at all under Roman law.
Pilate had personally interrogated Jesus. Perhaps he figured that something Jesus might say would prove incriminating, even if the priests’ evidence had not. After these thorough reviews, Pilate returned each time with the same judgment. There has been no crime; there is no basis for charges, no reason for a sentence of any kind. The obvious legal outcome of this case was to release the defendant.
But Pilate sentenced Jesus to death by crucifixion. Why? Because he recognized the power of the priests. They could make or break his governorship; they could cooperate in keeping things running smoothly in Judea, or they could make things difficult. Jesus had no power that mattered to Pilate. Jesus could be discarded, dispensed with.
And so he was, and in God’s design, for the sake of all of us.
Luke 23:13-25 The Message
13-16 Then Pilate called in the high priests, rulers, and the others and said, “You brought this man to me as a disturber of the peace. I examined him in front of all of you and found there was nothing to your charge. And neither did Herod, for he has sent him back here with a clean bill of health. It’s clear that he’s done nothing wrong, let alone anything deserving death. I’m going to warn him to watch his step and let him go.”
18-20 At that, the crowd went wild: “Kill him! Give us Barabbas!” (Barabbas had been thrown in prison for starting a riot in the city and for murder.) Pilate still wanted to let Jesus go, and so spoke out again.
21 But they kept shouting back, “Crucify! Crucify him!”
22 He tried a third time. “But for what crime? I’ve found nothing in him deserving death. I’m going to warn him to watch his step and let him go.”
23-25 But they kept at it, a shouting mob, demanding that he be crucified. And finally they shouted him down. Pilate caved in and gave them what they wanted. He released the man thrown in prison for rioting and murder, and gave them Jesus to do whatever they wanted.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
Imagine a Moment: When a Decision Has to Be Made
As governor over Judea, Pontius Pilate was responsible for maintaining order and quelling civil disruption within his jurisdiction.
He was accustomed to using and wielding his power and influence to determine the outcome for any issue brought before him, those awaiting their sentence.
But imagine if you can the undeniable tension of Jesus’ arrival in his courtroom which immediately confronted Gov. Pilate with the greatest dilemma of his life.
Accompanied by a large crowd of religious officials, with the gathering of the mob of people curious at what is going on, Jesus was now brought before Pilate.
When Pilate pressed the mob and asked them explicitly, “What evil has he done?” all they seemed able to do was to raise their chorus of voices louder.
Now, I have always been taught that a raised voice is often indicative of a weak or non existent argument.
King Herod had examined Jesus and found Jesus was no threat and sent him back to Pilate for his final judgement.
Governor Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent, there were no charges to be brought against Jesus and so he essentially declared to all those assembled,
“I find no guilt in this man.
But the cries of the Temple Authorities and the crowd grew more demanding and more insistent, and more threatening to the authority of Pilate and Peace in the land and I can hear how Pilate must have started big time doubting himself, asking himself, “I have to decide now, What can I do with this Jesus of Nazareth?
“Not Guilty” But Being Sentenced to Die Anyway
Essentially, Governor Pilate, the chief political authority had to decide in that exact moment; “What do I do now with this wild mob, this innocent man Jesus?”
“Yield to the obviously right thing to do – to release an innocent Man?”
“Yield to the Temple Authorities whom he must still peacefully govern Judea?”
“Yield to the growing unrest of the gathered mob who were probably unaware or generally uninformed or minimally educated of the whole purpose of the gathering or like the Temple Authorities, wanted Jesus to be gone from their midst because they were more afraid of Caesar and his well trained Armies?”
“Yield to the Ultimate Authority and absolute Sovereignty of God without whom Governor Pontius Pilate would have no authority over anyone (John 19:11)?”
Pilate wanted to release Jesus.
He knew that he should release Jesus.
The Political Pilate had all the political authority he needed to release Jesus.
But Pilate instead capitulated to his desire to placate the crowd and to maintain favor with the religious leaders, and the voices of the frenzied throng prevailed.
Governor Pilate’s dilemma is not unfamiliar to us.
In fact, it is the great dilemma that confronts men and women in authority: having that authority, wielding that power, what to do with Jesus of Nazareth.
Pilate came face-to-face with the Son of God and heard His testimony from His own lips—and still he chose the world, all of the noise of that rising crescendo attached to the “mob mentality” over bending his knee to the King of kings.
Political Decisions made at the highest levels of Government swaying to those who make the loudest noise, threaten the greatest violence to peace in the land.
“100% Pro” God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit?
“100% Crucify” God, the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit?
Who do we fear the most?
The Authority and the Armies of Caesar?
What do we value the most?
The loss of our own authority, the loss of our control, the loss of our jobs?
What becomes our Steadfast and Immovable, Unyielding Affirmation of Faith?
No matter what or who may come, we value the Lord our God over everything?
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 The Message
4 Attention, Israel!
God, our God! God the one and only!
5 Love God, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that’s in you, love him with all you’ve got!
6-9 Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates.
Or we let the political authorities and the noise of every single mob who comes to threaten our peace, threaten our belief systems with shouts of “crucify him?”
What was God Doing in that “Pressure Cooker?”
Even with and within all of that adverse pressure of the moment, In Jesus’ sentencing, God’s eternal plan of salvation unfolded in a moment in time.
Jesus always claimed the absolute sovereignty of God over him and everything else including the weight of the politics and the violent intentions of the mob.
Jesus was unwavering in his stated beliefs that God absolutely remained God.
No matter what else happened to him, God was always in absolute command.
Jesus knew he had no reason to be afraid of what would happen to him.
The Temple Authorities were not ever going to change their minds.
The mob was not going to lessen their call for crucifixion one tiny bit.
If anything, the mob would only get bigger and even significantly louder.
Jesus knew the truth, the whole truth ,nothing but the truth of Almighty God.
Jesus was not accused and condemned for His own sin.
He was not dying for Himself.
He was dying for us.
He who was totally innocent became totally guilty in order that we who are totally guilty might be declared completely innocent. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
All of Pilate’s attempts to dismiss Jesus, to turn Him over for other officials to pass judgment, to wipe his hands clean of the matter, didn’t work.
All of the scorning and violence of the gathered mobs did not compel Jesus to put down his cross and renounce his Father in Heaven, and walk off the stage.
Neither will anyone’s politics.
Neither will anyone’s polling or winning vote count.
Neither will anyone’s Governing political authority or influence cause a believer to renounce their steadfast, immovable, unyielding faith, in their Savior Jesus.
Neither will anyone’s efforts to use the battering ram of “mob mentality.”
Neither will anyone else’s efforts at censorship to dismiss the resurrection.
Our only authentic hope, our only genuinely living hope in life and in our death is to praise, respond in our hearts to the glory of what happened on the cross.
Like Governor Pontius Pilate, we face a choice: either we bow our knee to Christ and His lordship or we capitulate to the pressures of the surrounding culture.
And while that is a choice, decision we make in the privacy of our hearts, it is one that ultimately reveals itself, as it did with Pilate, in what we say when all those around us are urging us to deny the rule or goodness of our Savior Christ.
However loud those voices become,
We too will always have our private and public choices to make,
We will always be pressured by the politics of the moment and the politicians and every single sway and nuances of their political ideologies, to sway us into some range of similar thinking that we would continue to vote then into office.
But ultimately, if you and I are God’s Children, then be ready to stand for Him!
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.
Amen.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Affirm our Faith and Pray,
Affirmation
I refuse to believe that we are unable to influence the events around us.
I refuse to believe we are bound by the politics of racism, war, and injustice.
I believe those around me are my brother and my sister in Christ Jesus.
I believe in dignity every day and that our brokenness can be healed.
I believe in integrity every day and that God is the Way, the Truth, the Life.
I believe we can overcome oppression and violence, without resorting to it.
This means I seek to know more of God, to reject revenge and retaliation.
I remember, “Hate cannot drive out hate: only the light, love of God can.”
Here we are Lord,
on our knees, Crying mercy; Mercy for our souls, Mercy for one another, Mercy for our churches, Mercy for our nation, mercy for our world.
Here we are again Standing in your presence in awe of you your holiness, your otherness, your mystery, and your incarnation
We stand bringing the needs of our friends, family, church,
community, nation and world to lay at your feet. We cry out in pain for the struggles of the world. We cry out for those who are in pain, sick, in the hospital, rehab,
homebound, nursing homes and those on their death bead. We cry out for the divisions and conflict that seems to be in our lives,
our families, our churches, our communities, our nation and our world. We cry out for those who live in poverty, those who are starving,
those who are in prisons, and those who live under oppression.
Lord, pour out your mercy like healing, comforting rain. Amen.
As followers of Jesus, we are committed to living by God’s standards, such as integrity—saying what we mean and doing what we say.
Proverbs 21:3 says, “To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.”
Integrity means being “honest” and “whole and undivided.” First, we have to be honest with ourselves by asking:
Do I say I will do things that don’t get done?
Do I make excuses for not following through?
Do I substitute words when actions are needed?
Ecclesiastes 5:2 says, “Do not be quick with your mouth…”
The Bible doesn’t teach us not to use words, but to use them wisely and back them up with consistent actions.
Jesus says, in Matthew 25:21, the “master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’”
The master says “well done,” not, “well said.”
If we struggle with integrity, there is hope. Romans 8:1 says. “.. there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Start with the first tiny step of an honest self-assessment.
Then choose to follow Jesus to the next step in integrity, and keep following Him day by day.
Psalm 78:65-72 The Message
65-72 Suddenly the Lord was up on his feet like someone roused from deep sleep, shouting like a drunken warrior. He hit his enemies hard, sent them running, yelping, not daring to look back. He disqualified Joseph as leader, told Ephraim he didn’t have what it takes, And chose the Tribe of Judah instead, Mount Zion, which he loves so much. He built his sanctuary there, resplendent, solid and lasting as the earth itself. Then he chose David, his servant, handpicked him from his work in the sheep pens. One day he was caring for the ewes and their lambs, the next day God had him shepherding Jacob, his people Israel, his prize possession. His good heart made him a good shepherd; he guided the people wisely and well.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
An Integrity Filled Heart
When we are talking about the qualities that are necessary for a Christian heart, integrity is one quality that cannot, and should not, ever be ignored.
The reason is because that’s the exact type of heart which God desires and uses.
72 So David shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart; And guided them with his skillful hands.Psalm 78:72 Amplified
It was with such an integrous heart that God commended David.
In Acts 13:22 the Lord’s testimony of David says, “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.”
If David had a heart after God’s heart, and if David’s heart was integrous, therefore it can be concluded that integrity is an integral part of God’s own heart, in other words, integrity is one of God’s qualities we should seek after.
This is seen in something Moses said about God’s character.
“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19 NKJV)
And so, a Christian’s heart needs to be an integrous heart because an integrous heart, a heart filled with integrity is part of God’s own heart, we should desire it with the same fervor, tenacity as God Himself possesses it, desires to share it.
Therefore, I think it’s safe to say that integrity is needed now more than ever.
There are several reasons why.
First, we also live in a society where what was once called good and integrous, is now being called hate-filled and evil, and what was once called hateful and evil is now being called good and true and the most desirable to be possessed by all.
What is evil is being taught, advocated for and celebrated in schools at all levels.
What is good and righteous is declared to be extremist, worthy of a prison cell.
What was once considered backwards, abhorrent is fast becoming acceptable conduct, praise worthy conduct, taught to be an acceptable medical practice.
How radically backwards has become so common place and acceptable in our day to day conversations in such a short span of time is truly mind-boggling.
How bad is this in the eyes and heart of God.
Remember, integrity is a part of God’s own heart.
Well, Isaiah prophesied this, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness…” (Isaiah 5:20 NKJV)
But also, our society drowning in lies.
We are living in a world that is living more by the lie than by the truth, and the sad part is that most people shrug shoulders, don’t think it is that big a deal.
But it is a big deal, and the Bible calls it sin.
In fact, it’s such a huge deal to God in how it hurts our relationship with Him and others that He makes it one of His big ten, that is, the Ten Commandments.
This one is the ninth to be exact.
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:16 NKJV)
But, before we can continue looking at what is an integrity filled heart, I believe it is vitally important we come to know and understand what integrity means.
Understanding What Integrity Means
Psalm 15 Amplified Bible
Description of a Citizen of Zion.
A Psalm of David.
15 O Lord, who may lodge [as a guest] in Your tent? Who may dwell [continually] on Your holy hill? 2 He who walks with integrity and strength of character, and works righteousness, And speaks and holds truth in his heart. 3 He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; 4 In his eyes an evil person is despised, But he honors those who fear the Lord [and obediently worship Him with awe-inspired reverence and submissive wonder]. He keeps his word even to his own disadvantage and does not change it [for his own benefit]; 5 He does not put out his money at interest [to a fellow Israelite], And does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.
Having integrity is adhering to truth and a code of values, and for Christians, it means adhering to the Way and the Truth and the Life found only God’s Word.
Synonyms would include: being honest, a person of high moral character, a person of virtue, who lives their lives in accordance with the morals, ethics and values set forth by God Himself in the Bible, values they say they believe in.
Therefore, integrity is about being honest, fair, and having a strong sense of what is right and wrong.
It’s adhering to the moral and ethical principles set forth in God’s Word, which speaks directly to a person’s private, public character, being, who they truly are.
But it also has a second definition, and that is a person who is undivided and thus unwavering in their belief and trust in God.
Integrity is not so much about what we do as it is about who we are.
It means we privately, publicly live according to what we say and believe in.
It’s about who we are on the inside more than what we portray on the outside.
It’s doing right even when no one else is looking, and who we are, how we each act and behave in the dark more than what we do in the light.
Integrity, therefore, is best defined by how it’s fleshed out in our lives.
• It’s about keeping our word even when it hurts.
• It’s about being honest in all our dealings.
• It’s practicing morality in both our bodies and in our minds.
• It’s about admitting mistakes and doing what’s necessary to make them right.
This is why integrity of heart is something God is searching for in His people.
King David said that it’s only with an integrous heart that we can dwell in God’s presence.
So, if we want to dwell in the presence of God, then we have to have integrity, and thus walk and talk and live our lives by it.
“Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart.” (Psalm 15:1-2 NKJV)
In fact, God is pleased when we do walk with integrity in our hearts.
Proverbs 11:18-20 Amplified Bible
18 The wicked man earns deceptive wages, But he who sows righteousness and lives his life with integrity will have a true reward [that is both permanent and satisfying]. 19 He who is steadfast in righteousness attains life, But he who pursues evil attains his own death. 20 The perverse in heart are repulsive and shamefully vile to the Lord, But those who are blameless and above reproach in their walk are His delight!
In Proverbs 11:20 the Lord says that while He detests people with crooked and twisted hearts, He does mightily and muchly delights in those with integrity.
Integrity of Job
Job 27:3-6 Amplified Bible
3 As long as my life is within me, And the breath of God is [still] in my nostrils, 4 My lips will not speak unjustly, Nor will my tongue utter deceit. 5 “Far be it from me that I should admit you are right [in your accusations against me]; Until I die, I will not remove my integrity from me. 6 “I hold fast my uprightness and my right standing with God and I will not let them go; My heart does not reproach me for any of my days.
Job was such a man with a heart filled with integrity
Job said, “As long as my breath is in me … my lips will not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit … Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go; my heart shall not reproach me as long as I live.” (Job 27:3-6 NKJV)
In fact, not only is God pleased with such an integrous heart, but He also brags on it. We actually see God brag on Job when Satan came before God’s throne.
The Lord said,
“Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” (Job 1:8 NKJV)
God, therefore, looks for integrity and an integrous heart is what He desires for His leaders.
It was a heart of integrity that distinguished the leadership of King David.
“And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.” (Psalm 78:72 NIV)
While an integrous heart is manifested in our lives, in other words, people can see it, people can readily and instinctively recognize it, it’s really an inside job.
Integrity is an Inside Job
Matthew 23:25-26 Amplified Bible
25 “Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and robbery and self-indulgence (unrestrained greed). 26 You [spiritually] blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the plate [examine and change your inner self to conform to God’s precepts], so that the outside [your public life and deeds] may be clean also.
In speaking about the hypocrisy of the religious leaders, Jesus said,
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.” (Matthew 23:25-26 NKJV)
The term “hypocrite” in the Greek language comes from the theater.
In Greek theater one actor would often play more than one part, so they wore masks to cover their face for the different parts.
Hypocrisy therefore means someone is wearing a mask (or masks) to hide his or her true nature; therefore, hypocrisy is in direct opposition to integrity.
Integrity, therefore, begins on the inside, which is probably why Jesus tells us to cleanse the inside.
Psalm 51:5-8 Amplified Bible
5 I was brought forth in [a state of] wickedness; In sin my mother conceived me [and from my beginning I, too, was sinful]. 6 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part [of my heart] You will make me know wisdom. 7 Purify me with [a]hyssop, and I will be clean; Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Make me hear joy and gladness and be satisfied; Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.
When we do, we will then be clean on the outside, or in how we deal with others.
If integrity is an inside job, and seeing how within the human heart, that is, the spiritual side of our hearts, there exists nothing but evil and wickedness bent on deceiving, as the Lord says in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked,” how can we possibly clean it?
We can’t wash it out with soap and water, but we can confess and repent.
Psalm 51:1-6 The Message
51 1-3 Generous in love—God, give grace! Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record. Scrub away my guilt, soak out my sins in your laundry. I know how bad I’ve been; my sins are staring me down.
4-6 You’re the One I’ve violated, and you’ve seen it all, seen the full extent of my evil. You have all the facts before you; whatever you decide about me is fair. I’ve been out of step with you for a long time, in the wrong since before I was born. What you’re after is truth from the inside out. Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 NKJV)
So, a heart of integrity is a heart that is free from hypocrisy and a heart that is honest about it’s true condition before a holy and righteous God.
It’s a heart that does not put on a mask to hide its true identity making people think that it’s someone who is not and something that it’s not, but rather it’s a heart that honestly and openly confesses its faults, shortcomings, and sins, and actively seeks to turn them over to His Father God and far far away from them.
Another aspect of integrity I like to talk about is that what erodes our integrity.
Erosion of Integrity
Genesis 3:8-13 Amplified Bible
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool [afternoon breeze] of the day, so the man and his wife hid and kept themselves hidden from the [a]presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to Adam, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of You [walking] in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” 11 God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten [fruit] from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 And the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me—she gave me [fruit] from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent beguiled and deceived me, and I ate [from the forbidden tree].”
Now the simple answer is sin, but it isn’t the one time sin that does it; rather it is a combination of sins that are not being dealt with, that is, they are not being confessed or repented of, or as some would say, it is all those wee little mistakes we allow without seeking them out, mining them and out making them right.
This then leads us to the second thing about integrity.
Integrity is About the Little Things
Integrity isn’t built nor is it destroyed in one fell swoop, but in little bits and pieces.
In Solomon’s song he says that it’s the little foxes that spoil the vine, and therefore they must be captured (Song of Solomon 2:15).
Rome was never built in a day, and neither was it destroyed in a day.
It was over an extended period, especially in its downfall as it decayed from the inside through moral and ethical perversion.
And it’s this same moral and ethical decay we’re seeing in our own country.
America is no longer the shining beacon to the world, instead it has been decaying little by little, year after year, and the cracks are getting bigger, crumpling the integrous foundation laid by our nations’ founding fathers.
Someone I know bought a nice house in an exclusive neighborhood, but the foundation wasn’t laid correctly, the concrete did not have enough rebar.
And so, the house has cracks not only in its foundation, but also throughout its walls and into the ceiling.
With one really good shake the house could conceivably come down.
Jesus said,
“Everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” (Matthew 7:26-27 NKJV)
Therefore, integrity doesn’t happen overnight, nor is it lost overnight because of one mistake or sin.
Rather, integrity is built over time and lost the same way.
We need to be careful then and not blame our circumstances when these cracks begin to develop.
This leads me to another aspect of having an integrous heart.
If we fail to come to belief in Jesus Christ, then our foundation won’t be built on anything solid, when the storms of life hit and rage all around us, then the risk is that our foundation will crumble, and the houses of our lives will come down.
When we violate God’s word or break one of His commands, when our integrity is compromised, small cracks begin to form in the foundations of our lives, and if left neglected, that is, unconfessed, unrepented for, then the firm foundation and our lives will begin to crumble.
How can we prevent the small cracks from getting bigger?
They must be sealed through the process of confession, forgiveness, and heart felt Psalm 32 and Psalm 51 repentance.
This will restore the foundation and make it as stronger than it ever was.
Jesus said,
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” (Luke 16:10 NKJV)
If people can’t trust us in the small matters, how can trust us when things get serious, and our help is really needed.
Integrity Is Not Determined by Circumstances
“But the child (Samuel) ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest. Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the Lord.” (1 Samuel 2:11b-12 NKJV)
Even though our upbringing and the circumstances we face in this life affect us, we still have the power to choose either good or evil.
Two people can grow up in the same environment, even in the same household, but turn out completely different.
One may have integrity, while the other may not.
Take for instance the high priest Eli’s two sons and Samuel.
They all grew up in the tabernacle under Eli’s tutelage.
Samuel grew up to be a man of integrity, while Eli’s two sons were corrupt.
If circumstances really could determine our ability to be a person of integrity, Joseph would be the classic example to follow.
Circumstances weren’t kind to Joseph as he was sold by his brothers into slavery, lied about by Potiphar’s wife, and thrown into prison and forgotten by a top official in Pharaoh’s court.
Yet he never allowed the negative circumstances he encountered to dictate his actions, rather he kept his integrity through it all.
Looking at the circumstances that assailed Joseph and his not wavering in keeping his integrity leads me to the last aspect about having integrity.
Integrity is Expensive
Matthew 16:24-26 The Message
24-26 Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?
Joseph’s integrity cost him dearly.
It cost him his freedom, but in the end, God blessed him, raised him up into a position of highest responsibility and saved his family through him as a result.
There is something that I tell everyone I counsel when things don’t go their way and they are tempted to take the easy way out.
I tell them that when we honor God, God will honor us.
Having an integrous heart will lead to problems, relational conflicts, loss of business, and possibly loss of a job – but in the end, it will lead to real benefits.
Benefits and Blessing of Integrity
a. Safety and Security
“He who walks with integrity walks securely.”(Proverbs 10:9 NKJV)
b. Protection
“Let integrity and uprightness preserve me.” (Psalm 25:21 NKJV)
c. Guidance
“The integrity of the upright will guide them.” (Proverbs 11:3 NKJV)
d. Family
“The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him.” (Proverbs 20:7 NKJV)
And so, while our integrity will cost us, in the end it will bring real and lasting benefits that money can’t buy.
Now that we’ve determined a heart of integrity, the question becomes “What Does an Integrous Heart Do?”
What Does an Integrous Heart Do?
Speak the Truth
Luke 6:43-45 The Message
Work the Words into Your Life
43-45 “You don’t get wormy apples off a healthy tree, nor good apples off a diseased tree. The health of the apple tells the health of the tree. You must begin with your own life-giving lives. It’s who you are, not what you say and do, that counts. Your true being brims over into true words and deeds.
Jesus said that the mouth speaks what the heart is full of (Luke 6:45).
And so a heart that is integrous is going to speak the truth.
Jesus said, “All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” (Matthew 5:37 NIV)
Long explanations are not necessary, a simple yes or no will do the trick.
Our words need to be so reliable that nothing more than a simple statement or word is needed.
Solomon said, “Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from you.” (Proverbs 4:24 NKJV)
A person with an integrous heart won’t be found speaking from both sides of their mouth.
Hypocrisy and lies would not be considered acceptable.
And while speaking the truth will cost, there is a larger cost involved when we tell a lie.
It might cost us our marriage, our relationship with God, our children’s future, as well as friendships, career, and the list goes on.
Paul adds a quality to our need to speak the truth, and that is the quality of love (Ephesians 4:25).
25 What this adds up to, then, is this: no more lies, no more pretense. Tell your neighbor the truth. In Christ’s body we’re all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself. (The Message)
We are told to speak the truth in love.
The reason is because we have the tendency to launch the truth at people like a guided missile intending to blow away all opposition to our point of view.
In the end we may feel good for speaking the truth, but the other person is laying there with their guts splattered all over the place.
So, an integrous heart speaks the truth through a loving spirit, looking to heal; not hurt.
But besides speaking the truth, an integrous heart also stands for the truth.
Integrity Stands for the Truth
Standing for the truth is taking our speaking the truth to the next level by putting it into action.
“For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.” (2 Corinthians 13:8 NKJV)
In our society today there’s a prevalent attitude that whatever someone believes in, that it is affirmed and above board honest truth, whether it’s true or it’s not.
It’s called subjective truth.
It means that whatever is true for one person must automatically be true for all others, whether it is or not.
What this is doing is kicking objective truth to the curb or throwing it out the window.
Today subjective truth is going by the name of political correctness, tolerance, which when bisected and exposed to the light of God, is anything but tolerant.
What is needed are Christians who are willing to stand for the truth and against the wrongs of society.
We are to be people of an integrous heart that not only speaks the truth, but also witnesses to the truth and testifies to it and stand upon the truth of God’s Word.
The Apostle James says, “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17 NKJV)
Therefore, not speaking the truth and standing for what is wrong is sin.
More Thoughts on Our Desiring an Integrous Heart
Integrity is a vital element to a Christian’s heart and one that needs to be constantly nourished and maintained, because it’s out the abundance of our heart we speak, and it’s our hearts that determine who and what we are, therefore we need to guard our hearts, and the best defense is a heart that is totally sold out for Jesus Christ and is filled with the truth of God’s Word.
I would like to end with what I said at the beginning, because when we finally understand this, having a heart of integrity will be something that we strive for.
And it was about King David.
If David had a heart after God’s heart, and if David’s heart was integrous, therefore it can be concluded integrity is an integral part of God’s own heart.
Therefore, our hearts need to be disciplined, integrous, because an integrous heart, a heart filled with integrity, is part of God’s own heart He readily shares.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Confessing My Lack Of Integrity And Praying To Change
Psalm 51:7-15 The Message
7-15 Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean, scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life. Tune me in to foot-tapping songs, set these once-broken bones to dancing. Don’t look too close for blemishes, give me a clean bill of health. God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life. Don’t throw me out with the trash, or fail to breathe holiness in me. Bring me back from gray exile, put a fresh wind in my sails! Give me a job teaching rebels your ways so the lost can find their way home. Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God, and I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways. Unbutton my lips, dear God; I’ll let loose with your praise.
Heavenly Father, Your are good and righteous altogether and I come to You today, confessing that I have not lived my life the way that You would have wanted, nor did I choose the path that You would have wished for me to take.
I confess my lack and come to You in humility of spirit, knowing that in Your loving-kindness, You forgive those that are of a contrite heart. Father, I want to turn my life around and live in a way that is transparent before You. I want to live a godly life that is pleasing to You and a life that brings glory to Your name. Lord, I do not want to grieve or quench the work of the Holy Spirit in my life any more, and know that the only way to please You is to walk in spirit and truth, and to live each day in submission to Your guidance, and empowered by Your grace.
Cleanse my heart of sin, forgive my stupidity and teach me Your ways I pray. Lord, I want to change my behavior to reflect those of the Lord Jesus, I want the thoughts of my mind to be pleasing in Your sight. I want to be a person of integrity, and live a life that is godly and full of grace, and I can only do so as I abide in You and rest in Your love. Teach me Your ways and give me a teachable spirit so that in the days to come I may live godly in Christ Jesus, knowing that this is Your will for my life.
Thank You that You have been faithful to me even when I proved unfaithful, and in Your grace, I step out into the future with my hand in Yours. In Jesus’ name I pray.
Where do you find the strength to continue your service to the Father?
Clearly, some things in which we invest our time prove futile. Still, others are worse than futile; they are depleting as well as futile.
However, consciously doing what we do to honor the Father, to follow his will, enables us to experience his empowering presence.
Rather than leaving us depleted, we find new strength and vitality.
Accomplishing the will of God and doing the work he created us to do blesses us as we bless others. That’s why Jesus reprimanded the evil one with the truth that God’s word nourishes more than bread.
So we need to ask ourselves each day, “What do I need to obey? What will help me live in God’s will for my life today?”
Then, as we do that, we too can actively versus passively, rejoice in the nourishing presence and thirst quenching power of heaven.
John 4:34-38 The Message
34-35 Jesus said, “The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work he started. As you look around right now, wouldn’t you say that in about four months it will be time to harvest? Well, I’m telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what’s right in front of you. These Samaritan fields are ripe. It’s harvest time!
36-38 “The Harvester isn’t waiting. He’s taking his pay, gathering in this grain that’s ripe for eternal life. Now the Sower is arm in arm with the Harvester, triumphant. That’s the truth of the saying, ‘This one sows, that one harvests.’ I sent you to harvest a field you never worked. Without lifting a finger, you have walked in on a field worked long and hard by others.”
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
Lift Up Your Eyes and Actually Look to Actually See
John 4:34–35 come at the end of Jesus’ conversation with a Samaritan woman at the well in John 4 and as the disciples come out, she then goes running back into town to talk about who she has met and what he had summarized about her life.
Jesus is having this conversation with the disciples.
They are saying, “Hey, you haven’t eaten.”
He responds, “Oh, I’ve eaten. I have much better food than you’ve eaten. My food is to do the will of him who sent me, to finish his work.”
Basically what sustains Jesus is obeying the Father, accomplishing His will, doing the mission He sent me to do, here in John 4 “to bring living water to a woman who never met or knew me, I had never before met in my life, at a well.”
Then Rabbi Jesus says,
“Open your eyes and look. There’s so much work to do. There are so many people,”the harvest language here, “Who are in need of the grace and mercy and presence of God, the living water that Jesus has come to offer.”
Rabbi, Teacher Jesus says, “This is your food. This is your sustenance. Giving your life, making this living water known to those who are thirsty.”
This Text Wants Us To Spread The Gospel To Others
These Samaritans, they came back to the well with her, they’re ready to hear it.
These verses are a plea for the disciples and us: Open our eyes and actually and authentically look, do not say later, the fields are ripe for harvest and oh, I pray for this perspective maybe one day, maybe some day in the future in my life, in each one of our lives, that we would all have open eyes, that we would realize all around us there are definitely people in definite need of Jesus’ own living water.
There are people in need of salvation in Christ all around us right now today.
We will always be surrounded by people, all of us, in different parts of the world where we live and we work and we carry on with our daily lives, there are people around us who are authentically in need of the grace of Christ, so God, help us to open our eyes, see that they are white for harvest, that they’re ready to hear.
Certainly, not everybody is gonna respond favorably when we share the Gospel but God helps us to believe when we share, many are ready to hear the message, they want to hear God, the Way, the Truth, the Life of God through Christ Jesus.
Rabbi Jesus is saying “the Father in Heaven has already wired their souls to want Him, to need Him, to feed from Him, to drink from Him, to need grace from Him.”
By His courage and compassion Rabbi Jesus, has made that grace authentic, made it available, made it actually drinkable through His death on the cross.
He has made His living water genuine, eternal satisfaction possible, in God.
What of Our 21st Century Courage and Compassion?
Although God has His pulpit in heaven, He also has His “servants” on earth.
It’s clear from Scripture that in the mystery and kindness of His purposes, God has determined to use our feeble voices to enable others to hear His voice.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, our words of witness, our words of testimony about His living Word further His plans and change people’s lives and futures.
The question, then, is this:
Are we (actively versus passively) (authentically versus haphazardly) stepping forward into this privilege, or are we authentically holding back from doing it?
Following His encounter with the woman at the well, Jesus encouraged His disciples to open their eyes and “see that the fields are white for harvest.”
If we, like the disciples, actually look up to see the actual harvest before us, then we too must actually, authentically proclaim the word of Christ, declaring with genuine urgency and joy; “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Our saying this takes authentic courage and genuine confidence in the Gospel.
The gospel message runs completely counter to the prevailing worldviews.
It is the prime “#1 most wanted” enemy of much contemporary thought.
Claims for final truth in Jesus are not simply ignored; they are opposed, they are mocked, they are scorned, giving of the utmost offense and they are destroyed.
Our confidence, however, rests in the fact that the gospel message was given to us by God whose confidence in His Son to accomplish the task was at its utmost.
We did not invent it and by the Word of God we must not modify nor reinvent it.
Instead, look up, to see: “all authority in heaven and on earth” is Christ’s, and He has commanded us to “go … and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:18-19).
While we need confidence in our message, we also need compassion in our tone.
Jesus came as a humble servant.
He rode into town on a lowly donkey and spoke with gentleness and humility.
When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion, because He saw them as sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36).
Only by the enabling power of His Holy Spirit, can we ourselves authentically demonstrate the same care, same compassion as we also recall we were once “foolish, disobedient,” “led astray” before Christ sought us out and transformed us (Titus 3:3).
Difficult days and challenging seasons have undeniably created an increased willingness in the hearts of those around us to talk about what weighs them down, what concerns them to the utmost about the brokenness in our world.
These authentically Dangerous and Disconcerting, Uncertain times must move you and me to be ready to seize upon any opportunity to proclaim to our family and friends, and neighbors “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2), 100% confident that the Holy Spirit of God can use our efforts for eternal gain.
What About our 21st Century Patience, Forbearance?
1 Timothy 1:15-20 The Message
15-19 Here’s a word you can take to heart and depend on: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. I’m proof—Public Sinner Number One—of someone who could never have made it apart from sheer mercy. And now he shows me off—evidence of his endless patience—to those who are right on the edge of trusting him forever.
Deep honor and bright glory to the King of All Time— One God, Immortal, Invisible, ever and always. Oh, yes!
I’m passing this work on to you, my son Timothy. The prophetic word that was directed to you prepared us for this. All those prayers are coming together now so you will do this well, fearless in your struggle, keeping a firm grip on your faith and on yourself. After all, this is a fight we’re in.
19-20 There are some, you know, who by relaxing their grip and thinking anything goes have made a thorough mess of their faith. Hymenaeus and Alexander are two of them. I let them wander off to Satan to be taught a lesson or two about not blaspheming.
When we hear the words patience and forbearance, we probably think of the virtues that enables us to wait.
That’s truly one way of looking at it, but Spirit-led patience is also much more.
Patience is longsuffering.
It involves more than passive waiting; it is active forbearance.
It is a deliberate willingness to put up with disagreeable things in pursuit of higher goals.
The best example of patience in the Bible is God himself.
A number of times, God is described as being “slow to anger” and “abounding in steadfast Love” (see Exodus 34:6; Psalm 103:8).
This phrase captures what true patience is.
Patient people do more than just wait.
They actively restrain their rightful anger and frustration.
For a higher purpose, they put up with things that they know are wrong.
This is the attitude our longsuffering God has toward sinful people.
For Paul, the “immense patience” of Jesus meant that God put up with all his wickedness for a long time before showing mercy to him.
Paul calls himself “the worst of sinners,” reflecting back on the time of his life when he persecuted Christians (see Acts 7:54-8:3).
But God waited Paul out, had other plans for Paul (Acts 9:1-31; 13:1-28:31).
That could easily be the testimony and witness of every single believer.
How wonderful that God’s love rests on his own capacity for goodness, and not our own capacity for intolerance, impatience, divisiveness, and utmost hatred!
Be bold. Be loving. Be active. Be prayerful – for only in Jesus can our darkness be turned to light – only in Jesus is there a true fresh start and a whole new future.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Almighty God, Everlasting Father, Ultimate Source of allgood and perfect gifts, Just like we were surrounded in a desert by people and we have water and we would with urgency say, “Our work is to get this water to as many people as possible. God, help us to live that way. Help us to live today, this week, that way. Help us to live our lives with that kind of urgency for the harvest fields around us and God, just like you worked in that Samaritan woman at the well, we pray that you would work in many hearts, many, many hearts through our lives, that you would draw many hearts to know the life, eternal life, satisfaction, rivers of living water that are found in you. God, may many people … Even today, we pray that people today would drink from that water as a result of our lives living with urgency for the spread of your grace. My true God, may it be so we pray. May that be our food today. In Jesus’ name we pray.
Hosea 6:1-3 shares of Israel’s desire to return from their misery and repent from their sin.
The Israelites didn’t realize the impact and consequences of their sin, but recognized no matter how far they strayed God was the one who would heal and restore them.
Hosea 6:3 says, “Oh, that we might know the LORD! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.”
In verse 3 the Israelites pressed into acknowledging the Lord.
They had the same assurance that you and I can have; just as the sun appears every morning,
God always does too.
Despite how far and wide you or I have strayed, God will authentically respond to you as you seek Him.
Hosea 6:1-3 New King James Version
A Call to Repentance
6 Come, and let us return to the Lord; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will [a]bind us up. 2 After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight. 3 Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
What A Long-Suffering And Gracious God We Have
God rebuked the people of Israel for their apostasy and idolatry, pronouncing a severe judgement upon them and causing Amos the prophet to mourn that His people were destroyed for lack of knowledge of the God of Israel, while He also is bewailing their marked and severe disinterest in the God of their salvation.
And yet the stark and serious warning broke into a comforting song of hope, that one day God would return, revive and restore His erring nation and pour out His blessings upon them like dew onto a parched desert, or as the spring showers falling over a hot and dry and dusty and thirsty land. (Psalm 63:1-2)
God knows that the disobedient Israel will one day return to His open arms of love, for they are all like a flock of straying sheep without a shepherd and the wounds and pain that have been inflicted due to the centuries of idolatry and apostasy will be over, when they come to acknowledge Jesus as Lord, Savior.
And He will bind up their wounds, mend the broken-hearted, with His soothing ointment and He will anoint their nation with the oil of gladness, when they call on the name of the Lord and recognize their God and Savior – for then they will look upon Him Whom they have pierced – whom they have crucified and buried.
His dealings with Israel is a great comfort to all of God’s children, for we know that despite the times when we also wander away from the Lord; getting swept into worldly ways or adopting a careless attitude, His initial response may well be discipline or chastisement, but He is also long-suffering towards us, even when we stray from His path of righteousness and follow our own foolish ways.
What a long-suffering and gracious God we have – for as He has dealt wisely with us, will continue in that wisdom, in grace, truth toward His erring nation.
So will Deal deal with Christians who have wandered far from His outstretched arms of love and truth or when faith wears thin and life seems too much to bear.
No matter how far any of us have strayed, His long standing promises to the church are as sure and praise-worthy, His promises to Israel. His chastening rod may hurt or wound us, but His promise of grace will truly help and heal.
Prayer for Restoration – Our Daily Prayer Unto God
6 1-3 “Come on, let’s go back to God. He hurt us, but he’ll heal us. He hit us hard, but he’ll put us right again. In a couple of days we’ll feel better. By the third day he’ll have made us brand-new, Alive and on our feet, fit to face him. We’re ready to study God, eager for God-knowledge. As sure as dawn breaks, so sure is his daily arrival. He comes as rain comes, as spring rain refreshing the ground.”(Hosea 6, The Message)
The exact moment sin reared its impossibly hideous, ugly head, in the form of a snake, in the garden of Eden in Genesis 3, brokenness likewise entered the scene.
Undoubtedly, we live in a broken world filled to overflowing of broken systems, overwhelmingly stressful situations, and people who could care less about God.
Sin leaves a vast ripple effect that continues year after year, generation after generation. It affects every individual. You cannot walk through life unscathed.
This is no different for Christians as it is for non-Christians.
Matthew 5:45 says, “…He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
Just because we are Christians does not and never will mean we are exempt from trials of all degrees and heartaches of every measure known but to God.
Sometimes with and without awareness, we have chosen a destructive path.
Other times, God makes us dwell in darkness (Lamentations 3:4-6 The Message).
4-6 He turned me into a skeleton of skin and bones, then broke the bones. He hemmed me in, ganged up on me, poured on the trouble and hard times. He locked me up in deep darkness, like a corpse nailed inside a coffin.
It’s not uncommon to forget God can still restore us when we are in the muck and the mire of a trial – our situations sometimes cloud our view of all God is.
I don’t know what you, the reader of this devotion may be facing today, but I want to remind you the truth is God is still in the business of restoring!
He can still restore a broken relationship, shattered marriage, limp bodies, prodigal child, special needs children, tattered hearts, and scrambled minds.
With frustrated man, frustrated women, frustrated humanity, it is impossible to restore such as those, but with God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).
Truth is God does not always restore the things we have in mind the way we have that restoration all acceptably socially, culturally, politically defined.
Instead, God, through Jesus and the Holy Spirit restores our peace, joy, hope, and contentment, despite our uncertain situations – regardless of what ways and means our God chooses, He still redeems, repairs, restores, resurrects!
In addition to this, let us please never forget God always has the very final say.
By His Sovereign Will,
By God’s own Authority,
By God’s own Power,
Let it now be our declaration that no matter what threatens our souls,
We have the faith that according to the truths revealed in the Word of God,
When God speaks, Pharaoh relents, the chariots disappear beneath the waves and the storm is compelled to be silent, the seas will part for His Children, the lame are healed, the crippled will walk, the deaf will hear, and the will blind see.
He has the authority over everything because He is the creator of all things.
If we are going through a tough season, keep pouring your heart out to God.
He is not weary of your tears.
He will not grow weary of your tears.
In fact God will collect your tears and reveal them to you at the suitable time.
Psalm 56:8 The Message
8 You’ve kept track of my every toss and turn through the sleepless nights, Each tear entered in your ledger, each ache written in your book.
He knows the words you cannot seem to utter.
He sees the pain no one else can see.
But also please remember to remind yourself God can still do exceedingly and abundantly more than you can ever ask, do, or ever imagine (Ephesians 3:20).
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Psalm 56 The Message
56 1-4 Take my side, God—I’m getting kicked around, stomped on every day. Not a day goes by but somebody beats me up; They make it their duty to beat me up. When I get really afraid I come to you in trust. I’m proud to praise God; fearless now, I trust in God. What can mere mortals do?
5-6 They don’t let up— they smear my reputation and huddle to plot my collapse. They gang up, sneak together through the alleys To take me by surprise, wait their chance to get me.
7 Pay them back in evil! Get angry, God! Down with these people!
8 You’ve kept track of my every toss and turn through the sleepless nights, Each tear entered in your ledger, each ache written in your book.
9 If my enemies run away, turn tail when I yell at them, Then I’ll know that God is on my side.
10-11 I’m proud to praise God, proud to praise God. Fearless now, I trust in God; what can mere mortals do to me?
12-13 God, you did everything you promised, and I’m thanking you with all my heart. You pulled me from the brink of death, my feet from the cliff-edge of doom. Now I stroll at leisure with God in the sunlit fields of life.
Creator, Father, I ask You for a fresh vision for what breakthrough will look like in my life. Help me to pursue healing while I wait for my miracle. Show me how to rest right in the middle of the storm. Help me to enjoy the feast You prepare for me, right in the middle of the raging battlefield. I want my whole life to testify that there’s a God in heaven who knows my name and who will get me safely home. Fill me afresh with the wonder of Your long-suffering love and indomitable power. I am so very determined to win this battle with fear and anxiety. Help me to discern when to rest, when to feast, and how to actively engage my faith as I wait for You to breakthrough. May my life display Your power. Do the impossible in and through me, I pray. Amen.
1. Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
mount of thy redeeming love.
2. Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
hither by thy help I’m come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood.
3. O to grace how great a debtor
daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
seal it for thy courts above.
Romans 7:14-16 The Message
14-16 I can anticipate the response that is coming: “I know that all God’s commands are spiritual, but I’m not. Isn’t this also your experience?” Yes. I’m full of myself—after all, I’ve spent a long time in sin’s prison. What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I cannot be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes all too obvious that God’s command is necessary.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
Okay … We Never Like To Admit We Are Sinners
OK…so we don’t like to admit it.
Still, we must.
We are all born sinners.
We’re sons of Adam and daughters of Eve (CS Lewis, Narnia Chronicles).
No one needs to teach any single one of us how to be selfish, to put what we want ahead of what others (and even God) may want – we all have our PhD’s.
Born from our mother’s womb with an immediate need to independently insist on satisfying what we want (our first milk) apart from the word and will of God.
We do not know better, we have no awareness of anything outside of ourselves.
It’s what our first parents Adam and Eve did in Genesis 3; it’s what every human being, save Only One – Jesus, has done in his/her walking days on planet earth.
When we do, inevitably tough stuff happens.
Self-inflicted tough stuff.
Self-inflicted impossibly tough stuff.
All kinds of rough and tough stuff which diminishes us and often hurts others.
Self-centered lust conceives sin, and sin birthed ends in death (James 1:13-15).
13-15 Don’t let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, “God is trying to trip me up.” God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one’s way. The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust. Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer.(The Message)
The good God intended in our lives inevitably fails to happen; and the bad God knows it is best to avoid, inevitably, uncontrollably, raises and takes its place.
Without Jesus’ propitiation for it, His redemption of us from it, His resurrection power to defeat it, His Spirit’s power to replace it with righteousness, we simply automatically default back into it.
Dr. Tony Evans describes older automobiles that required power-steering fluid to enable steering a car virtually effortlessly.
[But] “when your power steering fluid got low, you’d have to force the wheel to turn…to pull and tug. The pull of the wheel back to center was so strong that without power steering, when you’d take your hands off the wheel, it would snap back to neutral position”
Paul calls it sin centered, or which “dwells” in, my flesh.
Without redemption and the Holy Spirit’s power, our flesh steers us back into our sinful living, into doing what we hate.
Too much tough stuff, impossibly rough stuff, for which we all need God’s help.
Now, Our Challenges Dealing With Indwelling Sin
Colossians 3:3-8 The Message
3-4 Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.
5-8 And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That’s a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It’s because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn’t long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it’s all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.
If becoming a Christian meant we no longer sinned, Paul would have been wasting ink when he wrote, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you.”
It is more than a little possible to embrace a form of externalism that makes us look really good to people on the outside when really we know that what the Bible says is true: that while we are saved children of God, we are also sinners.
How is it, then, that sin continues to wreak havoc?
It is because while we are indeed in Christ, who liberates us from the bondage of sin, we are still very much, unavoidably so) locked deep into, within, our flesh.
That’s the problem:
we each still experience “the desires of the flesh” that “are against the Spirit … for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do” (Galatians 5:17).
We are justified in Christ; all of the guilt that attaches to our lives is dealt with in our Savior Jesus.
We have died to sin in Christ so that it no longer has a tyrannical rule in our lives.
But although sin no longer reigns, it still remains and rages.
It no longer defines us, but it still clings to us like our skin does.
We therefore need to learn how to admit to ourselves, to learn to not to ever underestimate the presence and the catastrophically nature, the seriousness of sin; instead, we must be disciplined to watch out for its subtleties, insinuations.
To fight the good fight against sin, we must come, through our reading, studies, praying through the Word of God, to understand its addictive, enslaving power.
As the saying goes,
“Sow a thought, reap an action. Sow an action, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny.”
Sin, then, must be attacked at the point of entry before it takes root within our hearts.
The only way to tackle sin is recognize we need to kill it, without compromise, so as to prevent all future damage, seen or unseen.
We will only be able to overcome sin when we are authentically motivated to “turn our eyes to Jesus, look into His face” and take strong measures against it.
Yet we will still sin, we will still make a serious mistake if we think we are the ones who can overcome sin’s indwelling power.
Since Christ “is our life,” our battle against sin is not to be faced in our own strength but in God’s mighty power; and since Christ “is your life,” your battle against sin is not a battle for salvation, for He has already secured that for you.
So now we need to commit to putting our sin to death, and we need to ask the Holy Spirit to overwhelm us with His wonderful love and fullness so as to create within us the deeper desire to do that which God’s word calls us to do: to seek out, find, and kill off all that “is earthly in you.”
Rethinking Sin
Romans 7:21-25 The Message
21-23 It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.
24 I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?
25 The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.
Many, if not actually all of us will still tend to think of sin in all -or- nothing terms: we either are sinners, or we are not.
Our problem is that while God does change us, we still carry that lifelong tug toward temptation around our waists and our ankles like a prison ball, chain.
Even the most experienced Christians are still tempted every single day to covet and lust and dishonor God and others—and lots more – which is kept private.
So what’s missing?
The 12 step recovery movement helps us in looking at this struggle.
Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12 step recovery groups have helped millions of people come to terms with addictions that won’t go away.
The idea is simple: while addicts won’t ever be completely done with their addictions in this life, they can still choose to work to become free from it.
From a Christian perspective, addicts learn to let God lead them into a new life so they are no longer at the mercy of their addiction.
A recovering alcoholic will say that while they are still an alcoholic, they have not had a drink in a decade, they still introduce themselves, admit to being an alcoholic, but a much healthier one – a “more aware alcoholic,” one might say.
What if we decidedly looked at the stories of sinners in the Bible that way?
What if the sins of David and other believers were somehow part of a process of God allowing us to hit bottom, finally turn to his almighty power to be set free?
What if we reframed our thinking, viewed the Christian community as, say a network of small to medium sized fellowship “sinners anonymous” groups?
How would such “bible study, prayer meeting fellowships” change our thinking and our daily approach to our dealing with the scourge called “indwelling sin?”
In the name of God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Lord, though we often pretend we can master our sin struggles, we really need to be mastered by you. Surprise us into a deeper mercy than we might expect. My Heavenly Father, keep me ever mindful of the truth that there is an internal war with sin that is seeking to wound me, draw me back into my former fleshly ways. Thanks be to God, Who delivers me from this inner conflict, through Jesus Christ my Lord, my Savior.
When in our music God is glorified,
And adoration leaves no room for pride,
It is as though the whole creation cried:
Alleluia!
How often, making music, we have found
A new dimension in the world of sound,
As worship moved us to a more profound
Alleluia!
So has the Church, in liturgy and song,
In faith and love, through centuries of wrong,
Borne witness to the truth in every tongue:
Alleluia!
And did not Jesus sing a Psalm that night
When utmost evil strove against the light?
Then let us sing, for whom he won the fight:
Alleluia!
Psalm 116:12-19 The Message
12-19 What can I give back to God for the blessings he’s poured out on me? I’ll lift high the cup of salvation—a toast to God! I’ll pray in the name of God; I’ll complete what I promised God I’d do, and I’ll do it together with his people. When they arrive at the gates of death, God welcomes those who love him. Oh, God, here I am, your servant, your faithful servant: set me free for your service! I’m ready to offer the thanksgiving sacrifice and pray in the name of God. I’ll complete what I promised God I’d do, and I’ll do it in company with his people, In the place of worship, in God’s house, in Jerusalem, God’s city. Hallelujah!
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
What Shall I Render Unto the Lord?
The Psalmist expresses the depths of his love for the Lord because God hears and God answers unto His children when they call to Him.
In this Psalm, his song of deepest praise, the Psalmist recalls the many troubles and sorrows he has already encountered, then unleashes upon all his readership exactly how gracious and exactly how compassionate the Lord has been to him.
The Lord heard his cry for help, the Lord rescued him from death and despair.
And as the Psalmist remembers the merciful kindness and patient grace of the Lord towards him, he cries out,
“How can I repay the LORD for all the good He has done for me?
What can I give to the LORD for all he has done for me?
What shall I render to the LORD For all His benefits toward me?”
The Psalmist knows there is so much he wants to do to say “Thank You, God!”
Yet also within this psalm, the Psalmist knew, as we do, that there is nothing that we can do to exactly repay the Lord for all His grace and love towards us.
There is no amount of payment or reward that we can offer to God that could possibly pay Him back for the miraculous, wonderful things He has done for us.
There is nothing we can do, but we can surely offer Him our sacrifice of praise.
We can pour out our whole heart of gratitude to Him for our great salvation.
We can tell others, we can shout and sing to others of the wonders of His grace and mercy, and we can render unto God our hearts, to seek to do His will with a willing and obedient heart that is overflowing with love for our gracious Savior.
Oh! I wish I could influence God, but God is never influenced by man’s foolish attempts to repay Him for what He has freely given as an eternal gift of grace.
There is nothing we can do to repay the Lord for all His goodness and loving-kindness He has shown towards us, but we can live a life that is pleasing to Him by trusting His Word and seeking in all that we say and do to live a godly life.
We can render unto God our gifts and our talents, to walk in spirit and truth, submitted to the guidance and the leading of the Holy Spirit, and letting the love of Christ shine through us in thought and deed, to the glory of the Father.
We Can Use All Our Creative Talents to Glorify God
Psalm 138:4-6 The Message
4-6 When they hear what you have to say, God, all earth’s kings will say “Thank you.” They’ll sing of what you’ve done: “How great the glory of God!” And here’s why: God, high above, sees far below; no matter the distance, he knows everything about us.
It is written in the very first line of the Bible: “In the beginning God created…” (Genesis 1:1, emphasis added).
Creativity begins with God.
He had a plan and had a good design for the cosmos and spoke it into being.
We have a written account of how creation came to be, and how the very first people were made by God. God spoke, made, and revealed it all through the written word – He was behind the entire creative order that we see around us.
When we look at the intricacy of a snowflake or a leaf or a spider web, the symmetry of a butterfly, or the perfect location of the earth’s position in the rest of the solar system, we witness to all the handiwork of our Creator God.
He also planned that we would be made in His image (Genesis 1:26), so it is no surprise that we get to experience the wonder and joy of creativity ourselves.
With all of the wonders and miracles of this creative potential surrounding us every single day we live, how can we use our creative talents to glorify God?
Give All the Glory to God Alone
Whatever we do, we are to do it to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).
That includes our creative endeavors.
As the apostle Paul shared,
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:23-24).
In Colossians 1:16 it says: “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”
It is through Jesus that everything has been made and it is all for Him (John 1:3).
God made the universe through His Son (Hebrews 1:2) and it is by faith that “we understand the universe was formed at God’s own spoken command, so what is seen was not made out of what was visible” (Hebrews 11:3).
It’s right, it’s good, it is an abundantly authentically joyful thing, to always give all of the glory to the only One who made it all, for whom it is all for.
It also fulfills the command to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Luke 10:27).
What we create should not ever be worshiped, nor should we glorify ourselves or others in ours or theirs creative pursuits.
That does not mean that we do not enjoy or appreciate what we create, what they create but we remember to keep our love, affections in their rightful place.
Participate in God’s Masterpiece
We have the immense privilege of joining with God in His creative purposes for the world.
It was God’s wonderful idea to create people and to get the first man to name the livestock, the birds and the wild animals (Genesis 2:20).
God “brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name” (Genesis 2:19).
This was God’s idea to involve us, not an idea of our own making.
God made the first woman as a helper, creating her from the rib of the man, and he named her too (Genesis 2:21-23).
They would work together in the world.
God invites us to participate in His grand design on earth, and invites us into actively participating in mission and ministry for His own kingdom purposes.
We are made in His image and formed by Him, God has a plan and a purpose, establishing our steps (Proverbs 16:9).
We can use our creative talents for good or for ill, but as we look to Jesus, our desires will become more and more like His.
Using our gifts of creativity enables each of us to singularly, uniquely, express a critically important part of who God has designed us all to be (Psalm 139:13-16).
That will definitely look different for each person, as we are all individuals with unique gifts, talents and abilities, yet we are, each and every single one of us, all “fearfully and wonderfully made” shaped, by Him in His Image (Psalm 139:14).
Love Others with Our Creativity
It is important to remember the first two commandments as we create: love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself.
Loving the Lord always comes first.
We need to spend time with Him regularly; it is vital to build and nurture a relationship with our Heavenly Father.
As we do this, it will transform our longings, desires to love and serve others.
God loves the people whom He created, and He designed us to be in community together.
As we create to the glory of God and out of love for Him, it will spill over into how we use our gifts, talents, time and creative resources for edifying others.
This might look like caring for those in need, volunteering our skills, designing something to the best of our ability with utmost integrity, photographing or painting beautiful landscapes to show God’s work on display, so much more.
There are endless opportunities to be creative.
The people in our homes, communities and the wider world can be unbelievably and miraculously blessed, truly uplifted, inspired by our God-given creativity.
Manage Our Creative Talents Well
We are to steward what God has given us and remember that all good gifts come from Him (James 1:17).
Even as we are diligent and disciplined with our time, resources and creative talents, we can continue to learn and develop and mature in our creativity.
As we look to Him who is the giver and provider of all we need, we worship Him alone, rather than anything that we create.
Throughout the Bible, there are examples of humans using their gifts and abilities to create things to worship other than God.
We saw it when the Israelites created a golden calf to worship (Exodus 32) and in the construction of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-4).
In both cases, they made a god or a name for themselves, demonstrating the skill, but also the deep-rooted malignant pride too characteristic of mankind.
Even idolizing people made in the image of God lends itself to the worship of the creation rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25).
There is risk and temptation to pursue and follow created things and step into idolatry, rather than to the single minded single directed worship of our God.
Therefore, we must bring our creativity before the Lord, knowing it is Him that we are serving, and we should use our gifts and talents respectfully and wisely.
Embrace the Skills Given to Us
God gives skills to different people.
We are all given certain abilities, even if it may take us a little while to discover or develop what they are.
In the building of the Tabernacle, there were many who had different skills given to them by God which would be used to complete it:
“All who are skilled among you are to come and make everything the Lord has commanded” (Exodus 35:10).
It is a beautiful picture of some of God’s people who were “willing and whose heart moved them” and brought materials and offerings to God for this work (Exodus 35:21-22).
Men and women all participated together, and there was a fervent willingness, highly developed skill involved to make what God had commanded come to be.
Are we also willing to offer our skills in whatever way is needed for God’s glory and purpose?
God Equips Those Who He Calls
God also equips those whom He calls to a specific task.
In the building of the Tabernacle, the Lord chose Bezalel of the tribe of Judah, and filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, understanding, knowledge and all kinds of skills, to make artistic designs (Exodus:35:30-34).
He also equipped him and Oholiab of the tribe of Dan to be able to teach others. God is the one who fills us with the skills for the tasks that He has called us to.
The creative process means walking through trials and frustrations at times, but can also develop our perseverance and character.
God can use our creativity to shape and transform us into the likeness of Jesus as we seek to use our creative talents for His glory.
He is interested in our hearts.
As we create, we can ask Jesus to help us honor Him in our pursuits.
We can use our gifts and talents and our creativity to build up believers, spread the good news to those who do not know Jesus, support those in need, and use it as a way to provide an income for our families and programs of our churches.
As we surrender, yield to God, continually thinking “not my will but yours be done,” He takes our creative offering, transform it for His glory and purposes.
God saw the two loaves and five fish, and He was the One who filled the crowd.
Give Him your imagination, your creative talents, your need to express your gratitude, no matter how big or small, let Him deeply satisfy your every need.
As pastor and theologian Reverend Dr. John Piper said:
“God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in him.”
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
My dear loving Heavenly Father, I just want to thank You for loving me so much that You sent Your Son to die for me so that I might live with You forever. Thank You, Father, for the innumerable ways that You demonstrate Your love, protection, and provision toward me. I pray that I may have an attitude of gratitude toward You in all I say and do so that You are praised and glorified in my life. Remember all those artists, inspire their diverse creative gifts, those whom you have placed among us, for are they not, O Lord, the fellows of your inspiration? Do they not, Lord God, bring to your people great proof of your divinity and our part in it? In Jesus’ name, AMEN.
1. Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
through eternal ages let his praises ring;
glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
standing on the promises of God.
Refrain:
Standing, standing,
standing on the promises of Christ my Savior;
standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.
2. Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
when the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
by the living Word of God I shall prevail,
standing on the promises of God.
(Refrain)
3. Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
bound to him eternally by love’s strong cord,
overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
standing on the promises of God.
(Refrain)
4. Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
listening every moment to the Spirit’s call,
resting in my Savior as my all in all,
standing on the promises of God.
(Refrain)
John 6:60-69 The Message
Too Tough to Swallow
60 Many among his disciples heard this and said, “This is tough teaching, too tough to swallow.”
61-65 Jesus sensed that his disciples were having a hard time with this and said, “Does this rattle you completely? What would happen if you saw the Son of Man ascending to where he came from? The Spirit can make life. Sheer muscle and willpower don’t make anything happen. Every word I’ve spoken to you is a Spirit-word, and so it is life-making. But some of you are resisting, refusing to have any part in this.” (Jesus knew from the start that some weren’t going to risk themselves with him. He knew also who would betray him.) He went on to say, “This is why I told you earlier that no one is capable of coming to me on his own. You get to me only as a gift from the Father.”
66-67 After this, many of his disciples left. They no longer wanted to be associated with him. Then Jesus gave the Twelve their chance: “Do you also want to leave?”
68-69 Peter replied, “Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life, eternal life. We’ve already committed ourselves, confident that you are the Holy One of God.”
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen
What If We See A Vision of the Ascended Savior?
John 6:60-65 Amplified Bible
60 When many of His disciples heard this, they said, “This is a difficult and harsh and offensive statement. Who can [be expected to] listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, aware that His disciples were complaining about it, asked them, “Does this cause you to stumble and take offense? 62 What then [will you think] if you see the Son of Man ascending to [the realm] where He was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh conveys no benefit [it is of no account]. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life [providing eternal life]. 64 But [still] there are some of you who do not believe and have faith.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who did not believe, and who would betray Him. 65 And He was saying, “This is the reason why I have told you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him [that is, unless he is enabled to do so] by the Father.”
“Jesus Saves! Jesus Saves! Jesus Saves!
It may seem easy, at first, to line up, follow Jesus when we hear His promise of forgiveness, mercy and grace and salvation, and the promise of new life for us.
We naturally latch onto Jesus’ words of encouragement and reassurance.
The words are a source of great comfort, a source of Shalom Shalom we have been searching for, been reaching far into the depths of the vast universe for.
They are strange words at first because no one has taken the time to teach us, no one has taken the time to converse with us, nor even introduce them to us.
They are the “gotcha” words meant to immediately draw our attention away from all of the unholy hullabaloo which surrounds and swirls like a whirlwind.
Yes! Undoubtedly, these words will gain our attention at there spoken sound.
We will look at each other in wonder – “did we actually hear them?” gravitate towards the speaker of such unheard of words – highly curious – not really are we focused on anything of consequence beyond just the hearing and the talker.
What are they supposed to mean to us?
What are they meant to inspire us to do?
Are we just supposed to stand there and listen to someone give a short speech and then when they are done – then what – walk away for whatever reason?
We have heard these “motivational speeches” before – “Take them or Leave?”
Walk away, inspired or uninspired or disappointed, discouraged because we have no idea what was said or its implications means we have to commit to something we are sure we are no where near convinced of its true necessity?
And besides, the speaker is only going to go their own way and make the same speech somewhere else down the road – like any politician we have ever known.
“Get Out the Vote!” “Get Out and Vote for Me” “Because “Promises, Promises!”
Except, in our text, Jesus is not trying to be some sort of short term, mouthy political figure, another self absorbed, egotistical Temple Leader or any divine cheerleader waving those first century pom poms in all, every which direction.
He is the Savior who gave his life for our sake.
In our Bible reading for today, Jesus has pointed out the victory he would win, explaining to them that salvation comes only through his “flesh and blood.”
But that is not a message that sits easily with us.
In any age, it is a message anyone would scratch heads, mightily struggle with.
Because we have this innate, natural desire to try to save ourselves rather than to rely, try to understand, on the daily bread of life that Jesus gives “for the life of the world”—by laying down his own life, his own flesh his own life blood.
Jesus comes right out with these assembled disciples, demands total surrender to his authority and unto the gift of the salvation we cannot earn for ourselves.
The ascension makes clear that Jesus has this authority.
It reveals to the unspiritual and spiritual mindset that he is truly God, and it is from that place of undeniable authority He sends the Spirit to all who believe.
As followers of Jesus, we listen not only to His words that are easy to hear; we listen also to his words that call for our harsh, difficult, challenging obedience.
We are summoned to put our whole trust for salvation not in ourselves but in Jesus’ flesh and blood, given willingly by our heavenly Lord at a severe cost.
Jesus calls us to give of ourselves willingly for his sake. Can we accept that?
Can we take the not too difficult teachings and be inspired, and empowered?
Can we take the all too difficult teachings and be inspired and empowered?
To remain faithful, faith-filled, steadfast, immovable disciples for Jesus Christ?
Or do we shy away?
Quietly, indiscreetly, return to the peaceful non threatening confines of home?
To Whom Then Shall We Go to “hear” Words of Life?
John 6:66-69 Amplified Bible
Peter’s Confession of Faith
66 As a result of this [a]many of His disciples abandoned Him, and no longer walked with Him. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve [disciples], “You do not want to leave too, do you?” 68 Simon Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You [alone] have the words of eternal life [you are our only hope]. 69 We have believed and confidently trusted, and [even more] we have come to know [by personal observation and experience] that You are the Holy One of God [the Christ, the Son of the living God].”
Here is the mark of the true believer: Peter Cannot and Will Not Quit on Jesus!
When Jesus looked at them, when Jesus said to them, Will you go away also?
It is clear that Jesus would have let them go their own way if they had wanted to.
He does not hold anybody against their will.
Responding to his Rabbi’s words, Peter says three wonderful things:
First,
Peter says, in effect, Rabbi, Teacher, Messiah, we have been thinking about it.
Rabbi, Teacher, Messiah, we have investigated the alternatives.
You are not easy to live with.
You embarrass us.
You frighten us.
We don’t understand you at times.
We see and hear you do things that simply blow our minds.
You offend people who we think are important.
You burn bridges best left intact for those of us who remain with you.
We have looked at some alternatives, but I want to tell you this,
Rabbi, Teacher, Messiah: We never found anyone who can do what you can do, who can dare to say what you can say with the same or with an equal authority.
“Rabbi, Teacher, Messiah, to where shall we go, to whom shall we go?”
“You have two things that hold us together, two things no one can dare deny, and the first is your words.”
“What you say to us has met our deepest need, has delivered us from our sins and freed us from our fears.”
“Your words, Lord, are the most remarkable words we have ever heard. You teach what no one else does, they explain us, they explain life to us. They satisfy us. Nobody speaks like you do, nobody understands life like you do. That holds us!”
Secondly, Lord, we have seen your character.
Notice how Peter puts it: We have believed, and have come to know.
That statement implies a process which has perhaps gone on over the course of months and years.
Peter is saying,
We have carefully watched you, and we have come to see that there is nothing wrong in you. You are the Holy One of God, you are the Sinless One. You fit the prophecies; you fulfill the predictions. You speak with authority. You have drawn us, compelled us. You are the incomparable Christ, thus there is no place else to go.
I have found this to be, authentic, genuine, faithful and true of real Christians.
Those who steadfastly continue on always feel this way about Jesus.
They know their own failures, their own weaknesses.
They know that despite the many times they cannot nor do not understand what is happening to them, yet they cannot leave, they are compelled to stay.
This is the testimony of those who walk faithfully with him and follow him.
I have often said the best definition of a Christian is someone who cannot quit.
Do we find being a Christian just too hard sometimes?
Are we ready to throw in the towel and walk away from your faith?
I had a phone call once from a young man, a relatively new Christian who said,
“I cannot make it. I cannot understand it. I cannot apply it to my life. I cannot continue to be a Christian. It’s too hard. It’s too complicated. Everyone hates me now. No one wants to be a friend. I blow it all the time. I’m going to hang it up.”
I had heard that kind of thing before, so I said to him,
“That’s a good idea. Why don’t you do that? I think you’re right. Hang it up.”
“There was a pause on the line, then he said to me, You know I can’t do that.”
I said, “I know it. Of course you can’t. You can’t quit. You wont quit. Who can you go to? Where can you find answers, resources such as you have drawn on?”
This is what Peter is saying to Jesus.
This is what Peter is saying to us as believers today
This is what Peter is saying to the Body of Christ, the Church, today!
Standing on the promises of Christ my King, through eternal ages let his praises ring; glory in the highest, I will shout and sing, standing on the promises of God. Refrain: Standing, standing, standing on the promises of Christ my Savior; standing, standing, I’m standing on the promises of God.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 139:1-12 The Message
139 1-6 God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand. I’m an open book to you; even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking. You know when I leave and when I get back; I’m never out of your sight. You know everything I’m going to say before I start the first sentence. I look behind me and you’re there, then up ahead and you’re there, too— your reassuring presence, coming and going. This is too much, too wonderful— I can’t take it all in!
7-12 Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit? to be out of your sight? If I climb to the sky, you’re there! If I go underground, you’re there! If I flew on morning’s wings to the far western horizon, You’d find me in a minute— you’re already there waiting! Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark! At night I’m immersed in the light!” It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you; night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you.
Father, hallowed be thy name! Help us to believe! Holy Spirit, strengthen us for obedient living! Lord Jesus, speak your words of authority to us, that we may accept and follow you. Lord, there is nowhere else to go because only you have the words of eternal life. Help me to cling to your words, to search them out and understand them and obey them and believe that they alone are the words that give life. Amen.
1. Take my life, and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee.
Take my moments and my days;
let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands, and let them move
at the impulse of thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be
swift and beautiful for thee.
2. Take my voice, and let me sing
always, only, for my King.
Take my lips, and let them be
filled with messages from thee.
Take my silver and my gold;
not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect, and use
every power as thou shalt choose.
3. Take my will, and make it thine;
it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is thine own;
it shall be thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour
at thy feet its treasure-store.
Take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee.
John 7:16-19 The Message
16-19 Jesus said, “I didn’t make this up. What I teach comes from the One who sent me. Anyone who wants to do his will can test this teaching and know whether it’s from God or whether I’m making it up. A person making things up tries to make himself look good. But someone trying to honor the one who sent him sticks to the facts and doesn’t tamper with reality. It was Moses, wasn’t it, who gave you God’s Law? But none of you are living it. So why are you trying to kill me?”
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
Is Jesus For Real?
Do you ever wonder if Jesus actually was what he claimed to be?
Do we have trouble at times struggling with understanding what he is saying in these tremendous passages, especially in the Gospel narrative of John?
Well, if that is the case, Jesus tells you what to do: Practice what he says.
Obey his words.
Repent of your sins.
Come to Him.
Cast yourself upon his mercy.
Believe in his forgiveness, and go out in obedience and treat people the way he says to.
Then we will know from an inside knowledge that no one can take away that what He says is true, because His authority, teaching, is in line with the reality we are seeing of God at work through us.
This is a sacred principle that runs all through our life: We all learn by doing.
A doctor may learn all that the medical books can teach them, but until they get their hands into their clinical specialty, area of expertise, surgery or dispenses medicines to people who are in critical need of their service, never really learns.
The same is true in any field: We all learn by Our Doing.
When we do what Jesus says, we practice obedience and discipline ourselves, we begin to understand with a deep conviction that He knows what life is all about.
This explains the phenomenon of certain people who become Christians—some of them early, some late in life—and who immediately practice what they have learned through study of God’s Word, and then grow with astonishing rapidity.
They subtly become “more” grown up, capable, well-adjusted whole persons, seemingly almost overnight, while others who sit under the teaching of the Scripture for years hardly seem ever to grow at all; they are still childlike in their behavior, emotionally upset, anxious, timid, stagnant and fear-ridden.
This is because they are not doing what they hear.
They are only maintaining themselves in a “milk and cookies” Christianity.
Those who put into practice the truth they hear begin to grow immediately.
Now, it is graduating into whole hearted “meat and potatoes” evangelism.
They have entered the place called the tried, true, “Will of God For Their Lives.”
Ways to Know God’s Will for Your Life
When I was a young (in the faith) Christian, I seemed to continually wrestle with knowing to know what God’s will was for my life.
I wanted more than anything to follow His plan.
Interestingly, now that I’m “older” (currently 62 years old), I still wrestle with knowing and doing God’s will in my life.
Over the years of “near continual discernment” I have come to learn that this is not just something that many young persons does early in life; it is that lifelong pursuit, through study, prayer, in order to stay in the exact center of His plan.
So, then, how can we authentically, faithfully know God’s plan for our lives?
Over the past twenty-some years that I have been in both lay and lay pastoral ministry, I have discovered several vital keys to genuinely knowing God’s will.
Here they are:
1. Walk with God.
Proverbs 3:5-12 The Message
5-12 Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life! Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best. Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over. But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline; don’t sulk under his loving correction. It’s the child he loves that God corrects; a father’s delight is behind all this.
For starters, if you are authentically interested in knowing God’s plan for your life, then you must genuinely learn to walk faithfully, faith-filled, with God.
You need to engage, work literally all of the soils of your life cultivate, develop and sow, plant the seeds of a harvest, then bear fruit – a relationship with Him.
Matthew 13:10-17 The Message
Why Tell Stories?
10 The disciples came up and asked, “Why do you tell stories?”
11-15 He replied, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn’t been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That’s why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward a welcome awakening. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they’re blue in the face and not get it. I don’t want Isaiah’s forecast repeated all over again:
Your ears are open but you don’t hear a thing. Your eyes are awake but you don’t see a thing. The people are stupid! They stick their fingers in their ears so they won’t have to listen; They screw their eyes shut so they won’t have to look, so they won’t have to deal with me face-to-face and let me heal them.
16-17 “But you have God-blessed eyes—eyes that see! And God-blessed ears—ears that hear! A lot of people, prophets and humble believers among them, would have given anything to see what you are seeing, to hear what you are hearing, but never had the chance.
Christianity is all about working the soils, relationship rather than just religion.
And so you must cultivate your relationship with God.
We must seek to know Him through our labor, not just seek to know about Him.
We will cultivate that relationship best by spending time in His Word, taking time for prayer, and taking every opportunity you can to be involved in church and fellowship gatherings small group Bible study and prayer, opportunities.
When we seek “work these soils” cultivate these disciplines in, within our life, God will begin the first steps, plant the first seeds, to revealing His plan to you.
2. Surrender your will to God’s.
Romans 12:1-2 The Message
Place Your Life Before God
12 1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
Far too many times when we say we are seeking God’s will, what we are really wanting to say to God is this: “OK, God, here’s what I’m planning to do.” “Now I need you authentically, faithfully [automatically] to rubber stamp this, all right?”
I must break into your Theology to tell you that this is not really going to be an effective thought or planning, process in discovering and finding His true will.
Before God will begin to allow the seed to germinate, reveal His will to you, you must be committed, faithful, to doing whatever it is He desires for you to do.
God will likely be slow, not as we understand slow, but God understands slow, to show you His true plan if He knows you will likely not do that plan anyway.
Jesus was willing come to die for us, so shouldn’t we be willing to live for Him?
When we surrender to Him, that is when He really begins to direct our steps.
3. Obey what you already know to be God’s will.
1 Thessalonians 5:12-18 The Message
The Way He Wants You to Live
12-13 And now, friends, we ask you to honor those leaders who work so hard for you, who have been given the responsibility of urging and guiding you along in your obedience. Overwhelm them with appreciation and love!
13-15 Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part. Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you get on each other’s nerves you don’t snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.
16-18 Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.
Many people seem to want to know what God’s plan is for their lives, but they overlook the fact that 98% of His will is already delineated carefully through His Word – God is very authentic, clear about many, many aspects of His will.
Honor, respect those leaders and authority figures who work so hard for you, who have been given by God, the true responsibility of urging and guiding you along in your faith journey, in your wisdom and understanding and practice of obedience.
Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your partto get along with others.
Warn the “freeloaders” to “get with the plan for the community” and start earning their keep, “get along with God’s plan for His Kingdom” and to laboring for God.
Gently encourage and inspire and empower the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet, showing them places where they may rest.
Be patient with each person, attentive to their individual needs.
Be careful that when we get on each others nerves, we do not snap at each other.
Look for the best in each other and always do your best to bring out their best.
Be Cheerful – no matter what!
Pray all of the time.
Thank God – no matter what happens!
If we do not practice His Presence, obey the things God has shown us clearly to be His will, why then would we think He would reveal any further information regarding His plan for our lives?
Practice Obedience and Practice His Wisdom are critically important first steps.
4. Seek godly input.
Proverbs 11:14 The Message
14 Without good direction, people lose their way; the more wise counsel you follow, the better your chances.
One key component to finding God’s will is to seek the input of godly advisors in your life.
If you don’t currently have 3-4 godly mentors, then I would highly recommend that you seek them out right away.
Think of it this way: you should understand that you are basically a composite of the five people you spend the most time with.
So, then, it is vital that you choose those five people well.
If you choose to surround yourself with godly advisors, they’ll be instrumental in helping you discern God’s plan for your life.
But if you surround yourself with people who are far from God, your hope of finding His best for your life will be greatly diminished.
The church is designed to help you greatly with this.
I would encourage you to be in church every single time the doors are opened.
The more you involve yourself with a community of believers, the greater your chances will be of finally finding authentic godly men and women who can help you discern God’s will.
5. Pay attention to how God has wired you.
1 Peter 4:7-11The Message
7-11 Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!
God has created you and me to fulfill a specific role in this world.
There is no one else who can achieve completely what God has purposely created us to do.
God has gifted every one of us to perform a special mission for which we alone were created.
How amazing is that?
Wow!
So, when you seek to discover God’s will for your life, pay attention to how He has gifted you.
His plan for you will always be directly related to the gifts that He has bestowed upon you.
The great news is that you will automatically be good at whatever it is that He has called you to do!
6. Listen to God’s spirit.
John 16:12-15The Message
12-15 “I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t handle them now. But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. He won’t draw attention to himself, but will make sense out of what is about to happen and, indeed, out of all that I have done and said. He will honor me; he will take from me and deliver it to you. Everything the Father has is also mine. That is why I’ve said, ‘He takes from me and delivers to you.’
I experienced a major turning point in my own prayer life when I learned simply to shut up while I was praying.
That may sound odd to you, and it seemed odd to me at first.
You see, I used to do all the talking when I prayed to God.
But then, several years ago, I read Bill Hybel’s book, Too Busy Not to Pray.
That book completely changed the way I approached God through prayer.
Since reading that book, I have added a significant component to my prayer life: listening.
I take time to “very carefully” listen to what God might have to say to me.
Practically, the way I go about this is to bring a notepad with me when I sit down to pray.
Then I contemplate at the top of several thoughts things like the following:
“What is the next step in my career?”
“What is the next step in my ministry?”
“What is the next step for my family?”
“What is the next step for my marriage?”
“What is the next step in my education?”
“What is the next step in my finances?”
During my prayer time, I meditate on questions such as the above.
Often, God will start flooding my heart with ideas and information regarding one or more of those questions.
Sometimes, not all of the time I write as fast as I can as He speaks to my heart.
What a glorious experience to sense His Spirit on me, guiding my thoughts and words, guiding my personal studies of the bible, writing of these devotionals.
Through experiences like this, He has shown me many times with great clarity what His will is for my life.
I long for those experiences when He speaks to me like that.
Those times are truly, authentically, life changing.
7. Listen to your heart.
Psalm 37:3-6 The Message
3-4 Get insurance with God and do a good deed, settle down and stick to your last. Keep company with God, get in on the best.
5-6 Open up before God, keep nothing back; he’ll do whatever needs to be done: He’ll validate your life in the clear light of day and stamp you with approval at high noon.
In addition to listening to the Spirit, I also recommend listening to your heart.
I love this passage, because it shows me that, when I am walking with the Lord, He will actually let me do many really cool things that I actually love to do!
When you are close to Him, He actually begins to shape your desires so that you desire the things that He has already called you to do.
So then, His plan actually becomes a super-exciting adventure.
I always have the most fun in life when I am doing God’s will.
And that is because He shapes and transforms every single one of my “wants” to always wanting to do all those things for which He has actually created me.
8. Take a look at your circumstances.
Acts 16:6-10 The Message
6-8 They went to Phrygia, and then on through the region of Galatia. Their plan was to turn west into Asia province, but the Holy Spirit blocked that route. So they went to Mysia and tried to go north to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn’t let them go there either. Proceeding on through Mysia, they went down to the seaport Troas.
9-10 That night Paul had a dream: A Macedonian stood on the far shore and called across the sea, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” The dream gave Paul his map. We went to work at once getting things ready to cross over to Macedonia. All the pieces had come together. We knew now for sure that God had called us to preach the good news to the Europeans.
God often clearly demonstrates His desired plan for our lives by His lining up circumstances in obvious ways.
And He also shows us what His will is NOT for us to do in that same way.
It is not His will for you to take the job that is not offered to you.
If you are of short stature it is not likely that God has created you to play 60 plus minutes of professional American NFL football.
But then again, there is the opportunity to play sports like professional soccer and be successful at a host of other amateur, professional sports opportunities
Over the years, I’ve discovered God is pretty good at opening and closing doors.
He even did that for the Apostle Paul and his entourage in the Book of Acts.
So, even Paul had to face closed doors in his ministry.
God often uses closed doors to show us clearly what He does NOT want us to do.
And He also uses open doors at times to show us what He DOES want us to do.
Of course, this does not mean that every single open door is definitely God’s plan, but it surely and certainly does help to give you some basic direction.
A Closing Thought:
Psalm 27:7-10 The Message
7-9 Listen, God, I’m calling at the top of my lungs: “Be good to me! Answer me!” When my heart whispered, “Seek God,” my whole being replied, “I’m seeking him!” Don’t hide from me now!
9-10 You’ve always been right there for me; don’t turn your back on me now. Don’t throw me out, don’t abandon me; you’ve always kept the door open. My father and mother walked out and left me, but God took me in.
The next time you begin to ponder God’s plan for your life, I would encourage you to study and pray over the Word of God and mull over the above eight keys.
In fellowship with your brother and sisters in Christ, use these principles to help you to hone in on His plan.
And when you earnestly and fervently seek His will alone, you will 100% find it!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 84 The Message
84 1-2 What a beautiful home, God-of-the-Angel-Armies! I’ve always longed to live in a place like this, Always dreamed of a room in your house, where I could sing for joy to God-alive!
3-4 Birds find nooks and crannies in your house, sparrows and swallows make nests there. They lay their eggs and raise their young, singing their songs in the place where we worship. God-of-the-Angel-Armies! King! God! How blessed they are to live and sing there!
5-7 And how blessed all those in whom you live, whose lives become roads you travel; They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks, discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain! God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and at the last turn—Zion! God in full view!
8-9 God-of-the-Angel-Armies, listen: O God of Jacob, open your ears—I’m praying! Look at our shields, glistening in the sun, our faces, shining with your gracious anointing.
10-12 One day spent in your house, this beautiful place of worship, beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches. I’d rather scrub floors in the house of my God than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin. All sunshine and sovereign is God, generous in gifts and glory. He doesn’t scrimp with his traveling companions. It’s smooth sailing all the way with God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
We have perfectly powerful guidance in Scripture and the Holy Spirit.
The pairing of God’s written word and the very God who authored the word have the power to lead us into a life of all wisdom, understanding, and revelation.
But we must choose to live this life in light of eternity.
We must choose success in heaven over success in the world’s eyes.
Scripture and the teaching of the Holy Spirit only have power in our lives if we follow their leadership and principles.
Choose today to be a doer of the word instead of a hearer only and discover freeing and empowering wisdom that has the power to transform your life.
1 John 2:20-21 Amplified Bible
20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One [you have been set apart, specially gifted and prepared by the Holy Spirit], and all of you know [the truth because He teaches us, illuminates our minds, and guards us from error]. 21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie [nothing false, no deception] is of the truth.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
As believers in God and our Savior Jesus, we have been given the Holy Spirit as an Advocate, Helper, Intercessor, Teacher, Friend, and Seal for the promised inheritance of eternal life with God.
His living presence, guidance, and wisdom ministering, working in and within our lives, are our greatest gifts while here on earth.
Through Holy Spirit, we have access, we have a direct line, and an unbreakable connection with our heavenly Father.
Through him we receive spiritual gifts to empower us.
And through him we are able to bear the incredible fruit of abundant life.
In our response to these gifts of presence, and purpose, open your heart and mind to all the Holy Spirit would give you, show you, and lead you to this week.
God’s Holy Fire: ‘The Promised Coming’
John 14:26-27 The Message
25-27 “I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.
We have in the Holy Spirit the same Teacher who faithfully breathed the perfect and practical words of Scripture to imperfect men across thousands of years.
And Jesus said in John 14:26,“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
Not only did the Holy Spirit teach the disciples, but he also longs to teach us.
He longs to reveal to us the depths of God so that we might learn what it is to be a true follower of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Holy Spirit longs to show us the wisdom of God, reveal His Ways, His Truths, His Life, so that we might live and minister to and into the Kingdom of God as men and women empowered and inspired by God rather than nearly complete fools who only seek and find their knowledge only in the matters of the world.
Let us take a few steps back into His Humility, let’s open our minds and hearts to receive the wisdom that can only come from God himself in the Holy Spirit.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2:10, “These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.”
The Holy Spirit who dwells within us searches the depths of God and longs to reveal to us the ways of our heavenly Father.
He longs to teach us what it is to be a lover of God in a world set in opposition to the ways of God.
He longs to reveal to us the greater wisdom of God’s plans above our own and show us the folly, Psalm 14:1 foolishness, that comes from living for the world.
Being Taught by the Holy Spirit
1 John 2:20-21 The Message
20-21 But you belong. The Holy One anointed you, and you all know it. I haven’t been writing this to tell you something you don’t know, but to confirm the truth you do know, and to remind you that the truth doesn’t breed lies.
The Holy Spirit desires to be your Teacher today.
The questions before you and me today are:
Are you and I willing to be his diligent and disciplined student?
Are you and I willing to submit our submit and surrender our understanding to the Holy Spirit, to live and move and minister and build in light of his teaching?
Are you and I willing to appear foolish for God at times when the world doesn’t understand the wisdom of God, to speak, teach above that misunderstanding?
Are you and I willing to live wholeheartedly and steadfastly unashamed for the gospel, the pleasure of our heavenly Father over the fleeting opinions of man?
If we will surrender ourselves to the humility of Jesus, open our heart and mind today to being taught only by the Spirit, will we discover, explore a wealth of truth having the power to set us free from the bonds and burdens of this world?
The undefinable measure of truth coming from diligently studying Scripture will begin to change your life as the Holy Spirit reveals to us how these words written thousands of years ago are entirely 100% applicable to your life today.
Receiving the teaching of the Holy Spirit is as simple as submitting our lives to Him one day at a time, making time to listen to Him, study the word with Him.
As important, helpful, as gifted and inspired as they are, we don’t all have to be pastors, ministers, theologians, or scholars to understand what the Bible says, to speak, to teach, to live, what the Word of God for His Children means .
The Holy Spirit will be our teacher the way he was for the disciples.
He will teach us how Scripture applies to our life, guide us into the way of truth.
It’s incredibly important that we make time to study Scripture, but it’s equally important we all read the Bible along with the Spirit instead of apart from him.
The Bible is an immensely comprehensive, thoroughly practical message meant to greatly impact the lives of those who read it under the influence of the Spirit.
It’s a manual for living life in the abundance of relationship with God, not a book to be read apart from the reality of God’s nearness.
Scripture is meant to guide us into direct connection, direct communication with our heavenly Father, not substitute real, direct relationship with him.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
Trust in the leading, ministering and teaching of the Holy Spirit today.
Lean into and upon His wisdom instead of your own.
Acknowledge the reality of his nearness in your life.
And discover knowledge that has the power to fill you with abundant life.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Guided Prayer:
1. Meditate on the Holy Spirit’s desire to be your teacher.
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” John 14:26
“But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.”1 John 2:20
2. Choose to be a student of the Holy Spirit.
Choose to follow what He reveals to you to be wisdom over the ways of the world.
Choose His opinion over man’s.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6
“But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.”1 John 2:27
3. Spend time studying Scripture with the Holy Spirit.
Pray and ask the Spirit to reveal to you what wisdom He wants to show you.
Ask Him to show you the meaning of the words you are reading.
Allow Him to apply Scripture directly to your life.
“These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:10
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” James 1:5
We have perfectly powerful guidance in Scripture and the Holy Spirit.
The pairing of God’s written and living word and the very God who authored the word have the ultimate power to lead, guide and direct and move each of us into a life of all wisdom, understanding, and revelation.
But we must choose to live this life in light of eternity.
We must choose success in heaven over success in the world’s eyes.
Scripture and the teaching of the Holy Spirit only have power in our lives if we follow their leadership and principles.
Choose today to be a doer of the word instead of a hearer only and discover freeing and empowering wisdom that has the power to transform your life.
O Father, I join my heart with the words of your servant David, who said: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Please transform my thinking and my living by your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
In fact, everyone who believed in him and accepted him was given an incredible gift: They were made children of God!
The same is still true for us who believe and accept Jesus.
This special gift is something that God alone can give.
It is also something about which both Jesus and our author John will have more to say.
Today, however, think about what it means to be God’s child!
Our Father paints the sunrise and displays his artistry again at sunset. He set the boundaries of the universe, which we cannot begin to see.
He is the greatest Father anyone could ever have, and he chose us to be his children!
Our adoption into the Father’s family is something God did for us to include us as his children.
We couldn’t make ourselves part of God’s family any more than children can accomplish their own birth or their adoption.
We are God’s children because of his love and grace and Jesus’ sacrifice.
In fact, Jesus came as the Father’s Word of grace and truth and life so we can be children of God, born from above!
John 1:9-13 The Message
9-13 The Life-Light was the real thing: Every person entering Life he brings into Light. He was in the world, the world was there through him, and yet the world didn’t even notice. He came to his own people, but they didn’t want him. But whoever did want him, who believed he was who he claimed and would do what he said, He made to be their true selves, their child-of-God selves. These are the God-begotten, not blood-begotten, not flesh-begotten, not sex-begotten.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
In the Beginning
In the prologue to his Gospel, John presents the Lord Jesus Christ as “the Light” that shines in darkness, it was John the Baptist who bore witness of His Light.
The Light of Christ is offered to everyone, yet not all wanted the Light of Christ to shine upon them, and they rejected Him.
Those who embraced Christ, those who believed Christ, were given the blessing of peace with God, and freedom from the bondage of sin, and eternity with the Father in heaven by the work of the Son (John 1:5-9, 14:6).
The inescapable truth is that this self same mindset is with us and among us even in in these last days before His promised return to make all things new.
Why do people choose, decide to not receive the offer of forgiveness and rest offered freely by the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 11:28-30; John 10:28-30)?
There are several reasons given in the Scripture, and none of them are valid excuses or explanations in terms of where we stand before our Sovereign LORD.
From the Beginning
Genesis 3:8-13 English Standard Version
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool [a] of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”[b]10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
From the beginning, the world in general did not and still does not want to receive the Light, even though it is a free gift from God to HIs fallen creation (John 1:4, 9-10, 8:12, 12:46) Whom He made in His image (Genesis 1:26, John 1:3).
He came into HIs own land and among His chosen people Israel (Deuteronomy 7:6, 18:15-18; Jeremiah 2:7).
Both John, Luke and the Apostle Paul writes Jesus’ own family did not believe Him until after HIs resurrection (John 7:5; Acts 1:14; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8).
John also lists other reasons why Jesus’ teachings and claims were rejected, and again, not one of them are the least bit excusable.
He tells us that there were some who deliberately loved darkness more than light, which is in line with what the Apostle Paul says about the condition of sinful humanity and their rejection of God’s glory, existence, and direction (John 3:19-20, 5:42-43; Romans 1:18-32, 3:10-18, 23).
Some were just plain fearful of what others would think of them, or what might happen to them, how they would be punished, how they would be disciplined, how their families would just flat reject them if they followed Jesus, preferring their approval over the welfare of their souls (Mark 8:38; John 7:13, 9:22, 12:42-43).
Some were badly taught by their teachers, or deliberately misinformed about the facts concerning Jesus, but there is no account of any of them taking the effort to check out the truth about Him, save for Nicodemus (John 3:1-21, 7:40-43).
Many of HIs disciples could not nor would not understand the depths of His teachings and simply quit following Him (John 6:6) instead of thinking about them and consciously expanding their knowledge of the deeper things of God.
In the context of our 21st century attitudes of Christ, things haven’t changed.
We want easy belief and shallow teaching that sooth our emotions and tickle our ears, preferring to remain deaf to His call to salvation (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
This goes hand-in-hand with another lame reason why people chose to reject Jesus, and that was they loved their traditions and history (John 9:13-16 Amp).
Controversy over the Man
13 Then they brought the man who was formerly blind to the Pharisees. 14 Now it was on a Sabbath day that Jesus made the mud and opened the man’s eyes. 15 So the Pharisees asked him again how he received his sight. And he said to them, “He smeared mud on my eyes, and I washed, and now I see.” 16 Then some of the Pharisees said, “This Man [Jesus] is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner (a non-observant Jew) do such signs and miracles?” So there was a difference of opinion among them.
People, as a whole, will rush to flat out reject, flat out resist, do not like any kind of change, accept any truths, but their own alternative methods of doing things.
They have long been comfortable and complacent with things as they are and anyone who suggests any kind of change usually does not end very well for the people who dare to rock the boat or shake the system in order to make it better.
Jesus came along, vigorously casting out the money changers in the Temple, declaring the religious work and manner of the Pharisees and other officials was no better than rotting corpses in tombs and were hypocrites headed to hell (Matthew 21:12, Matthew 23:27, 33, John 2:14-16).
He cursed cities that saw His miracles, yet rejected Him (Matthew 11:21-23), chastised His apostles for their unbelief and dullness of mind (Mark 8:14-21), and sharply, publicly, rebuked officials who tried to discredit Him by asking about taxes to Caesar and the issue of the Resurrection (Luke 20:19-40).
People who tend to dwell on “gentle Jesus, meek and mild”, need to re-read the Gospels and see that He was not nice and sweet all the time, but laid it on the line in terms of waking up all people to the fact of accountability before God, the reality of sin its consequences, that He is the ONLY way, truth, life, to salvation (John 14:6).
What if “our God worshipping church” today was “our God worshipping church” in the 1st Century?
I would even dare to say that if the Rabbi Jesus showed up at the average house of worship today and did the exact things He did in the Gospels, the cry for His betrayal, his arrest, his death, would be as loud as those who lived in His day.
However, God’s plan for our salvation would remain God’s plan, and Jesus’ resurrection would still take place to the world’s regret and the devil’s fears.
What about those who receive the Light of Christ?
John tells us that by giving our lives over to Jesus, we have the authority to be called sons and daughters of God, heirs and joint heirs with Him, a wonderful manifestation of the love of Almighty God (John 1:12; Romans 8:14-17; 1 John 3:1).
The privilege of being born of God is not by physical descent, or the work of our flesh, or virtue of power by our will, but is a spiritual rebirth made possible by the Sovereign, merciful, and benevolent act of the Spirit of God alone (John 1:13, 3:5; Titus 3:5).
We receive this free gift by repenting of our sins (Psalm 51:1-17) and asking the Lord Jesus to forgive us and save us (Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9-13), and that we each choose to come to God, give our lives fully over to Him as Lord and Savior.
We belong to Him from that time onward into eternity.
We are to serve Him by sharing what He has done for us with others (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 4:12, 19-20).
We are to reading and studying HIs Word to grow spiritually (John 17:17; Acts 17:11; 2 Timothy 2:15, 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21).
We are to find and support a body of like-minded believers who teach the Scriptures faithfully and who confess Christ as Lord (Hebrews 10:24-25).
We are to follow the Lord’s example by a public confession of faith in Christ and be baptized as a sign of obedience and affirmation to follow Him. (Acts 2:43-47)
Believing and Living as Children of God
John 1:12-13Amplified Bible
12 But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the right [the authority, the privilege] to become children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name— 13 who were born, not of blood [natural conception], nor of the will of the flesh [physical impulse], nor of the will of man [that of a natural father], but of God [that is, a divine and supernatural birth—they are born of God—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified].
John’s gospel tells us that to receive Jesus is to believe in his name.
To believe in Jesus’ name is to acknowledge that Jesus is the Word become flesh.
Others may pass him by, others will pass him by, think him a stranger, or, even worse, call him an impostor and blasphemer–but believers will see his glory.
Psalm 27:8 Amplified Bible
8 When You said, “Seek My face [in prayer, require My presence as your greatest need],” my heart said to You, “Your face, O Lord, I will seek [on the authority of Your word].”
The Psalmist David, recognized the need to seek after God’s face everyday in prayer and in the reading and the diligent personal study of The Word of God.
John wants us to look on the face of Jesus until the conviction becomes so rooted in our hearts that we are looking into the human face of the living God.
Perhaps for us, in this day, age, this face of God comes most into focus when we see it “eye to eye” (Luke 22:60-62), “face to face” wearing the crown of thorns.
It is said of God no one can behold his face and live. I always thought this meant no one can see his splendor and live. But perhaps, even far deeper, it meant that no one could look upon his true sorrow and live. Or perhaps his sorrow is his splendor.
Believing is more than seeing.
It also involves following and even carrying on a sort of love affair.
Believing is a verb, and in our Scripture reading it is followed by the preposition “in,” suggesting that it unites us to the one in whom we believe.
It is through this union that we His Children are ushered into the family of God.
I pray that if we are seeking the Light of Truth and we have come across this devotion, I invite and implore us read and study and pray the Word of God, to repent of our sins, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation and eternal life.
Consider please, quit stumbling around in the darkness and turn to Him today.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us pray,
Psalm 84 The Message
84 1-2 What a beautiful home, God-of-the-Angel-Armies! I’ve always longed to live in a place like this, Always dreamed of a room in your house, where I could sing for joy to God-alive!
3-4 Birds find nooks and crannies in your house, sparrows and swallows make nests there. They lay their eggs and raise their young, singing their songs in the place where we worship. God-of-the-Angel-Armies! King! God! How blessed they are to live and sing there!
5-7 And how blessed all those in whom you live, whose lives become roads you travel; They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks, discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain! God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and at the last turn—Zion! God in full view!
8-9 God-of-the-Angel-Armies, listen: O God of Jacob, open your ears—I’m praying! Look at our shields, glistening in the sun, our faces, shining with your gracious anointing.
10-12 One day spent in your house, this beautiful place of worship, beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches. I’d rather scrub floors in the house of my God than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin. All sunshine and sovereign is God, generous in gifts and glory. He doesn’t scrimp with his traveling companions. It’s smooth sailing all the way with God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 