Monday, 11/18/24: A Hard Saying, again
Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 46-48; John 16

              Two weeks ago in the devotional journal I talked about the Hard Saying Christ spoke in John 6 (see John 6:60). Jesus said some stuff that offended people. While doubtless it was not His desire TO OFFEND, speaking the truth even in love CAN OFFEND. “Many” of His disciples left Him because of the saying. While that’s sad, it needed to happen. But today I read more in the book of John. Here are a few Scriptures:

John 16:1 “These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.”

          Christ was trying to prepare His disciples to “not be offended.” The whole of John 14:1-15:27 is dealing with this very topic! Two chapters of a book with 21 chapters – so roughly 10% – is preparation to hear hard sayings and come through it “not offended.” But even with this thorough preparation from the BEST teacher that ever walked the face of the earth:

John 16:6 “But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.” John 16:32 “Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone…”

          What Christ said filled their hearts with sorrow. I think we can downplay emotions too much in the Christian life. After all, we are a human being with emotions – sorrow being one of those. While emotions should not dominate or control our lives, there may be times at which our very heart is “filled” with emotions! Further, Christ explained that they would leave Him. Talk about a hard saying, right?

          In short, Christ prepared those He worked with for the times He knew would come. The hard conversations. The straight talk. The things they didn’t want to hear but needed to hear. While I consider it the hardest thing in the world to tell somebody something they don’t want to hear – there are many times that it is necessary! I should try to minimize the damage done in every way at my disposal. But I also need to realize straight talk might fill someone with sorrow. Christ in His wisdom knew that they needed this talk to know what was coming. There were things that took place in Christ’s life that took the disciples a while to understand (John 12:16; Luke 24:6). That didn’t stop Christ from saying or doing those things necessary even though some wouldn’t understand. Are you willing to have hard conversations? God is working on me towards that end – what about you?

Tuesday, 11/19/24: A Tale of Two Christians
Scripture Reading: Daniel 1-3; Psalm 88; John 17

          I grew up in a family with 8 children. Some people think that’s a lot. But we were a small family compared to my cousins who had 14 children. Yes, in the same family with the same parents without any adoptions or twins/triplets, etc. Of our family, 5 of the 8 are girls. Of my cousin’s family, 12 of 14 are girls. I grew up around almost all girls. I often say that I can put almost all of those girls in one of two categories of people. There are the peg-meter girls – those who are either all the way up or all the way down. Then, there are the steady-meter girls – those who didn’t seem to show as much emotion. They had their ups and downs like we all do but were generally even keel. While it’s an oversimplification that is bound to get me into all sorts of trouble, it does have some truth to it.

          Now, I’m switching gears to our Christian lives. I’d like to talk about two kinds of Christians – independent and dependent. The independent Christian is the one who doesn’t need help or want to accept help from God most of all. Sometimes this attitude leaks over into their relationships with others as well. Then, there is the dependent Christian. They readily accept help. Hopefully the first kind of help they accept is that which God can provide. But they are open and honest with others because they can’t pretend to be what they are not. This dependent Christian is criticized most heavily not from unbelievers but from independent Christians.

          I look down the corridor of time and see that independent Christians and Christianity is both a farce and self-destructive. Too many Scriptures come to mind to list them all but here are a few: Jeremiah 2:13; Matthew 11:28-30; James 4:6ff. The religious leaders of Christ’s day had created a system whereby they didn’t really need God. Stop and think about the ramifications of that! I believe much of modern Christianity is guilty of the same! Where is Christ standing when addressing the Church in Revelation 3:20-22? Here is a passage that started some of this thinking:

Psalm 88:1 “O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before Thee.”

          The orientation of our hearts as a Christian tells us whether we are an independent or dependent Christian. Let that sink in. How does our passage in Psalm 88:1 (and the whole Psalm 88) help us determine the orientation of our hearts? One Word: Dependence – evidenced in this passage through Prayer and Perspective. It may seem simplistic to say a dependent Christian will be depending on the Lord – but there it is!

          Where do you go when you’re in trouble? What is the first thing you do when you’re overwhelmed (Psalm 61:2)? Where do you go when out of strength (Isaiah 40:28-31; Matthew 11:28-30)? Who and Do you ask for help (Psalm 88:1)? Being American may mean we’re “independent.” Being a non-denominational church may mean we’re “independent.” But being a Christian means we are “Dependent” on God and others too! Don’t make the Spiritually-life-threatening mistake of getting that one wrong! Perhaps you need to confess an independence from God (I John 1:9) or tell God again that you are dependent upon Him. As God leads, be willing to be vulnerable before fellow believers for true inter-dependence (i.e. fellowship) (James 5:16).

Wednesday, 11/20/24: He’s got the whole world in His hands!
Scripture Reading: Daniel 4-6; John 18

        In the title, I’m alluding to the song by the same name: “He’s got the Whole World in His hands.” The understanding that God is in charge no matter what men try to do or seemingly accomplish – in a word, “Sovereignty.” This is a truth we need to be reminded of on a regular basis! Things do seem to fall apart here on earth. We are told in II Timothy 3:13 that “…evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.” Matthew 24:37 says, “…as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” The days of Noah were not exactly the brightest for humanity. Genesis 6:5 reveals this about Noah’s day, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Not even a flicker of righteousness outside Noah and his family.

          Fast forward over 4,300 years. Where are we at today? Much better? Are we that “bad” yet? Is there any hope? While the situation in our day does seem hopeless, I am thankful that God is still in charge. Nebuchadnezzar found that out almost 2,000 years after the flood when things looked dark yet again. Note the following passage:

Daniel 4:17, 34-35 “…to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the basest of men….Whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation: And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou.”

          Not much wiggle room in those verses is there? The tenor of the whole of Scripture from beginning to end backs that up too! So what is our response? Should we sit and do nothing because God is in charge? NO!

          Two quick thoughts by way of application: (1) Actively Trust God by Serving Him. Do what His Word says with family, at work, and through church assembly despite societal norms. (Psalm 2:10-12) Then, (2) Pray for yourself (Psalm 139:23-24), your church body (Ephesians 3:16-21; 6:18), your nation (II Chronicles 7:14), those in authority over you at every level (I Timothy 2:1-4), and ultimately for “Thy kingdom to come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). May the fact that God has the whole world in His hands be manifested in our day and age in some mighty ways (read Habakkuk 2:14)!

Thursday, 11/21/24: The cry for help!
Scripture Reading: Daniel 7-9; Psalm 91; John 19

          I believe it would be hard for most human beings to resist a desperate cry for help. Maybe it’s some unwritten rule that you’d want someone to help you therefore you respond. Our society is seeing an increasing number of people who are crying for help in any number of ways.

          Some cry for help by being bad. People pay attention to them more when they do what’s wrong then what’s right. So why not just do what’s wrong? Some cry for help by cutting themselves. Some cry for help by threats or violence. Some cry for help by blaming others, criticizing or complaining. Suffice it to say – there are many ways to cry for help! Note the following passage for what I believe to be the best way to cry for help:

Daniel 9:19 “O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not for Thine Own sake, O my God; for Thy city and Thy people are called by Thy name.”

          It is sad that many times the cry to help falls on ears that are just as needy. The alcoholic vents to another alcoholic and guess where they both drown their sorrows? Yep, in a bar! Go figure that one out, right? The bitter, angry soul finds another bitter, angry soul to commiserate with them. They pat each other on the back an console themselves never considering the way out (Ephesians 4:32). Birds of a feather flock together so they say. It is sad these cries for help are falling on deaf ears!

          God does not ignore the cries for help. It is to Him I will counsel you to go! Daniel didn’t even go to his spiritual friends, Shadrach (Hananiah), Meshach (Mishael), or Abednego (Azariah) from Daniel 1:7. God has given us fellowship and counsel from other godly believers, yes. We ought to regularly gather for accountability, fellowship, and exhortation (Hebrews 10:24-25). We ought to seek out and listen to wise counsellors (Proverbs 1:5). But they are not the ultimate answer to your problems! If they are worth their weight in gold, they will send you to Him Who can truly answer your cry for help!

Psalm 121:1-2 says “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.”

          Consider these questions for yourself: Where do you go when you cry for help? What patterns in your life differ from that above as you cry for help? What can we learn from the confidence Daniel has in the Lord (Daniel 9:19) and the reward he gets for placing his confidence in the right Person? May God help us see Him as our sole confidence – whatever means He may use in our lives to bring us to that point!

Friday, 11/22/24: Listening to an Angel
Scripture Reading: Daniel 10-12; John 20

          No, I’m not going to talk about me listening to my wife – even though the title may give you that impression! When you think of an angel, what comes to mind? Wings? Halo? Little baby in the clouds with a harp? So funny the pictures that come to people’s mind when you say “angel.” So what is an angel? Why should we listen to what they said in Scripture? Well, I’m glad you asked! Here is an online definition of angel: “a spiritual being believed to act as an attendant, agent, or messenger of God, conventionally represented in human form with wings and a long robe.” Hebrews 1:14 asks the following rhetorical question about angels:

“Are they (angels) not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”

          While I’d like to get into a lengthy discussion about angels and their role, suffice it to say one role they have is being God’s messengers. In Daniel 10, an angel comes to Daniel to give him understanding. I’d encourage you to read the passage in full. For today, I will focus on three parts of the message as “starter devotional thoughts”:

Daniel was loved. Daniel 10:11 “And he (the angel) said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved…” God doesn’t waste words. This angel had to battle unseen forces for almost 3 weeks to deliver this message. Some of his first words were “greatly beloved.” Let that sink in…seriously! Is it not when things don’t seem to be going our way that’s the first thing we question? Daniel had been fasting and praying for 21 days (Daniel 10:2-3). The angel was dispatched with this message on which day – do you know? The FIRST DAY (Daniel 10:12)! So, Daniel waited 20 MORE days for the message that was already sent. Don’t ever take God’s “inactivity” – or at least what seems like it – on your behalf as “I don’t love you.” Because we have in black and white that it just wasn’t true!! “But I’m not Daniel – I’m me,” you say. Don’t make me slap you – in love of course! Just kidding! According to Ephesians 1:6 God has made all those who have trusted Christ as Savior “accepted in the Beloved.” While you may never have an angel delivering a message saying “you are beloved,” you DO HAVE a God who sacrificed His very life on a cross to demonstrate that He loves you (Romans 5:8).

Daniel was heard. Daniel 10:12 “from the first day…thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.” I’m going to shoot with both barrels here because now you know you are “beloved.” Fasting does NOT and never has gained more of God’s attention! It is a spiritual exercise whereby God gains more of OUR attention not vice versa! This verse does not say, “I came because otherwise you were threatening to kill yourself by not eating.” It was Daniel’s WORDS that were heard – not the denial of food or anything else. I have seen some Christians get off into deadly tangents on this particular issue. It actually reveals an attitude of “I have to EARN God’s favor” which is incredibly debilitating and dangerous! I do you a disservice not to say it is spiritual life threatening stuff! God does NOT desire for you to act like Baal worshippers but instead of cutting yourself to get God’s attention – you just fast. Investigate Matthew 9:14-20. Jesus gives some interesting illustrations for the fasting topic. I believe He is getting at the Pharisee’s reason FOR fasting. It’s an Old Covenant “law/works and I earn God’s favor by what I do” mentality with the New Covenant “by grace (which doesn’t mean I do whatever I want – but literally “given”), God gives me everything I need.” Yes, we are responsible to manage wisely what God gives in the Christian life. But we do NOT drum it up by afflicting ourselves. The idea we drum up God’s favor by some external work (like fasting) is legalism at its core and incredibly dangerous! Look at the damage done to the garment and wine skin in Matthew 9:14-20. It is made WORSE! Sorry for my passion here. I hate watching Christians do damage to themselves! God hears you when you cry unto Him. His seeming lack of answer may have to do with other things – see above and the length of time for answer or asking “wrongly” (James 4:2). God is not a genie in a bottle to be commanded by us. He AS MASTER still serves us yet maintains “Master” status! We ought to be praying “Thy will be done” (Matthew 6:8-10) not “my will be done.” Praying in the Spirit is just that – praying underneath God’s direction. More could be said but we don’t EARN God’s ear by anything we do!

Daniel was directed. Daniel 10:21 “But I will shew thee that which is noted in the Scripture of truth…” Why send an angel from heaven to go against 20 days of spiritual battle to deliver a message that includes “God’s Written Word states what I’m going to tell you…”? We do NOT nor will ever fully understand this side of eternity the POWER that is in the Written Word of God! Consider also what Abraham says in Luke 16:29-31 in response to “send someone back from the dead with a message and they will listen” I encourage people to get into God’s Word on a regular basis. To use a phrase: “There’s gold in them thar hills!” Please read Psalm 19:10; Proverbs 2:4, 1-5.

          It amazes me the time, effort, sweat, emotional energy people put into a job they will only have in this life and only a part of it YET they will not make any effort to truly prepare for that which is to come by availing themselves of God’s Word regularly (II Corinthians 4:18; Matthew 6:33).

          Does that mean you shouldn’t work hard at your job or try to advance? Does that mean you shouldn’t carefully manage resources or try to save money where you can? Does that mean you shouldn’t plan for your earthly future by way of retirement? 1000x no to all of them! But one will last forever while others won’t – so keep that in perspective with every choice you make. You have been duly warned (Ezekiel 33:6-9).