February 8, 2023: 1 Peter 1:7 - The Genuineness of Our Faith Will be Tested (Part 2)

“…that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ…” - 1 Peter 1:7

This is the second part of my post relating to the genuineness of our faith being tested. The Old Testament book of Daniel provides several examples of what it truly means to have one’s faith in God tested. If you have not read the first post, which was posted on February 7 with the same title, I encourage you to do so first, before reading this one.

Though King Nebuchadnezzar had praised Daniel’s God after Daniel had told the king’s dream to the king and had interpreted it, pride set in with the king, and he built and image of gold that was approximately 90 feet high. He ordered that when they heard a sound of all kinds of music, every single person must fall down and worship the image or they would be cast into a fiery furnace. The Chaldeans then went to the king and told him that Daniel’s three friends,Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, had not done as the king had ordered, they had not worshipped the golden image and that they must be cast into the fire. The king then called them, whom the king referred to as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and gave them a second chance to fall down before the golden statue and to worship it, or else they would be thrown into the fiery furnace. The king then said to them, “And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?” (Daniel 3:15b) How did they respond to the king? Did they fall down and worship the image? No! They said to the king:

“O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18)

All I can say is, “Wow!” What amazing faith they had! They acknowledged first that their God is able to deliver them. Second, they acknowledged that it is God’s will as to whether or not He would save them. And third, regardless of what God did, they refused to worship the king’s false god, the golden image he had set up, for they did not serve false gods but the One true God. Their faith was truly was being tested. So what happened to them? They were bound, with all of their clothes on, and they were thrown into the middle of the fiery furnace, which the king had ordered to be heated seven times more than it was normally heated. The fire was so hot that some of the men who had thrown them into the fire were they themselves burned up. The king then looked into the furnace and asked if they had only thrown three men into the fire, and his men said yes. Then the king, astonished, said:

“‘Look!’ he answered, ‘I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.’” (Daniel 3:24-25)

There are many who believe, including myself, that King Nebuchadnezzar had seen the pre-incarnate Christ, for the king even said the fourth “is like the Son of God.” The Son of God was with them in the fire.

The king then went to the door of the furnace and called out to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, referring to them as, “servants of the Most High God,” to come out of the furnace. Not only did they walk out of the furnace, but they were not burned at all and did not even smell of fire. I know that when I’m just close to a small campfire, when I leave it, I can smell the smoke of the fire on my clothes.

King Nebuchadnezzar once again praised their God - the One true God, saying:

“Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!”

What powerful words of truth this Babylonian king spoke of the One true God! Not only did he praise God, but he also made a decree, “that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.” The king then promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the province of Babylon. (Daniel 3:8-30)

Again, what faith Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego had, to the point that they were willing to go into the furnace and be burned alive because they refused to fall down and worship the king’s golden image, an idol, a false god. They had literally been through the fire, and the Son of God was with them, and their faith in God was found to be genuine. Not only that, King Nebuchadnezzar, after seeing this happen, truthfully praised and acknowledged who the One true God is and that He has the power to deliver those who have faith in Him. Daniel later went on to interpret another of the king’s dreams, and Daniel’s interpretation was once again found to be true, with all that he said having come to pass. And once again, the king praised the One true God.

The next thing the book of Daniel tells us is of the king’s grandson, Belshazzar, ruling Babylon. He would be the last king of Babylon. One night when he was having a great feast of 1,000 people that included all of his lords, wives, and concubines, the king decided to take the gold and silver vessels which had been seized from the Jewish temple when Babylon overtook Jerusalem, and they drank from them and praised all of their false gods that had been made by mens’ hands. In the same hour that they drank from the temple vessels, the king himself saw the fingers of a man’s hand writing something on the wall opposite them. The king immediately was very troubled, and his knees knocked with fear. He cried out, summoning those he thought could read the words, the astrologers Chaldeans, and soothsayers, but they could not. Belshazzar’s grandmother, the queen, then told the king about Daniel, whom his grandfather had called “Belteshazzar,” who could read the words and interpret the meaning. He called Daniel to him and promised to give Daniel gifts and make him third ruler in the kingdom. Daniel told him to keep his gifts and reward someone else. Daniel then told him of all that the king’s grandfather had done and how because of his pride, he had been brought low and deposed by the One true God until, “he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses.” Next, Daniel did indeed read the writing on the wall and interpreted the meaning to King Belshazzar. He told him that because he had lifted himself up against the Lord of heaven, his kingdom had been divided and would be given to the Medes and the Persians. The king did as he had promised Daniel, including making him third ruler in the kingdom. That very night, the words that Daniel had spoken came true, and the king was slain. Daniel again had been led by God and spoke His words, and he was not afraid of what any earthly king could do to him.

Darius the Mede was the next king, and he had made Daniel one of three governors that were set over 120 satraps (officials) over the whole kingdom. The king trusted in Daniel and because of it, jealousy ran rampant amongst the other governors and the satraps and they devised a plot to bring down Daniel. They knew that in order to bring him down, they could only do it by coming up with something that was in opposition to the law of his God. They went to King Darius and said he should make a firm decree, one that could not be altered, that forbids anyone from petitioning any god or man except the king for thirty days or else they would be thrown into the den of lions. The king did establish and signed the decree.

Daniel then heard of the decree. What did he do? Did he stop worshipping God, as he always had, three times each day, to pray and give thanks to him, because the government told him he must stop? No, he did as he always did; he prayed and gave thanks to God. The men who had gone to the king then saw Daniel praying and went and told the king and said he must thrown Daniel into the lions’ den. The king was greatly disturbed and the Bible tells us that, “he set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him.” However, the men approached the king and reminded him of what the decree that he had signed said. The king relented and ordered that Daniel be cast into the lions’ den, but as he did, the king said to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.” The den was sealed with a stone and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and the signets of his lords.

That night, the king fasted and could not sleep, and he rose early the next morning to go to the lions’ den. Having arrived, he called out to Daniel with a grieved voice, asking if his God had been able to save him. Daniel then answered him! Daniel said, “O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” King Darius was overjoyed that Daniel had survived and had his men bring Daniel out of the lions’ den. Then the king ordered that the men who had accused Daniel, the ones who had persuaded the king to write the decree, as well as their wives and children, be cast into the lions’ den. The king then made another decree:

“I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, and steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall endure to the end. He delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders in heaven and on the earth, who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.” (Daniel 6:1-28)

God used Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah in mighty ways. Their faith in Him was greatly tested. They could have forgotten all that they knew about the One true God, all that they had learned about Him, and went on to enjoy the lavish lifestyle of serving the Babylonian and subsequent kings. They could have followed the crowd and worshipped their false gods, thus saving their lives in the process. But they did not. Though it meant putting their lives on the line, the trials and tribulations served a greater purpose: it showed the genuineness of their faith, that it was real and could not be shaken, and it brought praise, honor, and glory not only to them by the Babylonian and Medo-Persian kings, but also to God Himself.

I believe we are quickly coming to the time in our nation’s history, the USA, that the word of God, the Bible, will be considered as “hate speech” and we will be forbidden from speaking of it in public and also from having Bibles in our own homes, just as other countries already forbid. In fact, just last year on December 23, 2022 in Loudoun County, hundreds signed a petition to ban “hate speech” after a member of the public paraphrased a passage from the Bible (see: https://www.foxnews.com/media/petition-seeks-ban-hate-speech-loudoun-county-school-board-meetings). What will we do when our faith is tested as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah’s faith was tested? Will we bow down and worship the false gods that our culture, that most cultures in the world, worship, in order to save our own lives? Do we fear man more than we fear God? Do we fear those who can kill only the body and not fear God, the One who can destroy both body and soul? The times of the end of the age are upon us. As Jesus foretold in Matthew 24:12, “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” Jesus also told us, “But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”

What will the testing of our faith reveal - that it was genuine or that it was never real? I pray that it will be found to be genuine. May we choose to have faith like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, knowing that the One true God is with us, and may the genuineness of our faith be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ✝️

February 7, 2023: 1 Peter 1:7 - The Genuineness of Our Faith Will be Tested (Part 1)

“…that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ…” - 1 Peter 1:7

Our faith - is it real, is it genuine? How do we know that is genuine? What is left of our faith when we have yet gone through another very difficult time in our lives? Does our faith remain intact? Is our faith intact when we are blessed in many ways in our lives? We know that our faith in Jesus is genuine when, after having gone through one difficult time after another, and also during the times when we are comfortable, without trial, our faith in Jesus Christ still remains.

When we are going through a trial in our lives, whether it be in our marriage, with our children, with friends, with our jobs, whatever it may be, to whom do we turn when we are going through it? Do we pray to God, asking Him to help us? Do we praise Him? Is He worthy of our praise in all things, good and bad? Do our circumstances change the fact that He is worthy - so worthy - of our praise? Do we trust in Him to get us through this trial, or do we blame Him for allowing us to go through it? I must admit that for years, I blamed Him for allowing me to go through a very difficult time in my life, for making me feel like a trapped bird, with no way out. I felt like He didn’t love me, for if He did, He would have gotten me out of this mess that I was in, the mess that my own sin contributed to. What happens to our faith if we keep praying for Him to help us to get out of something, but that is not His plan for us? What if there is a purpose in our going through something so difficult that it is only when we go through it, that we fully turn to Him, trusting in Him alone to get us through it?

Let us remember Daniel and his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, all of whom had been deported from Judah to Babylon when they were teenagers, along with “some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s [Jehoiakim, king of Judah] descendants and some of the nobles”. (Daniel 1:3) The Babylonian king was King Nebuchadnezzar. They had been chosen by the one of the king’s staff, the master of his eunuchs (men who have been castrated), to serve in the king’s palace. The book of Daniel 1:4-5 tells us of these young men:

“in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king.”

All four of the young men were given new, Babylonian, names and underwent a three-year process of trying to re-educate them to make them forget their past, their Jewish education, history, and even their own names. They were also offered foods and delicacies to eat and wine to drink that previously they did not eat, for it would defile them in the eyes of God. Having approached the chief of the eunuchs, Daniel appealed to him to let them eat vegetables and drink water and if after ten days their appearance was worse than those who ate of the king’s food, then they too would eat of it. However, after ten days, their appearance was found to be better than those who ate of the king’s food and they were able to continue to eat as Daniel had requested. Could Daniel, Hannah, Mishael, and Azariah have not stood up for their faith in God and in what He had commanded them to abstain from eating, and instead eat of the king’s food, with the justification that it was God who had put them there in the first place? Yes, they could have, but they didn’t. Their faith was tested and was found to be genuine. Daniel 1:17 tells us, “As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.” After their training was completed, they were interviewed by the king and none of the other men who had been trained were found to be like them. Thus, they were chosen to serve the king.

Sometime later, the king had a disturbing dream and had summoned his magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and the Chaldeans. He told them to tell him the dream he had and to interpret it. They said to him that they couldn’t but if he told them his dream, then they would be able to interpret it. But the king stood firm and refused to tell them his dream. He demanded them to do what he had told them to do. The Chaldeans then told him, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean.” (Daniel 2:10) The king then gave an order to kill all of them, including Daniel and his friends. When the king’s captain came to kill Daniel and his friends, Daniel asked him why the king’s decree was so urgent. After Daniel found out why, he went and asked the king if he would give Daniel some time to tell the king the interpretation. Daniel was allowed to go back into his house. Daniel then told his three friends about what had happened, “that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.” That night, the king’s dream was made known to Daniel. Daniel then blessed God, saying:

“Blessed be the name of the God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with HIm. I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of You, for You have made known to us the king’s demand.” (Daniel 2:20-23)

Daniel had passed the test. He could have said something like the king’s magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and Chaldeans had said - that no man on earth could do this. However, Daniel knew that his God could do this, for the God he served is the one true God and He can make the impossible, possible. Daniel trusted in God not only with his life, but with the life of his three friends, all of whom had been dragged away from their families and their homeland to this foreign place of false god and idol worship. And yet, Daniel’s faith in God remained steadfast, without wavering. Daniel went on to tell the dream to the king and interpreted it but before he did, Daniel gave the credit to where credit was due - to God and to Him alone. Daniel said:

“The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days…But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.” (Daniel 2:28-30)

Daniel then proceeded to tell the king’s dream to the king and then Daniel interpreted it. In the king’s dream, there was a great image of a man whose body represented four kingdoms. The first part of the body was the head of gold, which represented King Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom. The second and third kingdoms would be inferior to the first kingdom. The second part of the body were the chest and arms of silver, which represented the future kingdom of Medo-Persia. The third part of its belly and thighs of bronze represented the future Grecian empire. The fourth part of its legs of iron and feet of iron mixed of clay represented the future Roman empire. In the last part of Daniel’s interpretation of the dream, Daniel prophetically spoke of the eternal kingdom of God, which will never be destroyed and will consume all of the earthly kingdoms:

“And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” (Daniel 2:44)

Before Jesus the Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords would be born, the angel Gabriel spoke of Jesus’ kingdom when he told the virgin Mary that she would conceive and bring forth a Son by the Holy Spirit:

“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall all His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:31-33)

How did the King Nebuchadnezzar respond to Daniel’s telling of the king’s dream and the interpretation of it?

“Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him. The king answered Daniel, and said, ‘Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.’” (Daniel 2:46-47)

The king promoted Daniel and gave him many gifts, “and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.” The king also set Daniel’s three friends over the affairs of Babylon. (Daniel 2:48-49)

In tomorrow’s post, under the same title, I will discuss the amazing lives and genuine faith of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah and how it relates to us in our own trials and testing of our own faith. ✝️

February 6, 2023: 1 Peter 1:6 - May We Not be Overcome by the Burdens of this World

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials…” - 1 Peter 1:6

“Trials” and “tribulation” - two words we don’t want to hear. We don’t want to have to go through them. After all, if we are born again by putting our trust in Jesus to save us, won’t our lives be easy after that? Sadly, that is what many people believe and expect but the truth is, we will go through many trials and tribulations in our new lives as Christians. Why? Because now we have a target on our back, with Satan and his minions firing many arrows at us. Why? Because he does not have our soul and he wants it. He won’t hunt us down if he already has it. And, he will go after us even more if we have made it our mission in this lifetime to fulfill Jesus’ command to go and make disciples, letting people know that Jesus loves them and wants them to turn to Him and be saved, to be spared from spending their eternity in hell. Satan and all who are deceived by him will relentlessly go after you if you stand up for what God calls good and stand against what God calls evil. We are in a raging war for the souls of mankind, and Satan wants to bring as many people to hell with him as possible.

As I write this today, earlier I saw clips from a video of a music industry award show from the prior evening two so-called “artists” performed a disgusting act, with a Satan-themed set and “she-devil” dancers, that was hailed with thunderous applause and adoration. I pray for all of them, for they are deceived by Satan, as are so many, as once was I. There is absolutely nothing of value in this world that is worth handing one’s soul to the devil.

Can you see how the world, especially the USA, is collapsing in every which way possible, especially spiritually and morally? Every single thing that Jesus told His disciples would happen in the days prior to His return is happening. One of those signs He said would signal the end of the age is that earthquakes would occur in various places. Just last night, Turkey had two very large earthquakes of approximately 7.8 and 6.7 magnitude, followed by a 7.5 earthquake today and many others of lesser magnitude. As of 3:00 Eastern time in the USA today, reports are that at least 2,300 people have died, with some news outlets reporting that as many as 10,000 people are feared dead. It truly is a terrible sight to see, and I can’t imagine having to go through it.

We are in the midst of birth pains upon our nation and upon the entire world. Having given birth to children myself, I know that contractions, birth pains, feel like. When they first start, they aren’t too painful and there is some time in between them, but as that baby is ready to be delivered, they are right on top of each other, so much so that when I was in labor I could hardly take a breath in between them and the pain was unbelievable. That is where we are now. All the signs that Jesus told us to look for are happening; everything is converging. While we are still reeling from one crisis, another starts, and then another.

Based on my understanding of the Bible and as led by the Holy Spirit, I believe we are on the cusp of the rapture of the church, when Jesus calls up His bride - believers in Christ, both dead and alive - to Him in the clouds (see 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:5-58), and the time when the antichrist will step on the scene, with the 7-year tribulation period beginning sometime thereafter. During this 7-year period, also known as the time of Jacob’s trouble, the world will go through a series of severe judgments from God before Jesus returns to earth the second time. When Jesus comes to earth the second time, it will be very different from the first time. At His second coming, He will come as the King of kings and Lord of lords and will destroy all wickedness and evil and all who reject His free gift of salvation and instead follow Satan. They didn’t want to be forgiven of all their sins by believing in the One - Jesus the Christ - sent by God. For those left on earth, this will be a horrific time on earth as was never known to mankind, nor will never be known again.

Look out in the night sky one evening and focus on one single star. Look at it with respect to all the others stars and to the entirety of the night sky. Then imagine that single star in the vast expanse of the universe. That one single star in the universe is like our time here on earth compared to our eternity. As believers in Christ, may we remember that all the trials and tribulations we go through, and perhaps are going through now, are temporary, just as our lives here on earth are temporary. Yes, I am grieved, distressed by all that is happening, but I also know that Jesus told us it would be this way in the end times, the days before He returns, and that gives me hope, for I know that I will be called up to Him soon with my brothers and sisters. He is my hope, my living hope, and in Him, I greatly rejoice. ✝️

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for our blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.” (Titus 2:11-15)

February 5, 2023: 1 Peter 1:4-5 - Our Incorruptible, Undefiled, and Eternal Inheritance

“…to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” - 1 Peter 1:4-5

Have you ever inherited something? If you did, you may have been a family member of a loved one or a close friend of someone who died. Whatever it was that you inherited, a house, a piece of land, a car, jewelry, or a complete estate, you inherited that which the person who died previously owned. However that person had come to acquire it, you may not know. They may have acquired it legally, or they may have acquired it by some other means. Whatever it was that you inherited, whether it is was in excellent or poor condition, one day, it will fade away. Every single thing we have ever owned will at one time or another fade away. Yes, with maintenance, it can delay the process of decay, but without it, it doesn’t take long for that thing to fall apart.

Have you ever driven out in the country or perhaps even in the city when a building is literally falling apart? I remember driving out in the country and seeing an old wooden home and barn, with wood once vibrant now faded and grey, having sat vacant for years, leaning to one side, just waiting for a strong wind to cause them finally to fall to the ground. As I drove by, I remember wondering what that house and barn looked like when it was first built. Perhaps a family lived there with young children, playing on the front porch and then happily walking to the barn, speaking to and petting the animals within it. There may have been beautiful flowers decorating the front yard, planted by their mother, and a fence built by their father that contained it all, their home, their little piece of heaven. And now, here it was, just an empty, decaying shell of what it used to be. All glory that it once had has now been lost.

As children of God, we who have put our trust in Jesus Christ to save us from all our sins, who have Him as our living hope, will inherit something too, but we will receive our inheritance when we are with Him. The inheritance that we will receive through faith in Jesus is everlasting life in with Him in the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God will be a new heaven, a new earth, and a new holy city - Jerusalem - that is built by God Himself, not by defiled human hands. God’s kingdom will be eternal, and will never fade away. All sin will have been removed, allowing believers in Christ to live in complete joy and peace with Jesus Christ. Our inheritance was bought by Him for us with His precious blood. It cannot be bought by us, for it is freely given by Him to all who would believe. No one can receive it by any other means except through Him, for it is incorruptible.

If you have unforgiven sin in your life when you die, you cannot inherit eternal life with Jesus but instead, your eternity will be spent in hell. Hell is a place where Jesus does not want you to go, but if you reject His free gift of salvation, you yourself will choose to go to hell, a place of eternal corruption, defilement, pain, and suffering. Any perceived glory that you had once on earth, even if you were a king or a president, a world leader, or one of the world’s most wealthy people, will all be gone, just like the old house and barn I saw in the countryside.

The Bible tells us many times that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. The only way we can become righteous is through faith - by believing - in Jesus Christ as the only One who can save us from our sins. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 is one such passage of scripture:

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”

All of us, every single person who has ever lived on this earth, are sinners. The only way for that sin to be washed clean is to believe in Jesus Christ. He took on all our sin when He was crucified, died, resurrected, and ascended to heaven with God the Father, where He is today. And, Jesus did it once and for all, saying, “It is finished.” (John 19:30)

I leave you with the words of the apostle Paul:

“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14)

And I ask you this question: Is this inheritance reserved for you? ✝️

February 4, 2023: 1 Peter 1:3 - We Have a Living Hope in Jesus

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…” - 1 Peter 1:3

As a child, I used to put my hope in my parents, but I realized at a young age that they couldn’t save me from despair. As a young married woman, I used to put my hope in my husband, but I realized he couldn’t save me from my internal struggles. As a mother, I used to put my hope in my children, but I realized even all their love couldn’t fix my brokenness. As a citizen of the United States, I used to put my hope in our government, but I realized it is made up of people who are sinners just like me and that it can save no one. I used to put my hope in myself and in what I had accomplished in my life, but I realized it was a shallow hope, leaving me feeling even more empty inside. I was always searching, seeking for that which I desperately needed in my life, to fill that void, that emptiness inside, that longing for something more, something that which I didn’t fully understand but I knew that I needed.

Till one day, and I’ve told this story before but it’s worth telling again, all of my hope was gone; I had nowhere else to go and no one else to turn to, and God said, “Child of Mine, Turn to Me.” You see, I had already accepted Jesus as my Savior about three years prior, but I hadn’t fully given Him my heart and all my struggles. I held onto them tightly in my pride, still believing that I could fix all of this on my own, without Him. I thought I was strong and yet I was weak, oh, so weak. Yet, it was only by becoming weak, on my knees in my closet crying out to Him, that I became strong in Him. I don’t care if people believe I am crazy, I tell you here and now that there is power in the name of Jesus. He pursued me even when I didn’t pursue Him. Through His abundant love and mercy, and though it took me several years after I had accepted Him as my Savior, I had finally realized that He is my living hope, that I could trust in Him with everything in my life, holding nothing back.

All that exists in the world today is temporary, and nothing in it or on it could ever save us. The only One who can offer us a true and living hope is Jesus Christ. If we put away our pride and humble ourselves before Him, He will lift the heavy burdens off of our backs and do the heavy lifting for us, He will be our strength when we have none. Sadly, the world teaches the exact opposite: we are to be full of pride, even and especially now, in our sin, and we are to do things “our way,” not His way.

When Jesus died, when He gave up His life on the cross, He didn’t stay dead. As foretold in the Bible, and as He Himself foretold His disciples, He rose again, and was resurrected on the third day. Not only was He resurrected, He walked the earth for 40 days, revealing Himself to over 500 people on different occasions before He ascended to heaven, where He is now, at the right hand of God the Father. No matter what the world tells us, God is not dead, and Jesus is not fake news. Jesus is alive. There is a reason that people, entertainment and media industries, world leaders, governments, and countries are so threatened by Him, and that reason is because He is alive! If He were still dead, where is the threat in Him?

As the Bible told us thousands of years before it happened, Jesus came to the earth the first time to offer the way of salvation from sins by believing in Him as our Savior. As the Bible also tells us, Jesus is going to come back to righteously judge this wicked world. Until He does and as long as you have breath in your lungs, you have another day to decide whether or not you will let Him be your living hope, will you believe in Him as your Savior. When we do things “our way,” it leads to sin. If we never turn to Jesus, our sin is never forgiven, resulting in eternal separation from the One who could have set us free, never able to go back and undo all that we have done and turn to Him, for then, it will be too late. In closing I ask you, will you do it your way, which leads to destruction, or His way, which leads to life? As you ponder this question, with the words of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” echoing in your mind, consider what Jesus told His disciples:

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14) ✝️

February 3, 2023: Philippians 2:17-18 - Let Us be Glad and Rejoice

“Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me.” - Philippians 2:17-18

Jesus had chosen Paul, who at that time went by his Hebrew name of “Saul” and was a Jewish Pharisee, to bring the good news, the gospel of Christ, to the Gentiles. Saul was traveling with others to Damascus to go after Christians in Damascus and bind them and bring them back to Jerusalem. On the way there, Saul heard the voice of Jesus asking him why was he persecuting Him. “So he [Saul], trembling and astonished, said, ‘Lord, what do You want me to do?’” Jesus told him to go into the city, where he would be told what to do. Jesus then struck Paul with blindness for three days. Jesus then told Ananias to go meet a man named Saul. Ananias knew all about Saul and how he had persecuted the Christians with zeal. Ananias said to Jesus,“Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” But Jesus answered him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” Ananias did go to meet Saul and laid hands on him, and Saul’s eyes were immediately opened and he was filled with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 9:1-19). Saul would later refer to himself by his Roman name of “Paul.”

Notice that Jesus said of Paul, “For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” Paul would be severely persecuted by both the Jews and Gentiles during his life after he turned to Jesus. (For further information, see: https://www.biblecharts.org/apostlepaulcharts/15%20-%20The%20Sufferings%20of%20Paul.pdf). And yet, Paul kept going, for as long as he could, telling others about the saving power of Jesus, for he knew that as believers in Christ, he would suffer; all who love Christ will suffer. Paul had previously told the Philippians, “For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” (Philippians 1:29)

Did you also notice that when Jesus spoke to Paul on the way to Damascus and asked him why he was persecuting Him, Paul did not disagree that he was persecuting Jesus? Paul could have denied he was persecuting Him and instead said that he was persecuting those who believe in Him. He could have not called Jesus “Lord” when he answered Jesus’ question. He could have refused to do as Jesus told him, but he didn’t. He obeyed Him, and later after meeting Ananias, Paul received the Holy Spirit. Paul didn’t have to follow Jesus, he chose to. Now nearly two thousand years later, we have all the books of the New Testament that he wrote, through the Holy Spirit. In those books we read and learn about all of his teachings on Christ crucified, and of Paul’s own struggles with sin. We learn of his sufferings, but we also learn of his deep love for Jesus and his love for his brothers and sisters in Christ. I think Paul knew that like Stephen, he would be martyred for his faith in Christ, and yet, he said as we read in today’s scripture post, “Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me.” We, as Paul’s brothers and sisters in Christ, must remember that Paul’s suffering and his death served a greater purpose, the purpose to which Jesus had called Paul.

Let us remember the account of Paul when he and Barnabas had gone to the Jewish synagogue in Antioch. Paul said to the Jews in the synagogue:

“Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. Beware therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you:

‘Behold, you despisers, marvel and perish! For I work a work in your days, a work which you will be no means believe, though one were to declare it to you.’ ” (Acts 13:38-41)

The Bible tells us in Acts 13:42-52:

“So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, ‘It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us:

‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be for the salvation to the ends of the earth.’

“Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region. But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. But they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and came to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”

As God used Paul in his suffering and persecution, so shall He use us if we remain faithful and obedient to Him, as Paul did. Let us be glad and rejoice that God gave us the apostle Paul as an example for us. We each have people in our lives, including unbelievers, that we know and can boldly and joyfully share the good news with. If they reject it, we dust off our feet, and press on boldly and steadfastly through our faith, eyes firmly fixed on Him, for as in the words of Paul, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21) ✝️

February 1, 2023: Philippians 2:16 - Hold Fast the Word of Life

“…holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.” - Philippians 2:16

Here we have the apostle Paul speaking to the believers at Philippi, a church in Greece that he had planted, encouraging them to hold fast to the word of life. Remember, these people previously were not believers in Jesus Christ. Paul had brought the good news of Jesus Christ to them. How many of us as believers in Christ have told someone about Him, how He saved us, how He changed us? If there was ever anyone who had a story to tell about the saving, changing power of Jesus Christ, it would be the apostle Paul.

Before Paul had a great conversion to Christianity by Christ Himself, his name was “Saul.” Saul, who was born in the Roman city of Tarsus, was a Jewish religious leader, a Pharisee, who hated the Christians, who at that time were called followers of the “Way,” and Saul even consented to the stoning of Stephen, a devoted and faithful follower of Jesus Christ who had been accused of blasphemy by some in the Jewish synagogue. The Bible tells us of Saul:

“As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.” (Acts 8:3)

“Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.” (Acts 9:1-2)

One day while on his way with others who were going with Saul to Damascus, “suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ Then the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’” (Acts 9:3-5) Jesus then instructed Saul, whom Jesus blinded for three days, on very specific things that he should do, and Saul obeyed. Jesus then told His disciple named Ananias to go a street called Straight and to the house of Judas and inquire about Saul of Tarsus and that Saul was praying. Jesus also said that Saul had had a vision of Ananias coming to him and restoring his sight. However, Ananias knew about Saul and how he had severely persecuted Christians, and worriedly asked the Lord about him. Jesus answered Ananias, saying, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to hear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” Ananias did as Jesus said, and laid hands on Saul, saying to him, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” The Bible tells us, “Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.” (Acts 9:10-18) Acts 9:20-22 tells us, “Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. Then all who heard were amazed, and said, ‘Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?’ But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.” Some time after his conversion to Christianity and preaching Christ, Saul, whose name was also Paul, started calling himself by his roman name of “Paul” instead of his Hebrew name of “Saul.” (See: https://www.gotquestions.org/Saul-Paul.html).

Paul’s conversion to Christianity was a dramatic one. How in the world could he not tell others of the saving power of Jesus Christ, the One who had removed the scales from his eyes, allowing them to be opened so that he could see and know the truth, the word of life? Paul’s life was spent telling the Gentiles (non-Jews) about Jesus, and Paul suffered heavy persecution for his faith. However, his greatest joy was to see people come to Christ, and to those who did, Paul called “his beloved.” How many of us have unbelievers we are praying for, each and every day, that they too would have their eyes opened to the word of life? How many of us have suffered persecution and have been mocked and scoffed at because of what we have told them? How many of us have lost friends or even had family members who have ended relationships with us because of it? May we remember that even those who persecute us the most may one day have their own conversion to Christ, as Paul did. Let us not stop praying for them, and let us hold fast the word of life. Let us remember the words of John the apostle, who was with Jesus when He gave up His life on the cross, and John was the one to whom Jesus gave the Revelation of Himself, which we now know as the book of Revelation.

“That which was from the beginning, which we have have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life - the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us - that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:1-3)

Let us hold fast to this truth, telling others about Jesus, so that one day, when we have finished our race of faith, strong in Him, we will rejoice in the day of Christ, when we are gathered together with Him and with all who decided to follow Him, and oh, what a glorious day that will be! ✝️

January 31, 2023: Philippians 2:14-15 - Let Not Our Disputing Overshadow Our Light

“Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.” - Philippians 2:14-15

Jesus and His disciples came upon a man who was blind from birth. Jesus’ disciples asked Him whether the man or his parents had sinned, causing the man to be blind. Jesus replied, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Jesus then spat on the ground, made clay with the saliva, and anointed the eyes of the blind man, and then told him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.” The Bible tells us that “Siloam” means “Sent.” The man did as Jesus told him to do, and his eyes were opened, he could see! Those who knew the man and that he had been blind asked him who had done this thing for him, and he told them, “A Man called Jesus.” They wanted to know where this Man was, and they brought the healed man to the Jewish religious leaders, the Pharisees. Instead of being amazed by the miracle that Jesus had performed, they were appalled that Jesus had done this on the Sabbath, saying, “This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” and the Bible tells us, “there was division among them.” The Pharisees questioned the healed man and his parents several times, asking them about the Man - Jesus - who had healed him, and they did not believe the man’s account. The Pharisees cast the man out (excommunicated him) from the temple. (John 9:1-34)

God the Father sent Jesus to the world to shine His light in the darkness, doing the Father’s good works while He walked the earth, so that the eyes of the blind, those in spiritual darkness, could be opened that we all could see that we need the Savior, Jesus the Christ, to redeem us of our sins. When Jesus found out that the man had been cast out by the Pharisees, Jesus went to him and found him. As the Bible tells us in John 9:35-41:

“He said to him, ‘Do you believe in the Son of God?’ He answered and said, ‘Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?’ And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.’ Then he said, “Lord, I believe!’ And he worshipped Him. And Jesus said, ‘For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.’ Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, ‘Are we blind also?’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.’”

The Pharisees chose to remain in spiritual darkness, refusing to believe in the miracle that Jesus had performed and that He had done it as a work of God the Father who sent Him. Though they could see with their eyes, they could not see their own sin, thus they remained in in it.

At another time, Jesus told His disciples, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14) May we not grumble and argue amongst ourselves, being filled with pride and ignoring the miracles that are happening right before our eyes when people turn to Jesus Christ and their eyes are opened for the first time to the truth of God. Are we shining Jesus’ light or are we blending in with the darkness? Can people feel the warmth of the light from us or the cold of the darkness? Do our disputes on Twitter and other forms of social media or in our conversations with unbelievers reflect Him or do they reflect the Pharisees within us? I must admit, I am guilty of having an attitude of the Pharisees, and this has been a convicting and eye-opening devotional for myself.

May I remember Jesus’ words when He was at the temple teaching the people, when the Pharisees brought to Him a woman who was caught in adultery. They wanted to know what Jesus thought her punishment should be - should she be stoned, per Jewish law. Before He answered them, Jesus stooped down and wrote something on the ground. They asked Him again, and then Jesus replied to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” Then Jesus stooped down again and wrote something else on the ground. One by one, the woman’s accusers left, with no one casting a stone at her. Jesus then asked her where her accusers were and had any condemned her, and she answered that no one had condemned her. Jesus replied, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” The Bible tells us, “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’” (John 8:1-12)

Heavenly Father, as Paul wrote, please help me to do all things without complaining and disputing, so that I may become blameless and harmless, Your child, without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, and with my brothers and sisters in Christ, may I shine as a light in the world. In Jesus’ holy and precious name I pray. Amen. ✝️

January 30, 2023: Philippians 2:12-13 - May We Let God Work in Us

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” - Philippians 2:12-13

I think a major stumbling block for people who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and who haven’t turned hearts to Him is to see people who profess to be Christians living their lives just like the world, living a life of hypocrisy. Let me be very clear that you absolutely cannot earn your way to salvation; it is only by believing in Jesus Christ as our Savior that we can be saved. Lest we forget, let us read these words from Jesus Christ Himself:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:16-18)

Once we are saved by believing in Jesus Christ as our Redeemer, we are filled with His Holy Spirit. Jesus also referred to the Holy Spirit as the “Helper.” Jesus told His disciples:

“These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 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 things that I said to you.” (John 14:25-26)

Jesus also told them:

“I still have many things to say to you but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” (John 16:12-14)

Before Jesus told His disciples these things about the Holy Spirit, He said to them: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15) When Jesus was asked by a lawyer, who did not believe Jesus is the Messiah, what is the greatest commandment in the law, Jesus replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment.” (Matthew 22:34-38)

When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we are immediately saved from all our sins. That is salvation. Next begins a process of sanctification, which is to sanctify us - to set us apart from the world - through the power of the Holy Spirit. We should not be imitators of the world but imitators of Christ. If we let Him, the Holy Spirit helps us to do exactly that. If we fight against this, we should ask ourselves, why do we want to imitate those who reject Christ? Sadly, there are many people who say they are Christians but are embracing the sinful ways of the world in order to be accepted by it. They twist God’s word and say that what God calls sin is not sin and what God calls good they call evil. Truly, what is the point of turning to Christ if we have no intention of letting Him change our hearts to be more like Him? Yes, I know it takes time, and it definitely took time for me, but in the headlines today we hear of people who say they have been saved for decades, with some even leading churches, who look more like the world than they do Jesus Christ.

Putting it another way, how would you feel if you went to a nutritionist or a doctor because you wanted to lose weight and get healthy and he was extremely overweight? Would you trust in his advice? What if you went to a personal trainer who was obese and out of shape? Would you trust in her recommendations when she does not seem to apply them in her own life? The same is true in our faith. If we profess to unbelievers that we are saved by Jesus Christ and yet we live our lives like we did prior to our salvation, perhaps hanging out at bars, drinking, swearing, using drugs, living in sexual sin, what are we saying to those unbelievers who know us? We are saying that Jesus did not have the power to change us, to turn our hearts to Him.

As Paul wrote to his beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, he told them to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” The world is filled with temptation and sin, and it is a battle every single day to fight against it. Satan wants to lure us back into that sinful life we used to live, or perhaps are still living, so that we can casually drift away from God, a little at a time, perhaps not even realizing we are drifting, and then one day, Satan says, “Gotcha!” because we decided it’s too hard to stand out in this world, to stand in our faith in Jesus Christ, no matter the cost. We are quickly devolving as a society in the United States. We are a sad example of what a country that once followed God and was blessed by Him in many ways and has done a 180 and turned completely against Him. May those of us who have not turned against Him continue to let Him work in us, through His Holy Spirit, for His good pleasure. When we stumble and sin, may we not continue in it but ask for forgiveness, and keep on going, keep running this race of faith, until we finally cross that finish line, for His glory and for our good. ✝️

January 29, 2023: Philippians 2:9-11 - God has Highly Exalted Him!

“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” - Philippians 2:9-11

The name “Jesus” means “Yahweh saves” or “Yahweh is salvation” (see Matthew 1:21). Why did Jesus come down from heaven, leaving His glory, and come to the earth? Was there a purpose in all of His suffering? Was there a purpose in all that He did? Sadly, most people who are alive today and the majority of those who lived before us believe there was no purpose in His life at all; that He was just a man who lived and died and was buried. Or, they may give no thought at all to Him, just living their lives without Him, believing that, as it was before they were born, so shall it be after they die - just a dark void, with no remembrance of anything. Why would this Jesus have come to us? Why was it necessary for Him to do so? After all, the Jewish nation had its Bible called the “Tanakh,” which is what Christians refer to as the “Old Testament” and other religions have their own religious texts, with each one telling us their way of salvation. We also have Satanists who worship Satan and themselves; pride and selfishness - self, self, self - is their “god.” Others believe in Luciferianism and that Lucifer is the “good guy” and he was the “righteous” one who only wanted Adam and Eve to have knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden and God selfishly wanted to keep it for Himself. It seems to me that in most religions, the focus is on self, in some form or another - what can I do to get me to heaven or to “enlightenment”?

Belief in Jesus Christ as our Savior is acknowledging that there is absolutely nothing we could ever do ourselves that could earn our way to heaven. Why? Because none of us are without sin. The word “sin” is an archery term that literally means to miss the mark, to wander or to err, to make a mistake. (See: https://www.nerdintheword.com/what-is-sin-the-gospels-5-words-part-1/) Sin is offensive to God, and sin corrupts us. How can we save ourselves when ourselves commit sin? If we could save ourselves by doing “good” things, by whose standard do we use that defines “good”? Your standard of “good” is likely very different from mine, and my standard is likely very different from someone else’s standard. And, to believe that there is no such thing as “sin” is to be lost in it forever. We all sin; we are born with sin, no one has to teach us how to sin. If we could save ourselves, then why would we need Jesus? Sadly, most don’t think they need Him.

So, why did Jesus come to us and why do we need Him? What makes Him different from religion? The answer is simple: God’s perfect standard is Jesus. He is the only One without sin, the perfect Lamb of God, who took on all of our sins as He hung on that old rugged cross. By believing that He is Jesus Christ the Lord, the only One who can save us from all our sins, we can and will be redeemed of all our sins, even those we haven’t committed yet. Throughout the Old Testament, prophecies of Jesus abound, including this one from Isaiah 45:22-25:

“Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue that take an oath, he shall say, ‘Surely in the LORD I have righteousness and strength. To Him men shall come, and all shall be ashamed who are incensed against Him. In the LORD all the descendants of Israel shall be justified, and shall glory.’”

The last sentence from the above quote from the prophet Isaiah says, the “descendants of Israel.” As Galatians 3:26-29 reminds us that salvation through Jesus Christ is free and available to all and all who believe in Him are all one in Christ Jesus; we are no longer separated by such worldly classifications as Jew or Greek (Gentile; non-Jew), slave or free, male or female:

“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Jesus came to earth to provide the way - the only way - of salvation from sins through belief in Him as our Savior. He finished the work that had to be done by Him alone. He came to fulfill all that was written in the scriptures of His first coming to earth, whose purpose was to offer salvation from sins through Him, once and for all:

“After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, ‘I thirst!’ ” Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.” (John 19:28-30)

After He gave up His spirit, He was placed in a tomb, resurrected to life on the third day, and ascended to heaven forty days later, where He sits now at the right hand of God the Father. All the scriptures of His first coming were fulfilled, and all the scriptures of His second coming will be fulfilled. Each and every single one of us, including those who have lived and died before us, and those who will live and die after us, whether we believe in Him or not as our Savior, will bow on our knees and confess with our tongues that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Will you bow before Him and confess that He is Lord now, in belief, or after you die, when it’s too late to turn to Him and be saved from an eternity in hell, separated from Him forever? The choice is yours alone to make. ✝️

January 28, 2023: Philippians 2:8 - Jesus, the Perfect Example of Humility and Obedience

“And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” - Philippians 2:8

Jesus Christ - God with Us, King of kings, and Lord of lords - came to the earth as a human being, with all the needs, pain, suffering, and sorrow that all humans face as we live our lives. He hungered and thirsted. He got tired and needed rest. He sorrowed and wept over the death of His friend, Lazarus. He loved, oh, how He loved, and how He still loves. He loves us so much that He was willing to leave heaven, come to the earth and be conceived by the Holy Spirit and a virgin, live a life where He was rejected and despised by men and was truly a Man of sorrows, and willingly died by a method invented by mankind that was designed to inflict as much torture and pain as possible - crucifixion.

To die via crucifixion is to die a death that is excruciating. The Latin origin of the word “excruciating” means “out of the cross” or “crucifixion.” While the Romans did not invent crucifixion, they perfected it. According to gotquestions,org (see: https://www.gotquestions.org/crucifixion.html):

“Crucifixion was meant to inflict the maximum amount of shame and torture upon the victim. Roman crucifixions were carried out in public so that all who saw the horror would be deterred from crossing the Roman government. Crucifixion was so horrible that it was reserved for only the worst offenders.

“The victim of crucifixion was first severely scourged or beaten, an ordeal that was life-threatening by itself. Then he was forced to carry the large wooden crossbeam to the site of the crucifixion. Bearing this load was not only extremely painful after the beating, but it added a measure of shame as the victim was carrying the instrument of his own torture and death. It was like digging one’s own grave.

“When the victim arrived at the place of crucifixion, he would be stripped naked to further shame him. Then he would be forced to stretch out his arms on the crossbeam, where they were nailed in place. The nails were hammered through the wrists, not the palms, which kept the nails from pulling through the hand. (In ancient times, the wrist was considered part of the hand.) The placement of the nails in the wrists also caused excruciating pain as the nails pressed on large nerves running to the hands. The crossbeam would then be hoisted up and fastened to an upright piece that would normally remain standing between crucifixions.

“After fastening the crossbeam, the executioners would nail the victim’s feet to the cross as well—normally, one foot on top of the other, nailed through the middle and arch of each foot, with the knees slightly bent. The primary purpose of the nails was to inflict pain.

“Once the victim was fastened to the cross, all his weight was supported by three nails, which would cause pain to shoot throughout the body. The victim’s arms were stretched out in such a way as to cause cramping and paralysis in the chest muscles, making it impossible to breathe unless some of the weight was borne by the feet. In order to take a breath, the victim had to push up with his feet. In addition to enduring excruciating pain caused by the nail in his feet, the victim’s raw back would rub against the rough upright beam of the cross.

“After taking a breath and in order to relieve some of the pain in his feet, the victim would begin to slump down again. This action put more weight on his wrists and again rubbed his raw back against the cross. However, the victim could not breathe in this lowered position, so before long the torturous process would begin again. In order to breathe and to relieve some of the pain caused by the wrist nails, the victim would have to put more weight on the nail in his feet and push up. Then, in order to relieve some of the pain caused by the foot nail, he would have to put more weight on the nails in his wrists and slump down. In either position, the torture was intense.”

The constant attempts to be able to breathe would ultimately end with death by asphyxiation. In order to speed up the death process, sometimes the person’s legs would be broken to prevent further breathing. However, none of Jesus’ bones were broken, fulfilling prophecy.

Jesus knew that He would die and that He would die by crucifixion before it happened. At least three times Jesus had predicted His death and resurrection to His disciples. The third instance of this is documented in Matthew 20:17-19:

“Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, ‘Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.’”

Before Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, Jesus went with His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane. He withdrew from them and knelt down to pray, saying:

“Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.” (Luke 22:39-42)

We are also told that an angel appeared from heaven and strengthened Him and then:

“…being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:43-44)

Jesus knew what lie ahead of Him, what He was about to go through.

Before He was hung on a cross, He was brought before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate and the Jews were there:

“Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he [Pilate] said to the Jews, ‘Behold your King!’ But they cried out, ‘Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!’ Pilate asked them, ‘Shall I crucify your King?’ The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but Caesar!’ Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and led Him away.” (John 19:14-16)

Knowing all this would happen, Jesus still went to the cross, in full and complete obedience to God the Father, being humbled as a man, in the most excruciating and painful way possible. The physical pain was absolute torture but I would think the emotional pain was even more so. Jesus came to offer us the way of salvation from all our sins, and yet, instead of being loved by the world, He was and still is hated by the world to this day.

Did Jesus spew out words of hate to the Jews when they demanded that He be crucified? Did He say words of scorn to the Roman soldiers who were at His feet, casting lots for His clothing, while He was in agonizing pain? No. What words did He say? “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

Then, about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit,” and He took His last breath. He was obedient to the point of death. No greater example of humility and obedience have we than that of Jesus Christ. No greater example of love have we than the life He lived and gave so that we might be saved, by believing in Him. ❤️ ✝️

January 27, 2023: Philippians 2:5-7 - Let Our Minds be Like His

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.” - Philippians 2:5-7

Jesus has always existed, has always been with God, and never denied that He is God. Let us review some of the Biblical accounts that demonstrate that Jesus, as the apostle Paul said, “who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God.” (Philippians 2:6).

Let us consider the words of the apostle John. He was the apostle who was with Jesus during His time of ministry on the earth. John was the only apostle there with Jesus when He gave up His life on the cross and the one to whom Jesus would have to care for His mother Mary after His death. John was the apostle who was exiled to the island of Patmos for His faith in Jesus and received the revelation of Jesus Christ, from which we have the prophetic book of Revelation. This John proclaimed these words in John 1:1-5:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

During His time of ministry, Jesus said to the Jews in Jerusalem , “I and My Father are one.” (John 10:30) When the Jews heard Him say this, they “took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, ‘Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?’ The Jews answered Him, saying, ‘For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.’” (John 10:31-33) Jesus did not deny that He is God. Jesus then said to them, “If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.” (John 10:37-38)

Jesus prayed these words before He would be crucified, “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” (John 17:5) After Jesus gave up His life on the cross, was resurrected, and revealed Himself to some of His disciples, they went and told the other disciples that Jesus had been resurrected. However, the apostle Thomas did not believe their account, for he had not seen Jesus and His wounds with his own eyes. Eight days later, Jesus revealed Himself to Thomas and said to him, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” Thomas then said to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:24-29)

Jesus did not come to earth the first time as the mighty, conquering king that the Jews had been looking for and wanting. Instead, Jesus came as a lowly bondservant, as prophesied by the prophet Isaiah hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth:

“He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with His transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:11-12)

Jesus was full of humility, and was the opposite of what we see today in world leaders. He was also the opposite of what the Jews had been looking for in their Messiah. Isaiah had prophesied about Jesus:

“He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” (Isaiah 53:3)

The prophet Zechariah prophesied of the coming Messiah:

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9)

All of the prophecies of Jesus’ first coming were fulfilled. He came as one of us - human - to offer us the way of salvation from sins, the only way of salvation. If there was anyone who ever lived on earth who deserved to be treated the way a king would be treated, it would be Jesus. Think about how our world today treats kings, queens, presidents, etc. Think about how the Kings and Queens of England have been treated, how the United States presidents are treated. They live in beautiful mansions, eat the best foods, travel via the most luxurious modes of transportation, and are waited on hand and foot. Now compare that to how Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, was treated when He walked the earth. He was hated, despised, spat upon, mocked, beaten, scourged, and nailed to a cross, left to die an agonizing death. He was even mocked while dying, and He is mocked and hated to this day. At every opportunity they get, the entertainment industry uses His name in vain and mock Him and those who believe in Him. World leaders today do the same, including Yuval Noah Harari, who proclaimed, “I mean all this story about Jesus rising from the dead and being the Son of God is fake news.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG_fI2hmdOg; 2:07 minute mark) For those who believe in Jesus as their Savior, this should be of no surprise to us, for Jesus told us that the world will hate us because they hate Him.

So, what do we do in this world that hates us for our belief in Jesus as our Savior? What about when the world, sadly, includes members of our own family and our closest friends? Let us remember that they are not saved, just as we once were not saved. Let us remember that Jesus loves them too, and wants them to turn to Him and be saved. May we also remember the apostle Paul, the author of this letter in Philippians, that he once was a persecutor of Christians and how God changed his life mightily and chose him to preach the gospel to the Gentiles (non-Jews) so that all might be saved through faith in Jesus Christ. Though they persecute and hate us, let us pray for them, just as Jesus did for those who hated and despised Him. ✝️

January 26, 2023: Philippians 4:4-5 - Rejoice in the Lord Always!

“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.” - Philippians 4:4-5

Here we have the apostle Paul imprisoned for his faith, one of several times that he would be imprisoned, writing this epistle (letter) to the church at Philippi, and he tells them in verses 3:1 and again in 4:4 to rejoice in the Lord always. He is reminding them that though we will go through very difficult times in our life here on earth, because our citizenship is in heaven that when we die, we will be raised again to eternal glory with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and we can rejoice and give thanks to the Lord!

Below are some other verses in the Bible that remind us that we are to have joy in our lives in all circumstances:

• 1 Peter 4:12-13: Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

• Psalm 68:1-3: Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered; let those also who hate Him flee before Him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God; yes, let them rejoice exceedingly.

• 1 Corinthians 13:7: Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

• Romans 12:12: …rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer…

• 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

In Philippians chapter 1, Paul wrote that even though he was imprisoned, “my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.” Because of Christ being preached boldly, he said, “I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.” (Philippians 1:12-18)

Paul goes on to tell his brothers and sisters in Christ in Philippians 2:12-18:

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, workout your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me.”

As we live our own lives in the midst of this crooked and perverse generation, may we not let Satan steal our joy in the Lord. As we run this race of faith, let us be light bearers, shining the light of Jesus in a dark world, with joy in our hearts and reflecting Christ’s love in and through us. May we remember what we are running this race for:

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Romans 12:1-2) ✝️

January 25, 2023: Philippians 3:20-21 - Our Citizenship is in Heaven

“For our citizenship is in heaven from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.” - Philippians 3:20-21

Have you ever been in a place or a situation where you felt like you just didn’t belong there, that you didn’t fit in? That is the life of a believer in Jesus Christ, in one who has put their faith and trust in Him for redemption of all their sins. I can tell you from my own personal experience that it took me a while after I got saved to realize that this place, the earth, is not my true Home. Prior to getting saved, my earthly home was extremely valuable to me, and I loved decorating it and buying new things for it. I loved the way it made me feel safe, safe from the elements, keeping me warm during the cold of winter, cool in the summer heat, and dry during the rare rainstorms in the Southwest where we lived. And, I must honestly admit that my home made me feel a certain status because I lived in a desirable area of town. Then I got saved. I turned to Jesus as my Savior, and slowly, my perspective started to change.

Going back to 2001 when 9/11 happened, it rocked my world, like it did for many people. It made me realize that everything can change in an instant. I wasn’t saved at that time, but it was then that I was starting to realize my own mortality. A few years later, I had this strong urge to learn about the Bible, to learn about Christianity and why it claimed to be the only way to heaven. In my readiness to learn about Jesus, Satan himself was right there, ready to mislead me and sent two Jehovah’s Witnesses to my house, knocking on the door. Long-story short: I studied with them for about four years when my husband, who is not a believer in Jesus Christ, called an end to it. I thank God that he did, and I believe it was God’s intervention. I eventually threw away all of their materials that they had given me, including their version of the Bible, one which denies the divinity of Jesus Christ, and I began a journey of reading the Bible, one that I had purchased. After finally finishing the Bible, I was absolutely, 100 percent convinced that it is the true word of God and that belief in Jesus Christ as your Savior is the only way to God the Father in heaven. I accepted Jesus as my Savior.

I estimate it was in 2016 or 2017 that God put a longing in my heart to go Home, to my true Home, in heaven with Him. It was also during this time that our family went through some extremely difficult times, and I leaned on God like never before. The more I suffered emotionally, the more alone I felt in this world, the closer I got to Him, and I realized I cannot get through a single day of my life without Him. As my dependence on Him grew, I started having this longing to go to my true home, Home with Him. He even put a song in my heart to write and record. The title of the song is called “Home.” The first verse and the chorus are:

Verse 1

We feel it all around us, that You’re coming soon. We hear You when You call us. We feel Your presence, You’re right beside us. We know that soon we’ll see You, when You take us…

Chorus

Home, where death, sorrow, and tears are no more. Home, where heaven and earth are made new. Jesus is calling us…Home.

I also began to feel like I just don’t fit in here. As I continued in my Bible reading, I realized why. The world approves and promotes that which God calls evil and it hates what God calls good. The world’s ways are not His ways, and as long as I am following Him and not the world, I won’t ever fit in, and that is a good thing for believers in Jesus Christ. As the Bible tells us in Romans 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Yes, we still have to live our lives while we are here on earth but our goal mustn’t be to live “our best lives now” as one who claims to be a pastor said, but to know that our best lives are yet to come. Our lives here on earth are just a temporary stopping place on our way to our eternity and where our true Home is. We must ask ourselves: Is our treasure here on earth or is it in heaven? When you have a span of eternity and you see one dot in the middle of it, how important is all that happened on that one dot compared to what happens in eternity? Our lives here on earth are that one dot. I could have everything in this world that I ever wanted, but what happens to it all when I die? Can I take it with me? No, all the things I have ever accumulated will go to someone else, and my body will be dead.

When a believer dies, his or her soul goes to heaven immediately but their bodies stay in the graves or where they were at their point of death. Our soul is separated from our body at the time of death. This is because the Bible tells us that we cannot be with Christ in our corrupted bodies: “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit corruption.” (1 Corinthians 15:50)

As Paul states in Philippians 3:20-21, our citizenship - our true Home - is not here on earth: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able to subdue all things to Himself.”

So, how do the bodies of believers in Jesus become transformed? The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:51-57:

“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep [die], but we shall all be changed - in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written:

‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your string? O Hades, where is your victory?’

The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

There is a similar passage in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18. Death will not have victory over us like it does for unbelievers. Our souls will be united with our new glorified bodies through our resurrection in Christ.

The Bible tells us that Jesus is coming again, but the second time He comes, it won’t be to offer redemption of sins to all who would believe in Him but to defeat all who come against Him, including the coming Antichrist and the False Prophet. After their defeat, all believers in Christ will be allowed entry into Jesus’ kingdom on earth that will last 1,000 years. After that, He will destroy the earth by fire and will create a new heaven, a new earth, and a New Jerusalem, and it is there that we will spend our eternity with Him, where as the apostle John wrote, “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

However, for unbelievers, when they are resurrected at the end of Jesus’ 1,000-year reign on earth, He will judge them based on their works. Why are they judged by their works? Because they rejected His free gift of salvation; they rejected His way and chose their way instead. It will be like a courtroom scene, with books that are opened. When an unbeliever stands before God, another book will be opened, the Book of Life. None of the unbelievers’ names will be found in the Book of Life, because they all rejected Jesus’ gift. They will be found guilty because no one could ever do anything “good enough” that could save them from their sins - only the sinless, precious blood of Jesus could have redeemed them. But it will be too late for them to accept that gift. They did not make heaven their citizenship, but the earth. Thus, “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-15)

I ask you to consider your own mortality. What if you were to die today, or even within the hour? Where would you spend your eternity - in heaven with Jesus and all who put their faith and trust in Him, or will you spend it in hell, with the majority of the world, a place where Jesus said several times there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth?” Is your citizenship in this world, or is it in heaven? Think of all the people who died suddenly, who did not have another minute to decide where they will spend their eternity - will the next person be you? ✝️

January 24, 2023: Philippians 3:17-19 - Many are the Enemies of the Cross of Christ

“Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is their destruction, whose is god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame - who set their mind on earthly things.” - Philippians 3:17-19

Paul is talking to his fellow believers in Christ, telling them to keep pressing on in their faith, keeping their eyes on the “prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Paul is an example of how they should live their lives; they should keep reaching forward to Christ. They should be of the same mind as him. Why? Because within the church of believers, there are those who have strayed and now are enemies of the cross of Christ. Does Paul happily report this news to them? No! He weeps for them, as we all should when we see people who professed to be saved through faith in Jesus Christ but are not. There are many who would argue, myself included, that they were never saved. As the apostle John wrote in 1 John 2:18-19:

“Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.”

Satan has indeed infiltrated the church, not only with people attending the church but also with false pastors and false teachers, in order to deceive many. As Paul wrote to Timothy:

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron…” (1 Timothy 4:1-2)

Returning to today’s text, Paul calls them “the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is their destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame - who set their mind on earthly things.” How many people have we seen in past five years of so who once said they were Christians but have departed from the faith or who still say they are Christian but whose actions speak otherwise? I know that we as Christians are not perfect, we still sin, each and every day. But when you publicly defend and support that which God has called sin, you are not keeping His commandments. I believe you are putting yourself at risk of being deceived by Satan because you did not heed Paul’s warning to be of the same mind, keeping our focus on Jesus Christ and His word, no matter how difficult it gets to live as a Christian in a world that hates Jesus. God’s word does not change because a culture embraces and promotes that which God calls sin. Those who embrace that which God calls sin and rejects the free gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ is an enemy of the cross of Christ.

Running a race, especially a long one, is difficult; if it were easy, everyone would do it. But it’s not. It takes work, it takes dedication, it requires getting out there and running on all kinds of days. We run when the day is just absolutely gorgeous, the sun is shining, the weather is perfect, and we enjoy every minute of it. But what about the days when it’s extremely hot, cold, rainy, or windy? What about the days when that headwind is blowing right in your face, slowing you down, making you wonder why you’re even out there in it when everyone else is inside, comfortable, and safe? Similarly, running our race of faith can and will be difficult. To many it might seem that when we first got saved, it was so easy and everything was just beautiful! We were running along at ease, enjoying the view with a new set of eyes that God gave us, where everything looked different. But then, the view changed. Now, we are running uphill, in the wind, in inclement weather, and we are being persecuted for our faith. People who used to be our friends no longer want to have anything to do with us; they mock us or avoid us because of our faith. And, it’s not just our friends, our coworkers may scoff at us, and joining with them is the entertainment industry, the media, the government, the educational system, and even members of our own family. Instead of being on the sidelines encouraging us as we run this race of faith, they are booing and hissing at us, calling us narrow-minded fools for Christ. How many have stopped running their race of faith because of the pressure, the backlash, the difficulties in running this race of faith? How many have decided to go back to following the world instead of Christ? How many have bought into the lies of the devil that all roads lead to heaven, you can get to heaven just by being “good”, or even denying that one goes to heaven or hell when they die?

How did Paul describe those who did go back to following the world instead of Christ? He said, “they are enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is their destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame - who set their mind on earthly things.” Let us examine each one of these four consequences.

1. Enemies of the Cross: Peter spoke on this regarding not only false prophets and false teachers but also those who choose to follow them: “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle and their destruction does not slumber.” (2 Peter 2:1-3) These truly are enemies of the cross. Instead of speaking the truth of God, they speak lies of the devil, deceiving many, leading them straight to hell, to destruction.

2. Whose End is Their Destruction: Notice that Paul said that “many” are the “enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction.” This aligns with what Jesus Himself told His disciples, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” It is only by remaining in Christ that we will have life; all others will be destroyed, for they chose the broad way.

3. Whose God is Their Belly: Peter describes the end for those who have departed from the faith and chose their earthly comforts over their eternal destination.“For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb, ‘A dog returns to his own vomit,’ and, ‘a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.’” (2 Peter 2:20-22) For the many, their race of faith became too difficult, and they did not hunger for the truth of God - the bread of life - but for the empty lies of the devil that will forever keep them dissatisfied, for now and through their eternity.

4. Whose Glory is in Their Shame - Who Set Their Mind on Earthly Things: The many, the ones Paul was referring to, did not keep their focus on Christ above but on the things of the earth. To them, their temporary lives on this earth meant more to them than their eternal lives. Thus, they chose to believe in and support whatever the culture of the moment was embracing. Look at our world today - what is it embracing? Is it embracing life? No, absolutely not! It is a culture that is obsessed with darkness and is obsessed with death. What are those things associated with? Satan. As Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” Here, the “thief” is Satan, the devil. What does our culture today, especially in America, support? Does it support the family unit, as designed by God, to promote life? No, it hates the family unit and is doing everything it can to destroy it. Even our vice president this week omitted the key words of “right to life’ in which she quoted the Declaration of Independence during her remarks about access to abortion. Without life, one has nothing! The world today is an enemy of the cross of Christ, who Himself said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.”

   The race of faith requires endurance to the end, the time when we will cross the finish line and we see our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, face-to-face. Until then, will we keep our focus on Him, being of the same mind as other believers in Christ, remembering the examples of Paul and others of how we ought to live our lives for Jesus, or will we set our mind on things of the earth, like so many have sadly done, to their own destruction, to their own peril? Will our glory be in Him or in our shame? Every single one of us will bow down before Jesus one day. When it is your turn, what will He say to you? Will He say, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels”? (Matthew 25:41). Or, will He say to you, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world?’” (Matthew 25:34) ✝️

January 23, 2023: Philippians 3:15-16 - Let Us be of the Same Mind

“Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.” - Philippians 3:15-16

In the previous verses of Scripture in this chapter, the apostle Paul had reminded the believers in Christ at the church in Philippi that their salvation from sins only comes “through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.” (Philippians 3:9) There is no righteousness apart from faith in Jesus Christ, for He alone is righteous.

Paul had encouraged them not to look back at their past but to keep pressing on toward the upward call of Christ, to that day when they would be resurrected by Him from the dead in His call of glory. Paul’s words are a reminder to believers in Christ today not to give up but to keep pressing on through Jesus Christ, no matter how difficult it gets, and to keep our focus on Him.

In verses 15-16, Paul tells them, “Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind” and again “let us be of the same mind.” The mind is a powerful thing. When I was young, I used to be a runner, and I enjoyed the freedom of running and being outdoors. When I was in middle school, I was on the track team, but I was always a sprinter. I could run quite fast but only for short distances. I absolutely despised running any distance over a quarter mile. I had this mental block about it.

After I got married, started working, and had our children, I didn’t exercise until my mid-40’s. I had started working out at the gym, lifting weights, and doing cardio exercises, but I had not run since I had taken a PE class at college and had to run a mile. At that time, I was in my 20s and I was out of shape and had not exercised in a long time. I remember feeling like I was going to die when I ran that mile. That was the last time I had run, and it had left such an impression upon me that I avoided running like it was the plague, especially outside. My husband knew, however, that I was ready to take that next step because I had trained my body and my mind, I had pushed myself hard at the gym to get to where I was, forgetting about my past when I was unfit. He pushed me to push myself to move past that mental block and get on the treadmill and run for a minute. I didn’t want to at first. He told me, “If you can workout at the gym for two hours, you can run a minute on the treadmill!” I didn’t believe that I could do it, but I was so frustrated at him that I did it. It may not sound like much to you, but to me, that minute felt like an hour. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, but I did it. That was my breakthrough.

Through my husband’s pushing me to push myself to press on, I took the next step and started running outside - uphill! It was a slight hill over the distance of about a mile. It took me several times to run it non-stop, with my husband running ahead of me, waiting for me to get to where he was, but eventually I had conquered that hill! After keeping at it and pressing on, I finally had run the whole track, 3.33 miles, a little over a 5K run. That was the furthest I had ever run in my life non-stop, and my husband had run it with me. He was up ahead when I came to the end point, and he was there congratulating me when I had made it! I lifted up my arms, like Rocky did in the movie, I was elated that I did it! I had done it with my husband’s confidence in me that I could do it, through his pushing me to push myself, because if it were up to me, I likely would have never got on the treadmill in the gym in the first place; I would have stayed inside my comfort zone.

Paul’s words to the Philippians are a reminder to all believers: we must have the same mind that we will win our race of faith, we will accomplish our goal, and we will receive the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus if we keep pressing on and keep our focus on Him. If our mind tells us it’s too hard, if we look back and miss what we used to have, if we miss those days of our sin and our comfort zone, then we won’t press on, we will give up, and we will miss out on the eternal glory that Christ Himself has laid up for us. I wouldn’t want that for myself and I don’t want that for you. I pray you get out of your comfort zone and keep pressing on, for we are in the race of our lives. Will you endure, pressing on, and cross the finish line, or will you give up and miss out on the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus? The choice is yours. 🏃‍♀️🏃✝️

January 22, 2023: Philippians 3:13-14 - Let Us Press Toward Jesus Christ

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

The goal of any runner in a race is to win the prize, and to look back during a race will slow you down. Hannah Hartzell wrote in her March 14, 2018 article titled, “The Problem With Looking Over Your Shoulder During A Race” in womensrunning.com (see: https://www.womensrunning.com/training/road/problem-looking-over-shoulder-during-race/):

“I’m nowhere near Olympic-caliber, but I’ve run enough races to know why, in 99 percent of racing situations, looking back is not a smart idea. Why? Because it signals a negative shift in the mindset of an athlete. When a runner looks backwards, it is typically because they are afraid someone is catching up with them. They are no longer running to win: they’re running to avoid losing.

But we’ve all been there, right? The legs that propelled you through the first part of the race begin to tire. You start contemplating a convenient collapse near a water station. Your mind imagines your legs turning to jelly and all the runners passing you. That’s when fear sets in. So you look back—just to make sure you have enough distance on the chase pack, just to bolster your confidence.

What seems like a minor choice can actually have a huge impact on the rest of your race. Think about it: If you look back and see a runner closing in on you, your confidence will be shaken. On the flip side, if you look back and see no one, it might provide momentary comfort, but you’ll soon feel even more paranoid. You’ll want to keep looking back. Your mind will increasingly focus on how to avoid losing instead of how to win.”

The same can be said of Christians, those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, as we run our own race, our race of faith. Looking back instead of forward will take our mind off of Jesus, our prize, and on the things which have happened already, the things we cannot change. Remember when two angels went to Sodom to rescue Lot and his family? What did they tell Lot and his family when it was morning and time to leave before God rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, two vile and wicked cities? They had taken Lot’s, his wife’s, and his two daughters’ hands and brought them outside of Sodom and then they told them, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.” Then God rained fire and brimstone on those cities, but instead of looking forward to escape what she had left behind, Lot’s wife did what she was told not to do and looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. (Genesis 19:12-26)

In a similar manner, we must keep our eyes on Jesus, never looking back, never longing for the lives we used to live. How many of us have looked back over these three years since COVID hit the world, longing for the days in which we lived our “normal” lives - in a country I would compare to Sodom and Gomorrah, or even worse - without lockdowns, healthcare mandates, business closures, food shortages, chaos, confusion, sky-high inflation, threats of a “Great Reset” by the powerful and God-rejecting leaders of the World Economic Forum, and on and on? Throughout all of this, it should be crystal clear to us that our prize is not this world; it is not the comforts that perhaps we used to have prior to March 2020. Was that fact clear to Lot’s wife as she fled that destroyed city of Sodom? No, she looked back and she lost her focus in her race, her race to escape the destruction, thus bringing her own destruction.

Proverbs 4:25 tells us, “Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil.”

Hebrews 12:1-2 beautifully describes our race of faith:

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Let us remember what this race of faith is all about, as Paul said when speaking to the Philippians when he talked about his former life as a self-righteous Jewish religious leader, a Pharisee, one who denounced Christ and persecuted those who believed in Him:

“Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:8-11)

Let us take heed to Paul’s words when he spoke to the Colossians and keep Christ as our priority:

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1-4)

Let us not look back on our past and what we have left behind, but let us keep running this race of faith, strong, reaching forward and keeping our eyes fixed on the prize - Jesus - oh, sweet Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. 🙏🏻✝️

January 21, 2023: Philippians 3:12 - Let Us Press On

“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.” - Philippians 3:12

How many of us, believers in Christ Jesus as our Savior, have just wanted to give up? How many times have we said to ourselves, “It’s too hard, Lord; I can’t do this anymore?” You know what, you are in good company if you have ever said that. Jesus never told us when we put our faith and trust in Him that life would be easy, that we would live trouble-free from that moment on, and casually slide from this life into our eternity. No, in fact, Jesus told us the exact opposite.

Before Jesus would be beaten and scourged to the point where He was unrecognizable and before He was hung on a cross to die an agonizing death, He had gone to the Garden of Gethsemane and knelt down and prayed, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42) Jesus knew what He was facing. He knew how horrifically painful it would be. He basically was asking God that if there was any other way for this to be accomplished, then let that be done but if not, Jesus would do what His Father willed. Those things did happen to Jesus - He was beaten, scourged, and crucified - because the only way to salvation is by Jesus shedding His precious, innocent, and holy blood so that the way of salvation could be offered to all sinners who would believe on Him as Messiah. Jesus was obedient to God the Father.

Before He went to the cross, Jesus had warned His disciples that they would not be loved by the world but would be hated by it. Oh, do we see that increasing today! He had told them, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. (John 15:19-21) He continued, “Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. (John 16:20) Jesus then went on to tell them, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

When people hate us for our love of Jesus, they don’t hate us - though their hate is cast toward us, like a fiery dart, they hate Jesus within us. And, their source of hate is the devil - Satan. They likely don’t know it but Satan has a stronghold on them and he doesn’t want to let them even think about turning to Jesus and accepting Him as their Redeemer. There is an unseen war that has been raging in the spiritual realm since the beginning of creation when Satan, the devil, tempted Eve by planting a seed of doubt regarding what God had told her and Adam. God had told them they could freely eat the fruit of any tree except for the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan then told Eve a lie - deceiving her - and said she would not die if she ate the fruit of that tree, when God had clearly commanded them not to eat it, for if they did, they would surely die. And, Satan told her, “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 2:8-3:5) Eve disobeyed God and so did Adam and they listened instead to the lies of the devil, and everyone ever born since then has inherent sin within them.

Satan tempted Jesus after He had fasted for forty days and for forty nights. Satan tempted Jesus when He was weak. I cannot even imagine how weak I would be after fasting for forty days and nights. Satan tempted Jesus three times. With the first, he said if Jesus was the Son of God, then He should command that the stones become bread. Satan was appealing to Jesus’ immediate physical needs. In the second temptation, he said if Jesus was the Son of God that He should throw Himself down, for they were at the pinnacle of the temple, and Satan quoted Psalm 91:11-12 that the angels would save Him. Satan was appealing to Jesus’ life here on earth and to tempt God as to whether or not God would cause the angels to save Him. In the third temptation, Satan took Jesus up to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world. Satan told Jesus that if He would fall down and worship him, Satan would give Jesus all those things. Satan was appealing to Jesus’ authority and kingdom. In each temptation, Jesus answered Satan by quoting God’s word.

As he did with Eve and as he tried to do with Jesus, Satan tempts us with lies and deceit to get us to fall away from God or to seek himself (Satan) instead of God. And, he will even quote Scripture, as he did when he tempted Jesus, making it even harder for us to realize the source is Satan. And Satan uses others whom he has deceived to deceive others, even in and especially in the church today. As the apostle Paul warned the Corinthian church who had been swayed by false teachers who had falsely accused Paul as an unqualified apostle of Christ, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)

Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:10-20, which makes it very clear, that the war being raged upon mankind is not a physical war, man against man, but a spiritual war:

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Satan is appealing to the pride of mankind to follow him and not Jesus, the only One who can save them. Satan hates mankind. Why? Because we are unique and only we are made in God’s image. The angels are not made in God’s image, and Satan is a fallen angel. And, Satan wants to be God, and he wants everyone to worship him, not God. When Satan had tempted Jesus a third time, saying to Him when he showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me,” notice that Jesus did not tell Satan that the kingdoms of the world were not his to give. That is because Satan is over all the world today. As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 (emphasis added), “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”

Finally, let us remember Job. I have to admit, this was probably the most difficult book in the Bible for me to read and to understand, even when I had read it multiple times on different occasions. I could relate to Job in many ways. I didn’t want him to suffer; I wanted God to fix it all so that Job didn’t have to go through the pain, the hurt, the feelings of abandonment; and I didn’t want that for myself either.

The Bible says of Job, “and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.” (Job 1:1) He was blessed abundantly with his wife, ten children, and many material possessions. Job would regularly offer burnt offerings to God for his seven sons for he thought they may have sinned and cursed God. He loved his children and wanted them to be saved by God. One day, Satan and some angels with him came before God and God talked about Job to Satan, saying, “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?” Satan then basically told God the only reason Job was so faithful to God was that God had protected him and his family from everything and had blessed them abundantly, and that if all that were taken away, then Job would curse God to His face. God then told Satan that he could do anything to Job but not lay a hand on his person [i.e., he could not kill him]. Satan caused all of his possessions to be lost and killed all of his children with a great wind that fell on their house. But, instead of cursing God and blaming Him, Job proclaimed the opposite:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21)

The Bible tells us, “In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.” (Job 1:22) Then Satan attacked Job’s health by causing him to have painful boils from head to toe. Job was then scorned at by his wife, who told him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” The Bible tells us, “But he said to her, ‘You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” (Job 2:9-10)

Job’s three friends had heard about all the horrible things that had happened to Job and went to see him. They didn’t even recognize him when they saw him. They then sat with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, not speaking a word, for they knew his grief was great. Then such anguish came upon Job that he cursed the day he was born. He was miserable and wondered why all of this had happened to him. His friends began to blame Job and to say all it had happened because he had sinned against God and was being chastened by God and that Job should repent. Job said his complaint was just and he prayed for relief. His friends continued to blame him, calling him wicked and accusing him of folly. They now had no pity on him. Job said to them, “I have heard many such things; miserable comforters are you all! Shall words of wind have an end? Or what provokes you that you answer? I also could speak as you do, if your soul were in my soul’s place. I could heap up words against you, and shake my head at you; but I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the comfort of my lips would relieve your grief.” (Job 16:1-5). How many of us have felt this way when we are going through something so difficult and we feel like no one, not even our closest of friends, is there for us? And yet it was during this time that Job declared one of my favorite verses in all of the Bible:

“Oh, that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book! That they were engraved on a rock with an iron pen and lead, forever! For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:23-27)

Though broken in every way he could be broken, Job knew who his Redeemer is. Job held onto and trusted in the truth that his Redeemer would at last stand on the earth and when Job did die, he would see God with his own eyes. This truth - this hope - kept him going. Job pressed on, even when everything inside of him was telling him to quit, to give up.

Then a younger man named Elihu attempted to speak to Job on God’s behalf, and he said many things to Job. Something that stands out to me is what he said in Job 33:12, “Look, in this you are not righteous. I will answer you, for God is greater than man. Why do you contend with Him?” He also said to Job, “Listen to this, O Job; stand still and consider the wondrous works of God. Do you know when God dispatches them, and causes the light of His cloud to shine? Do you how the clouds are balanced, those wondrous works of Him who is perfect in knowledge?” (Job 37:14-16) Elihu was reminding Job that none of us are righteous - no, not one. We are all sinners, and we all need God, our Redeemer. Elihu reminded Job that God is so much bigger than any of us can imagine. We cannot even fathom His majesty, glory, and power; it is unknowable to mere humans like us. Elihu said to Job, “At this also my heart trembles and leaps from its place. Hear attentively the thunder of His voice, and the rumbling that comes from His mouth…God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend.” (Job 37:1-2, 5) Finally, Elihu said to Job:

“As for the Almighty, we cannot find Him; He is excellent in power, in judgment and abundant justice; He does not oppress. Therefore men fear Him; He shows no partiality to any who are wise of heart.” (Job 37:23-24)

After all these discussions Job’s three friends and Elihu had with Job, God Himself then spoke to him, revealing His omnipotence - His unlimited power - to him. God said to Job, “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.” (Job 38:2-3) God then outlined and described all that He had created by the power of His mighty hand, nothing of which we can comprehend as to how He did it, only that He - and He alone - did it. God then asked Job, “Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it.” Job then answered God, “Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth. Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; yes, twice, but will proceed no further.” (Job 40:1-5) God then told Job to prepare himself like a man and answer His next set of questions, the first being, “Would you indeed annul My judgment? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified? Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His?” (Job 40:8-9) Now came the moment when Job answered God a second time, but this time was different. Job answered the Lord:

“I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’ I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor [despise] myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

Job had finally repented to God, and God had accepted Job. The Lord then told one of Job’s three friends, “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.” God told Job’s friend to take seven bulls and seven rams and go to Job and offer up a burnt offering and that Job would pray for them for what they had done and that God would not deal with them according to what they had done. “And the Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his two friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.” (Job 42:7-10) The Lord blessed Job with seven more sons and three more daughters. The Lord had restored a man who had been through so much, a man who cursed the day he was born, suffering so much, and yet never cursed God. Was he frustrated, yes? Did he question God as to why all of this was happening to him, yes? Did he feel all alone and that his wife and his friends had abandoned him, yes? Did he wonder where God was in the midst of all of this, yes? But did he quit, no! He pressed on, no matter how difficult was the road he walked. He proclaimed in the midst of it all:

“For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns with me!” (Job 19:25-27)

When this world - when our world - doesn’t make sense to us, let us not doubt Almighty God, for He sees what we cannot see, and He knows what we cannot know! There is a purpose in our suffering, and that purpose is our Redeemer, Jesus Christ! When we are tempted by the devil to forsake our Lord and curse Him, may we press on like Job did, knowing that one day, we will be restored, and we will see God with our own eyes, and what a wonderful day that will be! ✝️

January 18, 2023: Philippians 4:11-13: Through Christ I Am Content in Any State

“Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” - Philippians 4:11-13

When I posted this Scripture, I originally left off verse 13, which says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthen me.” I did that because I had previously posted that Scripture verse, and I try and post different verses from the Bible each day and not duplicate any. However, as I sat down to write this daily devotional and after reading verses 11-12 again, I realized that verse 13 is the critical verse. The only way I can be content in any state or condition is by Christ who strengthens me. He is the one who meets my every need. He is the one who gets me through the hard times and is there with me when times are good and life is less of a challenge.

I remember when I was young, 12 or 13 years old, my parents had financial difficulties. They did not manage money well and spent money on things they wanted instead of things that were needed. We were several months behind on our mortgage and utility payments. I remember being afraid of what would happen if our home was taken away and if we had no electricity or water. I remember praying to God to please let us be able to stay in our home and not have our water or electricity cut off. I had not accepted Jesus as my Savior, but I knew who God was and I knew that He was big, so much bigger than I was. Thankfully, our home was not repossessed and our utilities we never cut off. I will always remember that prayer I made to Him. I believe He heard my prayers, the prayers of a child in need, because, as I know now, the Bible tells us He does hear our prayers. Had our home been repossessed and/or our utilities been cut off, I know that God would have gotten us through it, just as He gotten me through many difficult times in my life. This lesson that I learned at a young age was that God is there for me, and whenever I wanted to talk to Him, to cry out to Him, He is there.

Contrast that to the time in my life when I was married with two teenage children, working a full time job, and living life in a beautiful neighborhood, but I was struggling in our marriage and emotionally and spiritually. I had all that I wanted from a materialistic point of view but I was in a spiritual drought. I had accepted Jesus as my Savior a few years prior, but I still wasn’t depending on Him - I was depending on me. I had put up walls around myself in order to protect me from the hurts of life; I was an impenetrable fortress, or so I thought. But my dependence on myself resulted in a huge hole, a void, in my heart that I was filling with things instead of filling it with Him. I didn’t need things to fill it; rather, I needed Him. A few years later, I felt like I couldn’t go on. I wanted it to end. I went into my closet, got down on my knees, and cried out to Him. I finally had realized that I could not do this anymore on my own - I needed Him! God heard me that day, and for the first time in my life, I had heard Him speak to me through the Holy Spirit. That was a turning point in my life, and I will never, ever forget it. God saved me, He saved our marriage, and I am holding onto the hope that my husband and children will eventually turn to Him and be saved by accepting Jesus as their Savior.

Through the times of my life when I really struggled, in both times of scarcity and in abundance, I had cried out to God, and He had shown me that I could trust in Him. But, I had to make that critical decision: would I let Him take control of my life, and would I trust Him with it? Would I trust in Him not only for myself but also with my marriage and with our children? I am so glad that I did make that choice to trust in Him in everything.

Since then, I have went through circumstances that previously - when I trusted in myself and not in Him - I don’t know if I could have made it through. Now, however, I am looking to God, the author and finisher of my faith, to get me through the oh-so-difficult times, to be my strength when I feel like I can’t go on, and to know and remember that He sees what I cannot see and He knows what I cannot know. As the apostle Paul so beautifully reminds me, reminds us, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” ✝️

January 17, 2023: Philippians 4:8 - Meditate on These Things

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, what things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things.” - Philippians 4:8

The enemy - the devil - wants us distracted and full of worry and fear. In our high-tech world, this is easily done with 24/7 media coverage. I do not think it’s any coincidence that “media” is the plural of “medium,” which relates to psychics and seers. This coincides with television and “tell-a-vision” and the usage of “programming” and “channels.” All of these terms relate to setting your mind on the darkness and not on the light. These things are the opposite of what God calls us to listen to and to meditate or think on. God tells us in Colossians 3:1-8:

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. But now you yourselves are to put off all these these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.”

Notice in Philippians 4:8 that the apostle Paul is addressing his “brethren,” those who are called children of God, those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior. He is not addressing unbelievers, those who have not accepted Jesus as their Savior. As Colossians 3:1-8 reminds us, before we got saved by grace through faith in Jesus, we once walked in disobedience and did those filthy things that mankind has been doing since Adam and Eve.

When we watch the news or TV shows, what are they focusing on? Is it anything that is considered good and acceptable in the eyes of God or is it of the darkness? I would venture to say that nearly all of it focuses on the darkness. Why? Because we are being programmed by the enemy - the devil - to focus on him and not God.

Being a believer in Christ is not a passive life but an active life in a spiritual war that will remain with us until we are finally with our Savior. Though we are saved by the blood of Jesus, the enemy still wars against us. Our enemy is not made of flesh and bone but is spiritual. As Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Paul wrote about his own struggles with this in Romans 7:13-25. “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.” (Romans 7:15) In this passage, he acknowledges that he is a sinner, that he cannot be saved by the law or by anything that he can do, but it is only by his faith in Jesus Christ that can save him.

So, how do we fight against this spiritual war? We put on the whole armor of God that Paul described in Ephesians 6:10-20. Part of that whole armor is to “Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” The helmet and the sword of the Spirit protect our brains, our minds, our thoughts, from the enemy. We do that by meditating not on the world, but by meditating - putting our thoughts - on Jesus.

Paul listed the things that we are to meditate on - things that are:

• True

• Noble

• Just

• Pure

• Lovely

• Are of good report

• Virtue

• Praiseworthy

Look at the list again. Do these things describe the world or do they describe Jesus? They are all used to describe Him. The world, if we let it, gets us down. The media, etc., are there constantly reminding us of this, replaying bad news over and over again, running ticker-tape style messages at the bottom of the screen to keep it constantly in your view, so that not only do you hear it but you see it. Let us actively fight against this by doing this instead: turn it off and let us meditate on Jesus:

• Jesus is the truth; He is Emmanuel - God with us;

• He is just and will righteously judge the world when He comes the second time;

• He is pure, holy and without sin;

• He is altogether lovely;

• He is the way, the truth, and the life - the only way to salvation - a good report;

• He sets the standard for the virtues we seek to reflect Him in our own lives; and

• “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:12)

Finally, I leave you with these words from Paul:

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-6) ✝️