spewing…

Meanwhile, Saul was still spewing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest, seeking letters to the synagogues in Damascus. If he found persons who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, these letters would authorize him to take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. During the journey, as he approached Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven encircled him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice asking him, “Saul, Saul, why are you harassing me?” Saul asked, “Who are you, Lord?” “I am Jesus, whom you are harassing,” came the reply. “Now get up and enter the city. You will be told what you must do.” Those traveling with him stood there speechless; they heard the voice but saw no one. After they picked Saul up from the ground, he opened his eyes but he couldn’t see. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind and neither ate nor drank anything. (Acts 9:1-9, CEB)

Saul was spewing murderous threats against followers of the way.

We all know people who seem to be hateful to our following Christ. But it is not too late for anyone to have a change of heart and mind.

Remember the passage above follows Saul holding coats at, and approving of, the stoning of Stephen.

God had and has a plan for all people. And God is not impatient and is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and will return when we all have come to understand the love of God.

Know there is a plan for those spewing hate, just as there is a plan for you.

Love like Jesus in the meantime, and show the world love.

know the love

This is why I kneel before the Father. Every ethnic group in heaven or on earth is recognized by him. I ask that he will strengthen you in your inner selves from the riches of his glory through the Spirit. I ask that Christ will live in your hearts through faith. As a result of having strong roots in love, I ask that you’ll have the power to grasp love’s width and length, height and depth, together with all believers. I ask that you’ll know the love of Christ that is beyond knowledge so that you will be filled entirely with the fullness of God. Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us; glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus for all generations, forever and always. Amen. (Ephesians 3:14-21, CEB)

The author of Ephesians says some powerful things here that I hope you, the reader of this devotional, hear and take to heart.

As the author says to the Ephesians, I type to and for you:

I ask God to strengthen you so that you remain true to God and not succumb to glory for yourself.

I ask Them that Christ will live in your hearts.

I ask Them that you have the power to understand the love They hold you with and that you will give that love away.

I ask Them that you know the love by which Christ holds you and the power that love has to transform your life and the life of the world.

May God give you all these things and shower you with love forever.

Epiphany

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the territory of Judea during the rule of King Herod, magi came from the east to Jerusalem. They asked, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We’ve seen his star in the east, and we’ve come to honor him.” When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, and everyone in Jerusalem was troubled with him. He gathered all the chief priests and the legal experts and asked them where the Christ was to be born. They said, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what the prophet wrote: You, Bethlehem, land of Judah, by no means are you least among the rulers of Judah, because from you will come one who governs, who will shepherd my people Israel.” Then Herod secretly called for the magi and found out from them the time when the star had first appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you’ve found him, report to me so that I too may go and honor him.” When they heard the king, they went; and look, the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy. They entered the house and saw the child with Mary his mother. Falling to their knees, they honored him. Then they opened their treasure chests and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Because they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route. (Matthew 2:1-12, CEB)

Warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went a different direction.

These magi, wise men from what we would today call the Orient, came to find the king whose star they saw at its rising. They were led to the newborn by God through a method these men understood.

God guided them as God guides us today.

We see these men in the nativity scene with the shepherd in the manger. But the reading above says they entered the house. So they weren’t in the manger, and our scene we idolize is not true. We should not keep this as a picture of what happened, regardless of how much joy that scene gives us.

The scene of the wise men coming to God is us, and we need to see that as it happens.

Know that God comes to you in ways you understand to help you know the love God has for you and for all of creation.

Let God give you your epiphany, and then go and help others see the love God has for them!

Cross Eyed

What more can I say? I would run out of time if I told you about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. Through faith they conquered kingdoms, brought about justice, realized promises, shut the mouths of lions, put out raging fires, escaped from the edge of the sword, found strength in weakness, were mighty in war, and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured and refused to be released so they could gain a better resurrection. But others experienced public shame by being taunted and whipped; they were even put in chains and in prison. They were stoned to death, they were cut in two, and they died by being murdered with swords. They went around wearing the skins of sheep and goats, needy, oppressed, and mistreated. The world didn’t deserve them. They wandered around in deserts, mountains, caves, and holes in the ground. All these people didn’t receive what was promised, though they were given approval for their faith. God provided something better for us so they wouldn’t be made perfect without us. So then, with endurance, let’s also run the race that is laid out in front of us, since we have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us. Let’s throw off any extra baggage, get rid of the sin that trips us up, and fix our eyes on Jesus, faith’s pioneer and perfecter. He endured the cross, ignoring the shame, for the sake of the joy that was laid out in front of him, and sat down at the right side of God’s throne. (Hebrews 11:32—12:2, CEB)

“Faith is the reality of what we hope for, the proof of what we don’t see.” (Hebrews 11:1)

There are so many in the scripture who lived their lives in the hope of what God was doing. In the promises that would be fulfilled.

We too can live in faith and hope. Fixing our eyes upon Jesus, faith’s pioneer and perfector. The one who gave us what we believe in and perfected that faith by trusting in the plan He did not really see.

I had a shirt many years ago with the saying Cross-eyed on it with a Cross, and Hebrews 12:2. Fix your eyes upon Jesus, be cross-eyed.

That is how we survive life and how those named in Hebrews 11 survived. They lived in faith, trusting God in everything.

ii

Be Cross Eyed! As you look at the two i-s above look at the white space between them, it makes a cross. When we focus on the cross we keep Christ center and allow our faith to guide us.

Focus on Jesus and live by faith.

The Word…

In the beginning was the Word
    and the Word was with God
    and the Word was God.
The Word was with God in the beginning.
Everything came into being through the Word,
    and without the Word
    nothing came into being.
What came into being
    through the Word was life,
    and the life was the light for all people.
The light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light.
A man named John was sent from God. He came as a witness to testify concerning the light, so that through him everyone would believe in the light. He himself wasn’t the light, but his mission was to testify concerning the light.
The true light that shines on all people
    was coming into the world.
The light was in the world,
    and the world came into being through the light,
        but the world didn’t recognize the light.
The light came to his own people,
    and his own people didn’t welcome him.
But those who did welcome him,
        those who believed in his name,
    he authorized to become God’s children,
        born not from blood
        nor from human desire or passion,
        but born from God.
The Word became flesh
    and made his home among us.
We have seen his glory,
    glory like that of a father’s only son,
        full of grace and truth.
John testified about him, crying out, “This is the one of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is greater than me because he existed before me.’”
From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace;
    as the Law was given through Moses,
    so grace and truth came into being through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God.
    God the only Son,
        who is at the Father’s side,
        has made God known. (John 1:1-18, CEB)

In the church, we have words that mean different things in different places and times, depending on context and what the person using that word is saying.

One of those words is Israel. When you read Israel in the Bible, you must discern if it means the country, the people, or the person. Remember Jacob wrestled with an angel and his name was changed to Israel, and God’s chosen people is Israel, and Israel is the country.

Another of these is church. Does Church mean the body of Christ, or a denomination, or a specific gathering of a community of believers, or the thing we go to on Wednesday/Saturday/Sunday? This is why I tell my children you can not go to church, you are the church, you go to worship, or study, or fellowship.

Another of those words is word. Does word mean the Bible, or does it mean Jesus?

I saw a video not that long ago that said Christianity is different from other Abrahamic religions in that Jesus is the word in Christianity, and the sacred scripture is the word in the others.

But as Christians, do we see the Bible as the word too, and if so, which is more the word we should listen to?

If we elevate the bible over Jesus, is that idolatry?

Jesus came and dwelt among us to show us love.

Jesus wants us to love.

When the Bible or religion gets in the way of Love, it is no longer the word and we should listen to Jesus.

Listen to Jesus.

Love.

By Faith

All these people died in faith without receiving the promises, but they saw the promises from a distance and welcomed them. They confessed that they were strangers and immigrants on earth. People who say this kind of thing make it clear that they are looking for a homeland. If they had been thinking about the country that they had left, they would have had the opportunity to return to it. But at this point in time, they are longing for a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God isn’t ashamed to be called their God—he has prepared a city for them.
By faith Abraham offered Isaac when he was tested. The one who received the promises was offering his only son. He had been told concerning him, Your legitimate descendants will come from Isaac. He figured that God could even raise him from the dead. So in a way he did receive him back from the dead.
By faith Isaac also blessed Jacob and Esau concerning their future.
By faith Jacob blessed each of Joseph’s sons as he was dying and bowed in worship over the head of his staff.
By faith Joseph recalled the exodus of the Israelites at the end of his life, and gave instructions about burying his bones. (Hebrews 11:13-22, CEB)

“Faith is the reality of what we hope for, the proof of what we don’t see.” This is Hebrews 11:1.

All those from yesterday’s devo died in faith, not receiving the promise but living a life that believed the promise would be fulfilled.

Will your name be there too?

Do you trust in God and live your life as if the promise has been fulfilled when it has not yet been realized?

Live by faith, showing God’s love in all you do.

By Faith

Faith is the reality of what we hope for, the proof of what we don’t see. The elders in the past were approved because they showed faith.
By faith we understand that the universe has been created by a word from God so that the visible came into existence from the invisible.
By faith Abel offered a better sacrifice to God than Cain, which showed that he was righteous, since God gave approval to him for his gift. Though he died, he’s still speaking through faith.
By faith Enoch was taken up so that he didn’t see death, and he wasn’t found because God took him up. He was given approval for having pleased God before he was taken up. It’s impossible to please God without faith because the one who draws near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards people who try to find him.
By faith Noah responded with godly fear when he was warned about events he hadn’t seen yet. He built an ark to deliver his household. With his faith, he criticized the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes from faith.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out without knowing where he was going.
By faith he lived in the land he had been promised as a stranger. He lived in tents along with Isaac and Jacob, who were coheirs of the same promise. He was looking forward to a city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
By faith even Sarah received the ability to have a child, though she herself was barren and past the age for having children, because she believed that the one who promised was faithful. So descendants were born from one man (and he was as good as dead). They were as many as the number of the stars in the sky and as countless as the grains of sand on the seashore. (Hebrews 11:1-12, CEB)

Faith is the reality of what we hope for, the proof of what we don’t see. Hebrews chapter 11 is the faith hall of fame, all the people in the bible we hold high because God recognized them as righteous because of their faith.

They believed the promises and held to the understanding of what they could not see.

Will you be listed in the faith hall of fame?

Shepherds…

When the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go right now to Bethlehem and see what’s happened. Let’s confirm what the Lord has revealed to us.” They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. When they saw this, they reported what they had been told about this child. Everyone who heard it was amazed at what the shepherds told them. Mary committed these things to memory and considered them carefully. The shepherds returned home, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. Everything happened just as they had been told. When eight days had passed, Jesus’ parents circumcised him and gave him the name Jesus. This was the name given to him by the angel before he was conceived. (Luke 2:15-21, CEB)

Shepherds were not thought of as honest people because they would allow their flocks to graze on other people’s land. But these are the first witnesses beyond Mary (an unwed mother) and Joseph to the birth of Jesus.

God chooses to work through all people, regardless of how we see them or think of them.

God says everyone is worthy and gets to see the king. Who are we to say differently?

Know God

Jesus spoke to the people again, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me won’t walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” Then the Pharisees said to him, “Because you are testifying about yourself, your testimony isn’t valid.” Jesus replied, “Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is true, since I know where I came from and where I’m going. You don’t know where I come from or where I’m going. You judge according to human standards, but I judge no one. Even if I do judge, my judgment is truthful, because I’m not alone. My judgments come from me and from the Father who sent me. In your Law it is written that the witness of two people is true. I am one witness concerning myself, and the Father who sent me is the other.” They asked him, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You don’t know me and you don’t know my Father. If you knew me, you would also know my Father.” (John 8:12-19, CEB)

If you know Jesus, you know the Father. If you do not know Jesus, you do not know the Father.

Jesus is a faithful witness for himself because he is not only Jesus, but Father and Spirit, so He is two (+) witnesses in one.

So do you know God?

Show the world by being a light and sharing God’s love.

temporary

So we aren’t depressed. But even if our bodies are breaking down on the outside, the person that we are on the inside is being renewed every day. Our temporary minor problems are producing an eternal stockpile of glory for us that is beyond all comparison. We don’t focus on the things that can be seen but on the things that can’t be seen. The things that can be seen don’t last, but the things that can’t be seen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, CEB)

Life has a way of making things difficult. Problems arise that seem daunting and insurmountable. We get caught in our own failures and lack of progress. We focus on our lack of progress and get caught in the depths of despair.

I know it is so easy for me to see all the things I have done wrong, but we are all human, and we all fall short. We need to allow others to help us remember that these things in this life are temporary. We are building towards something much greater than any of us can imagine.

We are storing up treasures in our heavenly homes. I see this when I open my Why I do this box. I have a box of letters and mementos given to me when things went well here, so when I am caught in the depths of difficulty, I can be reminded that my life is not all doom and gloom. God has a plan, and we are building the coming kingdom.

Life here is temporary; do not let it trick you.