promise

What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,
“I will live in them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
Therefore come out from them,
and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch nothing unclean;
then I will welcome you,
and I will be your father,
and you shall be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty.”
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and of spirit, making holiness perfect in the fear of God.
(2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1, NRSV)

I will live in them and walk among them, and I will be their God.

What a promise!

Sometimes it is hard for us as humans to believe in promises. Because we know what it is like to be on the end of a broken promise. To have someone tell us we can trust on them and they let us down.

And sometimes it seems like we are losing everything around us, but even in the darkest valley, God is always with us, and He will never break His promise. The rainbow reminds us of that!

So allow His love to permeate your life as He fills you with His Spirit, and let Him ever walk with you!

we cry

for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:13-17, NRSV)

Do you remember that time when you got hurt and you reached up and cried, “daddy!”

You knew that your dad was going to be there to pick you up and make everything better.

He was going to kiss away the pain and make the world right again.

And that is what we have in our Daddy God. Abba means daddy, it is a very personal word for the male parent.

And the Spirit of God resides deep within us, and helps us to call personally on God the father, so much so that we can call Him daddy!

He will be there to pick us up and kiss away the pain and make everything right with the world.

So cry out! Daddy!

the power

powerThe true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:9-13, NRSV)

I’ve got the power!

Do you remember the song by Snap?

It was in the movie Bruce Almighty…

That is what I thought of as I read this passage today.

“But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave the power to become children of God…”

He gave us the power!

So you have the power through Him to be born not of blood or of the will of the flesh but of God.

So take hold of the power and follow after the creator of the universe!

And if you would like, here is the video of The Power by Snap:

destined

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.  (Ephesians 1:3-14, NRSV)

According to the good pleasure of His will we have been destined to be children of God.

Adoption is not always something that people want. Sometimes it is a long hard road they go before they get there and in order to get there they had to lose something near and dear to them.

And all of that is true for us to as children of God.

You see it is His good pleasure to adopt us, to make us His own, but do we want to be?

You see when we become God’s we have to give up control of our lives, over what we do and how we do it.

It is the fight between a parent and a child when the child wants one thing but the parent knows that is not the best thing for the child. So the battle ensues…

But the promise of God is our being a part of the inheritance, of His kingdom. He has chosen us, and has done it before the setting of the world in motion, to be adopted by Him. irregardless of your thought s on the matter.

So He has adopted you, and made you His own.

Will you fight it?

Will you battle to have control?

Will you forfeit the inheritance?

What will you do, because God loves you and has chosen you?

persecuted without cause

My soul languishes for your salvation;
I hope in your word.
My eyes fail with watching for your promise;
I ask, “When will you comfort me?”
For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
yet I have not forgotten your statutes.
How long must your servant endure?
When will you judge those who persecute me?
The arrogant have dug pitfalls for me;
they flout your law.
All your commandments are enduring;
I am persecuted without cause; help me!
They have almost made an end of me on earth;
but I have not forsaken your precepts.
In your steadfast love spare my life,
so that I may keep the decrees of your mouth.

It is funny that I saw this Coffee With Jesus cartoon the same day I went to read this passage and write this devotion.

You see it is said there is always 2 sides to every story. Well I think that there are 3 or more sides. There is the side of one person, and the side of the other person and the truth of the matter which is probably somewhere in between the 2 of the sides…

But we all think we are on the side of God. We see our point of view and we look in the scriptures, and we pray to God and ask for guidance, and sometimes we walk away with the answer we knew we would get. And when we get a different answer we look again or ask again.

We feel like we are persecuted without cause, but someone has a cause, and that just might be that they think they are on the side of God.

I can say this from past personal experience. I was persecuted without cause in my mind. I believed that I was right and those who opposed me thought that they were right, and who was right.

I would venture to guess that neither of us were totally right. We needed to meet somewhere in the middle, but neither of us were willing to bend.

Sometimes we have to give up what we think is right to actually get to the truth, but that is always easier said than done.

So know that even when you are persecuted without cause, there is a cause, and be willing to bend to see if the truth will be revealed!

come to bring peace?

“So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. “Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven. “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 10:26-39, NRSV)

Do not think I have come to bring peace…

Jesus is our prince of Peace, but here He tells us that he came not to bring peace but a sword.

You see when Jesus enters our lives and we allow Him to have space and our lives are changed, we can be turned against our family. We will see life differently than they do and we may have strife. This is why Jesus comes first, before mother, father, daughter,son,wife, husband. Jesus takes control of our lives and we are changed in ways the world may not get.

And because of that there may be battles.

Jesus does not mean for us to be set against our families, but when He enters and we are changed, sometimes strife is an outcome.

If we take up our cross and follow, He will be with us and even in the midst of strife we will have peace.

Even with the sword we will have peace.

instructed

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food. Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. As you enter the house, greet it. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. “See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.(Matthew 10:5-16, NRSV)

This passage is interesting. Jesus sends out the disciples only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Do not go to the Gentiles or to towns of Samaria, but only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.

But we have to understand the community to which Matthew was written. This was a very Jewish community, and there for they would see this as the mission of the Messiah. To go to the house of Israel.

And once the house of Israel is in order we can go out further, but first we get our house in order.

So go and declare my message to all of our house, and help them to see that God is with them…

And I am sending you out like sheep among wolves… For they should be ready for this, but probably will not be.

But always go and know that I go with you.

sent

After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But at the judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” (Luke 10:1-17, NRSV)

So how many disciples were there?

12?

Well maybe, but here Jesus sends out 70 others. And sent is the meaning of apostle, one who is sent…

So there were at least 82 apostles. And I would say there are many more. And those other 70 that were sent I am sure were disciples in that they learned from Jesus, at least they did a little before He sent them. Do this and not this. So disciples we are all learners from the teaching that Jesus gives.

So know that there were more than 12 apostles, or disciples, and know if you believe that Jesus died for you and calls you, He also expects you to be a disciple (a learner) and an apostle (one who is sent).

He is calling you to go and tell about Him, are you ready to be sent?

a voice

“Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight; and as he approached to look, there came the voice of the Lord: ‘I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look. Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have surely seen the mistreatment of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. Come now, I will send you to Egypt.’ “It was this Moses whom they rejected when they said, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ and whom God now sent as both ruler and liberator through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. He led them out, having performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years. This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up a prophet for you from your own people as he raised me up.’ He is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living oracles to give to us. (Acts 7:30-38, NRSV)

The bush burned but wa snot consumed by the fire.

It was a miracle that would draw any of us to it.

But then the voice comes…

A voice comes from the burning bush. And it says, “I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

I am, not I was…

God is the God of all time, but that also implies that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are with God. God is still their God, as well as Moses’ as well as ours.

And that voice that called to Moses from the bush, calls to you today!

Listen, and follow where He is leading you to go.

called and sent

Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’; for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you, Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD.”
Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the LORD said to me, “Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”
The word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.” Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.” The word of the LORD came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, tilted away from the north.” Then the LORD said to me: Out of the north disaster shall break out on all the inhabitants of the land. For now I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, says the LORD; and they shall come and all of them shall set their thrones at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its surrounding walls and against all the cities of Judah. And I will utter my judgments against them, for all their wickedness in forsaking me; they have made offerings to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands. But you, gird up your loins; stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not break down before them, or I will break you before them. And I for my part have made you today a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall, against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its princes, its priests, and the people of the land. They will fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the LORD, to deliver you. (Jeremiah 1:4-19, NRSV)

I love this verse “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Problem is do we all believe it and hold it to be true for our lives?

You see God is speaking to Jeremiah, whom He has called and is sending out to be a prophet to tell nations what God is saying to them. When God calls and sends us, He will not give up on us until we go. And when we go it is not always a great job to be doing.

But God tells us He knew us before He formed us in our mother’s womb. He formed us there and has a plan for us. Sometimes that plan will make us be the person no one wants to see coming. The Lord will be with us as He was with Jeremiah. As God tells Jeremiah, “They will fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the LORD, to deliver you.”

We are all called and sent by God, and sometimes it will not be easy, but we need to follow where He is sending us knowing He is always with us.