Pastor Mary Haley

“More people would learn from their mistakes if they weren’t so busy denying them.”

[anonymous]

Humanity desperately needs a Guide [Plumb Line] for behavior; consequences—positive or negative—are a part of effective learning. We learn self-control from facing our mistakes. Cause and effect for wrong choices is purposeful and should be a powerful teacher. Consequences for unrighteous and unjust actions toward others must be enforced; otherwise, people will not be motivated to turn toward the holy and Almighty God who can forgive them, empower them, and guide them into abundant living (Jo 10:10).
Our culture is struggling and deteriorating, because it needs to learn a new way of living—the righteous way of Christ. Jesus is the Teacher for Life, because he is Life itself. Jesus is also the Judge of Life, because he is the Judge every human being will one day face (Mat 25:31-46). Scripture reminds us every person will one day kneel before Jesus the Christ and give an account for how he or she has lived on earth (Ro 14:12). It doesn’t matter whether we believe this is the truth; our faith or lack of faith does not change what God has ordained in his Judgment. Denial will not exist. As our Creator, every life will be weighed by Almighty God (Rev 20:11-16).

In our passage today, the writer of Hebrews reminds believers they know the Truth—Jesus. Therefore, there is no excuse for denying our mistakes or sinful living. The Lord is not only Life and Judge, he is also Love. Yet, this Love put into place consequences so we will learn from them. Believers and unbelievers will face consequences. Those who honor and live by the Lordship of Christ will face rewards. Those who spurn the authority of Christ over their lives will face punishment.

Brothers and sisters, when we know Jesus—the Living Word of God—we have the Truth. We must not accept into our lives what God rejects. Instead, we need to choose to follow the Holy Spirit into deep love, respect, and devotion to our Lord. As believers, we all make mistakes and the Spirit challenges us to learn from them. It is such a gift to have a Guide who wants nothing but holy abundance for us.

Hebrews 10:26-31 NLT
26 Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. 27 There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies. 28 For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us. 30 For we know the one who said,
“I will take revenge.
    I will pay them back.”
He also said,
“The Lord will judge his own people.”
31 It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the work of the Spirit to guide us into the Truth and away from denial. We need to be real with you and trust you will lead us toward spiritual maturity. Thank you for the consequences we have faced in the past that have helped us grow in your character. Continue to help us reach for the abundant life you offer. We honor your authority, Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The season in which we presently live is a “God-season” and whether we realize it or not we live at the crossroad of grace every day.  We must decide to follow God’s path for us, because it is easy to become distracted by the world.  Time moves forward each day and we must move in synchronicity with the eternal Spirit to manifest Christ’s anointed love in real time. 

As the redeemed of the Lord, we must be about our Father’s business to love the world and reveal salvation in Christ. We cannot afford to find ourselves going backward or off to the sidelines. We are Christ’s witnesses. Living in his salvation is the agenda every day. 

How we live and treat people each day is not only important it is a place of judgment for our very own souls.  The Church needs to take this God-season very seriously.  To do or not to do…that is the question.  What is the right thing to do in order to reveal Christ’s way of living? Do it!

In our passage today from Dr. Luke, Jesus is teaching his disciples about the urgency to be ready for his return.  Think about that for a minute…just under two thousand years ago Jesus is teaching his servants about the urgency of their work and the potential for reward.  Jesus presses the point that no one knows when the Son of Man will return by sharing an illustration with his disciples and instructing them to be ready.

Peter asks a question that I find fascinating, because I believe some folks today think like him.  Is the illustration Jesus shared just for his small group of disciples? We are either faithful disciples living the Word of God and proclaiming Christ for salvation with our very lives pointing the way to Truth, or we are religious people who think simply caring for our own salvation is sufficient—a false gospel.

Believers are recognized in the world by the righteous Light and passion he or she brings to all of life. We are constantly allowing the Word to feed us, so we can turn to feed others the true love of God. Worldly love never satisfies. Jesus has high expectations for his followers, because we have been provided grace to fulfill our commission. We can share Christ in power and passion each day, we simply must choose to do so.  

A faithful servant of Christ not only gives his or her heart to the work of the Lord, a believer’s entire life revolves around the understanding that we are blessed to be a blessing.  The blessing of the Lord is not simply to enrich our lives—although it certainly does so.  The blessing of the Lord is the power to be Christ’s ambassadors in the world, as well as welcoming humanity to his holy table to eat the Truth.  What will we do today to reveal our love and faithfulness to Christ with all that we have been given? 

Luke 12:41-48 NLT  41 Peter asked, “Lord, is that illustration just for us or for everyone?”

42 And the Lord replied, “A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. 43 If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. 44 I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. 45 But what if the servant thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk? 46 The master will return unannounced and unexpected, and he will cut the servant in pieces and banish him with the unfaithful.

47 “And a servant who knows what the master wants, but isn’t prepared and doesn’t carry out those instructions, will be severely punished. 48 But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly. When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.

Prayer:  Lord, thank you for our passage today that reminds us about the empowerment of our salvation.  Please forgive us when we make salvation about anything we may bring to life.  We are simply recipients who should do the right thing each day to reveal the love of Christ in a dark and wicked world.  If we are honest, as believers, we know what is righteous and what is not.  So forgive us when we have not chosen wisely and help us to stay moving faithfully forward to your call and commission.  You truly have entrusted your disciples with life itself.  May that understanding humble us today and help us to look at each day with the same urgency you did years ago.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Good Morning!  I have missed writing and sharing the devotionals with you; however, in my absence, Jen has shared the Word of God beautifully and I have enjoyed being on the receiving end of her devotionals this past month.  The Spirit moves through us all as we open ourselves up to the work of the Word to stir and increase our faith.  Thank you, Jen!

In our passage this morning, we continue with the letter to the Hebrews that began, yesterday.  These heroes of the faith are described as calculating—in Gk. λογισάμενος or logisamenos—meaning through logical thought they weighed the circumstances before them and they formed a conclusion to stand in a place based solely on what they had experienced or understood about God’s character and power written in His Word and lived through previous generations.  Conclusion:  If God revealed his faithfulness in miraculous ways in the past, he will be faithful to reveal himself and manifest his promises to every child of faith. Period.

These heroes are not standing on the foundation of wishful thinking, they are firmly placing their present hope in what the Word of God has revealed to his people in the past while looking for his goodness to manifest in the present and future.  How far into the future will that faith need to sustain God’s people?  Well, for many of these biblical heroes they had to hold onto their faith for a very long, long time.  Some even died holding onto their faith in the work of God through future generations.

Our faith isn’t just important to our Author; it is His passionate life-giving work.  Jesus died to rewrite our lives according to the living Word of God—the character of Jesus.  Spiritually, we arrive into this world lost and blind. Jesus comes to open our eyes and help us see through experiential learning opportunities that God exists and is a rewarder of those who seek him (Heb 11:6).  The more we pursue God, the more we understand his character and desire to emulate him.  

We were created to bring honor and glory to our Maker….our Creator.  Without the saving work of Jesus, the guidance of the Spirit, and the confident application of our faith in the Lord’s goodness and purpose, we are incapable of pleasing God.  So, let’s continue to pursue our Lord and increase our faith, today, because we are seeking to understand a very BIG God who loves to release unfathomable grace to his children!

Hebrews 11: 17-28 NLT  17 It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, 18 even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.”[a] 19 Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.

20 It was by faith that Isaac promised blessings for the future to his sons, Jacob and Esau.

21 It was by faith that Jacob, when he was old and dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and bowed in worship as he leaned on his staff.

22 It was by faith that Joseph, when he was about to die, said confidently that the people of Israel would leave Egypt. He even commanded them to take his bones with them when they left.

23 It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command.

24 It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward. 27 It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible. 28 It was by faith that Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and to sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons.

Prayer:  Lord, when we are actually called according to your name, it requires an act of our faith to follow you.  Thank you for rewriting our lives in your love.  Thank you for stretching our faith as we pursue your goodness by choosing to allow your passionate work to bring holy love to our lives. Change is never easy and having the faith to believe you have only better things for our lives will be our challenge.  Yet, we want you and the life you died to provide us.  So, continue to refresh us in the Spirit and motivate us to want all you have for us.  Make us heroes of the faith who prevail in your power and grace.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Sometimes we need a whopping dose of hope to go with our faith if we are going to believe God for big things. In our passage and lesson, yesterday, we read about how the Shunammite woman was barren and unable to have a child, so Elisha spoke a promise from God for her and she soon became pregnant. This woman struggled to receive that blessing, because she saw no way for it to be fulfilled. Yet, is anything too difficult for God?

The Shunammite woman did indeed get pregnant and have a child. God revealed himself to her as the God of the impossible. Her understanding of God’s power and promise never left her; the Truth remained with her. She was blessed by the Lord and she knew it.

Our passage continues today with the need for even greater faith. This child suddenly becomes gravely ill—perhaps a brain aneurism—while out in the field with his father. Even though the child is taken back to the house for the mother’s care, he dies.

Therefore, this woman of faith can only think of one thing to do; she must go find Elisha. So, she places the child’s lifeless body on Elisha’s bed, neglects to tell her husband about the death, and travels to Mount Carmel to find Elisha, but instead first sees his servant Gehazi. She neglects to tell Gehazi of the child’s death and presses on to find Elisha. When see encounters the man of God she faces her grief, finds comfort and the confidence to believe in another miracle.

While our faith will have to endure many challenges, we must remain persistent in our understanding of the Truth: there is no greater power than God and our hope must be in him. If you are in a battle of faith that presses your endurance, please do not give up hope in God. He alone writes your life story; he wrote it with love in mind. Talk to the Lord and you will gain the persistent strength you need. As we celebrate our Declaration of Independence, please remain faithful and “dependent” upon God.

2 Kings 4:18-31 NLT
18 One day when her child was older, he went out to help his father, who was working with the harvesters. 19 Suddenly he cried out, “My head hurts! My head hurts!”
His father said to one of the servants, “Carry him home to his mother.”
20 So the servant took him home, and his mother held him on her lap. But around noontime he died. 21 She carried him up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and left him there. 22 She sent a message to her husband: “Send one of the servants and a donkey so that I can hurry to the man of God and come right back.”

23 “Why go today?” he asked. “It is neither a new moon festival nor a Sabbath.”
But she said, “It will be all right.”

24 So she saddled the donkey and said to the servant, “Hurry! Don’t slow down unless I tell you to.”

25 As she approached the man of God at Mount Carmel, Elisha saw her in the distance. He said to Gehazi, “Look, the woman from Shunem is coming. 26 Run out to meet her and ask her, ‘Is everything all right with you, your husband, and your child?’”
“Yes,” the woman told Gehazi, “everything is fine.”

27 But when she came to the man of God at the mountain, she fell to the ground before him and caught hold of his feet. Gehazi began to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone. She is deeply troubled, but the Lord has not told me what it is.”
28 Then she said, “Did I ask you for a son, my lord? And didn’t I say, ‘Don’t deceive me and get my hopes up’?”

29 Then Elisha said to Gehazi, “Get ready to travel; take my staff and go! Don’t talk to anyone along the way. Go quickly and lay the staff on the child’s face.”
30 But the boy’s mother said, “As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I won’t go home unless you go with me.” So Elisha returned with her.

31 Gehazi hurried on ahead and laid the staff on the child’s face, but nothing happened. There was no sign of life. He returned to meet Elisha and told him, “The child is still dead.”

32 When Elisha arrived, the child was indeed dead, lying there on the prophet’s bed. 33 He went in alone and shut the door behind him and prayed to the Lord. 34 Then he lay down on the child’s body, placing his mouth on the child’s mouth, his eyes on the child’s eyes, and his hands on the child’s hands. And as he stretched out on him, the child’s body began to grow warm again! 35 Elisha got up, walked back and forth across the room once, and then stretched himself out again on the child. This time the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes!

Prayer: Lord, you move the mountains in our lives and help us press on in faith to believe in better days to come. Thank you for being our Hope and Helper; to look for miracles and to come boldly before your throne of grace to ask for what we need, as well as share the deepest desires of our hearts. It is safe to be vulnerable and real with you. Help us to stay strong Lord and remember your power is so great it cannot be measured. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Discipleship is about serving the Lord and becoming an instrument who releases the grace and goodness of God into the lives of others. We can witness Old Testament servants whom God used to do amazing and miraculous works, as well as New Testament servants who emulated the love and power of Christ to heal and touch loves.

These servants of the Lord did not have special powers in and of themselves; all supernatural power comes from God. They were human beings just like you and me; they struggled with the same challenges and weaknesses. Therefore, every servant of God must be guided and led by the Holy Spirit or there will be a temptation to try to control the ministry in their hands or the people in their care. True ministry is loving your family, friends, taking care of neighbors; not only what is done on church grounds. We are servants of the Lord in Christ and we must recognize all of these realities. Discipleship is being willing to give all the glory to God; sometimes leaving us “feeling” used or even unappreciated. For this reason, we cannot be led by our feelings.

Yesterday, we looked at one miracle God performed through the prophet Elisha and how his compassion and love for God and people brought the impossible into the natural realm. Today, we will look at another miracle God does through Elisha and his servant, Gehazi. The Shunemmite woman extended kindness to the man of God [and therefore loving God]. Her kindness was rewarded in a supernatural way. Nothing good we do goes unnoticed by God and he knows the desires of our hearts.

Our families may be wonderful in taking care of us emotionally, but God still wants to be our Provider. So, in whatever area God has you serving, please ask God how you can be an even greater blessing and source of hope to those around you. God may open up the windows of heaven and poor out a supernatural miracle through your faith.

2 Kings 4:8-17 NLT Elisha and the Woman from Shunem
8 One day Elisha went to the town of Shunem. A wealthy woman lived there, and she urged him to come to her home for a meal. After that, whenever he passed that way, he would stop there for something to eat.

9 She said to her husband, “I am sure this man who stops in from time to time is a holy man of God. 10 Let’s build a small room for him on the roof and furnish it with a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp. Then he will have a place to stay whenever he comes by.”

11 One day Elisha returned to Shunem, and he went up to this upper room to rest. 12 He said to his servant Gehazi, “Tell the woman from Shunem I want to speak to her.” When she appeared, 13 Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tell her, ‘We appreciate the kind concern you have shown us. What can we do for you? Can we put in a good word for you to the king or to the commander of the army?’”

“No,” she replied, “my family takes good care of me.”

14 Later Elisha asked Gehazi, “What can we do for her?”

Gehazi replied, “She doesn’t have a son, and her husband is an old man.”
15 “Call her back again,” Elisha told him. When the woman returned, Elisha said to her as she stood in the doorway, 16 “Next year at this time you will be holding a son in your arms!”

“No, my lord!” she cried. “O man of God, don’t deceive me and get my hopes up like that.”
17 But sure enough, the woman soon became pregnant. And at that time the following year she had a son, just as Elisha had said.

Prayer: Lord, I marvel at how the Shunammite woman is hesitant to ask for what she wants most of all: a son. Yet, you imparted that Word of knowledge to Gehazi and the blessing came through Elisha, anyway. I am inspired by how far you go to love us and to bless us. We certainly are blessed to be a blessing. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

God is always seeking to make his presence known to his human creation. This is the Truth from the past, present, and will remain the Truth until the return of Christ for his Bride—the Church. The struggle for humanity in relationship with God has always been, continues to be, and will remain apostasy: Defiance against God’s authority and an abandonment of the core beliefs, standards, and love that must mark God’s spiritual family.

For the people in the past who resisted God’s efforts to reveal himself, they found themselves facing perilous times. The Old Testament is full of lessons where apostasy robbed those who started in a relationship with God, yet found themselves separated by their deceived choices. Faithfully, God sent prophet after prophet to gain the people’s attention—urging them to return to his care and grace. Sometimes they repented and returned and sadly sometimes they did not.

The God of the Old Testament was not harsh, he was desperately seeking to gain back his children by helping them see he was the only One who could save them from sin and death. Salvation by grace through faith has always been God’s way. Therefore, if the people would stay under the shelter of God’s covenant, they would experience the provision of his grace, as well as the tender and many times miraculous care of the Lord. Think about the Ark, the Exodus, the Wilderness, etc. All of these saving acts of God in the Old Testament point the way to the New Testament salvation opportunity brought by Jesus to save the world from sin and death.

In our passage today, the prophet Elisha is revealed as a servant of God—his ministry was focused on repentance as he sought to turn a nation from idolatry and apostasy back to God. He served the Lord as a person moved by compassion to share the grace and provision of God for the poor, vulnerable, and desperate. He restored lives. There are four miracles recorded in Chapter 4 that demonstrate God’s mercy and compassion for those who would love and serve him.

Our focus today is found in the grace of God to supply the oil that maintains a family’s freedom. This desperate woman and her sons collected as many containers as they could find and the oil kept running from a single vessel of oil until there were no more containers to fill. The collection could be sold in order to pay off the debtors and live on the rest of God’s supply. God is always able to do exceedingly abundantly more than we can ask of think; his ways of meeting our needs are just very different than we may anticipate (Eph 3:20).

In this present time, God is still revealing himself in his Word and in his world. All the authority of heaven and earth have been given to Jesus the Messiah. For this reason, it is essential that we place our faith in his tender care for those who will step out of apostasy and into discipleship. Our faith determines a great deal. God blesses our faith. So, let’s really think about trusting God more, ourselves less, and set our faith out for exceedingly abundantly more that we could ask for or imagine. God’s provision is large when our faith in him is great, because nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37).

2 Kings 4:1-7 NT Elisha Helps a Poor Widow
1 One day the widow of a member of the group of prophets came to Elisha and cried out, “My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the Lord. But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves.”
2 “What can I do to help you?” Elisha asked. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?”
“Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil,” she replied.
3 And Elisha said, “Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. 4 Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.”
5 So she did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another. 6 Soon every container was full to the brim!
“Bring me another jar,” she said to one of her sons.
“There aren’t any more!” he told her. And then the olive oil stopped flowing.
7 When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, “Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over.”

Prayer: Lord, thank you for this wonderful lesson from the prophet Elisha that reveals your tender mercy and compassion for the hurting and brokenhearted. You are our supply of oil; you are the Anointed One we so desperately need. Today, I pray for our hearts to hold more of your grace and provision for us. You know what we need before we even pray; we can find ourselves so empty, but we proclaim you to be our Supply. So, please refresh us and refill us to overflowing, so we may continue to serve you and love others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Last Thursday I attended a collaborative learning luncheon in Tampa. It was a wonderful blessing, because I rarely get a chance to attend many workshops or conferences. This one was governed and grounded in love for humanity, but shined the light of God [Truth] on the power of darkness to destroy people when they step into immorality—sin against God’s standard of righteousness.

Now, we may automatically gravitate toward a definition of immorality that is only about sexual sins, but it is fundamentally about transgressing God’s righteous standards and will for us. Therefore, immorality can be actions, but also a mindset or attitude that leads us to partake of the darkness of the world in all kinds of ways. When we do not guard our souls—minds, wills, and emotions—we are vulnerable to be led by our flesh or the world rather than by the Spirit. Deception can begin to take dominion—which means humanity will be confused about the Truth.

God loves us and knows all about the temptations we may face; ways the enemy uses to lure us away from the narrow path that leads to transforming us as God’s temple. If you have accepted the work of Christ on the cross for the salvation of your sin, you are now the temple of the Holy Spirit and he works to increase your growth in the nature and character of God in which there is NO darkness.

In his letter to the Church at Ephesus, the Apostle Paul has to remind the people about the “fitting behavior” that leads to life with God (5:1-5). Before Christ makes us spiritually alive, we are dead in our sins, so it is not our place to judge the lifestyles of the world—we were once a part of it. But, in Christ, we are becoming God’s children of the Kingdom. God will judge the world, so our job is to live like Jesus so people will experience the true love and nature of God in and through us.

We cannot live like the world while at the same time proclaiming we have received Jesus. It is true we live in the world, but in Christ we are becoming the revelation of the righteousness of heaven. Oh, it would be so wonderful to never have to deal with our fallen nature again, but we will have to deny our flesh and our inclinations to sin until we are home with God. Temptation will always seek to pervert the Truth of God’s will in order to get us to eat the things that destroy spiritual life with God. Remember, Satan said to Eve, “Did God really say…?” (Gen 2:1-3). Yes, he did; and to live apart from God’s righteous standard leaves humanity separated from God.

Although we are saved by grace through faith, we must live in the light of Truth and the Spirit makes that possible as we choose to obey God’s righteous will in exchange for the sin-infected inclination of human will. We may like to think we are a complete work at salvation and in the spirit we are, but that must be lived out one choice at a time and is manifest in our thoughts, attitudes, AND behaviors. Simply said, we choose to do things God’s way, because we know he is our Creator and returning to him means living in the light of Truth—Christ. Truth is a person, so we must connect to Christ in all areas of our lives.

No one can live in the Truth of God’s righteous standard without Jesus and the power of the Spirit. It all really comes down to making righteous choices that can be very painful. The more deceived we become—because we try to excuse certain aspects of immorality—the harder it is to comprehend the Truth. For this reason, God has put his standard into place. Love is God, so as we love him and others…we must live like Jesus, because we have chosen to become his spiritual Temple.

Ephesians 5:6-20 NLT
6 Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him. 7 Don’t participate in the things these people do. 8 For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! 9 For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.

10 Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. 11 Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. 12 It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. 13 But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, 14 for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said,

“Awake, O sleeper,
    rise up from the dead,
    and Christ will give you light.”

Living by the Spirit’s Power
15 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. 16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. 17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. 18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, 19 singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. 20 And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Lord, we long to be more dependent upon you. We need the work of the Spirit to fill us and help us become more like Christ. Help us face the Truth about the areas in our lives that need your redeeming and healing touch. We should never look like the world in how we love and live. So, Holy Spirit, please continue to produce the righteous fruit within us so we can remain faithful to your character. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Sometimes really amazing people who would give us the shirt off their backs can sound harsh when they disagree with us. They are loving, but have an angry delivery tone when they are concerned. By the way, we can struggle in this area, too. Sometimes we may err on the side of being passively delicate [too subtle/not to the point] and sometimes we will err on the side of being undiplomatic [not able to speak without upsetting others]. There is a road to both of these responses…yet, there is a narrow pathway between them. Balancing the Truth in love is never easy.

It is not comfortable when another person challenges us [encourages us to do something different], but it may be beneficial to us. Sometimes we simply do not see the dangers of certain decisions or actions. I don’t know of anyone who enjoys being scolded or corrected, but sometimes we certainly need it. When we are confronted with the Truth by someone, we will need to make a choice to not make that individual our enemy [adversary]. Knowing the Truth is what sets us free. As his children, God always sends the Truth to bring us well-being, as well as spiritual and personal growth and many times he uses diverse people to do it.

In our passage today, the Apostle Paul has a concern—compassion with a desire to bring a positive change. So, he gives contrasting spiritual direction to the early church in Galatia. They have been listening to a legalistic leader, but Paul wants the people to remain liberated and live in the Truth. He knows they will have greater joy and freedom in the Spirit. So, he speaks into their lives in a corrective tone, but encourages them to understand he is not their enemy; he is speaking the Truth in love.

The Truth can certainly hurt, because when confronted we are presented with the opportunity to see things differently and we may not like or welcome any change. As a leader, Paul had to pursue the Truth and lead people in it, because he was accountable to God. Speaking the Truth in love is the goal for every believer. It’s not easy, but we are learning.

Galatians 4:8-20 NLT Paul’s Concern for the Galatians
8 Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist. 9 So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world? 10 You are trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years. 11 I fear for you. Perhaps all my hard work with you was for nothing. 12 Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things, for I have become like you Gentiles—free from those laws [ceremonial].

You did not mistreat me when I first preached to you. 13 Surely you remember that I was sick when I first brought you the Good News. 14 But even though my condition tempted you to reject me, you did not despise me or turn me away. No, you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself. 15 Where is that joyful and grateful spirit you felt then? I am sure you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me if it had been possible. 16 Have I now become your enemy because I am telling you the truth?

17 Those false teachers are so eager to win your favor, but their intentions are not good. They are trying to shut you off from me so that you will pay attention only to them. 18 If someone is eager to do good things for you, that’s all right; but let them do it all the time, not just when I’m with you.

19 Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives. 20 I wish I were with you right now so I could change my tone. But at this distance I don’t know how else to help you.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for reminding us today about our tone when we are sharing what’s on our hearts with others. We can believe the best about our intentions, but still hurt others. Really loving others is wanting your highest and best for them. So, help us to be tenderhearted with how we say what we need to say in order to share the Truth in our hearts. Let love be our goal and faith in the Truth be our fuel. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

It is usually difficult to face our human weaknesses, but it is always a spiritually mature attitude in which to stand before Almighty God. When we face our weaknesses, it opens the door to operate in the strength and power of God. That is when we become aware and others around us recognize the Truth living in us. So, we must choose to humble ourselves, because life will bring challenges that test our faith and reveal our weaknesses. The key to pleasing God is to stand strong in the Truth during the times when we are utterly dependent upon what Christ alone can do.

When we are navigating our lives according to the compass of the Truth, we are pleasing to the Father. We cannot use our desires or circumstances to determine the direction for the journey. Indeed, many times our desires are opposed to God and our circumstances are challenging, because the Truth living in us is either being revealed or opposed.

In our passage today, the Apostle Paul is getting ready for his third visit to the Corinthians. He wants to celebrate their growth in the Truth, but he is not sure that will be the case. Some of these believers are living in such a way they are opposing the Truth rather than revealing it. So, Paul warns them ahead of his visit that if they continue to oppose the Truth with their actions, he will have to confront, discipline, or even ask them to leave the assembly.

This may seem harsh to us at first, but the Body/Church must all be going in the same direction—into Christlikeness and Oneness or wholeness. Otherwise, there will be a spiritual tug-o-war limiting the growth of the whole. Leaders, like the Apostle Paul, who know spiritual maturity is what pleases God, will spiritually guide the people toward a committed and growing relationship with God. Leaders who care about pleasing the people—telling them what they want to hear—will accept spiritual immaturity and convey this is all the Lord requires. In my heart, this is opposing God’s power made available in Christ.

Friends, if Jesus is coming back for a radiant or “glorious Church”—pure, holy, without blemish, reflecting the perfection of Christ—let’s remember this is a spiritual state of being free from the power of sin and marked by righteousness (Eph 5:27). We must demonstrate and reveal the love of God and his character as we remain committed to the teachings of Christ who has freed us from the power of sin and death. The destination of the world depends on the revelation of the Christ in his Body/Church. So, we reach for righteousness and run along the illuminated path of Truth.

2 Corinthians 13:5-10 NLT
5 Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine [committed]. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you [ongoing experience in you]; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. 6 As you test yourselves, I hope you will recognize that we have not failed the test of apostolic authority.

7 We pray to God that you will not do what is wrong by refusing our correction. I hope we won’t need to demonstrate our authority when we arrive. Do the right thing before we come—even if that makes it look like we have failed to demonstrate our authority. 8 For we cannot oppose the truth, but must always stand for the truth. 9 We are glad to seem weak if it helps show that you are actually strong. We pray that you will become mature.

10 I am writing this to you before I come, hoping that I won’t need to deal severely with you when I do come. For I want to use the authority the Lord has given me to strengthen you, not to tear you down.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for this reminder about what pleases you and how we are to examine our lives each day. We confess our weaknesses and give them to you in exchange for your strength and power in the Spirit to remain faithful. We reach for maturity knowing we become more like you as we obey your commands of love. Help us to take the necessary steps today toward righteousness. We commit our lives to growing in the Truth, because we desire to please you as our Creator above all created things. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Peter, James, and John have just witnessed heaven touching earth as Jesus is transfigured and revealed to them as the Son of the heavenly Father. It was a miraculous mountaintop moment with God. It was so awe inspiring these disciples did not want to leave the mountain; rather they wanted to camp there and rest in the presence of God. I’m sure we would have desired the same.

In our passage today, Dr. Luke’s gospel follows Jesus down the Mount of Transfiguration and into the valley. We follow Jesus and the disciples from a spiritual realm of God’s power and glory to the valley where evil has been busy robbing God’s human creation of abundant life. I can only imagine the contrast between these two experiences for the disciples. But, Jesus takes authority and changes not just one life but many.

We know this child suffers demon possession; if it were epilepsy, Dr. Luke would have used that word. We don’t really know why the disciples could not drive out the unclean spirit, but it still teaches us a very important lesson about faith and leaves us with the reminder that we can do nothing of eternal value in our own human strength apart from the authority and power of God, as well as faith in Christ.

Not every day is a mountaintop experience; in fact, some days are hard, challenging, and painful. There is a difference between eternal life in heaven and temporal life on earth. Yet, Jesus takes each one of us up the mountain only to be led back down and through the valley. King David knew all about both parts of the journey, yet like him we must fear no evil for God is with us.

As we look at our journey in life, like the disciples, we see the contrast between the goodness of God and the work of evil. The closer we get to God the more we gain a clearer vision of the work of evil. Truth is Light. The Spirit takes us out into a dark world, so we can be bearers to the Truth of God’s love for the world. Salvation is a miracle and it comes through faith in Jesus the Christ.

Luke 9:37-43 NLT Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy
37 The next day, after they had come down the mountain, a large crowd met Jesus. 38 A man in the crowd called out to him, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, my only child. 39 An evil spirit keeps seizing him, making him scream. It throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It batters him and hardly ever leaves him alone. 40 I begged your disciples to cast out the spirit, but they couldn’t do it.”

41 Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you and put up with you?” Then he said to the man, “Bring your son here.”
42 As the boy came forward, the demon knocked him to the ground and threw him into a violent convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the evil [unclean spiritually, morally, and physically—opposed to God] spirit and healed the boy. Then he gave him back to his father. 43 Awe gripped the people as they saw this majestic display of God’s power.

Prayer: Lord, we must thank you for every mountaintop experience you have provided, because it makes us hunger and thirst for what only heaven can offer. We pray for courage and strength to take one step after another following the Light of Truth in a world that only knows the ways of darkness. Your supply of goodness is limitless, so we call for abundant and refreshing grace as we seek to live for you in a dry and weary land. Be our constant Companion and guide us along righteous paths. In Jesus’ name. Amen.