Devotionals

David helps us to understand that God is all loving, merciful, and faithful, and when we humble ourselves to accept His teachings, we can see more and more of His love, mercy, and faithfulness. We must remember that God’s Word always includes correction, instruction, and guidance, and that is for our highest and spiritual best. Even when it doesn’t feel good, God is focused on the best for our spiritual path.

In today’s passage we see David asks God to show him the right path, and he expresses that he wants to be led by God’s Truth (His Word). Many times, within Scripture, we see where David wants to learn from the God Who saved him. Friends, when we read the Bible, we initially discover and learn new things from the God Who saved us; then, over time, by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, what we learn starts to become what we believe, and eventually what we believe should begin to shape our lives. An obedient path might not always seem to be the most “fun”, and God’s correction can be extremely hard or even painful at times; but God always wants His highest and best for each one of our lives, and it all comes from a place of His purest love, His divine mercy, and His eternal faithfulness for us as a unique part of His creation.

Psalm 25:1-10 (NLT)

A psalm of David.

1 O Lord, I give my life to you.
2 I trust in you, my God!
Do not let me be disgraced,
or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat.

3 No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced,
but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others.

4 Show me the right path, O Lord;
point out the road for me to follow.
5 Lead me by your truth and teach me,
for you are the God who saves me.
All day long I put my hope in you.
6 Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love,
which you have shown from long ages past.
7 Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth.
Remember me in the light of your unfailing love,
for you are merciful, O Lord.

8 The Lord is good and does what is right;
he shows the proper path to those who go astray.
9 He leads the humble in doing right,
teaching them his way.
10 The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness
all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.

Prayer: Jesus, we submit our souls to You. Holy Spirit, we need Your minute-by-minute guidance for our minds, our will, and our emotions, as our souls can grow weary, and so we need Your help. Please continue to teach, lead, and guide us along the path that You have for us. We want to grow closer to You and walk in alignment with Your Word. We ask all of this in Your Holy Name, Jesus. Amen.

In today’s passage, James reminds us that faith is not enough, that our actions must align with our words and definitely with our hearts to reveal an outpouring of our spiritual salvation in Christ Jesus. Pastor Mary once said that “good deeds are actions of obedience that come from having Christ as the Lord of our lives”.

Throughout Scripture, God reveals His heart for the needy, and He warns of His judgement that will come on the hearts that were hardened towards the needy. God stands firmly against religious actions that are for show and self-righteousness, as Jesus is found within the selfless good deeds of the faithful when we are loving Him and loving our neighbor (Matt 22:36-40). Jesus helps us to understand that everyone is our neighbor, as He outlined within the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Loving God and our neighbor is taking care of others, serving, giving, helping, etc. which are all good deeds that Jesus exemplified and asks us to do the same in His Name. The demons that James speaks of, may know there is a God, but they cannot exemplify their love for God or others.

Many believers ask the question are we really justified by works (good deeds) as James says, because Paul says that we are justified by faith (Romans 3 – 4). Both are right if we keep in mind that their justification was different, their initial audience was different, their areas of ministry were different, but both reveal that inactive, self-serving, and ritualistic faith are not in alignment with faith at all. James refers to good deeds as revealed through the obedient faith of both Abraham and Rahab. He chose believers who are completely opposite for the Jewish read at the time, as well as for you and me now, to show that true faith is not only obedient; true faith is always active and doing or saying something that brings the love of Christ to touch the hearts of others (our neighbors). May our good deeds reveal Christ and His love to someone today.

James 2:14-26 (NLT)

Faith without Good Deeds Is Dead

14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? 15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”

19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

21 Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. 23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. 24 So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.

25 Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. 26 Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for exemplifying active faith, and for providing us with brothers and sisters of great faith throughout Your Word to reveal how we are to actively provide good works to extend Your love to our neighbors. Holy Spirit, speak clearly to us so we can hear where You need us to work for You today. We love You and ask all of this in Your Name, Jesus. Amen.

Prior to today’s passage from Luke 10:13-16, we know that Jesus moved from His Galilean ministry to begin His journey toward Jerusalem. He sent out seventy-two chosen disciples, in pairs, to the towns and places He planned to visit. Jesus’s instructions were, “Whenever you enter someone’s home, first say, ‘May God’s peace be on this house.’” (v.5) We see within verses 10 through 12, that Jesus also warned the disciples that some people will reject their offer of peace, and that brings us to today’s passage. Here, Jesus helps us to understand that He directs us to faithfully proclaim His Gospel message, and just as people reject us, they are also rejecting Him, the Prince of Peace. We must not get discouraged, as only Jesus is the divine Judge, and we are called to keep moving forward and sharing His loving message of forgiveness and eternal life.

In verse 13, we see Korazin (also spelled Chorazin) is denounced, this was also written in Matthew 11:20-22. Aside from these passages, there is no other mention of Korazin within the Bible. We know that not everything Jesus did is recorded, however, based upon verse 13, we know that Jesus visited and performed miracles within this city, as He did at Bethsaida, where Jesus fed the 5,000 (9:10-17). Tyre and Sidon were prosperous cities that had little regard for Israel. Many of the prophets within the Old Testament spoke of these cities, and Jesus states that had He performed miracles within Tyre and Sidon, repentance would have occurred. When Jesus references being clothed in burlap (or other translations say sackcloth) and throwing ashes on their heads, He is referring to the customary Jewish sign of outward repentance which was to sit in sackcloth and ashes to symbolize grief. We know that outward signs of repentance are no longer necessary, that God is concerned with our heart, and as followers (disciples) of His Son, Jesus, repentance should be a part of our daily lives.

Luke 10:13-16 (NLT)

13 “What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse. 14 Yes, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on judgment day than you. 15 And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven? No, you will go down to the place of the dead.”

16 Then he said to the disciples, “Anyone who accepts your message is also accepting me. And anyone who rejects you is rejecting me. And anyone who rejects me is rejecting God, who sent me.”

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for Your forgiveness and for Your Word that is inscribed on our hearts. As Your disciples, we want to share Your message. Holy Spirit impart Your wisdom for when we talk about Your Word with others and shield our emotions when people do not want to receive You. Allow us to keep moving forward and sharing Your message. We ask this in Your Name, Jesus. Amen.

Every time I write in reference to Psalm 119, I like to remind us, that it contains 176 verses which are divided into 22 stanzas, and each stanza is titled with a letter from the Hebrew alphabet. Today’s stanza is titled with the 10th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Yodh or Yud, which is often associated with God’s hand, humility, and wisdom.

Friends, something we all have in common is that we have all faced troubles, sometimes the trouble is tragic, while other times the trouble is just a really rough day. Another thing we also have in common is that during our times of trouble we all reach for something. Think about that for a moment. Be honest with yourself. What or who is it that you reach for or maybe even hide from during your times of trouble? Remember the title of today’s passage and how as believers, you and I are called and encouraged to humbly reach for God’s hand during every troubling moment so that He can guide us with His wisdom through it. We cannot forget that the One Who created each one of us, also wrote His Word on our hearts. So why is it that we can find ourselves hiding from God or seeking destructive people, circumstances, places, or habits when all we need to do is seek the Holy Spirit and ask Him for divine guidance. I read a post from a friend on social media yesterday that said, “Every sin is an attempt to be happy, without God.” In today’s passage, the psalmist reminds you and I who we are in Christ Jesus. God knows our struggles, He faces them with us, He is faithful, and He is our Comforter, so instead of turning to sinful places, people, ways, or habits during troubled times, we need to be turning to God and reaching out to grab a hold of His hand and don’t let go.

Psalm 119:73-80 (NLT)

Yodh

73 You made me; you created me.
Now give me the sense to follow your commands.
74 May all who fear you find in me a cause for joy,
for I have put my hope in your word.
75 I know, O Lord, that your regulations are fair;
you disciplined me because I needed it.
76 Now let your unfailing love comfort me,
just as you promised me, your servant.
77 Surround me with your tender mercies so I may live,
for your instructions are my delight.
78 Bring disgrace upon the arrogant people who lied about me;
meanwhile, I will concentrate on your commandments.
79 Let me be united with all who fear you,
with those who know your laws.
80 May I be blameless in keeping your decrees;
then I will never be ashamed.

Prayer: Father, thank You for always having Your hand available for us to grab a hold of. We need You, at all times, but especially during times of trouble. Holy Spirit, please guide us towards You and away from the places that seem temporarily comforting, because they are familiar sinful places. We want to allow Your unfailing love to comfort us so that we may experience Your joy at all times. We ask all of this in Your Name, Jesus. Amen.

Last Wednesday through Friday we spent our devotional time within 2 Kings, and if you joined us for worship yesterday, Pastor Mary continued in 2 Kings 5 (1-14), and we will pick up today where she left off.

As a reminder Naaman was a high-ranking official within the Syrian Army, and he also had leprosy. He went to Israel to see the Prophet Elisha for healing. When Naaman arrived at Elisha’s home with his entourage and earthly riches, Elisha sent a messenger to tell Naaman to go and drip himself seven times within the Jordan River and as a result his leprosy would be healed. Naaman was angry that Elisha did not come to meet him, and so he stormed off. One of his officers eventually convinced Naaman to obey Elisha’s message, and “So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him. And his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child, and he was healed!” (v.14)

Today’s devotion picks up with Naaman looking for “the man of God”, Elisha. Far too often, you and I can be just like Naaman and resist God’s guidance and healing for our lives and as a result we make things unnecessarily complicated. God’s plan was simple for Naaman, and it is simple for you and me. Yet even after God heals him, and Naaman wants to worship the God of Israel, he still wants to gift Elisha. Living faithfully within this world can be hard at time, and that is what we see happening for Naaman, and it happens to you and me all of the time. Within these moments we need to reach up and grab ahold of God’s grace. This is what Naaman ended up doing. He confessed his need for forgiveness and called on God’s mercy and favor, and Elisha granted him God’s peace.

God’s grace, mercy, favor, and peace are all available for you and me right now. We simply need to call on Jesus, by faith, for delivery and obediently walk out the plan God has for us.

2 Kings 5:15-19 (NLT)

15 Then Naaman and his entire party went back to find the man of God. They stood before him, and Naaman said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.”

16 But Elisha replied, “As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept any gifts.” And though Naaman urged him to take the gift, Elisha refused.

17 Then Naaman said, “All right, but please allow me to load two of my mules with earth from this place, and I will take it back home with me. From now on I will never again offer burnt offerings or sacrifices to any other god except the Lord. 18 However, may the Lord pardon me in this one thing: When my master the king goes into the temple of the god Rimmon to worship there and leans on my arm, may the Lord pardon me when I bow, too.”

19 “Go in peace,” Elisha said. So Naaman started home again.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for the example of Your healing and guidance as seen through Elisha and Naaman. We want more of Your spiritual healing and guidance within our lives, Lord. We call on Your grace, mercy, favor, and peace today, as we want to grow in our faith and be more obedient to You, Lord Jesus. We ask all of this in Your Holy Name, Jesus. 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.

Today we are looking at part of a letter that is attributed to the Apostle John. It’s one of three letters: 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John, and together they are often referred to as the Johannie Epistles. It is believed that just over 1900 years ago, the Apostle John was writing today’s letter to a group of Christ followers in Asia Minor. Friends, you and I must keep in mind that as believers, God’s Word is always speaking directly and currently to us. So, we need to ask what is God’s Word saying to us through John’s letter? In 1 John 2:7-11, John is reminding us that we are not just followers of Christ Jesus, rather, you and I, as believers, are called to live in the likeness of Jesus; and Jesus commands us, as believers, to love others like He loves each one of us (as a part of His creation).

I have a soft spot for the Gospel of Matthew. This happened years ago when the Spirit moved within me during a study on the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes. A couple of years later, when The Chosen came out, the writers portrayed Matthew in a way that just reinforced my love for his Gospel and how he learned from Jesus and how he encourages us to learn from Jesus. In Matthew 25, he reminds us of Jesus’s return in “The Final Judgment”. At this time, Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats, by placing the sheep on His right hand and the goats on His left hand. Those on His right will enter His Kingdom as they will have loved God’s Family like Jesus loved them; while He will curse the ones on His left for when they did not love the least of God’s children, they were not loving Jesus. Friends, this message directly connect to today’s passage from John and his message for the Church and about God’s Family. You and I will be separated as sheep and goats. This is not about all believers being sheep and all unbelievers being goats, no, this is about how you and I treat (love) one another as believers, and as a part of God’s Family.

In today’s letter, John reminds us, that you and I are commanded, by God, to love one another within our spiritual Family. This might seem like a simple ask, but do you and I love ALL of our spiritual brothers and sisters as Jesus loves them? Do you and I take a humble posture in our relationships with our spiritual brothers and sisters? And, if we look back at Matthew 25, do we feed the hungry, give something to drink to the thirsty, show hospitality to a stranger, cloth the naked, care for the sick, and visit the imprisoned? Friends, we must remember that when we judge another believer, or any person, we are judging Jesus. John uses the word “hate”, and you might be thinking, well, I don’t hate anyone, so I will be fine during the Final Judgement. Remember, our call to love our brothers and sisters is to love them like Jesus loves them, not simply to just not hate them. We need to be asking the Holy Spirit, each and every day, to change our hearts to be more and more in alignment with the heart of Jesus, so that we are living in His Light, in His likeness, and loving as He calls us to love all of His creation.

1 John 2:7-11 (NLT)
A New Commandment

7 Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. 8 Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.

9 If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness. 10 Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a fellow believer is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for setting the ultimate example of how we are to love one another. Holy Spirit, please convict us to know when we are not loving as You call us to love. Guide our souls (minds, wills, and emotions) and hearts to be more like Jesus. Help us with our spiritual blindness, deafness, and hard human hearts. We want to be Your sheep that follow Your voice, and the call You have on our lives, so please help us to not be the goats. May You guide us today to love like You love, help our hearts feel Your limitless love for Your Family and for those who do not know You so that they want to become a part of Your loving Family. We ask all of this in Your Name, Jesus. Amen.