Intro: Goal setting is an important part of preparing for the future. When we set goals, we are declaring our desire for character growth and personal development. Perhaps this growth involves a job objective, a new skill, or a project we hope to complete. Goals are about forming a strategic action plan and following through with it.

Setting goals for our spiritual lives is also essential. God’s children should always have a righteous action plan to advance the work of the Kingdom with our King. It would be great if every person on earth was interested in righteous goals, but let’s never forget Satan comes with a devious action plan to advance wickedness in the world. He wants to stop the advancement of righteousness. Therefore, we experience a collision of goals (righteous vs. wicked) all the time—this what makes up the spiritual battle.

A spiritual goal might involve an increase of faith, deeper confidence or trust in God’s Word, more authority in the Spirit over our thoughts, speech, and actions that work to guide our lives, or a greater level of commitment to the Lord in serving. There is no end to the spiritual goals we could be inspired by the Spirit to pursue. Faith calls us to hang onto our goals no matter what is happening in our lives at the time. Fear is not from God and we must believe the Lord is guiding our lives into a future and a hope (Jer 29:11).

So, how should we view the work of the world through people who are devious in their goals? Let’s be real and honest; some people have evil goals that flow from a depraved heart. In time, that depravity is revealed. Certainly, those wrong-minded persons can make life pretty difficult for the people seeking to live righteously before the God of all justice. The world may seek to pervert the course of justice, but no one can successfully conspire against us—the redeemed—when we are under the protective wings of God. He knows everything that is happening around us and what affects us. If a person chooses to live deviously, they have to deal with the arrows of God, because He is sovereignly working to defeat evil. What goes through my mind right now is gratitude, because I want to be lovingly held and protected by God not defeated by Him. Being on the wrong side of God (righteousness) is a picture of what is to come when every evil goal meets its demise.

King David understood the spiritual collision of goals, so, he prayed. We must do likewise!

Psalm 64 (NLT) A psalm of David.
1 
O God, listen to my complaint.    Protect my life from my enemies’ threats.
2 
Hide me from the plots of this evil mob,    from this gang of wrongdoers.
3 
They sharpen their tongues like swords    and aim their bitter words like arrows.
4 
They shoot from ambush at the innocent,    attacking suddenly and fearlessly.
5 
They encourage each other to do evil    and plan how to set their traps in secret.    “Who will ever notice?” they ask.
6 
As they plot their crimes, they say,    “We have devised the perfect plan!”    Yes, the human heart and mind are cunning.
7 
But God himself will shoot them with his arrows,    suddenly striking them down.
8 
Their own tongues will ruin them,    and all who see them will shake their heads in scorn.
9 
Then everyone will be afraid;    they will proclaim the mighty acts of God    and realize all the amazing things he does.
10 
The godly will rejoice in the Lord    and find shelter in him.And those who do what is right    will praise him.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the assurance that nothing—no work of evil—can hinder your plans for me. No weapon formed against your children will prosper. Thank you for striking down evil-doers. We lift our voices to rejoice and praise you, today! In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Intro: One of the things I so love about David in Scripture is just how real and honest he is about his feelings. David faces a myriad of emotions throughout his life; we know because he writes songs about where he finds himself in each season. David shares many emotions in the song we will look at, today (Ps 22). In the beginning, he laments—he passionately expresses his grief and sorrow. He feels hopeless and many of his days seem insurmountable. This giant killer struggles as his courage and spiritual vitality wanes. He feels forsaken and abandoned by God. David questions how God could allow this injustice to happen to him? David has always maintained a resilient trust in God, but for some reason God is silent and it is almost more than David can endure. Have you ever had a season when you grieved with a “no help” outlook?

David decides to take a good look at himself; he evaluates his emotions and he realizes he has allowed life’s challenges to diminish his trust in his Creator and Lord. God has always been faithful to his people; nothing has changed and God is not man that He should lie (Nu 23:19). So, David decides it’s time to stop trying to figure things out on his own and to humbly turn his burdens over to God. When he does, David experiences a breakthrough. In God’s timing, He moves in David’s behalf. David experiences a private deliverance that drives him to proclaim the goodness of God publicly.

At times in our lives, God is quietly working in our souls to bring deliverance. The challenge is to remain faithful during the times we may be hurting the most. During these times, let us hold fast to the truth that His grace is sufficient for all our needs and His power is made perfect in our weakness (2 Cor 12:9). “When the righteous cry out, the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles” (Ps 34:17). So, like David, let’s pray when we are hurting, because prayer leads the way to praise!

Psalm 22:1-2, 19-28 NLT
1 
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?    Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
2 
Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.    Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief.
19 
O Lord, do not stay far away!    You are my strength; come quickly to my aid!
20 
Save me from the sword;    spare my precious life from these dogs.
21 
Snatch me from the lion’s jaws    and from the horns of these wild oxen.
22 
I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters.    I will praise you among your assembled people.
23 
Praise the Lord, all you who fear him!    Honor him, all you descendants of Jacob!    Show him reverence, all you descendants of Israel!
24 
For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy.    He has not turned his back on them,    but has listened to their cries for help.
25 
I will praise you in the great assembly.    I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who worship you.
26 
The poor will eat and be satisfied.    All who seek the Lord will praise him.    Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.
27 
The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him.    All the families of the nations will bow down before him.
28 
For royal power belongs to the Lord.    He rules all the nations.
29 
Let the rich of the earth feast and worship.    Bow before him, all who are mortal,    all whose lives will end as dust.
30 
Our children will also serve him.    Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord.
31 
His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born.    They will hear about everything he has done.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for being with us in good times and in the hardest of times. I pray for the hearts of your human creation, today. May the world wake up and see that you are the Deliverer and the Righteous One who rules in justice. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Intro: In our passage today, the Apostle Paul has been talking to the Jews in Rome about their spiritual “sclerosis” or the hardening of their hearts. What causes a person to have a spiritually hard heart? According to Scripture, it is a refusal to repent of sin and accept the only way to forgiveness and salvation—Jesus Christ (Ro 2:4). Believers—the redeemed—are rescued by faith in the saving influence of the Spirit. Human deeds only reveal the evidence of salvation; righteous actions consistent with the Word of God are undeniably seen in the lives of the redeemed. What message do people get about God when they look at your life?

Circumcision refers to the sign of God’s special covenant with his people and it was something God required for all Jewish males. During this time, the Jews felt because they were descendants of Abraham and had been circumcised, they would enjoy a saving relationship with God. Therefore, they believed they could live any way they wanted and be sure of their salvation. However, Paul reminds them the outward act of circumcision was nothing without the inward circumcision to the heart [obedience to God’s Word]. The saving influence of the Spirit comes to cut [circumcise] unrighteous things out of the lives of God’s people that rebel against His Word or Testimony. So, Paul urges his Jewish brothers not to violate their consciences by sin and continually living in hypocrisy (Ro 2:21-23). To continually violate a conscience leads to spiritual “sclerosis,” a quenching of the Holy Spirit’s work, and a desensitizing of one’s moral compass. A hard heart leads a person into suffering and self-destruction; they are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God (Eph 4:18).

A true child of God and a true descendant of Abraham is a person who has allowed the Spirit to cut away or separate him/her from sin in order to live for God. Salvation is the work of the Spirit who convicts us of sin and does the necessary heart surgery—something we could never do for our selves. May we live in the Spirit with changed hearts—a genuine desire to please God. Practicing our faith in the Word and inward work of the Spirit is the true Way to salvation. When we live this way, we send a beautiful message of who God actively is within us.

Romans 2:25-29 (NLT)
25 The Jewish ceremony of circumcision has value only if you obey God’s law. But if you don’t obey God’s law, you are no better off than an uncircumcised Gentile. 26 And if the Gentiles obey God’s law, won’t God declare them to be his own people? 27 In fact, uncircumcised Gentiles who keep God’s law will condemn you Jews who are circumcised and possess God’s law but don’t obey it.

28 For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. 29 No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.

Prayer: Lord, clearly You desire our heartfelt devotion and obedience to Your Word. Holy Spirit, stir that desire in all of Your children, today. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Intro: Two things believers should always remember about our faithful God’s covenant promises: 1) God’s promise of divine protection, and 2) God’s promise of divine provision. Life can seem pretty overwhelming at times, but we are never alone and are always surrounded by God’s protecting arms of love working in our behalf. He is our Creator and He knows our capabilities. As well, He knows our weaknesses, so he provides grace when we need it most.

Physical and spiritual attacks can threaten us, but God is our Protector. This world is fallen, my friends, and as a result we experience many hardships. David faced many angry and sinful people, but he still knew God was his Protector. Do you know God is your Protector? God is our spiritual hiding place; our refuge and shield. As well, He uses angels to protect us from evil (Ps 91:11-12). Actually, because God is the Creator, He can use anything as a means to protect His children. Sometimes, God even shields us from our own self-destructive behaviors.

God never promised that we would be exempt from the experience of physical pain or loss; He does promise to use all things as provision for us to grow spiritually stronger as we trust in His goodness. You are marked by the Spirit and you belong to the Lord. God has promised to protect His children from every spiritual attack and bring us into his glorious Kingdom (2 Tim 4:18).

Jesus—the Word of God—tells believers to ask God for provision, because the Father knows what we need (Mat 6:24-25). He will never withhold good things from those who walk with Him in righteousness into a quality of Kingdom life (Mat 6:33). The mystery of provision is revealed when we trust God and look for Him to bring the help we require. Sometimes, we just ask for the wrong things or with the wrong motives (James 4:3). May we remember God values righteous character development.

God’s love for you began before you were conceived in your mother womb, so He will always be Jehovah-Jireh, The Lord-Who-Provides and Jehovah-Ezer, The Lord-Our-Helper. If you are feeling overwhelmed today, David’s song is for you.
Psalm 124 (NLT) A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.
1 
What if the Lord had not been on our side?
    Let all Israel [people of God] repeat:
2 
What if the Lord had not been on our side
    when people attacked us?
3 
They would have swallowed us alive
    in their burning anger.
4 
The waters would have engulfed us;
    a torrent would have overwhelmed us.
5 
Yes, the raging waters of their fury
    would have overwhelmed our very lives.
6 
Praise the Lord,
    who did not let their teeth tear us apart!
7 
We escaped like a bird from a hunter’s trap.
    The trap is broken, and we are free!
8 
Our help is from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the spiritual protection and provision you bring to the lives of Your children. You raise us above this fallen mess Your creation has made of Your world. Please forgive us and help us overcome the things that try to overwhelm us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

June 14, 2022

Intro: Seems like every day I am praying for wisdom either for myself or my spiritual family. Life requires godly wisdom, because the ways of the world are spiraling into a very foolish place. Please keep in mind the Bible describes a foolish person as an “unbeliever.” To be unwise is not to be intellectually limited. An unwise or foolish person just does not comprehend or believe the sovereign knowledge, authority, and power of God. Therefore, this person lives apart from God—against His commands, unable to comprehend the truth, or accept his or her sinful condition due to the law of sin and death (Ro 8:1-2).

As believers, we are to make the most of our time on earth as we serve our King and His Kingdom. We are to live wisely which means to live according to God’s purposes for redemption and worship—oneness with God. When we invest our time and energy into learning the Word of God, we begin to discern its value and receive its power to bring salvation. Our recognition of God’s power to draw us to Himself and grow spiritual life in us, will lead us into genuine worship and blessing. For this reason, the enemy uses deception as a way to encourage people to self-destruct.

Drunkenness is a waste of spiritual resources. However, it is more than drunkenness that Paul warns about in our passage, today; it’s debauchery. According to history, drunken orgies were associated with the pagan worship of the ancient god Bacchus; many believed they communed with spiritual deities during these sinful times. Paul basically identifies the spirits associated with these orgies as demonic and warns the Ephesians to choose to live under the influence of the Holy Spirit instead. In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus makes a similar warning about false prophets, deception, and lawlessness (24:11-12). That means when we know there is sin [lawlessness] in our lives, we must choose to embrace humility before God, confess and repent of sin [die to self], and surrender to the will and power of the Almighty. To live in harmony with the Holy Spirit is be filled with gratitude for our salvation in Christ; a rescue for our souls. So, continually be filled with the Holy Spirit, today.

Ephesians 5:15-20 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, every day Your children make choices that either lead us forward in our worship of You or farther away. So, help me to welcome the influence of the Holy Spirit in making me spiritually vibrant. May my choices today bring me closer to You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

We are picking up from Friday in the Book of Ephesians, which we know is about God’s eternal plan in bringing all things together in Christ Jesus. The Apostle Paul does an amazing job of explaining how this plan works, and he includes how God has brought us together as the church and how we are called to a place of “unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son” (v. 13).

You might be thinking, how can I be united with everyone at church when I can’t even begin to relate to some of the people who attend Sunday morning worship? Well, my friends, your differences with people at church are by design; and today’s passage says that our diversity as a church is for a purpose: God’s purpose, which is for all of us, as a united church, to be “mature in the Lord” (v. 13).

Paul is not writing about us just becoming mature individually. Rather, he’s writing about the maturity that the church reaches as a body. Once we reach this place of maturity in the Lord, Paul tells us that “we will no longer be immature like children” (v. 14). As a mature church, “we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church” (v. 15).

When you and I come together, with everyone else in the church, as one united body, Jesus “makes the whole body fit together perfectly” (v. 16). Each of us plays our own part, but our part helps the other parts, so together we are growing and full of the love of Christ Jesus.

Pastor Mary preached yesterday about how we all need to come together in unity as the church for this coming year. If you missed yesterday’s sermon at the park, there is a link to it at the bottom of this devotion.

Ephesians 4:7-16 NLT
Unity in the Body

7 However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. 8 That is why the Scriptures say,

“When he ascended to the heights,
he led a crowd of captives
and gave gifts to his people.”

9 Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. 10 And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.

11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

Prayer: Jesus, we thank You for being the head of our body, the church. Help us, Lord, to work together to grow in our faith, as Your church, so that we can mature in You. We want to be equipped to do Your work. We ask all of this in Your Holy Name, Jesus. Amen.

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Friends, we are going to wrap up the week and there will still be some discussion about the Spirit; only, now it is not just about your life in the Spirit, it’s about how all believers are bound together in the Spirit.

In chapters 1 – 3 in Ephesians, Paul teaches about the believers’ new status as the children of God: how we are forgiven, adopted into God’s Family, we are redeemed from the slavery of sin, loved by God, strengthened with His power, and we are recipients of the riches of Christ Jesus.

So, when Paul begins today’s passage with “therefore” we know that what he is saying comes in light of what he has already spoken (in chapters 1-3). Paul now urges us, as believers, to walk in a new way. He is connecting our faith to practice. He is basically saying of course you know the message of Jesus, now you need to also know the person of Jesus. Knowing Jesus, means we are able to get closer and closer to walking out our faith and putting it into practice. Also, we need to do this together, as the body (or church) of believers. This is our commissioned way of living as one body and one Spirit, in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 4:1-6 NLT
Unity in the Body

1 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.

5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 one God and Father of all,
who is over all, in all, and living through all.

Prayer: Thank You, Jesus, for loving each of us despite our faults. Thank You for Your forgiveness. Help us, Lord, to be one united body in Your Spirit. Help us to be patient with one another, and to put our love for each other ahead of anything else. We ask this in Jesus’ Name. Amen

This week’s devotions have been heavily focused on the work of the Holy Spirit. It is very fitting as this week piggybacks on Pentecost, also as we finished up our study on the Fruit of the Spirit last night, and we all desperately need Jesus’ help each and every day through the work of His Spirit within us.

Earlier this week we were learning from the Apostle Paul’s ministry to the believers in Corinth, and today we will continue to learn from him through his ministry to the Ephesians and other churches within the surrounding area.

In chapter 1, Paul begins with a blessing and praise to God. He goes on to talk about our inheritance as believers, “And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.” (v. 13-14)

Paul goes on to thank God for all believers. He prays for our spiritual wisdom and insight so that we can grow in our knowledge and relationship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He wants our hearts may be overwhelmed with the Light of Christ, and for the darkness of this world to never overshadow that brilliant Light of Christ in us. It is by the Light of the Christ that we grow in the confident hope that God has so graciously given to those of us who call on Him and who He calls His holy people.

Ephesians 1:17-20 NLT

17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. 18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.

Prayer: Jesus, we continue to praise You for the work of the Holy Spirit in and through our lives. May You overwhelm each of us today with Your Light, and may it shine ever so brightly for others to be drawn to You. Help us to share Your message with someone today. We ask this in Your Name, Jesus. Amen.

Click here if you missed any of the last 9 Bible studies that focused on the Fruit of the Spirit