Saved and Given A Purpose

201 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 1:9, “who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,” (2 Tim 1:9) One of the things I love about Paul is he often starts writing about a certain subject, but then the name of Jesus pops up and he immediately goes off on a tangent of praise and declaration of truth about Jesus! We saw this in several places in 1 Timothy and we see it again here. I think it's just added proof of the Holy Spirit moving the pen of the writers of Holy Scripture. 2Pe 1:21 says, “for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” One of the Holy Spirit's responsibilities is to shine the spotlight on Jesus and He seizes that opportunity at every chance He gets! Here Paul is writing about the sufferings, trials and tribulations that await the followers of Christ in this world and the Holy Spirit interrupts him and says, “let me tell you more about this Jesus!” First of all, He saved us! But not only saved us, He gave us a purpose in life, a calling! This salvation and this calling is not based on our performance or works, it is by sheer grace. This portion of Timothy mirrors that great passage found in Eph 2:8-10, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” God had a plan from the very beginning for saving the world by grace through faith in His Son Jesus, and He has put a call on all His saved children to be a part of the plan to bring that saving message to the world. This is the good work that God has prepared for us beforehand! It's called the Church and this church is made up of various people with various gifts that are to be used in carrying out the Great Commission, which is our great calling. This church, built by the saving work and calling of Jesus Christ is so powerful that even the gates of Hell cannot prevail against it! Are you a believer! Praise God! For you are not only saved, but God has given you a purpose with eternal consequences. Let us explore our duties as we let His word minister to us, to prepare us to minister to others!

Tap Into the Power That Is In You

200 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 1:8, “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God,” (2 Tim 1:8) Another therefore! So, what is THIS therefore “there for?” It's here because God has given Timothy and all believers the indwelling Holy Spirit who casts out fear, and replaces it with power, love, and a sound mind! And because we have this indwelling Spirit of God, we are able to overcome any fear associated with being a follower of Jesus. This word “ashamed is the same word Paul used in his declaration to the Romans in Ro 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” The power in the gospel that overcomes fear of going all in with Jesus and therefore resulting in salvation, is the same power that enables us to share in the sufferings and tribulations that will come our way as we seek to continue following Jesus. These sufferings and tribulations are brought about as the devil, the world, and our flesh seek to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. The power of God keeps us through these various trials. They can be as trite as something not going the way we planned or as major as throwing someone to the lions unless they renounce Jesus. This power enables those so stressed to persevere. The power is in you in the form of the Holy Spirit! Tap into it whenever you need it lest you find yourself ashamed of what really matters. Jesus said in Lu 9:26 "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels. Being ashamed of Jesus and His words means you regard Him and His words as vile. And if something is vile, you do not want anything to do with it. How ironic, that at the very moment when we need Jesus most, (during our faith testing trials and tribulations) we don't want anything to do with Him! (Ask Peter!) When those moments occur, I pray the Holy Spirit will bring these words in 2 Timothy to mind, and He will cast out our fear and fill us with power, love, and a sound mind!

Even the Lightning Obeys

The Ten Commandments won't budge! Written in stone by the very finger of God and engraved in the hearts of all men. They are boundaries set by the Creator Himself who knows a thing or two about boundaries! Last time we talked about the boundaries of the seas, but there are more of course! Spend some time reading Job 38-40 if you ever start to question the authority of God. You will read among other things how the very jagged path of a flash of lightning is predetermined by God! Job 38:25 says, "Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water, Or a path for the thunderbolt,” and in Job 38:35 we read, “ Can you send out lightnings, that they may go, And say to you, 'Here we are!'? Even the lightning says “Here I am God, what is it that you would have me do? And God says, I want you to make a sharp turn to the right then the left, then left again, then right, then land real close to this guy named Martin Luther. He needs a little scare! And this budding law student on his way to the university at Erfurt, was knocked to the ground by the near miss and vowed at that moment, “ I will become a monk!” and he did, and well you know the rest of the story. God not only speaks orders to His creation in nature, but He speaks to the crown of His creation, (you and I) in the Ten Commandments and says, “This is what I would have you to do!” Yes with the opening words of the Bible in Gen 1:1, we have all the credentials God needs to call the shots! “In the beginning, God! Col 1:14-17 speaks of Jesus as the “Son of God's love: 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn (first born not speaking of birth, but rather of birthright, we might substitute the word “ruler” here. He is the ruler over all creation. And guess what? Rulers have rules, and we find ourselves staring again at those Ten Commandments that won't budge!) 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. Created through Him and for Him should be enough for us to willingly obey Him! But if it's not, then think of what He willingly did for you and I in order to spare us the death penalty that our disobedience deserves! It is through Him that we have “redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins,” His love for His creation will not budge, and His Ten Commandments won't budge, let us submit to His love and commands with glad hearts, assured that He truly loves us and in His perfect wisdom, knows what is best for His creation!

The Greater Tsunami of God's Grace

The Ten Commandments won't budge! Written in stone by the very finger of God who made all things. But why should we obey Him? Who gave Him the right to tell us how to live? Why is it necessary to have these limits put on our behavior by a set of rules? It is necessary because it is good!The Laws and boundaries set by God are for our own good! We can see this in His acts of creation. For instance, it was for our own good that God established limits to the sea. Pr 8:29 says, “When He assigned to the sea its limit, So that the waters would not transgress His command,” If you don't think these assigned limits to the sea aren't beneficial, then you ought to go back to the great tsunami of 2004. I am writing this devotion on the 12th anniversary of this tragic event, a day when God allowed the sea to transgress His command. An estimated 240 to 280 thousand people lost their lives as a result. I wonder how many of us made the connection between the deadly danger of the sea transgressing God's commands and our own deadly acts of disobedience against those Ten Commandments that won't budge. The Bible tells us of the deadly consequences of our disobedience in Ro 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death,” That's the price that must be paid for transgressing the boundaries set by God. Death was the price paid by over a quarter of a million people in that tragic tsunami, and a similar fate awaits all those who do not deal with the wage demanded by God for their sin. Thankfully the story doesn't end there. The rest of Rom 6:23 says, “ but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Not everyone died in that tsunami. There were some accounts of miraculous survival as well. Dare we say that this serves as a reminder that the gate to eternal life is narrow, but broad is the way that leads to destruction! (Mt 7:13,14) Sin threatens us on every front, but God says you and I don't have to be swept up in it. He sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins, and pay the wage on our behalf. Overwhelmed by our own sin, but the tsunami of God's grace is even greater! Let His gift wash over you today as you acknowledge your need for a Savior and receive Jesus both as your Savior and Lord!

Me Obey Him?

In this series, I am borrowing heavily from a book written by Pastor B.A. Maurer in 1951 called “The Ten Commandments Won't Budge.” The title of the book comes from a James Russell Lowell couplet that goes like this: “In vain we call old notions fudge And bend our conscience to our dealing The Ten Commandments will not budge And stealing will continue stealing.” I found it interesting that Maurer didn't just jump into an exposition of the Ten Commandments but rather began his book at Gen 1:1, “In the beginning, God.” Well played Pastor Maurer....well played. After all if Someone or something is going to come around and start to tell us how to live our lives, He better have the authority and the power to do it. How about some credentials here! You call Yourself God, where are Your credentials said the pot to the Potter!And the very absurdity of that statement ought to be all the credentials we need, but apparently mankind needs more, even those who profess to believe in God need more as God seems to constantly remind us in Scripture that He was here first! Indeed.....In the beginning....God! It's not by accident that the Gospel of John starts with the same three words...”In the beginning,” only this time Someone else is included in the picture with God, and that Someone is Jesus Christ! He is referred to as “the Word,” the divine expression of God, who was with God and was God. He is, the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father as we read in Joh 1:18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. Quick question, Did God after a certain period of time say something like this? “I think I'll add something to My bosom and call it My son!” Or was the Son in His bosom from all eternity? It is as we state in our Nicene Creed, “Jesus Christ is “the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.” Further, in his commentary on Proverbs 8, Paul Kretzmann writes, “this entire section clearly speaks of the divine wisdom in a most peculiar sense, as personified in the person of the Word of God, Jesus Christ!” With that in mind, listen to these words beginning at Prov 8:22, “The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, (When? At the beginning!) Before His works of old. 23 I have been established from everlasting, (From when? Everlasting!) From the beginning, before there was ever an earth. (Before there was what?) 24 When there were no depths I was brought forth, (Brought forth, not created but brought forth from the bosom of the Father) always there, but not yet called upon to participate in Creation!) When there were no fountains abounding with water. 25 Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills, I was brought forth; 26 While as yet He had not made the earth or the fields, Or the primeval dust of the world. 27 When He prepared the heavens, I was there, When He drew a circle on the face of the deep, 28 When He established the clouds above, When He strengthened the fountains of the deep, 29 When He assigned to the sea its limit, So that the waters would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth, 30 Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him, Yes! In the beginning....from the get-go! God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, by whom all things were made! Me? You? Obey Him! You better believe it! Ro 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! 34 "For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor?" 35 "Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?" 36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

The Third Use of the Law

The Ten Commandments won't budge. They are written in stone with the mighty finger of God. That same finger that flicked aside another stone that was not suppose to budge, namely the stone that had been rolled in front of the entrance to the tomb of Jesus and sealed! And when that stone was rolled away to reveal the empty grave, it announced to the world and the devil and his demons that the perfect sacrifice of Jesus, the payment for our sins was accepted by God! The death of Jesus on the cross appeased the anger of God against all who have broken the Ten Commandments, the resurrection of Jesus was the proof that God accepted His sacrifice for the sins of the world. 1Jo 2:1,2 says, “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation (the appeasement) for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. With our debt being paid and received by faith in Jesus Christ, we can now begin a journey of living and loving in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit as we seek to employ the Law and it's third use, namely as a guide for the regenerated man. This use instructs those who have been saved by grace through faith in the how to's of loving God and neighbor. It cannot save us, only show us how to love God and neighbor in God-pleasing ways. As a guide, it's like a Sherpa in the Himalayas, it can steer us clear of pitfalls that could indeed endanger our eternal safety. Or have you not heard that idolaters, murderers, liars, fornicators, thieves, etc will not inherit the kingdom of God? Knowing the Ten Commandments of God will help the believer to steer clear of these damnable pitfalls. Thank God, the Ten Commandments won't budge! They are there to curb sin in this word! They are there to show us our sin and need for a Savior, and they are there to serve as a guide for the regenerated, born again believer in Christ. They don't drift that we may not drift. Like a lighthouse they keep us on the course of proper love of God and neighbor and guard us from the deadly shoals of sin, that threaten to shipwreck our faith! Thank You Lord for Your Law! May it ever serve it's purposes until Jesus returns. May it drive us to the cross often as we see how far short we fall in loving You and others. Forgive us for all our trespasses, all our violations of Your Law, and give us a new resolve to seek to obey in order that we may truly love You and others in Jesus Name, Amen

Do Not Bury the Ten Commandments Under the Glitz and Glamour of the World

The Ten Commandments won't budge. Written in stone by the finger of God and traced by that very same finger on the hearts of all men, these commands are not meant to be looked at as strict rules, rather they are to help us answer the question: What can I do to love God and my neighbor. Jesus point blank told us in Joh 14:15 "If you love Me, keep My commandments. With this in mind, you can see why the devil works overtime to keep the commands out of our schools and the public square! He wants people to forget how to love God. He wants them to love him instead, and the result is with every act of disorder and violence in this world that is contrary to the Ten Commandments, the devil IS worshiped and loved. Are the Knights of Columbus and Judge Moore the only ones who seem to understand this tactic of the devil? You've got to appreciate their efforts to keep the Ten Commandments that won't budge, on public display! It is understandable to see why the enemy of our soul and the enemy of God seeks to have them removed from public view, but beware when he starts to succeed in removing them or burying them in the church! Remember Josiah and his uncovering of the Law when he cleaned the temple. (2 Kings 22) The Ten Commandments had been tossed aside and exchanged for the trappings of the world. Let us not fall into the same trap in the church today! We ought to be asking ourselves, “ Have we gone for glitz, glamour, trends, and messages that simply paint love of God and neighbor in broad generalizations?” When love is spoken of in general terms rather than the specifics of the Ten Commandments, confusion, and an acceptance of sin is apt to follow! We sing “I love you Lord,” but have no clue what it means....it's just kind of a feeling isn't it? And the Law of God is shrouded under a blitz of ear-tickling sermons and feel good songs. Where are you Josiah! We need you! We need to be reawakened! Pray that the immovable Law of God will be found again, read again, and cut us to the heart again as we see how far short we fall of loving God and our neighbor. Help us to rend our garments and cry out to Jesus for our salvation for He is our only hope! He is love! He loved God and men perfectly! He kept the Ten Commandments perfectly and then paid the price for us, who can't. Do you want to know how to love God and your neighbor? Here it is: Thou shalt have no other gods before Me Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy Honor thy father and thy mother. Thou shalt not kill Thou shalt not commit adultery Thou shalt not steal Thou shalt not bear false witness Thou shalt not covet. Only a liar could say that he kept these commands perfectly, and we all know the place reserved for liars on that day! We are desperately bad, covered with the foulest guilt and we have no hope in our own merit! It is the nature of sin (as we said at the beginning) to ruin, kill, and destroy! How deep our fall How black our record! How desperate our plight! How imminent our doom as being foreshadowed by current events! Common honesty puts the words of Paul on our lips: Of sinners I am chief. The good that I would I do not; the evil that I would not, that I do; O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Can worse misery, can blacker doom be imagined! No wonder Josiah wept and tore his garments! Without God, and without hope, cast into outer darkness, where there is only weeping and gnashing of teeth! Thank God that we need not stop on this note of black despair. Thank God Paul did not stop there, but followed his words of frank and honest confession , of unreserved self-humbling, with a triumphant word of hope: “I thank my God through Jesus Christ my Lord!” Just because sin is so black and damnable and we are so hopelessly caught in its toils and so helpless against it, divine grace in the person of God's own Son came to the rescue of our helplessness and sought and saved the very lost. The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let us not despise that gracious gift, but today receive it anew! Believe it anew, and then let this new found love of God break forth in your life as you seek to treasure His commands!

You Can Trust the Finger of God

The Ten Commandments won't budge and God has deemed them so important that He has written them on the heart of every man, woman, and child. Ro 2:14,15 remind us of that fact: “ for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, 15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) There are still people groups in the world today who know nothing of Ten Commands written in stone by the very finger of God! God deemed it vital to put those commands down in written form, because to rely solely on what one feels in his heart is dangerous ground, As the Bible says in Jer 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” The heart cannot always be trusted, but you can trust the finger of God! The written version of the Ten Commandments were a special gift given to the descendants of Abraham, who would preserve them for all time. Ro 3:1,2 says, “What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? 2 Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God. The “How to's” of loving God and neighbor, need not remain buried under the hardened layers of man's heart. Because of Moses and Mt Sinai, the tablets can be placed in front of our very eyes where we can read and heed! In the Book of Genesis, after Babel, by the grace of God, the line of Shem was traced and led to Abraham. God chose to reveal Himself to Abraham, and a nation was formed that eventually had that invisible Law that was written on the heart, codified on Sinai with Moses! What a gift to the world through Israel! The Law written in stone, and coupled with the promise of salvation by grace. All because Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness. God chose Israel and gave them the Law in stone. They could see it, read it, be reminded of what is in their heart constantly, their hearts either accusing or excusing them. With the Law in view externally they knew how to respond to the love of God by loving God and their neighbor. What a great advantage right? Well guess what? Even in their case, life happened, other things became more important. Religious instruction was left behind. The Israelites and their kings were being influenced by the world. The Law and promise was being obscured. It was so bad that when Manasseh took over, he and the people utterly turned away from the Lord. Setting up idol worship, sacrificing some of their own children to Molech. His son, Amon, ruled next and we are told that he forsook the Lord God of his fathers, and walked not in the way of the Lord. These people had the Ten Commandments, written in stone! Where were they? They were literally buried under the junk in the temple. It was under the rule of Josiah, when he decided to repair the breaches in the temple that the Book of the Law (which included the Ten Commandments) was found. When it was read to Josiah, it hit him right here, right where the laws were buried in his own heart, and he tore his clothes and wept! And because the second use of the Law showed him his sin and the sins of the nation, and he was broken, God had mercy on him and the Bible tells us that Josiah went to his grave in peace. Let's stop there for today and leave you with this challenge: Do you want to go to your grave in peace? Then let the Law of God do it's thing. Read the Ten Commandments. See how far short you fall of the perfection demanded by God. Then allow yourself to be broken by your sin, let the Law show you how far you have missed the mark of loving God and loving neighbor, then turn to God for mercy through faith in Jesus Christ and pray: “Lord save me!” This is a prayer that Jesus came to this earth to answer! And He says in Joh 6:37 "the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”

The Ten Commandments Won't Budge Reversing the Curse

The Ten Commandments won't budge! As we mentioned last time, they are written on the hearts of all men! Godless societies have the Law in their hearts, but it gets buried deeper and deeper with the passing of time. The “how to's” of loving God and neighbor are obscured, and when that happens, love is absent, and violence and disorder and hate follow. After man attempted to make himself god at the Tower of Babel, the people were dispersed and made into nations. They spread out over the world. They carried the Law of God and the promises of God in their hearts and still do to this day! But the Word was neglected, and it doesn't take long for this generational curse to set in. Ex 20:5,6 says, “ I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. Think about it, if the commands show us how to love God, then the ignoring of them produce the opposite effect, they produce hate! And this ignoring of God's commands has a generational impact, and you can see how quickly a society can lose it! So this curse of the Tower of Babel took effect on these people as they meandered away from Babel and on that first Pentecost when the disciples spoke the wonderful works of God in all these various languages to those pilgrims gathered in Jerusalem, the curse was beginning to be reversed! The wonderful works of God, (dare we say the Law and Gospel) spoken in their own language resonating with those long buried truths in their hearts and the Holy Spirit using those words to rekindle faith in their hearts! This is the mission of the church to this day! To go out and speak the wonderful works of God in the language of the people in order to bring 'em all back in! We are charged with reversing the curse! I hope your church has some sort of involvement in foreign missions! The task is not yet complete! There are still unreached people groups saddled with the curse of Babel. They are waiting for someone to come to them speaking the wonderful works of God in their own language. The Holy Spirit yearning to peel aside the layers of hardness around the heart with the proper proclamation of the Law and the Gospel! As it is written in Ro 10:15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!" Let us work, let us pray, let us support the work of sending out missionaries with this Good News!

The Ten Commandments As A Curb

The Ten Commandments won't budge and in my denominational circle, we view the Ten Commandments or the “Law” as having three specific uses. We have spent the last couple of days on the Law being used as a mirror. As a mirror the Law shows us who we really are, namely sinners in need of a Savior! As the Apostle Paul wrote in Ro 7:7, “I would not have known sin except through the law.” Still another use of the Law is it serves as a curb to believers and unbelievers alike. The Law helps to control violent outbursts of sin and helps to keep order in the world Right now in America and in the world, we need to learn from this. When violence and disorder increase in the world, (as it seems to be happening today) what's going on? The increased acts of sin and violence are an indication that restraints have been removed! You've seen the courtroom scenes the person charged with the crime is led into the courtroom in shackles. Why? To keep him from fleeing of course, but also to protect others from the possibility of a violent outburst. That's what the Law does it helps restrain violence in society. I think we can safely say that the written Ten Commandments have become obscured in our violent world today. Think of what has been happening in America on the legal front as it concerns the posting of the Ten Commandments! They've been systematically taken out of our schools and the public square. And we wonder why murder, sexual immorality, larceny, and covetousness, (which shows up in our love affair with possessions) are rampant! But even though they have been removed in their physical form, believe it or not they are still present in the hearts of all men as we read in Ro 2:14,15: “for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, 15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) So even though they don't have the actual stone tablets, or the Word of God in it's physical form, they have them buried somewhere in their heart, and when the written and spoken commands invade the eyes and ears of an unbeliever, they are designed to resonate. A spark of right and wrong is kindled and sin, violence, and disorder are curbed to the extent of that resonation. The harder the heart, the deeper the layers, the dustier and mustier the Bible, the less the Law has effect. You see, these commandments, get buried under the sinfulness of irreligious men whose hearts become hardened by sin, and through distraction and disinterest and the passing of time, the Laws of God are out of sight and out of mind and they are forgotten. Sometimes, even religious men in their zealousness for their “religion,” bury the intent of the commands (remember they show us how to love) under hearts hardened by an absence of the grace embodied in the gospel! Godless societies have the law in their hearts, but it gets buried deeper and deeper with the passing of time. The One true God is out of sight and out of mind, and when that happens, love is absent, and violence and disorder and hate follow. Our nation....the world....needs the Ten Commandments. We need them in our churches, our Sunday School classes, our homes, and yes if possible in the public square. It was one of our nations founding fathers, John Adams who said “our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people,” No wonder there are so many public displays of these commands in our historic government buildings. The Ten Commandments won't budge as they serve to curb outbreaks of violence and sin in our world. May they resonate anew in our hearts and in the hearts of our fellow citizens in ever increasing measure.

Who Would Ever Admit To Being an Unloving Person?

The Ten Commandments won't budge! They are the “how to's” of loving God and loving neighbor. Jesus summed them up in Mt 22:36-39, “"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" 37 Jesus said to him," 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 "This is the first and great commandment. 39 "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Now, there's a little bit of a dilemma in Jesus' summation of God's commands into the simplistic “Love God and love neighbor” formula, that was not intended. The dilemma is simply this: People have a tendency to ignore the specifics of love as spelled out in the Ten Commandments and just paint the commands in the broad brush of their own personal definition or feelings about love. Quite frankly, when we do that we create quite a mess. We seek to live by our own generalizations of love. Go ahead ask anyone what they think it means to love and you will get many different answers. Since love is defined in a multitude of ways by a multitude of people we wind up with a church that loves by feeling, rather than fact, and vaguely rather than specifically. We wind up with cafeteria style love. Picking and choosing what we want to love and how we want to love rather than loving the way God intended. I'll say it again, The Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount tell us how to love specifically! Jesus was not replacing the Ten Commands with two! Get that straight. He was simply summing them up. He said in Mt 5:17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Why is such a person called great in the kingdom of heaven? Because to be great in the kingdom of heaven is to love God and neighbor, and the Ten Commandments show us specifically how to do this! If we limit our understanding of righteousness to our definition of love,we will likely fall into the trap of works righteousness. We will fool ourselves into thinking we have been “good enough” to get into heaven. Think about it, who would ever admit to not being a loving person? So we have a whole lot of people who say they love God and neighbor and think they love God and neighbor, but if they would take a serious look at the Ten Commandments which tell us how to love God and neighbor, they would see how far short they come. And how pale our pile of works righteousness really is! And if they still fool themselves into thinking they have kept the Ten Commandments, well, there's always the sermon on the mount, or to carry it even further, the instruction that Jesus gave to the rich young ruler to sell everything he has, and give it all to the poor, and then follow Jesus. It's time to admit it, as we look at the mirror of the Ten Commandments, we can honestly see how far short we have fallen in loving God and men. Forgive us Jesus for our shortcomings. We throw ourselves at Your feet asking for your mercy and grace. Mercy for salvation from our sins and grace for the power to love in accordance with the specifics of Your Word, rather than our own generalizations!

More On the Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments won't budge! Written in stone by the very finger of God, they ever serve as reminders to us as to what it means to love God! Most of us are aware that Jesus summed up the Ten Commandments with two. In Mt 22:36, we read, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" 37 Jesus said to him," 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 "This is the first and great commandment. 39 "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." This is so beautifully stated, and we can even see these two arenas of love expressed in the Ten Commandments. By that I mean we see what is called the First table of the Law dealing with the “how to's” of loving God, and the second table of the Law dealing with the “how to's” of loving our neighbor. In fact, if you were to do a basic English Class lesson in outlining the Law of God, Roman numeral I would be: “Love God,” and under that heading would be: A: Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. B. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. C. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Then under Roman Numeral II, you would put “Love your neighbor as yourself,” and under that heading you would put the rest of the Ten Commandments. If you wanted to carry it even further, (and you should) you could probably take the teachings of Jesus from His sermon on the mount and find a place for them under the commands. For example, under the heading of “Thou shalt not murder,” we would find the matter of being angry without cause categorized in a sub-heading under murder, and under the heading of “Thou shalt not commit adultery, we would find the matter of lustful leering categorized in a sub-heading as adultery. You get the point. Jesus summed up the commands with the word “Love,” but if you want to know “how to” love God and love neighbor specifically, you need to know the Ten Commandments, and the sermon on the mount. That's the good news! We don't have to guess as to what it takes to love God and neighbor! It's right there in the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount! The bad news is, as we see what it takes, we must confess that none of us are capable of loving so perfectly. That's the dilemma of mankind! We all sin and fall short of the glory of God! We all need Jesus! He is the only one who loved God and man perfectly! Thank You Lord for showing us our need for Jesus in the Ten Commandments. Thank You for sending Jesus to die for our sins, for all those times we failed to love You and others in accordance with Your Word! Thank You for Your forgiveness through faith in Jesus and Your promise that as many as receive Jesus have the right to become Your children! (Joh 1:12)

Some Thoughts On Bruising

It has become my practice to include a small portion of Luther's Small Catechism in my personal devotion time and today I found myself in that portion that speaks of redemption. One of the verses that Luther quotes concerning the benefits of redemption is found in Isa 53:4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. The fact that Jesus was “bruised for our iniquities,” caught my attention because I am currently recuperating from knee replacement surgery. One of the ugly after affects of major orthopedic surgery is the bruising that is left behind. A great deal of violence has been done to my body and those deep purple splotches that appeared from the tip of my toes all the way up the back of my leg serve as a reminder of just how violent this surgery is! The good news of course is these bruises are temporary and with time will fade away. In like manner, sin, bruises our soul. Every iniquity, past, present, and future does violence to a soul that was meant to be pure, white, unblemished. These bruises don't fade away with time and they need to be dealt with. So Jesus comes along and He suffers a tremendous amount of violence to His body in the process of scourging and the crucifixion. How bruised His body must have been from the violence done to Him on our behalf! For it wasn't just my iniquity, but yours, and yes, the iniquity of the whole world! Even as we go through life today, we will commit sin. But we need not be bruised by it. Because Jesus died on the cross and was bruised for our iniquities we can confess our sins, knowing that God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 Jn 1:9) Imagine that! Sin violently bumping into my soul today and no mark left behind because of Jesus! How can we not bow down in thankful worship of such a wonderful Savior! I am so sorry Jesus for my sins that caused you such pain on the cross, and the thought occurs to me that the purple colors of the Lenten season are less connected to the color of royalty and more connected to the bruising that Jesus suffered on my behalf! It is the purpled, bruised body of Christ, hanging on that tree that allows God to see my soul sinless and white as snow!

The Ten Commandments Won't Budge

I saw a Facebook post this morning of surveillance video that someone posted from a local retail store. In the video, a woman is shown helping herself to a donation jar for the family of a son who is battling leukemia. She nonchalantly made room in her over-sized purse, put the jar in and walked out of the store. If there was any hint of remorse or shame on her face, I didn't see it. Whatever happened to the Ten Commandments? This incident made me think of a book I recently read, written by Pastor B.A. Maurer in 1951 called “The Ten Commandments Won't Budge.” The title of the book comes from a James Russell Lowell couplet that goes like this: “In vain we call old notions fudge And bend our conscience to our dealing The Ten Commandments will not budge And stealing will continue stealing.” Try as we may to ignore them and remove them from the public square, the fact is the Ten Commandments will not budge! Jesus said in Mt 5:18, "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” I wonder if the thief in the surveillance video had ever heard of that commandment in church as a child, or in her upbringing at home, or if she ever stopped to read them in her Bible, or areas where they may have been posted in the public square? Has she any awareness of this commandment written in stone by the Creator of the Universe? Are you aware of God's Ten Commandments? Are you familiar with them? Can you name them? How about your children? Have they memorized them and stored them up in their heart? The Psalmist encourages us to do this in Ps 119:11, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You!” Spend time on a regular basis reading these commands and sharing them with your children. For they serve a threefold purpose: First of all they act as a curb, restraining evil in this world. Secondly they act as a mirror and expose us as sinners in need of a Savior, and finally for the follower of Christ, they show us how to live God-pleasing lives!

The Groanings of the Spirit

I am home, recuperating from knee replacement surgery, and I want to continue to talk about intercessory prayer. Anyone who has had any kind of surgery knows that the spirit is willing to pray but the flesh is just too tired, too hurting, or sometimes (thanks to pain medication) too much out of it to pray! Last time I talked about the Universal Pain-Assessment Tool that hospitals and doctors use to ascertain your level of pain. This assessment is useful in providing guidance for pain medication doses. A 0 on the chart is no pain, and 10 is unbearable. When you get to #5 on the scale, your pain causes you to be unable to do some activities. It's right about there that the Holy Spirit kicks in with the groanings and utterings mentioned in Rom 8:26, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Perhaps you have seen an old western movie where the hero is in a mine and and things start shaking loose and the timbers start to creek and groan. A ship's timbers will do the same thing in stressful seas, always reacting to the stress in such a way as to keep things from falling apart. They take the stress upon themselves in order to prevent a cave in, or a ship that would bust apart at the seams! This is what the Holy Spirit does for you in your stressful situation. You find yourself in such agony or dire straits that you cannot even find the words or the spirit to pray. And the Spirit comes and wells up inside you and makes perfect intercession for your hour of trial. He did it for Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and He will do it for you as you lay in your hospital bed at level 5 or worse of the Pain Assessment Chart! Here's the thing about the groanings of the Holy Spirit. They won't fail! In the movies the mine almost always caves in, but God hasn't lost one yet. Don't bolt. Hang in there. Endure! This trial is only meant to accomplish something in you for your own good. And when the dust settles, you'll be able to say with Paul in Rom 8:28, “All things (even this trial) work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose.”

One of God's Tools For Handling Pain

It's been a week and a day since my knee replacement surgery under the able hands of Dr Kuplic of the Orthopedic and Sports Institute of the Fox Valley. Things are going well and my first visit to the physical therapist after the surgery was very encouraging. I am very thankful to the Lord for everything that has taken place leading up to the surgery and whatever may follow. To Him be all praise and glory! Those of you who have undergone any kind of surgery are likely familiar with the “Universal Pain-Assessment Tool” which is used to help diagnose and manage your pain. The nurses constantly use this tool to find out where your pain level is at and then medicate accordingly. 0 = no pain on the scale and 10 = unbearable. I am very thankful that my pain level hovered around the 3 mark (mild on the scale) with an occasional burst to a 5 (moderate pain) when my surgical area was stressed due to physical activity. At the number 3, the patient can do “most activities with rest periods.” But at 5, the patient is “unable to do some activities because of pain.” I am so thankful that God has His own tools for addressing the pain in our own lives. One of those tools is the prayers of other believers. Remember the men who took apart a roof, so they could bring their paralytic friend to Jesus for healing? This man was in no condition to come to Jesus on his own. He was at a 5 or more on the Universal Pain-Assessment Tool, but his friends brought him to the Lord! They interceded on his behalf and “when Jesus saw THEIR faith,” He answered their prayers for healing on his behalf! There were times leading up to my surgery and hospitalization that I was like that paralyzed friend. Immobilized by fear, and sometimes wracked by physical pain I was in no condition to physically pray. To be honest, today was the first time in a long time that I was able to spend some quality time in the Word and talking to my Savior! So I thank those of you who have been praying for me. Those of you who had a tap on the spiritual shoulder to lift me up in prayer! You, by the grace of God, have helped me through a difficult time and may the Lord reward you accordingly! Job 42:10 says, “And the LORD restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.” I have a friend who just came home from the hospital after his own knee replacement surgery and you can be sure I have been praying for him and those times when he gets above 5 on the Universal Pain-Assessment Tool. How about you? Is there anyone in your life now facing some sort of physical, spiritual, or emotional pain that scores higher than a 5 on the scale? You know, that point where they may be unable to “do some activities because of the pain in their lives?” How about taking time today to lift them up to the Lord for His healing touch!

I'm Still Here!

I get about 7,000 views per month worldwide on my daily blog, and it's at times like these I feel I need to let my viewers know what's going on. As you may or may not know, I use this daily blog as a live on-air devotion on 919,915 The Family out of Appleton Wisconsin. Therefore if for some reason it has not been updated, it's likely due to technical error, or (more likely) I'm not at work on this particular day! It's why there is no blog updates on weekends, holidays, sick days, or vacation days. I did this so the on-air devo and off air blog would always be in sync! Right now I am in the midst of a long period of absence, as I convalesce at home from some major knee replacement surgery. The doctors tell me I will be unable to work for at least three to five weeks. Let me say first of all that I am greatly humbled to have that many viewers of my blog site, plus many more who listen to the radio station, or follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and on You Tube. My prayer is that I will always be true to the Scriptures and thereby offer words that will, in accordance with 2 Tim 3:16, be (1) profitable for others. (2) provide reproof where needed, (3) correct those who need correction, (4) provide instruction for righteous living! In the days ahead, I ask that you will all take the intercessory role of Aaron and Hur and lift me up in prayer that I may regain my strength and be back on the airwaves again, wielding the sword of the Word of God that He has by grace placed in my hand!. Ex 17:11-13 says, “ And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses' hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. Thanks again for your prayers, hope to be back on the airwaves soon.

63 Times the Bible Tells Us To Fear Not

199 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Tim 1:7) I have a pet peeve and it involves the phrase “fear not” as found in the Bible. Perhaps you have heard it said or seen it posted on social media as gospel truth that the phrase “fear not” appears in the Bible 365 times, once for every day of the year! I know I have quoted this in the past, but then one day the Berean in me decided to check it out. Funny thing, my concordance shows the phrase fear not appearing in the King James Bible just 63 times. Ummmm, that's a little short. The idea of 365 “fear nots'”, while comforting, just isn't true. However, having said that, the concept of trusting God and not fearing is found in many places in Scripture and worthy of noting. Fact is, if it were only found in this one place in Timothy, it would be and should be enough! The recent results of the presidential election in America has stirred up the very real emotion of fear for many of those who voted against Donald Trump. The news media is long on showing us the results of this fear, but short on offering solace and comfort. That's where we, the church ought to come in. Let's just try and put the shoe on the other foot. 81% of white evangelicals cast their vote for Trump, but I wonder how those voters would've reacted to a Clinton victory? It would be foolish to think that there would've been no fear. Fear, needs to be dealt with and perhaps that's why it is indeed mentioned often in Scripture. Followers of Christ ought to have a leg up on others in the matter of fear, and if fear is gripping a believer, then we ought to point to those “fear not” verses of consolation in Scripture. If fear rises up in the heart of an unbeliever and in the streets of a nation, then we ought to take note that the nation needs Jesus. So, as we see these fearful reactions to circumstances, the best thing we can do, is pray for and work for revival. It is easy to sit on the sidelines and denigrate the protesters, but let's get past that and see the real solution. People need Jesus. How can we best bring Him to them?

The Antithesis of Fear

198 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 1:6,7 “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (2 Tim 1:6,7) Whenever we see the word “therefore” in Scripture, we need to go back a couple of verses and see what the therefore is “there for!” This “therefore” is connected with the genuine faith of Timothy. Because Timothy had come to genuine repentance and faith he is being reminded by Paul to rekindle the gift of God that was in him through the laying on of Paul's hands. With the specific mention of Paul's laying on of hands, we should get the idea of a passing of the baton to Timothy. This could be likened to Elijah passing his prophetic mantle on to Elisha! 1Ki 19:19 So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle on him. Elijah would soon be departing and the gifts and authority of Elijah needed to be passed on to the next generation. Likewise Paul would be departing soon and his gifts of preaching, teaching, admonishing, and his mantle of authority were to be passed along through Timothy. These gifts passed along to Timothy were just as real as the gift of repentance and faith given to him and they must not be allowed to sputter and die! Fan the flame! Give the Holy Spirit air! Do not let fear douse the fire. There certainly was cause to fear with the persecution of Christians that was taking place, but Paul reminds Timothy that the Holy Spirit is the antithesis of fear. He is power! He is love! He is a sound mind, (that is a mind that is under control, not panicking, due to exterior circumstances.) Perhaps fear is creeping into your life due to external circumstances today. Remember this verse! Claim this verse! The Holy Spirit who is in you from the birth of your faith is not of fear! There is no dread in Him. He is power and love! Fan this gift! Tap into this gift as needed! And may the peace of God which passes all understanding guard your heart and mind through Jesus Christ!

Holy Tears

196 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 1:3-5, “ I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, 4 greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, 5 when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. (2 Tim 1:3-5) As I read this, I keep wondering, “What was Timothy crying about? Why was Paul “mindful of his tears?” Why did the tears of Timothy fill Paul with joy! There is a connection between tears and joy! It's like the psalmist said in Ps 126:5 Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy.” These tears of Timothy are likely connected to the tears often accompanying repentance! Paul speaks of Timothy's genuine faith being brought to mind through these tears, and genuine faith is always connected to genuine repentance, which is godly (often tear producing) sorrow over sin. 2Co 7:10 says, “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.” By the way, there is a huge difference between godly sorrow and the sorrow of the world. The tears of worldly sorrow pour forth only because the offender has been caught, he or she has been found out, and there will be a price to pay, hence the tears designed to stir up empathy, and temporary regret, but the tears of genuine repentance pour forth from the realization that the guilty party has offended a holy God. A God that loves them so much that He sent His only Son to die for their offense! The tears pour forth in part due to the realization that the price has been paid by God's Son Jesus! These are holy tears! And I believe these are the tears of Timothy that Paul witnessed and fondly remembered as he awaited his execution in a Roman prison. The remembrance of the tears of Timothy persuaded Paul that Timothy's faith was genuine and that Paul's work with the gospel was not in vain, but God had used him to lead someone to repentance and saving faith in Jesus. Think about your own time of genuine repentance, and perhaps God will stir up new tears of thanksgiving! Think also of your brothers and sisters who have experienced repentance and then thank God that the Holy Spirit is still in the business of leading people to genuine repentance and a flow of holy tears!

The Power of Remembrances

196 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 1:3-5, “ I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, 4 greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, 5 when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. (2 Tim 1:3-5) Thank God for remembrances! We should not forget that Paul is writing this letter from a Roman dungeon. His home now an underground prison with only a hole in the ceiling to let in light and air! Peter has already been crucified upside down, many other Christians have suffered similar martyrdom, and Paul is on a short list of who's next. His friends have abandoned him, only Luke remains at his side! But Paul thanks God for bringing Timothy and his genuine faith to mind often! (without ceasing!) Many long hours in the dungeon and I'm sure Paul was assailed by doubts. Was this really worth it? At moments like these God brings to mind Timothy, Paul's son in the faith. He recalls grandma Lois, and Timothy's mother Eunice and how they and Timothy came to the faith of their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob through the preaching of the Gospel! Paul is not talking about the misplaced faith of the Pharisees, but the true faith of Abraham who simply “believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness,” This is the faith that produces a pure conscience! It is the gospel promise that Jesus, (who came from the seed of Abraham) would die on the cross for the sins of the world and as many as believed in Him would have the same right of Abraham to be called a child of God! This Jesus in whom Paul has faith, has cleared his conscience of any wrongdoing. It has convinced him that no matter his past, he will one day soon stand before God and declared “not guilty!” No wonder Paul is overflowing with thanks! It was worth it! It is worth it! We may struggle at times with that same question, “Is this worth it?” When we do, may God cause us to remember the depth of His forgiveness for us and also those times He used us to make a difference in the lives of others, and may we turn our doubts into concrete expressions of praise!

It Would Be Enough

194 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 1:2b, “Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I covered this common greeting in the New Testament letters in 1 Timothy, but I think it's important to cover it again, because it's a message we all need to hear! Grace, mercy, and peace to you! Perhaps you remember your pastor starting his sermons with that same greeting, well there's a reason for it! These words are not meant to be fill material. It is the primary message that God wishes to convey to the world through His church!. There is a beautiful picture of this portrayed in the Book of Revelation! Re 4:3 And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.” There is much symbolism involved here, but let me try to briefly picture what is being portrayed: The Son of God, seated on the throne, completely surrounded by a green rainbow. It's green because it symbolizes life, it's a rainbow because it is the sign of God's covenant of grace, mercy, and peace. The picture is this: grace, mercy, and peace, emanate from the throne which is surrounded by 24 elders who represent the church, and the Office of the Word. (The 12 patriarchs of the OT and the 12 Apostles of the NT. These 24 elders (the church) receive this message of grace, mercy, and peace, and are charged with passing that message along to the world in the power of the Holy Spirit until our Lord returns. It's not that we are commanded to start every sermon in that manner, but it certainly serves as a good reminder to all who serve in the Office of the Word, and quite frankly, if that would be all the pastor said....it would be enough. So I say it to you! “Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and Christ Jesus Our Lord!

The Three Words Your Child Longs To Hear From You

194 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 1:2 To Timothy, a beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Such a warm personal touch in this letter as Paul refers to his disciple, or mentoree if you will, as his beloved son. Can there be higher praise from a spiritual mentor to one whom he has taken under his wings? Mentorship has become a buzzword in Christian circles as it concerns the discipleship of new believers, and it is an important part of spiritual growth for the purpose of passing the faith along in all it's doctrinal purity. We will read about this in 2Ti 2:2, “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” I wonder how many “spiritual sons” Timothy was able to speak these same words to? How many felt that warm glow of healthy acceptance that comes with this declaration of fondness? “My beloved son.” These three words are powerful words of affirmation and not only spiritual sons and daughters need to hear them, but our own children long to hear them and need to hear them from mom and dad. God the Father spoke these words to His beloved Son Jesus on two occasions, at His baptism, and at His transfiguration. My question to you is, “Have you ever spoken them to your child? See if you can identify with my own personal story. I grew into an adult thinking that I didn't need anything from my father. Who cares what that alcohol addicted, abusive, person thought of me anyway? But a funny thing happened on my way to shoving him out of my life. Long story short, God convinced me to work on restoring my relationship with my father, through forgiveness and teaching me to dwell on the good things my father had done through the years. It took time, but in the end we had a good relationship, and I'll never forget the day, that I was doing some yard work for him that he was no longer capable of doing. At one point he turned to me and said, “Duane, you are a good son.” I wasn't prepared for what happened next. I thought my heart was going to leap out of my chest. It was the words I had longed to hear from him all my life! Friends, don't let your sons and daughters wait their entire lives to hear those words from you! Tell them, “My beloved son, (or daughter,” I am well pleased with you! They're waiting! Don't delay!

Blessed Assurance

193 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, In Paul's introductory remarks in his first letter to Timothy, he emphasized his authority as an Apostle in order to underline the veracity of the letter that Timothy would have in his hand to show the churches that the instructions and exhortations that young Timothy would be delivering to these congregations carried the full Apostolic weight of Paul! In this second, more personal, letter to his beloved Timothy he emphasizes the promise of eternal life that awaits all Apostles and believers who remain faithful to the end. It is the promise of eternal life through faith in Christ that motivates the Apostles to follow their calling, and it is this hope that Paul wished Timothy to cling to as he follows his calling. Difficult days lie ahead and this promise will help carry him and us through! Remember Paul is facing certain execution as he writes this letter, and he uses these words to assure Timothy, that he will be just fine after his execution because of the promise of life in Christ Jesus. This is not some sort of false bravado on Paul's part. He wants Timothy to know for sure that he will be okay, and indeed that Timothy and all those who follow in the faith will also be okay no matter what they may face in this life! This little phrase in Paul's greeting, “according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,” is just another way of stating, Ro 8:38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. How often the saints through the ages, and yes, even you and I need to be reminded of this truth. No matter what kind of persecution comes our way, no matter what calamity, what trial, we have Christ Jesus and a guarantee of arriving at heaven's shores “according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus!

A Brief Overview of 2 Timothy

192 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, 2 To Timothy, a beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Today we begin to look at Paul's last letter before his martyrdom around 68A.D. In this very personal letter he encourages Timothy to “do his best” to come and visit Paul in Rome where he was imprisoned waiting for his impending execution. He uses this letter to encourage Timothy, but God the Holy Spirit uses it to encourage us, to “not be ashamed of the gospel.” We are to keep on keeping on with the gospel in the face of an avalanche of false teachers and the ever present threat of persecution! Chapters 3 and 4 are especially relevant for us today as they deal with the times before the the return of Jesus. It is then that a false spiritual life will lead all the world astray, with an outward show , under which every sort of wickedness and wrong will have its fling! Does that sound or look familiar to you? How about this? 2Ti 3:1-5, “ But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! One of my favorite verses from Scripture is found in this Book, and God has used it to keep me grounded in His word, I hope it will become one of your favorites as well. It's found in 2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. This is a truth worth clinging to. It fights against doubt and for the soul who will receive it, it will strengthen your faith. All of this Bible is the Word of Almighty God!

One More Time With the Creed

191 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:20 O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge-- 21 by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen. (1 Tim 6:20,21) And so we come to the end of Paul's first letter to Timothy. Timothy was taking the baton from Paul and was charged with passing the apostolic teachings on to the church for all time! We have heard teachings concerning how to pray, qualifications for positions of leadership in the church, instructions for taking care of widows, how to handle financial blessings, and warnings about false teachings! The last one being the most important of all and a theme that was consistently hit upon throughout the letter! It is fitting then that Paul would end the letter with a final warning. The noble confession must be guarded and passed on to the following generations as a guard against false teaching that left unchecked will shipwreck saving faith! This noble confession was summed up for us in the credal statement of 1Ti 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory. This is an early creed of the Christian church of Paul's day and has been refined without losing it's meaning to the present day Apostle's Creed of the church: It is what we must believe about Jesus. He was God in the flesh, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered and died under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. The third day He rose again from the dead, (justified in the Spirit by the resurrection!) Seen by the angels (Messengers or His Apostles) and they were given the commission to preach the gospel to the world, where many would believe, then He ascended into heaven, and He will come again to judge the living and the dead. Anything less than this Christian Creed for all ages is profane, idle contradictory babblings and false knowledge. May we all have the grace that Paul prayed for Timothy to cling to the confession of this Creed!

How's That Nest Egg Doing?

190 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. All of God's commands are beneficial, and He promises blessing to those who keep (treasure) them. Some of the benefits are spelled out loud and clear such as honoring your father and mother: Eph 6:2,3 reminds us: "Honor your father and mother," which is the first commandment with promise: 3 "that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth." These commands that have been given to the rich (and that's us folks) also carry a promise. With every positive response to these commands on our part, we are first of all, “storing up for ourselves a good foundation for the time to come,” I think the best example of this is found in Heb 11:24-26, “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.” Moses was adopted into tremendous wealth as a baby. The veritable silver spoon was in his mouth at an early age. But he chose not to be haughty about it. He didn't trust in his riches, but rather trusted in the living God, and he was willing to fellowship (join in with) the sufferings of his kinsmen. He was able to do so because he kept his eyes on that which is eternal, and not the temporary wealth of this world. There are rewards in heaven and we do not yet know what they might be, but one thing we know, and that is, these rewards are everlasting, whereas material goods, money, are not. And so we who are rich are commanded to do good with what we have been temporarily blessed with. Quick to release our God-given material blessings to benefit others and willing to throw in with the congregation of God's people, not lording it over them, because you know what? Faith without works is dead. What we do with what God has given us is the test of true faith and it starts with what we do with His Son Jesus, who was given to the world, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. (Jn 3:16) Do not bury the gifts of God, invest them in others and begin building your future foundation!

Thou Shalt Mingle Meaningfully

189 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:17,18, “ Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share,” (1 Tim 6:17,18) The final command listed here for the rich is “Thou shalt be willing to share.” It's not what you think it is! The word in the Greek is koinonikos and it means “willing to communicate.” Perhaps you have heard the word koinonia before. This word is often used to describe the early church and it speaks of meaningful fellowship. Don't think that being generous with your money is enough. You don't use it as a stiff arm in order to keep yourself a safe distance away from mingling with the herd. Koinonikos involves rolling up your shirt sleeves and getting involved in the life of the congregation. I fear this is a very real threat in the church today, where it is easy to get lost in the sheer numbers. We need to fight this tendency with all we have because it is hurting our evangelism efforts. We need koinonia! It was a vital part of church growth as we read in Ac 2:42-47, “ And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, (koinionia) in the breaking of bread, (they ate together) and in prayers. (They prayed together) 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. (God moved in their midst in their togetherness!) 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. (They sought to meet the needs of those in their midst!) 46 So continuing daily (church was not a once a week thing!) with one accord in the temple, (the doctrine of Christ and the Gospel being the basis of their unity!) and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. (Unbelievers noticed their simple, joy filled, friend filled lives, and look what happened! “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” There you have it, our final command for the rich. (and that's us) “Thou shalt mingle meaningfully.” The size of the church doesn't matter, it's the size of your “want to” and it starts with each one of us!

More Painless Ways To Give To the Poor

186 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, Planned benevolence, (being ready to give) is a wonderful way to bless others, and today I want to give you some more ideas about how you might develop a simple plan to help the less fortunate. Sometimes we forget that one of the Christian disciplines is giving to the poor. Jesus said “WHEN you give,” not “if”! One of the ways that our family seeks to bless the less fortunate is to take them out to dinner with us. We don't “literally” bring them along (although one could certainly seek ways to do that) but we set aside a portion of our total bill and at the end of that month give that money to a local pantry, or trusted international relief agency, knowing that it will provide money for food for the poor. A quick example is, let's say my wife and I dine out and our total bill for two is 30 dollars. That's 15 dollars apiece, and so we set aside another 15 dollars for the purpose of providing meals for others through our church, local pantry, or other such ministry. Even as you pray over your meal in the restaurant, you might even ask God to bless the person who is going to benefit from your gift. This is planned painless benevolence that helps us respond to Jesus' statement “when you give to the poor!” Still another method that I have heard people use to bless the poor is to carry “care” packages in their cars. These packages include items like food coupons, or gift cards, or basic toiletry items and snack bars. The idea being that if you come across someone in need, you are not just throwing money at them, but giving them some very practical items to help them in their current situation. Painless, planned benevolence, is a great way to “be ready to give.” I encourage you for look for ways to try it and see how it might add a little cheer to your acts of giving!

The Temple Tax

186 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, Some pastors don't like to talk about money, I relish it, except when I find myself in a position of begging for it. I don't like finding myself in a position of asking the congregation to give because the church finds itself up against the wall and is having difficulty meeting financial obligations. God loves cheerful givers, not squeezed turnips! The time to talk about money is when it comes up in the text, and it does so quite frequently, as it has shown up here in Timothy. I want to continue talking about readiness for giving, the idea of planned benevolence. I have already talked about the blessings of the second tithe. (Which, by the way, is the tithe mentioned in that part of Malachi where God says, “try Me now in this," Says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.” (Mal 3:10) Today, I want to talk about the Temple Tax. Let me remind you that none of this is to be taken in a legalistic sense, it's just a biblical based suggestion to help you along in the arena of planned benevolence. The Temple Tax was an annual tax levied on every male 20 years of age and older in Israel and was used for the physical upkeep of the Temple. When Peter was confronted with the demand to pay the Temple Tax, Jesus told him, it wasn't necessary, but lest any be offended He paid it. The temple tax was the equivalent of two days wages. Let's try to apply this guideline for the church today. As an example, let's say that you earn 36,500 dollars a year. One days wage would be 36,500 divided by the number of days in a year (365) or 100 dollars. Therefore 2 days wages would be 200 dollars. That's a big chunk up front, but what if you broke it down to a monthly offering? 200/12 = 16.67! With every adult member of the household contributing, this would go a long way in keeping the lights on at your place of worship. It's called planned benevolence and it worked to keep the lights on in the most magnificent temple ever built. Where do you worship? Do they need help keeping the lights on? This guideline for giving over and above the offering might be a useful tool for meeting those day to day expenses of your place of worship!

Leader Gifts

186 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. Last time we were talking about being prepared to give. This “preparedness can be setting a little aside based on how the Lord has blessed you, or it can be done on a larger scale. (Think of what David did as he dreamed of one day building a magnificent temple in Jerusalem!) We read about it in 1Ch 29:2-9, "Now for the house of my God I have prepared with all my might: gold for things to be made of gold, silver for things of silver, bronze for things of bronze, iron for things of iron, wood for things of wood, onyx stones, stones to be set, glistening stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and marble slabs in abundance. 3 "Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, my own special treasure of gold and silver: 4 "three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses; 5 "the gold for things of gold and the silver for things of silver, and for all kinds of work to be done by the hands of craftsmen. Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the LORD?" 6 Then the leaders of the fathers' houses, leaders of the tribes of Israel, the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the officers over the king's work, offered willingly. 7 They gave for the work of the house of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. 8 And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the LORD, into the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had offered willingly to the LORD; and King David also rejoiced greatly.” Wow! David who was very wealthy gave generously with planned benevolence in what may be called a leader gift and this caused others to cheerfully follow. The result was an awful lot of rejoicing and a magnificent temple built to and for the glory of God! The lesson? Rightly placed planned benevolence results in rejoicing and glory given to God!

Planned Giving

185 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. The sixth commandment for the rich given to us in this portion of Scripture is: “Thou shalt be ready to give.” The idea is the rich should strive to be good at imparting. Strive to give with liberality. I'm going to use a little license here and double play on the word “ready.” The word in the Greek speaks strictly of a willingness to give, but the word “ready” in English means to be prepared. All I'm going to say here is simply this, one of the ways we are enabled to impart our wealth and give with liberality is to prepare for it and that speaks of saving! Putting a little money aside for the opportunities that will present themselves for you and I to give. The classic case in Scripture is found in 1Co 16:1-3, Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: 2 On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. 3 And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem. “ The saints in Jerusalem had fallen on hard times and needed some help financially. One of the things Paul was doing on this particular missions trip was collecting money for this need. This was planned benevolence on the part of the believers, and it was strictly based on their ability to give (note, as God had prospered each individual) They set money aside in this manner, on the Lord's Day, (probably in the form of a special offering in the worship gathering) for the purpose of meeting this need. I've already spoken of the second tithe as a method of exercising benevolence, but there are other methods we can employ and I'll speak to those in the next couple of days.

Thou Shalt Be Rich In Good Works

184 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. Let's continue looking at the commands for the rich, and again I remind you that in today's world, that is us! And if you don't believe that, I advise you to take a trip to a third world country!. The 4th command here for the rich is: Thou shalt do good. (with your wealth) The fifth Commandment is: Thou shalt be rich in good works. Whereas the preceding command was strictly dealing with financial wealth, this command speaks of an even higher mode of being rich, which is open even to the financially strapped. You don't need money to be kind! You don't need money to be compassionate. You don't need money to provide a listening ear. You don't need money to do good and right things! Jesus didn't carry a whole lot of cash, and remember Peter when he came upon the beggar in the temple? Ac 3:1 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; 3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, "Look at us." 5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." 7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them--walking, leaping, and praising God.” You don't have to be well off to be rich in good works, you just need to be willing to share what ever gift God has given you!

Be Prepared To Be A Good Samaritan

183 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. Let's continue looking at the commands for the rich, and again I remind you that in today's world, that is us! And if you don't believe that, I advise you to take a trip to a third world country!. The 4th command here for the rich is to do good. We are to use our money to work good in our world. We are to use it to act for someones advantage. It is to be used for benevolence. Now I know that the parable of the talents is not strictly about money, but this portion of Timothy IS about money and what we do with it. In the parable of the talents one man was blessed with 5, another 2, and another 1 talent. The one with five invested, and made five more, and the one with two invested, and made 2, and the one with one buried it. The investors were rewarded, and the one who didn't invest was punished. Here in Timothy we are told that using our wealth for the benefit of those in need is a way to invest, actually storing up treasure for “the time to come,” We are wealthy in this present age in order to bless people now, and we reap the benefits in “the time to come.” What do those benefits look like? I really don't know. I really don't care. What I care about and what you should care about is not missing opportunities to bless others with our abundance! The Good Samaritan, came upon a need and was able to meet it, even providing money for lodging and recuperation! Let us work to put ourselves in a financial position to do the same.....and then as we cross our needy neighbors path, let's do it!

The Blessings of the First and Second Tithe

179 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:17,18, “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, (1 Tim 6:17,18) We Americans are rich, and these commands are for those who are rich in this present age, (the period of time that passes as we wait the Lord's return.) I hesitate to bring this up because I don't want it to sound like I'm tooting my own horn, but I want to share with you how liberating the idea of a first and second tithe has been for our household. I read a book several years ago that spoke of the biblical principle of the second tithe. Let's be clear first of all, that there is no such requirement for a second tithe in the New Testament. At best it can serve as a guideline, which is what we have done in our house for many years. We have also used the first tithe as a guideline for giving to our local congregation. Although not required in a legalistic sense in the New Testament, we have been greatly blessed by the Lord as we adhere to it's principles. Based on the uses of the two tithes as stated in the Old Testament, this is what we do. We tithe 20% of our net income. The first 10% going to our local congregation, and the second 10% is broken up into two parts. The distribution of the second tithe is too complicated to put into words in this short devotional, but this is what we do with it. Two thirds of the second tithe goes to benevolence. Any needs of the financially strapped that come our way are able to be met with this portion of our tithe without detracting from our giving to our local congregation. This has fostered an attitude of cheerful giving as we seek ways to bless those in need. The remainder of the second tithe, goes to what we call our fellowship fund, it's almost like a Christian party jar! It enables us to participate in the rich enjoyment of God's financial blessings mentioned here in v17! It provides funds for simply celebrating the goodness of God for ourselves and others. The second tithe seems scary at first, (for some, even the first tithe is a little scary.) I'm just sharing what we have been led to do, and to tell you it has been very freeing.

Enjoy the Blessings of God

178 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. We Americans are rich, and these commands are for those who are rich in this present age, (the period of time that passes as we wait the Lord's return.) We've looked at the first three commands, Thou shalt not be haughty, Thou shalt not trust in uncertain riches, and Thou shalt trust in the living God. Today I want to spend some time on this statement about God, “who gives us richly all things to enjoy.” The word “richly” is meant to conjure up thoughts of an abundant harvest. I think it would suit us all well to picture a cornucopia, spilling out over a thanksgiving table symbolizing blessed abundance. It's true that we planted the seeds, tilled and cultivated the soil, but none of that would have done any good without the rain that God supplies in the proper amount. So that cornucopia is only overflowing because of the overflowing goodness of God. So let us be thankful for the riches we enjoy. They could be taken away at any time. One of the ways to express that thanks is to enjoy your riches. I don't care what God has given you in the material realm or the spiritual realm....enjoy it! Spend it, don't hoard it! Give it away! You don't have to feel guilty about being blessed! Enjoy it! I think one of the saddest things about the stay at home son in the parable of the Prodigal son, is he had all the blessings of the father's house, but never took the time to enjoy them. How about you? Are you afraid to be a little extravagant? Are you up to pouring a bottle of perfume over the feet of Jesus or are you going to begrudge such an act? You know in the Old Testament there was such a thing as the second tithe. A second ten percent that was set aside for the purpose of feasting at God-ordained feasts! This tithe was spent on whatever the heart desired for the purpose of glorifying God and adding joy to the feast! Seems to me we could use a little more of that today, without sacrificing our duties to the poor! God gave it to you! Enjoy it!

The First Three Commandments For the Rich

178 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. We must not deny this, we are the rich! And as the rich, the Holy Spirit speaking through the Apostle Paul gives us some commands. Number One: Thou shalt not be haughty. Don't think you are better than others simply because you possess a lot of things. Your soul is no more valuable or less valuable based on what you possess. Number 2: Thou shalt not trust in uncertain riches! The word “trust” here means expect. Don't expect that your bottom line is always going to be there. The Great Depression taught that to our forefathers, and we have yet to learn that lesson to the degree that they did. Jas 4:13,14 puts it this way: “ Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. “ Number Three: Thou shalt trust in the living God! Or as James puts it in James 3:15, “Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that." Trusting in the living God rather than temporary riches is to expect Him to be true to His Word. And don't forget, He and His Word are eternal, but riches are temporary. You can't take them with you, and one day they will all be destroyed by fire. 2Pe 3:10,11 says, “ But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Thou shalt trust in the living God! In other words, “seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things (all that you need) shall be added unto you”

Thou Shalt Not Be Haughty

178 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. Let's establish a couple of things here. First of all, we are the rich! I am not writing this in some third world country. We live in a very affluent society. Secondly the rich (you and I) are commanded to do some things here. We are commanded to not be haughty. Just because you and I have been blessed with wealth does not mean that we should think more highly of ourselves than we ought. Never forget, this wealth can be taken away at any moment. Pr 23:5 says, “Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.” Never think for a moment that because you have money, goods, and abundant material things that you are somehow better than anyone else. This is an ancient trap! And you know what? We don't help the situation when we fawn over the well off in church! Jas 2:1-4 says, “My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. 2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, 3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place," and say to the poor man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at my footstool," 4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?” With all of your fawning, have not you helped breed an attitude of haughtiness in the rich man? Have you not fostered an attitude of inferiority in the poor? Remember this from the Book of Proverbs, it will go a long way in fostering humility: Pr 22:2, “The rich and the poor have this in common, The LORD is the maker of them all.” There is no room for haughtiness in that statement.....only thankfulness, and that's the way it should be.

I Have Met the Wealthy and He Is Us

178 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. It was just a few verses back that Paul was addressing the matter of wealth and now he returns to it, but this time it is in an entirely different vein, and the difference is very important for us. A couple of verses back, Paul was talking about those who are driven to be rich and run the risk of shipwrecking their faith as their love of mammon replaces their love of God! “The LOVE of money is the root of all evil!” But what about those people who are wealthy simply because God has blessed them? What about those who are well off because they followed good biblical stewardship? What about those who come into an inheritance, or any other kind of windfall? This is good that Paul brings this matter up because he gives great guidelines for those who are wealthy in this present age! And guess what? That would be you and I, and so many others that have been blessed to live in the affluent U.S. of A! Notice a guideline that is missing? It's that one that Jesus gave to the rich young ruler in Mt 19:21, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." It's missing, because it's not necessary. Jesus used that extreme instruction for the rich young ruler because the rich young ruler foolishly thought he could obey his way into heaven. So take heart wealthy person. There is no need to give everything away. No need to take a vow of poverty! However, there are some things that the wealthy are commanded to do. We'll look at some of these things in the days ahead!

When the Unapproachable Becomes Approachable

176 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:14-16, “that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing, 15 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.” ( 1 Tim 6:14-16) The Holy Spirit speaking through Paul, reminds us that Jesus will be returning and that the time of His appearing is only known to the Father. The Bible tells us in Mr 13:32 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Then He breaks out into this wonderful praise of God! God is the blessed, that is the fully satisfied, Potentate. By that we take Him to be the only Authority who has need of nothing. He is the King of all kings, and Lord of all Lords! There are no authorities anywhere that are not subject to Him! Once again we are reminded of the truth of Ro 13:1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” This self sufficient God has been that way throughout all eternity. He alone has immortality, every thing and every other created being has a beginning, and their beginning was in His hands, and the timing of the end will also be in His hands! He abides in unapproachable light and any hint of darkness (sin) cannot stand in His presence. 1Jo 1:5 says, “ This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” No man, tainted with sin, can see God. God told Moses in Ex 33:20, "You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live."But God put on humanity in the form of Jesus, (God in the flesh) to give us a view of the Father, as Jesus told Phillip in John 14:9, “ He who has seen Me has seen the Father;” The Father, who is worthy of all honor and has, and will, wield His power through all eternity. Amen, (truly truly!) As Paul describes the holiness of the Father, we can't help but wonder what will become of us? How can we possibly be in His presence? We are all sinners worthy of eternal punishment! That's where Jesus comes in! And this is the Good News, it is by faith in Jesus that we are saved. God looks at us having been clothed with the righteousness of Christ and therefore we are enabled to be in the presence of God for eternity. 1Co 15:53 says, “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” Our only hope is to be clothed with Jesus on That Day. Have you received Jesus as your Savior?