8 OCT 23 Sunday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 8 OCT 23 Sunday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“Peter finally came to his senses. ‘It’s really true!’ he said.  The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!” Acts 12: 11

Have you ever wondered why God saves some and lets others die or perish? In all of the readings today you see an attribute of God play out that is always there in Scripture but shocks us if we are honest.   God’s sovereignty and power are on full display from the beginning of Scripture until the end.  God is the only being with complete autonomous free will and chooses to do things or not to do things to fulfill his plans and desires.

God healed a dying king and extended his life by fifteen years, blessing the man and glorifying Himself.  We don’t have a problem with that.  We give God a hearty thumbs up and a good job.  Then we see in the book of Acts, Steven is stoned to death, Paul is spared, saved, and given an extraordinary ministry.  We scratch our heads a bit and maybe start to fuss about God being fair.

God doesn’t explain himself either, nor does he have to.

James the brother of John is put to death by Herod and Peter imprisoned, but then set free from jail and possible death. Why? Jesus in Luke’s passage, passes by sick people to raise a boy who is about to be buried. Why?  The bottom line is that God is not like us.  His ways are not our ways and He does as He pleases and has plans that weave from the beginning of creation to the end of time as we know it.  

It is a wonder that he spares any of us and chooses to bring some into everlasting life.  According to His law and judgment, none of us are worthy, but He chooses to show mercy and grace to those He wishes.  For those who are being saved, the message is the power of God to deliver us into His presence when we die.  What about everyone else? We pray and share the good news and leave them in the hands of God where mercy and grace are vast.

Do you struggle with the way God does things? 

Reading Plan: Psalm 118; 2 Kings 20:1-21; Acts 12:1-17; Luke 7:11-17

7 OCT 23 Saturday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 7 OCT 23 Saturday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.  The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience.  And God is faithful.  He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand.  When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” 1 Cor. 1012-13

One day I was having a conversation with a friend and he began to tell me of all the problems and struggles that he was having.  He had personal health issues, lost a spouse, and job issues due to his health.  He was going through his own personal tornado of stuff.  As I listened, he said, ‘Well, like the Lord said, he won’t give you more than you can handle.”  Internally, I began to sigh and it probably showed on my face.  Normally, I keep a pretty good poker face, but not this time.

I knew this person was trying to comfort himself with God’s word, but he misquoted and misunderstood the text.  He is not the only one.  Many people say this and are disillusioned when God actually gives them more than they can handle.  God does give you more than you can handle, but he is always with you and is there to preserve you through it or deliver you into his presence.  Paul tells the Church in Corthin, that their temptations are common to all men.  God in his mercy, doesn’t allow you to be tempted beyond what you can handle.

First, God doesn’t tempt you, either Satan brings it or your own desires. (see James 1) All sin is premeditated.  We know it, entertain it, and then execute it without help from anyone. Temptation leads to sin and sin leads to death.  God may test your faith to make it stronger, but he never puts you in a position to sin within the testing.  In his mercy, he shows you how to escape temptation so you do not sin.  The key is to learn to pay attention to the exit signs.  

The Holy Spirit will give you insight as he gives you notice when temptation is creeping in.  It’s like he gives you pause to see it and to choose to escape or engage it.  These moments create a hatred for sin and a softening of your heart to choose smartly.  How are you doing with this? If you are struggling, ask God to help you see the exit and to use it when it is offered.

Are you seeing and using the exits from temptation?

Reading Plan: Psalm 107:33-43, 108: 1-6; 2 Kings 19:21-36; 1 Cor. 10:1-13; Matt. 8:18-27

6 OCT 23 Friday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 6 OCT 23 Friday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“Yet preaching the Good News is not something can boast about.  I am compelled by God to do it.  How terrible for me if I didn’t preach the Good News! I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ.  Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some.” 1 Cor. 9:16, 19b, 22b-23

Do you have a passion? I have met people passionate about football, fishing, crafting, their work, and many other things.  When they are not doing their regular daily routines, they are trying to make time for what they are passionate about.  It is good to have drive and passion.  I think we all have something that motivates us to chase after that prize.

The passage in Corinthians talks about Paul’s passion.  He had been touched by Jesus’ choosing him to be an instrumental piece of His mission.  It gave birth to the passion that lasted his entire life and even was expressed in his death.  It compelled him to live his life in a particular way and to seek out all kinds of people as he journeyed from place to place.  He was willing to be offended, to suffer, to cross cultures, and to cross religious barriers so that people could hear about Jesus.

If Paul wasn’t connecting and sharing the hope that he had in Christ, he felt terrible.  When you are not living according to your purpose and passion, it is the natural response to feel bad about it.  If the Lord has given you a passion for something, what are you doing with it? Are you learning? Developing? Are you using it to the level that it should be? If God hasn’t given you a passion yet, ask him.  He is ready to supply one.  God desires for you to live into the person that he has created you to be.  So get to living!

What is the passion that God has given you?

Reading Plan: Psalm 102; 2 Kings 19:1-20; 1 Cor.  9:16-27; Matt. 8:1-17

5 OCT 23 Thursday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 5 OCT 23 Thursday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.  Though the rain comes in torrents and floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on the bedrock.” Matthew 7:24-25

You can learn the easy way or the hard way.  Either way, hopefully, you learn it and don’t repeat the same mistake.  Have you ever heard that? Parents always hope their children will listen and receive the wise advice and apply it to their own lives.  One day the child will grow up to adulthood and have to make decisions that will affect themselves and those around them.  It is better to apply wisdom now and save yourself some pain.

You might not be the early adopter, but one of those who run into a wall a few times before you make a change.  If you are smiling right now, it might be you or you know that special someone who is.  Jesus spoke to large crowds of people and taught with real authority.  He knew who was his and who was not.  He knew who liked to hear teachings, but would not apply them.  To those who would not obey his teaching, he said they were foolish.

He describes their lives as someone who built their home on a sand foundation.  When the storm came, it would level the house.  Life will bring difficulties, stress, and suffering, but will you have the resilience to make it through or not.  As believers, we will have additional difficulties because we are the torchbearers of His name.  Jesus has a word for us too.

Like the hymn says, “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”   If you build your life on Jesus and his words, and obey then you be preserved until the end.  The storms of life will beat you, break you, and make you suffer, but the Lord will bring you through it all.  Jesus gives us an opportunity to seek him daily and apply His wisdom to our lives so that we can experience a resilient life.

Are the storms of life beating you down?

Reading Plan: Psalm 105:1-22; 2 Kings 18:28-37; 1 Cor.  9:1-15; Matt. 7:22-29

4 OCT 23 Wednesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 4 OCT 23 Wednesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate.  The highway to hell is broad and its gate is wide for the many who will choose that way.  But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” Matthew 7:13-14

It is said that the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) proclaims that God would put an end to death and the New Testament proclaims that God did put an end to death through His son Jesus.  What lingers in all men including women, is the fear of death. (Heb. 2:15)  The fear that resides deep in us bubbles to the surface through different experiences in life.

We may have an accident and feel our lives flash before our eyes.  We have seen war, famine, and disease move across nations and have that feeling that life is like a vapor.  We are here today and gone tomorrow.  The older you get, you realize you have lived more days than you have ahead of you.  It can be an unsettling feeling, but God uses this to get your attention.

Jesus proclaims a strong truth that is often watered down by false teachers on television who promote health, wealth, and prosperity.  Jesus says in this life there will be trials and suffering.  In the scope of eternity, this life is short here and we need to think about what the future holds.  Jesus states that there is a way to obtain eternal life with God and that is through the narrow gate.  Few actually find it and the life lived now will be difficult.

Jesus says in John 10, that He is that gate and the people who come through him will be saved and have eternal life.  The people who will obtain everlasting life in heaven will recognize His call on their life and He will know their name.  The rest will be deaf and blind to him and follow the road their human nature takes them on.  They will find the broad road and the wide gate that leads to hell.  Many are called, but the chosen are few.  Wake up! The Lord is calling.  If you have ears, listen!  Jesus will wash peace over your fear and give you life.

God has provided “the” way to beat death, are you on it?

Reading Plan: Psalm 101, 109:1-4, 20-30; 2 Kings 18:9-25; 1 Cor.  8:1-13; Matt. 7:13-21

3 OCT 23 Tuesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 3 OCT 23 Tuesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.  Hypocrite! First, get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” Matthew 7:1, 5

Church discipline is by far one of the most misunderstood and malpractice areas of the Christian life.  There is a place for correcting and admonishing one another, even judging fellow Christians. (1 Cor. 5:12)  The context of the passage in Matthew speaks of not judging or maybe a better description is not condemning.  There is a call on the body of Christ to build one another up and help each other grow into the person that God wants us to be.

The standard we use in judging is the standard that will be used to judge us. (v.2) So do we give our brother in Christ the smackdown or do we pick him up, dust him off, and give good help? The natural response we receive when we correct others is not pleasant no matter the approach, so be prepared.  Jesus, Peter, Paul, and James all write to believers correcting them of their sins and holding them to a higher standard.  What we don’t need to do is to condemn.

Jesus says in John 3:18 that we don’t need to condemn people who are lost. They are condemned already, that is why they need to repent and follow Jesus.  Paul says, there is no condemnation for those that follow Christ and are called according to his purpose.   The passage in Matthew verses one through six, makes the point that we need to check ourselves first before helping someone else.  We tend to see other people’s problems as huge and ours as small or non-existent.  If we are going to become better people, we must be honest about our condition, be humble, and be teachable.

If you want to grow into the person that God wants you to be, then you need other people to help fortify you, encourage you, correct you, and even judge you.  This is part of becoming a disciple of Jesus, we are developed within a community with the same goals and hearts.  It is iron sharpening iron so we are ready to be used by God.

  

Do you have difficulty judging without condemnation?

Reading Plan: Psalm 97, 99; 2 Chor. 29::1-3, 30:1, 10-27; 1 Cor.  7:32-40; Matt. 7:1-12

2 OCT 23 Monday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 2 OCT 23 Monday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“This is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life.  These thoughts dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.  Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Matt. 6:25a, 32-33

Are you a worry wart? Do you worry about worrying? I think this is so common to everyone.  We are worried about so much.  The worries around the world are different.  A friend of mine was sharing about internet issues and phone issues, he laughed and said “Our first-world worries, right?”.  He is right.  There are people in third-world countries that are worried about survival and we are worried about having the latest technology.  We get angry when it is not working to the level we expect.

To be in the 1% of the world’s wealthy citizens is about $32,000 per year.  Think about that. Even with all the opportunity and wealth in the United States, we still worry.  Why? Jesus spoke to a multitude of people in his famous Sermon on the Mount.  Among the multitude were people from various socio-economic levels, dirt poor and rich alike.  Jesus called them to a high standard and challenge that comes with the Holy Spirit’s help.

Do not worry.  That is a command of Jesus Christ, our God and King.  God placed mankind into their various socio-economic places, rich, poor, and every level between.  We are all alike in that.  Jesus says that he cares for all of them and all of creation.  As believers, we should not worry, but fully trust and rely on God for all our needs.  It is a part of our relationship with him.  When we worry, we are saying that we don’t trust Him and that is insulting.

Jesus says to put first things first and the rest of our needs will be provided for.  What is first? We put God, Jesus, and His Kingdom desires first and live righteously.  That is enough to keep you occupied and focused until Jesus returns.  He will supply your needs as you do that.  Safety, security, wealth, poverty, pain, and suffering all have their purpose in shaping who we are to become and establishing His Kingdom.  Our lives are eternal, so why worry? Don’t be fooled by false teachers, our best life is not now. it is when we are face-to-face with Jesus.

Are you controlled by worry? Jesus has the solution! 

Reading Plan: Psalm 89:1-18; 2 Kings 17:24-41; 1 Cor.  7:25-31; Matt. 6: 25-34

1 OCT 23 Sunday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 1 OCT 23 Sunday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“They offered sacrifices on all the hilltops, just like the nations the Lord had driven from the land ahead of them.  So the people of Israel had done many evil things, arousing the Lord’s anger.” 2 Kings 17:11

We can watch the news, television shows, or even social media and see what the world is focused on.  We see the worship of self, nature, and the evils birthed from it.  As believers, we are struck by the evil that is present in the culture in which we live.  You can go anywhere on the earth and in any culture and see various pagan religions played out in the lives of the people.

Today, our societies encourage evil and call it good.  They also condemn good and call it evil.  For believers, we are to hate evil and stay away from practicing it ourselves.  Israel had been freed from years of slavery and abuse at the hands of the Egyptians. God did this for them and chose them to be his very own people.  In doing so, he made an agreement or covenant with them.  His commandments showed them the difference between good and evil.

It also gave them a picture of God’s holiness, goodness, love, and power.  Israel would fall into temptation and sin against God breaking the covenant by adopting the ways of the world.  In the verse above, the people established their worship and hope in evil ways rather than in God.  We do this today when we blend the world’s ways, philosophies, ideologies, paganism, and other religious practices with God’s.  We end up losing focus on God. 

As David gives us insight in Psalm 121, I look to the mountains, does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth! Everything else comes up short and ultimately destroys the life we have now and damages our relationship with God.  Even though it is very difficult to strip off the things in our culture that trip us up, we can do so by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.

Are you focused on the world’s ways or Jesus?

Reading Plan: Psalm 66, 67; 2 Kings 17:1-18; Acts 9:36-43; Luke 5: 1-11

29 SEP 23 Friday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 29 SEP 23 Friday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“Your fierce anger has overwhelmed me.  Your terrors have paralyzed me.  They swirl around me like floodwaters all day long.  They have engulfed me completely.  You have taken away my companions and loved ones.  Darkness is my closest friend.” Psalm 88:16-18

Do you ever get sucked into a mind game or battle? Relationships, communication, and conflict can cause you to second-guess yourself and really cloud your thinking.  Sometimes the truth is veiled and you can’t find it.  Sometimes it is there, but you don’t like it.  Either way, it can shake you up mentally.  Truth is our anchor which secures us when the storms of life come.  It allows us to gain our bearings and make sense of things.

In the passage above, the descendent of Korah is dealing with the rejections of God.  Korah and his followers led a rebellion against Moses and Aaron, thinking they should be allowed to go into the presence of God.  God chooses who can come to him and to be in his presence.  People couldn’t just decide for themselves and muscle their way in.  That wouldn’t bode well and it didn’t.

In this case, God judged Korah and his followers by opening up a giant hole in the ground and swallowing them alive.  Those family members who were left behind felt the rejection of God and the people.  Some of the psalms were written by them.  Sometimes we can feel like them as believers and enter a dark and lonely place.  It feels like we have been abandoned and rejected, but if you are God’s children then you need to breakthrough this battle in the mind.

How? We must replace those feelings with the truth and grab hold of that anchor until the storm passes.  Jesus did this very thing as he was being tempted by Satan in Matthew 4.  Each time a false accusation or statement came to him, he parried it with Scripture.  There is one caveat, if you are sinning and running from God, he will chastise you until you repent.  So keep accounts short.

Are you experiencing a battle in your mind? Would you like to win?

Reading Plan: Psalm 88; 2 Kings 9: 17-37; 1 Cor. 7:1-9; Matt. 6: 7-15

30 SEP 23 Saturday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 30 SEP 23 Saturday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“Wherever your treasure is there is the desires of your heart will also be.  No one can serve two masters.  For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.” Matthew 6: 21, 24

Time and time again, I talk to people talk to me about their next assignment, tour, or what they will do when they leave the military.  I find those conversations to be intriguing and sometimes disheartening.  Change and the unknown can produce anxiety in a person’s life.  All of us are affected by change in different ways.  These seasons of change are actually opportunities for self-reflection and a deeper connection to God.

We will often sit and discuss a potential new job, location for a tour, or new places to see and experience.  We start dreaming or exploring the positives and negatives of the new phase that will be entered.  We actually start to grieve a bit, knowing that we have planted roots,  made friends, and have probably hit a good rhythm in what we do.  Sometimes we don’t want to leave, but we have to.

What about God? Do we ever take the time to ask him, what do you want? Is there a place you have us serve? Do you want to develop us in a place we don’t necessarily want to go? When I ask those questions, people pause and respond; I didn’t think about that.  Well, God desires to be in the kind of relationship that we talk to him about everything.  He is the author and finisher of our faith, so he will orchestrate where we will go, and who we will meet and serve. He will also put before us the challenges of developing our character and the gifts of the Spirit.

Jesus tells his followers to be mindful of where your heart’s desires are placed.  If it is focused on temporal earthly things, you will go astray.  It is a heart check.  If you don’t check yourself, you will wreck yourself.  Our service and lives must be devoted to God, that means laying down our future before him and saying, take it and make it useful to thee.

Where is your life devoted and whom do you serve?

Reading Plan: Psalm 87, 90;  2 Kings. 11:1-20; 1 Cor. 7:10-24; Matt. 6:19-24

28 SEP 23 Thursday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 28 SEP 23 Thursday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” 1 Cor. 6: 19-20

During a training class this week, I heard an interesting quote from Victor Frankl.  He said, “I recommend that the Statue of Liberty be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast.”  We like our freedoms in America and people are drawn to this country because of it.  We are also hated for having these freedoms.  The truth is, freedom is never free.  It cost the United States a great deal of blood and sacrifice to achieve it and also to maintain it.  

Those freedoms are limited though.  We are not autonomous and there are responsibilities attached to them.  The Apostle Paul reached a people who were far from God, lost, and slaves to sin.  They had free will, as far as to freely choose any sins they wished, but they were spiritually blind and dead.  When the Gospel was preached to them, the Holy Spirit gave them eyes to see, ears to hear, and a new heart to receive Jesus.

They became free from the bondage of sin and death, but that did not mean they were free to themselves.  God purchased them.  What is described in the verses above is slaves being bought.  The people were not set free to do as they pleased, but free to be all that God had planned for them to be.  Believers have a new Master, which is Christ.  Paul himself states this in many of his greetings to the churches: Paul a slave of Christ.  He understood he was not his own.

The bodies and souls of believers belong to Jesus and the Holy Spirit takes up residence within.  Our solemn duty is to honor God with our body and to live in a manner that glorifies Him.  We have freedom in Christ to do the works that please Him and are given responsibilities that He expects us to upheld.

Are you living like you are free “from” Jesus or free “in”Jesus?

Reading Plan: Psalm 34; 2 Kings. 9:1-16; 1 Cor. 6:12-20; Matt. 6:16-18

26 SEP 23 Tuesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 26 SEP 23 Tuesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:27-28

When I was a boy, I was in the scouts and my Dad used to give me nuggets of wisdom.  When we would go camping or work on merit badges, there were new skills to be learned and cautions that came with them.  Once we set up camp, we would gather wood for the fire.  As a young kid, I was fascinated by fire and the fact that we were going to be taught how to start one.

As the fire got going, we were always tempted to wave a lit branch around or do foolishness with other scouts.  Go figure.  My Dad would calmly tell us, ‘If you play with fire you are going to get burnt’.  Sure enough, someone would not heed the wise words, someone did get burnt.  Someone’s mistake leads to another merit badge, first aid.  Wise words are meant to save ourselves some pain.

Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, unpacks and expands the spirit of the law. (The Ten Commandments) Our thought life leads to sin, in and of itself can be sin.  He tells us to deal with it harshly or drastically.  If your eye causes you to sin, cut it out.  He is not telling us to perform self-mutilation, but to cut lust and adultery out of our lives.  

Sins of lust and adultery are an epic failure of dishonoring yourself, your neighbor, your community or nation, and God.  Lust is like fire, if you mess with it, you will get burnt. These words while strong are meant to set a plumbline of holiness and godliness, a set of character traits important for everyone.

Are you playing with the fire of lust and adultery?

Reading Plan: Psalm 78:1-39; 2 Kings. 5:19-27; 1 Cor. 5: 1-8; Matt. 5:27-37

27 SEP 23 Wednesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 27 SEP 23 Wednesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning.  God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, ‘You must remove the evil person from among you.’” 1 Cor. 5: 12-13

When I read the news, watch TV, or movies, I can see the brokenness in our world.  There are people engaging in abuse, greed, drunkard and drug use, cheaters, and sexual sin.  Our world is a hot mess.  Every attempt to break free from their brokenness lands them deeper into the same one or they exchange it for another.  Jesus states that the people of the world ‘are’ darkness.

For Christians, we are called to reach this world by being the light exposing their sin and brokenness, and leading them to Jesus.  Paul repeats this in the fifth chapter of First Corinthians.  We are to engage the least, the last, and the lost.  As the church, we must set the plumbline of what right looks like and what is pleasing to God.  We are not to look like the world.  We have been set free from the slave bonds of sin and are now bound to Jesus.  We do not belong to ourselves anymore.

This is where it becomes difficult for many.  They say, why are you judging me? Others? We are God’s holy people and he expects us to be holy.  That is why.  That means we set the plumbline and we hold one another accountable and sometimes there is punishment that comes with that, especially if they are unrepentant.  If a person doesn’t know they cannot grow.  There is no autonomy in life.  You are either bound to sin or bound to God.  When you are called out of death and into life, you have to learn how to live.  None of this comes naturally.  

When I put on the uniform and was commissioned into the military, to some level I belong to the Navy.  I am no longer free to do as I please and I have to learn what it means to be a sailor.  Likewise, as a Christian, I must learn to conform to the image of Jesus and live as He does.  That is the responsibility of other believers to build the new person up in the faith and help them to become all that God wants of them.

Are you growing into the person God desires you to be or are you regressing?

Reading Plan: Psalm 119:97-120; 2 Kings. 6:1-23; 1 Cor. 5:9-6:8; Matt. 5:38-48

25 SEP Monday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 25 SEP 23 Monday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder.  If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment!”. Matthew 5: 21-22a

I was driving along to work one day and everything was moving smoothly.  Traffic was bad, but at least it was moving.  I had plenty of gas so I wasn’t afraid I would run out.  If you are like me, I sometimes wait until it is a quarter of a tank to fill up again.  Some of you wait until the warning light comes on because you know you have a few more miles until empty.  This drive to work had a different warning light come on, the dreaded engine light.

Warning lights on the dash are there for a reason.  The sensors indicate there is a problem that needs to be looked at soon.  Today’s cars have all kinds of sensors for a myriad of potential issues.  We have those too, really.  Anger is one of those.  Anger can be righteous or sinful, both put off similar indicators.  James says that temptation starts in the mind from our own desires.

Those desires can entice us which in turn become actions.  If the desires are allowed to grow, it travels to the heart and it burns inside us.  Jesus speaks of sinful anger that if stewed on will lead to hate which will lead to actions up to the point of murder.  Our thought life must be captured and controlled for Christ’s sake and ours.  Our thought life is important to God and we will answer for it.  The Holy Spirit will also throw up a warning light and a way to tame or escape it.

You may delay filling up with gas or taking the car to the shop when it needs repair, but eventually, it will lead to greater damage and more cost.  Save yourself some pain and deal with your anger quickly before it turns into something that causes damage and costs you dearly.  Confess it God and ask for help and forgiveness.  Then, make it right with the one you are angry with.

Are you struggling with anger and hatred?

Reading Plan: Psalm 80; 2 Kings. 5:1-19; 1 Cor. 4: 8-21; Matt. 5:21-26

24 SEP 23 Sunday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 24 SEP 23 Sunday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be feared above all gods.  O nations of the world recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong.  Give to the Lord the glory he deserves! Tell all the nations, The Lord reigns!” Psalm 96: 4, 7-8, 10

In the military, we have a phrase known as ‘stolen valor’.  It means that someone is wearing awards that they didn’t earn to make them look better than they are or to receive glory and adoration from others.  It is the sin of Satan himself.  He desired the glory that belonged to God alone.  He desired to be worshipped.  Social media is proof positive of that, people are searching for their fifteen seconds of fame whether good or bad.

When I hear people say that they are not religious, I smile and yet cringe inside.  The truth of the matter is, that we are all religious.  We worship someone, something, an ideology or philosophy, or self.  We give glory and honor to them or we take it.  There is only one that is worthy of our praise and only one that is due glory to his name.

God is very clear, he will not share his glory.  He is the only one worthy of it.  God tells us like he told Job.  “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much.  Who kept the sea inside its boundaries? Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east?” There are two chapters of questions that he gives Job.  It is worth reading, especially if you are worshipping something other than God.  Whether you like it or not, The Lord reigns! One day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord of all.

Are you stealing the praise and glory that belongs to God?

Reading Plan: Psalm 93, 96; 2 Kings. 4:8-37; Acts 9: 10-31; Luke 3:7-18

23 SEP 23 Saturday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 23 SEP 23 Saturday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“Elisha picked up Elijah’s cloak, which had fallen when he was taken up.  Then Elisha returned to the bank of the Jordan River.  He struck the water with Elijah’s cloak and cried out, ‘Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?’ Then the river divided, and Elisha went across.” 2 Kings 2:13-14

Has there been a person in your life who was a role model for you? Did you want to be like that person? As children and teenagers, we often find those figures who become our heroes or someone who captures our attention.  Passions and purpose can spark from that moment and can last a lifetime.  I find it is not the person himself, but what is inside them that draws us.

Elijah and Elisha were prophets of God in the Hebrew Bible.  Elisha was Elijah’s apprentice and was seeing the work of God through Elijah.  Elijah was speaking direct messages from God, pronouncing judgment, and performing miracles.  He was a vessel of honor unto the Lord and Elisha desperately wanted to have what Elijah had.  One thing is clear, it is up to God to choose the vessels of honor and dishonor.  Before Elijah was caught up to heaven, he told Elisha that if he saw him go up to heaven then he would know that God had chosen him to carry out the work he had been trained to do. 

 Elisha saw him and trusted God to follow through with the promise.  He grabbed Elijah’s cloak slapped the water of the Jordan and cried out, ‘Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?’ He wanted God to show up and show out.  He knew that he couldn’t do this life in his own power, he needed God to do it through him.  As Jesus said, apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5) God worked through Elisha in power to part the Jordan River and many other things in his life.  If you are in Christ, he will work through you too.

Do you know that God wants to work powerfully through you?

Reading Plan: Psalm 75, 76; 2 Kings. 2:1-18; 1 Cor 4: 1-7; Matt. 5:17-20

22 SEP 23 Friday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 22 SEP 23 Friday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“You are the salt of the earth.  You are the light of the world, like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.” Matthew 5:13a, 14

My life in the United States Navy has a set purpose for our role in the world.  Part of it is to protect and promote freedom and democracy worldwide.  We do that while we defend and support our own constitution.  It is the basis for all that we do.  We step out from under the shadow of our great flag into adventure and danger to deter and sometimes called to destroy evil.

As a follower of Christ, I am told that I am the salt of the earth.  In the Navy to be called ‘salty’ has a different connotation.  To be ‘salty’ as a Christian means to be a speaker of truth to preserve, protect, and flavor those around us with the Word of God.  That is a great task that touches all of life and all the people you meet.  Salt in a wound makes for pain and healing.  People don’t often like the sting that is required to bring change.

I am also told that I am the light of the world.  Light reveals what is in the dark.  It exposes wickedness but also illuminates the path to safety and salvation.  Light reveals the plumbline of righteousness and gives people a standard to set lives to.   A life lived as ‘the light’ is one of being a comforter, developer of people, and promoter of accountability.  When people see this done well, they praise the God who chose us.

How are you being salt and light to those around you?

Reading Plan: Psalm 69:1-23; 2 Kings. 1:2-17; 1 Cor 3: 16-23; Matt. 5:11-16

10 SEP 23 Sunday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 10 SEP 23 Sunday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word.  Stretch out your hand with healing power, may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” Acts 4:29

There is something about this chapter that makes my heart warm with excitement and the feeling of being able to go out and do the work that God has given me to do.  Peter and John preached the gospel and healed the sick, and thousands of people came to faith in Jesus.  When we are faithful, we will be fruitful because the Holy Spirit will make it so.  We will see answers to prayers and lives changed.

We will also see people come against you doing the will of God.  If you are not getting pushback, then you are probably not sharing the Gospel.   Peter and John are brought before the religious leaders and questioned about who gave them the authority to do these things.  They were told not to do these things in Jesus’ name.  The Lord gave them boldness, confidence, and strength to resist the enemies of the cross.  They refused to stop preaching and healing.

When the church got together, Peter and John testified to all that the Lord had done through them and they rejoiced.  They also went to prayer.  They did not complain, gossip, or hate those who came against them.  They prayed that God would grant them ‘great boldness’ in preaching the word.  Think about that.  They didn’t shrink back from their calling.  They didn’t ask for the destruction of their enemies.  They desired to strike while the iron was hot and ask God to let the multiplication of the church continue.

 Are you praying for great boldness? Why not?

Reading Plan: Psalm 63:1-8; 1 Kings. 12:21-33; Acts 4:18-31; John 10:31-42

7 SEP 23 Thursday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 7 SEP 23 Thursday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“You want what you do not have, so you scheme and kill to get it.  You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them.  Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.  And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are wrong-you want only what will give you pleasure.” James 4:2-3

One of our temptations to sin is to go after our desires at the expense of our relationship with Jesus.  The world focuses on pleasure and getting what you want.  It sparks lust of the eyes and flesh and pride of our accomplishments. (1 Jn. 2:16) James warns the church not to align itself with the world because our Master, Jesus, has expectations on our lives.

To be a friend of the world: its ways, ideologies, philosophies, and worldviews, is to become an enemy of God.  Sin dominated us prior to being called out to be the people of God.  We are no longer in bondage as a slave to sin but are Christ’s own forever.  We also are citizens of the Kingdom of God.  No Christian holds dual citizenship.

How we live is a reflection on our Lord and also affects our witness to non-believers and to fellow believers.  When we are so self-focused we become blind to what is really important and what ultimately matters.  Jesus commands our allegiance and knows that we cannot be a slave to two different masters.  You will hate the one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other.  Every believer struggles with this at some point.

Are you struggling with being in the world and not of it?

Reading Plan: Psalm 37:1-18; 1 Kings. 11:26-43; James 3:13-4:12; Mark 15:12-21

6 SEP 23 Wednesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 6 SEP 23 Wednesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God.  And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth.  Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!” James 3:9-10

One thing that is evident in our culture today is our lack of control over our tongues.  From children to Presidents, people freely use bad language to express frustration, anger, and even happiness.  I even saw a shirt that said, “I’m a chaplain, but I cuss a little.”  Being a Navy Sailor, there are things within the culture that reinforce bad language, like the stereotype “cursing like a sailor”.   Ultimately, it  dishonors the Lord when you use bad language.

Paul speaks of what will “not” be in the life of a follower of Jesus.  “But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.” (Col. 3:8) The standard you set is the standard you get.  If you let it slide, then it will be the norm.  The Holy Spirit works on every believer in the areas of sin in your life.  He will turn up the heat to remove the dross and purify you.  He intends to have a holy people to himself, not an unholy one.

As you read the third chapter of James, he lays out different pictures to describe the tongue.  It has the power to heal and praise but also to damage and curse.  So how are you doing?

Do you have a praising mouth or a potty mouth?

Reading Plan: Psalm 28; 1 Kings. 9:24-10:13; James 3:1-12; Mark 15:1-11

5 SEPT 23 Tuesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 5 SEP 23 Tuesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” James 2:14

My dad used to use the phrase, ‘The proof is in the pudding’. As a kid, I would scratch my head when I heard it.  People can say they are a believer, but the proof is in how they live out their lives.  People say a prayer, raise their hands, and walk the aisle, but their lives never reflect that they belong to Jesus.  There is a difference between profession and possession.  The proof is in the pudding. 

When a person goes to trial, the prosecutor has to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt their guilt.  He presents evidence and brings witnesses to the stand to enforce his case against the defendant.  Here is the question, Is there enough evidence to prove the person guilty? James is not saying that the person is not reconciled to God, as in  ultimate justification.  Is there enough evidence in your life to prove the claim that you are a follower of Jesus? 

James is contending against people who seek to embrace Jesus as Savior without embracing Him as Lord.  Lord means master and authority which is Jesus’ place in our lives.  We on the other hand are slaves.  We have been purchased and are no longer belong to ourselves nor in bondage to sin.  We do what Jesus says to do.  If we do not, then we are not His.  Jesus himself says, ‘Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and don’t do what I say?’

Is there enough evidence in your life to prove you are a Christian?

Reading Plan: Psalm 26, 28; 1 Kings  8:65-9:9; James 2:14-9:9; Mark 14:66-72