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