15 OCT 23 Sunday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 15 OCT 23 Sunday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“I tell you, her sins- and they are many- have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love.  But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.  Then Jesus said to the woman, ‘Your sins are forgiven’.”  Acts 7:47-48

People get bent out of shape when a very evil person is shown kindness or mercy.  We like to distance ourselves from the truly wicked and hope they receive the maximum justice.  We don’t want someone to get away with the evil they committed.  Internally, we recognize there is good, evil, and hope for justice.  In many cases what we are looking for is revenge.

In the story above, an extremely sinful woman crashes a house party of a very righteous person.  There was no way this woman would have ever been invited to this man’s house.  If anything, he would want her in jail.  When she entered the home, she cried in the presence of Jesus and began washing his feet with her tears and pouring very expensive perfume on them as well.  This was a picture of remorse for her sins, repentance, and worship.

You notice what happens, the religious man gets angry and even insults Jesus in his mind for allowing this nasty woman to touch him.  Jesus receives the repentance and the worship from the woman and then explains to the religious man that she has sinned very much, but has loved very much.  While the one who thought he was righteous sinned and did not love Jesus in response.  Jesus, who has the authority to forgive sins, forgave hers and not the religious man.

Jesus came seeking sinners who cannot save themselves, not those who think they are righteous.  We have to look in the mirror and ask ourselves a couple of questions.  Are we rejecting those who need Jesus? How much do we love Jesus?

Is our self-righteous attitude keeping others from receiving forgiveness? 

Reading Plan: Psalm 146, 147; Jer. 36:1-10; Acts 14:8-18; Luke 7:36-50

14 OCT 23 Saturday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 14 OCT 23 Saturday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  He said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is great, but the workers are few.  So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.’” Matthew 9:36-37

Whenever we see someone do something good or for that matter bad, we ask ourselves, ‘What is his motivation for doing this?’ Then we begin to speculate those motivations and usually start with some negative ones.  Many times people do things out of kindness and mercy, and that really gets us because we assume for ill-gotten gain or glory.  Our inspection of another person’s heart will reflect ours too.

Jesus in the passage above sees a great crowd who are lost, ill, and broken spiritually.  They are also broken and ill physically.  He has not waited for the people to come to him, but he has gone out looking for them.  The doctor is making preemptive house calls.  As a matter of fact, Jesus spent a great deal of time traveling on foot to see people, visiting hundreds of towns and villages in three years.  

Why? We find out about Jesus’ heart for his people in the gospels.  He loved his own deeply and desired for the people to know him.  He described them as sheep, which are animals that need the care and protection of a shepherd.  They are defenseless creatures who need help against predators and parasites but also need help finding food and basic care.  Jesus called himself the good shepherd in comparison to the bad shepherds (leaders) in Israel.

Jesus forecasted the mission that the Apostles would assume when Jesus ascended to heaven.  The Apostles would be charged for reaching the lost sheep and caring for them.  Knowing this job was larger than the Apostles could handle, they would need additional shepherds or laborers.  Jesus told them to pray and ask God to raise up new ones from the harvest (world).  Today, we must do the same, reach the lost, train the saved, and send them to reach the rest of Jesus’ lost sheep.

Are you praying for more laborers to reach the lost?

Reading Plan: Psalm 140, 142; Jer. 35:1-9; 1 Cor. 12:27-13:3; Matt 9:35-10:4

12 OCT 23 Thursday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 12 OCT 23 Thursday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all.  There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord.  God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.  A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.” 1 Cor. 12: 4-7

In the chapter leading up to twelve, Paul describes the church as the body of Christ.  In the book of Ephesians, he further states, that Christ fits the body together perfectly.  As each part does its special work, it helps the whole body grow, so that it is healthy and maturing and full of love.  The gifts of the Spirit are given to the church to build up and help each other.

Jesus wants his church to be healthy and functioning the way he wants.  There is an expectation that every member will operate in a  role within the body which results in people becoming healthy and functional.  The Holy Spirit sees what gifts are needed in the Church and distributes them by his will, choice, and pleasure.  We don’t have to decide which gift we want, he knows and gives us each one when we come to faith.  

If we don’t neglect it but use the gift we are given, then the body will benefit. We become a channel in which the Holy Spirit works to affect change within the church.  As the hymn says, “Have you urged upon those who are straying? If our lives are not free from all sin, we will be barriers and a hindrance.  Is the love of God flowing through you? Make me a channel of blessing today.” If you don’t know what that gift is, pray that God will reveal it to you.  Then put that gift to use.

Are you using your Spiritual Gift to strengthen the Church?

Reading Plan: Psalm 131, 132; 2 Kings 23:4-25; 1 Cor. 12:1-11; Matt 9:18-26

11 OCT 23 Wednesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 11 OCT 23 Wednesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way.  Yet when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned along with the world.” 1 Cor. 11:31-32

Every year around July or early August, we would have to take our children to the doctor for their annual checkups before starting back to school. You could feel the tension in the car, so thick you could cut it with a knife.  Why? The kids knew from experience that the likelihood a shot was involved was pretty good.  They would ask, so why does the Doc need to see us? Will there be a shot? Until you graduate from high school, there is going to be some kind of shot.

The Doctor also looks at how you are growing, developing mentally and physically, and preparing your body to fight against the viruses that are coming.  He does this to gauge overall health and to reveal to us the truth of our current condition and areas to improve.  This is a good thing even though we don’t like the potential pain of it.  Such is the way of a spiritual examination.

How often do you take time for introspection or self-examination? What is the condition of your mind and soul? God calls us all to know ourselves, our nature, our mindset, and our motivations.  How are we applying the word and disciplines of the faith to our lives in order to be strong and to prepare ourselves against the fight that comes from the world, the flesh, and the devil? This is an important task that can be painful if God has to discipline us.

Paul told a group of believers that they were actually doing something spiritually that was wrong and it was actually affecting their relationships and body to the point of death.  He told them to examine their lives and make the changes necessary to honor God, their neighbor, and their own body.  Believers will not be condemned like the world (non-believers) for they are condemned already.  Believers will be corrected and directed back on the path that leads to life.

Have you examined yourself spiritually lately?

Reading Plan: Psalm 119:145-176; 2 Kings 22:14-23:3; 1 Cor. 11:23-34; Matt 9:9-17

10 OCT 23 Tuesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 10 OCT 23 Tuesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven.  So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.  Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” Matthew 9:2b, 6

Hope is an interesting thing.  Just a little bit can cause faith to explode and move ordinary people to do extraordinary things.  This is one of the reasons why Jesus used the mustard seed as a metaphor for our faith.  Something so small can have a tremendous impact not only on us but on everyone around us.  

The passage today is one of the many stories of hope that Jesus reveals to us in the gospels.  Can you imagine the guy in this story, who was paralyzed? To this day, even with all our technology, there is no cure for this.  People are reading this who can relate to this situation.  Maybe you have arthritis, cancer, or heart issues, or are confined to a wheelchair.  Some feelings are unique to your suffering, but there is a search for even a small seed of hope.

Jesus is our hope.  He is our hope for wholeness and restoration physically, mentally, and spiritually.  As you read this short passage in Matthew, you find that Jesus doesn’t address what we think is the most pressing need, paralysis.  Jesus starts with the one that we don’t see or don’t want to admit is our biggest issue, sin.  In this life, we might live to 100, but then we die.  Afterward comes the judgment, where God puts in the video of our life and goes through it with us.  

How will measure up as we stand before a holy and perfect God? It is too late for confession and forgiveness because we are in the sentencing phase.  How do we become clean of our sins? We can’t do enough good deeds to outweigh our bad. (All the world’s religions) We can only achieve this as a gift given freely by God through his Son.  This is the beauty of this story, only Jesus has the authority to forgive sins.  He is ready, are you?

Have you put your hope in Jesus and received forgiveness? 

Reading Plan: Psalm 121, 122, 123; 2 Kings 22:1-13; 1 Cor. 11:2,-17-22; Matt 9:1-8