17 NOV 23 Friday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 17 NOV 23 Friday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“Then he asked them, ‘But who do you say I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you.  You did not learn this from any human being.” Matthew 16: 15-17

I like to watch clips on social media of people sharing their faith and having spiritual conversations with people who are either from different faiths or no faith backgrounds.  It is interesting how these conversations go and can be a great resource in understanding how people think.  Part of the goal of these conversations is to help people discover God within the Scriptures.  Some are trying to debate a person into the faith or try to convince them.

But this is not the way it works.  People only come to faith if the Lord makes it happen, period.  No one has ever been argued into the faith.  It is the Lord who initiates the relationship, not the person.  People who claim that they need more evidence, a sign, a miracle, or fill-in-the-blank to believe, are not ready or prepared to receive Jesus.  They are still dead in their sins and unable to respond to the gospel.

What do you do? Always share the gospel and present the law.  The law exposes the heart by shining light on their sin.  People always view themselves as better than they are.  That is why a criminal, liar, thief, or greedy person will tell you they are still good despite the evidence.  The law reveals your need for a savior and the gospel is the cure.  When Jesus asks his disciples, ‘Who do you say I am?’, it reveals their heart and if it has been changed.

Jesus tells Peter and the others, that it was not on their own accord or by other people that they have come to believe in who Jesus is, but it was the Father himself that did the revealing and enabled them to believe.  When we have discovered who Jesus is, our response will be correct and so will our submission to Him.  So, keep sharing the gospel because God is always opening the hearts of people.

Who do you say that Jesus is?

Reading Plan: Psalm 88; Proverbs 17; Rev. 19:11-16; Matt. 16:13-20

16 NOV 23 Thursday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 16 NOV 23 Thursday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“We can make our own plans, but the Lord gives the right answer. We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall.” Proverbs 16:1, 33

Some may look at these verses from the Proverbs and cringe because they tell us something significant about God that can leave us unsettled.  We often can put God in a box mentally so that we can comfortably understand what we can,  limit our fear, limit his involvement, and project our desires.  The more you read and study Scripture, the magnitude of God grows beyond our ability to control.

This is a good thing because it can bring us comfort, strength, hope, and fear.  God is almighty, all-powerful, all-knowing, holy, righteous, and present everywhere.  He is outside of time and space and is not bound by any of it.  He made everything we can and cannot see.  If you were to look at the pictures from the new James Webb space telescope, you would be amazed.  While NASA hopes to disprove the existence of God, it is doing the opposite.

The more pictures it takes, the greater the magnitude of God in our eyes.  We can think that we have this autonomy to live our lives apart from God and carve out or determine our destiny.  But God determines our every step, life, death, and eternity.  Before the foundation of the world, he knew his children, chose his children, and his children will be with him for eternity.  Nothing happens without God’s permission, nothing.

What does the magnitude of God spark in you?

Reading Plan: Psalm 34; Proverbs 16; Rev. 19:1-10; Matt. 16:1-12 

15 NOV23 Wednesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 15 NOV 23 Wednesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

  “Oh, how I love your instructions! I think about them all day long.  Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are my constant guide.” Psalm 119:97-98

When I read the passages for my daily reading listed below, I found that the psalm hit me today.  I read it and read it again.  Later I read it again and just thought about the things it was showing me about God, David, and me.  Then I began to talk to God about it and what he wanted me to know.

Before I knew it, I had a long conversation with the Lord and was just thankful to spend time with him.  It reminded me of the passage in John’s gospel when Jesus teaches on the True Vine.  He said, Yes I am the vine and you are the branches.  Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.  For apart from me you can do nothing.  

There is something to be said about abiding or remaining in Christ that you grow deeper in your relationship with him and he fills you with what you need to make it through each day. David himself tells us in the Psalms the secret to his relationship, cherish your time with God and savor his words in your mouth and mind.  This will make you spiritually healthy and strong.

Do you meditate on the Scriptures and pray them to God?

Reading Plan: Psalm 119:97-120; Neh. 7:73b-8:3, 5-18; Rev. 18:21-24; Matt. 15:29-39 

14 NOV 23 Tuesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 14 NOV 23 Tuesday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“Jesus responded, ‘It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.’  She replied that’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their master’s table.” Matthew 15:26-27

I was listening to a clip on Instagram of a preacher that I like and had to replay it a couple of times.  He has been asked often, if God is all-powerful and all-good and all-just, why would God allow tragedies to happen to innocent people?  He said he flips the question because people are not being honest with the question.  He asks the question like this, If God is all-good, all-powerful, and all-just, why didn’t he kill me in my sleep last night for what I thought, said, and did yesterday?

Connecting directly to God forces us to look honestly in the mirror and see ourselves as God sees us.  God is holy, morally perfect, and majestic, and he cannot be in the presence of sin or sinful people because we are not worthy.  That is hard for us to admit and it shows in our daily life in how we think, say, and do.  It is revealed in the questions we ask of God that we think we are good enough.

The woman in Matthew whom Jesus encounters knows she is not worthy, but she humbly seeks God’s mercy.  Jesus tells her that Gentiles are not his focus, but the Father’s children.  It would be wrong to give what belongs to his kids to a dog.  This is a test of the woman’s faith for sure, but it is a great story of hope for everyone.  Jesus will not turn away anyone who comes humbly before him acknowledging and confessing their sin and proclaiming him Lord or Master.

We cannot presume to come to his table in our righteousness, but in his great mercies do we trust.  We are not worthy to gather up the crumbs under his table, but he is ready to show mercy if you are ready to surrender your life to him.  

Is God testing your faith?

Reading Plan: Psalm 78:1-39; Neh. 9:26-38; Rev. 18:9-20; Matt. 15:21-28 

13 NOV 23 Monday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 13 NOV 23 Monday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote: These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.” Matt. 15:7-9

One of the most difficult things is correcting people due to error or sin.  Those who make a lifestyle of sin become blind to what they do because it has become second nature to do the wicked or evil, then cover their tracks like no one will notice.  The one who always notices is God.  He not only sees the sin we do, but he also sees the motivation and condition of the heart.

Jesus was very straightforward and responded to people based on their heart’s condition and the attitude that came from it.  Those who were broken, humbled, and knew they sinned and felt shame, he treated them with gentleness.  Those who were proud, hard-hearted, and blind to their sin he engaged with a lot of salt.  In other words, he gave a harsh rebuke.

Self-righteousness is a sin that blinds and deceives a person to think of themselves as good despite evidence to the contrary.  God lays out in the Ten Commandments showing what holiness and righteousness are and breaking them defines sin or evil.  People delude themselves into thinking they are good even though they have broken all of the laws. 

The only way to open the eyes of a spiritually blind person is with the Holy Spirit and the Law.  The Spirit prepares their heart and the law breaks it by revealing their sin and need for salvation.  Those who remain in their state of delusion and uphold their self-righteousness after admitting their lawlessness are condemned.  They will in turn give you hate and heat.

Those who are affected and convicted of this examination will repent, turn to Jesus, and be thankful for the conversation.  Those are the ones that you can have a real impact on for eternity.  Jesus expects us to talk with both types of people and leave the results to Him, for he is the Judge.

What did Jesus do with the self-righteous?

Reading Plan: Psalm 80; Neh. 9:1-15; Rev. 18:1-8; Matt. 15:1-20