Day 29. Indwelling Sin

Romans 7:13 Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death to me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.

Paul wrote this passage in a letter to a group of Christians in Rome, some Jewish who knew the Law and some Gentiles who were less or not at all familiar. He already established that everyone is guilty before God in Romans 1-3. All have sinned and everyone who judges there neighbor essentially judges themselves (Rom 2:2-3). In other words, we can’t say that we aren’t sinners, and we can’t say that we are better than our neighbor. We are guilty of breaking the Perfect Law of a Holy God. Paul goes on to tell the most wonderful news. There is a way to become righteous, without any condemnation from the Holy Judge. Faith in Jesus brings justification (legal declaration of righteousness) for sinners. This means that Jesus took the penalty we deserve. Following the law perfectly is no longer the only way to have God be TOTALLY free to come dwell among us in peace. Jesus is the way! No one has any room to boast, except in Jesus! Instead of falling in line with the first man who sinned, we can escape death, and inherit eternal life.

Now death that comes from sin; that is the topic at hand in Romans 7:13. Did the demands and commands of God’s law cause us to die? No. Sin did.

Think about this. Can you remember anyone ever telling you NOT to do something, then you just HAVE do it? That is the same principle as SIN in your flesh (the unredeemed part of a person). If you did it after being told not to IT IS YOUR FAULT! It is not the fault of the person who told you not to. You did it, not them. That is what Paul is teaching about the Law. Don’t lie. Don’t steal. Don’t covet. These commands awaken sin in the flesh. But IF we have surrendered in faith to Jesus and received the Holy Spirit, we have a greater power than ourselves to combat sin. On your own you have NO power to overcome sin and become like Christ. In your flesh, nothing good dwells – See Romans 7:18. The Greek word translated “dwells” referred to a base camp for military operations. Our natural self is just a base camp for sinful attitudes, desires, and behaviors. At least that’s what Paul says. Oh how wonderful to know Jesus. Through His life, death, and resurrection he is able to take our place, and set us free from the body of this death (Rom 7:25)!

Are you struggling to overcome a sin? Remember, you are not able to overcome the condemnation that comes from struggling to be approved through God's perfect Law, but Jesus is. Trust wholly in Him!

Romans 8:10 says “If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.”
 

Day 28. He's coming. Now What?

1 Thessalonians 5: 1-11 About the times and the seasons: brothers, you do not need anything to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. 3 When they say, "Peace and security," then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brothers, are not in the dark, so that this day would overtake you like a thief. 5 For you are all sons of light and sons of the day. We're not of the night or of darkness. 6 So then, we must not sleep, like the rest, but we must stay awake and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But since we are of the day, we must be sober and put the armor of faith and love on our chests, and put on a helmet of the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up as you are already doing.

The church at Thessalonica had endured some false teaching. There were rumors that Jesus had already come. There were other rumors that since Jesus already returned everyone who believed in Christ, but had already died were lost for good. Paul wrote his first letter to address these and other issues that the church faced.

Question: Are you ever worried about what is coming? When Jesus will come? How it will happen?

Paul addresses this concern here in the beginning of 1 Thessalonians 5. In verse 1 Paul discusses the uselessness of trying to figure out seasons and times in order to know exactly when Jesus will come back. In fact if someone tells you that they can predict this, they are contradicting the words of Jesus himself to his disciples in Matthew 24:36 that no one knows the day or the hour when he will return except the father. Paul appears to confirm this to the church of Thessalonica. Now, we certainly are closer to Christ’s return with every passing moment, but the Bible teaches that Christ’s return could happen at any time. The fancy word for this is imminence.  This is important because it excludes people from pursuing Jesus with wrong motives. Ever hear someone say “Well I’ll accept Jesus before I die,” or “I’ll ask Jesus to forgive me if I get in an accident.” This is a VERY DANGEROUS presumption! Jesus’ return is going to catch every unbeliever by surprise “like a thief in the night.” His return will come in the midst of unbeliever’s declaring “peace and safety.” Paul says they will not escape the judgment to follow.

As believers, Paul assumes that we are already living according to the “light” of God’s truth, so then this sudden return of Christ will be joyful since we are expecting and longing for His return. Since this is the reality and direction of the believers in Thessalonica and ought to be in every believer’s life. This is true because God “appointed us” to salvation, not wrath and judgment. The verb appointed in verse 9 speaks of a one-time action. When we were saved we were placed on a new course. Before we were on a course ending in wrath. Now we are on a course ending in salvation in the end through Jesus Christ. Because of this reality Paul tells the church to:

1.   Be sober.

In other words, remain alert in your mind. Be renewed by scripture. Live according to truth as is delivered in God’s Holy Word.

2.   Put on the armor of faith and love on our chests

Yes, think armor of God from Ephesians 6. The breastplate covers your vital organs and faith in Jesus provides our righteousness, saving us from the deadly blow of condemnation for our sin. Love is the means by which Christ’s sin paying, God satisfying blood was shed for us, and God pours this love into our hearts by The Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). The love of God is demonstrated in the death of Jesus. Our ability to be forgiven and pleasing to God comes only through faith in Jesus’s death and shed blood. Our victory over sin is only a sure hope if Jesus rose again, showing that he defeated death and sin for us. In the meantime, we live spiritually with Jesus, because we died to our old self to live with him anew.

3.   Put on the helmet of Salvation.

The mind is a terrible thing to waste. We should keep it fixed on things that are above. In other words we should be looking forward to our reward, our inheretance, not our current situation on earth. We should renew it every day in the truth of God's word and prayer. Salvation has a future when we meet the Judge who is our savior and enter into His presence. Keep your focus on that Day.

4.   Encourage one another.

Bottom line. Life stinks sometimes. But fellowship with God’s family can be sweet all the time. Encourage each other in the truth of Jesus’ return!

Day 27. Jeremiah & Me

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations' (Jeremiah 1:5)


Have you been wondering what God has in store for your life? 

The Bible is clear in stating some amazing things about the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah preached to the nation of Judah around 600 B.C. Judah was at the time worshipping idols and refusing to follow the pure teaching of God's law. They were continually insincere, dishonest, adulterous, and unloving toward the helpless. Jeremiah was God's man. The bible describes him as the "weeping prophet" in Jeremiah 9:1; 13:17; and 14:17. Jeremiah was weeping over the sin and rebellion of his countrymen and there unwillingness to repent. God would eventually use the nation of Babylon to judge the Israelites. Babylon really had things going for them. Babylon's capital was located on the banks of the Euphrates river. She had a strong government and military, lots of resources, the famous hanging gardens, a massive ziggurat (pyramid), and an advanced level of technology and culture. Babylon was the greatest most modern nation in the world at this time. They had the ancient equivalence of nuclear bombs, iphones, smart cars, and cool clothes. However, they were idolators. Imagine how sad this was for Jeremiah. A nation that worshipped idols and did not acknowledge the Creator God would destroy a nation that God had established to worship, obey and represent Him to the world. How hard would it be to stand not only against the powerful Emperor threatening with the impending envasion of your beloved country, and also against your countrymen who refuse to worship the God who made them a nation? Tough. Jeremiah felt pressure from every direction. How did he hold up under such difficulty? He knew the Lord God, and He relied on him. Consider the following ways Jeremiah was able to continue faithfully serving God, even when all were against him.

Jeremiah acknowledge God's power and sovereignty! "There is no one like You, O LORD ... Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?" (10:6)

Jeremiah acknowledged God's righteousness! "Righteous are You , O LORD" (12:3)

Jeremiah praised God! "For You are my praise" (17:14) 

Jeremiah brought his problems to God and trusted God to help him! "Do give heed to me O LORD, and listen to what my opponents are saying" (18:19).

Jeremiah was willing to suffer for God's righteousness sake! "...Know that for Your sake I endure reproach" (15:15)

Jeremiah spoke honestly and truthfully when he spoke to God! "Your Yourself know that the utterance of my lips was in Your presence" (17:16). 

Every believer is called to endure with Christ. Let's glean from Jeremiah today and continue faithfully with the Lord.

Day 26. Don't add rules.

Proverbs 17:15 He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, Both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.

     As fallen human beings we tend to take sides with people we know for no good reason. We give people "pardons" because of what they can do for us or refuse to pardon them because of what they've done to us. This type of partiality is wicked behavior. We tend to judge people without all the facts in mind. We tend to excuse ourselves and accuse others of wrong. The bottom line is that while everyone has some idea of what is right and wrong, human beings are unjust judges. However, God is a perfectly just judge. That is why we can rely on His word for wisdom in deciding matters of right and wrong. He condemned His own Son, so that he could justly pardon us after all (2 Cor 5:21).
     Have you ever babysat a child and found yourself tempted to make extra rules to force them to do your will? Well now you have to eat as many carrots as you are old. Or, you can only have 1 cookie, because your mommy doesn't want you to eat junk food. We can establish rules upon rules in no time at all. Rules can be important, however as we mature and grow, we often times impose our rules on others. We should never attempt to regulate people into obeying God. That can only happen because they are born again and have a desire to obey. Ultimately it is the rule of God's word, specificially the words and teaching of Christ that are to guide our lives, not our rules. We must remember to be more focused on Jesus's words for us than our rules that we think others should follow.
     Don't add rules to God's word, but follow the teaching of scripture. Legalists add rules to obey. We should love to obey rules that are already there. As Christians we are justified because "Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans 5:6). And though we were condemned, God is justified in forgiving us. Don't judge and pardon others because of their behavior, point them to Jesus, the one who can pardon them in spite of their behavior, make them new, and save them eternally.
 
Matthew 18:21-35

Day 25. Do you long for a better country?

Hebrews 11:16 they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

If you never have, I encourage you to read through Hebrews chapter 11. This chapter of the Bible is commonly referred to as the hall of faith, and the people discussed demonstrated, in various ways, their trust in God and His promise of future salvation. Consider the line up: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Moses, and the list goes on. When an entire chapter dedicated to a group of people who trusted God for deliverance is written we do well to carefully search for the qualities that are pointed out in their lives. Specifically after discussing Abel, Noah, Abraham, and Sarah we see verse 16 shows the unusual outlook they had on life. They were longing for heaven, for redemption, and it changed the way they lived here on earth. They considered God faithful and trusted His promises and confessed that they were temporary residents on the earth. They also were willing (like Moses) to pass up the temporary pleasures of sin in this life in order to do the will of God.

Here is a list of 7 different ways that heaven is described in the Bible.

God's dwelling place (Psalms 33:13).

Where Christ is today (Acts 1:11).

Where people who have trusted Jesus for forgiveness go when they die (Philippians 1:21-23).

The Father's house (John 14:2).

A city designed and built by God (Hebrews 11:10).

A better country for citizenship (Hebrews 11:16).

Paradise (Luke 23:43).

Are you longing for your heavenly home today? 

Colossians 1:3-6 
We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth

Day 24. Who can be a pastor?

Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:1-7 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

This saying is trustworthy:“If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble work.” ² An overseer, therefore, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an able teacher,³ not addicted to wine, not a bully but gentle, not quarrelsome, not greedy—⁴ one who manages his own household competently, having his children under control with all dignity. ⁵ (If anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God’s church?) ⁶ He must not be a new convert, or he might become conceited and fall into the condemnation of the Devil. ⁷ Furthermore, he must have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he does not fall into disgrace and the Devil’s trap.

Why this devotion topic? Sunday, August 2^nd we are meeting and hearing a man preach who may become our new pastor at Thompsontown Baptist Church. What kind of a person can become a pastor? Obviously they have to be a Christian, but today we will look at the qualities of a man who is truly qualified to lead and teach the church that belongs to Jesus Christ.

Background of the passage: Who is Timothy? Answer: a young man. He was probably a little over 30 years old at this time since 15 years had passed from the time Paul first met him in his hometown of Lystra (Acts 16:1-3) In the passage above, Paul is giving Timothy instructions on how to continue serving the newly forming church in the city of Ephesus. Timothy had been traveling as a friend and co-worker for Christ with Paul for years at this point, and Paul sent him as a representative in his place to assist the people in the church at Ephesus. During this portion of the letter he is laying down some important qualities that a man should have in order to be appointed as a pastor in the church.

Pastors are servant leaders in the church. We know that this is what Paul is referring to because he says if anyone aspires to be an “overseer” which is translated from the Greek word episkopē. This means to have an official position of oversight and is sometimes referred to as being a bishop (Philippians 1:1;Titus 1:7 King James Version). We would call this person a pastor. According to Paul being a pastor is a “noble work” or “good work.” Guiding the church through teaching, leading by example, correcting, counseling; these are all good things that pastors do in their work for the Lord as they serve and lead the people in the church.

Here are the qualifications in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 for pastors:

Pastors must be Blameless. This isn’t to say that the pastor can never ever make any mistake no matter how small. The Greek word here refers to being accused of being a lawbreaker. Some translations say that a pastor must be “above reproach.” This just means he doesn’t need correction in order to be living right. If someone accused him of something it wouldn’t hold up in court. Everything else on the list of requirements falls under this broad idea of being “Blameless.”

Husband of one wife. A pastor must be a faithful husband. This does not mean that a pastor can only have one wife in his lifetime. For example if a pastor's wife dies, and he marries a second wife, that has nothing to do with this statement. It means he must remain faithful to the wife he has. The Greek phrase for this is “one-woman man” indicating that pastors must be living a sexually pure lifestyle. Can single men be pastors? There is no indication that they cannot, assuming they remain sexually pure. The word for “husband” or “man” (Greek word anēr) here refers to a mature male. So pastors are supposed to be men. Man up boys.

Self-controlled. The original word here is likely a metaphor used by Paul. He is stating that men who desire to be or are pastors must be clear-thinking and alert.

Sensible. The pastor must be able to tell the difference between urgent matters and unimportant ones, spending time and resources on the important matters.

Respectable. This qualification is referring to the “order” in the man’s own life. If a man is out of order or lives a life with chaos and fighting and screaming and yelling, that is going to effect the order in the church.

Hospitable. Pastors must be willing to welcome others. The Greek word for hospitable means “love of strangers.” The pastor must love his neighbor as himself, and model this behavior for the church he leads.

Able Teacher. Ephesians 4:11 lists the position of pastor as pastor/teacher. Pastors must be able to teach the truth of the Bible to the church they lead and serve. Knowing this truth is the only way we are able to grow together to be more like Jesus, and it is the primary job of the pastor.

Not addicted to wine. This is pretty self-explanatory right?

Not a bully but gentle. Pastors are NEVER called to force things on others. They must sometimes make difficult decisions that others don’t agree with, however they don’t use physical force or bullying to make things happen.

Not quarrelsome. Peaceful. Some people stir up trouble, a pastor cannot be this way.

Not greedy. 1 Timothy 6:10 says that the “love of money is the root of all kinds of evils.” A pastor cannot compromise his ministry or the truth of the Bible for financial gain. Pastors must be motivated by love for others not money.

Manages his own household competently. Pastors must be managers of God’s house, the church. If they cannot manage their own family, they will have difficulty being managers in God’s family.

Having his children under control with all dignity. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God’s church?) Do pastors have to have children? In short, no. This phrase in the Greek language comes from a military term meaning submission or falling in rank under an authority. This doesn’t mean that pastors force their children into submission. It means his children submit to his leadership.

He must not be a new convert. He must not be a new convert, or he might become conceited and fall into the condemnation of the Devil. In short, being a pastor takes a lot of humility which comes from walking faithfully in obedience to Jesus. Pastors should be capable men, knowledgeable regarding God’s word. There is a temptation to become prideful. Pride, or self-admiration, led to the Devils fall.

Furthermore, he must have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he does not fall into disgrace and the Devil’s trap. If no one outside the church respects you, how can you expect them to listen to the Gospel message from you? This is the problem with having a bad reputation among unbelievers. Pastors will already disagree with the world on many issues about morals and Biblical truth, they must be respectable so that people will hear the truths that faithful men of God are able to influence them with. Public disgrace of the pastor of a church will ruin their ability to minister to their community.

Think about this. We don’t have to be a pastor or even desire to be one in order to strive to possess these types of attributes. What is one attribute of a Biblical pastor that you should ask God to help you change in your life today?

Day 23. Rejection and Acceptance

Mark 6:7-13

Ever feel rejected? It happens to everyone at some point. Early in Jesus' ministry he sent his disciples out on a mission. Jesus had just been rejected by his own home town. The people could not see the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. They just knew him as Mary's son or James' brother. Even though Jesus performed signs and taught with wisdom, they didn't receive him. Then, Jesus sent the disciples out in groups of two comissioned with authority to do miraculous works like casting out demons, healing sick people, and preaching the message of repentance. Keep in mind that these disciples were going around a place that Jesus himself had just taught and performed signs.The disciples were told to stay as long as they needed in a home where the family would receive them, however when the disciples were rejected for the message they preached they were told to "shake off the dust under their feet as a testimony against them" (verse 11). What a strange thing to say. What this meant in the context of the passage is that if the message of repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ was rejected, the people were rejected from the kingdom of God. Jesus even says that it will be worse for these people who had the testimony of Christ and rejected Him than for the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were destroyed for their continual sin during the life of Abraham (Genesis 19:24). Could this be that the most vile sinner and the nicest person in town have the same fate? Without repentance from their own deeds and putting their faith in Jesus, Yes. Remember that truly important acceptance in life comes by being identified and associated with Jesus Christ. If someone accepts you for your clothing, what will it benefit them? If someone accepts you for your looks, what will it benefit them? If someone accepts you for your brains, what will it benefit them? If someone accepts you because you share the message of repentance, forgiveness, and the love of Christ it will greatly benefit them forever. Be accepted or rejected today for the best reason - Jesus.