Archive for September 2015

Children of the King

2015-09-06 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Jesus said that when we believe in Him, we become citizens of the Kingdom of God. He taught us about living in that Kingdom, and many of His teachings seem strange, difficult, or even backward to us: “Do not worry about your life…” (Matthew 6:25); “Love your enemies…” (Matthew 5:44); “If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matthew 5:39). According to the Beatitudes, those who are blessed in God’s Kingdom are not the rich, powerful, and popular, but the poor, meek, and persecuted (Matthew 5:3-12).

As citizens of God’s Kingdom who live in this world as well, we feel that tension. We’re called to simply trust God when fear and worry feel more natural. We’re commanded to love some very unlovely and unkind people. We’re told to be lowly servants when our ego craves gold and glory.

But here’s the key. As citizens of God’s Kingdom, we live in the court of the King. This King is our Father, and we are His royal children. He is loving. He is wise. He is infinitely powerful. And this King is always, always, always with us, constantly looking out for our good, eager to provide for our every need.

Jesus teaches us that we should think and live as such royal children, in the immediate presence of our Father. When we do, everything changes! God is love, so we want to love everyone He loves. His resources are unlimited, so generosity is natural and affordable. Jesus’ upside-down teachings suddenly start to make perfect sense! When we trust ourselves to our Father’s care, we are free to live and love and give as Christ taught.

Remember: you are living in the presence of the King!

Listen and sing:
Hymn: What a Strange and Wonderful Kingdom!
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Abraham’s Sacrifice

2015-09-03 Devotional with Hymn, Pictures of God No comments

from the devotional book, PICTURES OF GOD

Read Genesis 22:1-19

I am deeply challenged by the faith of Abraham. What raced through his mind when God told him to offer Isaac as a burnt offering? What filled his thoughts and emotions?

  • Surely he thought of his son’s face, his eyes, his mannerisms; how he looked when he slept; his simple, unquestioning trust in his father.
  • How could he possibly tell Sarah? She had endured so much for so long to finally get this child as a precious gift from God. How could he take Isaac from her?
  • Without Isaac, how could God ever fulfill His promise to make his descendants as the sands of the sea?
  • How could he do it? How could he plunge the knife into his son’s chest? How could he light his body on fire?

But Abraham didn’t let his own fears or desires stop his obedience to God. He didn’t let the concerns of those around him affect his decision. Whether he understood or not, He would obey Almighty God because he feared Him and trusted Him.

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death. (Hebrews 11:17-19, NIV)

For all of us, our greatest testing comes from those blessings that are dearest to us. In fact, it seems that every new blessing from God comes with new challenges as well. Those challenges are part of the blessing, for they exercise our faith. That faith is the substance of our relationship with the unseen God, and that relationship is the most precious gift in all creation. Our loving Father will do anything to strengthen His bond with us and draw us closer to Himself.

God stopped Abraham’s sacrifice at the last moment. It became only a foreshadowing, a dress rehearsal for another Father who would sacrifice His only Son on a nearby hill centuries later.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Genesis 22
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Face-to-face with the Living God

2015-09-01 Devotional with Hymn No comments

I remember clearly when I first trusted Jesus Christ. It was the last night of a revival in our local church with evangelist Rev. Jay Budd. All week a fear of hell had been building in my 10-year-old mind, but I was too shy to go forward during the altar call. So when we arrived home after church on that Sunday night, April 10, 1960, I went into my parents’ bedroom and told them I wanted to pray to become a Christian.

I still remember my burning desire not to lose the amazing new feeling that filled my heart.

But my deepest and most formative memory of that evening is my new awareness of the Living God. I had the sensation of Him standing right in front of me, looking straight into my eyes. The reality was stark and gripping. He filled my heart’s vision. I could not ignore Him or look past Him. But His look was not threatening. He was not angry with me. His look was love…nothing but love.

I think of that when I read the account of Paul’s conversion in Acts 9. Paul was making a career of trying to stamp out Christianity, and suddenly, in a moment in time, he turned around 180 degrees and became one of its most fervent advocates. Within a few days he was publicly contending for the truth he had violently opposed. The change did not happen through years of studying and thinking. Like me, he simply came face-to-face with the Living Christ. Few words were exchanged. The gripping reality of Jesus Christ transformed him completely in a moment in time, and he was never the same.

Like Paul, my life and ministry continues to be energized by the stark reality of Father God, revealed so vividly and personally in Jesus Christ. To my ears, so much of our Christian talk is about religion, and religion can be such a human thing. It pales before the Living God. He still fills my heart’s vision, as He did on that evening over 55 years ago. He draws me. He drives me. My relationship with Him shapes every aspect of my life. When He speaks, all other voices are just background noise. When He commands, my path is clear, regardless of opposition. My heart has room for nothing and no one else.

As with Noah, Abraham, Isaiah, and Paul, God Himself, in His person, makes all other considerations irrelevant. He is the Source and Center of all reality. He is all wisdom, all power, and all love. He calls, I answer. What else matters but Him?

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Present Lord
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