DAILY DEVOTIONALS: 2.18.23

WhyWe Need the Bible - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles� teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord�s Supper), and to prayer �Acts 2:42 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/why-we-need-the-bible/- Listen Luke, the author of Acts, could have brought a lot of things to our attention about the early church. After all, first-century believers were vibrant and joyful, and the churchwas rapidly expanding. But he made a point of reminding us that they studied God�s Word together. In chapter 2 he wrote, �All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles� teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord�s Supper), and to prayer� ( verse 42 NLT). It could have been a temptation for the first-century believers to look back with great fondness on Pentecost and say, �Why can�t every service be like Pentecost? Rememberthe Spirit coming upon us and the divided flames of fire? Remember all the languages we spoke in?� Though Pentecost was the explosion that started the engine, it was time to drive the car. And the early church reveled in the Word of God. What is true of the church should be true of us as individuals. If you have no interest in the Bible, if you find it boring, then maybe you should ask yourself whether youknow God as you really ought to. The Bible is alive and powerful. Hebrews 4:12 tells us, �For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul andspirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires� (NLT). Martin Luther said, �The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold on me.� A trend in the church today is to disregard or marginalize the study of Scripture. The first-century church, however, studied doctrine. And if we�re not careful with our doctrine,we might end up loving the wrong Jesus or believing the wrong things. The early church loved the Word of God. And so should we. Priscillaand Aquila “And [Apollos] began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they tookhim unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.” (Acts18:26) On Valentine’s Day, rather than concentrating on hearts, flowers, and chocolate, it might serve us better to look at the lives of a biblical couple who were themselves, no doubt, very much in love. In so doing we can gain some insight into what married loveis all about and what it can do. This couple were evidently some of Paul’s dearest friends and first met him in Corinth, where they had journeyed following the expulsion of all Jews from Rome in AD 49 (Acts18:2). The couple had a tentmaking business, the same craft as Paul’s, and they invited him to live with them (v. 3), allowing him freedom to teach and evangelize (v. 4). Although the exact time is debated, it’s likely that sometime during their stay in Corinth they risked their lives for Paul, for he later wrote, “Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus: Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whomnot only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles” (Romans16:3-4). When the local Jews threatened them, they traveled to Ephesus with Paul. Here they helped the dynamic Apollos to a fuller faith (today’s text) and held church meetings in their home (1Corinthians 16:19). After further travels (Romans16:3), they returned to Ephesus (2Timothy 4:19). We don’t know all the details, but we do know that they served God effectually together for years. And perhaps this is what a truly loving Christian marriage is all about: Serving, teaching, hosting, evangelizing, discipling, working, sacrificing, praying,suffering, traveling—together, always together—for a lifetime. “If that’s not love, what is?” JDM --------------------- SevenDays “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.” (John8:56) Jesus spoke to the Pharisees about “my day”—a day that Abraham had “seen” 2,000 years before. This evidently referred to the time when Christ would be on Earth, which God had enabled Abraham to see in prophecy. But of all the days when He was on the earth, the most glorious was the great day when He rose from the dead. “He hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee” (Acts13:33). As a result of His death and resurrection, “behold, now is the day of salvation” (2Corinthians 6:2). The day of salvation is any day in this age of grace when a person believes on Christ for salvation. He then receives “the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Ephesians4:30). This great future day of redemption evidently is the same as “the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians1:6), when He comes again. Following this is the fearful day of the Lord, when Christ will punish and judge and reign. “The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night...and they shall not escape” (1Thessalonians 5:2-3). It is also called “the great day of his wrath” (Revelation6:17). This day of the Lord will culminate at God’s great white throne. This will be “the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God” (Romans2:5). Finally will come the eternal “day of God” when this present earth will be purified with fire and “we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2Peter 3:13). That day will never end, “for there shall be no night there” (Revelation21:25). HMM -------------------------- TheGospel of Prosperity “Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to comeunto you.” (Romans1:10) This mention of the word “prosperous” is the first of the only four occurrences of the Greek word enodoo (meaning literally “good journey” but translated “prosper” or “prosperous”) in the New Testament. Here, it is actually rendered “prosperous journey.” It is obvious that Paul was not praying for his journey to prosper financially, for the next verse indicates his long desire had been to “impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established” (Romans1:11). However, the word has come to include any kind of prospering, as in 1 Corinthians 16:2, when Paul urged Christians to provide financial help for other Christians in need. “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him,” he said. The term can also refer to physical and spiritual health. Its two other occurrences are in 3 John 1:2: “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” Unfortunately, certain teachers of these latterdays have taken the biblical teaching of spiritual prosperity to mean financial prosperity, which they teach is the right of every Christian. But this “prosperity gospel” is so clearly unscriptural that it is merely a testimony to the greed of the Christianswho believe it. “They that [desire to] be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts,” warned Paul (1Timothy 6:9). And to whatever extent God does prosper us financially, it is strictly for the purpose of helping others, not to indulge ourselves. “Charge them that are rich in this world, that...they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute” (1Timothy 6:17-18). HMM --------------------- Disturbingthe Culture - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. �Ephesians 5:15�16 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/disturbing-the-culture/- Listen There never was a dull day for the first-century followers of Jesus. In fact, it seems that wherever Paul went, there was either a conversion or a riot. The early church didn�t have modern technology at their disposal. Yet in a relatively short time, these believers changed their world. They permeated their culture. Tertullian, a Christian leader and a contemporary of these early followers of Christ, said of the church, �We are but of yesterday, and we have filled every place among you�cities,islands, fortresses, towns, marketplaces, the very camp, tribes, companies, palace, senate, forum�we have left nothing to you but the temples of your gods.� He was pointing to the fact that the church had infiltrated everything. There were even Christians in the palace of Caesar. This is what we need today. We need Christiansto go out and make a difference. We need Christians involved in the arts, making great films and creating graphic design. We need Christians in places of authority, because the Bible says that when the righteous rule, the people rejoice (see Proverbs 29:2). We need Christian doctors, lawyers, and businesspeople. We need believers to let their light shine in this culture today. Religious leaders in Thessalonica had this to say about Paul and Silas: �These who have turned the world upside down have come here too� (Acts 17:6 NKJV). G. Campbell Morgan said, �Organized Christianity which fails to make a disturbance is dead.� Believers in the first century made a disturbance because they understood that God had called them to do their part. They took risks. They left their comfort zones. In theBook of Acts, we see their fearless preaching, their expectant prayer, and their willingness to obey God. Twenty-first-century believers should be living like these first-century believers, impacting our culture. We should be making a difference. We should be turning our worldupside down. ----------------------------------- Let the Light Shine Through - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. �Matthew 5:16 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/let-the-light-shine-through/- Listen A Sunday school teacher said to her class of young students, �Can any of you tell me what a saint is?� One of the girls in the class thought about some stained glass windowsof the apostles that she saw. So she said, �Those are people that the light shines through.� That is true. We might be tempted to put people like Peter, James, John, Matthew, and Paul on pedestals. When we read about them in the Bible, they seem like superhuman individuals.But they were ordinary people like us. They made mistakes, and the Bible is honest about the mistakes they made. But they also were saints. And if you are a Christian, then you�re a saint too. Saint is simply another word for a follower of Jesus Christ. The greatness of the disciples wasn�t because of who they were. It was because God�s hand was on them. The apostle Paul wrote, �Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that fewof you were wise in the world�s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful� (1 Corinthians 1:26�27 NLT). These weren�t perfect people; they were ordinary people. But God did extraordinary things through ordinary people. God seems to go out of His way to choose unexpected peopleto go to unexpected places to do unexpected things. Jesus did not call the apostles because they were great; they were great because Jesus called them. It is not the instrument but the One who holds the instrument. Before wecan change the world, Jesus must first change us. Then God can take us, despite our flaws and shortcomings, and use us for His glory. --------------------------- TheLively Oracles �This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina,and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us.� (Acts 7:38) This pungent expression �lively oracles� is the felicitous King James translation of zao logion, �utterances that are vibrantly alive.� In Stephen�s address, he was referring, of course, to the tables of the law, �written with the finger of God� (Exodus31:18) and received by Moses on Mount Sinai directly from the Lord. The Greek word logion is derived from logos (�word�) and occurs just four times. In the other three references, it appears in the phrase �oracles of God� (Romans3:2; Hebrews 5:12; 1 Peter 4:11). These �oracles� are living words precisely because they do come from God. They include not only the Ten Commandments but all the Holy Scriptures. The word �lively� is the Greek zao, occurring over 140 times and translated variously (depending on context) as �alive,� �live,� �living,� �quick,� etc. It is significant that it occurs, first of all, on the lips of Christ Himself when He said, �Itis written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God� (Matthew 4:4). We are truly alive only throughthe life-giving words of the living God! �For the word [that is, each individual saying] of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword...and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart� (Hebrews4:12). The Bible is not just a book but the Book. Its content is �for ever...settled in heaven� (Psalm 119:89), �able to make thee wise unto salvation� (2 Timothy 3:15), and is �given by inspiration of God� (�God-breathed�) (2Timothy 3:16). Its words must guide our very lives! HMM ------------------------ Not Slow. Patient. - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org The Lord isn�t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyoneto repent. �2 Peter 3:9 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/not-slow-patient/- Listen When I became a Christian in the early 1970s, everyone was talking about the return of Jesus. We were praying, �Lord, come back!� I�m sure that everyone who has come to Christsince the 1970s is glad that God didn�t answer that prayer. The first-century church had a job to do, and so do we. Jesus said, �The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. Butyou will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere�in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth� (Acts 1:7�8 NLT). Jesus gave this statement in response to a question from the disciples: �Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?� (verse 6 NLT). Many of thepeople, including the disciples, had a misguided notion about Jesus. They thought that as Messiah, Jesus came to establish the kingdom of God on earth at that time. That�s why it seemed like a mistake when Jesus was crucified. So they were saying, �Okay, Lord, we�re so glad that You�re alive again. Are You going to establish the kingdomnow?� In effect Jesus told them, �I�m not going to establish My earthly kingdom right now. That�s coming later. Stop focusing on when I�m returning and instead focus on what youare to do until I return.� We, too, need to focus on what we�re supposed to be doing while we await Christ�s return. Bible prophecy should not inflate our brains; it should enlarge our hearts. And ifwe really understand what Bible prophecy is about, then it should cause us to want to live godly lives. Jesus� words in Acts 1:7�8 were not exclusively for first-century believers. We are still called to tell people about Jesus everywhere. ------------------------------- TheCall of the Twelve �And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach.� (Mark3:14) Early in His public ministry, Jesus gathered around Himself those to whom He would eventually entrust the Christian message. Many others had also been attracted to Him and His works, as indicated in the previous verse: �And he goeth up into a mountain, andcalleth unto him whom he would [emphasis in the Greek is on �he�; the choice was His alone]: and they came unto him� (v. 13). Of those He invited, He �ordained twelve.� Such a momentous selection could not be taken lightly, and we should not pass over it either. Luke gives us further information: �He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God� (Luke6:12) before choosing the twelve. As a sidelight, it bears mentioning that if God the Son so relied on the wisdom from God the Father before making an important decision, how can we neglect prayer as we so often do? Four purposes are listed for these appointees, but the last three flow from the first: �That they should be with him.� They would see Him in action, learn truth from Him, assist Him in His work; but most importantly they would see His character and habits,and would never be the same. Part of their training included being sent out to put in practice what they had learned, �that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils� (Mark3:14-15). He gave them a message to preach and the ability to authenticate that message. A study of these disciples as revealed in the gospels makes one wonder if Jesus made a proper choice. However, in the book of Acts, once He was gone and the Holy Spirit empowered them, we recognize that their training was complete. We are the result of theireffective ministry. JDM -------------------- Fruit-BearingChristians �Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgethit, that it may bring forth more fruit.� (John 15:2) As Christ emphasized in His parable of the vine and the branches, it is vitally important for a Christian to bear fruit. There are, in fact, many types of spiritual fruit mentioned in Scripture. Perhaps the most important fruit, produced in one�s life by the Holy Spirit, is that of a Christlike character. �The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance� (Galatians5:22-23). �For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth� (Ephesians 5:9). Holiness�the seal of a life dedicated to God�is a particular spiritual fruit. �Being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness� (Romans6:22) and are �filled with the fruits of righteousness� (Philippians 1:11). This entails also the fruit of good works performed in the name of Christ, �that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work� (Colossians 1:10). The habit of giving thanks and praise rather than complaint and criticism is a valuable Christian fruit. �By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name� (Hebrews13:15). Generosity is another important fruit. Paul commended the sacrificial giving of the Philippians, �not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account� (Philippians4:17). Finally, one vital fruit of a Christian witness is fruit borne in other Christians� lives. Paul�s great desire was �that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles� (Romans1:13). HMM ---------------------- TheChurch That Changed the World - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What�s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritualsacrifices that please God. �1 Peter 2:5 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/the-church-that-changed-the-world/- Listen Some are saying that we need to reenvision the church for today. I disagree. I don�t think we need to reenvision it; I think we need to rediscover it. We don�t need to redefine what God already has defined. We need to get back to the way church was in the beginning because this is the church that turned the world upsidedown. Some people are anti-church. They say things like, �I don�t believe in organized religion. I�m just a very spiritual person. Besides, there are so many hypocrites in the church.� If that is your attitude, then the devil�s ploys have worked very effectively in your life. Jesus told a story, or parable, about the wheat and the tares. A farmer planted a crop of wheat, but in the evening his adversary came along and planted tares among the wheat.Tares initially look just like wheat, but as time passes, they actually can uproot the wheat. Wherever there�s something genuine, there will be an imitation. Whenever something has been done well, someone else will do their version of it. Yet imitations remind us thatthe genuine is out there. As we look at the first-century church, we see they had hypocrites too. They had heresies. They even had some pretty radical immorality being practiced in their midst. Yet we should know that Jesus Christ is committed to the church. It is the only organization that He ever started, and there is really nothing in the world like the church.The church has many critics but no rivals. The secret of the early church was that every Christian believed they were called to do their part. Every person mattered. We shouldn�t be spectators in the church; we should be participants. It�s easy to play armchair quarterback. But it�s another thing altogether to be on the field as part ofthe team. That is where God wants all of us to be. -------------------------