DAILY DEVOTIONALS: 6.24.23

 ThingsWe Ought to Do “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and haveomitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” (Matthew23:23) This sharp rebuke by Jesus to the legalists of His day should also be taken seriously by us today. Although we are saved by grace alone, there are many things we ought to do, not as a matter of credit toward salvation, but as gratitude for our salvation. Surely judgment, mercy, and faithfulness are high on such a list. Other “oughts” of the born-again Christian life would include the following incomplete listing. 1.Prayer: “Men ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke18:1). 2.Obedience to God as Priority: “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts5:29). 3.Working and Sharing: “So labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts20:35). 4.Gracious in Speech: “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man” (Colossians4:6). 5.Walking with God: “As ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more” (1Thessalonians 4:1). 6.Heeding God’s Word: “We ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip” (Hebrews2:1). 7.Sanctified Behavior: “What manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness” (2Peter 3:11). ---------------------------- Whatto Put On “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until yebe endued with power from on high.” (Luke24:49) People give much attention to what material clothes they should put on, but the New Testament tells us what spiritual clothes to put on. First, we are to be “endued with” power from on high. This Greek word (enduo) is normally rendered “put on.” Thatis, we are to put on power, and this is imparted only by the Holy Spirit (Acts1:8), according to Christ’s departing promise. “Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light....put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof” (Romans13:12, 14). “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians3:27). Along with this, we are to “put off concerning the former conversation the old man,” and then to “put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians4:22, 24). Then we must “put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians6:11). These items of spiritual clothing—the power of the Holy Spirit, the light of God’s presence, the new man in Christ, the resurrection life of the indwelling Christ, His imputed righteousness and holiness and all our spiritual armor—provide the foundation clothingfor beautiful spiritual jewels and accessories. “Ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:...Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowelsof mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;... And above all these things put on charity [love]” (Colossians3:9-10, 12, 14). HMM ------------------------- HonoringOur Fathers “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveththee.” (Exodus20:12) This familiar command was the fifth in God’s list of Ten Commandments, the law of God, and it has never been abrogated. It was quoted by Christ as His own command, when He said: “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.... Honour thy father andthy mother” (Matthew19:17, 19). The apostle Paul also cited it as of special significance: “Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise” (Ephesians6:2). This all indicates that God considers the honoring of parents by their children to be of great significance. Since the father has been charged with the primary spiritual responsibility for his family, it is of supreme importance that fathers lead their childrenproperly and the children follow that lead with all due respect and diligence. God blessed Abraham as “the father of us all” (Romans4:16) because He could say concerning Abraham: “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment” (Genesis18:19). It is not easy being such a father, but it is vital if our children are to come also to honor their heavenly Father. “For what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?...Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence:shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?” (Hebrews12:7, 9). “And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians6:4). If we fathers diligently follow God’s Word in leading our children, then they will honor their fathers, not only while they are children, but all their lives. HMM -------------------- What We All Have in Common - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Against its will, all creation was subjected to God�s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God�s children in glorious freedomfrom death and decay. �Romans 8:20�21 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/what-we-all-have-in-common/- Listen Some people dedicate their lives to acquiring possessions. Others dedicate their lives to getting the finest education available. And still others dedicate their lives toromantic relationships. But ultimately they will discover that if they forget about God in their pursuits, it will result in something called emptiness. Take it from an expert, Solomon, who wrotethe Book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon knew about these things firsthand. He went on a quest, almost treating it as a research project. He decided to try everything the world had to offer. He wouldn�t merelyread about it or take someone else�s word for it. He would experience it personally. He was on a search for truth. Really, all of humanity is on a quest as well. We�re searching for that something more in life. When God created us, He wired us that way. The Bible says that God �has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God�s work from beginning to end� (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT). This simply means there is something in the heart of every person, uniquely created in the image of God, that knows something more is out there. Romans 8:20 tells us, �Against its will, all creation was subjected to God�s curse� (NLT). Or, as the New King James Version puts it, �The creation was subjected to futility.� Benjamin Disraeli, a nineteenth-century British prime minister, concluded, �Youth is a blunder; manhood a struggle; old age a regret.� There is something in us that this earthcan never satisfy. That is why there are so many miserable successful people. As Solomon so wisely observed, just as death and destruction are never satisfied, human desire is never satisfied. We are designed to know God and live above the mundane existencethat we call life. The answer to all our questions is found in a relationship with God. ---------------------------- Chasing the Wind - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org So, I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind. �Ecclesiastes 1:17 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/chasing-the-wind/- Listen J. Robert Oppenheimer, a brilliant physicist, was head of the Los Alamos Laboratory, which developed the atomic bomb. He also directed the Institute for Advanced Study inPrinceton, New Jersey. Yet the year before he died, he said this about his accomplishments: �They leave on the tongue only the taste of ashes.� We celebrate our dramatic advances in science and technology, and they are breathtaking to say the least. We live in a technologically advanced age, and we truly have becomea global village. Still, it seems that all this technology has numbed our souls a little bit more. That�s because we have pursued knowledge without God. Solomon came to the same conclusion. He wrote, �So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasingthe wind. The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief. To increase knowledge only increases sorrow� (Ecclesiastes 1:17�18 NLT). If intellectualism alone were the key to purpose and fulfillment, then our college campuses would be bastions of peace and purpose. However, on the campuses of secular universitiestoday we can find the most bizarre, aberrant ideas available. We also can see the emptiness of academic pursuit without God. I would even say this lack of belief in God, which comes from many of our colleges and universities, has led to the moral breakdown in our country today. Now our young peopleare taught they are not created in the image of God. And then we�re surprised when people who believe they have evolved from animals go out and act like them. Of course, the pursuit of knowledge and a good education is noble and valuable. But if in that pursuit we leave God out, then it indeed will be an empty one. -------------------------- HeThat Is Spiritual �But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.� (1Corinthians 2:15) The word rendered �spiritual� is the Greek word pneumatikos, from which theologians have coined the term �pneumatology,� the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Thus, a �spiritual� person is one who is not only born again spiritually through faith in Christand the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, but also tries diligently to follow the leading of the indwelling Spirit and to understand and obey the precepts of the Bible inspired by Him. A spiritual person will have �the mind of Christ� (1Corinthians 2:16), able to judge all things by spiritual standards and biblical revelation. He or she will �walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit,� knowing that �to be spiritually minded is life and peace� (Romans8:4, 6). As such, spiritual believers prayerfully make decisions seeking God�s will; they are �led by the Spirit of God� (Romans8:14). And since they �walk in the Spirit,� they �shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh� (Galatians5:16). They will often and repeatedly be �filled with the Spirit� (Ephesians5:18) for Christian service. Furthermore, they will manifest �the fruit of the Spirit� in their lives and personalities�that is, �love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance� (Galatians5:22-23). Yet, while �he that is spiritual� is thereby able to discern and evaluate all things by such divine standards, he will find himself often misunderstood by unsaved relatives and acquaintances, for �the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God:...becausethey are spiritually discerned� (1Corinthians 2:14). Nevertheless, �he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting� (Galatians6:8). HMM -------------------- Horizontal Living - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org I said to myself, �Come on, let�s try pleasure. Let�s look for the �good things� in life.� But I found that this, too, was meaningless. �Ecclesiastes 2:1 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/horizontal-living/- Listen J. Robert Oppenheimer, a brilliant physicist, was head of the Los Alamos Laboratory, which developed the atomic bomb. He also directed the Institute for Advanced Study inPrinceton, New Jersey. The pursuit of pleasure is nothing new. Solomon reminds us in the Book of Ecclesiastes that �nothing under the sun is truly new� (1:9 nlt). Though our technology has changedand we�ve had certain advancements since Solomon�s day, the basic cravings of humanity have not changed. The basic things we seek out to find fulfillment have not changed either. The philosophy of �eat, drink, and be merry!� (Luke 12:19 nlt) has been with us for a long time. In chapter 2 of Ecclesiastes, Solomon wrote, �I said to myself, �Come on, let�s try pleasure. Let�s look for the �good things� in life� But I found that this, too, was meaningless� (verse 1 NLT). Joy Davidman, the wife of C. S. Lewis, had this insightful statement about the pursuit of pleasure: �Living for his own pleasure is the least pleasurable thing a man can do.If his neighbors don�t kill him in disgust, he will die slowly of boredom and powerlessness.� That is so true. As someone has pointed out, the only cure for hedonism is trying to practice it. Solomon was engaged in horizontal living. In other words, he had omittedGod from his worldview. Throughout Ecclesiastes, Solomon used the phrase �under the sun.� But it was only when he looked above the sun and to God that he found the answers he was seeking. If you have a relationship with God and are walking closely with Him, then you will see this world for what it is. You will recognize the philosophies, concepts, and ideologiesthat contradict what the Bible teaches. When you are walking closely with God, you also will see the emptiness and the futility of the things that people chase after. When we see God for who He is, we will see this world for what it is. --------------------------- Ina Moment �Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in thetwinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.� (1Corinthians 15:51-52) This is one of the greatest promises in the Bible, assuring us that �we� (i.e., all believers, whether dead or living when Christ returns) shall suddenly be changed, with our dead or dying bodies instantly transformed into incorruptible, immortal bodies, whichcan never die again. This great change, when it finally occurs, will take place �in a moment.� The Greek here is en atomo, �in an atom of time.� This word, implying the smallest entity conceivable by the Greeks, is used only this one time in the New Testament. It is further described by �the twinkling of an eye,� where �twinkling� is the Greek rhipe, also used only this once. Evidently there is nothing else in this present world comparable in rapidity to this miraculous change that will be called forth when �the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,and with the trump of God� (1Thessalonians 4:16). The great shout (probably uttered by Christ Himself as at the tomb of Lazarus) will instantly create new bodies for both dead and living believers. �The dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive� (1Thessalonians 4:16-17). Our new bodies will be like Christ�s resurrection body. He �shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself� (Philippians3:21). Christ is able thus to create new bodies for us in a moment, just as when He created all things in the beginning: �He spake, and it was done� (Psalm33:9). HMM ----------------------- Clutchingat Foolishness - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org So, I said, �Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure? �Ecclesiastes 2:2 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/clutching-at-foolishness/- Listen Comedian Jerry Seinfeld once pointed out that �everyone�s looking for good sex, good food, and a good laugh because they�re little islands of relief in what�s often a painfulexistence.� That isn�t new to our day. Solomon decided to seek out laughter as well. He probably brought in the finest comedians of the day. Maybe acrobats, magicians, and illusionistsperformed for him too. But in the end, he concluded that it all was empty. He wrote, �Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?� (Ecclesiastes 2:2 NLT). Then Solomon thought that maybe he could find the answer in alcohol. If he just started drinking, perhaps in his altered state he would be a happy person. He said, �Aftermuch thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. And while still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I tried to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world� (verse 3 NLT). Drinking has become a very common thing now, and people, especially young people, think going out and having cocktails is a cool thing to do. But it isn�t cool. In fact, theBible warns, �Wine produces mockers; alcohol leads to brawls. Those led astray by drink cannot be wise� (Proverbs 20:1 NLT). Solomon tried it all. He went on a building binge, constructing massive houses, mansions, and palaces. And he recognized the emptiness of life without God. Maybe there have been times in your life when everything seemed to click. There was that beautiful star-filled night or that gorgeous sunset, and you thought, �This is it.If only life could be this way!� But those are just glimpses; each glimpse gives you a sense that it is what life ought to be like. However, you are never quite there, because you won�t find fulfillment inthis world. You will find it only in a relationship with God. --------------------------------- The'Light' Equation �God is light.� (1John 1:5) The biblical text is rich with metaphors and similes, one of which often appears in John�s writings. God is said to be �light��the most constant, clearly observable, and all-pervasive experience in our universe. God�s life is the light of men (John 1:4). God�s light is not conquered by darkness (John 1:5). God�s light attracts men who love truth (John 3:21). Jesus is the �light of the world� (John 8:12). John�s emphasis in his epistle is focused on the application of the �light� in our lives. Since God is light (our text; see also 1 Timothy 6:16), we can never be a participant in the life of God apart from the light of God (1 John 1:6). If we claim fellowship with God, we must �walk in the light, as he is in the light� (1John 1:7). Since God is the �true light� (1 John 2:8), we are not part of His family if we despise those He loves (1John 2:9). It is equally obvious that since God is holy (Psalm 99:9) and righteous (Daniel9:14), the light that we are to �shine� (Matthew 5:16) must be a �radiant� righteousness visible to all who come in contact with us (Proverbs4:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:5). Our breastplate of righteousness (Ephesians 6:14) should �blind� the ungodly with the brilliance of our lifestyle of holiness�so much so that even if weare spoken against by those who hate God, they will be forced to glorify God (�adorn with luster�) because of our good works (1 Peter 2:12). Because the God of our salvation is �the light of the world� (John 9:5) and we have been made �the children of light� (Ephesians5:8), �ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light� (1 Peter 2:9). HMM III --------------------- Pushing Others Forward - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org All of you together are Christ�s body, and each of you is a part of it. �1 Corinthians 12:27 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/pushing-others-forward/- Listen When Pastor Chuck Smith was helping our church start our ministry of large-scale evangelistic events, he was willing to take the role of a servant to help it happen. I remember saying to him, �It�s a great quality that you have always given an opportunity for others to be used by God, and you were willing to stand back and let that happen.� He was always willing to push others forward because his goal was to see God glorified. Think of what can happen if every Christian were to take that attitude. We should be able to rejoice when God is working in another person�s life. Yet we may see God bless someone in a tangible way, and we don�t think it�s fair. Maybe God begins to bless and use a certain individual, and we say, �Lord, wait a second.I have faithfully served You all these years. But this Johnny-come-lately pops up, and You�re blessing this person instead of me. It isn�t fair! I�m so much godlier than they are. I�m more committed than they are. And most of all, I�m humbler than they are.� However, we should rejoice that God is being glorified and that the gospel is being preached. Speaking about the body of Christ, the church, the apostle Paul wrote, �If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.All of you together are Christ�s body, and each of you is a part of it� (1 Corinthians 12:26�27 NLT). We need to guard against the petty jealousy and rivalry that we can so easily fall into. If God lifts up one of us and blesses us, we should rejoice. It doesn�t have to beyou or me. What�s important is that God is the One who�s receiving the glory.