DAILY DEVOTIONALS: 12.16.23

 TheSeed, the Water, and the Word “So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase.” (1Corinthians 3:7) This verse is a salutary corrective to the common somewhat boastful claim of the evangelist or the personal “soul winner”—that “I won John to Christ,” or “I led Mary to the Lord.” On the other side of the coin is the similar man-pleasing testimony that “I waswon to Christ by Pastor Brown’s sermons.” While it is commanded and is urgently important that each Christian be a faithful and earnest witness for Christ, it is needful to give God alone the credit for one’s salvation, since it is only He “that giveth theincrease.” We can be grateful whenever God uses something we have preached or written or said to bring someone to Himself, but He is by no means limited to such human efforts, and it is the sin of pride to take credit for what only the Holy Spirit can accomplish. The Christian’s ministry is necessarily limited to “planting” and “watering,” but these constitute a tremendous responsibility and a privilege of eternal value. And even these are productive only if centered around the Holy Scriptures, because both the seedthat is planted and the water that enables it to grow are said to be the Word of God. Even the great evangelist the apostle Paul must say, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase” (1Corinthians 3:6). Nevertheless, we do have many gracious promises that if we are faithful in planting and watering, God will give the increase, and we can share His joy. “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringinghis sheaves with him” (Psalm126:6). “For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians6:7). HMM ------------------------ TheSons of God “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” (1John 3:1) When John says “behold,” he uses the Greek word eido, which might well be here rendered “focus your mind because this fact is important!” We are called “sons of God.” The world can’t know this because the world does not know God. We are chosen (Ephesians1:4) and adopted (Galatians4:5) into the family of the omnipotent Creator “to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans8:29). Not only that, but since we have been created “after God in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians4:24), then as God’s “sons” we are “then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ” (Romans8:17). This unique and priceless gift of sonship has the responsibilities of “sons” as well as the privileges. Yes, we are made righteous (2Corinthians 5:21), but we are also called “unto holiness” (1Thessalonians 4:7) and expected to “work out” our salvation (Philippians2:12) with fear and trembling. Although we are granted rights to “sit together” with Christ in heavenly places (Ephesians2:6), we are commanded to “put on the whole armour of God” here on Earth so that we can “withstand in the evil day” (Ephesians6:11, 13). Sonship also demands the “chastisement” of the Father (Hebrews12:8) and the careful additions to our faith of the character disciplines of virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity (2Peter 1:5-7). Earthly sonship must “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2Peter 3:18). HMM III --------------------- TheMan of God “But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience,meekness.” (1Timothy 6:11) There are just two places in the New Testament where a person is called a “man of God” (both of which are in Paul’s letters to Timothy), and they reveal the attributes that warrant us to call someone a man (or woman) of God. The first occurrence, found in our text, tells us that such a person should, first of all, not be one who loves money and the material things money can buy, for “the love of money is the root of all evil” (see previous verse, 1 Timothy 6:10). Instead, his pursuit should be after personal righteousness and godliness, as well as stronger faith, more genuine love for others, more patience, and true meekness. Speaking of meekness (not weakness), Moses was called “the man of God” in the very first use of this phrase in the whole Bible, and we are told that “the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth” (Numbers12:3). Yet, he was able to lead two million Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and then through 40 years in the Sinai desert. The second New Testament reference to the “man of God” is in reference to his use of the Scriptures. He will recognize that “all scripture is given by inspiration of God....That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2Timothy 3:16-17). Thus, the essential characteristics of a true man of God will be a great desire for personal righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and strong meekness, accompanied by the avoidance of any taint of greed or covetousness. In terms of his Christianbeliefs, he will have an unshakable confidence in the verbal inerrant truth and authority of the Holy Scriptures. HMM --------------------- TheSeventh Day “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventhday: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” (Exodus20:11) God’s word is omnipotent, and He could just as well have created an entire universe, fully populated and functioning, in an instant of time. Instead, He chose to do it in six days, with a seventh day to be set aside as a day of rest and remembrance of His completed “very good” creation. Since that time, it has been the universal practice among monotheists—those who believe in one Creator God—to measure time in seven-day weeks, with one of those days observed as a day of rest and worship of the Creator. This divine assertion was inscribed with “the finger of God” on a table of stone (Exodus31:18), clearly settling, once and for all, the ancient question of the age of the cosmos, at least for those who really believe in the inerrant perspicuity and authority of the Holy Scriptures. Not only did the Lord precisely equate the six days of man’sworkweek with the six days of His own workweek, He then pronounced it all “very good” and “sanctified” the seventh day (Genesis1:31; 2:3). This would have been an unthinkable thing for Him to say if there were, at that time, a great mile-deep graveyard consisting of the fossil remains of dead animals from the so-called geological ages extending all around the globe. These fossilsmust all be dated as post-Eden, after human sin and God’s curse brought death into the world (Romans5:12). Today, those who believe in God and creation should certainly continue to remember Him by observing every seventh day as a day of rest and worship in honor of their Creator, who has now also become their Redeemer and who will soon come again to reign as eternalKing. HMM ------------------------ AFriend in High Places - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. �Romans 5:8 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/a-friend-in-high-places/- Listen Christmas is the time when we celebrate Jesus� arrival on Earth. The angels announced to the shepherds, �The Savior�yes, the Messiah, the Lord�has been born today in Bethlehem,the city of David!� (Luke 2:11 NLT). He is that and much more. Not only is Jesus the Savior, not only is He the Lord, not only is He God who came to dwell with us, but He is also a friend. He�s the best friendhumanity ever had. And He is the best friend that you ever will have. It�s amazing to think that the almighty God would offer us His friendship. It�s amazing that He effectively says, �I don�t want to be a casual acquaintance or someone youcheck in with periodically. I want to be your friend. And I want to be involved in your life. I want to guide and direct you and listen to you and speak to you. I want you to bare your heart to Me, and I want to bare Mine to you.� God demonstrated His willingness to have friendship with us in a tangible way. Romans 5:8 tells us, �But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us whilewe were still sinners� (NLT). Jesus was called the friend of sinners. (And that wasn�t a compliment.) He was�and still is�the friend of sinners. He demonstrated His desire to have friendship with us whenHe went to the cross and died in our place while we were still His enemies. That is why Jesus said, �There is no greater love than to lay down one�s life for one�s friends� (John 15:13 NLT). He showed us that love. How many people would die for a friend? Some would. How many would die for a husband or wife or children? Most probably would. How many would die for a casual acquaintance?Maybe a handful of people would. But would any of us die for our worst enemy? Probably not. Yet while we were still sinners, while we were still the enemies of God, Jesus Christ died for us, showing us His friendship. Talk about having a friend in high places. YetChristians can legitimately say, �God is a close friend of mine.� However, if we want to be the friends of God, we must meet certain requirements. We find them in John�s Gospel, where Jesus said, �You are my friends if you do what I command� (15:14 NLT). So, how are we to demonstrate our friendship with Jesus? Quite simply, it�s by doing what He says. And if we do not, then we really have no right to call ourselves His friends. Not all our friends will always stand by us. But God, who wants to be your friend, always will keep your confidence. You can reveal your heart to Him. You can share your secretswith Him. You can share anything with Him. He understands you. He loves you and cares about you. And He always will be there for you. ------------------------------ Because of All He Has Done - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice�the kind he willfind acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. �Romans 12:1 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/because-of-all-he-has-done/- Listen As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, how inappropriate it would be for us to come to Him empty-handed. But what do we give to God? What does God want from us? What He wants is us. That is the gift we can give to God as we celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. We can give Him ourselves. Writing to the Christians in Rome, Paul said, �And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let thembe a living and holy sacrifice�the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him� (Romans 12:1 NLT). The Message renders the same verse this way: �So here�s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life�your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, andwalking-around life�and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.� Bring your life to God. Bring your time to God and your future to God. Maybe this is a tough Christmas for you. What will be a joyful time for many others might be a very difficult time for you. Yet as followers of Jesus Christ, here�s what weneed to remember: We don�t give thanks to the Lord because we always feel good. Rather, we �give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever� (Psalm 107:1). God is good. A Savior has been born. And He already has given us the ultimate gift. So, we should come along with the shepherds and wise men and worship. Everyone worships. The question is, who or what are we worshipping? If we�re bowing at the altar of Christmas, then we�ll be sorely disappointed, because Christmas cannotdeliver on its promises. There�s the hype and the buildup and the anticipation. But Christmas can�t deliver. It can�t bring us inner peace, much less peace on Earth. It can�t bring fulfillment and joy. Christmas always will let us down. At its worst, Christmas is a crass, commercial, empty, exhausting, and very expensive ritual that drags on endlessly for months. And then the bills come due. At its best, Christmas is a promise of things to come. It�s a glimpse of what is still in our future. The beauty, the worshipful music, the love, the warmth, the gatheringof family and friends�all this is promised to us in a life to come. Yes, we get a glimpse of it now. But more is coming later. What we need this year is not the promise of Christmas. We need the promise of Christ. We need the Messiah, not merriment. We need God, not goodwill. We need His presence,not just presents. Anything or anyone else will fall short of this. If you worship a god of your own making, then it will disappoint you. But if you worship the true and living God, He never will. ----------------------------- Cainand Abel �Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his ownworks were evil, and his brother�s righteous.� (1John 3:12) These two brothers stand as contrasting prototypes. Cain was the first child born after the Fall who embraced the �wicked one� in spite of all the firsthand and face-to-face knowledge of God�s redemptive plan and offering of grace (Genesis4). Cain�s arrogant lifestyle is noted in Jude 1:8-11. Abel, in contrast, was a man of great faith (Hebrews11:4) who was both righteous (Matthew23:35) and a prophet (Luke11:50-51). Adam and Eve would have taught the boys (and their other children) about God and the knowledge of the sacrifice (covering of skins) for their own sin. It is clear that sheep were not kept for food (Genesis2:16) since Cain provided food (as instructed by God�Genesis1:29). Abel provided clothing and sacrifice. The events of the Fall would suggest that this sacrifice was an established practice (Genesis3, the �covering� of skins�the Hebrew word for atonement means �to cover�). Furthermore, the language of Genesis 4:3 (Hebrew translation �at the end of the days�) requires a specified time period when they brought (Hebrew translation �came with�), probably to the door of the garden (Genesis3:22-24), an offering (used consistently of voluntary tributes to God, Exodus 30:9-10). It is completely parallel to �the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof� as later used by Moses in Leviticus 9:3-10. Such specified action is hardly accidental. Thus, Cain�s rebellion and heinous fratricide revealed an evil heart that would not repent. May God protect us from such evil. HMM III -------------------------- LivingLife Well �In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thoutaken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.� (Genesis 3:19) We all face death as a consequence of sin (Romans 5:12). But wisdom can be cultivated in one�s heart by remembering death�s reality. �A good name is betterthan precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one�s birth� (Ecclesiastes 7:1). Death reminds us to think soberly about living life wisely. Look at the connection between the two halves of Ecclesiastes 7:1. The Hebrew word for �ointment� (perfume) can be a symbol of joy (Ecclesiastes 9:8), prosperity(Job 29:6), and a metaphor for reputation (Song of Solomon1:3). Solomon combines their meanings to emphasize the significance of reputation and death. �It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart� (Ecclesiastes7:2). Reputation matters. �A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold� (Proverbs 22:1). As an example,Ruth, a redeemed pagan Moabitess, compassionately cared for her mother-in-law. Boaz affirmed the good report of Ruth�s actions by saying, �It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband� (Ruth2:11). When one has lived a life well, especially for the honor and glory of Christ, the day of death will be a celebration of that life. Paul affirms this reality with this command: �Lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good andacceptable in the sight of God our Saviour� (1 Timothy 2:2-3). CCM ----------------------- �We�ve Come to Worship� - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him �Matthew 2:2 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/weve-come-to-worship/- Listen History tells us that King Herod was a paranoid tyrant. Because of his paranoia, he had his wife and three sons executed because he thought they were trying to steal his throne.He also gave the order that the most distinguished citizens of Israel were to be arrested on the day of his death to guarantee there would be mourning in the nation upon his death. Interestingly, Herod also liked to refer to himself as the king of the Jews. So when wise men arrived from the East and were asking about a child who had been born king ofthe Jews, it was the wrong thing to say to a man like Herod. The Bible tells us, �King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem� (Matthew 2:3 NLT). The word �disturbed� used here means �agitated,� �stirred up,� or �shaken up.� Herod was the king. He was the man in control. And whenever Herod was stressed out, everyoneelse was stressed out too. By bitter experience, the people knew that if Herod sensed a potential coup or a threat to his power, he would start having people killed. Thus, he tried to have the so-calledking of the Jews put to death. Matthew tells us that Herod �sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men�s report of the star�s first appearance� (verse 16 NLT). There are a lot of people like Herod today. They won�t allow anyone or anything to interfere with their career, their lifestyle, their plans, or their ambitions. They don�tmind taking time off to commemorate the birth of Jesus, but that is the extent of it. Jesus is all right, as long as He stays in the manger as a baby. But they don�t like the idea of Jesus dying on a cross for them and rising from the dead. They don�t likethe idea of Jesus saying they need turn from their sins and put their faith in Him. Like Herod, they see Jesus as a threat. A lot of people are okay with God�if He stays out of their lives. They want God assisting them, someone to call in case of an emergency. But that is the extent of their faith.They wrongly believe they make their own luck, are the captains of their own ships, and the masters of their own destinies. The reality is they are none of those things. A nonbeliever, according to the Bible, is under the control of someone else, and that someone is known as Satan (see 2 Timothy2:25�26). Eventually we must start thinking for ourselves. We must recognize that nothing this world has to offer us will fill the void in our lives that was created to be filled byGod Himself. No experience, no possession, and no accomplishment will fill it. Not even religion or morality will fill it. What we need is Jesus. ------------------------- DoingRighteousness �Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.� (1John 3:7) Every genuine Christian knows that part of the salvation gift is the promise of being made �unblameable in holiness� (1Thessalonians 3:13). We sometimes have trouble, however, with the concept of present-tense holiness in our everyday lifestyles. John speaks of the abiding Christian who �sinneth not� (1John 3:6). Indeed, such a Christian �doth not commit sin� (1John 3:9) because, John notes, the �seed� of God �remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.� Furthermore, �whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not� (1John 5:18). It�s accurate to translate those passages with the �continuing� implication of the Greek structure (i.e. �does not continue in [the practice of] sin,� etc.). However, the emphasis is on an obvious, continuous, clearly embraced lifestyle of righteous living! The visible transformation from a worldly conformity (Romans12:2) begins with a desire for �the sincere milk of [God�s] word� (1Peter 2:2), fashioning ourselves after God�s holiness �in all manner of conversation� (1Peter 1:14-15). Neither are we to let sin reign in our bodies, but we are to yield ourselves as �instruments of righteousness� (Romans6:12-13). Since we are �risen with Christ,� we are to �mortify� the fleshly appetites, �put off� emotional outbursts that reflect an ungodly nature, and �put on� godly attributes so that whatsoever we do is done in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians3:1-17). HMM III ------------------------- The Danger of Indifference - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel. �Matthew2:6 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/the-danger-of-indifference/- Listen They were the theological experts of their day, the guardians of spiritual truth in Israel. Yet the religious leaders wouldn�t even bother to walk a few miles to Bethlehemto see whether the Messiah had indeed been born. When King Herod heard from the wise men about a �newborn king of the Jews� (Matthew 2:2 NLT), he summoned the chief priests and scribes and asked them where the Messiah wasto be born. They told him, �In Bethlehem in Judea, . . . for this is what the prophet wrote: �And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel�� (verses 5�6 NLT). They knew the answer. In fact, from the text it almost appears as though they knew it right away. So why weren�t they looking for the Messiah in Bethlehem? They could havegone from Jerusalem to Bethlehem in a relatively short period of time. Doesn�t it seem a little unusual that foreign dignitaries arrived from the East, claiming to have seen a star that led them to that very area, and the One they were seekingwas called the �king of the Jews?� Certainly that must have piqued the religious leaders� curiosity and caused them to wonder. Yet they didn�t do anything. They simply told King Herod that Bethlehem was wherethe Messiah would be born. At least Herod feared Jesus� authority. But what about these men? They knew better. They knew the Scriptures, yet they did nothing in response. These men were indifferentand too busy with themselves to be concerned about Jesus. In fact, when Jesus began His public ministry, the religious leaders were His principal adversaries. For all practical purposes, they were responsible for the execution ofJesus Christ. He was a threat to their religious world. They sent Jesus to Pilate out of envy. They envied His authority. They resented the fact that people loved Him and hung on His every word. And they were jealous that He seemedto have a relationship with God that they lacked. Jesus addressed this later, telling them, �You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, �These people honor me with their lips, but their heartsare far from me� � (Mark 7:6 NLT). They were looking for a different kind of a Messiah. They were looking for someone who would support their religious system and their chosen way of living, someone who wouldcater to their whims and conform to their wishes. There are a lot of people like this today. They want Jesus, but they want Him on their terms. They want the kind of Jesus whom they can control, the kind of Jesus who won�tchallenge them. The religious leaders knew God�s Word. Yet they did nothing to meet the living Savior. Don�t miss Christmas like these religious leaders did. Religion and ritual kept themfrom Jesus.