DAILY DEVOTIONALS: 5.25.24

Faith Alone - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Then Jesus said to the disciples, �Have faith in God.� �Mark 11:22 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/faith-alone/- Listen Sometimes, we make faith a little bit too mystical when it is, in fact, something we apply wherever we go. For instance, when you go into a restaurant, you apply faith that the restaurant employees are following health standards and preparing your food properly. When you boarda plane, you apply faith that the plane will take off, fly to its destination, and land. The same is true when you go to the doctor�s office. You have faith they�ve been trained properly and know what they�re doing. And when you have a prescription filled, youhave faith that the pharmacist is giving you the correct medication and dosage. We apply faith every day. Jesus said, �Have faith in God� (Mark 11:22 NLT). Yet some people balk at that. They say, �Faith in God? Why, that is outrageous!� However, they apply faith in many otherthings. But they have a hard time putting their faith in God. There is no safer place to put your faith than in God. The Bible defines faith this way: �Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see� (Hebrews 11:1 NLT). The very existence of yourfaith despite your circumstances is a proof of God. Faith is like a muscle. It gets stronger through use. Muscles build up when we break them down through use. And if we don�t use our muscles, they will atrophy. The same principle is true of faith. It�s something that we need to apply. It�s something that we need to use. Faith cannot be inoperative. We must use it. It is by this faith that we are saved as Christians. Ephesians 2:8�9 reminds us, �God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can�t take credit for this; it is agift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it� (NLT). What saves is faith alone. But the faith that saves is never alone. In other words, if you have real faith, there will be evidence in your life. People can tell that you have faith, but it isn�t because you say you have it. Rather, it�s because they can see your actions. They can�t see your heart, but they can seethe things that you do. We are to live by faith as followers of Jesus Christ. The Bible says, �The just shall live by faith� (Galatians 3:11 NKJV). It doesn�t say the just shall live by feelingsor circumstances. God is the one who works, but He chooses to work primarily through human means. And faith can make the difference between something happening and not happening. We know thatJesus could do no mighty work in His hometown of Nazareth because of unbelief (see Matthew 13:58). The writer of Hebrews tells us, �It is impossible to please God without faith� (Hebrews 11:6 NLT). We want to make sure we are using the faith that God has given us. ------------------------- Lovein Action “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.” (1Corinthians 13:4) It is well known that “charity” in this famous “love chapter” is the Greek agape, which is translated “love” three times as often as it is translated “charity,” even in the King James Version. Why then did the scholarly translators prefer to use “charity” in this chapter, of all places? Possibly it is because 1 Corinthians 13 emphasizes what love does rather than what love is. Love is described in this chapter, not with adjectives or adverbs, but with verbs! “Charity,” in the Old English sense, was not merely giving to feed the poor (note v. 3) but meant agape love—an unselfish, enduring, and active concern on behalf of others. In this passage (vv. 4-8, 13) are listed 17 actions that love, or charity, does or does not engage in. Love acts with patience and kindness; it does not envy others or seek to impress others, neither does it exhibit arrogance or conceit. Love is never rude, does not seek its own way, is slow to take offense, and bears no malice orresentment. Love does not gloat over the sins of others and is delighted when truth prevails. Love will bear up under any trial and will never lose faith; it is always hopeful and unlimited in its endurance. Finally, genuine love will be eternal. Even faith will cease when it is replaced by sight (2Corinthians 5:7), and hope will finally be fulfilled (Romans8:24), but love will abide forever. Love, of course, is eternal because Christ is eternal, and Christ is God, and God is love. This classic passage, describing genuine Christian love, could in fact be read as a beautiful description of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. That is, “Christ suffereth long, and is kind,” and so on, finally climaxing in the great truth, “Christ never faileth.” Jesus Christ is, indeed, love in action! HMM ---------------------- Separateand Sensual “But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.” (Jude1:17-19) Jude had previous contact with the apostle Peter and was aware of Peter’s observation “that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts” (2Peter 3:3). Peter describes the lusts of these scoffers by pointing out that their derision is focused on the second coming of our Lord Jesus—they deny the very possibility of the creation itself and, therefore, the omnipotent and omniscient authorityof God Himself (2Peter 3:4-6). Jude, however, focuses on the core character of these mockers, noting that they “separate themselves” and are “sensual.” They are “soulish” (the Greek word is the adjective form of the noun for soul). That is, these kinds of people are driven by their “naturalman” and cannot receive “the things of the Spirit of God” (1Corinthians 2:14). James is even more intense: these people are “earthly, sensual, devilish” (James3:15). Furthermore, they consciously separate themselves from the godly. The apostle John speaks to this phenomenon: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that theymight be made manifest that they were not all of us” (1John 2:19). Jesus simply notes that “every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved” (John3:20). It is therefore an absolute—these people do not have the Spirit of God dwelling in them. “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” (Romans8:9). HMM III ---------------- TheWay and the Glory “Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee,that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.” (Exodus33:13) “Moses the man of God” (Deuteronomy33:1) was surely one of the greatest men who ever lived. He was the leader of a great nation, he received the tablets of the law from God, and he compiled and wrote the Pentateuch. It was said that “there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses,whom the LORD knew face to face” (Deuteronomy34:10). Yet, “the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth” (Numbers12:3). It was such a man as this who made two remarkable requests of God. The first was, as above: “Shew me now thy way.” The second, just a moment later, was: “Shew me thy glory” (Exodus33:18). These were not selfish requests. Moses desired the way of the Lord on behalf of his people. God answered this request with the gracious promise: “My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest” (Exodus33:14). But then he also asked to see the glory of God. So God placed Moses “in a clift of the rock,” covering him with His hand as His glory passed by, allowing him to see the remnants of His glory, as it were (Exodus33:22-23), since he could not have endured any more. With such a vision of God’s glory, Moses was then able to lead the Israelite multitude for 40 years in a terrible wilderness, transforming them from a mob of slaves into God’s chosen nation, ready tobring God’s Word, and God’s Son, into the world. We also can see His way and His glory. Jesus said: “I am the way” (John14:6). Then He prayed: “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory” (John17:24). HMM ------------------------ OnGod�s Side - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org When the people saw him do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, �Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!� �John 6:14 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/on-gods-side/- Listen The feeding of the five thousand was Jesus� most popular miracle to date. John tells us, �When the people saw him do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, �Surely, he is theProphet we have been expecting!� When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself� (John 6:14�15 NLT). The people were planning to come and take Jesus by force and make Him king. In other words, �That is it! We just voted! Jesus, You are king. And if You don�t like it, toobad.� They wanted the kind of king that gave them meals every day. But God will not be used by people. He wants to use people, but He will not be used by them. Sometimes, people will use God. They will invoke the name of the Lord when they need something from people who believe in Him. For example, politicians are very fond of this.When an election cycle comes along, they�re suddenly talking about their faith in God and how important their faith is to them. But when we look at their voting record, we can see where they stand on issues that are important to followers of Jesus Christ. Religious rhetoric isn�t going to cut it. AsAbraham Lincoln wrote, �My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God�s side, for God is always right.� Of course, politicians aren�t the only ones who invoke God�s name to get what they want. Sometimes, businesspeople will do it to get a sale. Now, it�s a great thing when wewant to glorify God through a business. But our witness will be in the work that we do well. The day after Jesus performed the miracle of feeding five thousand people, He taught about the most important things in life. He told them, �But don�t be so concerned aboutperishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval� (John 6:27 NLT). He also said, �I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty� (John 6:35 NLT). In other words, �I havefilled your stomachs, but I am the bread of life. This is what you ought to be living for.� Sadly, after Jesus finished this sermon, most of the people walked away from Him. And He turned to His own disciples and said, �Are you also going to leave?� (verse 67 NLT). Peter replied, �Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life� (verse 68 NLT). Yet the fickle, fair-weather people turned away after they had theirfree meal because they didn�t like what Jesus said. People use God, and God doesn�t appreciate it. Don�t use God to get something from someone else. Let God use you. ------------------------------------ Risk and Failure - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. �Matthew 14:22 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/risk-and-failure/- Listen Have you ever attempted something in life that met with failure? All too often we beat ourselves up when we fail because we didn�t come up with the greatest success of alltime. In chapter 14 of Matthew�s Gospel, we find the story of a failure, a spectacular failure, in fact. Trouble was brewing. The people wanted to make Jesus king by force. So Jesuseffectively said to the disciples, �Okay, guys, get in the boat. You�re out of here.� Jesus knew this would destroy them because, on more than one occasion, the disciples argued about who would be greatest in the kingdom. They expected to go from being ostracizedto being men of great influence. And it would have destroyed them. Thus, for their own protection, Jesus had to get them out of there as soon as possible. He sent the disciples across the lake and sent the people home. Then He went away byHimself to pray. Meanwhile, a storm was brewing. Did Jesus know that a storm was on the way? Yes. But He who allowed the storm would be there with them. And, as the terrified disciples strainedagainst the storm, Jesus showed up, walking on the water. They thought it was a ghost, but Jesus told them, �Don�t be afraid. . . . Take courage. I am here!� (verse 27 NLT). Peter was so moved by this that he wanted to prove his courage to Jesus. He said, �Lord, if it�s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water� (verse 28 NLT).Peter was willing to put it all on the line. He was looking at Jesus, and that gave him confidence and courage. Let�s also notice that Peter didn�t do this presumptuously. He didn�t say, �Lord, I�m coming! Hang on!� Instead, he asked Jesus for permission. Maybe Jesus smiled at this point. We don�t know for certain. But He said to Peter, �Yes, come� (verse 29 NLT). We do know that Peter took a few steps because Matthew goes on to say, �Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus� (verse 29 NLT). Now, thisis a great moment. Whatever follows cannot undo it. We can find fault with Peter for a number of things, but no one else attempted this. Now, did Peter sink? Yes. But if you�re going to fail, then this is the way to do it. Peter made his mistakes, but this was impressive. And really, when we look at his shortcomings,we see that most, if not all, seemed to come from a heart that wanted to do the right thing. He just didn�t always go about it in the right way. We can sit like armchair quarterbacks and critique people who attempt things for God. But what have we done lately? Have we taken a risk for the kingdom of God? Have we takena step of faith? It would be better to try and fail than to sit around and do nothing. Peter was doing his part. And so should we. ------------------------- BuildYourself Up �But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselvesin the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.� (Jude1:20-21) The New Testament relationship of the twice-born to the eternal condition is compared to a �building� of God (Ephesians2:22) made up of �lively stones� (1Peter 2:5). Thus, there is often the exhortation for us to build a holy association with each other (Romans14:19) and to seek to build a strong assembly as we work together (Ephesians4:16). Each of the many references uses some combination of descriptive preposition or adjective along with the term for house. The general application assumes that since we will be �housed� together in eternity, we should seek to be building that house while on Earth.Even those who are in authority in the �house of God� (1Timothy 3:15) are to be focused on building that house (Ephesians4:11-12). Jude addresses the individual. He presumes we are aware that we are �built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets� with �Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone� (Ephesians2:20). Even with a �wise masterbuilder� like Paul to give us inspired instructions (1Corinthians 3:10), we need to be very careful how we build on the foundation that Jesus Christ has laid for us. Our work can be �gold, silver, and precious stones, wood, hay, [or] stubble,� and it will be evaluated by the �fire� of God�s timeless judgment(1Corinthians 3:12-13). The construction of the building�both the larger house and the individual �lively stones� that make up the house�are to be built up on the �most holy faith.� Once the foundation has been laid by Jesus Christ, we are to be �rooted and built up in him, and stablishedin the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving� (Colossians2:7). HMM III ------------------------ ASoon Departure �Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.� (2Peter 1:14) Peter was writing to the scattered believers, persecuted from without and badgered from within by false teachers. He wrote to �put [them] always in remembrance of these things� that they had been taught, so that they would �be established in the present truth� (v. 12). As he wrote, he viewed his impending �decease� (v. 15, literally, �exodus�) as merely putting off his earthly tent and putting on another as one would change clothes (2Corinthians 5:1-2). But this would, perhaps, be his last opportunity to strengthen the lives of the believers. Once before, Peter had faced the prospect of death. The church was under attack (Acts12:1). Of the three who had been in Jesus� �inner circle,� James had been killed (v. 2), and Peter had been imprisoned and was under heavy guard (vv. 3-6). However, an angel of the Lord (v. 7) escorted him out of prison and out of harm�s way (vv. 8-10).We can only surmise the full impact this made on Peter and his ministry, but we do know he was not afraid to die for his Lord. Actually, as mentioned in our text, the resurrected Lord Himself had predicted Peter�s brutal death at the hands of the enemy (John21:19). Tradition has it that Peter was crucified upside down during the persecution of the church at the hands of Nero, no doubt glorifying God in and through his death. But his main concerns in this passage were the believers to whom he wrote. He even revealed that he had a plan to �have these things always in remembrance� (2Peter 1:15). This would be through his diligent teaching, through his letters, and evidently also through the ministry of his own disciple, Mark (1Peter 5:13), who would carry on after his death. May God grant each of us a similarly fearless, fruitful, and lasting ministry. JDM ------------------------- Alwayson Time - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. �Job 42:5 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/always-on-time/- Listen It has been said that when you get to the end of yourself, you get to the beginning of God. Often, when we�re going through a hardship, we have plans A, B, C, D, and E. Andafter we�ve gone through those, we find ourselves saying, �If God doesn�t come through, it�s over.� It may seem horrible, but it�s actually an opportunity for God to show His glory. When the disciples found themselves in the middle of an intense storm, Jesus came to them when the time was right. Matthew 14:25 tells us, �About three o�clock in the morningJesus came toward them, walking on the water� (NLT). That means the disciples had been struggling against this radical storm for about nine hours. God is never late, but sometimes it may seem as though He is. Maybe Jesus arrivedwhen He did because He was waiting for them to completely exhaust their resources. It may have seemed like the last moment, but the time was just right. And what�s interesting is the Bible says that He walked on the sea toward them. Throughout His earthlyministry, Jesus walked like everyone else. He faced exhaustion, hunger, and all the rest. But on this occasion, Jesus walked on the water. Perhaps this was to show His disciples that the very thing they feared was only a staircase for Him to come to them. The disciples, however, were terrified when they saw Jesus. They thought He was a ghost. So, why did they not know it was Him? They weren�t looking for Him. If they had been walking by faith and waiting by faith, they would have recognized Jesus immediately. Instead, they jumped to a false conclusion. All too often we�re not looking for the Lord in our times of crisis. The Lord is there speaking to us. He is there wanting to lead us. But we don�t hear Him. We don�t seeHim because we�re not looking for Him. In our world today, we have so much chaos, instability, and conflict. And what did Jesus say? �So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvationis near!� (Luke 21:28 NLT). Look for Him. The Bible tells us in Hebrews 9:28, �He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him� (NLT). Are you looking forHim? If you�re in a crisis right now, look for Jesus because He is there. We can only know so much and experience so much in our lives at a given moment. Job said, �I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes� (Job42:5 NLT). In other words, �I heard how You deliver people, Lord, but now I know.� And that is the thing that often will happen in the midst of a storm. The Lord will come to us in a way that we have never known Him before. ---------------------------- SitStill �Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not bein rest, until he have finished the thing this day.� (Ruth3:18) This was the instruction given to Ruth by Naomi in hopes that her kinsman, Boaz, would be willing to perform his family duty and marry Ruth, whose Jewish husband had died in Moab. Ruth�s behavior had been honorable, and she had done what she could to let Boazknow she was willing to be his wife, but now she could do nothing except to sit still and wait. This lesson needs to be remembered by Christians today. All too often we rush ahead of the Lord, fearful that things won�t work out unless we take matters into our own hands. When the Jews were being invaded by the Assyrian armies and felt they needed an alliancewith Pharaoh, God warned: �The Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still....In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength� (Isaiah30:7-15). Long before, when the children of Israel were in even more desperate circumstances with the Egyptian armies pursuing them and the Red Sea in front of them, Moses had said: �Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD� (Exodus14:13). Soon, Pharaoh�s chariots were at the bottom of the sea just as, in due time, Boaz did marry Ruth, and 600 years later, the hosts of the Assyrians were slain by the angel of the Lord (Isaiah37:36). There is, certainly, a time to work�and work hard�in the service of the Lord. There are spiritual battles to be fought and races to be run. But when we have done the best we know how, according to the Scriptures, and still don�t see the answer, there comesa time when we must simply sit still and wait for the Lord. He would have us �be still, and know that [He is] God� (Psalm46:10). HMM --------------------------