DAILY DEVOTION, February 3, 2022

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good

(Romans 12:9).

I like plain speaking. Sometimes politicians (preachers also!) speak such double talk that you really don’t know what they are saying. I hear politicians on TV asked a question, and their response dances around the issue and never answers the question.  Paul speaks with plainness and simplicity in our verse for today.

Love with integrity. Hypocritical “love” is when someone pretends to care about you, but they really don’t care at all. Paul tells us to love others and God with genuine love. Nothing fuzzy about that statement. Then he tells us to abhor evil. Other translations use the words “hate” and “detest” evil. Lust is evil. Hatred is evil. Gossip is evil. Do you detest these things? I think Paul is telling us plainly not to flirt with evil. Finally, he tells us to cling to what is good. We don’t scratch our heads at that statement and wonder, “What does he mean?” Hold on tightly to what is good. God is good. Jesus is good. Hold firmly to your faith in God. The Bible is good. Cling to its words. God’s will is good. Hold to it securely. Don’t make living as a Christian complicated. Here and elsewhere, God speaks to us in words that cannot be misunderstood.

Thank you, Father, for the apostles’ writings which speak with great clarity regarding the Christian life. Help me to take Paul’s words in Romans 12:9 seriously. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

DAILY DEVOTION, February 2, 2022

And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst  (John 6:35).

This is the first of seven “I am” sayings in John’s  Gospel. The others are found in  John 8:12; 9:5; 10:7, 9, 11, 14; 11:25; 14:6; and 15:1, 5. My mind goes back to Exodus 3:14, where God identified Himself as, “I AM WHO I AM.” Jesus continually affirmed His identity with the words, “I AM,” thus affirming His deity.

When Jesus declared that He was the bread of life, He made an astonishing statement. He is, of course, speaking of spiritual bread and spiritual thirst. Those who believe in Him will never hunger spiritually or thirst spiritually. He brings 100% spiritual satisfaction to those who trust in Him. No prophet, no preacher, can make such a claim. Only God can claim to bring to the soul complete spiritual satisfaction.

If you are hungering and thirsting to know God, trust in Jesus as your Savior and Lord, and you will be satisfied. That is His promise. There was a time in my life when I hungered to know God. Then I placed my faith in Jesus, and the search to know God was over. That is the testimony of every true Christian.

Father, thank You for revealing Yourself to the world so completely in the person of Your Son. When we trust in Jesus, our hunger to know You is satisfied forever. Praise, honor, and glory be unto His name throughout eternity, Amen. 

DAILY DEVOTION, February 1, 2022

The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10).

The Son of Man is Jesus. He left the glories of heaven to enter into our world. His purpose was twofold in our verse. He came to seek, and He came to save. He seeks the lost in order that He might reveal to them how they may be received by God. He is the Good Shepherd who looks for lost sheep. His goal is not merely to seek but also to save the lost. As the prophet said, “All we like sheep have gone astray.” We have wandered away from our Creator. Jesus wants to save us. He saves us by enduring the agony of the cross for us. Those who hear the story of Jesus and believe in Him are saved.

The Philippian jailer was a lost soul. When his prison collapsed, he feared his prisoners would escape, and his superiors would probably execute him. In despair, he cried out to Paul, “What must I do to be saved?” Whatever his understanding was of “saved,” Paul gave him the simple spiritual answer. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.”  He did believe and was baptized that very night. Jesus found another lost soul (Acts 16).

Jesus has done all that is necessary to save the lost. Will you respond to His grace and believe in Him?

Father, I do believe in Jesus. I trust Him as my Savior and Lord. I am so thankful that He sought me and found me. 

DAILY DEVOTION, January 31, 2022

All should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him (John 5:23).

In Decatur, IL, the churches had an annual Thanksgiving service. One year, my friend, Pastor Eddie Morgan, was asked to pray at the event. He was told just to use the name of God and avoid the name of Jesus. The idea was that some who would be in attendance did not believe in Jesus and might be offended by mentioning His name. Eddie gave his prayer and concluded in a loud voice, “I pray in the name of Jesus!”

Eddie understood the above verse. Jesus is due the same honor as the Father, and those who fail to honor the Son also fail to honor the Father. He was unwilling to pray to a generic “god” divorced from Jesus. Jesus is entitled to the same honor we give to God the Father. That is because He is God in human flesh. He once stated clearly that He was one with the Father. Such a statement is either blasphemy or the truth. While the idea that a man who lived on this earth is equal to God the Father is mind-boggling, it is the truth. Jesus, our Savior, is God incarnate.

Father, I confess that my mind stumbles at the idea that You are a Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. However, Scripture compels me to affirm the Trinity. I want to honor Jesus even as I honor the Father. Blessed be His name, Amen.