Devotionary

Latest Episodes:

Ep 342 – 1 Peter 1:22-25 Nov 24, 2017

Show notes

If we are truly children of God, then we should not only live like it, we should love like it. Our lives should reflect the reality of our new nature and emulate the love that God has shown to us. That's what Peter is going to address in 1 Peter 1:22-25. In this episode, called "Love Like It", we're going to see how Peter describes this selfless, sacrificial love for others. The love of God should not stop on us, but flow through us. We have been loved by God, so we should share that love with others. In essence, we become conduits of God's love, allowing His mercy, grace, goodness and kindness to pour through us and overflow from us onto our brothers and sisters in Christ. The kind of love Peter describes in these verses isn't of this world. It is supernatural and Spirit-produced. We can't manufacture it or muster it up by sheer force of will. It is only as we recognize and learn to appreciate the degree of God's love for us, that we even remotely begin to have the capacity to love others. Anyone who does not fully grasp God's love will have a difficult time giving it away to others. But sincere brotherly love is to be a byproduct of having had our souls purified as a result of our salvation. We are new creations and, as a result, we have a new ability to love that wasn't there before.

Ep 341 – 1 Peter 1:17-21 Nov 23, 2017

Show notes

In today's episode, based on 1 Peter 1:17-21, Peter begins to call his readers to a radically new lifestyle that measures up to their newfound status as God's chosen ones. God had set them apart and called them to a life of holiness. This was not just some verbal designation, but was to be an everyday reality of their new life in Christ. They were now sons and daughters of Christ and they were expected to live like it. Gone were the old days of slavery to sin and lives marked by an inability to live righteous and upright lives. The life of holiness was not an option, but an expectation for any and all believers. Jesus died so that we might live. But He didn't provide us with life so that we could do what we want to do or behave in whatever manner we like. Christ died so that we might see our old way of life put to death. It's hold on us was broken by His sacrificial death on the cross. He atoned for our transgressions. He paid our debt. He settled our spiritual deficit and credited His righteousness to our account. As a result, we are to live differently. Our old way of life was crucified with Him on the cross. It no longer controls us. Our sin nature, while not completely dead, is no longer our master. Which is why Peter drives home the idea that our behavior should complement our belief. Our status as God's children should be visible and readily believable, by the way we conduct ourselves in this life.

Ep 340 – 1 Pheter 1:13-16 Nov 22, 2017

Show notes

Why am I here? That is a question every human has asked at some point in his or her life. It is a matter of identity and speaks to our innate desire for purpose and meaning in life. In 1 Peter 1:13-16, Peter is going to begin to address the answer to this question, at least when it comes to those who have placed their faith in Jesus. I have entitled this episode, "Therefore…" because that is the word Peter uses to begin this section. The first 12 verses of this chapter have been a set-up for what is to come. And what is to come is Peter's strong encouragement for the believers in his audience to take their new life in Christ seriously. In fact, he is going to call them to a life of holiness, and not some brand of low-grade, man-defined kind of holiness either. Peter will challenge us be holy like God is holy. And that high standard, while intimidating, is not impossible. It's going to take effort, but God has not left us alone. He is not expecting us to pull off holiness with nothing more than our sin-hampered humanity. He has not only called us, He has equipped us with all we will need to live godly lives. But it will still require effort on our part. We don't get a free pass or a seat on the bench while the rest of the team scores all the points and wins the game. We've got a job to do, but the good news is that we don't have to do it alone or in our own strength.

Ep 339 – 1 Peter 1:3-12 Nov 21, 2017

Show notes

In today's episode, we'll in verses 3-12 of 1 Peter 1. In this section, Peter spends some significant time talking about God Himself, the very one who chose the ones to whom Peter is writing. He wants them understand the incredible worthiness of God. He is sovereign over everything and everyone, and it was He who had made possible their salvation. Peter owed his apostleship to God. They owed their salvation to God. But how easy it is for us to forget the unprecedented role that God has played in our salvation and the redemption of mankind. We can take God for granted and begin to think our salvation was somehow our decision. But Peter won't let us go there. He refuses to allow us to treat God flippantly or to see His gift of grace through Jesus Christ as somehow our doing. No, Peter will go out of his way to make sure his readers understand that they did not deserve to be chosen by God. They had not earned His good graces or merited His favor. He had chosen them in spite of them, not because of them. And while they may be enduring some trials and tribulations in this life, they had no business turning their back on God just because it had gotten a little hot in the kitchen. Their having been chosen by God was a privilege, not a right. It was a blessing from God that should result in their grateful willingness to bless Him in return.

Ep 337 – 1 Peter Introduction Nov 20, 2017

Show notes

Today begins a new series on 1 Peter. It's going to be an eye-opening and encouraging look at our status as God's children and the way our newfound relationship with God should impact the way we live our lives.

Ep 338 – 1 Peter 1:1-2 Nov 20, 2017

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Today's episode is entitled, Chosen By God, and covers 1 Peter 1, verses 1-2. This is basically Peter's introduction to his letter. It contains his greeting to the believers in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. He calls them elect exiles, which is a title he will spend much of his letter unpacking and applying to their lives. But in this episode, we want to take a closer look at Peter, one of the original disciples of Jesus and an early apostle of the Christian church. He was a type-A personality with a quick temper and a tongue that tended to engage before his brain did. He was always quick to speak and not so quick to listen. He was impulsive and reactionary. And yet, Jesus chose him and would use him in incredible ways. This seemingly unqualified and uneducated fisherman was going to be used by God to spread the good news of Jesus Christ around the world. And Peter was going to take his role as an ambassador for Christ seriously. Which is what led him to write this letter. He had a passion for helping other believers comprehend the radical nature of their newfound union with Christ and the unbelievable reality of their restored relationship with God. This letter is going to challenge his readers, and us, to live like who we are: Children of God, chosen by Him and placed within His family. We are to reflect His nature and rejoice in the wonder of our status as a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession.

Ep 336 – John 21 Nov 19, 2017

Show notes

There's nothing uglier than jealousy in ministry. When two individuals who claim to be serving and following Christ begin to question why the other seems to be getting an easier path to walk or more acclaim for their efforts, it is not a pretty picture. And in the final chapter of John, chapter 21, we get a not-so-pretty look at Peter and his response to some not-so-great news from Jesus regarding how his life was going to turn out. But upon hearing this news from Jesus, Peter immediately turns his attention to John. He wants to know how HIS life is going to turn out. Peter is feeling slighted, as if he has been selected for some kind of punishment for his past sins. But Jesus will give Peter a fairly blunt response and refuse to answer his questions. All Peter needed to know is what was in store for him. Nothing else mattered. This wasn't a competition. Peter didn't need to compare his life with John's or anyone else's for that matter. But that's what we're prone to do. We can't seem to help comparing our circumstances with those around us. We look at other believers and wonder why they're more blessed than we are. We question why they seem to get all the breaks. But Jesus would simply say, "What is that to you?" Our job is to follow Him, not question Him. Our task is to keep our eyes on Him, not on those around us.

Ep 335 – John 20 Nov 18, 2017

Show notes

Darkness, disillusionment, despair. We've all found ourselves in those moments where doubt and deep disappointment set in. Things didn't turn out like we expected. The circumstances of life turned out for the worse, not the better. And in those moments, we can find ourselves questioning God and wondering about His goodness. That's what happened to the disciples of Jesus and its recorded in the 20th chapter of the gospel of John. They had been forced to watch their friend, rabbi and supposed Messiah, die an excruciating death on a Roman cross. It had been hideous to watch. It had been painful to face the reality that their hopes for the future had just died along with Jesus. He was gone. They were done. Now, it was back to their old lives and the sad reality that nothing was going to change. All their hopes had been dashed. All their plans for the future had been buried in a borrowed tomb along with the dead carpenter from Nazareth. But they were in for a big surprise. They were about to receive a shock to the system that would be like nothing they had ever experienced before. Jesus was not dead. The tomb was empty and the Messiah was alive and well. And they were about to meet Him face-to-face. He had told them this would happen, but they had failed to believe. Now, they were going to receive the proof they needed to turn them into the disciples He had always intended.

Ep 334 – John 18 Nov 17, 2017

Show notes

As we near the end of John's gospel, we arrive at the climax of the life of Jesus. This section of the gospel brings us to the primary reason for Jesus' incarnation. It provides us with the purpose of His coming to earth in the first place: His death. Jesus came to offer His life a sacrifice for many. He was the substitute, chosen by God, to stand in the place of sinful men and women, bearing the brunt of God's wrath against sin, in order that God might extend mercy, grace and forgiveness to those who could find it no other way. During His trial before Pilate, he was mocked, beaten and portrayed before the people as nothing more than a broken down, weak, and bloodied shell of a man. He was unrecognizable by those who knew Him. He was certainly no threat to the Roman Empire, so Pilate could not understand why the Jews would not agree with him and see Jesus as without fault. Pilate would have preferred to set Jesus free, but the people would have nothing to do with it. There were other forces at work that day, of which Pilate was oblivious. There were spiritual forces operating behind the scenes. This was a cosmic battle of epic proportions. Satan was the driving force behind the efforts of the Jewish leadership to have Jesus eliminated. They truly thought that with Jesus' death, this whole thing would blow over. But what Satan and the Jews failed to recognize was that this was God's divine plan. The crucifixion of Jesus was not an example of wickedness winning, but of God implementing His divinely ordained plan of redemption.

Ep 333 – John 18 Nov 16, 2017

Show notes

As Americans, we don't know a whole lot about kings. Most of what we know we, we got from books or the movies. The United States has never had a king. Prior to the American Revolution, when we were still part of the British Empire, we were ruled by a king, but it has been over 250 years since the American colonies were subject to the reign of a sovereign ruler with unparalleled power and authority. So, when we read about Jesus being King, it is a bit more difficult for us to relate to just exactly what that title designates. But for those in Jesus' day, talk of kings and kingdoms was a part of everyday life. Kings were a normal part of the culture. And their kingdoms were a reflection of their power and the extent of their sovereign reach. The Jews in 1st-Century Judea, were looking for a king, and had been for some time. They had been told by their fathers and grandfathers that a Messiah or ruler was going to come. He would be a descendant of King David and would rule on David's throne, reestablishing the Davidic dynasty and returning Israel to a place of power and prominence in the world. But Jesus, the descendant of David, came to be a different kind of King with a different kind of Kingdom. And while there is a day coming when Jesus will rule and reign from Jerusalem, His current kingdom is of a spiritual nature, and its citizens are those who have submitted to His lordship over their lives, and patiently await His return.

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