Devotionary

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Ep 252 – Judges 1 Aug 30, 2017

Show notes

This is episode one in a new series on the Old Testament book of Judges. Over the next 20 weeks, we'll be unpacking this remarkable book one chapter at a time and looking at any and all lessons to be learned from this historical account of the nation of Israel, the children of God. The book of Judges provides us with a unique glimpse into the lives of God's people during a time when they were supposed to be experiencing God's blessings, but instead, they were struggling with unfaithfulness and disobedience to the one who had delivered them from captivity in Egypt and given them the land of Canaan as their possession. During their years of wandering in the wilderness, they had been led by Moses, but when it came time to enter the land, they were under the leadership of Joshua. He got them into the land, but they had failed to obey God fully and remove the inhabitants of the land. This would lead to all kinds of problems, including idolatry and a rejection of God as their King. The book of Judges is a no-holds-barred, warts-and-all portrayal of God's people, revealing their inconsistency as His followers and their ungratefulness for all He had done for them. I think you'll find their story more than ancient history. At times, it will provide a much-needed and somewhat uncomfortable reminder of our own struggle as the children of God. We too can find ourselves wrestling with our status as citizens of God's kingdom, and longing to fit into a world in which we don't really belong. To get the most out of each episode, be sure and read the accompanying chapter.

Ep 251 – 1 John 5:13-21 PT 7 Aug 29, 2017

Show notes

This is the seventh episode on 1 John, chapter five, verses 13-21 and the our very last session on the book of 1 John. I've entitled this lesson, "The Privilege of Knowing God" because when all is said and done and as John wraps up his letter, what John really wants his readers to know is God Himself. That is the whole point of His letter. Because of what Jesus Christ has accomplished on our behalf, we have the unique and totally remarkable privilege of coming to know God the Father intimately and personally. That is the essence of eternal life. It is all about knowing God. It is about relationship, not religion. We were created to have fellowship with God, but that fellowship was disrupted by sin. And there was nothing we could do to fix the problem because we were slaves to sin. Our very nature was sinful, separating us from the One who created us. So, God stepped in and did what only He could do. He sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, as a man, to live a sinless life and die a sinner's death on the cross. All as payment for the sin debt owed by mankind to a holy, righteous God. Because of Jesus, our sins have been forgiven and our broken relationship with God has been restored. And we can know Him, the one true God.

Ep 250 – 1 John 5:13-21 PT 6 Aug 28, 2017

Show notes

This is the sixth episode on 1 John, chapter five, verses 13-21 and is entitled, "American Idols." We live in a day when idols are everywhere. No, they're not the kind of idols we see described in the Old Testament. Ours are much more sophisticated and less blatant in terms of their role as false gods in our lives. Our idols take the form of material goods, entertainment, popularity, pleasure, money, success and our own happiness. But they are false gods nonetheless. Why? Because we worship them. We shower these things with our attention, and place on them our hopes for the future and depend upon them for our needs for the present. But John warns us to be on the alert and to recognize the danger of these God-substitutes. They are everywhere and ever-present. They're alluring and always subtle in their ability to distract us from the one true God. As Christians, we can even make idols out of worship, Bible study, doctrine, and our own spiritual accomplishments. We can easily find ourselves worshiping the wrong things, giving precedence to those things that were intended to draw us nearer to God, not to replace Him as God. So John warns us to keep ourselves from idols.

Ep 249 – 1 John 5:13-21 PT 5 Aug 27, 2017

Show notes

This is episode five on 1 John, chapter five, verses 13-21 and is entitled, "Knowing God." In our day and age, and most certainly within the church community, we hear a lot about coming to know Christ. And rightfully so, because that is the essence of the gospel. It is essential that those who are lost come to a saving knowledge of who Jesus Christ was and what He has done on their behalf by providing Himself as a substitute payment for their sin penalty. But one of the things that seems to get left out is why Jesus died. He didn't just give His life so that we might have eternal life. He sacrificed Himself so that sinful men and women might be restored to a right relationship with God the Father. Sin had broken that relationship. Sin separated men and women from God. Their sinfulness and His holiness could not coexist. So, God sent His Son to pay the penalty for the sins of men, and to offer a means by which humanity could find themselves back in a right relationship with God. Knowing God is the key to our salvation. And Jesus made it possible. But how well do we know God? How intimate is our relationship with Him? Knowing God and His Son is what eternal life is all about.

Ep 248 – 1 John 5:13-21 PT 4 Aug 26, 2017

Show notes

This is our fourth episode on 1 John, chapter five, verses 13-21 and is entitled, "Divine Protection." One of the things John wants us to understand as he begins the wrap-up of his letter, is the reality of God's loving protection over His children. While we remain in this world after conversion, and find ourselves surrounded by hostile forces and subject to the attacks of the enemy, we are not alone. In fact, John would have us remember that, because of our faith in Christ, Satan, the evil one, cannot touch us. He is held at bay by God Himself. And not only that, because of our relationship with Christ, we have a new capacity to say no to sin. We no longer have to sin. We now have a Spirit-empowered option to do what is right in the eyes of God and live righteously, no longer enslaved to our old sin nature. Oh, it's still there and it will raise its ugly head and attempt to force its will on us, but because of Jesus, we do not have to keep on sinning like we once did. We are new creations. We have been born again. We are God's children and enjoy His protection and access to His power to love godly lives. In this life and according to His will.

Ep 247 – 1 John 5:13-21 PT 3 Aug 25, 2017

Show notes

This is episode three on 1 John, chapter five, verses 13-21. It's entitled, "Practical Prayer" and deals with a matter that each of us as believers should take to heart: Our prayers on behalf of a sinning brother or sister in Christ. Not only are we to take sin seriously in our own lives, we are to care deeply about the sin that we see in one another's lives. And John tells us we are to pray. We are to lift up our fellow believer to the throne of God, asking that God will give them life. In essence, we are to pray for their restoration to fellowship with God. Sin breaks that fellowship. It puts a barrier between God and the one who has unrepentant sin in their life. We are to ask God to open their eyes to the reality of their sin so that they might confess it and be forgiven by God and restored to a right relationship with Him. Sin in the body of Christ is dangerous. It can spread like a cancer, eventually infecting all those with whom it comes into contact. That is why we are to pray. Prayer is an expression of our love for the one in sin. This does not mean we are free from having to confront the sins in one another. We have an obligation to speak truth into one another's lives, and that includes lovingly pointing out the sins that we see being committed by those we call our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Ep 246 – 1 John 5:13-21 PT 2 Aug 24, 2017

Show notes

This is part two in our look at 1 John, chapter five, verses 13-21. This episode is entitled, "Whatever We Ask." In today's verses, John is going to deal with the subject of prayer, but specifically our prayers of petition, where we ask for things from God. It would seem that some of us believe that we can ask God for anything and He is obligated to give us whatever we want. This is not only a gross misunderstanding of prayer, it reveals a serious deficiency regarding the nature of God. God does not exist for our pleasure. He is not at our beck and call, somehow required to fulfill our every wish and make all our dreams come true. We exist for God. We serve Him. Not the other way around. And while we are fully free and even commanded to come to God with our prayers and petitions, we are to do so within His will. We are to pray according to His will and in keeping with His desires for us. But to do so requires that we know what God wants. We have to know His will in order to pray according to it. Prayer is a lot less about getting stuff from God than getting to know Him, so that we can pray to Him reverently and powerfully.

Ep 245 – 1 John 5:13-21 PT 1 Aug 23, 2017

Show notes

This is episode one on 1 John, chapter five, verses 13-21 and I've entitled it, "Jesus=Life." As John begins to wrap up his letter, he appears to be stressing the life made available to those who believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. The eternal life to which he refers is far more than just a synonym for heaven. While heaven is a significant part of our future, it is not the end-all. A location or destination is not the point of our salvation, but a restored relationship with God the Father and God the Son. It is not so much where we are going to spend eternity, but who we will be spending it with. We will experience unbroken fellowship with Jesus Christ and His Father, free from sin and no longer plagued by the threat of death. But the truth is, we have that unbroken fellowship right now, on this earth. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. He will never leave us or forsake us. We are His adopted children, His heirs – and nothing will ever change that. We have life because we have Jesus. Our eternity is secured because we have accepted Jesus in the present. Our eternal life doesn't start in heaven. It began when we placed our faith in Jesus.

Ep 244 – 1 John 5:6-12 PT 6 Aug 22, 2017

Show notes

This is our sixth episode on 1 John, chapter five, verses 6-12 and I've entitled it simply, "Life." Jesus spoke of eternal life and abundant life. He spoke of a future life to come and the present life in which we live. By accepting Jesus as our Savior, we receive life – not just at some, as-yet-to-be-revealed date, but right here, right now. We are provided with new life in Christ. As Jesus told Nicodemus, we are born again. And as Paul put it, "the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20 ESV). Before Christ, we were dead in our sins. But because of Christ and our faith in His sacrificial death on the cross, we have been made new – given new life and a new relationship with God the Father. Jesus said that He was the way, the truth, and the life. And a relationship with Him assures us of abundant life in the here and now, not just the hereafter. But abundant life does not mean wealth, health, a lack of troubles or a sin-free life on this planet. It is a guarantee of God's presence, provision, mercy, and unfailing love until the day we die or His Son returns for us.

Ep 243 – 1 John 5:6-12 PT 5 Aug 21, 2017

Show notes

This is our fifth episode on 1 John, chapter five, verses 6-12 and it's entitled, "The Blood." Sometimes, as modern believers, we see the sacrificial system ordained by God in the Old Testament as somewhat barbaric. We have a difficult time understanding why God would require the deaths of so many innocent animals. The very idea of blood atonement is hard for us to comprehend. And there are many today, who view the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross as the work of a bloodthirsty and vengeful God. They cannot comprehend how God the Father would willingly call for the death of His own Son. It seems to be anything but loving. And yet, the Scriptures tell us that Jesus Christ's death was an expression of the love of God for mankind. Reconciling God's wrath against sin and His love for man is not easy. Fully appreciating the grace and mercy as evidenced by His Son's sacrificial death is made difficult by all the talk of God's anger against sin and the need for a payment to satisfy His just and holy requirements. But the love and wrath of God meet at the cross.

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