Month: January 2024

I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites.
Deuteronomy 18:18

Humble Authority

Daily Devotion – January 31, 2024

Devotion based on Deuteronomy 18:18


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God chose Moses to lead the Israelites out of four centuries of slavery. Moses stood face to face with the Pharaoh of Egypt and won. He oversaw millions of people, handling their complaints, leading them through the wilderness, and judging their toughest disputes. Moses was important. He was the man. But he wrote of himself: “Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3).

Isn’t that ironic? It certainly does not seem like a very humble thing to say. Until you consider what author C.S. Lewis wrote, “humility is not thinking less about yourself but thinking about yourself less.” That certainly was Moses. Moses did not care about rank or reputation. He put the needs of the Israelites ahead of his own and brought them to the Promised Land.

As humble as Moses was, his sin barred him from entering the Promised Land. And his humility could not save all the Israelites who died in unbelief in the wilderness.

It was the humility of another like Moses that got Moses into heaven. Jesus is the prophet God chose to lead his people out of spiritual slavery. As God, Jesus has absolute authority over everyone and everything.

Yet Jesus did not use that authority to his own advantage. He put our needs ahead of his own and gave his life on the cross. He used his humble authority to pay our sin debt with his blood. Victorious over the grave, Jesus is the way through the wilderness. All who believe in him have eternal life in the land that God has promised.

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, give me humility like yours so I can be confident in my salvation and share your salvation with those in need. Amen.

They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. . . Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.”
Mark 1:21,23-27

The Final Authority

Daily Devotion – January 30, 2024

Devotion based on Mark 1:21,23-27


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Seventeenth-century French philosopher Rene Descartes is known for the saying: “I think, therefore I am.” The Twenty-first Century bumper sticker equivalent is: “Honk if you exist.”

If you want to know what issues matter to society or the mindset of current culture, read their bumper stickers. One of the more popular is the command to “QUESTION AUTHORITY.” It is a warning not to follow blindly after anyone just because they are influential. Certainly, not everyone with authority is trustworthy, but that does not mean that everyone is not trustworthy.

Jesus is an authority you can trust. He proved it by what he proclaimed. When Jesus taught in the synagogue, he did not just regurgitate what other teachers of the law thought God’s Word meant. He did not reiterate their manufactured laws. Jesus proclaimed the freedom, healing, and release that God promised. Then he backed up his word with action. With the same authority that the people heard Jesus teach, they witnessed him drive a demon out of a man.

Despite society’s efforts to convince us otherwise, regardless of whatever bumper sticker gets slapped on the back of a car, Jesus is the final authority. When Jesus died on the cross, he destroyed the devil’s work. And when he rose from the grave, he proved his victory over sin, death, and hell. That victory is yours through faith in your Lord Jesus Christ.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, what peace, what joy, what hope is mine that you are the final authority over all things in life and in death. Amen.

The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites.
Deuteronomy 18:15

A Prophet Like Moses

Daily Devotion – January 29, 2024

Devotion based on Deuteronomy 18:15


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The prophet. When you hear those words, who comes to mind? If you are of Arab descent, you think of Muhammed, the founder of Islam. If you live in the western United States of America, you probably think of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon Church. If you are connected to Orthodox Judaism, you think of Moses.

There were many prophets that God commissioned in the Old Testament. But none like Moses. God himself sent Moses to the Israelites. God made Moses their leader, and he was their deliverer. Moses led God’s people out of slavery in Egypt. He performed miracles and wonders. And God spoke face-to-face with Moses, giving him the laws that governed the Israelites for over a thousand years.

As great as Moses was, God raised up a greater prophet—Jesus.

The law was given through Moses, but the Israelites could not fulfill it. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. We cannot fulfill God’s law either, but Jesus graciously kept the law in our place. Jesus is the fulfillment of all the laws that God gave Moses.

The truth is we all deserve to die for our sins, but Jesus graciously died in our place. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the entire world. We have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. By his resurrection from the dead, Jesus has opened the way to eternal life with God in the Promised Land of heaven.

Jesus is the way for all who follow him in faith.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, my Prophet, Priest, and King, teach me your way, forgive my sins, and govern my heart by your grace and truth. Amen.

They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.
Mark 1:21,22

Amazed

Daily Devotion – January 28, 2024

Devotion based on Mark 1:21,22


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What does it take to amaze you? Are you often astounded? Or does that happen somewhat infrequently, only when there’s something really out of the ordinary?

Mark says that the people were amazed when Jesus taught in the synagogue. Why so? It was because of the content of Jesus’ teaching. The religious leaders simply demanded from the people: “Do this! Live this way! Act this way!” Jesus, on the other hand, spoke not merely of external things, but spoke to the heart. He spoke of God’s promises being fulfilled of the promised Savior—himself! He told them that in him was the salvation which God had promised to send to the world.

Think of it—God loved you and me enough to come to this earth himself. God loved you and me so much that he was willing to live our life and willing to die for us. We sinful humans had separated ourselves from God and had no way to get back to him, but God loved you too much to lose you, so he did what was necessary to reunite you to him. He lived, he died, he rose, all for you!

Amazing. And true! Because it comes from God!

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for teaching me about all you have done for me. May it always amaze me! Amen.

God made him [Jesus] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:21

A Substitute

Daily Devotion – January 27, 2024

Devotion based on 2 Corinthians 5:21


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On June 2, 1925, Wally Pip, the starting first baseman for the New York Yankees, was hit in the head by a pitch in pre-game batting practice. The manager put a substitute in to play for Pip that day. Pip never started another game at first base for the Yankees because his substitute went on to play in 2,130 straight games—a record that stood for many years. What a substitution! You probably never heard of Wally Pip. Even if you aren’t a baseball fan, you probably heard of Pip’s substitute: Lou Gehrig. He’s in Baseball’s Hall of Fame!

The Bible tells us about a substitution that was even more spectacular. Over 2,000 years ago, God put a substitute on Calvary’s cross for all sinners. Our substitute’s name was Jesus Christ. Although this God-man was perfect, he willingly took our sins and imperfections upon himself and was punished in our place. He experienced the agony of hell and the righteous anger of a holy God for you and me! By his wounds we are healed. Our sins are paid for. We are righteous in God’s sight because of our substitute.

Because of a substitution, Lou Gehrig is in baseball’s Hall of Fame. Trusting in the substitute that God appointed for you—Jesus Christ, you will be in heaven’s Hall of Fame, forever!

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I confess that I often sin and deserve to be separated from you and all your blessings. But in love you sent your Son, Jesus Christ, who bore the guilt of my sin for me and died to set me free from the condemnation I deserve. Thanks and praise to you for Jesus, my substitute! Amen.

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
2 Corinthians 5:16,17

The New is Here!

Daily Devotion – January 26, 2024

Devotion based on 2 Corinthians 5:16,17


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At the beginning of a new year, we desperately want an answer to this question: Can people change? That is, given enough time and effort, can I change my old habits and habitual sins? And, in a world characterized by selfishness and tribalism, can I change the way that I view other people?

Well, consider the man behind today’s Bible passage. Twenty years before he wrote these words, the apostle Paul was “a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man” (1 Timothy 1:13). He hated Jesus and Jesus’ disciples, so he hunted them down and arrested them.

All that changed when Jesus blinded him with light, spoke to him from heaven, and sent a man named Ananias to preach the good news to him, to baptize him, and to shine the light of faith in his heart. That’s how Paul became “a herald and an apostle and a teacher of the true faith” (1 Timothy 2:7).

Paul is proof that people really do change. And God continues to change people to this very day. When you become a Christian, God changes you from dead in sin to alive in Christ. Because of Christ, when God the Father looks at you, he sees someone clothed in the perfection of his Son.

Because of Christ, when you look at other people, what do you see? That every single person—regardless of their age, their race, their economic status, or their politics—is someone for whom Christ died.

The Son of God does not see you as some hopeless, lost cause of a sinner. You are an heir of eternal life, and that changes the way you look at life. You don’t have to be selfish anymore. You don’t have to be angry anymore. You don’t have to lose control anymore. You have been changed. You have been forgiven. The new is here.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for making me a new creation. Please give me strength to live like it. Amen.

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. . . God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:14,15,21

A Life Lived for Jesus

Daily Devotion – January 25, 2024

Devotion based on 2 Corinthians 5:14,15,21


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You may have encountered the slogan “WWJD?” It is shorthand for “What Would Jesus Do?” The goal of that acronym is to get people to live like Jesus. Although its intent is noble, it has one major flaw: it gives an incomplete view of Jesus and his work.

The problem is that it presents Christ primarily as an example to follow. Today’s Bible passage, however, destroys the notion that Jesus is just an example for Christians to follow on their walk with God.

Have you ever heard better news than these three verses? Jesus died for all of our sins in our place as our substitute. And when Jesus died, it was as if everyone who has ever lived, is living, or will live had died. He died for all so that you will never know the horror of hell.

This means that when God saw his Son on the cross, he saw all of the sins and sinners, and Christ was punished for each sin of all sinners. More than that, Jesus gives sinners what he alone has—his perfection and righteousness. The love behind that great exchange is what compels Christians to live, not for themselves, but for the One who had died for them.

All this means that Christianity is not about what you should do. It’s about what someone else did for you. A better acronym would be “RWJD,” shorthand for “Remember What Jesus Did.” In other words, we don’t live like Jesus; we live for Jesus.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, let your life, death, and resurrection for me empower my life lived for you. Amen.

Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
Jonah 3:3-5

The Right Tool for the Job

Daily Devotion – January 24, 2024

Devotion based on Jonah 3:3-5


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Sometimes the right tool for the job is the last thing you would expect. For example, if you accidentally immerse your smartphone in water, you can salvage it by putting it into a bag of uncooked rice. That doesn’t seem like it should work, but in an emergency, the moisture-absorbing properties of the rice can save an expensive piece of technology.

What if you need to save a city full of thousands of people from the wrath of God? What’s the right tool for that job? Nineveh was one of the greatest cities of the ancient world. It was the capital of the Assyrian Empire and was renowned for its brutality and cruelty. It was filled with people who worshiped false gods. In short, the inhabitants of Nineveh were headed for hell.

So God sent Jonah to turn the Ninevites from their sin. That doesn’t seem like it should work. What could one man armed with the Word of God accomplish in a city with thousands of people? Turns out, quite a bit.

Jonah preached, and the people repented. They showed their sorrow over sin by not eating and wearing uncomfortable clothing. Of course, what made the difference was not Jonah but the Word of God that Jonah spoke.

God’s Word does what it says. In the beginning, God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Through his prophet, God said, “Repent,” and stony hearts were turned in repentance. The Word says “Believe,” and dead, unbelieving hearts come to life, trusting in the good news about Jesus.

Thank God that what at first seems inadequate is, in fact, the right tool for the job. Praise God for the power of his Word!

Prayer:
Lord God, give me confidence in the power of your Word. Amen.

As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.
Mark 1:16-18

A Lofty Charge

Daily Devotion – January 23, 2024

Devotion based on Mark 1:16-18


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The Bible makes it clear that there is a vital chain of events that leads to salvation for sinners. In order to call on the Lord and be saved, people must first believe in him. In order to believe in him, they must first hear about him. In order to hear about him, someone must preach to them. In order for someone to preach to them, that person must first be sent.

This brings us to today’s Bible passage, where Jesus calls Simon and Andrew to be links in the chain that connects sinners to Christ. But why does God use people—even simple fishermen!—to spread his Word? Why doesn’t God speak from heaven, or why doesn’t he send angels to do this important work?

Well, read the Bible and you will discover that when God spoke directly to the people, they begged him to stop. When angels delivered messages, the recipients were often terrified. Sinners cannot stand in the presence of God’s holy perfection.

So, God sends ordinary people like Simon and Andrew to spread his Word. God wants one sinner to tell another the greatest words ever spoken: “Jesus has done it all for you! Repent and believe the good news!”

Jesus has not called you to be an apostle; like these men. He may not have called you to be a pastor or teacher in his church. But every Christian gets to declare “the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).

What a lofty charge! What joy to know that the God in whose presence you cannot stand brings himself into your presence by his Word; that the God who called you, sought, and bought you forges you as a link in that vital chain of events that leads to salvation for sinners.

Prayer:
God of salvation, help me to speak your Word and fish for people. Amen.