November 27, 2022 -- Proverbs 1:1-6 -- Jesus in the Proverbs: a journey to Christmas

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

2 To know wisdom and instruction,
    to understand words of insight,
3 to receive instruction in wise dealing,
    in righteousness, justice, and equity;
4 to give prudence to the simple,
    knowledge and discretion to the youth—
5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
    and the one who understands obtain guidance,
6 to understand a proverb and a saying,
    the words of the wise and their riddles.
Proverbs 1:1-6 ESV

Shortcuts. That’s what everyone wants. It is the addict’s way of thinking. Just give me one book that will increase my holiness. The Bible. Um, I wanted a slim volume that I could read in an hour or so and become holy. I don’t want to work at it. Give me to the one treatment program so that my alcohol addiction will be done. After three or six months I’ll graduate and then be good. The problem is, three or six months of treatment is fighting 60 months or 180 months of hard addiction and the life patterns that go with it. You might protest, I don’t have addictions. Really. Anger. Gossip. Self-absorption. Gluttony. Trust in self rather than God. Thinking yourself better than this person or that one.

Look at the quiet way of wisdom. It is the path of wisdom, where day in and day out, formally and informally, one yields his life to the guidance of God. The proverbs and sayings take time to puzzle out. Re-read the passage. Listen to the words. Ponder what they mean in a world where a man will give forty hours to work. Even a job he hates, in order to gain money, striving to stay just ahead of his debts spent on toys and gadgets that hinder his steps of holiness. The average Canadian spends just over 21 hours a week on screen time, outside of work activities. That is half the hours of a full-time job. Yet the Christian believes he has no time for godly activities.

One beautiful reality about Jesus is summarized in Luke “the Child grew and become strong, filled with wisdom. And the favour of God was upon Him” (Luke 2:40 ESV). In a world with as many distractions as this one, in a time when hedonism was as common as it is now and godlessness reigned, Jesus submitted Himself to the way of wisdom. He grew strong. That is, strong in the LORD. He dedicated Himself to the Living God so that this man, Who never wrote a book while He walked this earth, became the single-most influential Man in all of history. His wisdom and humility remain respected today even by the godless, who call Him a good teacher.

Today, as you journey to Christmas, take up the challenge to tithe your screen time. Give 17 minutes a day to God. Read through Proverbs and the Gospel of Luke. (Seriously, I dare you, set a timer if you must. At the end of these four weeks note the changes the Spirit of God will bring into your life.) Fight the encroaching darkness with the Light of wisdom. Find Jesus. Be refreshed in His presence.

Faithful Father in heaven may Your Name be praised on earth as it is in heaven. Thank You for the glorious prize of wisdom, made flesh in Jesus Christ. Thank You that You chose to draw near to us, so that the blessed Name “Immanuel” God with us, is reality in Jesus Christ. Thank You, mighty God, for the Holy Spirit Who teaches yearning hearts the way of wisdom. Such powerful wisdom that defies all the darkness of this world and all exposes the broken promises of evil so that the radiance of Jesus Christ fills the imagination. Triune God, help us to change the pattern of our days so that You are our priority and joy. Spirit of God, move our conscience to give the time we have pledged for the reading of Scripture and prayer. Let such reading and prayer times change us so that the wonder and majesty of this Christmas will be for us more than tinsel and illusion, it will be for us the magnificence of deeper relationship with Jesus, the joy and crown of every true believer. Amen.

https://youtu.be/mrmMQdkBPwY

Michael Card “Immanuel”

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November 26, 2022 -- Philippians 3:20-4:1 -- Pursuing Jesus in all of life

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself. Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.
Philippians 3:20-4:1 ESV

Pursuing Eternal Values is the final virtue which rounds out the twenty-four character traits for daily self-examination. The opposite is pursuing temporal values. This much is obvious. When a man claims to bear the title of Christian, but he indulges in his old, sinful patterns, he is a hypocrite and a liar if he does not immediately confess his sins and repent and turn away from them. Recently I heard a speaker say, 'what you reward yourself with is what your heart truly craves'. So, if you have been acting like a Christian all day, then go and then as a self-reward you over-indulge, or watch porn, you are, in fact pursuing the world and ultimately death. Do not substitute the here and now, for the glory and wow of the New Kingdom.

The Eternal Values in view is a life that is bound up with Jesus. He is the Captain of Salvation (Hebrews 2:10). He is the man, so fully empowered by the Holy Spirit (John 3:34), that it is in His power to gift the Spirit to all who follow Him (John 16:7). Those pursuing eternal values, ask God the Father and God the Son for the Spirit so that their lives will be heaven-powered for the earthly-battles which inevitably will dog them. Ultimately, we live our lives for an audience of One, God Himself. All our griefs and victories, all our struggles and hopes, every joy and sadness, all these experiences and circumstances are used by the LORD our God to shape us so that we cry out to Him. Sometimes these are shouts of joy “Who is like You, O God, great and glorious, the Defender of the Weak?!”. Other times our cries are pitiable and out of helplessness we raise our voices to Him Who alone can save, “Lord, if You do not rescue me, I will go down to the pit” (II Timothy 4:18 and Psalm 88:1ff).

It is not in our power to go after eternal values. The desire to do so is evidence of the new life that is ours in Christ. The ability to do so is given by the Holy Spirit. The failures and pitfalls along the way are not fatal. The Christian confesses his sins. He seeks spiritual help from those who are more mature in the faith, and together believers continue living the greatest adventure possible: ever fuller life in Christ, empowered by the Spirit, lived to the glory of God, the Father, the Source of every good gift for the believer Who draws the believers closer to Jesus.

Our Father blessed be Your Name. May Your Name be celebrated on earth as it is honoured and adored in heaven. Forgive us, Faithful Lord, for our wayward and rebellious hearts. Do in us, as Scripture promises, transform our lowly bodies through the Savior Jesus Christ so that our bodies, souls and minds will be fully subject to Him. Let our lives grow in faithful devotion to You, Triune God, through the mighty presence of the Spirit. May our lives honour the parents and mentors, pastors and missionaries You sent out in Jesus' Name to find us and bring us to the Savior. Let these faithful ones cast their crowns before You in joy and love even as we, long for the day when those who, inspired by our mentorship for Jesus Christ, become our joy and crown, which crowns we will exuberantly lay before Your throne of glory and splendor. Teach us new depths of devotion and conformity to Your will as we here on earth as citizens of Jesus' Kingdom. Amen.

https://youtu.be/1IGP68i3JvU
Hark, the Herald Angels Sing (Chet Valley Churches)

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November 25, 2022 -- Proverbs 12:17 -- Living honestly in Jesus' grace

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness utters deceit.
Proverbs 12:17 ESV

Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
Ephesians 4:28 ESV

Honesty versus deceit. The one who is deceitful first must lie to himself, imagining himself hidden from the eyes of the LORD. The deceitful one having broken out against the clear evidence the God of all wisdom and power sees everything, then continues in his wayward practice of altering facts to make himself look better. The lines between reality and fantasy become blurred until he himself is so caught up in his lies that he cannot distinguish what is true and what is false.

The one who is honest has been confronted with the wisdom and power of the Living God. The one who has encountered Jesus Christ has met Him Who is Truth and Life and all the lies of his life and his guilt are exposed to him. Jesus’ work at the cross disarms the lies of the enemy, the lies of the world and the lies of one’s own inner self. As those set free from dishonesty and deceit, the Christian then lives in the power of the Spirit, striving to be honest, even when it hurts. The Christian is Spirit empowered to make amends, restoring what was stolen.

It is tempting to think the quotation from Proverbs is only suitable for courtrooms. One forgets all of life is lived before the Face of God. He sees all that His people do. It speaks volumes to God, all that believers leave undone. The Christian’s honest living is meant to bear witness to the people around him, and show the world, the Truth of Jesus. The Christian's honest living is meant to give glory to God and please His Father-heart.

O LORD, we acknowledge Thy dominion over us; our life, our death, our soul and body, all belong to Thee. Oh, grant that we may willingly consecrate them all to Thee, and use them in Thy service. Let us walk before Thee in childlike simplicity, steadfast in prayer; looking ever unto Thee, that whatsoever we do or abstain from we may in all things follow the least indications of Thy will. Become Lord of our hearts and spirit; that the whole inner man may be brought under Thy rule, and that Thy life of love and righteousness may pervade all our thoughts and energies and the very ground of our souls; that we may be wholly filled with it. Come, O Lord and King, enter into our hearts, and live and reign there for ever and ever. O faithful Lord, teach us to trust Thee for life and death, and to take Thee for our All in All. Amen.
Gerhard Tersteegen, 1731

https://youtu.be/w3xZ6V86ws4
The Things we Leave Behind - - Michael Card Poiema

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November 24, 2022 -- Isaiah 12:1 -- Thanksgiving to God our Father now and always

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

You will say in that day:
   “I will give thanks to You, O LORD,
    for though You were angry with me,
       Your anger has turned away,
       that You might comfort me.”
Isaiah 12:1 ESV

Thankful hearts. That is the character trait in focus for today. God the Holy One is right in judging people wicked and perfectly just in condemning all people to an eternity in hell. The violations of His goodness, love, holiness and mercy are heaped higher every day and this is reason enough for His wrath to fall. Yet He has shown mercy in Jesus Christ. 'That day' is the summary expression of Jesus’ righteous life, death on the cross, burial and ascension to heaven. The sins of the guilty were punished on the Person of Jesus at the cross and His righteous life was credited to all who believe. God has not only averted eternal punishment, but He has also comforted His people. Yes, thank Him!

Discontentment, or ingratitude, is the negative character trait which can infect believers. It is a sign the heart has wandered far from God and should be a loud-sounding alarm warning the believer to check his attitude and purify his heart. Discontentment is neglecting to express thanks to God for all His blessings. Discontentment is rehearsing all the wrongs you believe have been acted out against you, real or imagined. Ingratitude is forgetting that believers and unbelievers alike will suffer in this world, such that one complains about everything. Suffering is part of life in a fallen world.

Yes, today is Thanksgiving Day for our cousins in the United States of America (November 24, 2022). Surely the LORD our God has poured out great blessings on the lands of North America. It is a great reminder for all believers to give thanks to God and to set the tone of having thankful hearts every day of the year. Thankfulness dispels the gloom of the heart. Thankfulness tunes the heart so that it is ready to sing praises to God. Thankfulness flows from the lips and the life of the believer who knows he is in the grip of the Father’s great grace.

O MY GOD,
Thou fairest, greatest, first of all objects,
my heart admires, adores, loves thee,
for my little vessel is as full as it can be,
and I would pour out all that fullness before thee
in ceaseless flow.
When I think upon and converse with thee
ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up,
ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed,
ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart,
crowding into every moment of happiness.
I bless thee for the soul thou hast created,
for adorning it, sanctifying it,
though it is fixed in barren soil;
for the body thou hast given me,
for preserving its strength and vigour,
for providing senses to enjoy delights,
for the ease and freedom of my limbs,
for hands, eyes, ears that do thy bidding;
for thy royal bounty providing my daily support,
for a full table and overflowing cup,
for appetite, taste, sweetness,
for social joys of relatives and friends,
for ability to serve others,
for a heart that feels sorrows and necessities,
for a mind to care for my fellow-men,
for opportunities of spreading happiness around,
for loved ones in the joys of heaven,
for my own expectation of seeing thee clearly.
I love thee above the powers of language to express,
for what thou art to thy creatures.
Increase my love,
O my God, through time and eternity.
"Praise and Thanksgiving" The Valley of Vision: Puritan Prayers and Devotions. Page 26

https://youtu.be/9c7VaTjyuLA

Now Thank We All Our God hymn Westminster Abby

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November 22, 2022 -- Romans 12:16b-21 --The Christian's Work of Forgiveness

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:16b-21 ESV

Forgiveness is not for the weak or fainthearted. It is a character trait which reveals the depths of one’s trust in the Living God. He is powerful to avenge. He is able to make all things right at the end of the age. He will make all things right at the end of the age. It is to His glory to do so. The work of God in the life of the believer is to transform the enemy so that he is at last a brother or a sister in Christ, or having had every opportunity to repent, he will receive the full justice of God. 

Resentment adds fuel to the fires of separation. It is a restless poison that continually breaks community and simmers in the heart and clouds the mind. Resentment explodes in anger. It refuses to forgive. It does not trust God, believing one’s own puny strength is enough to repay the enemy. The result is more and more brokenness in the life of the resentful, vengeful person. The heart of such a person is closed to beauty, to goodness and shut up against the good gifts of the Living God, the Father, Who is the Source of every good gift.

Forgiveness is what mature Christians offer recognizing that God has forgiven each one in the powerful Name of Jesus. Sins are punished on the Person of Jesus. Christians remember Jesus’ words: “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” Matthew 6:14-15. You may recognize where this passage is found in Matthew, right after the prayer Jesus taught His followers to pray. The Lord’s Prayer, which includes the petition “forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors” requires the powerful work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer to make this forgiveness received and given a reality in the community of believers.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come, Your will be done,
   on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
   and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
Matthew 6:9b-13 ESV, with the "amen" added

https://youtu.be/F756Mjxxrvc
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day ~ Casting Crowns

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November 21, 2022 -- I John 5:1-3 -- Obedience Shows one's love for God and love for others

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
I John 5:1-3 ESV

Obedience is the character trait in focus today. When one is “born again” or “born from above” he experiences an entirely new way of life, of thinking and seeing the world. The person who loves God gives evidence that he is born again. It is God the Father Who gives this new birth, He loved first, and all love is a response to His love. What is striking to me is verse 2 of the reading. Obedience to the commandments of God demonstrates our love for God and our love for His children. Every time we obey God's commandments we are in fact loving our neighbours as well. That is how the commandments are designed!

Disobedience is the obvious negative character trait. Those who are disobedient may appear to be Christians but are bargaining with God. The thought process may run along the lines of: “I’ll live the way I want all my life and at the last minute repent and get all the good stuff of heaven.” Those who are disobedient do not walk in the commandments of God, nor do they delight in Him Who gives such commandments. There is no grief in their hearts when it is revealed to them that they are violating God’s holy and just laws.

Obedience is the love response of the believer. Obedience is the evidence of a heart captivated by the mercy and goodness of God. Obedience includes appropriate submission to the authorities God has placed over you in your life. It is respecting bosses and completing the tasks and responsibilities they give to you. Obedience is necessary in the classroom. No entitled protests and self-aggrandizement here, instead, with eyes focused on God, asking, what should I learn here, how can my respect for my teacher be an influence for good and godly witness?

Obedience reminds the believer he is a child of God. Obedience reminds the Christian each act of service to God is in fact the most obvious way to love the people around her. Obedience within a church enables the community of believers to live in harmony with God and with one another.

Father in heaven, it is Your right to command obedience from Your people. You have chosen Your people in love from before the foundation of the world. You have preserved Your people, even when they were dripping with venom rebellious against You. You have given Jesus as the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. Merciful Father, we confess how we chafe against the commandments You give. In light of all Your goodness and rich love it is evidence of how disobedient and vile our hearts really are, the fact that we question how much we should or need to obey. Renew a right spirit in us, so that we will show how much we love You by keeping Your commandments. Deepen our love for You and our capacity to love You as we seek to be obedient to You in every area of our lives. Amen.

https://youtu.be/px-eU1QjQiU

Shane and Shane “Psalm 51” Wisdom in the Secret Heart

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November 18, 2022 -- Proverbs 4:20-22 -- Listening to Jesus for vitality in all of life

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

My son, be attentive to my words;
incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Let them not escape from your sight;
keep them within your heart.
22 For they are life to those who find them,
and healing to all their flesh.
Proverbs 4:20-22 ESV

Being a listener. Not listening with the intention of waiting until the other person draws breath and then talking. Not being a boastful talker. Not being a one who hears and then turns away from doing what the Father commanded through earthly parents or divinely instituted authorities. Instead, being a listener is one who looks to God the Father and knows He instructs His children through parents and teachers, through authorities and ministers. Being a listener is one who expects to hear from God the Father, on the basis of Jesus’ accomplished work at the cross and keeping His commands through the power of the Spirit.

Being a listener is tuning one’s ears and one’s heart to know God as He reveals Himself. Being a listener is one who studies the Word to know God and listens to preachers who preach Him. Being a listener means one is discerning and able to distinguish the true teaching and preaching from false. Being a listener is training your heart to be silent before the LORD, and saying with young prophet in training, Samuel, “speak LORD, for Your servant is listening” (I Samuel 3:10).

Being a listener means becoming one who hears and studies the people around him. He wants to know what they believe, what they know, so that he can in know the other people well enough to engage in deep and honest conversation about the Living God. Being a listener is hard work. It requires the character traits of humility and patience. One who is a listener is one who is showing maturity in Christ.

Speak, LORD, for Your servants are listening.
Spirit of God, train us up in humility and patience so that we will mature in our ability to listen.
Speak, LORD, so that we will know Jesus Christ and follow the radiance of His glory.
Speak, LORD, so that we will find ever fuller life in Your Word and healing in knowing You.
Amen.

https://youtu.be/my90e3a_nlM

Speak, O Lord Getty Music

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November 17, 2022 -- Proverbs 11:30 -- Being a winner, a soul-winner, in Jesus' Name

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
And he who wins souls is wise.
Proverbs 11:30 NKJV

The character trait for today is “being a winner”. Not a whiner. Not a one who sets goals and neglects to adjust his living to meet them. Not one who has many half-finished projects tucked away in various storage places in the house. Nor the quitter. The winner stands in sharp contrast to all of this.

The one whose life is submitted to Jesus Christ has his life covered in the righteousness of Jesus. Such a person lives in thankfulness to Jesus. Such a person refuses to quit the pathway of God’s blessing, no matter how hard the road becomes. The righteous know their sins are fully forgiven and have been punished by God upon the Person of Jesus, His Son. So holiness has come at a very high cost. One who is a winner is one who examines his life, sees the defects and places where he’s veering off course, and readjusts so that he will stay the course. A winner sees his wrong-doing and sin and confesses these to God and asks Christian friends to hold him accountable in the way everlasting.

Living life as a winner makes one a soul winner. Your co-workers, family and friends, will see how you live for Jesus in the power of His Spirit and wonder what it is that you have, and they don’t. They’ll ask you about the noticeable changes in your life. As you credit the Father’s love, poured out on your life in Jesus Christ, and such love which is a sustained fountain of blessing in you by the Spirit Who lives in you, those who asked you, will seek to know Jesus also. Being a winner is one who is a soul-winner for God.
 

Oh God of Glory and Renown, may Your great Name be honoured in the life of Your people. O God of love and salvation, thank You for the tremendous salvation You have given in Jesus Christ. Blessed LORD, thank You for the work of Your Spirit, Who shines the light of the Word into the hearts of believers so that their lives are excised of sinful and wayward behavior and ever returned to the course of righteousness which has been set out for us in Jesus' powerful Name. Amen.

https://youtu.be/TcdoorMirhc

How Vast the Benefits Divine URC Synod 2012

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November 16, 2022 -- Proverbs 14:23 -- Dependable for Jesus through the power of the Triune God

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

In all toil there is profit,
   but mere talk tends only to poverty.
Proverbs 14:23 ESV

Are you a big talker or a walker who keeps his promises? The character trait today is dependable versus being unreliable. Toil is an old-fashioned word meaning to work hard, or to work persistently at something. In Proverbs 14 there are many proverbs focused on the way in which wisdom leads a man to prosper, to be respected and be crowned with knowledge. While the unreliable, the fool, is disgraced, destroyed and his way ends in death.

The one who is unreliable is a promise-breaker. He is profoundly self-centred and when he says to you he’ll do this or that, you can only hope no better offer comes along, otherwise he’ll break his promise to you in order to do whatever he considered better or more entertaining. This is a man who has to swear oaths and promises that he’ll do this or that, because his word so often has proved to be empty.

The man who is dependable “keeps his word whatever the cost” (Psalm 15:4 CSB). The woman who is dependable “her lamp does not go out at night” (Proverbs 31:18 ESV) because she has calculated how much oil her lamp will need, and she provides for her household. To be dependable means that others can count on you for support and help. The man or woman who is dependable has clear boundaries, defining what is his work to do and does not foster co-dependent relationships.

Faithful Father, You are the ultimately dependable One. We, Your people who bear the Name of Jesus, guiltily confess how easily we prevaricate, dodge our responsibilities and duck out when things get too difficult. Thank You for the suffering of Jesus and His nail-scarred hands, pierced feet and wounded side, which are proof that He is dependable to the end of all days. Spirit of the Living God, reinvigorate our faith and empower obedience so that will endure wrong in order to remain true to You, Triune God. As we individually live up to the duties and responsibilities You have given, forge in us and among us, true, deep community, a gathering which is fragrant with the goodness of Jesus Christ and compellingly attractive to others whom You are beckoning to receive Jesus through our ministry. Amen.

https://youtu.be/R2cB1e0xaQU
How Vast the Benefits Divine "Grace and Peace Music"

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November 15, 2022 -- Ephesians 4:1-5 -- Anchored to Jesus living out loud patience for Jesus

People loved by the Father, by the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Ephesians 4:1-5 ESV

Look at where Paul is as he writes the Ephesians, yes, in prison! Yet the tone of his writing is kind, the words are encouraging the readers to trust in God all the more and he is calling for them to exercise patience. There is a silly saying “don’t pray for patience because it only comes through trials”. What a load of nonsense. Jesus promised His followers will have trials and will suffer. Here is the glorious promise of God's word: He will use these circumstances to cause His followers to grow in patient endurance.

Impatience is something familiar to all, with as many of you have been on the receiving end of a company’s customer service rep who was irritable, giving curt answers to your genuine questions. Look at the context of the word patience in Ephesians 4. Patience keeps the bond of unity forged among believers by the Spirit’s presence. Impatience jars true community. Impatience is rude and self-seeking. Impatience is condescending.

When you are facing illness, rather than just praying to be healed, ask God for the patience to endure this illness so that it can have its full effect on your life. Perhaps your patience endurance will bless doctors and specialists. The LORD is in charge in every circumstance and in all of life's challenges. It is the Spirit Who enables the true followers of Jesus Christ, to patient in every affliction so that the world sees the reflected glory of Almighty God in their lives.

Blessed God,
Ten thousand snares are mine without and within,
defend thou me;
When sloth and indolence seize me,
give me views of heaven;
When sinners entice me,give me disrelish of their ways;
When sensual pleasures tempt me,purify and refine me;
When I desire worldly possessions, help me to be rich toward thee;
When the vanities of the world ensnare me,
let me not plunge into new guilt and ruin.
May I remember the dignity of my spiritual release,
never be too busy to attend to my soul,
never be so engrossed with time that I neglect the things of eternity;
thus may I not only live,
but grow towards thee.
Form my mind to right notions of religion,
that I may not judge of grace by wrong conceptions,
nor measure my spiritual advances by the efforts of my natural being.
May I seek after an increase of divine love to thee,
after unreserved resignation to thy will,
after extensive benevolence to my fellow creatures,
after patience and fortitude of soul,
after a heavenly disposition after a concern that
I may please thee in public
and private.
Draw on my soul the lineaments of Christ,
in every trace and feature of which thou wilt take delight,
for I am thy workmanship, created in Christ Jesus,
thy letter written with the Holy Spirit’s pen,
thy tilled soil ready for the sowing,
then harvest.
Valley of Vision: Puritan Prayers and Devotions: A Christian's Prayer

https://youtu.be/N4xZIkOnJU4
Oh, for a Closer Walk with God; Stuart Townsend

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November 14, 2022 -- Matthew 5:37 -- Really Real for Jesus

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Let what you say be simply “Yes” or “No”;
anything more than this comes from evil.
Matthew 5:37 ESV

The character trait in focus today is “being real”. This in contrast to being phony. One who is real is honest in all his dealings with others. He does not need to make extravagant oaths to verify what he says, because what he says he means, and he carries out. He is trustworthy in this. He is honest about his feelings and circumstances.

Addicts are by nature phony. To maintain one’s addiction and one’s place within a circle of family or friends one had to lie, to exaggerate, and intentionally mislead others. When the power of Christ breaks the hold of addiction, this manipulative behavior is exposed. Being phony is second nature to the addict, so it must be addressed and cut out of one's life.

As those who are breaking free from the tyranny of sin and darkness, it is critical that you be real in your conversations and open about your joys and your struggles. Being real allows fellow Christians to minister to your soul. Being real keeps you humble and open to their ministry. The people around you will be prepared to be vulnerable to you also and together you can mutually submit your lives to Christ in the power of His Spirit Who leads believers in the grace of the Father.

Being real can be exhausting. Many people around you will know much about your life. Truly sharing the deep things of your life should happen in the context of a few trusted Christian friends who can ask you anything and whom you can hold completely accountable as well. Beyond this, cultivate more accurate responses to questions like “how are you?” A flippant answer “fine” when you are not fine is phony. But a fifty-sentence response is not helpful either. A simple answer like: “It is a rough day. I’m trusting in God’s grace” is appropriate. A concise reply, grounded in your faith, answers the questioner gives opportunity to follow up or conclude that exchange. Most importantly, you are learning to be real in your prayer with God, Who sees your heart and life and circumstances and invites you to be to fully open to Him so that He will hear and answer your prayers.

O LORD our Lord, Your grace and goodness have flowed to every broken place in the believer's heart. You are great and holy. Thank You for the great healing You have given believers in Jesus' precious Name! By the Spirit of Truth help Your people to be real so that true healing and genuine community can be forged from these lives formerly ruined by sin and lies. Thank You, Father, for Your lovingkindness and great patience, working out Your purposes with precision and tenderness. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

https://youtu.be/ZIeXAqtvV8U
Living for Jesus
 

Copyright © 2022 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

November 12, 2022 -- Colossians 3:23-25 -- With your eyes fixed on Jesus, accept responsibility for your actions

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.
Colossians 3:23-25 ESV

The positive and negative character traits for today’s self-examination are accepting responsibility versus projection. The context of today’s passage is the way in which masters treat their slaves and how slaves are commanded to obey their masters. Immediately some readers will say under their breath, “not relevant” because slavery is outlawed. Nice try. All believers are slaves to Jesus Christ. He bought them back from the wrath and punishment of God. He claims them. They are His slaves. Then in an incredible act of love and good will, He no longer calls His followers slaves, but calls them friends (John 15:15). As His slaves, now friends, He sends His people out to serve Him being fruitful no matter where they are placed and with eyes fixed on Him in love and thankfulness, they keep His commands.

As Jesus sends out His followers, they will live in the world, they will work in the world, they will be accountable for their work. As Jesus’ slave-friends the Christian accepts responsibility when all his faults and wrong-doing are presented to him. The negative character trait is projection, which means getting defensive when wrong doing is pointed out. Projection includes trying to explain away bad behavior or sloppy work. It is blaming others or circumstances for one’s own bad behavior. A believer in Jesus will receive affirmation as belonging to the credit and glory of Jesus. A believer will hear criticism and willingly learn from it. Believers who mess up, fess up so that the Name of Jesus is not discredited. If a believer is falsely accused, he counts it all joy to suffer in his body for the sake of Jesus.

No doubt there is a niggling thought in the back of your brain as you read this, “who is this naive author”? People will take advantage of me if I really live this way. Jesus knows the ways of this world. He walked among swindlers and manipulators, con-artists and ordinary people whose hearts are far from the Father. He declared:

You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor
and hate your enemy”. But I say to you, Love your enemy and
pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons
of your Father in heaven…For if you love those who love you,
what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collector do the
same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you
doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
You must therefore be perfect as your heavenly Father is
perfect.
Matthew 5:43-45, 46-48 ESV)

Father in heaven, increase our faith! Who can do what You require and keep the standards You demand? All the more heartily and thankfully do Your people praise You for the righteousness given them in Jesus Christ! Blessed be Your Name Mighty God, for the gift of the Holy Spirit Who increases faith, deepens understanding and gives to the believer a heaven-sent desire for holiness and integrity that reaches to every part of life and every activity. As believers who live in a world that reeks of sin and is foul with corruption You have called Your people to live as salt and light. Spirit of God assist believers to proclaim the great salvation found in Jesus Christ and the healing He brings, so that newly received sons and daughters will stand up and be counted among those who are living for Jesus and bringing honour and praise to the Father in heaven. Amen.

https://youtu.be/w3xZ6V86ws4
"The Things We Leave Behind" Michael Card

Copyright © 2022 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

November 11, 2022 -- Psalm 121 -- Working to See Jesus in every part of life

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
    From where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
    who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot be moved;
    he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The LORD is your keeper;
    the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

7 The LORD will keep you from all evil;
    he will keep your life.
8 The LORD will keep
    your going out and your coming in
    from this time forth and forevermore.
Psalm 121 ESV

Today the character trait focus is working the program. The negative side of this is cheating the program. It doesn’t matter what your program is, for example fighting alcoholism, or gluttony, drug or sex addiction, the program for every Christian is journeying toward the New Jerusalem, anticipating the time when you will live in the presence of God with no barrier, nor sin to hinder such blessed fellowship. As Christians reading Psalm 121 you have a clear sense of the hardships that affect the believer on his journey toward God.

There will be all kinds of hardships in your Christian walk. The hills in the times of the Psalms were the places where false places of worship were set up. They’d woo the unprepared pilgrim from his goal of going to Jerusalem. Today billboards and internet ads on social media pages are new hills. They advertise cars and sex, things, and whip up greed which will cause the unprepared faithful believer to turn aside from working the program. There is the enticing suggestion one could sin in private ~ as if God could not see you! Do not be convinced by this lie!

Evil abounds. It is in the believer's own heart and in the plans of the devil to waylay the followers of Christ from their goal of suffering for Jesus. Such suffering for Jesus means putting to death lusts and desires, in favour of staying true to Him. The world is seductively inviting the Christian to return to the warm embrace of sin, even as it lies about the benefits of such sins and ignores the devastating consequences which inevitably follow.

But to deviate from the truth for the sake
of some prospect of hope of our own
can never be wise, however slight that
deviation may be.
It is not our judgment of the situation
which can show what is wise,
but only the truth of the Word of God.
Here alone lies the promise of God’s
faithfulness and help.
It will always be true that the wisest
course for the disciple is always to abide
solely by the Word of God in all simplicity.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Father in heaven, keep my feet from falling and my heart from wandering to the hills instead of going straight toward You. Father of every good gift, send Your Spirit so that my head and secret heart will be committed to going where Christ has gone in fullest obedience to You. By the Spirit’s revelation in the Word make me aware of my every sinful inclination so that I will urgently keep walking in Your rich love and constantly yearn for Your abundant mercy. Let the siren song of the world be to me as nails scratching on a chalkboard so that my ears will be tuned only to Your Spirit’s quiet promptings which flow from the Scripture’s page. Thank You, Faithful God, for Your abundant love which never ends and Your persistent goodness given in the Spirit Who will draw the believer back to Jesus, the King of Glory and the Only Mediator between God and man. Amen.

https://youtu.be/EqWYSyDZYIg

Song selection: “Look to Jesus” Phil Wickham

Copyright © 2022 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

November 10, 2022 -- Psalm 9:10 -- Trust that crushes worry

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.
Psalm 9:10 ESV

Trust is the character trait in focus for today. Notice the context wherein the word trust is placed. Those who know the Name of the LORD willingly put their trust in Him. The point is this: to know the Name of the LORD is to know His reputation, His eternal qualities, His divinity and His attributes. He is good. He is faithful. He is just. He is the Father Who knows how to give good gifts to His children. In fact, the more one studies the Bible and studies the character of God, His Name, the more such a Christian will trust Him.

Trust in God is not shaken by circumstances. Helen Roseveare (1925-2016), a medical missionary to the Congo wrote:
     One word became unbelievably clear, and that word was privilege.
     He didn’t take away pain or cruelty or humiliation. No! It was all there,
     but now it was altogether different. It was with him, for him, in him.
     He was actually offering me the inestimable privilege of sharing in
     some little way the edge of the fellowship of his suffering.
    As quoted in the article “Heroes of Faith” Pioneers magazine, Issue 26, page 11

Worry is the negative character trait which raises its ugly head when trust is absent. Worry is questioning and doubting, it nervously looks at every circumstance and becomes increasingly afraid to act. Worry is the pebble that gathers speed going downhill until an avalanche is formed. The very first instance of fear and worry found in the Bible is Genesis 3:10, after Adam and Eve had eaten of the Fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the very thing God forbade them from doing. They were filled with fear, and worry. It was appropriate, that is fear of the LORD. However, sin makes people afraid and anxious and worried of people, circumstances and at events, rather than appropriately directing a holy fear toward the LORD. Such fear directed to the LORD leads to obedient trust in God and the strength to do as He commands, even if the whole world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo you. Whereas worry just leaves one as helpless jelly quivering on the floor.

Trust is the very place where worry has been prayed into submission. Trust is the confidence in God that His Spirit will be greater than the anxiety and agitation which rises up in the believer. Jesus Christ Himself faced the greatest torment and hardest trial ever given to any human when He wrestled in prayer with God in the Garden of Gethsemane. Yet He rose from that time of wrestling in prayer with His Father and was confirmed in His perfect trust.

Father in heaven, holy and great is Your Name. By the powerful presence of Your Spirit in the life of believers, help us to grow in our knowledge of Who You Are and so daily increase our confident trust in You. As such trusting knowledge fills our senses because the radiance of Jesus Christ, in His great Name enable us to go and serve You without anxiety over our circumstances, nor uselessly worried about any other thing. Living for Jesus in the power of the Spirit truly is inestimable privilege. In our hearts, in our homes and in this world, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be gloried in Your us, Your people. Amen.

https://youtu.be/h-T7UbxF85g

Copyright © 2022 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

November 9, 2022 -- John 8:31-32 -- Transparency: a key to true freedom

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in Him, “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:31-32 ESV

Today’s character trait is transparency. The positive side of this trait is being open to correction, ready to be taught by Spirit Who uses the Word, sermons and fellow Christians to help you stay on the path of right living. Transparency is hard work. A week ago I laughed at a friend’s statement. Let me explain. He was facing a necessary, though relatively minor, surgery. He told a few people at church. My friend reported that suddenly our local congregation was filled with doctors and nurses. Everyone had an opinion on what he should do, how to treat this condition and all the home remedies they’d tried. (This is why I laughed and at the same moment was also warned.)

The warning the is attached to transparency is humorously made by the illustration in the previous paragraph. When a Christian examines his life, looking for the truth of Jesus to set him free from self-deceit, from not taking responsibility for his ways and his choices, there is a chance there’ll be a flood of “doctors and nurses” in his circle of family or friends to diagnose exactly what is going on. Or, perversely, there may be many who see what is wrong, but none who speak to help or correct it.

When a Christian opens himself to the work of the LORD, it is critical to have two or three close friends who have a right to comment on his life. These trusted friends are given permission to comment on his life, his strengths and weaknesses, and such friends within this tight circle invite such open, helpful commentary on their own life as well. Guys are always ready to critique a hockey game, what player should have done this to make the game better, what player was slacking off and then, oi vey, don’t even get me started about the coaching. Rather than being arm-chair coaches and commentators, the real need for Christians is to be able to examine their lives, get to the root of a matter that is holding them back so that they can be fully on board and up their game in serving Jesus. Christians should not be arm-chair Christians, watching everyone else, but instead should live fully into the call of God on their lives.

Pray to God asking His Spirit to show you one or two friends who are trusted, whose walk you admire. Then ask such friends if they’d be willing to meet once a week and review strengths and weaknesses and pray together for the strengthening of their walk with God according to the principles being shared here, so far 11, with more coming each day until all 24 are shared.

Why do this? So sin is not allowed to grow unchecked. So that brothers in Christ and sisters in Christ may grow to attain the maturity of the faith which God the Father intends. (Men should hold men accountable and women hold women accountable. This is intimate work and can blur lines of friendship; be careful on this!) So that Christians are not just giving lip service to their beliefs but are striving to implement the full blessings which God intends for them. So that prayers will be unhindered, unconfessed sins hinder prayer.

Who is like You, O God of full mercy and kindness?! You have sent Jesus to rescue Your people from their sins. You have given the Holy Spirit so that sinners can repent, be set free from the chains of sin and patterns of evil behaviour and so grow in holy obedience and rapturous joy in living for You. Triune God, we confess it is altogether too easy to get caught up in the thickets of this world's busy-ness and entangled in life's demands with the result that the first and early elation of serving You can become stale or routine. Faithful Father, may Your Spirit keep believers in the Word of God and so abide in Jesus Christ, in Whom there is true freedom and life-everlasting. Amen.

https://youtu.be/60T4c3MPrXE

Copyright © 2022 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

November 8, 2022 -- Colossians 3:1-4 -- Christians reclaiming Positive Thinking

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Colossians 3:1-4 ESV

Positive thinking is our character trait focus for today. It seems like a secular conference topic, rather than a biblical virtue or character trait. This positive thinking is founded on the assurance that Jesus Christ is at the Father’s right hand. He is in the place of power. He is the hope and confidence of all who believe in Him. He has your life hidden from the enemy’s full power and He protects you right up to the Day of Salvation. All the circumstances of your life are producing for you a weight of glory. Positive thinking reaffirms the confident hope that God is not abandoning you when things go wrong.

This is a challenging point for Christians, the realization that Christians do suffer. The devil will always rail against you, it is his job. He hates God, can’t storm heaven and give the LORD of Glory a black eye, so he blackens the eyes of Christians. Such assaults of the enemy are under the Sovereign control of the Living God Who uses everything so that believers will grow, mature, and run to Jesus not trusting in their own strength or abilities. The world cannot love Jesus. The world and all her powers and people are under the influence of the prince of the air—the devil. Our own flesh remembers the patterns of sin and would easily return. Positive thinking rises above all the storms and whirlwinds and focuses on Jesus.

Negative thinking falls into discouragement. Negative thinking is gloomy and resents the good that others seem to have even as the LORD, our Father Who is the Source of All Good, is working to bring about His holy purposes. Negative thinking does not lift the eyes to heaven in faith, where one can see Jesus seated in power, praying for His saints and gathering His Church. As the saying goes “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones” (Proverbs 17:22 ESV). Negative thinking that isn’t stopped shrivels up your hope, your outlook and goes right into the core of who you are and robs you of all strength.

Positive thinking is cultivated. Choose each day, in the strength of the Spirit, to begin your day looking to Jesus, the Author and Perfector of your faith. Pray to the Father on the basis of Jesus’ accomplished work. The very trials and struggles you undergo are meant to drive you to Jesus. The devil intends evil, and God Who is Sovereign over all things thwarts the devils plans by using those very things to bring you to Himself so He can apply His salvation in ever greater measure.

Father in heaven, great is Your Name and awesome are all Your works. Thank You for the fact that You do all things well, in their perfect place and time, so that Your people will cry out to You, finding whenever they do cry out, strength at the throne of grace, where Jesus is seated in splendour. Give Your children the humble wisdom to know all the circumstances of our lives are meant to bring them to the place of prayer--thanking You for every good gift, crying out to You in every trial, and trusting that every moment of life is under Your watchful care. Spirit of God, use every circumstance of life to cultivate the promised fruit so that joy will increase in fuller measure and all of life will result in ever increasing profound confidence in God's oversight. Amen.

https://youtu.be/qyUPz6_TciY

Copyright © 2022 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

November 7, 2022 -- Galatians 5:22-24 -- The hard work of gentleness

People deeply loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Galatians 5:22-24 ESV

Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowances for each other’s faults because of your love.
Ephesians 4:2 NLT

The character trait for today’s inspection is gentleness. There is a word one rarely hears today, but it is such a powerful term to describe a true man and that word is gentleman. (Of course, the corresponding term gentlewoman is appropriate for a Christian woman.) The negative character quality against gentleness is rudeness. It is easy to see rudeness, to know what it is, so it does not need space to be explained or exposed. Much harder to identify and define is gentleness.

A gentleman is one who has the strength or the money or the power to truly force another to do his will, but instead, is one who conducts himself with humility and honour. A true gentle-man is one who realizes God is the One Who has all power and all means to change a non-believer to a believer, or to change a stubborn and rebellious Christian from back-sliding to repentance, so this Christian gentleman represents the Gospel with all patience and persistent kindness. The gentleman presents Christ with his words and his actions and watchfully waits to see the work of God unfold in the life of another person.

A gentleman will, at all times, set boundaries on his interaction with bad behavior. For example, a gentleman knows when to help a man out, and when to leave a man in his belligerent sin. A gentleman will persistently call out sin but do so in a way that is not overbearing or rude. A gentleman will absent himself from those who willfully persist in sin and refuse all bounds. In the times of no contact, a gentleman is praying to God for change and prepared to receive back the wanderer and do so not gloating or maliciously, but with all joy for the work of Jesus wrought in the heart by the Spirit’s power.

Gentleness is the fruit of the Spirit. It is more and more in evidence when a man submits his will and his life in full obedience to the King of Glory. A man cleansed by the blood of Jesus will be constantly held by the Spirit Who keeps such a man grafted into Jesus Christ. It is the lifework of Jesus and His blessings which the Spirit seals to the gentleman. Such a man is not a sucker. He is not an easy mark. He has the faith and the self-discipline to respond to any situation with the appropriate meekness and force. The fruit of the Spirit takes time to appear and years to fully ripen and mature in the life of a believer.

Father in heaven, by the grace given in Jesus, I am Your freedman and it is my desire to serve You. You have given me such freedom and it is my desire to always obey You, but I confess my liberty often would lead me astray. May Your Spirit draw me nearer to Jesus and closer to Your will and Your ways, O Father of all Mercies. Spirit of gentleness, make me like Jesus—loving and gentle. Give me Jesus’ benevolent temper and His generous goodness as I interact with others. Triune God, humble me and keep me gentle, always ready to give You honour and glory even as You continually, richly love me and hold me close to Yourself. Amen.

An edited revision of “Christian Love” from Valley of Vision.

https://youtu.be/dSL2Xh8WBwA

Copyright © 2022 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

November 5, 2022 -- Proverbs 25:28 and 18:9 -- Self-motivation

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

A man without self-control
   is like a city broken into and left with no walls.
Proverbs 25:28 ESV

A lazy person is as bad as someone who destroys things.
Proverbs 18:9 NLT

The character trait in focus for today is self-motivation. The opposite is laziness. A man who is self-motivated takes care of his life. His wife and children are well-cared for. His property is neat and cleaned up. His work is organized. His free time is managed and does not exceed all bounds. A man who is self-motivated recognizes all he has is a gift from the LORD and as such requires good management and stewardship. He doesn't need to be prompted and constantly reminded to do the work that is required of him.

Look at the first proverb—self motivation is a man who has self-control. He guards his city against the enemy. He protects the gates. He maintains the walls so that the enemy cannot breach them. When self-motivation is gone, the enemy walks in. The walls are torn down. The ruin is great and the work to rebuild is costly indeed.

Laziness is something that most are familiar with. There is a meme that has been circulating, it makes one laugh and then think. It goes like this: “Procrastinators got it good. They have plans for tomorrow and nothing to do today.” The problem is tomorrow is never arriving. The next day becomes today, and plans are endlessly put off until there is complete ruin and destruction.

How great is the LORD God Almighty. He gives pleasure in work. He makes it a delight to complete tasks and to use one’s gifts and talents. Self-motivation is like exercising. You don’t exercise and you don’t feel like it. The less you exercise, the less likely you are to start. However, if you push against the inertia, then, amazingly, some exercise prompts more willingness and more desire to exercise. When one pushes through the inertia and is motivated to live life fully for Jesus, this truly does result in greater desire to live more fully for Him. The Spirit of God adds the blessing of God to the one who is serving and spreads such blessings to many all around.

LORD OF THE CLOUD AND FIRE,
I am a stranger, with a stranger's indifference;
   My hand holds a pilgrim's staff,
   My march is Zionward,
   My eyes are toward the coming of the Lord,
   My heart is in thy hands without reserve.
Thou hast created it,
   redeemed it,
   renewed it,
   captured it,
   conquered it.
Keep from it every opposing foe,
   crush in it every rebel lust,
   mortify every treacherous passion,
   annihilate every earthborn desire.
All faculties of my being vibrate to thy touch;
I love thee with soul, mind, body and strength,
   might, spirit, affection, will,
   desire, intellect, understanding.
Thou art the very perfection of all perfections;
 All intellect is derived from thee;
My scanty rivulets flow from thy unfathomable fountain.
Compared with thee the sun is darkness,
   all beauty deformity,
   all wisdom folly,
   the best good faulty.
Thou art worthy of an adoration greater than
   my dull heart can yield;
Invigorate my love that it may rise worthily
   to thee,
   tightly entwine itself round thee,
   be allured by thee.
Then shall my walk be endless praise.
"Journeying On" The Valley of Vision, page 198

https://youtu.be/ndZsEDuCVAQ

Copyright © 2022 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

November 4, 2022 -- Romans 6:1-8 -- Accepting Forgiveness

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
Romans 6:1-8 ESV

The character inspection focus today is accepting forgiveness. The passage so powerfully spells it out. In Christ Jesus we died to sin. We are a forgiven people. In Jesus you rise to newness of life. Your sins are buried. Your past is dead. Everyone who belongs to Jesus has resurrection life in them. In fact, you are not to offer the members of your body back to old patterns of sin (Romans 6:12-13 makes this clear in this context).

Let me be clear, all people deal with the consequences of their sins. The broken relationships and shattered trust. You know your own specific consequences. Whatever these are, now they are all pointed stakes driven into the ground, strung with barbed wire that is electrified defining your past so that you don't go back, or if you do, you know the world of hurt you have to climb over and the trouble to which you are returning.

One of the great self-deceptions Christians speak is this: “I can’t forgive myself. I know God has forgiven me, but I can’t forgive myself”. It is a lie from hell. It means you are carrying guilt about your past and ignoring God’s generous love. You are in effect saying to the Mighty One of Heaven, “I know You can forgive everyone else, but my sin is different from everyone else’s sin. I am unique.” There is a perverse pride in this. It is a tremendous insult to the Living God Who in His great love gave Jesus His Son for the sin of the world.

Let your guilt do its work, bad feelings driving you to your knees. Thank God for the great gift of His forgiveness. As often as you feel guilt, turn to the word of God. Read and memorize a text like this: “Yet now God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins” (Romans 3:24 NLT).

Then get up off your knees and thank God for His glorious forgiveness. Demonstrate this thankfulness in the way in which you live, speak and think.

Today's prayer is Psalm 51:1-14 ESV

Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
    blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
    and cleanse me from my sin!

3 For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
    and blameless in your judgment.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
    and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
    and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
    and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
    O God of my salvation,
    and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.

https://youtu.be/sIzupaxQlgM
 

Copyright © 2022 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

November 2, 2022 -- John 17:9-10; 20-23 -- Inexpressibly rich communion with God

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
John 17:9-10; 20-23 ESV

Communion with God versus forgetting God. Where are you at on this?

Yesterday, while driving back from a prison visit, I listened to the ever-enthusiastic John Piper. The podcast is titled: “Don’t Waste Your Life”. One mighty lesson he learned in his late teens, a lesson that has carried him through his life, is to focus on the glory of God. This fills his thoughts and imagination; this picture of God's glory fires his prayers and inspires his devotion. What an apt description for the concept of communion with God.

Look at John 17. Jesus is praying that His followers will know Him and that He will be glorified in the life and witness of His followers. In fact, generation after generation, as the people of God who know Jesus Christ bless Him and worship Him and reflect on His glory, their wonder-filled witness will be used by the Spirit to draw new believers to Jesus. Communion with God is not a dead duty, it is life itself.

Think of it. How did Jesus endure a human life of suffering? He endured more suffering than anyone else ever could. Yet, as a man, He walked in the peace of knowing His Father. He lived aware of the Father’s glory—such glory that lifts one from considering his own circumstances and causes him to delight in God alone. The Scriptures, well-known to Jesus (perhaps even having memorized the Old Testament), were the fuel that increased His devotion to His Father. Jesus refuted the devil by the Scriptures. Jesus withstood attacks by religious leaders, drawing from the Scriptures, which were for Him the wells of life that refreshed His soul no matter His circumstances. It is a life of glory. Though circumstances were dire, His vision and thoughts were filled with vision and the imaginings of the glory of His Father. His purpose was that others who would come to know the Father through His life, death and resurrection and intercession, would also spend their lives in the intimacy of exploring and knowing ever-more-completely the glory of the Father.

This is communion with God. It cannot be boring. It is the purpose for which the Triune God has created humanity—that they would know His glory in order to know the fullest joy possible. We fail. Often. Regularly. Deeply. Yet, we have this mighty and beautiful goal before us: the vision of the glory of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. What privilege is given every day to commune with Him!

God our Father, fill Your people with the knowledge of Your Glory--Jesus Christ--Who is radiancy divine! God our Father, fill Your people with the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit Who takes the richness of the Word and fuels in believers a profound and holy understanding of Your glory and beauty, Your wisdom and majesty, such that hearts and minds will continually yearn to know the Almighty with ever-increasing clarity and worship-filled wonder. Forgive us for the times when Bible reading and prayer times were merely an item on the checklist of the day, rather than the undergirding inspiration to carry the believer through-out the day. Our Father in heaven, hallowed, glorified, be Your Name. Amen.

https://youtu.be/S6OgZCCoXWc

Copyright © 2022 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.