Because of What He’s Done

 Romans 12:1

 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 

Romans 12:1 is a very popular scripture that we’ve all heard many times; however, it has really ministered to me this week.  You see, I’ve spent the last week really studying just two chapters in the Bible, Romans 10 and 11.  There were some things as I was reading through them that I didn’t understand so I had to spend extra time trying to discern God’s meaning.  There were a couple of things that spoke to me in them that I might share later; however, as I finished my detailed studying of the chapters and moved on to chapter 12, I immediately read this familiar verse above.

Notice that the scripture starts with “therefore”.  I’ve read that chapter 12 is a turning point in Paul’s letter.  In the first eleven chapters, he spends a lot of time telling about who we are as sinners, and what Jesus has done for us by setting us free of the law of sin and death, and how if we declare with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and confess with our hearts that God raised him from the dead that we will be saved, and that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

The “therefore” in chapter 12 though also fits in so well following chapter 11.  In Romans 11, Paul spends a lot of time explaining how salvation has now come to the Gentiles…all my fellow Gentiles say, “Praise God!”  Because of the kindness and mercy of God, He has grafted us in as a branch being grafted in to be attached to the root and other branches.

Chapter 11 ends with the following verses 33-36:

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable his judgments,

and his paths beyond tracing out!

“Who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has been his counselor?”

“Who has ever given to God,

that God should repay them?”

For from him and through him and for him are all things.

To him be the glory forever! Amen.

You see, God did not choose to spare us and give us eternal life because we had earned it and He now owed us…No! By no means!  (as the apostle Paul would say!)  Because of His love and mercy, He has grafted us in.  Now re-read the next verse.  “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”

Because of who God is and what He has done, it is my pleasure to offer my entire being and my entire life as a living sacrifice.

-RB

1 John 4:19 

We love because he first loved us.

Jesus!

Acts 4:12

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

(ESV)

          According to a recent news blurb from the AFA (American Family Association), the Christian News Wire has just announced that five Virginia state police chaplains have lost their jobs because they were censored from praying publicly “in Jesus’ name.”

“Virginia state police Col. W. Steven Flaherty created and then enforced a strict “non-sectarian” prayer policy at all public gatherings.  The policy forbids chaplains from praying “in Jesus’ name.” The policy was adopted to keep from offending anyone.  The five chaplains who refused to deny Jesus resigned rather than violate their conscience by watering down their prayers.”

What is it about that name?  Nobody has a problem with people saying the word God in the public sphere, but you mention the name of Jesus, and the whole world throws a fit.  Why does the world, the spiritual system that is opposed to the things of God, hate the name of Jesus?  It is quite simple.  That is the name that makes all the difference in a person’s eternity!  Take a few minutes and read Acts chapter 4.  You will find that the name mentioned in Acts 4:12 is clearly the name of Jesus!  Pray and ask God to give you the resolve in your heart to never be ashamed of the name that is above all names: JESUS!

-BP

John 14:6

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

(ESV)

Stop Gazing, and Start Doing

Acts 1:9-11 

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.  “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

After the ascension of Christ, the disciples stood there gazing into the sky and we would have too. I mean, come on, the man disappears into the sky; yeah I am standing there no doubt. Then two men said to stop standing there gazing upwards, Jesus is gonna come back the way he left.

We have become gazers. “We” meaning the church in whole. We gaze at lost people going to hell. We gaze at our churches going into a state of slumber. We gaze at our families as they slowly fade into a distant picture of the Biblical model.

We need to stop gazing and start fishing and picking and begging and petitioning and beating the hedges. The fields are white with harvest.  We need to start leading. We need to get out of comfort zones. Churches shut down every week because the members got old and died and no one was there to take their places. Why? I don’t know!  Maybe they were just a gazing and a praising and having covered dish so much they forgot to tell the lost people that Jesus saves!!!!   Or maybe they refused to change their church; I don’t know. What I do know is that we are called for so much more than just our Sunday meetings.

We must all start on a personal level. Tell someone about Jesus. Tell them that he died for them. Tell them that God loves them and that He wants to save them.

Personally, I don’t do it enough, I know this, and God has showed me this. Y’all pray that I will tell others about Jesus wherever I go.

I pray for revival in our people.  Let’s pray that we would all get right and get our heads out of the sky. The call is urgent; Jesus may come back before you finish reading this DPOD.

I pray that the gospel takes over our lives.

-DR

Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All

Hebrews 10:1-18

10 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,

“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;

6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.

7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”

8 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. 10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,

16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws on their hearts,
    and write them on their minds,”

17 then he adds,“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”

18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

This past week as I was sitting in the Department of Driver Services a rush of emotions came over me.  Now I am sure you are thinking I got angry, aggravated, annoyed or frustrated.  While I did at some point feel these emotions it was another emotion that flooded over me – a feeling of thankfulness.

How could thankfulness come to mind while I sat in a chair for over 2 hours to renew my wife’s driver’s license?  As I sat, I began to consider and think about the sacrifice Jesus made on my behalf.  I think I will never get over the fact that Jesus Christ is my Savior.

For hundreds, even thousands, of years men have tried to devise ways to get to all-mighty God.  They have tried to work their way into God’s favor; tried to be a good enough person to deserve God’s forgiveness.  They have performed empty religious acts to prove they are worthy of God’s acceptance – all in a feeble effort to be just and righteous before God.

But Jesus once and for all made a way for every person, regardless of their past, to be made right before God.  We no longer must work for or worry about how our sins are forgiven.  They are forgiven through the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross.

So no matter what you are going through today – no matter if you want to pull your hair out waiting to renew your driver’s license – be thankful because Jesus Christ is the perfect sacrifice.  And through His blood our sins are forgiven and we can enjoy a relationship with God.

DBA

John 3:16-17

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Believing God’s Love

And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in Him.  (1 John 4:16)

The greatest truth in all of Scripture is this: God is love. Understanding this in its full dimensions will set you free to enjoy all that is yours as a Christian. But you must accept that God loves you. If you grew up experiencing unconditional love in your family, this may not be difficult for you. However, if your early years were void of love, this truth may be hard to accept. God loves you, not because you deserve His love, but because His nature is love. The only way He will ever relate to you is in love._His love for you gives you an inherent worth that nothing can diminish.

If you cannot accept the truth that God loves you, you will be limited in how you can relate to Him. When He disciplines you, you will not take it as an expression of His love. Rather, you may resent Him. When God says no to a request that is less than His best for you, you will conclude that He doesn’t care about you. Without a clear understanding and acceptance of God’s love for you, you will be disoriented to Him and to what He wants to do in your life. If you will accept God’s love, however, you will be able to return love to God as well as to others.

Are you experiencing the profound sense of joy and security that comes from knowing you are dearly loved by God? Being assured of God’s love for you sets you free to enjoy the numerous expressions of love He showers upon you each day.

-BMI devotion

We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

When in Philippines…

Acts 17:16-17

 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.  So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.

“Once again our family is hosting our friend Pastor Rodolfo Mojica from the Philippines. We first met the Pastor in 1997. A Filipino doctor friend brought him to our church and left him.

We formed a friendship that has been going on now for the past 16 years. In this time period, my family has traveled to the Philippines, and spent a couple of weeks doing mission work. I have also sent staff members and others there to do mission work. While there, I preached in churches, camps, and to the Manila Police Officers. My family witnessed the Filipino poverty, but yet also the genuine kind spirit of their people.

Often times, I have stated that driving in New York City and Atlanta had to be the worst two places to drive or ride. After going to the Philippines, I changed my mind. I saw my life flash before my eyes many times, including riding down the side walk with my driver beeping the horn and yelling out, “Man of God Coming Through!”

At every intersection the people beep their horns, and this can be quite annoying to me. Pastor Mojica came here one time and he borrowed our doctor friend’s Mercedes for a trip to Walmart. He had only been gone for a few moments and I looked up and he was pulling back in our driveway. He got out of the car and was clearly rattled. I asked him what was going on.

He said that he came to a traffic signal and was behind another automobile and he began to beep his horn. Suddenly the car stopped, a man got out and started cursing and holding his finger up in the air at him! I told him, my friend, you have just experienced American road rage. Do not blow your horn!!”

-DS

Just as Pastor Mojica has to adjust the way that he acts in certain ways in America and likewise for Americans in the Philippines, so we must be as missionaries while witnessing to people around us.  It is ok to change our approaches and attitudes to different types of people as the Holy Spirit leads in order to reach them at their level…without compromising on the gospel and the truth!

In Acts 17 when Paul was preaching to Athens, he uses the idols and the inscription of the “Unknown God” (things that people were familiar with) to share the gospel to the “religious” group there.  The Apostle John does the same thing in Revelation while addressing the seven churches separately using local references and angles.  Let’s go out today, and not live fake lives, but lives that promote Jesus in a way that reaches as many lost souls as we can with the truth.  Let’s live our lives for the sake of the gospel.

1 Corinthians 9:19-23

 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.  To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.  To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.  To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.  I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

 

Who Shall Bring Me Down?

The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? (Obad. 1:3).

Sometimes it is easy to overlook the shorter Books of the Bible. Obadiah, with only one chapter, is the shortest Book in the Old Testament. It is considered a book of one of the minor Prophets. However, just because the book is short and “minor” does not mean it should be discredited.

Many times in the study of the Word of God we find that Books containing long drawn out prophecy take extra time and study to understand. If this is the case, how much could Obadiah say in just one chapter? What great lessons could be passed to us from this prophet in such a short span of time?

The answer might surprise you. In this verse alone, there is a very important lesson to be learned. It is a lesson that is taught many times throughout the Word of God. That lesson is the danger of the emotion of pride.

Apparently Edom had experienced some past successes in dealing with their enemies. But, just as many still do, they failed to recognize that it was their Creator God who enabled and brought about the events and conditions that turned out as successes. Obadiah was letting Edom know that they were wrong to take the credit that belonged only to God. He was warning them of their imminent destruction because of their pride and their evil ways.

Just like with many other vices, pride becomes a sinful emotion when we have it in excess. As was stated, the Word of God has much to say on pride. Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall (Prov. 16:18).

In today’s verse, Obadiah is speaking of the pride of the nation of Edom. Their national pride was not the same as patriotism. Their pride had become so excessive that they felt there was nothing in the world that could bring them down. They felt that their wisdom and strength was undefeatable. They gave no credit to God, and there was no fear of Him left within them. We need to always have a reverent fear of the Lord. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12).

As individuals, we can fall into this same trap. We can become so prideful in our careers, family lives, and even our recreational time that we get to a place where we feel that nothing can stop us, regardless of who or what it is. This includes the Lord. This is not a good position to be in. Most people who get there don’t realize it until they are brought back down to earth. Our pride blinds us to the truth of whom we have allowed ourselves to become.

We must control our level of pride. We need to follow the example that was set for us by the Lord Jesus. He taught several lessons on humility, and He practiced it in His day to day life. It pays to remember that pride can be a very dangerous sin.

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world (I John 2:16).

-sbc.net devotion

Thought for Today:

God always does what He promises to do. He expects us to do the same.

Pitiful Sheep

John 10:11-14

 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.  The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.  “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—

I am not an artistic person…whatsoever.  Because of this, I always try to avoid activities that involve art or require some type of creativeness.  It is this reason why I did not take Spanish in high school.  The Spanish teacher at my school, that my sister had, required them to do a lot of art projects in learning the foreign language.  I do regret now that decision though because I don’t ever use French or Japanese.

Despite my lack of enthusiasm, I decided to make a craft activity for the Jr. High girls for today.  I know that some of the girls in the class like to do things like that and the visual aids help them remember the lesson.  Today, we made bobble head sheep.  Some of the sheep that were made looked really good.  Each one looked a little different as some had fat cotton balls attached and looked really puffy and fat and some people cut the cotton balls so that the sheep were skinny.  They all looked a whole lot better than mine.  I had made one in advance and had it sitting on the desk for all of the girls to use it as a model to show how to make theirs.  However, mine looked really pitiful.  Needless to say, some of the girls were making fun of my sad sheep and they even asked why it was missing one ear.

Even though the deformed sheep was not planned, it really did go well with the lesson.  The point was of how helpless sheep are without their shepherd.  We talked about how sheep sometimes get themselves tangled up in brambles because they aren’t looking where they are going.  The thick fleece causes them to get even more stuck as they try to get free and they have to rely on the shepherd to come and cut them free.

Sometimes sheep fall over and can’t get themselves up.  The shepherd has to come and help them up.  Because of not watching where they are going, sheep sometimes wander off and get lost.  The shepherd has to go out and look for them.

Finally, sheep can’t protect themselves very well because they don’t have sharp claws or teeth and they don’t run very fast.  The shepherd has to protect his sheep from dangerous animals.

Today’s closing prayer:

“Jesus, thank you for being our good shepherd.  Thank you for protecting us, and guiding us, and dying on the cross so that we might be saved.  Forgive us when we don’t always follow you.  Keep us on the right paths and show us the way you would like us to go.  Amen.”

-RB

John 10:7-10 

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.  All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.  I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Stained

James 1:27

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

(ESV)

          I guess I am going to have to throw them away!  My father-in-law had given me a nice pair of khaki cargo pants.  It was one of my favorite pairs of pants.  You know that kind of material that is extra soft.  I was ironing them one Sunday morning a few weeks ago when there it was; right there on the last spot I had to iron… I big ink stain!

I have tried and tried to get that stain out over the past several weeks, but it will not come out.  One thing is for sure, I am not going to wear clothes with a big stain on them!  I have thrown away more clothes for this one reason than any other: STAINED.

What about our spiritual lives?  What if we were as concerned about our spiritual lives being clean before the world as we are about our khaki pants?  Just as I don’t ignore the stains that show up as I iron my Sunday clothes, I should not ignore the stains that show up as I allow the Holy Spirit to search my life.  Praise the Lord that through repentance and the cleansing power of the blood of Christ, He is able to make us clean!

-BP

Psalm 139:23-24

Search me, O God, and know my heart:

Try me, and know my thoughts;

And see if there be any wicked way in me,

And lead me in the way everlasting.

(ASV)

Psalm 51:7

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

(ESV)

A Pure Heart

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:  “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?”  (Isaiah 6:8)

It takes a pure heart to see God (Matt. 5:8). You can attend church services, read your Bible, and pray, but if sin fills your heart, you will not see God. You will know when you have encountered God because your life will no longer be the same.

Isaiah was concerned with the death of King Uzziah, the able king of Judah, but was disoriented to his heavenly King. Then something happened that forever changed Isaiah’s life. God, in all His awesome majesty, appeared to him in the temple, surrounded by heavenly creatures. Instantly, God’s presence made Isaiah aware of his sinfulness. One of the seraphim came to him with a burning coal and cleansed Isaiah of his sin. Immediately, Isaiah began to hear things he had never heard before. Now, he was aware of a conversation in heaven concerning who might be worthy to be God’s messenger to the people. This prompted Isaiah’s eager response: “Here am I! Send me.” Now that God had cleansed Isaiah, he was aware of heavenly concerns and prepared to offer himself in God’s service. Whereas Isaiah had been preoccupied with earthly matters, now his only concern was the activity of God.

If you have become estranged from God and His activity, you need to experience His cleansing. Sanctification prepares you to see and hear God. It enables you to serve Him. Only God can purify your heart. Allow Him to remove any impurities that hinder your relationship with Him, and then your service to Him will have meaning as you offer Him your consecrated life.

-BMI devotion