Tag Archives: hope

Be Thankful, November 23, 2020

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|

Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

Well, here in the United States, it’s almost Thanksgiving again. It’s probably a good time to stop and think about that psalm that’s most appropriate for this time of year. And that’s psalms 100. it goes like this:

Sing to the Lord, all the world!

Worship the Lord with joy;

come before him with happy songs!

Acknowledge that the Lord is God.

He made us, and we belong to him;

we are his people, we are his flock.

Enter the Temple gates with Thanksgiving;

go into its courts with praise.

Give thanks to him and praise him.

The Lord is good;

his love is eternal

and his faithfulness lasts forever. (Psalms 100 GNT)

Thanksgiving preparations take a lot. perhaps we think about sending out invitations to family and friends. we have to make that list of what we’re going to put on the table; the beverages that we’re going to have, the appetizers that we’re going to bring out before the meal begins or as the meal starts, maybe the meat or maybe two. is it going to be Turkey or ham or both? maybe some kind of fish, who knows? Vegetables. all the different desserts. my favorite is pecan pie. my wife’s is pumpkin pie with lots of whipped cream.

perhaps we have games in store. is it going to be football for the guys? is it going to be some kind of outdoor game for the kids? or do we have something lined up indoors if the weather is bad? and then we have to get the house ready. there’s cleaning to do. maybe there’s extra chairs we have to obtain. or maybe extra tables. What about the place settings? or are we going to use good China or everyday plates? do we have enough?

Well, all of those preparations we have to take care of, but this year it’s a little, isn’t it? there’s going to be smaller numbers, perhaps. maybe not the big crowds that we’re used to in the past because of the covid pandemic. in fact, some states say that we can’t even have more than ten gathered for Thanksgiving even if it’s in our families. some might be missing from that Thanksgiving table whether they are ill or quarantine because of the covid symptoms. or maybe some have passed away, and we’re missing them because of that reason.

or maybe the Thanksgiving preparations will be short this year because of unemployment, food shortages, and essentials that just aren’t there. it’s going to be different this year that’s for sure. and this year it’s different because of the turmoil. I don’t know whether it’s the politics that has caused all of it. certainly, that’s part of it. we don’t yet know whether we have a president. no one’s been declared yet, not until the electorate votes in January. not until all the lawsuits are over. not until all the craziness that’s going on has ended, will we really know what’s happened.

and the turmoil with the pandemic. is this the 2nd way the 3rd wave? is there another one coming? certainly, we are facing some dire times as our health care workers are really getting fatigued? and we’re all getting exhausted with this separation anxiety? and what about our economy? as we have more lockdowns and more unemployment, our businesses just begin to crumble because of the lack of people going into our stores. and the turmoil that just continues to climb day after day.

and our social life, the turmoil that we see there. the separation just continues to eat at us a little at a time day after day. when we can’t have the contact that we had in the past. we are social creatures. when we can’t meet together, when we can’t have that physical contact, when we can’t touch and meet and be face to face with people that we love, with friends that we’re usually in contact with daily, it affects us. and all of that turmoil together creates anxiety. it creates problems for us.

many people will ask, so what do we have to be thankful for? well, there is hope for Christians. we have the same hopes that we’ve always had. we have hope in Christ. we have hope for a home in the future. we know that this is not our home. our citizenship is in the Kingdom of God. our hope is in something more than this place.

it’s not a hope for just the beginning of a new year. it’s not just hoping for a fresh start as 2021 starts and maybe a new beginning that a new set of politicians might bring to us. it’s not hope for the government to do something that will bring change. or that new politicians or a new regime will finally fix everything. that won’t happen. it’s not hope that there will be an end of turmoil because the White House might flip. it’s not hope that that might end the racial tension or that the economy will suddenly spring up.

Our hope is in Christ. we hope that he will change our hearts. and he does change our hearts. He gives us peace that only Christians can understand once they’ve been forgiven of their sins. once he comes and indwells us. that’s when we understand what this is all about. what this Christian life is all about. can I explain it? can I understand how it happens? No. except that I understand that Jesus Christ forgives me, and it fills me with His peace and comfort and a joy that despite all that’s going on, I can still know that there’s hope for tomorrow.

so I can worship him. I know about the present. I know that God Reigns. I know that God is still in charge despite all the different things that are going on around me. I know that he protects his children. do we have suffering in this world? Yes, but this isn’t what it’s all about. it’s life after life that creates our hope. it’s what happens after this place that makes all the difference.

that’s why the apostles could be bold in their preaching. they could stand before the Sanhedrin. they could stand before Roman soldiers. they could give their lives because they knew that this wasn’t all there was. they were different from the world because of what they knew about the present. they knew that this wasn’t all there was.

we can worship because we know the end. we know that there will be a renewed heaven. there will be a renewed earth. creation will be renewed and made perfect again. we also know that in the end, they’ll be a judgment and what we do here will be judged by the one who judges perfectly. it won’t be our earthly judges that can be bribed or swayed by politics or caused to give different sentences or different punishments and rewards based on who they know or the wealth of the one they are facing. but will be judged by the one who knows our heart. the one who knows all about us. the one who created us and all there is. his judgment, his justice will be perfect.

we know the end. we know the present. we know the Lord. we know that he alone is worthy. he is our Shepherd. he is our savior. he’s the sustainer of all there is. he’s the creator. God alone is worthy of our praise and our worship. he alone is the one that is worthy of worship. so we go back to that 100th psalm. and as we approach this Thanksgiving season, it’s worth listening to one more time.

Sing to the Lord, all the world!

Worship the Lord with joy;

come before him with happy songs!

Acknowledge that the Lord is God.

He made us, and we belong to him;

we are his people, we are his flock.

Enter the Temple gates with Thanksgiving;

go into its courts with praise.

Give thanks to him and praise him.

The Lord is good;

his love is eternal

and his faithfulness lasts forever. (Psalms 100 GNT)

Enjoy this Thanksgiving. Worship God. We have a lot for which to be thankful. More than anything, else we can be thankful that he is God, and we or not.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible-based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

Scriptures marked GNT are taken from the Good News Translation®: Scriptures taken from the Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) Copyright © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.

Unity is Good and Pleasant, August 17, 2020

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|

Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

The verses from Psalms in this week’s lectionary bring back some childhood memories for me. I thought they depicted a pretty disgusting scene. Here’s what the psalmist wrote in the 133^rd Psalm:

How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!

It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes.

It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the LORD ordained his blessing, life forevermore. (Psalms 133:1-3 NIV)

I don’t know about you, but I always thought pouring oil on your head sounded a little weird. But both the Old and New Testament use the act as something extraordinary. It’s the mark of kingship, the beginning of a priest’s official duty, the recognition of God’s anointing on a prophet. The pouring of oil indicated something special about a person.

You and I would probably run to the shower to try to get all that greasy stuff off us. Or at least that’s what I thought until I started traveling around the world thanks to the Army. My military duties took me to a few countries where people still use oil as a unique mark of distinction. There you saw only the rich and powerful, or religious leaders, or someone paid special tribute covered with oil infused with fragrant spices.

Reading through scripture, you find the oils used for anointing also had fragrant spices mixed with them. And in those countries, and in biblical times, I discovered why pouring oil on someone held such significance. No one used deodorant. Spices were expensive. People’s body odor can get pretty rank when soap and water are scarce; there’s no deodorant, and nothing to cover the smell.

So, the rich, those in power, special occasions, like weddings, embalming the dead, anointing kings, prophets, and priests with fragrant oils, made them smell good for at least as long as the oil stuck around. It might be greasy and make us turn our nose up at the practice here, but when you’ve visited a country with plenty of body odor, you relish the anointing oil practice and wish more would participate in it.

Well, I changed my mind about the oil pouring down a person’s hair and beard as an adult as I read these and other verses like them in the Psalms. But I haven’t changed my mind about that first verse. “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!”

Too often, relatives split apart over the most insignificant things. Infighting among siblings happens over something someone says. Or at the death of a parent fights break out over the distribution of an inheritance. But what do those things matter in the larger scheme of life? Material things disappear. The person who left the stuff behind couldn’t take it with them, and neither will anyone fighting over it. It is just stuff, after all. Only relationships last.

Little things get blown out of proportion. We refuse to apologize to each other. Years go by, and we don’t even remember what the original issue was, but we’re too proud to make a move to restore the relationship, so the divide continues—what a sad state of affairs.

I don’t think the psalmist talks about just our immediate family, though. We tend to narrow his meaning to include only those within our that small group, or maybe to our extended family of aunt and uncles and cousins. I think, though, that David extends his thoughts well beyond even that group when he talks of unity among kindred.

David thought of kindred as encompassing at least the nation of Israel, the twelve tribes that descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I believe David even thought further than that, though. David longed for peace for his nation and his sons, who would follow him on the throne. He wanted unity among all those living not just in the land he ruled, but with all those lands around him.

What a great lesson we could learn by listening to the voice of the psalmist. We experience nothing but violence around the world between tribes and nations. Now we see it in our country. Nightly, a group of radicals damage buildings and destroy businesses men and women spent lifetimes developing. City governments seem either helpless or unwilling to stop the violence in some areas.

Since the 1970s, we have seen the country’s party rhetoric divide us further and further apart. The left and right get more egregious and today refuse even to discuss what the nation needs. We no longer hear debates, only deafening screams from one side or the other followed by violent outrage ending in injury and death to innocent people.

I’m not sure what happened to us in the last 40 years. Well, yes, I do. Some will argue it’s because we took prayer out of schools. But that isn’t the problem. Some will say it’s because we compromised and started using “Holiday Season” to describe Christmas. But that isn’t the problem, either. Some will argue the problem started with some of the Supreme Court decisions on abortion and other laws Christians oppose. But even those laws are not the problem that pushed us where we are today.

I would argue it isn’t even racism or systemic racism or the Jim Crow Laws or the segregation or the Civil Rights movements or any of the things being said by either side in the protest groups today, that caused the problems we face. We are where we are today because we lost prayer in the home. We lost our Christian view. We no longer believe Jesus saves and provides the best answers to life. He says, give all you can to help others; we say, get all you can to help yourself.

How do we go about finding that unity David finds so precious? First, we need to confess our part in the relationship problem. We live in a broken world. Whether we want to believe it or not, each of us holds some responsibility for the brokenness we see around us. All of us, whatever our color or political persuasion hold prejudices we don’t even recognize in ourselves. But they exist, nonetheless. So, first, we need to let God shine his light in our hearts and confess our part of the relationship problems to him.

Second, we need to ask his forgiveness for our part in the struggle and accept that forgiveness. Will we change our old habits and thought patterns overnight? Maybe, maybe not, but with confession, true repentance, and God’s help, we can begin to change them. We can become less extreme in our views and able to see why the other side thinks the way they do. Then we can perhaps be more understanding. We don’t have to agree, but we can be more understanding. And that begins to heal broken relationships.

Third, we need to learn to listen. Both sides of an argument must stop the screaming, cool down, and determine to listen to each other to gain that understanding and come to a mutual agreement, even if it is to disagree. At least after hearing each other, both sides will know why each takes the position they make, and most often, through collegial discussion, some solutions will rise that will resolve the primary issues at hand.

While violence, screaming, refusal to dialog, uncompromising demands on either side exist, dialog and resolution cannot happen. And quite frankly, until we bring God back into our homes, little hope exists for healing in our nation or our world. Our country is not a Christian nation; neither was the Roman world in which Jesus died and commanded his disciples to spread his message of peace and hope.

Perhaps as we watch the events of the past couple of months unfold around us, it’s time to pick up the mantle Jesus gave his followers those many years ago. Perhaps it’s time we spread the message of peace and hope to those who need it most. It made a difference in the pagan Roman world 2,000 years ago. Perhaps it will make a difference today, too.

Scriptures marked NIV are taken from the NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV): Scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™. Used by permission of Zondervan

A Formula for Hope, June 15, 2020

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|

Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

We will remember 2020. Many said that about 1963, the year President Kennedy was shot. And 1967, the year we Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were assassinated. And 1990, when the world faced off against Iraq after they invaded Kuwait. And 2001, when the Twin Towers fell in New York City. But this year, wow! Coronavirus has infected two million Americans and seven million globally. More than 110,000 have died in this country, and we are approaching a half million around the world.

Then the murder hornets invaded the west coast. Shortly after, protests against racial injustice swept across the country, turning violent in too many places, causing millions of dollars in damages and the deaths of innocent people of all colors. The economists already declared a recession. Stocks almost recovered to pre-COVID heights, but only because of speculative trading if you read the tea leaves correctly. Companies that have already filed Chapter 7 and 11 bankruptcy stocks are exploding because uninformed traders think they will bounce back. They probably won’t, which means those stocks look artificially and dangerously high. Those traders are about to lose their investments when the stock market stabilizes in the next few weeks and months.

Unemployment stands almost as high as during the depression. And this phenomenon isn’t limited to the US. It reaches around the globe because of the pandemic that, except for a handful, affects every country. Suffering is everywhere. You see hopelessness in the eyes of millions. But there is an answer to the desperation that seems so pervasive in the situations that predominate this year. Despite the terrible events that keep piling one on the other, I can assure you; there is hope.

That hope isn’t found in another stimulus check, though. There isn’t enough money in the world to buy hope. You won’t find hope in legislation that brings equality to every race, we’ve tried that. It failed before and will fail again. Defunding police departments won’t stop police brutality, but it will unleash an unbridled criminal element on a defenseless citizenry. Vaccines won’t stop pandemics. Another disease will sweep through the world in a few years just as virulent as this one with devastating effect.

We can do nothing to provide hope to the world because we created the chaos that plagues us. But we can find hope. The Apostle Paul tells us how in his letter to the early followers of Jesus in the church in Rome in the first century. He writes:

Therefore, since we have been made righteous through his faithfulness,^[a] we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. ²We have access by faith into this grace in which we stand through him, and we boast in the hope of God’s glory. ³But not only that! We even take pride in our problems, because we know that trouble produces endurance, ⁴endurance produces character, and character produces hope. ⁵This hope doesn’t put us to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

⁶While we were still weak, at the right moment, Christ died for ungodly people. ⁷It isn’t often that someone will die for a righteous person, though maybe someone might dare to die for a good person. ⁸But God shows his love for us, because while we were still sinners Christ died for us. (Romans 5:1-8 CEB)

I don’t care much for the formula Paul gives us, but through the centuries, Christians prove it true. Trouble produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope. We stand firm on that hope; it doesn’t put us to shame, we know it to be true, we boast in the hope of God’s glory because the Holy Spirit poured God’s love into our hearts.

Let’s backtrack through Paul’s formula in these verses. Despite that fact that we were God’s enemies, sinners, disobedient toward him, he showed his love for us by dying for us. He took my sins and your sins to the cross so heaven and earth could join together at that spot. He died for ungodly people, sinners, us.

Why? So by accepting his forgiveness, his spirit could live in us and his love could energize our actions and our love toward others. He enables us to love those we could not love without him. The Holy Spirit pours God’s love into our hearts. We see others differently. We love with his love. His spirit enables us to live a life of love and hope for his glory.

The hope in the Christian throughout the centuries sparked incredible action. Not cathedrals and churches and edifices with stained glass windows, but hospitals, schools, orphanages, shelters for abused women and children, food and clothing pantries, and thousands of other ways men and women help the hurting. Christians run toward the hurting, not away from them.

Please remember, not everyone who says they are Christian have Jesus in their heart. That is the problem with much of Christendom today. Many know the words to say, but have never experienced his life-changing power. Despite their declaration, they are no more Christian than I am a neurosurgeon, even if I said I am. You certainly don’t want me to open your scalp any time soon.

God’s love drives Christians to act because God first loved us, forgave us, and pour his love into our hearts giving us hope for tomorrow. People recognize those loving actions as character. It’s not the money given or the legislator trying to get elected or the pharmaceutical company passing pills. It’s the man or woman standing in the breech helping the needy, getting their hands dirty, disregarding what others might think of them for doing so that defines character.

And helping those in need means getting involved in life and life is messy. It always means endurance. Life is not a sprint, but a marathon. In the church we often remark methods change, but the message never changes. It’s the same with life. Involving ourselves with others is always messy, always emotional, always painful at times, but it is the work God calls us to do if we love as he loves. Imagine if God had given up on you the first time you did something wrong. Where would you be? Can we do any less for those he puts in our path? Endure.

What do we endure? Problems. Trouble. Suffering. Life. We face all the issue of life good and a lot of bad because we, humanity, brought sin into the world and every one of us contributes to that pile. None of us are free from it. Each of us brings our little piece of selfishness to the table and until we give ourselves completely to Christ, we continue to contribute to the mess call life. Even then, our imperfections in this world will cause pain and suffering to those around us. We can’t help it. We will be misunderstood, misinterpreted, abused, maligned. But we also don’t need to complain about it. Jesus went to the cross misunderstood, misinterpreted, abused, maligned. He died for us.

We have access into God’s grace, his unmerited favor, by faith through Jesus. Because we have access to God’s grace, we have peace with God through Jesus. And because of his faithfulness we are made righteous before God. That is not a small thing.

Remember what Isaiah said when he saw God behind the cherubim seated on his throne? “Woe, I am undone, for I am a man of unclean lips.” God put his hand over Moses so he would not see his face and die. He did the same with Elijah. We cannot stand in the presence of a holy God. But because of Jesus sacrifice on the cross, we are made righteous before him and invited into his presence. How awesome a privilege that we should never take for granted.

2020 is an unforgettable year. Make it so not because of the problems highlighted in the news, but because of a renewed relationship with the King of kings. Meditate on Romans 5:1-8 and remember that “while we were still weak, at the right moment, Christ died for ungodly people. ⁷It isn’t often that someone will die for a righteous person, though maybe someone might dare to die for a good person. ⁸But God shows his love for us, because while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”

Be Light in Darkness, March 23, 2020

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|

Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

I don’t think many people around the world could have imagined what our behavior looks like today. This novel coronavirus changed us in so many ways. We can’t help but hear the news from another country or state or city that declares war against the virus by shutting down schools, stopping events where crowds gather, closing business.

We don’t know yet when the panic will stop, and calmer heads will inject themselves to stop the runs on every food and cleaning commodity in stores. In these first days, we certainly demonstrated how unchristian and selfish we are as a culture. When people suddenly hoard to ensure they have enough for themselves at the expense of others, something is wrong.

I find it interesting that any day of the week, our grocery stores are filled with food, and warehouses supply them routinely without a problem. But a little snow, a little ice, and now the pandemic and some decide no one else should have the benefit of our bounty in this country. What has happened to us?

The Garden of Eden happened. Selfishness happened. A long history of “what’s in it for me” has happened. Those mindsets will destroy us in these days if we don’t turn them around.

The next weeks and months will not be pleasant. As we saw with China, South Korea, Italy, Spain, and other countries, the virus will spread, and the number of ill and dead will rise dramatically. Once started on this scale, the genie is out of the box, so to speak. The only way to stop the spread is for everyone to stay in their home until the virus dies. We won’t do that. We will come out to at least go to the hospital, buy food, police the streets, fight fires, and do other things that force us to leave our homes and interact with others. When we do, the virus spreads. It’s the nature of pandemics. It gets too widespread in a community to stop it without extreme measures that I’m not sure Americans will stomach.

So what do we do? I read an article a few days ago that said in pandemics, Christians lose. Why? Because we live under the principle of love that Jesus taught us. It caused the Christians in the Middle Ages to go to the plague victims and care for them instead of fleeing from them. It causes Christians to run to the homeless and orphans to help in their needs instead of pushing them to the side. And the love inside us means Christians will sacrifice for the hurting and dying in these times, too.

Paul sums up the difference in his letter to the church in Ephesus with these words:

For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light- for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord.

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. (Ephesians 5:8-14a NIV)

So what are we to do as we watch the shelves empty, the media raise the panic level, the misinformation spread through social media, and all those around us crouching in fear? We remember Jesus saved us to be light in the world. Now is our time to shine for him. We can be his hands and feet when those around us need to see his love in action as never before. We can remember that God still sits on the throne, and none of what happens now shakes him or moves him from his place. He is still God and cares for us.

Can I explain why he allows these things? No. Can I understand why good people suffer through a scourge as we might experience over the next weeks and months? No. But I trust the God I serve, who has carried me through good and bad times before. He has never let me down, and whatever happens in the future, I know he will be beside us. He promised never to leave us or forsake us. He will give us peace, even in the middle of the crisis we currently face.

We have an opportunity to be God’s light to the world. Shame on us if we let it pass us by or be part of the problem with dark acts of selfishness when we know the suffering of others who stand beside us. Make it a point to check on your friends and neighbors. Be a helper and not a hindrance during these problem times. It will not get better in a week or a month. Be ready to show Jesus wherever you are so that others will see you are a Christian not by what you say, but by your love.

Scriptures marked NIV are taken from the NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV): Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™. Used by permission of Zondervan

Why are there so many martyrs? (Luke 21:18-19) January 1, 2017

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

* Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk With God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
* Have you ever thought about this question, “If Jesus promised not a single hair of your heads will be harmed. Why are there so many martyrs and so much persecution for His followers?”
* music intro
* You can follow along in a year long Bible reading program at richardagee.com where you can also subscribe to the podcast, send me comments to let me know what you think of the devotional, and listen to past devotionals. That’s richardagee.com.
* music intro
* Devotional
* In Luke 21:18–19 Jesus said: But whatever happens, not a single hair of your heads will be harmed. By enduring all of these things, you will find not loss but gain—not death but authentic life.
* Promise of no
* persecution
* beating
* imprisonment
* execution
* More – gain instead of loss; authentic life instead of death
* Never more than today
* Middle east
* Africa
* Russia
* China
* India
* Even in United States beginnings of rights removed, persecution evident, followers hated
* All the same problems as everyone else plus persecution
* What does Jesus mean? Contradiction?
* We take out of context
* Forget what comes before and after these verses
* Want to use part of a discourse to our benefit
* Like to twist promises to suit our wants
* What does Jesus mean?
* Verses in the middle of end times discourse
* Signs
* Events
* Interlude to comfort disciples
* Picture scene
* surrounded by disciples
* listening intently
* growing fear of description
* Jesus sees fear
* Calms with promise of what happens for His followers during the end times
* Put verses back into context
* We have nothing to worry about
* Still hated by the world
* Still face persecution until He comes
* Still suffer as followers
* Notice He says “if we endure all these things”, means we go through them
* After the signs have come
* earthquakes, floods, drought, famine, disease
* wars, nations fighting against each other and fighting within themselves
* Then we enjoy the promises He gives
* Jesus comes again
* Returns victoriously
* No more suffering
* No more martyrdom
* No more persecution
* No more loss
* No more death
* Today’s words from Jesus:
* Encouragement that the end brings relief from the evil of this world
* …life everlasting
* …indescribable joy
* …eternal praise and worship of the King of kings in His presence
* Disciples needed that interlude of encouragement
* We need it today, too.
* music exit
* If you want to know more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”
* music exit

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Are you ready to sow some seeds? (Matthew 13:3-9) March 22, 2016

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – 1 Samuel 6-10

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 13:3-9
Jesus: Once there was a sower who scattered seeds. One day he walked in a field scattering seeds as he went. Some seeds fell beside a road, and a flock of birds came and ate all those seeds. So the sower scattered seeds in a field, one with shallow soil and strewn with rocks. But the seeds grew quickly amid all the rocks, without rooting themselves in the shallow soil. Their roots got tangled up in all the stones. The sun scorched these seeds, and they died. And so the sower scattered seeds near a path, this one covered with thorny vines. The seeds fared no better there—the thorns choked them, and they died. And so finally the sower scattered his seeds in a patch of good earth. At home in the good earth, the seeds grew and grew. Eventually the seeds bore fruit, and the fruit grew ripe and was harvested. The harvest was immense—30, 60, 100 times what was sown.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

I guess the first question we should ask today is whether we want to talk about the sower, the seed, or the ground. If we talk about the sower in Jesus’ parable, maybe we should think about when is the best time and place to sow the seed. Jesus will explain this parable to His disciples later and we will know that the seed represents the gospel, the good news of His message. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. But if we need to think about the time and place for planting seed so that we can expect the best crop, how do we distinguish between the rocks, the vines and thorns, and the good soil? How do we know when and where to share the message to reap the most benefit from it?

The answer is sometimes we don’t, but there are a few things we know about people that give us hints about when we might best share the message of God’s good news. For instance, when someone is angry, they will not listen. When someone is angry, in a fight or flight mood, it’s like arguing with a drunk. They cannot comprehend what you are telling them. Their adrenalin level is so high, nothing will make sense to them and trying to share a message of hope to a person in the middle of an angry outburst is almost impossible. Until their mood softens, they cannot hear the message.

Equally, a person in the middle of some jubilant mood is unlikely to hear the message. It’s interesting to see how Satan blinds us our sinful, depraved, and desperate condition, but when we feel like we are on top of the world because of some good thing that has happened to us, we are not likely to listen to a message of hope that we need a savior. We think we have nothing to lose when in that state of mind. We have nothing to gain when we think we have it all. I think that’s why Jesus talked about the difficulty of the wealthy finding the narrow path that leads to eternal life. Because they think they are self-sufficient in their wealth, they do not listen to the good news of God’s hope for them.

So when can we best reach someone with the message of hope Jesus brings? At those crisis moments of life. Those times at which everything seems to have fallen apart and our world seems to be crashing in around us. We go to the doctor and hear the dreadful news about our or a loved one’s medical condition that will never get better. We discover our life-time security in our job just ended in a layoff as the company downsized. We discover the retirement account we relied out suddenly disappeared as the broker who held our securities went bankrupt. Hope seems gone.

Or we look at our life and discover just how sinful we are in the light of God’s holiness. We hear a message or a song or read a book or scripture that shines God’s light on our life and suddenly we become aware of just how depraved and empty we are without God’s forgiveness and without His Spirit guiding us in our daily activities. We reach the end of our rope and there is still a lot of cliff below us.

Those are the times we will listen to the message of God’s good news. Those are the times we will hang on to the hope He gives and become aware that all is not lost. We will grasp for His hand extended to us in grace and mercy. We will reach for Him to rescue us from the heavy load of despair that tries to crush our spirit. Those are the times we are ripe for the seed of His messengers to share with us the hope all His saints carry with them.

So do you look for people to whom you can share the message? Do you look for those choice spots where seeds planted can multiply 30, 60, 100 fold? Do you recognize those who are at the point of feeling hopeless and reach out to them with God’s message of hope for their lives? From the sower’s perspective, we are missionaries for God. His emissaries to carry His message to a world screaming for some kind of hope. And when we find those individuals ready to receive His message eagerly because they are at the end of their rope, we can and must be ready to share with them the hope we have within us as Peter tells us.

Are you ready to sow some seeds?

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

There is hope! (Job 17), October 26, 2015

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Job 17

Set – Job 17; Acts 26

Go! – Job 16-17; Acts 24-26

Job 17
Job: ¹ My spirit has collapsed; my days have been blotted out;
the grave is prepared for me.
² There are mockers all around me;
my eyes are fixed on their unwarranted opposition of me.
³ Show me a sign! Vouch for me, God!
Who is there to give me his hand, guaranteeing his pledge?
⁴ I think no one is there because You have closed up their minds,
made them unable to see or understand;
so You will honor none of them.
⁵ You have heard, “Whoever denounces his friends for land
will watch his children go blind.”
⁶ But God has turned me into a swear word for everyone;
I have become a symbol of human darkness;
I am the face on whom one spits.
⁷ All my afflictions cloud my vision;
the members of my body are wasting away;
I am a mere shadow of what it once was.
⁸ Those of moral fiber are appalled at this;
innocent men grow indignant at the wicked.
⁹ Even still, the righteous embrace their way of life;
those with clean hands go from strong to stronger.
¹⁰ By contrast, I look to you, my friends, and I say,
“Come ahead, all of you; try your words once more.”
I still won’t expect to find a wise man among you.
¹¹ Even now my days have passed me by;
My plans lie broken at my feet;
the secret wishes of my heart grow cold.
¹² And yet my friends say, this loss of hope is for good,
turning my dark night into what appears to them as day.
In the pitch darkness, these broken plans and secret wishes speak to me.
They say, “There is light nearby.”
¹³ If I hope only to live in the land of the dead,
if I prepare for myself a bed in the darkness,
¹⁴ If I speak to my burial pit, calling it “Father,”
and to the worms in the earth, calling them “Mother” and “Sister,”
¹⁵ Then where will I find my hope?
And who will see it?
¹⁶ Will hope go with me to the place of death?
Will hope accompany me into the ground?

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Have you noticed Job no longer blames Me for his troubles. He doesn’t know why he struggles in agony and suffers each day the loss of his children, his home, and his worldly goods. He doesn’t know why all his friends have turned against him and assume he has done evil to deserve God’s punishment. Job doesn’t understand the trials he endures at the moment, but recognizes that it isn’t punishment from Me.

Job is in deep despair, though. He has come to the end of his rope and wishes only to be rid of all the suffering. Job wants hope that there is something besides the suffering he has endured for so long.

The good news for you is I have lifted the veil that covers death’s door with My resurrection. You have seen beyond the pale of death because you know that I rose from the dead and so there is also hope in your resurrection. Because I am prepaing a place for you on this side of the great divide, you have hope beyond the grave. You no longer need to live with the despair Job and his friends suffered in their day.

Job heard of the grave and his generation heard some rudimentary teachings about life after death, but I gave you proof when I burst forth from the tomb on that first Easter morning. I promised I would come back to bring you to live with Me. I told you I would build a room for you in My house and there is plenty of room for everyone who believes in Me. You don’t need to feel hopeless. You don’t need to think this is the end. You don’t need to assume this is all there is. There is hope because I have already overcome all the suffering and sorrow and pain that accompanied Me to the cross. Now you can now your next destination and know the short suffering in this life will come to an end when you give your life to Me.

You don’t need to be in despair as Job was. You can have hope and you can know hope today by giving your life to Me. Do it. You won’t be sorry.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Be holy because God is holy (1 Peter 1:13-25), July 22, 2015

Leave a reply

Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – 1 Peter 1:13-25

Set – Psalms 76; 1 Peter 1

Go! – Isaiah 36-37; Psalms 76; 1 Peter 1

1 Peter 1:13-25
¹³ So get yourselves ready, prepare your minds to act, control yourselves, and look forward in hope as you focus on the grace that comes when Jesus the Anointed returns and is completely revealed to you. ¹⁴ Be like obedient children as you put aside the desires you used to pursue when you didn’t know better. ¹⁵ Since the One who called you is holy, be holy in all you do. ¹⁶ For the Scripture says, “You are to be holy, for I am holy.” ¹⁷ If you call on the Father who judges everyone without partiality according to their actions, then you should live in reverence and awe while you live out the days of your exile.
¹⁸ You know that a price was paid to redeem you from following the empty ways handed on to you by your ancestors; it was not paid with things that perish (like silver and gold), ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of the Anointed, who was like a perfect and unblemished sacrificial lamb. ²⁰ God determined to send Him before the world began, but He came into the world in these last days for your sake. ²¹ Through Him, you’ve been brought to trust in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him for the very reason that your faith and hope are in Him.
²² Now that you have taken care to purify your souls through your submission to the truth, you can experience real love for each other. So love each other deeply from a [pure] heart. ²³ You have been reborn—not from seed that eventually dies but from seed that is eternal—through the word of God that lives and endures forever. ²⁴ For as Isaiah said,
All life is like the grass,
and its glory like a flower;
The grass will wither and die,
and the flower falls,
²⁵ But the word of the Lord will endure forever.
This is the word that has been preached to you.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Do you remember what Peter said to those early Christians? It applies to you today, also. Listen again. “…get yourselves ready, prepare your minds to act, control yourselves, and look forward in hope… . …put aside the desires you used to pursue when you didn’t know better. ¹⁵ Since the One who called you is holy, be holy in all you do.”

It’s easy to get trapped by the things of the world today. It’s easy to let the call of the world convince you everything is okay. But you know better. If you know Me and have Me in your heart, you know I write My laws on your heart and have standards for you that want you to transform yourself from the pattern of this world to the pattern of My kingdom. I want you to look like Me when I return. I want you to get ready to meet Me and not have to take time to prepare yourself.

When I tell you, I want you ready to act, not looking in the book trying to figure out what’s next. If you consistently read My word and talk to Me, you’ll know how to act when I return. You’ll know what to do when I give you a task.

Peter also tells you to put aside the desires you used to pursue when you didn’t know better. Remember when you where a kid and fascinated with fire? You’re parents probably told you several times not to play with matches or fire or other combustibles. You didn’t really understand why, but you obeyed until your desire to play with fire became too much for you. You learned the hard way why your parents warned you not to play with fire when you got a little to close and ended up with a blister on your hand or arm or leg because the fire burned you.

Hopefully, it was a relatively small, but painful lesson you learned well in your childhood and you’ve paid attention to the lesson since. Too many people know the devastation that severe burns cause both physically and psychologically when faced with large percentages of their body scarred from the aftermath of a raging fire. Peter uses such a metaphor to remind you to be like that younger obedient child that listens to its partents and avoids the potential pain that comes from disobedience.

So instead of focusing on those desires you used to chase, focus on the hope I bring. Focus on maintaining your holiness. I ask you to be holy because I am holy. Why do I ask you to work to attain such a high standard? Because I want you to be like Me. I won’t lower myself. I won’t lower My standards. I am holy. Without holiness you cannot see Me. Work to become holy as I am holy. Separated from the world, set apart in service to Me.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.