Tag Archives: judgment

Advocate (1 John 2:1), June 12, 2017

Today’s Podcast

Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
God is called our Advocate, not just our judge. What does that mean for you today.
Scripture
1. 1 John 2:1
2. My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
Devotional
1. Our Advocate
2. Have you thought much about what it means to have an advocate or especially what it means for God to be your advocate?
  1. Definition: a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy.
  2. A person who supports others to make their voices heard, or ideally for them to speak up for themselves.
  3. An advocate is a type of professional person in several different legal systems and it is also a commonly used honorific for remarkable lawyers, such as in “Adv. Sir Alberico Gentili“. The broad equivalent in many English law-based jurisdictions can be a barrister. However, advocate is also a word to indicate lawyers of superior classification.
3. Why might having God as an advocate be important to us?
  1. Throughout the Bible we read about a final judgment based on our actions during our life
  2. Those actions hinge on our belief in Jesus, the second person of the triune-Godhead, the Son of God. God incarnate, come to earth to die as the penalty we should pay for our sins
  3. If we believe in God, the Son, for forgiveness of our sins, He acts as our Advocate, our lawyer, our defender in the final judgment before God, the Father
  4. We are found “Not Guilty” before the law that establishes the judgment for our sins
  5. Just like our courts today, we are not found innocent, because we have all sinned, but we are found “Not Guilty” because our penalty has been paid, our punishment has been served, our sentence has been satisfied
  6. Our advocate points out the blood spilled on our behalf and the change in verdict that should be applied because of the sentence He served in our stead
4. Jesus, our Advocate, the perfect defender, our lawyer in the final judgment who prepares the brief and wins our pardon because of His actions 2,000 years ago
  1. Jesus is the judge but He is also our Advocate
  2. When we believe in Him for our salvation we do not lose our case before the judgment seat
  3. He finds us not guilty
  4. Just imagine
5. Think about God our advocate today as you worship Him
If you want to learn 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.”

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.

The importance of the right criteria (John 8:14-18), February 19, 2017

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Today’s Podcast

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
How important is the criteria you use to make decisions, to complete projects, or to make judgments? I hope you said pretty important. If you don’t think so, just listen.
Scripture
1. John 8:14-18
2. Jesus: Even if I am making bold claims about Myself—who I am, what I have come to do—I am speaking the truth. You see, I know where I came from and where I will go when I am done here. You know neither where I come from nor where I will go. You spend your time judging by the wrong criteria, by human standards; but I am not here to judge anyone. If I were to judge, then My judgment would be based on truth; but I would not judge anyone alone. I act in harmony with the One who sent Me. Your law states that if the testimonies of two witnesses agree, their testimony is true. Well, I testify about Myself, and so does the Father who sent Me here.
Devotional
1. Have you ever gone through a bunch of papers or files or closets or drawers looking for something only to find out you were looking for the wrong thing. I have to admit, I’ve done that more than once in my lifetime. In fact, I seem to do it a lot more often that I like. What a waste of time, right?
  1. Look for the receipt from a particular company only to find out it’s the wrong company
  2. Look for an address only to find it’s the wrong person
  3. Look for a tool only to find out it’s the wrong tool for the job
2. Justice system is sometimes like that
  1. Every crime has a number of elements that must be proven to find a person guilty of that crime.
  2. Unless all are proven beyond a reasonable doubt, the jury must find not guilty
  3. Doesn’t mean innocent, but doesn’t meet the criteria for guilty verdict
  4. We get frustrated or angry at verdicts we think are unjust, but those are the criteria we have established to try to keep innocent people from being incarcerated
3. Jesus’ judgments are perfect
  1. Not based on man’s laws
  2. Based on God’s perfect love
  3. Excludes all evil from the Father’s presence maintains His holiness
  4. Perfect judge, perfect accuser, perfect advocate
  5. He made the rules
  6. We perverted them
  7. He judges with grace, mercy, and love
  8. We judge with vengeance, revenge, and at best justice
4. Time to follow the perfect One who will judge us at the end of time; He didn’t come to condemn but to save
If you want to learn 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.”

What would this place be life if Adam had obeyed God? (John 5:25-29), January 30, 2017

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
Have you ever thought about what our world would be like if Adam and Eve had not disobeyed God. What would this place be like if Adam carried out God’s plan from the beginning?
Scripture
1. John 5:25-29
2. Jesus: I tell you the truth: a new day is imminent—in fact, it has arrived—when the voice of the Son of God will penetrate death’s domain, and everyone who hears will live. You see, the Father radiates with life; and He also animates the Son of God with the same life-giving beauty and power to exercise judgment over all of creation. Indeed, the Son of God is also the Son of Man. If this sounds amazing to you, what is even more amazing is that when the time comes, those buried long ago will hear His voice through all the rocks, sod, and soil and step out of decay into resurrection. When this hour arrives, those who did good will be resurrected to life, and those who did evil will be resurrected to judgment.
Devotional
1. That phrase in Jesus’ words today, “the Father radiates with life; and He also animates the Son of God with the same life-giving beauty and power to exercise judgment over all of creation”… made me think about those opening questions today.
  1. What if Adam had not disobeyed?
  2. What would our world be like?
  3. What did God really want from humankind?
2. The Father radiates with life
  1. Triune Godhead present at creation
  2. Created life, not death
  3. Death entered the cosmos as a consequence of man’s disobedience, not God’s creative act
  4. Intends for us to live, not die
3. The voice of God penetrates even dead, inanimate objects, death’s domain, to restore life
  1. Think about how seeds burst from the ground using nutrients from dead and decayed plants and animals
  2. Life comes from death by a creative act of the Father
4. Jesus talks about an amazing time to come, though
  1. He will return
  2. The dead will be resurrected
  3. The good to life
  4. The evil to judgment
5. God never intended for us to die. That was our doing through disobedience. But God’s plan is to restore those who believe in His restorative plan. Those who will follow Him and worship Him will be restored to life eternally. It’s our choice to believe or not. What’s your choice today?
If you want to learn 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.”

What is paradise, anyway? (Luke 23:43), January 14, 2017

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Today’s Podcast

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
Did you ever wonder where Jesus and the thief on the cross went when they died that day? Jesus said they were headed to paradise that day. Well then, what is paradise anyway?
Scripture
1. Luke 23:43
2. Jesus: I promise you that this very day you will be with Me in paradise.
Devotional
1. Have you thought much about Jesus’ comment to the thief hanging next to Him at Golgotha?
  1. Criminal
  2. Evil enough for crucifixion
  3. Cruelest form of execution
  4. Today join Jesus in paradise
2. Paradise
  1. Wikipedia – Paradise is the term for a place of timeless harmony. The Abrahamic faiths associate paradise with the Garden of Eden, that is, the perfect state of the world prior to the fall from grace, and the perfect state that will be restored in the World to Come. in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness. Paradise is a place of contentment, a land of luxury and fulfillment.
  2. Is it heaven?
  3. Has the thief already faced judgment and entered into eternity with the triune Godhead around the throne?
  4. Does John’s Revelation and other eschatological writings agree with or refute what Jesus says to the thief?
3. Arguments by believers and non-believers alike
  1. Does everyone go here awaiting judgment or just believers?
  2. Is this like the lobby to heaven where you get the appetizers before dinner?
  3. If Jesus talks about a judgment day, then what is paradise? A place between death and heaven?
  4. Will good people, but non-believers stay here instead of hell?
  5. Is this the opposite of purgatory for those who earn a better place than the flames or eternal separation from God?
4. No one knows this side of heaven. We do know some things.
  1. Death is not the final victor, there is something after that – Jesus talks about that
  2. There is a heaven and hell – Jesus talks about both
  3. There will be a judgment day – Jesus talks about that
  4. We determine by our faith and actions now whether we will spend eternity in heaven or hell – Jesus talks about that
5. What is paradise? We don’t really know this side of the curtain we call death. But for believers, whether we are ushered into an anteroom of heaven with Jesus awaiting the judgment that He called paradise when He talked to the thief, or whether we face judgment immediately, or whether time just stops and doesn’t matter anymore once we pace from this life to the next, does it really matter? As long as we are with Him, who cares? We don’t need to be concerned about what paradise is or when it is or what it looks like or if it’s part of heaven or not. Who cares? Just be ready when He comes and you’ll hear Him say, “this very day you will be with Me in paradise.”
If you want to learn 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.”

Can you tell time without a watch? (Luke 21:29-33), January 3, 2017

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Today’s Podcast

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
- Can you tell time without a watch? Jesus tells us how today. Stay tuned to learn how.
Scripture
- Luke 21:29-33
- (continuing with a parable) Look over there at that fig tree—and all the trees surrounding it. When the leaves break out of their buds, nobody has to tell you that summer is approaching; it’s obvious to you. It’s the same in the larger scheme of things. When you see all these things happening, you can be confident that the kingdom of God is approaching. I’m telling you the truth: this generation will not pass from the scene before everything I’m telling you has occurred.Heaven and earth will cease to exist before My words ever fail.
Devotional
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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.
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Imagine what a year it can be (Luke 21:6-17) December 31, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Acts 27-28

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

Today’s Devotional

Luke 21:6-17
Jesus: Go ahead, look around, and be impressed; but days are coming when one stone will not be left standing on another. Everything here will be demolished.
Crowd: When will this happen, Teacher? What signs will tell us this is about to occur?
Jesus: Be careful. It’s easy to be deceived. Many people will come claiming to have My authority. They’ll shout, “I’m the One!” or “The time is now!” Don’t take a step in their direction. You’ll hear about wars and conflicts, but don’t be frightened at all because these things must surely come, although they don’t signify the immediate coming of the end. You can count on this: nation will attack nation, and kingdom will make war on kingdom. There will be disturbances around the world—from great earthquakes to famines to epidemics. Terrifying things will happen, and there will be shocking signs from heaven. But before any of this happens, they will capture you and persecute you. They’ll send you to synagogues for trial and to prisons for punishment; you’ll stand before kings and government officials for the sake of My name. This will be your opportunity—your opportunity to tell your story. Make up your mind in advance not to plan your strategy for answering their questions, for when the time comes, I will give you the words to say—wise words—which none of your adversaries will be able to answer or argue against. Your own parents, brothers, relatives, and friends will turn on you and turn you in. Some of you will be killed, and all of you will be hated by everyone for the sake of My name.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

It seems like the topic of the end times comes up a lot in Jesus’ words. As I looked back over the year I noticed a lot of podcasts that mentioned those earthquakes and famines, wars and rumors of wars. Signs that Jesus talked about that will point to the end of this age and the beginning of the next when we will stand before Him at God’s judgment seat.

So why does Jesus say so much about the end of time and the judgment? Why does He talk about the signs that lead up to those terrible days for those that will face them? Why does He give us so much information about His coming again to take His church to be with Him?

It must be important or He wouldn’t say so much about it. I think He also wants to make sure we are not surprised by His coming. He gives us all the signs. He tells us all the things that will precede His return. All of them have happened. We have had wars ever since He left. I can’t remember a time of peace around the world since He left. There are more than 70 conflicts going on around the world today between nations. He tells us about earthquakes and if you look at the statistics on earthquakes they are intensifying and coming at a much higher frequency than ever before. The world is literally coming apart at its seams.

We are seeing strange weather patterns, odd tides, jet streams, creating unusual weather. We see droughts lasting longer and flooding in 500 year flood plains. All the signs are there. He could come at any time and not do disservice to any of the prophecies about His return.

What does all of that mean? Be ready. I’m releasing this podcast on the last day of 2016. It could be the last day. We might never see 2017. It could happen. I’m hopeful that God will give the church a chance to introduce Him to more people so that His kingdom will grow. I’m hopeful that in this new year Christians will recognize how short time is and take a stand for God. That we will really stand out as followers of Jesus the Messiah. I’m hopeful that the persecutions around the world will be such that those that sully the name of Christ by carrying His name but have no relationship with Him will stop identifying themselves as Christians so that the real bride of Christ can be recognized as the spiritual warriors they really are.

I’m hopeful that real revival will break out and people will understand their broken condition and fall to their knees and seek mercy and forgiveness from the living God who created them and longs to save them from their sins. I’m hopeful for a lot of things in this coming year.

But it all starts with me. Am I willing to be that person who, like the psalmist, falls to my knees and asks God to inspect my heart to see if there is any unclean thing in me. And whatever He might find, remove it at whatever cost so that there is nothing between me and my Savior. Are you willing to be that same kind of person this coming year? If all of us who claim Christ as our Savior will do the same, imagine what a year 2017 can be.

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.

Will anyone have faith? (Luke 18:2-8) December 18, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – 3 John

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

Today’s Devotional

Luke 18:2-8
Jesus: There was a judge living in a certain city. He showed no respect for God or humanity. In that same city there was a widow. Again and again she kept coming to him seeking justice: “Clear my name from my adversary’s false accusations!” He paid no attention to her request for a while, but then he said to himself, “I don’t care about what God thinks of me, much less what any mere human thinks. But this widow is driving me crazy. She’s never going to quit coming to see me unless I hear her case and provide her legal protection.”
Did you catch what this self-assured judge said? If he can be moved to act justly, won’t God bring justice for His chosen people when they cry to Him day and night? Will He be slow to bring them justice? Mark My words: God will intervene fast with vindication. But here’s the question: when the Son of Man comes, will He find anyone who still has faith?

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Jesus poses a very sobering question to those gathered around Him that day. “When the Son of Man comes, will He find anyone who still has faith?” He just used Lot, Abraham’s nephew, as an example of the widespread sin that caused God’s judgment to fall on Sodom and Gomorrah those centuries earlier. Remember the story?

Two messengers from God came to Abraham to tell him that God was about to destroy the city in which Lot and his family resided. Abraham pleaded with the messengers and asked if there were 100 faithful individuals in the city, would God spare the city? God accepted the change and Abraham continued to plead with God and lower that number until God agreed that if even 10 righteous men could be found in the city of Sodom, the city would be spared. But not even 10 could be found.

I sometimes wonder what would have happened if Abraham had asked if God would spare the city if he volunteered to take God’s message to the city and preach in the streets. I wonder if Abraham offered to tell God’s story to any who would listen in those great cities if God would have delayed His judgment against them. We will never know, but we do know that not 10 righteous could be found among all the citizens of that vast populace. God rescued Lot and his daughters. But even Lot’s wife turned back toward Sodom and was destroyed because of her lust for the sinful pleasures of the city instead of her love for God and obedience to His commands.

I’m writing from the seventh, perhaps now the fifth or sixth largest city in the United States today. And I wonder, if God’s messengers were to come to this city, how many righteous men would He find? There are churches everywhere. There are people who sit on the pews of those churches every week, sometimes several times a week. But how many are really righteous and doing all that God asks of them? How many really stand up to the scrutiny of the messengers if God were to send them into the city to examine our hearts today?

I think the people in Sodom and Gomorrah were surprised that God found them sinful and evil. I think most thought they were okay with the Creator. I think most attended their worship services regularly. No doubt few, if any, worship the God of Abraham, but some may have said they did. Some probably heard Lot’s words when he told them how he gained his wealth and came to live in the plains of Sodom and Gomorrah. Some probably even added a prayer to this God of Lot’s so that He wouldn’t be left out in their pantheon of gods to be honored and worshiped. They thought they were okay.

I think our cities today are in much the same place Sodom and Gomorrah were. We abuse physically, emotionally, and spiritually those that come to our cities. We laugh at those who contend that Jesus is the only way to heaven. We push aside those that dare to tell us how to act and speak and love our fellowman. We think those that really follow God’s rules a little on the insane side. Surely God doesn’t expect us to follow those archaic laws in this modern era. Things have changed. He can’t expect us to worship Him like Abraham and David and Daniel. That was Old Testament stuff. We have been enlightened in this age, right?

Not so fast. We haven’t changed. We have the same DNA. We have the same basic desires as our ancient ancestors. We need food and shelter just like they did. We want to be loved and we want to love just like our forefathers. We have this spiritual makeup that craves to worship something whether we want to recognize it or not. Oh, we have new toys and disguised idols rather than gold and silver images of some deity, but if you watch our behavior, we have raised a lot of things as our gods today. Jobs, houses, sports, money, leisure, even our families tend to get our worship instead of our Creator. We set things up as gods and worship them as surely as those in ancient times bowed to those wood and gold and silver icons.

So Jesus question today is as critical as it was 2,000 years ago because God will come as He did in the days of Noah and Lot. “When the Son of Man comes, will He still find anyone who has faith?”

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.

Get ready now! (Luke 17:22-37) December 17, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Acts 25-26

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

Today’s Devotional

Luke 17:22-37
Jesus (to His disciples) Days are coming when you will wish you could see just one of the days of the Son of Man, but you won’t see it. People will say, “Look, it’s there!” or “Look! It’s here!” Don’t even bother looking. Don’t follow their lead. You know how lightning flashes across the sky, bringing light from one horizon to the other. That’s how the Son of Man will be when His time comes.
But first, He must face many sufferings. He must be rejected by this generation. The days of the Son of Man will be like the days of Noah. People were eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage. Everything seemed completely normal until the day Noah entered the ark. Then it started raining, and soon they were all destroyed by the flood.
It was just the same in the days of Lot. People were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building, and carrying on business as usual. But then came the day when Lot left Sodom—a different kind of rain began to fall, and they were all destroyed by fire and sulfur falling from the sky. That’s how it will be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
When that day comes, if you’re on the housetop, don’t run inside to try to save any of your belongings. If you’re in the field, don’t bother running back to the house. Remember Lot’s wife. Turning back is fatal for those who do so. If you try to hold on to your life, it will slip through your fingers; if you let go of your life, you’ll keep it. Listen, on the day of the Son of Man, two people will be asleep in bed; destruction will take one and the other will be left to survive. Two women will be grinding grain together; destruction will take one and the other will survive. Two men will be working out in the field; destruction will overtake one and the other will survive.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

I was just thinking about what normal meant in Noah and Lot’s days and what normal means today. God sent the flood to destroy all humankind except Noah and his family because of what was normal for the people around Noah. He sent fire and sulfur falling from the sky to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah destroying those two cities and the plains where they existed because of what was normal for them. God said they had become a stench to Him because of their evil practices so He wiped them out.

Jesus at various times during His ministry warned of the coming wrath that will come because of the evil that will sweep across the earth. Well, I think we are just about there. Take a look at our normal today. Our selfish desires have driven us to the point that anything is okay. We tolerate aberrant behavior and call it everything but sin. We even let our government dictate that sin is okay and encourage us to support it.

Surely not, you say. Just take a look around you. Read the papers and the laws that have sprung up in recent years that fund actions and behaviors that clearly go against God’s word. What else would you call it? Sin has run rampant in our country and around the world. Revivals are unheard of in our land today. Church attendance is down and many services are pretty shallow, more entertainment than worship. Message tickle our ears with things we want to hear instead of the words we need to hear to convince and convict us and help us realize our fallen state.

I think Jesus saw the same signs in Rome and Jerusalem and Galilee. The degradation has continued. We keep sliding further toward our own destruction because we fail to give God the worship He is due. We forget that He is God and we are not. We try to satisfy that God-sized hole in our heart with everything but Him. It won’t work, but we try. But just as in Noah’s day and in Lot’s day, God will finally decide enough is enough. He will finally decide His children do not need to suffer under the hands of evil people anymore. He will finally decide He has given enough grace and will call an end to time.

It will happen in an instant, Jesus says. You won’t be able to climb down off the ladder if you’re working off the ground. You won’t be able to make it to the house if you’re out working in the yard. You won’t have time to go anywhere or do anything because His coming will happen faster than you can blink. As fast as the speed of light, He will come, take His own, and be gone. it will all be over. Judgment will come. Your standing with God will be fixed at that point and He will judge you for what you believe now, not that day. Everyone will believe on that day. Everyone will bow before Him on that day. Everyone will acknowledge that He is God and Lord and Master on that day. But if you don’t believe before that time, it will be too late.

Like in the days of Noah or the days of Lot, normal was evil. Normal opposed God’s laws. Normal tried to substitute things other than God to satisfy a spiritual need only He can satisfy. Normal then sounds a lot like our normal today. We live in a dangerous time. Not from the threat of the evil around us, but because if your heart is not right with God, there might not be much time to make it right. The flood came without warning. People wanted in the ark then, but God had shut the door. Fire and sulfur fell from the sky and there was no where to run.

We don’t know what it will be like when God comes again, but it will be fast and violent and there will be no escape for those He does not take with Him. Get ready now.

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.

It’s not a magic trick (Luke 12:1-3) November 12, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Acts 15-16

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

Today’s Devotional

Luke 12:1-3
Jesus: Guard yourselves from the yeast that puffs up the Pharisees—hypocrisy, false appearance, trying to look better than you really are.
Nothing is covered up that won’t be discovered; nothing is hidden that won’t be exposed. Whatever a person says in the dark will be published in the light of day, and whatever a person whispers in private rooms will be broadcast from the housetops.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

A couple of days ago a really incredible thing happened to me. I went to the Veterans Affairs and received a pair of tiny hearing aids. If you saw me on the street you might not even notice them. Just a tiny little plastic tube that runs into my ear from a device an inch long and a quarter inch wide behind my ear. But what a difference that tiny little device makes. I didn’t realize just how much my hearing had deteriorated over the last several years until the audiologist stuck those things in my ears and turned them on. Wow!

He turned toward his computer and started to program them and I heard the keys on his keyboard clicking. I heard my shirt sleeves rustle when I twisted in the chair. I heard someone crumple a piece of paper and throw it in the trash by the copy machine outside his office with the door closed! I heard these simple things that I hadn’t heard in a long time. What an amazing thing to have the ability to hear those sounds again after not hearing them for so long. It’s like the first time I got glasses and discovered there were leaves on the trees rather than just big globs of green.

We like to think the things we do that are a little out of sorts with what God wants us to do, we can keep out of sight or keep quiet. We think we can hide stuff from Him. We think we can muffle the sound of our indiscretions or keep our misdeeds away from Him or at least away from the knowledge of others. But Jesus’ words for our consideration today let us know we are fooling ourselves if we think that’s true.

I always wondered how in the world things whispered in private rooms could be shouted from housetops when I was little. Then I got into the military and started working with some of the equipment they had. Now some of the stuff you can buy off the shelves at Walmart or Radio Shack put the listening devices I used in the Army back in the 1970’s and 80’s to shame. I thought those were pretty good, but the things the intelligence community has now is truly incredible.

You remember the big scandal Edward Snowden started when he talked about the government’s ability to tap into any cell phone and listen in on private conversations. That technology has been around for years now. Tapping the airwaves to gather information, listen to what others have to say, record those conversations, easy stuff. Of course, Snowden talked about the ability to select conversations out of hundreds based on keywords. That’s pretty significant technology.

We’re only human, though. Imagine what God can do. If we can pick individual conversations out the air and track them. Imagine what God can do. If old technology lets me hear things I’ve not heard in decades or technology lets the government pick conversations out of the air to track potential terrorist activities aimed against the United States, is it too hard to imagine that God can track our movements, our actions, our very thoughts? Is it too hard to think the God who created us can tap into our brain and record everything we’ve ever done and hold it in storage to be released at a time and place of His choosing?

I’ve seen some incredible things happen with technology in my 62 years of life. Sixty years ago, going to the moon was just a dream. Now we’ve been there and most of the people alive today, were born after the historic even when John Armstrong set foot on that dusty surface. Going to the moon is ancient history for our children, after all, that was almost fifty years ago!

Our school aged kids have never known a world without smart phones or remote controls or televisions with that little white dot in the middle of the screen when you turned it off. They don’t know how a record player or 8-track works and might have never seen one. They don’t know a world without calculators or computers. They’ve never seen a slide-rule and certainly wouldn’t know how to use one if you gave it to them. Even 9/11 happened before our high-school freshmen were born.

So, knowing the advancement of technology in just my life, is it hard to think that God can display my life or yours for everyone to see? Pretty simple, isn’t it. Not even a magic trick anymore, is it? Jesus says everything we do in public or private will be revealed one day. It pays to remember and let God be your guide all the time.

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.

I can’t decide for you (Luke 10:10-16) October 25, 2016

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – 2 Chronicles 25-28

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

Today’s Devotional

Luke 10:10-16
Jesus: Of course, not every town will welcome you. If you’re rejected, walk through the streets and say, “We’re leaving this town. We’ll wipe off the dust that clings to our feet in protest against you. But even so, know this: the kingdom of God has come near.” I tell you the truth, on judgment day, Sodom will have an easier time of it than the town that rejects My messengers.
It’s going to be bad for you, Chorazin! It’s going to be bad for you, Bethsaida! If the mighty works done in your streets had been done in the cities of Tyre and Sidon, they would have been moved to turn to God and cry out in sackcloth and ashes. On judgment day, Tyre and Sidon will have an easier time of it than you. It’s going to be bad for you, too, Capernaum! Will you be celebrated to heaven? No, you will go down to the place of the dead.
Listen, disciples: if people give you a hearing, they’re giving Me a hearing. If they reject you, they’re rejecting Me. And if they reject Me, they’re rejecting the One who sent Me. So—go now!

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Scary words again from Jesus’ lips. Just before this, we heard Him tell seventy of His disciples to travel throughout the region and tell His message to everyone who would listen. He told them and us to start at home and spread out to the surrounding areas until the whole world heard the message of salvation. Jesus gave them the bold messge that they would have the power to heal and drive out demons and do miraculous things in His names as they carried the Father’s message with them.

Now Jesus gives those He sends out this message of encouragement. It doesn’t sound like much encouragement, but it really is. It says that not everyone will listen and respond to the message of repentance that they share. That might sound discouraging to you, but after preaching God’s words for over 30 years, I find His words encouraging. I’ll tell you why.

My job is not to win people to Christ. I’m not responsible for saving anyone. I’m not responsible for changing people’s minds and turning them into Christians. My responsibility is to share the message the best way I know how and to live its message daily in my own life. My responsibility is to ensure I’m ready at any moment to give my testimony to anyone who is willing to hear it. I am not accountable for their response, but I am accountable for sharing the message to those God prompts me to receive my testimony.

There is a passage in Ezekiel Chapter 3 that I’m often reminded of when I’m prompted by God to speak to someone. God is speaking to Ezekiel and says, “If I send this message to a wicked person—“You will die”—but then you fail to warn him or help him to reconsider his wickedness so that he may not die, then he will die as a result of his evil deeds. It will be your fault for not warning him. His blood will be on your hands. But if you do forewarn a wicked person and give him My message, and yet he does not change his wicked thoughts and actions, then he will die as a result of his evil deeds. But you will have saved your own life by doing what I directed.”

At the judgment, I don’t want to stand before God with anyone else’s blood on my hands. I want to make it to heaven and I want to bring others with me. I want to give those around me an opportunity to meet the One who can restore them to a right relationship with God just as He did for me. I want to let others know they do not have to bow down to the tyranny of sin, but can be freed by the powerful blood shed for them on the cross one day long ago on the hill called Golgotha. I want them to know they can have the same testimony I have and millions of others have had throughout the ages. Jesus saves me from my sins. He set me free through His shed blood. He lives today in my soul. He is the Lord of my life.

I can’t make the decision whether you will accept my words as true. I can’t make the decision whether you will ask Jesus to forgive you of your past. I can’t decide for you if Jesus will be the Lord of your life and your reason for living. I wish I could. But it’s not a decision I can make. Each of us must decide for ourselves. We must come to the conclusion personally that we want Jesus to reign in our life and them let Him do so. No one can do that for you except you. But it is a decision you will never regret if you decide to let Him rule your life. He is God, after all.

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.