Tag Archives: Paul

Too old to start…never

Today’s Podcast

Bible Reading Plan – www.Bible-Reading.com; The Story, Chapter 30; You Version Bible app Engaging God’s Story Reading Plan Days 204 through 210

Sometimes I get the feeling I’m too old to take on something new. Then I remember a few stories of successful people like Harland “The Colonel” Sanders who opened his first Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise store at the age of 65 in 19654. When he sold the business twelve years later for $2 million, there were over 900 stores across the country.

Then there is Jack Cover. His name might not be a household word, but you’ve heard about his invention. In his early career as a nuclear physicist, he worked in the aerospace and defense industry. But at age 50, Jack submitted a patent for a weapon that would incapacitate but not kill assailants. By the time he died at age 88, his taser was in use in almost every police department around the world.

I remember people like Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the best selling series of Little House on the Prairie series of books, who didn’t write her first book until she was 65, but continued to crack them out for years later.

I think of Anna Mary Robertson Moses, one of the most recognized names in American art. She started painting because her arthritis became too bad to allow her to continue her embroidery. At the age of 76, she picked up her first paint brush and painted for the next 25 years. She lived to see one painting she sold for $3 later sell for over $10,000.

Ronald Reagan didn’t run for his first public office until he was 55, but found himself sitting at the desk of the most powerful political position in the world as President of the United States before he passed away.

All these people did things that certainly changed their lives and those around them. They didn’t think life was over as they aged. They didn’t decide to retire. They didn’t think life should pass them by or they didn’t have anything to contribute the years piled up. Instead they took the experience they gained through the years and applied it to the purpose and task in front of them. Each of them set an impossible goal for themselves and worked to achieve it.

They didn’t let time or age or physical conditions or the ridicule of others or anything else get in their way. Colonel Sanders had a restaurant that was going under because an interstate opened seven miles away from his business. He figured out how to not only resurrect his business, but explode the business through the franchise of his now famous recipe.

Jack Cover saw the need to help law enforcement capture assailants in Los Angeles, but wanted to help reduce the number of permanent injuries and deaths at the hands of police that plagued their image with the public. The taser, incapacitating its victims for short periods without permanent damage to nervous systems answered the need and changed the way police approached assailants from that point on.

Laura Ingalls Wilder gave us a picture of the settlement of the plains in vivid detail through the eyes of a child and captured the imagination of millions as her stories spread around the world through her best sellers.

There is another we can watch through the pages of the New Testament that didn’t let age stop him either. Paul didn’t let age or any adversity stop him in his mission. Once given his task on the road to Damascus, Paul never slowed down. He remained as energetic in spreading the gospel as he did in persecuting the church. In fact, he seemed more enthused. More determined.

Thirteen of the books contained in the New Testament are authored by Paul. Many written while he sat in prisons awaiting punishment or during his last days awaiting execution. I’m certain Paul would rather have been traveling to other places speaking to churches, opening new works, spending time with new congregants than cooling his heels in jail. But if he had not spent so many years in prison, I’m not sure we would have the rich instruction written to the churches we have at our disposal today.

God uses events and circumstances in ways we can never understand. Paul didn’t want to spend time in prison. He didn’t understand why God allowed the beatings and shipwrecks and imprisonment. But Paul couldn’t see the upper story unfolding the way God could. Paul couldn’t know that his letters to the churches that were sent as informal letters of encouragement to those fledgling groups of followers would be kept for safekeeping. He didn’t know they would be passed from church to church. He didn’t know that the letters would be carefully copied by scribes and monks and priests for centuries. He didn’t know they would be part of the canon that would become the basis for the doctrine of the Christian movement.

Paul wrote simple letters of encouragement and instruction to followers who heard the message of Jesus. Paul spent the later part of his life doing everything he could do to continue the purpose God laid out for him in the only way he knew how. Paul continued to take the opportunities God gave him and walked through the open doors wherever they might lead. Thankfully, he did so. Otherwise, we would not have the letters today. Half our New Testament would be empty. Imagine those thirteen books gone.

We cannot know the impact God has in store when we follow him. We don’t know what our influence will have on those around us. We can not understand how the upper story unfolds in our lower story because all we can see is the short distance to the next bend in the road. So much of our present circumstances get in the way of being able to see what is next. But God knows his plans for us. He knows what lies ahead. God’s plans will happen. His promises will come through. We don’t know when or how, but we know they will.

Paul knew it, too. So he could withstand the beatings. Paul trusted God’s promises to be true, so he could handle the shipwrecks. Paul knew God would do what he said he would do. So Paul could take the imprisonment in stride. Paul knew God had something better in mind. So on that last morning they took him from his cell, Paul could walk calmly to the post on the Ostian Road, lay his neck on the block and wait for the executioner’s sword to swiftly do its job.

What dream is wiggling in the back of your mind that you think is just too hard? What is it God wants you to do that you think you can’t get done because life has passed you by? What task is nagging at you because you’re now too old or too feeble or just don’t have the skills to get it done? Can I tell you that everyone who accomplished anything had those same doubts at one time or another? The secret is to push past those doubts and realize that with God nothing is impossible. If it is his plan for you, he will make it happen through you.

Life is replete with great examples of those who accomplished great things at every stage of life, young, middle-age, old, retired. The phase of life doesn’t matter when working for God. Letting God use you is what matters. When he is in it, he will make it happen. All he wants is your willingness to be used as an instrument of his grace and truth. Are you ready to make things happen? He is.

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 about The Story and our part in it. 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.

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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.

God’s list of heroes

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Bible Reading Plan – www.Bible-Reading.com; The Story, Chapter 29; You Version Bible app Engaging God’s Story Reading Plan Days 197 through 203

Alvin was the third of eleven children born to William and Mary in a little town called Pall Mall. William scratched out a meager living as a blacksmith and farmer to support his family and died early in the hardscrabble life of the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. William died early, Alvin quit school to help support the family and was rough and tumble young man acquainted with fistfights.

Alvin attended the Church of Christ near his home in Tennessee and found God during his young adult years making him a changed man. But like many his age, he found himself drafted into the Army to serve in World War I. He tried to get out of the draft as a conscientious objector, but discovered that his denomination had no specific doctrine concerning pacifism so found himself embroiled in the fight in Europe.

Alvin C. York. One of our nation’s most decorated soldiers. No one would have picked him for such a role when he was growing up. No one thought this backward boy from the hills of East Tennessee would in one battle kill 25 and capture 130 German soldiers and take a machine gun position that was destroying so many American troops. His actions helped open the way for the American victory in the Argonne offensive. Gary Cooper won an academy award portraying this great American hero.

Alvin C. York, like many I have met who have been awarded our nation’s highest medal, was a very quiet, unassuming man who sought no fame. He like many felt he was just doing his duty. He didn’t talk about those days much and never bragged about them in any way. To him, it was something anyone would do to support his fellow soldiers.

I know one of his direct descendants. He attended my church for a while. His character is similar. Quiet. Unassuming. In the business of saving lives. LTC York is a physician by trade and uses his skills to save thousands each year just as Sergeant York did.

Sergeant York was an unlikely candidate to do what he did. No one would have picked him. We’ve seen a lot of those characters as we’ve moved through The Story, God’s plan for bringing us back into community with him. Noah, Abraham, David, Hezekiah, Jeremiah, Matthew, the Samaritan woman, the Centurion, the women in Jesus’ life. So many people recorded in God’s word that from the outside just don’t have what the world would say are the characteristics necessary to change their community or the world.

Yet God saw each of these unlikely individuals from his upper story and knew their heart. He knew how he could use them to move us toward him in ways we could not understand. He knew he could use them to shape his plan toward the ends he desired. They only needed to obey him. These unlikely candidates did incredible, impossible, God ordained things and changed their world. They each bring us closer to understanding the relationship God wants for each of us.

This week we read about another of those unlikely candidates. A man no one from a human perspective would think God could ever forgive because of the actions he took against those early followers of his Son, Jesus. Saul, who God would later call Paul, held the coats of those who stoned Steven. He received authority from the temple to chase down these followers of Jesus and have them not just persecuted but killed. Yet, God chose this murderer of Christians to be his missionary to Gentile world.

Paul would write half of what would become the New Testament. Thirteen of the twenty-seven books in the New Testament are ascribed to his authorship. An unlikely character in God’s pantheon of heroes. But God doesn’t look at men and women the same way we do. He doesn’t choose based on what we see in our lower story. He doesn’t choose people the way we examine them with all our human relation tools for job hunting. No. God sees the potential in the way he created us and sets his plan in front of us.

God’s upper story uses the most unlikely people to advance his purpose to bring us back into a face to face relationship with him in the garden he has been preparing for us since Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden. God also asks us to be obedient to his call. He called each of these unlikely people to different tasks. Some were easy. Some were difficult and at great personal risk. But each required them to obey God’s command to go and do something for him.

So what is God asking you to do? It might be as simple as taking a meal to a sick neighbor to visibly share the compassion that God has for others. It might be to listen to the teenager that sits at the bus stop with tears in her eyes and just hear her story and tell her your own story so she knows there is a God in heaven who loves her. It might be something that is much bigger than you think you could ever do. It might even sound impossible. But when God gives you something to do, he will always give you what you need to make it happen. It might be resources, it might be skills, it might be relationships with other people who will give you help.

God uses unlikely people so others know that when God-like things happen, we are not the ones responsible for their implementation. God is. We are just his tools in giving ourselves to him in obedient service. God uses unlikely people to help us understand that no matter who we are or how little you think you might could contribute to God’s plan, he has a different view. God will use you to further his plan. He will use you to help others know that he is full of grace and truth. He will use the most unlikely characters so we can know that he wants everyone to come to him and know his salvation.

There is only one thing to remember about it all. We are all part of God’s Story, but to find yourself in his garden at the end of time, you must obey him. His creation. His rules. God is full of grace. But God is also full of truth. The balance is met at Calvary where those who believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins and follow him will not perish but have eternal life. But that most famous of verses continues in Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus. He didn’t come to condemn the world, but when we don’t believe, we are already condemned. Jesus is the way to eternal life and there is no other.

As unlikely as you might feel as a hero for God, he can use you in his plan. All it takes is looking up and letting him lead you wherever he wants you to go. And do whatever he wants you to do. That’s it. Then you’ll find yourself on that list of heroes, too.

Giving or getting, which to do like best?, December 18, 2017

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Bible Reading Plan – www.Bible-Reading.com

We are in a short respite from our study of The Story. We will pick up our readings from that study again after Christmas. But until then, we will enjoy the Advent season and focus on the first coming of Jesus and His expected return. Incidentally, our three week pause will put our Easter readings in line with the Easter season as we march through God’s story, His plan to bring us back into an intimate, face to face relationship with Him.

We all like presents, I think. Some of us like giving presents as much or more than getting them. I’ll admit, when I was young, I liked the getting part a lot better, but as I’ve matured, I really do like the giving a lot more than the getting. I think there is something that changes in us as we go through a few seasons of life. Let’s view a few of those and how they might impact your attitude toward giving this year.

As a child, I thought like a child. Children are selfish. We’re born that way. Just take a look at any infant and you’ll see it’s true. When they don’t get what they want they cry. Feed me. Change me. Hold me. Leave me alone. Let me go to bed. Get me out of bed. Mom’s figure out how to interpret cries pretty well, but babies tell you pretty quickly what they want and they don’t stop telling you until their selfish desires are satisfied. They really could care less about the rest of the world or even the rest of the family. They only care about themselves and their wants.

I became a teenager and learned to give out of luv. That attraction we get when we think we might be compatible to someone. I enjoyed giving something to that special girl I thought I’d be with forever, or at least until next week. You probably remember those teenage crushes and the selfishness that went along with those presents to win the hearts of those to whom they were presented.

Then I matured a little and fell into a state of real love with the lady I’ve been married to for forty-one years. The presents I gave her weren’t meant to get something in return or to win her love, but something to express how I felt expecting nothing in return but hoping she felt as deeply about me as I did about her. Still, I have to say I really enjoyed receiving those presents from her that showed she cared about me, too.

When kids came along, receiving stuff didn’t matter anymore. I wanted to see the joy in their eyes when they received something they wanted, something they liked that they didn’t expect. My giving became so much more important than getting. Grandkids make giving even more fun in the family. Watching my kids’ eyes light up when their kids’ eyes light up is something to behold. Those of you who are grandparents know what I mean.

But this thing about giving being more important and more satisfying than getting started coming about for reasons other than aging and maturing. It is more than just having a wife and kids and grandkids. This thing about enjoying watching the joy in others and watching the glow in other’s faces when they receive something unexpected or something they want or need comes from something deep inside that grows every day as I grow closer to Jesus.

When we pattern our life after His, we learn to enjoy giving. He was the ultimate giver, after all. He gave up heaven to come to earth and walk around this tiny little dirty planet to be with us. He gave up His family to walk the dusty roads of Israel to share the message that God had something better for them. He gave up His life on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins and yours. Jesus gave up everything so that we could have it all. We have eternal life because He gave His on the cross.

When we become like Him, we learn that giving brings joy. We learn that giving from the heart is better than giving from the pocket book. It means that giving time is often much better than giving money. It means that giving of yourself is the ultimate goal of every follower of Jesus. Servanthood, giving and giving and giving for the joy of giving is the life Jesus taught His disciples and the life we find when we let His lead us.

To the world it makes little sense. You can still find lots of adults that have the attitude that the one with the most toys at the end wins. You can find those who believe money and accumulation and getting everything they can get is what it’s all about. You can find those who buy into the world’s lie that material things are the most important things and they go after them with gusto.

To the world, servanthood means weakness. To Jesus it means obedience to His will and incredible strength because it’s His strength, not ours. To the world servanthood means poverty. To Jesus it means indescribable wealth and riches because He created, controls, and rules the universe. To the world servanthood means subordination. To Jesus it means living the way we were created to live in harmony and community.

We see lots of presents under our tree at Christmas time. When the kids and grandkids come to the house we have a great time watching the paper fly and the listening to the squeals of joy and the laughter and excitement that comes from the mouths of those little ones. They grow up too fast and soon the sparkle that comes from getting all those presents will subside. I hope, like their grandparents and their parents, they learn to enjoy giving more than getting and serving more than being served as they mature physically, mentally, and spiritually.

This is a good time to take inventory of your own attitude toward presents. Which do you like best and why? Getting or giving? Take some time and really think about it. I’d like to hear your thoughts if you’d like to share. Remember Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 9:7: You should each give what you have decided in your heart to give. You shouldn’t give if you don’t want to. You shouldn’t give becaused you are forced to. God loves a cheerful giver.

It’s not just money God cares about, but time, talent, you. God loves a cheerful giver of themself.

How much do you want to know Jesus? (Philippians 3:7-11), July 2, 2017

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
How much do you want to know Jesus? Enough to give up everything to find Him?
Scripture
1. Philippians 3:7-11
2. But whatever I used to count as my greatest accomplishments, I’ve written them off as a loss because of the Anointed One. And more so, I now realize that all I gained and thought was important was nothing but yesterday’s garbage compared to knowing the Anointed Jesus my Lord. For Him I have thrown everything aside—it’s nothing but a pile of waste—so that I may gain Him. When it counts, I want to be found belonging to Him, not clinging to my own righteousness based on law, but actively relying on the faithfulness of the Anointed One. This is true righteousness, supplied by God, acquired by faith. I want to know Him inside and out. I want to experience the power of His resurrection and join in His suffering, shaped by His death, so that I may arrive safely at the resurrection from the dead.
Devotional
1. Some people want to be anonymous, but I’m not sure there are few who want absolutely nothing left behind. We all would like to have someone remember at least something we have done. We don’t want to go off into obscurity never leaving any mark at all on the world.
2. Paul recognizes the best mark we can leave, though.
  1. Whatever we accomplish write off as a loss.
  2. All gain and all accomplishments are like garbage compared to knowing Jesus
  3. Throw everything aside to know Him
  4. How much do you want to know Him?
  5. Is He worth everything to you?
  6. Are you willing to give up everything for Him?
3. It’s when we want to know Jesus the way Paul wanted to know Him that we can experience Him the way Paul experienced Him.
  1. Inside and out
  2. Transformed in our thinking
  3. Experiencing daily the resurrection power of that first Easter morning
4. Problem with most of us
  1. We hold to tightly to the things in this present age
  2. World blinds us to what is important
  3. That accomplishment we want others to remember
  4. The money or material possessions we accumulate
  5. The fame we get so our name is put into some history book
  6. We want to become a legend rather than letting God use us as His instrument to do whatever He wants
5. Get to know Him inside and out seeing everything else as garbage in comparison
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.”
Bible Reading Plan – Philippians 3-4

Improve your health, give thanks (Luke 17:17-19) December 15, 2016

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Song of Songs 3-4

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

Today’s Devotional

Luke 17:17-19
Jesus: Didn’t all ten receive the same healing this fellow did? Where are the other nine? Was the only one who came back to give God praise an outsider? (to the Samaritan man) Get up, and go your way. Your faith has made you healthy again.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

You’ve probably heard about gratitude journals and attitude of gratitude and keeping a disposition of thankfulness and how these things can keep your mood elevated. You’ve might have read some of the current studies that medical science has performed that show these things have real merit in changing a persons mood in positive ways and they shown it by the presence of those hormones and enzymes in the brain that elicit those responses when we show gratitude for the things around us instead of complaining about our circumstances.

It’s taken a long time, though, for science to catch up with what Jesus taught us 2,000 years ago with these 10 men and what Paul told us to do when he said to be thankful in everything. But we’ve forgotten the lesson too often. We don’t hear too many thank yous anymore. We’ve come to think that people owe us kindness. We think people owe us service. We think people owe us just about anything we get. But you know, they really don’t.

That paycheck you get, perhaps you did things to earn it, but did you ever think about the fact that you are pretty fortunate to have a job? Look at the number of people just in this country that are without work. I know, you’ll tell me the unemployment numbers are better than they have been in a while. But that number is deceiving. Take a look at the tax roles. We have a smaller percentage of people paying taxes than we have since we started paying taxes. That should frighten you a little. That means a greater percentage of people are either not working or are making too little to pay taxes, which means they are at the poverty level. So how about being grateful for that paycheck and the ability to pay taxes.

What about that raggedy old car that you wish you could afford to trade. We think we deserve a new one, right? Well, if you’re car moves on its own, that’s better than walking, right? Besides, a raggedy old car is probably better than a crippling car payment when the economy is doubtful, right? So how about some thanks for that piece of junk that sits in your driveway and gets you to work every day.

Then there’s that neighbor or co-worker that just drives you nuts. You can’t get away from them and they tell you the same stories every time you see them. It seems like such a waste of time when they come by, but you grit your teeth and patiently listen to the same story again and smile and act like it’s the first time you heard it to be polite. But what if you had no friends. What if you lived all alone with no one that called or visited or cared. What a lonely pitiful life that would be because God made us for relationships, not to be alone. So how about a little thanks for that annoying neighbor as you put them in the proper perspective.

And then there is salvation. Can you think of what God did for you and not be thankful? When things begin to get tough here, just think about what’s ahead. We are promised an eternity with Jesus if we have let Him into our hearts. He died for just that purpose. He gave Himself so we can live with Him forever. He came to pay the penalty for our sins so they might be forgiven and our guilt might be swept away. If that doesn’t make you thankful, then what will? We no longer carry the sins that keep us from God’s presence. They are removed and cast away as far as the east is from the west.

I like the way David said that in the Psalms. I’m not sure David understood the north and south poles and the fact that when you got to the north pole you could go no farther north. From that point you can only go south. And from the south pole you can only travel north. But when you travel east or when you travel west, you just keep on going like the Energizer bunny. You never stop, there is no end. And that’s just how far God casts away our sins when He forgives us.

Paul told us to be thankful. Jesus told us to be thankful. Science tells us the benefits of being thankful. Have you figured out yet that giving thanks, being grateful for even the little things is good for your health. So turn up that thanks meter and improve your health today.

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.

You can believe, too (2 Timothy 1/3-18) December 10, 2015

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – 2 Timothy 1:3-18

Set – 2 Timothy 1-2

Go! – 2 Timothy 1-4

2 Timothy 1:3-18
^3-4 Timothy, you are constantly in my prayers. Day and night I remember you before God and give thanks to Him whom I serve with a clean conscience, as did my ancestors. I really want to see you, especially when I remember how you cried the last time we were together. Yes, I know it would make me joyful to see you again. ⁵What strikes me most is how natural and sincere your faith is. I am convinced that the same faith that dwelt in your grandmother, Lois, and your mother, Eunice, abides in you as well. ⁶ This is why I write to remind you to stir up the gift of God that was conveyed to you when I laid my hands upon you. ⁷ You see, God did not give us a cowardly spirit but a powerful, loving, and disciplined spirit.
⁸ So don’t be embarrassed to testify about our Lord or for me, His prisoner. Join us in suffering for the good news by the strength and power of God. ⁹ God has already saved us and called us to this holy calling—not because of any good works we may have done, but because of His own intention and because eons and eons ago (before time itself existed), He gave us this grace in Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King. ¹⁰ And now, the time has come! That grace was revealed when our Savior, Jesus the Anointed, appeared; and through His resurrection He has wiped out death and brought to light life and immortality by way of this good news. ¹¹ I was appointed a preacher, emissary, and teacher of this message. ¹² This is exactly why I am suffering. But I am not ashamed because I know Him and I have put my trust in Him. And I am fully certain that He has the ability to protect what I have placed in His care until that day.
¹³ Remember the words that you heard from me. Retain them as the model for healthy and sound teaching in the faith and love that are available in Jesus the Anointed. ¹⁴ As for the precious thing entrusted to you, protect it with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.
¹⁵ You may know by now that all those in Asia have turned their backs on me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. ^16-17 But Onesiphorus was not ashamed of my chains. So when he arrived in Rome, he searched for me and found me. May the Lord show mercy to his house because he has often stopped by to refresh my weary soul. ¹⁸ And may the Lord shower him with divine mercy on the last day. You are well aware of all he did to serve me in Ephesus.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Today I want to call your attention to the mission I gave Paul and one that I think speaks to everyone in many ways. “I was appointed a preacher, emissary, and teacher of this message. This is exactly why I am suffering. But I am not ashamed because I know Him and I have put my trust in Him. And I am fully certain that He has the ability to protect what I have placed in His care until that day.”

In the first couple of sentences that Paul shares here, he clearly understood his mission and that the very mission I gave him caused the suffering he endured. But I want you to pay attention to his next words. Paul wasn’t ashamed of his imprisonment as were most of his prison mates. They found themselves incarcerated for wrong doing. Paul found himself in chains for doing good. Paul was not ashamed of the gospel and whatever suffering or pain came with it, he was willing to endure.

Why wasn’t Paul ashamed? Because he knew Me. He not only saw Me on the road to Damascus that one extraordinary day, but he talked with Me and listened to My words as he prayed and read the scriptures. He died to self and let My Spirit guide his life. Paul gave his all to Me. He knew Me and had faith that I would see him through whatever circumstance he found himself or would usher him into My presence in paradise. Either option fit him just fine.

Paul knew I could protect him from whatever he faced. He didn’t hold any doubt in his mind. Paul knew with certainty I could do what I said I would. I never fail. When I make a promise, I keep it. Paul knew that about Me. His confidence in Me was sure. So he could face the trials that came his way. But Paul was just a man. There was nothing special or unusual about him. I didn’t give him some special DNA that enhanced his faith. He just exercised the faith he had. That’s it. That’s why people remember him. That’s why Paul was such an exceptional disciple. He just believed, always.

You can, too.

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.

Set a good example (Titus 2) December 9, 2015

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Titus 2

Set – 1 Timothy 5; Titus 2

Go! – 1 Timothy 5-6; Titus 1-3

Titus 2
¹ As to you, Titus: talk to them; give them a good, healthy diet of solid teaching so they will know the right way to live.
² Here’s what I want you to teach the older men: enjoy everything in moderation, respect yourselves and others, be sensible, and dedicate yourselves to living an unbroken faith demonstrated by your love and perseverance.
³ And here’s what I want you to teach the older women: Be respectful. Steer clear of gossip or drinking too much so that you can teach what is good ⁴ to young women. Be a positive example, showing them what it is to love their husbands and children, and teaching them to ⁵ control themselves in every way and to be pure. Train them to manage the household, to be kind, and to be submissive to their husbands, all of which honor the word of God.
⁶ Encourage the young men in the same way: in every situation, they should learn to control themselves.
^7-8 Titus, you have to set a good example for everyone. Go out of your way to do what is right, speak the truth with the weight and authority that come from an honest and pure life. No one can argue with that. Then your enemies will cower in shame because they have nothing bad to say against us.
⁹ Advise all the servants: Work hard for your masters, and be loyal to them. Strive to please. Don’t be rude or sarcastic. ¹⁰ Don’t steal or embezzle your masters’ property. Show them you are trustworthy, and all the credit will go to the teaching of God our Savior.
¹¹ We have cause to celebrate because the grace of God has appeared, offering the gift of salvation to all people. ¹² Grace arrives with its own instruction: run away from anything that leads us away from God; abandon the lusts and passions of this world; live life now in this age with awareness and self-control, doing the right thing and keeping yourselves holy. ¹³ Watch for His return; expect the blessed hope we all will share when our great God and Savior, Jesus the Anointed, appears again. ¹⁴ He gave His body for our sakes and will not only break us free from the chains of wickedness, but He will also prepare a community uncorrupted by the world that He would call His own—people who are passionate about doing the right thing.
¹⁵ So, Titus, tell them all these things. Encourage and teach them with all authority—and rebuke them with the same. You are a man called to serve, so don’t let anyone belittle you.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Paul’s words to Titus fit anyone who calls themselves a Christian, not just pastors. My name should mean something to you. It should also mean something to those outside the faith that see you when you use My name to identify yourself. As Paul told Titus, it’s your life lived out in front of others that speaks so much louder than your words.

I see a lot of hypocrisy, though, among those who call themselves Christian, today. Not unlike the Pharisees that walked the streets of Jerusalem. They plotted murder to stop My voice. Murder! Talk about getting off track. Yet some bomb clinics, stores, homes, and more in My name. Is that different? Some slander the names of others and do everything they can to discredit those who disagree with their views, all in My name. Is that different than what the Pharisees did?

I encourage you to stop and consider whose name you wear. Then think about what it means to represent Me. How do you know what that looks like? I give you lots of instructions. I left My word with you through the centuries. I encourage you to read it. If you struggle with reading, listen to it. Technology today gives you a multitude of ways to hear My word, but delve into it – often. Don’t take someone else’s word for what it says, explore it yourself. Paul commended the Berreans for their study of My word, not taking anything he or anyone else said at face value, but going back to scripture and proving what was said is true.

Be a student of My word. Then teach it correctly. Don’t let those around you take favorite verses or phrases out of context to prove a point. Remember My word doesn’t contradict itself. It tells you who I am and My will for your life. It tells you how you should live and how to live forever. Paul admonished Titus to remember those teachings and pass them on to others. As a person wearing My name as your identity, I expect you to live a life that honors My name. I expect you to adhere to the advice Paul gives his young ‘son in Christ’, Titus. I want others to see the transformation I can bring to their lives as I brought it to you. Don’t disappoint through actions that discredit or dishonor My name.

If you decide you don’t want to live up to My kind of life, then don’t use My name. Names are important. Too many will soon be called out for taking My name in vain, misusing it as an excuse to do what you want. How is that supposed to win others to My kingdom? It’s time to take Paul’s message to heart. “You have to set a good example for everyone.” My name deserves it.

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.

Forgive! (Colossians 3:1-16) December 7, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Colossians 3:1-16

Set – Colossians 3-4

Go! – Colossians 1-4

Colossians 3:1-16
¹ So it comes down to this: since you have been raised with the Anointed One, the Liberating King, set your mind on heaven above. The Anointed is there, seated at God’s right hand. ² Stay focused on what’s above, not on earthly things, ³ because your old life is dead and gone. Your new life is now hidden, enmeshed with the Anointed who is in God. ⁴ On that day when the Anointed One—who is our very life—is revealed, you will be revealed with Him in glory! ⁵ So kill your earthly impulses: loose sex, impure actions, unbridled sensuality, wicked thoughts, and greed (which is essentially idolatry). ⁶ It’s because of these that God’s wrath is coming upon the sons and daughters of disobedience, so avoid them at all costs. ⁷ These are the same things you once pursued, and together you spawned a life of evil. ⁸ But now make sure you shed such things: anger, rage, spite, slander, and abusive language. ⁹ And don’t go on lying to each other since you have sloughed away your old skin along with its evil practices ¹⁰ for a fresh new you, which is continually renewed in knowledge according to the image of the One who created you. ¹¹ In this re-creation there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian and conqueror, or slave and free because the Anointed is the whole and dwells in us all.
¹² Since you are all set apart by God, made holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a holy way of life: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. ¹³ Put up with one another. Forgive. Pardon any offenses against one another, as the Lord has pardoned you, because you should act in kind. ¹⁴ But above all these, put on love! Love is the perfect tie to bind these together. ¹⁵ Let your hearts fall under the rule of the Anointed’s peace (the peace you were called to as one body), and be thankful.
¹⁶ Let the word of the Anointed One richly inhabit your lives. With all wisdom teach, counsel, and instruct one another. Sing the psalms, compose hymns and songs inspired by the Spirit, and keep on singing—sing to God from hearts full and spilling over with thankfulness.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

It seems that every day there’s news of another shooting. Another terrorist or someone filled with anger loses control and unleashes that anger on the innocent just because they can. Lives face eternity instantly and families are changed for a lifetime. Do I expect you to really live the life Paul talks about in the face of such wickedness in the world? A life of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience? Do I expect you to forgive even those who wreck families forever because of their wonton disregard for life?

The answer is yes. Think about the conditions Paul faced. When he wrote these words he found himself chained to a Roman guard in prison. He didn’t know if he would live or die. He faced trumped up charges of treason against the state, a clear sentence of death if found guilty. After 25 years of following My directions, Paul had been beating, imprisoned, flogged, stoned, and left for dead. But I wasn’t finished with him yet. I still had work for him to do.

What does Paul do with each of his tormentors? He forgives. He tells you to live a life such that your persecutors, your enemies will marvel at your failure to seek revenge for their cruelty. As I did from the cross, Paul understood those who persecuted him didn’t know what they were doing. Satan blinded their eyes. He pulled a veil over them so they could not see the truth of My word and acted out of ignorance. Just look at the actions they took. Plotting murder to uphold their law! How could they justify breaking the law to keep the law? Their blindness caused by Satan’s schemes.

Forgiveness is not for your enemies so much as it is for you. Forgiveness is important for you to move on with your spiritual and emotional health with things go badly for you at the hands of others. They may or may not even know the trouble they’ve caused you and sometimes wouldn’t care if they did. But living a life of unforgiveness hurts you much more than it does them. It creates bitterness in your life. It causes you to think like the world instead of like Me. It keeps you from a life of love.

There’s another important reason to forgive. I told you several times as I walked with you that you would experience forgiveness from Me in the same measure you forgive others. So you need to forgive. You need to let go of vengeance and revenge. You must release your anger and hateful thoughts against your brother. You must forgive the wrongs done against you. I forgive in the same measure you forgive, so you must forgive your brothers and sisters if you want My forgiveness.

It might sound impossible, but not when you give yourself fully to Me. When you let Me control your life, I give you the strength to forgive. I let you see others the way I see them. So you can say, like Paul, Peter, Steven, James, Thomas, John, and all My saints who have gone before you, “Forgive them Father, because they don’t know what they are doing.”

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 you be among the few? (Ephesians 1:15-23) December 4, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Ephesians 1:15-23

Set – Ephesians 1-2

Go! – Ephesians 1-4

Ephesians 1:15-23
¹⁵ This is why, when I heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus that is present in your community and of your great love for all God’s people, ¹⁶ I haven’t stopped thanking Him for you. I am continually speaking to Him on your behalf in my prayers. Here’s what I say:
¹⁷ God of our Lord Jesus the Anointed, Father of Glory: I call out to You on behalf of Your people. Give them minds ready to receive wisdom and revelation so they will truly know You. ¹⁸ Open the eyes of their hearts, and let the light of Your truth flood in. Shine Your light on the hope You are calling them to embrace. Reveal to them the glorious riches You are preparing as their inheritance. ¹⁹ Let them see the full extent of Your power that is at work in those of us who believe, and may it be done according to Your might and power.
Friends, it is this same might and resurrection power that ²⁰ He used in the Anointed One to raise Him from the dead and to position Him at His right hand in heaven. There is nothing over Him. ²¹ He’s above all rule, authority, power, and dominion; over every name invoked, over every title bestowed in this age and the next. ²² God has placed all things beneath His feet and anointed Him as the head over all things for His church. ²³ This church is His body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus reminds them and you of the power at your disposal. Many Christians today forget what I told you while I was with you in the flesh. I told My disciples that when I went away and sent My Spirit in My place that you would do miracles on My behalf and you would do more than I was able to do while I lived alongside you. It’s an important promise to remember. And it is absolutely true.

Because so few really experience what Paul experienced in his life, you don’t see the things that happened in Paul’s day on a wholesale basis. I can still do those things through you, and do around the world. I still perform miracles of healing, feeding, financing, driving out unclean spirits. I still heal broken relationships, mend confused and broken minds, guide decisions. I still save you from the penalty of sin.

You see, I chose men and women to carry out the tasks in My plan for the world. I chose you to share the message of My good news. I chose ordinary people to do extraordinary things through the power of My Spirit within them. And all it takes is letting Me have control of your life and then letting Me work through you.

Paul talks about the power available to you. Do you ever think about that power? The power I give you? The resurrection power. So many of you try to do things in your own strength. Consequently, you do so little. Your strength gives out. Your muscles, intellect, and spirit are never strong enough to do the work I have for you to do. You might try, but you just can’t do it alone. You’ll never be strong enough by yourself. No matter how much you try, you’ll never have the strength to complete My tasks.

Paul knew that the power that raised Me from the dead is available to you when you give yourself completely to Me. Paul gave himself to Me and let My Spirit control him. He saw what My power in you can do and so he penned those words in very opening of his letter to the Ephesians. “Let them see the full extent of Your power that is at work in those of us who believe, and may it be done according to Your might and power.”

It only takes believing. It only takes letting go of self. It only takes dying to your will and letting My will live out through you. It only takes being resurrected a new creature in Me, being reborn into My kingdom. It only takes becoming what Paul called a living sacrifice for Me. It only takes becoming an instrument for My bidding. Then, like Peter and Paul, you’ll do things you never imagined. You’ll tap into My power source. You’ll use the strength of the Creator of the universe.

When you do My will at all times, letting Me really live in you, you will experience remarkable things. Your schedule will turn upside down as you live for Me. Your journey will take you along paths you never imagined. You will know the full extent of My power at work in you as you do My will. Others will be amazed, but others will want to know more about the power in you.

Few will pay the price to know My power within them. Few will really die to self to let Me truly live within them. Will you be among the few?

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.

Listen to God’s Spirit’s guidance (Romans 14/1-12) December 3, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Romans 14:1-12

Set – Romans 13-14

Go! – Romans 13-16

Romans 14:1-12
¹ It’s high time that you welcome all people weak in the faith without debating and disputing their opinions.
² Here’s the issue: One person believes that nothing’s off the menu; he’ll eat any food put before him. But there’s another believer—we’ll call him the weaker—who eats only vegetables because the meat is tainted through contact with an idol. ³ If you are an eater of all things, do not be condescending to your vegetarian brother or sister. In turn, those who abstain from certain foods on religious principles should not judge your brothers and sisters who eat meat—if God has accepted them, you have no reason to reject them. ⁴ How could you think for a moment that you have the right to judge another person’s servant? Each servant answers to his own Master, and he will either stand or fall in His presence. The good news is that he will stand because the Master is able to make it so.
⁵ There may be a believer who regards one day as more sacred than any other, while another views every day as sacred as the next. In these matters, all must reach their own conclusions and satisfy their own minds.⁶ If someone observes a day as holy, he observes it in honor of the Lord. If another eats a particular diet, he eats in honor of the Lord since he begins by giving thanks! If yet another abstains from that same food, he abstains out of respect for the Lord and begins his meal by thanking God too. ⁷ The truth is that none of us live for ourselves, and none die for ourselves. ⁸ For if we live, we live for the Lord. If we die, we die for the Lord. So in both life and death, we belong to the Lord. ⁹ The Anointed One, the Liberating King, died and returned to life to make this a reality: through His death and resurrection, He became Lord of the living and the dead.
¹⁰ So how is it that you continue to judge your brother? How is it possible for you to look down on a sister? We will all stand before the judgment seat of God. ¹¹ For it is written,
“As I live, so I promise,” says the Lord, “every knee will bow down to Me.
Every tongue will confess to God.”
¹² So every one of us, regardless of our eating habits, should expect to give an account for our own lives to God.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

You know that My word tells you some things are flat wrong – stealing, murder, sexual immorality, lying, and so forth. There are many things that you’ll come across day by day, though, that My word doesn’t say anything about. Some churches hold firm views on certain activities and others will tell you those activities are okay. So what’s the truth? What is the real story? What do I say?

I say, listen to My spirit within you.The concepts within My word do not change. So first listen to them and judge your actions according to the concepts and precepts within My word. But often I will give you personal convictions and commands to follow that I do not give to others. I do it for a reason. I know your weaknesses just like Satan knows your weaknesses. But when you give your life to Me, I protect you from the evil one, just as you ask Me to do.

So, I give you personal convictions around your area of weakness to keep you from falling to the temptations that Satan might put in your path. For instance, I might know that because of your genetic makeup you have a predisposition to addictive behaviors. My spirit might tell you I don’t want you to drink alcoholic beverages because I know you would become an alcoholic. I give you that conviction to protect you. Or suppose you have difficulty with handling money. I won’t give you a lot to handle to tempt you. I won’t necessarily make you poverty stricken, but I probably will keep you from being wealthy to keep you from falling into Satan’s money traps.

I will ask you to do things to keep you out of trouble and avoid your weak areas if you’ll listen to Me. I’ll give you personal instructions and guide you through this life in ways that will keep your heart pure and away from the snares the tempter lays out for you. I’ll put you on a path of righteousness fit just for you. Your convictions will not fit anyone else, so don’t try to impose them on anyone. They will be yours. And other’s convictions may not fit you. So live by My spirit and let Me guide your path. My word will tell you many things to do and not do, but My spirit will guide you if you listen. Trust Him to lead you well.

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.