Week 13 - A Messenger of God

In my opinion, one of the greatest men of the faith in the Bible is one who doesn't have a whole lot of Scripture limelight. There's nothing mentioned of his childhood or even his adulthood background except for a few extraordinary comments. He was a man full of faith, power and the Holy Spirit. He did great wonders and miracles among the people of his day. In fact, this man was so full of the Holy Spirit that even people who wanted to kill him couldn't because they were captivated by his spirit and wisdom when he taught. Instead, those who wished him dead, actually sought out and petitioned others to help create an uproar against this man of faith. So who was he? His name was Stephen.

The first mention of Stephen in the Bible is in Acts 6:5. Here he is being selected to fulfill duties of the church, or better, he is being ordained as a deacon. After his ordination, mentioned in Acts 6:6, Stephen is said to have performed great wonders and miracles (vs. 8). He was a faithful disciple of the Lord and he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Yet, religious legalist of the synagogue wanted nothing to do with Stephen's gospel message. So, they found men willing to commit perjury against Stephen.

Now, isn't that ironic? Here the so called "godly" figures of the day are seen sneaking around inducing people to lie for them in order to support their religious agendas. Friends, always know that if you have to cheat, lie, steal, murder, etc. in order to better yourself or support your beliefs, your actions are not of God; they are fully of the devil. This event in Stephen's life is a prime example of this very fact.

Nevertheless, despite the false accusations brought against Stephen, he never compromised his Christian character to protect himself. In fact, the Bible says that his face looked like the face of an angel during his trial. This is important to note. If you study the Greek definitions of the words used in the phrase from Acts 6:15, "[they] saw his face as it had been the face of an angel," you will find it literally means his countenance took on or looked as though it were the face of a messenger of God. This is interesting because this verse is the last verse of Acts 6 and Stephen's trial testimony (or message from God) pics up immediately in Act 7:2-53. So, immediately after Stephen's appearance changes, he beings speaking the message God has given him for these religious leaders and court authorities. Now, do you remember in past devotions I've told you how God made no mistakes in the words/phrases he chose to have penned in the Bible? Each word is divinely inspired. Keeping that in mind, look ahead to Acts 7:53. Stephen's last words of his testimony/message are these: "Who [Stephen's accusers] have the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it." His final words had to have struck a nerve in these men (a major nerve as we will talk about next week). Here these accusers are looking on this man who has been ordained as a deacon, supernaturally transformed to look like the face of an angel or messenger of God, and given a detailed testimony of the Jewish past and everything God has done for them. Then in his summary statement, he tells them...in my words..."You have been given everything you need to know about the law and the Messiah. It has been revealed to you by the disposition or authority of ordaining angels and you still have missed it; you still refuse to believe the facts."

On that day in history, God transformed Stephen into an ordained angel, a messenger of God, an authority these accusers no doubt would listen to as they "thought it their duty to receive what was enjoined [ministered] by angels" and they still refused to listen and accept Christ. How utterly sad.

Thank God for examples like Stephen. Next week we will look a little further into his briefly mentioned, but powerful ministry example. I encourage you to read Acts 6 & 7 this week and let the faith of this amazing individual encourage your faith.

If you have never received Christ as your personal Savior, I beg you not to be as these religious legalist of Stephen's day who served their own pride and agendas by refusing to listen to the truth. Christ has provided you with all you need to know to place your faith in Him. His Word is His love letter to you. Inside of it, He lovingly urges you to come to Him. Don't turn Him away. Confess your sins and need for Him. Ask Him to be your Savior. He promised in Romans 10:13, "For whosoever [that means anyone, no matter who you are or your current circumstance], shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved [immediately as you place your faith in Him]. Won't you turn to Him today?

References:
http://www.eliyah.com/lexicon.html
http://www.blueletterbible.org

Week 12 - What Will You Do While You Wait?

Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. Psalms 27:14

As I was reading my Bible the other day, I came upon the above verse. It's funny, but not surprising, how the Lord always knows exactly what we need and when we need it. I had just finished praying about a situation my husband and I are facing and seeking the Lord's will about. With no apparent answer, I have to admit I was feeling a bit discouraged. Then, the Lord directed me to this scripture. As I read it, I heard His Spirit say to my spirit, "Are you displaying good courage while you wait on my answer to your prayer?" I had to reply, "No, Lord. I'm depressed, frustrated, and scared." He spoke again and said, "Why? Didn't I just say I will strengthen your heart while you wait if you will be of good courage? Don't fail to be happy or to trust me. I will reveal your answer in due time. For now, Becky, how will you choose to wait on me?"

Then, as if on cue, the words to the following song started running through my mind and heart. They have been a blessing to dwell upon.

While I'm Waiting
by John Waller


I'm waiting, I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful, I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful, But patiently, I will wait
I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience

While I'm waiting, I will serve You
While I'm waiting, I will worship
While I'm waiting, I will not faint
I'll be running the race, Even while I wait


I'm waiting, I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful, I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy, But faithfully, I will wait

Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

As my husband and I continue our prayer and search for the Lord's will, I am also praying the Lord will help me (us) be of good courage and serve and worship Him during the wait. Has it been easy?...not always. Patience is not one of my strongest virtues. We live in a fast pace, immediate gratification world. It has been easy to get in a "I need an answer, like yesterday" mind-set. However, God does not always (not even usually) work on our time table. Yet, when He does provide His answer, His timing is to perfection. I'm thankful He is so awesome.

Friend, are you facing some struggles physically, financially, emotionally, etc? Have you been praying for God's direction but not received an answer? Take heart and choose to obey Him by waiting with good courage. As you do, He promises to strengthen your heart. Keep serving and worshipping Him. At the perfect moment He will reveal Himself.

My our mindset be as the words of the psalmist in Psalms 71:6;By Thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art He that took me out of my mother's bowels: my praise shall be continually of Thee.

Week 11: Religion or Relationship - Which One Are You Following - Part 2

Last week we looked at religious legalism during Jesus' day (John 9). We will take a closer look today.

There are times when I have seen this very mentality creep up into my own life and also the lives of other fellow Christians. Now, I don't believe we have or are going to lose our salvation, but I do believe we lose out on being a blessing to others and receiving a blessing from others as well as from the Lord. I have personally witnessed this legalistic religious mentality many times throughout my life. I've seen arguments over denominations,over translations of the Bible, over church budgets, over the way the church should be ran and a whole list of other things split the Body of Christ. I often wonder if Christ were to physically walk among us as He did in the Pharisees' day what He would think of the Church today. Would He be pleased or appalled?

Friends, I don't believe Christ is concerned with what denomination we choose to fellowship among; He wants unity among the Church. Furthermore, as long as His doctrine is not compromised, I don't believe He gets hung up on what Bible translation we read and study from. (Although, a good rule of thumb is to have one translation as your primary foundation for studying and be sure that the translation you are reading is God's Word and not man's...I prefer the KJV but I do study from other versions for comparisons; and to make sure I gain the actual meanings of the words, I look up the original Greek and Hebrew definitions.) I do, however, think He is concerned with His gospel being spread to all the world. He tells us in His Word (and He is the Word - John 1:1) that He came to seek and to save the lost (luke 19:10). Furthermore, He commands us to go into all the world and preach the gospel (Mark 16:15).

I recently heard of an evangelist who cancelled preaching a revival meeting at a particular church because some of the members in his sending church had past grievances with some of the members of the church hosting the revival. The evangelist stated that his pastor said their might be members of their church who would have a problem with this meeting. So, in an effort to not have his pastor left to answer questions about why he, the evangelist, was preaching the revival meeting at the other church, he canceled his attendance.

I don't know about you, but I feel this is no different than the way the Pharisees acted toward Jesus and His works. Instead of canceling his attendance at the revival, the evangelist should have taken a lesson from the former blind man and stood his ground for Christ. If he is truly called by God to preach the gospel, then that is what he should do...regardless of whose feelings may or may not be hurt. His attendance at the revival meeting may have been the very thing that the Lord would have used to help heal old wounds. Now, no one will ever know. You know, it is one thing for the world to be offended at the gospel of Christ (the Bible said the world would be), but it is another when the offenses are happening among fellow Christians. Furthermore, should the people of the church holding the revival learn of this event, as is likely to have happened, may they choose not to become prideful or fall into gossip over the situation.

Friend, I could tell you other stories of people being discouraged from crossing denominational lines to go and preach a service or revival or of people refusing to be blessed of God because a Bible study or greeting card had scripture that was not from their preferred translation and so on, but time will not permit. Nevertheless, we all need to examine ourselves and see if there is any religion in us that is hindering our relationship with Christ. If there is, we need to confess it, turn from it, and ask Christ to help us choose Him every time over man's ideas, feelings, or traditions. God forbid that we should get so caught up in religious P.P. (piety and politics) that we consider our thoughts and feelings superior to the Word and Will of God. If any decision we make in life does not line up with the Word and the nature of Jesus Christ, then it is wrong. May God help us always choose to bring all things under subjection to Him and may we never be a stumbling block to people who are for Christ, even if their means are different from ours.

And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us. (Luke 9:49-50)

Week 10: Religion or Relationship -- Which One Are You Following? Part 1

In John 9 we read the account of the blind man Jesus healed. Verses thirteen through the end of the chapter focus on the Pharisees' reactions to the event. I think their comments are both interesting but heartbreaking. I fear that all too often we slip and fall into some of the same legalistic positions as the Pharisees under the disguise of religion.

Let's take a closer look at how the Pharisees handled the healing of the blind man. First of all, John lets us know in verse 14 that the healing took place on the Sabbath. This would have been a big no-no to the Pharisees as Jesus' act of healing would have been considered work and not in keeping with the Jewish Sabbath law (vs. 16).

Secondly, they accused the blind man of being a liar (vs.18) and sought out his parents for a second opinion. Now the parents feared the Jewish leaders, so they chose not to stand up for their son (vs. 20-23). They told the Pharisees to ask him what had happened because he was old enough to answer for himself. Now imagine that! Here their own son who has been blind from birth has miraculously regained his sight and they are too caught up in the religion of the day to stand up and say that Jesus, the new man on the scene, may have some credentials worth looking into.

Thirdly, because of the Pharisees own spiritual blindness, they tell the former blind man that he should "Give God the praise" for his healing and not this sinful Jesus character. Their ridiculous self-serving deductions of Chirst caused them to totally miss God; the very person they claimed to know and worship had been among them and they didn't even recognize Him.

Finally, in a fourth attempt to discredit Christ, the Pharisees question the former blind man again as to the events surrounding his healing. Now this is the part of the story that I love. I think the blind man had great, noteworthy character because as he stands there obviously surrounded by a crowd of commoners as well as the religious authority of the day, he boldly replies, "Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see." Don't you know you could have heard a pin drop on that cold synagogue floor! Then, for lack of nothing else to say, they question the poor man again. At this point, the man turns the tables on the Pharisees and questions them. "He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples?" Well, this response did not sit too well with the Pharisees, so they reviled the man, throwing out all of their religious jargan about knowing God and Moses and so forth. The former blind man, once again a hero of Christ, stands up to them and smoothly declares, "Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing."

Wow! perhaps the once blind man went on to be a preacher after his conversion because he clearly laid it all out on the line with quite intelligent deduction. No one could refute his argument...not even the Pharisees. Thus, he was thrown out of the synagogue, and beneficially so. For as the man went on his way, he again encountered Christ and this time his soul was saved (vs. 35-38).

Look back over the chapter and notice the arrogant, religious legalism that blinded these poor Pharisees. Here Christ, their promised Messiah, was right in front of them all this time and because of their traditions, laws, and pride they couldn't even see Him. Their religion had blinded them to a real relationship with Christ; and, to put it bluntly, their religion was sending them straight to Hell.

Have you ever experienced such legalism in your walk with Christ? I have and next week we'll look further into this mentality.

Week 9: There Are No Orphans of God

I had the wonderful privilege of driving a group of students this week to Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia to see a one man drama of the book of John. The play was performed entirely by one gentleman with just a few props but with a powerful message. This man had memorized the entire book of John from the Bible. It was an absolutely wonderful performance and I am so thankful that I got the opportunity to see it. After the program, the actor allowed for a question and answer session. One of the questions that was posed to him was something along the line of what was his favorite part of the memorized scriptures. His reply was the part where Jesus told his disciples to love one another as He had loved them. I thought his answer was intriguing. He didn’t choose the miracles Jesus performed, or the crucifixion and resurrection scenes as his favorites. Of all the scriptures he could have picked, he picked the one about humans loving one another.

On Friday night, I had another privilege of driving the youth from our church to see the Atlanta Passion Play. This is a fabulous performance put on by the First Baptist Church of Atlanta. It had been about fifteen years since the last time I saw it. There were many new scenes added to this performance. I especially loved the new scene about the creation of the world and God creating mankind. It was wonderful to see the reenactment of man being created out of the dust of the ground and woman being created out of man. My all time favorite scene is of Jesus walking on the water and then His power over the turbulent seas and winds. However, I was struck most this time by the comments Jesus made to His disciples at the last supper before His death. The book of John 13 - 16 records the last supper message. Throughout those scriptures, Jesus speaks repeated of love. He wanted His disciples to know the importance of loving each other. Specifically in John 15:12-13, Christ says, “This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Seeing the visual of this at the program and hearing the words again that I had heard performed earlier during the week, really impacted my mind and heart as to how much Christ loved and wanted us to love others.

Over the weekend, I squeezed in a little down time to watch the movie, “The Blindside.” If you aren’t familiar with the movie, it is based on a true story about a white family who takes in a young, black, orphaned, teenage boy. They show great amounts of love to this young man by providing him with a home, new clothes, food, a private education, and a personal tutor. They treat him as one of their own children and strive to never make him feel different or of lesser value than their own biological children. This young man goes on to graduate and attend Ole Miss University on a full football scholarship where he eventually is recruited as a professional football player. It is a wonderfully moving film with a message resounding, once again, of love. Here was a prestigious, wealthy family who took the time to bless another individual and show him love so that he could make something of himself.

The message behind the movie got me to thinking once again about this recurring theme of love I had been considering all week. I am so thankful that God loves me. I am so thankful that God took time out of His extraordinary life to notice me, a spiritual orphan. I was a life destined for Hell with no hope of a future. I was a life scared by sin and blind to the fact that I needed help. Yet, one day, He allowed me to hear of His great love for me when He died on the cross for my sins. He convicted my heart of my lost condition and He offered His love to me…all I had to do was accept it. Thanks be to God; I did and it has made all the difference in my life. His love living in me has kept me off many wrong roads and kept me most importantly from a life of eternal death.

There was a scene in the movie I mentioned earlier when the family that is helping the young man asks him if he wants to legally become a part of their family and he accepts the offer. If he hadn’t, he may never have succeeded to the level he did in his life. I believe everyone is given at least one opportunity in this lifetime to choose to become a legal member of God’s family. He poured out His love on the cross by dying in mankind’s place for all the sins of the world. Christ died to become the world’s spiritual legal Father. The question I ask you now is this, have you accepted the offer?

Week 8: He Washed Me White As Snow

The Bible records in Leviticus 16 the guidelines God set forth for the Levitical priest to follow when he went into the Temple on the Day of Atonement to offer the yearly sacrifice for the sins of the people. Two goats were to be chosen for the sacrifice; one would become the sacrifice and the other would become the scapegoat. Once the sacrifice was offered, the priest would lay his hands on the head of the scapegoat and confess the sins of the people and then he would sprinkle the blood of the other goat on this goat’s head. After this, a designated individual would take the scapegoat out into the wilderness and leave it there to die.

The Jewish Talmud is an “extensive collection of teachings of the ancient Jewish Rabbis” and it contains “important eyewitness accounts of things that occurred during the first century A.D. and surrounding centuries.” In this book, it references the afore mentioned sacrifice on the Day of Atonement, also known today as Yom Kipper. It gives further documentation to the events that occurred each year on that important day. One bit of historical information about the sacrifice I find very intriguing was that the priest would tie a scarlet cord around the neck of the scapegoat. As the scapegoat was led out to the wilderness, it is recorded that the cord would miraculously turn white; thus affirming to the people that God had accepted the priest’s sacrifice for their sins. This occurrence is also reminiscent of the scripture in Isaiah 1:18 that states, “…though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” This historically recorded event is documented to have occurred every year on the Day of Atonement all the way up until 30 A.D. which was the approximate time period when Christ's earthly ministry began, with His baptism, when the Holy Spirit left the temple and descended upon Him and then ultimately culminating in His death on the cross. From that time until 70 A.D. ( a 40 year period), when the second Jewish Temple was destroyed and all sacrificing ceased, the Talmud records that the scarlet cord never again turned miraculously white. Why? The answer is simple. Christ had become the final sacrifice for the sins of the people once and for all. No more would the animal sacrifice be necessary nor accepted. No more would the priest have to intercede on behalf of the people. “[Christ] needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for His own sins, and then for the people's: for this He did once, when He offered up Himself. (Hebrews 7:27 KJV) Christ had given His life so that all who would believe in Him would be forgiven and have their sins turned “white as snow” forever. Thus, in order for the Jews to be forgiven, they had to accept Christ as their Savior and ultimate sacrifice. Unfortunately, many of the Jewish people of that day refused this final payment, continued with the animal sacrifice, but never again witnessed the scarlet cord turning white and signifying that their sacrifice had been accepted.

I am so thankful I don’t have to worry about whether my sins are forgiven or not. I have believed in Christ as God’s Son sent to die for my sins. I have confessed and repented of my sins, and I rest assured in the words of I John 1:9 that, “If [I] confess [my] sins, He is faithful and just to forgive [my] sins, and to cleanse [me] from all unrighteousness.” No, I don’t deserve His grace and mercy, but He has offered it freely to me as a gift. All praise be to Him. My forgiveness is not dependent on any sacrifices or works that I have done but is all dependent on the finished work He did on the cross. He is the Savior; the One and Only Sacrifice for the sins of the world.

As I write this, I am reminded of the words to the old song, “Jesus Paid It All.” It sums up our thoughts today perfectly when it says, “Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.”
If you have received Him, take time to thank Him again for your salvation. If you have not accepted His gift of love and forgiveness, won’t you choose Him today? The Bible promises that if you do, you can rest assured all your sins are white as snow.

If you would like to accept this free gift from Jesus, sincerely call on Him today. Proclaim Him as God’s Son and believe that He paid the final debt for your sin by His death on the cross. Accept that He defeated death by rising again and that He is alive today. Confess your sins and ask His forgiveness. That is all there is to it my friend. If you have done this, the Bible declares that you are saved for all eternity.

John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 6:37 - “All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.”

Romans 10:9-13 – “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

References:
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1872848&D=P, Talmud Gives Unintended Proof of Jesus Being the Messiah by William Nugent, 8-15-2009

Holy Bible, King James Version

Week 7: Have You Been Licked?

My husband is an avid outdoorsman; he loves being outside in nature. He has been on numerous outdoor adventures and has several trophies mounted on our walls of various species to commemorate those times. If the day permits him to watch television, I can guarantee the show will be either about hunting or fishing. I am embarrassed to admit it with these hard economic times, but we even pay an extra two dollars a month just so we can receive the Outdoor Channel on our satellite dish! There have been times when I thought that if he had no other responsibilities he would never leave the woods or his fishing boat. If I or our children need to know something about an animal, we are confident he can come up with an answer. I have even been on a few outdoor adventures with him, but after a few freezing mornings in a deer stand or duck blind, I determined I would leave the great outdoors to him; just give me a good book and a blanket and I’ll be waiting on you when you get back! (It just dawned on me as I was writing this that I have married a Christian killer…talk about an oxymoron.)

Nevertheless, his outdoor knowledge has taught me several interesting facts over the years, one of which I’d like to share with you. You see, my outdoorsman is also my Sunday school teacher. In one of his lessons he gave a description of the power of a lion’s tongue. The illustration so struck me that I have never forgotten it, and I think about it often. He said that a lion’s tongue is so strong and so rough that it can totally consume a portion of its prey in three licks. The first lick removes the skin or hide of the animal. The second lick removes the top layer of flesh and by the time it licks for the third time, it has devoured that section down to the bone.

Now when I heard that illustration, my mind went immediately to I Peter 5:8 and a new revelation of the meaning of that scripture dawned in my life. The scripture says, “Be sober, be vigilant: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” I had read and heard that scripture hundreds of times in my life but it never had full meaning until I heard the description of the capability of a lion’s tongue.

Listen Friend, you have heard me say in other devotions that God allowed certain words or scenarios to be written in the Bible for a reason…nothing was just haphazardly described or depicted. In my former recollections of the meaning of this verse, I nonchalantly thought, “Okay, the devil is like a roaring lion…a strong and fearsome beast”…end of thought. It wasn’t until I knew what devouring power a lion had that I realized what God was conveying in that verse.

The devil’s whole ambition is to destroy mankind. So, with his first lick, he “removes our hide;” for example, he tempts us with what appears to be a harmless thought. Then he licks again with a stronger temptation, and perhaps we allow ourselves to perform actions related to the previous thought temptation. Finally, he licks a third time. This time his lick goes to the bone and all of our moral character is devoured as we find ourselves compromised in a devastating situation with potentially excruciating consequences. Oh, what a grusome picture this paints. We must be ever mindful to keep the faith and to keep our eyes always on Christ.

Friend, take time to do a personal check-up. Are you protecting yourself with the armor of God and holding to your faith; or, do you sense that you have been licked by the roaring lion? Regardless of what “level of licking” you may currently find yourself in, Christ is always willing to forgive you if you will repent and turn to Him. He wants to give life back to your dry bones just as He did in Ezekiel’s day.

“Again he said unto me,…O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:…and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above:… and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet…” Ezekiel 37:4-10