Religious Nuts and Bolts

Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person. Colossians 4:5, 6 (New American Standard Bible)

One day many years back I was at the back of a local supermarket picking up some milk. Suddenly I heard a man at the front of the store screaming at the top of his lungs that everyone who had not believed on Jesus was vile a person and was going to burn in hell. I can still remember how angry it made me. I hot-footed it toward the front of the store with every intention of publicly rebuking this man for his insensitivity. By the time I got there he was already out the door. He more than likely thought he’d just done God a big service by his “preaching.” As I surveyed the scene at the registers it was as I had feared. Most were shaking their heads and looking at each other with that mocking “just another religious nut” look. My heart was so grieved. Jesus Christ offers so much more than a crazed spiritual existence. Among the many benefits through Him are peace, love and a sound mind.

While Jesus did preach to groups of folks the most expressive complement He paid to another was to sit and dine with them. This was one of the most relational things a person in Jesus’ time could do. He became their friend and ministered to their need. Remember Zaccheus? Jesus didn’t attack him verbally but wanted to get to know him on a personal level in his home. And it is so much more personal and life changing to have someone accept you for who you are and offer you something that can change your eternal perspective. There are plenty of religious nuts out there but a turn-or-burn attitude never goes far in expressing the love of our Savior. It is no wonder so many people are repulsed by the message we bring; not so much to the truth of it but to how it is delivered. Paul says to let our conversation be grace seasoned with salt, not condemnation.

That’s the nuts of the message. The bolts of it are to be as salty as seawater in our delivery. Sharing Good News in a loving and personal way is spiritual salt. Those who taste what we offer and model will thirst for what we have. Only God can quench that thirst. Grace seasoned with salt. Just add Living Water.

Ken

devotionstoday.blogspot.com

A Friend of the Ruthless

And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house. And he hurried and came down, and received Him gladly. And when they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” Luke 19:5-7 (New American Standard Bible)

I know that paying taxes helps to support my American standard of living but I still don’t care paying it. It is understandable how much the Jews of Jesus’ time hated the dreaded publicans or Jewish tax collectors. These men were hired by Rome to wring revenue from the people under its rule. The average tax collector was not paid a weekly or daily wage by the Roman government. Rome assigned these men a certain amount to be taxed. As long as Rome got its portion it didn’t care how much “payment for services” the publicans took. And the majority of them took plenty. They were relentless extortionist in their job duties and they were ruthless.

So when Jesus said He was going into the home of one of these people many in the crowd around him were dismayed that He would have any personal dealings with such a dirty guy. In today’s understanding think of the most notorious public figure you know. Now picture Jesus going to his or her home, sitting poolside with them and having some real good fellowship. Think of what the media would do with that. In voicing their displeasure at Jesus’ choice the Jews were in essence saying that Zaccheus only deserved God’s wrath and punishment. I think of how many times I’ve had those same feelings for someone. It makes me wonder if this example of Jesus had been shown in the early lives of the John Dillengers, Al Capones, Joseph Stalins and Adolf Hitlers of history what would I read of them now? Grace heals.

I know Jesus had a heart for the people just like the ones around me today. I still suffer a hesitancy to sit down with “sinners” and just be their friend. But wouldn’t Jesus sit down with me knowing what a stinker I have been in my past and still can be? Being the friends of the publicans of our day is what Christ calls me to do. How will those who hunger and thirst after righteousness taste of it unless I bring the Bread of Life to their table? Those who tastes of the Lord all say He is good. I have found for myself He has become a refuge and a blessing as I have partaken of His mercies. Jesus Christ has always been a friend of those who could easily demonstrate qualities of ruthless behavior. Jesus is a friend to us all.

Ken

Devotionstoday.blogspot.com

Way Bigger than a Breadbox

Then Job answered the LORD, and said, “I know that thou canst do all things, And no purpose of Thine can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ “Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” Job 42:1-3 (New American Standard Bible)

Job was a man who struggled with the need to logically categorize God’s plans. Thousands of years later I also find myself struggling with doing the same thing by limiting God into a boxy type of vision. You see for years I thought to truly understand my faith I needed to absolutely know how God worked. Because of that I tried to package Him in various gospels according to Ken and sell Him to others. Fortunately God never fit into my limited vision. Just when I thought I had Him figured out He would gloriously burst out of my tiny box. At this stage in my relationship with Him I’m happy He doesn’t allow me to limit Him. He’s so much smarter than I am.

One of the most liberating things I’ve ever read was that we can’t know God’s mind and it’s OK that we can’t. Knowing that I don’t have to understand the reasoning behind His methods takes a lot of pressure off. If I could understand God then He wouldn’t be God. I was amused recently to hear a man on TV say, “God wouldn’t send His Son through a virgin. That’s an impossibility.” Well, if He’s God why would it be difficult for him? A human certainly couldn’t make it happen but God isn’t limited by human frailty. If He is a completely holy, All Knowing and All Powerful intelligent Being (Almighty) who wants to do it His way then why would His ways and methods seem logical to those of us who aren’t? Why wouldn’t He hate sin to such an extent that He would sacrifice Himself to destroy it? If He is God couldn’t He resurrect Himself from the dead (compare John 2:19)? The story is laid out logically in Scripture and verified historically. If He’s God isn’t He capable of doing it that way? If He’s God why wouldn’t He be able to be the biological vehicle for a young Jewish girl to conceive and bear Himself in human form as the Son of God? What’s so hard about it? The ancient Jewish prophets said He would. God isn’t illogical but He does know ways and means of doing something that are way beyond our way of doing things. You ought to all be thankful I’m not God. If you think He doesn’t know what He’s doing, you’d absolutely call for the mountains to fall on you if I had the power.

Because God is perfectly holy everything He does is controlled perfection. He is perfect in love, perfect in His patience and restraint, perfect in the way He bestows justice, perfect in mercy and perfect in how He controls every event for His own reasons and honor. I am trying to understand that He indeed has the right to choose to do anything in any way He thinks is best. Because He is perfectly holy He understands me and my ways completely. He isn’t disappointed in me when I doubt or when I try to fit Him into little boxes. Instead I believe He delights in showing me how easily He breaks free of my limitations and reveals to me the wonder of His ways and how well things turn out through His overall plan. I can’t keep Him in a box and I’m happy for that. Thankfully He never allows Himself to be put in those kinds of limitations. He is the Bread of Life but He isn’t limited to the bread box.

Thank you Jesus that You are the Becoming One. You are able to become the specific answer to my every need.
Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

The Lamb That Roared

And one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.” Revelation 5:5 (New American Standard Bible)

There doesn’t seem to be much grandeur in a sheep. I’ve never seen an animal TV program where a sheep stalked prey and I’ve never heard of someone protecting their property with a watchsheep. On the other hand I’ve not heard of anyone pulling a lion’s tail without coming out on the bad end of the deal.

In the Christ of God are both a Lion and a Lamb. The description defies all natural understanding and reason. He is both Sovereign and Sacrifice but it is a notion that is strange in the logical sense yet easily recognized. Beneath the wool of this Lamb ripples the sinewy muscle of a powerful King. He is not a Lion in Sheep’s clothing but a Regent that is one, the other and both. He is a King by His own Being and a Servant by His own will. As a Lion He is powerful enough to keep a chokehold on the throat of Satan yet as a Lamb offers Himself up for the sins of the world satisfying God’s demand for righteousness.

Logic has nothing to do with who we find seated on the Throne. Whether Lion or Lamb He is One and is affirmed of God (Matthew 4:17). The Lion works with ALL power and authority to fulfill His will while the Lamb reconciles us to a loving and concerned God. The Lamb who is a Lion will always be on the Throne and will be worshipped forever for His holiness and redemptive work among us. He has triumphed. Come, let us worship and bow down. Holy is the Lamb that roared.

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

Flying Lessons

“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:3 (New American Standard Bible)

Wisdom truly can come from the mouths of children. One evening when my daughter and I took my wife to the airport to catch a flight I heard such wisdom for myself. As my daughter and my three-year-old grandson, Jaren, stood at the window watching my wife’s plane being rolled back from the terminal a little girl next to us had her forehead pressed against the glass. She had tears in her eyes. Obviously someone she loved was moving away with that airplane and she didn’t know whether or not they would ever return to her. As the plane moved back she looked again to her mom who was standing next to her. She gave her a comforting hug and said, “It’s alright, honey.” Jaren was standing next to her. He looked over to her and seeing her tears touched her arm. “It’s OK,’ he said, “the airplane will come back.”

It must have been that way when Jesus was taken up from His disciples into the clouds to be at the right hand of His Father. Before He went away He promised He would return for us. If I am honest with you I have to say I have wondered at times if He really is coming back or did He leave and that’s it? My comfort is set in my faith in His word and the many signs he told us would be happening just before He comes home.

He has not only confirmed my reservation but the reservations of perhaps billions of believers past and present. My faith in Him is my boarding pass and I am convinced He will very soon take me and every other believer to clear, uncrowded and friendlier skies. I got a flying lesson from a two-year-old concerning this very thing. “It’s OK; the airplane will come back.” Jesus said if He went away He would return to us. The parallel is so striking isn’t it? Out of the mouths of children God has perfected wisdom and praise.

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

Should Old acquaintance be Ignored?

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” John 14:26 (New American Standard Bible)

I know a guy who walked into a room one day and the people’s smiles turned to disappointment. “Oh, it’s just you,” one of them said. Kind of reminds me of how I’ve looked at the Holy Spirit most of my life. Oh, it’s just you Holy Spirit. He’s been on my backburner and pretty much ignored for a lot of years mainly because He is so hard to define. He is addressed not with a particular name but with a title and is expressed in Scripture as Wind, at the most seeming more like an ‘It’ than as the Personal Being He is. At least the Father has a name and a personality while the Son is Deity in human form. That I can identify with.
But to say I have a Holy Wind for a friend leaves most folks with blank stares.

I’m coming to realize how mistaken I’ve been concerning Him. He is a lovely and generous individual at Oneness with the Father and the Son. A Being with definite personality. He is the same holiness, love, justice and being as God the Father and has been at work throughout the Old and New Testament times. Yes, remember in the Old Testament when the Holy Spirit fell mightily on Saul and he prophesied to the group of prophets with him (1st Samuel 10:10)? My entire Christian experience turns on the work of this personal friend. He is the one who works within my soul as a believer with reference to the Scriptures; He indwells and regenerates me on a daily basis, empowers me for life and service and finally is the Reference to teaching me the truth in Jesus Christ. And He is my friend.

Most of all He knows what I need before I ask. He intercedes to the mind of God for me when I pray seeking for the exact thing I need for my life (Romans 8:27). When I’ve found a new friend in the past I’ve wanted to know more about them, who they are, what they enjoy and to strive to make our bond stronger. In the same way the Holy Spirit seeks after me and searches out every detail of my life to empower me, offering with that power a life of hope and reassurance. He is more than just some kind of impersonal ‘essence.’ He is God Himself. Personal, loving, intimate. He is the realest of reality. He is mine and I’m thankful that He sees me as His own and treats me with the highest regard. Should old acquaintance be ignored? Maybe I’ve done that for a time but recalling and reestablishing an old friendship is always so pleasant.

Thank you Holy Spirit that you’ve always been there for me even in the times I didn’t really understand who You are. Holy are you Lord Jehovah.
Ken

Devotions Today at www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

The Big Burn of 1910

Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:28, 29 (New American Standard Bible)

One of the greatest fires in U.S. history blazed through areas of Washington State, Idaho and Montana at the beginning of the 20th century. Thousands of people were brought in to fight what would become known as the Big Burn of 1910. During two days in August hurricane force winds blew into northern Idaho and western Montana fanning the flames of lightening strikes into a hellish inferno. In the 48 hours of August 20 & 21 wind and flame consumed 3 million acres of trees and undergrowth. That's about 17 acres per second! By the time the fire was finally extinguished that fall an estimated 8 billion board feet of lumber had been destroyed, enough to fill a freight train 2400 miles long. Contrast that to the Yellowstone fire of 1988 where less than 1 million acres were burned from June to September.

As terribly destructive as fire can be I find it incredible that the U.S. Forestry Service will use a method called a “controlled burn.” This is setting and monitoring a fire to intentionally burn out areas choked with overgrowth. Those who support controlled burns say this method is effective in lessening deadwood and brush that could act as fuel to an uncontrolled blaze while also being effective in controlling weeds, stimulating new tree and plant growth, controlling tree disease and opening new areas for habitation. While the method seems like madness new growth is seen very quickly.

I have personally endured many “controlled burns” in my own life as God in His consuming fire has purged areas of my spirit that were so overgrown that it had become impossible for me to see the forest for the trees. When the fire swept through my life in the form of an awful trial it seemed more than I could bear. But a few months after the fire finished its purging work I was surprised and happy to see new growth appearing within my heart in the form of new clarity of vision, understanding and spiritual strength. At the time the method seemed too hot to bear but the new growth was far better than all the weeds and choking growth the fire took away. Sometimes it did seem like a forest fire similar to the great burn of 1910 had swept through my life. It hurt and all I saw was destruction, wreckage and smoking ruin. I have discovered that God in His consuming fire makes the great burn of 1910 look like a spark in a whirlwind yet His fire is personal and focused enough to know the areas of my life that will benefit from it. I stand in awe and reverence as I realize that His fire has always taken away what has stolen abundant life from me and He has brought up from the ashes new growth that heals and makes me stronger.

Ken

Devotions Today
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