Big John's a'Comin'

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” Matthew 28:18 (New American Standard Version)

A tenderfoot had just arrived in a town in the Wild West. He no sooner stepped off the stagecoach than many of the townsfolk came running past him in terror. Weeping women were grabbing their children and hurrying off to hide. One old timer ran past the dude shouting, “You’d better find a good place to hide, Stranger. Big John is a’comin’!” Everyone in town was getting out in a hurry. Instead of running the dude from the East was curious and stepped up on the wooden sidewalk to see what was going to happen. In a few minutes he noticed a large dust cloud heading down the street. As he watched, out of the dust cloud rode a weather beaten old man riding a grizzly bear and using a rattlesnake for a whip. The old man rode the bear up to a water trough, climbed down and dunked his head into the trough, drinking until all the water was gone. After a few moments he looked up, shook water out of his scraggly beard and said with alarm, “You’d better head for the hills, Stranger. Big John’s a’comin’!”

I learned early on in my life that no matter how big and bad someone is there’s always someone who’s tougher. I remember a 4th grade classmate named Roger who took down a 6th grade school bully named Billy. Billy the Bully. All of us kids were scared to death of this kid who routinely terrorized whoever was close enough to make eye contact. He used our fear as a tool toward intimidating us. This one particular day, to our great pleasure, Roger got that big bully into a headlock and held him until the bully started to cry and beg for mercy.

I often remember that story when Satan and his power seem to loom too big and too unstoppable. Satan does have limited power yet it is dwarfed by the power of Jesus Christ. Whatever Satan does he does only by the assent and will of God. Satan has been trying for thousands of years to destroy the work of God only to be thwarted at every turn by God’s Wisdom and Eternal Power. Like a bully Satan uses bluster and fear to scare us into discouragement and paralyze us into inaction. While he does have more power than we humans that power can be compared to a match flame in a hurricane compared to the Power of Christ. There is a feeling within the human community that Satan is the equal of Jesus Christ. He is not nor has he ever been. He may be the equal of the archangel Michael but he does not hold power or command anything close to the power and authority of the Son of God. Jesus said all power and authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. I think the adjective all pretty much sums it up. We can be sure when Satan rides into town in a swirl of dust he’s constantly looking over his shoulder because he knows Jesus is right behind him. Yes, I would say all power and authority pretty much covers it.

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

Who Ate Who's Lunch?

Then Rabshekeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, “What is this confidence that you have?’” 2 Kings 18:19 (New American Standard Bible)

I recently heard a minister speak a good word about how near and strong God is for those who honor and serve Him. Hezekiah was king of Judah and had been approached by a guy named Rabshakeh, an emissary of the Assyrian king Sennacherib, telling Hezekiah that Judah was doomed and, to use a modern colloquialism, was going to “eat Hezekiah’s lunch,” that is, overthrow and destroy him and his kingdom. Needless to say Hezekiah was quite frightened. He sent his servants to the prophet Isaiah and inquired as to what the Lord would do.


Isaiah told the servants to tell the king not to be afraid because of the threats with which the king of Assyria threatened Judah and blasphemed God. The Lord had a plan for little Judah, outgunned and standing alone against the mightiest army of that day. Isaiah’s word from the Lord was “Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard you.” That very night an angel of the Lord went out and destroyed 185,000 soldiers in the camp of the attacking Assyrian army. After this defeat Sennacherib returned to Nineveh, where he suffered the ignominious fate of being murdered by his two sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer (Isaiah 37:38).


When we are threatened by the Rabshekehs of the world and find we are vulnerable all around it is a great encouragement to remember we serve a God who is powerful to save. He knows and understands where we believers are and can certainly intervene on our behalf. He has never lost control and He always hears us when we pray to Him. He may not always respond for us in such a way as He did for Judah, although He is still able to. Any way He chooses to respond for us is perfect because He is perfectly holy. You can take His response to Hezekiah as one of the defining aspects of His personality to those who love and serve Him. Those who want to eat our lunch may ask what is this confidence we have? “Because you have prayed to Me about your situation I have heard you.” Rabshakeh and Sennacherib came with the intention of eating Hezekiah’s lunch but the Lord sent them both away hungry. Is someone trying to eat your lunch? You may find that when the sun next raises the camp of your most ardent enemy is no longer a threat.


Ken


www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

One of These Days, Alice

But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase. Daniel 12:4 (New American Standard Bible)

For those of us old enough to remember the 1950s situation comedy “The Honeymooners,” we recall Ralph Kramden’s continued hollow threat to his long suffering wife Alice, “One of these days, Alice…pow, right to the moon!” Today is the 40th anniversary of the day humans first walked on the moon and I’m happy to report we did it without Ralph’s help. I was a mere 19 years old at the time and was as astounded at the feat as was the rest of our planet. I learned later that at the moment the moon landing was being broadcast around the world the crime rate in every nation fell. I guess all the crooks were indoors glued to someone else’s TV set.

The angel Michael told the Hebrew prophet Daniel that in the last days before God begins finishing His redemptive plan for planet Earth that people would be going back and forth throughout the earth and knowledge would be greatly increased. It was only 66 years from the time Orville and Wilbur Wright lifted their Wright Flyer off the sands of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina for a fleeting 59 seconds that Neal Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin put their feet on the surface of the moon. Since 1950 the time between the doubling of knowledge has grown increasingly shorter. At first knowledge was doubling every decade or so, then every 8 years, then every 5 until today it is estimated that all knowledge is doubling at a rate of between every 22-24 months. Because of commercial air transportation people are going to and fro throughout the entire earth in a matter of hours instead of weeks and months as a mere 100 years before.

Knowledge began to really move in the 20th century and has picked up to a blistering pace into the 21st. Most would agree the earth is in quite a mess at the moment and if there isn’t an answer to the problems we face as a race then we are truly hopeless. There are wars and rumors of them, earthquakes in various places, famines and pestilences worldwide, not to mention the madness we see in daily news casts. So what is the answer? The Jewish prophets foresaw total redemption of mankind and the earth through the personal intervention of God Himself. Daniel prophesied about the redemption of the earth from its curse and the return of the Messiah to rule it from His Temple in Jerusalem. The conclusion of the age is exciting to contemplate and the signs of the last days as the Bible relates them add additional evidence to its closing. Jesus said when we see these things coming to pass then lift up our heads for our redemption is approaching. What an encouragement from the word of God. And for Him to do it for us we don’t have to ask for the moon. He is in the process of being faithful to His word and to finish His work of redemption. Even so, Come Lord Jesus!

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

A Guy with a Mop

A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1 (New American Standard Bible)

One of my most memorable experiences with the wisdom of King Solomon came one day while I was working at a local hospital in the house keeping department. My supervisor assigned a young fellow, new to the job, to me to take around the hospital and acquaint him with things and with what needed to be done on a daily basis. We were chatting as I finished mopping an area of tile floor that went out to the loading dock. As I was wringing out my mop two women from the hospital offices came through as my charge and I continued our friendly conversation. All of a sudden our chat was broken by a loud voice strained with subdued fury. “Hey, you with the mop.” We looked up. One of the women was pointing her finger at me. I remember her friend had lowered her eyes in embarrassment. The lady speaking went on to say to me, “This floor is way too wet. Your carelessness is going to cause someone to slip and get hurt. You need to pay attention and be more careful!” I looked down at the floor and saw it was the normal dampness after having been mopped. As I stared at the floor for those fleeting seconds I was thinking shall I be defiant? My mind was going over some really harsh words. What to say, what to say?

Then today’s verse came to mind. I looked all around me at the freshly mopped floor and raised my eyes to her. She was glaring at me, daring me to defy her. I said gently, “Yes ma’am, it is a little wetter than it ought to be isn’t it? I will be more careful in the future. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.” The steam went out of her and her mouth actually dropped open. Her friend’s eyes went wide with surprise too. Not knowing what else to say my antagonist replied, “Well, you just watch what you’re doing or I’ll report you to management.” Having been deprived of ammunition to continue her attack she and her friend hurriedly exited the area. My young apprentice looked at me and said, “Man, I wouldn’t have been that nice. I would have told her where to go.” I told him “I can’t respond with that kind of gentleness and restraint on my own. Only the power and grace of Christ could make me answer like that. That lady could have just been chewed out by her supervisor or had a tiff with her husband this morning and her reaction was just a symptom of her anger and frustration. I just happened to be handy to lay it on.” He looked thoughtful and we continued our training.

I wish I could be consistent in answering with a soft answer all the time, but alas I am not. I’m just glad there really is Power through the Holy Spirit that strengthens me to respond and not react. Knee jerk reactions can eventually cripple our walk with Jesus. Who knows but that lady went home that evening and after considering my response may have said to her family, “I had the strangest encounter today with a guy with a mop.” A soft answer may not be what we want to give in moments of stress and attack, but they really do turn away wrath and in the process demonstrate the greater power of Christ in our lives to those around us.

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

Laminin

And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. Ephesians 1:17(New American Standard Bible)

Have you ever heard of laminin (lam-eh-nen)? I recently learned about it and in doing so my view of Christ as Creator was once again vindicated. Laminin is the cell adhesion molecule that holds our bodies together and is the body’s reinforcing steel, like human “rebar.” I was pretty astounded at what this little protein molecule does but was even more amazed when I saw the basic structure of it. In the last few years science has been able to identify what this molecule looks like. Its physical properties remind us of both Christ the Creator and Christ the Redeemer. Below is a picture of what it looks like. If you Google laminin you can see an actual molecule of it that was magnified by an electron microscope.










The Word of God tells us that everything that is was made by Christ and there is nothing that exists that was not made by Him (John 1:3). But the holding power of Christ goes far beyond this incredible molecule that He made for us to hold our bodies together. Jesus said that everyone the Father has given into His hand will be held by Him and not be cast away or lost. His holding power is beyond anything we can imagine and is proof on a daily basis that His Almighty power keeps us, protects us and encourages us in the meaning of who He is as our Creator and God. He holds us through any and all circumstances. Does Satan hold the upper hand? He may for a brief moment but history has shown that all his devices are outwitted and overcome by the mighty Wisdom and Power of Christ who is God in the flesh. Christ is the Creator of all things and even more the Lord of all things. He has all authority and is interested in us down to the molecular level and even to the smallest details of our lives, thoughts and needs. He holds us in His hand and will not let us go (John 10:28). Laminin may be the glue that holds our bodies together but Christ Jesus is the power that holds us in His hand and no occurrence, power or thing will be able to snatch us out of it. How special, loved and cared for we are by the Maker of all things. We are truly marked for majesty.

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

Four, Five and Sixers

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:29 (New American Standard Version)

When I was a kid some of the most unclean and polluted expressions were set in four letter words. I suppose things haven’t changed that much. Why so many cuss words came in four letters is still a mystery to me. As a youngster I observed that using one of those four letter words around an adult was pretty much the Kiss of Death.

It was surprising, then, as I grew older, that I realized there was a four letter word Christians used without moderation and which hardly even raised an eyebrow by believer or nonbeliever alike. That four letter word was j-e-r-k; ‘jerk.’ I used it myself with impunity, aiming it first in school at fellow students, and as I became older other drivers and even bosses, certain pastors and some brothers and sisters in Christ. There are other words too. Five and sixers, like ‘idiot’ and ‘doofus.’ One day, by God’s mercy and grace, I came to realize the words themselves were just guttural sounds and disappeared into the air the moment I uttered them, however it wasn’t the words themselves that Jesus condemned but the contempt of my heart that caused me to say them.

I had become desensitized to their use. Like the science experiment where one can boil a frog by putting it in cold water and turning up the fire I was taught to look at the words as evil (the cold water) and ignore the contemptuous spirit behind them (the fire). I slowly allowed my conscience to be cooked and it was pretty easy to use these words against others without much thought or regret. Down deep I really did know it was wrong to say these kinds of things about another person but I was always very good at rationalizing my situation. Was it really that big of a deal? After all it wasn’t one of the BAD four letter words. Jesus said contempt is pretty serious. If one is angry with a brother he is guilty before the court, if he says to another person “Raca” (you are worthless) he will be guilty before the supreme court but whoever calls his brother (or sister for that matter) “fool” will be in danger of fiery hell (Matthew 5:22). The word “fool” itself isn’t the point here but disrespectful attitude and contempt of the heart. Being honest at this point, even though I rarely say the words now, I do often find myself thinking them at moments of frustration and irritation as the old contempt rears its ugly head. The good thing is the Holy Spirit does help me not linger in my anger and redirects my thoughts so I can take hold of the better part (Luke 10:42). There are some really good four, five and sixers I can imitate in my life and speak, like ‘care,’ ‘edify,’ and ‘esteem.’ They’re little words but they can speak volumes when I allow Christ to speak them through me.

There is no law against love. Anyone hearing those excellent and uplifting words and statements can only reply, “Well said.”

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

Turn or Burn?

And men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues; and they did not repent, so as to give Him glory. Revelation 16:9 (New American Standard Version)

I really hate the mess we humans have made of life on planet Earth. It gets so that when I see something on the news that I believe to be the heart of depravity, the next morning there is something new that tops the previous day in its vileness. I’ve caught myself thinking, “Lord, if only you’d lay some really heavy judgment upon these evil people to get their attention they’d clean up their act.”

The Word of God teaches just the opposite; that human nature and its natural reaction to God’s will would be to despise and blaspheme His name. Jesus said the unregenerate heart hates Him first and seeks darkness because its deeds are evil (John 3:19, 20, 7:7). How else would degenerate people react to having light shone upon their evil choices except to display anger and hatred against that Light? And even though that judgment is justly deserved in the examination of a completely holy God?

It is mostly true that unbelievers know us Christians not for what we are for but for what we are against. While grace is mostly misunderstood as weakness by the world, I’ve found the general feeling toward it by many Christians is hostility and an unsympathetic viewpoint toward its lack of deserved punishment. If those unbelievers would just start acting right, going to church, not cursing, not having abortions, not using drugs or alcohol…and on and on. Those kinds of changes won’t happen by themselves; they will only follow a change of heart. A means to this change comes from our offering grace and truth to an unbelieving world and being spiritual salt shakers (Matthew 5:13). How will they know unless we tell them? How will they trust us if we come at them with a “turn or burn” attitude? The apostle John said people will know us by our love and the apostle Paul said there is no law against love. True love breaks down barriers opening hearts and minds. As we love and show grace to an unbelieving world the power of Christ can change lives by cleansing and transforming the inside of the cup (Matthew 23:26). An attitude of judgment hinders relationship while an attitude of love breaks no law at all. The latter is what Christ wants us to be known for.

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com