From Travail to Triumph

For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. Romans 8:22, 23 (New American Standard Bible)

Living today can be compared to the guy on the Titanic that said after it hit an ice berg, “Well, it couldn’t get any worse.” Day to day most of us are constantly astounded how horribly things can become when we think it couldn’t possibly get any worse. The evil in the world and its constant rejection of God makes the righteous groan within their spirits and creation groan and travail for redemption.

Jesus foretold exactly how things would be developing in the days just before His second return (Matthew chapter 24, Luke chapter 21). Knowing what He said and watching the evening news can be a real jaw dropper. The point of Him telling us what would be happening was to serve as a sign that when all these things come together and happen to such an extent people begin to take notice His reappearing is imminent.

The way the world is now brings stresses to creation and the entire human race. We would be completely ruined if we knew the great evil of today was to flourish with no hope of ever stopping. The believer’s travail is a deep longing to be out of this world and present with Christ. His Holy Spirit brings to our hearts hope and optimism that His return is real and will be very soon. Even though we are groaning this hope causes us to eagerly await the redemption of our bodies and all creation. The patience of the saints will be rewarded. He will take those who have believed in Him from travail to triumph. He will keep His word; it is just a matter of time.

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

Angels Can't Say

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Mark 16:15 (New American Standard Bible)

Why doesn’t God just use His angels to proclaim the Gospel? One of the answers is angels can’t really understand the Gospel experience, yet it is so fascinating to them they long to examine it (1st Peter 1:12). While it is possible for them to repeat the Gospel message they have not experienced it personally. That is only reserved for the human race. Who can explain it better than those who have experienced being brought out of the mire of sin and degradation and had their feet set upon a straight path?

With all the massive global communications today there are still millions in the world who perhaps have heard of Jesus Christ yet know no more about Him than just His name. It’s interesting that the Gospel has been proclaimed to all nations yet for whatever reason there are people who have been denied the truth about Him either through government censorship or religious persecution. There is still a need to share the Gospel with the world and there are thousands of courageous missionaries who are giving up an easier life to bring the good news to those still in spiritual darkness. These men and women are lesser known than some of the great missionaries like Hudson or Livingstone yet their effort and contribution is none the less as important.

Missions are still a vital part of taking the Gospel to the entire world. Some people who work to fulfill the Great Commission do so at the very peril of their lives. In any case they are the touch of Christ’s hands and the bearer of His message of hope. Everyone loves good news and there is extremely good news in the Gospel story. Amazingly it is only shared through human to human interaction. There will be countless people of different nations and tongues who will stand in white robes before the Lamb there through the devotion, sacrifice and love of Christian missionaries. Those who leave home to bring this message to the nations are worthy of the greatest honor. Missions are the vanguard of God’s desire for the nations. Those who take up the call are keys to unlocking the hearts of the nations.

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

Stars in Our Eyes

He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them. Great is our Lord, and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite. Psalms 147:4-5 (New American Standard Bible)

As we continue to look at Creation and its Creator we turn our eyes toward the heavens. The vast expanse of the universe can be terrifying to contemplate. The speed of light, according to physicists, is the fastest thing in the universe. To travel across the known universe at that speed would take approximately 28 billion years. There are estimated billions of galaxies with diameters hundreds of thousands and possibly millions of light years wide. Our own Milky Way Galaxy is 100,000 light years across estimated to hold 200-400 billion stars. It is part of a local group of galaxies and is one of 200 billion galaxies in the observable universe. Astronomers estimate there are around a million trillion stars. Our own sun is considered to be a small star but gives off more energy in 1 second than mankind has produced since the beginning of history. Yet as ‘small’ as our sun is it would take a million earths to fill it. In comparison the star Arcturus is 20 times larger than our sun. Arcturus is outsized by the red super giant Betelgeuse by 600 times, Betelgeuse being dwarfed some 1500 times by red super giants within the universe.

The Psalmist in considering the heavens asked of God ‘What is man that Thou dost take thought of him? (Psalms 8:4).’ As we consider the creation of the universe we have to wonder at the cause that created it. It was not created by a ‘thing’ for things wear out but was created by someone without beginning or end with the power, knowledge and infinite wisdom to put it all together and hold it in its celestial course. Though the earth is marred by the Curse the Creator’s wisdom, beauty and care are still evident. The immensity of a God who calls 100 billion trillion stars by name is mind numbing. A God that large cannot be boxed by tiny imaginations. God fills the universe and yet is compassionate enough to hear us and care for us individually. He is powerful enough to guide our daily paths and be interested enough to conquer sin and death on our behalf. He would have to be the God of the impossible. This very One who stretches out the heavens like a curtain has made Himself known to us, humanly speaking, in the form of His Only Begotten Son, Christ Jesus. The universe is too large and the stars too numerous to count them all individually but those numbers are as many as His thoughts for us (Psalm 139:17). The heavens declare the glory of God and His special and precious love for us continues to shine like the stars.

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

Like a Bolt

O Lord, how many are Thy works! In wisdom Thou hast made them all; The earth is full of Thy possessions. Psalms 104:24 (New American Standard Bible)

The world around us points to creation and an awesome and mighty Creator. Consider some of the works of His power. In an average thunderstorm millions of gallons of water are dropped equivalent to the amount of water that flows over Niagara Falls in 6 minutes. One lightning bolt can generate 10 million kilowatts of electricity.  This same storm can release enough energy equivalent to the power of a 20 megaton nuclear warhead. Lightning creates its own fertilizer by charging rain drops with nitrogen and hydrogen. God is the creator of all energy and matter. If an average size tree’s mass could be converted into energy and harnessed it would give enough energy to run the electrical needs of the United States for 10 years. A single grain of salt converted to pure energy could run a household for several months. God created the atom which is the foundation of all matter yet is mostly empty space. If an atom could be enlarged to 1 inch its surrounding electrons would be over one and a half miles away. Science knows the makeup of atoms yet as entities that are mostly empty space it is mystified at how they manage to hold all matter together.

DNA is the building block of all life on our planet. It has the densest storage mechanism known in the universe. The amount of DNA the size of a pinhead holds enough information that would fill a stack of books 500 times higher than from here to the moon. We all begin as a single cell no larger than a period. DNA is the engineering plan that tells that tiny cell how to replicate a body with 100 trillion cells with thousands of different cells operating under their own direction and code. Science has found that DNA is self-correcting. Special enzymes constantly scan a DNA molecule looking for problems and making repairs.

These are only a few insights of God’s creation out of millions of examples. He is a lover of life and an astounding engineer. When we contemplate the startling majesty of the universe we can be all the more astounded and appreciative of the shame and reproach the Creator bore for sinful humanity on the cross. Never has a Being so powerful, so holy and so wise deemed to die for anyone, let alone sinful humanity. That sacrifice is so amazing that as we consider it in the quietness of our thoughts it staggers the mind. He is mighty enough to be outside of time while being in it yet He desires to fellowship with us and has shown us how through His Holy word. He reminds us of that every day through His manifold creation. He is. There is no one greater. There is no one who loves us with greater love.

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

Justice

All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. Isaiah 53:6 (New American Standard Bible)

Back in the days of corporal punishment there’s a beautiful story told of a teacher who had been trying to teach the concept of justice to his class. One of his students was a boy who was unruly and defiant. The teacher had warned the boy repeatedly there would be consequences for his rebellion. One day when the teacher had had enough of the boy’s defiance he called the principal to his class and handed him the discipline paddle. “John,” he said to the student, “you deserve this punishment but today I’m going to take it for you.” To the gasps the students the teacher bent over his desk and let the principal administer John’s punishment to his backside. The boy finally jumped up with tears in his eyes and said “No, I deserved this punishment” and he begged the principal to stop the punishment. When the class had calmed down the teacher crossed his arms and said, “Students that is justice and grace.”

It is an eloquent word picture of what Christ did for us on the cross and the simplicity of it puts a lot of people off. It’s too easy. There ought to be more punishment involved for us to come to Christ. Jesus not only took our beating He paid the full price by also dying as our substitute. Justice was served at the cross resolving the problem of sin. Paul says ‘the free gift of God is eternal life’ (Romans 6:23). The only cost for any human is to believe in what God did at Calvary. When we see it served with deep and personal mercies we can only fall to our knees.

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

K.I.S.S.

But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and heart”-that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness and with the mouth confesses, resulting in salvation. Romans 10:8-10) (New American Standard Bible)

I was talking to a person years ago about the Lord and His saving grace. The person had to continually stop me and say, “I don’t understand that. What does it mean?” I realized later that I was talking in terms and words the person had no reference for. I call it ‘Christian Speak.’ We Christians have a whole terminology for speaking of things we know which many of those outside of Christ don’t. For some it is confusing and frustrating. From the point of that conversation with that person my philosophy has been to follow the simple acronym K.I.S.S. Keep It Sweet and Simple.

The main reason we speak of Jesus is to bring people ‘into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ’ which is a Christian Speak term. That means to bring a seeker into accepting and believing Jesus is God’s way so they can approach God without shame and guilt. Many don’t know what it means to be saved or how to even get there. If you’re reading this and you’ve been wondering and interested in Jesus then this is for you. Salvation is God’s plan of forgiving people of their sins. You see God’s word tells us we are in rebellion against Him and do not naturally seek to know Him. We are born with this anti-God nature and there is no work we can do that can bring us into friendly fellowship with Him. We simply don’t have that kind of spiritual power. The Bible also tells us that the penalty for sin is death. That equates to a miserable life of sinfulness in this life and eternal death when we die. That was mine and your penalty. But the most incredible story in all of human history is that the great and holy God of the universe intentionally took our sin on Himself so we could have a highway to complete fellowship with Him and He did that through the life, death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ. Believing on Jesus means you understand the price He paid on the cross for you and you believe in that work of spiritual intervention. Some people feel the need to ask Jesus to forgive their sins through praying a short prayer to God but belief is the foundation. It is a life changing choice that can bring great awe and relief of soul. When Christ cleans up our inner spirit we do want to confess His reality to others.

The message of the cross is a mystery. It can be understood by a five-year-old but some of its message still baffles religious scholars. You aren’t forced to believe in Christ but I ask why not trust Jesus? What do you have to lose? The ease of believing in Christ can be summed up by a great Christian scholar who on his deathbed was asked what the greatest spiritual thing was that he’d ever learned. His reply was “Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so.” That’s not Christian Speak that’s simply the honest truth.

Lord Jesus, I confess at this moment that I need your love and power in my life. I ask you to forgive my sins and make my soul a new creation in You.

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com

The Beauty of Boldness

And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. 1st John 2:28 (New American Standard Bible)

Many of us grow up being taught through various methods, overt and understated, that we are worthless in the sight of man and God. I have been surprised at how many folks I’ve spoken to that feel that way. That view can bring self-loathing that taints how we respond to Christ and His love. We see ourselves as eligible to have our sins forgiven but after that we only see ourselves standing under the scrutiny of a nitpicky and judgmental God who never approves of us.

Those who abide in Christ are assured they will have complete confidence that on that day we meet Him we will be able to hold our heads up with assurance and happiness. The confidence John speaks of here in the Greek also has the meaning of a ‘bold freedom of speech.’ We can only speak boldly to someone we have confidence in.

While this means future confidence it also communicates how we can relate to God right now. The love and grace Jesus demonstrated reveals the depth and acceptance of God of His children. Communication has been opened to us by God through His Son Jesus Christ. He calls us friends (John 15:15). Friendship with God brings assurance and confidence to approach the Throne of Grace and speak directly and bravely with the King any time we choose. The King’s ear is always open and we are always welcomed to approach in sweet communion. He has great interest in what we have to say and takes the greatest pleasure when we say it in the beauty of boldness.

Ken

www.devotionstoday.blogspot.com