Don't Drift

Hebrews 2

1 So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. 2 For the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm, and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished. 3 So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak?

To those who don’t think that believers can lose their salvation, I submit this passage of Scripture (among others). We must constantly stay vigilant and focused on the Christ, and live our lives accordingly. Just when we think we have it all together, we take our eyes off of Jesus, and that is when we get into all sorts of trouble. Father, keep me focused always!

Submissive Lifestyle

Lamentations 3

 25 The Lord is good to those who depend on him,
      to those who search for him.
 26 So it is good to wait quietly
      for salvation from the Lord.
 27 And it is good for people to submit at an early age
      to the yoke of his discipline

As I read these encouraging verses in the midst of Lamentations, I am again reminded of our college age crew. Father, may they long to spend time daily in Your Word. May they burn with desire to live for You every day of their lives. May they submit to You, Father. May I live in such a way as to be an example to them. I pray for Your strength, for Your peace, and for Your grace all the more.

Life of Intregrity

Psalm 101

1 I will sing of your love and justice, Lord.
      I will praise you with songs.
 2 I will be careful to live a blameless life—
      when will you come to help me?
   I will lead a life of integrity
      in my own home.

Lord God, help me to live a life of integrity at home. Help me to be the husband that Peggy deserves, the father that Elliott, Ian, & Emily deserve, the son that Dad deserves. Help me to be the child of God that You deserve. I fail You in so many ways, Lord. In so doing, I fail my Bride, my children, my Dad, my church family. May it never be so again. I will sing of Your love and justice, Lord. May my life reflect my love for You.

Proper Political Behavior

Titus 3

  1 Remind the believers to submit to the government and its officers. They should be obedient, always ready to do what is good.

Make no mistake about it, I vehemently disagree with the direction this nation is heading. The politicians in charge are diametrically opposed to my way of thinking, and vice versa. The same held true in the 1st century when it came to governmental leaders and followers of Christ. Yet, Paul says to submit, be obedient, and always ready to do what is good. I believe that with all my heart. I do submit to my governmental leaders, I obey the law of the land, I pray for them, and I am ready to do good. By voting against them. By educating others. By participating in the political process with respect for all parties. Especially those with whom I disagree.

The Norm

Titus 2

 1 As for you, Titus, promote the kind of living that reflects wholesome teaching. 2 Teach the older men to exercise self-control, to be worthy of respect, and to live wisely. They must have sound faith and be filled with love and patience.

“Promote the kind of living that reflects wholesome living.” Now THAT kind of teaching would certainly put you out of the cultural mainstream today. As it did in Paul & Titus’ day, too. When we teach others to live as followers of Christ Jesus, we teach things like self-control, respect, love and patience. These attributes are NOT the cultural norm in pagan America, nor were they the norm in the pagan Roman Empire. They ARE to be the norm for those of us who claim to follow Christ. May these types of traits be seen as the norm for my family, my brothers and sisters in Christ and for me.

New Song

2Psalm 98

 1 Sing a new song to the Lord,
      for he has done wonderful deeds.
   His right hand has won a mighty victory;
      his holy arm has shown his saving power!

Don’t get me wrong, I love the old songs, but when I read this Psalm, I cannot help but rejoice in the New Song Jesus has placed in my heart. I no longer am bound by the Law or by man-made rules, I have my salvation in Jesus. His wonderful deeds and His Holy arm has indeed shown His saving power in my life, and I will sing a song of praise to my Lord and Savior every single day of my life!

Bring It On

2 Timothy 4

  1 I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he appears to set up his Kingdom: 2 Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.
 3 For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will reject the truth and chase after myths.
 5 But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.

Three points to take away from this solemn urging from Paul: 1)Be prepared to preach the Word always. Be patient with them, and teach them always. 2)Not everyone will accept your preaching, nothing you can do about that. 3)Stay focused on Christ, keep your mind clear, and yes, you will suffer for the sake of Jesus. Knowing that is what awaits those of us who are faithful to the Word of God, and to Jesus, it is little wonder why so many people honor Christ with their lips only. As for me, I say, bring it on! I will remain faithful to Jesus to my dying breath and beyond!

Faithful Daily

2 Timothy 3

 14 But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. 15 You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

Throughout this letter to Timothy, Paul reminds his young charge to stay faithful to the Word of God. That is sound advice for those of us at any age, and at any level in our walk with Christ. When I stay in the Word faithfully every day, I seem to be able to handle the “pressures” of everyday life much better. When I am not in the Word every day, well, that is another story (and one of which I am not proud). Lord, help me to be faithful to Your Word and stay in Your Word daily.

Pass It On

2 Timothy 2

   1 Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. 2 You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.

Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Pass it on. It really is that simple. So, why do we complicate matters? Why can’t we just take the Truth of the Gospel and share it simply, in a straight forward manner, with others? Good question, Scott. Get to it!

Fearless Foundation of Faith

2 Timothy 1

5 I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you. 6 This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
 8a So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord.

So much packed in these few verse! Paul confirms the importance of passing along the faith through the family, reminds Timothy that those of us who follow Christ need not fear, we have the power of Christ working in and through us, and then comes the BIG ONE: never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. Unfortunately, so many American Christians are filled with fear, shaky in their heritage, and ashamed to speak out. Sigh. I praise God for the college age crew who meet at our house each week, because these folks live out their faith, and are not ashamed! I love it!

Contentment

1 Timothy 6

6 Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. 7 After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. 8 So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.

I am doing so much better in this area of contentment. I have seen God take care of me in various situations so that everything “works out.” I have never really been one who needed great material wealth, and I know that I am married to the perfect woman for me. I know that our children are blessings from God. I know that I am where I am supposed to be doing what I am supposed to be doing. What more could I possibly want? Nothing. Thank You, Lord for blessing me so. I have enough, and that is all I could ever ask for.

The Foundation

Psalm 89

 14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne.
      Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants.
 15 Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship,
      for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.
 16 They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation.
      They exult in your righteousness.
 17 You are their glorious strength.
      It pleases you to make us strong.

Building on that foundation of righteousness and justice and unfailing love and truth, how could we be anything but happy to hear the joyful call to worship the King of kings and the Lord of lords? I rejoice in my Lord Jesus every day, and I want to build on the foundation of the Word of God in my daily life. Jesus is my glorious strength, and I LOVE being follower of His!

Firm Foundation

1 Timothy 4

 11 Teach these things and insist that everyone learn them. 12 Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. 13 Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them.

Aside from the usual comments I would make about verse 12 since it has been a theme verse for my student ministry for 23 years now, I am struck by Paul’s admonition to Timothy to keep folks firmly grounded in the Scriptures. I mean, if we are to set an example for the Believers, then we must first be firmly grounded in the Scriptures, and we must then encourage others to be the same. It all comes down to a firm foundation built upon God’s Holy Word. Let us never forget that!

Forgiveness

Proverbs 25

21 If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat.
      If they are thirsty, give them water to drink.
 22 You will heap burning coals of shame on their heads,
      and the Lord will reward you.

This wisdom from the proverbs comes up in the Gospels when Jesus reminds His followers to love their enemies, and treat others with respect and dignity always. I still struggle with this one, and today I ask that God will help me to be more loving even of those who choose not to love in return. Especially those who do not treat my babies in a loving manner. Yeah, I am still struggling with that one, and I ask for God’s forgiveness as I forgive those whom I need to forgive.

Five Truths To Follow

1 Timothy 2

1 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. 5 For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. 6 He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time. 7 And I have been chosen as a preacher and apostle to teach the Gentiles this message about faith and truth. I’m not exaggerating—just telling the truth.

Wow! What a passage of Scripture! Yeah, this is one of those passages that gets broken up as proof texts for this or that, but look at the whole thing in context. Paul tells Timothy that as a follower of Christ he should: 1)pray for all people, interceding on their behalf, 2)pray for those in positions of governmental authority so as to be able to live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness, 3)remember that God wants EVERYONE to be saved and to understand the truth, 4)remember that Jesus is the ONLY mediator between God and man, and that 5)Paul is a preacher of this Truth. If I am to follow Christ, I must remember these things every day and put them into practice...something I need to do a better job of for sure!

Teach me Your Ways, O Lord

Psalm 86

11 Teach me your ways, O Lord,

that I may live according to your truth!

Grant me purity of heart,

so that I may honor you.

12 With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God.

I will give glory to your name forever,

13 for your love for me is very great.

You have rescued me from the depths of death.

I love to read Your Word, O Lord. I love to get to know You in a deeper way. Spending time in the Scriptures and in prayer bring me closer to You, and help me to be that much more in love with You. I want to live according to Your Truth. It is my desire to have a pure heart that praises You only and always. May my life give You glory forever. It is the least I can do since being rescued from my sins! I love You, Lord. And I lift my voice. To worship You, oh my soul rejoice. Take joy, my King. In what You hear. May it be a sweet, sweet sound in Your ear.

Prayer For Our Students

2 Thessalonians 3

5 May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.

What a beautiful prayer! As I work with students from middle school through college age, I want this prayer to be on my lips and in my heart every day. May the students with whom I minister know that I am praying this for them! May they have a deeper understanding of God’s Word, and of His great love for them. May we all grow in our patient endurance that comes from Christ. May our lives show it in all we do every day of our lives.

Entering the Lord's Courts

Psalm 84

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,

O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

2 I long, yes, I faint with longing

to enter the courts of the Lord.

With my whole being, body and soul,

I will shout joyfully to the living God.

It is my desire to enter the Lord’s Courts daily, praising the Creator of heaven and earth. As I have been doing my wall/run exercise routine over the past several weeks, I have taken that time to simply spend time praising God for Who He is. With music playing in my ears that exalts the Lord Jesus, I spend that 30 minutes talking with God, and longing for the day when I will be face-to-face with Him in heaven. I know that in the meantime, I have a job to do: to bring as many people as possible with me on this journey to God. What a privilege and a pleasure!

Pray For Me

2 Thessalonians 1

11 So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do.

I’ve found the prayer I want you to pray for me! Pray that I live my life in a manner that is worthy of the call God has placed on me. Pray that I rely on HIS power to accomplish all that He desires to accomplish through me. Pray that I get out of the way and let Jesus have His way with me and through me. Seriously, that is all I ask from you in your prayer life. Anything else that comes to your mind as you pray for me is icing on the cake. I only ask that you pray for me to live a life worthy of the call of Christ.

Fiery Bones

Jeremiah 20

9 But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord

or speak in his name,

his word burns in my heart like a fire.

It’s like a fire in my bones!

I am worn out trying to hold it in!

I can’t do it!

The Prophet Jeremiah is complaining that God has misled him, and that when he speaks the Lord’s Word, he becomes a laughingstock. Even in the midst of this complaint against the Lord, Jeremiah admits that he is compelled to speak out for the LORD God Almighty. I mean, that is what he has been commissioned to do. No matter the personal cost. No matter the ridicule. No matter the disdain with which he is received. I want to have that same mindset as I dare to speak God’s Word as revealed in the Holy Scriptures. It certainly is not popular in our culture today to stand up for Jesus, but I have this fire in my bones that won’t allow me to do otherwise. Bring on the ridicule, disdain and hatred. Jesus took all of those things for me, so how could I dare to expect to have to take any less for Him?

Trust the Lord Only

Jeremiah 17

5 This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,

who rely on human strength

and turn their hearts away from the Lord.

Along the same vein as yesterday’s devotional thoughts, it is only when we follow the Lord that we can be saved. Following mere humans leads to being cursed, because when we follow humans, we tend to turn our hearts away from the Lord. Our first and ONLY allegiance should be to Jesus. Anything else is foolish and destructive.

Only Then Will We Be Saved

Psalm 80

19 Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.

Make your face shine down upon us.

Only then will we be saved.

This evening, I teach on the subject of Immersion as it relates to the the steps of Salvation. It saddens me that this subject is so “controversial” within the Christian world. God’s Word is so PLAIN on this subject, yet man-made doctrines and decrees over the centuries have obscured the Greek Word for immersion (baptizo), and the practice of immersion (Council of Ravenna 1311). Only when we are willing to turn from man-made goofiness, and turn back to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies can we be saved. Save this generation from the attacks of stan no matter from where they originate. May we who claim to follow Christ, follow Him all the way, and follow Him only!

Endure NO MATTER WHAT

1 Thessalonians 1

1bMay God give you grace and peace.2 We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. 3 As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I have had my Chick-a-Boo on my mind a lot lately as she has gone through one of the worst time periods of her life over the past two months. A person she thought was a dear and trusted friend has turned her back on Emily, even to the point that Emily was asked to move to a different bedroom in her apartment yesterday. While Emily is not at fault in a long series of frankly, moral failures on the part of this once-upon-a-time friend, Emily is paying the price. We are praying with and for her, asking her to take the high ground and continue living out her Christian principles. She is hurting right now, and so am I. I know that God will walk her through this stinky time in her life and that she will be stronger for it. I pray that her relationship with Christ grows because of this mess, and that she understands the importance of enduring NO MATTER WHAT.

Name Filled With Power

Jeremiah 10

6 Lord, there is no one like you!

For you are great, and your name is full of power.

This is perhaps one of my favorite descriptions of the name of the Lord ever! Jeremiah makes no bones about it: there is no one like our God, for He is Great and His name is FULL of power! Remember, the Hebrews were afraid to speak the name of God...they were afraid to write out the full name of God! Their fear was based on the notion that they might accidentally misuse His name, thereby breaking the 2nd Commandment (Exodus 20:7 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.”) Oh, to have that kind of awe for the name of the Creator of the universe. Oh, to live in awe of the Creator of the universe. Yes, the Author of life has given us unprecedented access to Him through Jesus, but I would caution anyone who gets to cozy in that relationship. God is still God. And we are not!

Your Word Only

Jeremiah 8

8 “‘How can you say, “We are wise because we have the word of the Lord,”

when your teachers have twisted it by writing lies?

9 These wise teachers will fall

into the trap of their own foolishness,

for they have rejected the word of the Lord.

Are they so wise after all?”

Following up on yesterday’s thoughts, it should not be surprising that those who would ignore or even twist God’s Word have been with us for century upon century. God speaks to this issue through Jeremiah in today’s passage. The only thing that makes me more sad than those who ignore God’s Word, are those who twist God’s Word to suit their own agenda. Father, may my agenda always be Yours and Yours alone. I want no other agenda. May I study Your Word, keep things in context and see what You have to say, not be dependent upon what some other human says that You are saying. May I use the tools You have given me through original language studies, and most importantly my brain & common sense! I am not interested in being considered wise in the eyes of the world, I simply want to be Your servant, obeying Your will and Your Word always.

Stay United With Christ

Colossians 2

8 Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. 9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. 10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

11 When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.

So my question today is this: why would anyone who has been united with Christ in Baptism decide to abandon Christ for man-made teachings? Is it ego? Is it stupidity? Whatever it is, it happens all-too-frequently. Lord, guard my heart and my mind so that I will remain united with Christ always, and desire ONLY His teaching. Protect me from the schemes of the evil one who tries to take captive those who belong to Jesus with his deceitful lies and worldly philosophies & teachings.

The Supreme Gift

Colossians 1

18 Christ is also the head of the church,

which is his body.

He is the beginning,

supreme over all who rise from the dead.

So he is first in everything.

19 For God in all his fullness

was pleased to live in Christ,

20 and through him God reconciled

everything to himself.

He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth

by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

I am compelled to continue this thought of the Supremacy of Christ. He IS indeed the Head of the church, and in Jesus did the fullness of God reside on this earth. It is my desire to follow Jesus’ example, and while I fall short in way too many areas, it is my desire to follow His example anyway. I am so grateful for the Blood of Jesus which made peace with God possible for me. To be reconciled to God through Jesus is the greatest gift known to mankind. It is a gift given freely to all who will accept it. May I share that gift with everyone, always.

Christ is Supreme

Colossians 1

15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.

He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,

16 for through him God created everything

in the heavenly realms and on earth.

He made the things we can see

and the things we can’t see—

such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.

Everything was created through him and for him.

17 He existed before anything else,

and he holds all creation together.

Christ is Supreme. End of discussion. I will serve Him, honor Him, and love Him with my whole being for as long as He grants me breath, and then I will spend eternity with Him serving Him, honoring Him, and loving Him.

Fix My Thoughts

Philippians 4

8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

Paul says he has one final thing to tell the church at Philippi: “fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and purse, and lovely, and admirable.” I have to admit that my thoughts are way too often scattered and certainly NOT fixed on those things described there by Paul. I fail miserably in concentrating on the things of God,

and allow the worries and cares of this life to creep in much more than I should. Oh, not as much as I used to, but I still find myself distracted by earthly matters when I should be concentrating on Kingdom matters. Forgive me of this sin, Oh Lord. Hep me to do better from this day forward.

Adequate

Philippians 3

8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9a and become one with him.

I once thought that material blessings were the goal I sought. Lost and hopeless in the futility of my thinking, it took a humble man of God to show me the Way. Now, I realize that material stuff is just that: stuff. It turns to rust and dust. As a wise man said yesterday at Bill Behrman’s inauguration, what I have is “adequate.” I don’t want so much that I no longer depend on God, nor do I want so little that I am tempted to sin. I know that I have enough. I know that Jesus is plenty for me, and all that other stuff is meaningless!

Rejoicing

Philippians 3

1 Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith.

This is a day of great rejoicing. Florida Christian College inaugurates it’s fifth president today. Bill Behrman is a genuine man of God, and I pray for him as he continues to lead this fine college. He’s been the interim president for over a year now, and has been an integral part of the administration of the college for decades. He is a dear brother in Christ, and I know it is with true humility that he takes this post. I know that there are good times and not-so-good times ahead for both Bill and FCC. I also know that I will rejoice whatever happens, because of my Lord and Savior Jesus, and because of my brother Bill Behrman serving as president of the college I love so very much.