Category: Daily Inspirational Devotional

Paul tells us here that we have been set free from the yoke of religious ceremonies & forms through the blood of Jesus Christ. And by this liberty we can bring others into the same relationship with Jesus. But when man gets in the way with his own thoughts, opinions, or unique Church doctrine…we’re no longer claiming freedom but rather slavery to Legalism. We’re not asked to believe in the Bible or other texts, but to believe in the One whom the Bible reveals…that being Jesus Christ. And when Jesus said, “Go and make disciples.” He didn’t mean to make converts to your own personal thoughts or opinions.

It is much better to fulfill the plan & purpose of God in your life by discerning His Will rather than performing what you think are great works of sacrifice. For we tend to go back to things that are comfortable and we know well. But it tells us here that God wants change not status quo. We need to allow our character to undergo a metamorphosis…a sanctifying spiritual transformation as we learn, by the help of the Holy Spirit, to ascertain God’s Will. This means we can’t focus on the past or the temporal as we seek out God’s good pleasure to carry out His divine plan & purpose in our life. In other words, never go back to doing what you once did, when God wants you to be doing something completely new.

Salvation was God’s idea, not ours. It’s the gracious divine gift from a loving God, not just some spiritual experience. It doesn’t come from any human achievement of ours, rather, we’re dependent on the gift of salvation for our believing response to Jesus Christ from the moment of our conversion. In other words, our conversion is the door through which salvation comes into the conscious level of our life so that we’re aware of what’s taking place in our life on a much deeper level. But we must remember this…sharing our personal conversion experience will never save anyone …for it’s only when we declare the great gift of salvation from God behind our experience will people be delivered from hell.

You would think that after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem proclaiming He was the Messiah the Teachers of the Law would remember the Word, look at Jesus, & put the two together. They only had to look to Isaiah 45:23 where God declared, “Before Me every knee will bow; by Me every tongue will swear.” Or Psalm 95:6-7, “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God and we are His people…” But no, they only saw Jesus as a threat…contradicting all their man-made traditions and leaving them in their mind struggling for survival. In this verse you can sense their frustration as they exclaimed, “Everybody is converting, our efforts to get rid of Jesus have failed!” But even in their self-centeredness, God was sovereignly using their own words to prophecy about His Son…as we read in Philippians 2:10-11, “That at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” For it is God alone Who is Creator & Redeemer, and needs to be exalted above all others… as we bow in repentant submission before His majesty.

The Apostle Paul was very direct when he looked at his own depravity and unworthiness. In I Corinthians 15:9 he calls himself the least of the Apostles, and in Ephesians 3:8 he calls himself the least of all saints. It was with humble gratitude that Paul accepted the title of Chief of Sinners here…even to the point in this verse of exclaiming I am (still) the worst, rather than I was (in the past) the worst. Paul stilled attached himself to his history & record of being a blasphemer, persecutor, and violent man…thus giving the excessive grace of God and His overflowing & unmerited mercy the honor due. This kind of increasing awareness of his own sinfulness in relationship to God’s overwhelming grace is addressed in this quote by Charles Spurgeon, ” My faith rests not in what I am, or shall be, or feel, or know, but in what Christ is, in what He has done, and in what He is doing in me.”

Patience isn’t indifference – it’s not apathy on steroids, nor is it white-knuckling through the situation until we get to the other side. No, patience conveys the idea of someone who’s tremendously strong & able to withstand all assaults. And this type of patience has its source in the Vision & Perspective of God – which is always true & proper. God’s Vision & Perspective isn’t determined or even limited by whatever trouble we’re going through, and so we need to gain His vision in order to wait with courage rather than fear. Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” When we have the hope of God’s Perspective in the matter, our waiting now has a purpose…the delay is full of encouragement rather than dread… and our patience is strengthened.

God was calling out His people in their hypocrisy of their twice a year fast. The ritualistic religious act had shamefully digressed, motived now only by self-interest rather than the desire to please God… their showy ceremony just a performance with no change in the attitude of their heart. Hosea 6:6 is very clear about this, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings.” Or as Joel 2:12-14 points out, God wants us to rend our hearts and not our clothes…desiring true repentance not legalism. A few verses later in Zechariah, Chapter 7, God then explicitly tells His people what He requires of them…” This is what the Lord Almighty says: Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.” (Zechariah 7:9-10)

When I saw this quote from the Puritan preacher, Charles Spurgeon, I thought to myself, “He could have written it today!” Spurgeon wrote, “The present age is so flippant that if a man loves the Savior, he is a fanatic, and if he hates the powers of evil, he is a bigot.” Our world has become a place where unethical & immoral behavior has become common place…to the point that if you object, you are called out for not being inclusive and open minded. Instead you’ll be called an extremist or a bigot. And if you talk about Jesus as your Lord & Savior, you’re just pushing your religion on someone & must be some crazy Jesus freak. And far be it that you should speak out about the wickedness in the world today…for you’ll be called intolerant & narrow-minded. Yes, Charles Spurgeon could have written that today as our world becomes darker and darker.

When we think we are some kind of “Super-Saint”, looking down on & judging others harshly…we are treading on the slippery slope of a self-righteous spirit. Romans 4:2 remind us that we are justified by faith & not by our works… and taking on a “holier than thou” attitude is just plain dangerous, for none of us is better than others. Charles Spurgeon addressed this once, writing, “The greatest enemy to human souls is the self-righteous spirit which makes men look to themselves for salvation.”

Prayer…it’s not just for Sunday mornings in a corporate setting, or with the gathered Prayer Meeting, or with the Bible Study we’re part of. Prayer is as important one on one with the Lord as with a congregational setting on Sunday mornings. In fact, to Charles Spurgeon, individual prayer was far more important than any group prayer. To quote him, “Neglect of private prayer is the locust which devours the strength of the Church.” Just think of it, lack of private prayer on a regular basis by us is eating away at the very fabric of the Body of Believers we are part of. Is it a surprise then when we wonder why our Church isn’t thriving? Romans 12:12 tells that we need to be faithful in prayer, which is being steadfast in a all-important discipline of Christian life. We must then be not only praying daily for our individual needs but for our Church, the Pastoral Staff, the programs, and the congregation. And as we do, Proverbs 15:8 reminds us, “The prayer of the upright pleases God.”