Category: Daily Inspirational Devotional

They longed for the coming Messiah. Isaiah wrote in Chapter 8:22 that the people could only see distress and darkness…fear and gloom. But then on that sacred Christmas night, a tiny cry cut through the silence of oppression, injustice, and abuse of power. Immanuel (God with us) had been born. We then look to Golgotha and hear Jesus cry out in a loud voice from the Cross, “It is finished!” and at that moment the Temple curtain, which separated men from God, was torn in half, from top to bottom allowing us to now have fellowship with our heavenly Father. Finally, some day soon it tells us in Revelation 19:11-16 the heavens will be thrown open wide as Jesus appears, riding on a white horse, to wage the final battle against all the enemies of God.

It tells us in Luke 4:18-19 that Jesus read this passage from Isaiah that Sabbath in Nazareth as the people had gathered in the Synagogue. Little did they know this was the beginning of Jesus’ Ministry, and that the passage was in fact speaking about Him. Many places in the Psalms we read about the Lord being near to the brokenhearted and able to mend shattered hearts. Charles Spurgeon put it this way, “There are many sorts of broken hearts, and Christ is good at healing them all.” And this is so true…whether it’s a broken heart from the loss of a loved one….a failed marriage…or the personal loss of independence because of disease…Jesus can bandage up every heart and make it whole again.

Striving for peace & harmony with all those we come in contact with can be difficult…and then when the Writer of Hebrews throws in, “Oh and by the way, maintain a holy attitude.”…. this can be particularly challenging. That’s because our corrupt human nature always tempts us to repay evil for evil…but this not holiness… for purity of life is as it says necessary to see God, and the goal of our salvation. Thus, as we “See God” through the insight of our faith we will experience and share in His Presence…His Spirit providing an inner, spiritual realm of grace for our soul…and seeking peace will get a little easier.

The Apostle Paul probably raised some eyebrows , not to mention people’s ire when he wrote that statement. But much like today, we like to take it for granted that most people are good people…you know the kind that have never murdered anyone, spent time in prison, or beat their dog. But just because you’re a good person, doesn’t mean you’re going to heaven. When Paul wrote that, “there is no one righteous”, he meant that there isn’t one person who in their own behavior can fully meet the expectations of God…that’s because sin is universal, and thus we all stand condemned before a just God. But this is also the reason (The Good News of the Gospel Message) that God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to take upon Himself our sins and die on the Cross, so that by trusting in Jesus we may become right before God. So remember, there’s no “good” people in heaven…only saved ones.

The apostle Paul was emphatic…his (and our) Spiritual journey is a lifelong process towards perfection… a prize not yet won…The Already and The Not Yet. He wrote about this also in I Corinthians 13:10, “when this perfection comes…” Which is the ultimate heavenly goal as it is manifested in us. Sure, we can attempt to strive for worldly perfection, but we’ll find ourselves in an impossible & unattainable position of failure…for worldly standards cannot be met. (That’s because they’re always changing.) But we have a clear pathway to Christian perfection if we remember that we are a work in progress with a ever perfecting relationship with God. This done through the intimate fellowship of sharing in His sufferings and gaining divine insight into the true reality of His resurrection power.

I was reading the other day about Joni Eareckson-Tada & her longtime husband Ken, when I saw this quote from him, “When I’m serving Joni, I know I’m serving Christ.” For those of you who might know Joni, she was paralyzed over 30 years ago in a freak diving accident and needs total care for her disability. Ken went on to admit that fulltime caregiving can be wearisome, hard, and trying…but it can also be filled with joy when your focus is on glorifying the Lord. That’s because when our attention is on serving the Lord in all we do, the weight is lifted, the sacrifice lessened, and the menial task becomes a joyous experience. “Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (I Corinthians 10:31)

I love what Oswald Chambers said about this Scripture in his book ,”My Utmost For His Highest”. He wrote, “The grace you had yesterday will not be sufficient for today. Grace is the overflowing favor of God, and you can always count on it being available to draw upon as needed…in tribulation, distress and needs. But are you failing to rely on the grace of God?” In readily accepting the loving-kindness of God, we in turn are able to offer it to others. That’s because when our life is filled daily with His grace…even when things are not as we want or desire…we can gracefully accept it without complaint, fuss, or grumbling…and the love of Jesus will shine forth from us.

We only have to look to the Lord for the standard of righteousness we should strive to attain, for Psalm 145:17 tells us, “God is righteous in all His ways.” And you also better believe it… God’s really good at casting light upon any of our questionable acts of unrighteousness…shedding the light of wisdom, and of ethical & moral awareness into our shadowy decision-making. The results being… as we determine to hold up His standard of honesty, justice, and integrity in obedience to Him, joy will fill our hearts.

This last Book of the Old Testament speaks of God’s faithfulness & His people’s faithlessness. Their love for God had grown cold, their hearts filled with indifference & apathy. In denouncing the overall decline of the spiritual state of the people, the Lord’s anger was directed towards the priests who had failed to act according to their priestly calling. They were the ones that should of set the example, but instead were engaging in much of the same dishonor, irreverence, and contempt for the Lord…and in doing so, were causing the decay & deterioration of the entire social fabric. In the same way today, always be watchful of the Pastor you sit under. In all ways is he acting according to his calling by honoring & giving glory to God in all things, and showing reverence to Him and His Word? But most importantly, is he not only modeling this behavior before all but exhorting his congregation to do likewise?

Someday we will all stand before God having made a choice. And there’s no getting around it…we either follow the Lamb and enter God’s rest…or we follow the beast and suffer God’s wrath. (Revelation 14) But if we sincerely believe Romans 4:25, “That Jesus was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” We can stand before God, not just hoping, but fully assured by our saving faith in Jesus Christ. And as this Scripture says, we will have peace with God…not some guarded truce that’s subject to change on a whim, but permanent and lasting peace of intimate fellowship and communion with God.