All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6). It’s not a pretty picture, but it’s true. You have seen someone trying to clean up their own mess before, and that this just ends up making things worse as long as they continue doing more of whatever caused the mess in the first place.
Devotions
Christ for Us: the Core of the Gospel
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Although there is of course more to the fullness of Christian teaching than the brief creed the apostle Paul shares here, this what comes “of first importance”; this is the heart of the Christian gospel, the essential truths that separate Christians from non-Christians.
“Just do it” all to the glory of God
The phrase “Just Do It” is a trademark of the Nike shoe company, coined in 1988. Hugely successful, the “Just Do It” ad campaign allowed Nike to increase its market share from 18 to 43% in just 10 years. Nike’s objective was to target every person regardless of age, gender or physical fitness level – customers associating their purchases with the prospect of achieving greatness. Students of the “Just Do It” campaign have observed that the campaign was so successful because it was both “universal (it) and intensely personal (just do).” Like most truth-claims, Nike’s campaign has some truth to
The Eternal Implications of the Flood
He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground … Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark (Genesis 7:23). The worldwide Flood is sobering to consider. In Noah’s day, at a real point in time in actual history, every person on earth was drowned except the eight who were in the Ark. This is the greatest catastrophe in history, and no other event — tsunami, earthquake, hurricane, or volcanic eruption — even comes close. This was not a “natural” or normal kind of catastrophe.
Trusting Visible Giants to Our Invisible God
Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” (1 Samuel 17:45). David was victorious over Goliath because he trusted the invisible God with very real and visible and impending problems. But remember this! It is easy to look at someone else’s successful battle, after the fact, and take for granted the outcome.
Exhort Each Other Daily
Exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13). I was thinking recently about cases where a person who has been a professed believer, maybe even a well-known Christian leader, falls into public sin or even apostasy, and walks away from the Christian faith. Sadly, there have been many such cases in the news lately. We often think, and maybe even say, afterward that in hindsight there were some tendencies we could see in that person’s life that led to their eventual demise:
What Kind of Person Escapes God’s Judgment?
Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God (Genesis 6:9). In the midst of the Flood narrative, in which we are told that God saw all the world as corrupt and decided to destroy every breathing creature, we read in contrast that Noah was righteous, blameless, and walked with God. From there, of course, we learn that out of all humanity, only Noah and his family were saved from the Flood. The obvious question that this passage forces on us is this: what kind of person escapes the judgment of God?
What Does It Mean to Be “Poor In Spirit”?
Jesus paradoxically describes those as happy who are poverty-stricken in their souls. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). As upside-down and inside-out as this may sound, if we believe Jesus then we certainly want to know what he is talking about. What does it mean to be “poor in spirit”?
Do Not Fear, Only Believe
Do not fear, only believe (Mark 5:36). As you read this, you may at this moment be filled with hope and expectation … or you may be filled with dread and anxiety about the future. Either way, Jesus’ simple words to a suffering man speak volumes. Jesus invites us to rest in him, now and always. But why should we trust Jesus? How can we be certain that he has our best in mind, or that he is working for our good?
Our Time Is Short, Eternity Is Long
The appointed time has grown very short … For the present form of this world is passing away (1 Corinthians 7:29,31). God himself has set the bounds of this universe, and it will not last forever. Therefore, every day that passes is God drawing the earth closer to its eventual and inevitable conclusion. And not only is this world finite, but our individual time on it is more limited still. As James reminds us, our life is like “mist,” here and then quickly gone.
Abraham, Lot, & How to Handle Wealth
And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other (Genesis 13:10-11). Abraham and Lot now face the opposite temptation from what they faced in chapter 12, when there was a famine in Canaan; now they experience the equally great challenge of prosperity in Canaan.
Every Christian Is a Counselor
I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another (Romans 15:14). Paul, writing to everyday and average Christians in the church at Rome, insists that every Christian should be “able to instruct.” Paul gives two criteria for our being ready and able to give the right kind of counsel: being full of goodness, and being filled with knowledge. We can’t help others draw closer to God if we are not ourselves walking closely with God.
Getting Organized For the Glory of God
Now concerning the collection for the saints … on the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come (1 Corinthians 16:1-2). Paul here instructs the Corinthian church to lay aside funds before he comes to visit them. Why lay aside funds? “So that there will be no collecting when I come.”
Christians Should Long For Giftedness
Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts… (1 Corinthians 14:1). Christians should desire giftedness. Although any spiritual gift is useless unless it is practiced in love (1 Corinthians 13:1-2), Paul exhorts the saints to desire the spiritual gifts. When was the last time you prayed for spiritual gifts? Spiritual gifts can only come from the Spirit, and so prayer is the best way to pursue them.
Proper Submission Glorifies God
I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God (1 Corinthians 11:3). As Paul opens a discussion on what is now a controversial topic — that of the wife’s submission to her husband — he grounds the whole discussion of submission in the unchanging, transcultural implications of Christian truth. Paul points us to the fact that submission is part of the very fabric of existence. Every man has his own authority to whom he must submit. “The head of every man