January 30 – A Done Deal

Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” John 20:17 (ESV)

When Jesus, the morning of his resurrection surprised heartbroken Mary she did not recognize Him because she was not expecting in any way to encounter Him alive. She’s desperate to find Jesus’ dead body. Then he opens her understanding by calling her name. Probably in the way only he had ever called Mary’s name. Her reaction is to grab ahold of Jesus. Mary was expressing a desire to hold on to His physical presence likely for fear that she would once again lose Him. Jesus mentions His ascension which suggested that He would only be temporarily with them. Mary intensely wanted Him to stay, but He could not. We notice Jesus told Mary to go “to my brothers” with the news of his soon ascension. Jesus remained with them for only 40 days making appearances before his ascension. But this is the first time Jesus called them “brothers.” The Disciples had been called “slaves” or “friends”, but not “brothers,” until here. Because Jesus’ work on the cross in place of the sinner, was completed, this new family relationship to Christ was possible. Now all that had be promised to those chosen by the Father was a done deal.

198

November 5 – All Things Added – Six of Seven

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”  -  Matthew 6:33  (ESV)

In the words of Jesus Christ from the Sermon on the Mount, we as believers are instructed to not be anxious about what we have to eat, drink and wear.  These seemly mundane things are personal material needs and do cause some to be concerned (another word for anxiety or worry).  But Jesus say we are not to worry or be concerned.  We have looked so far at five of the seven promises in the larger passage of Matthew 6:25-34.  Today we look at the godly behavior which Jesus instructs us to live by.  Seek first God, his Kingdom and His Righteousness.  If we will give ourselves to His cause in the world, rather than fretting about our private material needs, He will make sure that we have all we need to do His will and give Him glory.  All the food and drink and clothing — and everything else — that you need to do His will and glorify him. 

# # #

*Some of this content has been drawn from a series of articles from "Solid Joys" a daily devotional by John Piper.  Desiring God 

January 14 – His and Ours

Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” John 20:17 (ESV)

Our verse today is a record of what Jesus spoke to Mary Magdalene when they met in the the garden shortly after His resurrection. The promise this verse gives us is that God the Father, who Jesus is telling Mary about, is not only Jesus' Father but our Father as well. He wanted Mary to remember and He wanted His disciples to remember their relationship to God in heaven.  Jesus was going back to heaven to be with His Father but He wanted to reassure His followers that God was their Father too, and the God in heaven was their God too. Are you a follower of Jesus today? If so, remember this promise that you have a personal God in heaven and that He is your Father as He is the Father of your Savior. Take a few moments to day to think about God as your Father and how much He loves you. 

October 28 – None But Him

“And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me. Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.” Isaiah 45:21b-22 (NIV)

These are important words which we should never forget. There is only One true God, but how wonderful to know that this is all we need. Yes, this one true God has made a way for us to know Him and to know what He can do for us. In our verse God calls Himself our Savior and He invites us to turn to Him. If we do turn to Him He will save us from sin and save us from despair and from uncertainty.  No matter what other ways people choose to believe, our God is the only one who can meet our needs. So friends, lets listen to the words of the only God, for there is no other. 

September 26

“And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me.” Isaiah 45:21b (NIV)

There is something wonderful about the way God put two expressions together in these words. He said that He is a righteous God and He is a Savior. There is a beautiful connection between the two. When we think of our Lord as a righteous God we realize that He also wants His people to be righteous. He wants us to do what is right. And a righteous God would be one who would punish those that fail to do right. But then God describes Himself as being a Savior. Instead of wanting to punish those who fail, He wants to save them. Thank God that He is righteous AND a Savior.

August 5

“He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.” Psalm 18:16 (NIV)

This is a quote from another of David’s songs written after he was delivered from those who had tried to kill him. These words are like a picture of what God does for His children. He is in heaven. He is ruling over the whole of His creation. But although He is a great God, He is concerned about His children and He does watch over us. Although He is in heaven He does get involved with our situations. He reaches down from on high. And He does deliver us when we trust Him. He gets personally involved with us. David’s God is our God. 

June 25

“Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.”  Isaiah 64:4 (NIV)

Isaiah spoke of ancient times, going back through all known history and through it all there had always been only one true God. For us today we would think of Isaiah’s time as being ancient history, and through all this the truth has been the same. Before Isaiah – only one true God. And since Isaiah – only one true God. The precious truth about our God is in the last words of this verse. Our God acts on behalf of those who wait for Him. Yes, He acts on your behalf if you trust Him. He will do things for your benefit because He loves you and wants only what is best for you. 

June 1

“But will God really dwell on earth with humans? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!”  2 Chronicles 6:18 (NIV)

King Solomon asks this question in his prayer of dedication of the new temple in Jerusalem. Of course, what Solomon meant was that the temple was not big enough to contain all that God is. Even though it might be called the house of God and His presence would be there, He would also fill the universe. Although Solomon was praying about the temple, his question has a good answer in our lives. He asked, “Will God really dwell on earth with men?” What a wonderful truth that God DOES live on earth, right with us, as part of our lives. And at the same time He is everywhere!

April 30

“And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,” Exodus 34:6 (NIV)

This is an occasion of a meeting between God and Moses at the mountain of Sinai when God tell Moses what kind of God He is. Although God did go on to state that He also punishes the guilty, it is impressive to me that He began by stressing how loving and how merciful and gracious He is. Are you not glad that our God is first of all compassionate, ready to forgive, always giving us a chance to ask for forgiveness? He does all this because of His love for us and because that is what His character is.

March 9

“Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.”  Psalm 127:1 (NIV)

We are not always aware of how important it is to recognize the involvement of our God in our activities. This verse picks our two projects in which God is involved, the building of a house and the protection of a city. These are important projects, big projects. But how about smaller projects, the kind you and I are apt to be concerned about? Actually what our verse tells us is that we make a mistake when we think we can get along without God’s help. We need to look to Him and rely on Him to help us no matter what we try to do, even in the little projects we are thinking of doing today.

February 7

“But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” Psalm 86:15 (NIV)

We sometimes think that we are having more than our share of problems and difficulties and maybe we tend to complain about it. David, the psalmist, had problems as his life was threatened. What was his reaction? He says, “But”. In contrast to his problems, there was God. We can turn away from looking at our problems and look to God. What a contrast! What kind of God is He? David said He is a compassionate and gracious God. To be compassionate means to feel together with. Yes, our God feels the hurt that we feel and He gives His wonderful grace to help us overcome. 

January 30

“And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” 1 Peter 5:10 (NIV)

Peter was writing to believers who were suffering great persecution for their faith. Even though we may not be experiencing that kind of suffering, we will likely admit that we do have difficulties. This verse reminds us that God is personally involved in our lives. I’m impressed by the words which state that He “will Himself restore you and make you strong.” God does watch us and knows how to encourage us, and personally gets involved. Be assured that in your time of need He will Himself restore you to make you strong, firm and steadfast.

January 16

“If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples.” John 15:7-8

Did you notice that this is a promise of answered prayer? And our Lord showed that there is a connection between that promise and the idea of bearing fruit. That is not strange because when we pray asking God to do something for us, this can produce great results. Aren’t these results like the fruit of our praying? Of course we don’t produce the results. God does that just as He produces the results of any service we do. So let’s remember that by effectively praying we produce fruit to God’s glory.

January 15

“Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God. Romans 4:20

We are accustomed to thinking of Abraham as a man of faith and we can learn much from the example he has shown us The apostle Paul points to this in Romans. This leads me to ask, what would be a sign of a strong faith? How can we demonstrate faith? Abraham showed his faith by giving glory to God. He received God’s promises and believed that God was able and faithful to keep His word. When we have a need, then think of God’s promise to care for us, what is our reaction? Do we trust him? If so we are giving Him glory, and that’s what faith is.

January 14

“And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”  Ezekiel 36:27

When we accept Christ as our Savior, there is a great change in our lives. One thing that happens is that the Holy Spirit comes to live in us. He is in us to perform God’s purposes in our lives. God knows that we do not have it in us to live as we ought. We cannot follow the rules that God has put down for us to obey. That’s why God has given us His Holy Spirit to live within us and to become a part of our lives. He helps us to see when we have failed to please God and encourages us and helps us to move in the right direction. Let’s recognize the work of the Spirit in our lives today.

January 11

“Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me, and to the blameless I will show my salvation.” Psalm 50:23

In the Old Testament days people brought many sacrifices to the tabernacle and temple. Many of these sacrifices were for the purpose of asking God’s forgiveness for sin and disobedience. There were other sacrifices that were used to express thanks to God for His goodness. Our verse is about the thank offerings. God says that such offerings bring honor to Him. He also says that they prepare the way for God to show the offerors new things. The same is true today. When we are thankful for what God has done, it opens the way for Him to bless us more. Do you want God to show you more about how he can help you? Then thank Him!

January 10

“And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7

Did you notice that the verse begins with the word “and”? This is to connect with the previous verse. Verse 6 admonishes us to take our anxieties and worries to God. So then when we do that the peace of God comes to guard our hearts and minds. I’m impressed by the thought of God’s peace being a GUARD around us. What are guards for? They are stationed to protect valuable things from marauders, from thieves, for instance. Our hearts and minds need a guard because there are thoughts and feelings which want to disturb us. So God gives you His peace to keep such things away.

January 8

“Those who know your name trust in you,
 for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.” Psalm 9:10

Maybe you’re wondering what David meant when he spoke of knowing God’s name. You are probably aware that there are people who know about God and have heard His name, but still don’t believe in Him or pay any attention to Him. Well, that is not the kind of knowledge David meant. He goes on to say that to know God’s name really means to know by experience what kind of a God He is. So when we hear His name we are reminded immediately who he is – reminded of his faithfulness to all who turn to Him. To know Him that way prompts us to trust Him, doesn’t it? That’s what this verse is telling us.

January 7

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

You probably remember that Jeremiah witnessed what happened to the people of Israel when they failed to obey God. They suffered and were carried away captive to Babylon. But God did not forget His people and he gave Jeremiah a message to send to them by letter. God has plans for His people today, too. He has plans for every individual who is willing to follow Him. He knows about each of us, our needs and our potentials. Although His plans for us may differ according to our individual potentials, yet basically they are all for our good and are governed by His love. So He says, “they are plans to prosper you, to give you hope and a future.”

January 6

“ I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15

When we accept Jesus as our Savior we enter into a new relationship with God, our Creator. When Jesus was here He explained this to His disciples. We believe that these words can be applied to us who are disciples of Jesus today. He wants us to know our Lord’s business, what God is doing, and what His purposes are. Jesus taught the disciples much about God’s business. We have the Holy Spirit to teach us and our Bibles to read. He calls us friends and wants to teach us. Let’s be sure we are listening.