Devotionals

“And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.” [1John 2:28-29 NKJV]

Bros today is the day of salvation- the Lord told Zacchaeus in Luke 19:5 “for today I must stay at your house.” That request changed Zacchaeus life forever; he came down quickly from the tree which he was in and received Jesus joyfully. Then made this proclamation “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” Zacchaeus life changed instantly as he received Salvation from the Lord! He repented, gave his life to Christ and was saved! Bros do you remember when you gave your heart to Jesus and repented of your sins? Are you still following the Lord with pure heart-in purity by the new heart in Christ, in actions, words and thoughts? In other words are you abiding or remaining in Him with that same heart as in the beginning when He called you down from your tree?

When He appears will He find you back up in that tree or walking and abiding in Him not ashamed before Him because He came back un-expectantly and He caught you compromising!

Are you staying down out of that tree and abiding in Him and remaining with purity knowing He could come back at any moment? When I was a much younger man in the late 1960’s we use to say if someone was a really upright dude He’s a righteous dude not truly knowing or comprehending the depth of that statement! Because we know there is not one good or righteous… “As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;” [Romans 3:10 NKJV]  If we know He meaning Jesus is righteous- then why wouldn’t we want to follow His example that He laid down for us, why wouldn’t we chase after Him and practice what he taught us. Why wouldn’t we want to be like Him and abide in Him- remain in Him? Bro are you racing to get back up in that tree or are you practicing purity in all your ways and abiding in Him? If you are practicing righteousness then you are abiding in Him then you are born of Him-amen!

“Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of [his] time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For we [have spent] enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles--when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.”[1Peter 4:1-3 NKJV]

Christ experienced great pain in the flesh and suffered severely for our sinful behavior that we might be free from the eternal pain and suffering of our sins. He did this for us at great physical and spiritual expense because of His great love for us- can you imagine? I believe there are many times we might take this totally for granted and maybe not that far…, but we do lose sight of His great love and the significance of the enduring suffering He did experience in the flesh then and even now when He grieves in His heart for us as the result of our sinful behavior. Bros that is a good reason why we should arm ourselves with the same mind because we are going to suffer too! Also, so we can defeat the enemy and have victory over sin through the power of the blood of Christ. We don’t want to grieve the Lord or Holy Spirit by continuing on in sin. Such a great price was paid for us and no one could ever carry that debt that was due- except Christ. Because Christ suffered in His flesh for us and put to death His flesh for us not that He was a sinner… But because we are sinners and as an example to us that we should put to death or mortify our flesh for sins sake to exterminate and eradicate it from our walk. No longer bound up in the flesh and being held prisoner to the flesh but free from it through the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on Calvary for the remission of our sins. Our time here is short bros; we do not have time to live for the flesh, but taking the time and making every moment of our lives to live for Christ and the will of God in our lives. We will not regret moments lived for Christ but will regret living every second of pleasure spent in sin… We can no longer waste precious moments in idleness, complacency and or ungodly behavior and thoughts of lust and deceived pleasure…

Peter addressing this epistle to Christians reminding them that they spent enough time already in the flesh, trying to appease the will of the appetite of the flesh which can’t be satisfied, the flesh will kill itself trying to satisfy itself with its destructive and deadly appetite.                                                                                                                                                                      

This is why it has to die bros; Jesus laid down His life as the example to us and for us to follow. His life on earth had to end to pay for our sins and our sins have to end for life abundantly in Him! So with the acceptance of Christ we no longer live for the will of our flesh but for the will of God-amen!

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” [John 1:12-13 NKJV]

“Beloved, I beg [you] as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,  having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by [your] good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.”[1Peter 2:11-12 NKJV] 

Bros we are foreigners here in this land basically just visiting or passing through this is not our homeland…We are on our way to a Holy place where the Streets are paved with Gold and a place where our admission to get in was paid for in full and could only be bought by the Blood that was surely shed by Christ our Lord for our sins.

So bros we ought to behave like we are as a guest visiting in a place that’s not our home and was never intended to be our home, we are simply passing through… We are encouraged to abstain from fleshly lusts, lusting after something that is not ours, never was intended to be and shouldn’t even be on our radar… especially since it wars against the soul! Yet we see many in the church taking major social liberties just to be hip, slick and cool and strangely promote the flesh. God never intended to feed our flesh in any manner, other than physical nourishment with food. To try to satisfy our fleshy lust is just purely insane especially since it is that which can’t be satisfied! That is why we don’t start feeding it in the first place. We abuse what He created and take it far from His original intent or design and find a way to turn our flesh on to it then the flesh takes off with it to lust with our perverted hearts and desires... “Hell and Destruction are never full; So the eyes of man are never satisfied.”[Proverbs 27:20 NKJV]

Jesus encouraged us to deny our flesh not to feed it or cater to it, or to allow it to exist but to deny it! “Then He said to [them] all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” [Luke 9:23 NKJV]

It’s not ours to feed with lust, we can say as new born babes this does not belong to us, it won’t nourish us or grow us only lead to certain death. We are given something greater and should desire the pure milk of the word that we may grow. Bros if we are behaving like the dying world how can we be life, light and a witness to a dying world? How can we be a light if we are not abstaining from fleshly lusts?

We are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a Holy nation, and His-own special people. We are royalty in and thorough Christ not that we are puffed up in our flesh but it’s undignified and not honorable for us to behave any other way. We must have honorable conduct, acting as a holy priesthood of believers that they may see us and glorify God. They can say evil things all around us and about us but it will be baseless when they compare it to the honorable witness we have put forth that would glorify God because of what He put in us His Son-amen!

“Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord [is] gracious.”[1Pe ter2:1-3 NKJV]

Bros, what an encouragement to change our behavior and to purify ourselves from conformity with the world as Peter exhorts the pilgrims of the Dispersion to make their behavior honorable in the eyes of the Gentiles even though the majority of them were actually Gentiles themselves… So then in this passage we as believers that want to be honorable in representing the Lord can also be encouraged to change our behavior, lay aside malice-to put away any ill will or harm that we might wish upon another. In that we might depart from any semblance of conformity with the world to a desire of godliness and love.

As newborn babes surely crave and desire the pure milk. As a post-new believer do you remember when you couldn’t wait to crack the Word of God and get into that studying of His word? You hungered and thirsted after it-you desired the pure milk of the word and remember how sweet that milk was and how you were growing in the word…? Are you desiring, craving, and growing in the word today? Bros if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious, and maybe now down the road from when you first believed you feel stagnant or complacent in your walk in the word and with the Lord. An you know something is not right in your walk, you have been on auto pilot for a very long time and you have become stagnant or stale and have lost the freshness or lost the joy or zeal that once accompanied you in your walk with the Lord… sure you know what you need to do, but maybe have been putting it off or resting on your laurels instead of what the Lord did in your life and wills in your life-heart changed behavior! “…desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby…,” in Psalm 37:4 it says “Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.”

It’s there for us bros if we desire it, the Lord is able to provide this work in our hearts- delight yourself in the Lord and desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow and by applying His word to your life you will be sustained by the word of God which lives and abides forever-amen!

“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest [your] hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ,” [1 PETER 1:13NKJV]

Bros as we look to the Lord seeking His perfect will in our life, His Word is always leading, pointing and instructing each of us in our journey forward in the way He desires for us and has prepared for us. What a great Scripture to remind us metaphorically to surround or wrap our mind in His strength that comes through His grace that our hope would fully rest in that grace, to be sober and serious about life following Christ and to rest our hope upon and in the grace that is from Christ and His coming…

I am reminded of a time when I met Rod Carew he played baseball for the California Angels years ago; he had an office not far from mine. After meeting him several times previously, he invited me over to his new office and training building and gave me an up close and personal tour of his recently completed training building. He was showing me how he trained young ballplayers to be able to be consistent hitters; he said all the hitting power and strength comes from your hips-loins. I was surprised by this as I thought the hitting power and strength was in your upper body.

As I think of the above verse in terms of gird up your loins and thinking on what Rod Carew said about your hitting power and strength coming from your hips, lower side back. I think of the loins of my mind, the seat of the strength of my mind and how to gird or surround or wrap my mind in the Word of God, His grace, His Son- our Lord and Savior an to be sober and be serious in being free from the influence of intoxicants. We can be intoxicated not only by alcohol or drugs but many things including lust and the lust of something…, it’s important to be and remain sober in all things.

Surround the strength of your mind with the holy things of God with the intent of being holy; be sober and serious in the pursuit of Holiness knowing that our Salvation should cause us to respond in this pursuit of sanctification and holiness. Reminding us to walk in the Gospel of God’s grace that was predicted and searched out by the prophets and prophesied of the grace that would come to you and me.  “Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace [that would come] to you…,”[1Peter 1:10 NKJV]

Draw from and rely on that strength and know where it comes from, just as Rod Carew knew where to draw the strength from to hit the ball… we should know where our strength and grace to keep trucking for Jesus comes from too- Him, Jesus, Our Savior, Our Strength, His Grace, and that’s where we should rest our hope fully upon the grace that was brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ- amen!

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.” [JAMES 1:22-24NKJV]

Bros seems like it is so nice when we accomplish some task or thing especially if it is something we may have put off for a long while. We talked about doing it for a long time but never took any action to be a doer. While James I believe is telling us to not only hear the Word but to believe it and do what it says, to take action-be a doer, to live it daily and walk it out in our lives that we might demonstrate what God is telling us and showing us to do.

           Long before I became a born again believer I went to church once or twice a year and I remember I felt good after hearing a good message from the Word of God-the Bible. Usually the feeling lasted a few hours… I look back now and realize I was carrying so much guilt from the sin in my life that it was like I had a huge backpack on and I couldn’t hardly walk or stand under the immense load of it. So when I heard the Word it was like a quick crutch underpinning my soul for a few moments transferring the weight of the guilt, shame and sin away from my mind and heart allowing my mind to be focused on what God was saying to me…     But the reason it didn’t last was because I didn’t heed what the Lord said in His Word, I didn’t receive it, so I couldn’t be a doer, but only a hearer and though it gave refreshment to my soul momentarily. I couldn’t fully realize it or receive it because my heart was not set on doing Gods will and acting on what He was saying to me. I didn’t want to follow God or His Word but knew hearing it made me feel better for a few moments.

I like where James says “…deceiving yourselves.” Oh how easily we are deceived especially by ourselves: we hear something that is so good to our souls- it is so rich in blessing us and refreshing and full of life and powerful, full of love, mercy, and every good accomplishment the Lord intended it for and yet we do not heed to be doers of what it says… “But be doers of the word, not hearers only.” It’s more than hearing and receiving the word, its doing it and acting on it. James equates this to looking at ourselves in the mirror walking away and forgetting what we look like. Most of the time we glance in the mirror but we don’t look long or deep enough at our walk with God, we only look and hear long enough from our flesh-to tell us how cool we look, but not what God is putting in our heart to do and then doing it, being a doer. I know for myself I constantly need to be reminded to examine myself, to check my motives, to ask myself am I doing what the word says, I know I heard it but am I acting on it? Being a doer, is it part of my walk, and am I hearing only and being complacent-deceiving myself?    “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:” [Matthew 7:24 NKJV] Don’t be deceived bros be a doer-look deep and long to see if you are a doer of God’s word not only hearing His Word today but building your house on it, do it, be a doer of the Word! Everything else is sinking sand, amen!

“So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” [JAMES 1:19-20 NKJV]

Bros reading the above Scripture it totally makes sense and seems logical that we would respond in this manner always-being “swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath”. So then it seems so easy to do or make daily apart of our normal reactions to life and the things that happen in our conversations and our general response to those around us. But how quickly we lose sight of the purpose and intent of this wisdom James is giving us to use and taking heed of in our lives walking as Christians. In the previous verse James states “Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.” [James1:18 NKJV]

If indeed we have been brought forth by God, by the word of truth-His Word, we didn’t get here on our own- but He brought us forth by His will that we might be and would be a kind of firstfruit that produces the righteousness of God. But when we operate in our flesh and are “slow to hear, quick to speak, quick to wrath or anger” it produces ungodly fruit that results from our response of our unbridled flesh coming out on its own trying and vying to self-serve, seeking to rule and reign in our speech, attitude, walk, conduct, heart and life as a Christian soldier of Christ. It does not produce the righteousness of God bros!

When James says “So then,” why is it so hard for us to be sure to stop, take a breath and think or meditate on the preceding verse before you let our mouth speed out words of wrath to no avail except ungodly fruit, bros our angry responses only show our lack of letting God reign in our hearts and lives. But when we respond as per our coaching from James we are swift to hear, slow to speak that our words may be chosen wisely not in wrath or self-seeking, but in love, in mercy and in God’s grace that we may be pleasing to the Lord and let the righteousness of God produce in us the firstfruit that He desires to see in our walk that we might experience His righteousness fully and be a witness in and for Christ-amen!

“A word fitly spoken [is like] apples of gold In settings of silver.”[Proverbs 25:11 NKJV]

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.”[James 1:17-18 NKJV]

Bros, temptations are an inside job and the appeal to them comes from within our own hearts they are not from God above who is the giver of every good gift and every perfect gift. We need to check this wickedness at the door of our heart and deny access at the get go lest it enter in and grow into a giant. God would not seek to lure us into something or put something in front of us that feeds our flesh in a sinful way. A gift from God would not be an enticement for evil. Think for a moment would a parent who loves his child deliberately bestow their child with ungodly things to feed their flesh. The gifts God gives us are a true blessing and would not pull us away from Him or cause us to look toward evil.  If we find ourselves in a situation where we are caught up in a temptation and think this is so good an really too good to believe then it must be from God- why would He allow this or give us this opportunity? Wrong not from Him.

He says He brought us forth by the word of truth and that’s a fact a reality, so God is not going to vary or turn a blind eye so to speak to let some temptation of evil slip through. If there be any question, well we would have to make God into a liar to make a temptation seem like it comes from Him, which would be totally impossible!  We know if it is not edifying us or exhorting us in the things of God it is not from Him. If there comes a time where we might be foolish enough to try to make a case that this evil or sin is from God to justify a sin we are in and trying to console our fleshy mind by believing this has to be a gift from God or why else would I derive so much pleasure from this seemly good gift… Fact check, first, the pleasure is fleeting and for a moment and takes you away from God, it doesn’t draw you to Him but takes you far away from Him… so it’s not a good gift from God and certainly not a perfect gift! We have to remember there is no variation or shadow of turning from God!

"God [is] not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” [Numbers 23:19 NKJV]

Bros we as Christian men are influenced by God and He gives every good gift, every perfect gift that we might be a kind of firstfruits. We are consecrated to God for all time and eternity. Live the life God desires for you, recognize, reject and get rid of anything that will facilitate evil- it’s not a good gift or a perfect gift if it leads or points you away from God, only last a few seconds and brings guilt and condemnation thereby destroying the milliseconds of supposed joy… definitely not from God… but Jesus Christ is our perfect gift from God, receive and acknowledge His wonderful gift and presence in your life everyday bro-amen!

“Blessed [is] the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”[James 1:12-15 NKJV]

Bros blessed are you when you reject the invitation or offer to sin. It’s not God who tempts us- but our own flesh usually invites the sin in by allowing the mind to lust or dwell in it…The lust of the flesh cry’s out to be fed, even when it’s not hungry or looking to be fed- that’s when temptation shows up when you are least expected… It’s important to starve the flesh out until you mortify the flesh completely. You feed your flesh by thinking about doing sinful things. Desire comes from the heart and is beckoned by the thoughts of the mind. When those fiery darts have landed in the mind and that poison starts to quickly draw upon the resources in the heart- leaching up those desires embedded in the heart. The very word “conceive” means literally to “think of”, so when that sin nature desire is allowed to be thunk on; it’s going to give birth to sin. Much in the same way when a woman is conceives a baby there has been a physical seed planted and when she conceives that seed she is going to give birth to a baby… When we let our thoughts dwell on, our mind think on or lust after some sin thing-once we allow that fiery dart to embed (and we don’t put up the shield of faith to extinguish that fiery dart/thought) it pulls from the sin desires that are in our heart. Then when that ungodly spiritual seed has been allowed to be planted in the mind and the desire has conceived, it gives birth to the thoughts that were “thunk” on, in that which were sin and that sin when its full grown brings forth death.

It’s a spiritual war bros use your God given weapons- call on the God of the Bible and ask Him to help you with thought control- take those lustful thoughts to the foot of the cross.

“For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…,” [2Corinthians 10:4-5 NKJV]

When you withstand that temptation and pass the test God, approved by God you will receive the crown of life, Blessed is that man-amen!

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have [its] perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” [James 1:2-4 NKJV] 

Bros praise God for His tender mercies which are new everyday- even in the midst of our trials! I think most would agree that trials may not be pleasant for the moment, but the Lord is doing a work in us.

When we are going through a trial and allow God to accomplish His will in our life for the betterment of ourselves in terms of the work He desires to do in us.  After all we are His workmanship and He desires to strengthen our relationship with Him knowing this testing or proving of our faith will produce or another way to look at this would be God manufacturing what’s missing or what needs to take place to do the work in our heart and walk of obedience unto Him. When we allow Him to bring forth and cause this to take place so our hearts can be changed- it produces patience, which could mean to endure pain, or some type of delay of something we desire in our lives without complaining, persevering even until the end…

When I think of Jesus being beaten and persecuted in silence without complaining, enduring the suffering of the scourging, even going on to be separated from God the Father for our sins-which was way more painful than the beating…persevering knowing this trial was going to bring Salvation to the world and you and me according to God’s purpose.

“He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.” [Isaiah 53:7 NKJV]

The Lord says in His Word “But let patience have [its] perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” When we accept and receive with joy the trial we are in and allow God to do His perfect work in us that we may be perfect and complete. Perfect means mature, just as we grow older each day and age, we become more mature physically. God’s perfect will is that we endure these trials and count it all joy that we may be made perfect or mature spiritually through the testing of our faith that produces patience. During this time of waiting and trusting in the Lord for what He wants to accomplish by the testing of our faith that produces patience that we may be perfect or mature in Christ and complete in God, lacking absolutely nothing. Awesome to know that God is doing a work in us and He loves us so much to help us to get to the place He wants us to be in our walk with Him-amen!