15 December 2010 Devotion for Today "God Offline?" Isaiah 40:27-31

15 December 2010 Devotion for Today "God Offline?" Isaiah 40:27-31



As I was studying a passage of Scripture for my Wednesday night Bible study, I hit the "print" button on my computer. Instead of hearing the customary whirr of the printer, it did nothing. I looked at the panel and the green light, which normally remains on, was blinking. Then I looked on my laptop screen and a window that interfaces with the printer said, PRINTER OFFLINE! That meant I had to fool around with it a bit to get it to work again and after several moments of turning off the printer and restarting it, and even rebooting the laptop, both devices were "online" again and things started working normally.



Now I recognize that not everybody has an experience like this- and I don't want to leave anyone out. But if you are reading this devotional "online" then it is likely you are somewhat familiar with computer or internet terminology. When something goes "offline" it means it is malfunctioning or has completely shut down. Computer websites typically go "offline" for updating and regular maintenance. People go "offline" on Facebook chat or Twitter because they have a life and can't be spending every waking moment being available, and have to get on to something else. Computer and other electronic devices go "offline" when something is wrong with the connection or if there is a deliberate shut-down initiated by the operator. "Offline" typically means there is an interruption in the connection. This usually isn't a huge inconvenience, of course, unless the electrical power grid suddenly goes "Offline" during a major winter snow storm or cold snap and you are praying it goes online again before you freeze to death.



But have you ever considered what would happen if God ever went "Offline?" I doubt most of us ever have, because God is always available. He never shuts down. He never takes a vacation and He never sleeps. What's more, He is perfect and therefore never needs scheduled maintenance. Plenty of Scriptures abound to underscore this point: "And lo, I am with you ALWAYS, even to the end of the world," says Jesus in Matthew 28:20. "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Hebrews 13:5. Or what about when David says in Psalm 23, "Yea thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for You are with me."? These and other Scriptures are constant assurances and reminders that God is always there and that He never goes "Offline." Can you imagine if that would ever happen, how disastrous that would be? That you would be praying and He didn't get your "knee-mail" because He went offline for a while? Literally millions of prayers would go unreceived because unknown to us, God didn't get them because there was a disconnect.



Isaiah mimics the cry of the typical Israelite when he asks in Isaiah 40:27

Why do you say, O Jacob,

And speak, O Israel:

“ My way is hidden from the LORD,

And my just claim is passed over by my God”?



It was another way of asking, since ancient Israelites did not possess computers, "God, have you gone offline?" He was complaining because he felt distant and alienated- disconnected from God.



But let's get closer to reality. If there ever were a time when you and I have ever experienced some disconnect between us and God it is not likely that it is God who is the source of the one being offline. It means we are the source of there being something gone wrong that puts us in Offline mode between us and God. Unlike God, we are constantly in need of spiritual and physical maintenance. Perhaps it is sin and our heart has gone offline, because the Bible says that if we regard iniquity in our hearts, the Lord will not hear us. We also always need sleep and go through periodic phases where we shut down for one reason or another. This means if there is an adjustment or a rebooting session that needs to occur, we need to do that to ourselves in order to reconnect the fellowship between us and God. Isaiah tells us in this Scripture that He always stands available to answer our prayers and to always be online whenever we need Him, but that it is up to us to keep those channels of communication open and keep ourselves "Online" for Him. And when we stay online with God, here is the result:



28 Have you not known?

Have you not heard?

The everlasting God, the LORD,

The Creator of the ends of the earth,

Neither faints nor is weary.

His understanding is unsearchable.

29 He gives power to the weak,

And to those who have no might He increases strength.

30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,

And the young men shall utterly fall,

31 But those who wait on the LORD

Shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)



Keep your spiritual systems restored and refreshed so that you will not go into Offline mode with God. Keep connected with Him. Possibly you might have to shut down something that is keeping you connected to the world so that you can go online again in your relationship with God. When you do, you will find, as Isaiah says, more power and joy than you know what to do with.



Refresh your system and stay online today with God. Have a blessed day!

06 December 2010 Devotion for Today "Almost Persuaded" Acts 26: 24-32

06 December 2010 Devotion for Today "Almost Persuaded" Acts 26: 24-32



24 Now as he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!”

25 But he said, “I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth and reason. 26 For the king, before whom I also speak freely, knows these things; for I am convinced that none of these things escapes his attention, since this thing was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.”

28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”

29 And Paul said, “I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains.”

30 When he had said these things, the king stood up, as well as the governor and Bernice and those who sat with them; 31 and when they had gone aside, they talked among themselves, saying, “This man is doing nothing deserving of death or chains.”

32 Then Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

(Acts 26:24-32)





This passage of Scripture takes me back to a childhood statement that many of us might remember: "Almost counts only with horseshoes and hand grenades!" The meaning of it of course is that almost means nothing at all. If a man attempts to spring over a two-hundred-foot chasm and almost makes it to the other side, he plunges to his death just the same. If a runner in a race stumbles and falls even before a foot of making it to the finish line, that doesn't make him almost a winner. He loses just the same. You get the idea.



Here in this passage of Scripture the Apostle Paul is defending his very life before Governor Festus and King Agrippa, their "significant others," as well as most of the important dignitaries and officials of the client Kingdom of Judea. Paul was determined, however, to make the most of this situation for a witnessing opportunity for Jesus Christ. The reactions of both Festus and Agrippa were probably predictable. Festus retorted that Paul's testimony was too deep for him, saying that such learning is driving Paul crazy. He refused to take it seriously and ridiculed Paul. King Agrippa's response, however, but much different. He did not treat Paul so contemptuously, and regarded him with respect. Paul appealed to him on the basis of the King's knowledge and background of Judaism. Still, Agrippa deflected Paul's attempts to convert him- probably feeling the pressure of the spotlight in front of all the officials who were watching his every move. It was evident that both the king and his cohorts had heard enough. While the appeal was enough to acquit Paul with the spurious charges against him, it was not enough to get them saved. Both Festus and Agrippa found a way to remove themselves from any responsibility for Paul's case by remanding him to Rome since Paul had appealed on the basis of his citizenship.



Paul, however, is brilliant in his ability to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. He used this trial to aim the Gospel message directly at the leaders of his nation. I'm sure Paul knew that this was a "long shot," but he was not going to discount the ability of the Holy Spirit to change people's hearts. Not only that, but there were many positive outcomes even though Agrippa was "almost persuaded." Paul elevated his own credibility, as well as all others who followed Jesus Christ in that region, and that the government had nothing to fear from this new movement that sought to promote peace and love. Paul could have been released, but he would have done so at his own peril; for the Jews would certainly have murdered him. It was better that he exit Jerusalem for he clearly had done all that he could do there, and going to Rome would build the cause of the Kingdom that much more. Paul did so all at the expense of the Roman Empire- which got him that one-way ticket to the capitol.



Many Christians do not witness today because they feel discouragement or fear defeat. This did not dissuade Paul from doing so. He relied upon the Holy Spirit to instruct him about what to say and left the results to Him. So what if those who heard did not turn to Christ? Imagine the possibility of what may have happened had they done so? This was too great an opportunity to pass up. We have tremendous opportunities around us even today. So if others to whom we speak about Christ are "almost persuaded," don't count it as a failure. Consider it as a victory to the point that they are that much nearer to Christ than what they might have been had you not said anything to them. And count it also complete obedience on your part that you did what Christ instructed you to do, instead of "almost!"



Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to be completely obedient to You today, instead of "almost." In Jesus Name, Amen.



Have a blessed day!

02 December 2010 Devotion for Today "Before Kings" Acts 25

02 December 2010 Devotion for Today "Before Kings" Acts 25

23 The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high-ranking military officers and the prominent men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. 24 Festus said: “King Agrippa, and all who are present with us, you see this man! The whole Jewish community has petitioned me about him in Jerusalem and here in Caesarea, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. 25 I found he had done nothing deserving of death, but because he made his appeal to the Emperor I decided to send him to Rome. 26 But I have nothing definite to write to His Majesty about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that as a result of this investigation I may have something to write. 27 For I think it is unreasonable to send a prisoner on to Rome without specifying the charges against him.”

(Acts 25:23-27)

In this passage Paul had already met with Felix's successor, Festus. Festus, like Felix, seemed very taken with Paul- but not so much that he was willing to release him. Festus needed to build trust with the Jews who repetitioned charges against Paul. However, the charges against Paul were now more subdued. Festus enjoyed a good relationship with King Agrippa, the puppet-ruler of the region. Both enjoyed hearing an educated and articulate man such as Paul give forth with sophistication, learning, and philosophy. Apparently there were few minds as gifted in Judea on the level with Paul's. I think they also enjoyed the intrigue that had been brewing between Paul and the Jews for some time. It was still a very delicate matter Festus and the King had to deal with. They knew that to hand Paul over to the Jews would mean certain death for him. They also did not wish to offend the Jews by holding a trial where Paul would most certainly be acquitted- since they knew that Paul had not broken any laws, civil or Jewish. Their recourse was suggested to them by Paul himself who stated that he had the right to appeal to Caesar to allow him to try his case. Festus, elated at not having to contend with the matter any further, lost no time in expediting the appeal to the Imperial government. Festus appeals to King a
Agrippa (who was not technically a Jew, but of the tribe and people of Esau and raised up in the court of Emperior Claudius). Bernice was an interesting figure. She was the sister of Agrippa and Drusilla- the wife of the former governor Felix. Josephus, the Roman historian, suggests Agrippa and Bernice carried on an open, incestuous relationship; for she was not the queen we might suppose. These highly political figures demonstrate their extreme spiritual poverty, and the fact that they will even willing to listen to Paul suggests that they were somewhat open to hearing about Christ and the reparation that Christ could do for their extremely broken lives.

Brokenness lies every where today. We find it in our political figures as well, but where we see it most pronounced is in our pews. It is a wonder that the modern church today can be as effective as it is considering the dysfunction which has invaded it at times. Our society is rapidly becoming as morally corrupt as that of the Romans. In fact it makes me wonder just how far away we are in countenancing incestuous relationships like we find with Agrippa and Bernice. We must not, however, underestimate what the power of the Gospel can do to change lives and restore or even invent character where none has been before.

You may not stand before Agrippa and Bernice but you stand nonetheless before a pagan and wicked society that seems to tolerate anything or anyone except for those who call us accountable to God's standards. Where do you stand today?

Prayer: Dear Lord it is to a very wicked world that You send me to. All of the virtues and ideas which You have instilled in me are considered old-fashioned and outmoded by the sophisticates of my modern world. Yet the power of the unchangeable Gospel and commitment to Christ's love continues to reside in me. Use me to demonstrate love and compassion for people like Agrippa and Bernice that they may see themselves people whom God loves and wishes to draw unto Himself. I go today as Your Ambassador. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.

30 November 2010 Devotion for Today "How to Respond When the Chips are Down" Acts 23:1-8

30 November 2010 Devotion for Today "How to Respond When the Chips are Down" Acts 23:1-8 1 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.” 2 At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!” 4 Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God’s high priest!” 5 Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’[a]” 6 Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.” 7 When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.) (Acts 23:1-8) How do you respond when the "chips are down?" In this passage we see the Holy Spirit guiding every word and action of the Apostle Paul as he is standing before the Sanhedrin- the very council that tried Jesus and handed him over to be put to death. They were supposed to be the spiritual leaders of Israel, representing the leading families of the region and led by the High Priest. The first thing was that Paul showed no fear- he looked straight at them, making eye contact in spite of the intimidation he received from the Sanhedrin. He knew that he had done nothing wrong, confident as God's spokesman. Standing before unhappy, angry people can be a very fearful thing. But if a group like this senses fear, they will not feel sorry for you. Instead they will overwhelm you with a barrage of evil threats- just as they tried to do with Paul. Seeing that they could not easily intimidate him, their frustration drove them to resort to physical violence as the High Priest ordered someone to slap Paul in the mouth. This nearly got the best of Paul, who retaliated by lashing out at the High Priest but in a carefully controlled manner. Paul was expecting this also, and knew he must not add fuel to the flames but even here, his wisdom prevailed and easily answered the charge of insulting the High Priest with Scripture by mildly rebuking himself and at the same time pointing out how the High Priest stooped to showing frustration and violence. As Paul composed himself, he aimed at them philosophically by exploiting and driving a great wedge between the two factious parties within the Sanhedrin over the doctrine of the resurrection; which the Pharisees upheld but the Sadducees rejected. After this, it was impossible for the Sanhedrin to keep the group in focus as they melted down into a "free-for-all" which prompted the Roman guards to have to wade into them and extract Paul by force once again. The Sanhedrin made a poor impression upon the Romans by doing this, and Paul received some admiration from his Roman captors. Even the conservative members of the Sanhedrin threw their lot in with him when they realized Paul had been a member of the Pharisaical party and identified with his doctrine. It was evident that Paul came away from that difficult situation as a winner. Paul gives us some pointers and shows us how we need to respond in the same way: 1. When facing intimidation, be fearless. You may be shaking in your boots but do everything you can to stare them down. Showing fear in a hostile crowd is like bleeding in a tank full of sharks. 2. Remember, you are not just facing people, you are facing the very presence of Satan himself. Do not count on any sympathy from him or anyone. 3. Show control and Christ-like behavior. Do not result to insults or pettiness even when others have done so. Maintaining control will only make you look better even to the ones who disagree with you. Lashing out will only add fuel to the fire and make it difficult to keep the dispute in focus. 4. Ask Christ to give you wisdom when you realize you will not be able to convince anyone of the truth of your innocence or intentions. Do not become frustrated. Observe carefully the weaknesses in the group assembled against you. Are they united as a group, or does something divide them? It could be that someone is setting you up to be used to further their own agenda to gain advantage over the rest of the group. Are they being truthful? Is there a lie they fear you might expose? People fear this so much that often they keep quiet in such situations, or they will say too much and discredit themselves. Ask the Lord to give you wisdom to be meek and humble, but fearless at the same time. 5. Do not stand for being abused. Paul spoke to this situation when someone slapped him. He addressed it, but moved on and remained calm. Note that he didn't say he would slap them back, but that God would! 6. Resist the temptation to grandstand to the audience or to those who have nothing to gain from the situation one way or another. There is no need to try to go privately to enlist support for your cause, either. Paul could not do this anyway and it seldom helps. You cannot count on anyone to "back you up" when the proverbial chips are down. The only one whom you can count on in a situation like this is the help and power of Jesus Christ who identifies readily with what you are going through and can help you more than the majority. 7. Remember, every day you are in a battle. Chips are being called in every day! You may win the battle in this situation, but that does not mean that the war is finished. Even Christ's wisdom in the same situation did not save Him from being crucified. But He did so gloriously, and finished the task He had come to do. What I am saying is, you may live another day, but it is more likely you will not. This is not a defeat, however. It is a glorious victory. God is still on His throne and the best thing you can do is to show the best you can for His glory. Prayer: Dear Lord, Your enemies seek to destroy me. I feel so alone and friendless in this world. Help me in this time to gain confidence and strength from You. Keep me strong and sweet and gracious at the same time. And should I go down, may I do so in the spirit of the One who said, "Father into Thy hands I commit my spirit!" In Jesus Name, Amen. Have a blessed day! 

29 November 2010 Devotion for Today “When People Do Not Know What to Do with You” Acts 22:22-30

29 November 2010 Devotion for Today “When People Do Not Know What to Do with You” Acts 22:22-30

²² The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!” ²³ As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, ²⁴ the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. ²⁵ As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?” ²⁶ When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.”

²⁷ The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes, I am,” he answered. ²⁸ Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.” “But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied. ²⁹ Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains. ³⁰ The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews. So the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.

In this somewhat amusing story of bureaucratic bungling, the Apostle Paul is arrested on trumped up charges for stirring up a riot at the Temple in Jerusalem. Paul had been given an opportunity to address the crowd once again, to help them understand why he was there and to proclaim the truth about Jesus. But the crowd did not want to hear the truth. Instead they called out for Paul’s blood. The Roman guards, fearing Paul would be killed by the crowd, took him into custody.

There is something about the human mind that is closed off to the truth when it does not want to be convinced otherwise. This is a form of blindness. It has nothing to do with the eye organ or neuro centers of the brain affecting physical eyesight. This blindness is emotional, even spiritual. We prefer to believe lies if it is more convenient to us than the truth; especially if that truth is threatening to us. We will even react to the truth with violence, even bloodshed if we are affected in such a way. I have even seen family members turn on one another because of this. Paul experienced this first hand from the Jews who rejected him. After he was arrested he was about to be beaten by the cruel Romans. This was standard policy by the Romans to make an example out of anyone who inconvenienced them. It was also their way of demonstrating their contempt for the Jews and other conquered peoples. They mistook Paul for being a classless trouble-maker, and were determined to make him pay for it until Paul invoked his citizenship. The brief exchange between Paul and the commander is comical. The commander is startled and realizes he could get into big trouble for abusing a Roman citizen and denying him due process. He wonders what other credentials he possessed that he did not know- something that could easily have threatened the Roman commander’s career: especially the fact that Paul was born as a Roman citizen, whereas the commander was naturalized and had to pay a lot of money for it. No one seemed to know what to do with Paul, so he was released on his own custody so that he might appear before the Sanhedrin.

Do you ever find yourself, like Paul, in situations like this where no one knows what to do with you. A certain group will hate you because of what and who you stand for. Others are indifferent to you. Still others, like the Romans, will not know what to make of you. They may admire your Christian character and even like you- but not well enough to want to be friends with you. Subsequently, you will not get many invitations to parties or other social activities. This is why we must value our fellowship in Christ with other Christians. They are our family when the world has rejected us. They are our source of support when others shy away from us and do not know what to do with us.

Do people not know what to do with you? If that is the case you probably are closer to Christ than you realize. Do all that you can to demonstrate Christian integrity and character so that if people get upset with you it will not be because you cannot be trusted. Believe me, they will be looking for a reason. Don’t expect people to be easily swayed even by your most convincing testimony. Just expect spiritual blindness to be there, and don’t get frustrated with them. It is Satan who puts those blinders on. Just keep your attitude and heart sweet and leave the rest up to the Lord and stay close to Him.

Prayer: Dear Lord, often I find myself in situations where people don’t know what to make of me. This may be a good thing, but sometimes it hurts because it is so lonely. Help me to understand that this is just part of the price I pay for being a follower of Jesus Christ. It cannot hurt nearly so much as what You have been through. Help me keep that in perspective as I battle the loneliness and the treatment this world gives me.

Have a blessed day!

15 November 2010 Devotion for Today "Mondays" Psalm 145

15 November 2010 Devotion for Today "Mondays" Psalm 145


I'm probably being anachronistic again, but I grew up listening to the Carpenter's singing words to a tune that goes

something likethis: "Hanging around, nothin' to do but frown. Rainy days and

Mondays always get me down!" Do you like Mondays? I can't remember at whose office I saw this

but perhaps you have seen it also: the Peanuts cartoon character,Snoopy, the famous black and white beagle, is depicted in

attitude for each day of the week. On Friday, Snoopy is happy and smiling.Saturday, Snoopy is in ecstacy and floating on air.

On Sunday, Snoopy is happy too, but he has one eye of concern as he looks toward the next day. Then Monday comes and

Snoopy is bleary-eyed, laying down almost lifeless, with a black cloud over his head. Does this sound like your Monday? It certainly seemed that way with my children this morning-they were so tired and grumpy they could not even lift their heads from the breakfast table to eat, griping: "Man, why do we have to go to school?" . I felt badly for them having to

start off the day that way. But really, Monday is not unlike any other day. Its just that western culture is just blessed to have normally two days off on the week-end. Even in some European countries this is not true. We learned in Italy last week that the children there go to school six days a week (it wasn't long ago that they did that here in Germany). I said to my son who made the remark, "How would you like to grow up in a country where they didn't have a "Saturday?" He said, that would be all right, just as long as they didn't have a "Monday!"


David did not use the calendar that we use today, nor did he even

havea concept of "Monday" as we do today. He treats each day as a blessing and as an opportunity to serve and commune with God. He writes "I will extol You, my God, O King; And I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, and I will praise

Your name forever and ever.Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable."

(verses 1-3).


Notice he says, "every day I will bless you"? David says this because he knows that even our Mondays have blessings in them, and something worthy to thank our Lord about. Some preachers don't do this, but I work on Mondays. And typically it is not any better a day for preachers than for most other people. I had a preacher friend tell me in jest-"I never take off on Mondays, why be miserable on your own time?" But seriously,

Monday is a good catch-up day-one to reflect upon what happened the previous day, how to do things better next week

and whatnot to do again. Its a good planning day, but most of all its another day to rejoice in what God has done in my life. If "rainy days and Mondays always get you down", as the song goes,

then you have a reason to smile today, because Jesus loves you and He has given you another day. Bless Him for it. Have a blessed Monday!

03 November 2010 Devotion for Today "Greatly Comforted" Acts 20: 7-12

03 November 2010 Devotion for Today "Greatly Comforted" Acts 20: 7-12

7 On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. 9 Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. 10 Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” 11 Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. 12 The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted. (Acts 20:7-12)

She seldom, if ever, waits for an invitation. She shows up unannounced and rudely barges in, demanding that others take notice of her. Everything has to come to a stop because of her, and she will not allow you to ignore her. She makes her entrance on the scene, takes all that she can from us, deliberately hurting us as much as she possibly can, and then takes her leave without the slightest courtesy, leaving all she visits to pick up the pieces of their lives while she goes about seeking other hapless victims. Who is this person who inflicts such pain and misery every where that she goes? Her name is Tragedy. Like a nightmare from which we cannot waken, Tragedy invokes her presence with a heavy heart and a flood of tears. We never know who she will visit next, and we cannot protect or prepare ourselves enough.

This unwelcome guest paid a visit to the church in Troas where Paul preached to a huge crowd throughout the night. Tragedy sized up the scene and waited to strike. The lamps which illuminated the room were putting off a fume. Those seat in the window sills did not help the ventilation for their bodies blocked the fumes and allowed noxious gases to build up. Paul, unaware and characteristically filled with the Holy Spirit, took no notice of what was happening as he preached to bleary eyed men and women struggling hard to stay awake. All of a sudden, there was a noise in the direction of one of the windows. Someone emitted a terrified scream as everyone's eyes dart to the scene of where Tragedy just struck. A young man named Eutychus, overcome by the fumes and sleep, falls from the third-story window to the ground below. Suddenly the crowd trumbles down the stairs and gathers around this poor young man, his neck broken, laying obviously dead before them. We imagine the shrieks and wails of his parents and other family members trying to lift his lifeless body from the ground.

However, Paul arrives, throws himself upon Eutychus and announces, "He is alive!" Could it be? How can this happen? No one seems to question this as the young man is taken back upstairs. They feed him and then Paul continues speaking until morning as Tragedy is evicted from the room. The God of comfort takes over where Tragedy leaves off as their heavy hearts melt into joy.

Everywhere around us we see the aftermath of this unwelcome visitor, Tragedy. But God 's comfort is the only one who is any match for her. He uses us to usher in that Comfort Some people confuse comfort with being comfortable. Those who are comfortable take no thought of Tragedy or her victims when they happen to others, and look for excuses not to get up from their comfortableness to out their arms around others or try to assuage their grief. Those who comfort, however, overcome thoughts of inconvenience. They may not know what to say in a situation which Tragedy has struck, but the presence of Comfort means more than a whole encyclopedia of words trying to describe the situation. This is the meaning of Comfort. Where can you employ God's comfort when Tragedy strikes? IF ever the presence of Jesus Christ is seen the most, it is when His comfort is invoked. May God help us not to fear comfort, but be used of it to bring to bind up the wounds and hurts of broken hearted people all around us.

Prayer: Dear God, Tragedy struck somewhere this week. I feel the pain and hurt of the ones whom she hurt. Help me dear God to do what I can to alleviate this hurt In Jesus Name, Amen.

Have a blessed day!

01 November 2010 Devotion for Today "Seven Sons of Sceva" Acts 19:11-20

01 November 2010 Devotion for Today "Seven Sons of Sceva" Acts 19:11-20

11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. 13

Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We[a] exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.

15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”

16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered[b] them, and prevailed against them,[c] so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. 18 And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. 19 Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed. Acts 19:11-20

When I was a teenager, the blockbuster horror flick, "The Exorcist" was a sensation at the box office. I didn't bother to go see it, namely because the R rating was strictly enforced back in the those days and secondly I hated horror films- they gave me nightmares! I'm no prude or a legalist, but there was also something about movies of this nature that created a check in my spirit- that they were just something I felt would help me as a Christian even at the age of thirteen or fourteen. But the films premise is about a couple of Catholic priests who visited this certain home to drive out demons from one of its young occupants. In the end, both priests end up dead and its uncertain whether the demonized teenager was successfully exorcized.

The content of the passage here in the book of Acts is just as frightening because this was a real-life situation, not Hollywood Spielberg fiction. A prominent Jewish man named Sceva and his sons made their living driving out evil spirits where ever they went, and challenged an evil spirit in the presence of the Apostle Paul and a crowd of people. They tried to adjure the demon using the power of Jesus after listening to Paul preach about Him. When challenged, this evil spirit became extremely agitated, and flew upon the exorcists and ripping into them, wounding them and tearing off their clothes with brutal power.

This must have been quite a scene, but it ought to underscore the fact that spiritual warfare is nothing to play around with. These people made several mistakes: 1) they underestimated the power of Satan and his forces; 2) they went unprepared into the presence of Satan; 3) They invoked the power of Jesus Christ without discerning a personal relationship with Him.

Jesus Christ has greater power over the forces of darkness in this world. For this reason many people fear the name of Jesus and do not like to hear His name invoked in public places. Also, people the world-over will acknowledge this power, but they do not have a personal relationship with Christ. They would rather just use Jesus to get what they want and not deal with Him after that. We should never misuse the person or the work of Jesus Christ for our own purposes- which is what the Scevians did.

But make no mistake, spiritual warfare is not for the curious or for the unprepared. It is something that goes on today as much as it ever did, and it is not to be treated lightly. A person ought never to go against the forces of darkness until he or she is sufficiently prepared in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Furthermore, we ought never to go out of our way to find evil spirits that need removing- they will find their own way to our door soon enough.

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I must admit that I am greatly troubled by this doctrine and don't know much about it. But I also know that I have nothing to fear if I have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. I appropriate His eternal power over my life today to go before me in whatever challenge I experience. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen.

27 October 2010 Devotion for Today "In Sync" Acts 18:1-7

27 October 2010 Devotion for Today "In Sync" Acts 18:1-7

And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples 2 he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”

3 And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?”

So they said, “Into John’s baptism.”

4 Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”

5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. 7 Now the men were about twelve in all. (Acts 18:1-7)

I have a button on my new cell phone with this command- "Sync". It is pronounced "sink" and its purpose is to bring up to date all of my data (on my computer, internet, cell phone and other devices) up to date with all my data bases holding my cell numbers, addresses, contacts, and calendars. When I push this button, I wont have to worry about finding, for example, a calendar on another device that I need to update. It does it all automatically through the internet.

I realize that I probably lost about half of you. Indeed I'm not sure I can comprehend it all myself, much less explain it. Syncing is a time-saving feature that is a necessary feature in all modern methods of mass communications. Without it, none of us would be able to keep up with the lightening-fast advances in technology and information processing. Its as difficult to keep pace with oneself as it is trying to keep up with others now since the advent of social networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook. In fact, one has to be careful about Tweeting also. You can harmlessly send an update about the health (or demise) of someone before appropriate family members have even been notified. Just another one of those awkward problems that the mass communication industry has not helped us work through yet.

First-century communications were just as awkard- if not in reverse. Following the encounter with Apollos in Acts 17, Paul makes his way to Ephesus and finds a group of Christ-followers who do not seem to know anything about the Holy Spirit. Apparently, Apollos and several others experienced the same problem until others more knowledgeable came to correct them. Their spiritual ignorance, or at least their ignorance of the Holy Spirit is not surprising. People lived in extreme isolation from one another in those days. Even with the improved highway system of the Romans, mass communication was difficult, if not impossible. Dissemination of ideas took decades to filter through even as other ideas were coming to the surface. It was difficult to maintain consistency to "sync" all of the words, ideas, concerns and updates that comprised the common faith. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit maintained that consistency as the Gospel message circulated. This passage shows us how the Holy Spirit, through Paul's preaching, did just that. Even though there were times when errors and aberrant theological ideas came to the surface, I have always been amazed how the Holy Spirit unified and strengthened these fledgling churches into such a mighty force for Jesus Christ in the midst of such a backward civilization. Modern technology may have helped spread ideas but it certainly has not solved the problem of spiritual ignorance that many people express today. Thankfully, we still have our ability to read our Bibles and to pray which enables us to stay in sync with God- allowing the Holy Spirit to do the same work of teaching, discipling and unifying as He did 2000 years ago.

Are you "in sync" with the Holy Spirit? Drop what you are doing right now and hit that "sync" button right now.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I admit right now that I find myself not in "sync" with you. It is not because I do not possess the technology, but rather the will to do so. Help me overcome this today, in Jesus Name, Amen.

Have a blessed day!

22 September 2010 Devotion for Today "Anger on Steroids" Acts 13:42-47

22 September 2010 Devotion for Today "Anger on Steroids" Acts 13:42-47

42 So when the Jews went out of the synagogue,[j] the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. 43 Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.

44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. 45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. 46 Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us:

‘ I have set you as a light to the Gentiles,

That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth" (Acts 13:42-47)

Envy Its an evil emotion that is beyond my understanding. Not that I would ever deny being guilty of it myself, but truly it is one of the most irrational emotions seated in the sinful heart of man. I heard someone describe this emotion as "Anger on steroids!" Envy is an intense of inadequacy and occurs when a person lacks another's (perceived) superior quality, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it. It often brings about anger, resentment, and even aggression towards those whom one envies. Such was the feeling the Jews of the Synagogue at Antioch had when they saw that a huge crowd of Gentiles were hanging on every word of Paul and Barnabas while they preached. The missionary pair had preached in the Synagogue, but were not well-received and no one received Christ there. Not wanting to miss an opportunity, the missionaries decided to preach to the Gentiles, whose response to Christ was nearly overwhelming. The Jews obviously did not approve of their response, and resented Paul and Barnabas for stooping to preach to them. The Jews, thinking they were so much better, were blind to the possibilities of further influencing the Gentiles about their God and benefited both groups greatly as a result.

Have you ever been tempted to envy? Its hard not to be when you have worked hard on something, hoping to win someone's approval, and then have that person take no notice of it as they shower that approval on to someone else. I have even seen preachers grow envious of another's congregation or response to his preaching, etc. The most evil form of envy is Shadenfreude, a German word describing the emotion of envy so intense that it takes delight in the downfall or misfortune of others of whom they had been jealous. God commands us in the Ten Commandments not to covet- to be jealous of another's possessions but to be content with what they have. Imagine what would have happened if John the Baptist had coveted Jesus' popularity or speaking ability? It would not have dissuaded Christ in the least but it would have made John the Baptist look badly for all time.

I suppose what I am saying is, while most of the sins that we commit have to them some degree of rationality, envy clearly does not. It is perhaps the most destructive emotion, because wars, feuds, and even family violence has ensued over envy. Nations have been inflamed over envy, and so are most relationships.

Are you envious of someone today? Perhaps the seat of your ill-feeling runs deeper than your jealousy of that person's attractive looks or athletic prowess, or even their cleverness. It stems from a lie of Satan who whispers to your heart and says, "You are no good! You will never be good enough!" Satan's lies are dispelled by the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ who can liberate you from that evil emotion and set you free to love and to appreciate others for all of their qualities you can celebrate, and make you glad that you know them.

Do all that you can to kill that green-eyed monster, envy, and allow good thoughts about others occupy your heart.

Have a blessed day.

 

15 September 2010 Devotion for Today "P.U.S.H" Acts 12:11-17

 

What does the word "push" mean to you? The verb "push" means to physically move something or somebody out of your way or in a forward direction. In this passage of Scripture we see people pushing- actually they were praying. The people in that day (unlike today) really believed in the power of prayer. They came together for the purpose of praying for Peter and James who were in prison and threatened with death. Unfortunately, James befell the sword- but Peter is miraculously released from prison. He is just ushered right out of there, as the Scriptures described. What made the difference? Prayer!

 

Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating."

 ¹²When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. ¹³Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. ¹⁴When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, "Peter is at the door!"

 ¹⁵"You're out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his angel."

 ¹⁶But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. ¹⁷Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. "Tell James and the brothers about this," he said, and then he left for another place. (Acts 12:11-17)

    Notice what the people of the church were doing. Were they listening to a sermon? No. Were they singing? No. Were they eating and sipping on coffee? No. They were praying. Prayer is the most important thing we can do as Christians, and yet the most overlooked and undervalued activity that we do because most people neither see the value or the sense of prayer. You can tell the temperature of a church by their attendance at prayer meeting and what they pray about. What does this have to do with PUSH? It is not original with me, but PUSH is also an acrostic which means to "Pray Until Something Happens.

    In Luke 18:1 Jesus said that "men always ought to pray and not lose heart". We are to continue in an attitude of prayer until the desired goal or outcome is reached or until God shows us differently. We might not receive the answer we had hoped to have- such as in the case of James; God allowed James to be executed but Peter was not only spared but ushered right out of the prison. Why did this happen? No one knows but the mind of God. It could have been because God knew who would become the most effective disciple of the two, or perhaps because the people in John Mark's mother's house were not praying fervently enough. Perhaps this is the case because when their prayer for Peter's release was fulfilled, the people of the church did not want to believe that when Rhoda went to the door and saw him standing there. Even then they tried to explain it away.
    Prayer is not Pushing God- because He will do what He intends to do or not do. He has commanded us to pray so that we can accept His answers and to allow our minds to be likeminded with His. This is not to say we will understand everything by praying about it. But God wants us to pray nonetheless because God desires to see if we are truly serious enough about what we want by coming to Him persistently in prayer. In prayer we not only discern the will of God but also know our own hearts better as we do. It is as one person said years ago, "Be careful what you pray for- you just might get it!"

Do you have something that you are praying about? PUSH it through until you get the answer. It may not be the answer that you want, but you will get an answer nonetheless.

 

Have a blessed day!

 

 

 

08 September 2010 Devotion for Today "Change" Acts 10:1-8

 

Acts 10

• 1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3 One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, "Cornelius!"
  

  4 Cornelius stared at him in fear. "What is it, Lord?" he asked.
  

  4 The angel answered, "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea."
  

  7 When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. 8 He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.
  

  9 About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. 13 Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat."
  

  14 "Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean."
  

  15 The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."
  

  16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.
  

  17 While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon's house was and stopped at the gate. 18 They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.
  

   
   

  Acts 10: 9-18
  

 
 

Back in 1912, Ford Motor Co. had a production manager named William Knudsen - considered one of the best in his field. Knudsen became convinced that the Model T (which had been in production for 4 years now) had to be updated. But, the only problem was - Henry Ford loved his creation so much it was well known that he opposed changing anything about the car.

According to Robert Lacy (in his best selling biography, Ford: The Man and the Machine) Knudsen thought to convince Ford by building an updated and impressive model to show what could be done with a few changes in color and design.

Ford had just returned from a European vacation, and he went to a Highland Park, Michigan garage and saw the new design created by Knudsen.

On-the-scene mechanics later revealed how Ford responded.

They say that the car was it was a four door job, and the top was down, painted gleaming red and built on a new, low slung version of the Model T.

One eyewitness tells how "Ford had his hands in his pockets, and he walked around that car 3 or 4 times�. Finally, he got to the left hand side of the car, and he takes his hands out, gets hold of the door, and bang! He ripped the door right off!� How the man done it, I don�t know! He jumped in there, and bang goes the other door. Bang goes the windshield. He jumps over the back seat and starts pounding on the top. He rips the top with the heel of his shoe. He wrecked the car as much as he could."

Knudsen left for General Motors. Henry Ford nursed along the Model T, but design changes in competitors models made it more old-fashioned than he would admit. Competitive necessity finally backed him into making the Model A, but his heart was never in it.

Henry Ford was one of the most creative men of his age. And yet Henry Ford - one of the great minds of his day - resisted the obvious need for change. Most people don't like change in their lives any more than he did. One man once observed that the only people who DO like change are "wet babies" and even they aren't' too excited about it. Churches are notorious for that kind of attitude as well. You'll find church boards saying things like "we've never (pause to let them complete it) done it that way before!"

Someone once said that when it comes to change the church is often like the snail riding on the back of a turtle and do you know what a snail does when it rides on the back of the turtle?

It goes: "Whee!" Many churches bulk at even the slightest change in their routine. Even when they�re fairly sure the changes would be something pleasing to God they still resist.

I. Now, things weren't a whole lot different back in the days of the early church.

People back then didn't like change anymore than people now do.

 
 

When we read about the events in Acts 10, it may be hard visualize how earth shaking the events actually were, but the changes God brought to pass reverberated in the early church for the next 50 or 60 years. In this passage Peter was praying on his rooftop and began to grow hungry. While a meal was being prepared for him, Peter continued in prayer until a deep trance came over him. In the trance Peter saw a sheet being lowered with all kinds of unclean animals- swine, oysters, shrimp, catfish, etc., being lowered down in the sheet before him. Then the voice of God instructed him to kill these unclean animals and eat them. As a good Jew, Peter protested because he had been taught that such animals were unclean and not fit to eat. However, God chided him in his prejudice, and told Peter that what God had cleansed he ought never to call unclean.

 
 

This food was symbolic of an even deeper struggle- overriding the prejudice of the Gentiles. For no sooner had Peter awakened from his trance than Cornelius, a pagan Roman soldier with a heart for God appeared before him. Peter spoke to him about Christ and the Roman committed his life to Jesus Christ. Peter also baptized him, but he did not speak to him about circumcision. At that time a huge wall fell down- a wall that had been the barrier of division between Jews and Gentiles for millennia. Christ opened the pathway for Jews and Gentiles to unite under a common banner, paving the way for Christ's message to be preached throughout the world. . Prejudice was confronted and overcome, and Jesus Christ was glorified.

 
 

To be sure, there were people who would not like this, and the Jewish Christians would give the Gentile believers some trouble because not all issues are resolved immediately or overnight. However, the cause of Jesus Christ was pushed forward because of Peter's obedience and his reaching out to Cornelius.

 
 

We often fear change and latch on to what we know not only because we are afraid of losing what we have, but the challenges of confronting the need for change is simply tedious and difficult. It is much easier staying where we are comfortable. Is Christ demanding change in your own life right now? What about in your church or community? What evidence is there right now where change is greatly needed. However change is identified, may I say that it will be disastrous if the change is entered into without the power of Christ. IF He is not present, we may speak of change all we want, but it will not amount to anything.

 
 

Examine your heart today and let the changes Christ desires begin first in you.

 
 

Have a blessed day!