Matthew 7:23 - Wk 3 Day 7

then I will declare to them,

"I never knew you; depart from me"

Matthew 7:23

The question in this section of Matthew 7 is "[who] will enter the kingdom of God"?

In the first sentence, Jesus says, "21 he who does the will of My Father ... will enter the kingdom of God." It's an echo of James 2:17, "faith, if it has no works, is dead."

But in Matthew 7:22-23, it's more than works. Jesus talks about people who "prophes[ied] ... cast out demons ... in [Christ's] name" -- works -- but it wasn't enough. They "never knew [God]." This is an echo of Romans 3:28, we are "justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law"; it's faith and relationship rather than works.  

So which is it -- faith or works? 1 John 3:7 shows how it's both. The Apostle says, "the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just a He is righteous." Practicing righteousness makes us righteous. How? By drawing us close to the One who is righteous. It's a relationship. It's faith.

Faith draws us to the righteous one, and as we begin to reflect him, we become like him -- righteous. Simplify that: Relationship inspires righteousness ... and faith inspires good works.

God's will is not good works. It is for us to know Christ. Faith.

In Christ's Love,

I guy who wants to turn around

our verse for today:

a guy who knows Christ,

and yearns to hear, "Come to me"

Acts 1:4 - Wk 3 Day 5

[Jesus] appeared to them

over a period of forty days and

spoke about the kingdom of God.

Acts 1:4

If I asked you, "What did Jesus teach about?" what would you say?

Most of us would site passages like the Sermon on the Mount or the Parables. We might say he taught on marriage and family, ethics and values, richness and poverty, forgiveness and sin. We might say he repeatedly clarified the Old Testament. We might say that he spent a lot of time teaching about love!

Did you say, however, that Jesus taught about the kingdom?

After the resurrection -- when Jesus had the disciples' jaw-dropping and completely undivided attention for forty last days -- the Book of Acts tells us that the kingdom is ALL Jesus taught about about!!!

What is the Kingdom of God? Allow me to over-simplify it: It's wherever God is reigning!

Does God reign in heaven. Absolutely!

Does he reign on earth? Uhhhh ... yes ... and no. Yes, because he is always and invinceable, the absolute king of creation. But also no. No, because he gave us dominion over this world ... and we humans were dumb enough to transfer that authority to Satan. It's not that God isn't more powerful. It's that for now he chooses to rule through us and by our permission.

When will the Kingdom come? It will come in the fullness of time when Christ comes again. BUT if we want to see it now -- and we can -- we must wrest back control from Satan, refuse the sway of sin, and take back g0round for God and his kingdom. The kingdom comes whenever and wherever we give God reign over our lives.

Now, these are momentary victories. But that's why we are called to pray continuously. We can take back the Kingdom moment by moment by moment. We can continually claim corners of our days and corners of our world for God.

In Christ's Love,

a guy who knows that kingdom teaching

also and always includes things like

marriage and family, ethics and values,

richness and poverty, forgiveness and sin

How we live our lives

is how we take back

the kingdom!

Revelation 12:11 - Wk 3 Day 4

And they overcame [Satan]

because of the blood of the Lamb

and because of the word of their testimony,

and they did not love their life

even when faced with death.

Revelation 12:11

Revelation 12 is one of the great battle scenes in between good and evil. It points backward though – more to historical events (creation, fall, and redemption through Christ’s coming) than it does to end times and future events.    

Based on this, someone once asked, how was Satan overcome? Revelation 12 answers that for us:

·         By the blood of the Lamb (i.e. through the cross and the blood of Christ).

·         By the word of testimony by the faithful.

·         And by the faithful being willing to take up their own cross … and risk their own life … preferring faithful testimony (even if it required persecution and death) to their own life itself.

Wait … what was that question? “How was Satan overcome?” Now make it present tense. Make it personal. “How IS Satan overcome?”

Until Christ’s final coming, we’re still caught in the web of sin, death, and evil. Evil is sad, awful, and heinous. It is gnawing and deceptive. It alternately tries to lull us to sleep … and tear into us like a roaring lion. How is Satan overcome?

·         By the blood of the Lamb. And what does that mean for you? It means there’s power and hope when we claim the victory that Christ has already won on the cross. His final victory is absolutely accomplished … and yet, he allows us to live in the meantime (and it is a mean time) until he comes again.

·         By the word of testimony by the faithful. Two things are accomplished when we testify: 1) more and more people come to faith and claim the hope. (Indeed, that’s why Christ delays. He’s giving an opportunity for more and more to come unto him), 2) when we testify, we sow the faith more fully and more joyfully into our hearts. A firm faith and a joyful heart defeat Satan every time.

·         By not being afraid of death. It’s been said that fear is the first step into sin. What do we fear ultimately? Death – whether the final defeat of death or a thousand little deaths and humiliations. If Satan can play on our fears, he can get us to stop testifying. But if we love the promise of heaven more than we love our life itself, nothing can stop our testimony.

How is Satan defeated? It’s up to you!

In Christ’s Love,

A bloody mess

(I’m a messy, sinful person

washed clean and now confident

because of Christ’s healing blood)

Proverbs 21:31 - Wk 3 Day 3

The horse is made ready for the day of battle,

but the victory belongs to the Lord.

Proverbs 21:31

 

“Thy kingdom come …” Those words sound so gentle, so peaceful, so reverent, so holy. But in reality, those are fighting words!

 

God, of course, is King – the ultimate, true, rightful, ultimate, and loving king of all creation. But in Genesis 1, God gave us authority – “dominion” – over this earth. And in Genesis 3, we gave our authority to the serpent. That’s why Jesus calls Satan, “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31). And that’s why Paul calls the devil, “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph 2:2).

 

God is still The King. But since he’s given us authority … and since we’ve given that authority to Satan … God often waits for us to confront sin and evil and demand the kingdom back!

 

That’s what “thy kingdom come” means. They’re fighting words. We’re making a stand. “I’m claiming this ground for God!”

 

And we dare to do this, because once upon a time God did intervene decisively. Generations of Jewish prayers were answered. God’s people were praying essentially, “thy kingdom come,” and in the fullness of time, the Messiah did come.

 

On the cross, Jesus won back for us the permanent victory. But he left us to complete the battle. But not without weapons, the greatest of which is the authority to bind evil. But it will require you to 1) acknowledge the battle and 2) reclaim the ground around you.

 

In Christ’s Love,

a peaceful guy who

wants to pick a fight

 

(“THY KINGDOM COME …”)

Revelation 21:4 - Wk 3 Day 1

he will wipe every tear from their eyes.

Death will be no more; mourning

and crying and pain will be no more,

for the first things have passed away.

Revelation 21:4

What’s wrong with the world?

I googled it. I found a very impolite site. Here’s the polite version of their “What’s wrong with the world?”

·         Popcorn stuck in your teeth.

·         Slow cars in the passing lane.

·         Stepping on a Lego.

·         A half loaf of bread that’s already moldy.

·         Vomiting, war, and PMS.

My list, when I was asked, was: sin, death, pain …

And then I stopped. Revelation 21:4!

·         No more tears and grief and sadness.

·         No more mourning, crying, and pain.

·         No more death.

·         Heaven promises that sin will be no more too.

Wait. Read that last one again. When will ALL the things that are truly and woefully wrong with the world be solved? In heaven!

That’s what we’re asking for when we pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” We want heaven’s blessings now!

·         Therefore, we confidently ask for healing – because that’s something in heaven that we want on earth.

·         We ask for peace – because that’s something in heaven that we want on earth.

·         We ask for true justice – because that’s something in heaven that we want on earth.

·         We yearn for truth – because that’s something in heaven that we want on earth.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who wants

the kingdom to come

on earth as it is in heaven

Matthew 6:9 - Wk 2 Day 4

hallowed be your name

Matthew 6:9

Imagine an American soldier in uniform during the World War II era. What did he represent?

He was more than just “Steve Johnson from Peoria, Illinois.” When Steve put on that uniform he represented …

·         All the mothers praying in the churches.

·         All the children collecting tin cans and scrap metal to made into canteens.

·         All the women at home who were volunteering at the Red Cross.

·         The might of a thousand tanks crawling through the forests and a hundred ships patrolling the seas.

·         The enduring character of George Washington, Abe Lincoln, and thousands of brave men and women who’d gone before them.

·         The stars and stripes that continually unfurled liberty.

A soldier was not just a soldier. He represented something much, much bigger!

In a sense, that’s what praying “hallowed be thy name” means.

God is holy. He doesn’t need us to make him holier. But in this petition, we are asking – in part – to be dressed in God’s name, God’s character, and God’s honor, just a like a soldier is dressed in a uniform.

We can represent God well and wear that name with honor. Or we can represent that name poorly.

To represent the name of God poorly, means that we are disgracing the “uniform” by failing to hallow thy name.

To represent it well means that we can begin to discover the power behind that name.  Luke 10:17-18, give us an example of this: “The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!’ [Jesus] said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning.’”

The enemy does not tremble at the sight of one soldier. But the enemy definitely trembles at what that soldier represents – and the power of that name. When you pray, “Hallowed be thy name,” be aware of the costs and benefits. The cost is service. The benefits are love, joy, peace, power, and blessing.

In Christ’s Love,

a man gladly in uniform

Colossians 1:5 - Wk 2 Day 3

because of the hope

laid up for you in heaven.

Colossians 1:5

Where is God, our Father? We answer almost without thinking: Our Father who art in heaven.

Where are you? We can answer this without thinking too – on earth – but let’s think a little deeper.

I’d like to suggest that we’re wherever our focus is. C.S. Lewis puts it like this – and I’ll finish my devotion here, because I can’t do any better than this …

if you read history, you will find that Christians who did most for the present world, were those who thought the most about the next. The apostles themselves who went about the conversion of the Roman empire … all left their own lives as their minds were preoccupied with the things of heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they become ineffective in this one. Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you will get neither.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who wants

a crick in his neck

(from looking up!)