1st Thessalonians 4:7

"For God hath not called us unto uncleaness,
but unto holiness."

Well, as you probably guessed, I am reading through 1st Thessalonians. Last week's devotional and this weeks comes from it. It is quite an amazing epistle. Paul for the most part was encouraging believers at Thessalonica. Paul was real good at that. This verse jumped out at me and I chewed on it for a week. What does it mean to be called unto holiness? Well, the answer is in the text. The word used for uncleaness in the Greek is akatharsia. It can mean physical or morally unclean. In the text it's obvious that it defers to the later. The word for holiness is hagiasmos. It means purity or sanctification. The corresponding verb is hagiazo, to set apart. So the comparison is made here of being morally unclean or being purified. In the old testament to be unclean was to be excluded from normal activities or everyday life until the proper motions were made to be deemed ceremonially clean. The old testament law had provision for things like touching dead animals, leprosy, etc. There were sacrifices that needed to be made to remedy the situation. These were part of the old testament law from God. Now without going off into a whole other area let's get back on point. For us, what does it mean to be unclean? Well, for starters read Galatians 5:19-5:21 it's a list of the works of the flesh. When we are ruled by our flesh, we are working the works of uncleaness. When contrasted to the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22-23, we can see what God is really trying to produce in our lives. God wants holiness because He knows the end product of it. I mean really. Before I was a Christian, I lived for me, I ruled my life, that was my focus. After I gave my life over to Him, the process of changing that to an others centered attitude began. I have news for you to, it's still going on! I have days where things go well and I walk after Him. Other days, I can't believe that so much of my old nature could remain. It will go on forever. The thing I try to remember daily is that I have been called, and set apart from the world. Just like anyone else who gives their life to Jesus Christ. My desire is for holiness. My heart wants to please God. Unfortunately I get in the way at times. That's where grace comes in. God and His abundant grace. I love the fact that when God looks at me, He See's the imputed righteousness of Christ draped over this body of sin and corruption. Covering me and making me clean. Without it, I, you, would be doomed. As a Christian, we are called to a higher standard of living. Not one on a pedestal looking down on others, but one that has outstretched hands pulling people up to Christ. To live. I mean to really live and enjoy life. Letting go of the junk that crowds and consumes us daily, and seeking Him. As always, I pray that you would take inventory this week and ask God to do an evaluation of how your living. Not to condemn you, but to set you free to follow Him more closely. Be blessed.

Bob.

1st Thessalonians 5:17

"Pray without ceasing."

Man if there has been an overwhelming tone in my life, time and time again, it has been pray. So many times I have asked the Lord for direction and the answer I get is pray. As you may have already guessed, I don't. Let me clarify. It's not that I don't pray, it's that I don't keep it consistent. I think that I probably speak for a majority of Christians out there when I say that. Am I proud of it? No way. To my shame I admit it. That's the topic of this weeks devotional. Paul in writing to the Thessalonians, is closing his first letter with some great to do's for the Christian. This one being the most important. What exactly does this mean though? Do I pray from the moment I get up to the moment I sleep? Of course not, that would be impossible. What it means is to not stop asking. The word for Prayer used here in the Greek is proseuchomai. It is a verb. It is used when praying to God or in worship or supplication. We can pray for thing and the like, but this one is directly to God for Him. Also ceasing meaning, not to stop. Here's the example. I have used it before but it works well and illustrates the point nicely I believe. If your on a football team, and you have games to play, you need a game plan. The coach has the game plan, and tells his players what he wants to do to win. The players execute it to the best of their ability and hopefully win. Well, let me ask you this. How far would the team get without consulting the coach routinely? Right. Not very far. This is what it means to pray without ceasing. God is our coach, and He has the ultimate game plan that is proven and always wins. If we are coming to Him regularly, we know the game plan and we can move forward towards the victory. Obviously, there are things to pray about as well that need constant prayer, and we should pray for those as well without ceasing. This though, is really to meet with God and be still so we can hear His voice instead of ours always. Prayer doesn't work, I've tried it you might say. Well, I've got news for ya. God's time table is way different than ours and we need to pray until an answer arrives. It may be yes, it may be no, it may be wait like my pastor says. Either way, until that happens we keep seeking Him. Make no mistake, it is hard to get a routine going. There is always something else to do and always will be. You know what I have found though? It never ends!!!! Plus it would be easier to handle if I had the Lord's instructions first. Also, the bible speaks about prayer in James 5:16 the last half of the verse says this. " The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man, availeth much." Guys, I know we have all heard this a million times and maybe for some of us, this is the first time. But with all that is going on in the world now, and we see the day drawing near. How can we not be doing this? The darker it gets, the harder it will be to do this. Start now so we can be ahead of the curve. Be blessed this week. Spend time with your loving Father. He is so waiting to spend it with you.


Bob.

2nd Corinthians 6:14

" Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers:
for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?
and what communion hath light with darkness?"

Well this was last weeks verse but to much was going on and now it is this weeks. Paul here is speaking to the church at Corinth about relationships with unbelievers. The term for yoked used here in the Greek is, heterozugeo. It means to bear a different yoke. It is used when speaking in agriculture terms and trying to put two different animals together in a yoke. It just doesn't work. Try putting a donkey and an ox together and see how far you get. That's the implication here. In relationships whether it be marriage, business, friendships, etc. They will only go so far and never reach the potential that it would if both parties involved were believers. Now that may sound harsh but it really is for our protection. Paul asks to rhetorical questions here right after. One being the example of a righteous and unrighteous man. The other being light with darkness. I will use the light with darkness example because it is simpler and easier to understand. Light and dark. Polar opposites. There is an amazing principle here that maybe you don't normally think about too much. When there is light, darkness can't be seen and is not around. When it's dark, even the faintest of lights can be seen. That's the key. The light will always be seen no matter how dark it gets. Strike a match in a completely dark room. Illumination. What Paul is doing is trying to get people to realize that, when you are a believer with the spirit of God living in you, the dark things of this world should not have place in your life. It just can't be. Wait a minute Bob, are you saying we should shut off all communication and dealings with the world here? No. What I am saying is, if there is more dark then light in your life, maybe you need to take inventory. God knows what's best for us and He put these things in the word for our protection like I said earlier. We may not like hearing them at times, but that doesn't mean they are not true. Trust me, we all have areas that need attention. Seeing that we naturally gravitate towards the darkness due to the sin nature, this is the best advice we can receive. Have a great weekend and think about these things. Ask God to show you areas that need improvement or complete renovations. Be blessed.


Bob.

Ephesians 4:15

" But speaking the truth in love, may grow
up into him in all things, which is the head
even Christ."

It's a few days before Easter and I think this is appropriate. Man this is really what it is all about. Speaking the truth in love. How many times have we seen or have we ourselves, spoke with a motive other than love? More times than I can shake a stick at. How many times have we seen the fringe groups of so called Christians, with signs declaring your gonna bun if you don't turn? All to often. A lot of the times Christians even get involved in a discussion and speak without careful consideration of what they are saying! I have done that a few times too many. The two things to consider are these. First: Speaking the truth. Does what we are saying line up with the bible? Does scripture back it up? Is it sound doctrine? If it doesn't, then we are in a precarious position with God. Revelation 22:18-19 says in a nutshell, if you add or take away from this book, speaking of the prophecy contained in Revelation, you will have the plagues mentioned in the book and your name taken out of the book of life! Pretty serious stuff. Also for pastors who teach false doctrine, Jeremiah 23:1 " Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord." How are sheep scattered and destroyed? By preaching any other message than the salvation through Jesus Christ. Of course there are other points that are important too, but that is the main one. The truth. John 14:6 " Jesus saith unto him, I am The Way, The Truth, and The Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." The truth is Jesus Christ. No more, no less. Consideration number two: In love. When we witness or share with someone, is it to win an argument or to get our point across? Or is it so that we can look intelligent and smart? Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:1 " Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I have become as a sounding brass or clanging cymbal." The kind of love described in that great chapter on love, is the love that Christ has for us. The word in the Greek is agape. It means unconditional love. It means that when we move to speak, there is no selfish motivation involved. We speak to glorify the name of Christ. We are removed from the picture and people are to see Christ in us and working through us. I have heard a few pastors teach about plugging our name into chapter 13 of 1st Corinthians every time the word love appears and honestly see how far we get. I'm still working on that and probably will be for the rest of my life. As will the rest of us. I don't have all the answers and don't claim to. I don't always speak in love. My desire though is that I would. I hope that is yours as well. Have a great Resurrection day and take the time to evaluate, do we speak the truth in love? Jesus said in John's gospel 13:35 " By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." Be blessed.

Bob

Matthew 5:45

"That ye may be children of your Father which is in heaven:
for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good,
and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust."

Have you ever said, it's just not fair? Or maybe read the news and been totally disgusted with what is going on in the world? Perhaps you've thought, if God is so loving why does He let these things happen? The list goes on and on. I know I've said all these things many times. The question is why? Why do wicked and evil people prosper? Why does God allow it? It's proof positive that He is a just God. If He allowed only good things to happen to His people and bad things to unbelievers, what kind of God would He be? He would be unfair. No one would want to serve an unfair God. Yeah but what about baby killers, rapist, people who cheat? Can't God just do away with them or stop them before they do what they do? Sure He could, but that would remove the freewill that He has granted all of us. The problem is how we view things. Yes we should abhor evil. Yes we should speak out against it. No, we shouldn't become jaded because of it. Trust me, it's quite easy to read the news, think about all the bad things and say, Lord, what's the deal? God is fair and just. He sends rain and sun to all people equally. It's what we do with it that matters. Some use it for good, some for bad. The other thing you need to remember is who is actually calling the shots here on earth for the time being. Paul calls Satan the "god of this world" in 2nd Corinthians 4:4. Notice the small g. When man fell in the garden, the title deed of the earth was handed over to him for a time. That is why the frustration level can be so high at times. He empowers people with false hope and false promises so that they prosper here and now. In the end, God will be the judge. Not you or me. Our hope is eternal and lasting in Jesus Christ. As I am writing this, I look on at the world now and see how crazy it is getting. I am not surprised, the bible tells us this will happen just before the end. On one hand it saddens and upsets me, on the other hand, I am encouraged to know that my God is coming back for me one day. So this week remember, God is fair and just. It's His nature. Instead of focusing on the negative in life, remember God is in control and He is where our Joy comes from. Be blessed and have an awesome weekend.
Bob.

James 5:17

"Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are,
and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained
not on the earth by the space of 3 years and 6 months."

Have you ever read the bible and wondered, how did those great men of God accomplish all those incredible things? I have. How did Samson slay all those men with the jaw bone of an ass? How did David defeat Goliath? How did Paul survive all the beatings, shipwrecks, and torment? Well, I think we have a good answer right here in this verse. Elias, which is another name for Elijah, is the man of the hour here. He was another great man of God who accomplished amazing things. Here's the kicker though. He was just like you and me! It says he was a man of like passions. I like what Albert Barnes notes on the bible had to say about this. He said , "This does not mean that Elijah was passionate in the sense in which that word is now commonly used; that is, that he was excitable or irritable, or that he was the victim of the same corrupt passions and propensities to which other men are subject; but that he was like affected; that he was capable of suffering the same things, or being affected in the same manner." He had the same struggles that you and I have. The difference being, he was tuned into God and knew that his strength came from God. This is also true for us. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. We as Christians I think, have missed the boat on this one big time. How many times have things gone wrong and we go to God after the fact, when we should have gone to Him before. I know I am guilty as charged. Just to know that we are in the same company as men like Elijah, should give us a real hope. It should encourage us that " with God, all things are possible." Matthew 19:26. Just look at what God has accomplished with ordinary men and women over the course of time. The list could go on for ever. The missionaries who brought the gospel to far away people. The pastors who have led countless souls to Christ. On and on and on it goes. What was the main key to Elijah's success? He prayed. That is the link that needs to happen in order for God to be able to do the things He does through us. It's like this. If a football team is playing, they won't be able to execute the game plan if the coach doesn't tell them. The way the coach tells them is they go to the team meetings and practices. That way they can all be on the same page. God wants us to go to Him so He can let us in on the game plan for our lives. We can't expect much if we don't attend. Prayer. Man if that's not the hardest thing to do in our busy lives. Really though, are we saying that we're to busy for God? Basically in a nutshell, yes. That is what we are saying. Life has become so congested with things to occupy our time, we miss out on so much God has for us. Once again, I am guilty as charged. Here's what it comes down to guys. If we want to walk with God, that exactly what we need to do, walk WITH Him. Let Him arrange our footsteps. Let Him be our guide. That's how ordinary people, do extra ordinary things. The bible is filled with them. This week, be encouraged that God has an awesome plan for your life, and He wants you to enjoy your walk, not just endure it. Be blessed.

Bob.

John 6:68

" Then Simon Peter answered Him, Lord,
to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words
of eternal life."

In a recent study on a Wednesday night, one of the pastors was teaching in Romans. At some point in the study, he was pointing out how much God loves us and is always thinking about us. He said, " If God had a refrigerator, our picture would be on it." That sparked a thought in my head that ties into this devotional. Are you on God's refrigerator, or the milk carton inside it? What do I mean by that? Well, let's look at the verse. To get a feel for it, let's back track. Jesus had just finished feeding the 5000. He was teaching on Himself being the bread of life. The multitude had followed Him and were desiring more from Him. Once he spoke about eating His flesh, and drinking His blood, (not a literal meaning) the people split. Then He asked the 12, are you going away too? Peter answered perfectly. He knew that Jesus was the Christ. Peter knew that when Jesus spoke, he felt more alive than he ever had. So then, what's with the milk carton, fridge thing? Well, you put pictures on a fridge of people you love. The milk carton is reserved for those who are missing. My question to all of us is this, which one are you/I? You see I thought about it and put myself in the place of a parent who has a child missing. The sorrow, pain, and anguish they must feel must be unbearable. I can't and don't want to imagine it. The scar that it leaves, and the damage in it's wake must be the heaviest of things. So too, this is true in God's economy. When we walk with Him, and spend time with Him, our picture is right there. If not, then we end up on the milk carton. Possibly stolen away by the things of this world. The cares, the deadlines materialism. Funny thing is, God leaves that choice up to us. He doesn't demand it. We don't have to, we get to spend time with Him. Why wouldn't we? With such a loving Father, how could we not want to seek Him out? Another funny thing is, we are never truly missing. Psalm 139 deals with this. Specifically verse 2 " thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandeth my thought afar off." God knows it all already. We are the ones who put ourselves on the milk carton. God though, wants us on His fridge. The word's of and from God are life. They hold the key to eternity. If we accept them, they lead to eternal peace and rest. If we don't, then the opposite is true. An eternity of separation from God. Pain, anguish, sorrow, hell. I know personally, I have been on the milk carton more than enough times to know, that I will see the scars it left one day. They are imprinted on His hands, feet, side, and back. Be blessed this week guys. If you've been running away or have been stolen away by something, return. If you are doing ok, then enjoy the time with Him. God's got a big fridge, and there's always room for more.
Bob.