Although cold enough to wear a light down jacket, it was fairly warm for the last day of January. The night before, I had decided to pack up my bike fishing gear and roll out early  the following day. The only real difference between my bike fishing gear and my regular fishing gear is that while bike bound in route to my favorite fishing holes, all of my regular fishing gear is in pieces and stuffed in to my backpack. The Camelback pack that I use has one water bottle holder on each side and a tightening strap that runs from back to front above the mesh holders. The disassembled fishing rods fit nicely in the mesh water bottle holders and are cinched down with the tightening straps. It works out real well. I have a small flat tackle box tray that contains various jigs, hooks, bobbers, and some smelly stink bait for the channel cat. I usually take two rods so that I can set one on the bottom for the channel cat and then keep one to try my luck for the crappie, bass or whatever else might be biting.

After taking the kids to school I headed out on the bike for my morning fishing adventure. I was not going very far. I took the local Southwind rail trail to the connecting trail that connects the Southwind with the Lehigh trail and headed back in to the woods. Elm Creek runs along the north side of the Lehigh trails. As I came up to the fishing hole, I parked the bike and shed a layer as it had begun to warm up slightly. It had been a nice ride. It was early enough that there was not much wind and the temperature was just right for a comfortable ride. The water in the creek looked very still. It was moving very slowly. There was a light fog over the creek through which the sun glistened on the water.

I unloaded my gear and assembled my rods. I tied a trouble hook on one rod and loaded it with some stink bait. I set a sinker about two feet above the hook and cast the line in to the water.  I set the pole down and started tying a rooster tail on the other pole. There are a lot of trees lining the water way and it does not take much to get tangled up. I fished up and down the bank. Fishing is worse than gambling. You are always sure that if you just throw one more line it you will catch the big one. I continued to cast and move around having no luck. Then, when I was least expecting it, I felt a fish strike the line. I attempted to set the hook and the fish began to run. It felt like a fair size fish but I would never know for sure. Either the line was not set or the fish somehow twisted the hook loose as my fishing pole popped back straight and the fish was gone as fast as it had come. 

After losing my first fish, I decided to check on my other line. It was still standing where I had left it. I reeled it in to check the bait which was still there. I cast it back out again and let it sink to the bottom in hopes that a large channel cat would eventually stumble across the bait. It was not to be however. I  changed my jig to a popper on my casting line in hopes of bringing something up from the depths of the abyss t the plooping sound of my new jig. Amazingly enough, it worked. On the second cast, I watched a bass hit the popper about ten feet from the back. I was so astonished that I did a poor job of setting the hook for the second time and the slippery little booger disappeared beneath the dark water. Watching a fish hit top water bait is amazing. From my slightly elevated position, I could see the white skin of the fish rise and grab the popper and take it down beneath the water. It ran with it for a bit but then shook loose and was gone. Watching the strike had been awesome, but catching it would have been better. After casting for some time with no luck, I decided to pack up and head to another location on the back to the house.

I found a spot where a contributory fed in to the main creek and decided to give it a go. I figured there might be fish feeding from the feeder creek that was running in to the larger creek. I decided to tie on the rooster tail again and gave it a toss. On the second cast, I got a pretty strong hit. I set the hook and the fight was on. The rod I was using was a pretty light rod with a light line as well. It can be misleading and make smaller fish seem pretty big but this one was putting up quite a fight. I finally beached the big bass and was thrilled to see how big it was. I did not weigh it but it was a pretty good size fish. I unhooked him and put him back in the creek for another day. I like catching fish more than cleaning and eating them. After releasing my first catch of the day, I cast out my line again. To my surprise, on the second or third cast, I hooked another bass and brought it shore. It was about the same size as the first one. I couldn’t help but think, what a great way to spend the morning of the last day of January than by bikefishing. Be sure to give it a try sometime.

After releasing my second catch of the day, I decided that would be enough. I had combined two of my favorite things to do in an incredibly beautiful setting. The only thing better than riding bikes and catching fish is doing them together. I disassembled my rods and stored my gear. After putting my gear away, I realized that I had not taken my biking gloves off while fishing. So next time I see you on the trail, if you smell something fishy, don’t worry, it is just me. I had a nice ride back to the house. I am looking forward to seeing what February brings.

Enjoy the ride

Arise and Go

As it comes to the privilege of opening God’s anointed word today, we will find ourselves in the book of Joshua chapter one. The spring board to the deep pool of Joshua chapter one however must launch from the book of Haggai 1:8. Tony has just completed a series of messages in the book of Colossians, which exited on the thought of making full proof of our ministry. As such we are going to take some time over the next month or two while in transition between books to review and renew our church vision here at Harvest Baptist Church. If this is your first time here, or if you have not been here long, it is important for you to know and understand what we are about. The scriptural text, from which our vision is derived, is found in Haggai chapter one and verse eight which says:

Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD. 

To summaries the verse, God will be pleased and glorified when we go, bring and build his house. At the time of the writing the nation of Israel had neglected the building of the temple and God, through his prophet Haggai was reminding them to get up and get back to business for the LORD. They had sold out to the riches of the world and become lost in their own personal passions and in doing so forsaken Gods call. Sound familiar? Welcome to the church’s of America in 2016.

According to I Corinthians 6:9, we are now the temple of God. Although we are no longer building a physical temple, we are actively building the spiritual one. Or at least we should be. Haggai 1:8 aligns perfectly with our mission to go to all the nations, present them with the gospel of Christ by which they may be saved, baptizing them, and teaching them to live by the truths of the Word of God, that we all may someday be called to a great gathering of a people from every nation and tribe to praise and glorify God throughout eternity. What a day that shall be.

Hopefully at this point, you see where we are going with this. No pun intended. I am going to start off today by dwelling on the first of three aspects that are found in Haggai one and Matthew 28. Go. Go ye therefore. And in the case of Joshua 1, arise and go. Now I did a word search on the word go in the Bible. At least through the search engine that I used, I was able to determine that the word go, goeth and going are used at least 1719 times in the King James Bible. My Bible has a total of 1506 pages of written scripture. This is not including note pages or index pages. In comparing the number of times mentioned to the number of pages in the book I think I can safely conclude that God is a going God.

Not only is God a going God, but in the pattern of scripture you find that Gods people are a going people. God’s people are pilgrims, strangers, foreigners who seek heavenly cities while keeping their eyes on things above as they attempt to fulfill God’s call while dwelling in this temporal world. . They are a going people with a purpose.

From Noah to Paul, God has called his men to pick up and pack out with a mission and a message. Whether to bear physical or spiritual fruit, God has sent forth his men on foot, by boat, on the backs of donkeys and in the belly of a whale, both in bonds and while free, to preach his message to those that needed to hear it. Until at last the torch has been passed to the church from which the gospel of Jesus Christ is to be shared throughout the world. For as it says in I Thessalonians 2:4, we have been trusted by God with a precious package.

But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men but God, which trieth our hearts.

I am not sure that it would be a wise thing to attempt to ascertain which of the three parts of the great commission is the most important. If it were missing any of the three, it would be utterly  incomplete and inadequate in accomplishing its purpose. I will however venture to say that without the going, there is no teaching. And without the teaching there is no saving, and without the saving there is no need to baptize or teach spiritual growth.

We must go. Nowhere in scripture does God tell us to come up with a great marketing plan, send out fliers, advertise on the radio or use our musical abilities to attract crowds to the church so that we might tickle their ears with the gospel amidst all the noise. God’s marketing plan entails shodding your feet with the gospel of Christ and taking it to the lost world in the midst of whatever disaster they may find themselves in at the time of your arrival. God does not tell Joshua to wait on this side of Jordan for the promised land to come to him. As we will see he tells Joshua that he will obtain the land that has already been given, only when it falls under his own two feet.

Vs1)     Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake   unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses minister, saying,

Vs2)     Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people,   unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.

Vs 3)    Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said      unto Moses.

Now after the death of Moses. I must stop right here for a moment. Now. What a word. Not yesterday. Not tomorrow but Now. Not only is it the first word used in the book of Joshua, to me it has become the most prominent word on the page. It is by far the most direct word in the text. It implies immediate attention. We can talk about what has been done and we can discuss where we want to go. But if we don’t get to it NOW, we will never get past it or get to it. What do we say to our children when we tell them to do the dishes and they continue to play their video games? We say NOW! He uses the word two times in the first two verses. I will get to the next one in a moment. I want to declare however that God’s call to your life begins the moment you get saved. He did not save you to dilly dally around with his purpose. He did not save you to continue to fulfill the lusts of your own flesh. He saved you to get busy about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Christians are the greatest excuse makers in the world. We can talk ourselves out of doing about anything. Well Lord I am still preparing to share your gospel. Let me ask you something. Did you get saved? Did you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? Did you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart according to Romans 10:9-10? Did you call upon the name of the Lord according to Romans 10:13? Did anyone ever share with you that you are saved by grace and that it is not of your own doing but that it is a gift of God according to Ephesians 2:8-9? If so, you are equipped to accomplish at least the portion of the great commission that would entail going and giving the gospel to those that are lost. NOW.

But let’s just face the facts. There are many believers among us today that are not answering the call. I am not stating that it is an easy call. It is a battle like no other and the consequences of failure are eternal. When Joshua steps in to the land, the battle is just beginning. To go for God will create conflict. It takes Joshua five years of fighting before the land was finally at rest from war. And then we discover in chapter 18, that there are seven tribes that have not yet received their inheritance. Say what? In response to their procrastination, Joshua says:

And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the LORD God of your fathers hath given you?

While God’s people were answering the call to go and possess, many just tagged along while expecting others fulfill their call. Although the gospel call is global to the church, you must have a personal role in it. You must own God’s call to you. Although we may assist each other, I should say we must assist each other in our service of the Lord, we each run our own race. We each fight our own fight. We are each members of his body and we each must own our roll in the furtherance of the gospel.  Let me put it this way. There were twelve tribes of Israel. Two and a half had taken possession of lands on the other side of Jordan and were just there to fight the battle but never received the lands that God truly had for them. They were uncommitted crowd followers that refused to fully commit to Gods desire. They maintained the facade while selling out their Godly inheritance for the comforts of life.

Then you had seven tribes that were along for the ride but had not claimed their possession yet. They wanted the inheritance that God had for them but they expected it to be provided to them by someone else. They enjoyed the excitement and association with being involved in what God was doing but when it came time to stepping out on their own and owning their portion of the land, they hesitated.

 Let’s see, that leaves…uh…seven plus two and a half, minus twelve….total of two and a half tribes that were fulfilling Gods plan. That seems pretty consistent among the disciples of Jesus as well.  John made it to the heart of the matter, and Peter and James got close.  Oh brothers and sisters, we must ask ourselves the question, are we fulfilling what God has called us to do right NOW.

Ok, let’s get past the first word and consider point number two.

After the death of Moses.

Here it is. Hold on for the gut punch. Sometimes God will remove his messenger for you to become Gods man. Please understand that these guys were close. Moses and Joshua were tight. Joshua was there when they came across the Red Sea. He saw the plagues in Egypt. He fought for Moses with the sword against the Amelekites. Joshua went to the mountain with Moses when God carved the commandments into the stones with his holy fingers. He came back down and witnessed the idolatrous rock and roll show that was beside the camp fire.  He had seen the land and spied it out. He had seen the people fail in their faith and wander for forty years while an entire generation was swallowed in death. He knew the heart of Moses. He had seen his successes and his failures. He knew that Moses had a passionate longing for the land. He knew that God had told Moses that he could not go. And now he was left without the messenger of God who he had fought beside, listened to, learned from and loved. The man that discipled him was gone.

I don’t know how many preachers I have sat under over the years. There are many men that have invested in me. Many a father in the Lord that discipled me and equipped me to fight the good fight of faith. Several of which God removed that I might further my relationship with God. Stepping away from those messengers in my life has been difficult at times. Oh how many a believer sits in the pew every Sunday morning and is filled with the presence and Word of God only to neglect their own personal walk in the word during the week. What a tragically empty place to be when your messenger is taken away. A mark of a successful church is one that is filled with members that are capable of continuing in the absence of a leader. How often do churches fail when the messenger of God is removed? There may be a day that I am gone. There may be a day that Tony is no longer filling this pulpit every Sunday. God may move Mason on someday to fulfill his call elsewhere. Levi is headed to Emporia. Which college student here is going to take up the call and continue the work at the Allen County College while Levi carries the cross to another campus. Who among you today is ready to hear the voice of God when that happens? Who among you today is preparing to fill the void when God moves his messenger so that you might become his man?

He goes on to say:

That the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses minister

God addresses Joshua by name and to some degree title or at least his function. Joshua meaning Jehovah as Savior is the literal translation of Jesus in Hebrew. The name is different than his birth name. His birth name was Oshea, meaning savior. The combination of Jehovah and Oshea produces the name that Moses called him for the first time in Numbers 33:11 Jehoshua. His name reflects the intimacy between God and man. We cannot save ourselves it takes a direct interaction with God through the Lord Jesus Christ to accomplish that. There must be a new name written down in heaven, and it’s mine oh yes it’s mine. He is also addressed as a minister. Joshua is not just a child of God but he is a minister as well. A minister is often translated as a servant. How is God addressing you today my friend? Is he calling you as a son whose name has changed? Or is he calling you as a son and servant of the Lord Jesus Christ? Are you an active participant or an inactive parishioner? Or maybe he is still calling to you as a sinner that must come to repentance and acceptance of his saving blood. Are you living in your own name or under the protection and saving security of the name of Jehovah the almighty God?

Moses my servant is dead.

Time for a reality check Josh. Everything you have known has changed. The one you followed out of Egypt is gone. We cannot stay and dwell in our past reality. We have to move on. God is still going as we shall see. The mission still continues. We sometimes get so hung up and entangled in the good old days that we lose sight of today’s mission. It is dead. It is in the past. Time is still moving. Don’t let your attachment to the past, whether it be good or bad, keep you from accomplishing Gods task today.

Now therefore

I need not belabor what I have already proclaimed. I will say only this. The past is behind, and behold now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation (2 Cor 6:2). Do you realize that from the time God tells Joshua what to do in the next few verses that it only takes him three days to get Gods people in to the land of promise? Now means now. Not later. There were three days of preparation before they moved. I do not want to minimize preparation for the ministry. I simply want everyone to understand that the prep time for ministry does not exclude you from participating now. It was three days not three years.  

Arise, go over this Jordan. Thou and all this people unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.

Here you have it. Arise and go. You are not going to get where God wants you to go without getting up and getting on with it. You will not get to the land without first crossing “this” Jordan. Why this Jordan? You are going to have to get past some things to get in to the land that God has for you. You are going to have to stick your toes in the water to get where God wants you. And understand that it’s not just about you either. There are some people that Joshua is told to take with him. Ministry is always about people. You see we have been given the command to go, but we have also been given the command to teach, and to edify and to encourage and to perfect the saints. It is your responsibility to at least attempt to take the people in your sphere of influence to the place of promise that God has for them. He doesn’t stop there. We will conclude our message today with a promise. For when we decide to go, God promises to deliver.

Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.

We must understand that God’s promises are there. They are there for you and for Gods people. The only thing that it takes to get them is for you to buckle up your boots and go. Oh believer may your

Feet be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace

So that when he calls your name you are ready to respond.

 I am reminded of a passage of scripture in the book of Acts. 1:8-11.

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up in to heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

May we not leave this place today standing with our eyes to the skies and our jaws dropped in stupefied awe after receiving the call to go unto all the world. May we heed the call of the two witnesses who still cry out “why stand ye gazing up in to heaven”, while there are so many lost souls down here. We must arise and go unto the lost world, seeking the souls of man. For God has already promised the victory, if we will only arise, go, and claim it. 

Devotion 7

Romans 1:18-23

The Human Derailment

I suppose if I were to attempt to outline Romans chapter one, I would do it as follows:

Paul’s Person: Verses 1-2

Paul’s Passion: Verses 3-4

Paul’s purpose: Verses 5-7

Paul’s Prayers: Verses 8-12

Paul’s Plan: Verses 13-17.

There are undoubtedly other ways to outline this passage and I am not saying that mine is of some kind of perfect design. The Bible is of perfect design and generally divides itself naturally; however I am not perfect and often see things cross eyed. But at this point and for the purpose of this study I am sticking with what I mentioned above.

In verses 18-32, Paul’s focus now shifts to the reason why the gospel is needed. In my early twenties and thirties, I was able to spend a great amount of time in the outdoors. Old back packing trips and canoeing trips still hold a very special place in my mind. There is nothing like being in the wilderness either by yourself or with a few close friends. I have mostly hiked and packed in Missouri, Arkansas and Colorado. It never ceases to amaze me just how beautiful God’s creation is. It was also equally amazing to me that no matter how far I hiked, it was near impossible to find a significant portion of the wilderness that man has not scarred in some way. This may not be the same in other parts of the world, but man’s hand could be seen in some of the most remote areas that I ever travelled to on foot.

On one hand you have the picturesque mountains revealing the magnitude of God’s mighty hand in creation. You can see the trace of God’s fingers as he carved the valleys out of stone in the Rocky Mountains. I have been walking through seemingly untouched areas to only walk into a clearing and find huge wooden poles supporting power lines sixty feet in the air. I have drawn water from a clear mountain stream at ten thousand feet above sea level, to look over and see a McDonald’s cup bobbing behind a rock. I am not going to hop on the Green Peace soap box here, I am just saying that at one point in our history, God entrusted us with the care of his creation. Not for selfish reasons. God entrusted us with his creation because he wanted to teach us some things through it. In Genesis chapter three humanity, however, slipped off the rails and we are at this time still in the middle of a six thousand year train wreck.

Verse 18 and 19 says “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God has shewed it unto them.” God then provides one of the greatest keys to understanding him that is found in the Bible. “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.”

What a powerful passage. God made the things in this world in order to reveal himself and his characteristics to man. God’s desire was to make himself known to man that in turn man might make God known. The means by which he did this is found in verse 19 where God concludes that his own invisibility is clearly seen in the things that he has made. He made the natural to reflect the supernatural. Why would he do that you may ask? That we might make him known. We know him that others might know him. In other words, God reveals things to us in order that we might reveal those things to others. God’s planetary portrait reveals God’s person. What a great plan.

“Houston we have a problem.” Verse 18 begins with “For the wrath of God is revealed form heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.” What on earth happened? I will tell you what happened. God gave us a great portrait by which to present himself to us and things were going fine until we got a hold of it. Then man, rather than glorify God through what he gave, decided to glorify themselves.  Verse 21 says “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as god, either were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” Our minds ran amuck and our hearts became darkened by the mire of our imaginations. We have a spiritual mental problem. Man can simply not control his mind. II Corinthians 10:1-10 provides some great insight into the battle over your mind. In the end, man considered himself to be more important than the God that made him.

The results of mans mental breakdown are manifest in verse 22 and 23. “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.” Man created his own system of beliefs by which he proclaimed himself wise and elevated himself to the likeness of God. He took what was uncorruptible and made is corruptible. In other words, he became so full of himself that there was no room left for the true God which had now been replaced by mans false idols. The remainder of the chapter spells out in great detail the current condition of man as a result of man’s decision of live in his own imaginary world and leave God out. We will get to that next time.

As a believer in Christ, it is important to remember that we still have the same tendencies as the rest of humanity. I want to encourage you today to take heed to II Corinthians 10:4-5. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” If we fail to adhere to God in this area, we shall surely be derailed from his purpose as is revealed in the remainder of Romans chapter one.

Lord, may our thoughts begin with You.

Yu are the joy we seek.

You are the love we long to live,

You, any truth we speak.

Devotion 6

Romans 1:13-17

Don’t Be Ignorant

There are some things in life that you must understand. The stove is hot and it will burn you for example. If while in the middle of a fight you end up on the ground and then attempt to bite your foe on his heel, his foot will naturally end up on your face (you’ll just have to trust me on this one). Sometimes the blunt approach is just the best approach. “Now I would not have you be ignorant brethren.” There are so many other ways I have heard that said. However none of them would be appropriate to write within this text. There are in fact several times in the Bible that this phrase is used and each one is in reference to a very important issue that God simply does not want us to miss. I will not get to each one of these areas in this text however I would suggest that everyone that reads this take some time and pull out the old concordance and spend some time learning them. When God says “don’t be ignorant,” what I really think he means is “don’t be ignorant.”

In the case of Romans 1:13, the leap from ignorance to enlightenment comes through the revelation that the gospel has gone to the Gentiles. That is not new news today but back in the day, the gospel was taking seed among the Gentile nations. I have always found the perfect design of God’s word amazing. Paul’s first book in order of placement in the Bible is the book of Romans which is defined as one of the church epistles. You then have I Corinthians through Philemon being the remaining church epistles/pastoral epistles. On the other end you have the book of Hebrews. So at the beginning you have the gospel explained to the Gentiles and at the end you have the gospel explained to the Hebrews. Prophetically you have a wonderful preview of the church age starting with the gospel going from the Jew to the Gentile in Acts with the full transition being explained in Romans. You then have the books representing the church age with the final book of Hebrews explaining the gospel as it transitions from the Old Testament law to the Jew, which is reflective of the state of affairs during the tribulation period once the church is gone from the scene.

Anyway, enough rabbit trailing. Not only does Paul reference fruit among the gentiles, but he also makes three very bold statements concerning himself in reference to the spreading of the gospel thereto. In verse 14 he says “I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.” In other words, Paul owes the gospel to the gentiles. It is a debt that he must pay. Not only have we been entrusted with the gospel but we are indebted to it. There are people around us every day to which we owe the gospel. It has been given to me to give to others. You will also notice that Paul does not discriminate when it comes to giving the gospel. Regardless of race, nationality, social status or IQ, we are all equally hopeless sinners without God’s saving grace.

In verse 15 Paul makes his second bold statement. He said “So as much as is in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. Not only does he understand his responsibility to spread God’s grace but he is ready to do the job. He is totally committed to the task with everything that is in him. Like a boxer, he has trained and prepared for the event and he is ready. He has watched his spiritual diet and lifted his spiritual weights so that when bell rings, he is capable of winning the battle for the souls of men. He is as I Peter 3:15 says “ready always to give an answer to every man.”

“I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.” This third statement rings out in verse 16. How many times have we had the key to release the chained soul from the gates of hell only to keep it in our pocket because we were ashamed of possessing it? We were embarrassed. We did not feel the timing was right. The sad truth is that the primary reason the vast majority of Christians will never give the gospel to another is that they are ashamed. We are ashamed because we just do not want deal with the possible ridicule that may come along with it or we are ashamed because we have not prepared to give the needed answers from the Word of God. The Bible says that we should study to show ourselves approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed. I understand that this has a prophetic context, for we shall give an account someday as to how we handled the word of God. But there is also a practical purpose in the meaning. Namely this, if we fail to study the Word of God, we will be ashamed. No one wants to look foolish because they open their mouth and then cannot back it up when the time comes. We need to make sure as believes that we have a working knowledge of God’s Word so that when the time comes and we present his

gospel we can do it in confidence ready to answer the questions that come our way.

Finally in verse 17 Paul concludes that “therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith.” Somebody passed the gospel to you. It is passed from person to person to person. When a person’s faith fails however, the movement stops. And after all, “the just shall live by faith.” The right thing to do is to live by faith being obedient to God’s call. Although there are many other nuggets that can be panned from this river of scripture, I will leave this passage with the following challenge: strive to be an unashamed debtor ready to preach the gospel to all men as God brings them across your path.

I love to tell the story

Twill be my theme in glory

To tell the old old story

Of Jesus and his love

Devotion 5

Romans 1:8-12

Priority One

After clearly stating who Paul is addressing in Romans 1:5-7, he now states his first objective.  He will first make mention of his gratefulness for the believers to whom he is writing. In verse 8 he says “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.” I must say from a pastoral perspective, that there is little more that will bring joy to a minister’s heart than to see God’s people in the active service of our Lord and Savior. So many times in the ministry the pastor feels that his work and words are having little effect on those ministered to. Speaking personally, I have felt the weight of this burden many times. It has been such a joy recently to see God’s people rise to the occasion in prayer and service during a time of suffering in within our church. Paul has similar sentiments in the book of I Thessalonians 1:1-8. In verse 8 he says “For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God ward is spread abroad so that we need not to speak anything. “ They caught the vision and ran with it. In Romans 1:8, the faith of the believers in Rome had spread throughout the whole world, which again emphasizes the focus on spreading the gospel and accomplishing God’s great commission.

In verse 9, Paul assures the believers in Rome that although he is not there with them he is with them in prayer.  Paul does not take his responsibility to pray lightly. He says that he is praying for them “without ceasing.” He understood the power of ongoing prayer. So often in our walk today, prayer becomes an abstract and distant thing. Paul understood that prayer was the connecting bond between himself and those that were ministering in other areas of the world. It is God’s unseen communication network that allows us to participate in the work of the ministry around the world at any given time. Prayer allows us to impact the lives of people. II Thessalonians 1:11 says “Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness and the work of faith with power.” Paul’s desire as seen in his prayer is for the fulfillment of God’s purpose in the lives of God’s people. It is important to bear in mind that prayer is not designed for our own selfish fancies. It is designed to fellowship with God in the fulfillment of his mission. It is also important to note in verse 10 Paul is praying according to God’s will. He desires to come and be with his beloved brothers and sisters in Christ however he understands that God’s will overrides his desires as he says “by the will of God.” Take some time today to connect with someone in prayer. 

In verse 11, Paul’s desire for personal interaction with the believers in Rome is twofold as stated in verses 11-12. First of all, he desires to see them to impart unto them some spiritual gift. His desire is not fleshly in nature. His desire is to edify the body of Christ that they might be established in the work of the Lord. Paul’s focus is continually on the accomplishment of God’s purpose, whether it be in his life or that of others. This warrants a moment of self evaluation in this area. What are we doing to edify one another in the faith? Christianity is a team sport.  Paul desire is that of Ephesians 4:12 “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Help a brother out, and remember that God does not give you what he does for your edification only. Give it to someone else.

The second reason that Paul desires to both see and encourage these blessed brethren is for the purpose of fellowship. He desires a sincere relationship that is built upon the joys of mutual purpose and faith. Having worked in law enforcement for a number of years, I can honestly say that the bond between fellow officers is one of the strongest bonds that I have ever had the privilege of experiencing. We spend more time with one another than anyone else. We face potential life and death situations together on a routine basis. There is a mutual fellowship that exists between men that have fought and bled together that does not exist in any other arena other than that of soldiers in battle. There is a comradery and comfort between officers that exists in the midst of some of the most chaotic and horrifically surreal situations.

 I have at times experienced this same fellowship among believers however I must admit that it is rare. It exists between brothers and sisters that are engaged in the spiritual battle for the souls of men. As Paul says, his desire was to “be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.” Faith is a strong bond between believers. Remember that “faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” Our unity in faith comes when we as believers work and struggle together to accomplish God’s will in our lives as being directed by the word of God. Ephesians 4:1-8 is a great passage on the commonality of believers. Give it a read sometime.  I want to encourage you today to break free and step beyond the norm of complacent Christianity and engage in the battle in the furtherance of the kingdom of our Lord and Savior.

Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war

With the cross of Jesus, going on before

Christ the royal Master, leads against the foe

Forward into battle, see his banners go

Onward Christian soldiers marching as to war

With the cross of Jesus going on before

Devotion 4

Romans Chapter 1:5-7

To Whom it is Written

As we continue our dissection of Paul’s opening statement, we now come to the address line. In chapter 1:5-7 Paul defines by whom we were called into this ever growing family of faith and to whom he is specifically speaking. He will also define for us the destination of his message.

In verse 5 Paul continues with “By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations for his name:” Again referring to his prior statements Paul concludes that it was by Jesus Christ that he received grace and apostleship. One of the most amazing things about the living God is his ability to use this human race to accomplish his great purpose. Later in Chapter one, Paul will describe the depravity of mankind in one of the most obscenely graphic passages that you will find in your Bible. Humanity finds itself, by any biblical perspective in quite the horrific state. All of us are plagued with some sin that as the Bible says “doth so easily beset us.” If it were not for the deepest ocean of God’s amazing grace, we would have no hope of becoming anything of earthly or eternal value. As Ephesians 2:8 says “For by grace are ye saved.” “Amazing grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.”

God’s grace is not only a saving grace but also a sustaining grace. It is through receiving his grace that we are saved, but it is also his renewing grace that we are sustained. Ephesians 1:7 says “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace:’ which clearly states God’s grace in salvation. However, when Paul discusses the believer’s ongoing schizophrenic state of mind in Romans 7, he claims the Victory over sin is only found in Jesus Christ our Lord. Praise God for his saving and ongoing sustaining grace.

Paul also recognizes in verse 5 that his position of apostleship has also been received by Jesus. God has not only gifted us with grace, he has gifted us with purpose and position. It should always be remembered that my very participation in God’s plan and mission is allowed by Christ. We have not been called to build our own ministry but we have received our grace and place in his plan “for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name.” God called us to accomplish his purpose and will which as Paul says is to be among all nations, clearly referring to the great commission as found in Matthew 28:19-20 and Acts chapter 1. God saved us and issued marching orders. Just like the soldier in battle, our duty is to obey.

In verse 5 Paul broadens the scope of his address to the body of the church when he says “Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ.” Paul understood that it was not just his job as an apostle to fulfill Gods purpose in the gospel but it was ours as well. This is clearly one of the masterful verses in the word of God that any believer in Jesus Christ can insert their name for effect. “Among whom ______________ is also called of Jesus Christ.” Paul’s purpose and my purpose is the same. To bring the relevance of this statement into our current age, it should be understood that  it is not just the Pastor’s job to accomplish God’s plan. All believers have an equal responsibility in this task. Let’s not drop the ball.

Paul then defines the specific location of his address “To all that be in Rome.” He also addresses the people in Rome that he is writing to, being the “beloved of God called to be saints.” He is clearly speaking directly to the believers in Rome. He will further define the origin of this group in the verses to follow which we shall reveal at a later time, but it should suffice to say that he is addressing Christians in Rome. His desire for these faithful believers is that they might receive grace and peace from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ

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His address in Romans 1 is slightly different than those of the other books that Paul writes. I think this significant in purpose. You will note that Paul address the letter “To all that be in Rome.” Before you jump ship and conclude that this book is not for you because you are not now, nor have you ever been, nor do you ever intend to travel to Rome, consider this. For the last two thousand plus years, the overwhelming world system was derived from that of the Roman Empire. Our very system of government is a direct result of Rome’s ancient influence. Although there have been various forms of government which have developed over the last two thousand years, we are still very much in the “Roman Age” as it applies to the modern world system. Not only do we find ourselves at the end of the Roman age governmentally,  we are also still very much in the middle of the Roman age religiously when considering the size and immenseness of the Roman Catholic world religious system. Regardless of the development of other religions in the last century, the Roman Catholic political system is still the most powerful religious system in the world today. It has always interested me that Martin Luther, the great reformer, stated that the book of Romans was his first love. He understood that he was in Rome. I would submit to you that we are still in Rome today and therefore this letter that was written so long ago applies directly to our time and age. Let us not neglect its study.

Jesus, Jesus how I trust him

How I’ve proved him O’er and O’er.

Jesus, Jesus precious Jesus

O for grace to trust him O’er

Devotion 3

Romans 1:3-4

Who it’s all about

Now that Paul has introduced himself as a servant selected and separated unto the gospel, and has established the Word of God as the authority in his life, it is time now for him to introduce us to the one who this thing is all about. Prior to the parenthesis in verse two, Paul had left off with the phrase “separated unto the gospel of God.” Therefore when he picks the ball back up in verse three and says “Concerning his Son”, the “his” that he is referring to is God’s. This may seem insignificant to some, but it is imperative to understand that we are not just dealing with some cheap imposter here.  Paul has written to proclaim the one that he serves. He is writing to declare the one by whom he is called. This is “Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord."

Make no mistake; Paul knew who he was talking about. Unlike so many today that are so easily confused as to who Jesus is. He is speaking about the only begotten Son of God. The Jesus of whom Paul is speaking is not just another Jim Jones, David Koresh, Sergey Troop, Maurice Clemmons or some fake that has presented himself as Christ over the last century and beyond. There are several things that separate the Jesus that Paul speaks of from all the rest. Paul is going to point out three of them right here in the next two verses.

First of all my Jesus is the Son of God. He had no earthly father. God was his father. He was conceived through the Holy Ghost by the Virgin Mary. (Matthew 1:18-20). In 1987, Hogen Fukunaga claimed to be Jesus after being enlightened following a foot reading event. You had a dad Hogen so put your shoes back on your feet stink.  You are not “The Man Christ Jesus.”

As a side note, I enjoy the fact that Paul adds the “our Lord” in the mix. What a joy to be able to claim the Only Begotten of the Father as my Lord. Praise be to God’s grace for that. By adding the “our Lord” in the title, Paul is also placing Jesus in his proper place. Not only is he God’s Son but he is our Lord as well. Those of us that are saved, born again believers must become such by first recognizing Jesus as Lord. Paul will point this out later in the book. Paul being a prime example can be found recognizing Jesus as Lord upon first encountering him in Acts 9:4.

Being the Son of God was not enough for Paul however as he identifies another difference between the true Jesus and the frauds. He was “made of the seed of David according to the flesh.” This is also significant in that Jesus had to meet the Messianic criteria to be the King of Israel. Therefore in Matthew 1:1 he identifies Christ as the Son of David. The scripture then goes back to Abraham, the father of Gods people and lays out the lineage all the way to Joseph. He had to be part of the kingly line in order to fulfill the prophetic promise of being the King.

 Now let’s get to the real meat of the matter, the gold behind the green, the vanilla in your latte, the proof in the pudding, the rum in the cider. I digress. In Romans 3:4 Paul said that Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” Not only was Jesus declared to be the Son of God but it was confirmed by the power of the resurrection. There is another one that has not been done since. “Up from the grave he arose with a mighty triumph ore his foes….” You can read the accounts in Matthew 28, Mark 20 and John 16. Paul brings it up later in Romans as a primary part of our salvation when he says in Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” There are many that have claimed the name of Jesus, but only one has come back from the dead to prove it.

Arnold Potter claimed that the spirit of Jesus Christ entered into his body and he became “Potter Christ” Son of the living God. At one point while living in California in the mid 1800’s Potter actually wrote “Potter Christ” on his forehead and attempted to gain converts by preaching himself as Christ on the streets. Surprisingly enough some followed. In 1872, Potter told his parishioners that God had revealed that it was time for him to ascend into heaven. Followed by his disciples, Potter rode upon the back of a donkey to the top of a bluff, from which, in an effort to ascend into heaven, he proceeded to jump off. Not off the donkey but off the cliff. Fortunately for the donkey he dismounted first and thereby spared the poor animals life. What remained of Potter’s body was later collected by his followers and buried.

So let’s put old “Potter Christ” to the test.

• ·         Potter had physical parents (Strike One)
• ·         Potter was not part of the line of David (Strike Two)
• ·         Potter is still dead (Strike Three)

Paul understood who Jesus was and Potter was not him. We should not be surprised that there are many that claim his name. I John 4:1 clearly says “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of god: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” We have the privilege of serving the Resurrected Son of God. Jesus is the one and only, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

I serve a risen savior who is in the world today

 I know that he is with me whatever men may say

 I see his hand of mercy I hear his voice of cheer

 And just the time I need him he’s always near

He lives, He lives Christ Jesus lives today

He walks with me and he talks with me

Along life’s narrow way

He lives He lives salvation to impart

You ask me how I know he lives

He lives within my heart

And that my friend is who it is all about.