Daily Devotion February 2022

2/28/2022


Good morning. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.


Song for the Day: https://youtu.be/L6XMSPJzfEU



Complete the Verse & Name the Book: It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has, . . . (completion at the end)



Yesterday Pastor Michael gave a sermon titled “The Downfall of Samson” based on Judges 16:1-22. Today we will start a recap of that message.


Have you ever said or been told, “I told you this would happen!”? It’s used when advice was given but not heeded: 


“I told you that if you kept driving like that, you’d end up with a ticket.”


“If you keep treating your friends like that, you won’t have any friends.” 


“If you keep lying like that, nobody is going to believe what you say.” 


“If you keep treating your body like that, it’s going to take its toll on your body.” 


We do things without considering the consequences. We don’t take the advice of other people very seriously. Unfortunately, we tend to do the same with God’s words; we don’t take them seriously. We take God’s words lightly. We treat them as helpful hints. 


What happens when we take God’s words as simply suggestions? We find out what happens when we read today’s passage of Scripture. 


1 One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her. 2 The people of Gaza were told, “Samson is here!” So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They made no move during the night, saying, “At dawn we’ll kill him.” 


At this point Samson is about forty years of age. Gaza is one of the southernmost cities in Philistine. Samson is doing whatever he wants to do, and he is going wherever he wants to go. He’s decided to see a prostitute in Gaza. Not everything in Scripture is prescriptive (how we ought to act); often it is descriptive (how people actually acted). Most of Judges is descriptive. Samson is clearly doing wrong by visiting a prostitute. This is an example of life outside of a right relationship with God. The leader who was to follow God, serve God, and point people to God is now doing none of these things. 


At this point Samson has had 40 years to grow his hair that has never been cut. He is easily able to be identified. There is only one way in and one way out of Gaza and that is through the city gates. The people lie in wait for Samson to leave the city.


3 But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron. 


City gates were heavy duty. They were designed to withstand arrows, fire, battering rams, mobs, and armies. There were usually three guard buildings lined up in a row in front of the gates on either side. They could be two or three stories high. There were usually fifteen to twenty guards guarding the gates at all times. 


Samson rips the gates from their foundation and carries them up a hill close to Hebron which is 40 miles from Gaza. What amazing strength! This is not strength gained by working out in the gym or drinking protein shakes; this is God-given strength. Samson is mocking the Philistines by placing the gates where the people of Hebron can see them. He wants the Philistines to know he is invincible. 


4 Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. 5 The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.” 


The Valley of Sorek is a long valley that runs from Hebron all the way to the Mediterranean Sea, a distance of about 40 miles. It is here that Samson falls in love. When you love someone, you don’t want to be away from the person; you want to be next to them as often as possible. This means if Samson wants to be next to Delilah, he’s going to have to spend a lot of time in the land of the Philistines. This is the only time in the whole Samson story that is says Samson was in love.


There are five major cities in Philistine and five rulers. The five rulers offer Delilah a lot of money if she can find out the secret to Samson’s strength. Fifty-five hundred shekels of silver in today’s money is around ten to twelve million dollars. They are desperate to get their hands on Samson. They want to tie him up and subdue him. Subdue carries with it connotations of torture. They want revenge against Samson for all he has done to hurt the Philistines. Ultimately, they want Samson dead. 


 6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.” 

7 Samson answered her, “If anyone ties me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I’ll become as weak as any other man.” 

8 Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. 9 With men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” But he snapped the bowstrings as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered. 


Samson knows telling Delilah the secret to his strength would likely be fatal for him, so he lies to her. To Samson it’s just a game he’s playing with Delilah. 


10 Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have made a fool of me; you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied.” 

11 He said, “If anyone ties me securely with new ropes that have never been used, I’ll become as weak as any other man.” 


Samson continues to play a game with Delilah. 


12 So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then, with men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads. 

13 Delilah then said to Samson, “All this time you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied.” 

He replied, “If you weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I’ll become as weak as any other man.” So while he was sleeping, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, wove them into the fabric 14 and tightened it with the pin. 


A third time Samson tells Delilah a tale. Why not? It’s all just a game to him. However, notice how this third time is different. Samson gets closer to the truth by involving his hair. He starts to play with fire. 


Again she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and pulled up the pin and the loom, with the fabric. 


Delilah is not happy with Samson. Samson may be playing a game, but she is not! If Samson won’t tell her the secret to his strength, she stands to miss out on over ten million dollars! She’s already thought about how she will spend all that money. She is desperate to make those dreams come true.


Tomorrow we will continue this recap of Pastor Michael’s message with the second half.



Verse Completion: . . . turned away and will not listen anymore. Isaiah 59:2 (NLT) 


2/26/2022


Good morning. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.


Song for the Day: https://youtu.be/R8jFKe9XppY



Complete the Verse & Name the Book: And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people . . . (completion at the end)



Yesterday we started a recap of Pastor Del McKenzie’s talk titled “The Holy Spirit Is a Gift Giver.” The gifts given by the Holy Spirit are gifts; they are not wages for the work we have done. There’s nothing we can do to earn the gifts. Gifts are not rewards for good behavior. They are not an inheritance. Gifts are not earned, deserved, nor inherited. Gifts are given in connection with God’s grace. Why does the Holy Spirit give gifts? First, they equip people to serve God. Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).


The second reason the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given is for ministry within the Church—the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 14:3 tells us: On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. This is referring to God’s people. We are to be building up the Church and strengthening it. 1 Corinthians 14:12 says: So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church. Acts 15:41 says: And [Paul] went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.Acts 16:5 says: So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily. 


It’s important to be part of a local church where we can strengthen each other in the faith. Ephesians 4:11-12 says: And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. We are to help each other mature in Christ as we share our gifts with each other. As this happens, the body of Christ, the Church, is able to grow. 


God’s plan is for you and me to help build the Church by being part of a specific church that we are committed to. It should be our desire to do all we can to help the church and do nothing that would hinder the church. Periodically, we need to ask ourselves, “Am I living in a way that is helping my church? Am I using the gifts God has given me to help my local church?”


How do we get the gifts of the Spirit—these supernatural gifts that equip us? First, by desiring and seeking the Holy Spirit. We can’t let the gifts replace the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13) 


We are to let the Holy Spirit control our lives. Romans 12:1 says: I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. We are called to serve. We are called to present ourselves to God. We are filled with the Holy Spirit and controlled by the Holy Spirit. 


We cooperate with the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:16-17 says: But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. Verses 25 and 26 say: If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.


Second, we receive the gifts of the Spirit by submitting to the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is in charge of giving gifts. He chooses how he will give them. 1 Corinthians 12:11 says: All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. Hebrews 2:4b says: by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. All gifts from the Holy Spirit come out of his grace and love. It’s not our position to ask for specific gifts. We submit to the Holy Spirit and he gives us the gift(s) he chooses to give us. 


There are common gifts of grace that are poured out on both believers and unbelievers. Some examples are: a sunrise or sunset, laughter, talents, ability to reason, the thrill of victory, sleep, music, breath. James 1:17 says: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Psalm 145:9 says: The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made. Matthew 5:45b says: For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.


There are also personal gifts. These are gifts given specifically to one person. It could be: clothes, shoes, tools, purse, toothbrush, toys.


There’s also special gifts. These are gifts that are specifically for God’s people. They include: sins forgiven, the indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit, eternal life, a personal relationship with God. We should thank God for all the gifts we receive whether they be common, personal, or special. 


Third, we receive the gifts of the Spirit by claiming God’s provision. We need to read and meditate on the Scripture verses dealing with gifts and pray: “Holy Spirit, you have equipped me with gifts. I want to serve you effectively with the gifts you have provided. I want to serve you in a way that produces spiritual fruit and eternal fruit. Equip me to do this.” 


After you have prayed this, seek the gifts. 1 Corinthians 12:31 says: But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. When you earnestly desire something, you pursue it; you seek it with earnest. Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8). 


God doesn’t force his gifts on us. He gives them to seeking hearts, to hearts that are yielded—hungry hearts. God never forces; he calls, draws, and speaks to us.


All of God’s gifts need to be received by faith. We ask, we trust God for his will, and we empty ourselves of our own personal desires and glory. We die to self-sufficiency and self-promotion. 


We ask people to pray for us. 1 Timothy 4:14 says: Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. 2 Timothy 1:6 says: For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.


Fourth, we cultivate the gift or gifts that we have; we flame the gift. We feed the fire of the Holy Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 5:19 says: Do not quench the Spirit. When we first receive a gift, it may be a very small gift. It may start out very insignificantly. We need to flame it. Use the gift to the measure God has given you. If you feel like you don’t have a gift, ask God to show you the gift he has given you. Have someone pray with you to reveal the gift God has given you. Use what God has given you. Nurture the gift you have received from God so you can take full advantage of it and develop it. Jesus said, “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much” (Luke 16:10a). 


Do what needs to be done. We find two great examples in Stephen and Philip in Acts 6-8. 


Has the Holy Spirit stopped working in my life because I won’t give myself to a local church? Will I give myself over to the Holy Spirit and ask him to equip me to serve? 


God often raises up unlikely leaders and gifts them (equips them) to be leaders. A great example is D.L. Moody who was a shoe salesman when God called him into evangelism. Acts 13:2-3 says: While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. There is work to which you have been called by the Holy Spirit. Listen for his voice. 


God will pour his Spirit into the lives of those who are willing to serve. If you are too busy to serve, you’re too busy. If you’re not qualified to serve, God has the equipping for you through the gifts of the Holy Spirit.



Verse Completion: . . . grow and overflow. 1 Thessalonians 3:12a (NLT) 


2/25/2022


Good morning. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.


Song for the Day: https://youtu.be/YEZGj__Qb4Y



Complete the Verse & Name the Book: Good people pass away; the godly often die before their time. But no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to understand that . . . (completion at the end)



On Monday, Pastor Del McKenzie continued his series of messages on the Holy Spirit with his nineteenth talk titled “The Holy Spirit Is a Gift Giver.” So far we have looked at the Holy Spirit wanting to be our companion, being the Spirit of life, making Jesus real to us, the enabler of worship, leading us in prayer, making us loving people, setting us free, giving us power, being our teacher, being our comforter, the one who brings conviction, the one who brings unity, the one who brings assurance, the one who guards us, the one who leads us, the one who gives us hope, the one who sanctifies us, and the one who puts to death the misdeeds of the body.


Most people enjoy and appreciate receiving a gift. It’s nice to receive something that didn’t cost us anything. James 1:17 tells us: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.


We read in John 3:16 that God gave his Son: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” 


We read in Titus 2:14 that Jesus gave himself: who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Jesus is the ultimate, absolute, unique, eternal, infinite gift. He’s the gift above all other gifts. One of the gifts Jesus gives us is the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38 says: And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”


The Holy Spirit also gives gifts. In 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 we read: To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.


The gifts given by the Holy Spirit are gifts; they are not wages for the work we have done. There’s nothing we can do to earn the gifts. Gifts are not rewards for good behavior. They are not an inheritance. Gifts are not earned, deserved, nor inherited. Gifts are given in connection with God’s grace. God’s grace is God’s free giving. Because God loves us, he gives gifts to us. 


His gifts involve supernatural equipping. Ministries of the Spirit involve his enabling; gifts of the Spirit involve his equipping. It’s like God gives us equipment and the ability to use the equipment. The gifts of the Spirit are the equipment; the ministries of the Spirit are the enabling to do what the gifts are designed to do. The gifts of the Spirit may fall along natural lines (what a person is good at naturally), or they may be different from a person’s personality or natural talents and abilities. 


There are a variety of gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 (see above) and 27-31. Romans 12:6-8 says: Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. 


Ephesians 4:11-12 says: And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.


God gives us gifts to equip us for life and for ministry. 


Why are these gifts needed? What is their purpose? First, they equip people to serve God. God calls us to serve him, and then he equips us to serve him. Christians naturally want to serve God. Service to God takes more than natural ability. If we try to serve God using only our natural ability, there will not be a spiritual or eternal result. When we attempt to serve God using only our natural ability, we will become exhausted, frustrated, disillusioned, empty, bitter, and unproductive. Someone has said that 90% of Christian activity in American churches is carried on by ungifted people. In other words, the work is carried on simply by human ability. 


The Holy Spirit must be to the Christian what the brain is to the body (the eyes, ears, mouth, hands, fingers, feet, etc.). Credit goes to the brain, not  the fingers. When we are working in our own ability, we are like fingers wanting the credit rather than giving credit to the brain. We want the attention and recognition rather than giving the credit to the Holy Spirit. The true work of God can only be accomplished by and through the life of the Holy Spirit. 


Jesus told his disciples, “And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). Jesus said this because if his disciples went out trying to build the Church on their own, they wouldn’t be equipped for the task. They needed the life of the Holy Spirit. This is difficult for human nature to accept. Our carnal, human nature is looking for praise, honor, credit, and recognition. When it doesn’t receive these things, it gets frustrated. However, when we are equipped by the Holy Spirit, we want the Holy Spirit to get the credit. 


Paul said he had few natural abilities. Paul’s ability to take the gospel of Christ to the hearts of people came from the Holy Spirit. We can be busy with a lot of things, but if we aren’t equipped by the Holy Spirit to do those things, we are just spinning our wheels. God accomplishes all of his work through humble, faithful believers who are given spiritual gifts or spiritual equipping beyond their own capabilities. Natural gifts and skills are not enough for spiritual work. 


The greater the infilling of the Holy Spirit, the greater the work that will be accomplished. For example, greeters at church may be trained to act a certain way, but when greeters have been equipped by the Holy Spirit, he gives them joy, enthusiasm, and power to share with others. Jesus said, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven” (John 3:27). Jesus also said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all” (John 6:63a). In addition, Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).


Tomorrow we will continue with this recap of Pastor Del’s message with the second half.



Verse Completion: . . . God is protecting them from the evil to come. For those who follow godly paths will rest in peace when they die. Isaiah 57:1-2 (NLT) 


2/24/2022


Good morning. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.


Song for the Day: https://youtu.be/7QCn2Jn1sPY



Complete the Verse & Name the Book:  Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone . . . (completion at the end)



Yesterday we started a recap of Pastor Moody’s sermon titled “The Way of Heart Transformation” based on Mark 7:14-23. Authentic Christianity starts with a change of heart.


There is a radical issue with the human heart. The Bible teaches that every person is made in the image of God and is therefore precious. The Bible also teaches that every person is fallen and filled with sin. The human heart is desperately wicked. As we read verses 21 and 22, it’s as if Jesus is looking inside the human heart and describing what he sees there. The list is not complete, but he lists enough sins that we get the idea. There’s a principle of hell that is rooted in the human heart. 


If you scoop up a teaspoon of soil, there are more microbes in that soil than the entire population of the globe. Similarly, if you take just one teaspoon of the human heart, you will find many kinds of evil. Of course, we don’t like to talk about this. We like to emphasize the positive—talk about how lovely we all are; how we are basically good people. The Bible teaches there is no one good but God alone. 


Some people don’t like John Newton’s phrase in “Amazing Grace” that says, “that saved a wretch like me.” They want to change it so it’s not so harsh. “At the Cross” by Isaac Watts, 1674-1748, has the line, “Would He devote that sacred head for such a worm as I?” There are people who won’t use the word worm in the song because they feel it’s too degrading. Perhaps the reason we shouldn’t be compared to worms is that would be a rather unkind thing to say about worms. Could you say that from the heart of a worm comes evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness?


We as humans have to face up to our condition. Who, other than a preacher of the Bible, is going to tell us the real nature of the human condition? Rarely do you hear the real reason for our human problems. It’s not how our parents treated us when we were four years of age. Our problem is not the political system. The heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart. If we want to see a better country, what we need is people with better hearts. 


This is radical teaching that runs against the grain of every human tradition. We are not fundamentally good; we are fundamentally fallen. 


This is also practical teaching. Jesus declared all foods clean. 


As Mark continues to write, he tells a story that stress-tests the solution. He brings the most extreme possible problem of the human heart, and he shows how it works in that case and therefore, how it would work in every case. 


24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. 25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet.


The word unclean is used to mean demonic, but here it is connecting to the issue of cleanliness. Here is a little girl whose heart is unclean—like all of our hearts. She has a particular issue of demonic oppression. It’s an extreme stress test. 


26 Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth.


Religiously she is non-Jewish, and ethnically she is non-Jewish. She is doubly unlikely to be saved. 


And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 


What an offensive thing to say, and yet Jesus is deliberately raising the barrier higher so that we can see what the solution is in the most unlikely of situations. 


28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.” 


The Bible teaches, “None is righteous, no, not one.” 


29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.


Here’s the solution—faith in Jesus; trust in Jesus; pursuing Jesus. The solution is a radical change of heart which can only happen by Jesus and his Spirit received through faith. We need a desperate faith just like this woman had.


Anthony Hopkins is an actor, film director, and film producer. At one point in his life he was an alcoholic and desperate for help. He went to AA and heard about a higher power he could call on for help. He prayed, “God, can you give me a little bit of help?” Anthony Hopkins said it was like, “POW!” God answered his prayer, and he hasn’t had a craving for alcohol since that experience. 


When the Gentile woman cried out to Jesus, “Help!” Jesus healed her daughter.


The radical problem has a very simple solution—faith in Jesus.


This concludes Dr. Moody’s series on “Authentic Christianity.”



Verse Completion: . . . examines the motives of our hearts. 1 Thessalonians 2:4b (NLT) 


2/23/22 


Good morning. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.


Song for the Day: https://youtu.be/LxqHo2Pvfm0



Complete the Verse & Name the Book:  Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may . . . (completion at the end)



Pastor Josh Moody of College Church in Wheaton, Illinois, recently started a series of messages titled “Authentic Christianity.” We will begin a recap of the fourth and final sermon in this series titled “The Way of Heart Transformation” based on Mark 7:14-23:


14 And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand:15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” 17 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him,19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”


Authentic Christianity starts with a change of heart. In his book, Mark is contrasting the teaching of the Pharisees with the teaching of Jesus. The Pharisees then and the Pharisees now are characterized by a certain approach to religion—tradition combined with God’s word. When this occurs, what happens is human tradition takes pride of place and makes void the word of God.


The other part of what characterizes and typifies Pharisaism still today is not simply a concern for traditional, human, religious teaching, as opposed to a pure commitment to God’s word, but also a fascination and a fixation with the external in religion. For the Pharisees, the external had to do with the washing of cups, pots, copper vessels, and so on. 


In contrast to the Pharisees, Jesus teaches us what it really means to follow God, and it is not about external conformity to religious behaviors or norms that deal with ritual washing, what is eaten, what is worn, and so on. Instead, it’s about a radical change of heart. 


Authentic Christianity starts with a change of heart. If we aren’t careful, we can miss this because we have become so accustomed to hearing about the heart through songs and the Christian subculture talk about the heart. Our familiarity with the heart can cause us to miss the true, radical import of what Jesus is saying here. 


Another challenge is this language of the heart is viewed by many as being impractical. They don’t see it as important to their work, the culture, politics, the economy, or world issues. However, this teaching of Jesus is deeply practical. If we take this teaching of Jesus to heart, it will change our families, churches, culture, and politics. It is the hope of the world. 


A man in his eighties was recently pulled over by the police in Nottingham, England. When the driver was asked for his driver’s license and proof of insurance, he had neither. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that the man had neverhad a license or insurance, and he had been driving since the age of twelve! Perhaps some of us are like this old man when it comes to the heart. We know there should be a heart change, but we happily drive through church without a license or insurance. The biggest problem facing the church in America is the need for genuine, Christian conversion of those who claim to be Christians—a heart change. 


There are two keys words in this passage: defile and clean. Defile teaches us how radical Jesus’ teaching is, and the word clean teaches us how practical Jesus’ teaching is. 


When Jesus said, “There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him,” he was speaking in the form of a parable. A parable isn’t necessarily a story; it can be a saying, a pithy aphorism, an illustration, or a summary statement. In a parable something is put alongside something else, and it makes a point by contrast. 


All foods are clean. Christians are not to be ritually concerned about eating pork or other foods. Jesus said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” 


Tomorrow we will continue this recap of Dr. Moody’s sermon with the second half.



Verse Completion: . . . have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously. Isaiah 55:6-7 (NLT) 


2/22/22 Happy Twosday


Good morning. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.


Song for the Day: https://youtu.be/LB3un06HUSY



Complete the Verse & Name the Book: So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, . . .(completion at the end)



Yesterday we started a recap of Pastor Michael’s sermon titled “The Vengeance of Samson” based on Judges 15:9-20. The attitude of both Samson and the Philistines was, “I am not going to extend any grace, mercy, kindness, or forgiveness. You are going to pay for what you have done to me. I am going to get you back. If you retaliate, I will come at you with an increased intensity each time.” Samson has just received word from his fellow Israelites that they are going to give him over to the Philistines.


And Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not attack me yourselves.” 13 They said to him, “No; we will only bind you and give you into their hands. We will surely not kill you.” So they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.


14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him.


The Philistines are not shouting because they are glad to see an old friend. They are shouting, “Now we have him! Let’s kill him!” Likely, the Israelites backed away from Samson leaving him exposed.


 Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him.


This is the fourth time that the Spirit of the Lord came on Samson. 


And the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands.


When fire is put to flax, the flax loses its strength. When the Spirit of the Lord comes on Samson, the ropes melt away. 


 15 And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put out his hand and took it, and with it he struck 1,000 men.


Samson didn’t have a sword, knife, spear, or club to defend himself, and his fellow Israelites are not supplying him with any weapon. He sees a fresh jawbone from a dead donkey lying close by. Fresh is better than weathered because an old jawbone would be too brittle. With the fresh jawbone he slays a thousand men! Think about this for a minute. If he slayed the men at the rate of one every 30 seconds, it would have taken Samson 8.3 hours to kill all those men. There’s no time for a break. He’s in a fight for his life the entire time. 


 16 And Samson said,

“With the jawbone of a donkey,

     heaps upon heaps,

with the jawbone of a donkey

have I struck down a thousand men.”


Samson composed a victory song. Notice how the emphasis is on him. He gives himself the glory for the victory in battle. He doesn’t give God any credit for delivering the thousand men into his hands. 


The word for donkey in Hebrew is very similar to the word “heap.” There’s a play on words here. The bodies of the men are in heaps, all from a donkey’s jawbone. 


17 As soon as he had finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone out of his hand. And that place was called Ramath-lehi.


Translated is Jawbone Hill. 


18 And he was very thirsty, and he called upon the Lord and said, “You have granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant, and shall I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”


Samson has been laboring in the sun all day long. He is tired, thirsty, and dehydrated. He feels close to death. He has to have some water. He needs help. He is in dire straits. He does something he hasn’t done before: he calls out to God for help. 


At the beginning of this story, Israel did not cry out to God for deliverance, but now Samson is crying out to God. All the other judges, or deliverers, we have read about had armies. Samson has no army. To make matters worse, the army of the Israelites are against Samson. 


Samson is taking the place of Israel. He is completing the cycle Israel has followed: sin, suffering consequences of sin, crying out to God for deliverance, God answers their cry. We see God answering Samson’s cry in the next verse.


19 And God split open the hollow place that is at Lehi, and water came out from it. 


This reminds us of the story of Moses and the Israelites in the wilderness when God provided a river of water out of a rock.


And when he drank, his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore the name of it was called En-hakkore;


Translated this is The Caller’s Spring.


It is at Lehi to this day. 20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.


Why is this written when the story is not completed? We need to know that Samson never overthrows the Philistines. He didn’t have an army to help him like the other deliverers. Samson was on his own. Twenty years go by from the end of Chapter 15 until the beginning of Chapter 16. During these twenty years, God is bringing order out of chaos. God is bringing design out of confusion. God is bringing salvation out of corruption. God is using Samson for his purposes, plans, and designs. Samson is beginning to understand his need for God. 


Perhaps your life is marked with confusion, chaos, corruption, and vengeance. Just know that God brings design and order. God has a purpose and a plan for your life. He wants to bring order into your life. Your life may be out of control, but God is never out of control. He is always in control because he is God. 


Call out to God. Cry out to God. The strength you have will wear down and wear out. You need God’s strength. Seek him today while he may still be found. Let him bring peace into your life. 



Verse Completion: . . . you imitated both us and the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 1:6(NLT)


2/21/2022


Good morning. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.


Song for the Day: https://youtu.be/LB3un06HUSY



Complete the Verse & Name the Book: So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, . . .(completion at the end)



Yesterday Pastor Michael gave a sermon titled “The Vengeance of Samson” based on Judges 15:9-20. Today we will start a recap of that message.


Samson took revenge on his father-in-law for giving Samson’s wife to another man by setting the harvest fields of the Philistines on fire. They in turn burned Samson’s wife and father-in-law to death. This infuriated Samson, and he killed numerous Philistines. After doing this he hid in the caves of Etam.


9 Then the Philistines came up and encamped in Judah and made a raid on Lehi. 10 And the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” They said, “We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he did to us.”


The army of the Philistines has gone to the heartland of Judah. They want Samson, but they don’t know where he is hiding. The army of the Philistines wants the Israelites to turn Samson over to them. If they won’t, the army will kill the Israelites. The Israelites had a choice: serve Samson or serve the Philistines. They decide to serve the Philistines.  


 11 Then 3,000 men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?” And he said to them, “As they did to me, so have I done to them.”


Rather than serve the God of Israel, the Israelites decided to serve the gods of the Philistines. Israel is satisfied with being under the rule of the Philistines. They felt like they didn’t have a choice. They felt like Jehovah was not great enough to overpower the Philistines. 


The Israelites blamed Samson for the predicament they were in. They knew the Philistines would kill Samson at the first opportunity they had, and the Israelites were fine with that. They weren’t concerned about Samson’s well-being; they cared about what happened to them. They believed the death of Samson would keep them from their own death.


Three thousand Israelites go after Samson because they know his reputation. They wanted to make sure they had enough men to overpower Samson. 


Earlier in the story of Samson, we read about him killing thirty men. Later he ends up taking three hundred foxes. Now he is facing three thousand men. The author of Judges wants the reader to understand that the intensity of warfare is increasing. God is stirring things up. 


Notice how Samson uses the same line used by the Philistines: “As they did to me, so have I done to them.” There’s no thought of: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Samson and the Philistines only care about getting revenge. God in his word has quite a bit to say about revenge:


·      “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.” Leviticus 19:18


·      Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong!” Wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you. Proverbs 20:22


·      Jesus said, “Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” Matthew 5:39


·      Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. 2 Timothy 4:14


·      When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 1 Peter 2:23


·      Jesus said, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” Mark 11:25


·      Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Romans 12:14


·      Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. Romans 12:17-19


The attitude of both Samson and the Philistines was, “I am not going to extend any grace, mercy, kindness, or forgiveness. You are going to pay for what you have done to me. I am going to get you back. If you retaliate, I will come at you with an increased intensity each time.” 


 12 And they said to him, “We have come down to bind you, that we may give you into the hands of the Philistines.” 


The Israelites were saying to Samson: “The gods of the Philistines are too great for us. They are too strong and too powerful for us. The only hope our nation has is to get rid of you.” They would rather be in bondage to the Philistines than support the deliverer God sent them.


Tomorrow we will continue this recap of Pastor Michael’s message with the second half.



Verse Completion: . . . you imitated both us and the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 1:6(NLT) 


2/19/2022


Good morning. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.


Song for the Day: https://youtu.be/a6LC8cu03Ig



Complete the Verse & Name the Book:  I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and . . . (completion at the end)



Yesterday we did a recap of the first half of Dr. Moody’s sermon titled “Traditional Teaching or Biblical Teaching?” based on Mark 7:8-13. Pharisaism continues today through traditionalism, judgmentalism, a fascination with that which is external, and worship that is based on our own ideas rather than God’s word. Authentic Christianity only accepts biblical teaching.


We need to make sure that our understanding of tradition is the same understanding of tradition that Jesus had. Jesus definitely didn’t have in his mind English boarding school practices. What did Jesus have in his mind? He made it clear in an illustration given in verses 10-13: 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)— 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”


We don’t know exactly how Corban functioned, but we have enough information to determine what was happening: A grown-up, adult Jewish child with aged, infirm parents knew that according to God’s word to honor his father and mother he needed to accept financial responsibilities to make sure they were taken care of properly. Those financial responsibilities can lead to financial loss. Consequently, a religious loophole was invented. The money that would be used to take care of one’s parents in old age, would be dedicated as Corban. A separate account would be designated as “for God,” and the owner of the account would not be allowed to use the money to financially support his parents. The kicker was the person who had a Corban account, a “for God” account, could pretty much do whatever he wanted to do with that money, thus making void the word of God! 


It’s a little tricky because even in the New Testament, tradition is sometimes used positively:


·      1 Corinthians 11:2: Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.


·      2 Thessalonians 2:15: So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.


What is meant here is the apostolic teaching—biblical teaching. 


Paul used the idea of tradition negatively in Colossians 2:16: Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.


As humans we go through life developing various patterns and habits. For example, a certain day of the week may be used for a Bible study. That could be said to be a tradition. Tradition takes some discernment. 


When I was part of a church replant on the East Coast, we ended up purchasing a former Roman Catholic church building. We needed to think carefully about what traditions would come with the physical structure of the building. We certainly didn’t need to reject everything that was in the infrastructure of the building. We needed to think through what was biblical and what was traditional. 


They had Stations of the Cross that were not in the New Testament. There was an emphasis on the suffering of Jesus that seemed to run counter to the emphasis in the New Testament when the proclamation of the cross is not the proclamation of the crucifix (Jesus on the cross), but the proclamation that Jesus has risen from the dead. We need to be emphasizing the triumph of God over sin and death. We want to be giving a positive, life-giving message, not a dark, suffering message. 


In the house of the former priest who had lived there, a rather large case of beer was discovered. The deacons tried to decide what to do with it. They threw out the idea of drinking it. They threw out the idea of selling it and using the money for the church. They threw out the idea of leaving it on the side of the road for whoever wanted it. They ended up pouring it down the drain in the parking lot. 


On the side of a vestibule was written: Holy Water. What do you do with that? A shotgun was discovered in the priest’s house. One of the deacons was happy to take that home with him. Had this been in England, the deacons probably would have thrown the shotgun down the drain and would have drunk the beer.


The church building also had some beautiful stained glass. We decided to keep the glass, not because of its beauty or because of its high value; we kept it because of who it commemorated—Boniface. The church was named after Saint Boniface. In the stained glass was a picture of Boniface with an axe cutting down a tree. 


Boniface was born in England. He’s known as The Apostle to the Germans. In the seventh century he left England to take the gospel to the Germanic tribes. He had great success with his endeavor. 


He left Germany on a different missionary trip, and when he returned to Germany some time later, he discovered that large portions of the Germanic tribes had returned to paganism and were worshiping at the pagan tree. Boniface got an axe and cut the tree down. Boniface means good deed. Boniface certainly did a good deed. 


Human religious tradition, whether pagan or “Christianized,” must be cut down. Our traditions can be Catholic, Protestant, or secular—icons of all kinds that function as replacements for the authority of God and his word. 


We have a choice to make: traditional teaching or biblical teaching. You cannot have the grapefruit of tradition and the medicine of the Bible.


Pixar has created some of the most successful movies in recent times. Their movies are carefully developed with great attention to detail along with a massive amount of creativity. Did you know that all of their movies are built upon six phrases?


·      Once upon a time


·      Every day


·      One day


·      Which meant this happened


·      Which meant this happened


·      Until finally


The gospel is built upon four sentences.


·      God made us to be in a relationship of loving obedience.


·      We have all rebelled against God.


·      God’s just punishment is death.


·      God in his love sent his Son to take the death that we deserved. Therefore, if we respond with repentance and faith, we will live.


Can you imagine a Pixar movie where someone inserted something different? It would change the whole story. 


Human religious tradition, whether of a secular, religious kind or a denominational, religious kind, inserts into those four sentences of the gospel, change. The change may say, “God didn’t really make you. You’re not really that bad. Jesus’ death is not sufficient. You don’t need to respond to the gospel.” We have a choice—Jesus or Pharisees. You pick. 



Verse Completion: . . . leads you along the paths you should follow. Isaiah 48:17b (NLT) 


2/18/2022


Good morning. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.


Song for the Day: https://youtu.be/rOooelyA9Ws



Complete the Verse & Name the Book:  Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a . . . (completion at the end)



Pastor Josh Moody of College Church in Wheaton, Illinois, recently started a series of messages titled “Authentic Christianity.” We will begin a recap of the third sermon in this series titled “Traditional Teaching or Biblical Teaching?” based on Mark 7:8-13:


8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)— 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”


Authentic Christianity only accepts biblical teaching. This passage of Scripture presents us with a choice: traditional teaching or biblical teaching. It is stark; it’s an either or not a both and choice. We don’t mix traditional teaching and biblical teaching together choosing a little of this and a little of that. 


Grapefruit is a healthy fruit unless it is taken with certain medications. Grapefruit contains a chemical that can interfere with the body’s ability to break down or metabolize certain statin medications. When a person ingests statin and grapefruit, there can be side effects: damage the liver, damage to the kidneys, and even death. Grapefruit with medicine changes grapefruit from being something healthy to something that is poisonous. 


The grapefruit of tradition if combined with biblical teaching alters the medicine of the gospel from something that is healthy to something that is poisonous. It’s a choice we have to make.


When we think of authentic, we tend to think in existentialist terms defined by what we feel is right based on our own experiences and our own stories. Instead, we should be defining authentic Christianity by the author and perfector of our faith—Jesus. Therefore, authentic Christianity is what the author and perfector determines is genuine and real, not what we determine is genuine and real. 


Pharisaism continues today through traditionalism, judgmentalism, a fascination with that which is external, and worship that is based on our own ideas rather than God’s word. Our eyes can become so blinded that the Son of God can be right in front of us, and we miss him. There are people today deconstructing the faith that they inherited from their fathers, mothers, grandparents, and others involved with their spiritual inheritance. You cannot combine the grapefruit of tradition with biblical teaching. You have to choose. It’s one or the other. Authentic Christianity onlyaccepts biblical teaching.


The Pharisees held to the tradition of the elders as well as many others while their hearts were far from God. Jesus said, “You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” The Pharisees were leaving one for the other. 


Jesus was being sarcastic when he said, ““You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!” 


One of the most extraordinary statements ever made by Jesus is found in verse thirteen: thus making void the word of God by your tradition. There is a power in the universe that can make void the word of God. The word of God is like a hammer. Jeremiah 23:29 says: Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? The word of God is like a sword: For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). The word of God will accomplish that which he has designed it to do. It will not return void. Isaiah 55:11 says:


so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;

it shall not return to me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.


There is a power in the universe that can deauthorize the word, delegitimate the word, degrade the word, and dethrone God and his word. That power is human tradition. 


I attended an English boarding school as a kid. It was regimented and borderline militaristic. There was literally no heat in the dormitory so in the winter ice would form on the inside of the glass. It was very ordered and disciplined in some ways, but in other ways the teachers allowed a lot of freedom and time away from any kind of supervision. We were required to attend the chapel services that occurred five days a week. We had assigned seats. We would sing a hymn and listen to a brief message. Essentially, the message was the same every time: Be good. Work hard. Don’t complain. 


The school had a motto in Latin: Vita nulli data est servare, sed omnibus est mutuum. In English the motto is: Life is given to no one to keep but for all it’s on loan. In other words, you better work hard because you are going to be dead soon. 


The school I attended prior to this had the Latin motto: floret qui laborat. In English that is: He flourishes who works hard.


What we expected to hear when we went to church was: 


·      Be good.


·      Work hard.


·      Don’t complain.


This is not the gospel! It was a near perfect inoculation against the gospel—human religious tradition. 


Tomorrow we will continue this recap of Pastor Moody’s sermon with the second half.



Verse Completion: . . . thankful heart. Colossians 4:2 (NLT) 


2/17/2022


Good morning. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.


Song for the Day: https://youtu.be/G2GOlOv05YY



Complete the Verse & Name the Book: For I am ready to set things right, not in the distant future, but right now! I am ready to . . . (completion at the end)



Yesterday we started a recap of Pastor Del McKenzie’s message titled “The Holy Spirit Puts to Death the Misdeeds of the Body.” Romans 8:13 is a key verse for this lesson: For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. Misdeeds can include thoughts, the misuse of the tongue, misuse of the eyes, ears, and feet. We all have misdeeds. One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is to enable us to put to death the misdeeds of the body.


Why do the misdeeds of the body need to be stopped? First, because it’s a matter of life and death! 1 Peter 3:10-12 says: For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”


The second reason we put off the misdeeds of the body is because we are called to be holy. It’s God’s plan and design for his people to be holy. Hebrews 12:14 says: Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. We are to be diligent in pursuing holiness. 2 Corinthians 7:1 says: Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. We have been imputed with perfect holiness, but our imparted holiness still needs to be perfected. Hebrews 12:10 says: They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.


The third reason we put off the misdeeds of the body is so we can please God. 1 John 3:21-24 says: Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. Hebrews 11:6 says: And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.


We are called to godliness (God-likeness). Misdeeds of the body reveal the ungodly character that we still have. The Holy Spirit will enable us to have godly character. He helps us develop a pattern that’s more and more pleasing to God. We follow a path the Holy Spirit takes us down that leads to spiritual maturity. Our spiritual journey takes us from babes in Christ to Christian childhood, Christian adolescence, young adults, and mature adults. Sadly, some Christians get stuck in Christian childhood and don’t go any further, but God is calling us to maturity. The Holy Spirit matures us as we get rid of the misdeeds done through our bodies. 


How does the Holy Spirit help us put to death the misdeeds of the body?What is meant by death? It is separation. When a person dies, their spirit separates from their body. When there’s a divorce, there’s the death of the marriage—the separation of husband and wife. When we are spiritually dead, we are separated from God. Until we have divine life in Jesus, we are spiritually dead. By the help of the Holy Spirit, we are to put to death the misdeeds of the body so we can live. 


How does the Holy Spirit separate us from the misdeeds of the body? First, he takes us to the death of Christ. Romans 6:6-14 says: For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.


As I share in the death of Christ, I share in his holiness. The Holy Spirit always takes us to the cross. Galatians 6:14 says: May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.


When Jesus died, I died to sin. The Holy Spirit makes the death of Jesus real in our lives. We can enter into what Jesus has done for us. The Holy Spirit enables us to apply it. Romans 6:11 says: In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. When temptation comes our way, we can say, “I’m dead to that.” When there’s an urge to do something with our bodies that is a misdeed, we should be listening for the voice of the Holy Spirit saying to us, “I put that to death, and so did you. Now live it out!” 


When we are tempted to do a misdeed of the body, we should listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit saying, “I’m giving you another chance to die. Don’t blow it!” We can die to lustful desires. We can die to a desire to get even with someone. We can die to our pride. We can die to thinking we are more valuable to God than others. We can die to our addictions. We can die to the world. Colossians 3:5-8 says: Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.


Romans 13:14 says: Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. When a thought about a misdeed enters your mind, renounce it immediately. Don’t let it have any time to grow roots. Call on the Holy Spirit. As we walk with the Spirit, are filled with the Spirit, and live in the Spirit, the Holy Spirit will enable us to put to death the misdeeds of the body. 


We can use our tongue to pray for those who mistreat us rather than using our tongue to gossip and curse others. 


Have you found an answer to your misdeeds of the body?



Verse Completion: . . . save Jerusalem and show my glory to Israel. Isaiah 46:13 (NLT) 


2/16/2022


Good morning. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.


Song for the Day: https://youtu.be/gshu9c73Qjc



Complete the Verse & Name the Book: Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you . . . (completion at the end)



On Monday, Pastor Del McKenzie continued his series of messages on the Holy Spirit with his eighteenth talk titled “The Holy Spirit Puts to Death the Misdeeds of the Body.” So far we have looked at the Holy Spirit wanting to be our companion, being the Spirit of life, making Jesus real to us, the enabler of worship, leading us in prayer, making us loving people, setting us free, giving us power, being our teacher, being our comforter, the one who brings conviction, the one who brings unity, the one who brings assurance, the one who guards us, the one who leads us, the one who gives us hope, and the one who sanctifies us.


In Romans 8:13 we find a wonderful promise, an amazing possibility, and a great challenge: For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. The misdeeds of the body involve doing the wrong things. All of us do wrong things. A change on the inside of us, a heart change, enables us to do the right things. It’s a process called sanctification. 


When we have misdeeds, we miss the mark. When we sin, we miss the mark; we miss where God wants us to hit. How many sins has God forgiven in your life? It’s probably such a great number that we couldn’t keep track of them all, nor would we want to. The good news is that Jesus forgives us of all of them as we go to him in repentance. We have much to be thankful for when we consider God’s grace and mercy!


It’s important that we find an answer for the misdeeds we do. As we read Romans 8:13 we see that if we don’t find an answer, there will be death. It’s important that we keep short accounts with God. When we sin, we need to ask for forgiveness right away, turn 180 degrees, and start walking in the opposite direction from our misdeeds having nothing to do with them. As we find the answer to our misdeeds, there will be life. 


One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is to enable us to put to death the misdeeds of body. All the wrong that we do is done by and through our bodies. The bodies God has given us are amazing. Psalm 139:14 says: I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.The body God has provided us with can function in some marvelous ways. 


Our bodies can also function in some harmful ways. We can have thoughts that miss the mark. Our brains are capable of coming up with some beautiful, wonderful thoughts, but it can also produce some ugly, awful thoughts. We’ve all had good thoughts and bad thoughts. 


We can have misdeeds of the tongue. The tongue can produce some wonderful, beautiful, necessary words, but it can also produce some terrible, awful, horrible words. James 3:5-12 says: Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. It’s the Holy Spirit who makes it possible for us to put aside the misdeeds of the tongue. 


We can have misdeeds of the eyes. If you have hiked to the top of a mountain, the sights can be spectacular. The view can be a feast for the eyes. If you have ever been on Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park, there is a tremendous panoramic view of the mountains. Our eyes can let us see some incredible sights. However, our eyes can also see some debasing, ugly sights. Our eyes can be used to look on things that we shouldn’t look on. The misdeeds of the eyes need to be put to death.


We can have misdeeds of the ears. There are wonderful sounds our ears can hear: birds chirping, streams running, leaves rustling, children laughing in play, music. Sadly, our ears can also hear vile, raunchy sounds: swearing, cussing, gossiping, raunchy lyrics to songs.


We can have misdeeds of the feet. We can get misdirected. Our feet can take us to some wonderful places: lakes, mountains, the ocean, church, the mission field. Our feet can also take us to some places that are dangerous for our spiritual well-being. If we go to a dangerous place, our bodies have brought about a misdeed. 


We can do wonderful things with our bodies, and we can do deadly things with our bodies: murder, rape, destruction. Proverbs 6:16-19 says: There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community. Notice how all these things God hates are done with the body. This is what Romans 8:13 is getting at—the misdeeds of the body. 


We all have misdeeds. 1 John 1:8-10 says: If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. We will have misdeeds until we get to heaven. Meanwhile, we daily ask the Holy Spirit to help us put to death the misdeeds of the body. One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is to enable us to put to death the misdeeds of the body.


Tomorrow we will continue this recap of Pastor Del’s message with the second half.



Verse Completion: . . . learn to know your Creator and become like him. Colossians 3:10 (NLT)


2/15/2022


Good morning. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.


Song for the Day: https://youtu.be/tcn7O6ZrxVc



Complete the Verse & Name the Book: Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you . . . (completion at the end)



Yesterday we started a recap of Pastor Michael’s sermon titled “The Wedding of Samson” based on Judges 14:1-15:8. Samson’s life is beginning to unravel due to his poor choice in a wife, not following the Nazarite vow, and not honoring his parents. The Philistines didn’t trust him and had thirty men keep an eye on him.


12And Samson said to them,“Let me now put a riddle to you. If you can tell me what it is, withinthe seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirtychanges of clothes, 13 but if you cannot tell me what it is, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes.” 


This was a steep wager for Samson. It included undergarments as well as fancy, expensive wedding clothes. Thousands of dollars are on the line. 


And they said to him, “Put your riddle, that we may hear it.” 14 And he said to them,

“Out of the eater came something to eat.

Out of the strong came something sweet.”

And in three days they could not solve the riddle.


They couldn’t solve it because no one had been with Samson when he killed the lion and returned later to eat the honey inside of it. Since he hadn’t told anyone about what happened, he was the only one that knew the answer to the riddle. 


15 On the fourth day they said to Samson's wife, “Entice your husband to tell us what the riddle is, lest we burn you and your father's house with fire. Have you invited us here to impoverish us?” 


Samson’s wife and family is threatened.


16 And Samson's wife wept over him and said, “You only hate me; you do not love me. You have put a riddle to my people, and you have not told me what it is.” And he said to her, “Behold, I have not told my father nor my mother, and shall I tell you?” 17 She wept before him the seven days that their feast lasted, and on the seventh day he told her, because she pressed him hard. Then she told the riddle to her people.


There’s a lot of deception going on. Samson’s wife is not loyal to her husband; she is loyal to the Philistines—the enemy of Israel.


18 And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down,

“What is sweeter than honey?

What is stronger than a lion?”


They knew the answer to the riddle.


And he said to them,

“If you had not plowed with my heifer,

you would not have found out my riddle.”


Samson is angry. He even calls his wife a cow. That’s always an insult. He knows his wife has betrayed him and provided the answer to the riddle. Their marriage is not off to a good start. 


19 And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon and struck down thirty men of the town and took their spoil and gave the garments to those who had told the riddle. In hot anger he went back to his father's house. 20 And Samson's wife was given to his companion, who had been his best man.


Ashkelon is twenty-five miles southwest of Timnah. It is the heartland of the Philistines. Samson goes there, strikes down thirty men, and takes their garments to give to those he’d made a bet with in Timnah.


Samson’s wife betrayed him when she gave away the answer to the riddle that had been given to her in confidence. While Samson is away in Ashkelon, his wife is given to his best man. 


After some days, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife with a young goat. And he said, “I will go in to my wife in the chamber.” But her father would not allow him to go in. 2 And her father said, “I really thought that you utterly hated her, so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead.” 3 And Samson said to them, “This time I shall be innocent in regard to the Philistines, when I do them harm.”


After Samson went to Ashkelon and killed thirty men, he realizes he wasn’t justified in what he did. However, now that he has been treated in this unjust way by his father-in-law, he feels like he has the right to do harm to the Philistines.


4So Samson went and caught 300 foxes and took torches. And he turned them tail to tail and put a torch between each pair of tails.5And when he had set fire to the torches, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines and set fire to the stacked grain and the standing grain, as well as the olive orchards.


Samson is not going to leave vengeance to the LORD. He is going to take revenge on his own. He ends up burning their fields at harvest time which devastates the Philistines.


6Then the Philistines said, “Who has done this?” And they said, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wifeand given her to his companion.” And the Philistines came up andburned her and her father with fire.


Now the Philistines are getting revenge on Samson’s wife and family. Earlier in the story, Samson’s wife told the riddle so their house wouldn’t be burned down, and now she and her father are killed by being burned. There’s been lying, deceitfulness, threats, revenge, murder, chaos. This is what we are supposed to pay attention to as we read the story. 


7And Samson said to them, “If this is what you do, I swear I will be avenged on you, and after that I will quit.”8And he struck them hip and thigh with a great blow, and he went down and stayed in thecleft of the rock of Etam.


The evil done to each other continues. Each time the party seeking revenge ups the ante, so the consequences grow more severe.


This is the story of Samson’s marriage. All this trouble could have been avoided if Samson had just listened to God and his parents. The boy who was supposed to be the hope of Israel and bring the people back to God is causing more chaos for the nation. Samson is ignoring God and ignoring godly counsel. Samson is self-centered, proud, and arrogant. He feels he is above the law and answers to nobody. 


God does not reward evil. God is sovereign. God has his plan and it will not be thwarted. Samson is doing wrong, but God uses what Samson does to accomplish his plan. There’s nothing Samson can do to destroy God’s plan. All the evil, corruption, and deceitfulness in the world cannot stop God from accomplishing all that he has planned. Nothing is greater or more powerful than God. God’s plan always come to fruition. 


God’s plan is for the salvation of his people. God is at work even in the evil and wickedness that surrounds us in the world in which we live. God has a purpose and plan for you, and it’s your salvation.



Verse Completion: . . . go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. Isaiah 43:1b-2a (NLT) 


2/14/2022


Good morning. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.


Song for the Day: https://youtu.be/b6xZ3k7yHNM



Complete the Verse & Name the Book: Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will  . . . (completion at the end)



Yesterday Pastor Michael gave a sermon titled “The Wedding of Samson” based on Judges 14:1-15:8. Today we will start a recap of that message.


To benefit from the story of Samson, all four chapters should be read in one sitting. Due to time restraints, we have to divide it up. 


The book of Judges is about the failure of mankind and the faithfulness of God. God is faithful because that is who he is; it’s his nature. He’s also faithful because of his love for us. 


Samson was a gift to Israel. He would be used by God to break the power of the Philistines. He was to be a judge, a deliverer, who would rule over Israel. He knew he was special. He was to be under the Nazarite vow his entire life. 


Unfortunately, being special can lead to pride. A prideful person can let those around him know he’s special as he points out his superiority to others in different areas. 


Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. 2 Then he came up and told his father and mother, “I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife.” 3 But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.”


Timnah is four miles west of Zorah where Samson was living. Timnah at this time was a Philistine town. The Philistines are ruling over the Israelites. He sees a Philistine woman who catches his eye. For Samson it is love at first sight, and he wants her for his wife. He pressures his parents to arrange for them to get married. However, his parents want him to marry a local woman. They are upright people who serve Jehovah. They don’t want Samson marrying someone who is not in a covenant relationship with God. They knew she would lead Samson away from the one and only true God—Jehovah. 


Samson’s character is revealed when he goes against his parents’ wishes and says, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.” How many times have you said or heard someone say, “This feels right. I don’t care what the rest of you think. I have to follow my own truth”? Samson is not honoring his parents. He is being self-centered and proud. He doesn’t care what anyone else says including God. Samson is right in his own eyes. He’s special. Rules don’t apply to him. He’s unteachable. He is convinced that his actions won’t have any negative consequences. 


4 His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines ruled over Israel.


Don’t read into this that it was God’s will for Samson to marry this Philistine woman. God did not want Samson to marry this lady. God did not tell Samson to marry this lady. As we get further into the story, we see how God uses Samson’s bad decisions to unfold his plan. God was going to use Samson’s bad choices to bring about the fulfillment of his plans. Samson thinks he’s using God, but God is using Samson. 


Something similar happens with Pharaoh and Moses. God uses Pharaoh’s bad decisions to fulfill his plans. Pharaoh thinks he’s in charge, but it’s God who is in charge. Pharaoh thinks he’s using God, but God is using Pharaoh. God’s overall plan with both Pharaoh and Samson is to get the Israelites back to himself. Whatever Samson or Pharaoh threw at God, God used to fulfill his plan.


5 Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah, and they came to the vineyards of Timnah. And behold, a young lion came toward him roaring. 6 Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and although he had nothing in his hand, he tore the lion in pieces as one tears a young goat. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done. 7 Then he went down and talked with the woman, and she was right in Samson's eyes.


As Samson and his parents were traveling in dangerous territory, Samson took off on his own. He is used to doing what is right in his own eyes. Remember that with the Nazarite vow, Samson was to stay away from anything related to the vine—grapes, raisins, wine. Samson needs to be staying far away from vineyards, but he goes right to them. 


It’s likely that the lion that approached Samson was a mountain lion. Can you imagine a person strong enough to tear a lion in pieces? It’s the Spirit of the Lord that makes it possible. 


When his parents asked Samson what he’d been up to, he likely answered, “Nothing.” When our children aren’t doing what is right, they want to avoid conversation with us. Samson had done wrong. He had gone against the Nazarite vow and been by a dead body. He didn’t want his parents to find out.


8 After some days he returned to take her. And he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey. 9 He scraped it out into his hands and went on, eating as he went. And he came to his father and mother and gave some to them, and they ate. But he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey from the carcass of the lion.


Again, he has departed company with his parents and done wrong. He returned to the dead body. By doing so he broke the vow and made himself unclean. 


Most people do all they can to avoid bees because they don’t want to get stung. Samson goes right up to a swarm of bees and takes their honey. It’s like he’s Superman. 


By giving some of the honey to his parents, Samson has made them unclean. It doesn’t bother him though because he doesn’t honor or respect his parents. Samson is a proud, impetuous, self-centered young man.


10 His father went down to the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, for so the young men used to do. 11 As soon as the people saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him.


It was customary to have a wedding feast that lasted a week. The Hebrew word for feast carries with it the connotation of a drunken party. Samson was supposed to be staying away from alcohol. 


Why thirty men? The people of Timnah knew who Samson was. They knew he was incredibly strong, but they also knew he was trouble. They figured thirty men should be adequate to keep him in line. They didn’t trust Samson so they wanted thirty pairs of eyes on him at all times.


Tomorrow we will continue this recap of Pastor Michael’s message with the second half.



Verse Completion: . . . grow as you learn to know God better and better. Colossians 1:10 (NLT)


2/12/2022


Good morning. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.


Song for the Day: https://youtu.be/BPlsOPDQr_g



Complete the Verse & Name the Book:  Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will . . . (completion at the end)



Yesterday we started a recap of Pastor Josh Moody’s sermon titled “Authentic Christianity” based on Mark 7:5-7. We have to be careful that our attitude to worship doesn’t ignore the commands of God. Who we worship is shown by how we worship because of our attitude to the word in worship.


Mark started out his book with: The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The whole purpose of his book is to show the identity of Jesus—the Son of God. In this contrast of the right way to follow God and the wrong way to follow God, Jesus said, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” In the original Isaiah, the me is Yahweh. 


Here is Jesus, the very Son of God, right in front of them, and they miss it completely! Why? Because who we worship is shown by the way we worship which is shown by our attitude to the word in worship. If our worship is driven by our human preferences, what we are worshiping are our human preferences. If we’re worshiping God, we’ll want to hear from God and be shaped by the word of God. 


As we study particular passages in the Scripture, we can’t forget to look for how the passages fit into the broader context of the Bible as a whole. As we do that, we find that worship is not simply gathered worship. In the New Testament, the primary thought about worship is for everything we do because every single Christian is the temple of the Holy Spirit. 


Jesus said to the woman of Samaria: 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:22-24) Worship is no longer at one time in one place. The Church is the Temple. We, as the people of God, are the Temple, whether we are at church, home, or work. No matter where we are we have the opportunity to honor God. Paul said in Romans 12:1: I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Everything you do can be worship.


With that said, the New Testament clearly, if implicitly, teaches that gathered worship is essential for the Christian. Acts 13:44 says: The next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord. Jesus said, “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst” (Matthew 18:20). Romans 15:6 says: so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:25-26 says: that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together, if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Hebrews 10:25 says: not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. 1 Corinthians 5:4 says: In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus . . . Acts 2:1 says: When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. Acts 4:31 says: And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness. Acts 12:12 says: And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.


Throughout the New Testament there is the implicit assumption that the gathering of God’s people for worship is essential for the Christian.


What is the purpose of gathered worship? It’s to honor God, to pray to him, to lift him up, to bow before him, to give him the glory that is due him, but the specific opportunity that happens when we gather in worship is we can encourage and build up each other in the Lord. Ephesians 5:19 says: addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart. We are to talk to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. When you are singing, you are saying to each other, “Isn’t God great?! Isn’t God wonderful?! Isn’t God amazing?!” We encourage each other when we gather together. 


You might wonder how honoring God and encouraging one another fit together. Johnathan Edwards used Psalm 92 to address this. In the inscription at the top of the psalm, it says “a song for the Sabbath.” This psalm is particularly intended for the gathering of God’s people in worship on the Sabbath. This psalm teaches us that the purpose of worship is for the commemoration and celebration of God’s rescue of his people from his enemies. In other words, the particular purpose of worship is that we would celebrate and commemorate what God has done in the gospel. 


We meet on the first day of the week because that is the day Jesus rose from the grave. We have reason to celebrate! Jesus is victorious over our sin. Jesus is victorious over death. He is returning for his followers so they can live with him throughout eternity. As we sing about these things, as we tell each other these things, we get encouraged. This is the God we serve! He is the rescuing, triumphant Christ! 


What does the Bible say should be done in worship? First of all, there is no liturgy of what a service should look like; there’s no order of service. Fundamentally, there have been two approaches. The first says that what the Bible teaches about gathered worship, you must do in worship and nothing else. The second approach says that what the Bible teaches about worship you must do, and what the Bible does not directly address you are free to do as you think best. The first might be called the prohibitive approach and the second, the permissive approach. 


The prohibitive approach can create an attitude that is itself prohibitive or restrictive. It can create an atmosphere where things that the Bible doesn’t address are put into the same box with those things the Bible does address. The result can be restrictive, legalistic extremes. On the other hand, the permissive approach can also lead to ridiculous extremes. 


The New Testament has an intended shape of the elements of worship, and we are to reflect that shape. This could be called the directive approach. We are to follow the New Testament’s directions: the reading of Scripture, the teaching of the Bible, the singing of songs, prayers, the Lord’s Supper, baptism, greet each other as family, and so on. It’s directive but needs to be contextualized so there is variety but also overall consistency. 


Authentic Christianity is shown by how we worship. The way we worship shows who we worship which is revealed by our attitude to the word in worship. 


How do we apply this? First, by regeneration. We can wash our hands but we can’t change our hearts. Where is your heart? Is it far from Jesus? Our attitude to the word and worship often reveal where our heart truly is. We must be born again—regeneration. We must cry out to God to give us a new heart. 


Second, by reformation. We constantly need to make sure that our worship as we gather together is done in a way that is reflective and directed by God’s word. Our worship is not to be driven by human preferences. It is to be directed by God’s word. When we put our human preferences first, our worship is the worst. True worship is about what Jesus prefers. 


Third, by revival. There needs to be a revival of gathered worship in the church in America. Data from before COVID shows that if you want to accurately estimate the number of people in any particular local church, you should multiply the number on any given Sunday by three. This means that on any given Sunday, a third of the people are there. That in turn means that if we want to see three times the number of people in our church, there is a very simple solution—have everyone show up. 


We must not be overly romantic or overly idealistic when referring to churches on the mission field, but when I was a missionary, I was struck by their attitude to gathered worship. It seemed to me that these people would crawl over broken glass to get to church. 


Who we worship is revealed by the way we worship which is shown by our attitude to the word in worship.



Verse Completion: . . . strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. Isaiah 41:10 (NLT)


2/11/2022


Good morning. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.


Song for the Day: https://youtu.be/5bpgmJGkQbs



Complete the Verse & Name the Book:  Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. I have learned . . . (completion at the end)



Pastor Josh Moody of College Church in Wheaton, Illinois, recently started a series of messages titled “Authentic Christianity.” We will begin a recap of the second sermon in this series titled “Worship in Vain” based on Mark 7:1-8:


Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem,2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ 8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”


Authentic Christianity is shown by how we worship. We’re defining authentic as genuine or the real thing. We are attempting to answer the question, “What is the genuine way to follow Jesus?” 


Worship indicates that which we think is of worth or value. Whether we are Christians or not, we make decisions about what we value and what we think is worthy. That which we worship we attribute worth or value. You may be familiar with the term “hero worship” where a sports figure, humanitarian, politician, or some other person is given great worth. 


Within Christian circles there is great confusion about worship regarding the right way to worship, music, style, how important it is to gather and worship, how worship is related to general lifestyle, and so on. With all the confusion, it’s important that we think clearly on the matter. In addition to confusion, there is, typically, a lot of passion around it. The matter of worship raises emotion; people care about it; it's a motif. Because it’s a motif and there are so many different views on it, it can become controversial.


As we read Scripture we should be looking for the main theme. One of the ways to grasp the main theme is to look at the structure of the passage of Scripture. These verses are structured in a very simple way: a question and an answer. The question asked by the Pharisees and the scribes is, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 


The answer given by Jesus is surprising because he quotes from the book of Isaiah regarding worship. Their question is about the ceremonial washing of hands and Jesus answers with, “Your attitude to this and the way you’re going about this is showing your inauthenticity by the way you worship.” 


In order to follow the logic of Jesus, we need to follow him to the book of Isaiah. The book of Isaiah is a call from the prophet Isaiah to Jerusalem that God’s people would trust God rather than the nations around them. The book is about judgment because God’s people didn’t trust him, but it’s also about hope for those who did trust God. This  hope coalesces around Isaiah’s vision in the second half of the book that lands in the Messiah fulfilled in Jesus and his movement—the new covenant of which Christians, those who are Messiah people, are part of today that involves hope for us and the whole world. The book of Isaiah is a call to trust God; judgment for those who do not; hope for those who do that is ultimately fulfilled in the Messiah—Jesus.


Chapter 29 of Isaiah is a prophetic message from Isaiah to Jerusalem. Verse one starts out: Ah, Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped! Ariel is Jerusalem. Ariel means burning as in a burning fireplace or a burning calf. Isaiah is saying Jerusalem is burning; Jerusalem is in trouble. It may not seem like it to you, but Jerusalem is in serious trouble. 


We come to verses eleven and twelve that say:  And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.”  And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot read.”


Isaiah is talking about the vision of God’s word. It’s a double illustration of the importance and prominence of God’s word in worship. 


Imagine that there is a person who is handed the Bible, and the person says, “It’s shut. I can’t be bothered to open it. It’s sealed.” Now imagine another person who cannot read and this person is handed a Bible. The nonreader says, “I don’t care that I can’t read this. I don’t need it.” We have a powerful illustration of a time when people were ignoring God’s word. Those who could read could care less about reading God’s word. “Let it collect dust” was their attitude. Those who could read did not care to open it. Those who could not read were not bothered that they couldn’t read God’s word. They wouldn’t have read it if they could. 


Then we come to the verse Jesus quoted from:


13 And the Lord said:

“Because this people draw near with their mouth

and honor me with their lips,

while their hearts are far from me,

and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, . . .”


What Jesus is saying is the way we worship is revealing who we worship which is shown by our attitude to the word in worship. They have a closed book, and they don’t care. 


We need to pay particular attention to the phrase Jesus said, “. . . in vain do they worship me.” Vain here does not mean vanity in the sense of someone looking in the mirror and saying, “I’m so beautiful,” and immediately taking a picture and posting it on social media. Vain here means worthless or meaningless. Ecclesiastes 1:2 says: Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity (ESV). The New International Version translates this: “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”


 As Jesus quotes from Isaiah, he’s thinking of God’s people gathering to worship in Jerusalem, and their worship is vain or meaningless. Their worship is not doing anything; it has no significance. Likely, Jesus chose the word vain because it is the word used particularly in idolatrous worship. The people worshiped worthlessness and therefore became worthless. They worshiped vanity and became meaningless. Their worship is in vain. 


Their worship is idolatrous worship because who we worship is revealed by the way we worship which is revealed or shown by our attitude to the word in worship. Their worship is actually idolatrous. Paul said, “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:21). Their thinking was vain or meaningless. What we worship impacts our sense of value. If we think there is no meaning in life then our life will have no meaning. If we think there is no meaning to the universe, then our own lives will have no meaning. 


Jesus is saying here that as their attitude to worship is ignoring the commands of God, who they worship is shown by how they worship because of their attitude to the word in worship.


Tomorrow we will continue this recap of Pastor Moody’s sermon with the second half.



Verse Completion: . . . how to be content with whatever I have. Philippians 4:6, 11b (NLT)


2/10/2022


Good morning. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.


Song for the Day: https://youtu.be/Gr0LdT9MNpE



Complete the Verse & Name the Book: All the wood in Lebanon’s forests and all Lebanon’s animals would not be enough to  . . . (completion at the end)



Yesterday we started a recap of Pastor Del McKenzie’s message on the Holy Spirit titled “The Holy Spirit Sanctifies.” He left off comparing righteousness to holiness. Righteousness is more outward—doing the right things; being the right kind of person. Holiness is inward; it involves the Holy Spirit dealing with issues such as selfishness, self-promotion, self-protection, self-glory, and self-credit.


Historical sanctification took place at the cross. When Jesus died, believers were sanctified. It’s an accomplished act and a fact that took place in history. Because of the atoning work of Jesus on the cross, we were set apart and made holy in Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says: May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 


Positional sanctification happens when we enter by faith into the death of Jesus by trusting Jesus and becoming believers. It happens when we are born of the Spirit. This is how we are called holy ones or saints. 


Experiential holiness is when we seek to make sanctification a reality in our lives so our language, actions, and motives are pleasing to God. It is continual or progressive sanctification. We are to pursue experiential sanctification in an attempt to perfect it. We should be asking the Holy Spirit to fill us. Ephesians 5:18-20 says: Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 


Being filled with the Spirit is a past event, a present event, and a future event. In one sense sanctification is instantly obtained. In another sense it’s a matter of time and discipline. God sees us perfect in his Son while he disciplines and chastens and purges us that we may be partakers of his holiness. Hebrews 12:11-12 says: No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.


God’s chastening should not be seen as punishment for sin but as correction to our earthly nature and the working of the new creation to completion in our lives. 


How does the Holy Spirit sanctify us? First, he draws us to Jesus. Everything is in Jesus. Colossians 2:9-10 says: For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. Everything depends on what Christ has done, not on what we have done. We need to look often at the death and resurrection of Jesus.


Oswald Chambers wrote: Any impulse which does not lead to the glorification of Jesus Christ has the snare of Satan behind it. People ask, “How am I to know whether my impulse is from the Holy Spirit or from my own imagination?” Very easily. Jesus Christ gave us the simplest test; easy to understand—a test for guidance. He said, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26). Jesus went on to say, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you” (John 16:13-15). Beware of any religious experience which glorifies you and not Jesus Christ.


The Holy Spirit sanctifies us by taking us to Jesus. He turns us to Jesus. He causes us to think about Jesus. 


Second, the Holy Spirit sanctifies us by taking us to the word. In the prayer of Jesus to the Father, referring to his disciples, Jesus said, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17). We are set apart and made holy by the truth found in God’s word. The Holy Spirit inspired it, and the Holy Spirit will use it to sanctify us. God’s word can keep us from sin. 


The Holy Spirit takes us to the cross where we crucify the desires of our sinful nature. When we do that, the Holy Spirit sets us free. He sets us apart. He sets us in Christ. He also stirs us to a trusting and resting faith. 



Verse Completion: . . . make a burnt offering worthy of our God. Isaiah 40:16 (NLT) 


2/9/2022


Good morning. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.


Song for the Day: https://youtu.be/Fz7QQzCu0iE



Complete the Verse & Name the Book: The grass withers and the flowers fade, but . . . (completion at the end)



On Monday, Pastor Del McKenzie continued his series of messages on the Holy Spirit with his seventeenth talk titled “The Holy Spirit Sanctifies.” So far we have looked at the Holy Spirit wanting to be our companion, being the Spirit of life, making Jesus real to us, the enabler of worship, leading us in prayer, making us loving people, setting us free, giving us power, being our teacher, being our comforter, the one who brings conviction, the one who brings unity, the one who brings assurance, the one who guards us, the one who leads us, and the one who gives us hope.


Sanctification is one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit. Sanctification and holiness are often used interchangeably. 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 says: But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as first fruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.


Let’s look at a few verses of Scripture that give us insight and instruction regarding sanctification:


·      Matthew 6:9: The Lord’s Prayer starts out: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name . . .” Hallowed means holy or sanctified. Sanctified means to be set apart. God is set apart from man. 


·      Isaiah 6:3: And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” God is holy. He is apart from his creation. 


·      Isaiah 10:20: In that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of Jacob, will no longer rely on him who struck them down but will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. The God of Israel is holy.


·      Romans 5:1: Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. When we are justified, we are no longer declared guilty; instead, we are declared righteous by our faith in Jesus Christ. Two big things happen when we are justified. First, we have peace with God; there is reconciliation to God. Second, Christ’s righteousness is applied to us. Justification occurs before sanctification. Only people who are justified can be sanctified.


J.C. Ryle said, “In justification the word to be addressed to man is believe—only believe; in sanctification the word must be ‘watch, pray, and fight’.”


Sanctification has to do with the changing of character. It’s the renovation of a nature. 2 Corinthians 7:1 says: Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. Sanctification takes place at conversion, and it continues through our entire lives. 


God is holy. Holiness is absolutely essential. Hebrews 12:14 says: Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Sanctification is God’s will. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 says: It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality. 


We can’t experience sanctification without the ministry of the Holy Spirit. We have to cooperate with the Holy Spirit. We can ask to be sanctified—set apart and made holy. We can expect to be sanctified.


Sanctification means to be set apart and declared holy. Objects can be sanctified. For example, in the Old Testament we read about the Tabernacle and items in the Tabernacle being sanctified. They were for divine use only. In the New Testament we read about people being sanctified—set apart and made holy in order to serve God. Buildings are no longer sanctified. 


Sanctification can be defined as a work of God’s grace whereby the believer is set apart or separated from self and inward sinfulness. By the filling and work of the Holy Spirit, the believer is set apart to holiness and God’s service. 


When we compare righteousness to holiness, righteousness is more outward—doing the right things; being the right kind of person. Holiness is inward; it involves the Holy Spirit dealing with issues such as selfishness, self-promotion, self-protection, self-glory, and self-credit.


Tomorrow we will continue this recap of Pastor McKenzie’s message with the second half.


Verse Completion: . . . the word of our God stands forever. Isaiah 40:8 (NLT) 


2/8/2022


Good morning. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.


Song for the Day: https://youtu.be/R1x65e_3axI



Complete the Verse & Name the Book: Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with . . . (completion at the end)



Yesterday we started a recap of Pastor Michael’s sermon titled “The Minor Judges and the Birth of Sampson” based on Judges 12:8-13:25. We left off with the three requirements in the Nazarite vow: no alcohol, no cutting of hair, and no going near dead bodies. This was the vow Samson was to have from conception to death—his whole life.


 6 Then the woman went to her husband and told him, “A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name. 7 But he said to me, ‘You will become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine or other fermented drink and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death.’ ” 

 8 Then Manoah prayed to the LORD: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.” 


There are still people in Israel who serve the true and living God. Manoah is one of them. He prays to Jehovah. He and his wife are living in a covenant relationship with God, and God shows up to bless them. The people living around Manoah and his wife would have viewed them as cursed by God. They would have been told, “You are cursed by God. Why don’t you follow our gods? Maybe our gods will bless you and you’ll have a child.” Manoah and his wife remain true to Jehovah, and God blesses them and gives them hope.


Notice how Manoah wants confirmation from God just as Gideon and Jephthah did. He wants to see the same man of God his wife saw—the one that looked like an angel. Manoah is a bit like doubting Thomas.


 9 God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. 10 The woman hurried to tell her husband, “He’s here! The man who appeared to me the other day!” 


Notice how Manoah asked to see the angel his wife saw, but God sent the angel to his wife instead. It’s like God is saying to Manoah, “Why aren’t you believing your wife?” 


 11 Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, “Are you the man who talked to my wife?” 

“I am,” he said. 

12 So Manoah asked him, “When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule that governs the boy’s life and work?” 


Manoah’s wife has already told him, but Manoah wants to hear it directly from the angel.


13 The angel of the LORD answered, “Your wife must do all that I have told her. 14 She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her.” 


The angel is telling Manoah to listen to his wife. The angel doesn’t provide any new information.


15 Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you.” 

16 The angel of the LORD replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD.” (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the LORD.) 


Manoah has not accepted that it is God who is speaking to him. 


17 Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?” 


Manoah still is not accepting the fact that a direct messenger from God has just spoken to him. 


18 He replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding. ”


Beyond understanding can be translated “too wonderful for you.” The angel is saying, “Understanding who I really am is impossible for you.” This is the same word used in the last verse of Psalm 139:1-6:


1 You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. 

2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 

3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 

4 Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely. 

5 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. 

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. 


God cannot be comprehended. Manoah doesn’t need any more signs, confirmations, or wonders. God is telling Manoah, “I am God, and you are not.”


19Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the LORD. And the LORD did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched:20As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground.21 When the angel of the LORD did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the LORD. 


Manoah finally realized who was there speaking to them. 


22 “We are doomed to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen God!” 


If Manoah had it to do over, he would do things very differently. He would stand before God in humility, awe, and wonder. He would fall down and worship him. His demeanor would be a lot different. 


23 But his wife answered, “If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.” 


It’s Manoah’s wife who understands what’s going on. She knows if God wanted to kill them, they would have died earlier on. She knows God is interested in blessing them, not killing them. 


As we read Judges, we see how God elevates women. God uses women. In a culture that holds men above women, God comes along and shows men and women to be equal in value. God loves all people equally. Christianity has nothing against women. 


24 The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the LORD blessed him, 25 and the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.


There’s been no crying out to God for a deliverer, but God gave Israel a deliverer. He gives them a deliverer who is blessed by God. 


Something is happening; something exciting is going to happen. The Spirit of the LORD began to stir Samson. Stir means to agitate. Samson is being unsettled. Samson’s life has purpose. There’s hope for Israel. There’s strength for Israel. There is grace for Israel. There is love for Israel. Even though Israel hasn’t been faithful; God is faithful. Israel is not receiving hope, strength, grace, and love because of anything Israel has done to earn it. Israel is not being blessed because the nation was successful in manipulating God by making a bargain with God. The blessings come because of God’s love for Israel. 


In this crazy world we live in, it’s difficult to know if we’re loved, but we are loved by God. Judges reflects the culture we live in that asks: “What is truth? Where is truth?” Our culture doesn’t want to hear about God. They trade the truth of God for the lies of Satan. Right becomes wrong. Wrong becomes right. True becomes false. False becomes true. There’s moral chaos, decline, and corruption. In all this, God is still God. God is still faithful. God is still loving. God still wants people to come to salvation and everlasting life. In our culture where there is no hope and very little strength, God says, “I love you!” Let God give you hope. Let God give you strength. Let God give you his love. Let God bless you. 


Christ died for us—not so we could perish or walk in confusion and chaos and moral corruption—but to give us hope for salvation, hope for holiness, and hope for being blessed by God. 



Verse Completion: . . . the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Philippians 3:8a (NLT) 


2/7/2022


Good morning. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.


Song for the Day: https://youtu.be/R84PqRdZ7_Y



Complete the Verse & Name the Book: And a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will . . .(completion at the end)



Yesterday Pastor Michael gave a sermon titled “The Minor Judges and the Birth of Sampson” based on Judges 12:8-13:25. Today we will start a recap of that message.


When we look at the twelve judges of Israel mentioned in the book of Judges, six have been classified as major (Othniel, Ehud, Deborah/Barak, Gideon/Abimelek, Jephthah, Samson), and six have been classified as minor (Shamgar, Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon). Today we will take a look at the last four judges: Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, and Samson. 


8 After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem led Israel. 9 He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He gave his daughters away in marriage to those outside his clan, and for his sons he brought in thirty young women as wives from outside his clan. Ibzan led Israel seven years. 10 Then Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem. 


It’s interesting to read that Ibzan had 30 daughters. Perhaps it’s to show a contrast with Jephthah who only had one daughter whom he ended up sacrificing. Ibzan gave his daughters in marriage to those outside the clan. Usually, marriage took place among clan members. What Ibzan is doing is acting like a king. Since Gideon, we have seen the judges taking on king-like qualities. This was wrong for them to do. The judges hadn’t been appointed by God to be kings. God was their King. Ibzan is interested in building his power and influence by having his daughters marry outside the clan. Ibzan is securing his position.


11 After him, Elon the Zebulunite led Israel ten years. 

12 Then Elon died and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun. 

13 After him, Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, led Israel. 14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. He led Israel eight years. 15 Then Abdon son of Hillel died and was buried at Pirathon in Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.


Mentioning the 40 sons and 30 grandsons shows Abdon is also acting like a king. He believes he is the king of Israel. He wants to set up his sons and grandsons as rulers. Riding on donkeys is what kings did. 


Abdon was from Ephraim in the central part of Israel. It was the Ephraimites who were angry at Jephthah and started a civil war that resulted in the death of 42,000 Ephraimites. Prior to this the Ephraimites were angry with Gideon.


Of all the judges, Samson is the most famous. More is written about him than any other judge. When Scripture provides more details, we are to slow down and read carefully. 


1 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, so the LORD delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years. 


The pattern Israel has followed for many years continues. A judge passes away and the people fade away from God and do evil in the eyes of the Lord. The evil includes serving other gods. The cycle of sin continues. They walk away from God, do evil, serve other gods, the one true God is no longer vital to their lives, God delivers them into the hands of their enemies—the Philistines. The book of Judges is a book of deliverers. When the Israelites are in the hands of their enemies, they cry out for mercy and say they are sorry for their sins. They want God to give them immediate relief from their grief. Because God loves the Israelites, he sends them a deliverer who gives them a time of peace. After enjoying a period of peace, they begin to fall away from God. The pattern continues.


2 A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. 3 The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. 


This part doesn’t follow the pattern because there is no crying out to God. There is no repentance. When the pattern is broken we need to pay attention because something is about to happen. 


Perhaps they didn’t cry out because they had lost hope. Maybe they didn’t have enough faith to believe God would come to their rescue. Maybe they felt they were unsavable because of their past behavior. Maybe they felt like they had wandered so far away from God that there was no going back. 


Israel was at war with both the Ammonites and the Philistines who were on opposite sides of the heartland of Israel. The Ammonites attacked from the east while the Philistines attacked from the west. Jephthah had taken care of the Ammonites, but the Philistines were still a threat. They were trying to take over the heartland of Israel. 


Zorah was 18 miles west of Jerusalem. 


Even though Israel does not cry out to God, God raises us a leader because God loves Israel, and he is faithful to his word: “You will be my people, and I will be your God.” Israel is unfaithful with its promise to God, but God is faithful with his promise to Israel. 


A person who was childless in those days was believed to be cursed by God. Those with children were believed to be blessed by God. A childless person was believed to be unlovable by God. She was believed to have done something terribly wrong so blessings were taken away by God. 


The Israelites may have compared themselves to a childless woman. Sometimes we might feel the same way. We think because of our past behavior that God will not help us any longer. We look at ourselves as being cursed. We feel like there’s no hope for us.  


4 Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. 5 You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”


God does a couple of things here. He gives hope to the wife of Manoah that she will give birth to a son. God shows up in the midst of despair and gives hope and blessing to Manoah’s wife. At the same time, God is showing up for Israel when Israel believes it’s too far gone. God loves people, and he’s faithful to his word. God wants ALL people to come to salvation. He doesn’t want any to perish. God sent his own Son to die for the sins of everyone so when anyone believes in his Son he/she won’t perish but have everlasting life. God did this when we weren’t even crying out to him. He did it because of his love for you. Jesus poured out his life for you that you might have life, hope, and strength. 


God is giving Israel a deliverer. He’s giving a childless woman a son. What a contrast to the Jephthah story where Jephthah makes a foolish vow he won’t back down from and ends up sacrificing his one and only daughter! God is moving in Israel. He is showing up for Israel. He is being faithful to his promise. God gives hope when there is no hope. God gives strength when there is no strength. God gives faith when there is no faith.


We read about the Nazarite vow in Numbers 6. The person who took the vow committed themselves to God for a given period of time. Numbers 6:1-6, 8 says:


1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of dedication to the LORD as a Nazirite, 3 they must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or other fermented drink. They must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins. 4 As long as they remain under their Nazirite vow, they must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins. 

5 “ ‘During the entire period of their Nazirite vow, no razor may be used on their head. They must be holy until the period of their dedication to the LORD is over; they must let their hair grow long. 6 “ ‘Throughout the period of their dedication to the LORD, the Nazirite must not go near a dead body. 8 Throughout the period of their dedication, they are consecrated to the LORD.


There were three requirements in the Nazarite vow: no alcohol, no cutting of hair, and no going near dead bodies. This was the vow Samson was to have from conception to death—his whole life. 


Tomorrow we will continue this recap of Pastor Michael’s sermon with the second half.



Verse Completion: . . . never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways; fools will never walk there. Isaiah 35:8 (NLT) 


2/5/2022


Good morning. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.


Song for the Day: https://youtu.be/M-qWMqzSwys



Complete the Verse & Name the Book:  And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. For to me, . . . (completion at the end)



Yesterday we started a recap of Pastor Josh Moody’s sermon titled “Pharisees then and Now” based on Mark 7:1-4. Mark shows that authentic Christianity is not Pharisaism in three ways. First, Pharisaism is judgmental. 


Second, Mark shows how authentic Christianity is not Pharisaism by describing the Pharisees as traditional (see verses 3-13). Because of their concern for the keeping of the law, the Pharisees generated teaching and a body of tradition, in addition to God’s law, that could act as a fence to protect one from breaking God’s law. The laws generated by the Pharisees were viewed as equally authoritative as God’s law. The result was some ridiculous extremes. For example, the Pharisees had 39 rules to protect a person from breaking the Sabbath. These manmade, religious traditions became so hallowed and sanctified that to break one of these traditions was unthinkable. It would be equivalent to breaking one of God’s laws. 


Third, Mark showed how the Pharisees were concerned with the external as he describes their hand washing. 


Mark isn’t just telling us about the Pharisees so we can see what they did in history, he’s telling us because humans tend to move toward Pharisaism. Pharisaism can be religious or nonreligious. Much of our secular society is deeply embedded with various kinds of Pharisaism: rules that must be kept; judgment if the rules aren’t kept; concern for the external. Look around. Pharisaism is hugely popular. The reason why it is so attractive is because it is attainable. Real Christianity is saying to us, “What you need is something you cannot do. Outside of Christ, you are dead, and you need to be made alive. Only God can do that. You must come to him and ask him.” On the other hand, Pharisaism says, “You can wash your hands.” It’s attainable, so it appeals to people. Yes, you can wash your hands, but you cannot transform your heart. For that you need Jesus. 


How can we apply this today? First of all we need to identify Pharisaism then and now: external, traditional, and judgmental. I heard of a man who was not allowed in church because his hair was too long. He needed to get a Christian haircut. It makes one wonder if Jesus had a “Christian haircut.” Hair is an external issue. External issues can keep people from finding true Christianity. We should never fixate on the external. Does it really matter how we are baptized—sprinkling or emersion? What matters is internal, not external. 


When we quote Calvin, it can be like playing the trump card. We can learn from great teachers, but it shouldn’t be like playing a trump card to finish the issue. God’s word is our trump card. Quoting a person can either attract people or alienate people. God’s word should always have the final say. 


Today in secular society we have critical theory with all its gurus. There are so many ideologies of which we can be a part. We define people as part of our club or not part of our club. Jesus told us, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Love your neighbor as yourself.” Instead of love we have rancor, divisiveness, anger, judgmentalism, traditionalism, and emphasis on the external. You begin to see how important it is that we define what it truly means to follow Jesus rather than Pharisaism. 


Now that we have identified Pharisaism, the next thing we need to do is reject it. When Chuck Swindoll was asked about legalism, he said, “The trouble with legalists is not enough people have confronted them and told them to ‘Get lost.’ Legalists will drive real Christians away from your church. They are anti-grace. They are enemies of the faith. Other than that I don’t have any opinion.”


After we have identified Pharisaism and rejected it, we need to follow authentic Christianity: God’s word rather than human tradition and internal transformation rather than external conformity. 


The first televised, political, commercial was about Dwight D. Eisenhower. The slogan was “I like Ike.” 


The story goes that the advertising genius who came up with this slogan was in New York City with a friend. As the two of them were walking down the sidewalk, they came across a blind man who was begging. He had a sign next to him that said, “I am blind.” Attached to the sign was a little tin can. They noticed there were very few coins in it. 


The advertising genius said to his friend, “I guarantee you that I can dramatically increase the number of coins in that can by simply adding four words to his sign.”


“You can't do that,” his friend said.


 “Okay, I'll show you.”


 The advertising guy got down next to the beggar and talked to him for a little while. With the beggar’s permission, he added four words to the top of his sign so now his sign read, “It is spring, and I am blind.”


Coins started flowing into the can. Why? Because now everyone realized, “I can see the flowers. I can see the sun. I can see that it's spring, but this man is blind.” 


When we preach Jesus, we need to define him as not Pharisaism. It is then that our worship of him is renewed. 



Verse Completion: . . . living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. Philippians 1:20b, 21 (NLT) 


2/4/2022


Good morning. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.


Song for the Day: https://youtu.be/0uiIyE1ju8Q



Complete the Verse & Name the Book:  Those who are honest and fair, who refuse to profit by fraud, who stay far away from bribes, who refuse to listen to those who plot murder, who shut their eyes to all enticement to do wrong—these are . . .(completion at the end)



Pastor Josh Moody of College Church in Wheaton, Illinois, recently started a series of messages titled “Authentic Christianity.” We will begin a recap of the first sermon in this series titled “Pharisees then and Now” based on Mark 7:1-8:


Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem,2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ 8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”


Authentic Christianity is not Pharisaism. We will be looking at Pharisaism then and now, and we will be defining what real Christianity is. What is meant by “authentic Christianity” is the real way of following Jesus. Why is this important? It’s a matter of life and death! It’s also important because when people today reject Christianity, some are actually rejecting what Jesus rejected. 


There’s a movement today called deconstruction—they are deconstructing their Christian faith. Sometimes they are deconstructing things that are Biblical and shouldn’t be deconstructed, but sometimes they are deconstructing things Jesus was against. This can be a great witnessing tool. When a person says, “I’m not a Christian because I don’t like _______,” sometimes our response can be, “Did you know Jesus is against that, too? Jesus is actually with you in being against that.” 


The goal of expository preaching is not merely the transfer of information; the goal of expository preaching is worship. Because there are so many different kinds of Christianity, different denominations, different movements, and so forth, Jesus can get lost in all of it. In some ways the same was true in first century Israel. There were three religious movements at the time:


1.   The Essenes: a monastic, purifying movement that involved going off into the desert and forming a strictly communal life. 


2.   The Sadducees: a kind of aristocratic, priestly elite whose teaching centered around the importance of the temple and being a part of the temple. They only accepted the first five books of our Old Testament. They were clerical.


3.   The Pharisees: the most popular movement of all. They were middle class, lay-led, not particularly clerical, experts in the Scriptures, had great concern for the law, created many rules to fence the law so no one would get close to breaking the law, and saw their rules as having equal authority as God’s law.


Jesus is other which leads us to worship him, and leads us to a fresh renewal of who he is.


Mark shows how authentic Christianity is not Pharisaism in three ways. The first is describing them as judgmental. The Pharisees have come down from Jerusalem, the center of religious power, and are spying on Christianity. 


In Mark 1:1 we read: The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Mark wants to correctly identify who Jesus is right off the bat. This is the only place in the book of Mark where Mark himself declares what he thinks about Jesus. In the rest of the gospel he uses stories about Jesus so the reader will come to the same conclusion. Towards the end of the book, when Mark is describing the death of Jesus, we see where a Roman pagan (not an Essene, not a Sadducee, not a Pharisee, not a “religious” person) gets it right when he looked at Jesus on the cross and said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:39b). 


Mark wants his readers (us today) to come to the conclusion that Jesus is the Son of God. He does it with three movements: Jesus in the area of Galilee, Jesus on the way to Jerusalem, and Jesus in Jerusalem. 


Tomorrow we will continue this recap of Dr. Moody’s sermon with the second half.



Verse Completion: . . . the ones who will dwell on high. Isaiah 33:15, 16a (NLT) 


2/3/2022


Good morning. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.


Song for the Day: https://youtu.be/IqoQe5Xg7-0



Complete the Verse & Name the Book: Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working. . . (completion at the end)



Yesterday we started a recap of Pastor Del McKenzie’s message on the Holy Spirit titled “Hope of the Holy Spirit.” People need hope. They need to anticipate that things will get better than they are now. When we resign ourselves to saying, “Things are not going to get any better,” we have almost signed our death certificate. Without hope, the issues of life will get to us. 


Our hope is in Christ. Ephesians 1:11-12 says: In [Christ] we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. Jesus is the Savior of the world. He’s my Redeemer. He is my Substitute—I should have been the one on the cross dying for my own sins, but he took my place so I can have life in him. My hope is in Jesus. He's the only secure hope in the world because of his faithfulness and goodness. Because Jesus died and arose from the grave, we have hope that we will also rise from the grave and go to live with him for all eternity. We anticipate great things to come because of what Jesus has done and promised us.


Romans 8:33-39 says:


Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. We are so blessed to have Jesus praying for us!


1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 says:


According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words. As followers of Christ, we have so much to look forward to! Our hope is in Jesus! Christ in us is the hope of glory (see Colossians 1:27). We have an indwelling hope because Christ dwells within us. Our hope is in Jesus. Our hope is not in ourselves—what we’ve done, what we are doing, or what we are going to do. Our hope is in Jesus. Isaiah 26:12b says: All that we have accomplished you have done for us. 


We’ve been called to hope. Ephesians 1:18 says: I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people. 


People without God are without hope. Ephesians 2:12 says: remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 


Everyone is called to one hope—Jesus.


We wait in hope for the Lord. Psalm 33:20-22 says: We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you. 


We have hope in God’s word. Psalm 119:49-50 says: Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.


Faith and love spring from hope. Colossians 1:3-8 says: We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people—the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. 


There is hope held out in the gospel. Colossians 1:22-23a says: But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.


May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13). It’s by the power of the Holy Spirit that we are able to overflow with hope regardless of the circumstances in which we find ourselves. The songwriter penned it this way:


In shady, green pastures so rich and so sweet

God leads His dear children along

Where the water's cool flow bathes the weary one's feet

God leads His dear children along


Some through the water, some through the flood

Some through the fire, but all through the blood

And some through great sorrow, but God gives the song

In the night season and all the day long


Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines so bright

God leads His dear children along

Sometimes in the valley, in darkest of night

God leads His dear children along


Though sorrows befall us and Satan oppose

God leads His dear children along

Through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes

God leads His dear children along



There are admonitions to hope in Scripture. Hebrews 6:11-12 says: We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. 


Don’t give up asking the Holy Spirit for hope. He wants to flood our lives with it, and he will if we reach out to him. He will give us a confidence and an assurance as we anticipate and expect the Holy Spirit to respond to our request of hope. 


Are you nurturing hope, or are you allowing pessimism and darkness to enter your life? The Holy Spirit can give us the hope we need no matter how dark the world is. 



Verse Completion: . . . for the Lord rather than for people. Ephesians 6:7 (NLT) 


2/2/2222222 (oops, got carried away with the twos today)


Good morning. This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 


Song for the Day: https://youtu.be/5MpiMDj4zw4



Complete the Verse & Name the Book: Your own ears will hear him. Right  behind you a voice will say, “This is the . . . (completion at the end)



On Monday, Pastor Del McKenzie continued his series of messages on the Holy Spirit with his sixteenth talk titled “Hope of the Holy Spirit.” So far we have looked at the Holy Spirit wanting to be our companion, being the Spirit of life, making Jesus real to us, the enabler of worship, leading us in prayer, making us loving people, setting us free, giving us power, being our teacher, being our comforter, the one who brings conviction, the one who brings unity, the one who brings assurance, the one who guards us, and the one who leads us.


What single word would you choose to describe the culture we live in today? Would it be enthusiasm, confidence, anticipation, or thankfulness? Probably not. Perhaps hopelessness would describe our culture today. What often accompanies hopelessness is anger and despair. 


One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is to provide hope to the believer. We can ask for and receive hope from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables us to have hope even in the darkest of hours. The word hope appears 180 times in the NIV translation of the Bible. The emphasis on the word reveals its importance. 


What does the word hope mean? Hope is always about the future; it anticipates the future. Paul tells us: Hope that is seen is no hope at all (Romans 8:24b). Hope looks forward to something good happening in the future. We can’t hope for what we already have. 


Hope not only looks forward to the future, but it also involves that which we desire—what we want but don’t yet have. Contentment and laziness are enemies of hope. 


Sometimes we hope for things we shouldn’t hope for. 


Hope always involves wanting and waiting. Paul said, “But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope” (Galatians 5:5). In Proverbs we read: Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life (13:12). People of hope learn to wait. Paul said: But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently (Romans 8:25). 


In addition to wanting and waiting, true hope always includes expectation. When we have no hope, we have no expectation. Some people have no expectation of things getting better; therefore they have no hope. Hope also includes anticipation. Anticipation involves expectation with emotion attached to it. Anticipation involves a keen sense of desire. An example of this might be a child anticipating opening presents on Christmas. 


Hope involves desire, expectation, anticipation, and waiting. It also includes assurance. There’s a certainty that what is hoped for will happen. Hebrews 11:8 says: Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.When we have true hope, we have assurance. 


Hope also includes behavior—how we live. Hope affects our behavior. 1 John 3:1-3 says:


How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. 


When we have the hope of seeing Jesus, we take on the behavior of purifying ourselves so we will be ready to meet Jesus. When we have the hope of receiving gifts at Christmas, our behavior changes. We don’t want to do anything that would prevent us from receiving the gifts. 


How is the word hope used? Paul used the word to mean anticipation when he wrote to Philemon from jail and said: And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers (Philemon 22). Paul was anticipating being released from jail and having the opportunity to be with Philemon again in the future.


In Acts 16 we have the story of the slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She made a lot of money for her owners because of the spirit inside of her. Paul commanded the spirit to come out of her in the name of Jesus Christ, and it left her. When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities (verse 19). The slave owners anticipated that they would no longer be able to make money in the future using the slave girl to predict the future. 


What is Christian hope? Paul wrote: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13). God is the God of hope. He’s not just the God of the past and the present; he’s also the God of the future. 


It’s God’s nature to anticipate. In the Old Testament we see how God anticipated things from the Israelites; he expected certain things from them. When we interact with God, we are interacting with the God of hope. Romans 15:4 says: For everything that was written in the past [the Old Testament] was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 


The world is hopeless apart from God’s hope. God’s words give us hope. There’s no need to live in despair, anger, or frustration. Hope fills us with joy and peace (see Romans 15:13). In order for us to be joyful, peaceful, full of anticipation, and full of expectation, we need to have hope. Without hope we’ll never be full of joy and peace. People of hope are people of joy and peace. Romans 12:12 says: Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  


The purpose of caring for people is so they can have hope. Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31a). All around us people need care because they have emotional needs, spiritual needs, physical needs, financial needs, family needs. People need hope. They need to anticipate that things will get better than they are now. When we resign ourselves to saying, “Things are not going to get any better,” we have almost signed our death certificate. Without hope, the issues of life will get to us. 


Tomorrow we will continue this recap of Pastor Del’s message with the second half.



Verse Completion: . . . way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left. Isaiah 30:21 (NLT) 


2/1/2022


Good morning. Welcome to February. This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 


Song for the Day: https://youtu.be/4hWs5nDEfEM



Complete the Verse & Name the Book: You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an . . . (completion at the end)



Yesterday we started a recap of Pastor Michael’s sermon titled “The Good, the Bad, and . . . Well, You Know!” based on Judges 10, Judges 11, Judges 12:1-7. He said people have been making deals or bargains with God since the beginning of time. People get themselves in dire situations and want immediate relief. They go to God promising they will change if only he will give them relief now. They will gladly repent of the wrong they have done as long as God gets them out of the pickle they are in. Unfortunately, the repentance is so often a false repentance. 


In Scene One we saw a pattern with Israel: do evil, suffer consequences, cry out to God for relief, receive relief, return to doing evil. In 10:13-14 we see an interruption to the pattern when God said: Yet you have abandoned me and served other gods. So I will not rescue you anymore. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen! Let them rescue you in your hour of distress!”


In Scene Two we saw the elders of Gilead making a bargain with Jephthah to become their leader.


Scene Three starts at 11:12. Jephthah begins to engage the Ammonites. Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of Ammon, asking, “Why have you come out to fight against my land?” What a shift! Jephthah who had been thrown out of Gilead is now claiming Gilead as his own country. Jephthah is acting like he is the king. 


The king of Ammon tells Jephthah that the Israelites stole his land from him. 


Jephthah gives the king of Ammon a history lesson that can be found in verses 15-27. Basically, he said the Israelites are a peaceful people, but when they are attacked, they will defend themselves. He concluded his message with: “Let the LORD, who is judge, decide today which of us is right—Israel or Ammon.”


The king of Ammon ignored Jephthah’s message.


Scene Four starts at verse 29. Since negotiations failed, war was inevitable. The highest point of the whole story is found in the first part of verse 29: At that time the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah. It’s God who is going to give Jephthah the victory. This is good!


One verse later we come to the lowest point of the story: And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD. He said, “If you give me victory over the Ammonites, I will give to the LORD whatever comes out of my house to meet me when I return in triumph. I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.” This is bad! This is ugly! Jephthah is making a deal with God. If God will do what Jephthah wants, Jephthah will do something great for God—give him a sacrifice. 


If Jephthah had a relationship with God, he never would have made a deal with God. Jephthah’s vow was based on pagan rituals. The gods of the pagans often received human sacrifices. The pagans tried to impress the gods with their bargains that included human sacrifice as long as the gods would give them what they wanted. Jephthah knew what would come out of his house to meet him after the battle would be a person. 


God gave Jephthah the military victory. When he returned home, his only child, a daughter, came out of his house dancing with a tambourine to celebrate the victory. Jephthah remembered his vow and was saddened but he put the blame on his daughter for being the first to come out. 


Jephthah was wrong in making the vow he made. It was a foolish vow that God had no part of. God never asked Jephthah for a human sacrifice. Jephthah could have broken that foolish vow, but he is too self-centered. The reason he kept the vow was because he didn’t want to lose face. He didn’t want to be shamed for breaking a vow. He would likely lose his position as “king” if he broke the vow. That is more important to him than his own child. Jephthah follows through with his vow and his daughter is killed. This is ugly!


God never asks for human sacrifices. It’s true that he told Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, but God never wanted Isaac’s life as a sacrifice. God was after Abraham’s sacrifice; he wasn’t after Isaac. God was not requiring the death of a human being. What he was requiring of Abraham was the death of that which he held most dearly in his heart. God was asking Abraham to sacrifice his own heart, not his son. God wasn’t seeking the death of Isaac; he was seeking the death of self in Abraham. It was a test to see if Abraham loved God more than Isaac, and he passed the test. Either way, passing the test or not passing the test, Isaac’s life was not in danger. 


The story of Jephthah goes from good to bad to ugly. Normally, the story would be over at this point, but there’s an epilogue. 


Scene Five begins in 12:1: Then the people of Ephraim mobilized an army and crossed over the Jordan River to Zaphon. They sent this message to Jephthah: “Why didn’t you call for us to help you fight against the Ammonites? We are going to burn down your house with you in it!”


Something similar happened to Gideon with the people of Ephraim: Then the people of Ephraim asked Gideon, “Why have you treated us this way? Why didn’t you send for us when you first went out to fight the Midianites?” And they argued heatedly with Gideon (Judges 8:1).


The Ephraimites are proud people. They want in on the glory. In both cases they are angry because they are going to be overlooked. They won’t be receiving any glory for the military victories because they didn’t participate in any of the battles. 


The people of Ephraim responded, “You men of Gilead are nothing more than fugitives from Ephraim and Manasseh.” So Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and attacked the men of Ephraim and defeated them (12:4). 


In verses 5-6, what’s going on is the Ephraimites had a different accent than the Gileadites. Those from Gilead could say “Shibboleth” but those from Ephraim would say “Sibboleth” with their accent. Jephthah gave the order that anyone crossing the Jordan River at the shallow crossings should be asked to say “Shibboleth.” If they mispronounced the word, it would mean they were from Ephraim and should be killed. In all 42,000 Ephraimites were killed. This was the greatest civil war to take place in Israel up to this point. 


Things are ugly in Israel! They aren’t serving God. They don’t know God. They are making bargains with God, and the bargains are not working out. God is nowhere to be seen in these last two scenes. Life is not about God in Israel; it’s about selfishness, self-centeredness, arrogance, pride, and false spirituality. There’s chaos, confusion, and corruption. There’s some good, a lot of bad, and a lot of ugly. What happens when we bargain with God? We end up with moral chaos, confusion, and corruption. We are worse off than we were before. At each bargain with God, the Israelites end up worse than they were before.


Bargaining with God means we are seeking the relief of something. What God wants is repentance. Throughout Judges we see that the Israelites are not truly repentant. They want to manipulate God. In spite of their sin, God brought relief into the lives of his people so they would recognize their sin and repent. 


God desires a relationship, not a deal. When God gives us relief from something and we don’t repent of our sin, it means we have taken a step away from God. We become self-deceived because we think we must be good because God answered and gave us relief. We become proud that we know how to get God to give us what we want. 


The only reason we get relief in our lives is because of God’s love, grace, and mercy. When we receive that relief, we need to respond in genuine humility and repentance. Our repentance needs to be followed up with a commitment to God and our working to build a close relationship with God.



Verse Completion: . . . idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Ephesians 5:5 (NLT)


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