Author: LizG

1 Thessalonians 4:1-6 NIV  As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.  ² For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.  ³ It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; ⁴ that each of you should learn to control your own bodyin a way that is holy and honorable, ⁵ not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; ⁶ and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.

MSG. “^1-3 One final word, friends. We ask you – urge is more like it—that you keep on doing what we told you to do to please God, not in a dogged religious plod, but in a living, spirited dance.  You know the guidelines we laid out for you from the Master Jesus. God wants you to live a pure life.  Keep yourselves from sexual promiscuity.  ^4-5 Learn to appreciate and give dignity to your body, not abusing it, as is so common among those who know nothing of God.  ⁶Don’t run roughshod over the concerns of your brothers and sisters. Their concerns are God’s concerns, and He will take care of them.”

Observation

Like Ephesis and Corinth, Thessalonika (now known as Saloniki) was an important seaport on a major trade route between Rome and the East. The culture of the city was influenced by its location, its importance, its influence, its cosmopolitan population, its Roman occupiers.  There was a synagogue in the city, but the great majority of the people  would have practiced a pagan religion, such as adopting and worshipping the Roman pantheon of gods.  Christianity was seen as heretical by religious Jews, sometimes seditious by Rome and foolishly priggish by the secular culture.  Many pagan religions either overlooked or condoned promiscuity by actually including sex acts with “Vestal Virgins” in their worship practices. 

Paul is exhorting the new Christians to revolutionize their understanding of how to please God, even in the face of cultural and religious persecution – whether they are converted Jews or pagans, whether they previously worshipped another religion, many gods or secular culture (money, power, accomplishment).  Paul exhorts them to live a pure life in order “to please God, not in a dogged religious plod, but in a living, spirited dance.”  Their faithfulness to a living, spirited dance, in the face of persecution and regardless of appearances or immediate results, planted the seed for worldwide generations of redemptions to follow.

Impact on Me

Paul’s exhortation to the believers in Thessalonika rings as true to me today as it did to the believers in the 1st century. San Diego is also “an important seaport on a major trade route” and home to many nationalities, cultures, and religions, people brought here on military orders, for research or education, as refugees seeking an environment for freedom and an opportunity for success, a warmer climate or ??  The secular culture in which I live worships status, possessions, winning, “Mother Nature” and all forms of created things, physical pleasures, expediency and convenience. How are these challenges (false gods, idols) any different than the ones faced by those early Christians? 

How do I need to revolutionize my thinking regarding the common cultural and religious practices of my own?  Where does my life need to be purified and am I willing to face persecution or disfavor to do so?  The great and glorious news is that the Holy Spirit is not discouraged by my failures or fears regarding opposition or persecution (He has dealt with humans like me then and now), so I can be encouraged and choose in Christ a living spirited dance of following, loving and serving Him, expecting the same results of my brothers and sisters of so long ago.

Devotion

Lord, I submit myself to You. Take me in Your arms and teach me to live 24/7 that spirited dance of joyful worship to You. May my heart and soul hunger to draw others into the same dance, even if they are currently dancing to the Enemy’s tune or they have allowed all music and light to fade away into darkness (hopelessness, anger, bitterness, apostasy, worshipping created things).  When I become distracted or discouraged by the circumstances, my inadequacies, or the immensity of the task, draw my eyes back to You so my hope and faith will rise as I return the accomplishment of the results to You. In Jesus’ name, I pray.

Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24 NLT O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.  ² You know when I sit down or stand up.  You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.  ³ You see me when I travel and when I rest at home.  You know everything I do.  ⁴ You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.  ⁵ You go before me and follow me.  You place Your hand of blessing on my head.  ⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!  ⁷ I can never escape from Your Spirit! I can never get away from Your presence!  ⁸ If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I go down to the grave, You are there.  ⁹ If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, ¹⁰ even there Your hand will guide me, and Your strength will support me.  ¹¹ I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night – ¹² but even in darkness I cannot hide from You.  To You the night shines as bright as day.  Darkness and light are the same to you…²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  ²⁴ Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

John 2:23-25MSG  During the time he was in Jerusalem, those days of the Passover Feast, many people noticed the signs he was displaying and, seeing they pointed straight to God, entrusted their lives to him. But Jesus didn’t entrust his life to them. He knew them inside and out, knew how untrustworthy they were. He didn’t need any help in seeing right through them.

Observation

This is a psalm of David.  He was a man who was entirely human and made many mistakes along the journey of life.  Yet, Paul calls him a man after God’s own heart.  The reason David is called a man after God’s own heart is verses like Psalm 139:23-24.  David learned through many years of struggle and waiting for God’s promise to be fulfilled to be quick to recognize his human failings and outright sin, repent, submit himself to the mercy and grace of God, always trusting God would forgive and stay with him on the journey to bring light in darkness, give direction, fill him with wisdom, and provide protection.

You see, David understood that he was completely transparent in the sight of God, nothing was hidden – no thought, no action, no word, no shame, no guilt, nothing.  God knew when the first thought occurred, and all of the subsequent dwelling on it, and what would come from it.  David knew his bad choices were laid out before God from beginning to end.  There were no internal closets (hiding places) where David could conceal his shame and guilt to keep it out of God’s sight or from God’s knowledge.  So, David became a man who learned the power and restoration of true repentance, that deep and abiding sorrow for offending God.  This is why he was called a man after God’s own heart.

Impact on Me

I think most of us are uncomfortable with the thought of being completely transparent – every thought, word and deed exposed.  What if I could read the minds of others?  Would I be offended or appalled by the raw emotion of the unspoken thoughts unfiltered by cultural mores or social rules?  What if others could read my mind?  The judgmental thought that I don’t express out of politeness or kindness may be unheard by others, but God knows.  David is telling us that God hears, sees and knows every unspoken thought, whispered word and shameful act done when we think no one is watching. 

When I first came to the Lord, I thought all my shame and guilt was locked up in so many closets within me, out of sight and mind, hidden from all.   I thought I held the keys so no one would ever be able to open the doors and see inside.  I found out that the Holy Spirit knew what was behind every door.  He knew me “inside and out” so all my shame was exposed to God.  What a humiliating revelation to me UNTIL I discovered that He was offering me forgiveness, redemption, restoration and joy in trade for the keys to all the doors.  Over the years, He has opened the doors and cleaned out my internal closets.  Now, like David, I pray “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”

Devotion

“O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.  ² You know when I sit down or stand up.  You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.  ³ You see me when I travel and when I rest at home.  You know everything I do.  ⁴ You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.  ⁵ You go before me and follow me.  You place Your hand of blessing on my head.  ⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!  ⁷ I can never escape from Your Spirit! I can never get away from Your presence!  ⁸ If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I go down to the grave, You are there.  ⁹ If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, ¹⁰ even there Your hand will guide me, and Your strength will support me.  ¹¹ I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night – ¹² but even in darkness I cannot hide from You.  To You the night shines as bright as day.  Darkness and light are the same to you.”  Lord, I ask that Your presence be so real, so palpable, that I will always choose to listen and obey You.  May I live in a manner that honors and glorifies You always.  Make it so, in Jesus’ name.

Leviticus 13:45-46 NKJV “Now the leper on whom the sore is, his clothes shall be torn and his head bare; and he shall cover his mustache, and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ ⁴⁶ He shall be unclean. All the days he has the sore he shall be unclean. He is unclean, and he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.

Matthew 8:1-3 Phillips  Large crowds followed him when he came down from the hillside. There was a leper who came and knelt in front of him. “Sir,” he said, “if you want to, you can make me clean.” Jesus stretched out his hand and placed it on the leper saying, “Of course I want to. Be clean!” And at once he was clear of the leprosy. 

Observation

Leviticus is a book about holiness in everyday life.  So, it is not only about a pure and holy relationship with God, but also a relationship that demonstrates love and respect for our fellow humans.  These are two foundational themes in the Bible that we find underlying everything else.  So, holiness is clean and unholiness is unclean.  There are 92 verses in Leviticus that deal with uncleanness – the priestly responsibilities in how it is determined, how it  should be treated, and the sacrifice required to restore one to cleanliness.   A person became unclean by eating or touching an unclean person, animal or thing, such as something or someone dead or diseased.  The physical aspect was an early version of preserving public health, but the deeper, spiritual aspect was about maintaining and deepening these two relationships between God and others.

Before Jesus walked the earth, impurity flowed from the unclean to the clean, defiling them and requiring specific sacrifice to cure the uncleanness.  Many lepers lived their whole lives isolated, despised and feared by others.  However, Jesus reversed the flow, healing the uncleanness by exuding holiness, the power of His pure and holy relationship with God, to drive out and destroy what was unclean and unholy.  This turned the Old Testament rules and religious traditions on their heads, restoring what was turned upside down in the Garden of Eden to right side up in this new covenant with the Messiah.  We begin the process in our own lives by choosing to accept Jesus as Messiah and, then, to live in and for Him.   

Impact on Me

Leviticus is one of those books that many skip over.  I used to myself.  It appeared boring and a downer – exposing my human tendency toward so many of the bad choices, shameful failures and just plain sins common to us.  Remarkably, it also spells out specific sacrifices created to be a pathway to restore one to a state of cleanliness and open relationship with God and others.  One of the reasons I make myself read it is to remind myself that God, Our Father, is merciful, loving and forgiving.  He truly wants connection with us on a personal, daily level.  He spoke the pathway to reconciliation throughout the entire Old Testament Law and Prophets and then even sacrificed Himself for the sake of restoring our relationship with Him. 

Leviticus also relates the many ways that God established to restore a damaged relationships with Him and others.   This book was for a covenant between God and Man, where Man could, and repeatedly did, fail.  In Christ, we have a new covenant between God and a Man Who will never fail.  The miracle of it all is that we are invited to be clothed with, live within, and be represented before God by this new covenant Man – this covenant where purity and holiness overcome all the uncleanness of the world – so that in Him, our Advocate, we have assurance that we can always be restored to relationship with God through repentance, reconciliation and renewal.

So, how does this reversed flow impact me?  Does evil still exist and work its defilement, degradation and death in this world?  Yes.  When I accepted Christ and stepped into this new covenant, did all become rosy and perfect?  No.   When I look for Jesus, do I find Him with me through every moment, every circumstance, every tragedy?  Yes.  When I choose to do it His way, choosing holiness according to His Word and His example, does His healing, comfort and encouragement flow from Him and through me to others?  Yes.  In Romans 12, I am commanded to overcome evil with good.  This is what Jesus did and what He will do in and through me (and you) as I (you) continue in obedience and let Him count the cost. 

Devotion

Lord God, Redeemer, Advocate, Almighty and Everlasting, You are pure holiness, pure mercy, pure love.  I worship You. I am grateful that You redeemed me and enlisted me to be Your instrument in bringing the knowledge of the redemption You offer to others.  I want Your holiness and purity to flow through me and bring healing, salvation and reconciliation to those I meet.  Help me to cultivate that holiness within me by embracing Your Word and Your ways, and living a resurrection lifestyle where people know without my saying a word that I am Yours.  Teach me to be kind, loving, encouraging, hospitable, gracious and forgiving.  I ask it all in the name of Jesus.

Philippians 3:7-9 Phillips Yet every advantage that I had gained I considered lost for Christ’s sake. Yes, and I look upon everything as loss compared with the overwhelming gain of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord. For his sake I did in actual fact suffer the loss of everything, but I considered it useless rubbish compared with being able to win Christ. For now my place is in him, and I am not dependent upon any of the self-achieved righteousness of the Law. God has given me that genuine righteousness which comes from faith in Christ.

ALL I ONCE HELD DEAR (KNOWING YOU)
Graham Kendrick – Copyright © 1993 Make Way Music

All I once held dear, built my life upon
All this world reveres, and wars to own
All I once thought gain I have counted loss
Spent and worthless now, compared to this

Knowing you, Jesus
Knowing you, there is no greater thing
You’re my all, you’re the best
You’re my joy, my righteousness
And I love you, Lord

Now my heart’s desire is to know you more
To be found in you and known as yours
To possess by faith what I could not earn
All-surpassing gift of righteousness

Oh, to know the power of your risen life
And to know You in Your sufferings
To become like you in your death, my Lord
So with you to live and never die

Observation

Paul was a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee.  Pharisees prided themselves on their knowledge of and adherence to the hundreds of laws added to the Law of Moses.  They were highly respected as spiritual authorities by the people.  Paul was born in the Greek town of Tarsus but was sent to Jerusalem at an early age to study under Gamaliel, one of the wisest, revered and respected teachers of that time in Judaism.  Gamaliel was the one who counseled moderation and calmed the anger when he stood up for the Apostles in the Sanhedrin, convincing his fellows to release them rather than execute them (Acts 5:33-39 Phillips).   Paul would have worked long and hard for many years to gain position and influence among the religious leadership.

Truly, Paul gave up all he had worked for from his youth to follow Christ.  He was giving up everything he had gained as a Pharisee.  He probably was also disowned by his Pharisee father.  All of his years of training, all of his influence, power and position, all that he ever strove to attain, he was willing to toss away.  The zeal and diligence with which Paul studied, served in ministry and defended the man-made rituals of the law by persecuting the early church was converted with Paul on the Damascus road to become  “loss compared with the overwhelming gain of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord.”   Paul set aside his performance-based construct of religion for a personal relationship with the God of mercy, grace and love, the long-awaited Messiah.  Paul chose wisely.

Impact on me

“Now my heart’s desire is to know you more, to be found in you and known as yours.  To possess by faith what I could not earn – all-surpassing gift of righteousness,”   I was raised in a church that had a great deal of structure and ritual.  I learned so many good habits there and so much that was true about God.  I did not have any idea that He wanted a personal relationship with me.  The moment I found out that He did, I embraced Him as my Savior and Lord.  I have spent the last 40-plus years leaning into my relationship with Him and learning more about what it is that He expects of me in it.  He does not expect payback nor does He demand performance.  What He wants if for me to love Him and, in my gratitude, be know as His so others may also come to know Him as I do.

So, what am I willing to let go?  What would I consider worth holding on to in place of becoming more deeply what He desires that I become so I can do what He has called me to do?  Giving up what I have worked hard to earn is not easy.  It was not easy for Paul, but he recognized that all he earned was worthless compared to knowing Jesus – “For his sake I did in actual fact suffer the loss of everything, but I considered it useless rubbish compared with being able to win Christ.”  Can I be as wise?

Devotion

Lord God, my Redeemer, my Helper, my Advocate, my Saving Grace, I am so grateful for the privilege of having this choice.  Work wisdom, knowledge and understanding in me so I make the best choices in what has value in eternity to keep, what to pursue, what to treasure, while discarding the rest as temporal rubbish.  May I base my life as Paul – “For now my place is in him, and I am not dependent upon any of the self-achieved righteousness of the Law. God has given me that genuine righteousness which comes from faith in Christ.”  Make it so, Lord, in Jesus’ name.

Isaiah 9:6-7 NIV For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  ⁷ Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.  He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.  The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Luke 2:8-14  PHILLIPS  There were some shepherds living in the same part of the country, keeping guard throughout the night over their flocks in the open fields. Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood by their side, the splendour of the Lord blazed around them, and they were terror-stricken. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! Listen, I bring you glorious news of great joy which is for all the people. This very day, in David’s town, a Saviour has been born for you. He is Christ, the Lord. Let this prove it to you: you will find a baby, wrapped up and lying in a manger.”  ^13-14 And in a flash there appeared with the angel a vast host of the armies of Heaven, praising God, saying, “Glory to God in the highest Heaven! Peace upon earth among men of goodwill!”

Observation

I can understand how prophecies could create expectations about how the Savior was going to bring great changes, such as overthrowing world powers and restoring Israel’s sovereignty.  Over the centuries, Israel had been through so much – war, subjugation, exile, destruction of the Temple, rebuilding and then defilement by foreign rulers.  Under such dire circumstances, they created a picture of a great warrior king who would immediately and spectacularly drive out their enemies and restore justice and righteousness.   I don’t blame them for doing so.

When the Savior did arrive as a baby in a manger, having angels announce His arrival would have done nothing to dim the expectations.  Nothing changed that anyone could see.  Their oppressors, the Romans and Herod, were not going away just yet.  The Savior was coming to redeem us by overthrowing the ultimate enemy of us all, the one who is the driver behind every evil person, government, and work.  However, the battles would be fought on a level above our understanding and perception, above the immediate circumstances.  The initial announcement of Jesus’ birth was to outcasts, those who were given no hope of redemption by spiritual leaders.  This baby was not born in a mansion to wealthy parents who might have social influence or power.  This baby came to change our eternity, not the present circumstances. 

Impact on Me

Were I living then, I don’t know if my expectations would have been any different.  Would I have recognized Jesus as the Savior Isaiah prophesied?  He certainly did not appear to be a great warrior king come to save Israel in mighty battles.  He was a common man from Nazareth (of all places!) who worked with his hands, an itinerant rabbi, a rebellious man who broke the rules and insulted and aggravated the respected spiritual authorities.   Would I have been spiritually grounded, not so religious, and open-minded enough to recognize the power and truth of God working in and through Him?  I don’t know….

I am grateful that I did not have cultural, historical and religious barriers to overcome to recognize Jesus as Savior.  I am not under the same circumstances as they were then.  It does not mean that I don’t have expectations about how He will respond to the troubles and challenges I face.  However, over time I have come to understand that I it is my choice, regardless of my expectations and immediate circumstances, to choose for His government to be over my soul and spirit, regardless of what I may currently I face.  Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection are the beginning of my opportunity to walk in victory no matter the challenges I face.  It is my choice to allow Him to lift me, lead me and use me to live out that victory.

Devotion

Lord God, Redeemer, Provider, Deliverer, My Refuge, My Comfort, My Living Hope, I worship You for Who You are and treasure what You have done in me.  I embrace Your will and purpose for me.  Give me insight into how to respond to the circumstances that come my way so I may be above them in You and not under them.  Help me to be spiritually wise and flexible enough to break the rules that do not honor or please You. May I be so soaked in Your presence that others will experience Your love, comfort and care through me, remembering only You and what You have done after I am gone.  Make it so, in Jesus’ name.