Ordered Footsteps

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

ORDERED FOOTSTEPS

Matt 2:19-23

19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead."

21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."

NIV

Everything is going exactly according to the will of God, for He is making sure that it does. The truth is that man lives his days each at a time according to his own plans, but God orders his footsteps. At least that is what Solomon, the wisest of all men, wrote in his proverb. He knew that man always wants to man his own plan for life. God also has a plan for our lives, but once again we know from our own experience that God does not force his way upon us even when we are living according to our plan. Joseph and Mary heard the voice of God telling them to get up and escape to Egypt and they did. But now they are living each day like any normal married couple with a child, however in a land where they are foreigners. However, in those days perhaps that was not so uncommon, just as it is today. Many people of many nations live right here in our neighborhood. The point is Joseph and Mary had settled into a daily routine knowing this is where they were supposed to be. However, God was not finished with His plan for them and sent another messenger to appear to Joseph in a dream. We wonder why God sends his messenger to appear in a dream to Joseph. Surely angels have appeared in person before. According to Luke, an angel appeared to Zechariah and to Mary, but for Joseph always in a dream. Isn’t that just like God to do things however he sees fit, rather than allowing man to put Him in some box, saying that God always does this or that? Nevertheless, Joseph responds and packs up the family, and heads back to Israel. However, not back to Judea, their hometown, but because of the instructions of God, Joseph went on to the town of Nazareth, as it was prophesied. Once again, God was ordering his footsteps. We live our lives each day for the most part according to our own plans. It may even be doubtful that we consult God for every choice we face. We might well simply make many of our own choices in life and only include God as for spiritual implications, as making sure we do not go to hell but have a free ride in the air to heaven. Other than that, we live each day according to our plans. We notice how many people brag about their lives, their choices, their plans, what they have done, and are doing, using a multitude of media platforms, and rarely do we see anything that includes the Lord in those comments of life. Man making his own way in life, but as with Joseph and Mary, God ordered their footsteps and if we spend any time listening, we will hear His voice ordering our steps as well. We are right where He wants us and right here, we stay until He orders us elsewhere. We are doing exactly as He has ordered and will continue to do just that until He orders otherwise. He may appear to us in a dream, He may stand before us, he may speak to us in a still small voice, He may speak to us through the Spirit who dwells within, He may use the voice of a person, a prophetic word spoken that pierces our heart. But we can be sure He will speak and He will order our footsteps.

War Against Evil

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

WAR AGAINST EVIL

 

Matt 2:16-18

16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

18 "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."  

NIV

To be outwitted is bad enough, but to be outwitted by three foreigners was enough to make him furious enough to order a mass murdering of baby boys. This is pure evil personified. This does tell us that perhaps by the time the Magi did arrive in Bethlehem that Jesus was no longer an infant wrapped in swaddling cloth and lying in a manger. We learn this because Herod had all boys two years and younger killed, although, we cannot be sure how long it took him to figure out he had been outwitted. Nevertheless, this also fulfilled the words of the prophet, so we must also conclude all this was within the foreknowledge of God. Surely it was not God’s plan for all those boys to be killed, but it was within his foreknowledge, which tells us that man can carry out his free will for evil and is not stopped by God. God knows what man will do, and allows man to carry out his plans, even if it is not within the plan of God. The fact remains each person must come to God willingly and submit himself, offer himself to God forfeiting self-will that is bent on evil. We also know that all of man’s heart is deceitfully wicked always bent toward evil all the time. Herod is proof enough of that. This is a lifelong pursuit to wage that war within between listening to the inner voice bent toward evil and listening to the voice of the Spirit leading us into all truth. If we think we do not have that war, then we must conclude we think more highly of ourselves than we should, in fact, even better than the Apostle Paul, for he confessed that war that waged within him. He said that which he did not want to do, he did, and that which he wanted to do, he did not. He said that he found this law at work, that when he wanted to do good, that evil was right there with him. This is our battle. We cannot think there is no evil at all left within us. Certainly, we would never have all the boys under two killed in a town, but what about not forgiving someone. What about holding onto anger, jealously, or envy. What about slander, which is gossip? How about this feeling hurt, when someone offends or does not do what we think they should? What about this idea of our desires, our wanting what we want when we want it? Is there not a war waging within us between doing good and doing evil? Can we say our heart is absolutely pure all the time, without any impure thoughts at all? Surely we are not as evil as Herod was, but we have to be truthful with ourselves and see there can be evil lurking within and we need to be on guard all the time against it. God knows our hearts better than we do. Just as he knew Herod’s heart before he committed that murderous crime, he knows the choices we will make throughout our lives, whether we listen to the voice within us or the voice of the Spirit. God does not make us do or stop doing anything. He offers the path, the light to see that path, and it is up to us to either stay on the path or wander off from time to time. Let us pray we spend more time on than off that path. Therefore God also offers his armor, so we might take our stand in the war against evil.

Get Up and Go

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

GET UP AND GO

Matt 2:13-15

13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him."

14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."  

NIV

Again, we have two stories here, but they cannot be investigated without each other. First, we have the story of Joseph and the angel, second, we have the story of God and Hosea. It is interesting that now Jesus has been born, that God honors Joseph as the head of the family although Joseph has no biological claim in this family. The angel could have appeared to Mary or both Joseph and Mary, but God honored Joseph and gave him the dream, giving him specific instructions and the reason for them. It is also interesting that the messenger of God told Joseph, “Get up”, or “Wake up and get out of here now”. This is the Greek word that means to arise, wake up from sleep. Dreams can be so real sometimes, and they remain in our dream world, but here it was more than just a dream, it was God intervening and made Joseph wake up, get up and take Mary and Jesus and flee to Egypt in the middle of the night. It is interesting whether Joseph told Mary about his dream, as he woke her up in the middle of the night, telling her to get dressed, get all the presents packed up, get Jesus wrapped up, we are leaving for Egypt right now because Herod is going to search for Jesus to kill him. What was the response of Mary? How did she react to this news in the middle of the night? We know she did everything according to the instructions of Joseph. She has had a messenger of God visit her and she knows when that happens, it means truth, and thus we must believe she was more than ready to get up take Jesus and run far away, right away. It is also interesting that God makes it clear as to where they were to go. This is our story as well. We should not assume that where we go, what we do, is our choice, that “free will” covers the whole of our lives. We certainly have been given the freedom to choose to follow Jesus or to not follow him. Each person must make the choice. But once we have decided to follow Jesus then we must also believe that He leads us, and not just in paths of righteousness, but he gives us instructions and the reason to go to a place, to live in a particular city, or town, even the very neighborhood, and personally speaking, even the very house, and he has done that twice now. It is as he said, “Get up and flee to here”. Joseph did exactly as the Lord told him and left and stayed in Egypt until Herod died. The best guess by our scholars is just a guess. We know that Herod died in the thirty-seventh year of his reign, but no one knows when he began that reign, so the number of years they spent in Egypt is unknown. Nevertheless, it was all in accordance with God's plan as the prophet Hosea was given those words hundreds of years before. Again, we come down to the sovereignty of God. Again, we conclude that we must always be aware of the voice of God giving us instructions and yes, even the reason for them. What we learn here is that God does not expect mindless obedience, but he wants us to know the fullness of his truth, His reasoning, and His divine plan for us so that we can act with complete confidence in accordance with His will. When we hear from God, we get up and go, but not before we hear from Him.

Living for Good not for Evil

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

LIVING FOR GOOD NOT FOR EVIL

Matt 2:7-12

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

NIV

Now it is time to look at the story of Herod. We could spend a great deal of time as to all the Herods that have been king, and how each of them served, whether they were good or evil. This Herod was evil all the way. How deceptive he was, pretending that he would want to worship this king of the Jews when all he wanted was the location so that he could send his army to murder this little child because he would be a threat to his rule over Judea. How wealth and power, which usually go hand in glove, can corrupt a man’s heart. Jesus made it clear the man cannot serve both God and wealth, although the word was money, however, the Greek word is of Aramaic origin and it means confident i.e. wealth personified. That describes the life of Herod to a tee, as he lived as any king would, in the abundance of wealth. Jesus also said that it would be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. When we put our trust in money, we become too close to the culture of the world, storing up wealth for self-gratification. What security should we place our trust in? It would make perfect sense to put all our trust in God, but we also want to make sure we have enough money so that someday, at whatever age we decide, we can stop working and do nothing, but that which pleases our own interests. That really sounds bizarre when we put it in words. Herod had no intentions of giving up his kingdom, his wealth, his power to some upstart kid that was supposed to be the new king of the Jews. He was even plotting evil because his own interests were at stake. We wonder if because of the words of Jesus, which Matthew recorded for us as we will get to in chapter 6, that if we place too much of our trust in money that it is evil because we are being too concerned about our own interests. Even this whole idea of storing up for our retirement is a culture-driven concept, rather than a God-driven one. We merely have to search the words of Jesus to find all the references to the evil of trusting in wealth and storing it up. What are we supposed to do? Is retirement culture or God-based? Did not God tell Adam he had to work by the sweat of his brow all the days of his life? What does that mean? Are we exempt from that because we no longer are a descendent of Adam, but now a descendent of who, Abraham? He had wealth, but he was required to offer his only son to God, and he was going to do it because he trusted God more than all his wealth. It just seems we may have this concept of money all wrong, or maybe it does not matter at all if we are willing to give it all to the Lord, and not keep it selfishly for our own interests. Herod was always looking out for his own interests and that made him evil in the sight of God. Let us look past the cultural influences on our lives and seek first the kingdom of God. That is we need to put the kingdom of God first, above all else in our lives and He will take care of us. Then we will live for good and not for evil.

A Different Route

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

A DIFFERENT ROUTE

Matt 2:7-12

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

NIV

Having looked at the story of the Astera, the star, the rising light, the other interesting point is that this Greek word is the base of our English word Astrology. However, let us move on to the story of these Magi. Although we looked into their living somewhere in the East, and traveled west to Jerusalem, although they saw the rising light in the East, we want to consider the purpose of their journey and the reason they knew this was someone who they needed to bring gifts and worship him. There is thought these Magi were of Jewish heritage and were aware of the coming Messiah. Whatever the situation or whoever the Magi were is not the central point of their story. They knew t was something special and were aware of who this rising light in the sky meant and came to bring him gifts and worship him. It is also interesting that when they did arrive in Bethlehem the rising light was still present leading them directly to the place where Jesus was. There is also thought that when they arrived at the guest room of the home, they saw an illumination coming from the head of Jesus. This was the rising light shining up from him into the sky which they saw from a distance. This is most likely the reason some of the paintings of Jesus having this glory ring above his head. However, this is the story of the Magi, and we find their story in our lives. We traveled from a far place to find Jesus. We came from a dark place and were able to see him because of his light, his shining light into our dark lives. Although we had no gifts to bring him, all he desired was that we bring ourselves and that we worship him. He is the light, just as the Magi found him because of his light, we too have found him because of His light, and he continues to light the way for us. This is the reason we say that we follow Jesus because he is leading the way by his light unto our path. We do not know what happened to the Magi after they left the presence of Jesus in Bethlehem other than they returned home. What we can be sure of is their experience with Jesus changed their lives forever. We know that God intervened in their lives by warning them in a dream not to tell Herod about Jesus but to travel home by a different route. Did God give all three the same dream, or just one and he related his dream to the other two? We just do not know, but what we can see is that once they were with Jesus, they traveled a different route, a different path. Isn’t that our story? Once we meet with Jesus, we had to travel a different path. Although we still came home, so to speak, we now walk a path much different than the one we walked when we met with Jesus and fell down to worship Him and we are still walking that different path to home, except we now have a new home we are headed to.

 

The Rising Light

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

THE RAISING LIGHT

Matt 2:7-12

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

NIV

There are two stories here, one of Herod and one of the three magi. There is one more story here about this star, which the Greek word means a rising light. Whether that was really just a star, which we know today is a sun burning far off in the distant universe, or it was a special rising light in the sky of this earth, made especially for the occasion of the birth of Jesus as a man, the magi followed it. It is also interesting that if they came from the East, then they would have seen this star in the west, as they would have had to travel west to get to Jerusalem. So if they came from the East and followed the star the rose in the East they would have gone to China. No, this light, this was a special rising light, not a celestial sun million of light-years away as we know the stars in the night sky are. Why is this important to us? This is the birth of Jesus, the Savior of the world. This is the moment in time that God came down in the form of man to redeem His creation. This is the one moment in time when everything in the world and in the life of mankind changed forever. Why wouldn’t God create a special rising light to shine, to announce to the world that He has come to save us? This was not any star in the sky, for the Magi knew the exact time the rising light appeared. It was a light raising straight up over Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. This makes everything so special; it was the most extraordinary event on earth, and it had to be celebrated by God with this rising light over Bethlehem. Therefore, we need to see how incredible Jesus is, as he is divine, fully God, and fully man. We cannot take this moment lightly or for granted. Jesus cannot be just a part of our life; he is our life. We are more than a mere Christian. We are born again, spirit-filled, God-fearing children of God. This life of ours is always in the watchful and protective eye of our heavenly Father and Jesus is right there at His right hand forever making intercession for us. How can we do anything but devote ourselves to Him, to live exclusively for Him, to follow that rising light, for He is the Light of the world, in order that we might worship Him, not with material gifts as the magi did, but by giving Him ourselves, a living sacrifice, which is our spiritual act of worship? Let that rising light shine within us.

Disturbed or Overjoyed

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

DISTURBED OR OVERJOYED

Matt 2:3-6

3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: 6 "'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'"

NIV

Why wouldn’t Herod be upset, considering that he was a king and this king of the Jews that was supposed to be born would ruin his reign, by taking over as king? Although this was just a child, an infant and it would take many years for this youngster to be old enough to do anything. Still, because his reign was threatened, he wanted to know where this child was supposed to be born. Once again Bethlehem is the place which the prophets spoke of and that is because God spoke to them about the place and time He had determined to come to earth in the form of His creation. But the story here is not about Jesus, but rather about Herod. Of course, the point of all the gospels is Jesus, but here we need to deal with the fact that Herod was disturbed. This word, disturbed, is the best intention of the Greek, to lose inner calmness, to become agitated inwardly. Herod had taken his throne through violent means, wars, treachery, the shedding of blood, so he was not about to simply hand over his kingdom to some baby. This is the story of mankind in general, and our story prior to accepting Jesus as our King. But even as we did accept Jesus as our king, the question remains if we have given him complete authority over all aspects of our lives. Are there areas in our lives where we are just a bit disturbed, not wanting Jesus to be the king of that area? Do we still want to control certain aspects of our life? Do we still want to make our own choices, decisions about certain things, such as where we live, work, and worship? We have witnessed people leave a church because their feelings were bruised. How is that not refusing the lordship of Jesus, and wanting to oversee self, disturbed, just as Herod was over this king being born? We must make sure that we yield willingly to the Lordship of Jesus over every aspect of our lives, wanting Him to be our King, looking forward to His choices, His commands, His authority for He knows all things, and wants the best for us, far more than we could ever know and do. However, this requires that we quiet the self, the loud voice of self, and listen intently to the voice of our Lord and King. So often we use prayer as a means to satisfy the self-inflicted needs, or wants, instead of time listening for and to the voice of God. Yes, Jesus said we should ask. Yes, God said that before we ask, we will answer. Yes, the Lord wants to heal us, provide for us, give us our daily bread, forgive us as we forgive others, deliver us from the evil one, and all that. But God is not some genie in a lamp, waiting for our three wishes. He is the Lord and Master of the universe, the giver of life, who simply spoke everything into existence, and He created us for himself. Our purpose is not to be a Herod, disturbed because Jesus is here, but to be overjoyed that we have a Savior, who loves us and cares for us and directs us so we will be all that He intends us to be, which is to be transformed into His likeness.

 

 

 

 

Seeing the Light

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

SEEING THE LIGHT

Matt 2:1-2

2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."

NIV

We do not know how long this has been since the time of His birth, but we know that they were still in Bethlehem so not too much time has passed. Since Luke brings into the account of the shepherds and their experience with the host of angels and they're coming into town to find the baby still wrapped and, in the manger, it makes sense the three magi were coming somewhat about the same time. From other sources we are learning this manger may well have not been in a barn as we think of barns or stables. However, for now, let us simply consider the event of these three magi, or as the Greek word means, oriental scientist or by implication, a magician. We always seem to portray them as wise men.  What is interesting is this concept of the star in the east and that it was the reason they came to worship this one they came to understand as the king of the Jews. It is interesting investing all the ideas of the scholars of old in regard to who these magi were and what they saw and why they came to worship Jesus. One of the most interesting thoughts was that these three men were from Ur in the Chaldeans, where Abraham came from. This idea also suggests these men were from one of the scattered tribes of Israel and were learned men of Jewish heritage and thus knew of the prophetic texts concerning the Messiah of Israel. It is also interesting that a star is spoken of in the book of numbers. It is recorded that a star will come out of Jacob, a scepter will rise out of Israel. The point to all this still comes to the fact that men came from a far distance to worship who they came to understand as the king of the Jews. Considering they stopped to ask King Herod where the king of Jews had been born, seems a little strange, but at the same time points us to the truth that there can be no human leader that should be worshipped, but the only the true King of kings, Jesus is worthy of worship and praise. It is also interesting that many of us have come from a far place, a city of darkness and death, and have traveled out of that darkness across the cross, a bridge, into the city of light and life. Our journey was not much different than those magi, in the sense they saw the rising star, the light of Christ, and traveled to worship Him. When we lived in the darkness, we too saw that light of Jesus, somehow, we were made aware of that light and we were drawn to it, to find the King of kings, to kneel before Him and worship. We will see more of this narrative concerning these three and their worship, but for now let us simply be thankful that we saw that star in the east, that light from heaven pointing us straight to Jesus.

Voice of Direction

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

VOICE OF DIRECTION

Matt 1:22-25

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"-which means, "God with us." 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

NIV

This angel that appeared to Joseph in a dream may not have been a dream in the sense of dreams that we have. This was God intervening in the life of Joseph, not just some wild dream in the mind of a man during his rem sleep cycle. Once again, we must know this was happening exactly the time, place, to whom the Lord had determined before the creation of time. Isaiah the prophet said these words to none other than to the house of David and both Joseph and Mary were from the house of David. It is interesting that even before this happened that somehow Mary was betrothed to Joseph. We do not know how that was arranged, and if they even knew each other before the betrothal which was done, most likely, by their parents. It does appear that both Joseph and Mary lived in the town of Nazareth and after their marriage, before Mary was ready to give birth, through the workings of men, this census decreed by Rome, Joseph and Mary needed to make their way to Bethlehem because they were from the house of David and Bethlehem was the city of David. Matthew does not give us the account of the time and place of the birth of Jesus but does tell us it was in Bethlehem as it was determined by God, and we will see this slightly later as Matthew continues with this narrative. But for now, we should see something that is relevant in our lives. Both Joseph and Mary were from the family of David and were in the right place at the right time and traveled to the right place at the right time and were did exactly what the Lord had instructed them to do. Our lives are not by happenstance either. We are in the exact moment in time and in the exact place on this earth that God determined. We did not just happen to be, for we know that we were wonderfully made, knit together in our mother’s womb, our frame was not hidden from Him. It could not be more appropriate that King David wrote those words as he was inspired by God in one of his psalms. There is no doubt that we are exactly where God wanted us to be and during the exact time that He wanted us to be there. On a personal note, I am absolutely confident that God directed us to our first home and to the exact location at the exact time because homes were being built right then at the place. We are also absolutely confident of His moving us from there to where we are right now, in the home we are in at the moment we should be here, for in both cases, we heard the voice of God telling us exactly what and where and when this was to be. We are right where we are supposed to be at this exact moment in time, and we intend to remain until we hear otherwise. We cannot be the masters of our own lives, as Paul said so well, “In Him, we live and move and have our being”, therefore He is the master of our lives. He steers the course of our lives, and directs our path, as He is the light unto our path, shining the way for us to travel. If we think for one moment that we get to decide where we live and move, we are walking in the dark, outside the light of the Lord. This is not about what we want, this is about what God wants for us and in us. As Joseph was obedient to the voice of that angel, let us wait on the Lord for His voice of direction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

His Perfect Will

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

HIS PERFECT WILL

Matt 1:18-21

18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins."

NIV

There is no question that Jesus is the Son of God because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit within a young virgin who had never had any physical relationship with a man. This is impossible on all accounts except as it is recorded as it happened. We know that God has said it is impossible with man, but with God all things are possible. It would make perfect sense for those who reject the virgin birth to also reject the creation events as they are recorded. Man continues to insist the earth is millions of years old and that life began in some premortal slush and at some point, millions of years later crawled its way onto dry land and evolved into hundreds of thousands of different types of species, including us. That is so far-fetched and so unbelievable, yet many would believe that rather than God simply causing a woman to become pregnant without having relations with a man. Of course, in the culture in which this happened it was not as easy to explain as it might be in our culture today, in fact, many women today are having babies without being with a man, although they are using the sperm of men. Nevertheless, in the days of Joseph and Mary, it was not considered a righteous situation. No one would have thought Mary could be with child any other way than having been with a man and therefore no longer a virgin and unacceptable for marriage. However, God made sure that Joseph would do the right thing. He not only intervened in the life of Mary but also in the life of Joseph to ensure that His will would be accomplished. It is interesting that both Mary and Joseph are descendants of King David so that his throne would rule forever, as the prophet Samuel told David. The beauty of all this narrative is the simple fact the Jesus will save his people from their sins. Because we are his people, however, we want to see that, He has saved us from our sin. We are no longer in captivity of our sin and are subject to the penalty God declared for sin, death. Because we are in Christ, we are freed from the penalty, now declared by God to be holy and blameless in His sight and once again, as he intended Adam to be, we will live forever, be eternal beings in the presence of God, in His paradise that Jesus has prepared for us. It is all about Jesus, our lives are all about Jesus and we should be so thankful that Jesus was born as it was prophesied and as it happened when and where it did, according to the perfect will of God.

Son of God

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

SON OF GOD

Matt 1:1-17

1:1 A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4 Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife, 7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, 8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah, 9 Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. 12 After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Eliud, 15 Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. 17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.  

NIV

It has been a while, since we have done a gospel, and Matthew is the only one we have not done twice. Of course, Matthew is very concerned about the genealogy of Jesus as he starts off his account of the life of Jesus with this list. It is interesting that Matthew does not start with Adam, but with Abraham, and also that he says this is the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham. There must be importance in the reference to Jesus being the son of David and the son of Abraham. What is it about David and Abraham that makes them so special to be mentioned first and that Jesus Christ was their son? We know that David was the greatest of all sovereigns, as the king of Israel, as well as a prophet, as so much of his psalms were prophetic pointing to Jesus. Abraham was commended for his faith as it was counted onto him as righteousness. Abraham was the most perfect character in antiquity and was both a priest and prophet. However, all three, king, priest, and prophet have never been in one person until Jesus. So, it is fitting that Matthew starts off with David and Abraham. What is the significance to us? How does this fit into our lives? Because Matthew also makes it a point to show us the exactness of God in bringing about the time of Jesus, with the fourteen generations from Abraham to David and the fourteen generations from David to the exile to Babylon, and the fourteen generations from the exile to Christ, we must conclude that God has always and will forever have everything completely under his authority. Nothing occurred by happenstance and that would have to lead us to consider our lives are not by happenstance either. This does not mean we are robots of God, or that we do not have a will to live in whatever manner we want, just as Adam was giving the freedom to be disobedient, although it cost him dearly, we too have that same freedom and if chose the same course as Adam, we too will see the same result. But we have chosen to accept Jesus, which is the one and only work that God requires, so then in that sense, we have chosen obedience rather than rejecting God’s authority, as Adam did. King David was the only man who God testified was a man after his own heart, and as we already noticed, Abraham appears to be the only man who God counted his believing God as righteousness. However, it is also true that we could be a man after God’s own heart because we accepted His Son Jesus as our Lord and Savior and that also would mean that because we are in Christ, we are seen in the eyes of God as righteous. Therefore, although it might be a little bit of a stretch because we are in Christ, we are also of the lineage of David and Abraham and so we are the son of David, the son of Abraham, the son of Christ, the son of God. We have been told that being a believer in Jesus Christ we have been given the right to be called a child of God, a son of God.

One Mind

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

ONE MIND

2 Cor 13:11-14

11 Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All the saints send their greetings. 14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

NIV

Now we must consider what it means to listen to his appeal about being of one mind and living in peace. These two are somewhat of a hand-in-glove situation. If we are not of one mind it would be very difficult to live in peace with one another. When we think of all the non-peaceful coexistence in this world, we must also think of each side having their own mind regarding every aspect of life. Wars are fought because no one is of one mind. However, Paul is making this appeal to the church, where there should be no wars, but it would seem because of his appeal there were many who were not of the same mind which corrupted the living in peace. Where there might be a problem is trying to figure out as to whose is the one mind we should be of. Even in a marriage, the two should be of one mind and we know that is not always the case, as many marriages are ended over whose mind should be the one mind. Churches have divided over the same dispute as to whose mind is the one. But the fact is that the one mind we should all be of is the mind of Christ. How would Christ handle this? What would Jesus say? How would Jesus think? Of course, He did say that He did not come to bring peace to the world, but division. He said that with five in a family two against three and three against two. But this is all about who accepts Him and who does not. In one family, one member may accept Jesus and the rest are against Jesus, how then can they be of one mind, and live in peace. Even in a family as in a church, when all know Jesus, there can be some discord because of not being completely of the one mind of Christ. It would seem there can be many mini causes of being more than of one mind, but the one which stands out the most is selfishness. We usually want our own way most of the time. We usually think others should do things our way and think about things the same way we do. We take jabs at one another in an effort to get them to do what we think they should do. Preachers can be susceptible to this and that has been one of the warnings Paul gave the Corinthians about, false preachers. Those who manipulate the people for their own benefit. But It happens within marriages and within the church itself. Again, we want it our way or no way at all, and we will not live peacefully with those who disagree with our way. However, the solution is to have the mind of Christ. That is the key to all of it. How would Jesus do it? What would Jesus say? What would Jesus respond? What would Jesus think about this situation? If we are submitted our selves to Him, if we are offering ourselves, which is what our bodies imply, as a living sacrifice, which is our spiritual act of worship, then we would all be of the mind of Christ, and we would live in peace with each other. We know that sounds idea, but that is the truth, and how do we accept living otherwise? That may be the war that wages within, the war of offering ourselves, our mind, soul, spirit, and strength, allowing Jesus to take charge of all we are, all we say, and all we do.

 

Aiming Right

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

AIMING RIGHT

2 Cor 13:11-14

11 Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All the saints send their greetings. 14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

NIV

The farewell of this letter has a few truths we should consider. The first is to aim for perfection. This is a general truth of life in that as you aim high and may miss the mark, at least you are higher than if you have aimed low and missed that mark. Settling for mediocracy never raises the level to anyway near perfection. However, the question remains that are we doing this by living in our normal day-to-day routines, just being mediocre at best. If this is what we are doing, then we are certainly not aiming for perfection. If we get distracted by simply doing good works, thinking that is how we aim high, then we are only deceiving ourselves, and simply living a routine again, just one of doing things. Still, we must find what it means to aim for perfection. That would mean to aim to be like Jesus. This is that transformation into the likeness of Christ, which is an act of God. We cannot transform ourselves; He is the one who does that within us. Yet we are told to aim for perfection, which says that we have a part of reaching for perfection, but at the same time, it does not imply that we reach perfection. Just as an archer aims slightly higher than the center of the bullseye, knowing the arrow is subject to gravity, even so slightly, so as it strikes the mark, we too must aim as high as we can, perfection, so that we might hit the center. Although we are not subject to gravity as an arrow is, we are subject to temptation, as we are in this body, which keeps us from attaining that perfection, but we must aim for it. That would mean we need to listen to the voice of the Spirit within more and more each day. That means we cannot be content with our spiritual condition day in and day out, thinking that we have reached some acceptable level of faith, thus remaining there, as if we had hit the mark and the race is over. Aiming for perfection is constant, unending, always keeping our eye on the target and always wanting improvement. Living routinely is the same as living in a rut, and the only difference between a rut and a grave is the length, therefore we cannot be content with living routinely, but we must keep our aim toward the mark of perfection, always willing for the Spirit to transform us from what we are today, into something more like Jesus tomorrow. In that way, we will at least have the right aim. 

Building Up

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

BUILDING UP

2 Cor 13:5-10

5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you — unless, of course, you fail the test? 6 And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. 7 Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. Not that people will see that we have stood the test but that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. 8 For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is for your perfection. 10 This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority — the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.

NIV

One last thought about these last words of Paul in this letter. He was given the authority by the Lord for the purpose of building them up and not tearing them down. This is the task we have been given as well. The Lord would never give anyone authority to tear people down, to make them feel small and useless or without worth. We are always supposed to build each other up until we all reach unity in the faith. But the other truth which is of utmost importance is that we must have the authority of the Lord. Unless he has given us that authority, we have no business saying anything to anyone about their faith or rather they walk with the Lord. This may be a problem for some immature or false preachers who preach about the problems in the church. All that does is tear down, not build up. Paul says that he cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. That is the point, to tell the truth, nothing but the truth, and to live according to the truth. We can write about the truth and preach about the truth and live about the truth and that is all we can do and in doing that it should build others up. Now if the truth is told, then if someone is living outside that truth and simply hears the truth and the Spirit within nudges them to make some changes then they have been built up, increased in stature with men and with God. The truth is not intended to insight guilt or shame, but to simply illuminate the way of the Lord. Now, looking at this from the other hand, we too much always be open to the truth and do that self-examination thing, to see if we are matching up to the truth. It is possible the truth can be harsh at times, if we are having a little mini-war with God, being rebellious about some area of our lives. But, again, we need to be sensitive to the working of the Spirit within and allow him to continue this transforming of us into the image of Christ. The truth does that, it aids in our being transformed into the image of the Son, which is what is God’s intent, which is building us up. 

The Test

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

THE TEST

2 Cor 13:5-10

5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you — unless, of course, you fail the test? 6 And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. 7 Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. Not that people will see that we have stood the test but that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. 8 For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is for your perfection. 10 This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority — the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.

NIV              

Who likes a test? When we were in school those tests were detestable, pun intended. But here we are told to examine ourselves, to test ourselves, to administer this test to see if we are in the faith. What are the criteria for this test? How can we know if we pass or fail, as Paul suggests that it may seem that he had failed? Although he did not, as he makes it clear that he stood the test, he passed. What it appears is that test is whether we are in Christ Jesus. But we are simply to realize that fact as we test ourselves to see if we are in the faith. Perhaps that is all the test is about whether we are in Christ or not. Maybe this test has nothing to do with anything we do, or our attitude or behaviors, or what number of good deeds we do. This is all about faith in Jesus Christ for our salvation. There is nothing else that matters here, but our belief that the one and the only way to eternal life is through our faith in Jesus Christ. Because of the rest of the letter, we know there were those false apostles spreading some form of the gospel that did not meet the test and that some in the church at Corinth were being deceived and had begun to accept some of this deceptive gospel. If they examined themselves truthfully, they might begin to see they had failed the real test. This is where we also have to make sure we do not fail. We cannot get deceived by some brand of the gospel that adds anything to Jesus. There is no Jesus plus gospel. There might be some Jesus plus doctrines that float around certain denominations. One fellowship, which they insisted was not a denomination, that we attended while on vacation, believed that salvation was dependent on Jesus and baptism. This is so wrong on so many levels, yet they never actually preached that doctrine from the pulpit, it was their belief. We all must administer that test to ourselves. Do we believe Jesus is the one and only way to heaven? Have we added anything to Him? Of course, we should be living in a manner that pleases him, but this does not add to our salvation. How we live could be a result of our salvation, that is out of our love for Him we do some form of service to Him. However, we cannot be tricked, or we should not allow ourselves to get tricked into thinking that our service has anything to do with our salvation, which is solely dependent on faith. This test has no grades, that is we cannot get an A, B, C, D, or F, it is simply a pass or fail. We believe or we don’t. We are either in or out. We are saved or we are not saved, we are either born again or we are not, and it all is about our faith and faith alone in Jesus. We know that someday Jesus will be the judge, but he will judge whether we accepted or rejected His salvation, but for now, we must decide if we have passed the test. 

His Power

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

HIS POWER

2 Cor 13:1-4

13:1 This will be my third visit to you. "Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses."   2 I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent: On my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others, 3 since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. 4 For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God's power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God's power we will live with him to serve you.

NIV

Do we require proof that Christ is speaking through someone? But first, we should deal with this matter that must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. The problem in understanding this correctly is there is no general agreement between the famous scholars of old. We will not regurgitate their opinions as we think because of the vast chasm of differences in their opinions, anything would be conjecture. However, what we do find interesting is how the Greek words are organized: "This third time I am coming to you in mouth of two or three witnesses shall be established every word." This is not the logos word, but every utterance type of word, that is whatever he says to them will be established as true because others will give witness to his words. This view, as we see it, carries the idea that he has warned them once, then twice and that warning must be about those false apostles, and that his words carry the power of God and not that of men. Therefore, we are back to the power of God being manifested in the speaking of men. Fortunately, God has also sent his Spirit whose gifts include that of discernment. Deep within our spirit as we listen to the Spirit, or live under His influence, we know when we hear the truth and when we hear the deception. If we were to see this in this matter, then we would have the witness of two of three concerning every matter. One, we have the logos, the very word of God, two, we have the Spirit dwelling within us, and three, if we could say that was a three, we would have Jesus, who is the word. However, we could also consider that we are the third. We know that all mankind was made in the image of God by God, and hence we have within us the knowledge of Him, whether some acknowledge or suppress that knowledge of Him could mean the difference of the three witnesses. Nevertheless, we still have the witness of the word, the witness of the Spirit, and perhaps the witness of our own inner man to determine that which is true and that which is false. This all comes down to knowing when we hear words that come from the power of God. This also carries the idea that words can be spoken by the intellectual power of man that has sound thought and seems right, but if they are not speaking with the power of God, they speak only as a man. This should also apply to us, in the sense that whenever we speak of the things of God, we need to assure we are not speaking as men, but knowing our weaknesses, and relying on the power of God to speak through us, so that we might encourage, exhort, and build up the community of faith. This is the work of God, the power of God, not of men. 

Live By The Truth

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

LIVE BY THE TRUTH

 

2 Cor 12:19-21

19 Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? We have been speaking in the sight of God as those in Christ; and everything we do, dear friends, is for your strengthening. 20 For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder. 21 I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged.

NIV

And this is a Christian church? How can that be? Surely within the church today there would not be any quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder. Although, maybe we are being overly optimistic, or just cannot believe by now, with all the truth far more available than those in Corinth, that there would be people within the community of faith that would have those kinds of attitudes and behaviors. They only had the oral testimony of men like Paul, telling them truths based on his inspiration by the Spirit. It is doubtful they had any copies of any of the gospels for we cannot be sure exactly of the dates when each was written. Scholars debate these dates depending on their firmness to the authorships being ascribed to the original apostles. Mostly it appears Matthew, Mark, and Luke would have recorded their records of the life of Christ, somewhat between 40 and 60 AD. It is thought Paul wrote these letters about 56AD. Therefore, we are convinced the Corinthian Church only had oral teachings from Paul, and of course his letters, but still they were early in the faith and could not refer to all the scriptures, such as all of what we call the Old Testament as well as all the words of Christ as recorded by the gospel writers. In addition, they had all those false teachers with perverted views of the gospel. So it makes sense they had all that trouble going on in their church. But we have so much available to us now. We have multiple translations, even the Hebrew and Greek texts, and a multitude of resource material to aid us to gain a better understanding of the truth of God. So, these attitudes and behaviors ought to be a thing of the past, never to be experienced in our church today. Unfortunately, we have witnessed some of these attitudes and behaviors within the church today, some of which we may have had difficulty with ourselves at times. But the truth is that we are all human, in the flesh are susceptible to failure of being perfect in all aspects of our lives. However, we need to be working to be more submission to the urging of the Spirit allowing God to finish the work He has started in us. This means that we should continually be in a state of transformation, becoming more and more like the image of Christ. We know these attitudes and behaviors are unacceptable perhaps far better than those Corinthians did. But they are being told, and we have and are always being told about those attitudes and behaviors. Let us continue to grow in Christ, listening to the Spirit within and allowing God to finish His work, as we live by the truth.

 

 

Spending it All

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

SPENDING IT ALL

2 Cor 12:14-18

14 Now I am ready to visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions but you. After all, children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. 15 So I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well. If I love you more, will you love me less? 16 Be that as it may, I have not been a burden to you. Yet, crafty fellow that I am, I caught you by trickery! 17 Did I exploit you through any of the men I sent you? 18 I urged Titus to go to you and I sent our brother with him. Titus did not exploit you, did he? Did we not act in the same spirit and follow the same course?

NIV

Here again, we have some personal notes from Paul specifically to the Corinth church. How do we bring this into our lives? The scripture is clear that all of it is profitable for us, either to teach, correct, rebuke, or train us in righteousness, so then there is something here for us. Of course, we have this phrase that has been used out of context within our culture all too often. This is the part where children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. Our culture has beaten that to death as it relates to parents saving up all their possessions, which include their wealth so to leave it for their children as an inheritance. We are not saying that is a bad thing, and surely many good people, even good Christians may well feel this is the right thing to do. But in the context, Paul is saying that he is willing to spend it all, even to the point of spending himself for the sake of his spiritual children. The context has nothing to do with parents leaving an inheritance or expecting their children to support them in their old age. This has everything to do with spending ourselves for the sake of our spiritual children, who could be either those we have personally brought to Christ or in the broader sense, those who the Lord has given us to encourage and assist in their walk with the Lord, building them up until we all reach the unity in the faith. This is about not exploiting our fellow believers, as Paul says those “Super-apostles” were doing. We see that today with those high profile, silver-tongued purveyors of deception for their own personal edification and abundant lifestyle, rather than spending it all for their spiritual children. They take both advantage and the support of their followers, children, instead of spending themselves. This is our task; this is our calling to spend ourselves. Give all we are to the cause of teaching, through either writing or preaching the truth so to build up the church of Jesus Christ. Sure, we must work and do all those things life demands of us. Yes, we must spend time doing life outside of the community of faith, in some sense. But the point here is that we should not hold back from spending ourselves, giving that gift God has graciously bestowed upon us for the advancement of His kingdom, and so the growth of His church. Yes, the Spirit does all that, and Jesus said that He would build His church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. However, God works through His people, the Spirit manifests His gifts in people, and it is through us, Jesus is building His church and we are His stronghold against the gates of hell. Through the Spirit, we spend ourselves for His church. 

Having Orders

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

HAVING ORDERS

2 Cor 12:11-13

11 I have made a fool of myself, but you drove me to it. I ought to have been commended by you, for I am not in the least inferior to the "super-apostles," even though I am nothing. 12 The things that mark an apostle — signs, wonders and miracles — were done among you with great perseverance. 13 How were you inferior to the other churches, except that I was never a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!

NIV

Is Paul saying that he should have been a burden to the Corinthian church? Is he saying that because they did not support him during his stay with them that it made them inferior to the churches that did support Paul? He is asking them to forgive him for not taking any support from them, that it should have been their pleasure and his duty to allow them to give to his support? It's a Christian pleasure to give to the support of those who guide us in the faith. However, there is another truth that Paul is bringing out here regarding the difference between an apostle and those false apostles that were, in fact, taking money from as many churches as they could, while they spread their brand of discord against the gospel that Paul preached. Here is what marks a true apostle, sign, wonders and miracles. Those three sound all the same so we must check with the Greek to see if there is any difference. The word translated as sign is to indicate, to signify, which would mean that if someone is shown by God to be the one, he sent, it will be indicated, made clear. The Greek word translated as wonders, carries the meaning of potent, or power to perform miracles, while the word used as miracles is better translated as mighty deeds, or great strength, ability, power. What this might say is it may be that only those first apostles were the only apostles, and they are no more. Of course, we can say that many of those who are in ministry, such as pastors, evangelist, missionaries, and the like, if they have been called by God, then they have in that sense been sent, and should have that sign, or it is evident they are sent by Him. It might be possible to try to fake that, which seems to appear some are attempting to do. However, God will reveal the truth about each one he has sent. As far as being potent, or having power to perform miracles, we cannot be certain. However, again that may simply be a matter of faith. Maybe those who are sent by God should have faith or exercise their faith more so as to be performing some type of miracle, or maybe miracles are over, and it is all just the ordinary hum-drum business of preaching. This would also apply to having great strength, ability, and power. Maybe all of us have just accepted that God does not send anyone like he did with the first apostles. Maybe we have all accepted the normal human limitations in our ministry. Maybe we have entered ministry more as a profession, then a call from God, for if He has called us, would he not also empower us with the signs and wonders? Maybe he has and we just are not willing to accept them, and use them, for the word apostle simply means a delegate, messenger sent forth with orders. So, the question remains, have we been sent with orders, or are we just sending ourselves. Do we have orders? 

Grace is Enough

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

GRACE IS ENOUGH

2 Cor 12:7-10

7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

NIV

Let us be clear about one thing. There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever to determine what Paul meant regarding this thorn in his flesh. With all the commentaries that are available and the hoard of scholars, not one has anything to base their opinion on, and in fact, they have such a wide variety of opinions it only proves everything already said about this matter is conjecture. We do not know what this thorn was. We do know that Paul was beaten, flogged more than once, stoned, exposed to death more than once, been in danger more times than can be counted, and yet he continued to preach the good news. Some of the guesses as to this thorn vary from an actual physical deformity or infirmity to the external opposition of the messenger of Satan, who is thought to be this great false teacher, who followed after Paul trying to destroy all his work. Whatever this thorn was is not the important issue here. What truth we can glean is how Paul pleaded with God three times. We do not know if those three times were close all at the same time, or over the course of days, weeks, or months that he prayed and pleaded for God to take it away. From the context of this conversation with God and God’s answer, we do believe Paul’s thorn was of a physical nature, some weakness, ill health, considering all the physical abuse he has gone through over his years of ministry. How could it not take a toll on his body? Yet that did not keep him from moving forward, keep on keeping on. Still, he pleaded with God to heal him, to take away this thorn, which the Greek word means wooden stake, a pointed piece of wood. It is difficult to think of that as a physiological thorn, but more of something physical. Nevertheless, the Lord made it clear that His grace was all that Paul needed, for, in Paul’s weakness, the power of the Lord is made perfect. Two truths come out of that for us. First, if we had perfect abilities, superior knowledge, highly tuned oratory skills, of what glory does the power of the Lord receive? If we are strong then how does God get the glory? No, it is when we have no training, no skills of our own, no formal learned knowledge, or perfect looking, then the influence of God upon our hearts shows his power, his glory through us. This was His answer to Paul. No, stay weak looking, for my divine influence upon your heart is enough and through your weakness, people will see my glory and power. Everything is about the glory of God. What good is being the prefect looking specimen of humankind, with all the formal training possible, if we are the ones people look to and give praise for? What good are we if we do not live in such a manner that brings praise and glory to God? It does not matter how good we look, or how healthy we are, for when we are weak, when we are simply human, with all its limitations, but we submit to the influence of God, then He gets all the glory and honor that He and He alone deserves. God is the one who makes us strong, who gets us through it all. His grace is enough. 

Whether a Vision or Not

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

WHETHER A VISION OR NOT

2 Cor 12:1-6

12:1 I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know — God knows. 3 And I know that this man — whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4 was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell. 5 I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. 6 Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say.

NIV

There is and has been discussion and debate as to what Paul means here when He said that he knew a man who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Some say Paul was speaking of himself in the third person, others say no one can know for certain and it is unwise to conjecture. The most agreed time of Paul writing this letter is 56AD, so then, counting backward fourteen years we would need to know where Paul was in 42AD. This certainly was not the time of his conversion when he had that vision of Jesus. Where he was exactly at the time that he refers to is not known and any guess would be once again conjecture. What we do know is that something extraordinary happened to Paul sometime after his conversion and while he was on one of his missionary journeys. It is interesting that what he saw, he is not permitted to tell. Would that interfere with a person’s ability to believe without seeing? Still, God has performed so many miraculous things in the presence of His people, how could anyone not believe and still the Israelites struggled with being obedient and believing. We have experienced miracles from the hand of God and for that reason, we have absolutely no doubt in our mind whatsoever that God is who he says he is. We have heard the voice of God, whether in our ear, or in our heart, we cannot say, for that would be boasting, but nevertheless, we have heard God on three occasions. It would be wonderful to be caught up to the third heaven and shown what is inexpressible, but that is not our lot in life, at least up to now. We are not saying it would be impossible that God would give us that kind of vision, for nothing is impossible with God. We are only saying we have not had that kind of vision yet. However, that does not, and will not, stop us from our firm belief in God Almighty, the giver of life. We can also boast in our weakness, for we are also sure that in this current form we live in, we are weak, we are susceptible to sin. We also will endure the aches and pains this body will give us, unless, of course, God in his infinite mercy keeps those aches and pains from us. But that is the course of this life, and we should not allow even those things that age brings upon this body to influence our hope, our belief, our faith. That is in the end all we can boast is about Jesus and how he has and is doing and will bring completion the work in us. In the meantime, we will continue to run the race, press toward the mark, whether we have a vision or not. 

Pressure of Concern

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

PRESSURE OF CONCERN

2 Cor 11:21-29

What anyone else dares to boast about — I am speaking as a fool — I also dare to boast about. 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham's descendants? So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.   25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?

NIV

  

When we read this how can we ever imagine having any hard times at all, especially because of our sharing the gospel with someone? Have we ever encountered or experienced a fraction of what Paul has in our efforts to tell someone about Jesus? We live in such comfort, almost in the lap of luxury compared to how Paul lived. Of course, we may not be as driven as he was to share the gospel no matter the cost. Oh, sure we could justify our lackluster efforts by thinking Paul was called by God to do what he did, called to share the gospel, and we are not. Sure, we know we are supposed to witness to people, but not like Paul did. After all, we live in a far more civilized society. People would not flog us or expose us to death. We certainly would not have to worry about being lashed thirty-nine times or beaten with rods. Nor would we have to be concerned about being stoned, or for that matter shipwrecked. It would also be true that we should not have to have any concerns about being in danger from rivers, bandits, or other Americans. It is true some Christians in other parts of the world might be in danger from Muslims, but not us, at least for now. We need not worry about being in danger in the city or the country or on the sea or even from those false teachers on television. It is unlikely we have ever gone hungry or been thirsty because we have gone without food in order to share the Gospel. It is also unlikely we have ever been cold and gone naked because of our desire to share Christ. No, we do in comparison live completely in the lap of luxury. Sure, we might fear losing our job if we spend too much time talking about Jesus. People might think we are a little over the top if we are always talking about Jesus. People might think we are arrogant if we know too much of the word of God and talk about it instead of the weather, or sports, or some other mundane topic, like other people, which is gossip and sin. Some people might think we are foolish for having the faith we do. But we should get real here, and see how easy we have it, and that should spur us on to do more. Even if we have some backlash from our sharing the gospel, then praise God. Maybe we should be more like Paul. In at least one sense we are. We feel weak, and we have that inward desire toward sin, although Paul calls it an inward burn. Still, we think that maybe we should be more like Paul in those other areas and be willing to give up some comfort for the sake of the Gospel and feel that pressure of concern for the church.

 

Discerning

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

DISCERNING

2 Cor 11:16-21

16 I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then receive me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting. 17 In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool. 18 Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast. 19 You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! 20 In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or pushes himself forward or slaps you in the face. 21 To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that!

NIV

What do we do with this? It almost sounds like Paul is being a bit sarcastic and this is supposed to be the inspired word of God. How do we deal with it? How do we find how this might apply to us, or be instructive, corrective, or inspiring us in our walk? There had to be men traveling about that Paul accuses of enslaving, exploiting, or taking advantage of the church at Corinth and that they were so easily enticed by them. Once again we could take our cue from them and see those silver-tongued purveyors of lies that have infiltrated the community of faith today as the same types that infected the Corinthian church. Paul calls those types of men fools because they boast about themselves. Those false preachers were in fact slapping the Corinthians in the face. That is how much of an insult to the truth than were. This must be the same today and yet there are many who look to those high-profile smooth-talking boasters with awe, fooling them, buying all their garbage, making them wealthy and powerful and continually being in awe of them. We have to know they are here among us and watch out that they do not take advantage of not just us, but to help our fellow believers from being deceived by them. Sure, they sound good, but that is because they have learned how to sound good so as to draw people to themselves for their own personal gain. If their motives were purely righteous then they would not live in such abundance, but take all that wealth and use it righteously, instead of on their own abundance lifestyle. We have to see them for who they are, boasters, braggers, and fools. At the same time, we have to make sure we are not like that in any way. We cannot boast about anything for we have nothing to boast about. We are lacking in all the skills and talents of those false teachers. We have so little knowledge, yet we know that God, who started a good work in us is faithful and He will bring His work in us to completion. Still, we have to be wise against the schemes of the devil and that is still a work of God as that Spirit manifests His gift of discernment in us. Thus, we can discern the difference between what is truth and what is not, and we can discern the truth about those who would enslave and exploit the church. With the working of the Spirit within, we can know the truth. 

Who Do We Think We Are

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE

2 Cor 11:7-15

7 Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge? 8 I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you. 9 And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so. 10 As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, nobody in the regions of Achaia will stop this boasting of mine. 11 Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! 12 And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. 13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

NIV

It sure seems as those these false apostles were taking up large offerings for themselves wherever they went. It is not that Paul did not receive support, but he made it clear that he did not expect the Corinthian church to pay him for his services. There were others, who wanted to support his needs and like anyone who works fulltime spreading the gospel, does need to be looked after for the needs of life. Of course, today we some denominations actually hire their pastors, giving them a salary and some even are given expense accounts, with housing included. Other denominations work differently as the pastors are paid by the denomination itself and assign the pastors to their place of service. But the results are all the same, each receives support for their service to the kingdom of God, as it should be. Paul is just saying that he did not want this particular church to pay him while he was there. Again, this speaks to those silver-tongued preachers of today that fleece their followers to live abundantly. Paul did not live abundantly, for his calling was from God. Paul says these false preachers are masquerading, just as Satan does. The point is that it is important to be real, rather than building those facades to look better than we are. Who really knows another person’s, inner man? We know that God looks at the heart of man, rather than his outside, but most of us only see the outside of each other. How can we tell the genuine person? We suppose to a certain extent, we must accept who someone is by their actions, rather than our ability to see into their heart. We can gain some insight into a person through their personality, but that can even be suspect to be a façade. Of course, we cannot go around being judge and jury for every person we come in contact with, that would be both exhausting and sinful. What we can control, and judge is ourselves. We can make sure that we live as real as we can, honest with others as well as with ourselves, not thinking more highly of ourselves than we should, as well as thinking sobering about who we are, taking a close look at who we are, and how we think, for our behavior is a result of our thinking, as the word says that as a man thinks, so is he. So then the question is, who do we think we are.