LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, January 3, 2019

Philippians 3:7 -9  ⁷But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  ⁸What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ  ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 

Yesterday I had to stop at the gas station and fill my car’s tank. If I had not done that I would have run out of gas. I wanted to avoid that scenario because it could lead to a period of insecurity and depression.

Here’s how: I would have had to call someone on the phone and ask for help, which puts me at risk of appearing like a fool for not planning better. This inconvenience would cause stress to me and to the person asked to help me, and could possibly stress our relationship. Valuable time would be spent correcting an avoidable situation and there is the possibility that I will have to listen to a speech by someone about how to manage my life better. That would make me feel inadequate and devalued as a person. My insecurities will grow and cause me to feel depressed about who I am. I may even question the true value of my life. That could cause me to go to my self-validating defense mechanism, and head to a sporting goods store and look for something to purchase. If I am capable of buying a new item to enhance my life then I must be ok as a person. To avoid all of that, I filled my car’s gas tank.

Every one of us has an emotional filling station we use to make us feel good about who we are and to avoid the devaluation of our lives. When our emotional gas tanks start to get empty we head for the activity that has always brought us comfort in the past, so we can feel good about ourselves again. One of mine is shopping. When I get down on myself I buy things.

What do you use as a filling station for your self-worth? It could be that you escape into books or movies. Maybe it’s drugs or alcohol. It might be sex. Maybe it’s a hobby you use to feel better about yourself. It could be gossip or criticism to build yourself up at the expense of others.  Maybe you dive deeper into work to try to accomplish more to prove your worth. Whatever it is, it needs to be addressed.

It is immature to use the world and its values as a basis for determining our own value. It is childish to put all our energy into the immediate rather than to press on toward the eternal.

In Paul’s past he took pride in all the things he accomplished as a Pharisee because it earned him a place in society and a sense of security and worth. When he got down on himself he just obeyed a few more laws or persecuted a few more Christians. He filled his emotional tank with activities that earned him acceptance with his peers.

But when he met Jesus, he sacrificed all of that immediate gratification for the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ. Whatever profited his pride he now considered garbage so that he could find his true worth and value in Jesus Christ. He wanted nothing to do with a self-imposed or socially acceptable value system, but rather he wanted only the righteousness of God through an intimate relationship with Jesus. He gave up visiting the world’s filling stations and replaced them all with the filling station of God’s grace. The prize he pursued in life was no longer one of immediate gratification, but one of eternal fulfillment.

Isn’t it time for us to put all of the world’s pursuits on the Wonderful Counselor’s couch and let Him evaluate the real reason why we focus on those activities? And isn’t it time for us to honestly admit that many, if not all of them, are done for personal gain and emotional gratification? If that is true, then this is the start of maturity for us, because we will, like Paul, consider those things to be rubbish compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus Christ intimately and having Him fill our tanks with His grace.

The next time you see me shopping, ask me why I’m there. I hope I never have to answer that it’s because I need to replenish my worth.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

1 John 5:19-20 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

It is the traditional time of resolutions designed to improve the quality of one’s life. This year, I choose to resolve one thing that will bring the quality of life to its fulfillment – to know Jesus. I don’t mean know Him in the secular sense of a simple knowledge about Him, but in the spiritual sense of knowing Him intimately, deeply, and completely. I want far more than just knowing what Jesus would do so that I can act appropriately; I want to know the wonder of Him living His life in me.

To illustrate the difference, look closely at today’s passage of Scripture from First John.

The word “know” is used three times. The first two times John uses the Greek word eido, which is translated as “to see, to perceive, to know the facts of something.” But when John speaks the third time of knowing Him who is True he uses the word ginosko, which means “to come to know intimately with feeling and understanding.”

I came to understand the difference in these two concepts in my early adult years when I was in business. When I was hired as an assistant manager at a retail clothing store, my goal was to become a manager. I quickly learned to imitate the manager of the store. I knew that my best chance for advancement was to learn the policies of the company and to apply those policies in a way that was obviously working for someone else.

It worked. Within 6 months I was promoted to manager of my own store. But I was not very successful at first, because I was trying to manage simply by applying what I knew about policies and procedures. I had lots of knowledge, but I had not yet gotten intimate with the company so that I could act out of love and respect. When I became more familiar with the philosophies and principles of the company, the policies and procedures ceased to be my motivation. I began to be successful because I was living out those same principles from my heart.

To some degree that is what we all want in our relationships with Jesus. Many people have simply tried to learn the policies and procedures of Christianity and then work out their salvation based on that knowledge.

Jesus has offered us an incomparable intimacy that motivates action based on attachment not attainment.

It makes all the difference in eternity. We can either know the rules or we can know the Ruler. We can be motivated to obedience by intimidation or by intimacy. The choice is totally ours.

As for me, I choose to move far beyond knowing about Jesus to knowing Jesus intimately, with feeling and understanding. I want to experience the fullness of union with Him and know the power of His resurrection life in me.

What will be your choice?

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

Luke 2:16 – 18  So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Here’s a short story to help you focus your life on what’s really important as you start this new year.

At the age of five, a certain young boy named John had committed a terrible offense against his brother. The shame he felt for what he had done weighed heavily on his heart. He had to talk to someone. His mother told him the story of Jesus and forgiveness. The boy repented of his sin and accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior.

The next spring the family moved into a new house across town. John was sitting on the back steps of the house with a coloring book and crayons when the boy who lived across the alley came wandering into the yard. His name was Dennis. He was invited to sit down and color, and a friendship began. A few days passed, and John was burdened for his new friend. He had heard him use some bad words while they were playing together, and he wondered if Dennis had ever heard about Jesus. He determined to tell him the next time they were together.

The time came the next day when Dennis came over to color again. John asked Dennis if he knew what sin was, and proceeded to tell him how Jesus had come to the earth to die for our sins so that we could be forgiven. Dennis admitted he was a sinner and was worried about it, so John prayed with him to ask Jesus for forgiveness and Dennis received Jesus as his Savior.

Dennis moved away a few years later, and John has never heard from him again. Not many eight-year old boys stay in touch after moving away. But John prays for Dennis to this day and hopes that he is still thrilled with the forgiveness God provided through His Son Jesus.

That was over 59 years ago, and it was my first time ever witnessing to anyone else about Jesus. I was so thrilled that God would send Jesus to bring me forgiveness that I had to tell someone – especially someone I liked.

The shepherds were thrilled with what they had been told about Jesus. Immediately after meeting Him they went and told everyone they could the good news, and the people who heard their story were amazed. I want you to think about three things:

1. Are you still thrilled with the forgiveness of your sins?
2. Are you so thrilled that you must tell others who haven’t heard about it yet, especially those you like? Have you thought about their suffering in sin and how they can be forgiven if only they knew the story?
3. Do you understand that they will be amazed at the story when they hear it?

What are you waiting for? What are you afraid of? Start telling the story! This is someone’s year of salvation.

Pastor John