LifeLink Devotional for Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Almost from the time he could say the word “Mama”, our first grandson was asking questions. His first question was, “Wha dat?” He would ask it about everything he saw, and he fully expected an answer. Soon after the question became “Why?” and he asked it over and over and over again. I love the natural curiosity of children who need to know what things are and how they work. I love being the one who can tell them.

When God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit and as we read His Word, it is not wrong for us to ask questions. We must, however, ask questions from a position of faith and not doubt. Let’s contrast two different people who asked God questions. The first is Mary.

Luke 1:29 – 34  “Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” ^“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

Earlier in Luke chapter 1, Zechariah, the father of John the Baptizer, questioned the angel Gabriel after being told he would have a son. His question asked for proof before he would believe – “How can I be sure of this? – and for that he was disciplined with a speech impairment until the son was born.

But here, in Mary, we have a question of faith. Mary did not doubt the angel’s words by asking how she could be sure of it, but affirmed the angel’s promise by asking, “How is this going to happen?”

We have two options for the kinds of questions we can ask God when He speaks to us – questions that seek faith or questions that affirm faith. We have the same two options when life’s circumstances change. We can ask questions that reflect doubt that God is really in control, or we can ask questions that state our faith in God’s promises. There is a huge difference between asking, “God, how is this ever going to work out?” and “God, how are you going to work this out?”

God hears both questions, but one carries consequences and one carries blessing. Questions of doubt will extend and deepen our suffering, but even that suffering is God’s way of deepening our faith. Questions of faith also deepen our faith because God the Perfect Father loves to answer them and show us the “how” and “why”, so we know Him more deeply and trust Him more fully.

I assume you want to grow by asking the right questions instead of the wrong ones. Ask questions from a foundation of faith, not one of doubt.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional for Friday, December 13, 2024

When God created the heavens and the earth, they existed in their raw form in darkness. God’s first creative act of transformation was to say, “Let there be light.”

After six days of God’s creativity, man lived in a perfect world as a perfect being created in the image of God. He was in constant and intimate fellowship with the Father because he was living in the light.

But one day he chose to believe that the darkness would actually give him more light. The result was not what he had hoped for. He was plunged into darkness and the shadow of death.

As his descendants, we have inherited the same darkness and death. We still often choose to believe the deception that somewhere in the darkness we will find light.

At His chosen time some four thousand years later, God again uttered the creative words “Let there be light.” Jesus stepped out of eternity to bring salvation to the world. The Son of God stepped into the darkness and became the light of the world. In one divine person, God combined His total glory with humanity so that we could see the light of salvation and be set free from the darkness of sin and death.

John 1:9 “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.”
Luke 1:79 “…to give light to those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

Prior to His coming, the world was in darkness. There were moments of light when God revealed Himself to the people, but they were always followed by a return to the darkness. Man was capable, for the short-term, of changing his outward condition, but he could not overcome the darkness of his heart. The war of sin raged on in his soul.

But when Jesus came, the power of sin was broken when He rose from the dead and conquered death once and for all for those who will believe. When the Light of God is turned on in our hearts, there is no returning to the darkness.

Back when electricity was first being introduced in a little Scottish village, almost everybody switched from propane lanterns to electric lights as soon as they could be connected to the power. One old and miserly man lived at the end of the road, and it was quite some time before the power lines reached his house. When the day finally arrived that his power had been connected, his neighbors all came over for the joyous event. The man waited until it was extra dark, and then flipped on the switch. Light filled the room, and everyone cheered. The man went over to the table, picked up the propane lantern, and exclaimed, “This sure makes it easier to light the lamps.” As soon as he had the lantern lit, he turned off the electric switch.

Sometimes we are just like that. We miss the true light because we are hanging on to the dark ways of our past. We are still convinced that somewhere in the darkness of sin we will find enough light to satisfy us. We believe that the light of Jesus Christ is only necessary to light our path back into the darkness of our past.

But the True Light came to destroy the darkness in us and lead us on a new path. Jesus came as the light of the world so that we could live as children of light in the light of God’s glory. Don’t be like the miserly old man who only used the power available to him to make the old ways easier to enjoy. Live every moment of every day in the light of God’s glory. The power has been connected. It is your privilege to turn on the light and let it shine.

You have been delivered from the darkness of sin and death. Live like it.

 Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional for Thursday, December 12, 2024

Titus 2:11 – 14  For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,  who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

At dawn on Sunday, December 7, 1941, naval aviation forces of the Empire of Japan attacked the United States Pacific Fleet center at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack was almost a complete tactical success. This sneak attack against Hawaii brought an immediate reaction of unprecedented unity from the American people. Families from every class sent their sons and daughters to war, women joined the industrial work force, and no one was untouched by the effort to bring all U. S. resources to bear upon the war effort.

Young men and women signed up with the armed forces to protect their country against any further attempt to destroy their liberties. They went anywhere the enemy was entrenched and fought to liberate the people under the enemy’s control. They went because they had given themselves to the fight for freedom. They went because they were committed to a cause. The commanders only directed their actions. They had already given their hearts to obedience and their lives to a purpose.

In the spiritual world, when the enemy of God invaded God’s territory and took God’s people captive, God gave a command to His Son to go and set them free. God knew that His command meant certain death for His Son, but He sacrificed His Son for the cause.

Jesus was not an unwilling order-taker. He was not drafted for His duty, but rather He volunteered because He was committed to the cause. He submitted completely to His Commander, not out of obligation, but rather out of participation. He gave Himself for us. The Apostle Paul says in Galatians 1:3 – 5, “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Jesus gave himself to rescue us.

The war against liberty rages on in many arenas. Young men and women are still volunteering to give themselves for the cause of freedom. They are willing to die for you and me. They have chosen to give the greatest gift – self.

The spiritual war also rages on. Men and women of all ages are volunteering to give themselves for the cause of spiritual freedom in Christ. They are willing to put themselves in harm’s way to liberate people still caught in the bondage of sin and under the control of God’s enemy. They witness to their friends. They live according to God’s holy character and not the world’s social standards. They willingly go to dangerous lands and cultures to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. They put themselves at risk of financial loss, personal pain, and emotional rejection for the cause of Christ. They do not obey their Commander out of obligation, but out of love. They fulfill their commission given in Ephesians 5:1 – 2.

“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children  and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Those who go are the heroes of the faith. Are you one of them?

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional for Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Another gift we receive from God that is essential to our salvation is the gift of faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God, and it is impossible to receive the grace of God. Faith is the gift God gives us that brings light to the darkness of our sinful flesh.  

Helen Keller understood darkness, being blind to all physical light. But her faith gave her all the light she needed. These are her words – “Dark as my path may seem to others, I carry a magic light in my heart. Faith, the spiritual strong searchlight, illumines the way, and although sinister doubts lurk in the shadow, I walk unafraid toward the enchanted wood where the foliage is always green, where joy abides, where nightingales nest and sing, and where life and death are one in the presence of the Lord.”

We all at one time were stranded in the dark wilderness of sin. We were lost and without direction or hope. The vehicle of our life was without fuel and the battery was drained dead. But God reached down and gave us a fully charged portable GPS unit. GPS stands for Grace Providing Salvation. The destination already programmed into the unit is heaven, and the route we are to take has also been pre-programmed.

The first screen that appears instructs us to get out of our vehicle and walk in the direction of the light. We look around from our driver’s seat and don’t see any light. But the unit says to get out and we will see it. We open the door, step out into the darkness, and in faith close the door on our old life.

In that instant a light appears. Not just a light in the distance, but a light that illuminates everything in front of us. We turn to look back at the vehicle we exited, and we cannot see it, for the light does not illuminate behind us, only in front of us. There is no reason to go back. We can now clearly see the direction we should go. We have been saved from the darkness. We are no longer lost.

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Now that we are in the light we look at the GPS unit and engraved into the top of it is the word FAITH. Scrolling across the screen are the words “Saved by faith, walk by faith.”

A map appears, and it gives us directions for today’s leg of the journey. We try to advance the screen to see where tomorrow will take us, but nothing appears except the words “Do not worry about tomorrow. My grace is sufficient for today.”

We set out on the journey towards heaven, with our GPS unit in hand. So long as we follow the directions revealed to us on the screen we walk in the light and the One who gave us the gift of faith is more clearly and intimately revealed to us.  Each day of the journey we discover more of the fullness and abundance of life that we long for, and each day our gift of faith gives us all the direction we need to stay on course.  

What an incredible gift! By God’s grace we are saved through faith, which is the gift of God.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional for Tuesday, December 10, 2024

In 2011, a major renovation took place on the ceiling art in the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo spent four torturous years from 1508 to1512 painting in fresco more than 400 larger-than-life scenes of mankind’s origins and early history from the Bible on the ceiling of the Vatican chapel. Scaffolding was erected, and workers began the tedious and painstaking job of restoring the paintings to their original condition. Part way through the renovation, regular attenders to the chapel looked up and were shocked to see the bright and vivid colors of people’s faces and garments on the areas that had been restored. They were convinced that the workers were desecrating the original masterpiece by adding paint. They were so used to looking at the dingy and grayed colors that they believed that’s how they were originally painted. 

When questioned, the crew chief in charge of the restoration explained what had happened. For years the chapel, prior to the installation of electricity, had been lit by burning torches. Layers of soot and ashes had accumulated on the ceiling, dulling the colors of the painting. A careful removal of the dirt revealed the beauty of the original creation.

This is a perfect picture of God’s work of redemption in our lives. Years of sin have stained us. We have come to believe that this is how we were intended to look. We use the world’s palette of opportunities to attempt to paint new color onto our lives, but every brush stroke makes us wonder what really lies beneath. We have an insatiable desire to see the original version of who we were supposed to be.

That’s what God does when he redeems us. Ephesians 1:7-8  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace  that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

Redemption is the restoration of our lives to their original version. Just as the careful application of soap and water had washed away the years of soot from the ceiling, the gracious application of the blood of Jesus washes away the years of sin from our lives. The beauty of the Creator’s work is revealed. We are holy. We are blameless. We are the sons of God with full rights of inheritance. We are blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing available from heaven. We have been lavished with the riches of God’s grace. We have been truly loved. We have been restored.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for the gift of redemption.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional for Thursday, December 5, 2024

In yesterday’s devotional we learned that giving is about expressing love. “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” God’s gift of Jesus to pay the price for our sin was the full and complete expression of His love for us. In His gift we see the nature of His heart.

Gifts that are given in love benefit the recipient. Jesus spoke of this when he said, “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” Good gifts are those that bring a blessing to people.

There are numerous benefits that God provides to us with the gift of Jesus Christ. I’m not sure which of them can be prioritized as most important or significant over the others, so I won’t try to convince you of my opinion. Over the next few days, let’s enjoy the blessings that will come from looking at some of them. Today I am overjoyed to consider that in Jesus Christ I have eternal life.

Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I have been thinking about eternity a lot lately. Not that I plan to go there any time soon – unless that’s God’s plan for me. One thing I know for sure is that heaven will be the complete and perfect experience of life to the fullest as God intended it to be lived. There will be no confinements of time and space. There will be no experience of sin, sadness, sorrow, or suffering. We will know and understand all things even as God knows us now. We will not be distracted from the glory and fellowship of God by the cares and concerns of the world.

Heaven will never end. We will not know that it had a beginning, and we will not be able to foresee its conclusion. All the perfections of life will become the reality of the present. Every negative experience of this temporal life on earth will be forgotten. Every glorious experience of intimacy with Christ will be perfected into permanence. All that was done for self on earth will be lost and gone forever. All that was done for Christ will be immortalized and treasured for eternity.

What an incredible and indescribable gift! In one act of love all the negatives are abolished and all the positives are established. If only there was a way I could give a gift like that to everyone I love.

But wait…there is a way. I can give them the information they need to choose the gift of God. I can share with them the good news that Jesus forgives sin and abolishes death. I can give them the opportunity to receive eternal life.

And when I do, I have given them the greatest gift of all.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional for Monday, December 9, 2024

Fear.

Just the word itself produces it. Immediately our minds are taken to places we don’t like to go. The top of a tall ladder precariously leans on the peak of your house while you stretch to fasten the Christmas lights. The dark alley in a major city that is the only pathway to the parking ramp where you left your car. The call from the doctor that he needs to see you following your recent tests.

Fear.

Outside influences and events can demolish our sense of security and safety. The world’s answer to fear is to remove ourselves from all such outside influences. Don’t climb the ladder. Don’t go downtown at night. Don’t go to the doctor. We think the answer to fear is to avoid anything that causes fear. We withdraw into the presumed safety and security of self determination.

We also do that in our spiritual lives. How many more missionaries to unreached people groups would we have if those called would conquer their fear of persecution and death? How many more witnesses for Jesus would we have in our communities if we would overcome the fear of rejection? We are living under the bondage of fear, when Jesus promised us the gift of peace.

John 14:27  “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”

Jesus distinguishes His peace from the peace the world offers. The world’s peace is from the outside in. For the person who lives life from the world’s perspective peace depends on what is or is not going on around them. They are only at peace when there is no danger. While the plane flies smoothly they rest. When there is turbulence they worry.

But Jesus offers us peace that starts on the inside and is greater than any danger on the outside. God’s power cannot be overcome by terrorism. God’s sovereignty cannot be overruled by politicians. God’s promises cannot be overturned by evil. God’s love cannot be overwhelmed by hate. Do not be troubled or afraid. The peace of God, which surpasses all our human reason and understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds safe and secure no matter what the external influence. (Philippians 4:7)

Peace is possible because of the abiding presence of Jesus Christ in our lives through the Holy Spirit, and our trust in His power, His sovereignty, His promises, and His love. What do we have to fear when we are living in the will of God, on mission with Jesus Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit? It is only when one or more of those three spiritual realities is missing that peace is threatened and fear is given license to influence us.

When we are walking daily in the will of God, accomplishing the mission of Jesus Christ, and enjoying intimate fellowship with the Holy Spirit, fear is completely overwhelmed by the peace of God. Nothing can separate us from the love of God when we are in Christ Jesus. Listen to the words of Romans 8. “Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death?  No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Peace is the gift of Jesus that overcomes fear.

Pastor John