LifeLink Devotional

Monday, July 12, 2021

I now know what writer’s block is.  I have it.  My mind is filled with the truth of Galatians 3:14 where Paul says, “so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.”  But I am unable to produce any creative thoughts to present it. Yet the simple truth is that God made a promise to Abraham that He would bless all the nations of the world through an offspring. That offspring is Jesus Christ, and because He fulfills the promise of God, salvation has come to every nation. Greeks, Germans, Ethiopians, and even Dutch/Norwegians like me can be saved from our sin and be given the life-giving Spirit of God.  Because Jesus is the promise, I now have the promise.  

I am sure this simple truth is sufficient to hold me through my writer’s block.  In fact, I am in no hurry to get past it.

Pastor John

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lifelink-devotions/id1559931973

LifeLink Devotional

Friday, July 9, 2021

On my first trip to the Philippines thirty years ago I joined the work of the Holy Spirit in prayer over a three-year old boy who was sick. I stood with my dear friend Victorino as we laid hands on the boy snuggled into the loving arms of his mother. When we passed by her an hour later the boy was running and jumping. We had heard from the Holy Spirit, and by faith we became the instruments of His grace, and the boy was healed.

Twenty-four years ago I sat in my office with a college student who was questioning the existence of demons. Again, by faith, I joined the work of God in this young man’s life and he was delivered from the demonic spirit that was in him.

Over the years I have seen hundreds if not thousands of miracles. I have stood next to men and women who have been delivered from addictions. I have ministered with a man who was raised from the dead. I have experienced the Lord’s healing from disease and disability in my own family.

But you may have doubts that I have seen thousands of miracles. Let me prove it to you. You are one of the miracles. Every single person I have ever met who has been born again by faith in Jesus Christ is a miracle. The most important miracle Jesus ever does is to invade your life and transform you from a sinner to an eternal child of God.

When we read verses like Galatians 3:5 where Paul says, “Does he who…works miracles among you…” we tend to think only in the context of healings and resurrections. But that is not the context of the verse. God is working miracles daily in our midst as people come to Jesus Christ by faith for the forgiveness of their sins and the transformation of their lives. We focus on the external evidence when the greatest miracle of all happened in their heart.

Maybe you have been wondering why you haven’t seen more miracles. May I suggest that you spend time praising Jesus for the miracle of your salvation. Then praise Him for the miracles of salvation in all the others in your life who have been saved by grace through faith.

You are surrounded by miracles every day.

You are one of them.

Pastor John

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lifelink-devotions/id1559931973

LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, July 8, 2021

My most prominent philosophy of life that contradicts the freedom of grace is this: I tend to live in a work/reward system. For example, if I do nice things for someone they will in turn do something for me. If I please them, then they will do what pleases me. 

We all suffer from this at some level. We are motivated to work by the reward of a paycheck.  We choose to serve others because we want something from them. We act nice and friendly to people who we believe will benefit us and add value to our lives. We even obey the law of God in order to earn His favor.

Earning the work of God in our lives is a contradiction to the nature of His grace.  The Apostle Paul addresses this problem in his letter to the Galatians.

“Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?” Galatians 3:5

We are stuck in the fleshly philosophy that our works and worth are rewarded with the activity of God in our lives. I am bothered by the preachers and teachers in our world who falsely proclaim that the reason you are not receiving the blessings of God in your life is because you are not working hard enough to earn them. They say prayers are not being answered because you haven’t completed your spiritual duties. They teach that God only responds to people who have earned the right to receive a response. 

My friends, don’t be deceived by such false teaching. The activity of God in our lives is not produced by our religious works. We receive the blessing of God’s work in our lives as a product of His grace. Grace can’t be earned or it is a wage and not grace. God works His will and purpose in our lives because He is good, not because we are. God’s Spirit was given to us freely by faith alone, and His work in us continues by faith as well.

You do not have to live any longer in the spiritual bondage of working harder to receive more from God. You are God’s eternal child by faith in Jesus Christ.  You have been given God’s Spirit by faith alone.  You may now continue to live in the abundance of life Jesus promise by faith alone.  Stop trying to earn more than the infinite love of God you already have.

Pastor John

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lifelink-devotions/id1559931973

LifeLink Devotional

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Here’s another question burning in my heart.

Why do I feel the need to try so hard?

I don’t want to be guilty of a generalization, but there are basically three types of employees. One doesn’t care about what kind of work they do. Another works hard but only to achieve a reward. The third, and most valued employee, is the one who works hard out of a grateful heart to be able to work. Unfortunately, there are far too many of the first two types of employees.

It is the second type of employee that concerns me the most. They seek to earn more by performing up to a standard. They seek acceptance, affirmation, and acclaim through achievement. Their validation as a person of worth comes from their ability to accomplish tasks that earn favor from the employer. They are motivated by insecurities rather than loyalty: by greed rather than gratitude.

The reason this type of employee concerns me the most is because they represent many Christians today who do the same thing with God. The Apostle Paul saw it in the people of Galatia when he asked them a few more questions.

 “Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”(Galatians 3:2-3)

In other words, why do we feel the need to try so hard to measure up to a religious standard? Why do we expend so much of our own strength to try to please God? Why do we have a checklist of spiritual duties to perform so that we can keep the favor of God?

Eternal life is entered by faith alone. Eternal life is secured by faith in the power of God to keep us not by our ability to secure ourselves by our accomplishments or performance.  (1 Peter 1:3-5) And living for Jesus today and becoming like Him is not accomplished by our efforts alone, but by intentional cooperation with the Spirit of God in us. As Paul says to the people in Colossae, “Just as you received Christ Jesus the Lord (by faith), so walk in Him.”

No more do I need to try so hard to measure up. No more do I need to validate myself. No more do I need to concern myself with achievement and performance so I can secure my life in Christ. I am motivated to serve Jesus, obey Jesus, and live for Jesus because I am already secure in Jesus through faith and not through my works.

That’s FREEDOM.

Pastor John

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lifelink-devotions/id1559931973

LifeLink Devotional

Tuesday, July 6, 2021

Why are we so easily fooled?

That is the question that was on my mind all day yesterday. Why is it that so many people believe so many things they see on social media? Why do we so quickly posture up in opposing camps and lob grenades at those with differing views? Why are so many people easily swayed to positions with no real validity and with which they have no real experience?

I did some research yesterday to help me answer these questions. I discovered an interesting fact. In many of the research papers I read, one fundamental reason was consistently given for why we are so easily fooled. It’s because we choose to believe things that support our pre-determined biases. We all lean towards bias validation, which refers to the selection of information that tends to support our existing beliefs. We are more likely to fall for fake news if we already agree with what is being said. Many researchers believe that bias validation is an evidence of a lack of critical thinking.

This same bias validation affects the way we interpret the truths of Scripture. It is exactly what happened in the churches of Galatia to whom the Apostle Paul was writing when he asked them this penetrating question.

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?(Galatians 3:1)

A careful study of two words in this questions reveals the reason these believers were persuaded to adopt false teaching as truth.

Foolish is a Greek word used only six times in the New Testament, and refers to a person who is intellectually dull and does not think through things well, but rather he makes choices based on his sensual desires. Paul used the same word when writing to Titus and said, “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures…” (Titus 3:3) The Galatian people were fooled by the fake teachers because they were not grounded in the truth of the Gospel and were subject to their sensual passions.   

The other word is bewitched,  and is a Greek word found only here in the Bible. It refers to being fascinated with false representations because they appeal to the need to fulfill sensual desires. These people were influenced by the fake teachings of immediate gratification.

These two words describe many Christians today as well. Many believers are spiritually dull, not grounded in the truth of the Gospel, and still driven by sensual passions. They are easily bewitched by teachers that offer them the pleasures and prosperity of the world. Just as they allow their political, economic, and lifestyle biases to be influenced by fake news, they also allow their sensual biases to be influenced by false teachers.

My friends, are you being foolish? Are you being bewitched? Are you making your decisions to follow certain spiritual teachers or teachings based on your desire to gratify your sensual desires? I implore you to return to the truth of Scripture, and build your life on the single and solid foundation of Jesus Christ. Do not be bewitched by anyone else. He is the ONLY truth.

Pastor John

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lifelink-devotions/id1559931973

LifeLink Devotional

Friday, July 2, 2021

The summer study called FREEDOM on the book of Galatians has been challenging so far. The belief that spiritual freedom is earned by our own worth and works is refuted by the Apostle Paul, and that upsets the proverbial apple cart of our value system. Today I have one final thought for this week before we meet together on Sunday for worship and the study of Galatians 2:15-21.

Have we truly put to death our own worth and works so that we might live by faith alone in Jesus Christ’s worth and work?

Paul puts a capstone on his teaching about justification by faith and not by works with this statement in Galatians 2:20.

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

As you prepare to hear the word of the Lord on Sunday, think about the question above.

• Have I truly put to death my trust in my own worthiness to earn eternal life?
• Have I truly put to death my ability to do enough righteous works to earn the forgiveness of my sins?
• Is my hope to see Jesus face to face built in any way on the foundation of my personal value and performance so that God is required to grant me access to His presence?  
• Have I crucified my sin with Christ so that the life I now live is actually Christ living His life through me?
• Are the priorities and pursuits of my life determined by my faith in Jesus Christ?

Consider carefully.

Repent immediately.

Celebrate FREEDOM!

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, July 1, 2021

As I pulled onto the interstate yesterday morning, the car in front of me was not accelerating fast enough. I pulled into the left lane and got up to the speed limit. For a moment I was tempted to go faster and set the cruise control about four miles per hour over the limit. But then I noticed two dark vehicles parked in the median facing me. I set my cruise at 70.

The car behind me stayed behind me until we were over the next hill. He then accelerated to about 80 and zoomed past me. In his mind the threat of being caught for breaking the law was gone, so he could do as he pleased. I’m not sure if he ever did get caught, but I wondered what excuse he would use with the officer to justify his actions.

We all seek to justify our actions in one way or another. We are driven by a strong desire to be declared right, even when we know we are wrong. So in order not to be wrong, we change the standard of right by rewriting the law to suit us. We argue with the true law because we believe we deserve a better law, one that better meets our needs and serves our purposes. Somehow we are convinced that our attempts to justify breaking the law will result in being excused from the consequences, and the officer will let us off without even so much as a warning.

Such is the case in our relationship with God. He is the standard of righteousness. When we fall short of God’s perfect righteous standard, and we all do, we seek to justify ourselves with actions and excuses we think will satisfy God and remove the consequences. But think about that for a moment. If we believe we can justify falling short of the perfect standard, then we also have to believe that the perfect standard is negotiable. And if it is negotiable, then we have declared ourselves to be equal with God. Only the Author of the law has the right to declare someone innocent or guilty, and that’s why we seek to write our own laws. It’s the only way for us to justify ourselves.

But Paul declares we are incapable of achieving a right standing with God. He says that the works of the law can never justify anyone. In fact, in one verse he says it three times.

Galatians 2:16 “…yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.”

When I spend time with my grandchildren I get to see a reflection of my own attempts to justify myself. When being corrected, a child will make excuses for their choices and attempt to justify what they did. They so want to be right. So do I. So do you. But we must never rewrite the standards. There is a perfect standard of right made visible and knowable to us in Jesus Christ. We can never measure up to it, but we can possess it.  God made it possible for us to have a righteous standing with Him. “For our sake God made Jesus to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Jesus we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

It’s time to end your efforts to justify yourself. They only lead to death. Accept the righteousness of Christ as your own, and live.

Pastor John

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lifelink-devotions/id1559931973

LifeLink Devotional

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

What would it take for you to renounce your heritage, your upbringing, your value system, and your loyalties? For example, imagine being born into a Wisconsin family that for generations has supported the Packers. What would it take for you to become a Chicago Bears fan?

I hear the shouting already. “I WOULD NEVER! THERE’S NOTHING THAT COULD EVER MAKE ME CHANGE!”

Now you can relate to the Apostle Paul. Yet something motivated him to renounce his national heritage, his values, and his loyalties. That something is actually a someone named Jesus.

Prior to meeting Jesus, Paul was convinced that obedience to and defending the Jewish law and traditions was the way to become right before God. But everything changed when he met Jesus and discovered an Old Testament truth found in Habakkuk 2:4.

“Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.”

When the Apostle Paul met Jesus, his life was transformed by the truth that our religion, our heritage, or our works cannot earn us a right standing with God. Only faith in Jesus can justify us before the Father. Only the standing Jesus has before the Father is valid, so only those who are in Jesus can have the same standing.

This truth was so important the Old Testament passage is quoted in three New Testament books that teach the truth of justification by faith and not by works. Look them up: Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; and Hebrews 10:38.

Here’s how Paul declared the truth to us in Galatians 2:16.

“…yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.”

Look carefully at Paul’s words. “So we also have believed in Christ Jesus.” When Paul was confronted with the truth of being made right by grace and not by works, he immediately renounced his past, switched his loyalty, and became a believer in Jesus.

What would it take for you to renounce your national and religious heritage? What would drive you to abandon your value system? What could possibly make you drop your loyalties to people, politics, possessions, or purpose? There’s only one answer – JESUS. He is the truth and the only truth, and when we believe Him, everything changes.

Pastor John

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lifelink-devotions/id1559931973

LifeLink Devotional

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

I was an outsider. Yet despite the incredible grace shown to me to accept me as one of their own, I messed it up. My insecurities led me to believe that I could not be accepted for who I was. Unfortunately, the façade I wore put my acceptance in real danger. In fact, for many years, I believed the appearance of acceptance was their façade. 

My wife and I just returned from a trip to North Dakota.  We were there for three reasons. First, to see Denise’s ninety year old mother. She’s doing great. Second, to celebrate the 125^th plus 1 anniversary of the only remaining city band in the entire state of North Dakota.  They are phenomenal.  The concerts they held were amazing. The whole town of 300 probably doubled in size as we celebrated. I even got to see my High School band director.  Third, I was there for my 50^th High School class reunion.  After the initial shock of my age wore off, we had a fabulous time reminiscing.

As we sat around in a circle after the banquet, we read our senior class wills and prophecies.  We wondered who wrote them. When I saw mine, I was embarrassed. I decided before I read it out loud, as everyone else was doing, I would address the gathering.  I told them I had waited fifty years to share this with all of them. I expressed how much I appreciated the grace they had extended to me when they accepted me as a friend when I moved to their town in October of my senior year. Most of them had been classmates since Kindergarten. I was the outsider, but they gave me a chance to be one of them.

Then I apologized for not accepting their grace. I explained how my insecurities had created a façade based on my perceptions of what it would take to earn their acceptance. I didn’t believe I could ever fit in if I didn’t earn my way in, and all the things I did misrepresented who I really was. I confessed to them how wrong I had been.  

Whether it meant anything to them or not after all these years, it was liberating for me. I was finally able to express what I had learned about grace and acceptance from Jesus Christ.  He does not require anything from us, but freely grants acceptance based on our faith in who He is.  My insecurities were actually a distrust in the character of my classmates in the same way that our belief that we must earn our acceptance by Jesus is a distrust of His grace. I was so very glad I could tell my classmates the truth that I have died to that belief, and the life I now live I live for Christ who gave His life for me.

That’s what the Apostle Paul told the Galatian believers “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.”  Galatians 2:20-21 

We are accepted by Christ because of who He is and what He did, not because of who we try to be and what we are able to do to earn acceptance. I was an outsider to Jesus too, but by grace He has accepted me.

If only I had known that in October of 1971.

But I know it now. I hope all my classmates do to.

Pastor John

In six days I will be joining my high school classmates to celebrate our 50th anniversary of graduating. OH MY!

I’m taking a break from writing to enjoy the trip and recover from the shock of reality that has set in.

LifeLink Devotionals will return Tuesday, June 29.

Pastor John