LifeLink Devotions

Friday, October 20, 2023

Isaiah 54:10  “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.”

In Isaiah 54, God is speaking through the prophet declaring the promise of a restored nation of Israel after their fall into sin and captivity. He illustrates the barrenness and shame of the nation by referring to the life of Sarah, Abraham’s wife, who was without child and shamed by her people. She was desolate, just like the nation of Israel would be. We know this passage speaks of Sarah because of Paul’s words in Galatians 4:26-27, where he quotes Isaiah 54:1 in reference to her and his picture of the New Jerusalem.

Isaiah understands the emotions Sarah must have felt, and he relates them to the emotions the nation of Israel will experiencing in its time of shame. He then declares how the Lord Almighty meets and ministers to us in those times of need. Yesterday we saw how God met the specific needs of Sarah. Today in the remainder of the chapter, Isaiah declares the victory that comes from the Lord for His chosen people.

I was thoroughly blessed by the promises of God for His people as I began to read what He was going to do for them. Remember, these are people who have made Him angry. “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” says the LORD your Redeemer. (Verses 7-8)

Yet these are people on whom He will have compassion. This is the story of salvation – the undeserving receiving grace. Look at what God is going to do for them, and us, as a heritage for the servants of the Lord. Verse 17 says, “This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the LORD. Maybe you should read the whole chapter first to get the big picture, and then read the following list of promises.

• The removal of shame and humiliation – verse 4
• Redemption – verse 5
• Reconciliation to God – verse 6
• Perfect Peace – verse 9 and 13
• Unfailing love – verse 10 – what a fantastic verse for today – go back to the top and read it again.
• The heavenly city built with beauty and strength – verses 11-12 (compare Revelation 21:10-21)
• Perfect Righteousness – verse 14
• No fear – verse 14
• Conquering power over sin – verse 15
• Powerful weapons and armor from the Lord – verses 16-17
• Powerful words from the Sword of the Spirit – verse 17

Such is the heritage of those who serve the Risen King. Such are the promises for the Children of God. Welcome the teaching of the Holy Spirit into your heart and mind to make the personal applications to your life.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Thursday, October 19, 2023

HELP!!! How many times have you shouted that? Maybe you were in serious danger and truly needed assistance. Maybe you were just so emotionally fatigued that you could only cry out for help. Eventually it may become so bad that we finally ask God for help.

I imagine Sarah cried “HELP!” many times as she struggled with her barrenness. Even though she had the promise of God to Abraham that they would have a son, time kept ticking away, and there wasn’t much of it left. But as she cries out, the Lord answers her with these incredible words –

Isaiah 54:5  “For your Maker is your husband—the LORD Almighty is his name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.”

Here’s the PJ paraphrase. “I am your Maker, and I am your husband. I am the Lord Almighty, and I am all you need. I have all things under control, and no matter how lost you feel in the darkness of your despair, I have redeemed you.”

I am overwhelmed with this thought – Whatever my need, God is exactly what I need at that time.

If I am lonely, He is my love.

If I am struggling, He is my strength.

If I am needy, He is my nurturer.

If I am discouraged, He is my deliverer.

If I am poor, He is my provider.

God is exactly what I need at all times.

He made me. He loves me. He has a purpose for me. He provides for me. He never leaves me. He never fails.

Sarah discovered it.

How about you?

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

We all have memories of shameful activity that hold us in bondage and keep us from living successfully in the present. The shame of the past shatters the success of the future. Shame produces the fear of ongoing disgrace and humiliation. Our enemy the Devil seeks to hold us in the bondage of past failures. Past experiences of failure resulting in shame immediately build self-protection defenses in us that we implement every time we are asked to take steps of faith. How many times has God spoken and we resisted because it reminded us of another time and another place where we experienced failure by trying?

Isaiah 54:4  “Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.”

Think back to when God promised Abraham and Sarah a son. Sarah had been humiliated by her peers because of her barrenness. They were disgraced by their attempts to solve the problem according to the flesh. And when God tells them to move forward in faith, He reminds them of their shame and how debilitating it will be if they don’t fully trust His Word. In essence He says to them, “I know how much you are hurting from your past, but do not let that stop you from receiving my future for you. If you will let go of the past, and by faith accept and act upon my promise, you will be set free from the bondage of that shame once and for all.”

Many of you today are living in the bondage of a past failure. You are stuck in the shackles of shame. You are not moving in faith because you are mired in fear. Today, seek the heart of God. Ask Him to reveal His will to you – He wants you to know it. And when you discover it, do it! Everything that caused shame in the past because you did it your way will be erased and replaced with the glory of God.

The shame of the past must not be allowed to shatter the success of the future. When God speaks – MOVE! Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

I am still thinking about the wonder of my justification through Jesus Christ.  I pray that you also understand the magnitude and magnificence of what God accomplished through the sacrifice of Jesus. I pray the Lord is deeply touching your heart with His grace.

Then I read the last verse of Isaiah 53, and in a fresh way an old truth jumped out at me. Jesus was numbered with the transgressors – He became one of us!

Isaiah 53:12  “Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

Jesus, as God, became one of us so He could bear our sins and make intercession for us to the Father.

That got me to thinking about intercession – you know – when we go to God the Father and pray for someone else for their benefit. As I was contemplating that from the perspective of Jesus making intercession for us, the Lord put a clear thought in my mind – True intercession requires total identification.

This was the case with Jesus, who now sits at the right hand of the Father and intercedes with Him on our behalf. Romans 8:34 says, “Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” That is amazing – Jesus constantly talks to the Father on our behalf. In fact, the apostle John says Jesus is our advocate, defending us to the Father even when we sin. “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:1-2)

But we must acknowledge that He is qualified to do that because He first totally identified with us in every way. Take the time to read and absorb these precious truths:

• “For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for  the sins of the people.   Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Hebrews 2:17-18)
• “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens,  Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.   For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.   Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16)

Jesus is able to intercede for us because He identifies with us. He identified with our sin. He identifies with our suffering. He identifies with our needs. He identifies with our circumstances and experiences. Therefore, He can intercede on our behalf to the Father. He does this through His indwelling Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul says, ”In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” (Romans 8:26-27)

Just think, our intercessor not only knows us completely, but also knows the heart and mind of God completely. He identifies with both, which makes Him the perfect intercessor and able to meet our every need. That’s what Romans 8:28 means when Paul says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” 

The truth of Jesus as my intercessor also challenges me when it comes to how I pray for others. Can I really say I am interceding to the Father on behalf of someone if I have not first identified with the person for whom I am praying? Can I truly intercede if I do not fully, as much as is humanly possible, identify with the Father’s heart for that person? How would my prayer life be changed if I really identified with others when I promised to pray for them?

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Monday, October 16, 2023

Isaiah 53:11  “After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.”

On one of my many trips to the Philippines, my dear friend Glenn and I developed a little joke between us. It was actually more than a joke – it was a loving admonition. It involved the use of one word. In our conversations with each other or with other people, when we would hear any form of rationalization or defense of behavior, we would simply look at each other and say, “justification.”

I am amazed at how many times we had to say that to each other. I am embarrassed to admit how many times in any given day I attempt to justify my behavior or my choices. I think you can agree with me that we have become expert justifiers of self.

How much justification of materialism will take place between now and Christmas? How much justification of gluttony will take place at Thanksgiving? How much justification of setting aside our personal quiet time with our Lord because we are so busy is going on right now?

Justification simply means to declare innocence. The foundation for justification is laid out in the Old Testament law, where God declares that He will never punish the innocent or let the guilty off the hook.  God says. “I will not acquit the guilty.” (Exodus 23:7) When King Solomon dedicated the temple he had built for the Lord, he reviewed the laws that would be upheld in the spiritually revived nation. “Judge between your servants, condemning the guilty and bringing down on his own head what he has done.” (1 Kings 8:31-32)

Justification is the declaration of innocence. But notice that in the Old Testament law, only the truly innocent were declared innocent. Justification was simply the acknowledgment of what was already true.

In contrast to that, consider the justification that was provided by Jesus Christ through His death on the cross. He has declared the guilty to be innocent! The Righteous Servant has born the iniquities of the unrighteous sinner. The innocent One has taken the punishment of the guilty.

But the guilty are not justified automatically. It is only by faith. The guilty cannot be declared innocent by earning it through obedience to the law. Read this carefully. “A man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.” (Galatians 2:16) The law cannot declare the guilty to be innocent nor can it declare the innocent to be guilty.

But what the law does do is lead us to faith in Jesus Christ’s work on the cross so that He can declare us to be innocent. “So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.” (Galatians 3:24) It is by faith alone in the finished work of Christ that we are justified. The Apostle Paul specifically states this in Romans 5 where we read, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.”

How marvelous! How magnificent! How incredible! Jesus the Innocent One bore the sins of all the guilty, and those who have faith in Him are eternally declared innocent. Oh the splendor of justification!

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Friday, October 13, 2023

For today, I am conflicted with too many choices. But in seven days my mind will be focused on just one thing – deer hunting with my grandson. I cherish the memories I have of hunting with him. But even more I cherish the time I get to spend with Jesus in the quiet hours of sitting on my tree stand.

One morning I rose from bed at 4:20 A.M. to prepare for a day of deer hunting. I was in the car on the way to my tree stand at 5:00. When I got to within six miles of the hunting land, it started to snow. It snowed hard, and it was wet. I put on all my hunting clothes and started walking the 500 yards through the swamp and forest to my stand. The snow was so heavy that the flashlight did nothing but reflect into my eyes, so I had to go by memory, which isn’t so good. Somewhere in the thicket I took a wrong turn and ended up looking for my stand for over 20 minutes. I didn’t really make any progress until I waited for a little of the natural light to appear. When I got there, I was wet and sweaty; not a good combination when the plan is to spend several hours sitting still in a tree.

As the snow continued to fall everything became white. Deer hunters love the snow, and I’m no different. It makes the deer so much easier to see, and I saw deer. I didn’t shoot any of them, making the decision to let each one grow up a little more, but it was so great to see them and watch their movements as they related to each other during this breeding season. Up until this time I hadn’t seen a deer, but when everything was white, I was able to see what I was pursuing.

As I sat in the tree for those five hours I pondered the truths that had been revealed to me in Isaiah 53:11 which I had read on my phone while waiting for the deer to appear.

Isaiah 53:11  “After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.”

• I thought about how long we wander around in the thickets of our circumstances looking for the tree from which we will have a better vantage point on life and be able to accomplish our goals. We think we know the way, but we constantly make the wrong turns and get lost.
• We get angry that we can’t find our way because the snow keeps blinding us with the reflection of our own light. We know we need the snow, but we are mad at it at the same time because it increases awareness of our lost condition.
• When we return to the place where we made the wrong turn, God is there waiting to reveal His way to us, and when we take it, we cease to be lost. We get to use His light, not ours, and that brings us to life.
• When we let the snow cover everything in us and around us, we finally get to see what we’ve been looking for. The pursuit of our heart becomes obvious.

Simple thoughts, but I trust the Lord will use them to help you understand how great it is to know that our sins are forgiven, and through the blood of Jesus Christ we have been washed from all unrighteousness and are now whiter than snow.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Thursday, October 12, 2023

How could He do that? He was right; they were wrong. It was injustice to the max. He was falsely accused and unjustly abused. He was tortured without truth. Yet not once did He defend Himself, with words or with actions. How could He do that?

Isaiah 53:7-8a  “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away.”     

In my flesh, I can’t do what Jesus did. My first response to criticism is self-protection. My love for self motivates my response to threats against my value and worth. My pride protects what I believe are my rights. My words and my actions are defense mechanisms to justify my behavior. It appears that I would rather see others suffer from the expression of my pride than to experience any personal pain that might be caused by being humble. How foolish I am, for ultimately the pain I am seeking to avoid is magnified many times over by my pride.

In my spirit, under the influence of God’s Spirit, I have discovered how Jesus could do what He did. It is a simple answer, but oh so difficult to put into practice. The answer is found in Hebrews 12:2, which says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Jesus understood and accepted the higher purpose of what was happening. He did not have his heart focused on the immediate, but the eternal. That is how He could endure the opposition of sinful men and scorn the shame of the cross – He saw the joy and glory that was to come, and He chose it as His own.

I know that my fleshly response to criticism and correction is completely driven by my focus on the immediate need for approval and acceptance which I wrongly believe cannot be granted if I am found guilty. I know that my pride pushes me to protect my rights because I have given them far too much value in determining my worth. I know my love for self causes me to do anything I can to avoid pain in the present because my heart is fixed on happiness rather than joy. I know that this is all true of me, and you, and it would destroy us were it not for the grace of God.

But praise God our flesh does not control us. Our eyes are fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who was oppressed and afflicted unjustly, and was led away by oppression and judgment to suffer the shame of the cross. How could He do it? Because He saw us in our sin, and His love for us overcame any obstacle to saving us. He was completely focused on the higher purpose.

Our goal today is to stay focused on God’s higher purpose. No more living for the immediate. No more unbelief in the joy of eternity which is manifested in the avoidance of pain today. No more self-protection by resisting oppression. No more defense mechanisms against injustice. No more exaltation of my rights. There will only be the quiet response of Jesus that shows the world that our eyes are fixed on eternal joy for which we are completely qualified in Christ. And as the world observes a life so lived, may they ask, “How can he do that?”

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Many years ago, after a mission service, the preacher of the evening was hurrying away to catch a late train back to his home. He had just three minutes to get through the station when he heard a man calling out to him as he ran after him.

“Oh, sir,” he said breathlessly as he came up, “can you help me? I am very anxious about my salvation.”

“Well,” replied the preacher, “my train is just here, and it is the last one; but look up Isaiah 53:6. Go in at the first ‘all’ and go out at the last ‘all.’ Good night.”

The man stood staring at him until he had disappeared into the station and then he muttered, “Go in at the first ‘all’ and go out at the last ‘all.’ What does he mean?”

When he arrived home he took down his Bible and turning to Isaiah 53:6 read these words, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

“Go in at the first ‘all,’ ” he repeated. “ ‘All we like sheep have gone astray.’ I am to go in with that ‘all.’ Yes, I see. It means that I am one of those who have gone astray. I am one who has turned to my own way. I am one who is responsible for my own sin. I am one who deserves to be punished for my sin.”

“And go out with the last ‘all.’ ‘The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.’ I see. God has chosen to punish Jesus Christ for my sin. Yes, I am to go out free with those whose iniquity has been laid on Christ.”

At last he realized his individual lost condition and his individual redemption available through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

“O praise the One who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead!”

Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe; sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow!

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

We live in an “I win, you lose” world. Ever since the fall of man into sin in the Garden of Eden human nature has been corrupted with an exaggeration of self, resulting in a minimizing of others. When things go wrong for us, we defend our own positions by blaming others for what went wrong.

Even secular business leaders understand this flaw in human nature. While they may not understand its cause, they know how to define its existence. Luke Iorio is the CEO of the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC). Recently, in a response to a blog about the blame game we play,  he said, “ Individuals caught up in the blame game…tend to put themselves first and give little credit to others…We want to look good, look smart, look competent and that can come at the sacrifice of taking responsibility.”  

Whether we consciously think about it or not, we all have determined our own criteria for measuring our personal value and worth. Some use the standard of financial success. Others choose professional status. Still others claim that job performance determines worth. Far too many choose to accept failure in all the above areas and turn to other self-declared measures of human value, like sex, or they give up completely and get lost in a world of drugs and alcohol to minimize the pain of failure.

One thing is true of all these people – when confronted with any failure, they immediately seek to protect whatever level of value they claim for themselves by transferring blame to someone else. If the project fails, then it was the project’s fault, but not mine. If the relationship fails, it must be something they did. If my position is threatened, it must be the fault of the people in charge for not truly understanding my worth and making a bad decision. How quickly the blame game starts.

 It was no different in Jesus’ day. The religious leaders were threatened by the truth Jesus proclaimed. Their comfort zones became uncomfortable. They had built their reputations using religion as an expression of pride through self-advancement and self-valuation, yet it was all declared unrighteous by the Son of God.

So what did they do? They sought to find fault with Him. They conspired to produce falsified testimony that would have Him declared a heretic and sentenced to death. They shifted the blame to the blameless to justify His death. They even went so far as to say that His punishment was justly imposed by God because of His sin. All this to solidify their own positions and worth. They played the blame game to perfection.

Isaiah 53:4b  “…yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him and afflicted.”

Unfortunately, the result of the blame game is always the same – self-destruction. Because God is righteous and just, the blame always settles on the guilty. Someday, somewhere, somehow, whether in this life or for certain in eternity, the truth will be revealed and the price will be paid.

In this life, people who play the blame game hoping to benefit from it actually suffer from it. Nathanael Fast is an assistant professor of Management and Organization at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business and he states in the Harvard Business Review that “playing the blame game never works. A deep set of research shows that people who blame others for their mistakes lose status, learn less, and perform worse relative to those who own up to their mistakes.”  

But the bigger issue is what will happen before the throne of God when the truth about our lives is declared. It is not for earthly benefits that we serve Jesus. We do so because we love Him and have found our value completely from Him. “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) We are healed from the blame game, because the blame has already been paid for.

So take responsibility for your actions; they do not determine your worth. Your worth and value were bought and paid for on the cross when Jesus died for your sins. Accept His forgiveness and be healed.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions

Monday, October 9, 2023

Isaiah 53:4  “Surely He took our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him and afflicted.”

I want you to share a testimony that was written by a young woman in one of my previous churches. This is why Jesus suffered and died!

“In my past, I viewed God’s salvation much differently than I do now.  Before, I saw this salvation as simply a nice thing to have.  It was like a person who owned a car, the car being their “salvation”.  A car makes a person’s life easier and more comfortable; people can find a taxi or walk or ride their bike to work/school, etc.  A car only makes it all easier.  It’s not vital to the person’s existence, but it makes their life much easier.  This is the way that I viewed salvation.  Growing up, my parents did their best to make sure I went to church and that I had Christian friends so that I would be able to experience God’s love the way that they had.  I lived a nice life growing up under these standards, but I did not think that having God in my life was vital.  This is when I discovered that the world is a fun place to explore, and I indulged myself in fun things of the world.  I saw no harm in any of it, as I was still excelling at school and work. 

“Exactly when I thought I had my whole future under control is when everything seemed to fall apart.  I did not understand at the time that this was because I am not in control of my life; God has a very specific plan for me.  Part of his plan is that I surrender my whole self to Him.  This last year I tried to make God an addition to what I could already do for myself.  I was partaking in worldly pleasures to make myself “happy” and then I would occasionally go to church to “make God happy” as well. 

“It wasn’t until that day in March that I realized God was knocking on the door of my heart asking me “do you want to get well?”  I realized it on this day because this is when I found out that I was pregnant.  When I found out, I didn’t know what I was supposed to do.  I had not factored this into my future that I had such control over before, and certainly this was not a situation I had ever pictured myself in before.  Not only was I shocked, being that I am single I hadn’t felt more alone in my whole life.  And so God knocked on the door of my heart again and asked me “do you want to get well?  If so, I have a gift for you!”

“For the first time in my life, God revealed himself to me in a way he never had before.  He was reaching out to me, a meek sinner who had never given him the time of day before.   He showed me that even though I had sinned against him, He could turn it into something beautiful.  All I had to do was take one step towards him and he came running the rest of the way to me.  God took my sins that I was holding onto and showed me grace.  I realized that having the salvation of Jesus Christ is not a good addition to your life – it is vital to your existence.  My life means nothing without God as the center. 

“Ever since I surrendered my future and my whole being to God, my relationship with Him has grown so much.  Every day I marvel at His grace that he has given to me.  He has never been so evident in my life before and I’m amazed at the blessings he has given to me.  I thank Him every day for this church and the meaningful relationships I am building.  And now, I’m carrying a lifetime reminder of His grace that made me well when everything was falling apart.”

HAS JESUS SAVED YOU?

Pastor John