LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, January10, 2019

1 Peter 1:5-7 …through faith [we] are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.  ⁶In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  ⁷These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Through my study the armor of God in Ephesians 6 I have discovered three distinct ways in which the armor accomplishes God’s purpose to make us strong.

• It helps us survive trials;
• It helps us overcome obstacles;
• It nurtures Godliness

For the next three days let’s look at each one through the lens of other Scripture passages. 

There are three pieces of armor that specifically protect us from the attack of Satan – the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and the shield of faith.

• Truth is the foundation of all our beliefs;
• The righteousness of Christ protects our hearts so that the life-giving blood of Jesus can flow continuously through our whole body;
• Our faith in the presence, power, and promises of God protects us from the attacks of Satan against our personal worth and purpose.

With these three pieces of armor in place we are able to survive anything this sinful world throws at us and rejoice in Christ while doing it.

Here’s an analogy that has deep meaning:

Look at that vessel in the midst of the storm; see how the wild waves show their white teeth as if laughing at all the efforts of the sailors to keep it from sinking. It will weather the storm, say the sailors, if the mast will only hold out. Why should they have such confidence in the mast? Where did it grow? On the very heights of the stormy hills. That mast will weather the storm, for it is itself the child of storms.

That’s how God prepares His heroes on the heights, among storms and winter, and in much suffering. But they have grown strong and resistant as the result of it, and they will never fail, however fierce the fight. They have endured hardness in the beginning and shall now prove they are “strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.

Today’s Scripture passage from First Peter is one of my favorites because of the hope and joy that it gives. The hope is found in the statement that the trials will most assuredly prove the genuineness of our faith which will result in praise, honor, and glory to Jesus. The joy is experienced even during the trials because we are assured of the outcome. Every trial and test makes us stronger to stand against the storms yet to come.

Li Cha Mi, a Chinese preacher, was nearly killed in 1872 by robbers during the violence against foreigners. At a subsequent conference, he said: “You have all heard of my sufferings during the past few months. I wish to say that these sufferings were very slight. It was easy to endure pain when I could feel that I bore it for Christ. It is wonderful—I cannot explain it. When attacked by the robbers and beaten almost to death, I felt no pain. Their blows did not seem to hurt me at all. Everything was bright and glorious. Heaven seemed to open, and I thought I saw Jesus waiting to receive me. It was beautiful. I have no words to describe it. Since that time I seem to be a new man. I now know what it is to ‘love not the world.’ My affections are set on things above. Persecutions trouble me not. I forget all my sorrows when I think of Jesus. I call nothing on earth my own. I find that times of trial are best for me. When all is quiet and prosperous, I grow careless and yield to temptation, but when persecutions come, then I fly to Christ. The fiercer the trial, the better it is for my soul.”

When our perspective is correctly focused on the hope of glory, the joy of the Lord is our strength and we will not only survive trials, but they will make us stronger. Rejoice in the Lord – you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Ephesians 6:11 ¹¹Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 

I apologize to all of you who are not football fans, but the football analogy will be used again today. Yesterday we discovered that it is foolish to think that the equipment makes the man. It is equally foolish to believe that the man doesn’t need the equipment.

Imagine this scenario – two teams take to the field for the opening kick-off. In a prideful attempt to prove their strength and skill, the team set to receive the kick-off is wearing no football equipment. Instead, to show off their muscles they are wearing spandex shorts, no shirts, and no helmets. They take their positions, all the while pumping up their chests and flexing their biceps.

The opposing team is not impressed, and when the kicker boots the ball to the goal line they rush to engage their foolish opponents. Helmets and shoulder pads smash into unprotected muscle and bodies are strewn across the field. Some of the players get up and prepare for the first offensive play, but they are already in pain. By the time a few more plays have been run, it is obvious that this is going to be a massacre that will probably end in forfeit, as the unprotected players will not be able to continue.

That is exactly the spiritual scenario when we do not put on the full armor of God. We are completely unprepared to take any kind of a stand against the forces of evil if we do not wear our spiritual pads and helmet. The enemy is not willing to weaken himself simply because we are weak. The opponent does not call time out to give us time to go back to the locker room and get prepared. The war is on, and the opening kick-off has already taken place. Put on your armor.

Notice three important truths from verse 11 in today’s Scripture reading:

1. It is our responsibility to put on the armor. In His grace God has given us the equipment, but we must choose to wear it. Everything we need to be protected in the war is in our locker, but we must dress ourselves.
2. The equipment is provided to make us able to stand. When we are wearing the armor we CAN. Don’t go into the war with doubt. We do not need to learn to stand, nor are we just trying to stand stronger; we CAN stand.
3. The stand we take is a personal stand – so that you can take your stand. God has called us and equipped us to be warriors in a war that is already won, but we must be committed to the battle.  When we truly believe in the King we will adopt His goals as our own and we will accept our privilege of taking our stand.

One more thing from verse 13 – Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Notice the guaranteed outcome. After we have taken our stand, and done everything God has asked us to do, we will still be standing!

What a great team we are on. We win and everyone on the team is still standing – if they wore their armor. Is yours on right now?

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Ephesians 6:10 ¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

This is one of my favorite times of the year when it comes to watching sports on television. The college football bowl games were so much fun. NFL playoff games now capture my attention. Teams have prepared all year for these games, ready to put on all their equipment and take a stand against an opponent that is seeking to knock them down and run over them.

There’s something interesting I’ve noticed about all of the protective equipment that they wear: with the exception of some specialized pads to protect specific injuries, they all wear the same things – helmets, shoulder pads, hip pads, and thigh pads. Yet in any given game, with all the same equipment, one team beats the other. It must not be the equipment that wins games.

Inside all that equipment is a person, and it is the strength, skill and preparation of the player that makes the difference in the game. The equipment is to protect him, not equip him. Having the equipment on makes the player less vulnerable to injury, so the fear factor is diminished, giving the player the opportunity to push himself to his physical limits. But all the energy and execution are the responsibility of the player and not the equipment.

As Christians we are also in a battle against an opponent, but this is no game. It is a war. The opposition will not extend a hand and help us up after they have knocked us down. They are coached to maim and destroy. They will not meet us at the 50-yard line to shake hands and kneel in prayer when it is over. They are an intimidating team. But before we run and hide and forfeit the “game” out of fear, let’s hear a motivational speech from our Coach.

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. You are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one. I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. (From 1 John, John’s Gospel, and Luke)

We have two huge advantages over the opponent: Our Coach has already beaten their coach, and our Coach actually lives inside us. When the opponent puts on their equipment they simply take orders from their coach. But when we put on God’s armor, the Holy Spirit is in it with us, and since he has already beaten the enemy once and for all, we are guaranteed of victory.

The point of all of this is to get our focus on the right thing – our strength is not in the armor, but in the power of God abiding in us.

Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 

The armor protects us from injury, but it is Jesus Christ who equips us from within to push ourselves to our physical and spiritual limits. It is His power in us that wins the war. Our preparation for battle starts before we put any armor on – it starts in our hearts where Jesus Christ the Coach comes to live and reign. Once we are strong in Him, then we can put on the armor and fight the war.

More on the armor tomorrow. Be Strong!

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Monday, January 7, 2019

James 1:2-4 ²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  ⁴Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

In the classic 1980 golf movie Caddyshack, one of the characters is a Bishop who is really not very good at the game. But on one particular day he has the game of his life. It is raining as he starts, and every shot he hits is the best shot of his life. The storm gets worse as he continues to make shot after shot. Soon the rain is falling in torrents, the wind is blowing in gales, and the lightning is striking all around him, but he keeps playing, seemingly oblivious to the danger and discomfort of the weather. Finally, on the last hole, with water standing an inch deep on the putting green, he sinks a putt for a new course record. Raising his arms in triumph with his putter still in his hand, he is struck by a bolt of lightning and killed.

Apart from the stupidity of his choice to keep playing in such a storm, this scene depicts perseverance. No matter what the external obstacle, this golfer was focused on completing his purpose – to have the greatest round of golf in his soon to be over life. The joy he was experiencing from accomplishing his purpose overcame any obstacle or suffering.

In Thayer’s Greek Dictionary, perseverance is defined as the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings.

Perseverance has several synonyms use in the Bible – patience, steadfastness, and endurance are the three main ones. They all express the same truth – stick with it until it’s done.

Notice from the definition of perseverance the following key points:

1. We have a deliberate purpose. God has prepared for us a divine purpose, and we are privileged to choose to accept it and deliberately obey it.
2. Once we have made the commitment to fulfill our purpose, we are to be loyal to everything that makes the accomplishment of the purpose possible – specifically faith and piety: faith being what we believe and piety being how we live what we believe.
3. Following our deliberate choice to accomplish God’s purpose and our loyalty to faith and piety, we are able to persevere no matter what the trial or suffering.

Now compare those three aspects of perseverance to this passage of Scripture –

Hebrews 12:1 – 3 ¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  ²Let 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.  ³Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

A deliberate purpose defined as a race. A loyalty to faith and piety defined as fixing our eyes on Jesus. Perseverance defined as running without growing weary or losing heart. That’s what maturity looks like in a follower of Jesus. And when we’ve finished the last hole and accomplished our objective, raise your arms in triumph because Jesus will take you home and say, “Well done!”

Pastor John

For additional encouragement from the Holy Spirit:

Luke 21:16 – 19 You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death.  ¹⁷All men will hate you because of me.  ¹⁸But not a hair of your head will perish.  ¹⁹By standing firm (persevering) you will gain life.

Colossians 1:11 …being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience…

2 Thessalonians 1:4 Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. 

 James 5:10 – 11 Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.  ¹¹As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

LifeLink Devotional

Friday, January 4, 2019

Hebrews 5:11 – 14  ¹¹We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.  ¹²In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!  ¹³Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.  ¹⁴But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

During this first week of the new year I have been focused on what spiritual maturity should look like in my life. Another of the marks of spiritual maturity in the New Testament is that we can distinguish good from evil. This means more than just knowing right from wrong. A two-year-old child is able to understand yes and no, but in their heart,  they are not yet able to discern good from evil. The child responds to benefits and consequences but does not have the ability to comprehend the nature of the action that brings the reward or punishment. Maturity happens when we understand the nature of good and evil.

The author of Hebrews says that maturity and understanding can only come through constant practice. The mature believer in Christ will evaluate the nature of every activity before participating. Never will a mature Christian simply respond based on immediate benefit or consequence. Mature believers always look deeper at the nature of every choice to determine its intrinsic good or evil.

Look carefully at how the English Standard Version of the Bible literally translates the Greek terms – But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

There are two key phrases for us to understand: one is trained and the other is constant practice. The word trained is an athletic term used to describe the intense physical preparations an athlete makes for an event. It literally means to exercise naked. So intense was the exercise that the body heated to the point of removing all clothing.

The second word translated constant practice is the word used to describe marriage when in the vows we say, “to have and to hold.” It means that we value something so dearly that we are not only glad to have it, but we will cherish it and use it to its fullest extent.

Let me illustrate the point I want to make. Many of you were tempted about two paragraphs ago to quit reading because it was either boring or too deep or didn’t tell a cute story that was easy to read. Yet every one of you has been given the power of the Holy Spirit to know and understand the deeper things of God. You have been given an incredible gift of spiritual insight, but maybe you have not chosen to train yourself through constant practice and exercise of the mind to use the gift to its fullest extent.

The same principle applies to our everyday lifestyle choices – we look only at the benefit or consequence of the choice and respond on that basis alone, rather than training ourselves through the constant practice of spiritual discernment to see the moral nature of the choice or activity.

When a child begins to reach the age of understanding, we as mature parents move them from the reward and consequence stage of training to the stage of asking them to know why they made the choice they did. We begin to train the child to make moral decisions, not self-centered decisions. We want our children to know the moral difference between good and evil rather than simply choosing based on personal gratification.

That is what mature people do, and that is what mature Christians do. Is it easy? If it were then we wouldn’t be told to exercise naked. It’s hard work to move from the routine of going along with the flow to swimming upstream against the current of popular opinion.

So strip down to the bare essence of who you are and train yourself to identify anything that will harm you. Set your mind firmly on the goal of righteousness in Christ and start exercising your right and privilege to know the moral nature of all things. Constant practice will perfect the skill of distinguishing good from evil.

Pastor John

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

LifeLink Devotional

Monday, December 31, 2018

Romans 4:18-21  Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

A striking Christmas card was once published with the title “If Christ Had Not Come”. It was founded upon our Savior’s words in John 15:22, “If I had not come.” On the card is a picture of a pastor falling into a short sleep in his study on Christmas morning and dreaming of a world into which Jesus had never come.

In his dream he found himself looking through his home, but there were no little stockings in the chimney corner, no Christmas bells or wreaths of holly, and no Christ to comfort, gladden and save. He walked out to the street, but there was no church with its spire pointing to Heaven. He came back and sat down in his library, but every book about the Savior had disappeared. The doorbell rang and a young boy asked the preacher to visit his poor, dying mother.

He hastened with the weeping child, and as he reached the home he sat down and said, “I have something here that will comfort you.”  He opened his Bible to look for a familiar promise, but there were none. His Bible ended with the book of Malachi. There was no Gospel and no promise of hope and salvation, and he could only bow his head and weep with her in bitter despair. Two days later he stood beside her coffin and conducted the funeral service. There was no message of consolation, no hope of heaven.

I can’t begin to imagine what life would be like without Jesus Christ and the hope of heaven. But wait. Didn’t all the saints of the Old Testament have to live that way? This story plays an emotional tune on our heart strings, but the truth is that it is in error. If the Pastor had the Old Testament message, but not the New Testament, he would still have the promises of God that the Messiah was coming. There would still be hope. There would still be a message of consolation. His faith could have been like the faith of Abraham, who against all hope, believed the promise of God.

The pastor in the story could not have been a true man of faith. He did not believe the prophecies of the Old Testament and he did not use them to give hope to a dying woman. He did not give glory to God by being persuaded that what was promised would someday be fulfilled. He wavered through unbelief.

We tend to do the same thing with the promises of God. We set them aside in unbelief if they have not been fully delivered. We hopelessly take our lives into our own hands when our patience to wait on God runs out. We stop seeking His kingdom and righteousness because all the other things promised to us aren’t being added to us fast enough. Our prayers are more like wishes written to Santa rather than words of faith in the promises of God. We move from event to event and day to day with hardly a thought about the imminent return of Jesus Christ to take us to glory. Life tends to be all about us and our plans. Faith calls us to make life all about God and His glory.

What would our faith look like if we were living prior to the birth of Jesus? I would like to think that we have a faith advantage by living now. But the truth is our faith is probably weaker. We may tend to take for granted what we know to be true. We tend to live primarily with the expectations of more and better for ourselves in this life, rather than in eternity. We focus on solutions to our own sad situations when we should be focused on the salvation of souls. We have subtly surrendered to sight while God is calling us to fearlessly follow by faith. The Bible is clear – without such faith it is impossible to please God.

The foundation of true faith is solely based on one’s proper understanding of God. Faith is only so valid as the object of the faith. If you want your faith to increase, learn more about the object of your faith.

The big question is this – “Who do you know God to be?” How you answer that question determines the level and maturity of your faith.

In today’s Scripture, Abraham knew God to be the God of power – power to fulfill promises. At other times of his life He knew other characteristics of God. Somewhere in each of our lives right now there is a weakness in our faith because we don’t sufficiently know the nature and character of God. He has promised to reveal Himself to those who seek Him, and in that revelation our faith will be strengthened.

Seek Him today.

Inquire of His Word and His Spirit.

Ask God to reveal something new about Himself to you, and you will see how your faith will grow, your fears will cease, and His promises will become reality.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Friday, December 28, 2018

Luke 2:11  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

 From Christianity Today comes this story:

She was five, sure of the facts, and recited them with slow solemnity convinced every word was revelation.

She said, “They were so poor they had only peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to eat and they went a long way from home without getting lost. The lady rode a donkey, the man walked, and the baby was inside the lady. They had to stay in a stable with an ox and a donkey, but the Three Rich Men found them because a star lighted the roof. Shepherds came and you could pet the sheep but not feed them. Then the baby was born. And do you know who he was?”

Her quarter eyes inflated to silver dollars.

“The baby was God.”

And she jumped in the air, whirled around, dove into the sofa and buried her head under the cushion, which is the only proper response to the Good News of the Incarnation.

What is our response when God invades the ordinary of our lives? I experienced one of  God’s invasions into life a few years ago. Two days before Christmas, at 9:00 a.m., a man walked through the front door of the church offices and handed me a package. He said that he had been blessed by a message I had preached several weeks earlier on giving our best – our firstfruits – to the Lord. He said this package represented his firstfruits and he wanted me to have it. I slowly opened the grocery bag to look inside, and I was overwhelmed and amazed at the contents. With tears in my eyes I gave the man a huge hug and thanked him. He asked why I was so surprised and broken by his gift. I told him my story.

Two weeks earlier my wife and I had been planning the menu for our annual family Christmas dinner. It is always Norwegian in flavor based on both of our family’s heritages. We have yulekaka (pronounced you-la-kaga) and yulagret, which is now called riskrem, meaning rice cream. Some of our family members have never taken to the Norwegian foods, so several years ago we decided to add an American tradition to our meal – steak and crab meat with baked potatoes.

Denise and I were planning what kind of steak to get and how much we would need for everyone to have a small 6-ounce portion. I had an idea. Why not get a rib roast and have a slice of prime rib this year instead of the steak? We agreed to check out the price and keep that as an option. After talking to the meat guy at our grocery store, we decided we would not spend that much money on one small part of the meal. I began looking at small steak options, but something, or should I say Someone, told me not to get them yet. I would wait until the day before our meal to buy what I needed.

By now the man who had given me the package was in tears. He knew what he had brought me. When I had looked in the bag I discovered an eight-pound prime rib roast. I buried my head in his shoulder in a warm and meaningful embrace and praised God for invading my life with His glory. He whispered in my ear, “I love you. You came into my life and showed me God. You have made me so happy.” I told Him it was God who has filled him with joy, and both our eyes were dripping tears. We both got to see God.

“My God shall supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Sometimes He invades the ordinary and gives us our wants too.

Pastor John