Thursday Devotional - Jesus is Truth – Knowing All Motives (10/5/23)

Sometimes it’s easy to figure out why one of my kids disobeyed, but other times it’s baffling. I think I know my kids well - what their interests are, what upsets them, and what their natural personality tendencies are. However, there are aspects of them I don’t know and understand.

Jesus knows everything about everyone! There isn’t anything that baffles Him! In fact, right after His first few miracles, He did not reveal more of Himself to many of the people because He knew their motives for believing in Him.  

John 2:23-25  ²³ Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. ²⁴ But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. ²⁵ He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.

As I pray for wisdom on how to lead my kids, I acknowledge that Jesus knows them far better than I know them and He knows exactly what each one needs! I ask for a bit of His Omniscience!

Certainly, there are others in our lives where we need some of Jesus’ all-knowing insight as to how best to interact with them. Since Jesus can read everyone’s heart, He can also help us know whether we need to even interact with them at all! Let’s take these people and questions to Jesus for His all-knowing insight. 

Alice 

Better Measurement

Hello,
So often in life we face choices that have us scratching our heads wondering which choice is the better choice. Not the choices of good vs bad – but choices where no option feels inherently bad. So, how do we decide what is better? What is the measurement we should use in these cases? Let’s look at a couple examples from Scripture:

• 1 Peter 3:14-17 “But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. ” (NASB)

• Luke 10:38-42 “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.  She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”” (NASB)

In the 1 Peter passage we see that the better choice is clearly aligned with doing what is good and right over that which is evil. And we are not to weigh short term consequences, but rather give preference to a longer perspective in terms of eternity (which by the way, does last forever….)

In the passage in Luke, we see that Martha is not doing anything bad – just trying to be a great host for the honored guest. But, Jesus shows that we are to value our time with Him. By saying that Mary had chosen what was better we can also see that we are to be focused on fixing and preparing our hearts rather than just an outside appearance.

I think these are great measurements of a better choice – and easily applied to our lives.

1. Is one pleasing to God vs. against His word?
2. If both are pleasing to God, which one focuses on fixing and preparing our hearts and shows the value of time with God?

I pray this challenges and encourages you today.

Will Hill

Heartbreaker

 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.  I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.  Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.  Ephesians 3:14-19

Having an election every four years is one of those things that I believe our forefathers were really smart about.  They knew how we as people might change our minds like the wind, and while today you are very popular, you might have people wanting your head on a stick the next.  This can create some spirited debates that cross multiple lines.  As Christians, we vote with our conscious, but we do not always agree.  One might believe being pro-life is the greatest priority while others might lean toward poverty.  One talks about civil rights while the other talks about LGBT rights.  One might even say they are all important, but then the question becomes who do you know that checks all of the boxes?  Hearing all this at times stresses me out.  It was at that point I began to pray for peace and serenity.  In that prayer, I remembered something from long ago.  It contained a simple phrase.  Let my heart break for what makes Your heart break.  While this does not necessarily solve the debate, it gave me clarity as to what I can do going forward.

As we grow in Christ, a heart for God will provide us with the will to do what our minds know is God’s will.  Often times, we will struggle to determine what is best in a situation.  When faced with the dilemma of two or more seemingly even choices, Paul gives us a good basis for a course of action.  Going to our knees in search of spiritual guidance is an absolute must, and praying for God to instill in our hearts what He desires is important because while the mind can have the right idea, the idea fails to come into being without the drive of our heart.  Thus our prayers are not only for wisdom but also those things that motivate us to do His work.  I know there have been times where I did not do the right thing because my heart was not in it.  Yet when I pray to God to make my heart right, my mind and spirit align with it to make for an unshakable faith.  Spiritual growth becomes exponential when our hearts, minds, and spirits align with what God wants.  The mind knows the word, and the spirit is God in us.  But only the heart can move us where God wants us.

Our hearts, minds, and spirit must all be aligned for us to truly do God’s work here on Earth.  As we continue in our walk of faith, we know that God wants every bit of us.  But it is the heart that love comes from, and as Paul said, “Love never fails!” (1 Corinthians 8a)  So when our hearts our broken for what God sees as wrong, we will never be on the wrong side.  Where is your heart broken today?  Is it broken because of what you want or what God wants?  My prayer is that we look to God with our hearts open to enable Him to break our hearts for that which breaks His.  Amen.  

Minds, Hearts, and Mouths

If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.  But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying.  For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.  James 3:13-17

The other day, I was figuratively thrown under the bus.  In a discussion, I had said something that was the truth as I knew it only to have someone else give an entirely different version of it.  Furthermore, they said that not only was I naïve about it but also too nice to recognize that it even existed.  Having heard this, there was a part of me that wanted to go into a demeaning tirade toward that person.  However, I stopped and paused to reflect for a moment.  What stopped me?  When everything in my body wanted to just ‘light them up like a Christmas tree,’ why did I hold my tongue?  My only explanation was that this must be what wisdom is about.  When everything in you wants to rage out of control saying the angriest, cursed, and vehemently horrible things that you feel inside, something within says, “Wait.  No not yet. Just wait.  There is a better way to respond to this.”  It is that something within that gives you an opportunity to where you might actually help that person instead of destroy them.  In this case, I would later sit down with that person to discuss when the right time to bring something up is.

 God wants for us to walk with wisdom in our journey of faith by tempering down that which we might often say or do.  Everyone growing up should remember the saying ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.’  Those who truly believe that obviously had not read too much of the 3^rd chapter of James, which says, “People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish,  but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God.” (James 3:7-8) While actions definitely speak louder than words, our words do matter.  If I cannot use the restraint that comes from wisdom to control what I say, then I run the risk of offending and/or hurting others, which is not what God would intent.  This is not to say to be dishonest as verse 14 clearly states we should not be.  However as verse 17 also states, the truth should be peace loving, gentle, full of mercy, and the fruits of good deeds.  It’s knowing who to call ‘jerk’ and who to ask, “Do you think it was the best way to handle that?”  If we are following and growing in Christ, we gain the wisdom to distinguish between the two.

Gaining wisdom from God is a vital step of our growth toward being a true follower of Christ.  Today’s verses speak of wisdom that is an inspiration toward doing the right things.  When our words are in lock and step with our good deeds, others, both believers and non-believers, benefit as they stand to see the glory of God from within us. Thus, a controlled response followed with actions from one’s humble heart will always be reflective of true wisdom from God.  What greater wisdom can you gain from measuring your responses?  Will you commit to ensure your words match your actions?  My prayer is that we are inspired to act with God’s true wisdom in our minds, hearts, and mouths.  Amen.

Thurs Devo: Beyond the Surface

I read an article the other day about a Christian ministry leader that appeared to be living for God, even to his wife. However, he was involved in pornography and adultery. It eventually came out into the open when his work computer required some maintenance. Divorce ensued. After genuine repentance and restoration with God, though, they remarried several years later. Jesus was patient with him to repent, but it did require bringing it out into the open to motivate him. 

As we talked about last week, we may be able to fool people for a little while, but Jesus is never fooled. Jesus sees beyond the surface.

Revelation 3:1-3         “To the angel of the church in Sardis write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.² Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. ³ Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.

Jesus saw beyond the surface of the Sardis church. They appeared genuine to others, but Jesus saw their hearts. Through this letter, He brought it out into the open and called them to wake up and repent!

What about you and me? Does it only appear to others that you and I faithfully love and serve God? Or, would Jesus say so, Himself? What’s beyond our surface?   

Alice

Thurs Devo: Secrets Known

My sisters and I were trying to keep a secret from my parents for their 40^th anniversary dinner. The secret didn’t last long, though. My parents almost booked a trip to visit my granddad (in Texas) for the same weekend my youngest sister and her husband were secretly flying here (to Michigan) to celebrate! The secret had to be revealed so that my parents could plan to be here to enjoy their own anniversary dinner!

Even as grownups, it’s hard to keep a secret from our parents. With Jesus, it’s actually impossible! He knows everything about everyone! 

Revelation 2:18-23         ¹⁸ “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:

These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. ¹⁹ I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

²⁰ Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. ²¹ I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. ²² So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. ²³ I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

Jesus knows all. He sees our secret sins. He also sees our loving actions that no one else recognizes or appreciates.

How is it both comforting and challenging to know Jesus searches each of our hearts?

As holy and perfect as Jesus is, He patiently gives us opportunities to repent. Sometimes it takes bringing things into the open to motivate us to repent and turn from our sinful ways. Then, we can enjoy a renewed relationship with Him!

Alice