2025-01-15
2 Corinthians 11:14 ESV
In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul reveals four ways in which Satan works like a master counterfeiter.
First, he supplies a counterfeit Saviour: “For even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” So though there are cults that preach Jesus, they do not preach the Christ of Christianity.
Second, Satan presents counterfeit servants: “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ… So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds” (vv. 13, 15 ESV).
Third, Satan brings counterfeit saints: Paul identifies these false brethren as those who seem like your brother or sister on the outside but are secretly your enemy on the inside (See Galatians 2:4).
Further, Satan offers us a counterfeit salvation: “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8 ESV).
It’s not necessarily that Christians pretend to be children of the devil, but instead that the ungodly frequently appear to be righteous. God can distinguish a sinner from a saint, and you’re going to discover both inside the church just as you will outside it. And that’s a good thing because constant exposure to Bible preaching is what changes people. Jesus never claimed that the church was perfect, and neither should we.
Our awareness of these truths shouldn’t make us self-righteous and judgmental. Rather, it should make us paramedics of God’s grace and mercy and cause us to be more fully committed to Christ.
Soul food: Isa 49-52; Luke 3:11-20; Ps 81; Prov 2:11-15
2025-01-14
1 John 4:18 AMPC
When you were young and said a bad word, your parents may have threatened to wash your mouth out with soap. Well, if fear is a dirty word, then faith in God’s unconditional love for you is like soap! Too many put the cart before the horse. We believe that God accepts us based on the degree of our love for Him rather than on the degree of His love for us. The Bible says, “We love Him because He first loved us” (v. 19 NKJV). God’s love for you is not based upon your performance but Christ’s performance on your behalf. When you put your trust in Christ, God sees you “in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17) from that moment forward.
Do you want to know how God sees you at this moment and every other moment? “As He [Jesus] is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17 NKJV). Does that mean you can disobey God and get away with it? Not a chance! “For whom the Lord loves He chastens…Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:6, 11 NKJV).
But God’s correction is not rejection! It’s proof of His unconditional, unlimited, unwavering, undeserved, and unearned love for you. God doesn’t love you more on those days when you’re victorious and less on those days when you’re defeated. His love for you doesn’t vary or vacillate. Knowing that truth will boost your faith and take your fear down a notch!
Soul food: Isa 45-48; Luke 3:1-10; Ps 79; Prov 2:9-10
2025-01-13
2 Peter 1:3 NLT
Following God means finishing what He has called you to do. Not everyone who starts out well finishes well. Occasionally we’re shocked and saddened to learn that a leader has been brought down by a moral or a financial problem. Paul writes, “Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you” (Colossians 4:14 KJV). Later, he writes, “Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world” (2 Timothy 4:10 KJV).
There are three forces arrayed against you, and they never let up: the world, the flesh, and the devil. The world will try to pour you into its mold, your fleshly nature will try to drag you down, and the devil will use every trick in the book to defeat you. Paul was aware of these three forces when he said, “My life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus” (Acts 20:24 NLT).
So, make up your mind to complete the assignment God has given you and enjoy every minute of it. How can you finish strong? “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises” (2 Peter 1:3-5 NLT).
Soul food: Isa 42-44; Luke 2:41-52; Ps 74:12-23; Prov 2:7-8
2025-01-12
Ephesians 4:24 NLT
Dealing with crucifixion, Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane. He felt intense emotions. “Being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44 NKJV). So strong were these emotions that He prayed for the cup of crucifixion to pass. But that night, Jesus broke the domination of emotions by obedience to the will of His Father, saying, “Not My will, but Yours, be done” (v. 42 NKJV). Not only can emotions be ruled by obedience, but they will obey faith.
Emotions will do what we, in faith, order them to do. David said, “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name” (Psalm 103:1 KJV). David ordered his soul, the center of his emotions, to bless the Lord. He believed his soul and everything in him would do what he commanded. Feelings can be transformed from drama to blessing.
Paul believed that negative emotions can be put off, and positive emotions can be put on. “Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy” (Ephesians 4:22-24 NLT).
Again he writes, “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts” (Colossians 3:15 NKJV). It is clear from the Scriptures that emotions can be governed, and the will can respond to God’s power and faith rather than the drama of emotions.
Soul food: 1 Sam 3:1-11; Acts 9:1-9
2025-01-11
Matthew 14:14 NKJV
Jesus demonstrated compassion wherever He went. He taught that we must care for “the least” among us (Matthew 25:40). The New Testament church continued His “brand” by doing away with racism and lots of other “isms.” “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female…you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28 NKJV). Following Christ means showing compassion to everyone, whether you like them or not. You’re called to practice compassion where you work and where you live.
Jean Henri Dunant couldn’t endure the sound of soldiers crying on a battlefield after they had been wounded, so this Swiss philanthropist said he would dedicate his life to helping them in Jesus’ name. As a result, he started the Red Cross in the 1860s. Every time you see it, you see a thumbprint of Jesus.
A Lutheran pastor in Germany named Theodor Fliedner taught a group of mainly peasant women to nurse the ill. This led to a development of hospitals all over Europe and inspired Florence Nightingale to give her life to tend the sick. Father Damien, a Belgian priest, worked in Hawaii in the nineteenth century and established a place where lepers could be loved and tended to. Each week he would tell them, “God loves you lepers.” And then, one week, he stood up and said, “God loves us lepers.” He died from leprosy. Jesus said of every unwarranted act of kindness shown toward someone, including those who don’t deserve it, “you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40 NKJV).
Soul food: Isa 38-41; Luke 2:34-40; Ps 74:1-11; Prov 2:6
2025-01-10
Luke 14:13 NKJV
Luke writes, “Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely” (v. 1 NKJV). That day He turned one of their most prized religious traditions on its ear by saying, “When you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just” (vv. 13-14 NKJV).
Anything defective was considered by the Pharisees as unsuitable to reflect the perfect holiness of God. Consequently, they allowed nothing malformed within the boundaries of the temple. Furthermore, since they believed the temple had been degraded by Rome, they believed they could honour God by treating their homes as small temples. For Jesus to tell this well-known Pharisee to intentionally invite malformed, defective human beings into his holy little temple was a deliberate slap in the face. Jesus was instructing him to place on his guest list people whose defects offended him.
Jesus’ compassion came from His love for all individuals and His pain when anyone is devalued. In Scripture, we are never told that Jesus had compassion for someone because they deserved it but because they were in need.
Don’t miss the point Jesus made. He promised that you will be blessed in this life and rewarded in the next one when you show kindness and compassion to those who “cannot repay you.” Keep this in mind when you’re tempted to overlook someone because they have a particular problem you don’t like.
Soul food: Isa 34-37; Luke 2:21-33; Ps 71:17-24; Prov 2:3-5
