Daily Devotions

When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at [Stephen]. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
Acts 7:54-56

Showing Us He’s in Control

What is your favorite way to picture Jesus? Is it baby Jesus lying in a manger? Miraculous Jesus walking on water? Loving Jesus sacrificing his life on the cross? Victorious Jesus exiting a tomb? Many biblical pictures of Jesus may bring us comfort at various times of our lives. When I am troubled by my sins, the image of Christ paying the price on the cross brings relief. When I’m attending a funeral, Jesus walking out of the tomb helps to dry the tears. But what about when you’re being persecuted? What Jesus do you want to see when your co-worker gives you the jab of being a Jesus freak? When your Easter Instagram or Facebook post gets a nasty comment? When your relatives are “furious” or “gnash their teeth” at you because of your religious convictions. What Jesus do you want to see, then?

We may not find it very comforting to picture a swaddled baby when we’re being attacked for our faith. But King Jesus? Well, that’s a different story. And that’s a picture the Bible gives us of Jesus right now. Right now, Jesus is “standing at the right hand of God.” Right now, Jesus is in a position of authority, ruling all things for your benefit. Right now, Jesus has every enemy of his people under his feet. When we feel we are being overcome by this broken world, remember what Jesus showed Stephen: he is in control. May that truth reign in your heart.

Prayer: (Christian Worship: Hymnal – 695)
Take my heart it is thine own; it shall be thy royal throne. Amen.

Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. Opposition arose . . . To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! . . . You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him—you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”
Acts 6:8,9; 7:2,51-53

Faithful Witness of People

“The doctor needs to see you as soon as possible. Can you come in today?” Nobody wants to be on the receiving end of that phone call. But it’s a phone call that must take place. If you are diagnosed with some illness that requires immediate attention, you don’t want the doctor to keep it a secret and to wait until your next visit. Not only do you appreciate the immediate attention, but you also appreciate that the doctor wants to have the conversation in person. It demonstrates care and concern.

And yet, isn’t it a wonder that what we desire and expect for our physical welfare is the opposite of what we expect and desire for our spiritual welfare? We don’t like to hear about what we’ve done wrong. Or we get defensive when someone points out the faults of our family members. “Who are you to judge?” or “Mind your own business” are phrases that so easily come out of our mouths when we are confronted. But consider just how spiritually dangerous it would be if our sins went unchecked. Unless we know something is wrong, we won’t care about a cure. Unless we know something is broken, it won’t ever get fixed.

Our God doesn’t want this sin-broken world to stay broken. God doesn’t want you to be broken. So what does he do? He makes the difficult phone call and has the tough conversations through the faithful witness of people. We need to hear God’s law and how we’ve broken it. Not so we can feel hopelessly broken, but so that he can point us to his Son, Jesus, who never broke a single law but obeyed them all perfectly for us.

Prayer: (Christian Worship: Hymnal – 695)
Take my lips and let them be filled with messages from thee. Amen.

The Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables . . . [We] will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
Acts 6:1,2,4

Dedication to God’s Word

“The devil can’t affect our teaching, but he can affect our relationships.” That’s what one veteran Christian said as tensions were beginning to boil at a congregational meeting. He understood that personality wedges between people can cause the collapse of a group of Christians. It’s a great tool for the devil to employ. Knowing that God’s will is for Christians to encourage one another as they gather together regularly, it’s no surprise then that the devil would set his sights on people. When they’re bickering or complaining against each other, they’re less likely to encourage one another with the promises of God’s Word.

So what’s the solution when there are complaints among God’s people? What’s the solution when there is bickering between believers? Should we just “get over it”? No. Should we set up mediators who listen to each side and declare the “winner”? No. Oh, don’t get me wrong. Turning the other cheek and Christian mediation can be God-pleasing solutions. But they aren’t the first solution.

There is one place to turn. The more people complain and bicker, the more we need to turn our attention to prayer and the ministry of the Word. It sounds so cliché, “Having problems? Read your Bible.” It’s anything but cliché. Only in the Word will we find the motivation to love and forgive one another, just as in Christ, God forgave us. In the Word, we find the motivation to speak well of another and not let any unwholesome talk come out of our mouths. Only through the Word will we be led to serve others instead of wanting to be served first.

Granted, it’s difficult to turn to God’s Word when we’re turning against our neighbors. But God hasn’t left you to do this alone. In his grace, he provides godly leaders who devote themselves to the Word and prayer so that they, in turn, can redirect us there. What a blessing!

Prayer: (Christian Worship: Hymnal – 695)
Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee. Amen.

The Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. . . choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them.
Acts 6:1,3

Service and Generosity of Believers

“I just can’t believe how many broken people are in my congregation.” That’s how one pastor evaluated the people under his care. Yes, some areas of the world or some congregations may seem more broken than others. But the fact that people are broken shouldn’t be surprising. Ever since sin entered, the perfect world that God designed has been broken. There are bad relationships. There is physical pain. There is hard work. There is death.

Early Christian congregations experienced the same. Relationships were strained. There was hunger and stress. And there was death. In a world void of social security or life insurance policies, this brought a whole new level of brokenness. For example, how would a widow pick up the pieces of her broken heart and her broken home to provide for those under her roof?

Maybe you’re in the same boat. Are you broken? Did you lose a loved one? Do you not know where your next meal will come from or how that medical bill will be paid? Jesus said he came into this world to heal those who were broken. While his primary purpose was to heal our spiritual brokenness through his perfect life and death on the cross, he also demonstrated his care for physically broken people. That hasn’t changed now that he has ascended into heaven. Jesus still fixes and helps the broken as he continues to provide for his people. One of the ways he extends his hands is through the hands of others. The early church realized this as they assigned capable people the responsibility of caring for the widows in their midst. Today, God continues to work through his people. Through the service and generosity of others, thank God that our ascended Lord helps us overcome a broken world. And who knows, maybe it will be your hands that God uses to help fix another person’s life.

Prayer: (Christian Worship: Hymnal – 695)
Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of your love. Amen.

[Jesus prayed] “I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.”
John 17:14,15

The Heavenly Father Protects You

The world is not our home. Heaven is our home. Jesus knew this better than anyone. Jesus knew from personal experience how difficult it is for God’s people to live in a world ravaged by sin and under constant attack by Satan. That is why Jesus prayed for his disciples the night before he went to his death. He knew his disciples would face temptation, persecution, poverty, and imprisonment.

Knowing this, we might expect Jesus to pray for his disciples to be delivered from this world. Why not just ask the Father to whisk them right to heaven so they could avoid all the evil and opposition that the devil throws against Jesus’ followers? But the reason he prayed as he did was because Jesus had work for his disciples to do. They would take the good news of forgiveness and eternal life to the ends of the earth. So, rather than ask the Father to take them out of this world, Jesus prayed that his Father protect them.

Jesus asks his Father to do the same for all of his followers, including you. He knows about every temptation you are facing, every trial you are undergoing, and every trouble you are enduring. He knows that temptations, trials, and troubles are part of living in this sin-filled world. But he does not ask his Father to take you out of this world. There is work for you to do. You have people to love and serve. You have God’s good news to share.

Your heavenly Father will answer Jesus’ prayer. He will give you strength to do this work and protect you from the devil until your Father does, in his time, take you home to heaven.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I humbly ask you to protect me from the evil one that I may carry out the important work you have given me to do. Amen.

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.
1 John 4:7

The Danger

In the world of 21st Century philosophy, Charles Taylor is a pretty big name. According to thebestschools.org website, Taylor “has been influential in defining how we conceive of ourselves in the modern world.” In a book entitled, “Dilemmas and Connections,” Taylor makes a compelling observation about the secular mind and what motivates the secular mind to do good for other people.

A paraphrase of Taylor’s observation is as follows: People with a secular mindset do good for others because, among other things, it makes them feel good about themselves. However, cautions Taylor, the danger with this kind of motivation is that it can easily slip into feelings of superiority and even contempt for the very people you are trying to help. This can especially happen, says Taylor, when the people you are trying to help are not as responsive or grateful as you think they should be.

Let’s take the observation of Charles Taylor and turn it on ourselves. As you work to do good for others, how do you react when the people you are trying to help are not as responsive or as grateful as you think they should be? Does your attitude harden, even just a bit, into an attitude of superiority? Does it even darken into an attitude of contempt? Are there times when a bitter voice within you says, “After all I’ve done for them, this is the thanks I get?”

That’s why we need Jesus. Out of a kind of selfless love we will never fully comprehend, the Son of God lived a life of perfect service on our behalf. Then he took upon himself the guilt of all of our self-serving motives, our hidden agendas, our false humilities, and he paid the price in full at the cross. And now, as our living Savior, he comes to us in his Word, calling us to repentance, washing us clean, renewing our hearts, empowering us to love others as he has loved us.

What drives real love is not self-serving pride. What drives real love is Jesus’ love for us.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, forgive my self-serving agendas. Empower me to love others with your love for me. Amen.

And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
1 John 4:21

Loving Others

Growing up with siblings can be fun. Brothers and sisters can create good memories. Things like family vacations, playing in the backyard, watching movies, building forts in the basement and snowmen outside are all things that make having siblings fun. It is easy to love our brothers and sisters in moments like those.

However, it is not always so enjoyable. Living in close proximity with our siblings can provide ample opportunities for unloving behavior. Arguing, fighting, tattling, pushing and shoving, and insulting each other are all too common among siblings.

But it does not change much when we grow up and live around roommates, classmates, and coworkers. While there can be good times with these relationships, there can also be friction. It is difficult to love those who don’t love us back. It is a challenge to love others when they ignore us, insult us, or are so self-absorbed that they pay no attention to us. Why should we love them?

Thank God that he did not view us that way. God easily could have convinced himself that we were not worth loving. Thankfully, God’s love for us did not depend on our behavior toward him. Knowing that we would never perfectly show love to him or to others, God still put his love into practice and offered up his only Son to die on the cross in our place. Even though he knew that we would not always love him, God demonstrated his love for us. Thank God for his faithful love to us!

One of the best ways we can return that love to him is by loving others. We can love others by showing patience when treated poorly. We can love others by showing kindness in the face of rudeness. We can love others with acts of generosity that expect nothing in return. As we love others this way—our love for God will come shining through.

Prayer:
Dear Lord God, thank you for the love you show to me each and every day. Move me to love the people in my life, even if I may not receive the same love from them. Amen.