Jesus-The Hope of Paris and The World

November 15 (John 14:6)

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

I saw a meme on Facebook in the wake of the terrorist attack on Paris.  It urged people not to pray for Paris because religion was the problem.  Those of us who are ignoring this advice are not praying for Parisians because of religion.  We are praying because Jesus Christ is the only hope the people of Paris have.

There is a darkness in the world.  Because of it, many are blinded to the truth and have lost their way.  There are not multiple solutions to this problem, to be chosen from by whim or personal preference.  There is but one answer, one hope.  It is the only man in history Who is God...Jesus Christ.

It is always a time for love, whether we are living in the wake of a tragedy or going about our daily affairs.  And love, in its purest form, is Jesus.  Now, and always, it is time for those who know Him personally to share Him and His love, not a secular, diluted, and perverted form of Jesus and His love.  Such relational evangelism will, as it always has, transform lives.

Lord Jesus, comfort the afflicted, lead to repentance and restoration those who afflict, and inspire those who are neither to use the grace of their current circumstance to share the good news about You.  Amen.

Copyright © 2015 by Steven R. Perkins

The Existence of God

November 8 (Romans 8:38-39)

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,  nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (ESV)

I love falling in love all over again.  Today, for example, I saw my wife moving through the house and did a double take.  I couldn’t help embracing her and telling her how beautiful she is.  The same thing happens when I look at certain pictures of our children or gaze on them as they sleep.  I am overwhelmed with a renewed sense of what I have always known, that I love them more than anything.

Our pastor recently delivered a message about the existence of God.  Did I really need to hear that message?  I have committed my life to Jesus Christ and strive to follow hard after Him daily.  Was there any doubt in my mind about the existence of God?

The sad fact is yes.  Yes, I needed to hear that message because, yes, despite more evidence than would fit in a dump truck, I still allow the world’s pressures to cause me to doubt God’s love, His grace, His provision, and His forgiveness.  As our pastor walked us through what I already knew, the most wonderful thing happened.  I fell in love again.

Lord, You are more real than my own hand in front of my face.  Strengthen my faith so that I may see with the eyes of my heart, relying less on my physical senses.  Even in those moments when I become faith-blind and cannot see You, may I cling to the truth that nothing can separate me from You.  In the name of Jesus, Who bridged the great divide for me, amen.

Copyright © 2015 by Steven R. Perkins

Leaning On the Everlasting Arms

November 1 (Isaiah 46:4)

And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.  (KJV)

A glass of your favorite cold beverage on a summer day.  A mug of hot chocolate on a winter morning.  A steaming shower or bath after working your muscles to the point they ache.  Collapsing into your own bed after a long, exhausting trip.  There are just certain things that in restoring the body restore the soul as well.

When I read this verse recently, it had a similar effect.  Sometimes I just need to be reminded that God has me.  He was with me when I was a child, He is with me in middle age, and He will be there when I am old.  He made me, and because of that He will carry me.

Man, oh man, do I need to hear that.  If you are living in, oh, I don’t know, say this very year, then you are by default stressed and exhausted.  It comes with the territory of modern life.  What a gift to step back, just for one brief moment, and realize that the hubbub of daily existence can go take a long walk off a short pier.  God has your back, and that is the only thing that matters.

Father, thank You.  Thank You for Your loving arms that support me, embrace me, comfort me, guide me, protect me, and defend me.  I love just being in the warmth of Your embrace.  I love You.  Amen.

Copyright © 2015 by Steven R. Perkins

A King's Response To Trouble

October 25 (Isaiah 37:14)

Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.  (ESV)

What do you do when you get bad news?  When I learn of something tragic, a horrible illness striking close to my family, for example, I go straight to prayer.  When it is a problem with the computer or an issue at work, I tend to, as my mom used to say, run around like a chicken with its head cut off.  Perhaps the opposite is true for you.  You may give God your daily troubles, but fall apart over the big stuff.

King Hezekiah received a letter from the King of Assyria that threatened the kingdom of Judah in no uncertain terms.  To Hezekiah it must have seemed like turning around to find to find a hulking, ten-foot giant standing behind him about to drive him into the ground with a club.  So what did this king do?  Did he go first to his war council?  Did he run and hide?  Did he fly off to battle?  He laid the letter before the Lord and prayed.

There are certain things that cause you stress and distress.  They may be big or they may be small, but there are just certain aspects of life that throw you off your game.  When those things come your way, consider not responding to them at all until you have spread them before the Lord.  As a faithful follower of Christ, you will respond in good time, in God’s time, and your response will be so much better when it has been guided by the hand of the Lord.

Father, it is my nature to respond to things quickly.  I feel the demands of people and the pressures of life clamoring for an immediate response.  Today I give You each of the matters demanding an answer from me.  Help me to give no answer but what I hear from You.  Amen.

Copyright © 2015 by Steven R. Perkins

Seeing As Jesus Sees (4 in a series of 4)

October 18 (Matthew 28:19-20)

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.  (ESV)

For the past three weeks, we have looked at the absurdity of blaming non-Christians for not living as Christians and of thinking purely human solutions will ever bring lasting change to the problems of our day.  We also saw the Christian logic of Paul that led to the inescapable conclusion that we must tell others about Jesus.

Now let’s get personal.  I have gone out to eat at a restaurant not of my choosing simply because a friend wanted to go there.  When we are in relationships with people, we like to do the things that they want to do.  If we take Jesus seriously and if we take seriously our relationship with Him, then His final words to us must inspire all we do.  We must go out to those who do not know Him and tell them about Him.  We must teach His teachings.  We must baptize, both literally and by bathing everything we do, say, and think, not just in the privacy of our homes, but out in the world, in the reality of Who He is.

Our pastor frequently says that the world is dying faster than we are making disciples of Jesus.  It does not have to be this way.

Lord, I need courage.  Give me the boldness to share my faith in both word and deed.  Help me not to waste my life by keeping the greatest news of all time a secret.  In the name of Jesus, Who was not ashamed to die for me, amen.

Copyright © 2015 by Steven R. Perkins

Seeing As Jesus Sees (3 in a series of 4)

October 11 (Romans 8:14)

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?   (ESV)

It is easy to fault others for not living as Christ followers, but that is absurd when they are not, in fact, followers of Christ.  It is easy to reach for exciting solutions to the problems of our day, but that is absurd if those solutions are not rooted in the wisdom and strength of God.  What, then, are we to do?

It is not an option for Christians to sit back and throw stones at those who sin, but do not know God.  It is not an option for us to sit back and do nothing about the problems that plague our society and our world.  Paul lays out the only logical conclusion when confronted with these twin issues.  We must tell people about Jesus.

As much as I love Him, I often want to do the exact opposite.  I do not want to get drawn into an argument.  I do not want people to stop liking me.  I do not want…you name it.  This is nonsense, my friends.  As a follower of Christ, I have and should want no option.  I must tell people about the true life now and in the world to come that is available solely through Jesus Christ.  If I do not, then I cannot be frustrated by the sinful lives of those who do not know Him and I cannot be surprised when the human solutions to our world’s problems fail yet again.

Father, I know in my head what will help my friends and the world around me, their surrender to and relationship with Jesus.  Grant me the ability to ignore myself and all my fears and hesitations so that I may be a bold messenger for You.  In the name of my Lord, Jesus, Who hesitated for nothing, not even death, amen.

Copyright © 2015 by Steven R. Perkins

Seeing As Jesus Sees (2 in a series of 4)

October 4 (Isaiah 31:1, 3)

Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord!  Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit.  (KJV)

I want to get things done.  When I have a task in front of me, I just want to get it done now.  Right now.  I also have numerous broken items around our house showing the wisdom of that approach.  This is what happens when I rely solely on my own understanding and strength to accomplish things.

In last week’s devotion we saw it was a mistake to think that people who do not follow Christ will live as if they do.  It is equally a mistake to think that problems can be solved by purely human means.  For some of us, the only tools in our box are political efforts, financial resources, and government programs.  These are certainly good tools and can be used to accomplish much, but if these are the only tools we have, then we will never solve the problems that matter most.

Not a day goes by when we do not read about this or that effort to address this or that problem.  We must look at all proposed solutions to see if they are really just a trip to Egypt, a trusting in men and horses rather than in God.  If the solutions we are considering are purely human, they will have a short-lived effect at best.  If they are rooted in God’s strength and wisdom, they are guaranteed to produce the only kind of effects we truly want.

I read too much news, Jesus.  I get far too caught up in the ideas and plans of people.  Keep me grounded in You and Your word so that I may first of all discern clearly Your will and then be able to evaluate truly the solutions to the problems around me.  In Your name I pray, amen.

Copyright © 2015 by Steven R. Perkins