Devotional Thoughts from Genesis 25:1-18.
Republished from marmsky.wordpress.com with permission.

Here we learn that Abraham had another concubine besides Hagar.  Her name was Keturah, and God gave Abraham five sons through her (1).  Like Ishmael, these sons of Abraham are significant historically, but they do not figure into the promise of spiritual blessing that will come through Isaac alone. They are not to be ancestors of Jesus. Isaac was to be his spiritual legacy.  For that reason, Abraham “gave gifts” to each of these sons and sent them away before he died.

At 175 years old, Abraham breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.  He was buried alongside Sarah in the cave at Machpelah, where they both await the resurrection of the Righteous.

LORD, like Abraham, we are temporary beings.  As we contemplate what we will leave behind after we die, help us to make sure we establish a spiritual legacy.

Devotional Thoughts from Genesis 23.
Republished from marmsky.wordpress.com with permission.

Princess Sarah falls asleep in the LORD, and Abraham, whom the Hittites call a “prince of God” negotiates with them a burying place.  He wanted the field of Ephron, son of Zohar.  He purchased the field and the cave of Machpelah on it.  This would serve later as a burial ground and resting place for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Rebekah and Leah as well.

Like Sarah here, their story does not end with their being transported somewhere else at death.  The patriarchs did not see death as their salvation.  At death, they sleep in the dust of the earth and – like us – await their Savior who will come down and rescue them from death by raising them to eternal life.

LORD, come quickly and rescue us from  the enemy, death.  Many of your saints await their reward – and their rewarder.

Devotional Thoughts from John 5:19-47.
Republished from marmsky.wordpress.com with permission.

Those were the three options that C. S. Lewis suggested in his book Mere Christianity. Look at what Jesus said about himself. If what he said is untrue – and he knew it – he was a liar.  If what he says about himself is untrue – but he didn’t know it – he was delusional.  If what he says about himself is true, then…

1. He does what God does (19, 36).
2. He can raise the dead (21,25,29).
3. He will judge the world (22,30).
4. He grants eternal life (24,40).

In other words, he is the Lord and Savior of mankind. Who is he to you?

LORD, thank you for sending your only Son to save us from our sins, and to raise us to eternal life at his return.

Devotional Thoughts from John 6:22-71.
Republished from marmsky.wordpress.com with permission.

Even non-believers in this generation do not seem to have any problem with Jesus calling himself the bread of life.  It was not so in first century Galilee.  The Jews were insulted that a mere man would dare to equate himself with the miracle of Manna in the wilderness.  They grumbled and left.  A few loaves and fish were not worth putting up with such heresy.

That hard saying (60) was even problematic to many of the disciples – that is – followers of Jesus.  Because of this, many of them “turned back and no longer walked with him” (66).

Jesus asked the Twelve if they, too, wanted to go away.  Peter replied that they did not intend to leave him.  He is the Holy One of God who has the words of eternal life (68-69).  That is what Jesus meant by calling himself the Bread of Life.  God sent him like Manna in the wilderness. Those who believe in him are sustained now and will be resurrected on the last day (40,44,54).

LORD, we choose to feast upon your Manna from heaven.  Give us more of Jesus.

Devotional Thoughts from John 8.
Republished from marmsky.wordpress.com with permission.

The contrast that is seen throughout this chapter is between those who follow Jesus and those who have rejected him.

1. Those who reject Jesus are walking in darkness and following their father, the devil.  Those who accept Jesus are living in the light and can understand his words.
2. Those who reject Jesus are in bondage to evil.  Those who accept Jesus have been set free by the truth.
3. Those who reject Jesus will seek to put him to death. They are living merely to die.  Those who accept Jesus will never really see death.  Their eternal lives are secured by his.

LORD, this day we choose your light, not darkness.  We want your freedom, not Satan’s chains.  We want eternal life.  For all these things, we place our trust in you.

In the famous proclamation of Luke 2:11, each of the titles that the angel gives Jesus tells something about who he is and what he came to do.  Rather than simply identifying him as one among many, the titles identify Jesus as unique, and uniquely significant.

1. The angel called Jesus Lord  because he was God in the flesh, master of all.

The Greek term kurios was used in the secular context of any person who had authority over

another.  It was also used of a person who owned something. A slave’s master was his kurios.  A home’s owner was its kurios.  In the political world, kings were called kurios (Acts 25:26), as was Caesar.  But in the religious realm of Judaism, the term kurios was reserved for the highest deity.  It was the term in Greek that the scribes used to translate the Hebrew word YHVH, the name of God.  In the New Testament, many of the texts which referred to God as LORD were quoted in reference to Jesus. For example, Paul tells the Romans that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”¹  He quotes Joel 2:32, and applies it to Jesus. Christmas is a time when we celebrate God coming to earth in the form of his Son.

2. The angel called Jesus Saviour because he came to rescue the lost.

The Bible is a story of rescue, from beginning to end.  All of its minor stories of rescue point to

one major story of rescue, which we read about in the Gospels.  The angel calls Jesus a Saviour, a Rescuer. The Jews in Jesus’ day were looking for a Saviour to rescue them from Roman occupation. But Jesus came to rescue them from their sins, and bring them back into a right relationship with God. Christmas is a time to celebrate God’s intervention in our lives, because we need him.

3. The angel called Jesus Christ  (Anointed) because he was set apart by the Holy Spirit, chosen by the Father for the work of deliverance and the authority of leadership.

In biblical times, people were anointed to set them apart for ministry. The act of smearing

someone with cleansing oil signified authority and ability to do a special task, whether that task was proclamation (prophet) intercession (priest) or dominion (king). Christ was to do all three. He is the ultimate anointed One who was prefigured by all the others.  In Peter’s words, he is “the Christ, the Son of the living God.”²

May we use this Christmas season to announce to the world that Christ — its Savour and Lord — has come.

1. Romans 10:13 ESV. [↩]
2. Matthew 16:16  ESV. [↩]

Devotional Thoughts from Romans 8:1-17.
Republished from marmsky.wordpress.com with permission.

The unsaved person cannot hope to please God because his orientation is “according to the flesh.”  But God offers his Holy Spirit who makes all the difference.

1. He replaces the law of sin and death (2).
2. He leads believers in the new walk (4,14).
3. He redirects the minds of believers (5-7).
4. He creates a spiritual resurrection and will empower the physical resurrection (10-11).
5. But first, he empowers a putting to death of the deeds of the body (12-13).
6. He bears witness with the believer’s spirit that an adoption has occurred .  The believer is now a son of God (14-17).

LORD, thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit.  Show us how to share him with the lost.

Devotional Thoughts from Hebrews 13:20-25.
Republished from marmsky.wordpress.com with permission

In his benediction, the author of Hebrews asks his readers to bear with his word of exhortation.  He hopes to be able to visit those to whom he has written, but if not, trusts that God would use those words to equip the believers to please him and to do his will.

1. The God of peace has brought peace to all of us by the blood of Christ.  The blood of the eternal covenant is sufficient to remove the enmity that had separated us from the Father.
2. The shed blood of Christ on the cross was sufficient to accomplish God’s purpose in atonement.  Because of this, the tomb could no longer hold him. He was brought again from the dead.
3. Since Christ has done all these things, he is certainly capable of shepherding God’s sheep, equipping them to accomplish his Father’s will and bring him joy.

LORD, we praise you for Jesus and only Jesus.  He alone will fulfill your eternal plan, mediate your eternal covenant, and bring you eternal glory.

Devotional Thoughts from Matthew 22:15-46.
Republished from marmsky.wordpress.com with permission

The various religious and political parties in Jerusalem had decided to get rid of Jesus by publically humiliating him.  They each chose a hard question to ask him “to entangle him in his words.”

1. Jesus shows the Pharisees and Herodians a coin, telling them to render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s (15-22).
2. Jesus explains to the Sadducees that the hope of the resurrection is real because of who God is (23-33).
3. Jesus tells the Pharisees that love is the greatest obedience (34-40).

Finally,  Jesus turns the whole event around by entangling the Pharisees in their own words.   He shows from Psalm 110 that the Messiah is more than the Pharisees say about him.

LORD, your wisdom surpasses all the intelligence of any age.  Give us the good sense to stay true to your words.

“… no one was able to answer him a word” (22:46)

Devotional Thoughts from Matthew 6:25-34.
Republished from marmsky.wordpress.com with permission
This section of our Lord’s sermon on the mount resonates with God’s heart as revealed in the Old Testament.  Jesus pleads with his disciples not to make the mistake that Israel did under the Mosaic covenant.  The LORD promised the peace and wholeness and blessing if they simply followed the covenant they agreed to follow, seeking God’s kingdom and righteousness.  But Israel looked around in fear at all their enemies, and sought a little extra insurance by appealing to the gods of the surrounding nations.  They thought that two masters would be preferable to one (24).

Jesus pleads with his disciples not to make the same mistake.  He warns them not to let anxiety steal the most important things in the world: their relationship with God and what he can do in their lives.

1. Life is more than things (like food and clothing) that people are tempted to worry about (25).
2. The birds do not worry, and our Father takes care of them.  People are even more valuable to him than those birds (26).
3. Worry does not accomplish anything positive.  It cannot add a single hour to one’s life (27).
4. The flowers and grass do not worry, and God clothes them with a glory surpassing that of king Solomon.  People are even more important, since they are not temporary like the flora. They have the potential to be raised to eternal life (28-30).
5. The Gentiles spend their time worrying about stupid things like food and clothing, because they don’t know any better (31-32).

Jesus had commanded his disciples to pray about the needs of one day: today (11).  The minute a believer gets his mind off today and starts worrying about tomorrow, he has stopped seeking God’s kingdom and righteousness.  He has stopped trusting in his heavenly Father.

LORD, we want to seek your kingdom and righteousness today, and trust you to take care of our needs today and tomorrow.

Devotional Thoughts from Matthew 7:13-29.
Republished from marmsky.wordpress.com with permission

Jesus concludes his instructions to his disciples in his sermon on the mount with four figures of speech – all having to do with the dangers of counterfeit Christianity.

He talks about two ways of trying to enter the kingdom: the hard way and the easy way. The gate to the hard way is narrow, so people are less likely to choose it. The gate to the easy way is wide. It is very popular. He warns that only those who enter through the narrow gate will find life on the other side. Those who look for the easy way in will find destruction. Eternal life is not something everyone is born with. It is conditional, the result of the right choice (13-14).
Leaders of the easy way are false prophets, but they look genuine. They prophesy and exorcise demons and do mighty works in Jesus’ name, and call him their lord. Jesus does not know them, and he didn’t send them, but they will be here claiming to do his will all the same. Inside they are wolves, not sheep (15, 21-23).
Jesus warns his disciples to be on the lookout for those leaders of the easy way. He says they will look like any other tree of the orchard, but the fruit they bear will be bad. That is how they can be recognized. The promoters of the easy way will end in destruction – by fire (16-20).
People who take the easy way are like the foolish man who builds his house on the sand – with no solid foundation. It is only a matter of time in a world of rain, floods and winds that such shoddy workmanship will be revealed. Those wise enough to prepare for entrance through the narrow gate will build a solid foundation. They will hear the king’s words and do them (24-27).

LORD, we choose the hard way, the less popular way. Help us to avoid the false prophets and stay true to your word. Make us the genuine article.

Devotional Thoughts from Philippians 3:1-4:1.

Republished from marmsky.wordpress.com with permission

Our joy is in the Lord, and for that reason our confidence cannot be in our ancestry or our accomplishments.

1. Because our joy is in the Lord, anything we might count in our favor is actually counted as loss compared to knowing Christ (3:1-7).
2. Because our joy is in the Lord, anything we might suffer — like losing friends, belongings, our freedom, being imprisoned — is counted as rubbish in order that we might gain Christ and his resurrection through faith (3:8-11).
3. Because our joy is in the Lord, we do not rest on our present relationship with him, but press on toward what God has called us to, while holding true to what we have attained (3:12-16).
4. Because our joy is in the Lord,we keep our eyes on those who walk as his enemies. We wait for our savior to come from heaven, and stand firm in him (3:17-4:1).

LORD, our joy is in you. Our confidence is in you. Our objective is you. Our hope is you.

Devotional Thoughts from Colossians 1:1-20.

Republished from marmsky.wordpress.com with permission

There is always a danger for the church of Christ to lose sight of Christ himself — to get carried away with mere human traditions and leaders. Paul wrote Colossians to help the churches of Colossae zero in on who Christ is — to stay completely devoted to him. In this section, Paul reminds them that Christ is their head.

1. He commends Epaphras for his role in planting the churches, but reminds them that he is a faithful minister of the head, not the head himself (1-8).
2. He reminds them that they are saved not because of their own works, but the Father’s grace. He has both delivered them from the kingdom of darkness, and transferred them to the kingdom in which the Son is the head (9-14).
3. He reminds them that Christ’s authority is supreme. He is the firstborn of all creation, in that he was there creating in the beginning, and is there holding all things together now. He is firstborn from the dead, in that his death and resurrection has secured reconciliation between heaven and earth.

LORD, no matter how great the leaders who brought us to Christ, may we never lose sight of the fact that he is their head, and ours.

Conditionalists, of all people, should be faithful prayer warriors.

1. We take the word of God seriously, even when many other believers disagree with us on its interpretation. This word of God calls his people to a life of constant prayer.¹
2. We acknowledge our dependence upon God. We do not presume to have been made indestructible at our birth. It is “In him we live and move and have our being.”² Knowing that our lives are in his hands should encourage us to seek his support for every challenge we face, and his help for every problem we encounter.
3. We claim that Jesus Christ is our life.³ It is that Christ who calls us to pray that others might experience the promise of eternal life when he comes.
4. We acknowledge the brevity of this life. The day of salvation is now.⁴ People will not have an eternity to waste on themselves because Judgment Day is near, and time is running out.
5. Above all, we acknowledge the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, “who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”⁵ We should never stop praying until everyone on the planet has had an opportunity to hear the gospel of that grace, and overcome Adam’s curse.

For help in praying as we should, see Overcoming Pray-ers Block.

1. Romans 12:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:17. [↩]
2. Acts 17:28. [↩]
3. Colossians 3:4. [↩]
4. 2 Corinthians 6:2. [↩]
5. 2 Timothy 1:10. [↩]