confusing times

Posted on May 27, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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devotional post # 2029

Luke 18:28-30

Luk 18:28 And Peter said, “Notice, we have left everything we own to follow you!”
Luk 18:29 Then Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, there is no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of God’s kingdom
Luk 18:30 who will not receive many times more in this age — and in the age to come, eternal life.”

confusing times

Jesus taught his disciples faithfully about his coming rejection and suffering and death, but none of them got it. It was hidden from them. It would not have taken a great burst of creative energy to hide those things from the disciples. It was a message they did not want to hear — a truth they were not prepared for.

During our lives we may face many such times — times when our expectations are proven to be unfounded. Life will continue all around us, but we will be in shock, not knowing what to know. I am comforted that when the disciples were in such a time, the Lord did not abandon them to their ignorance, but brought them through it.

LORD, thank you for being with us when we are so confused we don’t know what to know.

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fair trade

Posted on May 26, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky-devotions-pics-may-2017-26

devotional post # 2028

Luke 18:28-30

Luk 18:28 And Peter said, “Notice, we have left everything we own to follow you!”
Luk 18:29 Then Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, there is no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of God’s kingdom
Luk 18:30 who will not receive many times more in this age — and in the age to come, eternal life.”

fair trade

On certain sad days I give myself a pity party because my ministry for Christ has taken me far away from home and family. Even when we served in the Philippines as Bible college professors, my wife and I did not feel as lonely as we often do now. After all, our kids were young, and so we always had family around.

When Peter and the other disciples decided to follow Jesus, they had to leave their families behind for long periods of time — so they probably felt that way too.

Jesus reminded them — and us — that it is always a fair trade. The benefits of serving the Lord always outweigh the sacrifices.

LORD, encourage us on those days when we can only see what we have left behind. Remind us of what we have gained.

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surrendering self-dependence

Posted on May 25, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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devotional post # 2027

Luke 18:24-27

Luk 18:24 After Jesus noticed this, he said, “It is so hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!
Luk 18:25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
Luk 18:26 Those who heard this said, “Then who can be saved?”
Luk 18:27 He responded, “What is impossible for mere humans is possible for God.”

surrendering self-dependence

Wealth tends to create an attitude of self-dependence since money can actually solve so many problems. But this self-dependence is a minus when it comes to kingdom living. Kingdom living requires God-dependence. If you have been blessed by riches, turn to God and let him provide what you cannot — even with your wealth. It is possible for God to save you and reign in your life. It will take a miracle, but he knows how to do miracles.

LORD, we surrender our self-dependence to your sovereignty.

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the sin of self-confidence

Posted on May 24, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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devotional post # 2026

Luke 18:18-23

Luk 18:18 Now a certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Luk 18:19 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
Luk 18:20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honour your father and mother.'”
Luk 18:21 The man responded, “Yes, I have wholeheartedly obeyed all these laws since I was young.”
Luk 18:22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “OK, There is one thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in the sky. Then come, follow me.”
Luk 18:23 But when the man heard this he became deeply grieved, because he was extremely wealthy.

the sin of self-confidence

“One thing you still lack” — Oh, what a haunting statement. Anyone who sincerely wants to follow Christ knows of a hundred areas where God’s perfection and goodness is lacking in his life. I sure do. But this man’s confidence was in himself, not the Lord’s grace. Contrast his attitude with the praying tax collector earlier in this chapter (18:9-14). If your relationship with God is a matter of ticking off a few extra boxes, you still don’t get it.

LORD, forgive us for the way we try to handle life. Forgive us for putting confidence in ourselves.

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messy maturity

Posted on May 23, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky-devotions-pics-may-2017-23

devotional post # 2025

Luke 18:15-17

Luk 18:15 But they were even bringing their babies to him for him to touch. But when the disciples saw this, they began to object to those who brought them.
Luk 18:16 But Jesus called for the children, saying, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
Luk 18:17 I tell you the truth, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

messy maturity

The disciples at first were discouraging the people from taking their children to Jesus to be blessed. They did not think that Jesus had time in his busy schedule. Taking care of the children — they thought — should be delegated to underlings, not the Lord himself.

But Jesus used that opportunity to once again talk about the attitude of total submission required to mature into a kingdom citizen. Total dependence upon Christ is essential, and that gets messy.

LORD, mature us, no matter how messy it gets.

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true humility

Posted on May 22, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky-devotions-pics-may-2017-22

devotional post #2024

Luke 18:9-14

Luk 18:9 Jesus also spoke to some who were confident that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else. This was his illustration:
Luk 18:10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
Luk 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of these people: violent robbers, unrighteous people, adulterers — or even like this tax collector.
Luk 18:12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’
Luk 18:13 But the tax collector stood far off and would not even look up skyward, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, please show mercy to me, I am a sinner!’
Luk 18:14 I tell you that this man went down to his home in a right relationship with God rather than the Pharisee. Because everyone who lifts himself up will be levelled off, but he who levels himself off will be lifted up.”

true humility

I’m looking for tips from this tax collector. He had a right relationship with God, and I so want that. What is hard is that both of these men would consider themselves churchgoers. So, I can’t avoid going to church — out of some false sense of humility. That would be the essence of pride. But my churchgoing does not tip the scale in my direction either. The more I do to enhance my relationship with God, the more I am tempted to be proud of my accomplishments, like this Pharisee. An attitude of repentance and unworthiness and true humility is what we all need.

LORD, in all our attempts to please you, keep us from arrogance.

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the widow’s secret weapon

Posted on May 21, 2017 by Jefferson Vann
marmsky-devotions-pics-may-2017-21
devotional post # 2023
Luke 18:1-8
Luk 18:1 Then Jesus told them a story to illustrate to them the fact that they should always pray and never be overwhelmed.
Luk 18:2 He said, “In a certain city there was this judge who neither feared God nor cared about people.
Luk 18:3 But there was this widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’
Luk 18:4 For a while he refused, but later on he said to himself, ‘Even though I neither fear God nor care about people,
Luk 18:5 yet because this widow keeps on bothering me, I will grant her justice, or in the end she will wear me out by her perpetual visits.'”
Luk 18:6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what that unrighteous judge is saying!
Luk 18:7 Won’t God grant justice to his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he put off helping them just to maintain control?
Luk 18:8 I tell you, he will give them justice quickly. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find this kind of faithfulness present in the land?”

the widow’s secret weapon

She had no status, no wealth to bribe the judge, nothing he wanted from her. But she got justice from the judge. She had the secret weapon. She kept asking. Her faithfulness was her gift.
Jesus is looking for people who dare to be faithful over the long haul. We do not need any other edge. We have what Jesus is looking for. Staying faithful in coming to him in prayer no matter how long the wait — that is all the edge we need.
LORD, here we are again — coming to you for justice. Heal our broken land. Restore our families. Revive our churches. Heal our hearts. We come to you because only you can give us what we need.
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dead bodies waiting

Posted on May 20, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky-devotions-pics-may-2017-20

devotional post # 2022

Luke 17:32-37

Luk 17:32 Remember Lot’s wife!
Luk 17:33 Whoever seeks to protect his soul will lose it, but whoever loses it will preserve it.
Luk 17:34 I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.
Luk 17:35 There will be two women grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”
Luk 17:37 Then the disciples said to him, “Where, Lord?” He replied to them, “Where the dead body is, that is where the vultures will gather.”

dead bodies waiting

Lot’s wife found it impossible to leave her comfortable surroundings, even when they were falling apart all around her. The same is true of us in our inner beings. In spite of the harm that sin has done to us, we still want to linger in Sodom. But Jesus challenges us to escape while we can.

This passage is not so much about secret rapture as it is about sudden destruction. It will happen everywhere, because the whole world needs to conform to God’s kingdom, but resists it. We are all dead bodies waiting to be taken by the vultures. But God’s word challenges us all to awake and flee Sodom while we still can.

LORD, we hear you calling. Protect us from the coming destruction.

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time to stay steady

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky-devotions-pics-may-2017-19

devotional post #2021

Luke 17:28-31

Luk 17:28 In the same way, just as it was in the days of Lot, people were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building;
Luk 17:29 but on the day Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from the sky and destroyed them all.
Luk 17:30 It will be the same on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
Luk 17:31 On that day, anyone who is on the roof, with his property in the house, must not come down to take them away, and in the same way the person in the field must not turn back.

time to stay steady

Lot’s wife is later mentioned by Jesus here, and her story informs the warning that Jesus gives. She was warned to flee Sodom, but turned back, and was turned into a pillar of salt. Jesus had been warning his disciples that there would be a long period of waiting before his second coming. They were to remain steady and committed to him during this time, and not be tied to the things of this world, so that they welcome him as soon as the clouds break and he appears in the sky.

LORD, show us how to remain unswervingly committed to you.

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the only sign

Posted on May 18, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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devotional post #2020

Luke 17:26-27

Luk 17:26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, that is how it will be in the days of the Son of Man also.
Luk 17:27 People were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage — right up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

the only sign

The Pharisees had asked for the sign that would indicate the kingdom which Jesus predicted was at hand. Jesus said that the sign would be the same that Noah’s generation had. They didn’t see increasing cloud activity, seismic disturbances, or even an increase in warfare and violence. No, it was business as usual up until the very day the rain started falling. The only sign that generation received was a pleading prophet. Noah was a herald of righteousness for 100 years, and God patiently waited for any and all who would respond to Noah’s message. Only he and his family did.

The only sign of the coming Saviour is a preaching church, proclaiming his coming.

LORD, make us a sign that people listen to, before it is too late.

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