Devotions

light weapons

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Romans 13:11-14

¹¹ And do this because we know the time, that it is already the hour for us to wake up from sleep, because our deliverance is now nearer than when we became believers.¹² The night has advanced toward dawn; the day is near. Consequently, we must put aside the works of darkness, and put on the weapons of light.¹³ Let us live decently as in the daytime, not in partying and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in discord and jealousy.¹⁴ Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about arousing the lusts of the flesh.

light weapons

We are citizens of a kingdom of light, but we live in territory still controlled by a kingdom of darkness. The works of the present kingdom are still with us: partying and drunkenness, sexual immorality and sensuality, discord and jealousy. But as citizens of the future kingdom, we are to renounce those dark works, and pick up our light weapons. We are to stop thinking about the things the flesh lusts after, and put on the Lord Jesus Christ. It is his kingdom we seek. It is his righteousness that should characterize us.

LORD, we want your kingdom of light to prevail in our lives. Keep us from thinking about the works of darkness. Help us to concentrate on the light weapons we have in you.

Posted in kingdom of God, love, righteousness | Tagged Romans 13 | 1 Comment

paying the bills

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Romans 13:6-10

⁶ For this reason you also pay taxes, because the authorities are God’s servants devoted to governing.⁷ Pay everyone what you owe them: taxes to the ones you owe taxes, revenue to the ones you owe revenue, respect to the ones you owe respect, honor to the ones you owe honor.⁸ Owe no one nothing, except to love one another, because the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.⁹ For the commandments, “Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not covet,” (and if there is any other commandment) are summed up in this, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”¹⁰ Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fullness of the law.

paying the bills

One of my jobs in the Vann household is the daily paying of bills. I confess that I actually like doing that. There is something that feels good about taking a stack of debts, and producing a stack of paid debts. For that reason, I opt to pay my bills with checks, and send them in the mail, rather than doing it online. I can remember years when I did not like bill paying because there were always more debts than money in the bank to cover them. But, usually that is not the case now.

Paul encouraged the Roman Christians not to run away from their debts, but to pay them all – even their taxes to the despised –and often corrupt — authorities. The only debt that should be owed regularly is the continuing obligation to love their neighbors. That’s a bill that is due every day. Paul told the Romans to keep paying that debt every day. If they did so, the Roman Christians would never have to worry about keeping the commandments in the Law, because love does it all.

LORD, help us to pay our love bill every day.

Posted in love, taxes, witness | Tagged Romans 13 | 1 Comment

basic goodness

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Romans 13:1-5

¹Each soul is subject to the higher authorities. Because there is no authority except by God’s appointment, and the authorities that exist have been put in place by God.² So the opponent of such authority opposes the direction of God, and those who resist will invite judgment³ (because rulers cause no fear for good conduct but for bad). Do you want not to fear authority? Do good and you will receive its approval,⁴ because it is God’s servant for your good. But if you are doing wrong, fear, because it does not bear the sword in vain. It is God’s servant to administer retribution on the wrongdoer.⁵ Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of the punishment the authorities can mete out, but also because of your conscience.

basic goodness

You cannot overcome evil with good if you refuse to be basically – well, good. This seems to be Paul’s point here. He, of all people, would agree that there is a time when we must obey God rather than man. Remember that he eventually would be imprisoned and executed when the governing authorities turned against Christ. But what Paul is talking about right here is the fact that Christians cannot be spiritually good people if they refuse basic goodness – the life of law abiding citizens. Citizens of the kingdom coming from the sky are still citizens of the present kingdoms and nations here. We are to overcome the influence of these present kingdoms not by rebellion but by doing good – by obeying the commands of our king. Most of the time, his commands do not conflict with the laws of the land.

LORD, teach us how to reflect the basic goodness our human authorities expect, as well as the divine goodness you expect.

Posted in goodness, obedience, submission, witness | Tagged Romans 13 | 1 Comment

the mechanics of body ministry

Posted on January 11, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Romans 12:6-21

⁶ And we have different gifts according to the grace given to us. If the gift is prophecy, that grace is seen in proportion to what he prophesies in faith.⁷if serving people’s needs, in how he serves; the teacher, in how he teaches; ⁸the preacher, in how he preaches; the giver, in his generosity; the leader, in his commitment; the mercy-giver, in his cheerfulness.⁹ Love must be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good.¹⁰ Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness in honoring one another.¹¹ Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord.¹² Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer.¹³ Contribute to the needs of the saints, pursue hospitality.¹⁴ Bless those who are persecuting you, bless and do not curse.¹⁵ Be happy with those who are happy, cry with those who cry.¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. Do not be conceited.¹⁷ Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people.¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people.¹⁹ Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.²⁰ Rather, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will be heaping burning coals on his head.²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

the mechanics of body ministry

Yesterday I dropped a bomb, so I probably should spend some time cleaning up the debris. I confessed that evangelical Christians are a long way from living up to Paul’s words here because we spend too much time and effort training leaders and too little time and effort encouraging ministry within the body as a whole. As someone who has given decades of his life to leader development, I stand convicted.

So, how does a person encourage all those parts of the body of Christ to work together to reveal and do what God wants done? Paul gives some practical examples here. His particular advice matches the seven spiritual gift labels he had just given:

prophets: say what you have to say in faith, but don’t play-act. Really love good and really hate evil.
deacons: serve people’s needs. Show mutual reciprocal love for others.
teachers: Don’t get lazy. Enthusiastically serve the Lord.
preachers: Be happy about what is going to happen, don’t wait until it happens. Be consistent even during tough times. Keep praying.
givers: Look for needs to fill. Be sure to give your time and friendship as well as your money.
leaders: Be committed to the whole body. Be a blessing even to those who do not bless you back.
mercy-givers: Be cheerful. Don’t allow the suffering you see to steal your inner joy. Be happy with the happy, cry with the hurting and grieving.

For all these who minister within the body, Paul encouraged a life of peace and love toward all. Evil would try to overcome, but they are to overcome that evil with good.

LORD, renew our minds, transforming us into a body who ministers to all, and overcomes evil with good.

Posted in leadership, ministry, spiritual gifts | Tagged Romans 12 | Leave a comment

discovering what God wants

Posted on January 10, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Romans 12:1-5

¹ Consequently, I counsel you, brothers, since God has shown his mercy to you in many ways, to present your bodies as a sacrifice–alive, holy, and pleasing to God–which is the logical way for you to worship him.² Do not allow yourself to be conformed to this present age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discover what God wants–the good and well-pleasing and perfect thing.³ For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think of yourself as more important than you ought to think, but to think with restrained discernment, as God has given to each of you a measure of faith.⁴ Because just as in one body we have many parts, and not all the parts serve the same function,⁵ so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are parts who belong to one another.

discovering what God wants

For the Gentile Christian in Rome, discovering what his God wanted used to be a matter of killing the right sacrifice, and hoping for the best. For the Christian who came to Christ from Judaism, discovering what God wanted meant studying the Torah.

Now, says Paul, both groups have to stop thinking like that. God doesn’t want a dead sacrifice, he wants a living one. Finding out what he wants is not going to mean just burying oneself in a text. It is going to take something even harder. The Holy Spirit has empowered everyone in the body with a certain ministry – a set of spiritual gifts meant to manifest God’s presence and reveal what he wants. So, Christians had to renew their minds – not just as individuals, but as a body. Christ is going to speak and work through the whole body, and each part had to cooperate.

As much as we modern evangelicals think we have conquered this concept, the fact is we are still a long way from it. We still pretty much rely on one person, or a small group to be the body of Christ for us. It is no wonder that those chosen few often wind up arrogant and corrupted. Paul warned the Romans to concentrate on body ministry rather than leader development. We need to learn how to do the same thing.

LORD, teach us how to think about ourselves and our ministries with restrained discernment. We want to stop regarding ourselves as more important than the others in your body.

Posted in leadership, ministry, spiritual gifts | Tagged Romans 12 | Leave a comment

presently enemies but dearly loved

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Romans 11:25-36

²⁵ Because I do not want you to be badly informed about this obscure truth, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: A partial hardening has happened to Israel until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.²⁶ And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion; he will remove ungodliness from Jacob.²⁷ And this is my covenant with them, when I take away their sins.”²⁸ In regard to the gospel they are presently enemies on your account, but in regard to election they are dearly loved on account of the fathers.²⁹ Because the gifts and the call of God are irreversible.³⁰ Just as you were formerly disobedient to God, but have now received mercy due to their disobedience,³¹ so they too have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy.³² For God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy to them all.³³ Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways!³⁴ Because who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?³⁵ Or who has first given to God, that God needs to repay him?³⁶ Because from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen.

presently enemies but dearly loved

The status of unbelieving Israelites in Paul’s day was this: they were presently enemies because they had rejected both Christ and his church. But they remained dearly loved by the Father because of his compassionate commitment to their ancestors, the patriarchs. Consequently, they were not to be regarded as a hopeless cause. Believers should continue to preach the gospel to the Jews because the Father had not abandoned them. And it was the Father’s love for them (Paul was convinced) which would eventually turn the tide.

There are unbelievers all around us. They share the same status as the unbelieving Jews. They are presently enemies because they not only reject the gospel, they often seek to prevent its preaching. But God loves them. He wants them to live forever. He sends us out like sheep among these wolves, because he loves the wolves, and his grace can turn them into sheep. So, we need to be wise careful because we are sent out to enemies, but trust the one who sends us that he can turn them into friends.

LORD, send us to those you love, even if they do not presently love us.

Posted in ethnic Israel, evangelism | Tagged Romans 11 | Leave a comment

their full restoration

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Romans 11:11-24

¹¹ So I am asking, they did not stumble into an irretrievable fall, did they? Absolutely not! But by means of their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, making Israel jealous.¹² Now if their transgression means riches for the world and their defeat means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full restoration bring?¹³ Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Seeing that I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I make a big deal of my ministry,¹⁴ if somehow I could just provoke my people to jealousy and save some of them.¹⁵ Because if their loss is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?¹⁶ If the first portion of the dough offered is holy, then the whole batch is holy, and if the root is holy, so too are the branches.¹⁷ Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them and participated in the richness of the olive root,¹⁸ do not brag over the branches. But if you brag, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.¹⁹ Otherwise you will say, “The branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.”²⁰ Granted! They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but fear!²¹ Because if God did not spare the natural branches, maybe he will not spare you.²² Take note then of the gentleness and roughness of God–roughness toward those who have fallen, but God’s gentleness toward you, provided you continue in his gentleness; otherwise you also will be cut off.²³ And even they–if they do not continue in their unbelief–will be re-grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.²⁴ Because if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree?

their full restoration

For Paul, the only thing keeping the nation of Israel from receiving Christ as their Messiah was their unbelief. The only thing keeping Gentile believers in the tree was their faith. So, the Gentiles had no reason to brag, and the Jews had every reason to be jealous, and to come to Christ because of that jealousy. Paul expected a full scale national restoration of Israel. He expected them to come to faith in Christ.

In the mean time, he – as an apostle to the Gentiles – set his heart on reaching as many as he could with the gospel. He did not feel like he had betrayed his brother Israelites. Instead, he felt that the more Gentiles he brought to Christ, the better chance he would live to see that national spiritual restoration.

As missionaries, God has called Penny and me to preach the gospel in foreign lands. We do not regret the time and energy we spend away from our hometowns and families, touching those lives. We show our patriotism by exporting the one true spiritual wealth we have received. We regard the gospel as the one true wealth that we should share with the nations.

LORD, send us to the nations, and we will trust you to take care of our nation.

Posted in ethnic Israel, evangelism | Tagged Romans 11 | Leave a comment

a remnant chosen by grace

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Romans 11:1-10

¹ So I am asking, God has not abandoned his people, has he? Absolutely not! Because I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.² God has not abandoned his people whom he foreknew! Do you not know what the scripture says about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?³ “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have destroyed your altars; I alone am left and they are seeking to end my life!”[1] ⁴ But what was the divine answer to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand faithful men who have not bent the knee to Baal.”^{[2] 5} So in the same way at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.⁶ And if it is by grace, it is no longer by works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace.⁷ What then? Israel failed to get hold of what it was diligently seeking, but the chosen got it. The rest were hardened,⁸ as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of coma, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, to this very day.”[3] ⁹ And David says, “Let their table become a snare and trap, a stumbling block and a reprisal for them; ¹⁰ let their eyes be darkened so that they may not see, and make their backs bend repeatedly.”[4]

a remnant chosen by grace

If God had revealed his way of grace and his Messiah, then why have so many ethnic Jews failed to embrace it, and him? Paul’s answer is that only a few Israelites currently see things as they really are. The remnant (in which Paul is included) have been enlightened by grace, but the majority are given over to a spirit of coma, where their eyes do not see and their ears do not hear.

This is not the first time that such a thing has happened. Paul shows this by recounting incidents in Israel’s past where those with faith were few and far between. Elijah’s complaint and David’s prayer show that God was not doing a totally new thing in the first century. It was not uncommon for the faithful to be few in ethnic Israel.

Often people reject the gospel on the grounds that so few (relatively) around them are accepting it. They reason that if something is obviously true, God would not allow the majority to fail to see it. But history has shown that truth usually takes a back seat. If you see God’s truth in the gospel, you have no excuse for rejecting it, even when everybody else seems to.

LORD, give us the courage to stand with your truth, even if we seem to stand alone.

[1] 1 Kings 19:10-18.

[2] 1 Kings 19:18.

[3] Deuteronomy 29:4.

[4] Psalm 69:23.

Posted in David, Elijah, ethnic Israel, faith, faithfulness | Tagged Romans 11 | 1 Comment

no difference

Posted on January 6, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Romans 10:11-21

¹¹ Because the scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”¹² Because there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek, because the same Lord is Lord of all, who richly blesses all who call on him.¹³ Because everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.¹⁴ How can they to call on one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in one they have not heard of? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?¹⁵ And how can they preach unless they are sent? As scripture puts it, “How timely is the arrival of those who proclaim the good news.”¹⁶ But not all have obeyed the good news, because Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?”[1] ¹⁷ Consequently faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the preached word of Christ.¹⁸ But I ask, have they not heard? Yes, they have: Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.¹⁹ But again I ask, didn’t Israel understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous by those who are not a nation; with a senseless nation I will provoke you to anger.”[2] ²⁰ And Isaiah is even bold enough to say, “I was found by those who did not seek me; I became well known to those who did not ask for me.”[3]²¹ But about Israel he says, “All day long I held out my hands to this disobedient and stubborn people!”[4]

no difference

Paul had lived his entire life believing that there was a huge difference between the Jew and the non-Jew. Then he met Christ. His dramatic discovery of the Messiah on the Damascus road led him to re-evaluate things. He saw that every soul on the planet had a need that only Jesus could meet, the need for salvation. He understood that no matter what tradition a person comes from, without Christ he stands condemned. The best thing that can happen to anyone is for them to hear the good news of the gospel, and surrender to Christ. Without this blessing, no other blessing matters.

Perhaps you have believed all your life that you are part of a blessed and preferred community. Maybe you have never needed anything, and you feel that your life has already been blessed by God. Please do not allow the relative comfort of your life to keep you from seeing your desperate need of a Savior. Come to the Damascus road today, and put your faith in God’s only means of righteousness and eternal life. Millions are dying without the hope of eternal life, and if you have not trusted Christ, there is no difference between you and them.

LORD, reveal to all of us our desperate need for your deliverance.

[1] Isaiah 53:1.

[2] Deuteronomy 32:21.

[3] Isaiah 65:1.

[4] Isaiah 65:2-5.

Posted in deliverance, dependence upon God, gospel, Jesus Christ | Tagged Romans 10 | Leave a comment

God’s means of righteousness

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Romans 10:1-10

¹ Brothers, what would please my heart and what I pray to God on behalf of my fellow Israelites is that they be saved.² Because I can testify that they are zealous for God, but their zeal does not line up with the truth.³ Because ignoring the means of righteousness that comes from God, and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God’s means of righteousness.⁴ Because Christ is the purpose of the law, with the result that there is righteousness for everyone who believes.⁵ Because Moses writes about the righteousness that is by the law: “The one who does these things will live by them.”⁶ But the righteousness that is by means of faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?'” (that is, to bring Christ down)⁷ or “Who will descend into the abyss?” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).⁸ But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we preach),[1] ⁹ because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.¹⁰ Because with the heart one believes producing righteousness and with the mouth one confesses producing salvation.

God’s means of righteousness

When I was a young pastor, I went looking for an older Christian to mentor me, and I picked the wrong man. He taught me that God has two peoples, and works under two covenants. He said that you can come to faith and gain eternal life through either group. Either you can come to faith by following the Jewish system, or by putting your trust in Christ.

Paul says, nah. He had lived as a perfect specimen of the Jewish system, and he declared to the Romans that these did not submit to “God’s means of righteousness.” There is only one. He is Jesus, and if you do not bow to his lordship, you are lost, no matter what acts of law-keeping you do.

No matter what your heritage, no matter how good your deeds are, there is only one means of attaining to God’s righteousness: faith in Christ. Come to him now.

LORD, may our message be clear to a dying world. There is life only in your Son.

[1] Deuteronomy 30:11-14.

Posted in faith, gospel, Jesus Christ, righteousness | Tagged Romans 10 | Leave a comment