Devotions

a true case

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Romans 2:1-11

¹Consequently, you are without defense, whoever you are, when you criticize someone else. For on whatever grounds you criticize another, you criticize yourself, because you who are accusing practice similar things.² Now we know that God’s condemnation is based on a true case against those who practice such things.³ So do you think, whoever you are, when you criticize those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape God’s condemnation?⁴ Or do you have disdain for the riches of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?⁵ But because of your obstinacy and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous condemnation is going to be revealed!⁶ He will repay each one according to his works:⁷ eternal life to those who by consistently doing good works seek glory and honor and immortality,⁸ but wrath and fury to those who live in selfish ambition and do not obey the truth but follow unrighteousness.⁹ There will be affliction and distress on everyone who does evil, on the Jew first and also the Greek,¹⁰ but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, for the Jew first and also the Greek.¹¹ Because there is no partiality with God.

a true case

In Romans 2, Paul speaks to those Christians in Rome who had a good Jewish upbringing and could be proud of their access to God’s law. He reminds them that they came to faith in Christ the same way their Gentile fellow Christians did. They repented of their sins and put their trust in Christ’s way, not their own. Because even those who have access to the word do not follow it consistently. So we all need the atoning death of Christ. God’s judgment day will not give a passing grade to those who merely had the truth. It will condemn all sinners. God has a true case against all of us. That is why the gospel is good news to everyone.

LORD, thank you for making a way for us, when we had already rejected the law. Thank you for the gospel of grace.

Posted in atonement, judgment, law, righteousness | Tagged Romans 2 | Leave a comment

a depraved mind

Posted on December 4, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Romans 1:26-32

²⁶ For this reason God gave them over to shameful passions. Because their women exchanged the natural sexual relations for unnatural ones,²⁷ and likewise the men also abandoned normal relations with women and were inflamed in their passions for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.²⁸ And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done.²⁹ They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips,³⁰ slanderers, haters of God, disrespectful, arrogant, boastful, dreamers of all kinds of evil, disobedient to parents,³¹ senseless, covenant-breakers, heartless, coldblooded.³² Although they are fully aware of God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but also commend those who practice them.

a depraved mind

What the world today seems to be flaunting as an acceptable lifestyle, Paul calls the result of God giving unbelievers over to a depraved mind. Bear in mind, Paul is building up his argument against those in Rome who disapprove of homosexuality, and judge them. He will make his point in chapter 2 that those who condemn the depraved ones are just as guilty as those who commend them. All of us need grace and God’s righteousness through Christ.

But that does not mean that God does not care about our sexual preference. The fact that all of us are sinners does not change the sinfulness of the homosexual lifestyle. It is an abomination. It is the result of a mind that has emptied itself of God, and accepted depravity as normal. Paul’s point is that God’s way of escape is the same for those who are depraved, as well as those who judge them. Christ’s death on the cross is the way out for both groups of sinners.

LORD, take our eyes off the sinfulness of others long enough for us to admit that we are in need of Christ, too.

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from emptiness to impurity

Posted on December 3, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Romans 1:18-25

¹⁸ Because God’s wrath is now being revealed from heaven against people’s ungodliness and unrighteousness. They suppress the truth by their unrighteousness,¹⁹ because what can be known about God is shown to them, because God has shown it to them.²⁰ Because since the creation of the world his invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, because those truths are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse.²¹ Because although they knew God, they did not praise him as God or give him thanks, but they became empty in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened.²² Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity, to dishonor their bodies among themselves.²⁵ They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

from emptiness to impurity

God’s wrath will be ultimately revealed against the ungodly in hell, where all whose names are not in the Lamb’s book of life will be thrown to be destroyed permanently. But his wrath is presently being revealed in them by means of self-destruction. Those who refuse to accept the evidence of God’s existence and character will live for themselves, and that emptiness will inevitably result in impurity.

The Roman Christians knew what Paul was referring to. They knew about those whose selfish indulgence had degraded into the most debase kinds of bizarre self abuse. Paul’s message was that the Romans had the choice to go in either direction. They could accept the gospel and start heading toward righteousness by faith or they would go from emptiness to impurity.

LORD, give us the wisdom to flee the emptiness that leads to an impure self-destructive lifestyle. Lead us to righteous living by the truth of your gospel of grace.

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in debt

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Romans 1:13-17

¹³ I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I often intended to come to you (and was prevented until now), so that I may have some fruit even among you, just as I already have among the rest of the Gentiles.¹⁴ I am in debt both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.¹⁵ For this reason I am eager to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome as well.¹⁶ Because I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God’s power to deliver everyone who believes, first to the Jew and also to the Greek.¹⁷ Because the righteousness of God is being revealed in the gospel from faith to faith, just as it is written, “The righteous by faith will live.”

in debt

Paul was a consequence of cosmopolitan life of the first century Roman empire. He had learned both from the philosophical schools and the Torah. He felt an obligation to share with the Gentiles what he had learned by the Holy Spirit from the word of God and his encounter with Christ. And what he had learned was nothing to be ashamed of. It was the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ: God’s power to deliver anyone by faith. Those who dare to believe this gospel will live. One people truly know this gospel, they feel obligated to share it with others.

LORD, thank you for the truth of the glorious saving gospel of grace. We owe this truth to those who do not yet know it. Send us to them.

Posted in evangelism, gospel, missions | Tagged Romans 1 | Leave a comment

prayer and mutual encouragement

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Romans 1:8-12

⁸ First of all, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.⁹ Because God, whom I serve in my spirit by preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness that I keep thinking of you¹⁰ and I am always asking in my prayers, if maybe now at last I may get the chance to visit you, within the will of God.¹¹ Because I long to see you, so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you,¹² but this is so that we may be mutually encouraged by one another’s faith, both yours and mine.

prayer and mutual encouragement

Prayer and mutual encouragement go together. We are concerned about those we remember, and we remember those we take time to pray for. We are more likely to get opportunities to share mutual encouragement with those for whom we regularly pray.

For Paul, this letter was not the beginning of that mutual encouragement. It began as Paul himself was ministered to by the reputation of the Roman Christians. Their miraculous faith was being gossiped about throughout the empire. The gospel had reached the capital city of the empire itself. Paul wanted to get in on that miracle. As he prayed for the Romans, that desire to share grew into a calling for mission work there. Paul responded to that calling by his epistle, and sought every opportunity to go.

LORD, spark within us a desire to encourage — and be encouraged by – those in other lands who need Jesus. Call us to your mission fields.

Posted in encouragement, fellowship, prayer | Tagged Romans 1 | Leave a comment

two callings

Posted on November 30, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Romans 1:1-7

¹ From Paul, a servant bonded to Christ Jesus, a called apostle, set apart to proclaim the gospel from God.² This gospel he promised previously through his prophets in the holy scriptures,³ it being about his Son who qualified with reference to the flesh by being a descendant of David,⁴ who was shown to be the Son-of-God-in-power by the Holy Spirit raising him from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.⁵ By means of him we have received grace and our apostleship to bring about the obedient response of faith among all the Gentiles on behalf of his name.⁶ You also are among them, called by Jesus Christ.⁷ To all those loved by God in Rome, called holy ones: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

two callings

The epistles of Paul were all written because of two callings.

1. The believers in the various Gentile churches (in this case, the churches in Rome) had been called by Jesus Christ to be his holy ones. They had encountered the Lord Jesus Christ, and recognized his spiritual authority over them because the Holy Spirit had vindicated him by raising him from the dead. Therefore they were compelled to respond to that call by the obedient (answering) response of faith.

2. The encounter with the Lord came because church planting missionaries (apostles) dared to breach their comfort zones and reach out to these foreigners, bringing them into the community of faith as an obedient response to the gospel. Even this early in the epistle, elements of this gospel message are already shining through:

God loves you.
Jesus is our Lord.
We are called to be his holy ones.
We respond to that calling by faith.

LORD, thank you for calling us to yourself by means of Christ, and bringing us to Christ by your gospel of grace. Thank you for those through whom you have reached us with this gospel.

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the glowing cloud

Posted on November 29, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 40:17-38

¹⁷ In the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was set up.¹⁸ Moses set up the tabernacle. He laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars.¹⁹ And he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent over it, as the LORD had instructed Moses.²⁰ He took the testimony and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark and placed the propitiatory lid above on the ark.²¹ And he brought the ark into the tabernacle and set up the veil of the screen, and screened the ark of the testimony, as the LORD had commanded Moses.²² He put the table in the tent of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil,²³ and arranged the bread on it before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses.²⁴ He put the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle,²⁵ and set up the lamps before the LORD, as the LORD had instructed Moses.²⁶ He put the golden altar in the tent of meeting before the veil,²⁷ and burned fragrant incense on it, as the LORD had commanded Moses.²⁸ He put in place the screen for the door of the tabernacle.²⁹ And he set the altar of burnt offering at the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the LORD had commanded Moses.³⁰ He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing,³¹ with which Moses and Aaron and his sons were to their hands and their feet.³² When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they would wash, as the LORD had instructed Moses.³³ And he erected the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work.³⁴ Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.³⁵ And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.³⁶ Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud ascended from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out.³⁷ But if the cloud had not ascended, then they did not set out till the day that it ascended.³⁸ Because the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.

the glowing cloud

The glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle, causing it to glow even when covered by a cloud. This cloud glowed like fire in the night. The cloud would ascend whenever it was time to move to another place. I find it interesting that the Lord Jesus ascended into the clouds with a command for his disciples to make disciples to all nations. They were to set out upon the ascension of the tabernacle, which was Christ. John said of Christ that “the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory–the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father.”[1]

And so we are a people always on the move accomplishing the Father’s will until the Son descends again and his glory returns to us. Our pilgrimage has a purpose.

LORD, we ask that you sanctify us through and through, and prepare us for the journey that you have in store. We await the return of your glory among us – that of your one and only.

[1] John 1:14 NET.

Posted in missions, sanctification, second coming | Tagged Exodus 40 | 1 Comment

finishing touches

Posted on November 28, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 40:1-16

¹ The LORD told Moses,² “On the first day of the first month you should put up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.³ And you should put in it the ark of the testimony, and you should hide the ark with the veil.⁴ And you should bring in the table and arrange it, and you should bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps.⁵ And you should put the golden altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and set up the partition for the door of the tabernacle.⁶ You should set the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting,⁷ and place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it.⁸ And you should set up the court all around, and hang up the screen for the gate of the court.⁹ “Then you should take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture, so that it may become holy.¹⁰ You should also anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, so that the altar may become most holy.¹¹ You should also anoint the basin and its stand, and consecrate it.¹² Then you should bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and should wash them with water¹³ and put on Aaron the sacred uniform. And you should anoint him and consecrate him, so that he may serve me as priest.¹⁴ You should bring his sons also and put coats on them,¹⁵ and anoint them, just as you anointed their father, so that they may serve me as priests. And their anointing should admit them to a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.”¹⁶ This Moses did; according to all that the LORD instructed him, so he did.

finishing touches

The raw materials had been collected. The furniture had been carefully constructed and preserved. The tabernacle structure had been painstakingly built, including all its intricate details that connected each part to the other. But before the tabernacle could be used for the purpose God intended, it had to be anointed with sacred oil, and its priests and high priest had to be ceremonially washed and anointed with oil as well.

Oil was a cleansing and protective agent. Once a person or animal was washed clean, oil was used to prevent further contamination and protect against disease or pestilence. It’s symbolic, spiritual significance was connected to that practical one. A place, structure or person anointed with oil was declared pure, and protected against future impurity. Such a place, structure or person was set free to serve the intended purpose.

The LORD had instructed Moses and the architects and artisans working for him to select the best materials, carefully design and construct a sacred structure, and for the finishing touches, both the tabernacle and those who would serve in it would have to be washed and anointed. It was – and they were — to be prepared for service fit for the LORD himself. A generation of slaves were lifted up to become a generation of priests, with God himself in their midst.

This generation needs some preparation if we are to be what God has destined us to be. The good news is that Christ has done it. The New Testament teaches that “by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”[1] So, we are ready to serve. Even though we are still “being sanctified” the finishing touches that prepared us for service have already been applied.

LORD, we confidently enter your presence and serve you and your people, trusting in Christ, who has perfected us for all time.

[1] Hebrews 10:14 ESV.

Posted in plan of God, sanctification | Tagged Exodus 40 | 1 Comment

a good start

Posted on November 27, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 39:32-43

³² This is how all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished, and the people of Israel did according to all that the LORD had instructed Moses; they did it so.³³ Then they presented the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its utensils, its hooks, its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases;³⁴ the covering of tanned rams’ skins and goatskins, and the protecting veil;³⁵ the ark of the testimony with its carrying poles and the mercy seat;³⁶ the table with all its utensils, and the Face bread;³⁷ the lampstand of pure gold and its lamps with the lamps set and all its utensils, and the oil to fuel the light;³⁸ the golden altar, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the screen for the entrance of the tent;³⁹ the bronze altar, and its grating of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils; the basin and its stand;⁴⁰ the hangings of the court, its pillars, and its bases, and the screen for the gate of the court, its cords, and its pegs; and all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting;⁴¹ the finely worked uniforms for ministering in the Holy Place, the holy uniforms for Aaron the priest, and the uniforms of his sons for their service as priests.⁴² According to all that the LORD had instructed Moses, so the people of Israel had done all the work.⁴³ And Moses saw all the work, and see, they had accomplished it; as the LORD had instructed, so had they accomplished it. Then Moses blessed them.

a good start

Lots of people with good intentions of reading the Bible through get stuck just a few chapters into Exodus. It starts out reading like an epic novel, where the suppressed Israelites are rescued from the tyranny of Pharaoh by a supernatural power. Then, there is the adventure and promise of the new land, which keeps the pages turning. But then all of a sudden Exodus starts looking like a blueprint for an elaborate construction site. The eyes start drooping, and the pages stop turning so easily. What’s going on?

Exodus is about more than just getting out of Egypt. It is about getting Egypt out of us. The Israelites needed a new work to replace the work of oppression and bondage they had under Pharaoh. The construction of the tabernacle was a good start on that work. It kept the people occupied, producing something that was bigger than they were. It got them thinking about who their LORD was, and how they could serve and worship him. It helped them to redefine themselves in terms of their relationship with God.

The construction of the tabernacle is a kind of similitude to the sanctification process that believers go through this side of eternity. We are given the divine moral patterns in the Scriptures, and are called on to build our lives by those patterns. Even when we are finished with this life, and present that tabernacle to the LORD, it is not the ultimate end. It is just a start. We pray that we make it a good start.

LORD, give us the wisdom to build our lives after your instructions; to make a good start on the eternal lives you have destined for us.

Posted in discipleship, holiness, plan of God | Tagged Exodus 39 | 1 Comment

a uniform for ministering

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 39:22-31

²² He also made the robe of the ephod all of blue, woven together,²³ and the collar of the robe in it was like the collar in a garment, with a reinforcement around the opening, so that it might not tear.²⁴ On the hem of the robe they made pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen.²⁵ They also made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates all around the hem of the robe, between the pomegranates-²⁶ a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate around the hem of the robe for ministering, as the LORD had instructed Moses.²⁷ They also made the coats, woven of fine linen, for Aaron and his sons,²⁸ and the turban of fine linen, and the caps of fine linen, and the linen undergarments of fine twined linen,²⁹ and the sash of fine twined linen and of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, embroidered with needlework, as the LORD had instructed Moses.³⁰ They made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it an inscription, like the engraving of a signet, “Holy to the LORD.”³¹ And they tied to it a cord of blue to fasten it on the turban above, as the LORD had instructed Moses.

a uniform for ministering

I never had a school uniform growing up, but on the mission field as a Bible College professor, I did. It seemed to make a difference for me. Putting on my school uniform every morning, I was reminded that this was more than a job. It is a calling, and it has a purpose, and that purpose goes beyond myself.

The priests under the Mosaic covenant also had a prescribed uniform. They had a calling, and a ministry, and the uniforms they wore reminded them of that ministry. They wore things that reminded them of the awesomeness of the LORD, and of the uniqueness of the twelve tribes of Israel. The priests were to be devoted to both their God and their people.

LORD, remind us each day of our calling and ministry to you, and to those you have called us to serve and lead.

Posted in consideration of others, dependence upon God, leadership, ministry | Tagged Exodus 39 | 1 Comment