be stretched, be changed

Posted on May 28, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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be stretched, be changed

Philemon 1:4-7 (JDV)

Philemon 1:4 I always thank my God when I mention you in my prayers,
Philemon 1:5 because I hear of your care for all the devotees and the faith that you have in the Lord Jesus.
Philemon 1:6 I pray that your participation in the faith may become effective through knowing every good thing that is in us for the glory of Christ.
Philemon 1:7 For I have great joy and encouragement from your care because the hearts of the devotees have been refreshed through you, brother.

The Holy Spirit’s counsel through the scriptures reaches down and touches us, encouraging growth in every facet of our lives, not just our weaknesses. Philemon was well-known for two things:

He had great faith in the LORD and was constantly sharing that faith with others.
He had great love (care) for others and was constantly refreshing the hearts of the saints.
Now, it was time for the Holy Spirit to go to work, stretching and strengthening Philemon in precisely those areas of spiritual health that he was known for. His faith in Christ, the Reconciler, was the foundation for his existence. Now Paul was going to ask him to apply that faith in an area of his life that he had not imagined it would apply: his relationship with Onesimus.

Also, Philemon had always been ready to meet the needs of any brother as soon as he discovered that need. Now Paul was going to introduce him to a new brother: Onesimus, whom he knew in the past only as a useless runaway slave who could not be trusted.

God’s righteousness is infinite. When the light of his glory and grace shines on our lives, even those rooms of our house that we keep tidy and set apart for only visitors to see are revealed to be less than adequate. Paul’s letter to his friend was a challenge to let the Holy Spirit have access to transform him — again.

LORD, our lives are yours. We present to you our strengths as well as our weaknesses. Stretch us and change us as you see fit.

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your congregation

Posted on May 27, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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your congregation

Philemon 1:1-3 (JDV)

Philemon 1:1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and brother Timothy: To Philemon, our cared for co-laborer,
Philemon 1:2 and to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the congregation that meets in your home.
Philemon 1:3 Favor to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philemon apparently had a congregation that met in his house regularly. They may have met elsewhere as well. But Philemon’s faith was such that he had opened his house for Christians to gather there, to learn the word there, to worship there.

Is your home dedicated to the Lord and his people? God gave you that home for a reason. You are not the reason.

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that ship had sailed

Posted on May 26, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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that ship had sailed

Psalm 106:47-48 (JDV)

Psalm 106:47 Deliver us, Yahveh our God, and gather us from the nations, so that we may give thanks to your sacred name and rejoice in your praise.
Psalm 106:48 Blessed be Yahveh God of Israel, from age to age. All the people should say, “Amen!” Praise Yah!

The people of God needed deliverance because God was not being praised. Their motivation was to enhance God’s reputation. They did not appeal to God on the basis of their own worthiness. They knew that was a lost cause. That ship had sailed. Instead, they wanted God to be glorified. May our prayers always be prayed in order to hallow the name of our great God.

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waiting to forgive and restore

Posted on May 25, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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waiting to forgive and restore

Psalm 106:44-46 (JDV)

Psalm 106:44 When he heard their cry, he took note of their distress,
Psalm 106:45 remembered his covenant with them and relented according to the abundance of his covenant faithfulness.
Psalm 106:46 He caused them to be pitied in the presence of all their captors.

God knew the situation of his people. He knew they needed forgiveness and restoration. But he waited for their cry. He waits today for his people of every nation to realize the hopelessness of following the wrong way. Cry out to your creator today. He is waiting to forgive and restore you.

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don’t disgust God

Posted on May 24, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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don’t disgust God

Psalm 106:40-43 (JDV)

Psalm 106:40 That is why Yahveh’s anger burned against his people, and he was disgusted by his own hereditary possession.
Psalm 106:41 He handed them over to the nations; those who hated them ruled over them.
Psalm 106:42 Their enemies oppressed them, and they were subdued under their power.
Psalm 106:43 He rescued them many times, but they continued to rebel deliberately and were beaten down by their violation.

We need to decide who we belong to. We don’t want the LORD’s anger to burn against us. So we need to be careful whose ways we adopt. If we do the things that the enemy does, we are in danger of falling into their hands.

LORD, our God, we belong to you. Give us the wisdom to follow your ways, and to reject the ways of your enemies.

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mingling without adopting

Posted on May 23, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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mingling without adopting

Psalm 106:34-39 (JDV)

Psalm 106:34 They did not exterminate the peoples as Yahveh had commanded them
Psalm 106:35 but mingled with the nations and adopted what they had made.
Psalm 106:36 They served their idols, which became a snare to them.
Psalm 106:37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.
Psalm 106:38 They shed innocent blood – the blood of their sons and daughters whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; so the land became polluted with blood.
Psalm 106:39 They defiled themselves by what they had done and prostituted themselves by their deeds.

God has not commanded us to exterminate the unbelievers around us. He has commanded us to reach them with the gospel, which will require us to go to them — and to allow them to come to us. But we still need to avoid adopting their ways, serving their gods, and sacrificing our children.

LORD, show us how to reach the lost among us, without joining their rebellion.

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forgive us this day

Posted on May 22, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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forgive us this day

Psalm 106:32-33 (JDV)

Psalm 106:32 They angered Yahveh at Meribah’s water, and Moses suffered because of them;
Psalm 106:33 because they embittered his breath, and he spoke rashly with his lips.

Like, Moses, you can suffer because of the sins of someone else. They can embitter your breath and cause you to say or do inappropriate things. We are all connected.

You should try to prevent these failures, but you might not always succeed. That is why the Lord taught us to come to him regularly, seeking forgiveness.

LORD, forgive us this day our daily sins, and guide us away from temptation.

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the righteous killer

Posted on May 21, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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the righteous killer

Psalm 106:28-31 (JDV)

Psalm 106:28 They aligned themselves with Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods.
Psalm 106:29 They angered Yahveh with their deeds, and a plague broke out against them.
Psalm 106:30 But Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stopped.
Psalm 106:31 It was credited to him as righteousness from one generation to the next – permanently.

During a time when the Israelites were being seduced into idolatry by the neighboring Moabites and Midianites, a priest named Phinehas had to do something. He entered the tent of the Israelite Zimri, found him with the Moabite woman Cozbi, and ran them both through with his spear (Numbers 25).

God had sent a plague to Israel because of their intermingling with these foreign idolaters. Phinehas’ bloody intervention made the Israelites rethink their situation.

Jesus does not command us to kill others for our faith, but he does want us to intervene in our society when it leads its people to disobey God.

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heading to a fall

Posted on May 20, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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heading to a fall

Psalm 106:24-27 (JDV)

Psalm 106:24 They rejected the pleasant land and did not believe his promise.
Psalm 106:25 They grumbled in their tents and did not listen to Yahveh.
Psalm 106:26 So he raised his hand against them with an oath that he would make them fall in the open country
Psalm 106:27 and would disperse their descendants among the nations, scattering them throughout the lands.

If you were walking toward a cliff, heading to a disastrous fall, would you want to know it? The first two verses of today’s passage outline the dangerous decisions that sealed the fate of the Israelites in the wilderness.

They had rejected God’s plan for them, wanting something else.
They did not believe in God’s promise to their ancestors.
They complained about their present situation.
They did not listen to Yahveh when he spoke his word through Moses.

As a result, God chose to let them fall in the wilderness and to scatter their descendants among the nations.

Forgive us LORD for failing to believe your promises, and for the sin of complaining. Teach us to trust your sovereignty over today and your commitment for tomorrow.

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turning away his wrath

Posted on May 19, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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turning away his wrath

Psalm 106:16-23 (JDV)

Psalm 106:16 In the camp they were envious of Moses and of Aaron, Yahveh’s sacred one.
Psalm 106:17 The land opened up and swallowed Dathan; it covered the assembly of Abiram.
Psalm 106:18 Fire blazed throughout their assembly; flames consumed the wicked.
Psalm 106:19 At Horeb they made a calf and worshiped the cast metal image.
Psalm 106:20 They exchanged their fame for the image of a grass-eating ox.
Psalm 106:21 They forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt,
Psalm 106:22 wonderful things in the land of Ham, awe-inspiring acts at the Red Sea.
Psalm 106:23 So he said he would have destroyed them – if Moses his chosen one had not stood before him in the breach to turn his wrath away from exterminating them.

There are millions who are in rebellion against God — the same God whose wrath consumed the rebels in the wilderness. It was a fire that exterminated God’s enemies, and it is their destiny — unless. Unless someone like you can stand in the breach and turn God’s wrath by bringing these sinners the gospel.

LORD, give us an opportunity to rescue the rebels all around us.

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