January 25, 2023: Philippians 3:20-21 - Our Citizenship is in Heaven

“For our citizenship is in heaven from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.” - Philippians 3:20-21

Have you ever been in a place or a situation where you felt like you just didn’t belong there, that you didn’t fit in? That is the life of a believer in Jesus Christ, in one who has put their faith and trust in Him for redemption of all their sins. I can tell you from my own personal experience that it took me a while after I got saved to realize that this place, the earth, is not my true Home. Prior to getting saved, my earthly home was extremely valuable to me, and I loved decorating it and buying new things for it. I loved the way it made me feel safe, safe from the elements, keeping me warm during the cold of winter, cool in the summer heat, and dry during the rare rainstorms in the Southwest where we lived. And, I must honestly admit that my home made me feel a certain status because I lived in a desirable area of town. Then I got saved. I turned to Jesus as my Savior, and slowly, my perspective started to change.

Going back to 2001 when 9/11 happened, it rocked my world, like it did for many people. It made me realize that everything can change in an instant. I wasn’t saved at that time, but it was then that I was starting to realize my own mortality. A few years later, I had this strong urge to learn about the Bible, to learn about Christianity and why it claimed to be the only way to heaven. In my readiness to learn about Jesus, Satan himself was right there, ready to mislead me and sent two Jehovah’s Witnesses to my house, knocking on the door. Long-story short: I studied with them for about four years when my husband, who is not a believer in Jesus Christ, called an end to it. I thank God that he did, and I believe it was God’s intervention. I eventually threw away all of their materials that they had given me, including their version of the Bible, one which denies the divinity of Jesus Christ, and I began a journey of reading the Bible, one that I had purchased. After finally finishing the Bible, I was absolutely, 100 percent convinced that it is the true word of God and that belief in Jesus Christ as your Savior is the only way to God the Father in heaven. I accepted Jesus as my Savior.

I estimate it was in 2016 or 2017 that God put a longing in my heart to go Home, to my true Home, in heaven with Him. It was also during this time that our family went through some extremely difficult times, and I leaned on God like never before. The more I suffered emotionally, the more alone I felt in this world, the closer I got to Him, and I realized I cannot get through a single day of my life without Him. As my dependence on Him grew, I started having this longing to go to my true home, Home with Him. He even put a song in my heart to write and record. The title of the song is called “Home.” The first verse and the chorus are:

Verse 1

We feel it all around us, that You’re coming soon. We hear You when You call us. We feel Your presence, You’re right beside us. We know that soon we’ll see You, when You take us…

Chorus

Home, where death, sorrow, and tears are no more. Home, where heaven and earth are made new. Jesus is calling us…Home.

I also began to feel like I just don’t fit in here. As I continued in my Bible reading, I realized why. The world approves and promotes that which God calls evil and it hates what God calls good. The world’s ways are not His ways, and as long as I am following Him and not the world, I won’t ever fit in, and that is a good thing for believers in Jesus Christ. As the Bible tells us in Romans 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Yes, we still have to live our lives while we are here on earth but our goal mustn’t be to live “our best lives now” as one who claims to be a pastor said, but to know that our best lives are yet to come. Our lives here on earth are just a temporary stopping place on our way to our eternity and where our true Home is. We must ask ourselves: Is our treasure here on earth or is it in heaven? When you have a span of eternity and you see one dot in the middle of it, how important is all that happened on that one dot compared to what happens in eternity? Our lives here on earth are that one dot. I could have everything in this world that I ever wanted, but what happens to it all when I die? Can I take it with me? No, all the things I have ever accumulated will go to someone else, and my body will be dead.

When a believer dies, his or her soul goes to heaven immediately but their bodies stay in the graves or where they were at their point of death. Our soul is separated from our body at the time of death. This is because the Bible tells us that we cannot be with Christ in our corrupted bodies: “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit corruption.” (1 Corinthians 15:50)

As Paul states in Philippians 3:20-21, our citizenship - our true Home - is not here on earth: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able to subdue all things to Himself.”

So, how do the bodies of believers in Jesus become transformed? The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:51-57:

“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep [die], but we shall all be changed - in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written:

‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your string? O Hades, where is your victory?’

The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

There is a similar passage in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18. Death will not have victory over us like it does for unbelievers. Our souls will be united with our new glorified bodies through our resurrection in Christ.

The Bible tells us that Jesus is coming again, but the second time He comes, it won’t be to offer redemption of sins to all who would believe in Him but to defeat all who come against Him, including the coming Antichrist and the False Prophet. After their defeat, all believers in Christ will be allowed entry into Jesus’ kingdom on earth that will last 1,000 years. After that, He will destroy the earth by fire and will create a new heaven, a new earth, and a New Jerusalem, and it is there that we will spend our eternity with Him, where as the apostle John wrote, “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

However, for unbelievers, when they are resurrected at the end of Jesus’ 1,000-year reign on earth, He will judge them based on their works. Why are they judged by their works? Because they rejected His free gift of salvation; they rejected His way and chose their way instead. It will be like a courtroom scene, with books that are opened. When an unbeliever stands before God, another book will be opened, the Book of Life. None of the unbelievers’ names will be found in the Book of Life, because they all rejected Jesus’ gift. They will be found guilty because no one could ever do anything “good enough” that could save them from their sins - only the sinless, precious blood of Jesus could have redeemed them. But it will be too late for them to accept that gift. They did not make heaven their citizenship, but the earth. Thus, “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-15)

I ask you to consider your own mortality. What if you were to die today, or even within the hour? Where would you spend your eternity - in heaven with Jesus and all who put their faith and trust in Him, or will you spend it in hell, with the majority of the world, a place where Jesus said several times there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth?” Is your citizenship in this world, or is it in heaven? Think of all the people who died suddenly, who did not have another minute to decide where they will spend their eternity - will the next person be you? ✝️

January 24, 2023: Philippians 3:17-19 - Many are the Enemies of the Cross of Christ

“Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is their destruction, whose is god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame - who set their mind on earthly things.” - Philippians 3:17-19

Paul is talking to his fellow believers in Christ, telling them to keep pressing on in their faith, keeping their eyes on the “prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Paul is an example of how they should live their lives; they should keep reaching forward to Christ. They should be of the same mind as him. Why? Because within the church of believers, there are those who have strayed and now are enemies of the cross of Christ. Does Paul happily report this news to them? No! He weeps for them, as we all should when we see people who professed to be saved through faith in Jesus Christ but are not. There are many who would argue, myself included, that they were never saved. As the apostle John wrote in 1 John 2:18-19:

“Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.”

Satan has indeed infiltrated the church, not only with people attending the church but also with false pastors and false teachers, in order to deceive many. As Paul wrote to Timothy:

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron…” (1 Timothy 4:1-2)

Returning to today’s text, Paul calls them “the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is their destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame - who set their mind on earthly things.” How many people have we seen in past five years of so who once said they were Christians but have departed from the faith or who still say they are Christian but whose actions speak otherwise? I know that we as Christians are not perfect, we still sin, each and every day. But when you publicly defend and support that which God has called sin, you are not keeping His commandments. I believe you are putting yourself at risk of being deceived by Satan because you did not heed Paul’s warning to be of the same mind, keeping our focus on Jesus Christ and His word, no matter how difficult it gets to live as a Christian in a world that hates Jesus. God’s word does not change because a culture embraces and promotes that which God calls sin. Those who embrace that which God calls sin and rejects the free gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ is an enemy of the cross of Christ.

Running a race, especially a long one, is difficult; if it were easy, everyone would do it. But it’s not. It takes work, it takes dedication, it requires getting out there and running on all kinds of days. We run when the day is just absolutely gorgeous, the sun is shining, the weather is perfect, and we enjoy every minute of it. But what about the days when it’s extremely hot, cold, rainy, or windy? What about the days when that headwind is blowing right in your face, slowing you down, making you wonder why you’re even out there in it when everyone else is inside, comfortable, and safe? Similarly, running our race of faith can and will be difficult. To many it might seem that when we first got saved, it was so easy and everything was just beautiful! We were running along at ease, enjoying the view with a new set of eyes that God gave us, where everything looked different. But then, the view changed. Now, we are running uphill, in the wind, in inclement weather, and we are being persecuted for our faith. People who used to be our friends no longer want to have anything to do with us; they mock us or avoid us because of our faith. And, it’s not just our friends, our coworkers may scoff at us, and joining with them is the entertainment industry, the media, the government, the educational system, and even members of our own family. Instead of being on the sidelines encouraging us as we run this race of faith, they are booing and hissing at us, calling us narrow-minded fools for Christ. How many have stopped running their race of faith because of the pressure, the backlash, the difficulties in running this race of faith? How many have decided to go back to following the world instead of Christ? How many have bought into the lies of the devil that all roads lead to heaven, you can get to heaven just by being “good”, or even denying that one goes to heaven or hell when they die?

How did Paul describe those who did go back to following the world instead of Christ? He said, “they are enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is their destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame - who set their mind on earthly things.” Let us examine each one of these four consequences.

1. Enemies of the Cross: Peter spoke on this regarding not only false prophets and false teachers but also those who choose to follow them: “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle and their destruction does not slumber.” (2 Peter 2:1-3) These truly are enemies of the cross. Instead of speaking the truth of God, they speak lies of the devil, deceiving many, leading them straight to hell, to destruction.

2. Whose End is Their Destruction: Notice that Paul said that “many” are the “enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction.” This aligns with what Jesus Himself told His disciples, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” It is only by remaining in Christ that we will have life; all others will be destroyed, for they chose the broad way.

3. Whose God is Their Belly: Peter describes the end for those who have departed from the faith and chose their earthly comforts over their eternal destination.“For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb, ‘A dog returns to his own vomit,’ and, ‘a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.’” (2 Peter 2:20-22) For the many, their race of faith became too difficult, and they did not hunger for the truth of God - the bread of life - but for the empty lies of the devil that will forever keep them dissatisfied, for now and through their eternity.

4. Whose Glory is in Their Shame - Who Set Their Mind on Earthly Things: The many, the ones Paul was referring to, did not keep their focus on Christ above but on the things of the earth. To them, their temporary lives on this earth meant more to them than their eternal lives. Thus, they chose to believe in and support whatever the culture of the moment was embracing. Look at our world today - what is it embracing? Is it embracing life? No, absolutely not! It is a culture that is obsessed with darkness and is obsessed with death. What are those things associated with? Satan. As Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” Here, the “thief” is Satan, the devil. What does our culture today, especially in America, support? Does it support the family unit, as designed by God, to promote life? No, it hates the family unit and is doing everything it can to destroy it. Even our vice president this week omitted the key words of “right to life’ in which she quoted the Declaration of Independence during her remarks about access to abortion. Without life, one has nothing! The world today is an enemy of the cross of Christ, who Himself said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.”

   The race of faith requires endurance to the end, the time when we will cross the finish line and we see our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, face-to-face. Until then, will we keep our focus on Him, being of the same mind as other believers in Christ, remembering the examples of Paul and others of how we ought to live our lives for Jesus, or will we set our mind on things of the earth, like so many have sadly done, to their own destruction, to their own peril? Will our glory be in Him or in our shame? Every single one of us will bow down before Jesus one day. When it is your turn, what will He say to you? Will He say, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels”? (Matthew 25:41). Or, will He say to you, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world?’” (Matthew 25:34) ✝️

January 23, 2023: Philippians 3:15-16 - Let Us be of the Same Mind

“Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.” - Philippians 3:15-16

In the previous verses of Scripture in this chapter, the apostle Paul had reminded the believers in Christ at the church in Philippi that their salvation from sins only comes “through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.” (Philippians 3:9) There is no righteousness apart from faith in Jesus Christ, for He alone is righteous.

Paul had encouraged them not to look back at their past but to keep pressing on toward the upward call of Christ, to that day when they would be resurrected by Him from the dead in His call of glory. Paul’s words are a reminder to believers in Christ today not to give up but to keep pressing on through Jesus Christ, no matter how difficult it gets, and to keep our focus on Him.

In verses 15-16, Paul tells them, “Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind” and again “let us be of the same mind.” The mind is a powerful thing. When I was young, I used to be a runner, and I enjoyed the freedom of running and being outdoors. When I was in middle school, I was on the track team, but I was always a sprinter. I could run quite fast but only for short distances. I absolutely despised running any distance over a quarter mile. I had this mental block about it.

After I got married, started working, and had our children, I didn’t exercise until my mid-40’s. I had started working out at the gym, lifting weights, and doing cardio exercises, but I had not run since I had taken a PE class at college and had to run a mile. At that time, I was in my 20s and I was out of shape and had not exercised in a long time. I remember feeling like I was going to die when I ran that mile. That was the last time I had run, and it had left such an impression upon me that I avoided running like it was the plague, especially outside. My husband knew, however, that I was ready to take that next step because I had trained my body and my mind, I had pushed myself hard at the gym to get to where I was, forgetting about my past when I was unfit. He pushed me to push myself to move past that mental block and get on the treadmill and run for a minute. I didn’t want to at first. He told me, “If you can workout at the gym for two hours, you can run a minute on the treadmill!” I didn’t believe that I could do it, but I was so frustrated at him that I did it. It may not sound like much to you, but to me, that minute felt like an hour. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, but I did it. That was my breakthrough.

Through my husband’s pushing me to push myself to press on, I took the next step and started running outside - uphill! It was a slight hill over the distance of about a mile. It took me several times to run it non-stop, with my husband running ahead of me, waiting for me to get to where he was, but eventually I had conquered that hill! After keeping at it and pressing on, I finally had run the whole track, 3.33 miles, a little over a 5K run. That was the furthest I had ever run in my life non-stop, and my husband had run it with me. He was up ahead when I came to the end point, and he was there congratulating me when I had made it! I lifted up my arms, like Rocky did in the movie, I was elated that I did it! I had done it with my husband’s confidence in me that I could do it, through his pushing me to push myself, because if it were up to me, I likely would have never got on the treadmill in the gym in the first place; I would have stayed inside my comfort zone.

Paul’s words to the Philippians are a reminder to all believers: we must have the same mind that we will win our race of faith, we will accomplish our goal, and we will receive the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus if we keep pressing on and keep our focus on Him. If our mind tells us it’s too hard, if we look back and miss what we used to have, if we miss those days of our sin and our comfort zone, then we won’t press on, we will give up, and we will miss out on the eternal glory that Christ Himself has laid up for us. I wouldn’t want that for myself and I don’t want that for you. I pray you get out of your comfort zone and keep pressing on, for we are in the race of our lives. Will you endure, pressing on, and cross the finish line, or will you give up and miss out on the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus? The choice is yours. 🏃‍♀️🏃✝️

January 22, 2023: Philippians 3:13-14 - Let Us Press Toward Jesus Christ

“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 3:13-14

The goal of any runner in a race is to win the prize, and to look back during a race will slow you down. Hannah Hartzell wrote in her March 14, 2018 article titled, “The Problem With Looking Over Your Shoulder During A Race” in womensrunning.com (see: https://www.womensrunning.com/training/road/problem-looking-over-shoulder-during-race/):

“I’m nowhere near Olympic-caliber, but I’ve run enough races to know why, in 99 percent of racing situations, looking back is not a smart idea. Why? Because it signals a negative shift in the mindset of an athlete. When a runner looks backwards, it is typically because they are afraid someone is catching up with them. They are no longer running to win: they’re running to avoid losing.

But we’ve all been there, right? The legs that propelled you through the first part of the race begin to tire. You start contemplating a convenient collapse near a water station. Your mind imagines your legs turning to jelly and all the runners passing you. That’s when fear sets in. So you look back—just to make sure you have enough distance on the chase pack, just to bolster your confidence.

What seems like a minor choice can actually have a huge impact on the rest of your race. Think about it: If you look back and see a runner closing in on you, your confidence will be shaken. On the flip side, if you look back and see no one, it might provide momentary comfort, but you’ll soon feel even more paranoid. You’ll want to keep looking back. Your mind will increasingly focus on how to avoid losing instead of how to win.”

The same can be said of Christians, those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, as we run our own race, our race of faith. Looking back instead of forward will take our mind off of Jesus, our prize, and on the things which have happened already, the things we cannot change. Remember when two angels went to Sodom to rescue Lot and his family? What did they tell Lot and his family when it was morning and time to leave before God rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, two vile and wicked cities? They had taken Lot’s, his wife’s, and his two daughters’ hands and brought them outside of Sodom and then they told them, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.” Then God rained fire and brimstone on those cities, but instead of looking forward to escape what she had left behind, Lot’s wife did what she was told not to do and looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. (Genesis 19:12-26)

In a similar manner, we must keep our eyes on Jesus, never looking back, never longing for the lives we used to live. How many of us have looked back over these three years since COVID hit the world, longing for the days in which we lived our “normal” lives - in a country I would compare to Sodom and Gomorrah, or even worse - without lockdowns, healthcare mandates, business closures, food shortages, chaos, confusion, sky-high inflation, threats of a “Great Reset” by the powerful and God-rejecting leaders of the World Economic Forum, and on and on? Throughout all of this, it should be crystal clear to us that our prize is not this world; it is not the comforts that perhaps we used to have prior to March 2020. Was that fact clear to Lot’s wife as she fled that destroyed city of Sodom? No, she looked back and she lost her focus in her race, her race to escape the destruction, thus bringing her own destruction.

Proverbs 4:25 tells us, “Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil.”

Hebrews 12:1-2 beautifully describes our race of faith:

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Let us remember what this race of faith is all about, as Paul said when speaking to the Philippians when he talked about his former life as a self-righteous Jewish religious leader, a Pharisee, one who denounced Christ and persecuted those who believed in Him:

“Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:8-11)

Let us take heed to Paul’s words when he spoke to the Colossians and keep Christ as our priority:

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1-4)

Let us not look back on our past and what we have left behind, but let us keep running this race of faith, strong, reaching forward and keeping our eyes fixed on the prize - Jesus - oh, sweet Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. 🙏🏻✝️

January 21, 2023: Philippians 3:12 - Let Us Press On

“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.” - Philippians 3:12

How many of us, believers in Christ Jesus as our Savior, have just wanted to give up? How many times have we said to ourselves, “It’s too hard, Lord; I can’t do this anymore?” You know what, you are in good company if you have ever said that. Jesus never told us when we put our faith and trust in Him that life would be easy, that we would live trouble-free from that moment on, and casually slide from this life into our eternity. No, in fact, Jesus told us the exact opposite.

Before Jesus would be beaten and scourged to the point where He was unrecognizable and before He was hung on a cross to die an agonizing death, He had gone to the Garden of Gethsemane and knelt down and prayed, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42) Jesus knew what He was facing. He knew how horrifically painful it would be. He basically was asking God that if there was any other way for this to be accomplished, then let that be done but if not, Jesus would do what His Father willed. Those things did happen to Jesus - He was beaten, scourged, and crucified - because the only way to salvation is by Jesus shedding His precious, innocent, and holy blood so that the way of salvation could be offered to all sinners who would believe on Him as Messiah. Jesus was obedient to God the Father.

Before He went to the cross, Jesus had warned His disciples that they would not be loved by the world but would be hated by it. Oh, do we see that increasing today! He had told them, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. (John 15:19-21) He continued, “Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. (John 16:20) Jesus then went on to tell them, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

When people hate us for our love of Jesus, they don’t hate us - though their hate is cast toward us, like a fiery dart, they hate Jesus within us. And, their source of hate is the devil - Satan. They likely don’t know it but Satan has a stronghold on them and he doesn’t want to let them even think about turning to Jesus and accepting Him as their Redeemer. There is an unseen war that has been raging in the spiritual realm since the beginning of creation when Satan, the devil, tempted Eve by planting a seed of doubt regarding what God had told her and Adam. God had told them they could freely eat the fruit of any tree except for the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan then told Eve a lie - deceiving her - and said she would not die if she ate the fruit of that tree, when God had clearly commanded them not to eat it, for if they did, they would surely die. And, Satan told her, “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 2:8-3:5) Eve disobeyed God and so did Adam and they listened instead to the lies of the devil, and everyone ever born since then has inherent sin within them.

Satan tempted Jesus after He had fasted for forty days and for forty nights. Satan tempted Jesus when He was weak. I cannot even imagine how weak I would be after fasting for forty days and nights. Satan tempted Jesus three times. With the first, he said if Jesus was the Son of God, then He should command that the stones become bread. Satan was appealing to Jesus’ immediate physical needs. In the second temptation, he said if Jesus was the Son of God that He should throw Himself down, for they were at the pinnacle of the temple, and Satan quoted Psalm 91:11-12 that the angels would save Him. Satan was appealing to Jesus’ life here on earth and to tempt God as to whether or not God would cause the angels to save Him. In the third temptation, Satan took Jesus up to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world. Satan told Jesus that if He would fall down and worship him, Satan would give Jesus all those things. Satan was appealing to Jesus’ authority and kingdom. In each temptation, Jesus answered Satan by quoting God’s word.

As he did with Eve and as he tried to do with Jesus, Satan tempts us with lies and deceit to get us to fall away from God or to seek himself (Satan) instead of God. And, he will even quote Scripture, as he did when he tempted Jesus, making it even harder for us to realize the source is Satan. And Satan uses others whom he has deceived to deceive others, even in and especially in the church today. As the apostle Paul warned the Corinthian church who had been swayed by false teachers who had falsely accused Paul as an unqualified apostle of Christ, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)

Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:10-20, which makes it very clear, that the war being raged upon mankind is not a physical war, man against man, but a spiritual war:

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Satan is appealing to the pride of mankind to follow him and not Jesus, the only One who can save them. Satan hates mankind. Why? Because we are unique and only we are made in God’s image. The angels are not made in God’s image, and Satan is a fallen angel. And, Satan wants to be God, and he wants everyone to worship him, not God. When Satan had tempted Jesus a third time, saying to Him when he showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me,” notice that Jesus did not tell Satan that the kingdoms of the world were not his to give. That is because Satan is over all the world today. As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 (emphasis added), “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”

Finally, let us remember Job. I have to admit, this was probably the most difficult book in the Bible for me to read and to understand, even when I had read it multiple times on different occasions. I could relate to Job in many ways. I didn’t want him to suffer; I wanted God to fix it all so that Job didn’t have to go through the pain, the hurt, the feelings of abandonment; and I didn’t want that for myself either.

The Bible says of Job, “and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.” (Job 1:1) He was blessed abundantly with his wife, ten children, and many material possessions. Job would regularly offer burnt offerings to God for his seven sons for he thought they may have sinned and cursed God. He loved his children and wanted them to be saved by God. One day, Satan and some angels with him came before God and God talked about Job to Satan, saying, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” Satan then basically told God the only reason Job was so faithful to God was that God had protected him and his family from everything and had blessed them abundantly, and that if all that were taken away, then Job would curse God to His face. God then told Satan that he could do anything to Job but not lay a hand on his person [i.e., he could not kill him]. Satan caused all of his possessions to be lost and killed all of his children with a great wind that fell on their house. But, instead of cursing God and blaming Him, Job proclaimed the opposite:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21)

The Bible tells us, “In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.” (Job 1:22) Then Satan attacked Job’s health by causing him to have painful boils from head to toe. Job was then scorned at by his wife, who told him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” The Bible tells us, “But he said to her, ‘You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” (Job 2:9-10)

Job’s three friends had heard about all the horrible things that had happened to Job and went to see him. They didn’t even recognize him when they saw him. They then sat with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, not speaking a word, for they knew his grief was great. Then such anguish came upon Job that he cursed the day he was born. He was miserable and wondered why all of this had happened to him. His friends began to blame Job and to say all it had happened because he had sinned against God and was being chastened by God and that Job should repent. Job said his complaint was just and he prayed for relief. His friends continued to blame him, calling him wicked and accusing him of folly. They now had no pity on him. Job said to them, “I have heard many such things; miserable comforters are you all! Shall words of wind have an end? Or what provokes you that you answer? I also could speak as you do, if your soul were in my soul’s place. I could heap up words against you, and shake my head at you; but I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the comfort of my lips would relieve your grief.” (Job 16:1-5). How many of us have felt this way when we are going through something so difficult and we feel like no one, not even our closest of friends, is there for us? And yet it was during this time that Job declared one of my favorite verses in all of the Bible:

“Oh, that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book! That they were engraved on a rock with an iron pen and lead, forever! For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:23-27)

Though broken in every way he could be broken, Job knew who his Redeemer is. Job held onto and trusted in the truth that his Redeemer would at last stand on the earth and when Job did die, he would see God with his own eyes. This truth - this hope - kept him going. Job pressed on, even when everything inside of him was telling him to quit, to give up.

Then a younger man named Elihu attempted to speak to Job on God’s behalf, and he said many things to Job. Something that stands out to me is what he said in Job 33:12, “Look, in this you are not righteous. I will answer you, for God is greater than man. Why do you contend with Him?” He also said to Job, “Listen to this, O Job; stand still and consider the wondrous works of God. Do you know when God dispatches them, and causes the light of His cloud to shine? Do you how the clouds are balanced, those wondrous works of Him who is perfect in knowledge?” (Job 37:14-16) Elihu was reminding Job that none of us are righteous - no, not one. We are all sinners, and we all need God, our Redeemer. Elihu reminded Job that God is so much bigger than any of us can imagine. We cannot even fathom His majesty, glory, and power; it is unknowable to mere humans like us. Elihu said to Job, “At this also my heart trembles and leaps from its place. Hear attentively the thunder of His voice, and the rumbling that comes from His mouth…God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend.” (Job 37:1-2, 5) Finally, Elihu said to Job:

“As for the Almighty, we cannot find Him; He is excellent in power, in judgment and abundant justice; He does not oppress. Therefore men fear Him; He shows no partiality to any who are wise of heart.” (Job 37:23-24)

After all these discussions Job’s three friends and Elihu had with Job, God Himself then spoke to him, revealing His omnipotence - His unlimited power - to him. God said to Job, “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.” (Job 38:2-3) God then outlined and described all that He had created by the power of His mighty hand, nothing of which we can comprehend as to how He did it, only that He - and He alone - did it. God then asked Job, “Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it.” Job then answered God, “Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth. Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; yes, twice, but will proceed no further.” (Job 40:1-5) God then told Job to prepare himself like a man and answer His next set of questions, the first being, “Would you indeed annul My judgment? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified? Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His?” (Job 40:8-9) Now came the moment when Job answered God a second time, but this time was different. Job answered the Lord:

“I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’ I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor [despise] myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

Job had finally repented to God, and God had accepted Job. The Lord then told one of Job’s three friends, “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.” God told Job’s friend to take seven bulls and seven rams and go to Job and offer up a burnt offering and that Job would pray for them for what they had done and that God would not deal with them according to what they had done. “And the Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his two friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.” (Job 42:7-10) The Lord blessed Job with seven more sons and three more daughters. The Lord had restored a man who had been through so much, a man who cursed the day he was born, suffering so much, and yet never cursed God. Was he frustrated, yes? Did he question God as to why all of this was happening to him, yes? Did he feel all alone and that his wife and his friends had abandoned him, yes? Did he wonder where God was in the midst of all of this, yes? But did he quit, no! He pressed on, no matter how difficult was the road he walked. He proclaimed in the midst of it all:

“For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns with me!” (Job 19:25-27)

When this world - when our world - doesn’t make sense to us, let us not doubt Almighty God, for He sees what we cannot see, and He knows what we cannot know! There is a purpose in our suffering, and that purpose is our Redeemer, Jesus Christ! When we are tempted by the devil to forsake our Lord and curse Him, may we press on like Job did, knowing that one day, we will be restored, and we will see God with our own eyes, and what a wonderful day that will be! ✝️

January 18, 2023: Philippians 4:11-13: Through Christ I Am Content in Any State

“Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” - Philippians 4:11-13

When I posted this Scripture, I originally left off verse 13, which says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthen me.” I did that because I had previously posted that Scripture verse, and I try and post different verses from the Bible each day and not duplicate any. However, as I sat down to write this daily devotional and after reading verses 11-12 again, I realized that verse 13 is the critical verse. The only way I can be content in any state or condition is by Christ who strengthens me. He is the one who meets my every need. He is the one who gets me through the hard times and is there with me when times are good and life is less of a challenge.

I remember when I was young, 12 or 13 years old, my parents had financial difficulties. They did not manage money well and spent money on things they wanted instead of things that were needed. We were several months behind on our mortgage and utility payments. I remember being afraid of what would happen if our home was taken away and if we had no electricity or water. I remember praying to God to please let us be able to stay in our home and not have our water or electricity cut off. I had not accepted Jesus as my Savior, but I knew who God was and I knew that He was big, so much bigger than I was. Thankfully, our home was not repossessed and our utilities we never cut off. I will always remember that prayer I made to Him. I believe He heard my prayers, the prayers of a child in need, because, as I know now, the Bible tells us He does hear our prayers. Had our home been repossessed and/or our utilities been cut off, I know that God would have gotten us through it, just as He gotten me through many difficult times in my life. This lesson that I learned at a young age was that God is there for me, and whenever I wanted to talk to Him, to cry out to Him, He is there.

Contrast that to the time in my life when I was married with two teenage children, working a full time job, and living life in a beautiful neighborhood, but I was struggling in our marriage and emotionally and spiritually. I had all that I wanted from a materialistic point of view but I was in a spiritual drought. I had accepted Jesus as my Savior a few years prior, but I still wasn’t depending on Him - I was depending on me. I had put up walls around myself in order to protect me from the hurts of life; I was an impenetrable fortress, or so I thought. But my dependence on myself resulted in a huge hole, a void, in my heart that I was filling with things instead of filling it with Him. I didn’t need things to fill it; rather, I needed Him. A few years later, I felt like I couldn’t go on. I wanted it to end. I went into my closet, got down on my knees, and cried out to Him. I finally had realized that I could not do this anymore on my own - I needed Him! God heard me that day, and for the first time in my life, I had heard Him speak to me through the Holy Spirit. That was a turning point in my life, and I will never, ever forget it. God saved me, He saved our marriage, and I am holding onto the hope that my husband and children will eventually turn to Him and be saved by accepting Jesus as their Savior.

Through the times of my life when I really struggled, in both times of scarcity and in abundance, I had cried out to God, and He had shown me that I could trust in Him. But, I had to make that critical decision: would I let Him take control of my life, and would I trust Him with it? Would I trust in Him not only for myself but also with my marriage and with our children? I am so glad that I did make that choice to trust in Him in everything.

Since then, I have went through circumstances that previously - when I trusted in myself and not in Him - I don’t know if I could have made it through. Now, however, I am looking to God, the author and finisher of my faith, to get me through the oh-so-difficult times, to be my strength when I feel like I can’t go on, and to know and remember that He sees what I cannot see and He knows what I cannot know. As the apostle Paul so beautifully reminds me, reminds us, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” ✝️

January 17, 2023: Philippians 4:8 - Meditate on These Things

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, what things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things.” - Philippians 4:8

The enemy - the devil - wants us distracted and full of worry and fear. In our high-tech world, this is easily done with 24/7 media coverage. I do not think it’s any coincidence that “media” is the plural of “medium,” which relates to psychics and seers. This coincides with television and “tell-a-vision” and the usage of “programming” and “channels.” All of these terms relate to setting your mind on the darkness and not on the light. These things are the opposite of what God calls us to listen to and to meditate or think on. God tells us in Colossians 3:1-8:

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. But now you yourselves are to put off all these these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.”

Notice in Philippians 4:8 that the apostle Paul is addressing his “brethren,” those who are called children of God, those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior. He is not addressing unbelievers, those who have not accepted Jesus as their Savior. As Colossians 3:1-8 reminds us, before we got saved by grace through faith in Jesus, we once walked in disobedience and did those filthy things that mankind has been doing since Adam and Eve.

When we watch the news or TV shows, what are they focusing on? Is it anything that is considered good and acceptable in the eyes of God or is it of the darkness? I would venture to say that nearly all of it focuses on the darkness. Why? Because we are being programmed by the enemy - the devil - to focus on him and not God.

Being a believer in Christ is not a passive life but an active life in a spiritual war that will remain with us until we are finally with our Savior. Though we are saved by the blood of Jesus, the enemy still wars against us. Our enemy is not made of flesh and bone but is spiritual. As Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Paul wrote about his own struggles with this in Romans 7:13-25. “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.” (Romans 7:15) In this passage, he acknowledges that he is a sinner, that he cannot be saved by the law or by anything that he can do, but it is only by his faith in Jesus Christ that can save him.

So, how do we fight against this spiritual war? We put on the whole armor of God that Paul described in Ephesians 6:10-20. Part of that whole armor is to “Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” The helmet and the sword of the Spirit protect our brains, our minds, our thoughts, from the enemy. We do that by meditating not on the world, but by meditating - putting our thoughts - on Jesus.

Paul listed the things that we are to meditate on - things that are:

• True

• Noble

• Just

• Pure

• Lovely

• Are of good report

• Virtue

• Praiseworthy

Look at the list again. Do these things describe the world or do they describe Jesus? They are all used to describe Him. The world, if we let it, gets us down. The media, etc., are there constantly reminding us of this, replaying bad news over and over again, running ticker-tape style messages at the bottom of the screen to keep it constantly in your view, so that not only do you hear it but you see it. Let us actively fight against this by doing this instead: turn it off and let us meditate on Jesus:

• Jesus is the truth; He is Emmanuel - God with us;

• He is just and will righteously judge the world when He comes the second time;

• He is pure, holy and without sin;

• He is altogether lovely;

• He is the way, the truth, and the life - the only way to salvation - a good report;

• He sets the standard for the virtues we seek to reflect Him in our own lives; and

• “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:12)

Finally, I leave you with these words from Paul:

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-6) ✝️

January 16, 2023: Ezekiel 17:24 - I, the LORD, Have Spoken It and Have Done It

"And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the LORD, have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree, dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish; I, the LORD, have spoken and have done it.” - Ezekiel 17:24

All of the nations, every single one of them, will see and know that God has exalted the everlasting kingdom of Jesus Christ above all the kingdoms of the earth. This is a prophecy that will be fulfilled. Only Jesus’ kingdom will be worldwide, and only His kingdom is eternal. Daniel the prophet described it as:

“I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14)

As I write this devotional, 2,700 people have flown, many if not all in their private jets, to Davos, Switzerland to attend the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting. There, they who call themselves the “elite” of the world will meet to talk about the various controls that they believe must be put in place in order to save the planet. They put more value on the earth than they do on human life, except for their own lives. For themselves, their own rules do not apply. This is what happens when humans worship the created instead of the Creator, Almighty God. The book of Romans addresses this issue:

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man - and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” (Romans 1:18-25)

They deny God exists, and they place no value on human life except for their own. They have exalted themselves rather than the only One who deserves to be exalted - God. There are many Scriptures that tell us how God feels about the proud. Unless they humble themselves before Him by repenting and turning to Jesus Christ, the only One who can save us from our sins, they will be brought low in judgment before Him:

• Isaiah 13:11: I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

• Isaiah 5:20-23: Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink, who justify the wicked for a bribe, who take away justice from the righteous man!

• Isaiah 2:11-12: The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the LORD of hosts shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up - and it shall be brought low.

• Isaiah 2:20-21: In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which they made, each for himself to worship, to the moles and bats, to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the crags of the rugged rocks, from the terror of the LORD and the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily. Sever yourselves from such a man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for of what account is he?

Oh, these verses! Woe to the people who exalt themselves and worship false idols of silver and gold! There is coming a day when Almighty God will have had enough of mankind’s wickedness, just as He did in the days of Noah and Lot, when sin had become such a putrified stench to the Lord that He put an end to it! I believe we are quickly coming to that time in the world in which we live today. Technology is increasing at such a pace that it will soon, if it doesn’t exist already, be able to eliminate the ability of humanity to be human but will be transhuman. They want to make themselves gods and the rest of humans will serve them (see: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/04/transhumanism-advances-in-technology-could-already-put-evolution-into-hyperdrive-but-should-they/). That is the ultimate goal of the WEF, and God will not allow it. He will not be mocked.

There is coming a day when Almighty God will tell His Son Jesus Christ to call up to Himself in the clouds of all His children - all who have believed in Him as their Savior - in the rapture of the church. Antichrist will come upon the scene, the one to whom Satan will give authority during this time period. Antichrist will confirm a 7-year covenant with Israel, some sort of peace treaty, but it will be temporary, for Antichrist will break it after 3-1/2 years when he declares himself as God in third Jewish temple, which will rebuilt I believe in the not too distant future. Then Jesus will take the scroll from God the Father and will open the first of seven seals, and the 7-year tribulation period will begin. This will be when God’s righteous wrath is thrust upon a wicked and evil world. Those who remain on earth and turn to Jesus during this time will be saved from their sins but likely martyred for their faith. All others will be destroyed and will spend their eternity in hell, in the lake of fire and brimstone.

So what does the believer in Jesus Christ do in these perilous times? We trust in the Lord and lean not on our own understanding. We read His word and pray to Him daily. We rest in what the Bible says, knowing that these difficult times and dark days will not last forever. We know that God will take care of His own:

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 5:6) ✝️

January 15, 2023: Ezekiel 17:23 - On the Mountain Height of Israel God Will Plant

“On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it; and it will bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a majestic cedar. Under it will dwell birds of every sort; in the shadow of its branches they will dwell.” - Ezekiel 17:23

Through Israel, God sent His Son, Jesus. In this passage of Scripture, God likens the sending of His Son Jesus to the planting of a tree, where God cropped a tender young twig from the highest branches of a high cedar on a high and prominent mountain. That tree, Jesus, would grow into a majestic cedar, bearing fruit. Under the shadow of its large branches, birds of every sort would dwell or abide.

God sent Jesus to the world to offer salvation to all of us. As Simeon would later proclaim to God when Joseph and Mary had brought the Child Jesus to be presented before God, “For my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Your people Israel.” (Luke 2:30-32)

When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we abide in His shadow:

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.’” (Psalm 91:1-2)

The apostle John told us in 1 John 4:15, “If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” When we abide in Jesus, then we are under His protection through the trials of life. Through Him we endure, like birds weathering a storm or escaping the heat of the day, finding shelter in Him. When we abide in Him, He is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1) Psalm 31:19-20 reminds us that He will protect us if we fear Him, not man, and if we put our trust in Him: “Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men! You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion [shelter] from the strife of tongues.”

When we abide in Him, through His Holy Spirit, we can bear fruit. We tell others about Him and how they too can be forgiven of all their sins because of His deep love for us; how they too can find shelter in Him, find new life in Him.

The days in which we live truly are perilous times, as foretold in the Bible by Paul the apostle in 2 Timothy 3:1-9. I truly believe, based on what I read in Scripture and my understanding of it, that we are living in the last days before Jesus calls up His bride - all who have put their faith and trust in Him - to meet Him in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) and the time of great upheaval, the 7-year tribulation period begins. If you have not put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, if you are not abiding in His shelter, in Him, I urge you that today, you would do so, for you are not guaranteed another day or even another minute of life. Turn to Him today and let Him be your shelter, before the storms of life sweep you away in your sin, never to be forgiven. ✝️

January 14, 2023: Ezekiel 17:22 - I Will Take A Tender One and Plant it on A High Mountain

“Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘I will take also one of the highest branches of the high cedar and set it out. I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and will plant it on a high and prominent mountain.’” - Ezekiel 17:22

In the preceding passages of Scripture in Ezekiel 17:1-21, Ezekiel had spoken a parable which God had given him. This parable refers to Judah’s last king, King Zedekiah. It is important to know what is written in Ezekiel 17:1-21 in order to understand verses 22-24. I have copied below information from gotguestions.org about King Zedekiah (see: https://www.gotquestions.org/King-Zedekiah.html).

Zedekiah was king when Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed by Babylon and most of its people were carried into exile in Babylon. Zedekiah’s original name was Mattaniah, and he was son of Josiah. The Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar put him on the throne “to rule as a vassal king. Nebuchadnezzar changed his name to Zedekiah. Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king.” “In his ninth year on the throne, Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, and as a result, Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem.” Zedekiah had put his confidence in Egypt that it would help him, but that did not happen, and Jerusalem fell to Babylon.

Zedekiah then asked the prophet Jeremiah “to intercede to the Lord so that perhaps the Lord would deliver Judah. Jeremiah returns God’s answer: He has irrevocably handed Judah over to judgment, first by plague, and those who escape that will fall to the Babylonians. The only hope that any of the people have is to surrender to the Babylonians.”

“Zedekiah heard God’s definitive answer, but he did not like it. False prophets contradicted Jeremiah and preached a more favorable message (Jeremiah 23), but God reiterated His message to Jeremiah (chapters 24-25). Yet, Zedekiah did not listen to God and rebelled. “As a result, Zedekiah lost his sons, his sight, his freedom, and his throne. Through it all God was faithful to do what He promised. He carried out the judgment He had declared, but He also brought about the restoration. Seventy years later, Cyrus, king of Persia (successor to the Babylonian Empire), declared that all of the Jewish exiles who wanted to return to Jerusalem might do so, and they could take with them all the implements of the temple.”

This explains what is described in Ezekiel 17:1-21. This is what happens when people rebel against God and do not do what He has commanded them. We want to do things our way, especially when we are suffering and want to escape from it. We don’t want to trust in the Lord and His plan for us; instead, we make our own plans and follow them, to our own peril.

Turning now to today’s Scripture verse, this is a prophecy of the coming Messiah. Earthly men put earthly kings up, propping them up, and those kings fall. They fall because they do not listen to God; instead, they go their own ways - the ways of sin - and reap what they have sown. In this prophecy in Ezekiel 17:22, Almighty God said, “I will take also one of the highest branches of the high cedar and set it out. I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs,” which many believe “the topmost” refers to the tribe of Judah, from which Jesus will come, “a tender one, and will plant it on a high and prominent mountain.” Below are several Scriptures that support this being a prophecy of the Messiah.

• Isaiah 4:2: In that day the Branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious; and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing for those of Israel who have escaped.

• Isaiah 11:1-2: There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.

• Zechariah 3:8: Hear, O Joshua, the high priest, you and your companions who sit before you, for they are a wondrous sign; for behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH.

• Isaiah 53:2-3: For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”

• Isaiah 2:2: Now it shall to come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many people; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”

It seems to me that it is no coincidence that the United Nations was given a bronze sculpture, titled “Let Us Beat Swords Into Ploughshares” by esteemed Soviet sculptor and artist Evgeniy Vuchetich (1908 - 1974). Per the un.org’s website, “The sculpture depicts the figure of a man, holding a hammer aloft in one hand and a sword in the other hand, hammering the sword into a ploughshare, a tool to till land for crops. This action symbolizes man’s desire to put an end to war and transform tools of destruction into tools to benefit mankind.” (See: https://www.un.org/ungifts/let-us-beat-swords-ploughshares). However, what the artist, the UN, and the majority of people fail to recognize is that only God can bring about an end to all wars and bring true peace, everlasting peace, and that is through belief in Jesus Christ as Messiah, the One who was prophesied about in Ezekiel 17:22-24 and though out the entire Bible. We will read more about the Ezekiel 17 prophecy in the next two devotionals. ✝️

January 13, 2023: Deuteronomy 18:21-22 - Do Not Be Afraid of False Prophets

“And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’ - when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.” - Deuteronomy 18:21-22

This is the test of a true prophet, one that is called by God, to speak the words which He has commanded: if the thing which the prophet spoke in the name of the LORD comes to pass, it is of God; otherwise, it is not and the prophet has presumed something instead of prophesying something that which only God knows and only God can give to a true prophet. Only God knows the end from the beginning. Only God knows everything. If a prophet is found to be a false prophet based on this test, God tells us not to be afraid of him.

There are many false prophets in our world today who have made predictions of things to come that did not come true, and there are still false prophets making predictions of things to come, especially in the political realm. If they have not been called by God to prophesy, they are merely guessing. If you are listening to someone who has prophesied in the past and that which they spoke of did not come true, stop listening to them, they are misleading you.

In 2 Peter 2, the apostle Peter has some words of doom to false prophets and also to false teachers. I have included all of this chapter as I think it is critical in our world today for people who say they have accepted Jesus as their Savior to know exactly what the Bible says about false prophets and false teachers and to avoid them like the plague. Our modern world is flooded with these liars and deceivers, who mix a little truth with their lies that are wrapped in phrases that are appealing to the masses to make them comfortable in their sin and not believe that Jesus is the only way to God the Father in heaven. Many of these false prophets and false teachers are not following the One true God but are following their god mammon, which is money.

In the Scriptures below, I have shown certain text in bold to add emphasis as to what Peter had said.

2 PETER 2:1-22

Destructive Doctrines

“But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even deying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.

Doom of False Teachers

“For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds) - then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of cleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord.

Depravity of False Teachers

“But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption, and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you, having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet. These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.

Deceptions of False Teachers

“ For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.’”

If your pastor, reverend, minister, etc. preaches anything that does not align with Scripture, he is a false teacher. If your pastor is a woman, she is a false teacher. If they have predicted something that was proven not to come true, they are a false prophet and you do not need to be afraid of them. I would ask you, what is the value in continuing to listen to them? It seems to me there is no value; rather, you run the risk of being deceived, for the Devil is cunning and will use whomever he needs to use in order to turn you away from God and lead you straight to hell.

Let us heed the words of Jesus in Luke 6:26 in which He spoke to His disciples right after He gave them the Beatitudes, which told them when and how they would be blessed. In direct contrast to the beatitudes, Jesus then pronounced these woes:

“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” Sadly, most people don’t want the truth of God and have rejected it, and the world we live in today is a sad and horrific reflection of that truth. Instead, they flock to the ones who tell them not what they need to hear but what they want to hear. It clearly shows we are living in the times spoken of by Paul when he wrote in 2 Timothy 4:3:

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

I would say, based on all we see in today’s world, especially in the USA, we are there, we are in that time. Don’t be afraid of false prophets, but don’t listen to them either; run from them!

January 12, 2023: Deuteronomy 18:20 - False Prophets Shall Die

“But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.” - Deuteronomy 18:20

God is very clear on where He stands with false prophets. Those who speak something they claim is from God that He has not commanded them to speak or who speak in the name of other gods, shall die. Below are some other Scriptures about false prophets.

• Jeremiah 5:31 An astonishing and horrible thing has been committed in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own power; and My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?

• Ezekiel 22:28 Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, seeing false visions, and divining lies for them, saying, “Thus says the Lord GOD,” when the LORD had not spoken.

• Ezekiel 13:9 My hand will be against the prophets who envision futility and who divine lies; they shall not be in the assembly of My people, nor be written in the record of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.

• Lamentations 2:14 Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions; they have not uncovered your iniquity, to bring back your captives, but have envisioned for you false prophecies and delusions.

• 1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

• Jeremiah 14:14 And the LORD said to me, “The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of the heart.

• Jeremiah 23:16 Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; they speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the LORD.”

When Jesus and His disciples were at the Mount of Olives and they asked Him, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” Jesus answered them, “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.” Jesus then went on to describe a list of signs to look for but He had first given them a stern warning not to be deceived. (Matthew 24:3-5) Jesus also told them, “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, it possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For wherever the carcass, there the eagles will be gathered together.” (Matthew 24:23-28)

Deception is all around us. There are many false christs and false prophets in our world today. I pray every single day for God to give me discernment to know who is of Him, who is not of Him, and only to listen to who is of Him. As I will discuss further in the next devotional covering Deuteronomy 18:21-22, God provides the test of how to tell a true prophet - one called by God and who speaks His words as given by Him - and that is, if what the prophet prophesied does not come true, then he or she is a false prophet.

Jesus addressed false prophets during His time of ministry on the earth. He told His disciples: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” - Matthew 7:15-20

It’s fitting that in the next passage of Scripture, Jesus then told His disciples: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” Jesus went on to tell them, “Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” As Isaiah prophesied long before Jesus was born, “He will be as a sanctuary, but a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, as a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble; they shall fall and be broken, be snared and taken.” (Isaiah 8:14-15)

The best way to guard against the lies of false prophets is to know the truth, God’s word, for ourselves. That way, when someone tells a lie disguised as truth, we will recognize it and not listen to the false prophet or false teacher. We must also be very careful because one of Satan’s tactics is to mix lies with the truth. Satan knows the word of God, and he uses that against those who are not discerning. Anyone who denies that Jesus is the resurrected Christ, was sent by God, is equal with God, and is part of the Trinity, anyone who denies any or all of these truths is a liar and a deceiver and should not be listened to. Anyone who denies that belief in Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved from our sins is also a liar and a deceiver. Wolves don’t come in wolves’ clothing; rather, they disguise themselves as sheep, and often the pastors/leaders of churches in our world today are deceiving many. Instead of giving their congregations the truth of God when it comes to sin, many are embracing their sin and saying God would approve of it. These same people, if they do not change their ways and turn to Jesus Christ in repentance, will hear Him say when they depart this earth, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”

During the 7-year tribulation period, known as the time of Jacob’s trouble, which I believe we are speeding toward at an increasing pace, there will be an evil trinity comprised of Satan (called the “Dragon” in the book of Revelation), the final antichrist (called the “Beast” or the “Beast from the Sea”), and the final false prophet (also called the “Beast from the Earth”). The apostle John, who wrote the book of Revelation, wrote in Revelation 13:11, “Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast [antichrist], whose deadly wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.” John also goes on to write that it is the false prophet that will cause every single human being on earth alive at that time to worship the antichrist and to “receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Anyone who does not do these things will be killed. Anyone who was not saved by believing in Jesus Christ prior to the start of the tribulation period will have a choice to make: will they do as the false prophet commands them to do or will they die? Anyone who turns to Jesus Christ during the tribulation period will likely need to make this choice and many will be martyred for their faith in Jesus.

Let us return to today’s Scripture verses in Deuteronomy 18:20: “But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.” God is true to His word. While the false prophet of the evil trinity will not die a physical death, he, the antichrist and Satan the dragon will die a spiritual death. Unlike all human beings who reject Jesus’ gift of salvation and who die in their sins, Satan, antichrist and the false prophet will remain alive when they are judged by God. At the end of the tribulation period when Jesus comes from heaven to earth riding a white horse with the armies in heaven to judge a wicked and God-forsaking world, the antichrist and the false prophet will be “cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest [all who rejected Jesus] were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him [Jesus] who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.” At that time, Satan (the Dragon) will be bound for 1,000 years in the bottomless pit, while Jesus reigns on earth during His millennial reign. At the end of the 1,000 years, “The devil [Satan], who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” (Revelation 19:11-20:10) They will never, ever again be able to deceive anyone.

Until then, get ready by knowing the word of God for yourself. Things are about to get much, much worse. Lies and deception are all around us. If you go to church and/or listen to pastors online, listen to what the pastors are preaching. Does it line up with what the Bible says? Are the pastors being celebrated by the world? If yes, chances are, they are false pastors and are leading many to hell. I pray you won’t be one of them.

Jesus didn’t come to give us our best life now. He didn’t come to make us rich or to heal us from all that ails us. He didn’t promise us a trouble-free life. He didn’t come to make us comfortable in our sins or to celebrate them. He came because each and every single one of us are sinners, and He is the only One who can save us from our sins. Don’t be deceived by wolves in sheep’s clothing; turn to Jesus Christ and ask Him to save you. He will. ✝️

January 11, 2023: Deuteronomy 18:19 - I Will Require it of Him

“And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him.” - Deuteronomy 18:19

Moses was speaking directly to the nation of Israel. He had just told them what God had told him, “I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.” Now, God, through Moses, was telling them that if they do not listen to His Prophet that He will raise up for them, God will hold them accountable for their actions.

It is estimated that Deuteronomy was written sometime between 1400 and 700 BC. Thus, it was written at least 700 years prior to the birth of Jesus Christ. God was telling His people long before Jesus, Emmanuel - God with Us - was born, so that when He was born, they would know whether the prophets who prophesied His birth were in fact true prophets, and this includes the Messianic prophecy made by Moses. There are many prophecies of the birth, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I have included several key prophecies below.

• The nations shall be blessed through Jacob’s offspring - Jacob is part of Jesus’ genealogy (Genesis 28:14)

• The Scepter (royal or imperial power or authority) shall come from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10)

• Born of a virgin and He shall be called Immanuel (God-With-Us) (Isaiah 7:14)

• David’s offspring will have an eternal kingdom - David is part of Jesus’ genealogy (2 Samuel 7:12–13)

• The Christ would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)

• Messiah will end up in Egypt (Hosea 11:1)

• Jesus would teach in parables (Psalm 78:1-2)

• Messiah would be a stone that causes people to stumble (Isaiah 8:14)

• Messiah would be preceded by a forerunner (Isaiah 40:3-4)

• Jesus would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12-13)

• Jesus’ hands and feet would be pierced (Psalm 22:16)

• Jesus would be resurrected (Psalm 16:10, Psalm 22, Job 19:23-27)

As these prophecies were fulfilled, it would become clear that the prophets who prophesied them were called by God to prophesy. My prior devotional discussed Deuteronomy 18:17-18 and the prophecy God gave to Moses. During the time of Jesus’ ministry, He performed a miracle by feeding 5,000 men with only five loaves of barley and two fish. The men whom He fed had remembered what God had told Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15 and 18, ”I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.” After Jesus had fed the 5,000 men, as well as all the women and children who had come with them, the men recalled the prophecy spoken of by Moses and said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” (John 6:14)

However, most Jewish people rejected Jesus as their prophesied Messiah, including the Jewish leaders, the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees, the latter of whom did not believe in resurrection. Only a small minority of Jews then and now have accepted Jesus as their prophesied Savior. They did not hear His words that He spoke on the authority of God the Father. After Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot and arrested, He had to appear before the Sanhedrin, to Caiaphas the high priest, the chief priests, the elders, and all the council who sought to put Jesus to death. During the questioning of Jesus, He kept silent. Caiaphas then said to Jesus, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!” Jesus then answered him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Caiaphas then “tore his clothes, saying, ‘He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy! What do you think?’ They answered and said, ‘He is deserving of death.’ Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hand, saying, ‘Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?‘“ (Matthew 26:65-68)

The Jewish leaders and any Jewish person who studied the scriptures at that time certainly knew of the prophecies about the coming of their Messiah and had seen them fulfilled. They had heard Him speak during the time of His approximately three year ministry, and they had seen Him perform many miracles. Yet, during one of Jesus’ religious trials, the Jewish leaders heard Him tell them with His mouth the answer to their question when they asked if He was the Christ, the Son of God. And yet, they did not believe Him and had Him put to death by the Romans by crucifixion. God had told His people hundreds of years before that He would hold them accountable if they would not hear Jesus’ words that He would speak in God’s name. And God has.

When Israel as a nation rejected Jesus as their prophesied Messiah and after His death and resurrection, God chose the apostle Paul, who formerly was a Jewish Pharisee named Saul who persecuted Christians until He was converted to Christianity on his way to Damascus and God changed his name to “Paul,” to bring the message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, the non-Jews. Paul wanted the Gentiles not to be arrogant in their salvation and not to consider themselves better than the Jews. He also wrote in the book of Romans, “I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew.” (Romans 11:1-2) Paul spoke to the Gentiles of a remnant of Israel that would be saved by their faith in Jesus Christ: “Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” (Romans 11:5) Paul goes onto say, “For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: 'The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.’ ” (Romans 11:25-27)

The remnant of Israel’s salvation will only come when, as prophesied in Zechariah 12:10, “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.” Thus, we see that while the majority of the Jewish people rejected Jesus as Messiah, and sadly, they went to their graves in unbelief and will be separated from Jesus for eternity in hell, there is a time coming when a remnant will be saved when their eyes and ears will be opened to the truth, and they will turn to Him and be saved. “As it is written, ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’ ” (Romans 9:33)

And since Jesus came not only to offer salvation to Israel but to all nations (Luke 2:30-32, John 3:14-18), as God told Israel, “And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:19) Are you hearing His words, have you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Your Savior? I pray you do, before it’s too late. ✝️

January 9, 2023: Deuteronomy 18:17-18 - I Will Raise Up For You A Prophet

“And the LORD said to me: ‘What they have spoken is good. I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.’ “ - Deuteronomy 18:17-18

These are the words the Lord God spoke to Moses, but immediately prior to this, God had told Moses, “When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations [detestable acts] of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you. You shall be blameless before the LORD your God. For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the LORD your God has not appointed such for you.” (Deuteronomy 18:9-14)

Prior to this, three months after God used Moses to lead His people out of Egypt through the Red Sea, they came to the wilderness of Sinai. Moses went up to God, and God called to him from the mountain saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” (Exodus 19:4-6)

God had told Moses to bring Israel on the third day and when the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near Mount Sinai, “that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.” (Exodus 19:9). God had set specific requirements and boundaries for the people when they were to come near the mountain. “And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. Then the LORD came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. (Exodus 19:17-20) When God told Moses to go down and warn the people not to gaze at Him, Moses said to God that He had told them to set bounds around the mountain, preventing them from coming up it. Thus, God told Moses that only he and Aaron should come up to the mountain. Moses then went down to the people and told them the Ten Commandments that God had given to them, starting with “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” (Exodus 20:2)

“Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lighting flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, ‘You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.’ And Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you so that you may not sin.’ So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.” (Exodus 20:18-21)

Subsequent to this, Moses had called all Israel together to review the Ten Commandments with them. He told them, “The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. The LORD did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive.” (Deutoronomy 5:2-3) Moses reminded them that they had told him they were fearful of the Lord and wanted Moses to go near and hear all that the Lord would tell them, and then tell it to them. Moses had done that for them when God gave him His Ten Commandments to give to the people. Moses had told them, “Then the LORD heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and the LORD said to me: ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken. Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep My commandments that it might be well with them and with their children forever!’ ” (Deuteronomy 5:28-29)

The Mount Sinai experience that Moses and Israel had tells us three key points:

1. God - Not “Mother Earth” Controls Nature and the Environment: On the third day when God met with Moses and the people of Israel, “there were thunderings and lightings, and a thick cloud on the mountain” and “Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.” (Exodus 19:16, 18) There are many references in the Bible to “thunderings and lightnings” that refer to God and the heavenly realm. This also foreshadows the resurrection of Jesus Christ, when on the third day, He would rise, “and behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.” (Matthew 28:2)

   Several examples include:

   • Revelation 4:5, which describes the throne room of heaven, “And from the throne proceeded lightings, thunderings, and voices.”

   • Revelation 8:5, “Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.”

   • Revelation 11:19, “Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.

2. The Power of God is Unlike Any Other: When the people of Israel saw all the things that happened when God was near, and they heard His voice, they were so terrified that they told Moses they didn’t want to hear God’s voice again nor the fire when He descended Mount Sinai because they thought they would die. Instead, they asked Moses to go near and hear the Lord God and tell them what He would tell Moses. They had the fear of God within them.

3. God Gave His Commandments to Keep His People and Their Descendants Well: Most people think that God’s commandments are meant to restrain us in order for Him to have control over us. However, as the Bible tells us in Deuteronomy 5:29, God wanted them to fear Him and always keep His commandments that it may be well with them - and also for all people. Oh, how far the world has fallen! On November 14, 2022, “Earlier that morning, climate activists smashed mock tablets of stone atop the mountain in reaction to world leaders' failure to follow through on commitments to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The act referenced the story in Exodus when after descending Mount Sinai, an angry Moses smashed the Ten Commandments in protest against the Israelites worshipping other gods.” (https://www.ncronline.org/earthbeat/faith/cop27-talks-stall-catholics-smash-tablets-pray-divine-intervention-sinai) Instead of obeying God’s Ten Commandments, the climate activists and the COP27 attendees came up with their own “10 Spiritual Principles for Climate Change”: https://climaterepentance.com/the-spiritual-principles/. Principle #8 is “Repent and Return”; for what are the repenting and to whom are they returning? They are not repenting for their sins and returning to God, that is clear.

Now, back to our Scripture verses for today. In the two verses that precede them, Moses had just told Israel, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, according to all you desired of the LORD your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die.” (Deuteronomy 18:15-16 This was a prophecy of the coming of Jesus Christ. During Jesus’ ministry, He performed a miracle by feeding 5,000 men with only five barley loaves and two fish, and had enough leftovers to fill twelve baskets. “Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, ‘This is truly, the Prophet who is to come into the world.’ ” (John 6:14)

Jesus would in fact be raised up, as prophesied by Moses. After Jesus would be crucified and give up His life on a cross, three days later, God would raise Him up, being resurrected to everlasting life. As Moses had talked directly with God and did all that He commanded, Jesus talks directly to God, doing all that He commanded. Moses was the intercessor for Israel, and Jesus is the intercessor for all who believe in Him. “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” (Hebrews 6:25) In all the good things that he did, Moses was not perfect and committed a sin that was so offensive to God that Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land. Jesus, however, is the perfect intercessor, “For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.” (Hebrews 7:26-27)

Finally, let’s return to the words God spoke to Moses when He was preparing Israel to enter the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 18:9-14). The land of Canaan was filled with people committing all kinds of abominations and who looked to soothsayers, people practicing witchcraft, those who interpreted omens, diviners, and sorcerers. God had given the Canaanites 400 years to turn from their wicked ways but they did not. As a result, God would bring Israel into their land. As we will read in the next few days, God gives clear instructions on how to discern who is a prophet of God and who is not. Israel would have many prophets in the days to come after they entered the Promised Land, and they needed to know who was called by God to speak and prophesy to them and who was not. True prophets of God would be commanded by Him to speak. Jesus Christ, the Prophet of all prophets, would later say, “For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.” (John 12:49-50)

As our world today grows further and further away from the one true God and turns to false prophets who are deceiving many and leading them straight to hell, let us remember the words of the apostle John: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.” (John 4:1-3) As Jesus told His disciples the signs of His second coming and of the end of the age, “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” (Matthew 24:24) Thus, may we heed the words that God gave Moses in Deuteronomy 18:18-22 so that we will not be deceived by the lies of the increasing number of false prophets who have disguised themselves as wolves in sheep’s clothing. ✝️

January 8, 2023: Luke 1:50 - His Mercy is on Those Who Fear Him

“And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.” - Luke 1:50

Fear. If there is anything that has gripped the world in the past three years, it is fear. But fear of what? Is it fear of Almighty God who holds your life in His hands, who knew you before you were formed in your mother’s womb, the One who created the universe and everything in it? No, the majority of the world has a misplaced fear. What does the Bible, God’s word, tell us? Below are some verses that tell us whom we should fear and what or whom we should not fear.

Fear God

- Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

- Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.

- Matthew 10:28 “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” - Jesus Christ

- Ecclesiastes 12:13 Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.

Do Not Fear

- Isaiah 41:13 For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, “Fear not, I will help you.”

- Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.

- 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

- John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” - Jesus Christ

- Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

- Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Until my mid-40’s, before I accepted Jesus as my Savior, I lived my life in fear. Yes, I still functioned as a wife, mother, and at my work, but I had this sense of dread over me constantly. I had a fear of what would happen to our children if something bad happened to them, what if I lost my job, what if our nation was attacked again but on a bigger scale, what if… It took me years after turning to Jesus that I could see that He was working on me, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to show me that I needed to fear only Him, with a reverent fear, and trust in Him, in everything.

When COVID hit in 2020 and all that has happened subsequent to it, I think I would have lost my mind if I had not been saved by the precious blood of Jesus Christ and had made progress - through His Holy Spirit - in tackling my spirit of fear. I had the working and applied knowledge of His guiding word and His power within me to know that COVID was not - and still is not - anything I need to fear, nor is anything else that will arise.

God, who is all knowing, know that sinful men and women crave power and authority. It’s been like that since the beginning. That is especially true in our world today as we see global leaders puffing themselves up and calling themselves as “the elite.” They use fear as leverage over those they want to control to promote their agendas, forcing certain restrictions on the masses but they themselves do not adhere to them. Why? Because they have rejected Him and have aligned themselves with the Devil, whether knowingly or unknowingly. They want to be like god but reject the One true God.

When we reject Jesus’ free gift of salvation repeatedly, and we do wicked in the sight of God constantly, there comes a point when He will give us over to that which we crave - a life without Him here and a life without Him in our eternity. In the book of Romans 1:18-32, it states three times that God gave them up: “God gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts (v24); God gave them up to vile passions (v26); And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting.” I believe we see many people in our world today who have been given up by God to their sinful desires and lusts. Can they still be saved if they turn to Him, I believe the answer is yes, but like Pharaoh had hardened his heart many times as described in the book of Exodus, because of that, God Himself then hardened Pharaoh’s heart. The Bible does not tell us that  Pharaoh repented and turned to God.

Why do I mention all of this? Because as children of God - who include only those of us who have been born again by believing in Jesus Christ as our Savior - we are not to fear the world, the world leaders, or what will soon come upon them and the whole earth. As the Bible tells us, we are fighting a spiritual war that is a war for the souls of mankind. Those who are not saved because they reject Jesus’ free gift of salvation will be forced to worship the final antichrist when he comes and take his mark or the number of his name - 666 - or be killed.

Everything that is happening in our world today is spiritual, and for those of us saved by Jesus, we must put on His whole armor in order to fight against this war and resist the urge to fear. Ephesians 6:10-20 tells us exactly what we are fighting and how to fight against it. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

How do we not fear? We do it first by being saved through faith in Christ Jesus, and we let Him be our strength: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:10-11)

Next, we put on the whole armor of God. Each piece of armor is described in verses 14-17. As any soldier in a war knows, we must put on all the armor, not some of it. “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand…” (Ephesians 6:13)

Finally, as stated in verses 18-20, we pray, we watch, and we persevere with our brothers and sisters in Christ, and we tell others about His saving power of grace through faith in Him. God doesn’t want any to perish, to die in their sins,  and go to hell when they die. That is why He sent His only begotten Son: “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” - Jesus Christ; John 3:17. Notice it doesn’t say, “but that the world through Him will be saved” but “might be saved.” We all have a choice to believe in Him or not. Jesus is coming a second time, this time not to offer the way out of sins through belief in Him but to judge all the wicked in all their unrighteousness.

As the apostle Peter foretold in 2 Peter 3:1:4, “Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), that you be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep [died], all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.’ “ And in v9, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

In summary, I ask you to think about what or whom you are fearing. If you are not saved by believing in Jesus as your Savior, the things you have seen happen thus far are nothing compared to what is coming during a 7-year period know as the tribulation period, the time of Jacob’s trouble. Jesus described this time period as, “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh wound be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.” (Matthew 24:21-22) Revelation 9:6 describes just one of the 21 judgments of God on a wicked world that hated Him and loved evil as, “In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.”

For those of us saved by the loving and merciful gift of God - Jesus Christ -we have nothing to fear, for our fear is a properly placed fear - in Him. For those who aren’t saved, they have everything to fear and will experience that fear for eternity, in a place they can never escape. Jesus told His disciples what will happen to those who choose to reject His free gift of salvation from sins and choose to go it their own way, that they will be divided as sheep - believers - on His right hand, and as goats - unbelievers - on His left hand: “Then He [Jesus] will also say those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels…’ ‘and these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’ “ (Matthew 25:41, 46)

“And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.” ✝️

So I ask you again: in whom or what do you fear?

January 7, 2023: Luke 2:51-52 - Jesus, A Time of Preparation

“Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” - Luke 2:51-52

Joseph and Mary started their second trip from Jerusalem back to Nazareth, this time with their twelve year-old Son, Jesus. The first time that Joseph and Mary left Jerusalem, where they had attended with Jesus the Feast of the Passover, Jesus had lingered behind in Jerusalem, unbeknownst to Joseph and Mary. After discovering He was not with them, they returned to Jerusalem and found Jesus sitting in the middle of the temple with the Jewish teachers listening to them, asking them questions, and astonishing them with His own answers. Now, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus had returned to their home in Nazareth. This is the last time that the Bible mentions Joseph, and nothing else is mentioned of Jesus until He begins His ministry at the age of 30. (Luke 3:23)

In this brief passage of Scriptures in verses 51 and 52, we learn of three critical points:

1. Jesus was obedient to His parents: The fifth of the Ten Commandments as given by God to Moses to give to the Israelites says, “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12) Although Joseph was not Jesus’ heavenly Father, he was His earthly father, and Jesus obeyed him. Here was Jesus, the Son of God, who came to earth, perfect in every way and without sin, who knows the end from the beginning, and yet He lived a simple life with His earthly parents and His siblings, likely learning the same trade that Joseph practiced to support his family. Jesus provided the model for all of humanity to honor our parents. When we aren’t obedient to them, we are not obedient to God. Jesus was always obedient to God the Father, even to the point of death. Years later before He was crucified, Jesus prayed to Him, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Jesus was faithful to God until the end, and He is still faithful to Him today. We should take heed to follow His example. (Luke 22:42)

2. Mary was Faithful Even When She Didn’t Understand: Mary was obedient to God in all that He had promised her, even when it seemed impossible and she did not understand all that would happen or how it would happen. How in the world could she conceive a Child by the Holy Spirit? This had never been done before! What would her husband think of her, what would all who knew her think of her? But God made a way - the way - and He made the impossible, possible. She had in fact conceived a Child by the Holy Spirit, even though she had not ever known Joseph, her betrothed husband at the time. She trusted in the Lord with all her heart. Now, watching her young Son growing physically and in wisdom, she remembered and kept all the things God had told her and all that she had experienced in her heart, never forgetting them.
   Likewise for we who believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, while we may not understand all that is happening in the world and to us, let us remember His word and keep His word in our heart, for His word has told us things that will happen hundreds and even thousands of years before they have happened or are yet to happen. When the world doesn’t make sense, let us do what Mary did and as Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

3. Jesus Grew Not Only Physically but Spiritually: During the time when Jesus was age 12 through 30, the Bible tells us nothing more except that He increased in stature and in wisdom, and in favor with God and men. As any parent knows, the teenage years can be a challenging time for parents as their children begin to grow up and learn about the world. They begin to push back against their parents and begin to form their own opinions of things, especially as they go through puberty. Like all humans, Jesus went through puberty and experienced the range of emotions that goes along with it. However, as mentioned earlier, He was subject - or obedient - to His parents.
   

   During this time period, Jesus also grew in wisdom, and likely this is pertaining to all things spiritually, of the word of God. During His three days in Jerusalem at the Jewish temple, where He had talked with the Jewish scholars, they had seen something different about this young Man, something that astonished them. Jesus would begin His ministry 18 years later, and this time period prior to that was likely a time of preparation, to know what it means to be human, to know what it means to be tempted and yet not give in to sin, and to remain faithful not only to His earthly parents but to His heavenly Father.
   

   Similarly, our time here on earth is a time of preparation for us, as those who are called Children of God because we have accepted Jesus as our Savior. As that time for Jesus was preparing Him for something so much bigger, our time here on earth is preparing us for something so much bigger, a time when we leave this place called earth, when we leave our temporary shells that contain our physical bodies, and we are called up to Jesus, where we will receive our glorified bodies, and will be with Him. During this time of preparation, let us grow in our wisdom by reading and hearing His word for ourselves, letting the Holy Spirit increase our knowledge and understanding of it. Let us search the Scriptures for ourselves so that we may know the power of God.
   

   While we may not understand all that will happen and the order and timing of when it will happen, we do know that it will happen. Why? Because the Bible has a 100% accuracy rate of fulfilling prophecy. Just as Mary kept all those things in heart, so should we. Let us remember Mary’s song she sang before she gave birth to Jesus:

   
   “And Mary said: ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; for behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name, and His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever.’ ” (Luke 1:46-55) ✝️

January 6, 2023: Luke 2:48-50 - They Found Jesus in His Father's House

“So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, ‘Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.’ And He said to them, ‘Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.’ “ - Luke 2:48-50

After three days of being separated from twelve year-old Jesus while traveling back from the Feast of the Passover in Jerusalem and having discovered He was missing, Joseph and Mary had just found Jesus in the temple, where He was listening to and asking questions of the Jewish teachers and also giving His own answers. I can’t imagine the relief Mary and Joseph must have felt when they had found Him! As a parent, it must have been agony to be separated from Him, not knowing where He was, what He was doing, and if He was safe. But Jesus was no ordinary twelve year-old young man. He is the Son of God, and He was right where He needed to be - in His Father’s house, doing His father’s business.

I have read commentaries that noted the distinction of what Mary said to Him when they had found Him, “Look, Your father and I have sought you anxiously.” While Joseph was Jesus’ stepfather, His true Father is God Almighty, for Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit through the virgin Mary. I am sure that Jesus meant no disrespect to Joseph and His mother but to acknowledge who His true Father is, and that sets Him apart from anyone else ever born on this earth.

I find it interesting that Jesus was the age of twelve when He went to Passover. After it ended and when His parents began their journey home with those who had come with them, Jesus. unbeknownst to His parents, went to the Jewish temple - His Father’s house. And not only did He go to the temple, He went to the part of the temple that was off-limits to most people and reserved only for the Jewish teachers. He sat among them, listening to them teach and asking them questions and also providing His own answers, astonishing all those who heard Him.

I don’t believe there is any coincidence that Jesus was twelve years old when He went to the temple. The number 12 is significant in the Bible; in fact, there are 187 references to it. I encourage you to access the link below to learn about some of the key references to the number 12 in the Bible. “Revelation alone has 22 occurrences of the number. The meaning of 12, which is considered a perfect number, is that it symbolizes God’s power and authority, as well as serving as a perfect governmental foundation. It can also symbolize completeness of the nation of Israel as a whole.” (bible study.org)

https://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/12.html

Jesus is perfect in every way, and He symbolizes God’s power and authority. After Jesus had died and was resurrected, He told His disciples before He ascended to God the Father in heaven, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” (Matthew 28:18) Jesus told the apostle Philip, “The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.” (John 14:10-11) Isaiah 9:6 prophesied of the coming Messiah before Jesus was born, “And the government will be upon His shoulder.” When He comes to the earth the second time in judgment, He will defeat all who come against Him and will reign as King of kings and Lord of lords on the earth for 1,000 years before He creates a new heaven, a new earth, and a new Jerusalem, where He and the Father are with all who believed in Jesus, forever.

Jesus is the only One who can provide completeness of Israel as a nation. When Jesus came the first time to earth to offer salvation to all who would believe in Him as Messiah, Israel as a nation rejected Him. But when the 7-year tribulation period comes to earth, the time known as “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7), the start of which I believe we are getting so very close to, the eyes of Israel will finally be opened at the midpoint of the tribulation, 3-1/2 years into it, when their false messiah, antichrist, the one with whom Israel will confirm a 7-year covenant of “peace,” (Daniel 9:27) reveals himself by committing the “abomination of desolation” (Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15). At that point, as the prophet Zechariah prophesied, Israel’s eyes will finally be opened and they will see Jesus as their Messiah, “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.” (Zechariah 12:10)

While two-thirds of the nation of Israel will die during the seven-year time of Jacob’s trouble, a remnant of one-third will be left, as Zechariah foretold, “‘And it shall come to pass in all the land,’ says the LORD, ‘that two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, but one-third shall be left in it: I will bring the one-third through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold as tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’’ and each one will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’’” (Zechariah 13:8-9)

As prophesied many times in the Bible, including in Ezekiel 37, God has started to restore Israel physically be bringing its people from the nations to which they were scattered and back into its land that God gave them, where it is no longer divided into the two nations of Israel and Judah. “…I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again.” (Ezekiel 37:22) The return of the Jews back to the land of Israel is still happening. However, Israel is currently living in unbelief, rejecting their true Messiah, looking for the false messiah. They will only be restored spiritually during the time of Jacob’s trouble when they finally realize that their true Messiah - Jesus, Christ the Lord - already came, and when He comes the second time, they will turn to Him in belief and all Israel will be saved, as the apostle Paul said in Romans 11:25-27, “For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” Paul then quoted the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 27:9) and Deuteronomy 7:8, 10:15, “And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.’” In Deuteronomy 4:30-31 Moses told Israel, “When you are in distress and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the LORD your God and obey His voice (for the LORD your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.”

Thus, while Jesus officially began His ministry at approximately the age of 30 (Luke 3:23), I believe when He stayed in Jerusalem, going to His Father’s house to do His Father’s business, this truly was a pivotal point in time, setting the stage for what would come. The world would never be the same. When His parents had returned to Jerusalem looking for Him and had found Him in the temple, He asked them, “Why did you seek Me?” If we are seeking Him, then why? If it is for any other reason than believing in Him as the Son of God, the One sent by God to offer salvation to all who would believe in Him as the Savior, the only One who can take away the sins of the world, then I urge you to seek Him with your whole heart, for as the scriptures tell us, “Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:12-13) ✝️

January 4, 2023: Luke 2:46-47 - After Three Days, they Found Jesus

“Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and His answers.” - Luke 2:46-47

Twelve year old Jesus had been missing from Joseph and His mother for three days. After attending the Feast of the Passover, Joseph and Mary and their family and acquaintances had started their journey from Jerusalem back to their homes when on the first day of traveling, Joseph and Mary had discovered that Jesus was not with them. They then traveled back to Jerusalem, and after three days, they had found Jesus in a place they did not expect.

I believe this is a foreshadowing of what was to come when Jesus would give up His life and die on a cross, having been crucified by the Romans at the insistence of the Jewish religious leaders, who felt their power and authority was threatened by Jesus and that He had blasphemed God.

After Jesus died, He was laid in a tomb, and three days later, when Mary Magdalene, another Mary, and other women came to anoint His body with spices, they did not find Him where they expected Him to be. Instead, they were told by an angel of the Lord, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.” “So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them saying, ‘Rejoice!’ So they came and held Him by the feet and worshipped Him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid! Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.’” (Matthew 28:1-10) Jesus would next reveal His resurrected self to His other disciples, walk the earth for 40 more days, performing many miracles, and then He would ascend to God the Father.

Joseph and Mary had sought Jesus in the traveling caravan, in the place they thought He should be, and they did not find Him. They supposed He had been with them. After three days and having gone back to Jerusalem, they found Him in a place they did not expect to find Him, in His Father’s house, the Jewish temple. They did not find Him in the sanctuary, where people went to pray, but in the part of the temple where the teachers were. Here was Jesus, only twelves year old, sitting with Jewish teachers, highly educated in the word of God, not only listening to them but asking them questions. These were not just any questions a twelve year old boy would ask, for He astonished them with “His understanding and His answers.”How could this be? Years later, during Jesus’ time of ministry, He had met a Jewish Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. “This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.’ (John 3:1-2) Clearly, the Jewish teachers saw something different in twelve year old Jesus, something they had never seen before, just as Nicodemus had seen in Him years later.

Are you seeking Jesus with your whole heart? Have you found Him? The Bible tells us in Isaiah 55:6, “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near, “ and in Jeremiah 29:13, “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jesus told His disciples, “Ask, and it will be given to you; see, and you will find; knock, and it will opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks, finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8) Billions of people, and likely including many of the Jewish teachers that Jesus had spoken to those days in the temple when He was twelve years old, have not sought Jesus, and when they died, that door remained closed. The door for them to seek Jesus was never opened, for they did not seek Him. I pray you don’t wait until it’s too late to seek Him. ✝️

January 3, 2023: Luke 2:44-45 - Where is Jesus?

“…but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him.” - Luke 2:44-45

Jesus’ parents Joseph and Mary had gone to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of the Passover and had taken the Boy Jesus with them, who was twelve years old. They had traveled with a group of people, including relatives, and now they were traveling back home after the feast had concluded. Travel at that time was not like traveling in today’s world, and with a large crowd that included young people and likely the elderly, they would have traveled even more slowly. With a large crowd of family and friends, Joseph and Mary had supposed that Jesus was with them when they left Jerusalem. However, after traveling a day, Joseph and Mary sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances and did not find Him. Thus, they went back to Jerusalem, seeking Him.

One definition of the word “supposed” or “supposing” is “to believe or assume as true; take for granted.” How many of us have assumed or supposed something to be true that in fact is not? The most critical thing I can think of is: are we supposing or assuming that we can be saved from our sins and go to heaven when we die, or are we basing what we think on fact, the word of God? As Jesus would later tell His disciples during His time of ministry on the earth, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)

The world, including Oprah Winfrey, tells us there are many ways to heaven and that there cannot be only one way. She is supposing, based on her feelings, instead of basing her opinion on fact, the never changing word of God. How many people like her in the world believe as long as they are a “good” person, they will get to heaven? This is a lie from the Devil, and he is leading many straight to the pit of hell.

The apostle Paul in Ephesians tells us how we are saved, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Can you imagine what heaven would be like if we could get there by something we could do other than by believing in Jesus Christ? It would be a total brag-fest! “Oh, you got to heaven by only doing those things? Well, let me tell you that I got to heaven because I did this, and this, and this, and on and on.”

Instead of telling their congregants what Jesus said about how to be saved, that heaven and hell are real, and we will go to one of those two places when we die, many “pastors” are preaching only what they believe their followers want to hear - they are good, it’s okay to sin as long as the world approves of it, it’s all about them and making them feel good about themselves - because they want the people to keep coming back to their church and putting money in the donation boxes. Jesus’ words were clear and remove any and all doubt as to how one gets to heaven.

I would caution you not to take anyone’s word for granted when it comes to your eternity, for the world is corruptible; Jesus Christ is without sin and perfect in every way. Let us not suppose anything when it comes to our salvation. Let us see and read God’s word with our own eyes. Let us hear it with our own ears. Let us seek Him, while He still may be found, for one day, you will take your last breath and if you are not saved prior to dying, it will be too late for you.

Let us not suppose anything when it comes to our salvation. Let us know Him and where He is - at the right hand of the throne of God. “So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.” (Mark 16:19)

January 2, 2023: Luke 2:43 - The Boy Jesus Lingered in Jerusalem

“When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem And Joseph and His mother did not know it…” - Luke 2:43

After the Feast of the Passover had ended, Joseph and Mary were ready to travel home with their son Jesus. However, unbeknownst to Joseph and Mary, Jesus had stayed behind in Jerusalem. We will read about why He had stayed behind in verses 46-50. I can relate to this account in two different ways, one as a parent whose child went missing, and the second as a child myself when I was lost from my parents.

As a parent myself, I can imagine Mary and Joseph’s fear and concern for Jesus’ safety when they realized that He was missing. My husband and I once took our young son to an indoor playground called “Discovery Zone” back in early 1990s. I had kept my eyes on our son the whole time, for the place was packed with children and parents, who were in all the different zones of this place. But in what seemed like an instant, I had lost sight of our son. I kept looking for him and when I could not see him with my eyes, I started to panic. I told my husband and he also told our friend, who had also come with his young daughter. We searched that place in a frenzy looking for our son. Finally, thank God, we found him, safe and sound. The relief I felt in being reunited with our child was indescribable.

As a young child, I really don’t know what age I was but possibly about nine years old, my parents and me and my brother went to the Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena, CA. I remember my parents telling me to stay by their side and don’t wander off. However, I remember that right after we had entered it, I saw something that I wanted to go look at. Ignoring my parents’ instruction, I went from them and went to look at what I had seen. I hadn’t been there long and was ready to go back to my parents, but when I looked up, I could not find them. It was like they had vanished; they were nowhere to be found. Here I was in a strange place, packed with people, and I could not find my parents. I kept looking but to no avail. I was a lost child. Finally, after what seemed to me like hours, I don’t know if an employee noticed my likely panicked face as a lost little girl or if I had gone to this person for help, but I remember talking to this person and telling him or her that I could not find my parents. I think an announcement must have been made for a lost child looking for her parents, and not long after that, I was reunited with my parents. I was never as happy to see them as I was that day!

My experience of being a disobedient child, reminds me of all the times I have been disobedient to God, not heeding His commandments, for something glittery, something appealing, had caught my eye and led me astray. Every single time I am disobedient, it not only hurts me but it hurts Him. I am sure that my parents must have been overwhelmed with worry when they couldn’t find me, but when I had been reunited with them, they had welcomed me with open arms, just as Jesus, our Savior, will welcome us back when we turn back to Him. As we will learn in the next several devotionals, Jesus’ intentions of lingering in Jerusalem were to serve His Father, but my intentions were not to serve Him or my parents but to seek that which I had seen and wanted.

The book of Genesis and the temptation of Eve is a good reminder of what happens when we disobey our heavenly Father to satisfy our flesh. God had told Adam and Eve that they could eat the fruit of any tree except for the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, “for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Then the serpent had come along and questioned Eve as to what God had instructed her and Adam. Eve told the serpent what God had said but she also added something that God had not said to them, and told the serpent that if they ate or touched it, they would surely die. The serpent then lied to Eve and said, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Then temptation set in for Eve. “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” We know what then happened to Adam and Eve. They would have to receive the consequences of sinning against God. (Genesis 2-3)

Sin starts out small. We think to ourselves, “Oh, it won’t hurt me to just look at this thing which I desire.” But then it moves from looking, lusting, desiring something, to acting upon that which we desire, as Eve and Adam did, with the Devil there beside us, encouraging us to sin and ignore what God has told us. Yes, I was a young child when I had wandered away from my parents at the humongous flea market, but I had seen something I wanted and had disobeyed them.

How many of us have wandered from our heavenly Father, not heeding His voice and His commandments, which are pure in heart and are only meant to protect us from the consequences of sin? As we will read in Luke 2:46-50, Jesus’ intentions of lingering behind in Jerusalem were to do His Father’s business, but my intentions in disobeying my parents were to satisfy myself. The difference between the two intentions is a wide chasm, and unless we have accepted Jesus as our Savior, that chasm separates us eternally from the One who loves us more than we could ever know. Jesus is waiting for all to turn to Him, to believe in Him as our Savior, and when we do, He welcomes us back with open arms. Will you turn to Him today? ✝️