DAILY DEVOTIONALS: 5.20.23

 AstonishingDoctrine “And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine.” (Matthew7:28) This is the first mention of “doctrine” (Greek didache) in the New Testament, and as such it is significant that it refers to the doctrines taught by Christ in the so-called Sermon on the Mount. It is also significant that there are four other versestelling us that His hearers were “astonished at his doctrine” (Matthew22:33; Mark 1:22; 11:18; Luke 4:32) in addition to the statement in Acts 13:12 that a certain new convert had been “astonished at the doctrine of the Lord” when he heard Paul preach. The astonishing aspect of the doctrine of Christ is indicated by Mark. “They were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes” (Mark1:22). No wonder He could speak with authority! “My doctrine is not mine,” He said, “but his that sent me” (John7:16). Paul could also teach this astonishing doctrine because he was careful to teach only the Word of God. And so can we if we likewise believe and teach only in the context of the inerrant, doctrinal authority of God’s Word. It has become fashionable today, even in many evangelical churches, to avoid “indoctrination” in favor of “discussion” and “personal Christianity.” This is a great mistake and largely accounts for the increasing secularization of our society and the weak testimonyof the Christian church. In the Bible, teaching and doctrine are the same, so that true teaching is indoctrination, and teaching “all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew28:20) is an integral part of Christ’s great commission. It is imperative that we, like Paul, teach “all the counsel of God” (Acts20:27), for “whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God” (2John 1:9). HMM ----------------------- TheElect Lady “The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also allthey that have known the truth.” (2John 1:1) The Greek word for “lady” (kuria) is used only two times in the Bible, and both of these occurrences are here in the one-chapter epistle of 2 John. It is also fascinating to note that kuria is the feminine form of kurios, which is the Greek word for “Lord.” Evidently this “elect lady” was a special woman, very highly esteemed by the apostle John as a capable and conscientious mother to her children. It is uncertain, however, whether this distinguished lady was a literal mother in the church with literal children or possibly a metaphor for the church itself, with the “children” its individual members. Good reasons can be given for both interpretations,and it may even be that John wrote his letter with this dual meaning in mind under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In either case, it is significant that this mother is called “lady” instead of the much more frequently used “woman” (Greek gune), or even “mother” (Greek meter). The Greek kuria was evidently used to stress deep respect and honor to such a mother in the church. She clearly was training her children in “the truth,” much as Timothy’s mother, Eunice, andgrandmother, Lois, had brought him up to have “unfeigned faith” in “the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2Timothy 1:5; 3:15). In addition to faith in God’s truth, of course, there should be genuine love. The second use of kuria is in verse 5: “And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another” (2 John 1:5). HMM -------------------------- TakeHeed “And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you.” (Mark13:5) In the account of Christ’s great prophetic discourse on the Mount of Olives, as recorded in Mark 13, the Lord Jesus warns us no less than four times to “take heed!” This fourfold admonition (Mark13:5, 9, 23, 33) must be important and demands our attention! First of all, our text warns us not to be deceived by human claims of spiritual authority and prophetic insights, for there would come many deceptive teachers claiming to be the returning Christ. When Christ does return, all His saints will know beyond question,for they shall all “meet the Lord in the air” (1Thessalonians 4:17). His second warning tells us to be prepared for persecutions (Mark13:9), for “in the world ye shall have tribulation,” and “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (John16:33; 2 Timothy 3:12). His third admonition warns of false Christs and false prophets who will even “shew signs and wonders” (Mark13:22-23). Many will be deceived unless they remember that neither prophecies nor exorcisms nor other wonderful works suffice for acceptance by Christ if those who perform them are “work[ers of] iniquity” (Matthew7:22-23). The fourth “take heed” is a sober warning against trying to predict the time of His return. “Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is” (Mark13:33). Such a warning is pointless if certain prophesied events must take place first, for then there would be no need to watch for Him. In the same discourse, as reported by Luke, Jesus gave a final such warning, speaking of this very danger. “Take heedto yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with...cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares” (Luke21:34). HMM ----------------------- God,Are You Listening? - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org O LORD, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning. �Psalm 5:1 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/god-are-you-listening/- Listen David really needed to know that God was with him. After all, he was running for his life. But it wasn�t King Saul who was chasing him. Tragically, his own son Absalom washunting him down to put him to death. It was during this time that David called on the Lord and wrote the words of Psalm 5. Here we see a holy boldness in David�s prayer: �O Lord, hear me as I pray; pay attentionto my groaning. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I pray to no one but you� (verses 1�2 NLT). In essence David was saying, �Lord, I want You to really listen to what I am about to say.� Where did he get the audacity to speak to God that way? David had a relationship with God. The reason he could say �Hear me,� �pay attention,� and �listen� is that he alsosaid, �My King and my God.� He had a relationship with God that gave him freedom of access. We, too, can have the same relationship. Romans 8:15 says, �So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God�s Spirit when he adoptedyou as his own children. Now we call him, �Abba, Father� � (NLT). The Aramaic word �Abba� is an affectionate term. The English equivalent would be �Daddy� or �Papa.� As believers, we have been brought into a relationship with God throughJesus Christ in which we can call Him Daddy. We can call Him Papa. David�s relationship with God gave him boldness in his prayers. And we can also have that boldness. Hebrews 10:19 says, �And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enterheaven�s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus� (NLT). We can approach God at any time, but it�s not because of anything we do. Rather, it�s because of what Jesus did for us. ------------------------- TheyHave Their Reward �Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagoguesand in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.� (Matthew6:2) Evidently in our Lord�s day there were individuals who, when they went to the synagogue to give of their money, did so with great show, even having a trumpeter go before them to announce their actions. They also prayed openly �standing in the synagogues andin the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men� (v. 5). Jesus called them hypocrites. The Greek word for hypocrite was used primarily for a stage actor�one who acted as if he were another person, perhaps using a large mask to hide his true identity. In this case, the hypocrite played the part of a generous person or a pious person who, out ofa heart of concern for the poor or out of genuine love for God, would give or pray abundantly. But under the �mask� was only a desire to have others recognize and glorify him. Perhaps they received the applause of the onlookers, to which Jesus remarked, �Theyhave their reward� (v. 5), even as the hypocrites in the synagogues and in the streets receive theirs. The word �have,� an ordinary word, is here modified by a prefix that changes its meaning to �have in full� and was commonly used on business receipts to mean �paid in full.� No payment or service was expected to follow the close of the transaction. How sad it is when we do �Christian� work today for the praises of men and not the glory of God. Whatever comes of our work will be here; there will be no more reward to follow. Rather, let us give, or pray, or work in secret, as it were, �and thy Father whichseeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly� (v. 4). JDM ----------------------- When We Can�t Find the Words - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don�t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressedin words. �Romans 8:26 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/when-we-cant-find-the-words/- Listen Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night thinking about a family member or friend? You know that you need to pray for them, but you�re not sure what to say. So, maybeyou come up with something like this: �Lord, I pray for this person. I don�t know what to say. I just pray for them.� You may have thought it wasn�t a very good prayer, but it could have been the most powerful prayer you�ve ever prayed. That�s because Romans 8 tells us, �And the Holy Spirithelps us in our weakness. For example, we don�t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words� (NLT). Sometimes a good prayer is a groan. The psalmist David prayed, �O Lord, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning� (Psalm 5:1 NLT). The Hebrew word David used for �groaning� is an unusual term that hintsat an unspoken prayer�an aching, longing, and yearning of the innermost being. David had a genuine burden. Essentially he was saying, �Consider my yearning. Consider my aching heart. Consider what is going on deep inside me, the cry of my soul.� We think our prayers need to be long, flowery, and filled with King James language to be effective. We assume that God is more into Shakespearean-type prayers. But the fact of the matter is that a simple prayer, a groan, or a yearning of the heart might be a prayer that is inspired by God. What a difference prayer can make! Let�s take our problems and burdens and cast them upon the Lord. God ultimately will have His way. Regardless of how bleak the scenariomay be, God can turn it around. --------------------------------- GoodSoldiers �Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himselfwith the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.� (2 Timothy 2:3-4) From a Kingdom perspective, a good soldier has several responsibilities. Initially, we can expect challenges, wherein we might �suffer trouble as an evil doer� (2Timothy 2:9), endure afflictions (2 Timothy 4:5), or even be afflicted (James5:13). Ultimately, a soldier has one purpose, �that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.� Put another way, �do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ� (Galatians1:10). Soldiers are called out of the normal life of a nation and dedicated to executing the will of the king. Thus, from a spiritual perspective, �know ye not that friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God� (James4:4). The source of that friendship is a focus on walking by the flesh, which has no good thing in it and cannot please God (Romans 8:8). We are to �war a good warfare� (1 Timothy 1:18) and to �fight the good fight of faith� (1Timothy 6:12) because �we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places� (Ephesians6:12). Fighting God�s battles with God�s armor ensures the ultimate victory promised by our King, Creator, and �captain of the host of the LORD� (Joshua 5:14). �He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it� (Isaiah25:8). HMM III ----------------------- Think Before You Pray - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Don�t make rash promises, and don�t be hasty in bringing matters before God. After all, God is in heaven, and you are here on earth. So let your words be few. �Ecclesiastes5:2 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/think-before-you-pray/- Listen Some people tend to pray broad, generic prayers: �Lord, save the world and bless all the missionaries. Amen.� However, I think it would do a little more for people if we prayedfor them by name. Of course, God knows everything. But when we bring our requests before Him, we should be focused. As the adage says, �If you aim at nothing, you�re bound to hit it.� In Psalm 5 we see a prayer of David�s that hit the mark. One of the reasons it was effective is that it had a clear focus. David prayed, �Listen to my voice in the morning,Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly� (verse 3 NLT). The New King James Version translates it this way: �My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up.� In the originallanguage, this depicts the setting in order of pieces of wood on an altar of sacrifice. Thus, it implies an order, a structure, and a focus in prayer. David was saying, �Not only am I praying with passion, but I am praying with precision. I am praying with clarity. I am aiming my prayer in a certain direction.� Ecclesiastes 5:1�2 tells us, �As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. It is evil to make mindless offerings to God. Don�t make rash promises,and don�t be hasty in bringing matters before God. After all, God is in heaven, and you are here on earth. So let your words be few� (NLT). In other words, think about what you will pray. It�s important to have passion in our prayers. But we also need to think through what we will bring before the throne of God. ------------------------------- WhenWe Abide in Christ �Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no morecan ye, except ye abide in me.� (John15:4) The Lord Jesus has told us to be careful always to �abide� in Him. The Greek word means �remain,� �endure,� �continue,� or �dwell.� He is to be our motivation, our standard, our home, our everything. When we do abide thus in Him, the Scriptures indicate thatit will make a great difference in our lives right now, as well as in the life to come. For example, �he that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked� (1John 2:6). Furthermore, �whosoever abideth in him sinneth not� (1John 3:6). Love for our Christian brethren will be evident, for �he that loveth his brother abideth in the light� (1John 2:10). We will obey His Word, for �he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth [same word] in him, and he in him� (1John 3:24). In Christ�s discourse on the vine and the branches (John15:1-16) are several wonderful promises to the Christian. �He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit� (v. 5). �If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you� (v. 7). �These things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain [same word] in you, and that your joy might be full� (v. 11). �I have chosen you...that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain� (v. 16). If we dwell in Christ, we actually are abiding in the Father and the Spirit also. Jesus said that �the Spirit of truth...dwelleth with you,� and �[my Father and I] will come unto him, and make our abode with him� (John14:17, 23). Therefore, let us �abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming� (1John 2:28). HMM -------------------------- Cut Off - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness; you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked. �Psalm 5:4 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/cut-off/- Listen In Psalm 5, David gave us an important principle about being in God�s presence. He wrote, �O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness; you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked. Therefore, the proud may not stand in your presence, for you hate all whodo evil� (verses 4�5 NLT). When David wrote those words, his son Absalom and his friends had lawlessly driven him from the throne on which God had placed him. Not only that, but Absalom was also huntinghim down. David was baring his heart concerning those who had wronged him. But this also shows us something about prayer, which is that evil will not dwell where God is. We see the same idea in Psalm 66:18, where the psalmist wrote, �If I had notconfessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened� (NLT). So, if we�re starting to pray and know there is something in our lives that isn�t right with God, He will not hear our prayer. He will hear a prayer of repentance and confession,of course. But until we deal with that area of sin in our lives, God will not hear our prayers. Unconfessed sin can bring our prayer life to a screeching halt. Speaking to the prophet Isaiah, God said, �Listen! The Lord�s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. It�s your sins that have cut you offfrom God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore� (Isaiah 59:1�2 NLT). In other words, God was saying, �Make sure you haven�t erected a wall between us called sin. Make sure your life is right before Me.� If there is sin that needs to be dealt with in your life, then deal with it. Don�t allow it to hinder your prayers. ------------------------------- The Perspective of God�s People - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. They seem to live such painless lives. �Psalm 73:3�4 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/the-perspective-of-gods-people/- Listen The psalmist Asaph struggled with the age-old question of why the wicked prosper. In Psalm 73 he wrote, �But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, andI was almost gone. For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness� (verses 2�3 NLT). We live in a time when people celebrate and flaunt ungodly lifestyles. And like Asaph, we wonder how long they�re going to get away with it. As followers of Christ, we tryto live by God�s Word, and people mock us for it. So, we say, �This just isn�t fair. That�s a horrible thing they�re doing. They shouldn�t be able to get away with that.� David, too, reflected on the life of the godly and the ungodly and contrasted them. He looked at the priorities they have. And in Psalm 5 he wrote, �You will destroy thosewho tell lies. The Lord detests murderers and deceivers. Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house; I will worship at your Temple with deepest awe� (verses 6�7 NLT). David was saying, �Nonbelievers can do what they want to do and live the way they want to live. But I�m going to go to the house of the Lord.� Asaph arrived at a similar conclusion. He wrote, �Then I went into your sanctuary, O God, and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked. Truly, you put them on a slipperypath and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction� (Psalm 73:17�18 NLT). When we gather with God�s people and study God�s Word together, we will see the big picture. We will realize that sin eventually catches up with everyone. And as followersof Jesus Christ, we will know that we�ve made the right choice. ------------------------------