Devotions For The Reconciled Life

For, At just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. He alone can never die, and he lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach him. No human eye has ever seen him, nor ever will. All honor and power to him forever! Amen. 1 Timothy 6:15-16 Detail of Isaiah's vision of God from Martin Luther's German Bible (1525), woodcut. Who is God? He is God Almighty, Righteous, and Holy. He is unapproachable in our sinful state. A sinful man in the presence of the Holy God is doomed. But God took the initiative. God is so holy that man cannot even understand His name.  The transliteration of the Tetragrammaton of His name is YHWH.  He gave His name first to Moses.  When God took the initiative and came to us as the Christ, He chose a name above every name but so common no one would notice; Jesus. In the first century, Jesus or Yeshua was a common name given t...

Then Moses said to God, "If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" Exodus 3:13 Israel had been in Egypt about 400 years.  Over that many generations, their understanding of their God had been corrupted.  They were unclear on who their God was.  Moses knew this.  His question seems self-evident, but it was essential for Moses to understand and Israel to know.  Moses did not go to the elders of the people and take a survey.  He wanted God to define God.  The people did not specify who God was. God didn’t respond by saying who do you think I should say that I am or should be? The Tetragrammaton in  Phoenician (12th century BCE to 150 BCE),  Paleo-Hebrew  (10th century BCE to 135 CE), and square  Hebrew  (3rd century BCE to present) scripts God said to Moses, " I am who I am . " And he s...

'One person dies in prosperity, completely comfortable and secure, the picture of good health, vigorous and fit. Another person dies in bitter poverty, never having tasted the good life. But both are buried in the same dust, both eaten by the same maggots.' Job 21:23-26 One of my favorite music groups of all time is a little-known group, House of Heroes .  I had them in for a fundraising concert several years ago.  Early in the show, they performed one of my favorite songs;  The Comfort Trap .  Here are just a few words from that song: I'm gonna get nice things and get my way Even if it means there's hell to pay I'm gonna have my cake and eat it too And what I don't eat I'm gonna force feed you I'm not looking for consolation Maybe I can settle for compensation Have my cake and eat it too And if it's all a lie, I'm gonna say it's all true It seems to be a universal state of our world that if what we think is a l...

This is what the Lord says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies: “I am the First and the Last; there is no other God. Who is like me? Let him step forward and prove to you his power. Let him do as I have done since ancient times when I established a people and explained its future. Do not tremble; do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim my purposes for you long ago? You are my witnesses—is there any other God? No! There is no other Rock—not one!” How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless. The people who worship idols don’t know this, so they are all put to shame. Who but a fool would make his own god— an idol that cannot help him one bit? All who worship idols will be disgraced along with all these craftsmen—mere humans— who claim they can make a god. They may all stand together, but they will stand in terror and shame. The blacksmith stands at his forge to make a sharp tool, pounding and shaping it with all his might. H...

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Galatians 5:13-14 What does it mean to be free?  We are unbound by the law of religion.  Our actions are not dictated by the requirements of a religious obligation.  The world defines freedom as a life without any restraint — “I can do anything I want to do and say anything I want to say without anybody telling me what to do.” You may burn everybody else, but you get to do it your own way. The world says you can have your freedom, but only by being entirely selfish. Real freedom is freedom from fear, guilt, worry, bitterness, and death. You’re free to quit pretending because you’re free to be yourself, and like yourself, you are called to love!  How do you get rid of those kinds of fears? By letting God love you! 'There is no fear in lo...

'My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.' Galatians 2:20-21 'For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.' Galatians 5:1 Defining religion is difficult.  I looked at numerous online dictionaries, and even English and language academics have difficulty describing it.  Since they can't agree, so I will provide my definition: religion is a means that men use to earn God's favor; by general action and sacrifice.  If you've got a better definition, I would love to read it. I went to a beautiful concert of one of my favorite artists on Saturday.  Kirk Franklin.  It was a blast.  After the show, I bo...

'Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being f...