Daniel'sWeeklyDevotions

My wife and I are currently reading the book Family Driven Faith by Dr. Voddie Baucham, Jr.  Some friends of ours are fans of Dr. Baucham, and the book has, so far, been outstanding.  (We’ve made it to chapter 4.)

In doing research on Dr. Baucham and his ministry, I learned that he is the current pastor of Grace Family Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, and I also found the church’s sermon feed on SermonAudio.com.  I’ve been listening for the past several weeks, as he and Elder Stephen Bratton have been preaching a series on Romans.  (That alone is cool to me; I’ve never seen two people share a series before.)  When they arrived to Romans 13:1-7, they started a 4-sermon mini-series within their larger Romans series.  Let’s look at these seven verses.

¹ Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ² Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³ For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, ⁴ for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵ Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. ⁶ For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. ⁷ Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.— Romans 13:1-7

One of the things that blew me away is that, reading this, realizing that this was written about the Roman empire under Nero.  Wow.

Other highlights from this series:

• Christians should not be so quick to skip past the “submit” part.
• If we choose to defy authority because we believe they are asking us to do something contrary to God, we must be willing to deal with the consequences of defying authority.
• Government should not be used to push theology.
• All laws are moral laws; the only question is whose morality will be enforced.
• We must support our government, and we must be involved.

There is much, much more in these sermons, and nearly 4 hours of listening.  I’d recommend loading these up on your mobile music player and walking while listening; shape up physically while you shape up spiritually.  With the elections coming up next year, I would categorize this as required listening; we as Christians must know what is expected of us, and must make decisions based on our ultimate citizenship.

A note – Dr. Baucham, in his three sermons in this series, made some pretty bold statements, but he backs them up; don’t hear him say something and cut off the message.

Part 1 – Politics, Government, and Politics: Part 1 by Dr. Voddie Baucham, 57 minutes
Part 2 – Politics and Biblical Authority Part 2: On Submission by Dr. Voddie Baucham, 67 minutes
Part 3 – Politics and Biblical Authority Part 3: On Exercise of Authority by Dr. Voddie Baucham, 56 minutes
Part 4 – Politics and Biblical Authority Part 4: On Support of Authority by Stephen Bratton, 45 minutes

Today we hit a Scripture so tough, it took me two years to write about it.  It’s Romans 3:16 – see if this isn’t the most uplifting verse you’ve heard all week…

¹⁶ ruin and wretchedness are in their paths,— Romans 3:16

We’ll definitely need some more context – let’s look beginning with verse 10, going through verse 20.

¹⁰ as it is written:

There is no one righteous, not even one; ¹¹ there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God. ¹² All have turned away, together they have become useless; there is no one who does good, there is not even one. ¹³ Their throat is an open grave; they deceive with their tongues.  Vipers’ venom is under their lips. ¹⁴ Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. ¹⁵ Their feet are swift to shed blood; ¹⁶ ruin and wretchedness are in their paths, ¹⁷ and the path of peace they have not known. ¹⁸ There is no fear of God before their eyes.

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says speaks to those who are subject to the law, so that every mouth may be shut and the whole world may become subject to God’s judgment. ²⁰ For no flesh will be justified in His sight by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.— Romans 3:10-20

The block quote in the passage above is a compilation of verses from the Old Testament.  I won’t paste all of them here, but these can be found in Psalm 5:9, Psalm 10:7, Psalm 14:1-3, Psalm 36:1, Psalm 53:1-3, Psalm 140:3, Ecclesiastes 7:20, and Isaiah 59:7-8.  In each of these passages, what immediately follows these descriptions is a call is for God to judge the people who are displaying these tendencies, and deliver His people from them.  The passage in Isaiah is no different; the prophet writes how the Lord is going to judge those who have wronged Him and His people.  Here’s how he described the coming judgment…

¹⁵ Truth is missing,
and whoever turns from evil is plundered.
The Lord saw that there was no justice,
and He was offended.

¹⁶ He saw that there was no man —
He was amazed that there was no one interceding;
so His own arm brought salvation,
and His own righteousness supported Him.

¹⁷ He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation on His head;
He put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and He wrapped Himself in zeal as in a cloak.

¹⁸Thus He will repay according to their deeds:
fury to His enemies,
retribution to His foes,
and He will repay the coastlands.

¹⁹ They will fear the name of the Lord in the west,
and His glory in the east;
for He will come like a rushing stream
driven by the wind of the Lord.

— Isaiah 59:15-19

That’s quite a picture!  The “rushing stream driven by the wind” is a powerful image.  We’ve seen images of floods on TV – it’s amazing how just a little bit of water can completely overpower anything in its path.  This is a strong force, but it is not indiscriminate, like a normal flood; the Lord is repaying people according to their deeds.  At this point, we may be thinking “Boy, I’m glad I’m not one of those people who has wronged Him or His people!”  But, are we really innocent?  Let’s take a look further in Romans 3…

²³ For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.— Romans 3:23

I once had a pastor who said that in this verse, “all” is from the Greek, meaning “all.”  There is little ambiguity about whether you and I are part of the “all” that Paul is talking about – every one of us has sinned against God, and deserve any punishment we receive from Him.

So, we’ve wronged God, and God demands justice.  How are we going to make this right?  (Notice above in Isaiah 59:16, “His own arm brought salvation….”)  Let’s see what Paul says.

²¹ But now, apart from the law, God’s righteousness has been revealed — attested by the Law and the Prophets ²² — that is, God’s righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe, since there is no distinction. ²³ For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. ²⁴ They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented Him as a propitiation through faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. ²⁶ He presented Him to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be righteous and declare righteous the one who has faith in Jesus.— Romans 3:21-26

The word “propitiation” is an interesting word.  When I started reading versions other than the King James Version, I thought for sure that “propitiation” was one of those words that wouldn’t make it.  However, the more modern translation versions NASB, ESV, NKJV, and HCSB all have this word in this verse!  The NIV translates it “sacrifice of atonement,” and that’s a good way to put it.  The dictionary defines propitiation as making something favorably inclined or appeasing it.  God presented Jesus as a way to appease His demand for justice!  Since Jesus appeases this demand, all we have to do is believe in Him and accept Him (v. 26 “He would… declare righteous the one who has faith in Jesus”).  Not only does he declare us righteous, God will “pass over the sins previously committed.” (v. 25)

This is really good news.  I imagine your experience on this earth is much like mine in this regard – I simply cannot always do what I know I’m supposed to do.  I get angry.  I say mean things.  I let resentment build in my heart.  If it were up to me to apologize for my sins and try to do better, I would be toast.  But, look at what Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross can do for us!  If we accept Him, God counts us righteous and doesn’t demand any further payment for our sin!  (We may still have to deal with consequences here on earth – God forgives our sin; He never promised to save us from our bad decisions.)

Notice the end of verse 22 – “to all who believe, since there is no distinction.”  There’s that “all” again, and yes, it’s still talking about you and me.  This free gift, this payment for sin, is available to all people without distinction.  Any race, any gender, any age, any marital status, any intelligence level, any financial status… well, you get the idea.  Most importantly, it is available for you!  If you are reading this, Jesus knew about you when He died on the cross; He paid for your sin with His life.  All you have to do is accept that gift – as Paul and Silas told a jailer in Acts 16:31, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved…”  If you would like more information on how to accept this gift, you can look at God’s Simple Plan of Salvation, which details more about this; also, feel free to contact me using the “Contact” link found at the top of the page.

Today’s passage comes from 1 Corinthians 3:16-17.

¹⁶ Don’t you know that you are God’s sanctuary and that the Spirit of God lives in you? ¹⁷ If anyone ruins God’s sanctuary, God will ruin him; for God’s sanctuary is holy, and that is what you are.— 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

This passage is short, sweet, and to the point.  Before it, Paul is explaining to the Corinthian church that Jesus is the foundation of His church, no matter who actually brings the message (verses 5-15); and he follows up these verses by instructing them on the folly of the world’s wisdom (verses 18-23).  So, let’s look at these two verses, and other Scriptures that support them.

Verse 16 declares that we are God’s sanctuary, and that His Spirit lives in us.  This is one of those things that we’ve heard over and over again – so much that we may have lost the importance of it.  The Holy Spirit was promised by Jesus when He was telling His disciples about things to come:

¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. ¹⁷ He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive Him because it doesn’t see Him or know Him. But you do know Him, because He remains with you and will be in you. ¹⁸ I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.— John 14:16-18

Did you catch that at the end of John 14:17?  He is in us!  The Father wanted to send Him to the world, but the world could not receive Him.  So, the only way the Holy Spirit could be here is if He came to reside in someone who knew the Father.  We are the ones He chose as His sanctuary, His place to live among men!  The end of 1 Corinthians 3:17 emphasizes the point – “God’s sanctuary is holy, and that is what you are.”

However, the first part of that same verse contains a strong warning – “If anyone ruins God’s sanctuary, God will ruin him.”  Sure, this is a warning to those who would draw Christians aside from the faith, but notice that there is no exemption for the sanctuary coming to ruin on its own.  We as the sanctuary are responsible for ensuring that our part of the sanctuary is clean; pure, free from sin, and a strong testimony to God’s grace.

I’ve told my sons this several times before – I don’t like anyone hurting my sons, even another one of my sons (their brothers).  Just as this continues to come up (did I mention I’ve told them that several times?), often we are the biggest hurdle to overcome in keeping our sanctuary clean.  It’s (comparatively) easy to rebuff Satan’s advances when he’s trying to get us to do something that we don’t want to do; it’s much harder to convince ourselves that we shouldn’t do something that we want to do, in spite of its being wrong.  Paul explored this conundrum when writing to the church in Rome.

¹⁵ For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate. ¹⁶ And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree with the law that it is good. ¹⁷ So now I am no longer the one doing it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸ For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but it is the sin that lives in me.— Romans 7:15-20

Notice verse 18 – “nothing good lives in me….”  This is the same “in me” that Jesus referred to when He said that the Holy Spirit would be “in you.”  Continuing in verse 18, “For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it.”  We know what is right; we want to do what is right; but yet we fail at doing what is right.  What gives?

Herein lies the importance of surrendering to God’s grace.  He knows we are flawed vessels, yet He has empowered us to be holy sanctuaries.  He has provided Scriptures like the ones we’re looking at today to explain His expectations and His goals for us.  In particular, this passage in Romans should alert us to a challenge; this is the battlefield upon which spiritual warfare is fought.  The sanctuary will not stay clean on its own – only as we yield to Christ and let Him point out the dirty spots will it become and stay clean.

I’m sure you’ve heard about how bank tellers are trained to spot counterfeit money.  They don’t take them into a room with a large table, sit them down, and educate them on all the tell-tale signs of fake money.  They train them constantly in handling known-good currency.  They are so intimately familiar with the real thing that they can instantly spot a fake when it passes through their hands.  In the same way, this is how we can keep our sanctuary clean.  By constantly seeking out and spending time with God (the real thing), we’ll be better able to spot other things when they try to creep into the sanctuary and defile it; and, with a holy sanctuary, the Holy Spirit can use us to the fullest for His work!

I pray that we will be able to keep the sanctuary clean, by maintaining a near-constant fellowship with God, and allowing Him to use us.

This week, we’ll look at Hebrews 3:16.

¹⁶ For who heard and rebelled?  Wasn’t it really all who came out of Egypt under Moses?— Hebrews 3:16

We’ve all heard certain phrases throughout our lives.  ”History repeats itself.”  ”Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”  (This seems to also be a warning to high school students everywhere.)  ”The more things change, the more they stay the same.”  These phrases all point to the phenomenon of people doing the same thing over and over, regardless of the outcome.

In today’s Scripture, the author of Hebrews reminds us that it was the people who knew the truth and even experienced it – the Jews – who rebelled against God.  And rebel they did!  In three straight chapters in Exodus, the children of Israel complained and rebelled against Moses.

²³ They came to Marah, but they could not drink the water at Marah because it was bitter – that is why it was named Marah. ²⁴ The people grumbled to Moses, “What are we going to drink?” ²⁵ So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree.  When he threw it into the water, the water became drinkable.

He made a statute and ordinance for them at Marah and He tested them there.

— Exodus 15:23-25

² The entire Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. ³ The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord‘s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted.  Instead, you brought us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of hunger!”

⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you.  The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day.  This way I will test them to see whether or not they will follow My instructions.”

— Exodus 16:2-4

² So the people complained to Moses: “Give us water to drink.”

“Why are you complaining to me?” Moses replied to them.  ”Why are you testing the Lord?”

³ But the people thirsted there for water, and grumbled against Moses.  They said, “Why did you ever bring us out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”

⁴ Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What should I do with these people?  In a little while they will stone me!”

⁵ The Lord answered Moses, “Go on ahead of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with you.  Take the rod you struck the Nile with in your hand and go. ⁶ I am going to stand there in front of you on the rock at Horeb; when you hit the rock, water will come out of it and the people will drink.” Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.

— Exodus 17:2-6

But, surely, once they get to the promised land, the Israelites will remember God’s provision, right?  Well…

¹ Then the whole community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night. ² All the Israelites complained about Moses and Aaron, and the whole community told them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness! ³ Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to die by the sword?  Our wives and little children will become plunder.  Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” ⁴ So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.”

⁵ Then Moses and Aaron fell down with their faces [to the ground] in front of the whole assembly of the Israelite community. ⁶ Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who scouted out the land, tore their clothes ⁷ and said to the entire Israelite community: “The land we passed through and explored is an extremely good land. ⁸ If the Lord is pleased with us, He will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and give it to us.

— Numbers 14:1-8

It’s easy to look back at the failings of the Israelites, and point fingers at them.  But, aren’t we the same?  Don’t we do the same foolish things over and over again?  It’s easy to see how other people don’t learn from their mistakes, but it’s often more difficult to see our own.  Even if we are aware of our failings, though, we still have the inner conflict between the old, selfish nature and our new holy one.  Paul expressed this sentiment in Romans 7…

¹⁴ For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am made out of flesh, sold into sin’s power. ¹⁵ For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate. ¹⁶ And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree with the law that it is good. ¹⁷ So now I am no longer the one doing it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸ For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh.  For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but it is the sin that lives in me. ²¹ So I discover this principle: when I want to do good, evil is with me. ²² For in my inner self I joyfully agree with God’s law. ²³ But I see a different law in the parts of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body.— Romans 7:14-23

So what is the solution?  Later in Romans, Paul gives us the answer.

¹ Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. ² Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.— Romans 12:1-2

As gold is refined, it is heated to the melting point, and its flaws are literally burned out.  I’m pretty sure that if the gold could talk, it would tell us that it doesn’t particularly enjoy this process.  However, the result is a more pure precious metal.  This is how God works in a Christian’s life; He brings challenges into our lives to mold us into His image.  Some of these challenges are external, but some are internal.  We must give this to God, and trust Him to work His will in our lives.  Will we fail at times?  Of course.  Does that mean would shouldn’t try?  Not at all!

We have been entrusted with the truth.  May we surrender our lives to it, and trust God to use the circumstances in our lives to mold us into His image.  May we learn through each of our mistakes, and may God give us the power not to repeat them.

Today’s Scripture is from Isaiah 40:26-31.

²⁶ Look up and see:
who created these?
He brings out the starry host by number;
He calls all of them by name.
Because of His great power and strength,
not one of them is missing.

²⁷ Jacob, why do you say,
and Israel, why do you assert:
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my claim is ignored by my God”?

²⁸ Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Yahweh is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the whole earth.
He never grows faint or weary;
there is no limit to His understanding.

²⁹ He gives strength to the weary
and strengthens the powerless.

³⁰ Youths may faint and grow weary,
and young men stumble and fall,

³¹ but those who trust in the Lord
will renew their strength;
they will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary;
they will walk and not faint.

— Isaiah 40:26-31

It is very easy to get discouraged in life. We may try our hardest to do something that we think is good and right, and yet we feel like we’re just spinning our wheels. Then, we may look at others who are not following God, and they seem to be doing well. This quandry is not unique to the Christian of the 21^st century; even Jeremiah the prophet asked God, “Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do the treacherous live at ease?” (Jeremiah 12:1)

The Jews had forgotten the promise made to their father Abraham; “He took him outside and said, ‘Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ Then He said to him, ‘Your offspring will be that numerous.’” (Genesis 15:5) Isaiah reminds them of this in verse 26, that not only did God create the stars, He knows each one by name. Then, in verse 27, he asks them “why do you assert: ‘My way is hidden from the Lord…?’”

In verses 28 and 29, Isaiah continues to remind them of the absolute power (omnipotence) of God. It is He Who gives “strength to the weary and strengthens the powerless.” (v. 29) These words also speak to our need of yielding to Him. If we try to do everything within our own power, we will not be able to use His power through us. Remember that Jesus said, “You can do nothing without Me.” (John 15:5) When we admit that we are powerless on our own, we can allow God to use us as an instrument of His power. And, once we let go of the controls, we can also let go of worrying about the results – how liberating!

In verse 30, Isaiah reminds us that even young people fade. If you have been around toddlers, you have seen this for yourself. They have a seemingly endless supply of energy; yet, at some point, they crash and have to sleep. I’ve often wished I had that much energy! But even that falls far short of the power that God gives to His children, as verse 31 tells us.

This last verse is the most well-known verse in this passage. It does encourage us that we will be able to continue our Christian life without growing weary or tired. But the picture of an eagle is quite intriguing. We’ve all heard the saying “you can’t see the forest for the trees.” Eagles fly very high and smooth, and from their vantage point, they can see more than just where they are now. Seeing the “big picture” is one way that God uses to keep us encouraged, and to reveal to us His plan for our lives. Proverbs 29:18 says “Without revelation, the people run wild.” Instead of running around in circles, we can follow God’s direction.

Be encouraged. No matter what is going on in your life, it is not happening unnoticed to God. He is in control of everything in your life, and “all things work together for the good of those who love God…” (Romans 8:28) Pray that He will give you the strength to endure, and that He will reveal His will for your life and His purpose in your circumstances.