Are all gods the same?
(Devotions this week based on Sunday’s Message: Pray Like Jesus! Pray for Divine Glorification!)
“We all believe in the same God and just call him by different names.”
“All gods are essentially the same.”
This phrase is often put forward to essentially end discussion about the differences in religions and to conclude, “It doesn’t matter what you believe.” The statement attempts to shut down what some would perceive as petty arguments or spiritual arrogance to claim that there is only one God or one way to heaven.
Yet that is exactly what one God claims.
Perhaps Allah, Brahma, Ra, Jupiter, or Buddha might agree to the statement that all gods are the same, yet one would disagree and would be insulted if he was lumped together with everything else that is called “god.”
How do we know?
The Lord God gave the direction, “You shall have no other gods before me.” This command in Exodus 20:11 acknowledges that there will be other things that will be called “god” or we will make them to be god in our lives. The Lord says, “Nope, I’m not going to be lumped with all that.”
When Elijah met the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, the challenge was to determine who the true God was. When Baal failed to send fire from heaven after much calling, cajoling and cutting of oneself, Elijah prayed to the LORD and HE sent fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice, the altar, and the water which had been poured on it.
Not all gods are the same.
There is only one true God, and that God is passionate for us to know him as the true God.
Why?
Because the true God is the only God who not only promises eternal life, but did the work to secure eternal life.
That’s why knowing Jesus Christ the one God sent is also unique to Christianity. Sure, others acknowledge Jesus Christ. For the Muslim, he’s a great prophet. For the Mormon he is a man who became a god and sets the pattern to follow. For the Buddhist, he’s a great moral teacher. Only for the Christian is Jesus what HE claimed to be, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
You won’t get to God through meditation. You won’t get to God through pilgrimages. You won’t get to God through high performance. You won’t get to God through five pillars. You only get to God through Jesus Christ.
Why does it matter? As Jesus prayed, he said, (John 17:3) “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
Eternal life is at stake. That’s why we pray for divine glorification.
We want to see the glory of the true God, because when we do we obtain eternal life.
Sure, there may be a similarity here or there in different gods. However the key question is, “Do they give eternal life or demand you earn it?” On the surface people may never take time to support or discredit their claim that all gods are the same. However, it wouldn’t take long to compare the main attributes of god and realize, “Not all gods are the same.”
I’m thankful all gods are not the same. For the gods that man invents leave us working hard to miss out on eternal life, because they give no solution for sin than ‘work harder.’
Jesus on the other hand gives eternal life as a free gift of his grace.
Now that’s a God worth believing in!
Apply: Make a chart and list as many gods as you can think of in the first column. List in the second column key as much as you know about their character and their demands (the gods)
Prayer: Lord, thank you for revealing yourself to us that we might know you with confidence as the only true God. AMEN.
Gross or Glorious?
(Devotions this week based on Sunday’s Message: Pray Like Jesus! Pray for Divine Glorification!)
That’s gross!
What would you put in this category?
A banana slug (we had quite a few on our property in California)?
Cleaning out a septic tank? (Wouldn’t want that job!)
A dead fish on the shore of a lake or ocean? (Whoa…that stinks!)
The list could go on and the purpose of this devotion isn’t to sink into a “What’s grosser than gross” game.
The point is when we react to something as “gross” we wouldn’t in the same breath say “That’s glorious!”
Things that are glorious are a brilliant sunset, a completely still reflection off a lake, a last minute victory for your favorite team.
A snake…
Gross? Or glorious?
A cross…
Gross? Or glorious?
I would say “Gross” to both. I hate snakes and crucifixion was not a pretty sight. I don’t think in either setting my initial reaction would be, “Glorious!”
Yet, when God is at work, both take on a glory that we would miss if he didn’t reveal to us what he was doing.
Look at John 3 and a portion of Jesus’ dialogue with Nicodemus. Nicodemus was curious about Jesus and his ministry and was very hesitant to let his fellow Pharisees know that he was forming an interest in and eventual allegiance to Jesus. To connect his ministry to the reality of the Old Testament, Jesus said this:
John 3:14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
Here’s what happened that led to Moses lifting up a snake:
Numbers 21:4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea,[c] to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”
6 Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.
The glory of God wasn’t the snake itself, but the fact that God would provide deliverance from the consequence of the people’s sin. The snake, as gross as it was, was lifted up on the pole so that all who looked on it, trusting in the promise attached to it, would live.
The same with the crucifixion of Jesus. As gross as crucifixion was, God allowed him to be lifted up on a cross so that all who would look on him, trusting the promises attached to the work of Jesus, would live.
And when people live eternally, this is the glory of God!
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Now that’s glorious!
Apply: What is so glorious about the cross for you?
Prayer: Lord God, thank you for sending your Son Jesus and working through his gross crucifixion to bring us the glorious resurrection to eternal life! AMEN.
What is the glory of God?
Devotions this week based on Sunday’s Message: Pray Like Jesus! Pray for Divine Glorification! (LISTEN HERE)
If you knew you only had 24 hours to live, what would you do with that last day? Gather the people you love around you? Reminisce of the past and give encouragement to them of the future? Give them all a big hug? Enjoy your favorite meal one last time?
As we move closer to Holy Week during the season of Lent, we step into the upper room with Jesus and his disciples. When you think about this setting, he has about 24 hours before he dies on the cross. Jesus does the things we mentioned above. He gathers with his closest friends. They eat the Passover meal for one last time together. They talk about the past and speak of what is to come. In this setting, Jesus does this too. He prays. He prays for himself, his disciples and all believers. This prayer we will be the focus of the devotions for the month of March. (The full prayer is found in John 17)
17 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:
“Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
Perhaps at first glance, this prayers sounds a bit self-serving. Perhaps Jesus’ words sound like the player that just scored a touchdown and runs to the end zone with his hands motioning the crowd to cheer louder and praise him more.
This perception might be true if Jesus took the enthusiasm of Palm Sunday and continued to seek the praise and accolades of people. However he is not looking for the glory of mankind, he is looking for the glory of the Father to be made known and visible to all people. He is praying for divine glorification, not self-glorification.
But why?
Why would Jesus pray for his Father to glorify him and for him to glorify his Father?
To answer that question, we have to ask, “What is glory?”
When we think of glory, perhaps our mind naturally goes to the mountain of transfiguration where the brilliance of light is seen as the glory of God. Or perhaps our thoughts drift back to Mt. Sinai when the lightning flashed and the mountain shook and the awe of God was instilled in the people.
Another example is at the dedication of the temple (and many other examples in the Old Testament) of where the glory of God appeared to the people. Read what happens in 2 Chronicles 7:
7 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. 2 The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, “He is good; his love endures forever.”
The glory of God grips people’s attention. They are filled with awe. They recognize the divine is present. They recognize the Lord is present.
In its simplest form, Jesus’ prayer is a prayer that his Father would be recognized and people would be filled with awe for what he has done for them.
This week we will unpack more reasons Jesus would pray for divine glorification…but for now perhaps just contemplate and ask, “What would be the result if more people saw, experienced, recognized and took to heart the glory of God?”
Apply: What do you perceive the glory of God to be? What do you experience when you see it?
Prayer: Father in heaven, show your glory so that we might see more clearly who you are and what you have done for us! AMEN.
When have you loved enough?
Devotions this week based on Sunday’s Message: The Permanence of Love! (LISTEN HERE)
Is there a limit to love?
I’m done.
Love can be tiring. At times it’s a lot of work and perhaps seems like it’s not worth it.
We feel like stopping. We feel like giving up. We feel like we’ve loved enough.
Our love can have limits because we just come to a point where we don’t want to love anymore.
So is it possible to have love that never runs out? Can we have a love that has no limits?
On our own? The simple answer is “No.”
But God’s love? Does that have limits?
Again, we may feel like it does because there are times in life when we feel like God is no longer loving us. We may feel this way because our desired outcome in a given circumstance isn’t playing out how WE think it should…so we accuse God of not loving us anymore.
How far from the truth this is.
Jesus told the parable of the waiting father who daily looked for his son to return. When the son finally returned, the love of the father continued as it had always been. The difference? The son is the one who had drifted. The love of the Father was constant and permanent.
God’s love has NO limits!
How great is this truth! Satan loves to get us to think that God no longer loves us or that we have somehow done something that God would never forgive us. The issue is NEVER with God’s love. It is always with our removing ourselves from God’s love.
God’s love has no limits.
The Apostle John was inspired to write it this way:
1 John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
I remember doing a devotion for the grade school in Minnesota and took a full large jar of Skippy Peanut Butter and a piece of bread. To illustrate how God “spreads it on thick” I had at least half the jar of peanut butter on a single piece of bread. There was too much peanut butter to eat it…I didn’t even try! It was a memorable illustration that God’s love is always more than we can use up.
God’s love has no limits.
Our love can also have no limits.
We are not perfect like God obviously, however with God’s limitless love for us we can ALWAYS draw on his love to love others. Even when we feel like giving up…we can love. When we feel like we have loved enough…we can love another time. When we feel like our love is not appreciated…we can continue to love.
If God’s love has no limits…our love can too!*
Apply: Think of a situation in which you find it difficult to love or feel like stopping your love. What changes when you turn back to God’s love for you and see how it has been lavished on thick?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for loving me without limit. Help me to show the same love to others! AMEN.
* In this series “love” has been used in a general way without specifics to situations or circumstances. Remember that HOW you show love can change. For example, loving is not always giving an alcoholic another drink or staying in an abusive relationship. Love continues to desire the person to get help, but the loving thing to do may be to protect yourself or others and remove yourself from a harmful situation. Love doesn’t continue to put up with sinful behavior without attempts to correct, rebuke and train proper honor of God and love of others. Love is not being a push over and letting someone take advantage of you. Love draws boundaries to bring the best to the individual or situation. Pray for wisdom as to HOW to show love in tough and challenging situations.
Be the GOAT…love!
Devotions this week based on Sunday’s Message: The Permanence of Love! (LISTEN HERE)
Do you want to be the G.O.A.T. (The Greatest Of All Time)?
In sports, people are identified as the “GOAT”, or the greatest of all time. Quarterback Tom Brady falls into that discussion along with basketball’s Michael Jordan.
We can have fun with our friends debating who in our arenas of interest deserve the designation as “The GOAT.” It’s a pretty hard designation to achieve and perhaps also to designate because objective statistics may not be the only way to determine if someone is the greatest.
But do you want to be the GOAT?
To be the GOAT, you have be great. To be great, you have to do what is great!
So what is that?
When Jesus was asked the question, “What is the greatest commandment?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
So greatness comes when we are attached to THE Greatest! Worked by God’s Spirit, our hearts are led to “fear, love and trust in God above all things.” The result? We are able to love God with all our being. We love because he first loved us.
The Apostle Paul recognized the connection between greatness and love. Of all that exists on this world is love. He wrote, “Now these three remain, “Faith, hope, and love” but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).
Why would love be the greatest? At the center of our faith is the love God has for us that led him to send his Son Jesus to this world. Without God’s love, there is no object to our faith…so one might say, “Love is greater than faith because faith needs love to exist.”
God’s love is the reason we have hope. Without God’s love for us in Christ through whom he secures and promises and gives eternal life, we have no hope. So love is greater than hope.
So if we want to be great before God, we simply respond as the Spirit enables us to love God with all our being.
If we want to be great with others, LOVE. Remember love never loses. If “to love” is our default and with God’s help we are walking in the way of love, you can never lose when you love.
1 Corinthians 13:7-8 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
People may not respond to your love with gratitude or appreciation, but when our default is to love, remember love will always prevail…even if the person doesn’t recognize it.
Always remember, “We love because he first loved us.” Without the greatness of God’s love we will never be able to express that love to others. And yet, when we express that love to others, we are simply being reflecting the great love God has for us.
Be the GOAT! Love God and love people!
Apply: What gets in the way of consistently loving people in you workplace, at school or in your neighborhood?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for being the greatest of all time and making us great by empowering us to love you and love others! AMEN.