Church Launch: God’s Part…Word that has Power!
Devotions this week based on the Message: “God’s Part…Our Part?”
Mark 4:27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.
“I don’t know how. It did it all by itself.”
This sounds like an excuse I may have made as a kid when something I did broke something and I didn’t want to own up to it. I claimed ignorance and claimed I was not the prime mover behind the broken item.
Jesus is not a young man giving an excuse why something broke, he is teaching the reality of the power of the Word of God.
We can’t scientifically or psychologically dissect the sentences, words and letters of the Word of God and discern the power contained in them. We can’t look at the effect the Word has on the hearts and lives of individuals and claim we have some ability to aid the Word to do its work.
It would be as ridiculous as saying of a seed, “I broke it apart and pulled the little shoot out of the seed so it could grow.”
It does it all by itself. So does the Word.
So what does it do?
First, it GROUNDS us in faith.
Romans 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
Ephesians 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation.
Can you diagram and dissect how the Word worked its way into your heart to lead you to believe the truth that Jesus is your Savior and all the Words of God are true? Probably not. Sure you might be aware of parents who shared God’s Word with you, a family member, or friend, but it’s difficult to identify how God changed your natural inclination to reject Jesus to now believe in him. But he did. The Word did. The truths of faith found in the Word have worked to GROUND you in your faith.
Second it GUIDES us through life.
There’s a useful power in the Word that is second to none. When God works conviction that Jesus is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” all the words God gives become useful for every aspect of life. The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy:
2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
How many times have we looked back in life after finding truth in God’s Word and thinking, “Wow, I wasted a lot of time trying to do life my way.” It’s time to let the power of the Word go to work to be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Tomorrow, one more important thing the Word of God does.
Apply: Some of the best practical wisdom of the Bible for life is found in the book of Proverbs. Centuries old, yet relevant today. Read through Chapter 23 of Proverbs today. What one proverb is worth memorizing and implementing in your life today?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for packing the power of faith and power of life guidance in the pages of your Bible. Compel me to spend more time in the Word of God so the Word can do what it does all by itself inside of me. AMEN.
Church Launch: God’s Part…the Power of the Word
Devotions this week based on the Message: “God’s Part…Our Part?”
“There is power in the spoken word. There is longevity in the written word.
When the founders of this country wanted to come up with the things that would hold our country together, they didn’t just say it to each other, they wrote it down so it could have longevity and hold us together in the constitution. …
When God wanted humanity to understand his heart and his love towards them, he didn’t just say it, he inspired men to write it down so it could have longevity.
The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the Word of the Lord remains forever.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHi6WXg1C-U Time mark: 4:00-5:20)
These words were shared on Sunday, June 20, by Michael Todd, lead pastor at Transformation Church in Tulsa, OK who was a guest speaker at Life.Church in Oklahoma City, pastored by Craig Groeshel. He was speaking on the matter of relationships/marriage. In setting the foundation for building relationships God’s way, he made this statement about the power and longevity of the Word of God, spoken, AND written. (Yes, I enjoy listening to other pastors/preachers [not always WELS] to be fed, encouraged, stay connected to what is being shared in messages around the country and also to hone my craft as well!)
The point isn’t the source of this quote, but the content struck me for a couple of reasons.
- God’s love for us is so great that HE took the time to have written and preserve HIS truth for me.
- God’s Word of truth is timeless and has power to impact every person of every generation in every part of the world, including me.
This week in our message we focused on Jesus’ parable in Mark 4:26-29. The seed Jesus uses in the parable is the Word of God. What it does is amazing!
Mark 4:26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
God provided his word to us in both spoken and written form. It is inherently powerful. We don’t know how it works, but it affects change. Contained between the covers of the book or in the app on your phone is the power of God ready to go to work on your heart and mine. He wrote it down so that the same powerful words that sprouted and took root in the hearts of the Apostles to cause them to believe and drove them to share Jesus with the world are the same powerful words that sprout and grow in our hearts to lead us to believe and lead us to share the message of Jesus to others.
Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…”
I haven’t study biology to understand all the components of a seed, but yesterday as I ate a purple carrot out of the garden (yes, they have purple varieties), I paused to marvel that a tiny carrot seed has produced this great tasting carrot.
The power is in the seed. Jesus knew this and reminds us the power is in his Word!
Tomorrow: What does the Word have power to do?
Apply: Simply take your Bible. Page through it. As you do, pray this:
Prayer: Lord God, thank you for thinking enough of me to write down your words of truth, preserving them and presenting them to me. Like a seed, let your word sprout, take root, and grow in my heart and life. AMEN.
Happy Father’s Day!
Devotions this week based on the Message: “God’s Part…Our Part?”
Happy Fathers’ Day…a day late…but still worth recognizing!
For most it’s a day to celebrate the blessing of being a dad or recognizing the dad that has been part of your life. Even if your dad is gone, or you wish your experience and relationship with your dad was better, it is still an opportunity to thank God for the joys and challenges received in life connected to dad.
Dad’s, it’s a blessed and challenging day – at least I see it as both.
I am blessed to be the dad of two amazing young ladies. One is 17 and the other is 13. God has given them amazing minds, physical health, and faith in Jesus as Savior. I can’t think of anything more significant in my life than being a godly dad to these two girls.
But I’m not perfect. Ask my wife and my girls.
None of us dads is perfect. We do our best. If we are wise, we rely on God…A LOT!
No matter what our status is with our earthly dad, Father’s Day weekend is a good opportunity to be reminded of the tremendous blessing we have to be a child of our Heavenly Father.
In our Christian life of faith there are two places we often reference God as our Father:
- As we begin the Lord’s Prayer, and
- As we begin the Apostles’ Creed.
To expand on what we are praying and what we are confessing, Martin Luther in the 1500s wrote an “explanation” to each. I share them here and invite you as you read them to note the very special privilege we have to call God our Father and have him treat us as his dear children.
- Our Father who art in heaven.
What does this mean? With these words God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear father.
- I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
What does this mean? I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, spouse and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him. This is most certainly true.
These aren’t just statements to fill space, but statements worth reviewing, memorizing and remembering regularly.
We never want to forget the blessing we have to be able to call the God of the Universe, “Father.” We never want to forget the blessing that the God of the Universe call us “children”!
Apply: Reread the explanation to the address to the Lord’s Prayer and the first article of the Apostles’ creed. What stands out to you that helps you appreciate your relationship to your heavenly Father? Your earthly Father?
Prayer: Our Father, who art in heaven, thank you for being my Father and calling me your child. AMEN.
Church Launch: Unify in Step with the Spirit!
Devotions this week based on the Message: “United or Divided?”
Mark 3:28 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”
“If you’re worried about it, you haven’t done it.”
This was the answer from a seminary professor years ago when this passage came up.
“One who has committed blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not even care.”
Jesus finishes his discussion with the teachers of the law and his family about driving out demons by the name of Beelzebub with this teaching.
Forgiveness comes to all and for all sins and even untruths we speak.
But not when one blasphemes the Holy Spirit.
Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is a continual rejection of God’s truth and the Gospel message even when they are presented with it, see the truth of it and yet completely and repeatedly reject the truth.
This statement is a strong warning that rejection of God’s grace can warrant his eternal judgment in time to confirm one in their unbelief.
Resisting the work of the Spirit of God leads not only to division between God and us (which is the most critical relationship) but also between individuals.
It really comes down to this: Are we going to give in to the sinful nature or allow the power of the Spirit of God to guide and control our lives.
The Apostle Paul put it this way: (Galatians 5:16-26)
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
When our sinful nature gets the best of us, Jesus has forgiveness for that as he said, “people can be forgiven all their sins…” Rest in that grace.
Then recommit to walk in step with the Spirit.
Let me ask you in regard to unity or lack of unity…don’t you see a tremendous unity that comes when we all are guided by the Spirit of God to produce the fruit of the Spirit?
If a church is filled with “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control” don’t you think there will be great unity of faith, mind and purpose.
I believe it will at the Church of God will flourish.
Apply: Pick one of the fruit of the Spirit and pray each day of the week ahead for God’s Spirit to develop it in you and show it through you.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your Church. Help us to always be united around the power and work of your Spirit. AMEN.
Church Launch: Unite around a Common Enemy!
Devotions this week based on the Message: “United or Divided?”
In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house. ( Mark 3:27)
Is Jesus giving advice on how to rob someone’s house?
Jesus didn’t say this so criminals could read it and think, “Hmm, I knew I was doing something wrong. I have to tie the guy up first THEN rob the house. Let me try that next time.”
Most commentators suggest Jesus is giving another analogy to prove he wasn’t driving out demons by the power of Satan. If he didn’t have power over Satan, he couldn’t “rob” Satan’s house, i.e. free someone from the power of the demons.
Jesus’ work was to free people from the power of Satan and the bondage to sin. The writer to the Hebrews put it this way:
Hebrews 2:14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
Jesus was proving that he had power over Satan by driving out demons from people.
Jesus came to destroy Satan and his influence in people’s lives.
The Apostle Paul said it this way: (Ephesians 6:10-12)
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Satan is the enemy…but sometimes in the church we make each other the enemy. We let a difference of opinion lead us to think less of a person. We lose our patience with a member who asks a lot of questions. We avoid a person who seems to always ignore us. We misjudge motives and put the worst construction on someone’s actions.
Satan is the common enemy we share. Not each other. He is working in all of these and many other ways to disrupt and divide the work of the Gospel. If he can get us divided against one another the Gospel ministry suffers.
So with God’s help, let’s bind up the strong man, Satan, first in our own hearts to more fully love God and love people. Let’s let the power of the Spirit help us to see the common enemy is Satan and his influence in my heart and the hearts of others.
Unity comes when we understand our common enemy. The Church is the working of God to spread the Gospel to the defeat of Satan. The gates of hell cannot stop it.
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. (Matthew 16:15-18)
Apply: What influence have you seen in your heart and in your church of the influence of Satan at work? Pray for God to help you overcome that influence and help the situation in your church to do the same.
Prayer: Lord God, thank you for binding the strength of Satan and giving us and your Church the power of your name to overcome the influence of Satan in our hearts, our homes, and our churches. AMEN