Know My Heart, Lord!
Devotion by Mike Geiger originally published May 25, 2012 on www.whataboutjesus.com
For this week’s Sermon from Cross & Crown (CLICK HERE)
Acts 1:21-26
21 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”
23 So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” 26 Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
Know My Heart, Lord!
What’s on your resume? In an era when many people are out of a job and looking for a position of employment, the resume one writes can often times be the key to gaining an interview and eventually employment. Most resumes list one’s personal accomplishments, experience, and objectives. All of these are important to carrying out the task, but ask most employers who are hiring and many if not all would say, “Experience and education is needed, but heart is what gives us a quality employee.”
The disciples after Jesus’ ascension were faced with a vacancy in the ranks of the twelve apostles. Judas tragically took his life after betraying Jesus. While resumes were not turned in, Peter outlined the qualifications of one to fill his spot. Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”(Acts 1:21-22)
It makes sense that an individual who would testify to the life, death, AND resurrection of Jesus, would have had the experience with and education from the Lord Jesus. However, when two candidates were identified based on this outward criteria, the disciples then turned to the Lord to determine the most important quality, the heart of the man. “Lord you know everyone’s heart” (Acts 1:24). The Lord chose Matthias to fill the vacancy.
The Lord knows your heart. This can be a scary thing for we all know sin lurks in our heart. We can look good on the outside but inside we are self-serving and self-centered. Jesus condemns this hypocrisy, “You honor me with your lips, but your hearts are far from me” (Mark 7:6) We must pray with King David, “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Psalm 51:10)
The Lord knows your heart. This is a marvelous thing when the Lord Jesus has come with his love and forgiveness to your heart. (Ephesians 3:16-19) For while the exterior resume may not be all that impressive, what God desires is a heart that loves and trusts in Jesus.
The Apostles had the right resume for the job Jesus gave them. But most importantly, God had given them the right heart to live and proclaim Jesus every day of their lives. As you go about your day today, let the love of Jesus fill your heart. Let the love of Jesus flow from your heart!
Prayer: Lord, you know my heart. Cleanse it from sin. Fill it with your love. Empower it to love you and others today. Amen.
Scattered by the Wind!
Devotion by Mike Geiger originally published May 18, 2012 on www.whataboutjesus.com
For this week’s Sermon from Cross & Crown (CLICK HERE)
Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. 20 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. (Acts 11:19-26)
Scattered by the wind!
Last fall our lawn was sprayed to kill the dandelions. This year my lawn was filled with them. Last fall I cleaned out our garden and didn’t plant anything. This spring the garden area was filled with weeds. The reason? The wind had fun blowing seeds and depositing them all over our yard. We would have never known except those seeds took root and began to grow.
The spread of the good news about Jesus happens in a similar way. Although it’s not the physical wind that blows, the Spirit of God blows when and where he wishes. For the early believers, the impetus for scattering the seeds of the Gospel was the persecution of Christians in Jerusalem. What seemed like a hardship and tragic situation, led individuals out of Jerusalem into the surrounding cities. Wherever they went, they planted Gospel seeds, “telling them the good news about Jesus.” The result? “…a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.”
Are you open to where God might “scatter” you to connect you with someone who needs to hear the “good news about the Lord Jesus?” As you travel on your next business trip, plan your next vacation, drive for the next field trip or contemplate a major move, are you open to God’s Spirit scattering the good news of Jesus through you? The place where God has you today and the place he will take you tomorrow is a place where he wants to use you to connect a soul to the saving message of Jesus.
Our confidence? “The Lord’s hand was with them…” You are not alone. Even if the reason for a move or transition is painful, know that just as the wind blows seeds to plant them, so the Spirit scatters God’s people to plant the Gospel message in the hearts of people all over the world.
Prayer: Lord open my eyes to see individuals around me wherever I am today that need the good news about Jesus. Grant me your Spirit to embolden me to speak, trusting you are with me and will work through the words you allow me to speak. Amen.
Set Forth Truth Plainly!
Devotion by Mike Geiger originally published February 22, 2012 on www.whataboutjesus.com
For this week’s Sermon from Cross & Crown (CLICK HERE)
On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. (2 Corinthians 4:2)
Hopefully not many readers of these devotions have had the opportunity to stand before a judge and testify to “tell the truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.” If one has, these brief words give the judge your solemn word that what you will speak about will be the truth. You won’t distort your story to protect the guilty. You won’t exaggerate the story to build up the innocent. You will simply tell the truth.
Temptation abounds in our culture to twist or distort the truth for our own best interest. This is no different for words of the Bible to make its teachings more palatable. We want to justify alternate lifestyles and so deem the Bible’s teaching on marriage “old fashioned.” Living God’s ways are challenging so we throw them out as “too strict.” To claim that Jesus is the only way to heaven is perceived as narrow-minded and arrogant, so the teaching is meshed into the nicety that there are many paths to God.
Just as a witness in a courtroom would do a disservice to the trial by not telling the truth, so Christians who distort the truth of God do a disservice to people of our generation. The Apostle Paul had one objective, “set forth the truth plainly.” How an individual received that was not his primary concern. He just wanted people to know the truth about God.
What is that truth? There are many, but let me commend to your conscience the most important truth. Apart from faith in Jesus, there is no hope of heaven. Why? “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) Each reader must admit, “I am not perfect.” You may try harder, do more good, or feel like you are better than most. The harsh reality is that none of that activity or thinking removes your guilt and sin. There is only one way to stand perfect before a holy God. Later in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes, “God made him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). The reality? Jesus took your sin and gave you his perfection. Believe it. Jesus did this for you! This is the truth!
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, we love to push aside the truth of your Word. We think we know better. Forgive us. Assure us of your love and forgiveness. Lead us always to trust the truth that you and you alone are the Way, the Truth and the Life and that no one comes to God except through you. AMEN.
Will You Be Voted Out?
Devotion by Mike Geiger originally published November 4, 2011 on www.whataboutjesus.com
For this week’s Sermon from Cross & Crown (CLICK HERE)
9 “As I looked,
“thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow;
the hair of his head was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze.
10 A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him.
Thousands upon thousands attended him;
ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated, and the books were opened. (Daniel 7:9-10)
Will You Be Voted Out?
So who’s going to be voted off next? Week after week shows like “Dancing with the Stars,” “Survivor,” “The Bachelor,” “American Idol,” and the like keep us coming back to see who gets voted off, kicked out or asked to leave. The suspense is created when after a performance, the judging panel has to render a person worthy of staying or deserving an early exit from the show.
The prophet Daniel wasn’t filming a reality TV show, but he was given a vision of the reality that will take place when all of humanity stands before the Almighty God. The glory of the perfect Judge is evident. The angels surround him. The court was seated and the books were opened.
Reality shows portray individuals doing their best to win the judge’s favor or vote. Viewers sometimes cringe because the person they thought was the best is voted off the show. How unfair! So what will the Ancient of Days and the heavenly court say of you? Will you be received into heaven or voted out and escorted to hell? What will be recorded about you in the book God sees? Don’t we like to think that our performance in life would earn a spot in God’s heaven? Unfortunately, if we are honest with ourselves and the Bible’s teaching (Romans 3:23), unless our performance is perfect, we will always deserve to be voted out of heaven.
Just as we are surprised when someone who, in our opinion, deserves to be voted off, is allowed to stay, so will we be surprised when God reads our name and welcomes us to spend eternity with him in heaven. This is grace, God’s undeserved love for you. He does not judge us as our sins deserve, but rather accepts us because of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Psalm 103:8-13). Our sins are erased from his book because Jesus paid for them on the cross. Now when the book is opened and our name is there, we receive the good news that we stand forgiven and heirs of eternal life. What a glorious reality God has given to you because of Jesus!
(For more information about who Jesus is and what he’s done for you, go to www.whataboutjesus.com)
PRAYER: Ancient of Days, we humbly recognize our record cannot stand on its own. We desire your grace to not judge us as our deeds deserve, but rather on the perfect record of our dear Savior, Jesus Christ. AMEN
When Opportunity Comes…
Devotion by Mike Geiger originally published November 4, 2011 on www.whataboutjesus.com
For this week’s Sermon from Cross & Crown (CLICK HERE)
Text: Daniel 6:10-12, 16-23
Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. 11 Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. 12 So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or man except to you, O king, would be thrown into the lions’ den?”
16 So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!”
17 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed. 18 Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.
19 At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. 20 When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”
21 Daniel answered, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king.”
23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.
“When Opportunity Comes…It’s Too Late to Prepare!”
John Wooden was one of the greatest college basketball coaches in history as he led the UCLA Bruins to 10 National Championships in 12 years. Among the many words he used to inspire, motivate and drive his team to perform at their best, was the phrase, “When opportunity comes, it’s too late to prepare.” Not only is this true for basketball, but true for life as well.
Daniel was a faithful follower of the LORD. He spent a life time studying and growing in the words and ways of the LORD. His trust grew. His confidence to make decisions based on his faith increased. The LORD blessed him. Although he was one of the people of Israel who was taken captive to Babylon, Daniel was recognized for his wisdom and leadership and elevated to a prominent position in the Babylonian government. The LORD prepared him for the opportunities.
Then the challenge came. Those jealous of Daniel coerced the king of Babylon to issue a decree that “anyone who prays to any god or man except you, O king, would be thrown into the lions’ den.” The king followed his ego, only to realize that Daniel would have to be thrown to the lions. Daniel would not change his loyalty or his worship pattern. The LORD was first priority. The king he honored second.
The law was irreversible. Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den. Death was certain, except the LORD intervened to reward Daniel’s trust, sending an angel to shut the mouth of the lions. “No wound was found on him, because he trusted in his God.”
The value of being prepared with a high trust and confidence in the LORD God, is that we’re always ready for what life throws our way. Maybe you’re not facing death by lions, but what about when life brings you challenges at work, in your finances, in your relationships, in your health, in your community, in your world? Do you face them with worry, anxiety, or a movement away from the LORD? Or are you prepared to see these times as an opportunity, like Daniel, to take the faith the LORD works and put it into practice with calm assurance of the LORD’s ability to see you through?
Daniel was prepared for the challenge he faced because he had connected regularly with the source of all strength, the LORD and his Word. We invite you to study further the life of Daniel and other people of faith to see how they prepared for life and the challenges it brings and how the LORD brought them through. Connect with a local congregation (http://welslocator.locatorsearch.com) to assist you in growing your connection to the LORD almighty. Spend some time on www.whataboutjesus.com to learn more about the God Daniel worshipped, served, and was willing to die for.
Prayer: Lord, life brings many challenges. Lead me to follow the example of Daniel to prepare for these challenges with a constant and consistent pattern of connection to you and worship of you. Empower me by your Spirit to always be prepared for the opportunities to trust you! AMEN.