Lead Me to the Cross: Read the Tablets…Have NO other gods!
Daily Devotions based the Sermon from March 7, 2021
THIS WEEK: Lead Me to the Cross…Read the Tablets…Find the Cross!
If we could just get this one right.
Like many lists, the first is first because it is most important.
To take this one lightly dooms one to failure on the other nine.
Exodus 20:2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
The Lord knew we would need help to understand what this means, so he continues:
4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them;
OK, got that taken care of. You won’t find any statues to the sun god, or nooks honoring fertility gods, or shrines in my back yard to the rain god. I think I am good with this one.
Or are we?
Tim Keller in his book, “Counterfeit Gods” (good book!) identifies idols this way: “An idol is anything more important to you than God. Anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God. Anything you seek to give you what only God can give. Anything that is so central and essential to your life, that should lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living.”
Wow, this expands the list of things that can become idols (counterfeit gods) in my life. How about yours?
Career, material wealth, our family, experiences, grades, a spouse, our reputation, our home, our vehicles, and more subtly whisper in our ears, “Make me most important.” Even I realize scrolling through Facebook marketplace threatens to absorb my heart in the moment more than it should! Satan loves to put before us things or situations or relationships that he wants us to make more important than God himself.
Don’t dismiss this first commandment…it’s more challenging than we think.
Martin Luther explained it this way, “We should fear, love and trust in God above all things.”
Fear? Have a healthy respect for. The God of the Bible is the Almighty, All –powerful Lord of the universe. A healthy respect is certainly warranted!
Love? Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, ALL your soul, All your mind, All your strength. Our whole being is to be captivated by the Lord.
Trust? What happens if I trust wealth…and then it all disappears. My faith is shattered. What if I place my ultimate trust in a person…they will disappoint. Trusting God is putting my full confidence that he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and that he is the only way to heaven. The God of the Bible is the ONLY one that truly provides a solution for sin and a certain promise of eternal life.
Why put the Lord God first?
for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
The Lord wants to protect his relationship with us. He doesn’t want anything to get in the way of it. Turn your back on the Lord? We face his punishment. Turn to the Lord, and we experience generations of his love and compassion.
The God who promises his love to thousands of generations is the God who invites us to put him first.
Seems like a good place to start.
Apply: What are the “counterfeit gods” in your life? Ask the Lord to remove the temptation to make them gods in your life.
Prayer: Lord God, thank you all you are and all you’ve done for me. Help me by your Holy Spirit to always place you first in my words, thoughts and actions. Amen.
Lead Me to the Cross: Promise of Peace and Perseverance
Daily Devotions based the Sermon from February 28, 2021
THIS WEEK: Lead Me to the Cross…See the Ladder…Find God & His Promises!
No one likes to return to a volatile situation until the situation is stabilized.
No one likes to be with someone who is going to give up before the task is done.
Both take commitment. Not something we all have.
But God does.
Jacob was on the run from home because his life was being threatened. As much as perhaps he wanted to return home, he knew the situation was too volatile.
Imagine what you would have thought when God promised, “I will bring you back to this land” (Genesis 28:15). Maybe I don’t want to come back. In fact 20 years later Jacob was still afraid of Esau and whether the situation was at peace. While hesitant, that encounter went like this:
Genesis 33:4 But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept.
God’s promise wasn’t just to bring Jacob back, but by bringing him back meant the relationship with Esau was restored and again at peace. It was safe to be back in the land he had left.
Can you remember what you promised 20 years ago? Perhaps with the exception of your promise to remain faithful to your spouse, not much, right? Many promises we give up on or don’t complete after a much shorter time.
But God doesn’t.
He doesn’t forget or give up on his promise.
“I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you” (Genesis 28:15).
God would not forget what he promised and would not fail to fulfill his promise. God doesn’t give up or quit on his promises.
God did bring Jacob back to the land and restore the relationship with Esau. But God didn’t leave Jacob, because he still had the other promises to continue to fulfill. God would be with Jacob for his lifetime.
These final two promises are true for us as well.
We wouldn’t want to return to a situation that is volatile. If our relationship with God was still broken because of sin and we lived under the threat of eternal punishment, would you want to be where God is? Absolutely not! Like a child who knows they are in trouble, we would try to avoid and hide from God.
So when Jesus promises, (John 14:3) “I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am,” it means the relationship is not governed by condemnation and punishment, but by love and forgiveness. It’s OK to be in Jesus’ presence because our relationship with God has been restored.
When Jesus promises, “I will be with you always to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20), it tells us God isn’t giving up on us until all his promises have been fulfilled. God will make sure every promise he made to you will be fulfilled.
This is an amazing list of promises. Here’s a chart to remind you, better than that to build up and guide your faith. First given to Jacob, each promise is real for us as well!
| Promise | Jacob | Us |
| Place | I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. | In my Father’s house are many rooms; …I am going there to prepare a place for you. (Jn 14:2) |
| People | 4 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, | …before me was a great multitude that no one could count, …standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. Rev. 7:9 |
| Purpose | All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. | Mt 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, |
| Presence | I am with you and | Mt 28:20 …surely I am with you always, |
| Protection | will watch over you wherever you go | Psalm 91:11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
|
| Peace | I will bring you back to this land. | Jn 14:3 I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. |
| Perseverance | I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” | Mt 28:20 …to the very end of the age.” |
Apply: Which promise do you need most today? Read and reread it. Better yet, live by it!
Prayer: Lord, thank you for all the promises you have made to me. Thank you also committing to never leave me until you have done everything you promised. AMEN.
Lead Me to the Cross: Promise of Presence and Protection
Daily Devotions based the Sermon from February 28, 2021
THIS WEEK: Lead Me to the Cross…See the Ladder…Find God & His Promises!
“You’re going with me, right dad?”
Every child when trying something new and potentially scary or dangerous desires someone who they trust and can help them to be with them or go with them.
Our journey through life is no different as adults.
While we may verbalize our staunch independence and ability to navigate life on our own, we find ourselves at times like the three-year old that is scared and wants dad to be with them and help them.
God promises to be that perfect dad.
Jacob was on the run. He was all alone to face whatever was ahead of him. While he knew where he was headed, there were many unknowns along the way. He had left his mother and father and his brother behind. We have little indication he had someone with him on the journey to his Uncle Laban. So if I were Jacob, that first night on the road all alone under the darkness of the sky would have felt like a time to be the three-year old and wish for dad to be there to be with me and then go with me.
In Jacob’s dream of the ladder, God shows up to assure Jacob of that very thing:
I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go (Genesis 28:15).
Like a protective Father, God was there for Jacob…even when he didn’t realize he was there. Like a child who doesn’t realize dad is close by, so God was there with Jacob even when he didn’t realize it.
Jacob is not the only one who receives these promises from the Lord.
Consider the words of Jesus in Matthew 28:20 “…surely I am with your always, to the very end of the age.” Consider the words of the psalmist, “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways” (Psalm 91:11). These are only two iterations of this same promise God gave to Jacob: “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go.”
How does this play out in your life?
Starting a new job that is challenging and a bit intimidating? “I am with you…”
Just received a diagnosis of an illness that is uncertain to its cure? “I will watch over you…”
Moving to a new state away from family and friends? “…wherever you go.”
God’s promises to you are real and certain. We can sleep well at night knowing the LORD IS with us. We can get up and move forward with our day knowing the LORD will watch over us wherever we go!
Apply: Start your days with this word of promise and reality from God, “(your name), I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go.” – The LORD.
PRAYER: Lord thank you for always being with me and watching over me. AMEN.
Lead me to the Cross: Promises of PEOPLE AND PURPOSE
Daily Devotions based the Sermon from February 28, 2021
THIS WEEK: Lead Me to the Cross…See the Ladder…Find God & His Promises!
Growing up years can be challenging for many reasons, but perhaps none greater than finding where I fit in with others and what is my purpose. We want to belong. We want to have a purpose.
Being picked last for the grade school kickball team hurts. It seems like we are not wanted and no use for the team.
Jacob was on the run away from his people. The comforts of home were a vision in his rear view mirror.
His reason for leaving was to flee the anger of his brother Esau and to find a wife from his family versus the people around where his Father was living.
As Jacob lies on the rock all alone, God comes to him to promise him a people and a purpose.
The promise of People: 4 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth,…
That’s a lot of people for a single guy to comprehend! Yet God would bring from the family of Jacob millions of people. Jews today still trace their lineage back to Jacob.
But God wasn’t interested in just a physical blood line. He had a special purpose for the offspring of Jacob.
Genesis 28:4 All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.
God would bring a blessing to all people on earth through the offspring of Jacob. How? Through the person and work of Jesus Christ. He was of the blood line of Jacob, but more importantly he was the pinnacle of God fulfilling his promise to Jacob and his descendants. Jesus was the purpose for the family of Jacob. He was the blessing that came for all people.
John 3:16 “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.
So what about us?
God has given us a similar promise of a “People” and a “Purpose.”
We are not connected to the bloodline of Jacob, but we are connected to the blood of Jesus, not by physical lineage, but by faith in Jesus. The people who are connected to Jesus will be like the dust of the earth, so many, no one can count.
…before me was a great multitude that no one could count, …standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. Rev. 7:9
By faith you are one of those. At times it may seem lonely to be a Christian. God’s promise is this:
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Just like God gave a purpose to the descendants of Jacob to be a blessing to all nations, so you and me, God’s people today are here to be a blessing to all nations. How?
Do what God called us to do: Declare the praises of Jesus.
To whom? All nations.
Mt 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,…
I’m sure it was hard for a single, young Jacob to believe God’s promise of one day being a countless people and a blessing to all the nations. But it came to be.
It’s hard at times to be a Christian, but God has promised that we are part of a bigger people with a bigger purpose. Enjoy living in these promises!
Apply: What happens to your day when you embrace God’s promise of purpose and see opportunities to witness and work for Christ each day?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for making me one of your people by faith. Help me each day be a blessing to the nations by reflecting and sharing your love and grace. AMEN.
Lead me to the Cross: Promises of a PLACE!
Daily Devotions based the Sermon from February 28, 2021
THIS WEEK: Lead Me to the Cross…See the Ladder…Find God & His Promises!
Promises are easy to make.
They are more challenging to carry out.
How many of you parents have made promises to your kids that you failed to follow through on? It pains you when a child says to one of your promises, “It doesn’t matter. It won’t happen anyway.”
Ouch.
Wouldn’t it be great to be completely faithful in following through every one of your promises? It would be. But as human beings it is impossible.
But not for God, the true God.
Jacob, when he was on the run from Esau, gave God many reasons to appear to him and condemn him for his deception and trickery. Yet when God appears in the dream as Jacob is headed to his Uncle Laban, he starts and stays on promises. What we see in this series of promises God gives to Jacob are themes that have some specificity to Jacob, but are similar promises that are real for us today.
Here’s God’s promises to Jacob:
13 There above it [the ladder] stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” (Genesis 28:13-15)
Now let’s break them apart into seven promises God made to Jacob and makes to us. The first today:
I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. (Genesis 28:13)
God gives Jacob a promise of a “PLACE.” The land on which he was lying would be a place where Jacob and his descendants would live. Granted it would take 100s of years for the promise to be fulfilled when Joshua brought the people of Israel into Canaan after 400 years in Egypt and 40 years in the wilderness.
The promise perhaps sounds odd that God would give land to someone that perhaps technically it didn’t belong to. (How many of you would like someone else giving your house to another person!) However, it reminds us of Psalm 24:1:
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;
God has not promised us a place in the land of Israel (Jacob), but he has promised us a place:
In my Father’s house are many rooms; …I am going there to prepare a place for you. (Jn 14:2)
Jacob was passing through on his journey to Laban. God would eventually give the land he was lying on as a more permanent home for the descendants of Jacob.
We are passing through this world. It is only a temporary resting point until the LORD brings us to the place he has prepared for us in heaven. That is our permanent home.
God’s promised it.
Apply: What changes in your perspective as you think of your home on this earth as temporary and your home in heaven is the place God is preparing for you as your “forever home”?
Prayer; Lord, thank you for your promises and your faithfulness to carry them out. Keep me focused on my permanent home of heaven as the place you have promised to give to me. AMEN.