+DEV+ Life through Theology

Date: May 30, 2014 1:02 AM

Topic: +DEV+  Life through Theology

Life through Theology

"For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him." John 17:2

Scripture Focus: John 17, 18

Many Christians think theology (the study of God) is just for pastors and scholars. They think it is some lofty way to think about God with little practical value for the rest of us. Nothing is farther from the truth! Sound, Bible-based theology becomes beneficial to our everyday lives not in the facts we may accumulate, but when what we learn about God inspires us to worship and love Him more. When we know what we believe, it shapes who we are and how we behave day in and day out. Consider the rich theology in today's verse. 

The Father gave the Son authority over all people, and He gave the Son the authority to give eternal life to those whom the Father particularly gave Him (John 17:2, 20). Paul expands on this by saying that God was working this salvation for us in eternity past, for "He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight" and has given us the Holy Spirit as a promise of His continued work in us (Ephesians 1:4,13). That's good theology!

Insight: Theology, done rightly, always leads us to worship the Lord, either for who He is or for what  He has done.

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship and Bible study groups.

We are in urgent need of Prayer and financial partners,

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+DEV+ While We Were Still Sinners

Date: May 28, 2014 1:24 AM

Topic: +DEV+  While We Were Still Sinners

While We Were Still Sinners

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

Scripture Focus: John 15, 16

No one has ever spoken truer words than Jesus. His words are true because He is the truth (John 14:6). His words are life because He is the life (John 11:25; 14:6). And of all the lives laid down for others, none was so valuable, surrendered so selflessly, or given with greater love than Jesus'. If pressed into an urgent enough situation, you or I might give our own lives for a very best friend. I am humbled to think how Jesus willingly gave His life for me when I did not yet even know Him. 

Only because of Jesus' sacrifice can we move from being enemies of God to friends with Him. Paul wrote in Romans 5:10, "For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!" It is a privilege to be given life and reconciliation with God, especially when we consider what He did to make it possible. Our life began where Jesus' life ended. That is the power of the cross. Greater love has no one than this!

Insight: "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  (Romans 5:8)

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship and Bible study groups.

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+DEV+ Jesus And Salvation Is Powerful

Date: May 27, 2014 12:28 AM

Topic: +DEV+  Jesus And Salvation Is Powerful

Jesus And Salvation Is Powerful

"Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6

Scripture Focus: John 14

As I write this a missionary friend 8,000 miles away uses Twitter to ask for prayers. He and his team were preaching in a town in Asia. When one of them spoke this verse, the crowd erupted in protest and began hurling rocks and pieces of 2x4 lumber at them. The truth of Jesus and salvation is powerful, isn't it? 

Closer to home, I have noticed over the past few years a blue bumper sticker has gotten quite popular. Spelled out in a mix of white letters and symbols from the world's foremost religions, it simply says "Coexist." Maybe you've seen it. 

As followers of the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), we are to live in peace as much as it depends on us (Romans 12:18). However, to simply "coexist" with other religions would be the most hateful thing we could do. Billions of people still don't know Jesus. They live in falsehood and darkness. By God's grace we now live in light, love, and truth. Then wouldn't the most loving thing we can do in this world be to tell people about eternal life in Jesus alone?

Insight: Lord, please strengthen missionaries around the world and encourage our persecuted brothers and sisters living in countries opposed to the Gospel. amen.

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship and Bible study groups.

We are in urgent need of Prayer and financial partners,

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+DEV+ Live For Jesus

Date: May 21, 2014 12:14 AM

Topic: +DEV+  Live For Jesus

Live For Jesus

"Peter asked, Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you." John 13:37

Scripture Focus: John 13

At their last meal together, Jesus told His disciples He was leaving. Where He was going they could not follow, though one day they would. Missing the significance, Peter thought only in the moment and expressed his heart's desire to be with Jesus. I can appreciate his sincerity and absolute devotion. I might have reacted the same way. Would you have, too? Even Paul later wrote that while he longed to be with Jesus, he knew he needed to remain alive a little while longer (Philippians 1:21-24). 

As Peter discovered, the truth is that we often offer to die for the Lord when what He really has for us to do is live for Him. Little did Peter know that night, but he had 30 years of Gospel ministry ahead of him. One day he would lay his life down for the cause of Christ. But not yet. 

How long you and I have on this earth is known only to the Lord, but today the harvest for Gospel work is plentiful and the laborers are few (Luke 10:2). Death will come soon enough, but today Jesus would have us live for Him.

Insight: Every christian wears bifocals, to see both the nearness of today and distance of eternity. He is returning soon to collect His church.

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship and Bible study groups.

We are in need of Prayer and financial partners,

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+DEV+ His Words Are Eternal Life

Date: May 19, 2014 11:14 PM

Topic: +DEV+  His Words Are Eternal Life

His Words Are Eternal Life

"I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say." John 12:50

Scripture Focus: John 12:34-50

Jesus always displayed courage and obedience in the face of opposition. Here, before the Jewish rulers who again press Him about His identity (though they refuse to believe what He has already told them), He does not back down. His words are the Father's words, which lead to eternal life. Everything Jesus did was of the Father. His words and His works were given to Him by the Father (John 5:36; 10:25, 32; 14:10; 17:8). His words and works were meant to glorify God and lead us to eternal life in Him. 

On earth He was fully obedient to the Father in declaring Him. Now Jesus has charged us to bring the Gospel to the world and make disciples. It seems daunting, but He has promised that He will never leave us (Matthew 28:19-20). He has left us the Holy Spirit (John 16:7) to empower us and our efforts. Despite whatever opposition may come in this world, Jesus has charged us to live courageously and obediently, glorifying Him among men and women as to save others, grabbing them out of the fire (Jude 23).

Insight: "This is love for God: To obey his commands, and His commands are not burdensome." (1 John 5:3)

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship and Bible study groups.

We are in need of Prayer and financial partners,

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+DEV+ Adversity Into Victory

Date: May 18, 2014 1:28 AM

Topic: +DEV+  Adversity Into Victory

Adversity Into Victory

"So from that day on they plotted to take his life." John 11:53

Scripture Focus: Psalm 2; John 11:45-57

As we've studied "life" in John, we have seen life explained, given, received, laid down, picked up, and personified in the Person of Jesus. Here, in what may be one of the most ominous sentences ever written, John tells of the plot to take that life away. Like in a movie, we can almost hear the dark orchestration of the film's score as the words are said by our narrator. 

The action of the ruling Jewish leaders came as a result of Jesus' raising Lazarus from the dead and their own high priest's prophesy that one would die for the nation of Israel (in fact, for all the "scattered children of God," John 11:52). Later, at Pentecost, Peter would preach in the power of the Holy Spirit that it was the sovereign plan of God, and yet also of wicked men who were humanly responsible for it (Acts 2:23). 

One thing is certain: "God has made this Jesus, whom they crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). His purposes prevail over every scheme of man, and they prevail in your life too, securing you as His child.

Insight: Every human effort to oppose the Gospel is used by God to further it. 

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship and Bible study groups.

We are in need of Prayer and financial partners,

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+DEV+ He Is Our Fortress

Date: May 16, 2014 6:53 AM

Topic: +DEV+  He Is Our Fortress

He is Our Fortress

"I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand." (John 10:28)

Scripture Focus: John 10:22-42

We've all heard stories about secret underground bunkers or seen movies about some awesome, impenetrable fortress. Humanly speaking, the security of such places may be debated. But Jesus' words reveal the absolutely impenetrable fortress of every believer's eternally secure salvation. 

The "them" in this sentence refers to Jesus' sheep, those who "listen" and "follow" Him (vs. 27). The security of their souls is perfectly and infinitely guarded by at least six mighty truths: 1. They are His ("My sheep"); 2. He knows them (vs. 27); 3. He is the one who gives them eternal life; 4. That eternal life was given to Him by the Father to give (vs. 29); 5. They are in the Father's Hand (vs. 29); and 6. Jesus and the Father are one (vs. 30). 

Your eternal future was forever won by the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. You can rest assured it is held safe not by your own strivings, but by the hand of the omnipotent, loving, promise-keeping God. "A Mighty Fortress is our God... His kingdom is forever" (Martin Luther, 1529).

Insight: There is emphatic force behind "never." We can think of it as those who are the Lord's will "absolutely never" perish!

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship and Bible study groups.

We are in need of Prayer and financial partners,

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+DEV+ The Good Shepherd

Date: May 14, 2014 10:38 PM

Topic: +DEV+  The Good Shepherd

The Good Shepherd

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." John 10:11

Scripture Focus: Psalm 23; John 10:11-13

Why would any shepherd willingly die to save the flock he's watching over? They are, after all, only sheep. If we think about it, it sounds absurd. Only a shepherd of remarkable courage and benevolence would so commit himself, even to his own death. Such a selfless shepherd would act so devotedly because he knows the importance of the one who owns the sheep. 

The answer to the question, of course, is that Jesus is no ordinary shepherd. He is God. He is the Good Shepherd. From eternity past, God the Father entrusted every precious believing soul to the Son. The Son honors the Father in His perfect care of and sacrifice for the Father's flock. 

While He was with them, the Good Shepherd protected them and kept them safe, losing none except the one destined to be lost (John 17:12). Yet His greatest act of love and devotion would be His own obedient death for their sakes - for our sakes. We are those sheep! Through it He did what no one else could do; He secured our safety and peace for all eternity.

Insight: The Gospel is beautiful not because of the sheep but because of the Good Shepherd. our worth is due entirely to Him.

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship and Bible study groups.

We are in need of Prayer and financial partners,

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+DEV+ The Son Of The Living God

Date: May 13, 2014 11:21 PM

Topic: +DEV+  The Son Of The Living God

The Son Of The Living God

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10

Scripture Focus: John 10:1-10

We might think of this verse only for the "down and out" in life - those who appear to have given up on life. I know I have. I've quoted this verse to drug addicts and alcoholics. It exposes Satan's intentions behind those substances. My intentions were good. I meant to show the miserable end result of those things and the hope that can be theirs. But the ferocity of Satan's hate is not limited to addicts. He is equally happy to steal, kill and destroy a successful executive or a housewife caring for the family, a plumber or a religious monk trusting in his own piety. He is not particular. 

The message of the Gospel is that Jesus - also no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34-36) - is God, and He came to earth to do for us what we never could: save us from all that holds us captive. He alone can break the bonds of sin shackling every human heart. Apart from Jesus we have only death, even in our greatest earthly successes. True life, overflowing life, eternal life, is found only in Jesus, the Son of the Living God.

Insight: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship and Bible study groups.

We are in need of Prayer and financial partners,

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+DEV+ To God Be The Glory

Date: May 13, 2014 1:57 AM

Topic: +DEV+  To God Be The Glory

To God Be The Glory

"Neither this man nor his parents sinned, said Jesus, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." John 9:3

Scripture Focus: John 9; Romans 8

Heaven will be filled with heroic saints. Think of the five young missionary men who lost their lives at the hands of the Waodani (Auca) Indians of Ecuador in 1956. Or think of Joni Erickson Tada of our lifetime, living courageously as a quadriplegic most of her life, and yet thanking God for the influence it has allowed her to have for His kingdom. Remember Job in the Bible, who endured so much yet refused to heed his wife's advice to "curse God and die" (Job 2:9). Four thousand years later, the story of his suffering continues to inspire people to draw ever closer to God in their trials. 

The account of the man born blind in John 9 is another such story. Receiving his sight was precious. But he received two greater gifts: eternal life and the privilege of being used by God. No matter what our disease or impairment, Jesus encourages us that God is sovereign in our weaknesses. He has a good purpose in mind for every detail of our lives. How amazing it will be to speak with these saints in heaven one day!

Insight:  "But We Have This Treasure In Jars Of Clay To Show That This All-Surpassing Power Is From God And Not From Us." (2 Corinthians 4:7)

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship and Bible study groups.

We are in need of Prayer and financial partners,

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+DEV+ What Is Your Life’s Story

Date: May 12, 2014 2:16 AM

Topic: +DEV+  What Is Your Life’s Story 

What Is Your Life’s Story 

"No one, sir, she said. Then neither do I condemn you, Jesus declared. Go now and leave your life of sin." John 8:11

Scripture Focus: John 8:1-11

I'm fascinated by books and stories that tell how someone lived his or her life. In the Bible we read hundreds of mini biographies, some only a verse or two long. In 2 Samuel we read about Benaiah. One of King David's chief men, he "was a valiant fighter...who performed great exploits. He struck down two of Moab's best men. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion" (2 Samuel 23:20). The lives of most of the kings of Judah and Israel are summarized with the words, "and he did evil in the sight of the Lord." 

In John chapter 8 we get another brief life story. Jewish leaders brought a woman caught in adultery to Jesus. By Jewish Law she was to be stoned, but what would this Teacher say? Jesus did not condemn her, but He did write her biography when He summed up her life as a "life of sin." A good doctor shows the disease then dispenses the medicine. People don't need condemnation, but they do need to be shown their honest condition before God, and then the Savior He sent to save them.

Insight: What Better Biography Is There Than Of A Life Changed By Jesus? Does Your Life Tell That Story?

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship and Bible study groups.

We are in need of Prayer and financial partners,

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+DEV+ Jews Wanted Him Dead

Date: May 8, 2014 10:21 PM

Topic: +DEV+  Jews Wanted Him Dead

Jews Wanted Him Dead

"After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life." (John 7:1)

Scripture Focus: Genesis 39; John 7

In election years we constantly hear about poll numbers. One misstep on the campaign trail, and a candidate's popularity with voters can drop overnight. Jesus certainly wasn't running for office, but He knew first-hand how quickly the tides of public opinion can change. 

John 6 opens with Jesus being a hero to thousands. He miraculously fed over 5,000 people on the western shores of the Sea of Galilee in the North. The same chapter ends with most of the people abandoning Him (John 6:66). His "poll numbers" were far worse in Judea to the South: the ruling Jews there wanted Him dead! 

In today's verse John implies that Jesus stayed in Galilee for a time preaching, teaching, and healing. He did what ministry He could, where He could. Jesus was not afraid for His life. He went to Jerusalem shortly after (John 7:2). Even when opposed, He continued in ministry. With you and me in mind, Jesus was faithful to His purpose to save us, even becoming "obedient to death - even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:8)!

Insight: Lord Jesus, thank you for Your faithfulness in Your earthly ministry and that we now have life in You. Amen.

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship and Bible study groups.

We are in need of Prayer and financial partners,

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+DEV+ Wonderful Words Of Life

Date: May 7, 2014 10:04 PM

Topic: +DEV+  Wonderful Words Of Life

Wonderful Words Of Life

"Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." (John 6:69)

Scripture Focus: John 6:64-71; 1 Peter 1

We have spent a few days together looking at Jesus' words about life in John 6. John tells us the crowd's reaction to what Jesus had taught them. "From this time, many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him" (vs. 66). "You don't also want to go away, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. Peter's earnest reply has lived on in the hearts of believers 

for centuries. 

Forgiveness of sins and new life are free gifts to us. We simply cannot earn them. Yet, following Jesus will cost us. It may cost us a promotion, a friendship, possessions... It is a cross-bearing life (Luke 9:23). Jesus pictured it as striving to get through a gate with obstacles all around it (Luke 13:24). Tradition says Peter himself was crucified upside-down for his faith. 

In Peter's words we find inspiring reasons to press onward in Jesus: He is Lord; He alone has spoken the words of eternal life; He is the Savior God promised He would send. Along with Peter we testify that there is no one else we would follow.

Insight: Be encouraged today. every trial of life will one day be worth it all when we see Jesus face to face.

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship and Bible study groups.

We are in need of Prayer and financial partners,

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+DEV+ Salvation By Faith Alone

Date: May 5, 2014 10:00 PM

Topic: +DEV+  Salvation By Faith Alone

Salvation By Faith Alone

"Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:54

Scripture Focus: John 6:52-58

Jesus here continues to teach His hearers what it means to follow Him. Initially they heard Him on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, where He miraculously fed more than 5,000 of them. Some followed Him across the lake the next day, hoping for more free food. What they received instead was shocking. Not only did Jesus declare Himself to be the "bread of life," He said that one had to feed on His flesh and drink His blood if they would have eternal life! You can imagine how unsettling these words were. 

Athletes subject themselves to remarkable self-discipline. Achieving peak performance is their "flesh" and "blood." If you've ever committed to a sport or a race or a personal goal, you understand. What Jesus said to His hearers that day He still speaks to us: Eternal life is a gift, found in Him alone by faith alone. Our works can never save us. Yet, if we are going to follow after Him, nothing less than total, sold-out commitment to Him will do. Jesus must be our flesh and blood.

Insight: Is Jesus your greatest pursuit in life? He is the Lord, and He deserves to be.

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship and Bible study groups.

We are in need of Prayer and financial partners,

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+DEV+ The Bread Of Heaven

Date: May 5, 2014 1:25 AM

Topic: +DEV+  The Bread Of Heaven

The Bread Of Heaven

"I am the bread of life." (John 6:48)

Scripture Focus: Exodus 16, John 6:30-51

Nearly 1,500 years before the events of John 6, God used Moses to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt. For the 40 years that followed, God fed an estimated 2 million men, women, and children as they journeyed in the desert to the Promised Land. He did this by sending bread from heaven. Having just fed a crowd of 5,000, Jesus takes the opportunity to show that He is the true bread from heaven. What was only a shadowy allusion before was now perfectly revealed in Him. 

The Israelites who ate the manna (bread) God gave them in the desert all died (vs:49). But Jesus is the bread God gives, "who comes down from heaven" (vs:33), and those who eat of it "will live forever" (vs:51). 

How may we receive this bread? By believing entirely in Jesus Christ. If He is the bread, how do we "eat" Him? As we set out to make everything He is and everything He taught the very "foods" we desire to live by, we show that we long to know Him as our source of life. He is our sustenance, the daily bread we need.

Insight: Lord Jesus, you alone are the true bread of life, the bread of heaven. may we hunger to know and love You more each day. Amen.

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship and Bible study groups.

We are in need of Prayer and financial partners,

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You will receive a copy of both complete sets of devotionals series: "Forgiveness" Series and the "Grace" Series

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+DEV+ Spiritual Food

Date: May 1, 2014 1:53 AM

Topic: +DEV+  Spiritual Food

Spiritual Food

"Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval." (John 6:27)

Scripture Focus: John 6:1-29

Today we read of Jesus using food as a metaphor for our life's foremost pursuits. He is addressing the multitude that crossed over Galilee after Him, mainly because they wanted more free food. Isn't that just like us? Jesus does not miraculously provide for them again, but He does give them - and us - a feast of truths to consider. 

First, Jesus gives a prohibitive command: "Do not work for food that spoils." He is not saying that we are to avoid the basic economy of working to provide for ourselves, our families, and others. But that must not be the sole focus of our lives. Whatever we do in life, He commands us to labor for the "food that endures to eternal life," to pursue those things that have an eternal value. Jesus tells us that He is the Source for lasting "food," and all of this is pleasing to the Father. 

Let's look to the Lord for our temporal nourishment (Matthew 6:11), but also remember that the better food is that which does us eternal good, every word from God (Deuteronomy 8:3). 

What a feast!

Insight:  "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33)

Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship and Bible study groups.

We are in need of Prayer and financial partners,

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