Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | August 8, 2011

What if Abraham only “spiritualized” God’s promises to him …?

Today’s devotion comes from Romans 8:31-32.
 
“31  What then shall we say to these things?  If God is for us, who is against us?
 
32  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”  Romans 8:31-32.
 
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What if Abraham only “spiritualized” God’s promises to him?  That is, what if Abraham only interpreted God’s promises as only having a spiritual fulfillment, namely that God only promises heaven?  What if Abraham  only believed that he would go to heaven some day and have spiritual children who would follow him to heaven, not really believing that he would have natural descendants?  Would that be sufficient faith?  Would that faith be credited to him as righteousness?
 
Too many Christians go through life, reserving their faith and joy, for only heaven.  They only really believe that they are going to heaven.  And, when someone points to Scripture to try to encourage them that God showers us with so many earthly blessings, then they may “knee-jerk react” by accusing that someone of preaching a prosperity gospel.
 
Well, yes, there are such preachers of prosperity gospels that should be refuted, but there is also truth that we need to heed about the existence of God’s promises that relate to life here on earth.  We need to understand the importance of not spiritualizing every single promise of God.
 
Today’s Scripture encourages that God “freely gives us all things”.  Are we really going to pause and meditate on that promise, or are we going to quickly shake it off as some prosperity gospel? 
 
If God delivered His Son to us, and thus the most important eternal life, will not God give us lesser things, earthly things such as “wine which makes man’s heart glad, So that he may make his face glisten with oil, And food which sustains man’s heart”.  Psalm 104:15?
 
When we consider God as the Creator and all the equisite and lavish beauty in his creation, is it any surprise that He deeply cares about earthly things in addition to heaven? 
 
When we consider God as our Father, is it any surprise that He loves to give us, His children, good earthly things in addition to heaven?
 
Does the prosperity promised in Scripture only apply to spiritual prosperity?  No.
 
Peace and children are two more examples of such prosperity.  Psalm Chapter 127.  There are so many more.  Our “cup overflows”.  Psalm Chapter 23.
 
Do all Christians have wine, food, peace, and children?  No, but do you have some of these things? 
 
You tell your own story as to what God has done for you.  Let the other Christians tell their own story as to what God has done for them.  
 
Psalm 34:8
“O taste and see that the LORD is good;  How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!”
 
Psalm 84:11
“For the LORD God is a sun and shield;  The LORD gives grace and glory;  No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”
 
1 Timothy 6:17
‘Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.”
 
Psalm 16:11
“You will make known to me the path of life;  In Your presence is fullness of joy;  In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”
 
“Ask, and it will be given to you;  seek, and you will find;  knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”  Matthew 7:7-11. 
                                          
“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”  Hebrews 11:6.
 
This faith that pleases God is not only a faith that someday we will go to heaven.  A faith that pleases God includes a faith that God will somehow take care of us when our paycheck is not enough to cover our bills, but we still tithe and otherwise cheerfully give.  A faith that pleases God is a faith that God will somehow take care of us when Christian school tuition is high, but we still send our children to a Christian school.   A faith that pleases God is that God will somehow take care of us when we could work for more pay, but we still obey God’s calling to some work that pays much less than the other work.  There are thousands of other examples of our need to walk by faith each day that God will somehow take care of all of our earthly needs.
                                          
In conclusion, check out the members of the Hall of Faith in Hebrews Chapter 11.  Check out the rest of the Bible.  Specific promises were made, often as to what would be done here on earth.  Today’s Scripture does not entitle us to expect that we will get exactly what we desire and request.  However, today’s Scripture should encourage us that God gladly and richly and freely gives us all things to enjoy in addition to the most important gift of heaven.  

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | August 7, 2011

“LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”

Today’s devotion comes from Romans 8:28-30.
 
“28  And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
 
29  For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
 
30  and these whom He predestined, He also called;  and these whom He called, He also justified;  and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”  Romans 8:28-30.
 
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The focus is on God.  The focus is on what God has done.  
 
“For You, O LORD, have made me glad by what You have done, I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands.”  Psalm 92:4
 
Man naturally wants to focus on himself.  “Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?”  John 6:28.
 
But, “Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”  John 6:29.
 
From beginning to end, “Salvation belongs to the LORD;  Your blessing be upon Your people!  Selah.”  Psalm 3:8
 
Isaiah 52:10
“The LORD has bared His holy arm In the sight of all the nations, That all the ends of the earth may see The salvation of our God.”
 
Jonah 2:9
“But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving.  That which I have vowed I will pay.  Salvation is from the LORD.”
 
1 Thessalonians 5:9
“For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,”
 
2 Thessalonians 2:13
“But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.”
 
 
Some resist a salvation in which man deserves no credit.  They take pride in what they contributed.  They believe that what they contributed ultimately distinguishes them from those who are not saved.  They believe that their own works or their own “free-will” faith saved them.
 
But, Scripture clearly and repeatedly teaches predestination.  God chooses those whom He wants to save, and God provides all that is needed for salvation, from beginning to end, in this glorious chain of salvation that we read in our Scripture today.
 
There is the promise, but there is also the warning.    
 
“For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.  For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? …”  Hebrews 2:1-5.
 
“How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?”  Hebrews 10:29
 
Everyone should pause and consider that this punishment may not just be reserved for only those who are outwardly hateful to Christ.  It may be also be reserved for those who do believe that Christ shed His precious blood for everyone and that ultimately what distinguishes them from those who are not saved is their own works or “free-will” faith. 
 
One does not need to be outwardly hateful to something to trample over it.  For example, we read Matthew 5:13 .  “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again?  It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.” 
 
Likewise, there are those who treat the blood of Christ as common to all.  They do not pay it the respect to which it is entitled.  They love to say that Christ shed His blood for everyone, and there is power in the blood, but in their hearts they really believe that their works or faith saved them.  In a sense, they trample over the blood of Christ in their rush to focus on themselves and what they did. 
                                      
“but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.  But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”  1 Corinthians 1:27-31.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | August 5, 2011

The Groanings of the Holy Spirit

Today’s devotion comes from Romans 8:26-27.
 
“26  In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness;  for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;
 
27  and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”  Romans 8:26-27.
 
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In the prior Scripture, we read about our suffering and that we “groan”, and even the whole creation “groans”.  See especially Romans 8:22-23.  And, today’s Scripture starts “in the same way”.  Therefore,  the description of the Holy Spirit’s intercession for us by the use of the word “groanings” carries more meaning than just the deep feeling of love and passion that the Holy Spirit has for us.  In a sense, the Holy Spirit is so intimately acquainted with us and feels such empathy toward us that the Holy Spirit echoes each of our groans with His own groaning to intercede for us.    
 
However, the Holy Spirit’s groanings for us are not limited to our own groans.  We may be in danger yet feel quite peaceful and content, but the Holy Spirit will still groan for us.  “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!  How vast is the sum of them!”  Psalm 139:17.
 
“1  O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
2  You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.
3  You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4  Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O LORD, You know it all.
5  You have enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.”  Psalm 139:1-6.
 
The Holy Spirit’s intercession is not just intimate acquaintance and feelings and requests for us.  The Holy Spirit is a real Helper.  “… the Spirit also helps our weakness …”  Romans 8:26. 
 
John 14:16
“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;”
 
John 14:26
‘But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”
 
John 15:26
“When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,’
 
In conclusion, the groanings and other help of the Holy Spirit are so powerful and effective that the very next verse is a conjunction to the Scripture for today, joined by the word “and”.  “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”  Romans 8:28.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | August 4, 2011

Faith: “we hope for what we do not see”

Today’s devotion comes from Romans 8:24-25.
 
“24  For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?
 
25  But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.”  Romans 8:24-25.
 
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Today, it is very appropriate that I copy and paste a “Letter to Harry” dated June 20, 1995 a/k/a “Gold Mine 30” for the content of this devotion.  (See this and other “Gold Mines” in their format at the tag above at my web site.  You can also reach it by the link – Click here: Gold Mining « Reformed Doctrine Blog )  Like June 20, 1995, I am currently experiencing a slow time for business, and anxiety over finances rises.  I need to be reminded of the nature and importance of faith.    
 
GOLD MINE 30: I PETER 1:7
PROOF OF FAITH IS MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD
 
June 20, 1995 

Harry:

Summer is normally a slow time for business for me, and this summer is no exception.  As the summer heat rises, anxiety over finances rises.

As I prayed about my finances, God reminded me that faith pleases Him.

If I always had everything I wanted, I would have no need for faith.  I would not need to pray to Him, think of His promises, or trust Him.

“…hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees?”  Romans 8:24.

When we have everything, we do not have hope or faith, because we see what we have.

But when we do not have everything, we need hope or faith because we do not see what we need or want.

Although we squirm and are anxious when we do not see what we need or want, such uncomfortable feeling is not bad if it leads us to faith in God. Faith pleases God.

“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6.

Such lack of sight and need for faith should not be seen as an aberration or withholding of God’s blessing. The righteous live by faith. The righteous live by the lack of sight and the need for faith. Abraham did not see his children, and he needed faith that God would fulfill His promise and give him children. See Romans Chapter 4.

Hebrews 11 contain the Hall of Fame of the righteous who had faith.  “And all these having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised,” at the time at which they needed faith.  Hebrews 11:39.  Later, God fulfilled His promises to them.

All who gained approval of God experienced lack of sight as to what they need or wanted.

Does that mean that they were not blessed?  On the contrary, their faith gave them the assurance and conviction that they would receive what they could not see. Hebrews 11:1.  And their faith was reckoned to them as righteousness.  In regards to Abraham, Romans 4:20-22 states: “yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform.  Therefore also IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

In conclusion, we should not feel that lack of sight is strange and harmful.  We should feel that it is part of life of the righteous.  We should feel that lack of sight gives us an opportunity to have faith which pleases God.

We please God when we lack sight yet still trust Him.  Let us thank God not only for what we receive but also for the opportunity to have faith when we do not see what we want or need.

WHAT IS MOST VALUABLE IS NOT WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT WE HAVE.
WHAT IS MOST VALUABLE IS WHAT WE BELIEVE WITH WHAT WE DO NOT HAVE.

“that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;” I Peter 1:7.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | August 3, 2011

“though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day”

Today’s devotion comes from Romans 8:18-23.
 
“18  For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
 
19  For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.
 
20  For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope
 
21  that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
 
22  For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
 
23  And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.”  Romans 8:18-23. 
 
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“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.  For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,”  2 Corinthians 4:16-17.
 
“but just as it is written,

“THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD,
AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN,
ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”

For to us God revealed them through the Spirit;  for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.  For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?  Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God,”  1 Corinthians 2:9-12.

There are a number of subjects that could headline this devotion.  At first, I wanted to focus on the suffering.  Later, I wanted to focus on the hope based just on the future.  Finally, I decided to focus on the present grace that we have received, that also encourages us and strengthens us to patiently, even “eagerly”, wait for that future glory. 

That present grace is “the first fruits of the Spirit”.  That present grace is “our inner man is being renewed day by day”.  That present grace is all “the things freely given to us by God”.

There is the danger that we just “bunker down” and wait for the end.  Some Christians, you only see in church.  Some Christians appear to be suffering all the time with little joy. 

But, we receive fresh manna each day.  Our inner man is made new each day.  Even to our mortal bodies, we receive life.  Romans 8:11.  We receive blessings each day that add a skip to our steps and a song to our hearts.  Most importantly, the Holy Spirit bears fresh fruit in our lives each day.

Yes, we do wait.  Yes, we groan.  Yes, we do suffer.  But, what God has already presently given us causes us to wait eagerly and joyfully.

Moreover, in the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30, Christ warned us to not be like that slave who was afraid and took the one talent entrusted to him and hid it in the ground.  We can wrongly use the existence of suffering to justify similar “shrinking” behavior.  

“BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH;
AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM.

But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.”  Hebrews 10:38-39. 

“12  The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree,
He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13  Planted in the house of the LORD,
They will flourish in the courts of our God.
14  They will still yield fruit in old age;
They shall be full of sap and very green,
15  To declare that the LORD is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”  Psalm 92:12-15.

Are you like that righteous man who still yields fruit in old age, who is full of sap and very green, who declares what God has done for him?

Or, are you that man who shows off his suffering, who is content to shrink back and bunker down, who shows more sadness and death (than joy and life), and who does not have much to declare what God has done for him (but only vague and lifeless hopes of what God may do for him)?

“Who will separate us from the love of Christ?  Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Just as it is written,

“FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG;
WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.”

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.”  Romans 8:35-37.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | August 2, 2011

Children of God: “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us”!

Today’s devotion comes from Romans 8:14-17.
 
“14  For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
 
15  For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba!  Father!”
 
16  The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
 
17  and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”  Romans 8:14-17.
 
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“See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God;  and such we are.  …  Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be.  We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.  And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”  1 John 3:1-3.
 
Our position as children of God is based only on God’s grace.  To be these children of God, we must be born of God.  We can’t achieve it through bloodlines or free-will.  God elects those to be His children based on His own choice, not based on any condition supplied by man (such as works or free-will faith) to motivate God to choose him or her.  In other word, our position is based on “Unconditional Election”, the “U” of “TULIP”.  “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”  John 1:12-13. 
 
To be these children of God, we did not earn such a position through obeying the Law.  We became sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ, and the role of the Law was to lead us to Christ.  “Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.  But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.  For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”  Galatians 3:24-26.
 
So now that we are sons of God and heirs through God, we are no longer slaves to the Law leading to fear again.  “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.  Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”  Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son;  and if a son, then an heir through God.”  Galatians 4:4-7. 
 
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.”  Luke 12:32

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | August 1, 2011

Provisions from God for “putting to death the deeds of the flesh”

Today’s devotion comes from Romans 8:12-13.
 
“So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die;  but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”  Romans 8:12-13.
 
———————–
 
Here are two position and practice provisions from God for “putting to death the deeds of the body”.  Our position is that God has crucified our old self with Christ “… in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin”.  Romans 6:6.  Our practice is that we walk by the Spirit, and the Spirit is in opposition to the flesh and produces the fruit of the Spirit.
 
“16  But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
 
17  For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh;  for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
 
18  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.
 
19  Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are:  immorality, impurity, sensuality,
 
20  idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,
 
21  envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
 
22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
 
23  gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
 
24  Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”  Galatians 5:16-24.
 
 
And, when we look at these two position and practice provisions for “putting to death the deeds of the flesh”, in a certain sense, we can state:  CHRIST’S YOKE WAS THE CROSS;  OUR YOKE IS THE SPIRIT.
                                    
Jesus said: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and YOU SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light”. Matthew 11:28-29. 
                                 
What is a yoke?  According to Oxford American Dictionary, published in 1980 by Oxford University Press, a yoke is a “wooden crosspiece”. It is a foundation for pulling or work.
                                           

The cross is a wooden crosspiece that was fastened to Christ as a foundation for His work of carrying away the sins of the world. The yoke that Christ endured was the cross, but the yoke that Christ give us is His Spirit.

The Pharisees lay law upon law on the people: “And they tie up heavy loads, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.”  Matthew 23:4.

In contrast, Christ tied up the heavy loads of the law and laid them on His own shoulders and gave us His Spirit as a yoke: “in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit”. Romans 8:4.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | July 31, 2011

“He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies”

Today’s devotion comes from Romans 8:9-11.
 
“9  However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if any one does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
 
10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
 
11  But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”  Romans 8:9-11. 
 
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Why is it that so many religious leaders think it is spiritually attractive to others to appear tired and sad?!  They say:  “Oh, I work so hard!” and “I don’t do this, and I don’t do that!”  However, they are really communicating the message:  “Don’t be like me.” and “I got no good news for you.”
 
But, the Scripture for today is good news.  Our spirit is alive!  We have received new life even to our mortal bodies:  “… though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.  But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”  Romans 8:10-11. 
 
Remarkably, in verse 11, so to speak, God pounds the table and tells us twice:  “Remember that I am Almighty God who raised Christ from the dead!!  You can have every confidence that I have full power and am able, willing, and ready to give new life to you!”
 
Psalm 16:11
“You will make known to me the path of life;  In Your presence is fullness of joy;  In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”
                                   
Psalm 30:5
“For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime;  Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.”
                                           
Jeremiah 31:12
“They will come and shout for joy on the height of Zion, And they will be radiant over the bounty of the LORD— Over the grain and the new wine and the oil, And over the young of the flock and the herd;  And their life will be like a watered garden, And they will never languish again.”
 
We don’t have to always be strong and invulnerable.  There may be times that we may be weak.  But, even in those “bad’ times, there is something in us that interests others and attracts them to us.  They think:  “How can he be so peaceful and joyful in his situation?!”
 
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;  we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;  always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.  For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”  2 Corinthians 4:7-11.   
 
Is there some life in you that attracts others to Christ? 
 
Is there that fruit of the Spirit, such as love, peace, and joy, in you that attracts others to Christ? 
 
Now, as good Calvinists, we remember “TULIP” and Christ’s words in John 6:44:  “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”  But, we can be used by God to draw others to Christ. 
 
We can be fishers of men.  We can be good bait.
 
We don’t have to a dead brown dirty worm.  We can be a live silver minnow.           

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | July 29, 2011

“For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did”!

Today’s devotion comes from Romans 8:1-9.
 
“1  Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
 
2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
 
3  For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did:  sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,
 
4  so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
 
5  For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
 
6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,
 
7  because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God;  for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,
 
8  and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
 
9  However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.  But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”  Romans 8:1-9.
 
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“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing;  the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.  But there are some of you who do not believe.”  For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him.  And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”  John 6:63-65. 
 
One could (but wrongly) read the Scripture for today and interpret it that it is primarily urging us to try harder to avoid the lusts of the flesh, and to instead, think Godly thoughts.  The focus, under such wrong thinking, would still be on the self (rather than on God) and on one’s own willpower (rather than what God has done). 
 
The context of any portion of Scripture is so important, and the context of today’s Scripture is Romans Chapters 3 through 7 emphasis of “total depravity”, the inability of the Law to produce righteousness, and God’s provision of faith in Christ to credit that needed righteousness.  In sum, “Salvation belongs to the LORD;  Your blessing be upon Your people!  Selah.”  Psalm 3:8
 
But, even just carefully reading today’s Scripture, we can understand that the focus is on what “God did”!.  Romans 8:3.  The focus is on the Spirit of God.
 
As Jesus stated in the above-stated John 6:63:  “”It is the Spirit who gives life;  the flesh profits nothing”. 
 
But, we can’t grasp the Spirit.  We can’t seize the Spirit to make it our own.  The Spirit must be given to us.  We remember Jesus’ conclusion in the above-stated John 6:65:  “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”  We also remember Jesus’ words in John 3:8:  “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going;  so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”   
 
But, we can treasure that Spirit.  We can hope for that Spirit.  We can seek that Spirit.  “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”  Luke 11:13
                          
The importance of the Spirit and the means by which we receive the Spirit is seen in Galatians 3:2-5. “This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?  Are you so foolish?  Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?  Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?  So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?” 
 
Those who seek the Law to produce righteousness and perfect themselves, are the ones who, in the language of the Scripture for today, “set their minds on the things of the flesh”.  
 
Those who seek the Spirit, are the ones who are “born of the Spirit”.  John 3:5-8.  They are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, because the Spirit of God dwells in them.  Romans 8:9.  This is entirely God’s work.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | July 28, 2011

A Deadly Combination: Our Sinful Flesh and the Law

Today’s devotion comes from Romans 7:14-25.
 
“14  For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.
 
15  For what I am doing, I do not understand;  for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.
 
16  But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good.
 
17  So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
 
18  For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh;  for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.
 
19  For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.
 
20  But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
                                         

21  I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.

22  For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man,

23  but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.

24  Wretched man that I am!  Who will set me free from the body of this death?

25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!  So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.”  Romans 7:14-25.

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Today’s Scripture focuses on our sinful flesh and the resulting misery.  “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh;  for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.  For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.”  “Wretched man that I am!”

Yesterday’s Scripture focused on the Law and how our sinful passions are aroused by the Law.

Putting them together is deadly.  “For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.”  Romans 7:5.  “But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind;  for apart from the Law sin is dead.  I was once alive apart from the Law;  but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died;  and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me;  for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.”  Romans 7:8-11.

But, there is hope!

“… Who will set me free from the body of this death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!  …”  Romans 7:24-25.

“For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did:  sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”  Romans 8:3-4.  “But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.”  Romans 7:6.

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