Deaf Devotion 12/18/2010

I have one word on my mind this morning. It is the word “gratitude.” It comes from the adjective “grateful.” Other words for this are: “appreciation;” “recognition;” “credit;” and “acknowledgement.” The dictionary defines being grateful as “warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received; thankful.” It is being so full of thanks that we are sometimes not able to put into words how thankful we are.

We are led to feel like this: “Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!” (2 Corinthians 9:15 KJV)

There was a movie a few years ago called “Pay It Forward.” A young man had something given to him. He knew he would never be able to repay the person who gave him the gift. He also knew that the person gave the gift out of love and they would never accept repayment anyways. It was a gift and not a loan. Instead of trying to repay the person who gave him the gift, he started with one person and with gratitude in receiving the gift, gave a gift to another person. This person was expected not to repay, but to also pay it forward. It is blessing someone else with a blessing one has received. This was done in the spirit of love in the person who gave the young man the gift in the first place. The gift was not re-gifted, it was not “see who could do more, and it was not hidden. The gift was paid forward. This is why repaying a loan is called paying it “back.”

The point is that “You do not need to repay me, just pay it forward.” Do something to make someone else’s life better. We are thankful for the gift and the giver, but the gift and the giver are honored if the blessing is passed along to someone else.

Note to those who blessed us this week: You know who you are. God knows who you are and how much you have blessed someone else. We may not be able to ever pay you back. We also know what you have done is out of love and you would never expect to be paid back. Please know that the blessing God enabled you to pass along to us will be used to bless someone else at the time God decides and in the manner God chooses. Thank you.

We do not give to draw attention to ourselves. Remember God gave to us first and we can never ever give more than God. We give to draw others to God. We love because He first loved us and died for us.

Isn’t this the way it is with God? Our salvation has been won. Sin and death are overcome and defeated. Jesus said, “It is finished.” I believe Him. There is no more paying "back." only paying "forward." The gift is ours. The victory belongs to Jesus. The glory is God’s. And this truth sets us free.

Jesus said we are to go into ALL the world to make disciples. To me this is God saying that He does not want us to repay Him. It is God saying, “Now go and pay it forward.” The gift of Jesus Christ and the Giver who is God are honored and glorified if the gift we have been given is passed along to others.

This is why Mary and Joseph rejoiced. This is why the baby John the Baptist jumped in Elizabeth’s womb when Mary and Elizabeth met. This is why the sky was filled with angels the night the angel appeared to the shepherds. This is why the shepherds left the stable rejoicing. This is why the wise men showed up around two years later. All of them knew they had been given a special gift that was beyond description, beyond anything they had ever dreamed of. And the list goes on and on.

We have received a gift that was paid forward. It is a gift from eternity to eternity. It is a gift that is the perfect gift for any person. It is a gift that keeps on giving.

Suddenly we realize that God has been so good to us that we can’t keep it inside any more. From the depths of our being we shout our joy to God. In 2 Corinthians 9:15 Paul is clearly speaking about the gift of Jesus Christ. But with any blessing from any person by any method, our response should be, “Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!”

Our response should be to now pay it forward and not pay it back. The debt is paid. It is a gift not a loan.

Pay it forward.

Deaf Devotion 12/11/2010

“Let all that I am praise the Lord. O Lord my God, how great you are! You are robed with honor and majesty. You are dressed in a robe of light. You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens.” (Psalm 104:1-2 NLT)

We have a God who is simply presented in all of creation. He was born a baby on a cold night in a stable. He was laid in a manger. Shepherds were told to look for Him. They were told they would find Him in a stable wrapped in cloth. They found the Savior. We should recognize Him.

We have a God who is sovereignly powerful. How many of us have been out at night and looked up at the starry night sky? How many stars are there up there? Are there millions? Are there billions? Are there even trillions? Who put each one in place? Who holds them all in their place? It does not matter how many stars there are. There is only ONE light. God is the only one. Is that not amazing, extraordinary? Yes, of course- think, imagine. Who is this God we worship? We should respect Him.

We have a God who is surely purposeful. He said we have eternal life. He said our sins are forgiven. He said we already have a place to live with Him forever. He said He will never leave or forsake us. In fact, He said it’s already done for us. All if we accept His Son Jesus Christ as Savior. It was all confirmed and completed at the Cross. All of heaven’s angels announced His birth. Mary and Joseph obeyed. The Shepherds did as they were told by the angel. They searched, found, and worshipped. Two years later, after a long and dangerous journey, the wise men from the east did not rest until they found Him. They cut the red tape of government and found Jesus. They entered the house and worshipped. All of these were given a purpose and plan directly from God. We should worship and adore Him.

We have a God who is able to save personally. Christ is with us. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” (Luke 2:10b-11 NLT) “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14 NLT) Now every day of our lives is an invitation.

It is an invitation to a birthday party. Jesus Christ was born once to die once for all sin. Yes there will be mistakes. We are human and will mess things up. But God is faithful and just to forgive through the blood of His Son who died once for all.

We need only turn to Him and open our hearts and eyes. Look full into His wonderful face. Bask in His presence and share in His life. Yield to His Lordship; celebrate the glory and wonder of His birth, of His life, of His death and resurrection, and of His victory over sin and death. Just like children on Christmas morning, just like the shepherds coming from the field to the city searching, just like the wise men on a long journey, we need to become a child again looking afresh at our Savior. We should receive Him.

All of that is in Genesis 1:1 which says, “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.” John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God.” The Word became a baby in a manger. The Word became a baby, born to die. We have an obligation to God. We are twice His. First, we are His because of creation and secondly, we are His because of redemption. He made us, and then He bought us back.

We need to celebrate Christmas with Joy and Thanksgiving.

Deaf Devotion 12/4/2010

“So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.” (James 4:7-10 NLT)

"Come close to God and God will come close to you." The King James Bible says if we “draw near” to God He will “draw near” to us. That is an amazing promise! When we open ourselves up to the Lord He opens heaven up for us. When we come to Him in surrender, repentance, and brokenness, He hurries to answer with forgiveness, love, and faithfulness. God, His love, His faithfulness, and His forgiveness have been there since before the universe was created. We are the ones who sinned against God and ever since He has been calling us to “draw near” to Him.

Many people have this “get close,” but “not too close” attitude. Closeness to some people has a limit. But with God there is nothing ever too close. There is also nothing that is too far away. Have we ever thought about giving God all control in our life? Wait a minute Pastor, that’s toooooo close for comfort. Satan wants to deceive us and have us to believe that we cannot do that. That means God will know everything and see everything that happens in my life. Trust me He already sees and knows. What could be closer than that? Everything that happens to us has already come across God’s desk. He is not surprised.

There is no room for self-sufficiency or self-protection in this interaction. Only in the humility of helplessness will we discover the all-consuming peace and love of His presence.

At first glance, we may seem to be the ones who begin this open relationship, but in reality, it is all God’s idea. We are merely responding. This is what Jesus meant when he said, “For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up.” (John 6:44 NLT) Many times He uses situations and difficulties to get our attention and motivate us to seek Him.

What appears to us to be a painful or desperate situation is His invitation to draw near. When we feel overwhelmed and there is no hope or no way out, He invites us to draw near. Imagine what would happen if we accept God’s invitation to draw near and then actually let him take over. With God nothing is impossible.

Even our greatest failures and mistakes can lead us to Christ. We seek to make up for our mistakes with an attitude of humble repentance. Hopefully we learn and we can enter into a more cherished relationship with God.

However, if you and I continue living in rebellion and are unwilling to confess and repent, He will not open up and reveal more of Himself to us. Satan can step in and use this to his advantage to draw you and me AWAY from God. Sin always blocks our ability to know the Lord.

Have we let hardship or failure make us feel like we are pulling away from God instead of moving toward Him? Or do we believe God has forgotten us and pulled away from us? When there is this feeling of moving away or being left alone, God is still there. He is still God and He is still in control.

Satan knows this and will remind us and will misuse any situation to deceive us into thinking that we are abandoned and there is nothing we can do because after all, we are human. And we are all sinners. But I affirm, on the Word of God, we are redeemed by the Blood of Jesus Christ. But these are the very situations that the Lord can utilize to draw us to Himself. Don't let the enemy, his deceit, and his lies win the battle. "Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (James 4:7 NLT)

Accept the invitation. Draw near to the Lord and He will draw near to you.

Deaf Devotion 11/26/2010

I will be honest. You would expect nothing less than that from any person, right? I try very hard to keep the devotions focused and that anyone can use for their personal situations. Sometimes my own feelings and thoughts collide with that and overflow so I write devotions to preach at myself too. Today is one of those.

I have been struggling with some issues in my so-called “life.” Things are not going exactly the way I would like them to go. Maybe I am experiencing my own mid-life crisis. (Don’t worry. I am not going out to buy a motorcycle!) Things are not happening the way I want them to happen nor are they happening fast enough for me. I ask God, “Why?” “Why not?” “When?” God responds with an answer that says that it’s not about what I want or what I expect to happen. It’s all focused on Him and His plan and purpose for me and the purpose for which HE created me. Still sometimes those words seem empty.

Do I need “more faith?” I thought I was faithful in quiet confidence. What is “more faith?” I pray my faith stays strong while at times it seems difficult and at other times seems not to make sense.

”All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NLT)

God's care for us extends to the smallest and most hidden details of our lives. He knows when His children hurt and longs to offer comfort “Sing for joy, O heavens! Rejoice, O earth! Burst into song, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on them in their suffering. (Isaiah 49:13 NLT)

The Lord's compassion is personal, continuous, and always available. We receive His comfort through the Holy Spirit, who lives within us. There is no situation or time when He is inaccessible to the believer. We can be consoled and reassured at any time, day or night.

Consider how the compassion of God was demonstrated through Jesus' life. He interacted even with the "untouchables"—people whose bodies were infected with a contagious disease. And no sickness of ours will prevent Him from caring for us.

Jesus had compassion on people with medical conditions. He not only healed them physically but also gave an even greater comfort. Each and every time He gave new life through the forgiveness of sins. And while our infirmities may remain, the Lord lovingly strengthens us to carry on into the future.

And what about the messes we get ourselves into? Peter's betrayal of Christ was met with forgiveness. Thomas' doubts were answered by Jesus Himself. Our mistakes won't stop Him from loving us. Even to His enemies, Jesus left the way open for repentance.

God's comfort and care are adequate for anything we face, whether it's declining health, insufficient finances, or family trouble. Then, once we've experienced His consolation, we are to become bearers of comfort to others. People everywhere are in great need of His compassion.

Whenever feelings of low self-worth threaten us with discouragement, we need to rely on the truth of God's Word rather than our emotions.

“But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10 NLT)

“A Chosen People” – God chose you and me to be part of His kingdom and family because He wanted us. No one who has been specially selected by almighty God can call themselves insignificant or even forgotten.

“A Royal Priesthood” – As believers, we are children of God and, therefore, part of a royal family. In other words, we are "heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ." (Romans 8:17 KJV) Just as Jesus fulfilled the roles of both king and priest, so God has also entrusted us with priestly responsibilities of worship and intercession for others.

“A Holy Nation” – The church—or body of Christ—is a group of people who are holy, which means "set apart" for God’s specific plan and purpose individually. Our lives are never meaningless, because living for the Lord is the greatest purpose one can have.

A People for “God's Own Possession” – You and I are the personal possessions of God. He so values each of us that He sent His Son to die in our place in order that we could be His.

Each of these descriptions shows the high value God places on us. Satan may whisper lies of condemnation and criticism, but he can't change who we really are. Begin today to demonstrate the truth of Scripture by remembering our real identity and living out our high calling from the Lord.

God gives to us so that we can give to others. God comforts us so that we can comfort others. The Christian life is about loving, giving, caring, comforting, etc. How can we help hurting people? How can we help one another? After all, we are to love one and bear one another’s burdens. What can we do? We don’t know what to say or how to pray or what to do.

I’m convinced that there are many people in the world who are hurting unnecessarily because they refuse to turn for the source of all compassion and comfort. Here’s the hope for the hurting this morning: when there is discouragement and hurting, and comfort is what we seek, go to the source. There’s only one source, and that is God.

He is called the Father of compassion, and the God of all comfort. God wrote the book on compassion and comfort, because He is the creator of it. That is the best self-help book one could buy.

Deaf Devotion 11/19/2010

“Let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:22 NLT)

God's grace has no limits. This is an easy statement to make. But do we really understand the meaning of “no limits?” Wherever we go God is already there. If we are worried about the future, God is already there. Whatever trouble we experience God is right there with us.

If we think of God in heaven, remember God is everywhere. If we think God is Wise, remember there is nothing that God does not know. Whatever problem we have God is bigger and more powerful. His name is the name above all names. The depth of His love is so great we cannot copy it here on earth.

His mercy can reach the darkest part of our hearts. What's more, the forgiveness Jesus completed on the cross stretches back to earth's first day and projects forward to its last. Christ not only erased our past, present, and future sin; He also paid for the wrongs of every generation.

When the ancient Israelites brought a goat or a lamb to the temple for a sacrifice, they placed their hands on its head and confessed their sins. The priest then killed the animal and sprinkled some of its blood on the altar of atonement. The ritual symbolized a person’s payment for sin. But that is all it was, a ritual, a habit, a tradition, or a procedure. The problem was that the lamb could not actually take on the sin and die in place of the Israelite (Heb. 10:4).

If an animal's blood could actually bring forgiveness and erase a sin-debt, you and me would still be offering those frequent sacrifices in a temple, and Jesus' death would have been unnecessary. Yet we must remember that, though the act itself had no saving power, the ritual of sacrifice was God's idea. He established such offerings as a powerful image of the seriousness and penalty of sin. The act of sacrifice also pointed to Christ's perfect sacrifice and death on the Cross for you and me and the salvation He offers.

Modern believers practice certain biblical rituals too. But God does not forgive us through prayer, Bible reading, or even the act of confession. Like the Israelites, we must also look to a lamb—the Lamb of God. When we receive Jesus' sacrifice for our sins, we are forgiven forever.

It is only through accepting Jesus Christ as Savior that our debt is paid in full and the payment was made at the Cross one time for all people.

If someone or someone we know of doubts that God has forgiven them, make it right immediately.
If someone or someone we know of needs to hear the truth of the Gospel, tell them now.
If someone or someone we know feels that they are unworthy or unable to be saved, remember that God loves us so much and thought us important and worthy enough that He sacrificed HIS OWN Son once and for all to forever erase the sin-debt we owe Him.

Right now stop and praise God for His unlimited grace and mercy. Exalt Jesus Christ the sacrificed Lamb of God who gave His life so that you and I can have eternal life. That’s forever. That means a future with no limit. And God is already there. Amen.

Deaf Devotion 11/14/2010

“Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.” (James 1:17-18 NLT)

There is a saying that says, “The more things change the more they stay the same.” We live in a changing society. A society that says:
If you don’t like yourself, change.
If you don’t like your job, change.
If you don’t like your wife or husband, change.
If you don’t like your church, change.
If you don’t like your God, change.

But, Praise God James says GOD DOES NOT CHANGE

God's character is often distorted and changed by the world. To those who do not know God, or those who say there is no God, He can appear as a harsh ruler who is quick to condemn any act of disobedience. Or He is some mysterious being who holds out salvation as a prize only to be taken away or lost the next time we make a mistake. Somehow that false view has infected our churches as well. There are believers who approach the Lord as if He were a stingy old man who gives out bits of love, grace, and forgiveness when things are good and then turns His back and disappears when things go wrong. But spiritual poverty is not the Father's plan for His children!

At salvation, God gives and we receive every good gift that God intends to give us: forgiveness, redemption, righteousness, a place in His family, and a room in His house, access to His richness and wisdom, and so much more. There is a mistaken notion among some believers that the Lord's grace to us increases as our faith matures. If that were accurate, we would be earning His blessing though works. The truth is that spiritual growth makes us better able to recognize and enjoy His grace in our lives.

Sadly, plenty of people feel unworthy to enjoy the Lord's blessings. Thankfully, we do not have to earn His goodness, because none of us would be able to do so. In fact, Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV underscores the fact that God operates on the basis of His grace rather than our works. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Think of how big, wide, deep and limitless is God’s love. We are His masterpiece. His best work. He honors, blesses, and showers us with grace because He wants to, not because He must, and not because we earn it.

Our heavenly Father is so generous. He opens His hand wide to pour out grace upon us. Instead of sampling meager bites of His Word and His presence on Sunday, we ought to devour whole "meals" every day. Follow the psalmist's advice to "taste and see that the LORD is good." (Psalm 34:8)

Praise and thanksgiving be to the Lord our God for all His countless gifts and blessings. Amen.

Deaf Devotion 11/02/2010

“O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood, and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do.” (Psalm 71:17 NLT)

Today is Election Day around the country. Have you noticed? Does it stir your heart to do something? Have you voted? If not, why not? If not, get up and go. Many people are saying this will be an Election Day to change history. It seems to be the same thing they say every two years. Some people say, “Well I am one person and my vote will not matter.” “I don’t have time.” “Why vote? Nothing will change anyways.” These excuses are sad, but people have actually said them.

Satan wants us to forget one simple truth. One thing is missing. We tend to forget that many men and women have given their lives so you and I can have the freedom and the right to vote. To not vote is to say all these heroes have died and their families sacrificed for nothing.

One of the things Brenda and I dislike about voting is the group of people who stand outside handing out papers and stuff about their candidate. You must go through them to get in to vote. Today was different. There was a group of people there representing several different candidates. None of them tried to hand us a pencil, a pin, or even a piece of paper with someone’s name on it. What happened is that when we were going in and coming out someone in this group shouted simply, “Thanks for coming out to vote!” That impressed me.

Understand when we do not vote because we do not feel like it or because we don’t think our vote matters or makes a difference actually dishonors God. God established government in the post-flood era with the family of Noah. They messed it up then, and because we are all sinners, it is still not a perfect system today. But in the end it belongs to God. The only perfect system of government is that which God lays out in His Word.

We need to understand that voting is a way for God to show Himself mighty and powerful through the votes HIS people cast on Election Day. Only God through HIS people can bring about the change HE wants to see.

Understand that Satan is on a killing spree. He wants to kill our memory and wants us to become forgetful, so that we will not remember our Christian heritage as a nation. Tragically, he’s aiming his artillery at our children, and particularly in the place where they used to grow, mature and become the future leaders of this country: The Schools.

Prayer is out. Police are in.
Bibles are out. Political correctness and tolerance is in.
The Ten Commandments are out. Social programs and trusting the government for everything is in.
Creation is out. Evolution is in.
History is out. Rewriting history to match a political agenda or “revisionism” is in.

God says we need to remember the generation to come. That is our children. Do we want children to not care about the future or think that the government will take care of it? No, the answer lies in today’s verse. “O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood, and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do.”

The universe as we know it and everything in it, leaders and followers, time, space, the past, the present, and the future are all in God’s hands. That includes voting and the right to vote. Let’s think about God as we vote. How would He view our choices? Would our choices show what God has taught since our birth? This is not an easy question. It does not have an easy answer. It requires prayer. It requires seeking God’s wisdom in voting, and not the wisdom of a newspaper writer, or a person on CNN or Fox.

I do not support politicians going into a church and speaking anything other than God’s Word. I will not use this devotion as anything other than that for which God wants it used. Today when we vote, let God lead our hands as we mark the ballot. “O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood, and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do.” Let our votes show what God has taught us.