Buried in the deepest sea, yes, thatās good enough for me
Isaiah 44: I’ve wiped the slate of all your wrongdoings. There’s nothing left of your sins.
As I read these words an old Sunday School chorus comes to mind: “Gone, gone, gone, gone, yes my sins are gone.” As a Sunday School kid to me that was mainly just a catchy tune, although I know that itās important to “train up a child in the way he should go….” The message here is mainly for grownups, especially for those who are troubled by the mess theyāve made of their lives. They look at their lives and see a disaster that can, in their view, never be cleaned up. You may have things in your past that are so ugly that you seldom allow yourself to remember them, and when you do, youāre filled with shame. Or there may be things that everyone knows about: broken promises, failures, and destroyed relationships. The words of Isaiah are so filled with hope that our hearts cannot hold it all. The only One who can deal with the mess that is our lives has already acted to do just that. He cries out, “Come back to me, come back. I’ve redeemed you.” As I respond to that invitation, the words of the old chorus become mine…”gone, gone, gone, gone, yes my sins are gone.”
Take Away: God is the God of Second Chances
Tag: sin
Devotional on Isaiah
Greater grace
Isaiah 64: We’re all sin-infected, sin-contaminated.
My hope isnāt that God will look beyond all my failures and decide Iām still basically a good person. Iām not the victim of circumstances and my problem isnāt that Iāve been mistaken about a few things. Isaiah’s words point to the core problem: Iām a sinner. Beyond that, Iām not just a sinner by action; rather Iām a sinner by nature. Iām not a traveler who somehow wandered onto the wrong road; Iām a rebel who rejected God’s way because I preferred mine instead. Even when I try to do my best Iām a failure at it. The picture Isaiah paints is of a human race thatās rebellious, stained, and lost. Any possible hope must come from the outside. That’s where God comes in. This God specializes in mercy and hope. He doesn’t patch up my messed up life; instead he makes it brand new. Isaiah does a frightfully good job of describing my perilous condition, but he doesn’t leave me there. As great as my sin is, Isaiah reminds me of the greater grace of the Lord.
Take Away: The Lord specializes in mercy and hope.
Devotional on Jeremiah
Visiting ICU
Jeremiah 6: My people are broken — shattered! — and they put on band-aids!
To be apart from God is serious business. The solution isnāt to turn over a new leaf or to try to be a nicer person. Outside of God is death. A doctor doesnāt put a band-aid on a person who needs a heart transplant. The treatment is major surgery by a skilled surgeon. As a Christian I ought to understand this because I’ve been through the spiritual version of that process. However, I tend to forget it. Lost people aren’t simply making mistakes and facing a troublesome future. Spiritually speaking theyāre in ICU with worse things yet to come. Jeremiah realizes that the sins of his nation have brought them to the brink of absolute catastrophe. I need to deal with those who are apart from God with the seriousness Jeremiah shows here.
Take Away: Lost people are really lost — condemned and without hope unless they allow the Lord to do a major, life changing work in their lives.
Devotional on Hosea
Farther than you want to go
Hosea 4: That whirlwind has them in its clutches.
Hosea’s personal parable soon gives way to his prophecies concerning sinful Israel. The background of his own experience is especially evident in his constant references to the debauchery of Israel and descriptions of God’s disgust with their practices even as he loves them and calls them back. The experience of Hosea with his unfaithful wife is a reflection of all that. In this passage Hosea complains about their idol worshipping, sexually explicit religion. They think promiscuity and drunkenness is their ticket to happiness and satisfaction. Instead, as some wise people have said, “Sin will take you farther than you want to go.” They’re willingly giving themselves to something that won’t satisfy and will ultimately destroy them. What starts out as willful sin (“I can quit anytime I want”) becomes obsession and possession. What they thought they could control now controls them. People start down some foolish path thinking they’re in control. Before long, they’re where they never expected to be and bound by what they never thought could control them.
Take Away: Sin will take you farther than you want to go.
Devotional on Acts
Citizenship
Acts 22: I paid a huge sum for my citizenship. How much did it cost you?
The captain isnāt having a good day. Heās arrested a man thinking heās caught an Egyptian troublemaker but now realizes he has the wrong man. He then lets the man address the crowd, and to his surprise he addresses them in Hebrew. In a few minutes, thereās another riot and the man has to be rescued again. At this point the captain has had enough; heāll beat the facts out of the fellow and be done with it. Then, as soldiers prepare to do the flogging the man informs them that heās a Roman citizen. To be guilty of detaining and torturing a Roman citizen could be disastrous to his career. Additionally, the captain takes Roman citizenship quite seriously because obtaining his own citizenship had been an expensive process. Now, heās come within a few minutes of jeopardizing his career because of this mysterious man. He asks Paul how he obtained his Roman citizenship and Paul responds that he was born free. Commentators arenāt sure how it is that Paul’s a Roman citizen but the best idea is that his home town, Tarsus, has been declared āfreeā by Caesar. Such a town is bound to allegiance to Rome, but its citizens are unfettered by the heavy hand of Rome. These people have the rights of a Roman citizen. The captain’s impressed that Paul was born with a privilege that has cost him dearly. For my part, Iām somewhere between the captain and Paul. I wasnāt born free. Rather, I was born a slave to sin and the price for my freedom was far beyond anything I could pay. However, the price was paid, in fact, had already been paid 2000 years earlier. My freedom was obtained at great cost. How much did it cost me? Nothing; but it cost Jesus everything.
Take Away: Iāve been set free a great price: the blood of Jesus.
Devotional on Romans
Grace wins
Romans 5: When itās sin verses grace, grace wins hands down.
Obviously, it all starts with Adam, the first human being. This first manās failure puts in motion a whole string of failures. Humanity is in a death spiral. One manās sin results in the sins of many. One manās sin results in the deaths of many. Without an intervention this story is going to end badly. Then, Godās own Son, Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man, steps into history. Adamās disobedience brings death. Jesusā obedience brings life. For humanity itās a gift beyond understanding. Our sin: our crushing, destroying, death dealing sin seems insurmountable. Now, through Jesus, the remedy is given. Sin, as powerful as it is, meets its match. Grace wins.
Take Away: No matter how great the sin, it meets it match in Godās matchless grace.
Devotional on Romans
The greatest need of the believer
Romans 7: But I need something more.
In this passage the Apostle describes the frustration of many of Godās people. Heās been set free from sinās prison and now wants to live Godās way. He understands that Godās ways are right but under the influence of sin even the purity of the Law becomes a tool of temptation and failure. Heās been freed from prison but some of that prison remains in him. He declares āI need something more.ā A believer doesnāt have to attend a particular brand of church to identify with this statement. Having been forgiven of sins I set out to live a new life of righteousness in fellowship with the Lord. However, I come to the conclusion that this isnāt as easy as it appears. In fact, the harder I try to live that life of righteousness the clearer it becomes that, in Paulās words: āI obviously need help!ā Is this passage a pitiful surrender to sin? When all is said and done, is the Christian life all about grimly holding on through repeated spiritual failure? The Apostle will more fully answer these questions as he continues writing in what we call chapter eight, but he tips his hand when he says, āThe answer, thank God, is…Jesus Christ.ā
Take Away: Without the deeper work of God the Christian life is one of constant struggle.
Devotional on 1 Corinthians
Living in an immoral society
1Corinthians 5: Shouldnāt this break your hearts?
The members of the church at Corinth came out of, and still live in, an immoral, corrupt society. Well, come to think of it, ācame out ofā is too strong a phrase. When the immorality of their society comes knocking at the church door, they make little effort to keep it out. One of the church members, Paul is told, is involved in sexual immorality. Thereās also rude behavior, drunkenness, greed, and dishonesty. In other words, the insiders are acting a whole lot like the outsiders. How does this happen? I think the Christians at Corinth, being around such behavior every day, are dangerously comfortable with sin. When it appears in their number, rather than be horrified by it, they brush it off. Before the dentist does some drilling, the patient receives an injection that numbs the area. Otherwise, the work would cause great pain. In Corinth, the Christians have been ānumbedā by their constant association with sin. Rather than be horrified by its appearance in their number they shrug it off. What a warning for us! The same immorality that’s rampant in Corinth is rampant in our society. Every day we wade through this cesspool. If we arenāt careful and if we donāt stay very close to Christ weāre desensitized to its awfulness. Oh Lord, as we encounter sin out in the world, help us to see it for what it is. When we see it in the church, let it break our hearts. If we find it in our hearts, let it drive us to our knees in repentance.
Take Away: Jesus prayed that weād be in the world but not of it.
Devotional on 1 John
Victory in Jesus
1John 2: He solved the sin problem for good.
An old preacherās line is when asked the topic of his or her sermon is to reply āIāve decided to preach about sinā¦Iām going to take a stand against it.ā In this passage we find John doing just that. He tells his readers that heās writing āto guide you out of sin.ā Then, if a believer falls back into sin, he points us to the remedy, our āPriest-Friendā Jesus. Beyond that, as I consider the broader problem of sin, Iām told that Jesus has already dealt with sin at that level too. Sin, which breaks our relationship with our Heavenly Father, has been decisively dealt with through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. āHe solved the sin problem for good.ā When sin is an issue in my life thereās a remedy and his name is Jesus. From this passage I learn, then, that Christians can live in victory over intentional spiritual failure. I learn that if that failure comes anyway that Christās victory can yet be mine. I learn that, even as Iām dismayed by rampant, destructive sin in the world that thereās hope, a way out through the Lord. Because of him Iām set free from the domination of sin. That opens the way to abundant life. For every person who struggles with some old sinful habit; for everyone who sometimes feels the tug of some especially powerful temptation; for everyone who wants to live freely in Christ ā for everyone ā this is a wonderful, hope-filled Word from the Lord.
Take Away: At the cross Jesus defeated sin and death once and for all.
Devotional on Genesis
Sin, murder, and grace
Genesis 4: Sin is lying in wait for you…youāve got to master it.
The first children are born to the human race, two boys. These boys become men and these men are worshipers of God. One is a dirt farmer and the other raises livestock. These two worshipers of God bring sacrifices to the Lord. To Cainās dismay God likes his brotherās offering better than his own. Iāve heard a few sermons on the reason why. In fact, Iāve attempted to deal with the topic myself. Some people think itās the lack of blood in Cainās offering. Others pounce on the āfirstbornā aspect of Abelās offering and the writer of the book of Hebrews focuses in on the faith aspect of it. Deciding why one offering is more acceptable than the other is a hard call. After all, Cain brought from what he had, just as Abel did. Of course, we know that this passage isnāt here to elevate one type of offering over the other. This account is about sin, murder, and grace. When Cain’s angry with God about his brotherās offering the Lord warns him that heās skating on thin ice. Being disappointed with God, apparently, isnāt sin in itself; but such an attitude attracts sin. The Lord speaks to Cain like a father talking to his son, warning him that itās a dangerous road heās traveling. This situation has potential for Cain to be humbled. If he responds to the Lord by asking for an explanation concerning why his offering is inferior to Abelās we wonāt have the mystery concerning it. Instead, Cain proves God right by doing the wrong thing. At this point, the score is Sin: one, Cain: nothing.
Take away: Some things that arenāt quite sin, can, if Iām not careful, open that door.
Devotional on Genesis
Those mysterious sons of God
Genesis 6: The sons of God noticed that the daughters of men were beautiful.
Whatās going on here? Who on earth (or beyond this earth) are these sons of God? Do we have some angels coming to earth and being attracted to our women? Now that would make for some juicy sermon material! Alas, I donāt think it will work. We donāt find any evidence in the Bible of angels being called āsons of God.ā Still, the writer of Genesis says that the result of the union of these mysterious sons of God and the daughters of men is a race of giants: big, aggressive, and conquering. I think the best way to work on this passage is to read it backwards. That is, the result of all this is that God concludes that āhuman evil is out of control.ā The rebellion that started with Adam and Eve has gotten progressively worse to the point that humanity is focused on evil all the time. A branch of the human race has sprung up that threatens Godās plan to redeem human beings. The part about sons of God is how the writer introduces this accelerating fall of humanity. Now, having put it into perspective, the identity of these sons of God isnāt quite as important as it was. Itās just the set up describing why God is about to take drastic action against humanity. It may be that the writer is simply giving us a poetic view of how a race of āmighty menā who have no fear of God came dominate the earth. I do have a theory that Iāll share with you, but its pure speculation. I think the sons of God are the descendants of Seth. Itās through him that the Son of God will trace his lineage. Itās Sethās offspring who are listed as living those extremely long lives in the previous chapter. I also think the ādaughters of menā are the offspring of Cain. That murderer was driven out and is no longer counted as one of Godās people. Just because Cain and his descendants are considered to be outsiders doesnāt mean they fade to nothing. In fact, itās just the opposite. Theyāre building cities, developing the arts, and bringing the world into the Bronze Age. You might say that humanity has forked into two distinct groups: those who worship God (sons of God) and those who advance humanity apart from God. When the God-worshipers start intermarrying with these humanists the Lord decides he must act aggressively to save humanity. At least thatās my take on it all.
Take away: God will act aggressively to redeem humanityā¦thatās true in broad terms, but also at the personal level as well.
Devotional on Genesis
Time doesnāt heal all wounds.
Genesis 42: Now weāre paying for what we did to our brother.
As a famine crushes the region only Egypt, under Josephās rule, prospers. Soon, those from the surrounding nations are coming to Egypt, ready to pay any price for grain. In time, aged Jacob sends his sons to Egypt and for the first time in the over 20 years since they sold him into slavery the brothers come face to face with the one they terribly mistreated. When they donāt recognize him, Joseph uses his authority to find out what kind of men his brothers have become. If one of them is put in jeopardy, will they abandon him as they abandoned Joseph long ago? With Simeon held back, the others are free to go. As I hear the conversation they have Iām taken with the enduring and debilitating power of guilt. They say to one another: āNow weāre paying for what we did to Joseph.ā The truth of the matter is that all these years theyāve been paying for their terrible deed and dark secret. These are men haunted by their past and I have the idea that through the years theyāve thought or said these words every time some unexpected difficulty rose. People think theyāre getting away with something just because no one knows but thatās never true. Not only is it untrue on the big stage, at the Judgment Day level; itās also true in day-to-day living. In this case itās a wound that time will not heal and the only resolution is to confess and take appropriate action to make things right.
Take away: Some things never heal until theyāre exposed to the light.
Devotional on Numbers
Thereās sin and then thereās Sin with a capital āSā
Numbers 15: The person…who sins defiantly, deliberately blaspheming God, must be cut off from his people.
This chapter of the book of Numbers returns to the subject of the resolution of sin. Sometimes, weāre told, people blunder into sin and donāt even know theyāve done wrong. In fact, the whole nation can mess up like that. Once the failureās realized, theyāre to confess it and then take steps to repair the crack in their relationship with God. As weāve seen before that involves the death of a scarified animal and the application of its innocent blood. However, the Law clearly distinguishes between sins of error and intentional sin. Animal sacrifices offer no hope to someone who ādeliberately despised Godās wordā and āviolated Godās command.ā Such a person is no longer numbered among Godās people. This passage goes on to give an example of such intentional failure. In this case, the penalty is death. Itās easy to see that the Old Testament Law distinguishes between mistakes and intentional failure. Both are called āsinā but one is a hundred times more serious than the other. Sin with a lower case āsā receives an automatic portion of grace as one realizes the failure and moves to make things right. Sin with a capital āSā brings death. Now, having said all that, Iām glad the story doesnāt end here. Due to the fact that human beings are sinners by nature weāre all guilty of death dealing sin. We should all be taken out of the camp and executed for our intentional spiritual failure. Thankfully, in Jesus Christ thereās hope even here. Because of Jesus, Paul writes, weāre ānot under law but under grace.ā He also says, āWhere sin increased, grace increased all the more.ā What a wonderful difference the Son of God makes, dealing not only with sin but also with Sin with a capitol āS.ā
Take Away: Weāre recipients of grace and its grace that we need.
Devotional on Joshua
Achan lied and men died.
Joshua 7: Israel has sinned: they’ve broken the covenant I commanded them.
Jerichoās defeated and destroyed. Now their attentionās on a much smaller, less fortified place, Ai. An armed force of 3000 is sent to do battle at Ai, more than enough to win an easy victory. However, it doesn’t work that way. The people of Ai rise up and rout the larger Israelite force. How could that happen? They not only have superior numbers, but God is on their side. Right? Wrong! They go to Ai without God and are defeated there. Dismayed by what’s happened on his watch Joshua goes to the Lord. Heās told that thereās sin in the camp. As long as thereās sin thereāll be no help from God. You see, sin is always serious in the eyes of the Lord. Beyond that, my sin impacts others in unexpected ways. Achan thinks that God won’t notice and that his intentional disobedience of the Lordās command will have no consequences. Instead, because of his sin, God withdraws his blessing and over 30 men die. In our western culture, we like to think itās every man for himself. Had an American written this story, Achan, and maybe family, would have died for his sin in tragic poetic justice. Everyone else would have gone on with “business as usual.” Here we see a different picture. “Achan lied and men died.” Is it possible that some churches struggle because thereās hidden sin in the camp? And why stop at the church? What does this story say to me as an American? A country where babies by the millions are aborted, where immorality is the accepted mode of behavior? Am I really free to stand back from that and be dismayed, expecting the judgment of God to only fall on “them?”
Take Away: Our lives are interconnected, what I do impacts others, maybe many others.
Devotional on Judges
There, but for the grace of God….
Judges 9: Just then some woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and crushed his skull.
Not all the inhumanity of Israelās ādark agesā of Judges comes from the belligerent peoples surrounding them. A lot of the bleakness comes from within. Gideon apparently makes himself into a sheik and fathers lots of children. When he dies thereās a power struggle thatās won by Abimelech, the son of Gideon and one of his maidservants. Abimelech seals the deal by murdering his seventy brothers. However, heās better at murder than he is at leading and within three years thereās mounting opposition to his rule. Abimelech acts to quash the rebellion and arrives at Thebez, a town known for its fortified tower. As this wicked leader prepares burn alive those who have taken refuge there a woman drops part of a millstone on his head, thus bringing an end to the short and evil leadership of Abimelech. This is an ugly, if somewhat interesting story of a bad man who does bad things and then dies in a violent, unexpected way. No doubt, the detail of his inglorious death is told to us that we might see the judgment of God on Abimelech. In the larger view, Iām reminded that when God is removed from their lives just how much these descendants of Abraham look like the other heathen of that land. When I look around my community and see people doing stupid, self-destructive things to themselves and one another; when I see them blindly pursuing worthless things; and when I see them stubbornly traveling down the wrong road Iām wise to remember that without the Lord in my life that could easily be me. One response then, is to be thankful for what the Lord’s doing in my life. Itās not about me ā itās all about him. Another response is that, rather than feeling superior, Iām to be compassionate to them. These are people who are like me. They just donāt yet know the Life Changer I know.
Take Away: There, but for the grace of God, go I.
Devotional on Judges
Pitiful
Judges 20: How did this outrageous evil happen?
The final story in the book of Judges is about as dark and evil as it can get. It concerns a man and his concubine. The story contains deviant sexual behavior, rape, and murder. The result is a civil war in which the tribe of Benjamin is practically wiped out. One question asked during the story should ring in our ears: “How did this outrageous evil happen?” How did the descendants of Abraham, this miraculously freed nation of slaves, these recipients of the Ten Commandments, these people chosen to be God’s very own come to this? The answer is “self and sin.” Their faith hasnāt been passed on to their children. Their heroes become more and more flawed. God is forgotten and their society begins to unravel. The writer of Judges concludes in the famous epitaph of the book: “At that time there was no king in Israel. People did whatever they felt like doing.” That, my friends, is a recipe for disaster. I’d better not read this with a detached sense of superiority. I live in a society in which “doing whatever one feels like doing” is the norm. We want a convenient God who does our bidding, but leaves us alone the rest of the time. When Israel tries that the result is disaster. Do we really think we can get away with it?
Take Away: Whether weāre talking about an individual or a nation, itās foolish to attempt to live apart from God.
Devotional on 2 Samuel
I wonder if Nathan checked his life insurance policy first
2 Samuel 12: You’re the man!
Itās through the prophet Nathan that God responds to David’s adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of her righteous husband, Uriah. We don’t know much about Nathan, but he carries on in the spirit of his predecessor, Samuel. In Nathan we see the same boldness we saw in Samuel when he stood up to Saul. A few pages back, when David wants to build a Temple, its Nathan who first agrees but then returns with the disappointing news that God doesn’t want David to build a Temple. Now, when David has fallen in sin, itās Nathan who takes his life in his hands and confronts the king with what heās done. The prophet is pretty smart in his approach. He comes to David with a made-up scenario about a farmer and a lamb. When David reacts with righteous indignation over what he thinks has happened Nathan responds with the famous words, “You’re the man!” David, who could have any available woman in Israel (itās acceptable in this society for him to have multiple wives), instead wanted another man’s wife. David, whoās bravely fought God’s enemies all his life, has used God’s enemies to do his dirty work for him. Itās Nathan who stands up to David. It’s nice to be God’s spokesman and tell people about the story of God’s love for us, preaching sermons from John 3:16. However, thereās a place for confrontation too. Weād just better be sure itās God whoās sending us with that strong message.
Take Away: No one is big enough, so valuable to Godās Kingdom, that they can get away with sin.
Devotional on 1 Kings
Close only counts in horseshoes
1Kings 11: Solomon faithlessly disobeyed God’s orders.
Solomon has accomplished much in God’s name. Heās built the lavish Temple, made Israel a world force, and stabilized the nation. Heās amassed knowledge and written proverbs filled with good common sense. But, because of his lack of self-control in relation to the opposite sex he becomes a miserable failure before God. My society seems to think God keeps a sort of balance sheet on our lives. Therefore, the goal is to do more good things than bad things. If a person attains that goal, theyāll make it to heaven. Solomon’s story teaches us better. His failure isn’t that he destroys the Temple or begins writing bad proverbs. Instead, itās that he disobeys God. One act of disobedience destroys a lifetime of obedience. We all stand in need of God’s grace, and if we make it to heaven it will be because of that grace. Still, God requires obedience. A lifetime of accomplishment can’t atone for even one act of disobedience.
Take Away: Itās worth repeating: a lifetime of accomplishment canāt atone for even one act of disobedience.
Devotional on 1 Kings
Obedience is required
1Kings 11: He hasn’t lived the way I have shown him, hasn’t done what I have wanted, and hasn’t followed directions or obeyed orders….
This epitaph of Solomon’s life gives me insight into what it is that God wants. He wants me to live as heās shown me to live, to do what he wants me to do, and to follow his directions and obey his commands. If I build impressive church structures and amass great wealth yet fail at these key points God will not only be disappointed in me, heāll take action against me. Sometimes we act as though all this “obey God” business is kind of theoretical; not literal, but something that happens only in an ideal world. We really think that we can pretty much do what we want and tip our hat to God once in a while and heāll be satisfied with that. In this passage I see that no matter how much I do in the Name of the Lord I never get beyond the requirement of simply living the way he has shown me to live. If I ignore that, then all the “Temples” I might build are meaningless in his eyes.
Take Away: If we think weāre so valuable to the Lord that we donāt have to obey him ā well, weād better think again.
Devotional on 1 Kings
Champion of evil
1Kings 16: Ahab son of Omri did even more evil before God than anyone yet — a new champion in evil!
Kings of Israel rise and fall and most die violent deaths. Zimri assassinates Elah, but only reigns seven days before he’s killed by Omri. Omri lives an “empty-headed, empty-hearted life” but does purchase a hill upon which he builds the new capital city, Samaria. Itās his son Ahab who so sells out to evil that heās given the dubious title, “champion of evil.” The other kings are nothing to be proud of, but their spiritual failure is minor in comparison to his. He marries the wicked Jezebel, builds a temple for the worship of the idol Baal, and becomes an enemy to the remaining people of God. The long slide away from God and to paganism is nearly complete under Ahab’s leadership. However, God isn’t finished yet…here comes Elijah!
Take Away: Always remember this: no matter how dark the situation the Lord keeps his promises.