Proverbs 3:6

Verse of the Day Devotion: Proverbs 3:6 

“In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” – Proverbs 3:6          

Many times, when we are going through difficult situations, we cry out to God to help us.  We know we cannot get through these times in our own strength.  We get anxious and worried about how this will end.  Because of this, we pray and ask God to bring us out of these circumstances and lead us to the other side.

However, when things are going well, how often do we pray and ask God to lead us in the direction He calls us to go?  According to our focus verse, it should be always.  It tells us in all our ways acknowledge Him.  This basically means to know who He is; our God, Lord and King and proceed accordingly.  We are to set Him before us.  We are to trust Him in all things, and no matter what, we are to go in the ways He calls.  Note the previous verse.  “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”  Proverbs 3:5.  We are not to be half-hearted in our trust, for He always has what’s best for us in mind.  “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Roman 8:28.  Sometimes, it does not appear to us that it will end to our good, but this is what He has promised and therefore we can accept it and live as such.

There is an example in the Book of Acts where Paul had an idea where he wanted to go, however, he heard from the Lord and followed His ways instead.  “And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, Come over to Macedonia and help us. And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.” Acts 16:6-10.  What Paul wanted to do was not a bad thing because he wanted to share the gospel with the people in Bithynia, and probably in Asia as well.  However, this was not what God had laid out for Paul.  And Paul accepted His leading and walked the straight path set before him.

We are doing the work of God; therefore we should do the work He calls us to do in the way He tells us to do it.  Maybe we want to go to the Hawaii to minister, however, God may want to send us to Cleveland, OH.  Are we open to His leading?  We may want to preach every Sunday in a little country church; however, God may want us to go to the gangs of New York and witness to their members.  (This refers to the ministry of David Wilkerson as described in his book “The Cross and the Switchblade”, which I encourage everyone to read.  We must understand that we are not to do what we want in ministry but do what He wants in ministry. 

We must acknowledge Him as our lord and do the work He has called us to do and not usurp His place and decide ourselves what we are to do.  This is where prayer comes into play.  We are to call upon Him for guidance and then listen for His response, after which we move forward on the straight path He has prepared for us. 

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Hebrews 13:16

Verse of the Day Devotion: Hebrews 13:16 

“And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. – Hebrews 13:16      

In this section, the writer of Hebrews speaks of acts that are pleasing to God.  First, the sacrifice of animals does not bring delight to our God.  Previously, the writer of Hebrews put it this way.  “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.” Hebrews 10:4-6.  The writer declares these two ideas in this section.  One, animal sacrifices cannot take away any sins, for they were only a picture of the coming Messiah as the perfect lamb who would take away their sins.  And two, God took no pleasure in them.  They did nothing regarding divine justice, they only fulfilled the law as though they could atone for their own sins.

So, if a sin offering is not pleasing, what is?  “He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8.  Micah mentions three things God requires of us.  To do justice, that is, at a minimum give everyone what is due them.  To love kindness, or mercy as other translations put it, that is to show mercy, benevolence and love to others.  And lastly, to walk humbly with God.  These are the things that please God.

Now, these three things are found in Hebrews.  First, we see the following.  “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.” Hebrews 13:15.  We are to continually offer up praise to God.  This is a sacrifice from the fruit of our lips.  We are to thank Him for all He has done, is doing, and will do for us.  We are to express this with a thankful and humble heart for He provides all good things which we cannot provide for ourselves, especially the remission of our sins through the actual sacrifice alluded to in the Law.  This is what Micah intended by walking humbly with your God.  True worship and praise is done humbly and with thanks before our almighty God, recognizing His Lordship and goodness to us.

Now, notice the first four words in our focus verse.  ‘Now do not neglect’.  Yes, we are to give all of our thanks, praise and worship to God.  However, we are not to neglect doing good to others.  We are not to neglect providing for the needs of others when we have plenty.  This may require giving more than we ever thought of giving, for this may be what God calls us to do.  But, as the end of this verse tells us, these sacrifices offered freely are what God is pleased with.  In the sacrifice of praise, we are showing our love for God.  In do good and sharing with others, we are showing our love to our fellow man.  In both, we are fulfilling the most important commandments God has given us.  “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31.  These are what truly  pleases God.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Psalm 149:4

Verse of the Day Devotion: Psalm 149:4 

“For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation.” – Psalm 149:4         

This is a psalm that should bring us great encouragement and rejoicing.  We read here that God takes pleasure in His people.  As Christians, we are His people and therefore we can infer that God takes great pleasure in us 

This is a beautiful thought because this tells us that not only do we take pleasure in Him, but He takes pleasure in us.  He enjoys fellowship with us as we with Him.  We sometimes forget this concept thinking only of how we enjoy His presence.  However, this verse tells us that He also enjoys being with us as well.  He loves us. He showers on us His blessings and favor.  And in Him doing this, our hearts are filled with gladness.  He delights in us doing well.  “Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication; And let them say continually, “The LORD be magnified, Who delights in the prosperity of His servant.” Psalm 35:22.  He delights to make us prosperous and happy.  He wants to make us content, and He does this by meeting our needs.  “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19  God loves doing good to is.

However, my greatest thing God has done to show His delight in us is the salvation He provided through His Son.  Look at the second part of this verse.  “He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation.”  Psalm 149:4b. The word rendered beautify means to adorn, to honor.  It basically means the salvation He provides would be like an ornament, as if we are clothed with splendid and costly clothing, beyond anything we could ever imagine.  The ‘afflicted ones’ refer to the humble in means and/or in heart. Those who humble themselves in God’s presence and does the work He has called them to do.  These will be afflicted either by men or the enemy, however, the affliction will end at the time of His coming.

However, those whom He adorns will be with Him forever without end.  He loves us and delights in us so much that He will make it such that He will always be with us.  We need to see this idea both ways.  We will be with Him for eternity, and He will be with us for eternity.  He loves us and takes great pleasure in creating a new home for us.  “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.”  Revelation 21:1. 

Next is a verse I find intriguing.  “And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,” Revelation 21:3.  Note the wording used twice in this verse, He will be among us and He will Dwell among us.  Again, just as Christ came down to us and saved us, He will come to us in the new heaven and earth and dwell with us.  He delights in being with us and fellowshipping with us that He comes to be with us in our new dwelling place for all eternity.  He creates our new home and then abides with us there.  This is how much He loves us.    

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Psalm 4:7

Verse of the Day Devotion: Psalm 4:7 

“You have put gladness in my heart, more than when their grain and new wine abound.” – Psalm 4:7          

This is a psalm of David, and it speaks of where our joy comes from.  Many in the world, and unfortunately many who belong to a church, do not understand what the source of true joy is.  Many find their joy in what they do, others in what they have, and still others in who they know down here.  When our job is doing well and we are making a good salary, we find ourselves happy.

Now, I am not saying that we cannot be happy about things we have.  And I am not saying we cannot enjoy a concert, sports events, or dinner with friends.  Of course, we can, as long as what we do does not involve something that is against the will of God for our lives.  These things are enjoyable and may be something that God brings our way for His service.  For instance, when we go to a concert, and we are able to speak of the Lord to someone who really needed to hear it.  Or we have a rifle and can go hunting with several friends which opens the door to encouraging them.  These are definite things that God does.  However, true joy has its source from God Himself.

Let’s look at a few ideas which will help us understand this concept.  How do we react when something very precious and important to us is stolen.  Do we get depressed and angry?  It can be understandable. Or do we look at it as something God allowed, and He will comfort us and bring joy.  Suppose you go to work, and someone has spoken lies about you to your boss.  This is something I have experienced.  I did get upset, but I took the time to get with my boss and talked with her, sending her evidence that what was said was false.  I did get very nervous about how this could affect my job there. I had a great position, and I was only several years away from retirement.   I then spoke to the person and worked it out with them.  Now, I was not perfect in how I addressed this, but I prayed, and God brought this thought to my mind.  It was something a former pastor told me when I was let go from a previous job.  “If God wanted you to have that job, there is nothing in this world that would have caused anyone to take it away.  And if God did not want me to have that job, there was nothing in this world that could have allowed me to keep it.” 

It is important that we do not look to things or events for our joy but look to God for our source.  Things, jobs, people and events can be taken from us, cancelled, or destroyed.  However, if these things do happen, rejoice that it did happen.  For maybe someone else needed something more than us, or maybe we were not to attend or stay working at the place we were at.  God knows what we need and what we do not.  He knows what He has called us to and what He has not.  And since nothing is too hard for Him, then we can rejoice that His will was accomplished and go from there.  True joy comes from Him and is about Him.  There may be things we love or have been waiting to do for a long time.  If things do not work out as we wanted, we know they took place as He wanted.  And knowing that infinite love He has for us, it was for our good. 

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Lamentations 3:32

Verse of the Day Devotion: Lamentations 3:32 

“For if He causes grief, Then He will have compassion According to His abundant lovingkindness.” – Lamentations 3:32         

Have you ever felt like God has abandoned you?  Have you ever felt that the correction of the Lord is difficult?  There are times when it feels like He is far away.  Especially when we do something against what God allows or has commanded.  The writer of Lamentations, which traditionally is attributed to Jeremiah, had experienced this.  He has understood the correction of God.  “I am the man who has seen affliction because of the rod of His wrath.”  Lamentations 3:1.  By reading this, it is apparent he is a troubled man.  He is going through a very difficult time.  He feels that God is angry, and he is experiencing the repercussions of His anger.  This is many times what happens when we are corrected.

He does not understand and is perplexed.  “He has driven me and made me walk In darkness and not in light.” Lamentations 3:2.  The idea of darkness points to great trouble and perplexity.  He desired to walk in the light again where there is both comfort and direction, but it is not the case at that time.  Lets look at a few additional verses that describe how he is feeling.  “Surely against me He has turned His hand rrepeatedly all the day.” Lamentations 3:3.   “My soul has been rejected from peace; I have forgotten happiness. So I say, “My strength has perished, And so has my hope from the LORD.” Lamentations 3:17-18.

But as we read further, he remembers the loving kindness of the Lord.  “This I recall to my mind; Therefore I have hope. The LORD’S loving kindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:21-23.  And then finally, the last part being our focus verse, “For the Lord will not reject forever, for if He causes grief, Then He will have compassion according to His abundant lovingkindness.”  Lamentations 3:31-32.

We must understand that we will go through trials, some of which will be to correct us, some in order to do a particular work of God.  We must always understand that God has a purpose for all He does.  In the area of correction, it is because He loves us and wants us to change the path we are currently on and go back to following Him as He desires us to.  The writer of proverbs puts it this way.  “My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD or loathe His reproof, For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.”  Proverbs 3:11-12.  A father who loves his children corrects and reproves them because he loves them and wants them to grow up to be Godly adults.  This is the same with God.  He loves us and wants us to follow Him and be with Him forever, therefore He will do what is necessary to make this happen. 

But His correction will not last forever and therefore His rejection will not last forever, but only for a season in order to help us be who He desires us to be; a person who loves God in all ways and does His will.  So, when we find ourselves in difficult times because He is correcting us, or any other reason, give Him thanks.  He is doing and allowing these things because He loves us.  It is temporary, and it puts us back on the path to eternal happiness with Him. 

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

James 2:1

Verse of the Day Devotion: James 2:1 

“My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.” – James 2:1        

In this verse, James is laying out the command that we are not to show favoritism toward anyone.  We are all one body together and we all have different functions within the body.  And none of these are more important than another.  Let us look at the next couple of verses that lays it our perfectly.  “For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, you sit here in a good place, and you say to the poor man, you stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” James 2:2-3. This is not right in any shape or form.  How can we judge someone by their appearance?  If we do, we are not judging by God’s standard but by our own.

Lets look at these two examples.  I will assume that we do not know either.  First, if we show favoritism to the rich man, it is probably because we feel it will be to our advantage.  We will be with a prominent and probably important person.  If we can develop a relationship with him, it could help lift our stature in the eyes of others.  They will see that we are with him and this may help us to gain greater esteem.  And by placing this rich man away from us at the same time we believe this will add to that advantage.  We may not think this way, but if we favor one thing over another, it is because we believe we will benefit from it.  And unfortunately it is the same with people.

Now, lets look at how these two people would take what we have done.  The rich man will see he has an advantage because we have accepted him immediately.  But what of the poor man?  Will he feel accepted?  No.  And this is probably how his whole life has been.  We just look at him and determine there is no advantage of being with him, so we set him aside and leave him alone.  How does this make the poor man feel?  Probably rejected once again.  Is this how we wish to be treated?  “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.” Luke 6:31.

Now, I am not trying to accuse anyone.  I am simply describing this idea to an extreme.  What I am saying is that all people need to know they are as accepted as anyone else.  When I was growing up, I was ostracized by most of the kids in school.  I grew up in a poor family, wore hand-me-downs or cheap versions of clothing.  I wanted friends, but many would not give me any time, but hung out with the popular ones.  Finally, I found someone in my same position and I finally had a friend.  It was hard and debasing.  No one should ever treat anyone this way.  And God does not want us to favor one person over another.  We are equal in His sight.  He loves us all equally and provided salvation to us equally.  We are to be like Christ; therefore we are to treat everyone the same.  I pray we can, as children of God, fulfill this and show love to everyone we meet.  Who knows what incredible work can be accomplished by this simple act of love.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Galatians 5:16

Verse of the Day Devotion: Galatians 5:16 

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” – Galatians 5:16

Paul sets forth here a dichotomy.  We either walk by the Spirit of God, or we will walk according to our own desires.  These are in opposition to each other.  Paul states here in the next verse. “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.” Galatians 5:17. We either do one or the other.

Paul lays out how we can deny our fleshly desires.  God has given us His Spirit to live within us, and we are to live under His influence and obey His will.  We are not to resist His leadings but accept them and resist where our desires could lead us.  If we would yield our hearts to the Spirit, we would be able to overcome all our corrupt and carnal propensities.  If we find ourselves resisting the Spirit, then we find ourselves being led in the other direction, following the ways of our flesh.

This situation laid out here is why it is so important that we fully submit to God and all His ways.  Satan is the great tempter.  He first tempted Eve in the garden, convincing her to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and then she gave the fruit to Adam who also ate of that tree.  What the devil did was stimulate the desires they had to be in control.  And he does the same thing today.  We, as Christians, desire that God be in control.  However, there are times when we let down our guard and we take control ourselves.  We listen to ourselves and our desires rather than the Spirit inside us.  Lacking self-control, we can succumb to the temptations the Devil brings our way.  Instead, we should always listen to and follow the Spirit of God and He will give us wisdom in our situation and guide us in His ways.  Instead of resisting the Spirit, we should resist the devil and his temptations. As James put it, “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7

Too often we go the other way, submitting to the devil instead of God.  It is important that we examine ourselves and see where we are, especially when we find ourselves giving in to our fleshly desires. Instead of following God, we find ourselves subconsciously resisting Him.  Often times we do not realize we are doing it.  That is why we are to consistently resist the devil because when we do, he will flee, and we will then be open to hearing God.

Be in prayer about this.  It is important that we seek the leading of the Spirit at all times.  It is easy at times to let our guard down.  But we must remain committed to God and His ways.  This is the only way we can resist the enemy of our souls and defeat him.    

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

John 15:18

Verse of the Day Devotion: John 15:18 

“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.” – John 15:18           

Jesus has just finished telling His disciples that He had chosen them to be His disciples and that He loved them.  “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” John 15:9-10.  He really wants them to understand how much love He had for them.

However, He now gives them a warning of what will happen to them when they are sent out into the world to spread the good news to all men.  He tells them that the world will hate them.  Now the focus verse above says, if the world hates you.  This is not saying that there is a chance the world will hate them.  He, in essence is saying, that the world will hate them, and if they do, remember they hated Him first.  By being His disciples, they were exposed to the hatred the world had for Him.  And the hatred would be proportional to their faith and holiness that they exhibit to the world.  He then explains why.  “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.” John 15:19  The world would love them if they were still of the world.  They would be in unity in regard to their hatred of Christ.  But, because Christ took them out of the world by choosing them to be His disciples, they now profess what is contrary to their beliefs. 

We must also remember that we also are not of this world but are now children of God.  We are sent out to the world to present the truth, which goes against the ways of the world.  We can see now what the world thinks of us.  They hate us because we present the truth of Christ.  Look at the persecution that many Christians are enduring in countries like China, North Korea, many parts of India, the middle east and elsewhere.  These Christians suffer greatly at the hands of their governments and religious leaders.  They are hated because they believe and preach the truth, which runs counter to the atheistic and idolatrous people who live there.  These Christians need our fervent prayers to help them remain strong in the midst of this intense persecution.

But think about this, we here in America and other countries like Canada are beginning to face this hatred of us because of our strong faith and devotion to Christ.  We saw the bakery where the owners almost lost their business because they refused to create a cake for a wedding of two gay individuals.  Students at a prestigious law school were told they needed to intern at a law firm of their choosing, as long as it was not a Christian law firm.  We see Christians taunted and ridiculed for standing up and living their beliefs.  Much of the press speaks against the Christian faith, as well as many in our government who tell us that transgenderism and abortion are human rights and we have no right to speak against it because of our faith.

Lets all stand strong and profess and live out our faith before a world that hates us.  We are called to spread the good news to all nations and all people.  And because of this, we are speaking against their beliefs and life styles and thus, they do not accept what we say.  However, some will, and it is for these that we reach out to the world.  And we should rejoice for we are blessed.  “Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.”  Luke 6:22-23.  And also remember, the hated Jesus before they hated us, therefore, we are in good company.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. Note: 

Deuteronomy 12:32

Verse of the Day Devotion: Deuteronomy 12:32 

“Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.” – Deuteronomy 12:32        

This is a very Important command to follow, however, this command is increasingly becoming more ignored in today’s culture.  And I am referring here to the church.  God has given in His Word what we are to do, and what we are not to do.  And it breaks my heart to see additions and subtractions from His Word that takes away from the message we as Christians are to put forth, both in the words we say and the lives we live.  I pray you look read through this devotion and understand I am simply pointing out areas in which we can improve in order to clarify our message and not being accusatory.

When I have visited various churches, there have been things that the scriptures tell us to do, but no one preaches or teaches them.  However, many things are not taught for fear of offending people.  For instance, loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute or hate us.  Yes, these are difficult things, but we must not ignore them simply because we choose not to love those who treat us badly.  God calls us to love everyone, however, if we pick and choose who we will love, then we are ignoring the verses which tells us to love everyone.  “If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” James 2:8-9.  In the same sense, if we only fellowship with certain people and not with those who, we believe, are of a lessor class, then we again are leaving out one of His commands.  “Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.” Romans 12:16

Also, we must not add to God’s Word.  Today, we hear that homosexuality is an approved practice within the church because He made some people that way.  And because of this, we are not to call it a sin.  And we see the same thing regarding abortion.  I have even heard it said that abortion should be a right in the church.  We must not fall for this because this is adding to God’s word by including them in what God approves.

I want to encourage us all to ensure we do not take anything away from His Word, such as acts of love pointed out above, or to add things to His Word, such as making sinful acts acceptable.  This is so important, and when I see where our church is regarding these things, as I stated above, it breaks my heart. People are being taught that there are certain things in His Word that do not apply today because we live in a different time than when the scriptures were written.  And thus, we are approving of sin and in some ways encouraging its practice.  It is important that we read and study His Word and sit under solid bible teachers who will ‘rightly divide the word of truth.’ 2 Timothy 2:15.  People need to hear the whole truth.  And God has provided it to us.  We just need to teach it properly and accept it fully.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Romans 12:4

Verse of the Day Devotion: Romans 12:4 

“For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function,” – Romans 12:4          

Paul is laying out here how we are to view the Church, not necessarily a local church, however it can also apply to it, but the corporate church.  The body has many parts, all of which are essential for the body to operate as it should.  Lets look at how Paul addressed this idea to the Church at Corinth.  “For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?” 1 Corinthians 12:14-17.  Paul is stating here that the body is made up of many members, not just many of the same member.  In other words, the foot is not the heart, and the pancreas is not the brain.  And this is because the foot cannot do what the heart can and vice-versa.  And the same with the pancreas and the brain. 

Paul uses the example of the eye and the ear.  If the whole body was an eye we would not hear anything, likewise if the whole body were an ear we would not see anything.  Now, since each part of the body is important, “And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 1 Corinthians 12:21.  Each part of the body is there for a reason, and each is as important as any other.  And this was done by God.  “But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.” 1 Corinthians 12:18.

Lastly, each member of our physical body has a different purpose.  The eyes are so we can see and the ears so we can hear.  If our eyes go bad, we cannot just let the ears take over so we can see.  Both are equally important, but for a different purpose.  There are certain parts that can takeover for another, such as when the arms and hands go bad, the leg and foot can take over in certain functions, but as a whole, this is not the case.

 The same can be said regarding the church.  God has placed each one of us where He wants us and performing the function He has called us to perform.  Some of us will preach and some of us will lead worship.  And some of us will handle the books of the church, while another my clean the church.  “Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.” Romans 12:6-8.  Each of our ministries are different.  Some teach, some exhort, some show mercy, and some give.  We should never look down on others because they cannot do what we do, or place others on a pedestal because they can do what we cannot do.  We are not meant to work independently, but in unity; with each other.  If we can do this while seeing each other as equal partners, who can tell what we can accomplish in this world..

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.