Romans 8:28-29

Verse of the Day: Romans 8:38-39

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:38-39
This is an absolutely beautiful passage.  Paul is very clear that there is absolutely nothing that can cause God to stop loving us who are members of the Body of Christ, his should give us immense peace.  Because of His love, He will always be with us, helping us through all of our trials and troubling times.  And you can trust this, because He said I will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). You can trust God to bring you through everything you go through.  If hard times come, remember He is with you.  And He will always be with you.  This is His promise to you, and one thing we know for sure, He always keeps His promises.

Philippians 2:4

Verse of the Day:  Philippians 2:4

“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” – Philippians 2:4

This can be a very difficult idea to follow.  The world today acts on the idea of “I take care of myself”.  And there is nothing wrong with that.  However, if we are to be like Christ who gave himself for all people; past, present and future, we must not focus on ourselves and what is necessarily best for us.  We must show the world the love of Christ, so they will see His love and accept His grace and follow.

We, as Christians, have everything we need.  We are taken care of, both now and for all eternity.  It may not seem like it sometimes, but His promise in Mat 6:25-34 says as much.  So let us go out and help the lost understand that God loves them and wants them to have the same guarantee.  We must show them that God loves them, and we do as well.  That their eternal salvation is so important to us, we will do what we can to help them secure it.  That is showing true love to them and is exactly what we are called by God to do.

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

James 2:18

Verse of the Day – James 2:18

“But someone will say, you have faith and I have works. Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” – James 2:18

Salvation comes through faith in God.  Both in the fact He exists and His words.  Do we believe He exists and do we believe what He says?  Our works show the answer to both of the above questions.  If the answer to both questions are YES, then we will do what He says.  We will honor Him with our lives and give our all to Him.  If they are not both YES, then we will not be totally devoted to Him.

Our works show where our heart is.  And the world looks at our works to see if we truly believe as we profess.  If not, then they will doubt the reality of the Christian life. William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.

Matthew 28:19-20

Verse of the Day – Matthew 28:19-20

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Mat 28:19-20

We, as Christians, are called to make disciples of all nations.  The word ‘disciple’ comes from the Greek word ‘mathetes’ which means pupil or learner.  It is not just to get them saved, but to disciple them as well.  They need to understand what being a Christian is really about.  Then, they can go out and make disciples of those who accept Christ.  This is our mission here on this earth.

Isaiah 46:10

Verse of the Day: Isaiah 46:10

“Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, my purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure.” – Isaiah 46:10

This verse should bring us all comfort.  Why you ask?  Because God knows all things; past, present and future.  God loves us and wants the best for us.  Moreover, His best for us cannot be thwarted because His purpose has already been established and thus His good for us will happen.

This is important because He cannot be surprised.  His love and goodness are not based on what we have done, because He knew everything about us before we were created.  He loves everyone, but only some return that love and He knew who those were before they were in their mother’s womb.

So, when you think that God has changed His mind about anything, this is an impossibility.  In this I take much comfort.  God told me a long time ago to prepare for what He had planned for me.  I have not been perfect, but I also know He has not taken back His command to prepare.  This brings much peace and contentment to me.  I pray it does the same for you in your walk.

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

Genesis 15:6

Verse of the Day Devotion. Genesis 15:6

“Then he believed in the LORD; and He credited it to him as righteousness.” – Genesis 15:6

After Abram rescued Lot from captivity, God gave a promise to Abram in a vision. “After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.” Genesis 15:1. There was a good reason for God to say this. Abram had just defeated a much larger army made up of a partnership of four kings. He had reason to be afraid, expecting an attack of retribution, but God promised him a great reward. And as we see in the next verse, he has a greater desire which he believes could not be fulfilled. “But Abram said, Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Genesis 15:2. To Abram, having a son to carry on the family line was more important than anything else. During that time, if there was not a son to carry on the line, it would fall upon the head servant of the house, who would then be the heir.

Then we read in verse 4, “Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” Genesis 15:4. What is amazing is that Abram was somewhere between 70 and 80 years old, while Sara would have been between 60 and 70 years old, both long after the age of childbearing.  However, as we see in our focus verse, Abram believed God, and because he believed, God declared Abram righteous, and then shows him something else. “And He took him outside and said, now look toward the heavens and count the stars, if you are able to count them. And He said to him, so shall your descendants be.” Genesis 15:5. God told him that the number of stars was a picture of the number of his descendants; innumerable. We see this same idea in Hosea. “Yet the number of the sons of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted” Hosea 1:10a.

In response to all these promises, we read in our focus verse. “Then he believed in the LORD; and He credited it to him as righteousness.” Genesis 15:6. Notice the wording ‘believed in the Lord’. The action of faith preceded the vocabulary of faith. In other words, by virtue of his earlier obedient response to a word from God, Abram was putting his faith in God. And this was the case even though he saw this impossible, because of his and his wife’s age, which was well beyond childbearing age. It was deemed an impossibility as far as Abram was concerned, but because God promised him many offspring, Abram believed and trusted God that He would bring it to pass.

There are two things we can glean from this.  First, God can do anything no matter how impossible it may seem to be.  If God promises us something, it will come to pass. There should be no doubt about this.  So, we can look at the promises of God throughout the scriptures and know that they will  come to pass.   And second, this is a beautiful picture of the gospel.  If we truly believe that Christ died, was buried, and then rose again for our salvation, and we accept it and live our lives as such, then our salvation is sure.  Note Jesus’ words in John’s gospel, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16  Do you truly believe, and does your belief reflect the light of Christ to others?  If so, then God has declared you righteous and His promises will be fulfilled for you. Let us all who truly believe rejoice!

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

Isaiah 46:8

Verse of the Day Devotion. Isaiah 46:8

“Remember this, and be assured; Recall it to mind, you wrongdoers.” – Isaiah 46:8

As we read in our focus verse, God is calling His people, Israel, to remember something which He reminds them of in the first seven verses of this chapter. Through Isaiah, He is encouraging His people. First, we will look at God’s comparison of Himself and the gods of Babylon. “Bel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over; Their idols have become loads for the animals and the cattle. The things that you carry are burdensome, a load for the weary animal. They stooped over, they have bowed down together; They could not rescue the burden but have themselves gone into captivity.” Isaiah 46:1-2. He is telling His people that the gods of Babylon are actually a burden rather than helpers. Instead of these false gods rescuing them from their burdens, they become a part of the burden of their people.

Then God tells them that He has never been a burden to them, but actually has carried them. “Listen to Me, house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, You who have been carried by Me from birth and have been carried from the womb; even to your old age I will be the same, And even to your graying years I will carry you! I have done it, and I will bear you; And I will carry you and I will save you.” Isaiah 46:3-4. God now turns the tables. With a call to pay attention, he addresses the people as ‘house of Jacob’ and ‘house of Israel’. He was bringing to their minds the whole long story that established their identity. He was using the idea mentioned above, asking them when in all that time had they ever carried their God? He reminds them it never happened. From the very beginning of their existence as a nation, from the hour of their birth as a nation, God had been carrying them!

He then shows them there is no comparison by way of a rhetorical question. “To whom would you equate Me and make Me equal, and compare Me, that we would be alike? Those who lavish gold from the bag and weigh silver on the scale, hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; They bow down; indeed, they worship it. They lift it on the shoulder, carry it, and set it in its place, and it stands there. It does not move from its place. Though one may shout to it, it cannot answer; It cannot save him from his distress.” Isaiah 46:5-7. The only logical conclusion of this contrast between God and the false gods is that there is no comparison between God and the false gods. To which of the idol-gods can the Lord be compared? Absolutely none. They are the creation of humans and are subject to all the limitations of time and space. He is the Creator of humans and all else and is limited by nothing.

Now we come to our focus verse. “Remember this, and be assured; Recall it to mind, you wrongdoers.” Isaiah 49:8. And what are we to remember? “Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My plan will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure.” Isaiah 46:9-10.  The main point is that God’s people must remember this about the LORD; that He knows the end from the beginning and is in control over all things. When we remember this, we will show ourselves to be ones who trust God no matter what. We can have tremendous courage in our God when we understand and remember who He is and what He does.

In closing, we read in the last two verses of chapter 46. “Listen to Me, you stubborn minded, Who are far from righteousness. I bring near My righteousness; it is not far off; And My salvation will not delay. And I will grant salvation in Zion, And My glory for Israel.” Isaiah 46:12-13. These two verses represent a call to accept that God can and will deliver his people. These words are directed to those who are stubborn and far from righteousness. God tells them that these accomplishment of righteous acts of salvation are sure, are near, and will not be delayed. One can be confident it will happen because God is not one who is far away from his people. In fact, he is so near to them that it is possible for him to care for them and act positively on their behalf.

There are many today who fall within the category referred to; stubborn minded and those who are far from righteousness. There are believers who are struggling in difficult situations who need an assurance that God will bring them through and the He will be coming to deliver them from this world. We need to help them remember what God has done in the past, which shows He can do anything, including delivering and helping them in all situations. And sometimes He allows us to go through trials with the purpose of showing us we are never alone. God’s people need to remember that God’s timing is always perfect and wise. When we are stubborn hearted, we need to listen to the LORD and remember He never delays and is never late. God always has His deliverer, and always knows exactly when to bring His deliverance.

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

Psalm 4:1

Verse of the Day Devotion.  Psalm 4:1

“Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.” – Psalm 4:1

First, I want to clarify that David is not telling God to answer him, but asking Him. David has been through a lot in those days. In Psalm 3, we read about him dealing with the troubles brought about by his son Absalom who rebelled against him along with the vast majority of Israel who followed Absalom.  Now, in chapter four, we see that many great men were lying about David, speaking ill of him, and ultimately defaming his character. “You sons of man, how long will my honor be treated as an insult? How long will you love what is worthless and strive for a lie?” Psalm 4:2. David’s life as king was not an easy one. He found himself suffering through all kinds of trials. But he understood with full clarity what would truly bring God’s people through rough times, that being the Almighty God. “But know that the LORD has set apart the godly person for Himself; The LORD hears when I call to Him.” Psalm 4:3.

Then David lays out four basic imperatives directed at the people there, and to us as well. First, we are to tremble but not sin. “Tremble, and do not sin;” Psalm 4:4a. We are to understand that to go against what God commands is sin and thus we must focus all our efforts and thoughts on not sinning against Him. Unfortunately, too many people ignore this and twist the verse such that they see, ‘sin, but tremble not’. We see so many people, who call themselves Christians, going about sinning and not thinking anything about it. This is especially true of many who believe that once you are saved God forgives anything you do going forward. This concept is known as antinomianism which has the idea that Christians are released by grace from the obligation of following any moral, religious or social norms or laws. The word itself is from the Greek that means ‘against the law.’ Our hearts must be such that we tremble at the thought of sinning at all. Next, we are to think about what we are doing. “Meditate in your heart upon your bed and be still. Selah” Psalm 4:4b. On your bed, calmly consider and meditate on these things in the silence of night, when you are at leisure from distracting business. Be still and compose your tumultuous minds. Think about what you do, and if it is right then continue, but if it is wrong, then stop and ask forgiveness and no longer continue in this way.

Next, “Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And trust in the LORD.” Psalm 4:5a. Do not attempt to offer a sacrifice to God for prosperity in your present rebellious conduct. Such a sacrifice would be a sin. Turn to God from whom you have revolted; and offer to him a righteous sacrifice, such as is lawful and such as He can receive. In other words, do not just offer something to God so that you can receive something from Him, or offer up to God something that is not acceptable to Him. And finally, we are to trust in the Lord. He loves us, wants the best for us, and can do anything. This is the God we serve, and He is the only one we can trust completely.

Then David finishes this with the following. “Many are saying, who will show us anything good?” Psalm 4:6a. He starts this by asking a rhetorical question ‘Who will show us anything good?’ After continual disappointment from man, we may begin to doubt if God will show us any good. But not David. He says, “Lift up the light of Your face upon us, LORD! You have put joy in my heart, More than when their grain and new wine are abundant. In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, LORD, have me dwell in safety.” Psalm 6b-8. Despite what the cynics said about God not being there or ignoring them, David trusted that the LORD would give him joy beyond what the ungodly had in their prosperity. And because he trusts in God, he can lie down and sleep in peace because the Lord provides them safety in all their ways. We can imagine a man lying down to sleep, tormented by all of what his enemies or fake friends say about him. David could be that man, but instead he trusted in the LORD. He therefore had a gladness that the world could not take away, even with all their slanders and lies.

In closing, no matter which way we read the psalm, one aspect of David’s faith is clear: it is to God that he turns for vindication, and it is in God that He trusts. To the extent that the language of the psalm implies an attack on the David’s honor, David names the Lord as God of my righteousness, which put another way, the God who vindicates me. And in wisdom, we must see life the same way. Life for the Christian can be very difficult,  because the enemy hates us and desires to destroy our faith. We need to trust God that no matter our situation, as Christians He is with us and will bring about a good, even if we do not see a good ourselves. Those whom God knew would give their lives to Him can be assured that all things will turn out great. “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. 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 brothers and sisters; 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.

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

Matthew 5:14

Verse of the Day Devotion.  Matthew 5:14

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” – Matthew 5:14

Before we discuss this specific verse, let us look at several verses in the Old Testament that helps lay out what Jesus meant in our focus verse. First, “I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations, To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon and those who dwell in darkness from the prison.” Isaiah 42:6-7.  Notice what this verse is saying. God is calling someone who would do His work through a new covenant on the earth. The Old Covenant was a conditional agreement that God made with the Israelites. The Old Covenant was in effect during the dispensation of the Law. It is ‘old’ in comparison to the New Covenant promised by Jeremiah the prophet and made effective by the death of the Lord Jesus. And this new covenant would replace the old one. “But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, to the extent that He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Hebrews 8:6,10.

Then God tells His servant, “He says, It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the protected ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations, so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Isaiah 49:6. In this verse, we see that God’s servant was declared the light of the world. Jesus tells His disciples this which is recorded in the Gospel of John. “Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” John 8:12. And we see here that God’s servant who was made the light of the world was the coming Messiah.

Now we come to our focus verse. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” Matthew 5:14. In John, Jesus declares Himself to be the light of the world, however, He knew His ministry would not last longer than His life here, so He passes on this responsibility to His followers. It started out with His disciples, but now it includes all true Christians from the time of Christ until He returns.

As a side historical point, Charles Spurgeon writes the following regarding lights of the world. “This title had been given by the Jews to certain of their eminent Rabbis. With great pomposity they spoke of Rabbi Judah, or Rabbi Jochanan, as the lamps of the universe, the lights of the world. It must have sounded strangely in the ears of the Scribes and Pharisees to hear that same title, in all soberness, applied to a few bronzed-faced and horny-handed peasants and fishermen, who had become disciples of Jesus.”

Physical light is necessary for physical life. A forest full of trees with very thick covers of foliage high above has very little plant life on the ground except for moss or lichen, which needs little sunlight. Plants will never move away from the light; they are said to be drawn to the light. In the same way, spiritual light is necessary for spiritual life, and this can be a good test of our standing in Christ. The believer will always tend toward spiritual things; he will always tend toward fellowship, prayer, the Word of God, and so on. The unbeliever always does the opposite because light exposes his evil, and he hates the light. Indeed, no man can come into the true spiritual light of Jesus Christ, unless he gives everything to Christ.

Now, Jesus gives Christians a great responsibility when He says that we are the light of the world, because He claimed that title for Himself as He walked this earth. And now He wants us to continue this duty, which is to shine the light of truth into a very dark world. And the light that we shine is not our own, but the light of Jesus reflected by us to the world. In other words, when we receive the light of Christ, we are not just to experience it, but we are to share it with those who do not know or see the truth. Note what He says in the next verses. “Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:15-16. Jesus shines His light upon us so we can reflect this light to a lost world. What do people see when they look upon us? Do they see the light of Christ, or do they see the darkness of this world? If they see the latter, then we must get our act together and stop covering the light and start shining it forth, for it is the light of Christ we are called to show the lost, and this is the only way we can convince them we are truly followers of Christ.

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

Matthew 6:19

Verse of the Day Devotion: Matthew 6:19

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.” – Matthew 6:19

Before we move deeply into this passage, it is important to see what was considered as treasures or wealth in the ancient world. Treasures consisted in clothes or raiment. Raiment was considered as covering, clothing, or general garments. However, treasures also consisted of gold, silver, gems, jewelry, wine, lands, and oil. The ancient world delighted greatly in display, in splendid equipment and costly garments. In fact, their treasures consisted much in beautiful and richly ornamented articles of apparel.

Now, looking at verses 19 and 20, their wordings are almost the same words as the other, but with very clear distinctions regarding the definitions of treasures. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.” Matthew 6:19-20. The thought here is not to ‘treasure up treasures.’ The word in the Greek for ‘store’ is the Greek word ‘thēsaurizō’ meaning to amass or reserve, to treasure together things. In these two verses, Jesus set up an absolute contrast between on earth and in heaven. He urged his followers to forget earth and think of heaven. We must not waste our time trying to get ahead in this world. He was asking them which is more important, temporary life here on earth or eternal life in heaven?

Later, He uses different wording to express basically the same point. “Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what good will it do a person if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.”  Matthew 16:24-27. Notice the wording here, ‘he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.’ The idea isn’t that earthly treasures are intrinsically bad, but ultimately, they are of no eternal value. If this is the case, then it is unwise for a disciple of Jesus to dedicate his life to continually expanding his earthly treasures, for they will, in the future, have it taken away by theft or destruction. Heavenly treasure, on the other hand, cannot be stolen of destroyed.

What He was saying was whatever you consider your treasures, either those things on earth or those things in heaven, is what you consider most important to you. And this is nicely capsulated in verse 21. “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21. Jesus drew the conclusion that you can only have your treasure in one place, either in heaven or on earth. We cannot have it in both places. He is not saying we cannot be rich here on earth and be a true Christian for God has given many of His people wealth. But which is most important to us? Where are our desires, our heart?

Then Jesus finalizes this idea in verse 24. “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” Matthew 6:24. It is important in understanding this verse to note that the Greek word translated ‘wealth’ is ‘mammōnas’ or mammon. Christ proceeds to illustrate the necessity of laying up treasures in heaven from a well-known fact, that a servant cannot serve two masters at the same time. His affections and obedience would be divided, and he would fail altogether in his duty to one or the other. One he would love, the other he would hate. To the interests of the one he would adhere, the interests of the other he would neglect. This is a law of human nature. The supreme affections can be fixed on only one object. So, says Jesus, the servant of God cannot at the same time obey him and be greedy, or seek treasures supremely on earth. One interferes with the other, and one or the other will be, and must be, surrendered. Theologian Albert Barnes describes it quite well. “Mammon is a Syriac word, a name given to an idol worshipped as the god of riches. It has the same meaning as Plutus among the Greeks. It is not known that the Jews ever formally worshipped this idol, but they used the word to denote wealth. The meaning is, ye cannot serve the true God, and at the same time be supremely engaged in obtaining the riches of this world. One must interfere with the other.”

In closing, the idea is that if we place God as who we will follow, no matter what, then we cannot focus on attaining wealth. Also, if we place wealth, or mammon, as what we will follow, then we will not focus on God and His ways. It is important that we look at our thoughts, desires, and how we live our lives and ensure nothing comes before following God and obeying every command He gives us. Nothing should ever come before serving God in all things. And we must remember that we don’t have to be rich to serve mammon’ money and material things; the poor can be just as greedy and covetous as the rich.

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