Hebrews 4:13

Verse of the Day Devotion:  Hebrews 4:13

“And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” –  Hebrews 4:13 

This verse speaks to the all-knowing attribute of God, something we do not have.  David, in Psalm 139 says the following in viewing this attribute.  “If I say, Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night, Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.” Psalm 139:11-12.  The word translated “overwhelm” has an additional meaning of cover, which verse 12 makes this meaning probable.  In fact, this is the same verse in the English Standard Version (ESV) which matches the way the KJV states it.  “If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.“   What David here is saying is that there is no way I can hide anything I do, even though I try to cover it up. 

And this is what the writer of Hebrews is saying.  God sees all things and hears all things.  As our focus verse states, there is no creature hidden from His sight.  He is infinitely wise and has infinite knowledge.  There is nothing our God does not know, and we can look at this as a good or a not so good thing.  However, either way you look at it, He knows us better then we know ourselves.  Therefore, we must realize that we can hide nothing from Him. 

God’s Word accurately and penetratingly expose what is in our hearts.  We can look at what His Word says about us, and if we look seriously at it, we will see things we may not want to admit.  And this is because God knows everything that is there.  We must never think we can hide anything from God, for His eyes see all because of His omnipresence.  “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Watching the evil and the good.” Proverbs 15:3. There is nowhere He is not, therefore it is impossible to hide anything from Him.   

Before I was truly saved, I used to think in this way.  Essentially, if others did not know I did wrong, God probably did not as well.  But after sitting under an incredible pastor in Homestead Fl, I came to the understanding that nothing was hid from Him.  Not that I believed He did not know, but I did not give any thought to God knowing what I had done.  It was only after spending more intimate time with God did I begin to realize the fullness of His understanding.  I realized no matter whether anyone else knew what I did, whether good or bad, God knew.  So now, when I pray at the end of each day, I ask God to show me what I do not know or accept, so I can address it with Him. 

I want to encourage everyone to do the same.  It is easy for us to deceive ourselves, but it is impossible to deceive our loving and faithful God.  It is not always pleasant for God to open our eyes to who we really are.  It can be difficult to accept.  However, it is important for us to listen to Him, whether what He says is good or not so good.  It is important that we present ourselves fully and completely to God as we are, so that He can change us to what we ought to be.  “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”  Romans 12:1-2. 

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

Romans 4:24

Verse of the Day Devotion:  Romans 4:24

“But also, for us.  It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.”  

‘What” shall be imputed to us who believe….and why is this astoundingly great, great news?   

Paul is speaking in this portion of the verse about the judicial act of God in imputing the righteousness of Christ Himself and the judicial position of being declared righteous to any person that believes in the finished work of redemption that is of Jesus Christ – His death, burial, and resurrection.  There are two Greek words that are translated ‘impute’ in the New Testament, logizommai and ellogao.   The first one occurs 41 times and is in various places translated as:  reasoned, numbered with, reckoned among, think, counted, accounted, laid to one’s charge, and imputed.  This is the word used in Romans 4:24.   The righteousness of Christ Himself has been laid to our spiritual account.  His righteousness has been put in our account, numbered with Him, at one with His Righteousness, etc.   This is only true of course for true believers in Christ’s finished work.  No longer does God in His Holiness view a true believer as unrighteous before Him because He sees the Righteousness of Christ envelope them.   The other Greek word ellogao only occurs twice in the New Testament.  Ellogao is likewise translated as imputed as in Romans 5:13 “(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.”) and in Philemon 18 “put that on mine account”.   So why bring this up at all and what bearing does it have on our daily lives?  Because imputation in Scripture is either ‘real’ or ‘judicial’ in character.  

There are three major imputations mentioned in Scripture.  First, there is the imputation of Adam’s sin to all mankind.  This is ‘real’ imputation which involves ‘placing to one’s account of that for which they are personally responsible’, such as charging a man for a crime he has committed.  This is the imputation that Scripture plainly teaches that Adam transmitted to every human being that would ever be born after Adam.   Men since Adam’s day are born sinners. They do not become sinners by sinning, as did Adam: they sin because they have a nature of sin.  Many ‘believers’ miss this distinction in my opinion because of religion.  Most believe that an ‘act of sinning’ is what makes one a sinner.   However, it is the sin nature that each person is born with that is the fuel to acts of sin.   This nature of sin is referred as the Adamic nature, original sin, inborn sin, or the old man.   This imputation is very real!   There is no way to escape this condition at birth.  “For as IN Adam all die, even so IN Christ all shall be made alive” (I Cor 15:22).  The ONLY way to escape this sinful condition is by killing this sinful nature, so that it has no power to rule and reign over a person’s life.  This is NOT done by your own physical death.   It IS accomplished in only 1 way: by the Second means of imputation mentioned in the Scriptures. It is the imputation of man’s sin (your personally responsible nature of inherited sin) ONTO a substitution in your place.  And that substitute on your behalf was a sinless Man, God in the flesh, Jesus Christ that bore the whole of mankind’s sin on the Cross.  This sin nature of all mankind was killed alright – it was crucified with Christ on the Cross and your sin nature right along with Him.  “I have been (past tense) crucified WITH Christ….” (Gal 2:20a).  BUT this can only be true to a person that places their absolute full faith and belief in what Jesus did for you.   Most people do not believe this to be true.  And most people try to clean up their ugly sin nature by good behavior, falsely thinking this will help.  It doesn’t.  ONLY your sin nature crucified WITH Christ can kill the nature to sin.  That is amazing, amazingly good news (this gospel of grace).  Yet there is the Third imputation that takes place as well.   And that is the imputation of Christ’s Righteousness; the full Judicial Righteousness of God’s righteousness imputed to the believer.  Whomever is reading this, rejoice!!!!   Read the first five Chapter of Romans over and over.  Paul, by revelation as nowhere else in all of Scripture portrays the ‘how’s and why’s’ of mankind’s complete helplessness and hopelessness apart from Christ and then reveals the unmerited grace of God which can eternally save the most underserving sinner.   This Righteousness is obtained by faith.  It is accounted to you who believe that what Christ has done for you and in your place is true and real.  Apart from this faith in what Christ has done for you, you will remain IN Adam.   But thanks be to the grace of God, that all that believe by faith in Christ’s finished work on the Cross, are ‘IN Christ’ made alive!     The Righteousness of Christ shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead…”

Jaca Kier, Board Member, True Devotion Ministries, Inc. 

Hebrews 13:5

Verse of the Day Devotion:  Hebrews 13:5

“Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,” – Hebrews 13:5

One of the things we must always remember, being God’s children, is that we have all we need.  Paul says it this way.  “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19.  We have nothing to worry about in this context, for He will work on our behalf to provide our needs.  However, we must realize what our needs truly are.  Too many people look at their wants and make them needs.  Jesus lays out what our needs are in His Sermon on the Mount.  “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” Matthew 6:25.  These are our basic needs; food, drink, and clothing.

The writer of Hebrews here is telling us that we must remain free from the love of money.  He is telling us that we must be content with what we have, not desiring more money so we can get more things.  We should be satisfied with having what we have so that we can be at peace and available to do the work of God.  And it is necessary based on a couple of verses prior to our focus verse.  “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body.”  Hebrews 13:2-3.  There are many Christians who are struggling in life.  Now, Paul said in Philippians 4:19 (see above) that God will supply all our needs.  However, He may choose to supply these needs for another through us.  If He provides abundantly for us, maybe it is to meet ours and another’s needs as well.  I want to say though there is nothing wrong with getting some things that we want.  But we cannot desire so much that we begin to love things more than God and others.   

Paul, in his first letter to Timothy, wrote the following.  “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:10.  Paul is not saying that money itself is the problem, but it is the love of it that is the issue.  One of these evils can be, and many times is, the neglect of His people who are in need so that our wants are satisfied.  Again, I am not saying that getting what we want is wrong.  It is putting these wants ahead of what God deems as more important.  Just as money is not bad, but the love of it can lead to many forms of evil. 

Therefore, the important idea here in our focus verse is that we should not put money ahead of what God desires us to do.  And secondly, we should not put money ahead of God when it comes providing for our needs.  And lastly, we should not put money ahead of meeting the basic needs of others. There is nothing wrong with money, but it is the position it holds in our lives that can be the issue.  We must not trust anything other than God Almighty to meet our needs.  He has promised so many times throughout the scriptures that He will not forsake us.  God can and will use the things we have to meet our needs.  But we must not come to the point where we think money will supply all our needs, and thus placing it in a position where we rely on it for everything.  It is not money that meets our needs, but it is God who does.  He loves us beyond our greatest understanding, and He is the only person and thing we should rely on to meet our every need.       

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

Colossians 1:10

Verse of the Day Devotion:  Colossians 1:10 

“So that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” – Colossians 1:10 

The idea in our focus verse is that Christians should walk in a manner that pleases God.  It seems that pagans followed this and had the idea inscribed throughout the provinces of Asia. F.F. Bruce in his commentary on Colossians wrote the following, “If pagans appreciated the importance of rendering worship which was worthy of the deities whose votaries (a person, such as one devoted to the worship of their god, who has made vows of dedication to religious service) they were, much more should Christians render the spiritual service of obedient lives to the living and true God and to His Son Jesus Christ.”  Our hearts, as Christians, should be focused on pleasing the one who gave His life for us, that we might be saved and receive eternal life with God. 

As our verse above says, we must strive to please the Lord in all things.  This does not mean, as obviously stated, that we do this in certain cases, such as during church services or fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ.  These are the easy things.  What he is saying is in all things, including when we are joking around with friends or going out with them for an evening.  We are to be pleasing to the Lord when in Church, but also during all other times as well.  We must constantly strive to stay away from those things that dishonor God and focus on those things that bear fruit for Him.  I have seen many instances where several Christians have come together and the conversation has drifted to subjects that are improper and should never be discussed; jokes being told that involve indecent activities or words.  And there is to be no weighing of the activities, ensuring that the good stuff outweigh the bad stuff. 

Also, it says that we are to bear fruit in every good work.  John wrote that the way to bear good fruit is to abide in Christ, and Him in you.  “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”  John 15:4-5.  If Jesus abides in us, and we listen to Him, Colossians 1:10 becomes a regular thing in our lives.  And a couple more verses down, we read this, “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” John 15:8.  So, by combining the verses, we see that if we walk in a manner that is worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all ways and  bearing much fruit, then we will glorify our Father in Heaven.  And by this we “prove to be Jesus’ disciple.   

And one final thought.  By living a life that pleases God in full view of the lost in our times, we can be a witness of the reality of Christianity and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Let us say we are in church and a visitor comes in and sees us praying, singing to God and lifting our hands in worship.  Then a couple days later they observe us in a situation where cursing and acting in ways that are not pleasing to God.  Will this affect them?  Probably, but not in a positive way.  They would probably think we do not believe what we say we do, for we do not live it outside of the church.  By these actions, we may have turned someone away from accepting Christ, and I am very confident that God would not be pleased with that.  It is absolutely important that we walk in a manner worthy of the Lord 100% of the time; no matter where we are or who we are with.  For if we are not, than how can we bear good fruit?  And if someone sees us acting unchristian like, how can they believe our message? 

So, I want to encourage us all, as Paul lays out so clearly, to  walk in a manner that is pleasing to God, bearing much good fruit, in all respects.  People watch us, especially those who are looking for reality in what we profess in both our words and actions.  When we walk in this manner, God is pleased with us because we are bearing much fruit.  But we cannot do this if God is not in us, helping us bear much fruit for Him.  For in Him, we are “strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:11-14.   

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

Colossians 3:12

Verse of the Day Devotion:  Colossians 3:12 

“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” – Colossians 3:12

Paul starts with telling the Colossians they have changed from the ways of the world to the ways of God.  “Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.” Colossians 3:9-11.  They are not the same persons they were prior to becoming Christians.  They have put on the new self, ones who have abandoned the ways of the world with all the evils that were the norm of their old lives.  For they have put on the new self that comes with accepting the salvation Christ presented and have become a totally different person.  They are not who they used to be.

Paul then moves forward with this idea by saying, in our focus verse, “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Colossians 3:12.  The idea of the word “So” is “Therefore”.  He is telling them they have been saved and are now Christians, they should therefore live as such.  Because they have chosen to accept Christ as Savior, have put on Christ, it is essential that they show forth the attributes that signify this change.  They cannot put on the new life without living it, because this change is not by name only, that is they are Christians as opposed to not being a Christians.  Paul is laying out what putting on the new self actually means.  He lists five attributes that show the reality of this change in how they deal with their fellow men and women, whether they be Christians or not.

First, there is compassion.  This is an inward, tender and real mercy shown to all men.  It is doing good in  providing for the real needs we see, either in providing goods or in showing love and encouragement to them.  Next is kindness, showing love and mercy with cheerfulness to all men.  Third is humility, in essence looking at others more highly then ourselves, putting others before ourselves.  Then gentleness, or meekness, which shows itself in not being envious of what others have or what they can do.  And finally, patience.  This is probably the most difficult of the five.  This is bearing the evil words or actions of another and is not easily provoked to wrath or anger themselves.

He them goes on in verse thirteen with, “bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.” Colossians 3:13.  These are important qualities that go along with our focus verse in showing how Christians should be.  All of these acts in verses 12 and thirteen, should be expressed no matter what has occurred.  They should be universally acted out, no matter what has occurred by whoever.  This is especially true though in  our interactions with fellow Christians.  Note the words in the above verse, bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, just as the Lord forgave us.  Paul told the Corinthians the following, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1.  Paul was saying, follow my ways where I follow Christ’s ways. 

This should be our focus in this life, do as Christ did.  And the only way we can do this is to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit that resides in us.  It is hard sometimes to be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and patient with others.  It can also be difficult to bear with another and forgive when a serious wrong is done against us.  However, this is our calling in Christ.  Nobody ever said this life was easy, but it is what we are called to.  We are to reach out to a lost world, and how better to do that than to be loving to them, showing them the better life God has promised us by our actions and words of grace.  And no matter how difficult it gets, God will be with us, just as He was with the Israelites while journeying to the promised land.  And these words Moses spoke to all of Israel as he tells them He will not be crossing the river Jordan with them are applicable to us today.  “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6. No matter what God calls us to do, He will be with us all the way.  And He is calling us to live a pure and holy life as outlined in Colossians 3:12-14.  And also the word of Paul to the Colossians to comfort them, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body: and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” Colossians 3:15-17,

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

Mark 16:15

Verse of the Day Devotion:  Mark 16:15 

“And He said to them, go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” – Mark 16:15 

Forty days after Jesus was raised from the dead and just prior to His ascension, Jesus commands His disciples to continue the work He started.  This was the commission given to them by their sovereign Lord.  “And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Mark 16:15.  They were called to tell the world about the good news that Christ Himself came to bring, but now that He is going back to the Father, He has passed this important task onto His disciples.  Matthew brings more clarity to this calling.  “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20.  In this devotion, I will be combining the writings in order to completely cover what Jesus told them.

As stated above, I will be combining Mark’s version and Matthew’s in order to fully understand what Jesus commanded them.  Both were given the same calling at the same times  Both write they are to go into all the world.  Not just to the Jewish nations, but to all people throughout the world.  Mark writes they are to preach the Gospel throughout all the world.  Matthew takes it a step further and writes they are to make disciples of all the nations.  To preach the gospel was to declare the truth of Christ.  However, those who accept the message need to be discipled; trained in order to fully understand the message given to them as well as to their complete calling.  A disciple is in essence a follower or student of a teacher, leader of philosopher.  It comes from the Latin word discipulus meaning “student”, which is derived from the Latin root word discere meaning “to learn”.  This goes beyond simply presenting a truth to someone, but to help by training them to fully understand their calling from Christ.

In my former days as a computer programmer, there were times when I was assigned to help train a new programmer in our applications as well as how we went through the programming process; from writing specifications to coding, then to testing and ultimately implementation.  I was, in a sense, discipling them so they could understand the complete process from beginning to end and be able to carry it out.  This is basically what Jesus is calling us to do.  To start by presenting the truth to them so they can understand it and accept the calling Christ has given us all.  However, knowing the truth is only the beginning.  They must then be trained regarding God’s calling to Christians and how to live it out.  Each of the disciples of Christ accepted the calling, however, they went through three years of  being discipled by Jesus to fully understand  what was expected of them and how to live it out.   

Jesus told His disciples to make disciples.  What was meant in this was to have an unending line of disciples making disciples who make disciples who will then make disciples.  Leading someone to Christ is simply the beginning.  After that, they must be taught the full meaning of what it means to be a follower of Christ and how to live it out.  Then, they can go out and do the same.  You may not be in a position to actually be the one who teaches them.  However, you can lead them to another who is willing and able to take on this role.  The point here is that everyone who accepts Christ must be taught what this decision actually means.  It is not simply acceptance of Christ as Savior, but also as Lord, and to live this life out to the fullest.  This is what Jesus did for His disciples, and it is what He intended for His disciples to do, all the way down in time to us.

It is important to understand that we are not alone in this.  Jesus told them as the last part of His call to them that they would not be alone.  “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20.  Jesus said He would be with us to the very end of the age of our lives here on earth.  We can always go to Him for assistance in this endeavor. He will not leave or forsake us.  Always remember to call out to Him when you need help, and He will provide the assistance you need. 

 In closing, I want to encourage us all to reach out to all we come across who need to hear the truth concerning the gospel of Christ.  We must take whatever time we need to present it in a clear and understandable way.  And, if they receive it, encourage them to be  trained in the fullness of what this life is truly about.  It can be us, or someone else we know who can take on this responsibility.  However, it should be someone we trust to fulfill this role.  We must remember that living the Christian life as we are called to do, is the most important decision we can make, for it has eternal implications.  Helping new born Christians to fully understand what it means to be a Christian is vital in their growth, and their ability to take the next step in making disciples themselves.  So many more people can be reached for Christ if we follow this model.  My email can be found below, and if you have any questions regarding how you can proceed to become a disciple who makes disciples who make disciples, let me know if there is anything I can do to assist you in whatever way needed. It would be my pleasure to help you in this.

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

Colossians 2:10

Verse of the Day Devotion:  Colossians 2:10 

“And you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” – Colossians 2:10

Here is a Verse in your Bible that probably most Christians do not take to heart and understanding.  I would think that most in Christendom approach being ‘complete’ in God’s eyes based on how well one’s behavior is and how many ‘right’ things we do as compared to the ‘bad’ things we do.   (WE use a sliding scale too, by the way, by comparing ourselves to others).   But in Christ are fulfillment is grounded in what He has done, not we do from here forward.  What kind of depth is this Verse saying to us for our daily lives?   Could it affect how we approach a day, challenges or not?    Some of the commentary writers I read just to see what they would say conclude that this Verse is speaking metaphorically (not to be taken literally) – that this language is of course rhetorical and hyperbolical language used by Paul.  In other words, it does not really mean what it says at face value but instead it is supposed to convey the idea that in Christ you have been granted a completeness or fulfillment in life that you could not receive anywhere else.  In other words, being in Christ is the best option you have compared to all the other options.   Uuummm.   If you make some Google searches on this subject asking the question: “What can make your life feel complete or fulfilled?”, you will NOT run across this Scripture Verse as an option or as an alternative choice that you can decide for yourself if you so please.   What you WILL find in your Google search are answers such as:  1)  Four principles to live by;  2)  The 16 most important factors for a fulfilling life;  3)  1O Rules to make your life complete; and so on and so on. 

Let us see instead what the author of your Bible says.  First of all, there are 2 little words in this Verse that is fundamentally foundational and an absolute in order for this concept of being ‘complete’ can be remotely a possibility.  They are the words ‘…in Him…’.    In order for an individual to be considered ‘in Him’, they must come to an understanding on the heart level that they are sinners and that the wages of being a sinner is death (spiritual and physical).  Plus, you can do nothing on your own to remedy this condition.  You DO need an outside source to ‘save’ you. After all, you are ‘dead’ and a ‘dead person’ cannot do anything for oneself.   “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23).  “For the wages of sin is death….” (Rom 6:23).   “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for the by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom 3:20).   Secondly, an individual must appropriate by faith the finished and completed death of Christ on the Cross, His burial, and Resurrection after three days.  By faith a person must truly believe that Christ died for them, that Christ alone paid the penalty for their sin and that He took the punishment for their own sinfulness out of His individual love for them.  When we truly believe this good news of this grace-gospel the Holy Spirit places us, immerses us, ‘baptizes us’ into one body – His Body, the grace-aged church -“And He is the head of the body, the church…” (Col 1:18) – whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free – and have all been made to drink into one Spirit (I Cor 12:13).   Our entire newly created personhood is placed IN HIM.   ALL of our identification as a newly created, saved individual is seen through God’s eyes as being ‘in Him’ – in Jesus.  “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and irreproachable in His sight – “ (Col 1:21-22).  

                Sooooo, IF you are ‘in Him’, THEN in the mind of God through Jesus, you ARE complete, and this FACT is affirmed by the Death, Burial, and bodily Resurrection of Christ, who NOW is the ‘head of ALL principality and power” (Col 2:10 above).   No one nor any thing on earth, nor in the heavens, can undermine what He has done for you.   In my opinion, there is absolutely zero metaphorical, rhetorical, hyperbolic language used here. This is FACT.  It is an exchanged life.  “In Him” you ARE complete, not just in a concept or as flowery language, but as a reality.   The Greek word used here for ‘complete’ is a word that means “filled to the brim like a bottle of water, completely full, filled-up, whole, to the max”!     He has done for you ALL that will ever need to do in reconciling you in right-standing with Himself.  The following verses in Colossians 2 mention some of the aspects of this completeness in Christ that we have been given.  The sins of the flesh have been cut off (circumcised by the hand of God, taken out of the way and nailed to the Cross), you were buried ‘with Him’, you were raised ‘with Him’, you were ‘made alive with Him’, and ‘in Him’ He forgave you all your trespasses once and forever!   You ARE complete ‘in Him’.  Rejoice and be ever thankful!!

Jaca Kier, Board Member, True Devotion Ministries, Inc. 

Romans 5:1

Verse of the Day Devotion: Romans 5:1 

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ” – Romans 5:1

All of us can look back and see our lives the way they were prior to accepting the salvation offered to us through Christ Jesus.  Speaking for myself, I can see the many ways I did not follow God’s ways but my own.  The truth is, all of us did not follow His ways, for as Paul says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23.  And because of this, we were all declared guilty and subject to punishment, and there was nothing we could do to erase this guilt.  However, what we could not do, God did for us.  It was required that a perfect sacrifice be made on our behalf.  This is where Jesus comes in.  As expressed above, our salvation comes through accepting the gift of salvation offered to us because of the perfect sacrifice made on our behalf: the sacrifice of the perfect Son of God, Jesus the Christ.

Because of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, we all have the opportunity to be justified, pronounced and treated as righteous.  And through our acceptance of this work on the cross we are justified, and justification is the act of God not only forgiving the believer’s sins but imputing to him the righteousness of Christ.  And according to our focus verse, it is only through faith.  It is not earned through anything that we have or can do.  “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9,  And also, “But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,” Titus 3:4-6

Remember, this is not anything we can earn or buy.  It is strictly a free gift from God.  “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 6:23.  We can do nothing to earn justification.  But the sad truth is, many people believe that they must earn salvation.  In practically every religion, including some churches who falsely claim Christianity as their foundation, man is working his way to God and His approval.  They are being taught that man must do all the right things in order to be saved.  However, the truth is that only God can provide this, and all we need to do is accept it.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, a day we can spend time with family and friend giving thanks for the salvation as well as all the other blessings God has provided for us.  It is also a time where we can spend time in prayer to our God who loves us so much, He gave His only begotten Son to address our sins through a merciful act of justification.  Without this, we would be eternally separated from God in a horrible place. 

So, I want to encourage all of us to spend time giving thanks to the one who provided our salvation which we were unable to provide ourselves.  And also, throughout the year, help those who still do not understand that God did all the work for we were unable to do anything regarding our salvation;  that Christ’s death, burial and resurrection, accepted by us through faith, is the only way to have peace with God.  Our thankfulness should be the impetus for us to help others be saved and present this same thankfulness to our Almighty God.

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

James 1:12

Verse of the Day Devotion: James 1:12  

“Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” – James 1:12  

This verse speaks of those who endure what comes upon them while remaining true to God.  The Greek word for trial is “πειρασμός”, pronounced “peirasmos” which has a dual meaning of test or temptation. And this word is used in both ways here in James 1.  First, we read “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,” James 1:2. The idea here is that we should rejoice when we experience persecution that tests our faith.  This does not speak of temptation, for Jesus told His disciples to pray that they would not be tempted.  “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41. Why would James say to rejoice in temptation when Jesus said to pray we do not enter it?  Regarding our focus verse, this one refers to overall trials, both testing and temptation.  “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” James 1:12. We know this refers to temptation as well because of the next verse which speaks of temptation.  “Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.” James 1:13. 

The format of our focus verse is of a beatitude.  We see a list of them that Jesus taught about  in Matthew 5:3-11, and now James uses this same idea, declaring blessings to those who persevere under trial, not giving in to it.  We all go through difficult times, and I have become assured, based on what has been happening in our world today, that we will see more as the days progress.  So, this begs the question.  How can enduring difficult time be a blessing?  There are two ways this can be. 

The first is what will help us presently.  “Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:3-4.  The more we endure, the stronger we will become.  I remember my last year in the Air Force, a friend invited me to run with him every other night.  I agreed, without knowing that he was running 3.7 miles each time.  And this was constant running, no run, walk, run.  This was run, run, run.  The first time was brutal, I thought it would never end.  But with each run, it became much easier as I became stronger and was able to endure through to the end.  The same can be said regarding enduring persecution and temptation.  The more we face these trials, with God in us, the easier it becomes.

The second regards our future.  “for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” James 1:12b.  This refers to the day of His return.  If we remain true to the end, we shall receive the great and blessed promise of God.  Paul, writing to his disciple Timothy writes,   “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:7-8.  The first part of this is an analogy of the crown reserved for the winners in the Grecian games.  There was a crown reserved for the winner of these Olympic games.  Paul takes this farther in his letter to the Church in Corinth.  “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the game’s exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we imperishable.” 1 Corinthians 9:25. 

I want to encourage us all to be strong and endure any trials, both persecutions and temptations, with all the strength we can muster, and to grow stronger each day.  We have an amazing eternal future ahead of us if we persevere to the end.  Trials will come, some stronger than others.  But remember, we always have God with us to help.  “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13.  And this covers both, the temptation to sin, and the trials that push us to walk away from God.

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

1 Corinthians 2:2

Verse of the Day Devotion: 1 Corinthians 2:2 

“For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” – 1 Corinthians 2:2

The Gentile believers in the city of Corinth to whom Paul is writing almost exclusively came out of idol worship of “the gods” of Greek or Roman mythology.  The philosophers of the Greeks attended to the seeking of wisdom.   To a Greek, having wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of the ‘seen and unseen’ was the epitome of being Man in discovering how to live.  Many philosophers did try to establish or discover universal laws of conduct.  The Greek philosophers asserted that their philosophy reflected the true will of the gods. This was the previous mindset of these new Corinthian believers.  They coupled their faith in Christ with what was called ‘wise’’ according to the culture.   Paul wanted to set things straight for them.  Paul told them that Christ did not send him to baptize (which they undoubtedly heard continuously from Jews who followed Christ), but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect (I Cor 1:17).   Today, if a man or woman is teaching or preaching a different or additional gospel message to the masses other than what was given to Paul, most specifically the crucified Christ, watch out.  Having the wisdom of words is not the same as the power of the cross message.  “Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.  For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple” (Rom 16: 17-18).   There are plenty out there that draw the masses through their ‘smooth words and flattering speech’ but are deceiving the hearts of the simple.

Paul emphasizes to them that through the wisdom of this world you can not know God (I Cor 1:21).  In fact, it pleased God through the (assumed) foolishness of the message preached (Christ crucified for you), to save those who believe, plus nothing.  Just BELIEVE it, by FAITH.   “For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom…” (I Cor 1:22).   But in contrast to what the Jews were seeking and what the Greek culture was seeking Paul’s message was this: “…but we preach Christ crucified” (I Cor 1:23).   To the Jewish man or woman, the Messiah being killed and crucified was a stumbling block to them, just as Old Testament prophecy forecast.   To the Gentile Greek man or woman, the message of Jesus Christ being crucified specifically for them in order to save them from the penalty of sin and the Adamic nature and receive full forgiveness from the Creator was ‘foolishness’. Why?   Because the message of the cross can only be understood by ‘faith’. This means you cannot figure out with your earthbound wisdom and insight and great knowledge the truth of Christ crucified for you.   To the Ancient Greeks they were dedicated to cultivating the life of the person of practical and theoretical wisdom, the education of the mind.   From birth onward, a Greek educational system involved developing the mind to such a dimension that the mind in wisdom and knowledge could rise above the natural.   Millions of people today do the same thing through opening their mind to any sort of comprehensible value in practice or religion to attain a higher degree of wisdom – to know how to live – how to be stress free, and how to be calm in the mind, and saved from this Adamic nature from doing unhealthy things.     So ‘why’ did God design it so that you cannot figure out how to be saved through access of worldly wisdom?   One of the greatest attributes of Man’s fallen nature is pride.  Therefore, Paul writes in verse 29 “…that no flesh should glory in His presence.”   If you could figure this out, you would glory in your self-discovery.  Pride.   But God’s perspective says this: “…it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord” (vs 31). 

There is one thing the Apostle Paul was determined to know and determined to share: Jesus Christ and Him crucified (2:2).    The word ‘determined’ fully means that he reached a decision to a course of action. He made up his mind to share nothing else as priority except Christ’s death.  Therefore, he continues in verse 5 “…that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God”.  I encourage you at this time to focus upon what Jesus Christ has done for you; to ponder and grasp by faith the depth and wisdom of Christ’s finished work of the cross on your behalf.  The world has gone amuck.  But the security of being ‘in Christ’ because of the cross far out measures what wisdom this world could ever offer as relief.  Do not be corrupted by what this ‘world’ offers, even so-called smooth-talking preaching that does not focus upon the cross.    “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (II Cor 11:3).  

Jaca Kier, Board Member, True Devotion Ministries, Inc.