John 21:9

(Editor’s Note: Christiaan here! William is doing well, still in the hospital but mostly out of danger. We prayerfully hope he’ll be able to return to writing devotions on Tuesday!)

Verse of the Day Devotion – John 21:9 (NLT)

“When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them – fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.” – John 21:9 (NLT)

We’re back in John. For a bit more back story, I definitely recommend you check out my previous two devotions on John 21:22 where I reference Peter’s reaction after the events of today, and John 21:7 where John gives us an account of what happened when Peter realized Jesus was on the shore and I talk about why it’s significant that Peter rushed towards the shore. But, in case, let’s do a quick, long story short.

Peter, the former fisherman turned fisher of men, and arguable leader of the disciples, loved Jesus. So much so that he easily boasted during the last supper that even if everyone else abandoned Jesus, he, Peter, wouldn’t. When Jesus was being arrested, Peter charged forward swinging his sword, missed the head, and hit the guard’s ear cutting if off. Jesus healed the ear, and Peter kept quiet and stayed behind after that. During the arrest and sham trial of Jesus, Peter and John, because of John’s family connections to the high priest, are allowed into the courtyard. It’s a cold night, and John is allowed to go into the house where he witnesses what happened to Jesus. Peter on the other hand is warming himself by the charcoal fire, and is asked about Jesus three times all of which he denies with increasing severity. Jesus is murdered on a cross, rises from the dead, and the account in John 21 is the third time that Jesus met with his disciples.

But, it wasn’t the third time Jesus had seen Peter. In Luke 24, Jesus appears to two unnamed people, who after speaking with him realize it’s Jesus and, as a pair, to tell the disciples that they saw Jesus, but their wording is interesting. “There they found the eleven disciples [therefore Peter was with the disciples] and the others who had gathered with them, who said, ‘The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter.'” So, in the timeline, it looks like Jesus waited in the graveyard for Mary Magdalene, then went to see Peter. There is no account at what happened during this meeting!

In John 21 there’s a public meeting. Jesus is on the shore and he has breakfast waiting for them. Peter and Jesus had a conversation alone, and whatever was said had a profound effect on Peter. (One I’ll share why on Monday!) There’s something specific about this fire though, it’s a charcoal fire (greek word Anthrakia) and only the second time one is specified in a narrative as charcoal fires were not commonly made. However, John makes sure to point out that Jesus had made one, why?

Because this is the beginning of a beautiful series of moments of reconciliation, restoration, and ordination for Peter. Jesus recreated the setting of Peter’s denial of Jesus down to the same type of fire. Jesus then served all of the disciples, and after they eat John tells us that Jesus turns to Peter and asks three times, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Simon replies yes each time, and Jesus tells Peter to, ‘feed his lambs, take card of his sheep, and then to feed his sheep.’ A lot has been made of the different verbs used for Love and have argued that Peter just wasn’t replying the way Jesus wanted him to. But the recreation of Peter’s denial situation leads me to believe the simpler explanation, that even though not all the disciples weren’t there to see Peter deny Jesus, all of them got to see him AFFIRM his love for Jesus, and Jesus’s restoration of Peter.

Perhaps most importantly, we can look at Jesus’s actions as a point to question our own. If you were Jesus, who would you have entrusted to build your church and look after the following? The headstrong guy you had to keep correcting, who abandoned you in your darkest hour, and who lied, swore, and cursed himself to prove he didn’t know you… or someone like John, who was with you all the time, never rejected you, and you entrusted the care of your widowed mother to? My bet is on John. But Jesus chose Peter, because to Jesus, it wasn’t about what Peter had done in the past. Then, as if to finalize the reconciliation, Jesus tells Peter, to “Follow me” as he did back when they first met.

There’s so much significance, beauty, and intricacies, to be found in this passage, Jesus knows the future, he knows our hearts, he knows our minds. The Old Testament is riddled with instances of God giving commands to his people not for his sake, but for ours. He knows psychologically how we would respond, and he knew in Peter’s case that simply telling people he was forgiven, wouldn’t be enough, in Peter’s heart, to make up for what had happened. I believe that Jesus knew exactly what Peter would need to be able to be free of all doubts and guilt. This freed Peter to lead the first century church without questioning his role. Jesus gave Peter a second chance to be questioned not just about knowing Jesus but about loving Jesus and Peter was able to declare that he did in fact love Jesus. And if that wasn’t enough, Jesus ends that interaction by calling for Peter to follow him, reaffirming, that not only did Jesus forgive Peter, reconcile peter, but he was ordained and restored.

There are no lengths that Jesus won’t go to to reconcile and make all things new with those whom love him, so may you realize it. May you see that Jesus sees all the little things, all the often overlooked things, and whatever it is holding you back and is willing to overcome those things to meet you where you’re at so you can finally embrace him and who God has called you to be – even if it’s appearing on a shore before dawn to feed you and your friends fish and bread so you can make right your biggest and most embarrassing mistake without judgement or condemnation.

John 21:7

(Editor’s Note: William underwent surgery yesterday – a positive outcome – and thus this verse was delayed. We’re excited to have him back, hopefully soon.)

Verse of the Day Devotion – John 21:7 (NLT)

“Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped in the water and headed to shore.” –  John 21:7 (NLT)

John’s gospel is my favorite. He shows the most personality, and includes little Easter eggs throughout the gospel. One of these being a pseudo rivalry with Peter. The most notable of these is that when Jesus was announced to be risen, Peter and John race there John makes sure he mentions that he arrived first (John 20:8). We also get a lot of details surrounding events that are crucial to Peter’s future, and his development as a Christian and leader within the church. As I spoke about last time, when I covered John 21:22, those events happened after Peter’s reconciliation with Jesus. Tomorrow, I’ll be writing directly about that. But as usual, let’s set the stage.

Jesus has died, been raised from the dead, and visited with the disciples and Peter before. The disciples keep not recognizing Jesus (that’s a whole other story). Prior to Jesus’ murder, Peter had argued with Jesus about his devotion to him in Matthew 26:33-35 and even after Jesus told Peter that he would deny Jesus, Peter contradicts Jesus by saying, “No! Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you.” Matthew does point out that the other disciples agreed – John is the only one (that we’re aware of) that doesn’t avoid Jesus in some way.

As fiercely loyal and close to Jesus as Peter was, in Peter’s last few interactions with Jesus Peter failed Jesus repeatedly. When Jesus told them that “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38) and asked them to pray with him, Peter and the other disciples couldn’t stay awake, Jesus says to Peter, “Could you watch with me even one hour?” (Matthew 26:40). When Jesus was captured, Peter chopped off the ear of one of the guards and was chastised by Jesus, “Put away your sword…” (Matthew 26:52-54). After Jesus’s Capture Peter hangs in the back, and eventually denies Jesus three times, Matthew gives the most detailed description of what happens in Matthew 26:69-75 which involves Peter’s escalation in denying knowing Jesus, with just an denial, then denying him with an oath, and finally as the ESV puts it, Peter Invokes a curse on himself and swears, “I do not know the man” Luke tells us that after Peter did this, Jesus from inside the house, “turned and looked at Peter. and Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, “before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” All four accounts of Peter’s denial end with Peter weeping bitterly. Mark’s account (Mark 14:72) mentions that Peter “broke down and wept.” To make matters worse, based on the records we have Peter never gets to speak to or really interact with Jesus until after his death, and those times he doesn’t recognize Jesus at first.

Then comes our verse in John 21. After spending some time hiding behind locked doors, Peter decides to go fishing and the disciples follow him. After fishing all night, Jesus (though they don’t realize it’s him) appears at dawn standing on the shore. Jesus asks them if they’ve caught anything, they say no, and Jesus in a throwback to when he called them to be disciples tells them to cast to the right side, and just like in that time, they catch so many fish they can’t hold them all. It’s at this moment that John connects the dots at what is happening, and identifies the stranger on the shore as Jesus. As soon as Peter hears this he wraps himself in his cloak and swimps the hundred yards from the boat to shore, leaving behind everything else.

Without any hesitation. Without a second guess. Without thinking through how additional clothes could hinder his ability to swim. and perhaps most importantly, without judging himself based on his past and using that as something to hinder his pursuit of Jesus.

Peter puts on his tunic (as a form of respect to Jesus), and rushes to Jesus. He doesn’t shyly hide in the boat, or avoid the situation by focusing on the fish that were just caught. Peter doesn’t let his shame, bitterness, or fear prevent him from running (swimming) to Jesus. And the experience is transformative to Peter. He rushes towards Jesus with a greater zeal than Peter had demonstrated before his repeated betrayal of Jesus. Peter in this place, chooses to embrace a truth he may not have even realized in his rush to see Jesus that Paul articulated in Romans 8:1, “There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.”

It can be argued that Peter knew that Jesus had forgiven him. It can be argued that Peter knew this or that… if you’re anything like me, even when you know that on paper everything is straightened out, I still don’t rush out to see someone I’ve had issues with more excitement and zeal than before my betrayal. How many times when we’ve wronged someone, especially with God, we’ll impose a sort of punishment on ourselves. We don’t pray (talk to them). We definitely won’t ask them for anything. Once we’ve done enough penance, we’ll finally ease ourselves back into relationship with them.

Peter, more so than any of the other disciples at that time, had a lot to be forgiven of, But Jesus, consistent and teaching lessons through his love and compassion, demonstrated to Peter the same grace he showed in Luke 7:47, that he who is forgiven much loves much.

Tomorrow, we’ll look at how Jesus uniquely chose to reconcile Peter.

So, May you realize that as a Christian, Jesus has already forgiven you. May you embrace the lack of condemnation you have within Christ and not let it hinder you. May you understand at your core that they that are forgiven much love much, and may we begin to have a zeal for God greater than we’ve had in the past, in spite of our screw ups.

 

 

John 21:22

(Editor’s note: Christiaan here, realistically William will be in the hospital until the weekend, I’m covering until then, and I’ll probably spend the rest of the week somewhere in this chapter, I hope you enjoy the Gospel of John as much as I do!)

Verse of the Day Devotion: John 21:22 (NLT)

Jesus replied, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me.” – John 21:22 (NLT)

This is one of the few times where Jesus had a sharp reply to one of his disciples. Normally Jesus would respond like this to someone who was disingenuously trying to trap him, or in the case of something that was objectively evil. (You can read about one of those times where Jesus had a flash of anger. I wrote about it earlier in the year on May 29th and you can read about it here.) So, let’s get a little bit of context. Jesus has been resurrected, he had appeared to the disciples who keep not recognizing him, he had just had a private conversation with Peter, and then eaten with the disciples. Peter and Jesus go for a walk and John begins to follow them.

Peter, who had just been reconciled as a disciple (it’s kind of a convoluted series of events and the basis for my next two verse of the days) and been given a commission of his own, hears John following him and according to verse 20 turns around and sees John, he then asks jesus, “What about him, Lord?” to which Jesus replies with our focus verse, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You follow me.”

“What about him, Lord?

Whataboutism, is beyond crippling to our daily lives. I remember when my mom used to discipline my sister and I, whenever I got in trouble, I would seem to point out the fact that either it wasn’t my fault because someone did something that I was only responding to and my response was thus justified… OR, I would ask to make sure that the other party (often times my sister) was punished appropriately. It was mildly infuriating, but as my mom would always wisely respond to my protests, “You’re responsible for your actions. It doesn’t matter what anyone else does, or how wrong, they were. By responding in that way, you’re guilty of doing wrong in the same way.”

Now that I’m older, I appreciate that advice, and it’s guided me through multiple interactions that could have gone worse if I didn’t remember that. I think the world would be a more peaceful place especially in the year 2020 with all the self justified rioting, looting, and wanton destruction of property due do to injustices, both actual and perceived if everyone’s mom’s had been like mine in this and many other respects. “Group X did bad thing, therefore I’m ok to do this other, potentially worse thing!” or “Yes, I did X action, but that was only to bring light to Y injustice” based on this verse how can we assume Jesus would respond? I would argue he would say, “What is that to you? Follow me.”

Outside of a justice/punishment perspective, “What about him, Lord?” is crippling to our walk with God. Whether it be the envies or lusts of the things of others, “We’re both Christians, how come she has that good job and that nice car?” or “Wait, I’m a Christian, and my life is complete crap, yet this guy is perhaps the worst of all sinners I know, and him life couldn’t be better.” But it doesn’t stop there. In Peter’s case, his potential envy wasn’t over material or other things, it was of something good, mayhaps even Godly. I mean, I’ve had to focus on this, and remember this lesson.

I mean look at it. Peter is walking with the resurrected messiah, he had spent his life waiting for. He had just had a private meal with him, was reconciled with God himself in a really special way. And then PERSONALLY given a commission and his calling in life. And what’s his first response after this. “What about John, Lord?” I mean, if I had been Jesus, I feel like I would have wanted to grab Peter by the shoulders and be like, “Dude, listen.” *snap snap* “Focus. Look at me. Look at me. What did we just talk about? You. Follow me.”

It should be noted that while Jesus’s words’ and tone based on the tenses of the greek is sharp, Jesus isn’t belittling or elevating one disciple over another, but instead telling Peter to not worry about what John’s calling is, because John’s calling is not Peter’s calling. And Peter’s calling isn’t my calling. God’s timing isn’t my timing. It took John until he was in his 90’s before he finished the work God had prepared for him; Peter had 66 years, and Jesus only 33 – Jesus was much more efficient.

I mean, in my own life, I was 35 before I got my first full time vocational ministry job. I had been called and prophecies had been given since before I was a year old. I had dutifully served and volunteered in church most of my life, went to school, got my masters, and did nothing with it because I was at a secular job. I remember confiding in one of my groups, that I was really struggling with the fact that kids I had discipled had gotten full time jobs as pastors without near the training, or experience I had. I was again reminded of this verse by a friend of mine. Little did I know at the time, however, that God was preparing me. At my current job, I’ve pulled on past experiences in every job I’ve held. I see now how God is using everything for his glory. BUT, if I had let my whataboutisms fester, and I had become bitter, angry with God, or worse with his people. I may not have been ready for the opportunity I had been given.

Anyway. When you’re walking with Jesus, may you not stop, turn around, and focus on others. May you not let what God is doing in others’ lives affect you. May you not justify your actions by others. May you choose to not ask “What about them, Lord?” and most importantly, may you follow him.

1 Corinthians 13:8

Verse of the Day Devotion: 1 Corinthians 13:8 

“Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.” – 1 Corinthians 13:8

Now that Paul has completed his picture of what love truly is, he now moves on to the permanence of this true love.  And he begins by saying that love never fails.  The idea in the Greek is that it will never come to an end; it will never pass away. In fact. the very essence of God is love.   “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 1 John 4:7-8.  God is love.  John also said here that if we do not love, then we cannot know God, for He is love.  And because God is eternal, love is eternal.  “Before the mountains were born Or You gave birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” Psalm 90:2  The phrase “from everlasting to everlasting” is saying from eternity past to eternity future.  So, love has always been and will always be because God has always been and always will be.

Now, in contrast to love, prophesies will fail.  Whether the word implies predicting future events or teaching the truth of Christianity that God has given to us,  they shall all be done away with.  Though the accurate prophecies and gifted teachings are useful today, they will be of no use in the eternal kingdom of God.  And the same can be said for the gift of tongues.  They have a good use today, for example Acts 2 and the day of Pentecost.  However, as with tongues, they will also cease.  And the last thing he brings up is knowledge.  There are some who believe this refers to human knowledge of the arts, sciences and all human knowledge in this world.  And there is some credibility in this interpretation.  However, since the first two attributes mentioned are spiritual gifts, I tend to think this refers to the gift of knowledge found earlier in this epistle.  “But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;”  1 Corinthians 12:7-8.  This gift refers to knowledge of the scriptures as well as knowledge of the things of this age.  Both of these were given by the Holy Spirit to certain individuals to aid in our going into all the world to spread the good news.  However, once we enter the eternal realm there will be no use for these either. 

He then completes this idea with the following.  “For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.”  1 Corinthians 13:9-10.  What we know, we only know  in part.  What we have now is but little knowledge even of earthly, and much less of heavenly things.  Even the prophets have been able to share only a small amount of what is to come.  But when He returns, and we enter the heavenly realm the partial knowledge goes away.  “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12.

Even though much of what we experience in this life will go away, such as prophesy, tongues, earthly knowledge, and the other spiritual gifts, love will remain forever.  It will become perfect and will never go away.  This is what we have to look forward to upon His return.  Perfect love with an eternal existence.  What could be better and more beautiful?

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

1 Corinthians 13:7

Verse of the Day Devotion: 1 Corinthians 13:7 

“Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” – 1 Corinthians 13:7

Here Paul is wrapping up His discussion on what love is.  He chooses four ideas that describe true love to our fellow man.  In each case, the verb is followed by the same object of the verb, which is “all things”.  None of these are limited to a subset of things.  They refer to all things, and this is the beauty of love as defined in chapter 13, that there is no one who is to be exempt from this love we have.  And before we look at each, I also want to point out that this is not limed to a specific time period.  The first and fourth items deal with present circumstances, while the second and third look to the future.  And they all have the idea of addressing the past by not thinking negatively of those circumstances that have occurred.

First, love bears all things.  The word translated “bears” has the idea of protecting and covering up with silence.  If this is the sense here, then it means that love is disposed to hide or conceal the faults and imperfections of others; not to give any undue publicity to them.  It means to bear the trials that are the fault of another yet concealing who did the fault and what it was.  Adam Clarke the theologian puts it this way.  “A person under the influence of this love never makes the sins, follies, faults, or imperfections of any man, the subject either of censure or conversation. He covers them as far as he can; and if alone privy to them, he retains the knowledge of them in his own bosom as far as he ought.”  We are to suffer through without letting it out.

Next, love believes all things.  We must endeavor to believe the best of everyone.  That we unsuspiciously believe all good that is not clearly false.  We should never assume a wrong that we have no clear evidence for.  It cannot mean that we make no discrimination in regard to things to be believed and are thus prone to believe something that is false.  But it must mean that in regard to the conduct of others there is a desire to put the best picture on it; to believe they intended no injury. 

Thirdly, love hopes all things.  This word hope is the same Greek word found in Hebrews 11:1.  It has the idea that when we have no evidence for believing good regarding them, that we anticipate at some point that the transgressor will repent of their wrong and we continue to do what we can to bring this about.   We must continue to  pray that God will bring a good out of the evil, including a change of heart regarding the transgressor, that they will give their life to Christ and serve Him.

And finally, love endures all things.  That we work to sustain ourselves during difficult times, and not complaining about our situation.  That we persevere under all persecutions at the hands of men; whether it be friends, enemies, or those we do not know.  If God allows it, then we must submit with perfect resignation until God delivers us from it.  We have no idea what God has in store for us or those who afflict us, but we must remember what Paul wrote to the Roman church, “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.” Romans 8:28.  If we truly trust and believe this, we will be able to endure much for the cause of Christ.

In closing, as our focus verse states, love “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” I Corinthians 13:7.  This means that we must love all people no matter what happens.  We must bear all faults or wrongdoings that anyone does to us, keeping it to ourselves to maintain any opportunity to make things right.  Next, we are to believe good about everyone, unless there is absolute evidence to the contrary.  And we must believe that there is always hope that they will change their ways, repent for what they have done, and give themselves to Christ.  And finally, we must endure any hardship caused by another, understanding that God is in control and if He allows it, then there is a good to come from it.  We must love in such a way that we choose to endure anything so that if possible, the one who causes us to endure can be exposed to the gospel message.  These are hard things, but possible if we place our trust and our situation into God’s hands.   

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

1 Corinthians 13:6

Verse of the Day Devotion: 1 Corinthians 13:6 

“Does not rejoice in unrighteousness but rejoices with the truth.” – 1 Corinthians 13:6 

Paul here moves to an area that we are seeing more and more in our culture.  He is saying that love does not rejoice in unrighteousness.  It does not celebrate the vices of another.  It does not take delight when someone commits a crime or falls into any sin.  Today, when we look at our movies and even our TV programming, we see many shows that focus on the evils in society, and unfortunately, these are the ones that are the most successful.  Those regarding positivity often do not do as well.

However, this is not limited to our entertainment, but we are seeing this occurring in real life.  First, I want to make clear that the type of love being discussed here is based on agape love, which can be as charity. This type of love is not as concerned with ourselves but is more concerned with the greater good of another.  It is not born out of our emotions or feelings, but from a desire to see the best for everyone.  And this includes those that many find difficult to love.  Therefore it does not see as a positive any form of wrongdoing against anyone.  And this includes those many find difficult to love.

We may think, who rejoices in unrighteousness?  But is it not a frequent case that people who have received any kind of injury have decided to avenge themselves, or perhaps leave it to God to avenge them: causing something terrible to happen, and then consoling themselves with what appears to them evidence that God has brought revenge and do at least secretly rejoice that the man is suffering for his misdeeds?  Jesus, when He was suffering on the cross did not wish evil on those who did this.  “But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.” Luke 23:34.  As difficult as it can be, we are called to think the same way.  God does not call us to desire harm or evil upon them.  As Gordon D., Fee says in his commentary on 1 Corinthians, “But for the apostle, love stands on the side of the gospel and looks for redemptive mercy and justice for all, including those with whom one disagrees.”    

And lastly, we are called to rejoice in truth.  We are to rejoice with everything that is the opposite of falsehood and iniquity.  We are not to rejoice in the vices but in virtues of others.  We should be pleased when people do well when it is done in ways that are not wrong or evil.  And we should rejoice when those who are evil get saved, celebrating because  they have received salvation and have turned around: that they have accepted the truth of God through the gospel.  The truth is that God wants all to be saved.  “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9.  This should be our way of thinking.  That no matter what anyone does, we should desire their salvation, which is the greatest good we could ever wiah for anyone.   

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

1 Corinthians 13:5

Verse of the Day Devotion: 1 Corinthians 13:5 

“Does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,” – 1 Corinthians 13:5

In this verse, Paul starts off by saying love does not act in ways that are rude or willingly offensive to anyone.  It observes good manners at all times.  It is never rude, nor does it act like a brute, but is willing to become all things to all men.  He does this so that we can save some.  Paul, earlier in this letter, explains what He means more completely.  “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some.” 1 Corinthians 9:19-22.  He uses the Greek word “douloo” which means he has “enslaved himself” to all. In other words, in order to bring some to salvation, he is willing to be a slave to all.

This is the idea Paul uses in our focus verse.  In all situations, we should endeavor to act such that we present ourselves in a proper way, pleasing to God, but also not to seek our own way.  We must not push our will on others but follow what they desire.  This shows that we love them enough to put them first.  We must not, as the verse says, seek our own ways above others. 

Next, he says that love is not provoked.  The meaning here from the Greek is that anyone under the influence of love is not prone to violent anger or exasperation.  It is not in the character of someone acting in love to be hasty, excited or overly passionate.  We are  to be calm, serious and patient, looking soberly at things.  This does not mean we cannot have fun.  What it does mean is that we remain in control and do not lose our patience but restrain our temper in difficult times. 

And lastly, he says love does not consider any wrongs we suffer.  This means that love, so far from devising evil against another, excuses the evil which another inflicts on us.  Put another way, love does not think about how we can do evil to anyone, and when evil is done to us we do not hold it against the perpetrator(s).  Love does not hold anything against anyone, but on the contrary, forgives everyone who does us harm.  This is the kind of love Christ has for us.  No matter what we have done, or the sins committed, He has forgiven us.  This should be our mindset as well.  We should automatically forgive and not speak or gossip about it because this may paint a distorted picture of what has actually occurred.  All we are doing is focusing on the harm done to us and endeavoring to spread this wrong to many.  This is not love, this is revenge. 

In closing, God wants us to focus on the good in people and not the bad.  He wants us to do what we can to bring the unsaved to Christ and to encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ to continue their journey in becoming like Christ.  It does not spread the negative attributes of people all over, but lets everyone know the positive things, and aids in their Christian growth.  I encourage us all to take these things to heart and let people see the love that is in our heart through our actions.  It will amaze us the affect we can have on people for the cause of Christ. 

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

1 Corinthians 13:4

Verse of the Day Devotion: 1 Corinthians 13:4 

“Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,” – 1 Corinthians 13:4

Over the next five days, I will be Looking at 1 Corinthians 13 and how Paul, led by the Holy Spirit, describes what  true love actually is.  This is important as we see the world going away from what love while focusing more on themselves.  We, as Christians need to be a light in this world, showing what God wants His people to be like.  And in exhibiting what love really is, we may cause many who see it to desire becoming a child of God because of it.

This verse starts by declaring that love is patient.  In other words, love for our fellow man, saved or not, is extremely patient toward them.  It suffers all the weaknesses and ignorance, errors and infirmities of the children of God.  It endeavors to work in whatever way necessary to be a help in all times of trial.  It does not get frustrated. It does what is necessary in order to guide our brothers and sisters into all truth, helping them walk in the ways God desires us all to walk.  Remember, we all have a history, things that have happened to us that shape the way we react to things.  It is important that we work through them, both in ourselves as well as with others, so that we can all grow in God. 

Regarding those of this world, we must patiently work through all the anger, malice and wickedness in order to draw them to listen to the truth and help them make the decision to accept Christ.  No matter what they do, no matter what they say, no matter how they may ridicule us, we must continue to love them: desiring they come to the knowledge of the truth.  To give up on the unsaved is not showing love for them.  We may need to take a break, but we should never give up.

And along with the above, we are to be kind to all people. The word translated kind has the idea of tenderness and compassion.  It is mild-tempered, gentle and benign.  And, as the theologian Adam Clarke puts it, “if called to suffer, inspires the sufferer with the most amiable sweetness, and the most tender affection.”  This can be difficult to do, but it can be done.  God can help us to have such a love for them that whatever they do, we still want what is best for them, that being salvation and God living in them.

Also, it is not jealous of what another has.  It is not grieved simply because they have a greater portion of something good or has something we have always wanted but have never attained.  We should be happy for them, knowing that God will always supply us with everything we need.  And it does not brag about anything, but is humble, looking at others more highly that it looks at itself.   This is the truest picture of love, one that sees ourselves as ministers to all.  Not through pride and arrogance, but letting everyone know that they are, if not more, important then we are. 

I encourage us all  to pray that God will give us this type of love for everyone who we come across.  This is the love Christ had for us, and this should and must be the love we have for others.  God will give it to us, we just need to seek it with all our hearts, and then walk whereby people see our love and is drawn to Him.

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

Romans 6:1

Verse of the Day Devotion: Romans 6:1 

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?” – Romans 6:1

This is a question Paul asks no doubt in response to what he had said earlier in chapter 5.  “The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 5:20-21.  He starts by stating that the law came so sin may increase.  What he means by this is that we will be more aware of our sins.  “So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.”  Romans 7:12-13.  The law points out what is sin, not to deal with the sin.  That Christ did on the cross.

Going back to Romans 5:20, he says that where sin increases, grace also increases.  This is not addressing the unsaved.  For going on to verse 21 he says, “so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 5:21.  First, note the wording in the beginning of this.  “so that. As sin reigned in death”.  This is a past tense statement.  Before we were saved, sin reigned in death.  But afterwards, grace reigns in righteousness.

Now, back to our focus verse.  The idea of this question is that if grace is a good thing, should  we continue in sin in order to increase grace?  His answer is “May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” Romans 6:2.  Paul is extremely emphatic here.  If we are saved, than we have died to sin.  It should no longer have a hold on us.  It should not control us.  Sin should no longer be what we desire, but righteousness should be our goal.

It is important that we strive to rid sin from our lives.  We probably will stumble, but is should not be because we choose to perform a sinful act.  We must never choose to sin because we know God is merciful and gracious toward us.  John says that if we choose this route, than we are fooling ourselves.  “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;” 1 John 1:6-7.  In essence, he is saying that if we think we are in fellowship with Him, and yet walk apart from Him in sin, we are lying and deceiving ourselves.  We cannot say that we are saved, love God, and follow His ways if we choose to sin thinking that His grace will take care of it. 

Jesus said the following that wipes out any possibility of it being true.  “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” John 14:15.  Choosing to sin because it is what we want to do is showing we truly do not love Him.  And if we do not love Him, then can we truly be saved?   

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

Hebrews 11:6

Verse of the Day Devotion: Hebrews 11:6 

“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” – Hebrews 11:6 

The writer of Hebrews lays out in a succinct manner what is pleasing to God.  It is faith in Him.  You see that clearly in the first part of the verse where is says “And without faith it is impossible to please Him” Hebrews 11:6a.  Actually, this phrase is stronger that what appears here, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him at all.”  Without faith, there is no way to please Him at all. We can do all kinds of things that we believe will make Him happy, but without faith we are wasting our time.  In fact, Paul goes as far to say, “The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.” Romans 14:22-23.  Note4 what this verse said, whatever is not from faith is sin.  This is why doing anything without faith does not please Him. 

Now, going back to verse one, we see two components of faith.  “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1   First, it is the substance of things hoped for.  Now this definition of hope is much different then how we see it.  We often say, “I really hope our team wins” or “I hope that book I ordered comes in today”.  Modern man sees hope as something they desire to come to pass.  However, hope in reference to the book of Hebrews sees it as “the assurance of things hoped for.”  This fits beautifully when we see the object of the hope here.  It is the fulfillment of things God has promised.  We know God will do what He has promised.  “For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore, also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.” 2 Corinthians 1:20.

Second, “the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1b.  As the first component deals with future items, this one address past, and present issues that we have not seen.  It says that even if we do not see it, we believe it happened as He said.  Classic examples of this is the creation of the heavens and the earth, the flood that destroyed the world, except for those in the Ark, the miraculous conception of Christ, His resurrection from the dead, His ascension to glory, His mediation at the right hand of the Father, etc.   In essence, believing everything we are told by Him without needing any other proof but His words. 

Wrapping this up, the way we please God is to have the faith to believe everything He has said, is saying and will say to us.  It also says in our focus verse that we must believe that He is.  We must believe He is who He says He is, and not that He might be.  We also must understand that He loves us and rewards those who truly seek after Him.  If we do not believe Him in one thing, it will be difficult to believe Him in all things.  And when we do believe Him, He takes great pleasure in that and will reside with us, blessing us with His presence.  What greater reward can we have than to be in His presence forever.

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