Luke 1:41

Verse of the Day Devotion: Luke 1:41

“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” – Luke 1:41

After her visit from Gabriel, Mary prepared herself to visit Elizabeth who lived in the hill county of Judea. “Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.” Luke 1:39-40.  She was anxious to visit her relative in order to see what the Lord has done for her.  Gabriel told her that Elizabeth would conceive a son in her old age. “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.” Luke 1:36. In fact, as noted in the verse 36, she has been pregnant for the last six months.  What an opportunity to see the hand of God working in Elizabeth’s life, which could well give evidence that what the angel said is true for her as well.

When Elizabeth heard Mary, a couple amazing things happened.  “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” Luke 1:41.  First, the baby within her leaped in her womb.  This baby, who would be named John, responded to the fact that the Messiah, who was now in the womb of Mary, was nearby.  This, I believe, was on account of the second event, which was the infilling of Elizabeth by the Holy Spirit.  However, it was not just Elizabeth who was filled by the Holy Spirit.  Back when Zechariah, a priest in Israel, was performing his priestly duties, he was visited by an angel who prophesied saying, “But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.” Luke 1:14. And now the next verse.  “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb.” Luke 1:15. Not only was Elizabeth filled with the Holy Spirit, so was John, and this was why he leaped in the womb.

Then Elizabeth, after being filled by the Spirit. Prophesies over Mary.  “And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”  Luke 1:42. She declares that Mary is blessed of the Lord, and the baby in her as well. Then she reveals something that only God could have told her.  “And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.” Luke 1:43-45.  She was not there when the angle talked to her, and there was no way Mary could have sent a message to her this quickly.  For she knew that the Lord had told Mary she would give birth to the Messiah.

Then Mary spoke out in praise and gave glory to God.  “And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has had regard for the humble state of His bond slave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name. AND HIS MERCY IS UPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM. He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. He has brought down rulers from their thrones and has exalted those who were humble. HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS; And sent away the rich empty-handed. He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his descendants forever.” Luke 1:46-55.  What a great declaration of the mighty and great works done by God.  Mary, after all this, remained with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home. What is worth noting here is that God not only told Mary, and previously to Zechariah and Elizabeth, what was going to happen, but He also gave them evidence of what He declared.  And God will do the same for us when required.  He did this via the first meeting between John the Baptist and the Messiah, when both were in their respective wombs.  God always make clear to all what He is going to do, and what He has already done in the lives of His people.  It is up to us to accept and believe what He tells us.

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

Luke 1:38

Verse of the Day Devotion: Luke 1:38

“And Mary said, “Behold, the bond slave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.” – Luke 1:38  

Mary, the chosen mother of Christ, was visited by the archangel Gabriel and brought a message from the Lord to her. “And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” Luke 1:28. Now, this confused her, and she pondered in her mind what was said to her and what could it mean.  It appears she feared Gabriel. “The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Luke 1:30-33.

Now, this was again confusing to her, for she had never laid with a man up to this point, so she wondered how this could possibly be.  She had followed the law faithfully. So, what was he saying?  Therefore, “Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” Luke 1:34.  In response to this question, “The angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason, the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:35. It would not be Joseph who she was currently engaged to who would be the father.  She would be a mother not by any man, but by God Himself. This is prophesied by Isaiah when he said, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14. Matthew clarifies this by stating Immanuel in the Hebrew means ‘God with Us’. (Found in Matthew 1:23).  This child she will give birth to is God.  Now, she probably was questioning this in her mind, so Gabriel says to her, “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.” Luke 1:36.  This was probably told to her to give her confidence that if God could cause Elizabeth to have a baby in her old age, then He could cause her to have a child with the promise given her. He then ends his words with, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” Luke 1:37.

Without any more questions, she says through the focus verse, “Behold, the bond slave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her.” Luke 1:38. This was an expression of giving herself over to the will of God.  This shows us the commitment Mary had to God and why she was chosen for this purpose.  For her to have a child by someone other than Joseph, to whom she was engaged to, would have had her ostracized because she broke the law by committing adultery. She knew what this meant regarding her reputation, but she followed the will of God completely, no matter the consequences.  My question to all of us here is, would we do the same?  Would we follow what God tells us no matter how anyone thinks of us, or what we would look like in their eyes?  Are we willing to be humiliated before men to be found pleasing before God?  Something to think about.  Is how God sees us more important than how man sees us?  Sometimes He calls us to do things that are not acceptable to the ways of men.  And we, as Mary did, should be willing to go against the ways of man to obey Him.  It is hard but think about it.  Who is more important?  This will give us the answer we need.

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

John 14:15

Verse of the Day Devotion: John 14:15

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” – John 14:15 

This is a very important verse, for it shows us what true love for Jesus looks like.  Now, He is not questioning or doubting their love.  He is saying that by the observance of His commands and precepts, it displays their love to Him.  This is not saying we are saved by keeping His commands, but that we are showing our love for God by obeying His commands.  This is a much surer test than simply the profession of our love.  Many people say they love God, for this is something that is the ‘Christian’ thing to say.  But the proof of this declaration is obedience.  If we do not obey Him, how can we say we love Him?  If we love Him, we will honor Him as Lord and King.

Jesus put it this way.  “THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.” Matthew 15:8. This is a quotation of the words of the prophet Isaiah where He declared, “Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,” Isaiah 29:13.  Isaiah here is writing what the Lord told him. In essence, the Lord is saying that people will say and do whatever it takes to let people think they honor and love God, even though their hearts are in opposition to their words and deeds.

The theologian Adam Clarke puts it this way in his commentary notes on Matthew 15:8.  “The true worship of God consists in the union of the heart to him – where this exists not, a particle of the spirit of devotion cannot be found.”  We can say all we want regarding our love for God.  However, if our hearts are not in union with His, we will not be devoted to Him and His ways.  We will not obey Him in all things but will select those things in which we agree and are willing to follow.  This is not true love as our focus verse says.  True love is obeying and following Him in all ways.  Now, we may stumble and fall at times in following His ways, but if we follow what Jesus says in that, “AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.” Mark 12:30, then we can ask forgiveness for we are His children and He will forgive us.

And lastly, the world is constantly watching us Christians who declare our love for God and our devotion to Him.  It is important that they see the reality of our walk.  If we profess our love for Him and then act in ways that deny this love, why should anybody listen to us?  I saw an assistant Pastor once who declared the most important thing to do was to show our love for Jesus, and then, in a skit, acted as someone who was in love with the Pastor in a very inappropriate way.  We cannot do this and expect the world to believe us.  Therefore, it is important that we study His Word and know what He has commanded us to do as well as what not to do; both to honor God and to be a light to the world.

How can we say we love Him if we disobey Him and refuse to follow His commandments?  We cannot and be truthful to Him and ourselves.

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

Romans 12:15

Verse of the Day Devotion: Romans 12:15

“Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” – Romans 12:15

This verse speaks of the love we should have for one another in the body of Christ.  It is important to remember that we, as Christians, are united in one body.  “For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” Romans 12:4-5.  And because we are united in one body, we should have should care for what happens to each other.  Paul put the unity of the body this way.  “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.” Colossians 3:12-14.

Note the last part of the verses above,  “Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.” Colossians 3:14.  It is love that is the binding force that unites all Christians together.  We should love each other with the love God has for us.  Having this love one for another enables two very important things.  First as stated above, we will all be in unity.  If we are not in unity within the body, then there is a lack of love that exists within the disunity.  I have been in this type of environment several times, and when this was the case, God’s work through the body was impeded.  We can disagree sometimes, but when a decision is made, the love we have for each other should then work together to make things happen as decided.

And the second enables the world to see what true love is.  “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35  When the world sees the love we have, they will look at us differently than if we are being divisive.  It goes a long way in opening the door to successful evangelism.

How can we show love to each other.  There are endless ways, but our focus verse points out two.  The first is to rejoice with those who rejoice.  We should be interested in how our brothers and sisters in Christ are doing.  When a great blessing comes their way, we should be as excited for them as they are for themselves.  God has provided it to them, and we should be thankful to God for their sake.  And we must be careful not to envy them or covet their blessing.  Rejoice with them, letting them know we are so happy for them.

And on the other side, we should weep with those that weep.  We should join them in their mourning, being with them to help them through this difficult time.  We should show true love by walking with people who suffer some type of loss that moves them to weep.  It is a difficult thing to mourn alone, and we should love each other to the point we would never leave anyone alone.

Through these two things, rejoicing with the rejoicing, and weeping with the weeping, the body of Christ is greatly strengthened, and the bonds that unite us will grow even stronger.  Take whatever time necessary to fulfil these two commands.  If we all did this, it would be amazing to see all that God will accomplish through us.

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

Galatians 3:28

Verse of the Day Devotion: Galatians 3:28

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” – Galatians 3:28

Back in the first century, there were many divisions within the populations.  Several would be the have’s and have not’s, basically the rich and the poor.  Then there were the dignitaries and the normal people.  Then there were the wise and the foolish, as decided by the different groups.  And of course, the free and the slaves.  Each of these groups were looked at very differently.  This was the way of the Greek and Roman rulers.  And these distinctions were many times accentuated in order for the aristocracy to place themselves at a higher level than the common folk.

When Jesus came, He saw things differently.  He focused on one distinction as primary regarding His purpose here on earth.  That distinction was regarding following Him.  You either followed Him or you did not.  And this distinction was not as strict as those of the Greeks and Romans, and even to some extent the Jews, because with them, it was very difficult and sometimes impossible to cross the divide they had imposed on the people.  With Jesus, you could move from non-follower to follower by making the decision to follow Him.

In the focus verse, Paul is laying out this same idea.  Within the Kingdom of God, there are no distinctions accept whether you are a follower of Christ or not.  Everyone is on the same level.  First he says there is neither Jew nor Greek.  He is not talking about their ancestral line, for that remains.  What He is referring to is at this level, all are saved in the same way, and all are intitled to the same privileges.  Jews often looked down on the gentiles, and I am sure vice-versa.  However, within the body of Christ there is no favoritism on account of birth or bloodline.  All confess their love and devotion to Christ, and all are saved by His mercy and grace.  The same is said regarding the slave and the free man.  Being a free man does not give anyone any special claims to Jesus and His grace.

In those days, the women was looked at as totally subordinate to the male.  In the body of Christ, again there are no special privileges associated with the person’s gender.  Both sexes are seen as being at the same level.  Now, this does not mean there are no distinctions in what each of them do.  In the parental role, women will always by the mother and the man will always be the father.  And there are other distinctions, especially where the Jewish law was concerned.  However, within Christianity, both have equal rights, privileges and equal blessings.  And, neither are more useful or important than the other.

We must remember that all who are truly Christians are all one in Christ Jesus; no-one is greater or less than any other. We must never look at anyone and think we are better or worse than they are.  We should never flaunt our spirituality simply because we have more credentials than someone else.  All credentials really are to show how we have been prepared for the work God has called us to.  We are all called to specific tasks.  Some to teach, yes.  But some to hospitality, others to helping those in need, and still others to reaching out to those who no-one else will.  We are all equal in the eyes of God no matter who we are or what our talents are.  We should see things in the same way as Christ did.  There are followers, then there are those we need to become followers.  Any other distinctions are truly irrelevant.

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

Matthew 5:9

Verse of the Day Devotion: Matthew 5:9

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” – Matthew 5:9

This verse is part of what is commonly called the sermon on the mount.  After His temptations, Jesus began His ministry, which started with calling His disciples.  He also ministered wherever He went.  And great crowds became interested in what He was saying.  “Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them. Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.” Matthew 4:23-25.

Notice what it says in verse 1, “When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.” Matthew 5:1. It looks here like Jesus intended this primarily for His disciples, however, as we read through the entire sermon in chapters 5-7, we see that it had things to say for the entire crowd.

Let’s look closer at our focus verse. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” One important characteristic of God’s true people is to seek peace and pursue it.  This is stated by David in the psalms.  “Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.” Psalm 34:13-14.  John Wesley in his commentary on the Psalms said this.  ‘Seek by all means possible to live peaceable with all men.  Pursue it.  Do not only embrace it gladly when it is offered, but follow hard after it, when it seems to flee away from thee.’  This is a great way to put it.  Do not just accept it when it comes to you but pursue it when it is gone.

Those of us who love God should do everything possible to do good to all people.  The word ‘peace’ in the scriptures implies all blessings both temporal and eternal.  And peacemakers are those who strive to prevent any type of contention and strife.  We are to use our influence to reconcile opposing parties.  This includes in the areas of church differences, legal matters, or any hostilities that come between people.  Strife and division do nothing positive anywhere it is found.  We have many opportunities to help reconcile opposing people.  We all can do much to promote peace.  And if possible, it should be addressed in the beginning, before animosity has a chance to grow and flourish.  Long and most hostile quarrels might often be prevented by a little kind interference in the beginning.

Jesus was referred to as the Prince of Peace.  “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6. He is the prince that brings peace to all men.  He brought peace between us and God, and He desires peace among all men.  Paul says regarding God, “for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.” 1 Corinthians 14:33.  And those of us who promote peace and tranquility and work hard in bringing peace wherever it is needed, these are those who do the work of God as Christ did and are worthy to be called God’s children.  So, let us focus our attention to eliminate all division and dissension and replace it with peace.  This is one of the more important work Christ’s disciples are called to do.

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

Acts 16:25

Verse of the Day Devotion: Acts 16:25

“But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;” – Acts 16:25

Paul and Silas are thrown into a Roman jail.  The reason was they delivered a slave girl from a demon. “It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, these men are bondservants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation. She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very moment.” Acts 16:16-18. This young girl had a spirit of divination, and her masters were using her in order to gain a profit from what she said.  It was believed among the heathens of that time that people like this young slave girl is speaking the truth by the inspiration of their god.  And these masters took advantage of it.

However, when she was delivered from this spirit, they saw that their opportunity for profits through their slave had ended, and this angered them to the point that they grabbed both Paul and Silas and took them to the chief magistrates of that place.  They lied about what they had done, to some degree, “and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, ‘These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews, and are proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans.” Acts 16:20-21.  Paul and Silas were proclaiming customs which was not lawful to observe as Romans.  Rome considered the Caesars were gods and proclaiming anything or anyone as above Caesar would be considered extreme blaspheme.  When they declared this, they were grabbed, and the chief magistrates ordered them to be beaten with rods.  After they were finished beating them, they were thrown into the inner prison and their feet were put in stocks.  Now, when prisoners were put in stocks, they would spread their legs as far as possible, then they would spread them further, pulling the muscles before putting the stocks on them.

Many would sit in the jail wondering why God would have done this.  However, from our focus verse, we see that they were praying and singing hymns of praise to God.  They did not stop giving praise and worship to God, even though they had been severely beaten and the muscles in their legs stretched to cause them additional pain.  And look what God was able to do through them. “and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.” Acts 16:26-27.  During that time period, if any prisoner were to escape, the jailer in charge of him would be required to take his place.

So, what happened?  “And he (the jailer) called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Acts 16:29-30.  And they replied, “They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Acts 16:31. What we see here is that because they continued to honor God, giving Him worship and praise, and praying, a man and his family received salvation.

God can use us in many ways for His service.  However, there are times when He will use what we do even though we are unaware that we are making a difference.  The jailer and his family were saved because Paul and Silas were glorifying the Lord.  What is important to see here is that we always need to be God focused, for we never know when someone will be touched by what they see us doing.  Let the world see that no matter how tough things get, we will give God the glory because we know that He uses us even when we do not realize it.  “But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;” 1 Peter 3:14-15.

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

Colossians 3:9

Verse of the Day Devotion: Colossians 3:9

“Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices,” – Colossians 3:9

We as Christians are different from those in the world.  We have been saved.  We died with Christ and we were raised up in newness of life.  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17. Paul here says that we are new creatures.  We are not what we were as the old man, who we were before is gone.  We have become new, made in the image of Christ.  We were predestined to be like Him, because He foreknew, we would believe and be saved. “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 brethren;” Romans 8:29.

Now, since we are like Christ, then we must act like Him.  In all ways we are to be like Him.  In this verse, we will look at one of the ways we are to imitate Him.  That is in being honest in all ways.  Lying is one of the vices of the tongue.  Paul wrote to the Church at Ephesus the following, “But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another.” Ephesians 4:20-25.  Because we are in the likeness of Christ, we should never speak falsehood, but we must always speak the truth.  This speaks of our neighbors, both those who are in the body with us, or those who are yet unsaved.  Why would Christ give us the approval to lie to anyone.  He would not, therefore this must apply to all men.  If we lie to our Christian brothers and sisters, this will have the result of lessening the bonds we have with them and bringing dissention within the body.  If we lie to an unsaved person, we cause them to distrust us and likely destroy the possibility of bringing them to Christ.

Christ never taught us to be deceptive.  In every way, we are to be totally honest in how we see things.  For example, if we are selling anything, we should be honest regarding its condition and worth.  We should never attempt to deceive the buyer regarding how much the object is worth.  If we know something, we should let them know about it.  For instance, if there is any damage to it, be honest and let them know.  Attempting to get more than something is worth is being greedy.  We are taking more from them than we are entitled to, this is wrong and can be a form of theft. So, as new creatures, let us focus on being like Christ in all ways.  In regard to lying, we must never be dishonest, for it breaks the trust others have in us and will be detrimental to the cause of Christ.

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

1 Corinthians 10:31

Verse of the Day Devotion: 1 Corinthians 10:31

“Whether then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” – 1 Corinthians 10:31

Paul here is telling the Christians in Corinth that God’s glory should be the desired result of all we do.  This is similar to an old Jewish saying which said, ‘let all your works be done to the glory of God.’ This should be all our desired results.  John the Baptist when questioned by his disciples when they said, “And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him.” John 3:26, he answered “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30. John knew that he was simply the one to declare Christ, he was the voice crying in the wilderness that the promised Messiah had come, the Son of God.  And when his disciples questioned him, he answered saying that it is Jesus, the Messiah, that is important and must be followed, not John.

Paul is referring to in previous verses regarding clean and unclean meat.  “All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify.” 1 Corinthians 10:23.  He is allowed to eat anything, all is now lawful according to God.  We see this is the account of Peter when God shows him a vision of a sheet descending from heaven with all kinds of unclean animals.  God told him to eat three times, but each time Peter says, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.” Acts 10:14b.  And three times God tells him, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.” Acts 10:15b. He did this in preparation for Peter going to the house of Cornelius, a centurion in the Roman army. Why, because Peter would no doubt be offered food to eat that was not considered clean. And rejecting this food would be an insult to Cornelius and may stifle Peter’s job of presenting the gospel.  He could come across to them as believing he was ‘better’ than they were.

Paul tells them not to question where the meat came from, but to accept it with thankfulness.  “Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking questions for conscience’ sake; FOR THE EARTH IS THE LORD’S, AND ALL IT CONTAINS. If one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go, eat anything that is set before you without asking questions for conscience’ sake.” 1 Corinthians 10:25-27.  However, if they tell them it is meat sacrificed to idols, then they are not to eat it.  “But if anyone says to you, “This is meat sacrificed to idols,” do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience’ sake;” 1 Corinthians 10:28.  By eating what they declare as sacrificed to idols, they person who informs you may be weak and unscrupulous may judge or condemn the one who eats it, because they may look at you and say you have fallen into the customs of the idolaters.  Again, they could eat it, but it may cause the one who declared the meat as sacrificed to look negatively upon them.

So, looking at the focus verse, whatever we do, whether it is in eating, drinking or whatever, we must do for God’s glory. It is important that we look to those we are with. If they offer us anything that is not sin, then we should be willing to partake, and we should be thankful for it.  For in our eating and drinking what they offer, we probably will open the door to discussion and/or evangelism.  And this brings glory to God.  And in whatever else we do; we must also bring the glory to God.  We must not strive for our own glory, or the glory of others, but for the glory of almighty God.  When people see our openness to them and that we follow God in all ways and we do not compromise but obey Him in all things, they will be more inclined to ask us about this faith we have and accept Him as Lord and Savior or accept the teaching we give in order to help them grow in Christ.   This is what we are called to do.  Do not let tradition get in the way.  We must look to our neighbors and those God brings our way above ourselves.  “Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor.” 1 Corinthians 10:24.  Whatever brings God glory, and our fellow man is better in the end, this we need to do.

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

Matthew 9:12

Verse of the Day Devotion: Matthew 9:12

“But when Jesus heard this, He said, it is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.” – Matthew 9:12 

When Jesus called Matthew, a tax collector, to follow Him, he took Jesus to his home and provided a feast for Him.  There were also many others there with them.  “Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples.” Matthew 9:10. Now tax collectors were considered horrible people by the Jews for several reasons.  First, many times they would collect more than was due as a payment to themselves, but more terrible than that was that the money they collected went to Rome and not the Jewish leaders.

Now Pharisees arrived at the dinner as well.  “When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, why is your teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” Matthew 9:11. In essence, what they were asking the disciples was, ‘You call this man the Messiah, the promised one of David.  You say He is a great man and yet, He eats with all these sinners and tax collectors.  Why would He fellowship with them?’  In those days, eating and drinking with others denoted an intimacy and a familiarity with those you partake of food and drink with.  The Pharisees, by asking their question was accusing Jesus of seeking fellowship with these people, these tax collectors, sinners, and wicked people.  What we can deduce from what they said is that there is no way Jesus could be righteous if He delighted in the company of these hideous people.

According to Jewish tradition, not the Law but their traditions, it was sinful to fellowship with sinners.  Jesus heard what they said.  The disciples did not need to tell Him, for He was aware of their words, and I am sure their hearts.  “But when Jesus heard this, He said, It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.” Matthew 9:12. This is our focus verse.  What He was saying was, not everyone needs a doctor, only those who were sick.  Of course, the Pharisees were sinners as much as anyone else.  However, as Pharisees, they thought they were already pure and holy, because they followed the law and all the traditions of Judaism.  And since they believe such, they believed they did not need His help or aid.  And He clarified what He said with these words, “But go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:13. Again, those He declares righteous in this verse are those who believe they are and do not believe they need forgiveness.

We are called to go to all who are sick and show them Jesus, the one who came to heal them of their sickness, that being sin.  This is why He came, to show this to all who understood their predicament or believe when they are advised of it.  Reach out to the sinners and do not ignore or shy away from them. Reach out to those who need and are open to hear the gospel; no matter who they are and what they have done.  If we are to be like Jesus, then we must reach out to such as He did.  This is our calling.

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