Hebrews 4:15

Verse of the Day Devotion: Hebrews 4:15  

“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” – Hebrews 4:15 

Let us begin by putting this verse in the positive instead of the negative.   I do not think this will violate this verse but will perhaps bring more clarity.   “For we do have a High Priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses, since He was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.’   This book of Hebrews was written specifically to possibly two camps of Jews in my opinion.  First of all it was written to a Jew that was on the fence concerning Jesus Christ being THE Messiah (Priest, King, and Prophet) as foretold in the Old Testament writings.  They were fully Jewish in the sense that they obeyed and followed the Law of Moses but would not cross over into faith in Jesus the Christ.  The second possible group of Jews reading this could have been Jews that did embrace and believe that Jesus was the Messiah (Priest, King, and Prophet) but due to extreme persecution perhaps, they wanted to revert backwards to outwardly embrace the religion of Judaism and its governing laws and requirements so as to escape persecution and/or death.  

Today, in this age of Grace, the meaning of this verse has great significance, assurance, and promise for both Jew and Gentile.  The role of the High Priest functioned in the tabernacle or Temple as the go-between of a Holy God and a sinful people.  Aaron, the older brother of Moses, was the first High Priest to have this role in serving God in the tabernacle (Exodus 28, 29).  Therefore beginning with Aaron as the High Priest he would enter the Holiest of Holies on the Day of Atonement once a year and sprinkle sacrificial animal blood on the Mercy Seat and the peoples’ sins would be covered for another year.  And every year following this would take place.  But Jesus was not a descendant of Levi nor a descendant of Aaron’s priesthood.  Jesus was the great High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, the priest of the God Most High (Genesis 14:18) who represented all of mankind.  And by Jesus’ own sacrificial blood shed on the Cross was atonement made for all mankind and He entered not the earthly tabernacle but the Heavenly tabernacle and presence of God as the great High Priest and the only go-between for God and Man.   After His resurrection, Jesus the Son of God passed through the heavens as the great High Priest and is sitting at the Right hand of the Father (Heb 4:14). 

Jesus being fully God and fully man (“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily…” Col 2:9), is therefore able to sympathize with our weaknesses.   The word ‘sympathize’ in the Greek means to ‘have sympathy, compassion, and pity for someone – to share the feelings and understand the sentiments of what a person is going through’.    Wow!  May that alone bring you comfort in your understanding of how Jesus personally views you and the struggles you face each day in this fallen world.  To further the point, Jesus as the great High Priest sympathizes with our weaknesses.  With ‘our’ weaknesses.  We all have them.  We are all in the same boat when it comes to having weaknesses.   No matter how lovely or holy someone you know appears to be, underneath the surface they struggle just like you do.   This word ‘weaknesses’ is a Greek word that is much broader than our understanding of being weak, as opposed to strong. It is the ‘incapacity or sickness or disease within, that prevents us from doing what we desire’.  Romans 16:9a says, “I speak in human terms because of the ‘weakness’ (the incapacity to do what is right) of your flesh’.   This same Greek word is also translated as ‘infirmities’ twelve times, primarily speaking of the physical weakness, sickness, disease, and incapacity we might have.   John 5:5 says “Now a certain man who was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years…”  Jesus told this man with this physical infirmity to ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk.’   Paul writes in II Cor 12:10 “Therefore I take pleasure in my infirmities…..for Christ’s sake.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  

Take pleasure in our infirmities?   Wait a second.   This must be a misprint.  No, it is not.   Paul understood the reality of Jesus as the great High Priest who is sitting at the Right hand of the Father at this very moment (Heb 8:1).  Paul understood that Jesus does accurately sympathize with our weaknesses and infirmities as human beings and our daily struggles of temptation because Jesus Himself lived on this earth with a complete human nature just like yours, yet without that human nature being diseased by sin.  In every way, Jesus’ humanity correlates to our own experiences.    YOU are not alone.  As a believer, be reminded of this amazing truth of our Lord and Savior.  HE is the great High Priest sitting next to God the Father.  He knows and understands everything you go though. Because of His compassion, mercy, and grace, you can tap into His grace to help in time of need.     What a glorious High Priest and Savior we have!

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

Romans 3:20

Verse of the Day Devotion: Romans 3:20  

“Because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.” – Romans 3:20  

This is an important verse because too often, people look at their actions to denote whether they are saved or not saved.  This was what the Jews believed throughout the old and new testament and in our present times.  And unfortunately, many who call themselves Christians also fall into this trap.  In the time of Christ, the Jews believed that following the Mosaic Law was the way to salvation.  If they just did the things the law said to do and did not do what the law said not to do, then they were, in essence, saved. 

However, Micah laid out what the Lord required of man.  “With what shall I come to the LORD And bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, With yearling calves? Does the LORD take delight in thousands of rams, In ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” Micah 6:5.  Micah starts by asking the question, how shall I approach the Lord?  How shall I come to Him to address my sin?  Is it through sacrifice?  Does the killing of many animals address my wrong doing?  No, and he explains what the Lord does require.  “He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8. He does not delight in sacrifices.  What He desires of us is to act with justice in all we do.  To be merciful to all and walk with humility with Him.  When we look at these three things, we do not necessarily see actions but character.  They are things we do because it is who we are.  Looking at these three again, what God desires is for us to be just, merciful and humility.  It is not the works of the law.

Now, we read in James the following.  “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.” James 2:24.  It seems from this verse that works is part of what justifies us.  However, this is made clearer in a previous verse.  “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”  James 2:17.  What this clarifies is that it is not works that matter but faith.  However, true faith is proven by works.  Therefore, faith is what Christ is looking for in us, however, if not in conjunction with works, do we have true faith?  We are saved by faith, but our works shows our faith.  Paul comes right out and states it like it is.  “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. Nobody can be justified in the sight of God due to the works of the law.  The reason for this is that no one has ever kept the law completely with no deviation.  “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23.  Therefore, we cannot be justified by the law; meaning our works.  However, this does not mean we are without hope.  “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace” Ephesians 1:7.  We could not pay the penalty, but Jesus could, through His perfect life. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21.  He gave His life for us because He loved us. 

In closing, does this mean we do not need to keep His commandments because He paid the price for us?  Absolutely not.  For by keeping them we prove our love for Him.  “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” John 14:15. The idea is that salvation is based on the work of Christ, and we accept this work because we love Him and desire to give our everything to Him.  “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” John 14:21. Our salvation is based on Christ’s work on the cross, and not by our works. But our works show the love we have for Christ and our acceptance of that work.  He loves us and pays the penalty, thus we should love Him because He did what we could not do.  What a loving God we serve.   

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

Psalm 32:1

Verse of the Day Devotion: Psalm 32:1  

“A Psalm of David. A Maskil. How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!” – Psalm 32:1 

This is a psalm of David speaking of how blessed are the people whose sins are forgiven.  This word blessed has the idea of happy.  Therefore, when we replace the word, we see “happy is he whose transgressions are forgiven.”  Happy is the man.  Happy is his state of mind.  This is the condition of a man when his sins are forgiven.  

Now this verse is quoted by Paul in his letter to the Romans.  Here we read “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.”  Romans 4:7-8.  The apostle is using this verse in a way that is different than how the Jews understood it in David’s day.  If a man sinned back then, the law required them to present a sin offering to God.  This was a deeply symbolic type of offering where the sacrificial animal was killed and the blood was drained as an offering for sin.  However, David makes no mention of a sin offering.  “I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin.” Psalm 32:5. 

Now, Paul says these works, as he calls the sacrifice here, is not a matter of grace, but of the payment of a debt.  However, Paul adds the following, “But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works.” Romans 4:5-6.  David understood this.  His relationship with God made it clear that confessing his sins to God was the means by which God forgave sin.  Acknowledging our sins to God in humility and a contrite heart, not trying to hide it knowing we can never hide anything from Him, is the sacrifice we are to give.   

Unfortunately, we all have sinned.  “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, “ Romans 3:23.  And we understand that there will be times of temptation we must endure.  “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 we also understand there may be times where temptation my overcome us.  “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” 1 John 2:1-2.

Therefore, always remember that we live in a fallen world, and unfortunately we may fall into sin.  David did with Bathsheba which is what David is dealing with in Psalm 32.  And so did Paul which he admitted in his letter to the Romans: “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.” Romans 7:19.  However, as David said, instead of trying to hide it, we need to confess it to God, repenting of it and then resting in God’s peace and goodness.  “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9.  And because of this as our focus verse says, “How blessed (happy) is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered!” Psalm 32:1.

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

Job 2:10

Verse of the Day Devotion: Job 2:10 

“But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” – Job 2:10

Job was a man of great wealth.  “His possessions also were 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and very many servants; and that man was the greatest of all the men of the east.” Job 1:3.  He also had seven sons and three daughters, as well as his wife.  They were very, very prosperous.

However, after a time, Satan speaks to God and tells Him success is the reason for his devotion.  “Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing?  “Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. “But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.” Job 1:9-11.  So God tells him to do what he wants with what he has, but do not touch him.  When you read on, you will see that all his possessions were lost, all his servants and animals.  He also lost his house which collapsed because of a wind storm which killed his children.  And what was Job’s response?  “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.” Job 1:20-22.  Notice that it was said of him he did not sin or blame God.

Satan goes to God again and tells God “Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. “However, put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You to Your face.” Job 2:4-5. Satan came back and said, well man will give everything for his own life, however, seriously affect his own body and health, and he will curse you.  So God says, So the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life.” Job 2:6  So what was Satan’s response?  “Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And Job took a potsherd to scrape himself while he was sitting among the ashes.” Job 2:7-8.  These were extremely painful, and it became worse as he scraped on them with a broken piece of pottery.  He did this either to bring some relief or to cut himself as a sign of mourning. “Since you are the people of the Lord your God, never cut yourselves or shave the hair above your foreheads in mourning for the dead.” Deuteronomy 14:1. 

Job’s wife responds with a sarcastic rhetorical question.  In essence she says, “After all that has happened are you still faithful?” or put another way, “In spite of all the suffering, are you still loyal to God?”  However, Job entirely rejects her advice.  In our focus verse, we read Job’s response in the form of a question.  “Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?”. 

This is a hard question to answer.  We love getting good things from God.  When God blesses us with a sum of money, we willingly give thanks to Him.  But when adversity comes, such as losing a job, we choose not to give Him thanks.  Back in March of 2018, I was laid off from my job in order for them to cut their costs.  It was definitely sooner than I was ready for.  And what made it worse was not finding another job.  However, it is amazing how God has worked in my life.  I am now doing what I always wanted to do,  working in ministry through True Devotion Ministries. 

When good things come your way, consider it a blessing and give thanks to God.  And when adversity comes, consider it also a blessing and give God all the thanks, and look forward to the blessings God will provide on account of this adversity.  Remember, God does not allow hard times to come unless He has a good reason, and we must always trust God that He knows what He is doing.  All things that God has us experience is for our good.  “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.  So, instead of focusing on what is happening, we should focus on what God has in store for us in the future.

And spoiler alert.  “The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased all that Job had twofold. … The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had 14,000 sheep and 6,000 camels and 1,000 yoke of oxen and 1,000 female donkeys.  He had seven sons and three daughters.” Job 42:10, 12-13.  And to close out, “After this, Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons and his grandsons, four generations. After this, Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons and his grandsons, four generations.”  Job 42:16

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. 

Ephesians 4:26-27

Verse of the Day Devotion: Ephesians 4:26-27 

“Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger and give no opportunity to the devil.       

We all, I am sure, have been angry with a brother or sister in Christ.  It could be for various reasons, but we need to be careful how we react to these situations.  In reading this, Paul is not saying that anger is a sin, but it is our response that can be sinful.  Note the phrase, ‘be angry, and yet do not sin.’  Anger at sin is not wrong.  And displaying displeasure for a bad action is not sinful either.  We should be unhappy with actions or deeds that are not for the glory of God and the good of others.  However, we must be careful that we do not go beyond what is of a Godly manner.

This same idea is expressed in the psalms, where we read, “Tremble, and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed and be still. Selah.” Psalm 4:4.  This is a writing by David in response to ungodly people who are acting against the way God desires.  “O sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach? How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception? Selah. But know that the LORD has set apart the godly man for Himself; The LORD hears when I call to Him.” Psalm 4:2-3. This is probably referring to Absalom and his men, whom he calls ‘sons of men’ responding to their situation of human feelings and passions, far from how God would desire them to.  This could very well refer to David’s rank and the desire of them, in their rebellion, to rob him of his position as king and reduce him to a lowly position.  What David was telling them was, just as Paul said, be angry but do not sin.  If they think they have a cause to be angry, they should not let it carry them to rebellion against God and their king.  He was chosen as king by God, for them to rebel against him was to go against the will of God, which is sin.

We may disagree with someone about something, or we may not like what someone has done, but we must be careful how we respond.  Again, we can be angry, but it must not take us to a sinful response.  Unfortunately, we are not perfect, but we must not go to sleep angry.  If we do get angry with someone, we must address it quickly so that we do not carry it for days or more.  We should not go to sleep with any unkind or unchristian feelings.  We must go to God and pray that we can resolve it quickly,  If we allow the anger to fester, it may produce malice and revenge.  This prolonged temper cannot bring about peace of conscience or the approval of God. 

And lastly, we must not allow the devil to take this anger and use it for his purposes.  He will strive to influence us through our anger and irritation of spirit to take our mind off of the ways of God to address them via our own fallen desires.  He will work to get us to gossip and spread our anger to others and help us to feel somewhat better for the opportunity to tell others what someone did to us.  This is not good and will not end well.

Things are going to make us angry: we live in a fallen world and we are not perfect.  Again, anger in and of itself is not wrong.  It is our response that can bring us to sin.  However, we must understand that no one is perfect, not even ourselves.  I am sure I have made people angry for things I have said and done.  However, as we want people to be gracious with us when we wrong someone, we should do the same when other wrong us.  Remember what Jesus said, “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”  Matthew 7:12.  Do we want someone to be gracious to us when we slip up?  Then we need to be gracious to others when they do.  Make things right as soon as possible, then move forward and live as God desires.   

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

Luke 17:1

Verse of the Day Devotion: Luke 17:1 

“And he said to his disciples, temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come!” – Luke 17:1        

Jesus is speaking here to the disciples regarding temptation.  He is telling them that, because of the depravity of man, there will always be something that tempts us to sin.  It may come in the form of an illicit desire, an offense someone does against us, or simply in the calling of our flesh.  Such is the flesh that there will always be someone or something that attempts to make us sin.  Matthew writes that we must rid ourselves of anything that causes us to sin.  “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.” Matthew 5:29-30.  This is a difficult idea, but in essence it is saying that if anything causes us to sin, we must do what we can to remove it from our lives.

Now, this verse specifically addresses people who cause others to sin against God.  Therefore, in the process of eliminating all temptations from our lives, we may have to part ways with those who constantly work toward the goal of causing us to fall.  If they will not stop in their aberrant ways which causes us to desire things that constitute sinful behavior, whether that be in actions or thoughts, then we need to separate ourselves from them.  They are only attempting to counter the work of God in our Christian walk.  Satan is using them to cause God’s people to sin where possible. However, based on the next verse, God does not look favorably on this.  “But woe to the one through whom they (temptation) come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.” Luke 17:1b-2.  In other words, it would be better to die by drowning then to cause a Christian to sin.

It is important that we examine our lives also, as Christians, praying and asking God is there any way we may be causing our brothers and sisters to fall?  Do we wear immodest clothing when we go out?  Do we engage in improper conversations that may incite improper thoughts?  Or do we do things that are acceptable to us but may not be to some Christians?  “Therefore, let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil.” Romans 14:13-16.  If what we do, which we consider good, can cause a brother or sister to fall, then we must abstain from doing it.  And if there is any doubt, err on the side of caution and do not do it.  God will hold us accountable if we are the cause another Christian stumbling.  So, be careful and build up your brothers and sisters in the Lord and take no chance in tempting them to think or do something that they believe is wrong.

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

Psalm 32:5

Verse of the Day Devotion: Psalm 32:5  

“I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, I will confess my transgressions to the LORD; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.” – Psalm 32:5      

This verse can be an incredible comfort to us whenever we sin.  In earlier verses, we see how blessed the person is who God has forgiven.  “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven; Whose sin is covered!”  Psalm 32:1.  We who are Christians and have truly repented and committed our lives completely to Christ have been forgiven.  We could not do anything on our behalf, all we could do was accept the work He did on the cross.  And David next goes further in that our sin is not even charged against us.  “How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit!” Psalm 32:2 He has pardoned us completely, we are no longer charged as guilty.

David then speaks about what it was like to attempt to keep silent.  “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah.” Psalm 32:3-4.  There was no peace in his life when he kept it all in him.  He speaks of God’s work in bringing him to the place where He finally brings it all out.  Note the wording, “my body wasted away tthrough my groaning all day long.” And also, “For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me,”  We do not know the specific circumstances that brought him to this point, however, it is easy to see that it was heavy on him. 

However, he finally chooses to bring it to God and not try to hide it anymore.  We see this in our focus verse.  “I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.” Psalm 32:5.  He admitted to himself that he could no longer keep silent about this, so he confessed it to God.  And what did God do? He forgave him.  And you can tell from the verses that follow David was at peace with God again. 

I have found that in my life, if I slip up and fall into sin, it is so much better to admit to having done it, confessing it to God, and then working with Him to not fail Him again.  Unfortunately, I am still not perfect, I will not lie.  However, I know my heart yearns for His ways and immensely desires to please Him in all I do.  I have learned that it is better to acknowledge my failure to Him and ask for His abounding forgiveness.  He knows everything anyway, so it is impossible for me to hide it from Him, so I might as well confess it.  Sometimes I simply confess it with all honesty, and sometimes I weep in the process.  But after I call on Him, a peace comes upon me, and I then move on, for I know He has, in the words of David, He forgave the guilt of my sin.

I want to encourage everyone that when you recognize you have sinned, just bring it before God.  Do not try to keep it a secret, for God already knows.  And the fact He knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10), He knew you would do it and He will forgive. So, come clean, confess the transgression to God.  And He will forgive you and remove the guilt from you.  Believe me, it will bring much peace into your life. 

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

Romans 6:14

Verse of the Day Devotion: Romans 6:14 

“For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” – Romans 6:14   

Paul here is showing the Roman church they have a choice regarding what shall they follow.  They could be either a slave to sin or to God.  And the decision is based on whom they present themselves to.  Let us say that we have lost everything we have, and we are given a decision between two people as to whom we will serve.  One is a farmer, and the other is a building contractor.  Which ever one we choose, we must obey completely, for he becomes our master.  If we choose the farmer, then we submit to work in the field.  If the building contractor, then in the city.  We come under the rule of which ever one we choose.  Paul uses the same basic analogy.  “Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?” Romans 6:16. 

When we become a Christian, we have made Jesus our Lord.  Jesus said as much to the disciples in addressing a question asked by Peter.  When Jesus came to wash his feet, and Peter said no, Jesus responded by saying if He did not wash his feet, Peter would have no part with Him.  Peter responded by saying, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” John 13:9.  Then Jesus responds later by saying, “You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am.” John 13:13. Based on Jesus’ own words, He is our Lord, which also means our master. 

Also, our salvation is based not on the law, by obedience to it.  It is based on the grace of God.  We have sinned, and because of this the law is of no affect because the law requires a perfect adherence.  Grace is based on the favor and mercy of God.  The law is based on works.  “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.  Our salvation is a gift, not something we earn.  It is a gift from Him who paid the penalty for our sin. 

Now, if we give ourselves to God to be His servant and obey Him in every way submitting to His commands, we are no longer a slave to sin.  “But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.” Romans 6:22.  This is why Paul could say in our focus verse that sin no longer is master over us.  For at the time we truly commit ourselves to Christ, we renounce the mastery of sin.  And if sin is no longer our master, we must not obey it, but obey Christ.  This means we fight off the sin that tempts us, turning away from it and living a life pleasing to our new master, Jesus.  In essence obeying Him and rejecting and fleeing our old master, sin. 

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

Romans 8:3

Verse of the Day – Romans 8:3

“It is impossible to do what God’s standards demand because of the weakness our human nature has. But God sent his Son to have a human nature as sinners have and to pay for sin. That way God condemned sin in our corrupt nature.” Romans 8:3 (GWT)

When I was a child we attended a local Calvary Chapel church, the pastor there was a very unique. He was a drummer back in the 70’s (if I remember right). My family left that church in 2003 for a number of reasons I won’t get into but to this day, he’s one of the few people I would look to and consider my pastor – he is the personification of the concept of being forgiven much and therefore loving much. There was a time we went through the book of Romans (at the time my favorite book of the bible) and during that period of time, it wouldn’t be uncommon for the pastor to tear up on stage talking about the grace of God given to us. I remember looking through the passage we were going to read for two specific and simple words that would lead to him crying, and unbeknownst to me leave such an impression on me that twenty years later, I would be writing about them in a daily devotion…

But God.

These two words, I would argue aside from “I Am” as used in John, are two of the most powerful words in all of scripture when put together. Whenever you see these two words together they are typically placed after a description of impossibilities or dispair. But God is a phrase that denotes a moment in time where the creator of the universe chose to step into time and space to stop the natural order of things and personally intervene in the affairs of men.

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20 (NIV)

“They refused to obey and did not remember the miracles you had done for them. Instead, they became stubborn and appointed a leader to take them back to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them…” Nehemiah 9:17 (NLT)

“But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself.” Psalms 49:15 (NIV)

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26 (NIV)

“I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever. But you, O LORD my God, snatched me from the jaws of death!” Jonah 2:6 (NLT)

“Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” Matthew 19:26 (NLT)

“But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip.” Acts 2:24 (NLT)

“You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead.” Acts 3:15a (NIV)

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (NIV)

“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” 1st Corinthians 1:27 (NIV)

“It is impossible to do what God’s standards demand because of the weakness our human nature has. But God sent his Son to have a human nature as sinners have and to pay for sin.” Romans 8:3a (GWT)

Your past is completed. Your sins have been committed but the future isn’t set. God still breaks through the realms of time and space to disrupt the natural order of death and life, the schemes of angel and demons, our own sabotaging of our lives through fears and worry, and the entirety of the powers of the kingdom of Hell so he can finish the good work he started in you, the role that he has for you in his plan, and to accomplish Jesus’s prayer of ‘as in heaven so on earth’.

  • Christiaan

(Edited to correct a misstatement about my former pastor being from California – turns out he’s a Georgia boy.)