1 Corinthians 16:13

Verse of the Day Devotion: 1 Corinthians 16:13 

“Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” – 1 Corinthians 16:13

There are times when the enemy makes it difficult to stand strong in the truth.  Have you ever been in a position where staying true to God would end in persecution or humiliation?  I will say I have, and in my earlier years I had not always taken a firm stand for Christ.

The idea this verse alludes to is that we should always be on our guard.  We need to look out for the enemy and his wiles.  He does not want us to be successful in this Christian walk.  He is constantly putting stumbling blocks in our way, desiring that we fall away or at the least, compromise.   Have you ever been with people who subtly get you thinking of things you know are wrong?  Or in desiring to fit in, have you spoken badly about someone or nodded in agreement when someone else has?

These times can be hard to see, which is why Paul is adamant that we be on the watch.  We must always look at everything to ensure we do not fall victim to the temptations brought our way.  What I have found true is the things we desire often are the areas he attacks us in.  If we are looking for friendship, we must not desire it more than staying true to God’s commands, for it would be easy to compromise our beliefs if we are not careful.  If we desire to go away somewhere, would we be willing to lie in order to get out of another commitment we made earlier, even if that would result in harm to another?  We must stand firm in the faith; for our sake and the sake of others.  “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;” Philippians 2:3.

We must never yield to anyone or anything that desires us to sin, showing the world we are not serious about our faith.  We must always stand for what we know is the truth, not wavering at all.  We must hold firm to our confidence in God, notwithstanding all the deceit, insinuations, and those of our friends who try to get us to follow their false ways.  As it says, we must be that man or woman who does not act cowardly but stands boldly before all no matter the consequences.  This is what we are called to do.  This is who we are called to be.  I want to encourage us all to be willing to give all, up to and including our lives for the sake of the gospel.  And we can only do this through His Spirit.  “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”  Ephesians 6:10-12.

He gave His life for us.  Should we not be willing to give ours for Him?

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

Proverbs 19:21

Verse of the Day Devotion: Proverbs 19:21

“Many plans are in a man’s heart, But the counsel of the LORD will stand.” Proverbs 19:21

All of us have plans for our future.  We have short-term plans; what we will do over the weekend.  Then there are middle-term plans; what will we do over the next couple of years.  Then there are long-term plans; what will we do in retirement.  There is nothing wrong with having plans.  They are important in order to determine what will guide us to its fulfillment.  However, we should not make those plans concrete, for there is always the possibility that God has something else for us.

There are many things that we may desire for our future.  Some of these are obtaining wealth, or the revere of others.  Maybe a long and enjoyable life.  For others it may be preparing for a livelihood that we enjoy and gives us fulfillment.  However, many times our plans, even as Christians may focus on our own pleasures and desires, and not on others and their needs, or even God’s desires.  “Then He (Jesus) said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions. And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?  Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry. But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”  Luke 12:15-21.  This is a bit rough, but this man’s plan in the parable did not look after others, but only for himself.  And note what God called him; “You Fool.”  ‘This word ‘fool’ has the meaning – properly mindless, that is, stupid, ignorant, egotistic, rash, or unbelieving: unwise.’ (From Strong’s Greek Concordance.)

Even if our plans are not selfish, they may not be what God desires.  Therefore, as stated above, they should not be cast in concrete.  We must always look to what He desires of us.  What if we want to teach science in high school, but God desires us to go out and care for the poor?  Quite different occupations, neither of which is sinful.  Or, what if we plan on reaching the lost in our nearby cities, but God desires us to preach the gospel in North Korea?  This is an extreme example, however, for some this could be reality.  We must not ignore God’s plans for us.  We as Christians must be open to any calling He has for us.

I remember the book by David Wilkerson, “The Cross and the Switchblade.”  This is the story of a country Pentecostal preacher who was called by God to go to Brooklyn, NY to minister to the gangs in that area. God used an article in Life Magazine about seven teenagers who were members of a criminal gang to communicate His will to David.  He was a Pastor who was content, and safe, preaching in this small church and would have been happy to stay there until he retired.  But God had other plans, and I am sure they did not agree with the plans David had.  However, he submitted to God and as a result, two high level gang members were saved and gave their lives over to God and preached to many still in the gangs: Nicki Cruz and Cookie Rodriguez.

Sometimes we do not know the plans God has for us.  But He does.  “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11. This verse is regarding the Jews in Babylon; however, I am confident it is applicable to us as well.  He knows the end from the beginning; therefore, He knows all His plans for us.  I encourage us all to, when we make plans, to be open to something different if God leads us to another calling. Remember what James said, “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit. Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” James 4:13-15.

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

Ephesians 6:14a

Verse of the Day Devotion:  Ephesians 6:14a   

“Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH” – Ephesians 6:14a

I want to start with the several verses that introduce this idea Paul is putting forth.  “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” Ephesians 6:10-13.  He is telling us to put on the full armor of God for the following reason, that we can stand firmly against the powers of the enemy, namely the sly schemes of the devil. 

We will start this series of verses with the first part of verse 14, which says “Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH.”  Ephesians 6:14a.  I am wanting to speak of each part of the armor individually which is why I am focusing on half of this verse.  The idea of girding is to fasten garments with a girdle or a belt.  There are several metaphorical ideas associated with girding the loins as seen by the Greco-Roman and Jewish world.  It could be the leather apron which was put on under the breastplate. Or it could be the belt from which the sword was hung.  This part of the armor along with the others, aside from the sword, are defensive in nature. 

Jesus said, “Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” John 14:5.  Truth is from God, through Christ, and is the defense we need to counter the attacks from the father of lies.  It is a crucial piece of defensive armor guarding our heart from deception.  If we do not know the truth, then how can we know if what we are told by the enemy is a lie?  We cannot, and thus we see the cause of many people who confessed Christianity but then fell away because they accepted some false teachings that lead them astray.  These teaching can appear to be biblical, however their goal is to trick us into walking away from the faith. This is why it is imperative that we spend time in learning the truth.  And we can do this through our leaders.  “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:11-13.  And if we follow these teachings, we will then be equipped.  “As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;” Ephesians 4:14.

The devil wants to steal as many sheep as he can, therefore we must fill ourselves with  the truth of God so we can stand strong and firm to protect ourselves from his schemes.  And the only way we can know if something is false is if we know what is true.  I was given teller training at a Savings and Loan I used to work at.  When they taught us what to look for regarding counterfeit money, they did not show us all the way money looked false, but how real currency looked.  And this is how we need to look for false teaching as well.  We are to be so familiar with the truth that it is obvious what is not true.  So we must gird ourselves with the truth so that when the enemy tries to lead us astray, we will see it as falsehood and not be fooled no matter how fiendish he is.   

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

Job 19:25

Verse of the Day Devotion: Job 19:25 

“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth.” –  Job 19:25   

In the beginning of the Book of Job, he basically loses all he had because of Satan, who takes them away from him in testing God.  Job was a very prosperous man and had much property and many in his family.  However, Satan takes away everything he has and then kills all his children.  Soon after this, Satan attacks Job and covers his body with sore boils, from the top of his head to the soles of his feet.  And because of this, he was using a piece of pottery to scrape himself while sitting among the ashes. Not a pleasant experience.

And to make matters worse, three friends come by to sit with him.  Their names were Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar.  There was a serious back and forth between Job and his three friends.  Each time one of his friends spoke, Job would respond.  And it seems each series of talks became more and more negative.  In chapter 19, Job is responding to the comments of Bildad found in the previous chapter.  Bildad seemed offended by the words of Job.  Some of Bildad’s words are, “How long will you hunt for words? Show understanding and then we can talk. Why are we regarded as beasts, As stupid in your eyes?” Job 18:2-3.  And, “The light in his tent is darkened, And his lamp goes out above him. His vigorous stride is shortened, And his own scheme brings him down. For he is thrown into the net by his own feet, And he steps on the webbing.” Job 18:6-8.  These three friends believed his trials were on account of his sins and that God was punishing him. 

Job then responds to his friends, particularly Bildad, with strong words of his own.  “How long will you torment me And crush me with words? These ten times you have insulted me; You are not ashamed to wrong me. Even if I have truly erred, My error lodges with me.  Know then that God has wronged me And has closed His net around me.” Job 19:2-6.  He hits back on Bildad, but then at the end, he says even if I have erred, it is God who has wronged me.  He then goes on to say God has stripped him of any honor he had, and He is breaking him down and has uprooted his hope.  He goes as far as stating, “He has also kindled His anger against me And considered me as His enemy.” Job 19:11.

Next, he asks his friends to feel bad for him.  “Pity me, pity me, O you my friends, For the hand of God has struck me. Why do you persecute me as God does, And are not satisfied with my flesh?” Job 19:21-22.  He feels he has been wronged and accused of hypocrisy.  He was letting out what he was feeling, however, his words were taken as something evil.  He then wishes his words were written to show others that he was struggling and was not as his friends portrayed him.  He was not being hypocritical but was expressing his thoughts and feelings. 

Job then abruptly breaks away from his previous sentiments.  He now settles back and says in our focus verse, “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth.” Job 19:25.  He is essentially telling his friends that you may think I acted improperly, accusing me of being utterly wrong and hypocritical.  However, I know my redeemer lives.  The word redeemer is translated from the Hebrew word go’el, which refers to the kindred redeemer.  He believed that no matter how difficult things could be, He would redeem Him in the end.  This could be a prophetic word referring to Christ, but it could also refer to his current life.  He was confident in that, and he was to wait patiently for Him.

I want to encourage us to always remember as well that our Redeemer lives.  The one who died for us to pay the penalty for our sins and will come back to take us home.  We all go through difficult times, and with the enemy coming for us, we will continue to experience hard times.  But in the midst, we must always remember that our redeemer lives.  If we find ourselves being accused by people as being sinful and that is the reason for our trials, remember we know what we actually believe and that our redeemer lives. Therefore, do not focus on the problems and trials,  but focus on God, our redeemer and friend.  He will always bring us through and never leave or forsake us.  This is the best way to look at these situations for He will bring us through, both now and for eternity.

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