One Year Bible Devotions

August 14, 2018

THE CALL TO PREACH THE GOOD NEWS
When I was eight years old, my grandmother told me that she thought I was going to be a preacher when I grew up. I disagreed and insisted I was going to raise chickens with Papaw. Turns out, she was right. God called me to preach. But I do still love chicken. 🙂

The first time I felt the call to preach was when I was 19 years old. I was attending a Christian conference for college students and the speaker instructed anyone who felt God calling them to the ministry to stand up. I looked around to see who would stand up, when I suddenly realized that I was standing up! I seriously don’t remember telling my legs to stand. But there I was, standing with tears pouring down my face.

Flash forward 11 years. I was 30 years old, married with three kids, a mortgage and a good corporate job. And I still hadn’t answered the call to preach. I taught Sunday school, I sang in the choir, I served on church committees, I was a deacon… I was trying to serve without selling out completely. Yet, I knew that God wanted my all in all. I was afraid, but like Paul, I felt compelled. My misery grew so great (It’s miserable to run from God’s call. Just ask Jonah.) that I finally surrendered. I quit my job, went to seminary, and planted Wilson Community Church.

Like Paul, I can’t boast about this calling. Like Jonah, I tried my best to run from it. Yet now, thirty years later, I am so thankful. How terrible it would be if I didn’t preach the gospel.

What’s God calling you to do?

August 13, 2018

OUR FREEDOM TO LIVE IS LIMITED BY OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO LOVE
Our freedom in Christ does not relieve us of our responsibility to consider others, especially new believers. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he was concerned about those who felt free to eat meat offered to idols without consideration of those who would be tempted to sin by doing the same. The city of Corinth was known for its temple to Apollo. The Apollo Temple was the most prominent building in the city. In addition, overlooking the city was an acropolis upon which stood a temple to Aphrodite. Animal sacrifices were offered at both of these temples. The meat was then sold to local butchers in the Corinthian market place, who sold it to their customers. Even though as Paul pointed out, these gods were not real, those who grew up in Corinth might feel disloyal to Christ by eating the meat offered to Apollo or Aphrodite. For this reason, he said, “If it causes your brother to sin, then don’t eat meat” (1 Cor. 8:13).

Our freedom to live according to our conscience and knowledge is to be limited by our responsibility to love others. How might this principle be applied today?

August 12, 2018

DON’T BE ABSORBED BY TEMPORARY CONDITIONS
Are you weeping over a loss today? Be mindful that the Lord will soon wipe away every tear (Rev. 21:4), turning your mourning into dancing (Psa. 30:11). Are you rejoicing in your blessings today? Wonderful. Yet, let the One who blesses be the focus of your joy, rather than being overly enamored of the blessings themselves. Have you acquired possessions that make life easier and more beautiful? Be careful. For your possessions may seek to possess you instead. Don’t be absorbed by temporary conditions in this world. Instead, let Christ and His eternal kingdom be the focus of your life.

August 8, 2018

THE NEW SPIRITUAL REALITY: WE ARE GOD’S FAMILY!
Paul reminded the Corinthians of their spiritual relationship to him. He had become their spiritual father because he was the one who had first preached the Gospel to them. Yet, they were treating him disgracefully by comparing him to other preachers, such as Apollos, who had come after him. It was not Paul’s injured pride that motivated him to write this corrective letter to the Corinthians. But it was the Spirit who inspired him to show them that it was their fleshly pride that led them to compare and boast based on outward appearance.

There is a new spiritual reality that comes from believing the Gospel. We have become God’s children. We have become members of God’s family. Those who have taught us of Christ, and continue to mentor us, are as our spiritual fathers and mothers. Those who we fellowship with in Christ are as our brothers and sisters. And those who we share the Gospel with are as our spiritual sons and daughters. Remember this when pride tempts you to compare and complain. We are God’s family!

August 7, 2018

CALLED TO MAKE JESUS FAMOUS, NOT OURSELVES
Paul was concerned with the church at Corinth because of reports that there were divisions among them concerning which teacher they followed. Some were claiming to be followers of Paul and others, followers of Apollos. This was heartbreaking news to Paul, for he knew the foundation he had laid when he planted the church in Corinth. And that foundation was Christ Jesus. He had not led them to follow him, but to follow Christ.

Someone has once said that wherever you hear the name of the preacher lifted up more than the name of Christ, one should listen for the sound of the serpent’s hiss in the background. For Satan is pleased when he has tempted man to take the glory belonging to Jesus.

It’s good to honor and to submit to the spiritual leaders that God has given. Yet, the glory belongs to Christ. We are not called to make a man, a doctrine, nor a church famous. We are called to make Christ Jesus famous, and if need be, ourselves a fool.

August 6, 2018

WHY BELIEVERS DON’T NEED TO ASK WWJD
In 1896, Charles Sheldon published a novel called In “His Steps,” in which a fictional town was radically improved when its residents began to ask themselves, “What would Jesus do?” before every action. In the 1990s, someone got the idea of writing this question in the acronym form, “WWJD,” and putting it on everything from bracelets to ball caps. The WWJD logo was soon seen everywhere.

Did asking this question help people live better? Perhaps. Thinking before acting is always a good idea. But there is an error at the heart of this. According to the apostle Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, the “people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means” (1 Cor. 2:14). In other words, those without Christ have no idea what Jesus would do, neither do they have the desire nor the willpower to do it.

The truth is, only those who have believed and received Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior can know the “mind of Christ” on things. For only those who have been born again have the Spirit of Christ living within, instructing and empowering them to live for Him. The believer doesn’t need to ask what Jesus would do, for they already possess the “mind of Christ” on things. They only need to obey and rely on His Spirit, for the challenge is not so much in knowing God’s will, but in doing it.

But you don’t have to throw your WWJD bracelet away! Who knows? It might cause someone to ask a question about Jesus that will give you the opportunity to share the gospel. Surely, that’s what Jesus would do. 🙂

August 4, 2018

THE POWERFUL MESSAGE OF THE CROSS OF CHRIST
Perhaps more than any other epistle, Paul’s letter to the Corinthians was corrective. He had heard that there were divisions among them based on who had baptized them, claiming superiority by some fleshly view of spiritual lineage. But Paul would have none of it. He reminded them that it wasn’t who baptized them that mattered, nor was it important that the preacher who had led them to Christ was the most eloquent. What mattered was the simple yet powerful message of the cross of Christ.

The Corinthians were lovers of Greek culture and rhetoric. They seemed more enamored with the quality of the speaker, than with the power of the message. Paul made the point that it was the simplicity of the gospel that was key to its power. The point of preaching the gospel wasn’t to make the preacher famous, but to make Jesus famous!