Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – June 13, 2016
Sanctify them in the truth [set them apart for Your purposes, make them holy]; Your word is truth. John 17:17, AMP
Some people play church. Their brand of Christianity is cultural, socially acceptable—but not a level of commitment to Christ that invites criticism or an uncomfortable life change. Like an imaginary game they may play with a child, they pretend to be serious with their faith—but they are only posers. Their Sunday religious ruse is a form of godliness. It is temporary, an empty routine. Bible reading, prayer and worship evaporate the other six days of the week. To not take the Almighty seriously is a serious mistake. A flippant faith is a false religion for fools.
Jesus describes the process of how a Christian grows in understanding of their heavenly Father and His plan for their life. A child of God is set apart for His purposes to make them holy—and in Christ they are His holy people. The common theme in Christ’s words is truth—the truth found in God’s word and the truth to transform the human heart. And because Jesus is the Truth and Jesus is the Word—to know and love Jesus is to know and love the truth. Authentic Christianity takes the Lord seriously by learning His truth and submitting to its transforming work of grace.
“For out of His fullness [the superabundance of His grace and truth] we have all received grace upon grace [spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift]. For the Law was given through Moses, but grace [the unearned, undeserved favor of God] and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:16-18, AMP).
Let’s take a truth test and expose common misconceptions about Christianity. True or False: Being a follower of Jesus solves all our problems and makes us prosperous. False. Sometimes the godly are persecuted for their faith and suffer material loss. True or False: Christians do not believe they are morally superior to non-Christians. True. Those who walk with Christ aspire to a high ethical standard, but confess their struggle with sin and seek forgiveness. True or False:
The Christian life is predictable. False. A life of faith is a great adventure with joyful discoveries!
How do you grow in your understanding and application of truth? Remain a humble student of Scripture and you will daily uncover ways to walk closer to Christ. When you stop learning from the Lord—you stop growing in the Lord. Secondly, admit your struggles—in fact, embrace your weaknesses as an opportunity to depend on God and people. The deeper your relationship with Jesus, the broader your influence for Jesus. You take God seriously enough when you take His Son seriously. Start with salvation, and continue in a lifetime of growing in grace—all by faith!
“Present yourselves as building stones for the construction of a sanctuary vibrant with life, in which you’ll serve as holy priests offering Christ-approved lives up to God.” (1 Peter 2:5, MSG).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me take You very seriously, but not take myself too seriously.Application
How can I better understand the Bible and apply transforming truth to my life?Related Reading
Psalm 19:9; Proverbs 1:7; John 6:40; Acts 9:31; 2 Corinthians 5:11Post/Tweet today
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I am disappointed that this devotion has a link to an article in the online magazine, Relevant. I went to the article and was disappointed by its content, specifically the following statement:
“Additionally, many believers aren’t opposed to doctrines that heavily involve scientific data and research: evolution, global warming, healthcare research and environmentalism.”
Many believers aren’t opposed to “doctrines” like EVOLUTION! This is one Christian who reads God’s word as God’s word. Mankind didn’t evolve over time, but was instantaneously created by the omnipotent creator of the universe.
To link people to an article that vaguely throws out Christians being okay with evolution is misleading at best and dangerous for seekers or new believers at worst. Since evolution isn’t defined or discussed, it leaves the door open for misinterpretation. Quite possibly the author was referring to microevolution–the small changes within a species over time–but without any explanation, one must assume the reference is macroevolution–the idea of life evolving over time–which absolutely contradicts the Biblical view.
Generally I love the devotions from Wisdom Hunters, but please vet any site you link to your devotions.
I do like the daily devotionals that you send me – I find them very informative. However, I would like to ask that you please make sure that the tenses used are correct. For example – in “How to Know if We Take God Seriously Enough” in the first sentence of the second paragraph the word “Christian” and the word “them” are used to refer to the same subject. “Christian” is singular, “them” is plural. In the same paragraph in the second sentence “a child of God” is singular while “them” referring to the same subject is also plural. This makes for confusing study. Please address this in future devotionals. Thank you.
Dear Beverly,
Thank you for calling this to our attention. We appreciate when someone in our Wisdom Hunter’s family takes the time to let us know about any unintentional errors we may have in our devotionals. Thank you.
We hope that you will continue to be blessed by the devotionals and we give all the glory to God!
Grateful for you~
Gwynne
“Be joyful always; pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18
Dear Joanne,
Thank you so much for letting us know your concerns regarding the Relevant link and the subject within it mentioning evolution. I can understand your apprehension about the wording in the article possibly sounding as if Christians, as a whole, agree with the theory of evolution. And you are right about the concern that possibly new believers and seekers could possibly be misled. However, as I read the Relevant article, and re-read Boyd’s devotional, I realized that Boyd clarified this statement with “many believers aren’t opposed to “doctrines such as evolution, etc… While they are not opposed to the theory or some aspects of the evolution theory, they are still believers and are saved by grace.
I read a great article in preparing for this response. It was “Can Christians Believe In Evolution?” by Peter Hawkins.
If you get a chance, it is a good read. (www.lifehopeandtruth.com).
I do see your point, however, and appreciate your concern. What I love about this kind of discussion is that it makes us (believer, new believer, seeker, etc…) seek out His word and dig deeper. Also, as a believer, it helps us to know what to say when someone approaches us on our beliefs.
Peter reminds us:
“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Peter 3:15)
Thank you again, Joanne, for your thought provoking comments. We are thankful for you and look forward to hearing from you again.
Believing and trusting~
Gwynne
“Sovereign Lord”, they said, ‘You made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them’.” Acts 4:24