Hello Resurrection Bible Readers,
Today is a day that serves to allow you to catch up if you’ve fallen behind on your devos. Please tune in tomorrow as we continue with our reading of 2 Thessalonians.
Thanks,
Pastor Jake
Day 90 - Staff Devo
Day 89 - 2 Thessalonians 1
Day 88 - 1 Thessalonian 5
Day 87 - 1 Thessalonians 4
Day 86 - 1 Thessalonians 3
Day 85 - Staff Devotional
Salt and Light
Pastor Jake
“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person”
Henry Ford, the man credited with the invention of our first automobile, once purchased a large insurance policy for his business. The Detroit newspapers featured the transaction because the amount of money paid for the policy was quite large. One day, one of Ford’s old friends who was in the insurance industry was reading the newspaper, and at the sight of this story he became outraged. “How could he do this to me? I thought we were friends?” he thought to himself. In his anger, he met up with Ford to see if the papers were true, and much to his dismay, it was. The friend asked ford “why did you not purchase the policy from me, your own friend?” Ford replied simply, “you never asked me.”
The book of Colossians is Paul’s response to false teachers, and his advice is that the only way to combat false teaching is with the truth of the gospel. We live on the far side of the empty tomb, which mean we possess a great hope that we must share with the world. But if you never ask, don’t be surprised when you see loved ones, friends and family purchasing their divine “insurance policies” at “fraudulent companies.” False teaching is everywhere today, and if we struggle wondering how those whom we love have followed these teachings, perhaps we should be wondering, “did I even ask?”
When Paul says, “Let your speech always be gracious,” he is assuming one vital reality – that you would speak up. In order for speech to be gracious, there first needs to be speech. So our passage is telling us to speak up. Share. By walking in biblical wisdom we must also be voicing that Biblical wisdom – by the strength of Christ, who himself said in Luke 12:11-12,
“…when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” (Luke 12:11-12)
But that speech has a qualifier – it must be gracious. This word for “gracious” is the widely used term that we typically see when describing God’s grace. But, the question is, what is this word modifying? Is it explaining the content of the speech or is it explaining the quality of the speech? In other words, are our words about grace or our words gracioius, kind and attractive? Well, in essence… its both! Of course your words should be about grace – that is the gospel. But, your speech must also be gracious, kind and attractive.
Winsomeness is not anti-biblical. We are not to be harsh in the way we deal with outsiders. Our words must convey patience, kindness, and attractiveness. This is the kind of temperament prescribed by God’s Word.
But what does Paul mean when he says “seasoned with salt” in this verse? There are those who have sacrificed the foundational elements of the faith to make the gospel more attractive. This is why Paul adds, “seasoned with salt” to the gracious speech. Salt is a preservative, so if something is seasoned with it, its primary characteristics would be preserved. So, we are to be winsome – or gracious – without compromising the foundational elements of our faith – or salty.
Scholar Douglas J. Moo writes that when we are dealing with outsiders who question or even antagonize our faith,
“An appropriate Christian response will, of course, communicate the content of the gospel, but it will also be done in a manner that will make the gospel attractive.”
Have you considered ways you can be both filled with light and salt? In which of those two areas could you be doing better? With Easter close behind us, it is important to keep in mind that we have good news of great joy that we’ve been called to share. May we go forth boldly as those who carry a gospel that is both winsome and true!
Day 84 - 1 Thessalonians 2
Day 83 - 1 Thessalonians 1
Day 81 - Colossians 4
Day 80 - Colossians 3
Day 79 - He is Risen (Easter Sunday)
He is Risen!
Pastor Jake
Happy Easter Morning, brothers and sisters in Christ! Today, the most sacred of all days, we celebrate our savior walking out of the grave. The true height of the Christian calendar, we revere this occasion as the moment Christ conquered death and saved us from its sting. Paul aptly wrote,
And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. (1 Cor. 15:14 ESV)
He wrote this knowing that the risen savior is essential to our salvation story. If he did not come out of that grave, he did not fully atone for sin. But as he walked out glorified, he proved that he carried the fulness of sin and death, bearing their weight to the final and fullest degree. There remained nothing left in the cup of wrath that was owed to you and me. He consumed it all. When he walked out of that tomb, he walked out a conqurer. What’s more, that same Spirit that rose him from the dead lives in you and me. Paul writes in Romans,
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. (Rom. 8:11 ESV)
Therefore, with sin atoned for, Christ having been offered in our place, wearing our sin and giving us his righteousness, we now celebrate as those who walk in newness of life!
We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. (Rom. 6:4-5 ESV)
With resurrection Sunday on our minds, I ask you to join me in Matthew 28, as we read the story of Christ’s resurrection together.
Christ is risen, He is risen indeed!
Day 78 - Colossians 2
Day 77 - Colossians 1 (Good Friday)
The Preeminent Savior
Pastor Jake
Good morning, Resurrection Church Bible readers! Today is Good Friday; the day in which we mark the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf. He bore the punishment that was owed to you and me, for sin has always demanded blood (Lev. 17:11). Thus, Christ shed his in our place on the cross. Isaiah reminds us with his potent prophecy,
But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. (Isa. 53:5 ESV)
We look at such a painful and difficult event in our salvation history and wonder, “How could we call this good?” The answer lies within our passage for today. As we kick off the book of Colossians this Good Friday, I want verses 19 and 20 to resonate in your heart. In this Christ hymn, Paul talks about the preeminence (a fancy way to say “the first above all else; the highest rank or dignity”) of Christ, who was preeminent because,
…in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Col. 1:19 -20 ESV)
Good Friday is good because it points to Easter Sunday. It is good because by his body broken and blood poured out on the cross, you are made whole and washed clean. He stood in your place so that, by his merit, you would be transferred from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of his beloved Son (vv. 13-14). We mourn as those with great hope. I pray that you have a reflective Good Friday as you sit in the wonder of Christ’s work on your behalf.
See you tonight at 5:00pm for our Good Friday service!
Day 76 - Philippians 4
Day 75 - Philippians 3
Day 74 - Staff Devotional
Staff Devotional
Pastor Jake
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
I am an uncle 9 times over at the moment, and I love my nieces and nephews. Once, about 14 years ago, I had a chance to babysit my very first niece, Rylie. She was so adorable and very smart. On this day, we were spending time playing with some toys and I started to just talk to her. I was talking like I would to any other person, using hand gestures, and inflecting my voice. Suddenly, I looked down at her amidst her toys on the floor and she started doing what I was doing. She was gesturing with her arms, speaking in baby gibberish and even inflecting her voice. When I saw her doing this, I was overflowing with joy. She saw what I was doing and wanted to do it herself. She wanted to be more like me.
As I came across Ephesians 5:1-2 a few days ago, this story came to me while reading “Therefore be imitators of God….” I remember feeling joy at my nieces’ attempts to immitate me. Now, take that joy I felt, multiply it infinitely, and you will only come incrementally closer to the joy God feels when he sees you imitating him. Follow God’s example, as dearly loved children. The original language is written as if to say being an imitator and being loved by God are the same thing. Imitate him because you are loved by him, and know you are loved in your imitation.
“But Pastor Jake, I can’t do these things! It is just too much. I don’t want a rule list to follow because I know I will fail and I know God will be disappointed in me!”
Listen… Do you think that when my niece was trying to imitate me that I got upset and started yelling out, “No! Stop! You aren’t imitating me correctly! Go and follow my list of instructions on how to talk, then come back and show me!” Absolutely not. God’s joy is in our imitation. God’s joy is in our effort. With each passing day, God’s love is lavishly upon you before you even wake up, and it remains with you to comfort you to sleep. He simply wants the best for you – therefore, imitate.
This passage ends as all to-do lists should: with Christ
And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. - Ephesians 5:2
This word “fragrance” is interesting. Paul uses it in 2 Corinthians chapter 2 when describing the knowledge of God being like a fragrance. Apparently, Paul was all about appealing to his audience’s sense of smell. The idea that I believe Paul is trying to recall for his audience is the idea of the Old Testament Tabernacle
When God’s people wandered in the wilderness, their one connection with God was through the tabernacle. God would descend and manifest himself above the ark of the covenant so that he could simply be with his people. When the tabernacle was set up, the different tribes of Israel would set up camp around the tabernacle, each able to have the same distance to the wall of the tabernacle. So, when a priest would offer a sacrifice, what do you think would happen? The smell would rise up, a pleasing aroma, and it would spread throughout the whole camp. Once inhaled, the tribes new that sin had been atoned for. Sin had been forgiven.
How do you smell? Does the sacrifice of Christ emanate from you into the lives of those around you? Ask yourself, “What are ways you can make the smell of hope in my life more potent?” If the answer isn’t evident, simply look at verse 1 - “Therefore, be imitators of God.” A fragrant life is a Christlike life.