Bear One Another's Burdens - Do You?

Another little devition I gave recently for our Lord's Supper service...

_____

I was scanning through my Bible app, looking at the section that shows me a snapshot view of all of the verses I have highlighted in the past. 

I run across some that always give me grief as I read them and realize how far off the mark I tend to fall. So I figured I would share some of the grief this morning. 

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Phil 2:3-4)

This verse always comes to mind when I view the way Christians deal with each other online. Pretty much every professing Christian fails in this type of area when they deal with other Christians online.

They treat each other horribly – there is no humility – there is no looking to the interests of others – it is all about making the other person look stupid. It is about being right, not kind of humble. 

Something to Pray For - Without Ceasing

A little Lord's Supper devotional I gave a while back...
_____

I just wanted to share a prayer of David from Psalm 25 that would not be a horrible thing for us to remember and pray for ourselves daily.

To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. (Psalms 25:1-5 ESV)

I gleaned some tidbits of info on this section from the words of John Calvin, and added some additional comments of my own:

The Psalmist declares at the very outset, that he is not driven here and there, after the manner of the ungodly, but that he directs all his desires and prayers to God alone. Nothing is more inconsistent with true and sincere prayer to God, than to waver and gaze about as the heathen do, for some help from the world, and at the same time to forsake God, or not to betake ourselves directly to his guardianship and protection.

The Humanity of Christ Shows Through

A Lord's Supper devotional I gave a while back...

_____

This past week in my Bible reading, I was going through the chapters dealing with the arrest and trial of Yeshua, and in reading through with the chronological reading plan, it of course lumps all of the same gospel stories of this together. So basically I am reading the same story multiple times. In doing so, I was really struck by the humanity of Christ.

 Then he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me." (Matthew 26:38)

The word in the original is much stronger than the one translated “sorrowful.” It means to be pressed down or overwhelmed with great anguish. Some translate it as him saying “my soul is so dissolved in sorrow, my spirit is filled with such agony and anguish, that, if speedy assistance is not given to my body, death must be the speedy consequence.”

Is This the World You Want?

A Lord's Supper devotion I gave a while back...
____

A couple weeks ago, I was listening to a new CD we had got by the band Switchfoot. One of the songs caught my attention after a couple listens, and I was drawn to listening more closely to the lyrics, which really touched me. Shortly thereafter, I gave some thought to using them for a Lord’s Supper devotion here, and filed the thought away. 

Then last week in the sermon, the discussion was about our Christian walk. During it, there was one quote that really struck me as relating to the song I had thought about sharing some time earlier. The quote was by the unknown author which said:

You are writing a gospel, a chapter each day. By the deeds that you do, and the words that you say. Men read what you write, whether faithless or true. Just what is the gospel, according to you?

Prior to that in the sermon, (Pastor) Dave had said:

We are to live consistent with what we know, with what we teach, with what we preach, and with what we believe—this is integrity. We are losing all credibility today because we say one thing and do another. We live one way and preach another. We must walk worthy of our calling, or we destroy our effectiveness and become a group of hypocrites.

Are You Murmuring to God?

A Lord's Supper devotion I gave a while back...

_____

Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. (Phil. 2:14-15)

I know for me personally, there are times I can struggle with contentment, and that leads to murmuring, so I wanted to take a quick look at this topic as a reminder to us all to watch for signs of this in our daily lives.

By murmuring, it does not simply mean complaining. There is a legitimate way of complaining to God about our situation that is not considered murmuring. Like when the Israelites were under the heavy yoke of bondage and cried out to God in their affliction. They were moaning about what was happening, and God brought deliverance.

The Sovereignty of God & "Stonewall" Jackson

A Lord's Supper devotional I gave:

_____

Psalm 4

1 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!

    You have given me relief when I was in distress.

    Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

2  O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?

    How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah

3  But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;

    the LORD hears when I call to him.

4  Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah

5  Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the LORD.

6  There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?

    Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!”

7  You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.

8  In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

In reading this, especially the last verse – it strikes me at how often I lie down to sleep yet cannot, as my mind races with concerns and worries. While I claim to believe in the absolute sovereignty of Yahweh, there are still times where I do not put it into practice. 

What Are You Thinking? - Taking the Lord's Name in Vain

1 Cor. 11:24-34

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.

During the week, as I pondered ideas for this morning, I found myself drawn back to last week’s sermon and the discussion on taking the name of the Lord in vain, and an idea of connecting that thought to the Lord’s Supper.

In the Wilderness: Christ Did What We Couldn't

A Lord's Supper devotional I gave a while back:

------

Matthew 4:1-11 (ESV)

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Deut 8:3)

Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Deut 6:16)

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”(Deut. 6:13) Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

Here we find Yeshua about to enter into his public ministry, and right after he is baptized he goes into the wilderness for 40 days. We can see many parallels in what he does here and what Israel experienced in their wilderness wanderings. The connection is seen initially from Yeshua’s quoting of three verses out of Deuteronomy that are part of Israel’s wilderness experience.

Lord's Supper Devotion: Hope in God

The men at church take turns giving a little devotional before the Lord's Supper/prayer time each week. Here is one I recently presented that I thought I'd share.
------

I would like to read and examine a few words of wisdom from Psalm 78:

(1-4) Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth! I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.

Lord's Supper Devotion: Remembering the Passover

The men at church take turns giving a little devotional before the Lord's Supper/prayer time each week. Here is one I recently presented that I thought I'd share.
------

We come here to the Lord’s table, and it is always good to remember how we got here. We look back the covenant meal that helped get us to the table. The Passover in Exodus 12 has some key features worth remembering.

First, on the tenth day of the month, the Israelites were to pick a male lamb without defect, and four days later they were to sacrifice it.

Second, they were to sprinkle the blood from the sacrifice on the top and sides of their house’s door frames to protect those within.

Third, they were to roast the meat and along with unleavened bread, eat all of it without breaking the bones of the animal.

Lord's Supper Devotion: Debtors for Christ

The men at church take turns giving a little devotional before the Lord's Supper prayer time each week. Here is one I recently presented that I thought I'd share.
------

One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 

Lord's Supper Devotion: Take My Burden

This is a little devotional I presented to our church prayer group today during the Lord's Supper time.

------

I would like to take a look at the following verses from Matthew, and some of the background, cultural and implications we can draw from it. Jesus says:

Come unto me, all ye labouring and burdened ones, and I will give you rest, take up my yoke upon you, and learn from me, because I am meek and humble in heart, and ye shall find rest to your souls, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Mat 11:28-30 YLT)

At the time when Jesus came on the scene, it was common practice for Rabbi’s to take on disciples, and those disciples were expected to take a place of total obedience and dedication to the Rabbi and his philosophy. The purpose was for the disciple to become just like the Rabbi, and this rabbi/disciple relationship is what is meant to take on the “yoke” of the rabbi.

Lord's Supper Devotion: Looking Forward

Devotion presented at church 1 April 2012:

Luke 9: 61-62 tells us the last part of Jesus speaking to various people about following him, and this last person in the discussion says:

‘I will follow thee, sir, but first permit me to take leave of those in my house’; and Jesus said unto him, ‘No one having put his hand on a plough, and looking back, is fit for the reign of God.’ (Luke 9:61-62 YLT)

I recently read through this in my daily reading, and decided to stop and figures out a bit more about what this whole looking back thought meant.

Lord's Supper Devotion: Jesus – The Promised Messiah

Devotion presented at church 4 March 2012:

Matt 12:9-16: And having departed thence, he went to their (the Pharisee’s) synagogue, and lo, there was a man having the hand withered, and they questioned him, saying, `Is it lawful to heal on the sabbaths?' that they might accuse him.

And he said to them, `What man shall be of you, who shall have one sheep, and if this may fall on the sabbaths into a ditch, will not lay hold on it and raise it ? How much better, therefore, is a man than a sheep? --so that it is lawful on the sabbaths to do good.'

Then saith he to the man, `Stretch forth thy hand,' and he stretched it forth, and it was restored whole as the other.

Lord's Supper Devotional: Remember Who Jesus IS

Devotion presented at church 29 January 2012:

When we think of god the father, we rarely think of anything physical – at least hopefully that is the case. We may have mental thoughts along the lines of things we’ve actually seen in movies like the Ten Commandments – this images that come to mind when we think of the workings of God the Father with mankind.

I have always wondered what it was Moses saw when he saw God’s back:

Jehovah also saith, ‘Lo, a place is by Me, and thou hast stood on the rock, and it hath come to pass, in the passing by of Mine honour, that I have set thee in a cleft of the rock, and spread out My hands over thee, until My passing by, and I have turned aside My hands, and thou hast seen My back parts, and My face is not seen.’ (Exodus 33: 21-23)