Global Organic Church

Daily Devotional: Fear and Hope - March 11

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:29:42 +0000

“The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.” Psalm 147:11

The phrase “fear not” appears approximately seventy-five times in the Old Testament, always in reference to temporal circumstances. God’s people are taught to fear Him and only Him. “Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.” 117 Fear is not just an emotion that paralyses. Rather it has the element of understanding and reason that is the product of understanding the character of God. Man is never told to “fear not” God.

You fear in the direction of your hope. Only those who have no hope have no fear. In Camus’ The Stranger, the man does not fear death because, as an existentialist, he sees no reason for existence and thus no reason to live. Such people are rare in life. You live in an environment that constantly threatens your hope, whatever the object of that hope may be. You fear that which you perceive to threaten your hope. Because you fear in the direction of your hope, you can easily determine the object of your hope by what you fear. You come home from work and your child meets you at the door and says, “I just returned from the doctor and he says that I have terminal cancer with less than six months to live.” Terror grips your soul. You just identified your hope.

Jesus says, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” 118 In other words, fear God rather than your temporal wellbeing. If you say that you have no fear of God, you are doomed to live in fear of your circumstances. Fear in this life can only be eliminated by fearing God.

117 - Psalm 34:11
118 - Matthew 10:28

This daily devotional is provided by the Leadership Foundation (www.leadershipfoundation.org) & Walter Hendrichsen.

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Daily Devotional: Fear and Love - March 10

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:02:03 +0000

“Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love.” 1 John 4:17-18

Jesus says that when you love God and your neighbor you fulfill the law. To the degree that you love perfectly, you have nothing to fear in the day of God’s judgment. Of course the opposite is also true: To the degree that you fail to love you have a great deal to fear in judgment, for “he who fears is not perfected in love.”

“There is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.” 116 The promise of forgiveness enhances fear. God’s mercy motivates you to fear Him, for without His forgiveness you would have no hope and your fear would quickly turn to resignation and contempt.

Fear and respect are different. Respect is on your terms while fear is on the other person’s terms. You may respect someone you admire and desire to emulate, but you determine the areas of his life you deem worthy of your respect. If you are in a military boot camp and have as your drill instructor one that is twice your size and equally mean, you fear him. He, not you, defines what that fear looks like. C.S. Lewis, in his The Chronicles of Narnia, says regarding Alsan the Lion, who represents Jesus Christ, “He is good, but He is not safe.”

I wanted my children to both love and fear me, for in their fear rested their safety. When we were together but out of reach and they moved into harm’s way, I would tell them to stop assured that they feared my voice. They feared for they knew that disobedience brought unpleasant consequences. If you respect God but do not fear Him, you will consider His commandments negotiable.

116 Psalm 130:4

This daily devotional is provided by the Leadership Foundation (www.leadershipfoundation.org) & Walter Hendrichsen.

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Daily Devotional: The Fear of God - March 9

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:01:23 +0000

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10

The Greek word for “fear” (phobia, from which we derive words such as claustrophobia) appears approximately 160 times in the New Testament. Fear immobilizes. Usually you express fear in the area of loss. You fear the loss of your daughter as she undergoes open-heart surgery, or the loss of your job in the midst of corporate layoffs. Jesus said, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” 113 If you can gain one thing, while loosing another, you should also fear what you gain: the world at the expense of your soul.

Fear keeps you from danger. Those who have no fear of heights are more likely to fall from a height than those who do fear. The fear of disease causes some people to eat well and exercise often. Fear can be a good thing.

Governments know that they must promote fear in order to maintain order. As the culture in Europe Christianized, governments sought to tie their legitimacy to God through such means as the divine right of kings. Paul says, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.” 114 To disobey government is to disobey God.

You cannot separate the fear of God from faith in God. The Savior cautions, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” 115 Only God can send your body and soul to hell. God wants you to fear Him..

113 Mark 8:36
114 Romans 13:1-2
115 Matthew 10:28

This daily devotional is provided by the Leadership Foundation (www.leadershipfoundation.org) & Walter Hendrichsen.

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Daily Devotional: Sexual Sin - March 8

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:24:48 +0000

“Shun immorality. Every other sin which a man commits is outside the body; but the immoral man sins against his own body.” 1 Corinthians 6:18

Curbing your appetites forms an essential component in the Christian life. Two appetites must be kept in check: First, the appetite for wealth and establishing limits on how you can use the civil courts to settle disputes; and second, sexual appetites.

“Food is meant for the stomach, …the body…for the Lord.” 111 When you die your old body will finish its slide toward decay, and disappear, but your new body will be resurrected upon the return of Christ. Your stomach houses food, but your body houses God. “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?” 112

For this reason sexual immorality is a uniquely hideous sin in the sight of God. You would think Paul wrong when he says, “every sin a man commits is outside the body.” Alcohol and drugs appear to be more destructive to the body than sex. The union of a man and woman, however, has a mystical dimension. During the time of Paul’s writing, temple prostitutes were used in pagan religions as a spiritual exercise, but Paul likens marriage to the union of Christ and His church.

Because your temporal body is the temple of Christ, to bring a harlot into union with it is to defile Christ’s temple. It would be analogous in the Old Testament to bringing a prostitute into the Holy of Holies. Such a thing is too reprehensible to contemplate. All sin is wicked and unacceptable in the sight of God, but for you to bring into your body one that is not your spouse is such an unspeakable desecration of Christ’s temple that you dare not so much as entertain its possibility.

111 I Corinthians 6:13
112 verse 18

This daily devotional is provided by the Leadership Foundation (www.leadershipfoundation.org) & Walter Hendrichsen.

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Daily Devotional: Knowledge and Love - March 4

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:39:56 +0000

“Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him.” 1 Corinthians 8:1-3

Paul devotes considerable effort in his letters to the Romans and Corinthians explaining the necessity of restricting your liberty in Christ. Liberty is driven by knowledge; restraint is driven by love. God’s desire that you obey His commands, and that you be considerate of the needs of other Christians, limits your liberty in Christ. With privilege comes responsibility.

Greek and Roman idolatry pervaded culture in the days of Paul. Feasts, the administrations of justice, public entertainment, all were infused with religious service to the gods. One of the most perplexing questions related to the use of things offered to gods. Paul addresses the question pertaining to idols with a discussion of knowledge and love.

Knowledge is the entrance to liberty, the exit to irresponsibility. “We know that an idol is nothing….Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge.” 104 The moral issue of right and wrong is never centered on an inanimate object, but in the use of it by an individual. The fact that you know that “an idol is nothing” gives you liberty, but although you are free to eat, you are bound by love to abstain. “Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.” 105

The Corinthians were arrogant, for they divorced knowledge from love, which inflated their minds. Knowledge and love are inseparable in the Christian life. You need knowledge in order to be free, but your knowledge obligates you to handle others in a loving way.

104 I Corinthians 8:4, 7
105 verse 13

This daily devotional is provided by the Leadership Foundation (www.leadershipfoundation.org) & Walter Hendrichsen.

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Christian Liberty and Self-denial - March 3

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:42:33 +0000

All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” 1 Corinthians 6:12

The pretense of moral freedom often ends in the bondage of immorality. Scores of things appeal to your senses, and if these are converted to desire expressed by action, moral degradation and chaos result. Biblical freedom is never an end, but a means to an end. When Christ set you free from sin, you merely changed masters. “But now… you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God.” 102 The Lord is master of your liberty.

The fact that you are not under law makes Christ’s Lordship essential, for He must be the rudder that charts the course of self-denial. Christ your master owns you and all you have. You are charged with the task of determining His will in your life in the areas of your liberty. For this reason, many of His followers crave law, for law removes ambiguity.

Mind and matter express themselves in thoughts and deeds. For the carnal man, like a child, matter controls the mind. A child does not reason with his appetites. When hungry he cries for food, when the urge arises he defecates. With maturity bodily appetites cease to be mere animal instincts. Your mind controls matter; your thoughts control deeds. The presence of the Holy Spirit in your life assists you in your quest for self-control, which in turn is essential for self-denial.

Christ has set you free, but with this freedom comes great responsibility. “For brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh.” 103

102 Romans 6:22
103 Galatians 5:13

This daily devotional is provided by the Leadership Foundation (www.leadershipfoundation.org) & Walter Hendrichsen.

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Daily Devotional: Assurance of Salvation - March 2

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 12:31:40 +0000

“For our gospel came unto you in much assurance.” 1 Thessalonians 1:5

You must maintain a clear distinction between the assurance and the fact of salvation. A man may be full of assurance that he knows Jesus and be lost. Jesus said, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? ….And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” 101 Conversely, a man may doubt his salvation, due to a lack of clear biblical teaching, and in fact be saved.

We call it assurance of salvation because none can know they are saved. Assurance is the product of a healthy relationship. If I tell you that I am not sure if my wife loves me, you correctly conclude that there is something terribly wrong in my marriage. But assurance is different from knowing. You cannot know because you walk by faith; faith and knowing are mutually exclusive.

You can have legitimate, biblical reason for concluding that you are saved, and thus have no doubt, but doubt is different from uncertainty. Say we are flying across the ocean and you sleep soundly, for you have no doubt that the plane will arrive safely. I am filled with anxiety, for I do doubt. My doubt and your lack of doubt have nothing to do with the safety of the plane. You can say to me that you have no doubt that we are safe, but that is different from saying you know for a certainty that the plane will land safely. Certainty is possible only after the fact.

God will not relate to a willful person. He did not die for you so that you can return to the Garden of Eden and eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil with impunity. If you are living in willful disobedience to God, you forfeit your right to be assured of your salvation. Your soul is in peril, and the best thing you can do is repent and seek God’s forgiveness.

101 Matthew 7:22-23

This daily devotional is provided by the Leadership Foundation (www.leadershipfoundation.org) & Walter Hendrichsen.

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Daily Devotional: Love, Grace, and Faith - March 1

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:08:41 +0000

“And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 1:14

Many confuse biblical love with grace. They are not synonyms. Let’s define grace as commitment without reciprocity, unconditional acceptance based on the performance of Jesus Christ on our behalf. Grace and election are the head and tail of the same coin, as Paul says, “Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” 98 The grace of God toward the elect is possible because, although you can disappoint God, you can never surprise Him. His commitment is based on perfect knowledge.

Faith is commitment before knowing. God does not walk by faith, for “He knows the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.” 99 God requires people to walk by faith to teach dependence upon Him. Our love for one another requires faith, for we commit ourselves without knowing the consequence. You can love someone, find that they surprise you by unrepentant sin, and be forced to sever the relationship, simply because you do love them.

You emulate God in His love, but not in His grace. You walk by faith and He manifests grace. The two are mutually exclusive. Thus John declares, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” 100 God did not manifest grace toward the whole world. We know that God loves the unsaved, for He commands us to love them. But this is different from His showering His grace upon them.

You must keep clear in your head the differences between these words else you will become confused when there is occasion for Christian discipline. The one you excommunicate may be the object of God’s grace, but you walk by faith and judge him on the basis of his works, precisely because you love him as God loves him.

98 - Romans 11:5
99 - Isaiah 46:9-10
100 - John 3:16

This daily devotional is provided by the Leadership Foundation (www.leadershipfoundation.org) & Walter Hendrichsen.

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Daily Devotional: Competition - February 28

admin — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:08:32 +0000

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it?. I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

The Bible does not prohibit competition. Scripture says very little about it. Interestingly, nothing in the Old Testament political or economic system lends itself to competition. God instituted no athletic events in the Old Testament Theocracy. This does not mean that you cannot compete. The believer is free to do whatever the Bible does not prohibit. But you must be careful when you compete that you do not covet. Competition is tied to covetousness, contentment, and comparison.

Like the other three words, competition can either be good or bad. You compete in a good sense when you, like Paul, strive for excellence in your walk with God. Paul, using the analogy of an athlete, says that the followers of Christ compete, but against only themselves. How they run the race of life in comparison to others makes no difference; only the degree to which they maximize their own potential for the cause of Christ.

You sin when you compete with others for the limited resources of the world. In such competition there is usually only one winner, and you win at the expense of your competitor. This does not mean that you cannot compete. Rather you cannot compete in such a way that you covet to win and are discontent when you lose.

When playing board games with my children, the game usually ended with tears of frustration while one lost to another. We don’t mean by “good sportsmanship” that the loser does’t care; that is unrealistic. Rather we mean that he should not reveal how deeply he cares. The world’s system encourages competition. Beauty contests, gold medals in the Olympics, etc., encourage people to derive their significance from their ability to compete successfully. Such competition is either the product of or leads to covetousness, and covetousness is idolatry.

This daily devotional is provided by the Leadership Foundation (www.leadershipfoundation.org) & Walter Hendrichsen.

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Daily Devotional: Covetousness - February 27

admin — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 14:30:51 +0000

“But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” 1 Timothy 6:9-10

Paul links contentment with covetousness. People who are not content covet that which they think will bring them contentment. “Hitherto you have asked nothing…ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full.” 94 There are certain things, however, that God tells us we cannot seek. Paul gives one: Don’t ask God to make you rich. Such a request is covetousness.

The crowds who heard this series of parables returned home enthralled with the various stories Jesus told, but void of any understanding of the point He sought to make. Jesus barred them from understanding because He knew that they had no intention of applying the truths of the parables in an endeavor to change their lives.

Covetousness, like comparison and contentment, can either be good or bad, depending on the object of your covetousness. A study of the word “covet” in the New Testament reveals that God considers it good when its object is the things of God, and bad when its object consists of the things of the world. Its use in the tenth commandment of the Decalogue references the things of the world, that which belongs to your neighbor. Using the same word Jesus said, “For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have coveted to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.” 94 Paul writing to Timothy says, “This is a true saying, If a man covets the office of a bishop, he covets a good work.”95

God says that covetousness is idolatry. 96 When you covet you reveal your lack of contentment and ingratitude to God for your situation in life. In his epistle to the Romans, Paul says that covetousness is one sin that the conscience cannot identify. 97 For this reason the people of God tend to make it a virtue. They call it ambition, making something of yourself, getting ahead in life, mixing it up in the marketplace, etc. Be careful, for it may be covetousness. One way you can tell is if you are discontent.

93 - John 16:24
94 - Matthew 13:17
95 - I Timothy 3:1
96 - cf. Colossians 3:5
97 - cf. Romans 7:7

This daily devotional is provided by the Leadership Foundation (www.leadershipfoundation.org) & Walter Hendrichsen.

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