"Summer of One" Devotional

“Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.’” Luke 19:9-10 Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem once again through Jericho. Crowds abounded around him. Somehow Jesus spotted this shorter man who had climbed a tree to see Him. Somehow, He knows his name. Jesus invites Himself to Zacchaeus’ home for lunch, which is a sign of honor in that culture. And out of that luncheon, a soul is born into the Kingdom. Salvation came to that home all because Jesus took time to notice the unnoticed, outcast person. In fact, Jesus indicated that is exactly why He came, to seek and to save the lost. How often do we take time to look around where we are traveling in order to notice the person on the edge, the overlooked person, the outcast? Jesus cares about every one of them. This week, let’s keep our eyes open and seek to engage with “that” person. They will feel valued and who knows how

“When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, ‘You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?’” Galatians 2:14 The thing that confuses, frustrates or discourages non-believers toward the Gospel is hypocrisy. And Peter was standing in it and smelling like it. So, Paul confronts him publicly. He was enjoying spending time with the Gentiles before some very conservative religious folks showed up. All of a sudden, it was not proper to eat with the Gentiles and Peter pulled back. His hypocrisy led to others, even including Barnabas. Paul challenges Peter with the Gospel, for this is not how the Gospel would act. And the issue was eventually resolved. It is the consistency of relationship with pre-believers and new believers that is so vital. Many times the Lord is doing a work in the life of the believer, molding and shaping us, while

“But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.” Luke 10:33 Pam and I were walking through the entrance area to the park at Niagara Falls when I was reminded of this truth. We were behind a tourist family and we were passing a man on a bench showing a sign that said, “Homeless and hungry.” All the adults were just “passing by” but one of the children, a young boy, drew his father’s attention to the man and expressed pity for him. The Samaritan, who had many reasons not to help the man, put him on his own donkey after caring for his wounds. He got him to safety and paid for his care. It was not in his business plan for the day to do this. The one he was caring for may even have had a prejudice against the Samaritan. But compassion overcame all barriers and loving your neighbor became reality. Loving people as ourselves is not simple or convenient or without cost. But it is worth it because it is the way we reflect the heart of

“…Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 19:19 Jesus taught us to “love your neighbor as yourself.” Also in the gospel of Matthew, He said this, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” It is interesting that Jesus says that this is the sum of what the Law and the Prophets have to say. This is saying that the Old Testament speaks of love for our neighbor and putting others before ourselves. This is not just a New Testament teaching. Galatians also says the same thing. “The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” There are Old Testament verses that speak to this, but much of the time it is implied. The Law teaches us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and after that to love our neighbor as ourself. That is a high calling. After our love for God, we are to love our neighbor. Sometimes this is easy and other times not so much. But, God doesn’t say to

“Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” 1 Timothy 5:8 There is the old tale of how there are plumbers who have leaky pipes at home, and mechanics whose cars aren’t running well and builders whose roofs are leaking. The idea is that they are good at caring for others but too busy to take care of their own families. But the Scriptures teach us something different. The best place to learn how to interact with people, care for people and speak to people, is at home. And if we are not providing properly for those in our home we are considered worse than an unbeliever. To learn, someone must teach and model. In fact, this is a mutual responsibility where we can help each other. Parents teach and model for their children. But as our children were growing up, they helped us learn how to relate to others their age. We help each other be always prepared to fulfill the mission of Christ.

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than this.” Mark 12:31 3D glasses are amazing!! There is nothing like going to see a movie with these magical 3D glasses. I felt like I was right in the middle of the action, often causing me to kick my feet or raise my hands in a defensive posture (awkward). Recently, I was listening to a couple that I knew fairly well talk of some troubles that they were experiencing in their lives. The more they talked the more I realized that I barely knew them at all. I had no idea what they had been going through and were experiencing. I immediately thought of the verse in Mark where Jesus said we were to “love your neighbor as yourself.” Ouch! I realized that I was not being a very good, loving neighbor to some good friends. I was watching the movie of their life unfold but I did not have on my 3D glasses that would allow me to notice details that would help me love them well. I felt Jesus ask me, “Mat, do you see w

“…praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:47 Today would have been my grandmother’s 117th birthday. She was a very sweet lady. My one cousin had a hard time keeping her Grandma Smith and Grandma Jones straight so she called her Grandma Jones “Sweetie”, and the nickname stuck. I enjoyed celebrating her long life with her. She lived across the street from us and daily shared life with us. She died at the age of 97. As the early church shared life together and saw the Lord do many marvelous miracles, it brought two important traits into their lives: praise and favor. Their hearts were filled with praise to the Lord for all He was doing among them. But the outcome of God’s working was also a sense of favor from others. God’s workings brought celebration on a regular basis. What are you celebrating today? Happy Birthday Sweetie!! Prayer Focus: Father, we celebrate You today. Thank You for

“The Lord said, ‘If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.’” Genesis 11:6-7 I will confess I’ve been baffled by this passage. It appears that as men rejected God’s command to spread out and replenish the earth after the flood and began to build a tower for their own glory, that God gets scared of them. He seems to say that it will be impossible to stop what men want to do. As I’ve studied it more, I don’t believe God was scared at all. I believe He had loving concern that men would quickly return right back to the depth of sin that precipitated God’s judgement through the flood. When men and women work in a common cause, it is powerful. If that is true with human effort, how much more can we do if we seek and wait on the power that comes from God’s Spirit? We tend to rely so much on ourselves, and God gets

“In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Acts 2:17-21 Thank You, God that You are so loving. Thank You for telling us so much in advance what the end times are going to look like, not to scare us but to prepare us, wake us up and draw us back to the “origin and ultimate” source of inner peace - YOU! While most of the time we focus on the end-time blood, fire and billows of smoke; God has much, much more for us. He gives us tremendous hope through His promises:

“In a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed i n the wealth of their liberality.” 2 Corinthians 8:2 In this section of his letter, Paul is encouraging the Corinthians to complete the process of assembling a financial contribution to meet the needs of fellow believers in the city of Jerusalem, who were experiencing great need at that time. Although the members of the Corinthian Church were relatively prosperous, they struggled to complete the arrangements for the financial gift. To encourage them, Paul cites the example of the Macedonian Church. While things were relatively peaceful and prosperous for the Corinthian Church, the believers in Macedonia were experiencing great afflictions. It is likely that they were undergoing harassment from others for their faith. Not only that, but they were also very poor with limited financial resources. But in the midst of their afflictions and poverty, the Macedonians were filled with joy at

“Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.” Hebrews 13:15 Praise, the death of self. I only have one scoop of ice cream left, there is not enough for both of us, so I give you the last scoop of my favorite dessert. Is this sacrifice? I am certainly giving of something that I enjoy and desire, but does that constitute a sacrifice? Let’s take another example. I see a friend of mine become sick and suddenly has an enormous debt load. If I emptied my savings account to provide for them, is that sacrifice? If so, how much more of a sacrifice is the second case than the first? These are certainly benevolent acts of love that merit respect, but the fundamental question still applies: What is sacrifice? See, in our culture we have a tendency to create sliding scales for truths that are difficult to accept. This struck me in doing a brief study into biblical sacrifice because the only connotation i

“Therefore I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship.” Romans 12:1 This idea is wonderfully presented in this anonymous poem… “When you are forgotten, neglected, or purposely set at naught, and you don’t sting or hurt with the oversight, but your heart is happy being counted worthy to suffer for Christ; That is dying to self. When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinion ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart or even defend yourself, but take it all in patient, loving silence; That is dying to self. When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, any annoyance; when you can stand face to face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility, and endure it as Jesus did; That is dying to self. When you are content with any food, and offering, any raiment, any climat

“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. We are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.” 1 Chronicles 29:14-16 Twice in my tenure at my home church we did a major building program. We had a fund-raising group come and guide us in that part of the process. One of the principles I will never forget is that the first people they wanted to meet with were me, the staff and the board. Their point was this: if we as key leaders do not give sacrificially toward this project, why should the people? But when the people saw the level of sacrifice we as a group were making, they were encouraged. There was a greater lesson we were reminde

“To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.’” Luke 18:9-10 Prayers are not the same. Some are humble cries to the Lord; but some are self-righteous rants before God. The first declares our unworthiness in the presence of our King. The second tells God how good we are compared to those around us, as if God is blessed to have us on His side. When I used to provide coaching for churches, I would be in meetings that included prayer. Some of those times were corporate praying that was open to all. I can still remember one in which a person very awkwardly poured their heart out to the Lord while the next waxed eloquent with fine-sounding words. As I listened to the second person, I was not sure that God knew anything, especially how special the pray-er was. As in our passage today, I believe the first person went home justified by Go

“So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.” Acts 13:3 Modern missions began in the midst of a prayer meeting. It was in Acts 13 that the church was praying and the Holy Spirit spoke and set apart Saul (Paul) and Barnabas as missionaries. In the midst of unified prayer, the Lord speaks and directs. And their prayers did not stop with the sending, but followed the sent ones in all that they did. Paul over and over again thanked people he personally discipled for praying for him; thereby, joining in the work he was doing. Corporate prayer is a vital part of what we do. And as we pray together, God moves. When we simply do work for the Lord we work, but when we pray, God works. How much passion do you have to pray? To pray with others? To find ways to be more involved in praying as a congregation? This is the work we are called to, praying without ceasing. Prayer Focus: Lord, teach us to pray. And speak to us in those corporate prayer t

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 What brings answered prayer in a Christian’s life? Do you ever feel that you pray and God is silent or that you grow weary in your prayer life because it seems that God isn’t answering your heart’s desires? Could it be that many times it is because of the way we are praying? This passage of Scripture goes on to say, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Taking God’s yoke on ourselves is a picture of an animal having a harness around its neck and can’t move to the right or left but only where the farmer is leading. It may seem restrictive to see God in that same way, but He wants us to follow Him looking straight ahead and keeping our eyes focused on Him and His purposes. It keeps us from getting sidetracked in our Christian walk. Then, our praying becomes asking Him for things He is desiring for us and those aro

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 There is really no way to rejoice always without knowing that God has everything under control. I think it is interesting that “rejoice always” comes before “pray continually.” It says to me that if my heart isn’t in the right place, my prayers probably won’t be coming from a good place either. Praying continually should be like breathing. I don’t need to stop and think about breathing, I just breathe. To hold my breath, I have to stop and make a choice to do that. Would I stop and make a choice to stay out of the presence of God? I hope not. My attitude to others or how I react to stressful situations will show me very quickly if I am in the presence of God. My wife and I recently took a trip through Tennessee with my teenage granddaughter. It was 95 degrees and my air-conditioning decided to stop working. It was terrible, but because my gr

“The Spirit Himself intercedes for us…” Romans 8:26 There have been those times when in grief or amidst difficult situations when I have simply sighed and groaned to our God with no audible words. It happened to me as I approached my grandfather’s casket with the intent of praying something special. In that moment, I simply knelt and nothing audible poured out. It has happened on other occasions as well when I could only sigh with tears. Has this ever happened to you? Paul, in his letter to the Romans mentions this aspect of prayer with the following, “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.” (Romans 8:26-27) What is prayer anyway? Way too often we believe we need the proper word order or humble s

“Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it…” Genesis 28:16 Within the context of this story Jacob has had a dream where he sees a stairway to heaven and upon its steps are angels ascending and descending. Above the flight of steps stands the Lord God Almighty. So special is this place to Jacob that he dedicates this place and renames it Bethel, which in Hebrew means “House of God.” I don’t know about you, but have you ever encountered a habitat of holiness, as I like to call it, where heaven and earth appear to merge within our time and space? Not that God’s presence ever ceases to surround us 24/7, but there have been places in my journey that will forever exist for me as sacred spaces. The Holy Spirit can fill a place as easily as He can a person. The ancient Celts use to describe such locations as “thin places,” where the veil between heaven and earth becomes so fine that prayer is easier, and the still small voice is clearer. Friends, in the busyness of l

“At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place…” Luke 4:42  The alarm goes off and you begin to come to after hitting the snooze button two more times. You find yourself quickly concentrating upon the day’s full agenda ahead. After you prepare the kids for school, you remember your report that still requires some fine-tuning, which by the way is due for this morning’s meeting. Somewhere within the chaos you search for your own attire. Wow, another typical day. Friends, have you ever noticed Jesus’ ministry agenda? His daily schedule was spent in impromptu meetings, with various speaking engagements, along with calling new recruits while training apprentices, and all intertwined within a difficult travel schedule. Read the context of our above scripture verse for proof of a day in the life of our Savior. Despite this busyness, Jesus made it a priority to make time alone with the Father God. Now if Jesus thought it important to make quiet time and pray, why can’t we? Honestly, I

"Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice." 2 Chronicles 20:18-19 Judah was being invaded. The king did not have an army big enough to stop the vast army coming against them. Did he have a meeting of the generals? No. Did he send envoys to neighboring kings for help? No. Did he do a national call to arms? No. So, what did he do? He led the people in worship and prayer. Deep humility. And as they prayed and worshipped, the Spirit of the Lord came on one of the men and he gave a word of prophesy to the king and the people. He reminded them that the battle was not theirs, but the Lord’s. So, they went into battle by faith the next day, continuing to worship by sending the choir out in front. And the Lord delivered them. How do you handle the battles of life? Do

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship." Romans 12:1 Worship. What does the word bring to mind? We often think of singing and praying and other acts that are often relating to our emotions. Our emotions are involved in worship and rightly so. We feel deeply about who God is and also what the Lord has done for us. Think about the privilege we have of honoring and worshiping the God of the universe who spoke this world in to existence. And He desires to have relationship with us. Amazing. But I would suggest that true worship goes much deeper than our expressions. Romans 12:1 tells us that offering our bodies as living sacrifices is our spiritual act of worship. What does it mean exactly? How are we to be living sacrifices? This is in contrast to dead animal sacrifices that were the custom. Also, we are "living" because of having the life o

"About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them." Acts 16:25 On my recent trip to France, I was reading the biography of George Mueller. He was a terrible liar, cheat, drunk … sinner. One day a friend invited him to a prayer meeting, where believers worshipped in simplicity, one brother kneeling in prayer and crying out to the Lord and a published sermon was read. But Mueller was transformed. There was no reason for him to even consider going to this meeting, but God. Reminds me of our text here. Notice that Paul and Silas were doing what came naturally to them in all circumstances: they were praying and worshipping. And the other prisoners were listening. When the earthquake came, and the earthquakes of life will come, not only were their fellow prisoners impacted, but the jailer fell at their feet and asked what he must do to be saved. Amazing. Giving thanks in worship in all circumstances gives a wit

“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Psalm 122:1 One of the things David was well known for was that he loved to worship God in His tabernacle. There was no other place he would rather be. He loved the music; he loved the singing, as long as it brought glory to God. There was something special about worshipping the Lord in the midst of His people. We see the same longing for the presence of God among the other writers of the Psalms. Whenever circumstances beyond their control prevented them from going to worship God at His tabernacle, they longed for Him like a deer pants for water brooks. The writer of Psalm 84 loved God’s temple so much that he considered a day there better than a thousand anywhere else. Why was it that David and the other Psalmists longed to be in God’s temple? What was so special about being with other worshippers in this one place? I would offer two wonderful reasons. First, when we enter into worship by singing songs

“They said to one another, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?’” Luke 24:32 There are many times in our walk with the Lord that God meets us exactly where we are at, in a moment of great crisis, or maybe a moment of great joy. These are often powerful moments that form our view of God and help us trust Him. The natural reaction to encounters like this is often to run and find someone to share that experience with. There are other moments when God meets us in the midst of our conversations with others. Have you ever experienced a time when an everyday conversation about life turns into a moment when together, you come in contact with the living God? See, often we only think worship happens in the church walls or at least with a church function, but worship, giving of ourselves to the Lord, happens every time we come in contact with Jesus, and respond to Him. That might happen on a jobsite, in

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John 4:23-24 In the Bible, the primary Hebrew and Greek words for worship mean humility. Humility means to lower yourself and submit yourself to the will of another. So, when you worship, you are coming under submission of the Holy Spirit, and allowing Him to act, and speak in and through you. Worship is submitting ourselves to the will of God. Quite a few years ago, I was asked to lead worship at an outside event. We had just finished a worship CD, and were excited to be able to play these new songs we had just written and recorded. It rocked! When we arrived at the event, we soon realized that we were about 40 or 50 years younger than most of the people attending. Big oops! We knew the people would hate us. After a few minutes of trying

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11 I have been praying and dreaming for years that all Broadway shows to become biblical shows one day. Will this be too boring? Definitely NOT because Jesus gives us JOY (John 15:11)! Will this be possible? Definitely YES because all things are possible with God (Mark 10:27)! I was at a Christmas

“After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.” Acts 27:21-26 Our journey of faith does not happen without challenges. In fact, our greatest growth and greatest opportunities of giving a witness to the power of the Lord happen in the face of adversity. Paul had warned them not to sail, but the owners and captain of the ship craved their profits. And they w

“Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus.” Acts 15:37-39 You learn a lot about people when you do a trip with them. And sometimes the pressure of the trip and the circumstances of life cause unusual things to happen to people. I was on a trip with a group of Boy Scouts at a ranch in New Mexico years ago. One of the leaders had just adopted some children in the weeks before the trip. We were hiking at high altitude, which could affect us physically. For three days, we had pack mules with us and they can be VERY stubborn. At one point on one of these days, this leader started speaking irrationally, weeping and desiring to do away with one of those stubborn mules. The emotions of separation along with the challenges of the conditions ove

“Set your mind on things above not on earthly things.” Colossians 3:2 In one of Charles Schulz’s famous “Peanuts” cartoons, Lucy is philosophizing and Charlie Brown is listening. “Charlie Brown,” she begins, “life is a lot like a deck chair. Some place it to see where they’ve been and some place it so they can see where they are going. Which one are you Charlie Brown?” Charlie sighs looking at his chair, “I’m not sure, I cant even get my chair unfolded.” Sometimes we can be like poor Charlie Brown where nothing seems to go right and we are stuck focusing on the negative world around us. This verse in Colossians challenges us to FOCUS our attention on the things above, the things that we have received already from God. He is at work in our lives and loves us unconditionally and undeniably. Henry Ford would often say, “wither you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” Our mind can take us in one of two directions. Let’s take Paul’s advice from 1 Corinthians 10:5, ar

“Jesus traveled throughout cities and villages proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God, and His disciples were with Him.” Luke 8:1 It’s easy to get lost in the mundane of life, checking off to do lists and running to the next thing. Even on vacation we can get caught up in our plans, details, and making sure all is in order. I recall a recent vacation that we had as a family that just didn’t go well. With kids fighting and things not going as planned I was left feeling dejected and depressed. It’s at these times that I must sit and ask myself WHY? Why am I doing what I’m doing? What is the goal of my day? Why am I allowing myself to get so discouraged? I was recently reading about one of the trips that Jesus took with His disciples. It says that they were walking along through villages and cities and Jesus was proclaiming the good news to people as He went. THAT’S IT!! Making disciples “as we go”! Where ever we go, however far we travel we need to be makin