NTDS (4): The Final Word Against Temptation

Matt 4:10 For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'" NIV

Jesus had fasted for forty days while in the desert. He was hungry and in His human body, He must have lacked energy. Satan, called the tempter, tempted Jesus in three different ways. In all three cases, Jesus answered with scriptures taken from the book of Deuteronomy. Satan’s last attempt was to coerce Jesus into worshipping him. Jesus’ answer was a combination of Deut 6:13 and 10:20. It was His final word to the tempter as He ordered him to “be gone!”

O that we would learn the power of God’s word in resisting the tempter. This final word to Satan is at once majestic, instructive, and encouraging.

Majestic: in it’s description of God. The phrase for “Lord your God” here in the Greek uses Kurion (denoting supremacy in authority) and Theon (supreme divinity). But even more majestic is the language of Deuteronomy that was quoted. Yahweh (The I am, self existent, eternal) and  Elohiym (the plural name of a single God). The God that we are being told to worship and serve is eternal and supreme. He is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is all omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent. He is able to do far more abundantly, beyond all that we ask or think (Eph 3:20). He is worthy to be worshipped and served!

Instructive: Jesus really simplifies our duty in this life. Our lives as Christians are to be about worshipping and serving God and no one else. What we say and what we do should be guided by this commandment!

Encouraging: Notice it says the Lord, “your” God. It is personal relationship that a believer has with this Almighty God. He is a God who cares about us individually. In Matthew 6 Jesus tells us that He provides food and clothing for us. 1^st Peter tells us to cast our cares upon Him because He cares for us. He died on the cross to prove His love for us! If you have trusted in Christ for salvation and are allowing Him to be Lord, He is YOUR GOD!

The Bible teaches that we are to flee temptation, using the way of escape provided by God (1 Cor 10:13), but it says that we are to resist the tempter (Jas 4:7) and that he will flee from us!

If you have not yet made this amazing God your God yet, I pray that today will be the day of your salvation. If you want to know how, on the right side of Coach’s Corner blog, there are instructions to help you do just that.

God bless you,

Coach

New Testament Devotional Series (3): Holy Spirit and Fire

Matt 3:11-12  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  NIV

Much has been said over the years about the meaning of this verse. In order to understand it’s meaning and application to the believer in Christ, we must take ourselves back in time and place. John the Baptist, who spoke these words, was baptizing Jewish worshippers of God, who were repenting (turning) from sin, in preparation for the “kingdom of heaven.”

He was also prophesying that the coming King, would baptize (which means immerse fully) these same children of Israel in a different way. This King’s baptism would first involve an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Those that knew their scriptures would most likely be thinking of Joel 2:28  "It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions." NASU

In times past, the Holy Spirit had “come upon” individuals but not been poured out in the manner predicted. The beginning of this pouring out was literally fulfilled, as verified by the apostle Peter, and recorded by Luke in Acts, chapter 2.

These same people would likely have understood the “fire” in light of Mal 3:2  "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap."  NASU

This would be the refiner’s fire of testing to see whether or not one was wheat or chaff, as it says in verse 12 of Matthew 3. Wheat would represent those who have truly put their trust in the King, Jesus. Chaff represents those who do not put their trust in Him. If you read verse 12, you see the consequences of that decision.

For the believer in Christ, water baptism is a picture of dying (to ourselves and the bondage to sin) and being raised in newness of life. Rom 6:4 “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” NIV

It should also be understood as a reminder that the Holy Spirit would be poured out on us as well. We need this outpouring because we will go through the refiner’s fire and we want to pass the test! 1 Peter 4:12-14  “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; 13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.”  NASU

So, if you are a believer, you can approach fiery trials with rejoicing as the Holy Spirit pours out His strength, comfort and compassion upon you, “so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,” (Phil 2:15-16) NASU

If you have not yet placed your faith in the King who has come and will come again in judgment, I pray that you will not delay. Turn from your sin and receive the forgiveness that only comes by the grace of Jesus Christ.

God bless you,

Coach

New Testament Devotional Series (2): By No Means The Least

Matt 2:6 "'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; NIV

Matthew quotes from Mic 5:2 and the phrase he uses is quite interesting. At the time of Jesus’ birth, it was a humble village to say the least. In previous times, it was most noted for being the hometown of King David, the burial place of Jacob’s wife, Rachel and the setting for much of the Book of Ruth.

Why would Matthew say this about Bethlehem, when at the time of his writing it was most likely in severe decline? The answer is in the second half of the verse. Matt 2:6 “for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'"  NIV

You see there was nothing about the geography or topography of Bethlehem to make it special, yet it was special because God had chosen to bless it with His appearance. Even in Old Testament times, God used it in a special way choosing it as the hometown of David, who as the shepherd King was a “type” of Christ. 

Then, came the kinsmen redeemer Boaz, who was also a “type “of Christ. Finally, the appearance of God in the flesh, Jesus, the eternal shepherd King and kinsmen redeemer for all who put their trust in Him.

We can apply this same concept to ourselves. In a real sense, before the appearance of Christ in our lives, there is nothing in our geography or topography that makes us special either. We might even be in severe decline as was Bethlehem.

But, when Christ appears and comes into our lives, everything changes. When we accept Christ, God the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our lives. He takes lives that would otherwise be unnoticed by the world and gives them meaning. Just as Jesus did all things to “please the Father” (Jn 8:29) and to glorify Him, our lives will also be pleasing to the Father, when led by the power of His Spirit.

Bethlehem became a different place when Christ appeared, not in a physical way but in a spiritual way. It was still a humble village, the perfect place for the humble servant King. But people were drawn to this place to come and worship Him. Would that we, as the humble abode of, the risen King, have our light so shine as to draw many others to Him as well.

God Bless You,

Coach

New Testament Devotional Series (1): Three Actions of A Righteous Man

Matthew 1:19 “And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man”…   NASU

Though Romans 3:10 (quoting Ps 14) says there is no one righteous, Matthew describes Joseph as a righteous man. The word righteous here seems to be in the Old Testament sense of the word, which meant someone who does the right thing. It does not mean that Joseph was justified or saved by his right acts. Still, there are three acts that Joseph took that show his character and his desire to be a Godly man and I believe we can certainly learn from them.

First, even though Joseph thought that Mary had betrayed their betrothal vow, he showed mercy. Rather than put Mary on trial in public, which could have led to her being stoned to death, he chose another legal option. He was going to send her away secretly (v19). God loves mercy and says that we should too.

Mic 6:8 says, “He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” NIV

Second, Joseph took time to consider (v20) before he acted. This gave time for the Lord to speak to him. How often do we neglect to take time to consider our actions and give the Lord time to speak to us? Before we take action we need to hear from the Lord. The psalmist says, “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.” (Ps 40:1 NIV) We need this same patience. God hears our call and He answers. Ps 3:4 “To the Lord I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill.” NIV

Third, Joseph is obedient to the Lord’s instructions (v 24). The right thing to do when we hear from the Lord is to follow His instructions. Too often, we want to have a debate with Him instead of just doing what He says. Even Moses did that when God gave him instructions (check out Ex 3). Why do we do that? We should know that whatever the Lord has us do, it will be for His glory and our good. Joseph didn’t argue, even though I am sure he knew that obedience to this command would bring certain scorn from others in his community. He obeyed anyway. He did the righteous thing. 2 John 6 “And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands.” NIV

Lord help us to be merciful, to take time to consider the consequence of our actions and to obey your instructions.

God bless you,

Coach

Prepare Your Minds for Action

           
1 Peter 1:13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, 15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 16 because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY." NASU

Being an old football coach (you don’t have to agree with the “old" part), my ears perk right up away when I hear something about preparing for action! I have spent most of my life preparing to play or coach a Friday night game, full of exciting action. I have been and desire to continue being a person of action.  I am very interested in what the Bible can teach me about preparing my mind for action. I hope you will join me in that discovery. Grab your Bible and follow along.

13 Therefore

Whenever we find the word therefore in the Bible, we need to find out what the therefore is there for! Therefore means "in light of what has been said earlier." It tells us to make sure we understand the context because it will help explain the following statements. In this context, the apostle Peter has been speaking to elders of the church. These particular elders have been shepherding flocks thought difficult times. The Gentile Christians were not only suffering ridicule and ostricization from other Gentiles, but Roman persecution of Christians may have begun shortly before this letter was written as well. It was not easy to be a believer during this time.

Since Peter generally ministered more to Jewish believers, it may be that the suffering he was talking about was from the Jews themselves. If a Jew became a believer in Christ, he or she was often cut off from the family, the synagogue, the ability to do business as usual, as well as suffering the same treatment a Gentile believer would receive from the Greeks and Romans. In spite of all this, Peter reminds them in verses 3-12 of chapter 1 of all the blessings that they have.

Let’s look at what these blessings are:

V3. Born again to a living hope

V4. Obtaining an inheritance which will last forever. Reserved in heaven

V5. Salvation that is protected by God’s power through faith

V6. Faith that is more precious than gold, tested by fire and it results in bringing glory to God which is our purpose for living

V7. Inexpressible joy

With all this in mind (therefore), prepare your minds for action,

Two questions come to mind. The first one is, what does that statement mean?  If you look at  the King James Version of the Bible, it is translated a little differently. It says to gird up the loins of your mind. HUH? Literally, in Greek it is “Bind up the procreative power of your intellect, understanding, imagination or way of thinking.” WHAAAT? Let's let a Greek scholar help us out. A.T. Robertson says that it refers to the Oriental custom of gathering up ones robes when in a hurry or leaving on a journey. He cross references Judg 18:16 The six hundred men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the sons of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate.

The idea is that a soldier, who may have to get ready to fight in a hurry, would make sure that he arms himself properly. You wouldn’t go to war without your weapons, right? You need to be prepared. Peter is saying that in that same way, we must prepare our minds as well.

Ok, question number two. How do I do that? Peter answers that question in the next few verses. Let’s look closely at what he says.

First he says, “keep sober in spirit,”

The ESV translates it sober-minded, the NIV says self-controlled. The word spirit is not actually in Greek but it is implied. The idea is that we keep a sound mind, not clouded. The word sober is specific, in order to contrast it to a mind that is impaired by intoxication. It is the opposite of a mind that is drunk! Peter is saying that we need to keep our mind uncluttered from things that bring us into confusion.

He reiterates this in 1 Peter 4:7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer and 1 Peter 5:8-9 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

The apostle Paul evidently agrees wholeheartedly with Peter. 1 Thess 5:6-8 so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. 7 For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. 8 But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. 2 Tim 4:5 But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Next he tells us, “fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

The word hope in the Greek is elpizo, meaning expectation or confidence. It is not just some wish upon a star. It is a firm expectation. A waiting for it to come to pass and assurance that it will. Completely is telios, meaning having reached its end or perfect. Can I paraphrase here for you? Actually, I am going to, whether you say yes or no. “Don’t put any kind of confidence, in anything else but God’s grace, which we now know in part, but will understand fully when we are face to face with Jesus. Have the mindset that all that we are and have and do is because of God’s grace!”

 

Peter’s next instruction is this.  “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts (epithumia-longing especially for that which is forbidden) which were yours in your ignorance (agnoia-lack of knowledge),”

Paul says it this way in Rom 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

What it means is, that we allow our way of thinking to change, according to what God tells us. You see, the way we used to think is tainted by the lusts of the flesh. It can never work in God’s economy. We cannot be prepared for action in the spiritual realm if we are thinking in a worldly way. Let me illustrate.

Before you were a Christian you may have thought sex outside marriage was perfectly fine. After all, there is the physical desire for sex (which God put into us) and the wisdom of the world says, “hey, it’s just fulfilling your biological need, doesn't matter who it is with, no big deal.” A famous Crosby, Stills and Nash song once told us, “if you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with.” Many people followed this line of thinking and the results are disastrous. Today, more babies are born out of wedlock than in it! This is the way the world thinks. It is a result of our fallen nature.

The Bible, God's inspired word, tells us something completely different. It says that any sex outside of marriage, which is defined as between one man and one woman, is sin. It rebellion against God’s design. If we are going to choose to  be obedient in our action, in this case choosing sexual purity, we must agree, in our minds that God is correct and wants what is best for us!

Lastly, Peter tells us that in order to prepare our minds for action, we must be holy.

 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;  because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY." 

If our minds are to be prepared for action we are to live holy lives. That word can be scary for us. After all, God is perfect, we are not. How can we possibly be holy like God? The Greek word for holy is Hagios. It means sacred, morally blameless, ceremonially consecrated. The Look closely though at the command. It says to be holy in your behavior. Can we really be holy in our behavior? Well, if God has called us to holiness, then He can supply the power to accomplish it. That power comes from the Holy (yes, same Greek word, hagios) Spirit. Galatians 5 tells us that we can walk in the power of the Holy Spirit and bear the fruit of His holiness rather than fulfilling the deeds of the flesh. This is what Peter is telling us.

Now, you might be asking, “why is this important to me? After all, didn’t you say this was written to elders? That would not be me! Glad you asked. Elders are the leaders of the church, but all of us are leaders in some capacity. For men it can be as husbands, fathers, maybe at work or in some other place where we have a sphere of influence. As a woman, you may be called to lead other women. You might be a leader on your job or in the community. Certainly, if you are a mother, you have been called to lead your children. We all have some role of leadership.

Therefore, let’s prepare our minds for action, so that we can fulfill all that God has called us to do, in whatever capacity He chooses for us.

God bless you,

Coach

A New Creation?

One of the most quoted verses in the Bible is 2 Cor 5:17
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. NASU
Pastors love to share this verse and I think it's  because it seems to indicate that we can have a fresh start. That is appealing isn't it? Who doesn't like the idea of getting a new start on life? I would think that most, if not all of us, have some things we have done that we would like to forget about and then be able to start over with a clean slate.

But what exactly is this verse referring to? What are the "old things" that have passed away and what are the "new things" that have come? Have you ever really stopped and thought about what specific things Paul was talking about? I think it is worth a close examination, how about you?

First, we see that there is a condition to being this new creation. It is being "in Christ." So, what are the requirements to be "in Christ?" The phrase was used often by the apostle Paul to express a positional state. (Ro 8:1, 12:5, 16:7; 1Co 1:30, Gal 3:28 and many more.) This is the state of one who has made a confession of faith in Jesus Christ, trusting in Him for salvation (Ro 6:23), sanctification (making us more like Him, 1 Co 1:2) and is committed to allowing Christ to be the Lord of his/her life (2 Co 1:21). Jesus put it this way, "you must be born again," (Jn3:7) and after being born again, abiding (living) in Him (Jn 15:4-11)

If that describes you, then you can be guaranteed that old things have passed away and the new has come. So again, what are the "old things" and what are the "new things" that come with being in Christ?
Well, here is a list and I think you are going to like it!

Some Old Things
1. Condemnation (Ro 8:1, 6:9) That means the judgment of death. Before we were in Christ, we had a sentence of eternal death on us. We would spend eternity, without God, in the place the Bible calls the lake of fire (Rev 20:15)
2. Bondage to sin (Ro 6: 6,11, 14) Though we still have a sin nature, we no longer have be a slave to that nature. Jesus said that those who commit sin are slaves to sin (Jn 8:34), but Ro 6:11 tells us that when we are in Christ, we consider ourselves dead to sin.
3. Bondage to works and legalism (Gal 5:6, Ro 11;6) We no longer try to earn our salvation, which was impossible anyway. Gal 2:16 tells us that we are justified (made righteous) by faith in Christ and not by works of the law.
4. The veil that covered our eyes to the truth of the gospel (2 Co 4:3-4)
5.  Bondage to the mindset of the world (Eph 4:14-15,17-19)
6. Bondage to living only for self (2 Co 5:15, Gal 2:20)

Some New Things
1. Eternal life with God (Ro 6:11, 23b, Jn 3:16, 1 Co 15:22)
2. A personal relationship with Christ. Once we were considered strangers, aliens and slaves. Jesus now calls us friend, brother, fellow citizen and sons (Eph 2: 13,19, Jn 5:15, Gal 2:20, 4:7)
3. New Family (Ro 12:5; Gal 3:28, 6:10; Eph 3:6)
4. The Holy Spirit indwelling, teaching, comforting and empowering us to live a Godly life (Jn 14:16-18; Acts 1:8, 2:17-18, Ro 5:5, 7:6, 8:4-17, 26, 14:17; 1 Co 12:4-11, Gal 5:16-26)
5. The assurance of provision (Mt 6:31)
6. The assurance of never being abandoned (Mt 28:20; Heb 13:5)
7. Freedom from fear (Heb 13:6; Mt 10:26, 28; 1 Jn 4:18)
8. Knowledge that God is working out things for your good
(Rom 8:28)
9. A life that fulfills God's purpose (Ro 8:28, 2 Cor 5:5, Eph 1:11, 2nd Ti 1:9; 1 Pe2:21; Eph 2:10)

I'm sure we could add more to this list, but shouldn't this be enough to convince anyone that being a new creation in Christ is an awesome thing? I hope it encourages you that are already "in Christ." If you are not yet "in Christ," you can make that choice right now. On the right side of the blog is a statement on how to become a Christian. I pray that you will follow those instructions and from your heart, receive Christ as your Savior and become a new creation in Christ today.

God bless you,
Coach