1 Kings 8:61

Verse of the Day Devotion: 1Kings 8:61

“Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the LORD our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.” – 1Kings 8:61  

1 Kings 8 is an account of the ark of the covenant being placed into the temple which had just been completed.  In the following verses we read,

“Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ households of the sons of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the city of David, which is Zion. All the men of Israel assembled themselves to King Solomon at the feast, in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.”  1 Kings 8:1-2.

After this, an enormous number of sacrifices were made to God, so many that they could not be adequately counted.

“And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who were assembled to him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen they could not be counted or numbered.” 1 Kings 8:5.

After this, the priests alone brought these into the inner sanctuary of the tempe, also known as the Holy of Holies. And it is important to note that there was nothing in the Ark except the two stones which Moses placed at Horeb when they came out of Egypt.

Next, he offered a prayer to the Lord asking that any requests given earnestly and humbly by Israelites or strangers would be accepted by God.  This is a prayer of dedication, which is found in 1 Kings 8:22-53. At the end of this prayer, Solomon asks for God’s blessing over the people of Israel plus an exhortation for them as well.  This exhortation is the focus of our verse today, which is as relevant to us today as it was for the Israelites back then.

First, let us look at verses 57-60.

“May the LORD our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; may He not leave us or forsake us, that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances, which He commanded our fathers. And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day requires, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no one else.” 1 Kings 8:57-60.

The first part asks of God that He would be with them, as He was with their fathers. God promised to be with Israel, but Solomon knew it was important to ask God to fulfill His promise. He comes pleading the promises of God. And he made this plea so that not only the Israelites, but all the people of the earth may know and understand that the Lord their God is the true God, and that there is no other God but the true God of Israel. Solomon shows the missionary desire that was often neglected and desired in Israel. Blessing to Israel wasn’t meant to end with Israel; God wanted to bless the world through Israel.

Next, we come to our focus verse.

“Let your heart therefore be wholly devoted to the LORD our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as at this day.” 1 Kings 8:61.

Solomon was asking that His people would walk in God’s statutes, always striving to keep His commandments. He urges them to let their hearts be fully committed to the Lord. And this should be our focus and desire as well. Our obedience should be universal such that we keep all of His commandments and not just those we choose to. With this, I say His desires should take infinite precedence over our own.   All that we do, or think should follow the idea that He is supreme, and we are not.  We should not be divided in our loyalties.  We should be totally devoted to God in our ways and submissive to His commands. Jesus takes these two points in Solomon’s prayer and merges them into one concise statement.

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” John 14:15.

As always with Jesus, His position on this could not be clearer. If we love God, our goal will be to keep His commandment and follow His ways. And if we do not keep His commandments, then we must ask ourselves, do we truly love Him?

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.

1 Kings 8:61

Verse of the Day Devotion: 1Kings 8:61

“Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the LORD our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.” – 1Kings 8:61  

1 Kings 8 gives the account of the ark of the covenant being placed into the temple which had just been completed.  He offered a prayer to the Lord asking that any requests given earnestly and humbly by Israelites or strangers would be accepted by God.  At the end of this prayer, Solomon asks for His blessing over the people of Israel plus an exhortation for them as well.  This exhortation is the focus of our verse today, which is as much for us today as for the Israelites back then.

The first part says that our hearts should be wholly true to God.  Our love for Him should be unquestionable to all who see us.  We should desire with all our hearts to please Him, serve Him, and take time to fellowship with Him in prayer.  Our love and devotion should be unwavering, never lessening no matter our circumstances.  God said He would never leave or forsake us, showing His love is unwavering, therefore ours should be as well.

Second, we should walk in His statutes, always striving to keep His commandments.  Our obedience should be universal in that we obey all of them, and not just those we choose to.  With this, I say that His desires take infinite precedence over our own.   All that we do or think should follow the idea that He is supreme, and I am not.  Thus, we should not be divided in our loyalties.  We should be totally upright in our ways and submissive to His commands.

Jesus takes these two points in Solomon’s prayer and merges them into one concise statement.  “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”  John 14:15.   As always with Jesus, His position on this could not be clearer.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.

John 14:15

Verse of the Day Devotion: John 14:15

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” – John 14:15 

This is a very important verse, for it shows us what true love for Jesus looks like.  Now, He is not questioning or doubting their love.  He is saying that by the observance of His commands and precepts, it displays their love to Him.  This is not saying we are saved by keeping His commands, but that we are showing our love for God by obeying His commands.  This is a much surer test than simply the profession of our love.  Many people say they love God, for this is something that is the ‘Christian’ thing to say.  But the proof of this declaration is obedience.  If we do not obey Him, how can we say we love Him?  If we love Him, we will honor Him as Lord and King.

Jesus put it this way.  “THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.” Matthew 15:8. This is a quotation of the words of the prophet Isaiah where He declared, “Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,” Isaiah 29:13.  Isaiah here is writing what the Lord told him. In essence, the Lord is saying that people will say and do whatever it takes to let people think they honor and love God, even though their hearts are in opposition to their words and deeds.

The theologian Adam Clarke puts it this way in his commentary notes on Matthew 15:8.  “The true worship of God consists in the union of the heart to him – where this exists not, a particle of the spirit of devotion cannot be found.”  We can say all we want regarding our love for God.  However, if our hearts are not in union with His, we will not be devoted to Him and His ways.  We will not obey Him in all things but will select those things in which we agree and are willing to follow.  This is not true love as our focus verse says.  True love is obeying and following Him in all ways.  Now, we may stumble and fall at times in following His ways, but if we follow what Jesus says in that, “AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.” Mark 12:30, then we can ask forgiveness for we are His children and He will forgive us.

And lastly, the world is constantly watching us Christians who declare our love for God and our devotion to Him.  It is important that they see the reality of our walk.  If we profess our love for Him and then act in ways that deny this love, why should anybody listen to us?  I saw an assistant Pastor once who declared the most important thing to do was to show our love for Jesus, and then, in a skit, acted as someone who was in love with the Pastor in a very inappropriate way.  We cannot do this and expect the world to believe us.  Therefore, it is important that we study His Word and know what He has commanded us to do as well as what not to do; both to honor God and to be a light to the world.

How can we say we love Him if we disobey Him and refuse to follow His commandments?  We cannot and be truthful to Him and ourselves.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.

Mark 7:8

Verse of the Day Devotion: Mark 7:8

“Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” – Mark 7:8 

Some Pharisees and scribes gathered around Jesus when He and the disciples left Jerusalem.  Both groups were very legalistic and demanded that the Law be followed completely.  As they were watching, they noticed the disciples did not wash their hands prior to eating, thus not following the traditions of the elders.  “For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.”  Mark 7:3-4.  They required a lot of work to remain pure when eating.

So, the Pharisees and the scribes questioned Jesus regarding these rules, because they were not walking according to tradition.  However, Jesus does not apologize to them on behalf of the disciples.  Instead, He rebukes the Pharisees and scribes.  We read later in the chapter, “And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me.  But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’”  Mark 6-7.  Jesus was speaking of Isaiah 29:13 where it says. “Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,”

Jesus then continues by telling them, in our focus verse, that they are neglecting the commands of God and replacing them with the traditions of men.  He then gives the example of how the commandment ‘honor your father and mother, and He who speaks evil of them is to be put to death.  And how, due to their traditions, “but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),‘ you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother; thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.’”  Mark 7:11-13.

We need to look at the things we see and hear from Christian and church leadership, test them by comparing them with what the scriptures say, and ignore them if they counter what the Word of God says.  Note, it is important to make sure it is a reliable translation.  Many times, these weird and heretical teachings are the “traditions’ within churches or denominations that need to be called out, renounced and ignored.  One very recent example was a Pastor in north Atlanta, I will leave the name off, who taught his church to ignore the Old Testament and focus solely on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  While this sounds reasonable, it is not right.  The Old Testament lays the foundation of why we need salvation, and that Jesus’ coming was ordained from the beginning.  Both testaments together are a complete story of God’s love toward us.  Plus, if Jesus and the apostles quoted it many times, were they wrong, and did they not totally understand?  I doubt it seriously.

We need to be careful that we do not accept traditions that contradict the scriptures. Too many times, and I will say once is too many, church leaders try to make Christianity easier by teaching things that are accepted in the culture today but are radically different from the commands of God.  We need ensure that what we teach is real and does not counter His Word, for we will be held accountable.  “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.”  James 3:1.  The Pharisees and the scribes were not given leniency, and neither will we. William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.

Psalm 111:10

Verse of the Day Devotion: Psalm 111:10

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever.” – Psalm 111:10

Our focus verse, written by an unknown author, has incredible wisdom in the words it says.  The writer starts with the truth that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Being that this was written to the Jewish nation, I will assume they know God exists.  Fear in this context refers to honor and reverence.  If we know that God is infinite in His power, His love and everything else, then honoring and reverencing Him is wise.  If we believe He is who He says He is, then we should do all we can not to offend Him.  To know He exists and not to fear Him as described above is not wise, but incredibly foolish.  In fact, I would go as far as to say that not fearing and honoring the infinite God is the beginning of foolishness.

Many people who believe God exists will give the honor due their bosses, Pastors, government officials, friends and family, but not to the creator of all things who brought salvation to them through His death on the cross.  They will do what their bosses say, because they want to get paid, but they will not do what God says.  They will obey government authorities because they do not wish to be arrested, but they will not strive to obey God. After all He did for them, and having accepted His work on the cross, they do not consider it as important as all the other areas of their lives.  This is incredibly sad for this is where wisdom starts.  According to the writer of this verse, the foundation and origin of wisdom.  There really is not true wisdom if we do not recognize the being, perfections and the claims of our Almighty God.  Albert Barnes in his commentary on the Psalms puts it this way.  “The highest wisdom – the loftiest endowment of man – is that he may know and honor God. This, in capability, makes him wise above the brute creation; this, in exercise, makes a man wiser than another; this, when it springs up in the soul, makes a man wiser than he was before.’

The writer goes on to say that a person with good understanding will do and obey God’s commandments. The Hebrew phrase for this essentially says, ‘Do the things connected with the fear of the Lord, to obey God.’ If we really understand who God is, what He has done for us, what He does to help us in our lives here, and what He has prepared for us for all eternity, how can we not obey Him?  And for the same reasons, how can we not praise Him?  God never changes, so the foundation of our praise for all eternity is who He is, and that will never change either.

Let us always honor and reverence Him no matter what happens, for God knows all things and causes and allows things to happen for our good.  “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28. Let us trust Him and fear Him.  For there is no greater wisdom than this.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.

Matthew 28:19-20

Verse of the Day – Matthew 28:19-20

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Mat 28:19-20

We, as Christians, are called to make disciples of all nations.  The word ‘disciple’ comes from the Greek word ‘mathetes’ which means pupil or learner.  It is not just to get them saved, but to disciple them as well.  They need to understand what being a Christian is really about.  Then, they can go out and make disciples of those who accept Christ.  This is our mission here on this earth.

1 John 5:3

Verse of the Day Devotion 1 John 5:3 

“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” – 1 John 5:3

When we believe and accept the salvation provided through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ, we become born of God and become His child.  “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God; and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.” 1 John 5:1. And notice what this verse says, if we love the Father, then we love Jesus and all children born of Him.  And these denoted as ‘all children born of Him’ are all those who are true Christians.  But we must remember, we are called to love our enemies as well. “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:43-48.

Now, because of what we read in verse one, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.”  1 John 5:2. Our love of God’s followers is a proof that we love God. Our love of God is the cause why we love his children, and our keeping the commandments of God is the proof that we love him.  Just as our love for our brothers and sisters is the sign and test of our love for God, so our love for God, tested by obedience, is the only basis of our love for our brothers and sisters. John was not contradicting a similar verse in chapter four where he said, “If someone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.” 1 John 4:20-21.  Rather, he was insisting that love for God and love for our brothers and sisters cannot be separated. 

Now in our focus verse we read,  “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” 1 John 5:3.  First, let us look at what Jesus said was the greatest commandment in the Law.  “And he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40.  Jesus said that the greatest commandments were love of God and love of our fellow man.  By keeping His commandments we are proving our love for both God and everyone else.  And I want to make this point, we should not follow the law just because we are commanded to, we should follow the law because we love God and man.

Now one last thing.  If we believe our focus verse is true, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” 1 John 5:3, then we cannot accept a concept called antinomianism.  The word antinomianism comes from two Greek words, anti, meaning “against”; and nomos, meaning “law.” Antinomianism means “against the law.” Theologically, antinomianism is the belief that there are no moral laws God expects Christians to obey. Antinomianism takes a biblical teaching to an unbiblical conclusion. The biblical teaching is that Christians are not required to observe the Old Testament Law as a means of salvation. When Jesus Christ died on the cross, He fulfilled the Old Testament Law. The unbiblical conclusion is that there is no moral law God expects Christians to obey.

Once again, we are called to obey the law, but not because it will save us, but because it shows the love we exhibit is true and not fake.  There are many who claim to be Christians that believe it is OK to sin because they are forgiven of all sins.  However, if you love God, you cannot purposely sin. “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:15-18.  We are called to keep the law showing our love, and also to be a light in the world.  “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

John 14:21

Verse of the Day Devotion: John 14:21 

“Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” – John 14:21

This verse is the same idea found a couple of verses back.  “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” John 14:15.    This is an extremely important concept that shows how true our relationship is with God.  In both this and our focus verse, Jesus declares with no apprehension what true love for Him really looks like.  It is, as an old rock song from 1990 says , it is more than a feeling. 

Love is not, in itself, a feeling.  However, there are feelings that are derived out of love.  Paul gives a fairly complete picture of love in his letter to the Church of Corinth.  “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.  If we look honestly at this list, love cannot be a feeling at all, but it must be a commitment.  Look at the list of what love is.  It is patient, kind, not envious nor boastful.  It is not arrogant, rude, irritable, or boastful.  It does not insist on doing things in our own way and it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but does rejoice in truth.  Does this sound like merely a feeling? 

John gives us a more succinct picture of love.  “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1 John 4:7-8.  True love is a sign that God is in us.  Again, not a feeling but a commitment.

Because love is not a feeling, let us go back to our focus verse and see what proves our love for God.  First, whoever loves God will keep His commandments.  Obedience to God’s word is the proof of our love for Him.  And not just some of His commandments but all of them.  Now, we will stumble sometimes and not obey Him completely.  “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:8-9.  However, if we purposefully sin and go against what we know is His commands to us, then we show that we do not love Him as we should and think we do. 

In closing, I have seen many people in churches who will disobey God’s commands in order to do what they enjoy. If we find ourselves falling into this trap, then we need to examine our hearts and see if we genuinely love God as we believe we do.  It can be a difficult thing to look at ourselves and find we do not love Him as we should.  But it is essential we honestly examine ourselves and then repent of those things we know are wrong but do anyway.  Let us act out the love we profess and strengthen our relationship with God every day.  We will find peace and joy that passes all understanding because as it says at the end of our focus verse, “And he who loves me will be loved by my father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” John 14:21b.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.