James 3:9

Verse of the Day Devotion: James 3:9  

“With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God.” – James 3:9 

James here is this section is speaking of the tongue, specifically regarding the speech of men. He starts off with two analogies. First, he uses the illustration of a bit. “For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well.” James 3:2-3.  Theologian Albert Barnes interprets this as follows. “The meaning of this simple illustration is, that as we control a horse by the bit – though the bit is a small thing – so the body is controlled by the tongue. He who has a proper control over his tongue can govern his whole body, as he who holds a bridle governs and turns about the horse.” And the second analogy refers to ships. “Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires.” James 3:4. A ship is a large object. It seems to be unmanageable by its vastness, and it is also impelled by driving storms. Yet it is easily managed by a small rudder; and the one that has control of that, has control of the ship itself.

Now, James takes these two pictures and applies them to the human tongue. “So also, the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.” James 3:5-6. Essentially, the bit and the rudder, small though they may be, are comparable to the tongue, a small part of the body that nevertheless makes great boasts. In verse 3 we see the tongue analogized and it’s impact on a community when the teachers use it wisely, just as a bit has an impact on the horse.  Now, in verse 6 we see the teachers impact as a spark loose in a forest and sets the focus on the destructive impact of loose and destructive words.  Now, as we see today, the tongue can be a world of iniquity as noted in verse 6.  We use the term in the same sense – a world of troubles, a world of toil, a world of anxiety, for great troubles, oppressive toil, most distressing anxiety.

How can so small an organ be great trouble? By the words we speak. Remember verse 2. “For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.” James 3:2. James here is saying that if we do not sin through what we say, we are perfect because we are able to bridle our complete self.  However, if we say things we should not say, we are igniting a fire, as we see in verse 6. This begs the question; can we tame the tongue? “For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by humans. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.” James 3:7-8.

Now our focus verse is an example of, “With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God.” James 3:9. Here, James points out two contrary ways we use our tongue; to bless God and to curse people. It is such a common human thing to “curse” another person that we tend to dismiss it as not that big of a deal. “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me” is a common English proverb. And yet, James explains why abusive speech is a big deal: We are cursing a being made in the image of God! Going further, “from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.” James 3:10. We are called to love God and our neighbor as ourselves. Cursing and insulting people or gossiping about them behind their backs is not love, it is evil and destructive. Unfortunately, these actions have become natural to people, including some who are Christians.  

One last thing, in verse 8 we read, “But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.” James 3:8. No man on his own can tame the tongue. For the tongue to be tamed, so must the heart. Jesus uses the following analogy regarding the Pharisees to bring out this point. “Either make the tree good and its fruit good or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.” Matthew 12:33-34. The only way we can change our heart is to ask God to make the change. David prayed the following prayer when dealing with a transgression he was dealing with. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10. We cannot tame the tongue unless our heart is changed.  Therefore, if we find ourselves speaking hurtful or harsh things to someone, call out to God and submit to His ways. He can change anything in us if we are willing to be changed.

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

John 15:1

Verse of the Day Devotion:  John 15:1 

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.” – John 15:1 

Over the next few weekdays, we will be looking at seven verses where Jesus declares “I AM”, and then gives a metaphor regarding what He is.  Today, we will look at the seventh and last of these, “I am the true vine.”

Jesus is now preparing the disciples for their work they are to do after He ascends into heaven,  Judas has already left to betray Him.  They were sitting in a room together when Jesus told them one would betray Him, and He showed it would be Judas. “Jesus therefore answered, that is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him.” So, when He had dipped the morsel, He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. And after the morsel, Satan then entered him. Jesus therefore said to him, what you do, do quickly.” John 13:26-27. And then further down, “And so after receiving the morsel he went out immediately; and it was night.” John 13:30.

Jesus wanted His friends, not only those eleven, but those of all time, to know that He was not going to desert them, even though they would no longer enjoy His physical presence. His living energy—His spiritual reality—would continue to nourish and sustain them just as the roots and trunk of a grape vine produce the energy that nourishes and sustains its branches while they develop their fruit. Jesus wanted us to know that, even though we cannot see Him, we are as intricately connected to Him as the branches of a vine are connected to its stem. Our desire to know and love Him and the energy to serve Him will keep flowing into and through us as long as we “abide” in Him.

Jesus then goes further in verse four. “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” John 15:4.  He is saying that no branch can even live, let alone produce fruit by itself.  Cut off from the trunk, a branch is dead. Just as a vine’s branches rely on being connected to the trunk from which they receive their energy to bear fruit, Jesus’ disciples depend on being connected to Him for their spiritual life and the ability to serve Him effectively. And the fruit we produce is from the Holy Spirit, not of ourselves.  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23.  What we do for Jesus, what fruit we produce is purely through Him, and the only way we can truly serve Him is to be rightly connect to Him in a faith and love relationship. 

Then looking one verse further, we read, “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” John 15:6. No believer can achieve anything of spiritual value independently of Christ Jesus. He also reminds us that there are some who are “in” Him who bear no fruit. But these are not, as some would suppose, true branches that just happen to be fruitless. All true branches bear fruit. Just as we know a healthy, living tree by the good fruit it produces, so do we recognize fruitless branches as having no connection to the True Vine. And therefore, we read in Matthew, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits.” Matthew 7:15-20.

In closing, Jesus was telling the disciples the only way they can bare fruit is if they rely on Him and be connected to Him after He goes.  And the same is to be said of us.  If we try to do the work of Christ through our own strength, we will not be successful, for no fruit can be produced if we are not connected to Him, just as no branch can produce fruit if it is not connected to the vine.  And He, as our focus verse says, is the true vine. He is our source of all things good. So, we depend on Jesus for everything, starting with our very life—“For in Him we live and move and have our being.” Romans 5:10.  And this includes reconciliation with God through Him by which no one can serve God effectively until he relates to Jesus Christ by faith. Jesus is our only connection with the God who gave life and who produces in us a fruitful life of righteousness and service. 

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

John 14:6

Verse of the Day Devotion:  John 14:6

“Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” – John 14:6 

Over the next few weekdays, we will be looking at seven verses where Jesus declares “I AM”, and then gives a metaphor regarding what He is.  Today, we will look at the sixth of these, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”

Jesus is now preparing the disciples for what is coming soon, that being His death. “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.” John 14:1. It is Jesus who is heading for the agony of the cross; it is Jesus who is deeply ‘troubled’ in heart and spirit. “Now my soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, Father, save Me from this hour? But for this purpose, I came to this hour.” John 12:27. And He was also troubled by the fact one of His beloved disciples would betray Him. “When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.” John 13:31. Yet on this night of nights, when of all times it would have been appropriate for Jesus’ followers to lend him emotional and spiritual support, he is still the one who gives, comforts, and instructs. For they, too, are troubled, not because they are rushing toward pain, ignominy, shame, crucifixion, but because they are confused, uncertain of what Jesus means, and threatened by references to his imminent departure.

Jesus now gives the reason for His departure; it is to the disciples advantage. “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:2-3.  The reason is now spelled out: Jesus’ departure is for the disciples’ advantage. True, he is going away, but he is going away to prepare a place for them, and he will come and get them so that they may be where he is. What more could they ask for?

Then in verse four we read, “And you know the way where I am going.” John 14:4.  Jesus said they knew the way He was going; however, we see in the next verse they did not get it. “Thomas said to Him, Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” John 14:5. Thomas’ question sounds as if he interpreted Jesus’ words in the most obvious way, such that it was a physical destination He was referring to. He wants an unambiguous destination, for without such a destination how can one meaningfully speak of the route there? Jesus then answers him with our focus verse, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” John 14:6. 

In this verse, He states three things that He is.  First, He is the way.  Jesus used the definite article to distinguish Himself as the only way. The idea is of a way, path or route to a specific destination. Jesus here is in essence telling them to follow Him, just as He did in their initial calling to them. He is the only route to salvation and their new home they will have with Him. And this salvation is only found by following Him. “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12.

Second, He is the truth.  This and the last one can be derived from the first, that He is the way. He is the truth because He is the only true path to salvation. The Jews believed that salvation came from doing the deeds of the Law.  And there are many religions today who claim to have the way to eternal peace and life aside from Christ.  However, there is only one way to salvation, and that is through Christ and His way which is true. 

And lastly, He is the life. He is the source of our eternal life, again because He is the way to this wonderful existence.  “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. After a little while the world will behold Me no more; but you will behold Me; because I live, you shall live also. In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” John 14:18-20.    

In these words, Jesus was declaring Himself the great “I Am,” the only path to heaven, the only true measure of righteousness, and the source of both physical and spiritual life. He was staking His claim as the very God of Creation, the Lord who blessed Abraham, and the Holy One who inhabits eternity. He did this so the disciples would be able to face the dark days ahead and carry on the mission of declaring the gospel to the world.  And this is what we are called to do as His disciples.  We are to follow His ways and not deviate, gripping ahold of the truth with everything we have, and by these we have access to life forever as He does and has freely given to us. 

I want to close with a quote from the book, “The Imitation of Christ” by Thomas à Kempis.  It was first composed in Medieval Latin around 1418 A.D. 

“Follow thou me. I am the way and the truth and the life. Without the way there is no going; without the truth there is no knowing; without the life there is no living. I am the way which thou must follow; the truth which thou must believe; the life for which thou must hope. I am the inviolable way; the infallible truth, the never-ending life. I am the straightest way; the sovereign truth; life true, life blessed, life uncreated.”

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

Exodus 20:12

Verse of the Day Devotion: Exodus 20:12

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.” – Exodus 20:12

In the last Daily Devotion, we looked at not using the name of the Lord in a way that was vain and not honorable and reverent which He is worthy of.  The first four commandments were on are found on what is known as the first tablet, addressing our relationship.  These next six are found on the second tablet which addresses our relationship with our fellow man.  This goes perfectly with what Jesus said to the Sadducee that asked Him what the greatest commandment was.  “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 foremost commandment. The second is like it, YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. On these two commandments depend on the whole Law and the Prophets.”  Matthew 22:37-40.  Note the two parts.  “You shall love the Lord your God” goes with the first tablet; commandments 1-4, while “Love you neighbor as yourself” goes with the second tablet; commandments 5-10.

The word “honor” comes from the same Hebrew word from which “glory” does.  We are to show them reverence as Moses said in Leviticus.  “Every one of you shall reverence his mother and his father, and you shall keep My sabbaths; I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 19:3. This is not to infer that we are to worship them, but that we honor them for who they are, our parents, the ones who gave birth to us and cared for us when we could not care for ourselves.  We should come when they call, go where they send us, and do what they bid us to do.  We are not to do what they tell us not to do, in all things doing them cheerfully and out of love.  We are to respect them and respect their advice, for they desire the best for us. 

Paul wrote this to the Church in Ephesus regarding this verse. “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise), SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH.” Ephesians 6:1-3.  Paul is emphasizing the promise in this commandment, that being “that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.” Exodus 20:12b.  We see a clarification of this in Deuteronomy.  “Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you on the land which the LORD your God gives you.” Deuteronomy 5:16.  If they honor them, things will go well for them in the land which the Lord has given them.  Long life was considered a blessing in itself.  And the wording “that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you on the land which the LORD your God gives you.” denotes the blessing of a long and fruitful life.

It is important that we honor our parents by following their advice and obeying them.  They gave birth to us and they spent many years taking care of us, and preparing us for the life we live now, and will live if we are still at home.  Too many kids today do not listen to their parents, and they find themselves getting in trouble from going astray.  And as adults, we should still listen to our parents for they can be the source of much wisdom.  They can tell us times where they were struggling and help us not to struggle in the same way.  Therefore, listen to what they say and do not ignore them  Learn from their mistakes and their wisdom.  Things will go well if we do.

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

Mark 11:25

Verse of the Day Devotion: Mark 11:25 

“Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.” – Mark 11:25

This idea is found in various places in the New Testament.  We are called to forgive others if we have anything against someone else so that we can be forgiven.  Jesus mentioned it also in the Lord’s prayer, where He spoke of asking God to forgive, “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Matthew 6:12.  He attached our forgiveness to how we forgive.  And then a couple verses down He leaves no question of what is intended.  “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” Matthew 6:14-15. 

The main reason Jesus came here was so He could pay the penalty we incurred because of sin.  And the only way this could have been done was to have someone who is without sin pay that penalty.  For we read in Romans the following, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23.  We all deserve death for we all sinned.  However, one who has never sinned came here and paid our debt by dying on our behalf.  His love was so great for all of us He suffered through the most terrible and humiliating form of death imaginable, crucifixion.  This form of death was designed to cause the most pain possible over the longest period of time.  Many people endured this torture for over a week, while being humiliated due to their nakedness.  Peter put it this way, “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth, and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.” 1 Peter 2:22-24. 

So, as we can see, Jesus paid the penalty we could never pay.  He did what was necessary by dying for us so that we may be forgiven of our sins.  Therefore, this is why we are called to forgive the sins of others.  We should love others as He loves us.  “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you.” John 15:12-14.  And just as we see with Jesus, no one can carry his love for his friend farther than when he gives up his life.  In other words, he gives up everything that he has.  And forgiveness of wrongs is the greatest gift He gave us, and He commands us to do the same.  

And note what our focus verse says.  “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.” Mark 11:25.  It is not just to forgive those who ask, but to forgive anyone of any wrong done to us.  And Jesus exhibited this in the greatest way possible when he said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:36.  They had not asked for forgiveness, for He was still on the cross.  But He asked for His Father to forgive them anyway.  And this is the greatest example of what our focus verse says, when you are praying, forgive anyone who has done you wrong.

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

Isaiah 9:6

Verse of the Day Devotion:  Isaiah 9:6

“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6

Merry Christmas Eve.  This is the day before the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Savior of the world.  Our focus verse is the prophecy of this great event as given by Isaiah.  This verse tells us the reason for the great things that will come in the future.  “But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them. You shall multiply the nation, You shall increase their gladness; They will be glad in Your presence As with the gladness of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian. For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.” Isaiah 9:1-5. 

In our focus verse we see several beautiful things that describe this child.  First of all, it speaks of the government being upon His shoulders.  This statement may be referring to the idea of a key that is placed on the king showing his control over the throne room and house of the king.  “Then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder, When he opens no one will shut, When he shuts no one will open.” Isaiah 22:22.  Note the phrase, when he opens no one will shut, and when he shuts, no one will open.  This designates control and authority over the kingdom of which he rules.  This very well could be what is referred to in Isaiah 9 where he says, the government will rest on His shoulders.  He will rule and the government will be vested in Him; He will be king.

He is called Wonderful Counselor.  He always gives good counsel to His people, in both temporal and spiritual matters.  His wisdom surpasses all others because it comes directly from the Father, and because He is God Himself knowing all things past, present and future.

And He is the Mighty God, as I stated above.  The language here is, God The Mighty One.  He was not just sent by God, He is God, with all the attributes associated with God.  However, He will be in the form of a man.  John put it this way.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” John 1:1-3.  And we know this is referring to Jesus because of what John says later on, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14.  And the next verse clarifies Him as the promised one when He says, “John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.” John 1:15.  John the Baptist was conceived in the womb before Jesus, but John says He existed before him.  The meaning is clear here.  He was God who came in the flesh.

He is the everlasting Father.  There is but one Father in the Godhead, however, how this all fits together is beyond our understanding.  But what we do know is that Jesus and the Father are one.   He made this clear in John when He said, “I and the Father are one.”  John 10:30.  If Jesus Christ were not God, could he have said these words without being guilty of blasphemy?  He could not be referring to His earthly father, for this would not have been worded “the Father” but “my Father”.  He is God, not “a God” or a messenger of God, He is God Himself.

And He is the Prince of Peace.  According to theologian Albert Barnes, this is a Hebrew mode of expression denoting that he would be a peaceful prince.  That the tendency of His administration would be to restore and perpetuate peace.  This was in sharp contrast to the mass of kings and princes who have delighted in conquest and blood.  In contradistinction from all these, the Messiah would seek to promote universal concord, and the tendency of his reign would be to put an end to wars, and to restore harmony and order to the nations.  And this refers to all forms of peace.  In a prophecy regarding the new kingdom, Isaiah writes, “And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them.  Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.” Isaiah 11:6-9.

These attributes describe completely who this child is that will be born to us, as stated in our focus verse.  He came to us a little over two thousand years ago; a baby born of a virgin in a manger in a small and virtually overlooked town of Bethlehem.  Who He is goes beyond our understanding, but it does show us what we have been given.  A loving and mighty God who provides perfect counsel to those who seek it,  one who is our Father for all eternity who’s reign is defined by perfect peace.  And we have this now in our relationship with Him.  “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, For in GOD the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock.”  Isaiah 26:3-4.  And then, “The way of the righteous is smooth; O Upright One, make the path of the righteous level.” Isaiah 26:7. 

This is our relationship with the promised child born of the virgin Mary in Bethlehem so many years ago.  Rejoice and be glad as we celebrate this wonderful time of Christmas Eve and then Christmas day.  And remember, our time here is but the beginning.  “But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9.  Oh the beautiful and amazing things we have to look forward to.

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

Matthew 6:14

Verse of the Day Devotion: Matthew 6:14  

“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” – Matthew 6:14

Prayer is an important part of our Christian life for it is our time to converse with the God of the universe, the one who created all that is, including us.  What an amazing opportunity.  We can bring to Him our thanks and appreciation for all that He does for us, and we can go to Him requesting help during difficult times.  “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  Hebrews 4:9.  And there is another area we can go to Him in prayer on, and that is forgiveness for our sins. 

It is sad to realize that we all sin at times after we commit our lives to Christ.  Even the apostle Paul admitted as such regarding himself.  “For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.” Romans 7:15. He hated some of the things he did, knowing that it was of the flesh. Therefore, it is at these time we can go to before God and ask for forgiveness.  “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  1 John 1:8-9  If we do sin, Christ is our advocate before the Father on our behalf.  “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” 1 John 2:1-2. 

Back to our focus verse, we are called to forgive those who sin against us just as God forgave us through the blood of Christ.  We are to show the same grace and mercy to everyone who wrongs us, or even appears to wrong us when in actuality they did not.  We must always assume innocence until irrefutable evidence shows otherwise.  However, in either case, we are required to give the same grace and mercy as was given to us by God for the sins we committed against Him.  Jesus put it this way in answer to a question from Peter regarding forgiveness.  “Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times? Jesus said to him, I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:21-22.  This has the idea of as often as sinned against, forgive.

As a final thought, the next verse in Matthew speaks of a serious idea regarding forgiveness.  “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” Matthew 6:15.  Jesus spoke of this again as recorded by Luke.  “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.” Luke 6:36-38.  Note the last sentence in these passages, “For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.” Luke 6:38b.  In essence, however we treat others is the rule on how we  will be treated. Remember the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:21-35).  “My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.” Matthew 18:35.

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

Mark 9:24

Verse of the Day Devotion: Mark 9:24 

“Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” – Mark 9:24    

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you want God to help you yet are not sure if He can or will?  We have to be honest with ourselves if we find ourselves in this situation.  Just as the father in this story was honest with Jesus.  The story starts with the disciples struggling with belief themselves.  “And one of the crowd answered Him, Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.” Mark 9:17-18.  A man brings his son who has a demon to Jesus’ disciples and told the disciples to cast it out.  However, they were unable, so He brings him to Jesus.  “And Jesus answered them and said, O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!” Mark 9:19  Them refers to His own disciples.

After this, “They brought the boy to Jesus. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. And He asked his father, How long has this been happening to him?  And he said, From childhood. It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us, and help us! “ Mark 9:20-22.  Note the wording here, “if you can do anything”.  He was not sure.  And Jesus catches this phrase.  “And Jesus said to him ‘If You can?’  All things are possible to him who believes.” Mark 9:23.  In saying this, it appears that the beginning of faith appears to have come.  And we see this in the father’s answer to Jesus in our focus verse. “Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, I do believe; help my unbelief.” Mark 9:24.   What this man told Christ was that he did believe He had power, but there was still elements of unbelief in him regarding the healing of his son.  This was probably due to the amount of time his son has suffered with it, and the many ways they tried to address it and failed.  Jesus heard what the man said and had compassion on him and the boy.  “When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, you deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again.” Mark 9:25. 

God knows us, and He knows our hearts.  Therefore, it does no good to attempt to conceal the doubts we may have.  We can know He is capable of doing everything yet have doubts about specifics we desire or need Him to do.  There are two things in our focus verse I wish to point out.  First, the man felt and admitted this unbelief to Jesus.  He opened his heart to Him, admitting its presence.  It was not complete unbelief in Jesus, just, in this instance, His healing power for his son.  As stated above, sometimes we experience so many failures regarding what we are praying for, it becomes difficult to believe it can be done at all.  And second, he appealed to Jesus to help him overcome this unbelief.  And this should be our cry when we find ourselves in a similar predicament: believing God can do anything but struggling in this instance.  We see God’s love in that He helped this man overcome his doubt, and He will do the same for us.  Open your heart and be totally open to Him, not just saying the words we think will work, but speaking the truth.  God will help us in our shortcomings when we admit they are there and ask Him for help.

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

Matthew 24:36

Verse of the Day Devotion: Matthew 24:36 

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” – Matthew 24:36 

This verse is part of what is known as the Olivet Discourse.  It is called this because it is an extended teaching by Jesus given on the Mount of Olives.  The basic subject is the end times and the return of Jesus Christ.   He started this by giving signs that will occur when the end of the age is imminent.  These include but are not limited to an increase in false prophets, famines, earthquakes, and lawlessness.  Next, He speaks of the Abomination of Desolations spoken of by the prophet Daniel who will wreak havoc and bring great tribulation.  “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.”   Matthew 24:21-22. 

And immediately after this period, the Son of Man, the Christ, will return.  “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”  Matthew 24:29-31.  What a great time this will be for Christians.

Then we come to our focus verse.  “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”  Matthew 24:36.  The exact time of His coming is not clear.  However, the general signs are given so that we know it is close.  He uses the fig tree as an example of what He means.  “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.” Matthew 24:32-33.

Now we come to our focus verse.  “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” Matthew 24:36.  There is no indication of exactly when His return will be.  Only the Father knows.  However, what we do know is it will happen.  So it is important that we live our lives accordingly.  We should not live in a casual Christian manner, one that is not deeply committed to Christ, figuring we will change as the time draws closer.  “For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” Matthew 24:38-29.  They lived their lives as they wanted, figuring all would be well, even though they were told by Noah what was coming.  However, the flood came, and it was too late, for the doors were shut,  They figured when the rain began, they would enter the ark at that time.  It did not go well with them, and it will not go well for those who wait until the day of His coming to get serious.

It is important that, as Christians, we live our lives in a manner that is pleasing to God, and one where we are totally committed to Him.  We do not know when He will come back, or if we will die prior to that day.  Therefore, it is imperative that we be serious about our Christian walk, not living our life as we please that is opposed to His will.  We do not want to hear the words spoken to the rich man who built additional barns to store His harvest.  The context is slightly different, but the meaning is clear. “But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you.” Luke 12:20a.

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

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.