Jeremiah 17:7

Verse of the Day: Jeremiah 17:7

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD.” – Jeremiah 17:7 

There are many things that we place our trust in.  Sometimes we trust other men to bring us through trials.  Other times we trust the law to bring about appropriate compensation for a wrong done.  And of course, there are times when we rely on ourselves.  Also, there are many who create their own gods and place their trust in them.  The problem with placing our trust in any man or man-made solution, such as a false god, is that we cannot always trust that the solution will work.

In today’s verse, the truth is that placing your trust in God will be a blessing to you.  You see, in the verses 1-4, God convicts the Jews of the sin of idolatry and shows them that any confidence in these idols will not be good.  Let us look at the next two verses.  “Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD.  He is like a shrub in the desert and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.”  Jeremiah 17:5-6 He now says that anyone who trusts man aside from God has placed his trust in the wrong things.

The idea here is that we are to understand that God is to be who we trust.  He will never fail us, even when it looks like things are going all wrong.  He will never let us down or cause us to wander aimlessly for a solution.  As the writer of Proverbs said, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.”  Proverbs 3:5-6.  Acknowledge that the one you trust in any situation is God, and you will be guided straight to where He wants you.  And that place is God’s best for you.

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.

Psalm 106:1

Verse of the Day Devotion: Psalm 106:1

“Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” – Psalm 106:1

This is a very powerful verse.  In fact, this same wording is found in several other places.  For instance, let’s look at the next chapter in Psalms.  “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!”  Psalm 107:1. Now, compare this with a verse in 1 Chronicles.  “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”  1 Chronicles 16:34. In comparing Psalm 107:1 and 1 Chronicles 16:34, they are word for word the same.  Then when you look at our focus verse, the wording is also identical after the first three words, ‘Praise the Lord’’.  You will also find the same wording in 2 Chronicles 20:21, Psalm 118:1, Psalm 118:29 and, Psalm 136:1.  There are many other verses that are very close, with slight word changes.  However, the meaning is clear.

These words are found in enough places in the scriptures that I would venture to say this was a phrase well known to the Israelites.  And they must become very familiar to us as well.  Our God is great, greater than anyone or anything.  For without Him, nothing else would exist.  He is all powerful, there is nothing that can stop Him or His will from being accomplished.  He is all knowing, knowing every minutia of everything and everybody in every moment of time.  And He is everywhere all the time, “Can a man hide himself in hiding places, so I do not see him?  declares the LORD. Do I not fill the heavens and the earth? declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 23:24. He is an incredible God we serve.  And He loves us beyond our comprehension. God spoke these words to Jeremiah, but they are applicable to us today. “The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore, I have drawn you with lovingkindness.”  Jeremiah 31:3. There will never be a need He will not meet.  “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19. And most important of all, He died that we might live.  “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  Romans 5:8. “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”  John 15:13.

How can we not praise Him with our whole being?  How can we not worship Him from the very depth of our heart?  How can we not thank Him for His goodness He has poured out on us?  And how can we not love Him with everything we are, for our God’s love, from Him who does not change, is an everlasting love, from eternity to eternity.

“Praise the LORD! Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

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

Deuteronomy 18:15

Verse of the Day Devotion: Deuteronomy 18:15

“The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.” – Deuteronomy 18:15

These words that Moses spoke to the people were prophetic words from God referring to a future prophet that would come out of Israel.  Notice the wording, “The Lord will raise up for you a prophet like ME”.  Many at that time believed that Moses must have been referring to Joshua who would be the one to lead the people into the promised land.  However, there are some intriguing words spoken by Jesus and the apostles that show who this prophet like Moses really was.

For instance, when Peter was witnessing to the Jews in Solomon’s Portico, he said, “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. Moses said, ‘THE LORD GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR BRETHREN; TO HIM YOU SHALL GIVE HEED to everything He says to you. And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.” Acts 3:23. He is telling the listeners to repent and return to the true faith, so that when the end comes and Jesus returns, they will experience a time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.  And if they do not return, they will see destruction rather than refreshing.  Note also that Jesus is referred to as the Christ about whom God spoke of through His prophets, particularly Moses.

Stephen as he was speaking to men from the Synagogue, referring to the same verse in Deuteronomy, shows that Moses was referring to Christ in a later verse, “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.” Acts 7:51-53.  The righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers they had become.

There are various verses in the gospels referring to “The Prophet”, using the definite article rather than the indefinite. This no doubt refers to this prophet declared to be like Moses.   In the first chapter of John, we see Jewish priests and Levites from Jerusalem going up to John the Baptist to confer with Him regarding the coming Messiah and to question all that he was doing.  “This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’  And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” John 1:19-20.  He knew what they were suspecting him to say, so he states emphatically that he is not the Messiah.  Continuing, “They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the Prophet?’ And he answered, ‘No.’ Then they said to him, ‘Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?’  He said, ‘I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.’” John 1:21-23.  Note the question “Are you THE prophet?”  John,  referring to the words of Isaiah, answers them saying,  “A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.” Isaiah 40:3.  He declared he is that voice declaring the coming of THE Prophet, not the Prophet Himself.

There are many references in the Old Testament, also known as the Jewish Scriptures, that point to the coming Messiah.  For instance, “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. And “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14. And lastly, “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” Genesis 3:15. And there are countless others as well.   I know we are several months from celebrating Christmas; however, this is the most important event in all of time and space; so important that it is found throughout all of the Old Testament.  Without this coming Messiah, there would be no salvation, no reconciliation with God, and no justification, declaring us righteous.  It was so important that most of the prophets declared His coming, like Moses and Isaiah, Micah and Jeremiah.  The Jewish leadership refused to see Jesus as “The Prophet” because their presuppositions clouded their minds and they refused to accept what was so prevalent in their scriptures.

I encourage us all to remove any presuppositions that prevent us from seeing the truth of the scriptures, not just where it comes to our Lord and Savior Jesus the Messiah, but in other areas as well.  Who knows what we could understand in greater ways if we did.  Things would definitely come into greater focus.

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

Psalm 95:6

Verse of the Day Devotion: Psalm 95:6

“Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.” – Psalm 95:6

This psalm was written by David as an invitation to praise and worship the Lord our God.  David is encouraging God’s people to come before the Lord and give Him what is due Him.

Praise and worship are not necessarily the same thing.  They are both focusing on God; who He is and what He has done.  However, praise is a joyful thankfulness of all God has done for us, where worship is an acknowledgement of who God is in relation to who we are.  Another way of expressing this is, “where praise is focused on thankfulness, worship is focused on surrender.” Chapter 95 of Psalms is a call to both; therefore, we shall examine both in the context of David’s call in this chapter.

First, we are called to sing for joy to the Lord.  “O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD, let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.” Psalm 95:1-2.  This is a wonderful portrayal of praise.  Coming before Him, singing and shouting out our thankfulness to the one who provides everything.  We see this idea throughout the bible.  “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” Psalm 107:1. “Praise the LORD in song, for He has done excellent things; Let this be known throughout the earth. Cry aloud and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 12:5-6.  “Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.” 1 Chronicles 29:13. And finally, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Colossians 3:16. How can we not thank Him; how can we not shout out for joy for His many gifts and benefits; how can we not rejoice for all He has done for us, including the sacrifice of His Son on the cross?  Praise and thanksgiving should always be given to Him for all things.

Then we are called to worship Him.  We see this in our focus verse, “Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.”  Psalm 95:6. We are told to bow down to Him in humility, surrendering ourselves to Him in homage and reverence.  He created everything that is.  “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1 and “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.  He created everything that is, and that lives and moves upon the earth.  And He is infinitely greater and higher than we are.  “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9.  There is no comparison because the distance between finite and infinite is insurmountable.

Because of the above, we are to humble ourselves before our God, Lord and Maker in worship.  We are to bow down before Him in surrender to Him, acknowledging our love, reverence and devotion to Him.  The idea of bowing down in this verse in the time of David was by prostrating before Him, meaning lying flat on the ground face down.  Whichever way we go before Him, be it lying face down on the ground, bowing or kneeling before Him, the idea is adoration, reverence and surrender.  Our mind should be focused entirely on Him, emptying our thoughts of everything but Him and our deep love and adoration for our glorious Lord and Savior.  We should forget about ourselves and our situations.  This should be a very intimate time with Him, where we can realign our priorities with His and spend time in not only speaking to and uplifting Him but hearing what He has to say and making a commitment to obeying and following His words.  It should be a time where we acknowledge and declare again that He is our Lord and no-one else, including ourselves.

Praise and worship come from our hearts, expressing our devotion to Him.  The outward motions are not what He is looking at, but the deep feelings in the innermost depths of our being.  God sees our hearts and recognizes our sincerity or our hypocrisy.  How do we develop a sincere relationship with God?  “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” James 4:8. We must focus on drawing near to Him, cleansing our hearts and minds of those things that are not glorifying to Him and replacing them with those things that please and honor Him.  And when we do this, He will draw near to us and we can have a relationship that will go beyond anything we could ever imagine.

I encourage everyone here to spend concerted time praising and worshipping are great and loving God.  He is worthy of all we can give Him and more.  I believe if we can spend more quality time with Him, thanking and glorifying Him as he deserves, it will cause us to grow in our walk with Him and we will find ourselves more content in every part of our life.  That is my desire for sure.

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

Psalm 116:15

Verse of the Day Devotion: Psalm 116:15

“Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His godly ones.” – Psalm 116:15 

This is a beautiful picture of how God views the death of one of His children.  We see death as the end of a life. It means decay, absence and their removal, nothing that we prize.  We mourn over the death of someone we know because what we see is separation, the loss of the fellowship and love we have for and with that person.  We hold all these memories and are saddened that those days are over.  However, God knows the end from the beginning, and He has determined our days.  “Since his days are determined, the number of his months is with You; and his limits You have set so that he cannot pass.” Job 14:5. And since He knows our days, the end is not a surprise to Him as it is to us.

How does God see the death of the Godly ones?  Well, it is not separation, for we will be there with Him.  “Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.” Ecclesiastes 12:7. And we will be with Christ. “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.” Hebrews 9:27-28.

And our new life will be everlasting.  “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16. Our life will never end.  For we shall be with God, enjoying the blessed life forever with no end.  No longer dealing with the temptations and sins that so easily entangle us (see Hebrews 12:1).  No longer growing weary due to the problems and trials we face every day.  No longer going without and wondering how we will make it.  No longer mourning over hardships that come our way, for we will be at peace, and joy will pervade our existence.  No longer becoming tired and weary, for we will experience true rest.  “The righteous man perishes, and no man takes it to heart; And devout men are taken away, while no one understands. For the righteous man is taken away from evil, He enters into peace; They rest in their beds, each one who walked in his upright way.” Isaiah 57:1-2.

The trials we face here on this earth are not the product of God, but of man who rebelled against God.  However, through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus the Christ, we as Christians will be delivered from the chaos wrought by the rebellion of Adam and Eve.  We will be with God who loves us very much and will provide a place for us with Him forever.  He does not like what we go through here, which is why He has prepared a better place on a new earth in a new heaven.

As stated above in Job 14:5, our times have been set.  And also His plans for us have also been set.  We are here to spread the gospel and bring others to the saving knowledge of Christ.  In these times there will be suffering for all saints.  “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” 2 Timothy 3:12. Also, “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.” Philippians 1:29-30.   In fact, Paul was told ahead of time that he would suffer for Him.  “But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him (Saul) how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” Acts 9:15-16

Unfortunately, reaching out to the lost will undoubtedly bring suffering.  However, at the end, either of our life or this era, we will no longer experience persecution or suffering, for we will enter our new life full of unending joy, peace and love. Revelation tells us what it will be like.  “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” Revelation 21:1-4.

In looking at death the way God does, we can see that death for the Christian is not a sad event, but a time of rejoicing.  For they have been delivered from this life of trials, sickness, pain, persecution and the like, to a life that consists of eternal peace, joy, rest, contentment and love.  Yes, we will still mourn, for we are still here.  However, God sees one that He loves finding eternal peace and joy beyond comprehension.  And this is why the psalmist writes in our focus verse, “Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His godly ones.” Psalm 116:15.

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

Hebrews 13:6

Verse of the Day Devotion: Hebrews 13:6

“So that we confidently say, “THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?” – Hebrews 13:6

We as God’s people should not be afraid of what could possibly happen to us.  In fact, the writer of Hebrews says we can confidently state this as absolute.  How can we say this?  Let’s start by looking at the verse just before this.  “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,”  Hebrews 13:5.  If we realize and live our lives based on this verse, then we will have peace because we know that God will never leave us or forsake us.  So, if we are content with what we have, knowing that our needs will be met, what do we have to fear?  It is when we love success and desire things that are not necessities which we cannot acquire, then we lose that blessed place of peace.

And because of this, with confidence, we know the Lord is our helper.  He is there to provide our needs, and to help us through any situation we find ourselves in.  He also helps us in fulfilling His calling in our lives.  See what Paul wrote to the church in Philippi.  “For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13. He will guide us in how to fulfill His calling in us, giving us the words to say, the deeds to do, the wisdom the succeed and the strength to perform it.  If we have a question as to how to proceed, He will answer.  This I have personally experienced in various ministry tasks He has led me to do.  There were times I had no idea how to proceed, however, through prayer He gave me the answer to all my questions.

We also know, with great confidence, that we have no need to fear what will happen to us because of what men may do.  I have read many stories about Christians who have been arrested because of their faith.  Most, if not all, remained true to God no matter what anyone did to them.  When trials came, they trusted that God would bring them through, however, if they were to die, they knew they would be OK, for God would take them to be with Him.  They trusted God in the midst of their torture or execution.  Even death is not to be feared, whether through execution or illness, for to us, it is simply going home.

Paul put it this way, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21. Our sole aim in life should be to bring glory and honor to Him.  If we submit to Him as we should, then we will devote our lives to glorifying Him in everything we do.  He should be our life.  He must be our everything.  And when we live our lives this way, and it comes time to die, we will gain freedom from suffering and pain; being then in a place of joy, peace and infinite love.  We may lose our lives, but we gain all the good promised to us because of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.

Therefore, we truly do not have anything to fear, for really, what can man do to us?  God will provide all our needs, He will be with us in all we do, whether it be in reaching the lost, serving the body or suffering for His sake.  Trusting in Him, He will guide us through this life, working through us to do His will.  And if man were to take our life, it would be a great gain for us.  Looking at life this way is a source of peace and joy.  Let us all partake of this goodness given to us by Christ.

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

Isaiah 53:6

Verse of the Day Devotion: Isaiah 53:6  All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.

This is a very important verse for us to understand, especially when it comes to our ministry to both the saved and unsaved.  It is important because of the first three words of this verse; ‘All of us.’  We must remember this in all aspects of our ministry.  This picture of sheep is a popular one within the scriptures.  “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, For I do not forget Your commandments.”  Psalm 119:176.  Also, “For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.” 1 Peter 2:25.  And finally, this lesson from Jesus tells us, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven. For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying. If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.” Matthew 18:10-14

We all have gone astray from God.  We all have walked away from Him and, as the verse says, have turned to our own ways instead of following after God.  This started in the Garden with Adam and Eve.  “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” Genesis 3:6.  They listened to the lies of the serpent rather than the truth from God.  And as it says in our focus verse, “… Each of us has turned to his own way …”.

We were not able, because of our iniquity, to resolve the issue ourselves since it required a perfect sacrifice, one without any spot or blemish.  But the Lord had an answer, which was to send His Son, to live a perfect life, and then die, paying for the iniquities of the rest of us.  The Messiah, the long-awaited promise, who came in human form as Jesus, paid the complete penalty for everyone, and we have our sins forgiven if we simply believe in Christ, and declare Him Lord.  “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” Romans 10:9-10.  Also, there are times when we mess up and do things we should not.  He has a solution for that as well. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

However, we must not think differently about others than we do ourselves, except that we look at them more highly.  “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” Philippians 2:4   I have seen too often Christians who look down on others who do not have the knowledge or goodness they do.  We cannot think this way, because we at one time were in the position, and it was only by the grace of God that we were restored.  These learned the truth, and it is theirs and all of our jobs, as Christians to teach others and help them grow in Christ.

We must not decide there are people who are so bad or too low that we will not reach out to them.  They may do horrible things, but they deserve to be reached out to as well as we did and do.  Paul put it well, “Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.”  Romans 12:16.  We are called to go into world and make disciples of all men.  We are called to go into the highways and byways and compel them to come to the Lord.  Again, we all were lost.  We all went our own way.  However, someone came to us and showed us the truth and helped us understand.  We were saved by the blood of Christ when we accepted Him, and so it is our job to help others be saved by accepting Him as well.

No one is too far gone for us to ignore.  He has placed this calling on us, formerly sinners, who now understand.  We must reach out to all whom God brings our way.  It only takes one sin to corrupt, and we were corrupt.  So, as someone did for us, let’s go out and do for others.

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

Colossians 3:17

Verse of the Day Devotion: Colossians 3:17

“Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” – Colossians 3:17 

Let us first look at Colossians 1:7. “just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bondservant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.”  Colossians 1:7-8.  Paul refers to himself as a bondservant of Christ. The Greek word for bondservant is ‘doulos’ which translated is servant or slave. And since we are slaves to Christ, we are His and not our own.  For we became His when we accepted the work of Christ on the cross and the Spirit of God entered in and lives within us.  “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.” Romans 8:9  And we were bought with His blood.  “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?  For you have been bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:20.

We are not our own.  When a slave does anything, it is at the command of his owner and master.  Anything we do for God we do because He has commanded us to do so.  It is not because we chose to do it, but we chose to obey Him.  This is important, for in reality not only does He command us what to do, but also helps us by working in us to do it.  “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:12-13. His Spirit who resides in us will do the work He has called us to do, what we must do is submit to Him, and listen to Him so that we know what to do and how to do it.

And because He is our Lord and Master, anything we do must be in His name and not our own.  He is all knowing, and He knows exactly what is needed to fulfill His will not only in our lives, but in the lives of those He brings our way.  “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. So, if He leads people to us, we must listen and allow Him to not only command us what we are to do, but also to submit to Him and allow Him to work in us to accomplish His good purpose.

So, as our focus verse tells us, whatever we do, whether it be in word by what we say, or in deed by what we do, we must do it in the name of Jesus.  This entails every outward thing we do.  And if we do it in Jesus’ name, then it must be what and how He would do it.  That is why we must submit to Him and allow His Spirit to guide us.  We must be humble enough to realize it is not our work, but His work that He does through us.  The knowledge we have is from Him.  The opportunities we have are from Him.  The timing of each work we do for Him is from Him.  And finally, the method by which we do this work is from Him.

We should be thankful to God every time we are given a task to do in the name of our Lord Jesus, for in accomplishing this task, we glorify Him in our submission to His Spirit and His will.  This is the greatest honor we could ever receive, being used by Him.

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

Psalm 12:6

Verse of the Day Devotion: Psalm 12:6

“The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.” – Psalm 12:6

This verse is written in contrast to the verses just prior to it.  “Save, O LORD, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man. Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak. May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts” Psalm 12:1-3. These are sad verses, for what David is saying is the faithful and godly men are not around anymore. Those who profess faith and vow to be faithful to God and His ways; the true believers of that day, have fallen and are being false regarding the trust committed to them. They began to speak falsehoods themselves.  There was a sad disregard of the truth and they dealt falsely with their neighbors.  Their words could not be trusted by those to whom they were spoken. And they spoke with a double heart.  This essentially means that they spoke the words with one heart, but in the other was held a different idea.  This is generally what hypocrisy is; saying one thing but not what you truly think or believe.

David had arrived at the place where he called out to God to cut them off.  This is more a statement of a truth rather than a desire, designed as a warning that all such persons would be punished or cut off.  Those being the ones who speaks flattery without belief and boasting in their own ways. And the results of this way of thinking was they believed they were in control.  “Those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?” Psalm 12:4.

The actions of those who acted as such caused much harm to people and God came to protect them.  “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the LORD; “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.” Psalm 12:5. Through their lies, those who once were faithful had fallen away.  The people trusted them, yet they betrayed them. The formerly faithful left the truth behind; replaced by self-exaltation and greed.  And therefore, this was what was so sad.  The ones the people trusted, betrayed them.

However, God speaks in our focus verse that He was not like them.  His words are pure in their truthfulness, not mixed with any amount of falsehood. He compared them to silver, refined in the fire seven times.  Each time silver is refined, more and more of the impurities are burned away.  Also, the words seven in the scriptures denotes a complete or perfect number.  The sense is, that the words of the Lord are ‘perfectly pure.’ There is no deception in His promises.  There is no flattery in what He says.  Men’s words cannot necessarily be trusted, but God’s words can always be trusted. So, be watchful when listening to the words of men, even with those who profess a strong faith in God.  As Paul stated to the Bereans, “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” Acts 17:11. Be careful to check out what is said, for what men say may have errors, but God’s words will not.  This will keep us in a place of safety, a place we desire so much, as designated in our focus verse.

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