Luke 10:36

Verse of the Day Devotion:  Luke 10:36   

“Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” – Luke 10:36

This question was asked by Jesus to a lawyer who had previously asked the question, “Who is my neighbor?”  A lawyer as described here is different than our modern-day lawyers.  Both are experts in the Law, however,  to first century Jewish lawyers it referred to the Mosaic Law. They essentially fulfilled the same role as a Scribe.

So it starts by this lawyer asking Jesus a question. “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Luke 10:25.  Notice the words in verse 21, “to put Him to the test”.  He was not asking Jesus because he wanted to learn something, but to confuse Him, wanting Jesus to, if possible, to contradict some of the requirements of the Law.  However, Jesus did not fall for it and answered him with two questions.  “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” Luke 10:26b. The lawyer then answers as you would expect as a teacher of the Mosaic Law.  “And he answered, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”  Deuteronomy 6:4, Leviticus 19:18.  “And he said to him, You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” Luke 10:28.  “But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor?” Luke 10:29.  The lawyer wanted to let Jesus know he was a righteous man and always kept the Law, just as a lawyer would do. 

Jesus answers this with a parable which tells the story of a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho.  This man was robbed of all he had, including his clothing and was beaten nearly to death.  Along comes a priest who showed no love or compassion for the man by failing to help him and passing on the other side of the road so as not to get involved. The next person to pass by is a Levite who does exactly what the priest did: he passes by without showing any compassion. These are two people who would have known the law, but they chose not to follow it. 

Finally a Samaritan comes by, the one least likely to have helped him in the Lawyers eyes, because they were considered a low class of people by the Jews.  There is no indication as to whether the victim was a Jew of Gentile, but it made no difference to the Samaritan.  He saw only a person in dire need of assistance, and assist him he did, above and beyond the minimum required. He dresses the man’s wounds with wine (to disinfect) and oil (to sooth the pain). He puts the man on his animal and takes him to an inn for a time of healing and pays the innkeeper with his own money. He then goes beyond common decency and tells the innkeeper to take good care of the man, and he would pay for any extra expenses on his return trip.  Jesus then asked the Lawyer a question, as found in out our focus verse, which  disarmed his prejudice.   “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?“ Luke 10:36.  And honestly he had to answer, “He said, The one who showed him mercy. And Jesus said to him, You go, and do likewise.” Luke 10:37. 

The Lawyer’s prejudice would not permit him to name the Samaritan, yet his conscience obliged him to acknowledge that he was the only righteous person of the three.  Jesus told him to be even as those whom he despised because they did the right thing, whereas those who were of his people did not.  However, his “Jewish” prejudice would not permit him to name the Samaritan, but there was no impropriety, even in his view, in saying that the man who showed so much mercy was really the neighbor to the afflicted, and not he who professed to be his neighbor but who would do nothing to help.   

The major thought here is that our neighbor is anyone we come across, just as the Samaritan came across the man on the side of the road.  It does not matter if we know them or not, if they are kind to us or a part of a group that believes contrary to our beliefs or has contempt for us and our views.  We are called to love everyone, no matter what.  We are to love as Jesus loved; to love everyone no matter who they are or what they have ever done.  If someone is in need, do what is necessary to help them.  Shake off all prejudices and love as Jesus did.  And if we can show the love we have, we can then make a difference in their lives that can bring them to Christ, or if already a Christian show them what this Christian life is truly all about. 

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

Exodus 20:17

Verse of the Day Devotion:  Exodus 20:17

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” – Exodus 20:17

We are now on the last of the ten commandments.   This one speaks of covetousness.  Two different Hebrew words are used in the passages condemning coveting.  These are our focus verse and then “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field or his male servant or his female servant, his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Deuteronomy 5:21.  I will not get into the actual Hebrew words, but they both mean to lust after or to long for with great desire.  And since both references to this commandment are worded as something we should not do, the desire in this case is for something that the one who desires does not rightfully own and should not lust after it.  In this commandment, we are told not to lust after others possessions such as their house, land or animals.  We are also not to lust after people in their lives, such as spouses, children or anyone else. 

Whereas several of the ten commandments prohibit certain actions such as theft, murder, or bearing false witness this one focus’ on internal desires of the heart.  James put it this way.  “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.” James 1:14-15.  Many sins are conceived from coveting what another has but we desire to have at their expense; improperdesires ofhavingsomethingwhich will be a gratification to ourselves.  “Oh how I desire to have his car” or “Oh to have his estate”.  This is desiring the things of another.  This is far different than desiring one like they have.  Coveting has the idea of having what they have to their loss.    

At its root, coveting is the result of envy, a sin which, once it takes root in the heart, leads to worse sins.  An example of this is coveting or lusting after a neighbor’s wife, which in essence is adultery.  Also, when we desire something so strong we may succumb to other sins, such as stealing something and then lying about it.  And if things get bad, lying in court or possibly killing them.  This in the vast majority of cases is not going to happen, but you can see the possibilities here. 

The reason covetousness is condemned is a good one.  At its very core, coveting is love of self.  And envious, selfish citizens are unhappy and discontented citizens.  And besides, covetousness is a form of idolatry.  “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.” Colossians 3:5.  And idolatry is definitely a sin which God detests.  In  the end, envy and covetousness are tools of the enemy to distract us from pursuing the one thing that will make us happy and content, that being God Himself.  “But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.  For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.  If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.” 1 Timothy 6:6-8. 

The apostle Paul struggled with covetousness and he learned this lesson of contentedness.  “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.  I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.  I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:11-13.  If we learn how to accept our life and ways as God has given them to us, we can learn how not to covet anything and please God in all we do.

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

Exodus 20:16

Verse of the Day Devotion:  Exodus 20:16 

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” – Exodus 20:16

We are now on the ninth commandment which we see above in our focus verse. 

This commandment forbids any type of lying or deception which can or will be at the detriment of our neighbor.  And by our neighbor is meant any person.   This can be lying, equivocating, and any way devising and designing to deceive our neighbor.  This can take the form of either lying to the person or lying about them.  This idea of bearing false witness is mentioned many times in the bible, and pretty much exclusively as a negative idea.  In the book of proverbs it says, “There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:” Proverbs 6:16.  In these seven things God hates, you will find at least two that are intended in this ninth commandment.  “Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.” Proverbs 6:17-19.  God himself considers these as an abomination to Him.

Now this does not include playing jokes on someone, such as telling them their favorite football team, like the Seattle Seahawks lost when they actually won, you forgot to pick up their shirt at the cleaners when it is sitting in your car, or that you like a certain food that you really do not.  These are harmless words that have no real negative impact.  The types of deception intended here is what can cause problems to them. 

The idea of bearing a false witness is one who stands up and swears before others that something untrue is true, especially with the intention of hurting someone else or ruining his or her reputation.  David experienced this and he prays that his adversaries do not get their desired objective.  “Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence.” Psalm 27:12. and the Jewish leadership searched for false witnesses against Jesus but were not successful.  “Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death.  They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on two came forward, and said, “This man stated, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.”  Matthew 26:61. 

Another example of bearing a false witness is to tell a person to perform an action that will benefit them which actually has a negative outcome.  I remember being invited to a presentation where several men were offering income to people who would give them 100 leads, they could pursue for selling a service, and after all these leads were used up, then they could begin earning money themselves.  After asking a few questions, I realized this was a scam and the intention was to exhaust their benefit entirely from their family and friends.  Once they determined I had figured this out, several men asked me to follow them, and they proceeded to make me leave.  One of the clues that led me to question it was they locked the door with a key from the inside.

The lies told by a false witness come from the sinful human heart.  “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.” Matthew 15:19-20.  Their only intention is to benefit in some way from another’s demise.  This shows no love for anyone else but themselves, working solely for their own benefit.   This is not what God has called us to.  We are to do good to everyone over and above our own self.  “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.” Galatians 6:9-10.

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

Ephesians 4:25

Verse of the Day Devotion: Ephesians 4:25 

“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” – Ephesians 4:25       

In this section of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Paul is laying out how we are to live out this new life in Christ.  In the first verse in this chapter he writes, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:1-3.  Paul is saying that because God has provided such an incredible and abundant salvation, we should walk according to our calling as children of God.  And to walk this way in all humility, gentleness, and patience: desiring to maintain unity in the body of Christ and not bring dissension and disunity. 

He then tells them that because they are Christians and have this new life, they should live as such.  “Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.” Ephesians 4:17.  These Christians are gentile converts.  They should no longer walk as they did formerly.  He then described this former life.  “They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.” Ephesians 4:18-19. They are to walk away from this life “and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:24. From verse 25 to the end of chapter 4, we see a list of attributes associated with this new life.  We will look at each of these, one a day, to examine what this life is. And the first is today’s focus verse, “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” Ephesians 4:25.

We must eliminate all deceit from our conversations.  Lying is understood as the universal vice of the pagan world.  And because the Ephesians had recently been converted, this no doubt was a new concept for them.  It was important that they understood and accepted that lying is evil in order to enable change to happen.  Paul knew this and made it the first attribute in his list of this new life.  We must be completely honest with everyone, and if a difficult truth is necessary, be compassionate and loving as you present it.  Truth should always be the way we interact with others. 

The Lord spoke to Zechariah the Prophet regarding deceit and that they should not practice it at any time.  “These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the LORD.” Zechariah 8:16-17.  God hates deceit, and we should understand this and act accordingly.  We should not think telling a “little white lie” is acceptable in any way.  If you break a glass, say so.  If you lost something someone loaned you, admit it.  We should be honest regarding the value of something we sell, or any defects inherent in it.  And finally, we should never encourage anyone to be deceptive on our behalf.  Truth is truth, and anything other than truth is a falsehood.  Let us choose to be honest at all times, no matter the consequences it may bring us.  “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  If we want to be like Christ, than truth must become our way of life. 

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

Romans 13:8-14

Verses of the Day – Romans 13:8-14

Fulfilling the Law Through Love – Romans 13:8-14

Rom 13:8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 
Rom 13:9 For this, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” 
Rom 13:10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. 
Rom 13:11 Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. 
Rom 13:12 The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 
Rom 13:13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. 
Rom 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. 

v8 – After discussing the believer’s responsibility as concerning the government and civil magistrates, he moves on to our responsibility to our neighbor.  We are to owe no man anything but love.  We should have no obligations to anyone but to love them.  If we do not pay back a person, then we possibly hurt them and cause them to think wrongly themselves.  Plus, owing others may restrict what we may be able to do for our fellow man.

vs9-10 – We are to do love everyone, and if we do, then we will not deprive them of anything that is theirs, neither his wife, life or any of his possessions.  And if we truly love them, we will not even desire, or covet, what he has for we will want him to enjoy what he has.  He then ends this with reminding them that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves.

vs11-14 – These things should be our focus, knowing that the time is getting close for the return of Christ.  We must lay aside all our deeds of darkness that do not show love and do those that please the Father and show love to everyone.  We must live the live out the life that Christ lived, through to the point of death.  Our salvation from the life is almost over, the new life with God in His kingdom is at hand. 

We must show all who see us that this what we believe is true and there is little time left in this present life.  And the only way they will see it is if we live it.  Therefore we must be a light in this dark world, showing them the beauty of living in the light and ridding themselves of the darkness.  Therefore we must put on Christ, live the life He showed us, and make no provision for the lust that the flesh pushes on us.

Go Back to Chapter 13 Part 1

Matthew 22:39

Verse of the Day Devotion: Matthew 22:39 

“The second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” – Matthew 22:39             

This particular verse is one of the two more important verses that speaks to what our Christian walk is to be like.  The first, of course, is two verses before the focus verse which says, “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.” Matthew 22:37. Jesus declared this the great and foremost commandment.  God is to be our greatest love.  We are to love Him with everything we have.  With all our heart, and soul, and mind, and as Mark adds, all our strength.  With everything that is in us, our very breath and understanding, along with all the strength we have.  This being the greatest and foremost commandment.

Then we see our focus verse, “The second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:39. The first thing we need to understand is, who is our neighbor?  According to the Jews of that day, it was any member of the Hebrew nation and/or commonwealth.  However, Jesus had a much broader perspective, which was any person irrespective of nation or religion with whom we live, or we chance to meet or cross paths with.  We shall use the perspective of Jesus throughout this post. 

So, how do we choose to be treated?  Regarding myself, with respect and tolerance; understanding that I am not perfect.  I also want to be helped when necessary and always love the opportunity to get to know people I currently do not.  This, of course, is not a perfect picture of what is intended.  There is much more.  Let’s start with the commandments given on Mt. Sinai that deal with our neighbors and see what if says.  “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Exodus 20:12-17.  This is a pretty good list of behaviors that do not show love to our neighbors.  Murder, adultery, lying, stealing, etc are not activities done to those we love.   

Matthew records in His gospel a more specific and helpful way of declaring this idea.  “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12. Now, of course we do not want to be lied to, killed or cheated on.  However, let me ask the following questions for us to think about. 

  • Do we want to be ridiculed?
  • Do we want to be hurt, either physically, mentally or emotionally?
  • Do we want to be falsely accused of a wrong?
  • Do we want to be assumed of doing something we have not?
  • Do we want to be ignored by people we care about?
  • Do we want to be encouraged when we are hurting or mourning?
  • Do we want to have others rejoice with us when something good happens or to be resented because it was not them?
  • Do we want someone to care for us when we are injured or sick?
  • And if we were unsaved, would we want someone to share the gospel with us so that we could accept the salvation offered to us?

Think about these questions, and others you may come up with.  How we answer them is what we should or should not do for others.  If you do not wish to be ridiculed, do not ridicule others.   If you are hurting and want someone to be there with you, be there for those who are hurting.  If someone is hungry but does not have means of getting food, provide them with it.  This is what love for our neighbors is all about, and more.  Do good to everyone even though they never have or possibly never will do it for us.  If they are our enemies or they hate us, we should love them anyway.  “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,” Matthew 5:44. Regarding them, who knows what impact we can have on them.  They could become our friend, and we may also, if they are unsaved, lead them to Christ.

Lastly, when we do this, we imitate what Christ did for us.  We could not pay the penalty for our own sins. So, Christ paid it for us.  “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.” Romans 5:6-9.  This is true and pure love, and when we do to others those things, we know to be good and desire to be done for us, then we are displaying this type of love to them.    

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