Are You a Mocker?
Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “Timely Teaching for Turbulent Times”
Week 3 of 6: “The Impact of Humility!”
Full Sunday message, CONTEMPORARY or TRADITIONAL
THIS WEEK: Pride and the Proverbs
What was the insulting name of your generation? If you really wanted to put someone down what would it be?
Whatever mom or dad told you to NOT call your brother or sister, right?
Did you know the inspired words of Scripture call people names…insulting names?
Jesus called the Pharisees “hypocrites” and “White-washed tombs” (Matthew 23:27)
The Apostle Paul quotes regarding the Cretans, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons.” (Titus 1:12)
Solomon calls a proud, arrogant person a “Mocker.”
Proverbs 21:24 The proud and arrogant man—“Mocker” is his name; he behaves with overweening pride.
It’s interesting all the characteristics of a “mocker” Solomon describes (he no doubt had interaction with some!). Here’s just seven references from the Proverbs:
- They mock sin (Prov 14:9)
- They mock judgment (Prov 19:28).
- The mocker is haughty (Prov 21:24), incorrigible (Prov 9:7), resistant to all reproof (Prov 9:8; 15:12), and hating any rebuke (Prov 13:1).
- Wisdom and knowledge easily elude the mocker (Prov 14:6).
- So despicable is the scorner that he may be labelled as odious to all men (Prov 24:9).
- The Proverbs suggests he should be punished by hitting so that the easily persuaded naive fool may benefit from the lesson (Prov 19:25; 21:11).
- One good way to remove contention from a group is to eject the scorner (mocker), and then “strife and reproach will cease” (Prov 22:10).[1]
Do you know someone who fits this description?
Do YOU fit this description?
Did you know God is a Mocker?
Proverbs 3:34 The LORD…mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble.
The Lord scorns the mocker. He detests them.
He knows they think they have everything figured out. They think the law of God doesn’t apply to them. They are confident in themselves and resist anyone correcting them. They seem like they know everything, but they are fools. They cause contention in a group. They don’t need God. They mock God.
All of this the LORD detests. He cannot bless Mockers. In fact in Psalm 1:1 says:
Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
God can not bless a mocker. However, the Lord (as Proverbs 3:34 says) blesses the humble with grace.
- Those that find confidence in the LORD, not self.
- Those that delight in the law of God, not despise it.
- Those that are filled with the fruit of the Spirit, not the heart of sin.
These are the humble that receive God’s undeserving and unending love, his grace.
Apply: Ask the Lord to drive out from your being the heart of the Mocker and replace it with the heart of the humble.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the wisdom of the Proverbs to call my prideful heart a “Mocker.” Renew me by your Spirit to carry the name of “Humble Child of God.” Amen.
[1] Kaiser, W. C. (1999). 1113 לִיץ. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 479). Chicago: Moody Press.
Be One of Them!
Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “Timely Teaching for Turbulent Times”
Week 3 of 6: “The Impact of Humility!”
Full Sunday message, CONTEMPORARY or TRADITIONAL
THIS WEEK: Pride and the Proverbs
We all can notice them.
You know who I’m talking about. The person who seems too good for us? The person who doesn’t give us the time of day? The person who seems to know it all?
Don’t you hate people like this? (I know, “hate” is a strong word.)
But you’re not one of them, right?
It’s easy to notice it in others…but hard to admit it lurks within us too.
The reason we notice it in others, is because inside our hearts WE want to be the popular one. WE want to be noticed by everyone. WE want to have all the answers.
Pride and arrogance lurks within each one of us.
And God hates it.
Pride and faith do not fit together. Pride relies on self. Faith relies on the Lord.
That’s why the Lord hates pride and arrogance. It captures our heart with trust of self instead of trust in him. He hates pride and arrogance because it leads to sinful actions and sinful thought…all of which break the relationship he so desires with each one of us.
Solomon realized that what mattered more than trusting himself and seeking the praise of people was trusting the Lord and doing what pleases him.
Proverbs 8:13 To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.
Pride loves to look at others and look down on them to make ourselves look better. We fear that if we are not a bit better, a bit smarter, a bit more accepted than those around us we lose our value, significance and worth.
We don’t need to find our significance, value and worth in others. It has been given to us. It is found in our relationship with the LORD. It is found in our trust in the Lord. It is found in our love for the Lord. These are the people the Lord loves.
Be one of them.
Apply: Start each morning with a reflection in your mirror. Ask the Lord to mold your heart to love the things he loves and hate the things he hates and humbly reflect that in your life today.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for coming down to serve us so that we might always be with you. Forgive us for our pride and arrogance. Replace it in our hearts with a true fear, love and trust in you! AMEN.
The PRIVILEGE of Forgiving!
Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “Timely Teaching for Turbulent Times”
Week 2 of 6: “The Impact of Forgiveness!”
Full Sunday message, CONTEMPORARY or TRADITIONAL
THIS WEEK: Favorite Forgiveness Moments
“That’s OK.”
Johnny had just been disrespectful to his grandmother and his mom directed him to tell grandma he was sorry.
“I’m sorry, Grandma,” Johnny said.
“That’s OK,” Grandma replied.
Is it though? Was it really OK that Johnny spoke in a disrespectful way to his grandmother?
No it wasn’t. It wasn’t OK.
I understand when we find ourselves in similar situations. It is a natural response to say, “It’s OK.” I surmise we are talking about the relationship is OK, even though the action that was done was not OK.
What if God would say to us, “That’s OK,” whenever we sinned against him? Mild comfort at best…license to do it again at worst?
Jesus wanted his disciples to say something much more powerful and significant to one who was repentant and sorry for their sin.
Listen for it.
John 20:19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Sin doesn’t just have consequence in human relationships. Sin decimates our relationship with God. The only way that moves our relationship from broken to fully restored is forgiveness. Forgiveness covers the payment my sin deserved AND restores the relationship that was broken.
I’m not going to be too hard on grandma for saying, “It’s OK.” But by the power of God’s Spirit we have the ability to tell Johnny and anyone who has wronged us something much more significant and powerful.
“I forgive you AND God forgives you.”
We also have the sobering privilege of announcing, “It’s not OK…It’s not OK between you and God.” Why? Because your sin is not forgiven. Why wouldn’t it be forgiven? Because the sinner is not repentant. If one thinks their action is OK when it is not, they will not experience the peace that forgiveness gives. Jesus wants those refusing to see their sin to realize that their sin isn’t just affecting things on earth, it affects one’s relationship with God for an eternity. Not announcing God’s forgiveness is done with a heart that desires always that the sinner does turn from sin and experience the deep peace forgiveness brings.
God gives his followers the privilege of doing both…withholding God’s forgiveness from those who do not repent and sharing God’s forgiveness with those who do.
Enjoy the forgiveness you have received, and where there is godly sorrow and repentance, enjoy the privilege of telling someone, “God forgives you.”
Apply: Next time someone wrongs you, respond by saying, “I forgive you and God forgives you.” It may sound awkward at first, but enjoy the privilege of speaking this powerful reality!
Prayer: Lord Jesus thank you for all you have done to secure our forgiveness. Thank you for the privilege and power to speak the truth of forgiveness to others. AMEN.
The PREACHING of Forgiveness!
Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “Timely Teaching for Turbulent Times”
Week 2 of 6: “The Impact of Forgiveness!”
Full Sunday message, CONTEMPORARY or TRADITIONAL
THIS WEEK: Favorite Forgiveness Moments
If you knew you were never going to see a person or family member again, what would you say to them?
You might share a fond memory. You may express your appreciation. You would give important wisdom and direction for the future.
Jesus’ time on the earth was coming to an end. So what does Jesus choose to communicate?
He doesn’t recount all the miracles or touching moments of healing. He doesn’t focus on fond memories of fishing excursions and feeding thousands. Rather, he focuses on putting hearts at peace, filling minds with clarity and engraining the message he wanted shared.
Luke 24:45-49 Then he opened their [the disciples] minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
There are four key aspects to the message Jesus wants shared (the heart of Christianity).
- Scripture. All Scripture is given for our heart to believe and our mind to understand.
- Repentance. Turning 180 degrees from a heart and life of sin.
- Forgiveness. The reality that God has cancelled the debt and punishment your sin deserved.
- Christ. The perfect life, the agonizing death and glorious resurrection applied to you.
At the heart of that message? Repentance and forgiveness.
Imagine if you had enough money to give every person you met $100. Wouldn’t that be fun to give out? Imagine the stories of lives changed, days lifted, and gratitude expressed. The single mom a couple days short of the next paycheck. The coworker who just received an eviction notice. The waitress who was cheery on the outside but depressed on the inside.
These same lives and more can be changed when we “preach” forgiveness freely (“preach” in the original is a ‘herald bringing good news’). It’s one of Jesus’ final directions to us. You have experienced forgiveness. Now we get to share forgiveness.
Forgiveness isn’t just for you. It is for everyone you see and with whom you interact.
Scared? Hesitant? Me too. Jesus’ knows. So were the disciples. That’s why he gave them and us his Holy Spirit, the “power from on high” to help us.
Apply: Ask the Spirit to guide you into one conversation this week that he sets up where you get to “preach repentance and forgiveness” found only in Jesus.
Prayer: Jesus, thank you for doing all for my forgiveness. Spirit of God make me bold and excited to share that same forgiveness with others. AMEN.
The PLACE of Forgiveness
Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “Timely Teaching for Turbulent Times”
Week 2 of 6: “The Impact of Forgiveness!”
Full Sunday message, CONTEMPORARY or TRADITIONAL
THIS WEEK: Favorite Forgiveness Moments
What do you mean they didn’t know what they were doing?
You want to give them a pass because of ignorance?
This is what they did…perhaps daily. In fact, they didn’t think anything of it. They were just carrying out orders. Make sure they stay on. Make sure they come off dead.
The soldiers who crucified Jesus were professional executioners. They knew how to put you on the cross. They knew how to keep you there for as long as possible. But they knew how to make sure you were dead when you came off…after hours of agony.
What do you mean they didn’t know what they were doing?
Jesus wasn’t questioning their skills. He knew they were soldiers tasked with crucifying him and two others. He was making a statement that ignorance wasn’t an excuse for crucifying the innocent.
Was Jesus thinking about Proverbs 24:11-12 when he said this?
Proverbs 24:11-12 Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. 12 If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?
The soldiers were ignorant. They were tasked with crucifying Jesus. Was Jesus inferring that they were his last line of defense against the injustice about to occur and did nothing to stop it? The fact was, they too were as guilty of injustice against Jesus as all the others that finally sent Jesus to the cross. Yet Jesus does something remarkable.
Luke 23:32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
From his place on the cross, Jesus chooses to forgive. He asks his Father to forgive their sin, even if was done in ignorance.
As the soldiers divided his garments, Jesus was distributing his grace.
To the member of the crowd who just got caught in the chants and jeering…Father forgiven them.
To the religious leader who was missing the fact that Jesus was the Messiah…Father forgive them.
To the thief on the cross who joined in the mocking of Jesus…Father forgive them.
The impact?
One centurion said as the earth shook at Jesus’ death, “Surely he was the Son of God.” Perhaps he also remembered Jesus forgave him, too.
How about you? Can you be a distributor of grace?
For every person who is convinced they are doing right, but are really doing evil…Father forgive them.
For the person who has intentionally harmed us…Father forgive them.
For the words that stung for years, but the person doesn’t even know they hurt…Father forgive them.
For the person who set out to serve well in ministry but was caught by their ego…Father forgive them.
For the person who barely knows you, but often wishes evil on you…Father forgive them…
…they don’t know what they are doing.
The cross was a strange place to forgive, but what better place to forgive than from the foot of the cross by which I have been forgiven.
Apply: Is there someone you are struggling to forgive, convinced they intentionally harmed you? Find strength in Jesus’ words to forgive you, even of sins of ignorance, to give forgiveness to those…who may not know what they are doing.
Prayer: Father, forgive us…we don’t always know what we are doing! AMEN.