It’s a boy!
Today’s devotion is based on Week 2 of “Resolve”: Live Your Baptism Identity! (WATCH HERE)
54 years ago today, the doctor in the hospital in Watertown, SD said to my parents, “It’s a boy!” I’m not sure how many times the doctor that helped bring me into this world said this to parents, but each baby he gave birth to, was not his. I was just “a boy’ to the doctor, but to my parents, I was THEIR son.
To have parents who claim you as their own and love you is a blessing. To have parents that are proud of you is a gift. These positive influences form a big part of your identity as you are growing up.
Ten days after receiving the identity of being the son of Gerald and Carol,, on January 24, 1971 I was given a new identity that is more important and significant than any identity parents can give you. In fact, it is an identity that can overcome the challenges of an identity that comes from people and events we encounter in years of life. It’s an identity that comes from our heavenly Father when he puts his name on us at our baptism.
It is similar to Jesus at his baptism, when the Father said:
And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son,whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:23)
To the people around, it was clear who Jesus was – the Son of God. The Father wanted all to know not only the identity of his Son, but that he was well pleased with him. He was the perfect Son of God.
To be sure, none of us can claim to be THE Son of God, but in our baptism we are given the gift of forgiveness. With our sins paid for on the cross, we stand perfect before the Lord because of Jesus’ perfect life and innocent death for us. The Father is well pleased with us too!
Our God-given identity tells us how God thinks of us. We are his children, loved by him and because of Jesus, he is well-pleased with us. This reality is a gift to combat the lies of Satan that come into our ears and lead us to believe that we are not loved, not wanted, and can do nothing that is a benefit to others. These negative identity statements can become part of our belief system and challenge us throughout our lives.. So we have to ask, “Are these the words of the Father who loves us or Satan who wants to lie to us?” The answer is clear. Anything that leads us to believe that we are not loved or valuable is not of God. On the other hand, the Father calls us his own. We are his children and dearly loved.
I am grateful for the 54 years of life God has granted me and a wonderful family around me to affirm me with their love and care. I also give tremendous thanks to the Lord for the identity he has given to me in my baptism.
I am his son, whom he loves, with me he is well pleased.
And that’s a gift worth living each day!
Apply: What makes up your identity? What happens when God’s Words to you in your baptism become more real? You are his son/daughter, whom he loves, and with you he is well-pleased!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for securing my identity with all you did to live a perfect life and take my sins to the cross. Give me the ability to live each day in the identity you won for me and gave to me, AMEN.
Who are you?
Today’s devotion is based on Week 2 of “Resolve”: Live Your Baptism Identity! (WATCH HERE)
Who are you?
Really. Who are you?
The question of identity is one that is front and center in the culture dialogue today. We have identity politics that takes a certain skin color or gender or ideology and assumes that everyone of that “identity” will vote a certain way. We have gender identity issues which leave very young children questioning whether they are male, female, cat, dog or dinosaur. To be sure, these are not issues to be made light of, but to recognize are very real in our society today.
At the heart of them? What is my identity and who gives it to me?
Identity has shifted away from some objective reality (Example: I am male – because I have the male chromosomes and body parts.) to personal feelings. Identity has become more what you feel about yourself than objectively who you are. Identity can become what others put on you to try to create a “group think” on a particular issue. Identity is complicated.
Listening to a leadership podcast (sorry can’t remember which one), identity issues were highlighted as a key struggle for young people. The issue is compounded by social media and the image that one feels they must portray on those platforms to have the “likes” and “followers.”
In fact, even in spiritual matters, identity has become a leading issue people are wrestling with. Why? Because identity goes down to the core of our being. We may “identify” with some surface issue, but identity is really who we are or who we believe we are.
So how can we take an unsettled, confused, misguided culture about identity and begin to establish truly godly perspective on the issue of identity at large, but most importantly for our own hearts?
We look to the one who really matters. Not to friends or family, but we look to the Lord God who created us. What does he say about our identity? Here’s just two passages:
Ephesians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
1 John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
At our baptism, God made us his children. By faith in Jesus, we ARE children of God. This is an identity statement. You ARE a child of God. We don’t just “identify with” children of God…we ARE children of God. Why does this matter?
I can stop looking for an identity outside of God’s reality. When we came to faith in Jesus at baptism or later in life, God GAVE us the identity as his child. Embrace this reality to your core because here is the consequence (in a very positive way.)
As a child of God, I am loved, accepted, and forgiven…regardless of what other people say.
As a child of God, my identity is settled in Christ…not my social media platform.
As a child of God, I know he doesn’t make mistakes and he made me male or female.
As a child of God, I am not identified by my sins and mistakes, but by the blood of Jesus who made me perfect.
As a child of God, I am defined by the riches of God’s grace, not the riches of my bank account.
As a child of God, I am free to love others without need for them to fill in my identity by how they respond.
As a child of God, my identity is settled.
As a child of God, I live in the reality of grace that God so lavishly spread on me!
Grace settles my identity because grace makes me a child of God!
Apply: You are a child of God. How does that change how you show up in life today?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for lavishing your grace and love on me to make me your child. Let my soul always be settled in the identity you gave me, “I am a child of God!”
When God’s speaks…Listen!
Today’s devotion is based on Week 1 of “Resolve”: Set Proper Priorities! (WATCH HERE)
When God speaks…Listen!
We have very little in the Bible about Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father. He is part of Jesus’ childhood, but his reference disappears after Jesus is 12 in the temple. It is assumed he died sometime between Jesus at age 12 and Jesus baptism around age 30. We just don’t know.
What we do know about Joseph is impressive and is not to be overlooked. In fact, sometimes the blip one has on the radar of history is what is most significant and memorable about that individual.
And the Holy Spirit preserves these short, but significant events in the life of Joseph that give us both insight and opportunity for application in our own life.
We know Joseph’s father was Jacob. Matthew 1:16 records the genealogy of Jesus, “… and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
To be honest, until writing this, the connection missed me. Joseph of the Old Testament had a father named Jacob as well. The more I reflect on it, there are a couple parallels to note.
Both Joseph’s were guided by God’s Word through dreams. We have three dreams that Joseph had that he “got up” and did as the Lord directed through the dream.
- He took Mary home to be his wife. (Matthew 1:18-25)
- He left Bethlehem with Jesus and Mary to Egypt. He stayed there until the Lord spoke again.
- He returned to Nazareth in Israel when Herod was dead.
Matthew 2:13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”
Joseph of the Old Testament was also the recipient three times of dreams (his own; the baker and cup bearer; and the Pharaoh.) Each of these dreams had a meaning from the Lord that gave direction to OT Joseph’s life. He ended up in Egypt as second in command and while he wasn’t alive when the people of Israel were delivered by Moses, he was confident the day would come and ordered that his bones be carried out of Egypt when that time came. At the end of his life, he reflected on all that had happened in his life, with his family and his leadership in Egypt, “19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them (Genesis 50:19-21).
Could Jesus’ father Joseph say a similar thing? Herod intended harm to his Son. They had to flee to Egypt, certainly not a pleasant experience. Yet all these events were part of fulfilling prophecy (Out of Egypt I called my son), and the salvation of souls, as that was the mission of Jesus, the one who came to save.
Did either of the Joseph’s fully understand the plan of the Lord at each step? Probably not. But when the Lord spoke, they listened. They followed. They trusted. They looked back in life and realized that the hand of the Lord was guiding them each step of the way.
Is this not true for us too? Listen. Trust. Follow the Lord’s lead. He will work his good, which is ultimately the salvation of your soul.
Apply: What events in your life have you been more aware of the Lord’s leading and direction? What opportunities do you have to listen and follow the Lord more closely this year?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your faithful servants of both Josephs. May our heart be like theirs that always listens, trusts and follows your lead. AMEN.
Worth Every Minute
Today’s devotion is based on Week 1 of “Resolve”: Set Proper Priorities! (WATCH HERE)
Worth every minute.
Sometimes the anticipation and preparation for an event far exceeds the experience of the actual event. I remember a trip to Greece years ago and we planned a day to see ruins of an ancient temple outside the city of Corinth. It was about an hour hike up the hill to see it. What remained was one rock of a pillar…one rock. We all kind of reacted the same, “Really? That’s it?” Now the overall trip through Europe was awesome and well worth the time and expense…but that afternoon was a bust.
On the other hand, one can spend a lot of time planning, traveling, and organizing an event and at the end you say to yourself, “That was worth every minute.” Weddings can be such events when their is months of planning, great expense, and travel of family and friends. Even though the day lasts 10-12 hours, at the end the grateful couple feels, “That was worth every penny and worth every minute. What a day.”
Imagine the planning, preparation, expense it took for the wise men to embark on their travels to find Jesus…and in some ways maybe not even 100% sure their mission would be successful. Weeks of planning, perhaps months of travel, expense for the trip all added to a great investment to see Jesus.
After a stop in Jerusalem, they followed the star to Bethlehem where it stopped over the very house where Jesus was. Imagine the anticipation as they knocked on the door and it slowly opened to let them in. There in front of them was the one of whom they had been told, the one of whom the star signaled, and the one who was more important than any earthly king…Jesus himself.
There was only one reaction: worship. There was only one response: giving gifts. It was a moment they would never forget because they had encountered Jesus, their Savior.
Here’s how Matthew records it:
Matthew 2:9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
We have no idea the conversation on the way home, but I’m sure at some point one of them had to say, “That was worth every minute!”
Do we have the same response when we encounter Jesus? Do we pursue connection with him with a focus that leads us to set aside other priorities to be with Jesus? Do we carry a mindset that thinks, “Every minute I spend with Jesus is totally worth it?” or a mindset that thinks, “Hmm, I don’t know if I have time to spend or gifts to give?”
Admittedly my heart is not always like the wise men and my guess is yours isn’t either. Life happens. Work gets busy. Needs arise. Lists get longer and time with Jesus gets short changed.
What about resolving with God’s help to prioritize time with Jesus this year?
I guarantee…it will be worth every minute!
Apply: What small change in your schedule, budget, planning will help you prioritize time and gifts to Jesus in 2025?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for forgiveness when I fail to make time with you a priority. Help me to experience and realize that every minute I spend with you and every gift I give to you is worth every penny and minute invested. AMEN.
Does that disturb you?
Today’s devotion is based on Week 1 of “Resolve”: Set Proper Priorities! (WATCH HERE)
Whenever we feel threatened, we get unnerved.
A strange sound at the door in the middle of the night…
A rustle in the trash can next to our camp while sleeping…
Word from a friend at work that you might be laid off…
It’s no fun to be disturbed by unexpected, challenging news.
Herod and all in Jerusalem were no different.
When the wise men from the east came and inquired about the one born King of the Jews, it did not sit well with Herod. He seemed to hide his real emotions pretty well, but his uneasiness spread through all of Jerusalem.
For Herod, it was a threat to his throne.
Perhaps for all the people in Jerusalem, it was the threat of being invaded yet again by the peoples from the east as they had been years ago by Babylon and Assyria. Or maybe the people were uneasy because of the paranoia of Herod to get rid of anyone he felt was a threat to him and his grasp of power.
But yet, the response of Herod knew that this wasn’t a secular invasion, he asked the chief priests, “Where is the Messiah to be born?”
This certainly implies Herod knew OF the promises of God, but had no belief that these promises fulfilled would be any good, rather a threat to him and his rule in Jerusalem.
But to answer the question, he turned to those that knew the Word of God.
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’[b]”
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” (Matthew 2:3-8)
Herod’s unnerving didn’t stop when he heard the prophecy and answer the question about where the Messiah was to be born. Although he said the wise men to return and let him know if they find him, he had no intent on honoring Jesus as the King of kings.
The Word of God fueled the disturbance in his heart. He didn’t understand the role of the Messiah and the rule he would usher in. Herod felt his throne was threatened, but really it was his heart that was threatened. He didn’t want some other authority to yield to. He, and he alone, wanted to be in charge, not only of Judah, the region, but also his own heart.
The Wise Men on the other hand received the promise of God through prophecy and followed the promise to Bethlehem and encountered Jesus, not disturbed, but overjoyed that they were in the presence of the Savior, their Savior.
So what does the Word of God do when it reaches your heart? Does it cause disruption and uneasiness? Perhaps it’s because we are not allowing or wanting our hearts to be ruled by Jesus and his truth. Does it cause rejoicing and peace? This is what it does when our hearts are changed by the Holy Spirit to receive Jesus as not just the King of the Jews, but the king of our hearts.
Apply: When the Word of God makes our heart uneasy, it is usually God’s Spirit identifying he wants to rid from us or purify us from. Notice this as you read the Word and seek God’s Spirit to let every Word be living and active inside of you to bring the rejoicing and peace God’s Word is meant to bring!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for disturbing our hearts and using that disturbance to lead us to you where we find peace in all things and reasons to rejoice at your love and grace. AMEN.