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This week’s devotions are based on Week 4 of the Series “Fresh Start” – I Have New Possibilities!  (WATCH HERE)

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If you are like me this morning I am thinking, “Where did January go? I can’t believe it is February already.”

Each new month is perhaps both the reminder that God continues to allow time to continue and also a time to recalibrate and have a fresh start.

Rhythms in our life create seasons of start and finish, work and rest.  In fact, God set up his world with these seasons to provide both order to our lives and times to rest and reset.

So, take today to reset with the Lord.  The month ahead of you, February, has many opportunities to be reminded of the fresh start the Lord gives you.  Here are a few that come to mind for me:

1. February is a month to trim our fruit trees and get them ready for spring. 

John 15:1-2 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful.

Pruning is still an odd activity for me.  It seems like the more branches, the more fruit.  However, the less one prunes, the less fruitful a tree becomes.  Why?  Because energy the tree needs for fruit production goes into sustaining all the branches.  Too many branches block the sunlight the fruit needs to mature and leads them to not form properly.  The tree actually has greater potential when it is pruned properly.  

What in your life is February an opportunity to prune?  Are there activities that are filling your schedule but wearing out your soul?  Is there clutter in your home that causes anxiety and stress and is time to clean out?  Maybe February is a month for the Lord to prune things in your life to make you more productive and open new possibilities for him.

2. February is a month to celebrate the love of your life.  

Already the stores are filled with pink and red boxes of chocolate, cards, stuffed animals and trinkets for you to buy to celebrate your Valentine.  While I still think it’s a “Hallmark Holiday” for marketing purposes, it nonetheless is an important opportunity to show your love to the person/people God has given to you.  Love is not just a human emotion, it is an expression of sacrifice and service that another gives for the blessing of the recipient.  In expressing your Valentine love this year, it’s a reminder that a special someone is one God has put in your life and through whom God has given you new possibilities of growth, learning, and ways to love. 

1 John 4:7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

3. February is a month for repentance and restoration.  

Ash Wednesday is February 14.  The day we mark Valentine’s Day is the day we mark the beginning of our Lenten journey to be reminded of a) our deep need for a Savior and b) the great love our Savior has shown by taking our sins on himself and paying their price on the cross. Repentance is a whole-hearted turning from our sin to the forgiveness and power to live our Savior gives.  This journey in the season of Lent is a great reminder of the fresh start we have because of the forgiveness Jesus gives.

1 John 1:8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 

Enjoy the new month and the fresh start it gives.  May the Lord open your heart and mind to the new possibilities he is putting in front of you!

 

Apply: What opportunities for a fresh start does February bring for you?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for using the days, months and seasons of my life to remind me of your constant love, your enduring promises, and your wonderful grace.  Lead me in this month of February to grow in my walk with you, to see the possibilities you present and confidently engage in them.  AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on Week 4 of the Series “Fresh Start” – I Have New Possibilities!  (WATCH HERE)

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Every inventor imagines something that others determined was impossible.  Every champion believes that the next record broken will be the one they break.

As individuals our life experiences determine in our mind what is possible or impossible.  Personal growth experts identify that when we have a “closed mind” or “fixed mindset” we limit our possibilities because we have forgone conclusions about what is possible or not possible for me.  Some realities in life we can’t change.  I will never fit into a size small shirt or 30” waist.  But other possibilities in life are often limited by our own mind.

So how does one’s closed mind become an open mind?

Often it’s with new experiences.  It’s seeing something done that we didn’t believe could happen.  

Perhaps a good example of this is running a 4 minute mile.  Thought impossible until 1954 when Roger Bannister broke the barrier by .6 of a second at 3:59.4. Now over 1700 athletes have broken this barrier and a sub-four minute mile is the standard of the track and field world.  

Not only is this true in the profession, athletic, and personal world, it is also a reality in the spiritual world.  We often don’t think something is possible until we see it being done.

Back to the synagogue in Capernaum, Jesus gave the people there an experience that they hadn’t seen before.  One of the attenders was possessed by an evil spirit.  Here’s what happened:

Mark 1:23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, 24 “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” 

25 “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” 26 The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. 

27 The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.”

Jesus illustrated in that setting that there was one who had power over Satan and his demons.  The demon knew who he was and what he was sent to do.  The people around in Jesus’ day appeared to have no idea there was one more powerful than the evil spirit.  Jesus showed them different.

Jesus had come to destroy the power of the devil.  It would come at the cross and finally culminate when he returns in glory.  But when we see the power of Jesus’ word call the demon out and order him to be silent, we realize that one who is connected to Jesus and uses his Word has power over evil and the influence of Satan in their lives.  The people were amazed at what they saw…perhaps (and we don’t know this for certain) their amazement continued when they realized that they no longer had to say “yes” to sin, or as the disciples realized later that they too, with the power of Jesus name and the truth of his Word, they too sent the demons running.

We are not the Son of God, but the experience Jesus gives us in the synagogue of Capernaum is a vivid reminder that we in no way have to cower to Satan and give in to him.  As Martin Luther penned in his hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”:

• And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
  We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us;
  The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
  His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
  One little word shall fell him.

Don’t limit the possibilities of the power of God’s Word.  Use it to overcome Satan and temptation in your life!

Apply: What sin has been a pet, or ongoing struggle for you?  What word of truth can you throw at Satan when it comes that will send him running and overcome the temptation by honoring the Lord?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for showing your power over Satan and his demons.  Let us not limit the power you have given us over sin and Satan, but rather wield it often and confidently to also send Satan reeling!  AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on Week 4 of the Series “Fresh Start” – I Have New Possibilities!  (WATCH HERE)

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New possibilities come with new learning!

Mark 1:21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.

On this particular Sabbath, those that attended the Synagogue were in for a treat.  They had a guest rabbi named Jesus as the preacher that day.  Expecting a similar message to the regular and other traveling rabbis, they were amazed and surprised when what came out of Jesus’ mouth was a teaching that was different…very different than that of the teachers of the law.

His teaching had authority.

Most commentators suggest that what stood out to the listeners that day was that Jesus did not have to reference or quote other rabbis and their interpretations or applications of the Scriptures.  He appealed to no higher teacher for any insight.  He himself was part of inspiring those texts and he himself was the fulfillment of many of those texts and he himself had the authority to expound on those texts.

What I can imagine the listeners experienced that day was NEW teaching.  It wasn’t the same reading of a portion of Scripture with exposition on past rabbis or simply reading a portion of the law and telling the listeners how to better keep it.  I would guess the teaching had new insights into the purpose behind the law of God, how the Messiah would come and fulfill that law, and how God through his Son would destroy the work of Satan and bring forgiveness, life and peace to all.

Now of course, we have no excerpts from this sermon in Capernaum.  We do have one from his visit to the synagogue in Nazareth where he said:

16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

With new teaching came new learning.  With new learning came new possibilities.  As Jesus carried out his public ministry, little by little he was revealing that he was the Messiah, the long promised, and long waited for redemption for Israel.  I can imagine people saying, “Is it possible?  Is it possible this is the Messiah?”

Little by little some came to believe by the power of the Spirit, that yes, Jesus was the Messiah and the one promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  He was the one who would suffer and die for their sins as Isaiah prophesied.  He was the prophet who would speak the very Words of God that Moses spoke about.  He was the Shepherd who would truly care for his people and rule over the house of Israel as King David had foretold.

And with Jesus working his teaching of truth into the hearts of people, new possibilities arose that never came up with the teachers of the law.  There in the synagogue of Capernaum was not just more rules to follow, but one who “came from the Father full of grace and truth.”  Perhaps for the first time, people who heard Jesus teach had a heart that could live with hope, certainty and peace.

 

Apply: What changes when the reality of Jesus as your Savior permeates your heart and life?  What changes when you know you are loved and forgiven as to your attitude and joy in following the commands of God.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for continuing to open the truths of Scripture to me to see clearly who Jesus is and what he has done for me.  AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on Week 3 of the Series “Fresh Start” – I Have a New Purpose!  (WATCH HERE)

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Matthew 19:25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” 

26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 

“That’s impossible!”

How many times in life have you uttered this phrase when based on your knowledge and experience you truly felt whatever was proposed was impossible?

As a kid you may have thought riding a bike was impossible.

As a high school student you may have thought geometry was impossible.

As an adult you may have thought getting a good job would be impossible.

For many of us if someone said we’d all be carrying around a powerful computer in our pockets by 2024, we might have said, “That’s impossible.”

In our world, many people have a fixed mindset that is limited by one’s own learning or experience.  These individuals are not usually your inventors and innovators.  Rather one with an open mind that entertains what is possible are the ones that develop new drugs, new technology, push the limit of human performance and more.  Just when you think something is impossible, it becomes possible.

How does that happen?

What I’ve noticed is that when one is open to new learning and new experiences, they begin to see more things as possible.  People willing to try something new, approach a challenge from a unique perspective, or embrace failure are often ones that come up with revolutionary break throughs.  

This week is about new possibilities.  Not ones that just originate in a secular challenge with a secular invention, but rather embracing, with God’s help, the possibilities that he opens up to us through his Word and the truth it contains and the experiences it gives.

In Matthew 19, the ultimate challenge faced the disciples. How could someone be saved?  By human learning and perception one would think that one’s performance of good deeds would warrant a heavenly promotion.  Jesus challenges this and indicates that this would not be the case.

All of a sudden the limitations of the disciples were exposed.  If one could buy or earn their way into heaven, there really is no other way.  “Who can be saved?” they asked.  Their experience would tell them, “We are all doomed.”

Jesus rather sets forth a truth that opens our eyes and mind to a great reality: “With man this impossible, but with God all things are possible.” ALL things are possible.

Jesus shifts our focus from human learning and experience and assumptions to God and his power and his truth.  Humans have limitations.  God doesn’t.  

That being said, God loves to work through his Spirit to expose us to new learning and new experiences founded in the truth of God’s Word.  But our minds need to be open to it.  

Only when we carry an open mind to the things of God, will we see the new possibilities he has in store for us!

 

Apply: Reflect on this passage from Matthew 19.  What might your human limitations be telling you is impossible, but God is challenging you to trust is possible through him?

Prayer: Lord, forgive me for operating in life too often by my human limitations.  Open my eyes and my heart to your possibilities…always! AMEN.

 

This week’s devotions are based on Week 3 of the Series “Fresh Start” – I Have a New Purpose!  (WATCH HERE)

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John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.

Perhaps it’s just me, but this week has crystallized my purpose in life. It’s a focus in life that is bigger than anything I would choose to do, but flavors everything I do.  It’s a focus that transcends time, yet gives deep meaning and significance to the time I have on this earth.  It’s a focus I wouldn’t have come up with on my own, but one God chose me to embrace and live.

The same is true for you.

You are here to change the lives of people with the power of the Gospel.

This is the fruit that Jesus is talking about.  Fruit that flows from a heart of faith which gives glory to God and brings the sweet taste of the Gospel to others.  It’s a purpose to which our heart, mind and soul align so that all that we do affects the lives of people, not just for today, but for an eternity.

Remember, purpose is not what you do, it is the focus that flavors all that you do.  Perhaps for some, the two are very close, yet speaking as a pastor, my purpose isn’t to be a pastor.  My purpose is to change the lives of people with the power of the Gospel.  The way I am privileged to live out that purpose is by being a pastor.  But I also do it as a parent.  I do it as a husband.  I do it as a hobby woodworker.  I do it as a basketball official. 

The same is true for you.  As Jesus rules in your heart by faith, he calls you to his purpose as you live out that faith.  The purpose is clear.  The question is how will I carry it out.

Here’s an example as a basketball official.  As you know, officials are not always the favorite part of the game, but a necessary part of the game.  So how I show up makes a difference.  How I interact with the other official is a witness opportunity.  I have had good conversations with a presbyterian pastor, a member of our fellowship who has drifted (and was officiating with me), a person whose brother was going through some health challenges.  My words, my demeanor, my presence are all opportunities to affect another life with the power of the Gospel.  I may have to lay down the law of the basketball court, but also pray it continues to be a platform for Gospel witness.

God has you right where he wants you with a renewed focus on the purpose for which he has saved you.  I don’t know where the opportunity will come, but keep your eyes and ears open.  The commission Jesus gave is still ours today:

Matthew 28:16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. …19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. …

So today is a fresh start.  You are a new person in Christ.  You have a new perspective by faith.  And you have a new purpose to change the lives of people with the power of the Gospel.  Enjoy living it each day and in every way!

 

Apply: What opportunities might you have to live out God’s purpose for you today?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your call to faith in you.  Help me live each day with the purpose you have called me to.  AMEN.