Category: Devotional

Under wing

Jerry Wirtley

31 At that time, some Pharisees approached Jesus and said, “Go! Get away from here, because Herod wants to kill you.” 32 Jesus said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Look, I’m throwing out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will complete my work. 33 However, it’s necessary for me to travel today, tomorrow, and the next day because it’s impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ 34 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who were sent to you! How often I have wanted to gather your people just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you didn’t want that. 35 Look, your house is abandoned. I tell you, you won’t see me until the time comes when you say, Blessings on the one who comes in the Lord’s name.” (Luke 13:31-35, CEB)

There is a great image of peace and protection in this section about death and wanting power.

Herod wants to kill Jesus and so do Pharisees because they are losing their power because of Jesus. And Jesus says that he won’t run away and that he wishes he could gather the people of Jerusalem together like a hen gathers her chicks under her wing. They are safe there. Protected from the world.

God wants us under her wing. Protected.

Do we want that?

Do we trust God enough to gather there?

Can we help others see the promises and the love God has for the world?

Can we help others know that they are loved by God?

Loving People. Loving God.

Hold Fast

Jerry Wirtley

32 But remember the earlier days, after you saw the light. You stood your ground while you were suffering from an enormous amount of pressure. 33 Sometimes you were exposed to insults and abuse in public. Other times you became partners with those who were treated that way. 34 You even showed sympathy toward people in prison and accepted the confiscation of your possessions with joy, since you knew that you had better and lasting possessions. 35 So don’t throw away your confidence—it brings a great reward. 36 You need to endure so that you can receive the promises after you do God’s will. 37 In a little while longer, the one who is coming will come and won’t delay; 38 but my righteous one will live by faith, and my whole being won’t be pleased with anyone who shrinks back. 39 But we aren’t the sort of people who timidly draw back and end up being destroyed. We’re the sort of people who have faith so that our whole beings are preserved. (Hebrews 10:32-39, CEB)

As we wait for the promises to be fulfilled it seems we lose heart.

It is easy to hold fast when we first are in the faith, but time wears away and we wonder.

But remember that God is not like us, and we are not like God and the blink of an eye is like 1000 years to God. So time is different to us.

The promises will be fulfilled and God will make good. We just need to have faith and hold fast.

Loving People. Loving God.

Once and for all

Jerry Wirtley

10 We have been made holy by God’s will through the offering of Jesus Christ’s body once for all. 11 Every priest stands every day serving and offering the same sacrifices over and over, sacrifices that can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, he sat down at the right side of God. 13 Since then, he’s waiting until his enemies are made into a footstool for his feet, 14 because he perfected the people who are being made holy with one offering for all time. 15 The Holy Spirit affirms this when saying, 16 This is the covenant that I will make with them. After these days, says the Lord, I will place my laws in their hearts and write them on their minds. 17 And I won’t remember their sins and their lawless behavior anymore. 18 When there is forgiveness for these things, there is no longer an offering for sin. (Hebrews 10:10-18, CEB)

Before Jesus, no matter how many times a priest did a sacrifice it would never have been enough. And even now any priest other than Jesus that offers a sacrifice it is never enough.

But God gave us Jesus to make the one sacrifice that would for all time cover everyone and make the promises true.

Trust in the promises that are fulfilled by Jesus and trust in the baby coming in the manger.

Loving People. Loving God.

Always upset

Jerry Wirtley

31 “To what will I compare the people of this generation?” Jesus asked. “What are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace calling out to each other, ‘We played the flute for you and you didn’t dance. We sang a funeral song and you didn’t cry.’ 33 John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 Yet the Human One came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ 35 But wisdom is proved to be right by all her descendants.” (Luke 7:31-35, CEB)

It seems no matter what we do someone will be upset. That is life, and that is shown here.

John didn’t eat or drink and they said he had a demon and Jesus came eating and drinking and he is a glutton and a drunk. So neither of them made the religious folk happy.

It seems religious folk are really only happy when they get their way which is always, however, they want it at that point in time. And that isn’t how any of this works.

God is in control, not us. We need to love everyone and allow God to be God.

Loving People. Loving God.

Can you hear?

Jerry Wirtley

23 On the day scheduled for this purpose, many people came to the place where he was staying. From morning until evening, he explained and testified concerning God’s kingdom and tried to convince them about Jesus through appealing to the Law from Moses and the Prophets. 24 Some were persuaded by what he said, but others refused to believe. 25 They disagreed with each other and were starting to leave when Paul made one more statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke correctly when he said to your ancestors through Isaiah the prophet, 26 Go to this people and say: You will hear, to be sure, but never understand; and you will certainly see but never recognize what you are seeing. 27 This people’s senses have become calloused, and they’ve become hard of hearing, and they’ve shut their eyes so that they won’t see with their eyes or hear with their ears or understand with their minds, and change their hearts and lives that I may heal them. 28 “Therefore, be certain of this: God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles. They will listen!” 30 Paul lived in his own rented quarters for two full years and welcomed everyone who came to see him. 31 Unhindered and with complete confidence, he continued to preach God’s kingdom and to teach about the Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 28:23-31, CEB)

Are you ready to hear what God has to say? It seems that it is historic for the church to be the last to be open to the moving of the Holy Spirit and listening to the prophetic word of God.

We need to let out lives be open and our hearts ready to receive what God is sending us even when we think it is not what the church needs or should be doing.

Others will hear and listen are we ready to hear and listen too?

Loving People. Loving God.

Feed your faith

Jerry Wirtley

7 Remember your leaders who spoke God’s word to you. Imitate their faith as you consider the way their lives turned out. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever! 9 Don’t be misled by the many strange teachings out there. It’s a good thing for the heart to be strengthened by grace rather than by food. Food doesn’t help those who live in this context. 10 We have an altar, and those who serve as priests in the meeting tent don’t have the right to eat from it. 11 The blood of the animals is carried into the holy of holies by the high priest as an offering for sin, and their bodies are burned outside the camp. 12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy with his own blood. 13 So now, let’s go to him outside the camp, bearing his shame. 14 We don’t have a permanent city here, but rather we are looking for the city that is still to come. 15 So let’s continually offer up a sacrifice of praise through him, which is the fruit from our lips that confess his name. 16 Don’t forget to do good and to share what you have because God is pleased with these kinds of sacrifices. 17 Rely on your leaders and defer to them, because they watch over your whole being as people who are going to be held responsible for you. They need to be able to do this with pleasure and not with complaints about you, because that wouldn’t help you. (Hebrews 13:7-17, CEB)

We need to feed our faith, but it is not with food.

Food doesn’t keep us going, it is our faith, and this is fed and grows by imitating our leaders who showed us who God is and how we follow God.

We are strengthened by grace, and this comes from God.

Follow after those who showed you how to follow God and how to live like Jesus taught us.

Loving People. Loving God.

integrity

Jerry Wirtley

7 Then John said to the crowds who came to be baptized by him, “You children of snakes! Who warned you to escape from the angry judgment that is coming soon? 8 Produce fruit that shows you have changed your hearts and lives. And don’t even think about saying to yourselves, Abraham is our father. I tell you that God is able to raise up Abraham’s children from these stones. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be chopped down and tossed into the fire.” 10 The crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” 11 He answered, “Whoever has two shirts must share with the one who has none, and whoever has food must do the same.” 12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized. They said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 He replied, “Collect no more than you are authorized to collect.” 14 Soldiers asked, “What about us? What should we do?” He answered, “Don’t cheat or harass anyone, and be satisfied with your pay.” 15 The people were filled with expectation, and everyone wondered whether John might be the Christ. 16 John replied to them all, “I baptize you with water, but the one who is more powerful than me is coming. I’m not worthy to loosen the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 The shovel he uses to sift the wheat from the husks is in his hands. He will clean out his threshing area and bring the wheat into his barn. But he will burn the husks with a fire that can’t be put out.” 18 With many other words John appealed to them, proclaiming good news to the people. (Luke 3:7-18, CEB)

You brood of vipers who told you to flee from the judgment that is coming! That is the version from the NRSV, a great text to read and preach to a congregation.

We all wonder what we have to do when really there isn’t anything we can do to merit the kingdom. But we all should be people of integrity. Say what we mean, mean what we say and treat all people with honor and justice and hope.

We shouldn’t sheat or harass or do anything for unmerited gain. We need to be above reproach and love all people.

No one is worthy of the kingdom and yet we are all loved by God.

Let us be the light in the dark world that shows others how God is love and loves us where we are.

Loving People. Loving God.

What then

Jerry Wirtley

57 When the time came for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a boy. 58 Her neighbors and relatives celebrated with her because they had heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy. 59 On the eighth day, it came time to circumcise the child. They wanted to name him Zechariah because that was his father’s name. 60 But his mother replied, “No, his name will be John.” 61 They said to her, “None of your relatives have that name.” 62 Then they began gesturing to his father to see what he wanted to call him. 63 After asking for a tablet, he surprised everyone by writing, “His name is John.” 64 At that moment, Zechariah was able to speak again, and he began praising God. 65 All their neighbors were filled with awe, and everyone throughout the Judean highlands talked about what had happened. 66 All who heard about this considered it carefully. They said, “What then will this child be?” Indeed, the Lord’s power was with him. (Luke 1:57-66, CEB)

They wanted to name the child Zechariah after his father and they were confused when Elizabeth said his name would be John. But when Zechariah confirmed John as the name and then began to speak again after not being able to speak since seeing the angel in the inner sanctum of the temple.

That would make me go, what then will this kid be too!

When God has a plan, we will not get in the way.

God’s will will be done through us or in spite of us.

Do you get in the way or let God work through you?

Loving People. Loving God.

in your heart

Jerry Wirtley

It’s unnecessary for me to write to you about this service for God’s people. 2 I know about your willingness to help. I brag about you to the Macedonians, saying, “Greece has been ready since last year,” and your enthusiasm has motivated most of them. 3 But I’m sending the brothers so that our bragging about you in this case won’t be empty words, and so that you can be prepared, just as I keep telling them you will be. 4 If some Macedonians should come with me and find out that you aren’t ready, we (not to mention you) would be embarrassed as far as this project goes. 5 This is why I thought it was necessary to encourage the brothers to go to you ahead of time and arrange in advance the generous gift you have already promised. I want it to be a real gift from you. I don’t want you to feel like you are being forced to give anything. 6 What I mean is this: the one who sows a small number of seeds will also reap a small crop, and the one who sows a generous amount of seeds will also reap a generous crop. 7 Everyone should give whatever they have decided in their heart. They shouldn’t give with hesitation or because of pressure. God loves a cheerful giver. 8 God has the power to provide you with more than enough of every kind of grace. That way, you will have everything you need always and in everything to provide more than enough for every kind of good work. 9 As it is written, He scattered everywhere; he gave to the needy; his righteousness remains forever. 10 The one who supplies seed for planting and bread for eating will supply and multiply your seed and will increase your crop, which is righteousness. 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous in every way. Such generosity produces thanksgiving to God through us. 12 Your ministry of this service to God’s people isn’t only fully meeting their needs but it is also multiplying in many expressions of thanksgiving to God. 13 They will give honor to God for your obedience to your confession of Christ’s gospel. They will do this because this service provides evidence of your obedience, and because of your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone. 14 They will also pray for you, and they will care deeply for you because of the outstanding grace that God has given to you. 15 Thank God for his gift that words can’t describe! (2 Corinthians 9:1-15, CEB)

I will be honest giving is not my strong suit, that is my wife. I understand it and know we are supposed to give, but my head gets in the way with all of the anxiety and wondering of what will/might/could happen. You see when we let our gut and mind dictate what we give, we will not give. But if we listen to our heart, then we will give, and we need to give without hesitation.

God has prepared us to be cheerful givers and showed us the way through giving us Jesus. The baby we wait for that is coming in the manger.

So follow your heart and know that God will always provide for you.

Loving People. Loving God.

Because you want to

Jerry Wirtley

Brothers and sisters, we want to let you know about the grace of God that was given to the churches of Macedonia. 2 While they were being tested by many problems, their extra amount of happiness and their extreme poverty resulted in a surplus of rich generosity. 3 I assure you that they gave what they could afford and even more than they could afford, and they did it voluntarily. 4 They urgently begged us for the privilege of sharing in this service for the saints. 5 They even exceeded our expectations, because they gave themselves to the Lord first and to us, consistent with God’s will. 6 As a result, we challenged Titus to finish this work of grace with you the way he had started it. 7 Be the best in this work of grace in the same way that you are the best in everything, such as faith, speech, knowledge, total commitment, and the love we inspired in you. 8 I’m not giving an order, but by mentioning the commitment of others, I’m trying to prove the authenticity of your love also. 9 You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Although he was rich, he became poor for your sakes, so that you could become rich through his poverty. 10 I’m giving you my opinion about this. It’s to your advantage to do this, since you not only started to do it last year but you wanted to do it too. 11 Now finish the job as well so that you finish it with as much enthusiasm as you started, given what you can afford. 12 A gift is appreciated because of what a person can afford, not because of what that person can’t afford, if it’s apparent that it’s done willingly. 13 It isn’t that we want others to have financial ease and you financial difficulties, but it’s a matter of equality. 14 At the present moment, your surplus can fill their deficit so that in the future their surplus can fill your deficit. In this way there is equality. 15 As it is written, The one who gathered more didn’t have too much, and the one who gathered less didn’t have too little. (2 Corinthians 8:1-15, CEB)

Why do you give?

Paul is telling the Corinthians about the Macedonians who have given even in their testing and hurting. They gave what they could afford and in surplus to that.

Now Paul tells them this not to guilt them, but to remind them of their faith and what has gotten them this far.

Guilt doesn’t make a giver. But faith can and does.

Why do you give?

Loving People. Loving God.