Pastor Gary's OYB Devotion Archive for November 14

CAN OUR LOVED ONES IN HEAVEN SEE US?

From: November 14, 2024

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1 ESV).

Who is this “great crowd of witnesses?” They are those who have already run life’s race “by faith” as Hebrews 11 has described. They have already crossed life’s finished line and have now joined other believers, who the author of Hebrews here visualizes either metaphorically or literally, as now being spectators at an olympic-like race of faith. If he means it metaphorically, then it serves as a reminder and an encouragement that we are running a race that many faithful have run before us. They endured. They finished well. So can we.

Yet if he means it literally, it means that and more. How much departed believers are permitted to see of earthly life, if at all, is not clear in the Scriptures. But if taken literally, then they bear witness of our race of faith in some form or fashion.

My father died when I was eight years old. When our pastor came to visit, I had two questions for him. The first was, “Where is my daddy now?” His answer was clear and confident, “The Bible says ‘absent from the body, present with the Lord’ (2 Cor. 5:8). Your daddy trusted Christ. He is with Jesus now.”

Encouraged by his answer, I quickly asked my second question, “Can my daddy see me now?” He paused for a moment and with just as much confidence as before, he replied, “Well son, the Bible says that we’re surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses who are watching us run life’s race. So I take that to mean that your daddy is able to see how you’re doing. How much he sees, I don’t know. But I think he sees you.”

Those two answers helped me as a little boy grieving the loss of my father. It still helps. Yet now, it’s the next verse that helps most. For the Bible says that we are to run life’s race by “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2). Jesus is the One that I know is watching over me and not only that, He is empowering me to persevere in this race called life.

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You that through Your Son the sting of death is removed. We are able to run life’s race with a confident faith and hope in You. We may grieve the loss of loved ones, but we do not grieve as those who have no hope. You are our hope. Give us strength to run for You this day. In Jesus’ name, amen.

KEEPING YOUR FOCUS ON JESUS

From: November 14, 2023

“And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith” (Hebrews 12:1b-2a NLT).

Running the race of faith, it is Jesus who sets the pace for us. So we must keep our eyes on Him, sprinting and leaping when He does. And turning aside to rest when He does too. For Jesus is both the Founder and the Finisher of our faith. He wrote the gospel in His own blood and completed it with His last breath saying, “It is finished!”

Yet three days later, He was raised from the dead, defeating sin, death, and the grave. So it is by faith in Jesus that we are both saved and sanctified. He is our Savior and His Holy Spirit works in us for our sanctification.

Are you weary and burdened today? Look to Jesus. For He says, “Come unto Me and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). Jesus gives us energy to endure and direction to continue running life’s race. Keep your focus on Jesus.

PRAYER: Dear Father, we come to You in need today. We need both strength and guidance to run life’s race. We look to Jesus not only as our example, but as the source of our encouragement and energy. Help us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus today. Help us keep our ears tuned to His voice. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness” (Hebrews 12:10 NLT).

From: November 14, 2022

DON’T WASTE THE PAIN

Are you going through a season of hardship or sorrow? Are you burdened by trouble? Exhausted by trial or disappointment? Don’t waste the pain. God is still God. He is still sovereign. Such seasons are never enjoyable at the time, but when we look back on them, we see how God was at work. For we need not wonder what God is up to with us. He is making us like Jesus.

God cares more for our character than our comfort. He disciplines us for our good, so that in every way we are being sanctified, made holy, as His children. He loves us. He has not left us alone, but is actively present with us always.

So don’t waste the pain. Don’t give up! “Take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees” (Heb. 12:12). And when you wonder what God is up to, remember what the apostle John said. “Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is” (1 John 3:2).

PRAYER: Dear Father, we put our trust in You. For You are our God and even when things seem chaotic and overwhelming, we keep our eyes on You. For You love us and will always do what is best for us. Strengthen our tired hands and weak knees. Empower our speech to proclaim Your gospel. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1b-2a HCSB).

From: November 14, 2021

KEEPING YOUR FOCUS ON JESUS

Running the race of faith, it is Jesus who sets the pace for us. So we must keep our eyes on Him, sprinting and leaping when He does. And turning aside to rest when He does too. For Jesus is both the Founder and the Finisher of our faith. He wrote the gospel in His own blood and completed it with His last breath saying, “It is finished!”

Yet three day later, He was raised from the dead, defeating sin, death, and the grave. So it is by faith in Jesus that we are both saved and sanctified. He is our Savior and His Holy Spirit works in us for our sanctification.

Are you weary and burdened today? Look to Jesus. For He says, “Come unto Me and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). Jesus gives us energy to endure and direction to continue running life’s race. Keep your focus on Jesus.

PRAYER: Dear Father, we come to You in need today. We need both strength and guidance to run life’s race. We look to Jesus not only as our example, but as the source of our encouragement and energy. Help us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus today. Help us keep our ears tuned to His voice. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“Speak, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God'” (Ezekiel 29:3 NKJV).

From: November 14, 2020

THE LORD’S NEWSPAPER BOY

This was God’s instruction to His prophet Ezekiel as he was given a word from the Lord for Egypt and its pharaoh. This is still the instruction God gives to all His prophets. They are to speak saying, “Thus saith the Lord God.”

The late Evangelist Billy Graham was known for the phrase, “The Bible says…” He never spoke on his own authority. His authority was the Bible, the Word of God. He was unapologetic about the source and authority of his message. It was not his message. It was the Lord’s. He was God’s messenger.

I am under the same commission as Ezekiel and Billy. I am called to speak and say, “Thus saith the Lord.” As I do so, I often tell my congregation that I am the Lord’s newspaper boy. For the gospel is good news. And it’s my job to roll it up, put a rubber band around it, and throw up to their front door. I throw it as hard as I can in the power of the Spirit. Yet, they still have to open their heart’s door and receive it.

That’s what this little devotion is. It’s the rolled up, rubber-banded, thrown-at-your-door, good news! Will you open up the door of your heart and believe it? As Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Rev. 3:20).

PRAYER: Dear Father, You have called every believer to proclaim the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are all called to be “newspaper boys” for You. Strengthen our arms to throw it true. Knock on heart doors that they may open up and receive it. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us” (Hebrews 12:1 NLT).

From: November 14, 2019

CAN MY DADDY SEE ME NOW?

Who is this “huge crowd of witnesses?” They are those who have already run life’s race “by faith” as Hebrews 11 has listed. They have already crossed life’s finished line and have now joined other believers, who the author of Hebrews here visualizes either metaphorically or literally, as now being spectators at an olympic-like race of faith. If he means it metaphorically, then it serves as a reminder and an encouragement that we are running a race that many faithful have run before us. They endured. They finished well. So can we.

Yet if he means it literally, it means that and more. How much departed believers are permitted to see of earthly life, if at all, is not clear in the Scriptures. But if taken literally, then they bear witness of our race of faith in some form or fashion.

When I was eight years old, my father died. I had two questions for our pastor when he came to talk with us. The first was, “Where is my daddy now?” His answer was clear and confident, “The Bible says ‘absent from the body, present with the Lord’ (2 Cor. 5:8). Your daddy trusted Christ. He is with Jesus now.”

Encouraged by his answer, I quickly asked my second question, “Can my daddy see me now?” He paused for a moment and with just as much confidence as before, he replied, “Well son, the Bible says that we’re surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses who are watching us run life’s race. So I take that to mean that your daddy is able to see how you’re doing. How much he sees, I don’t know. But I think he sees you.”

Those two answers helped me as a little boy grieving the loss of my father. It still helps. Yet now, it’s the next verse that helps most. For the Bible says that we are to run life’s race by “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2). Jesus is the One that I know is watching over me and not only that, He is empowering me to persevere in this race called life.

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You that through Your Son the sting of death is removed. We are able to run life’s race with a confident faith and hope in You. We may grieve the loss of loved ones, but we do not grieve as those who have no hope. You are our hope. Give us strength to run for You this day. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“And the day will come when I will cause the ancient glory of Israel to revive, and then, Ezekiel, your words will be respected. Then they will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 29:21 NLT).

From: November 14, 2018

PREACHING FOR GOD’S APPROVAL ALONE

Ezekiel, like many of God’s prophets, was not respected by his contemporaries. He was tasked with making known God’s future plans for men and nations that would soon come to pass. Yet, no generation wants its comfort disturbed. They would rather risk the warnings of an approaching hurricane than leave their beach vacation early. Today, Ezekiel is respected. His prophecies have been borne out. But people have not changed. God’s Word is still warning us to get ready, while much of humanity continues in its deafness to His voice. This does not excuse us from being like Ezekiel and warning them anyway. We do this for God’s approval, not theirs.

“Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11 NKJV).

From: November 14, 2017

Don’t waste the pain. God cares more for your character than you comfort. His “chastening” may be painful, but it yields Christlikeness in you when you submit to its training. One day, you will look back on your life and see how God has disciplined you as His own child for your sanctification. He is conforming you to the image of Christ. Stop rebelling and start submitting. Pray as Jesus prayed, “Not my will, but Yours be done.”

“And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” (Hebrews 11:39-40 ESV)

From: November 14, 2016

The saints of the Old Testament longed to see the promised fulfillment of their faith in the coming of the Messiah, but they passed from this world before that day came. That which they longed for, we have received, that is–– the good news–– that Christ Jesus came, died for our sins, and was raised from the dead for our justification (Rom. 4:25). Yet, God has not failed to keep His promise to them. It will be fulfilled on that day when Christ returns and the dead in Christ will rise together. The former will not precede the latter, nor the latter the former. Abraham will rise together with Paul, Moses with Peter, and Isaiah with John. For the Old Testament saints will not be “made perfect” (“complete”) apart from the saints of the New. And now, we long for that day, when we will all be raised together, the perfect and complete Church, with Christ as its Head.

“As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend” (Proverbs 27:17 NKJV)

From: November 14, 2015

This is one of the purposes of fellowship: mutual “sharpening.” The life of faith is to be lived out in community. First, to be in communion with God and then, with other believers. The life lived in a community of faith offers accountability, so that spiritual growth is encouraged. Sure, when iron strikes iron the sparks may fly, but those committed to the family of God do not pull away, rather they cling to one another, knowing that this is the will of God. This verse is the motto for our church’s men’s ministry, which we call the “Ironmen Ministry.” But the verse is appropriate for all that would desire to live out their faith in community as God commands.