Pastor Gary's OYB Devotion Archive for October 6

YOU SHALL SPEAK

From: October 6, 2024

“So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them, but they will not answer you” (Jeremiah 7:27 ESV).

There are many times that we may feel as if no one is listening to the Word of God. That our words are in vain. That the message of Christ is falling on deaf ears. Yet, every time we give out the Word, someone responds. People respond to God’s Word when we faithfully proclaim it. We may feel that the soil of the heart is hard in our day and time, but none of us have been given the call of Jeremiah, who was told to preach with full knowledge that his people would not listen.

However, it occurs to me that all who proclaim the Word have this in common, we are to preach the Word whether people obey it or not. Our success is not in how many listen, but in whether we are faithful in proclaiming the Word as it was given to us.

“You shall speak” was the command the Lord gave to Jeremiah. As Christians, we are given the same calling. For we are called to go and speak the Good News that Jesus saves to all the world.

PRAYER: Dear Father, help us to faithfully speak as Your representatives, Your ambassadors, to this world. We are often tempted to be silent. For we fear the rejection of men. Yet You have called us to speak. Empower us to obey. Give us divine appointments today to speak of You to others. In Jesus’ name, amen.

DO YOU FEEL SOMETHING IS MISSING IN YOUR LIFE?

From: October 6, 2023

“So you also are complete through your union with Christ” (Colossians 2:10a NLT).

In contrast to the emptiness of the world’s wisdom, Paul taught that believers are “complete” (“full to capacity”) through their union with Christ. This is not the same as the command “be filled,” but a truth to know and believe. Those who are united with Christ have also been made complete in Him. There is nothing lacking in their salvation that they should labor to add. For Christ has fulfilled all that was necessary and declared it “finished,” paid in full.

Now we are in Christ and He is in us. In union with Christ, we are lacking nothing. We are complete. If we have Christ, we have need of nothing else. For Christ is our all in all.

Do you feel that something is missing in your life? Get Christ and you will find that you have been made complete.

PRAYER: Dear Father, when we rightly grasp the reality of our union with Christ, we realize that You have given us all. There is nothing withheld. We already have all things. For Christ is our all in all. We are made complete in Him and through Him. So instead of asking for some need to be met today, we ask that You deepen our understanding of that which we already have, namely, union with Christ. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires” (Colossians 2:23 NLT).

From: October 6, 2022

IT’S ABOUT RELATIONSHIP NOT RULES

Paul warned the believers in Colossae that asceticism, while it gives the appearance of wisdom, offers no help in conquering evil desires. In fact, following a list of rules might cause a deeper longing for the thing denied. At the very least, it can lead to a kind of spiritual pride, so that the ascetic feels superior to those addicted to the things of the flesh.

The truth is, the more we focus on not doing something, the more we tend to think about that something that we’re not doing. So, what is the answer? “Put off” the old nature which lost its power over you when received Christ. Count it dead, crucified with Christ. And immediately “put on” the new nature, which is yours in the risen Christ. Remember that in Christ there is no longer any condemnation. All your sins are forgiven. You are not longer a slave to sin, but a bondservant of Christ. You belong to Christ Jesus.

Following Christ is not about religious rule-keeping, but about walking in the new relationship we have as children of God in Christ Jesus.

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for Jesus. For in Him we have put off the old sin nature and put on the new nature, which pleases You. We are made right with You not through rule-keeping, but through faith in Jesus. He is our righteousness. Strengthen us this day to walk in the Spirit of Christ, so that we continually put on display the character of Jesus. In His name we pray, amen.

“So you also are complete through your union with Christ” (Colossians 2:10a NLT).

From: October 6, 2019

DO YOU FEEL SOMETHING IS MISSING IN YOUR LIFE?

In contrast to the emptiness of the world’s wisdom, Paul taught that believers are “complete” (“full to capacity”) through their union with Christ. This is not the same as the command to “be filled,” but a truth to know. Those who are united with Christ have also been made complete in Him. There is nothing lacking in their salvation that they should labor to add. For Christ has fulfilled all that was necessary and declared it “finished,” paid in full. So that we may know that our old sin nature was crucified with Christ and buried with Christ and our new nature is raised with Christ and is hidden with Christ in God. We are in Christ and He is in us. In union with Christ, we are lacking nothing. We are complete. If we have Christ, we have need of nothing else. For Christ is our all in all.

Do you feel that something is missing in your life? Get Christ and you will find that you have been filled to completion.

PRAYER: Dear Father, when we rightly grasp the reality of our union with Christ, we realize that You have given us all. There is nothing withheld. We already have all things. For Christ is our all in all. We are made complete in Him and through Him. So instead of asking for some need to be met today, we ask that You deepen our knowing of that which we already have, namely, union with Christ. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires” (Colossians 2:23 NLT).

From: October 6, 2018

FOLLOWING CHRIST IS NOT ABOUT RULES BUT RELATIONSHIP

Paul warned the believers in Colossae that asceticism, while it gives the appearance of wisdom, offers no help in conquering evil desires. In fact, following a list of “don’ts” might cause a deeper longing for the thing denied. At the very least, it can lead to a kind of spiritual pride, so that the ascetic feels superior to those addicted to the things of the flesh.

The truth is, the more I focus on not doing something, the more I think about that something that I’m not doing. So, what is the answer? “Put off” the old nature which lost its power over you when received Christ. Count it dead, crucified with Christ. And immediately “put on” the new nature, which is yours in the risen Christ. Remember that in Christ there is no longer any condemnation. All your sins are forgiven. You are no longer a slave to sin, but a bondservant of Christ. You belong to Christ Jesus.

Following Christ is not about religious rule-keeping, but about walking in the new relationship we have as children of God in Christ Jesus.

“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” (Colossians 2:9-10 NKJV).

From: October 7, 2017

Christ Jesus is “all” God and “all” man. This is a paradox, yet precisely what the Bible reveals. As the second person of the “Godhead,” which is the Trinity, He was, and is, absolute and perfect God. All the “fullness” of the essence of God is in Him “bodily.” As the apostle John wrote, “The Word became flesh” (John 1:14). Jesus is God in the flesh. When we receive Christ as Savior and Lord, He is the “Head” and we are members of His body. Having received Christ, we are “complete in Him.” There is nothing missing, nothing to be added. So, the apostle Paul argued against the Judaizers, who would require Gentile believers to be circumcised and follow Jewish laws, on this basis. In Christ, believers are “complete.” They are already “circumcised with the circumcision made without hands” (Col. 2:11) because they have been made “complete in Him.”

Dearly beloved, you are complete in Christ!

“We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.” (Psalm 78:4 ESV)

From: October 6, 2016

The Psalmist called his generation not to neglect telling the next generation of the “glorious deeds of the Lord.” Certainly, this call is in obedience to God’s Word, which commanded parents to teach their children of Him (Deut. 6:7). Yet, I am convinced that we must also tell them not only what God has done in the past, but also what He has done in our own lives in the present. Tell your children the whole of God’s Word and especially do not “hide” the part of how Jesus Christ saved a sinner like you.

“Therefore you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not obey you. You shall also call to them, but they will not answer you” (Jeremiah 7:27 NKJV)

From: October 6, 2015

There are many times as a pastor that I feel as if no one is listening to the Word of God. That my preaching is in vain. That the message of Christ is falling on deaf ears. Yet, every time we give out the Word, someone responds. People respond to God’s Word when we faithfully proclaim it. We may feel that the soil is hard in our day and time, but none of us have been given the call of Jeremiah, who was told to preach with full knowledge that his people would not listen. However, it occurs to me that all preachers have this in common, we are to preach the Word whether people obey or not. Our success is not in how many listen, but in whether we were faithful in proclaiming the Word as it was given to us.

“Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ” (Colossians 2:8 NLT)

From: October 6, 2014

Human thinking is marred by sin’s mind-twisting effect. And it is further limited by its tiny perspective across time and space. Yet, this does not dissuade its foolish claims for superior wisdom. Paul calls man’s thinking “empty” and “high-sounding nonsense.” Instead, he calls us to place our trust in the revelation of God’s wisdom given in Christ. Christ is the Wisdom and the Power of God (1 Cor. 1:24). For those who would be lifted out of sin’s tangled-thinking and know the renewing of the mind, Christ is the answer.

“Thus says the LORD:”Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls” (Jeremiah 6:16)

From: October 6, 2013

Jeremiah is hard reading. Not because of its advanced vocabulary, but because of its message: warning and impending judgment. Yet, it still contains much hope and encouragement for those that would repent. Here, it encourages us to stop following every new and enticing way that we see in our culture. Instead, look for the “ancient paths,” the ones where the saints have trod and left us a sure route to peace. And for us, especially consider the One who walked the Via Dolorosa to Calvary. Follow Him.