Follow the Bible reading plan in the FBC Loganville App or at www.fbcloganville.org/bible

Have you ever signed up for a service to find out that there are hidden fees, blackout dates, fine print, or terms that weren’t obviously stated? The great deal that you found turns out to be a great deal for the seller and not for you!

Sin operates in the same way.
Sin promises life but leads us away from life.
Sin promises community but leads us to isolation.
Sin promises fulfillment but leaves us empty.

I’ve heard some well-meaning Bible teachers talk about sin in terms that makes it seem like only the dumb and foolish fall into it. While sin is obvious, the progression of sinful acts begin with small steps away from God’s commands and provisions. Satan doesn’t advertise side effects of sin – he wants you to take the cup. His temptations are precise and appeals to your weaknesses and insecurities. Satan doesn’t throw random temptations out there for you – he tried to hit you where you aren’t strong.

Jesus began his ministry with 40 days of fasting and isolation in the wilderness. This was anything but a camping retreat. Satan was there, tempting Jesus in an effort to sway the Savior. Being fully man and fully God, Jesus felt hunger, pain, and fatigue. This specific temptation came when Jesus was physically exhausted. Satan isn’t a dummy running around with a pitch fork. His temptations appeal to our weaknesses. Jesus was hungry and Satan tempted him with a basic human need – food.

Sin will always mask itself as an avenue for satisfaction and life. This road doesn’t lead to the destination that it promises. The road of sin is a dead end. Thankfully Jesus overcame temptation, sin, and death so that we don’t have to give in! Jesus is the “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6). He will restore the wreck that sin has caused and will set your feet upon the path of everlasting life.

Apply:

• Have you fallen victim to a “good deal” that came with hidden fees?
• Are you physically, mentally, spiritually, or emotionally exhausted?
• Are you being tempted in that area of life because you are tired?

Respond:

God, give us protection against the evil one. You will not lead us into temptation. We confess our sins and desire to draw near to you. Amen.

Want to receive devotions to your email inbox Monday-Friday? Join today and receive devotions each morning. Subscribe to the email list.

The F260 NT Bible reading plan and HEAR Journal method is from Replicate Ministries. 

Follow the Bible reading plan in the FBC Loganville App or at www.fbcloganville.org/bible

The imprisonment of John the Baptist was the result of John’s preaching and challenge to the moral character of the Jewish political leadership. John rebuked Herod Antipas for his marriage to Herodias – who had been married to a half-brother of Herod. Both quit their previous marriages to be married even though they were nearly blood relatives. 

John the Baptist was in a situation that many of us have found ourselves in before. Do we speak up when someone around us is living counter to the Gospel? John the Baptist frequently preached against the governmental and religious leaders of his day. His rebukes ultimately led to his death. 

It can be difficult to stand up for the truth of the Gospel in a culture that doesn’t share our biblical perspective. Ephesians 4:15 tells us to “speak the truth in love.” Practically speaking the truth in love does not seek to tear a person down as an unredeemable person, because all can experience the grace found in Jesus. Instead, speaking the truth in love is to point out sin in order to encourage them to a higher way that is found in Christ. 

John the Baptist’s rebukes were done to point people to the grace and forgiveness that is found in Christ. Satan points out sin to condemn. Jesus points out sin to redeem. Jesus should be our model when we speak the truth of the Gospel. 

Apply: 

• Is there a tough conversation that you need to have with someone close to you? 
• How can you speak the truth in love in order to point the person to Christ? 

Respond: 

God, thank you for your salvation. You have provided a way for us to obtain righteousness through Jesus. May we speak your truth in love this week – even if we face persecution. Our lives should be lived for your glory. Amen. 

Want to receive devotions to your email inbox Monday-Friday? Join today and receive devotions each morning. Subscribe to the email list.

The F260 NT Bible reading plan and HEAR Journal method is from Replicate Ministries. 

Follow the Bible reading plan in the FBC Loganville App or at www.fbcloganville.org/bible

We all know the panic that hits our gut when we realize that we forgot something. Did you ever forget an assignment in school? Have you forgotten a meeting or a deadline? 

These momentary gaps in our memory pale in comparison to the time that Joseph and Mary lost Jesus.  

Every year the family traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. When Jesus was twelve years old his family once again made the journey to Jerusalem. After Passover was over Joseph and Mary returned home. Unknown to them, Jesus stayed behind in the Temple. Joseph and Mary assumed that Jesus was with the travel party. It took an entire day to realize that Jesus wasn’t with them. Talk about parents of the year. On top of that, it took them three days to find Jesus in Jerusalem. 

Mary and Joseph were imperfect parents. In fact, the world has never seen a set of perfect parents. Adam and Eve sinned. Abraham and Sarah had a strained marriage. I would assume that Solomon couldn’t even name all of his wives. 

There is pressure to be a perfect parent in our culture. If you haven’t figured it out by now, there are no perfect parents. Even Jesus’ earthly parents lost him for half a week. 

Every person is sinful and sinful people make up families. Do you remember the day when you realized that your parents weren’t perfect?  Your parents will fail you from time to time and you will fail your children. We are all in need of the grace of Jesus. 

For those of us who are parents, we need to live transparently with our children in a way that builds up their faith and understanding of sin, grace, and sanctification. That doesn’t mean that you share everything with your six year old son but you do need to own up to your mistakes and explain how faith works in real life.

News flash, your children already know that you aren’t perfect. When we pretend to be perfect we leave no space for the perfection of Jesus. 

The next generation will understand grace when they see it on display in moments of our failures and weaknesses. 

Apply:

• Do you feel pressure to be perfect – or at least seem like you have everything all together?
• What are some healthy ways that you communicate your need for Jesus’ perfection and grace with your friends and family? 

Respond: 

God, we confess that we are imperfect. There is no way for us to be holy on our own. We need Jesus. We confess our mistakes. Thank you for Jesus. We pray that we will rely on your Spirit today – to guide and correct us. Amen. 

Want to receive devotions to your email inbox Monday-Friday? Join today and receive devotions each morning. Subscribe to the email list.

The F260 NT Bible reading plan and HEAR Journal method is from Replicate Ministries. 

Follow the Bible reading plan in the FBC Loganville App or at www.fbcloganville.org/bible

How quickly do you give up on prayer?

In a culture of instant satisfaction the thought of committing to long-term prayer seems foreign. We have free two-day shipping on packages from across the world, we have instant food, and we can even watch an entire season of TV in one sitting.

I do not have evidence to support this, but I would assume most of us are great at praying fervently for a specific need or situation for a few days, but we don’t continue praying longer than that. If God hasn’t shown up in a day or two, like the Amazon package we ordered, then all seems lost and we give up on prayer. We throw our hands up and say that God hasn’t answered us. God rarely works on our timetable. Prayer takes time and intentionality as it shapes our hearts and transforms us into the likeness of Jesus. 

In this passage we see that the angel Gabriel visits Zechariah to announce that his wife will become pregnant with John the Baptist. Zechariah and Elizabeth had prayed for years for a child and now in their old age, the prayer seems more like a distant wish than a reality. 

When Gabriel appears to Zechariah he says, “your prayer has been heard.” There are times in life when we wonder if our prayers are heard. Your prayer might not be answered with a “yes” from God but you can trust that your prayer has been heard.

Here are a few encouragements for your prayer life as you spend time with God. 

Prayer Must Be Honest

Prayer should be a honest and open conversation with God, but some fall into the scripted prayers that only thank God for the day and our food. I’m grateful for food and I’m thankful that I have another day to live on mission with my family, but prayer should be deeper than that. Think of prayer as an ongoing conversation with God. Let Him know if you are mad, joyful, broken, or confused. He can handle your frustrations. After all, He is God.

Prayer Must Be Persistent

Your passion for change or opportunities should bring you to prayer each day. Voice your prayers with passion and hope as you seek answers, comfort, or wisdom from God. Don’t give up after a few days of prayer – commit to pray for this area until God moves or He moves your heart.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

In the Bible we see that Abraham waited 25 years for his promised son to be born. David waited over 15 years from the time he was anointed in the pasture until he was the king in the palace. Nehemiah prayed for five months before he was able to return to his home country to rebuild the walls. Don’t quit praying when your prayer hasn’t been answered on your timeline. Pray for God’s timing to be revealed and God’s will to be done. 

Prayer Must Be Consistent

Prayer is a spiritual discipline for us to strengthen through consistent obedience. We pray when we are in times of plenty and in times of need. We pray to celebrate and to mourn. We pray to lift up our praises and requests. Prayer should be present in your daily life. I would suggest coming up with a way for you to capture your prayer that keeps you in a rhythm of praying each day. I prefer journaling in a Moleskine notebook or on my Macbook with the Day One App.

Apply: 

• Is something weighing down on you? 
• Are you honest, persistent, and consistent in communicating with God? 
• How can you prioritize prayer today? 

Respond:

God, we thank you that you are approachable. Through Jesus we have access to you. Your Spirit goes before us on our behalf – even when we don’t know what we should pray. Help us to pray more honestly, more persistently, and more consistently this week. Amen.

Want to receive devotions to your email inbox Monday-Friday? Join today and receive devotions each morning. Subscribe to the email list.

The F260 NT Bible reading plan and HEAR Journal method is from Replicate Ministries. 

During the Christmas season there are many decorations people put up and traditions that people partake in. Each December homes and businesses will decorate Christmas trees with stars and lights, give presents to loved ones, and pass out candy canes. Millions will partake in Christmas traditions, but do we know what these traditions symbolize? 

This post begins a series of posts on the meaning of some of the popular Christmas traditions and symbols that we use each year. I pray that this series will help us to understand how and why we celebrate Christmas. And there is no better place to begin than with the Christmas tree. 

Christmas trees are synonymous with Christmas. They are found in airports, restaurants, stores, government buildings, parks, and homes across America. Many trees are decorated with lights, ornaments, and topped with a star. Christians and non-Christians love putting up Christmas trees to celebrate the season. 

Christmas trees are awesome, but why do we use them? 

Christmas trees are evergreen trees that do not “die” in winter, which represented life in the ancient world. Evergreens were used in pagan practices and became associated with Christmas during the Middle Ages through missionaries spreading the Gospel. Germany used the first evergreens as Christmas trees in the 1500s, and the reformer of the protestant faith, Martin Luther, has been credited with inventing Christmas trees, even though there isn’t much historical evidence of him beginning the practice. 

Today an evergreen Christmas tree symbolize Jesus’ eternal love for humanity and the eternal life found in Jesus. John 3:16 says, “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Christmas trees are a reminder that God’s love is eternal and that through Jesus’ sacrifice and death on a tree (the cross) we have eternal life in Him. Jesus’ earthly mission was to redeem humanity through His life, death, burial, and resurrection.

Christmas trees are a festive reminder that Jesus’ eternal love brings us eternal life. 

Live It: 

• How can you incorporate the meaning of a Christmas tree with your Christmas traditions? 
• Have you surrendered your life to Jesus? 

Want to receive devotions to your email inbox Monday-Friday? Join today and receive devotions each morning. Subscribe to the email list.

After Jesus interacts with the woman at the well he returned to Cana of Galilee where he turned water into wine. Apparently, news of this miracle spread into the region. As Jesus entered the town people began to share that this miracle worker was returning. 

There was a royal official in Galilee whose son was sick in Capernaum. The man’s boy was on the verge of dying. This man heard that the miracle worker was coming into town, so he found Jesus and pleaded with him to come with him and to heal his son. 

Jesus’ response seems insensitive when he responded with, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe” (Jn 4:48). There is a possibility that this man would have been a Gentile, while this isn’t clear in the account. His belief in Jesus extended only to Jesus as a miracle worker. The context of this statement communicates that Jesus was not a magician who would automatically heal people but that he was capable of more than physical healing. Jesus told the man that his boy would live and continued on his way. The royal official believed in Jesus’ word and went to see his son. 

The next day one of the royal official’s servants came and reported that his son was miraculously healed at one in the afternoon. John 4:53 says, “The father realized this was the very hour at which Jesus had told him, ‘Your son will live.’ So he himself believed, along with his whole household” (John 4:53). The official believed in Jesus’ word then came to believe in Jesus. 

There are many people who look to Jesus as a lucky charm or genie – someone they can run to when there is a problem to solve, but walk away when their life is ok. This view is called Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. Simply put, people believe that God wants everyone to be happy and nice to others and God doesn’t care about the particulars in your life, as long as you are good, and He will jump into action when there is a problem to resolve.

While this sounds like a great view to have, it isn’t correct theology. God is concerned with your daily life and God doesn’t exists just to make your daily life better or free of pain. 

The royal official approached Jesus with a belief that Jesus could physically heal his son’s sickness. The next day the royal official came to a belief in Jesus as the Messiah who spiritually heals the sickness of sin. 

Many people are looking for a miracle, a physical healing, or a new opportunity. There are times where God heals miraculously, but Jesus is always ready, willing, and able to spiritually heal anyone who comes to Him.

Spiritual healing – one that rids us from the stain of sin and sting of death – is a greater healing than any other physical or financial healing that we could ever experience. 

Live It: 

• Are you a follower of Jesus or do you only run to Jesus when you want him to fix a problem? 
• How can you live with a reliance on the Lordship of Jesus? 

Christ Chronological:  John 4:46-54