Loring Schultz

“Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD. And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD………” 2 Kings 19:14-15a NIV

King Hezekiah of Judah was in dire straits. He was totally outmatched by the King of Assyria with his vast army of soldiers, horses and chariots. The king of Assyria sent messengers to taunt and instill fear into the people of Judah saying they did not stand a chance against their forces. Their intent was to convince them to surrender. (2 Kings 18) The messengers made their way to Hezekiah reminding him of Assyria’s most recent victories, completely destroying the nations in their path.

How many times do you feel outmatched in the events that surround your life? Circumstances beyond your control seep in unexpectedly and unwanted causing panic and uncertainty. You see no way out, no solution to your problem for you are in dire straits. Anxiety sets in clouding your thinking and you want to let off steam to anyone who will listen, anyone who can help.

There is one who can help, God. Take a lesson from King Hezekiah. The King took the letter and he “spread it out” before the Lord. Picture it in your mind; Hezekiah laying the letter before the Lord, detailed with the devastation that will come if they do not surrender. The Lord didn’t need to see the letter to know what it contained, He knew, but the visual presentation of giving it to God demonstrates Hezekiah’s faith that God was the only one who could take care of it. And God did. (2 Kings 19:35) Whatever your dire circumstance today, spread it out before the Lord!

Devotionals

The Time of the LORD’S Favor Has Come

January 23, 2024January 22, 2024 Loring Schultz

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the LORD’s favor has come.” Luke 4:18-19 NLT

The Jewish people of the first century were looking for their Messiah as their ancestors had for centuries but were conflicted about how He was to appear to them. They did not expect Him to be one of their past neighbors from their hometown. There was a consensus among the Jews that the Messiah would be a warrior type who would come to overthrow Rome and release them from Roman oppression. It is not unlike our day where Christians are looking for the return of the Messiah (Jesus) to release us from the chaotic conditions of the world. But there is much more to it than that!

During Jesus’s ministry He returned to Nazareth, his hometown, and was welcomed as a visiting rabbi to read from the Torah and a portion from the prophets. The section from the prophets to be read that day was from the book of Isaiah, (God’s perfect timing that Jesus would be visiting that day). It was a prophecy of the coming Messiah which after reading it, Jesus said, “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!” (Lk. 4:21b) Jesus was stating as a matter of fact that He indeed is the Messiah that was to come.

As we anxiously await the return of Jesus Christ there are a few things to remember about His first coming. He came to bring good news to the poor, the spiritually poor. (Mt. 5:3) Jesus came to release those who are held captive by sin. (Jn. 8:31-36) He came to give sight to the spiritually blind, and to set the oppressed free from the devil. (Acts 10:38) Jesus accomplished all this by living a sinless life and sacrificing that sinless life on the cross of Calvary in payment for our sin. This is the message to be shared by all of us who profess Jesus Christ as our savior to those outside of the Lord before He does return for ‘The Time of the LORD’S Favor Has Come!’

Devotionals

The Way of Righteousness

January 22, 2024January 20, 2024 Loring Schultz

“For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.” Matthew 21:32 ESV

Self-righteous people in authority do not like their authority challenged or questioned. This was also the case in Jesus’s day with the chief priests and elders who felt their positions of authority were threaten by Jesus, so they challenged Him on His authority. Jesus said He would comply if they were able to answer a simple question that religious leaders of the day should have known. Jesus asked them, “The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” (Mt. 21:25a ESV) Their answer would make most of today’s politicians proud. They did not want to be called out by Jesus or the people if they answered one way or the other, so they said they did not know. They had their self-righteous authority to protect in front of the people.

Jesus quickly dismantled that authority in a parable He told to all who were standing by. Jesus said, “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” (Mt. 21:28-31a ESV) The religious rulers provided the obvious answer which also condemned them, it was the first one.

The chief priests and the elders thought they were righteous by their positions and outwardly following all the rules and regulations of the law. But Jesus compared them to the second son who said he would obey and go and did not. The religious rulers claimed to be righteous with their laws and ceremonies but continued to live in disobedience to God. Jesus criticized them for rejecting John the Baptist’s message of the way of righteousness in the coming Messiah. They thought their own righteousness was good enough.

Many people in 2024 see the way of righteousness through self-righteousness. How good they are compared to most certainly gets recognition. Being religious by going to church occasionally, or contributing to the needs of others add to the resume of claiming righteousness. In Jesus’s parable those who rejected him in their lives, tax collectors and prostitutes, but later repented, had discovered the way of righteousness is through Him. If you have rejected Jesus even as you see those around you accepting Him and have not changed your mind as the religious rulers, today is the day for you to be as the first son and repent, following Christ, the way of righteousness.

Read Matthew 21:23-32: Matthew 21:23-32 ESV – The Authority of Jesus Challenged – And – Bible Gateway

Bible Studies

SOLA FIDE (Faith Alone)

January 21, 2024January 20, 2024 Loring Schultz

“No doctrine is more important to evangelical theology than the doctrine of justification by faith alone—the Reformation principle of sola fide. Martin Luther rightly said that the church stands or falls on this one doctrine.” John MacArthur

“The doctrine of justification by faith is like Atlas: it bears a world on its shoulders, the entire evangelical knowledge of saving grace.” J. I. Packer

We have come to the fourth sola of the ‘Five Solas’ of the Reformation period, ‘sola fide’ or (faith alone.) Simply put, it is by faith alone with nothing added, in Christ Jesus alone, that we enter into a saving relationship with Him securing our salvation. The apostle Paul writes, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” (Eph. 2:8 ESV) A part of the gift God gives to us is the gift of faith to believe. We would not believe on our own, nor would we have the faith to do so. God grants it to us. Paul goes on further to say, “not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Eph. 2:9 ESV) There is nothing we can do to work our way into heaven. It is all by God’s grace alone to us through faith alone and nothing else.

It is amazing that God sees us as righteous through His Son as we put our faith in Him. Our righteousness and justification comes only through Jesus Christ and what He accomplished in our place on Calvary’s cross. The Devotional series “Heart of the Reformation” notes, “Faith alone preserves the truth that the Lord is our only Savior. Faith looks outside of ourselves and only to Jesus as the Redeemer.” Again, there is nothing we can do to gain righteousness and be justified before God except through Jesus Christ. We are sinful creatures with a sin nature and find it impossible to keep any of God’s commandments. We could never accumulate enough good deeds to be seen as righteous in God’s eyes and earn our way to heaven. Dr. R. C. Sproul notes, “The question is not whether we are going to be saved through works; the question is whose works. We saved through the works of the one who alone fulfilled the terms of the covenant works.” We are to believe in faith the works of Christ on our behalf, and believe in faith alone!

In Jesus’s parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Lk.18:9-14), Jesus points out to those who thought themselves to be righteous that they were not. The so-called righteous Pharisee in his prayer exalted himself by saying, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.’ The tax collector’s prayer was a humbling response, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ Jesus explained, ‘I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other.’ It couldn’t be clearer, Jesus is stating justification is by faith alone and not by works. “Martin Luther rightly said that the church stands or falls on this one doctrine.”

Devotionals

Failing to Think Outside the Box

January 20, 2024January 19, 2024 Loring Schultz

“Philip replied, ‘Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!’ Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. ‘There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?’” John 6:7-9 NLT

Jesus handpicked twelve men to be His followers during His three years of ministry before going to the cross. These twelve disciples got on-the-job training from the Master. Like us nowadays, some are fast learners, some need a little more explanation and direction, and some outright persuade the teacher to have great patience. The disciples probably had a mix of all these in their education process with Jesus. One thing that had not matured for the disciples early in Jesus’s teaching was faith ‘to think outside the box.’ We use that term today to: ‘explore ideas that are creative and unusual and that are not limited or controlled by rules or tradition.’ (Merriam-Webster) The disciples failed to think outside the box at a crucial time in Jesus’s teaching.

The setting was on the other side of the Sea of Galilee as Jesus went up on the mountain with His disciples and notice a large crowd of people following Him. Jesus having compassion knowing they needed to eat took the opportunity for further instructing His disciples. Scripture says, “Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, ‘Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?’ He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.” (Jn. 6:5-6 NLT) Both Philip and Andrew gave logical answers. They didn’t have nearly enough money to buy food for all of them and had only a couple rolls and two fish from a boy’s lunch. Going by the numbers, they were correct. It was time to think outside the box about something creative and unusual, looking to Jesus. They had witnessed Jesus’s miracles of changing water into wine and healing the sick, even a boy from a distance away. Surely, He could feed the crowd with what was available.

Jesus was teaching His disciples and us to have faith in Him knowing He can meet all our needs. He wants us to put our entire trust in Him in overwhelming circumstances, not counting on our own limited capabilities or probable solutions. He wants us to get out of our own box and come to Him. What is impossible with us is possible with God. May we not fail to think outside the box in our time of need.

Read John 6:1-14: John 6:1-14 NLT – Jesus Feeds Five Thousand – After this, – Bible Gateway

Devotionals

The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far from the Tree

January 19, 2024January 18, 2024 Loring Schultz

“When the men who lived there asked Isaac about his wife, Rebekah, he said, ‘She is my sister.’ He was afraid to say, ‘She is my wife.’ He thought, ‘They will kill me to get her, because she is so beautiful.’” Genesis 26:7 NLT

You may be familiar with the proverbial saying ‘the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.’ Coming into English in the 1830’s from an existing German proverb the meaning refers to an individual’s traits resembling their parents. It is used to explain one’s actions in both a positive and negative way. One who is successful in life having successful parents is an apple from the tree of successful parents. A bad apple usually falls from a bad tree picking up undesirable traits. Now to be fair, that does not always hold true either positively or negatively, but when it is recognized, the saying seems appropriate.

We have an example in the Old Testament of an apple not falling far from the tree in Genesis chapter 26. Issac is instructed by God to go down to Egypt due to the famine and reside there. Upon arriving Issac introduced his wife Rebekah as his sister out of fear for his life. This could have brought severe consequences for Rebekah if the king of the region took her for himself. Issac sinned by lying and having no regard for the safety of Rebekah. Abraham, Issac’s father, had done the same thing twice years earlier. (Gen. 12:23; 20:3) Although Abraham was a righteous man and justified by his faith in God, he set a bad example for his son to follow.

All of us have sinned and have fallen short of God’s standards. (Ro.3:23) Even those of us who have accepted Christ as savior need daily forgiveness. Despite our failures, which will continue, are we still growing and producing good fruit? Are we good apples or bad apples? Jesus said in John 15:5a, “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.” (NLT) As others observed us, are they able to say positively in a favorable manner, ‘the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.’

A Christian Perspective

It’s going to be a long year, so…….

January 18, 2024January 17, 2024 Loring Schultz

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” Colossians 3:12 ESV

The early signs of 2024 seem to indicate this is going to be a very long year here in the United States. We have a Presidential election, and the news media is already taking sides. Each network has their bias and will state it loud and clear throughout the year. This may turn out to the most negative campaigning for the White House in the history of the United States. Not only do we have the news networks making noise, but social media out does the major networks by a landslide (no pun intended). Reading posts we find disturbing from people we know and respect, even from friends, will put us in an awkward position of how to respond, or even if we should. Probably we shouldn’t respond, but then again, some things just cannot be ignored, like the truth.

Paul writing in the book of Colossians two thousand years ago gives us good advice even for today, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” (Col. 3:12 ESV) There are hard questions to be asked and answered this year. Many concerns need to be addressed for the safety and moral compass of the United States going forward in the future. The next president is going to have all those issues before them, whoever they may be. No doubt, a deep divide exists as to who is best qualified for the job, and how they will govern for the betterment of the nation as a whole and for the people. So, there will be a lot of loud, partisan discussion from both sides.

As Christians we are to declare the truth, but more specifically the truth of the gospel. People need to come into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. The only hope America has is Jesus. 2024 has all the markings of becoming a turbulent year. But the negative, harsh, and hateful rhetoric of this historic year can be tamed down effectively and efficiently as Paul points out by God’s chosen ones. May we who are believers in Christ start now and ‘put on compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience’ with those we encounter this year. Let the light of Christ be visible for all to see. It’s going to be a long year!

Devotionals

Blue Monday

January 17, 2024January 16, 2024 Loring Schultz

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3 ESV

Did you ever have one of those days where something just doesn’t feel right? There’s a slightly depressed feeling you can’t quite shake off. Your thinking is muddled, finding it hard to concentrate. I had one of those days this week on Monday. My first thought was the after effect of my Dallas Cowboys being humiliated in a playoff game the day before, but upon thinking about it further even partly muddled I knew that wasn’t the reason, at least not all of it. There had to be more to it than losing a football game, the Cowboys have disappointed me before.

The third Monday in January has become known as Blue Monday. It was first recognized in 2005 as a PR stunt by the British travel company Sky Travel. According to ‘National Today’ much controversy exists concerning the cause of the saddest day of the year, but there is agreement as to what could contribute to it such as, snow and cold weather, Christmas bills arriving in the mail, and trying to maintain your New Years resolutions. I had no idea there was Blue Monday until my wife told me she heard it reported on a newscast as I confided in her how I was feeling all day. Again, thinking through this as clearly as possible, we are having some winter weather, but it’s manageable, I thank the Lord we have no after Christmas bills, and I don’t make New Years resolutions, so it wasn’t a case of Blue Monday.

Attempting to find a cause for days of confusion, depression, or lack of concentration is above my pay scale as they say, but one thing I do know is that when we allow our minds to slip away from Christ, we open our minds up to whatever the world has to offer, and it usually isn’t so good. The prophet Isaiah has a quick and easy cure for Blue Monday’s or any other blue days of the week when he writes, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” (Is. 26:3 ESV) We all succumb to Blue Monday days at one time or another, but we do not need to stay there if we keep on minds our Christ and keep trusting in Him.

Devotionals

God’s Temple

January 16, 2024January 15, 2024 Loring Schultz

“In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built.” 1 Kings 6:7 NIV

The Old Testament Jewish Temple is where God met with His people. It was the worship center for the Jewish people. The temple was built during King Solomon’s reign, taking seven years to complete. Careful considerations were taken for the sacredness of the project. They were building a house for the Lord God, His Holy Presence will be there. 1 Kings 6:7 tells us that they prepared the stone blocks at the quarry away from the Temple site, WHY, so that “no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built.” The Holiness of God’s presence, even future at that point, was recognized and respected.

The New Testament informs us that believers in Jesus Christ have a body that is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” (1 Cor. 6:19-20 NIV)

So, the question for us is: What noises are we allowing to enter the temple? Noises that affect our relationship with Him. Noises that are contrary to His Holiness. Noises that forfeit our ability to glorify God by bringing harm to our bodies. May we recognize the Holiness of God and bring Honor and Glory to His Name through our bodies.

Devotionals

A Better Way

January 15, 2024January 13, 2024 Loring Schultz

“But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” Matthew 5:39 ESV

The Old Testament law provided for equal justice in civil cases by ensuring that the punishment fit the offense. Jesus affirmed this in the Sermon on the Mount by saying, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’” (Mt. 5:38 ESV) The problem for so many in Jesus’s day was that the premise of the law was also being used for personal disputes. Personal retaliation was justified by misinterpreting the true nature of the law. Those seeking personal revenge would justify “an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth.” It is still somewhat common today by the phrase, “don’t get mad, get even.” But Jesus has a better way.

I am sure Jesus’s proposals for His better way were met with some resistance on the mountain that day. They certainly are met today with push back preserving our rights. We have the right to defend ourselves (yes we do), we have the right to protect what is ours (yes we do), we have the right to not be forced into any service against our will (agreed), and we have the right to keep what is ours. But by ensuing personal revenge to protect our personal rights we destroy any opportunity we had to show the mercy and the love of God. Christians are to follow Jesus’s example, “The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward. I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.” (Is. 50:5-6 ESV)

It is not always easy to pursue the better way, especially in unprovoked, unjust circumstances. But our Lord set the example and He will help us through it. Dr. Benjamin Mays speaking of the unjust sufferings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., said the following, “If any man knew the meaning of suffering, King knew…….and yet this man had no bitterness in his heart, no rancour in his soul, no revenge in his mind; and he went up and down the length and breadth of this world preaching non-violence and the redemptive power of love.” (1) Yes, there is ‘a better way.’

Coretta Scott King, My life with Martin Luther King Jr (Hodder & Stoughton, 1970), pp.365-369.

Author: Loring Schultz

Spread it out before the Lord!

The Time of the LORD’S Favor Has Come

The Way of Righteousness

SOLA FIDE (Faith Alone)

Failing to Think Outside the Box

The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far from the Tree

It’s going to be a long year, so…….

Blue Monday

God’s Temple

A Better Way