Devotionals

Commitment

Loring Schultz

“Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you.” Psalm 37:5 NLT

            One of the most anticipated joys of summer for baseball fans is the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in Cooperstown, New York. As of July 24, 2023, 20,447 players have made to the major leagues since 1876. But only a handful were ever to achieve the status of being enshrined into baseball’s highest honor of achievement, the Baseball Hall of Fame. There are many factors that attribute to an athletes success, but a major factor is commitment.

Fred McGriff and Scott Rolen at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony July 23, 2023

            A recurring theme each year are the commitments that were made throughout the hall of famer’s career, and this year was no different. There are commitments made by individual coaches from little league and high school to nameless coaches in the minor leagues who have spent hours with the young prospect helping to improve their skills. Commitments by mom and dad, siblings and friends are credited with helping them to keep going never giving up, and wives and children are always recognized for the sacrifices they made during the baseball season. All had an enormous effect by their commitment. The new inductee also followed through with his commitment to never give up.

            Success in our spiritual lives also involves commitment. As children of God we are to be in total obedience to Him. This is only possible by committing everything we do to the Lord. We should note, we are not perfect and will fail sinning at times. But as the Psalmist wrote, after we commit everything to God, trusting Him, He will help us. As hall of famers achieve their success to their commitment through hard work and to those who committed part of their lives in helping them, we also have the Lord committed to helping us as we commit everything to Him.

Bible Studies

The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus’s teaching on Prayer – 2 “Our Father”

Loring Schultz

“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father.’ For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.” Romans 8:14-16 NLT

            The first and most important step in prayer Jesus teaches us is the address, “Our Father.” Equally important is who is able to address God as “Our Father.” There is a misconception that was brought about in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through a book by German Theologian and church historian, Adolf von Harnack, entitled ‘What is Christianity?’ His thesis was the doctrine of Christianity can be reduced to two propositions; ‘The Universal Fatherhood of God’ and ‘The Universal Brotherhood of Man.’ Simply stated, since God created man, then all are God’s children, and all are brothers and sisters. But careful study of scripture does not reveal such a hypothesis. It is true in the sense of creation, God has created all of mankind. Each one of us has God as their creator.

            The term “Our Father” is not an address seen in the Old Testament, but has significate meaning in the New Testament. It is the reality of adoption into the family of God, becoming a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ, God the Son. Scripture says, “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” (Jn. 1:12) Having that right to become children of God, Christians have the right to claim God as their Father and the right to address Him properly as “Our Father.” Those who have not trusted in Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection for the remission of sins and have not accepted Him as Savior have no valid reason to address God as Father.   

             The Lord’s Prayer is recited mostly every Sunday in churches around the world depending on the denominations and style of worship. If your church is one of many who pray the Lord’s Prayer, are you able to truly address God as “Our Father” with those in the family of God with whom you are worshiping. God desires for you to address Him properly as His child, and you can make that happen. As Paul writes in Romans chapter 8, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father.’ For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.”

            If you repent of your sins and accept Jesus Christ as your Savoir as the only way of salvation, you will be saved and will be able to say along with your brothers and sisters in the family of God, “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Devotionals

Unity

Loring Schultz

“I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” John 17:23 NIV

            Have you ever given thought that Jesus has prayed for you? Jesus had a specific petition for all future Christians who would make up His church. Near the end of His “high priestly prayer” recorded in John’s gospel chapter 17, Jesus made His requests known soon before He was to go to the cross. He prayed that we would be with Him in eternity and see His Glory, but His specific request was that we all be one in complete unity. Imagine as Jesus was about to be crucified, His concerned for us future believers was for there to be unity. So how are we doing?

            Before we answer, perhaps it would good for us to know why Jesus made this request. Jesus reasoned, “Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them.” You made have heard the statement; “The only Christ the world will see, is the Christ they see in you.” That is very true and Jesus confirms it later in His prayer as He says, “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you……” Indeed, most of the world does not know God. Many have heard of God and have somewhat of a knowledge of Him, but they do not know the true God and Jesus Christ His Son.

            As the world looks at the church and individual Christians today, do they see unity? Do they see the love of Christ between us? Are we in a unifying fashion convincing the world that Jesus is God’s Son sent to save us from eternal damnation? Does the world see their spiritual need by observing authentic Christianity in unity, or is it muddled by the in-fighting, pride, and disagreements in doctrine not essential to Salvation? There are legitimate differences of opinion in the teaching of scripture in churches today, but they should not be at the expense of alienating those outside of Christ from hearing the message of the Gospel.

            Unity. So how are we doing?

Read Jesus’s prayer for all believers:  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2017:20-26&version=NIV

Devotionals

Whole Hearted Worship

Loring Schultz

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, Be acceptable in Your sight,
O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14 NASB

Is your heart always in everything you do, whatever it is? How many times do you utter the phrase, “My heart’s just not in this.” It could be a work project, which would be understandable, or it could be an enjoyable recreation activity and you still cannot get your whole heart interested and excited. Let’s face it we all have days like that, sometimes for good reasons, but not always.

When it comes to Worshiping God we need to desire that our hearts be in it, 100% in it, but then again we know that is not always the case. King David was particularly conscious of this. He wrote “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, Be acceptable in Your sight.” David wanted his worship, his prayers and his thoughts to be acceptable to his Lord, his Rock and his Redeemer. And we should want the same thing for us, but it is much more than an hour church service or a fifteen minute personal devotion time. I heard someone once say that, “Life is Worship.” We should be acknowledging God in everything we do; every aspect of our lives, our work, our play and our thoughts; we should be Worshipping God!

The way to Whole Hearted Worship is to live your “Life as Worship.”

Devotionals

Your Word

Loring Schultz

“All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’” Matthew 5:37a NIV

            Promises are broken every day so they say. Promises are made to be broken they also say. Promise makers are not always promise keepers. Although some promises are broken intentionally others are not. Unintentional broken promises are no fault of the promise maker who had given their word. Their word was good enough to assure the one promised that the pledge would be honored. Then there are those who know they will not keep the promise they are agreeing to as they are making the promise. Their deception is in making an oath by swearing in the name of someone or something usually of a sacred or personal nature. Their word was not good enough for complete trust and honesty. They had to pad it with an oath.

            Jesus’s word to us from the Sermon on the Mount is this, “But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.  And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.” (Mt. 5:34-36) People in Jesus’s day thought they could break an oath if it wasn’t sworn in the name of God without consequences. Today we would call that ‘an out” or “a loophole.” But Jesus confirms that everything falls under God and His name. God’s throne is in heaven, He created the heavens and the earth, and He created us. There is nothing belonging to ourselves that is able to back up an oath. Jesus says, “All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’” and then He adds these words, “anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” (Mt. 5:37)

            What about you? Is your word good enough to secure a promise or do you need to add some assurance in order to be believed? For the Christian our word should be taken at face value, which should be the reflection of the Lord Jesus in our lives. In the world in which we live others should expect our word to be nothing more than a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as good enough for the Jesus follower.

            So, how is Your Word?

A Christian Perspective

60% Water

Loring Schultz

How often do you think about the intricacy of your human body? Admittedly I don’t think of it too often, but when I do I am amazed at how the human body functions with all its many parts working together. Those of you in the medical field have a clearer picture and knowledge of the human body, but the awe in studying the human body cannot be ignored. Take for example our bodies contain over 200 different types of cells totaling in the trillions. We also have nine major organ systems, each of them composed of various organs and tissues working together as a unit. Not to mention, the human body with all its cells, organs, bone structure, etc. is about 60% water by weight. It is truly amazing.

            What is even more amazing is despite the more we learn about the makeup of the human body and how it functions still does not change the minds of those who still question the origin of human beings. Those who deny the existence of God or any form of intelligent design have a hard time explaining what is obvious; this could not have just happen by chance or evolve over the years on its own. There had to be a starting point, and that starting point is God.

            The Old Testament book of Genesis details the creation of the heavens, the earth, and human beings in chapters 1 and 2. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth….So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Gen. 1:1, 27) If you believe in God and believe His Word is true you will know with certainty that He created life. You may have heard something like, ‘it takes more faith to believe life evolved out of nothing than to believe God created life.’ Faith in nothing is nothing, but faith in God is everything.

            The psalmist, David, writing thousands of years before any modern day studies of the human body wrote, “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.” (Ps. 139:14) If David thanked and praised God for His creative work in us, how much more should we today, all 60% water of us.

Devotionals

Straining at the Oars

Loring Schultz

“He saw the disciples straining at the oars.” Mark 6:48a NIV

            Have you ever felt abandoned from the Lord, especially in tough times? You may be facing difficulties at your work place with 8 hour days are turning into 12 hours days and no relief in sight. You’re studying for a college degree and can’t keep up with the assignment load. You’re a young mother with a houseful of children all wanting and needing your attention. There are yet many other tough time scenarios we can apply, just pick the one that fits you best. But rest assured the Lord has not abandoned you, in fact He always has His eye on you.

            Jesus’s disciples were put in a situation where it appeared to them they were abandoned. Jesus sent them out ahead of Him by boat to Bethsaida across the Sea of Galilee, while He spent time alone in prayer with His Father. What should have been a relatively short trip was turning into an over 8 hour trip with constant wind not in their favor. The wind was carrying the boat towards the center of the lake instead of maintaining a straight course one or two miles off shore. Imagine what thoughts would have been going through the minds of the disciples. Perhaps the same thoughts we have in strenuous times.

            The Bible explains to us Jesus saw the difficulty His disciples were having and also when He first saw what was happening. “Later that night, (when evening came) the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake” (Mk. 6:47-48) ‘When evening came’ was sunset around 6pm. Jesus did not come out to them until dawn early the next morning. He came out to them walking on the water.

            During your long struggling difficult days never lose sight that our Lord Jesus never loses sight of you while ‘straining at the oars,’ but He is watching and will be there with the help we need. You’re not abandoned. Learn to put your trust in Him for He sees, He hears, and He’ll be there.

A Christian Perspective

Silent Protest

Loring Schultz

One of the many rights enjoyed by every citizen in the United States is the right to protest. In fact it is the very first amendment to the constitution. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” It is worthy to note that it states the right to ‘peaceably assemble.’ I am sure we can all relate to what has been demonstrated as peaceful protest over the years as not being very peaceful. That is not to say there have not been peaceful demonstrations or protests, there have been, and that is the way it should be, especially among Christians.

            Living in the first quarter of the 21st century has certainly brought about many issues to protest, both as citizens of the United States and members of the Christian church. Christians have an obligation to present the truth to those who don’t know the truth. Here in the United States we are afforded the freedom to do so in a peaceable manner. Christians are also to live honorable lives before the general public and governing authorities to dispute any false accusations that may be brought against us.

            Whether we gather with others to protest an injustice on biblical grounds or stand our ground individually by not engaging in the sins of the world we are protesting, let it be done by way of a ‘silent protest,’ peaceably and by living a life honorable to Christ. Peter encourages us it is God’s will that our honorable lives will silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against us. (1Peter 2:15) Let us as citizens of heaven be humble and obedient citizens here on earth bringing honor and glory to God so all may believe in Him and His Son, Jesus Christ.  

            “It is God’s will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you. For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.” 1 Peter 2:15-16 NLT

Read 1 Peter 2:13-17, Respecting people in authority: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Peter+2%3A13-17&version=NLT

Bible Studies

The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus’s teaching on Prayer – 1 “How to Pray”

Loring Schultz

“Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” KJV

            There are many prayers recorded in the pages of scripture. Without a doubt, the most familiar prayer is the Lord’s Prayer found in the gospels of Matthew and Luke.  It is a model prayer Jesus taught His disciples when they asked Him to teach them how to pray. The disciples evidently saw something in Jesus concerning His prayer life. He would leave them for hours spending time with His Father in prayer. They realized the importance of prayer even as John the Baptist taught his disciples to pray and now they were witnessing Jesus’s prayer habits. It was a marked influence on them, for they did not ask Him to teach them to perform miracles or anything else spectacular, but they asked Him; teach us to pray.

            In Matthew’s recording of the Lord’s Prayer notice Jesus began His teaching with how not to pray. There are many bad examples in how not to pray. The key point to remember is the Lord’s Prayer is an example to follow in praying, and it is a good one. Jesus instructs His disciples and us. “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them.” (Mt. 6:5a NLT) Praying is not a spectator sport to show others how holy you are. Jesus also said, “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again.” (Mt. 6:7 NLT) This is not a condemnation towards long prayers, but of excess meaningless verbiage just to be heard. Repetition is not a bad thing when in earnest prayer, and crying out to God concerning your sorrow and needs. We need to take comfort that God knows exactly what we need. Jesus says, “Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!” (Mt. 6:8 NLT) Daniel Henderson in his book ‘Transforming Prayer’ writes the following, “Our Father is completely dialed-in and capable. He is all-knowing and sovereign. He does not need the persuasion of our words or vigorous religious performances in order to know and meet our needs.”

            Jesus’s instructions on how to pray begin with, “But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private.” (Mt. 6:6a NLT) This is a reminder that God looks on the heart and not outward appearance. He will meet with us in private and not in the public square. This is not a prohibition against public prayer. Jesus Himself prayed publicly and corporate prayer within the church is vital to its existence. “Private praying is the finest training ground for public prayer.” (Wycliffe Bible Commentary)

            As we move forward in the coming weeks being taught by Jesus how to pray may we heed the two rules of prayer by R.C. Sproul, “Remember to whom you are speaking, and remember who is doing the speaking.”

Devotionals

Enter the Light

Loring Schultz

“The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.” Psalm 119:130 NKJV

            When entering a dark room, the first thing we do is turn on a light. If we enter a room we haven’t been in before, we search for the light switch using the limited light illuminating from outside the room. In either case, when the room has light, we can now move around and conduct our business.

            There are many dark rooms we enter in life. Some are daily decisions to be made and others major decisions made only occasionally in our lifetime. All have the uncertainty in the shadow of what’s ahead. If only there was no shadow at all with enough light to enter, we would be confident we’re making the right move.

            The Psalmist wrote, ‘The entrance (or unfolding) of Your words gives light.’ The Bible contains everything we need to know in making those decisions of uncertainty. We need light to shine through the shadows of both the daily decisions and the life changing ones. Seeing that we make decisions daily, it stands to reason, the light always needs to be on. Daily reading of Scripture is a must for every Christian if we are to be in His will and make the right decisions.

            Our Lord will not abandon us to make our own decisions without His guidance and for that we should be thankful. He has given us His Word in clarity so that all could obey it. The Psalmist also wrote, ‘It gives understanding to the simple,’ and that means all of us. God’s Word is the light which illuminates our ability to understand His message to us, most importantly for salvation, but also for those decisions to be made in the shadows of a dark room.