Word for the Soul

“Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.” Mark 13:33 NKJV

Jesus tells us in Scripture that His return is certain, He is coming back. He is coming back for His bride, the church. The only drawback is, He doesn’t tell us when that will occur. So, Jesus gives us a warning to “take heed, watch and pray; lest, coming suddenly, he find (us) sleeping.” (Mk.13:33a, 36 nkjv)

Whenever there is an upcoming event in our lives, we get excited, perhaps counting the months, weeks, and days. We have a date we can focus on for any preparation needed to be done beforehand. The excitement builds with anticipation of that coming day. For all intents and purposes, the event usually occurs, but there is always a chance that it doesn’t come off or something goes wrong. Anticipation that had been building suddenly falls flat with our disappointment.

The greatest future event you and I will ever have will be the return of Jesus Christ. It will be an event that will not fall flat. We should be anxiously anticipating His return as we follow Jesus’ words to watch and pray. Jesus gives us an illustration of this in the gospel of Mark, “It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch.” (13:34 nkjv) The Lord has given us work to do in His absence which we are to be engaged in. He also commands us to keep watch for His return for we do not know when it will be.

Keeping watch for Jesus’ return is a hard thing to do with our busy lives. Even in our quiet moments we could lose sight of this glorious upcoming event. That is why Jesus tells us to ‘watch and pray.’ Temptations and the activities of the world will dull our senses in the things of God. Jesus had to reprimand His disciples in the garden, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Mk.14:38 nkjv)

We must keep our hearts and minds on Christ and His return. Distractions and temptations are part of this world we live in, that is why we must watch and pray with anticipation for Jesus’ return.

Read: Mark 13:32-37 NKJV – No One Knows the Day or Hour – “But – Bible Gateway

Devotionals

Have You Hurt God?

November 11, 2024November 9, 2024 Loring Schultz

“They will recognize how hurt I am by their unfaithful hearts and lustful eyes that long for their idols.” Ezekiel 6:9 NLT

When you think about God, what comes to mind? How about His awesome power in creating the earth and the entire universe. Maybe you are drawn to His awareness of every occurrence in the world at the same time, or perhaps it is the comfort you receive knowing that God hears your prayers went millions of people are also in prayer with Him. Words cannot do justice in describing God. Our best attempts in characterizing God will fail. He is so awesome, powerful, holy, loving, all-knowing, the list goes on……….and on………and on. There are also not enough words, so I guess we will leave at that.

Have you ever thought of God’s emotions? Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (nlt) We know that we are emotional beings, some more than others. If we are made in God’s image, it stands to reason that God is an emotional God. If we can display emotion, God certainly can.

Have you ever been hurt by someone? Had your heart broken? Have you caused the hurt of someone and broken their heart? If your answer is yes to either circumstance, you know both how it feels when you were hurt and the effects your actions had on the one you hurt. Now comes the hard part. Have you ever hurt God? Our emotional God can also be hurt by our actions.

The Lord speaking through Ezekiel, concerning Judah, said, “Then when they are exiled among the nations, they will remember me. They will recognize how hurt I am by their unfaithful hearts and lustful eyes that long for their idols. Then at last they will hate themselves for all their detestable sins.” The Lord God was sending them into exile for 70 years for their sins against Him, sins that hurt Him deeply by turning to idols.

How many idols do we have in our own lives that are hurting God? We may have never thought about this quite this way before, but our sins against God does hurt Him. Our unfaithful hearts and lustful eyes towards our idols take us away from Him, and yes, He’s hurt. May we have faithful hearts, and our eyes be gazed on Him.

Bible Studies

“Godly Leaders lead the people in confession and repentance” Godly Leadership: the book of Nehemiah

November 10, 2024November 9, 2024 Loring Schultz

“The people responded, ‘In view of all this, we are making a solemn promise and putting it in writing. On this sealed document are the names of our leaders and Levites and priests.’ The document was ratified and sealed with the following names: The governor: Nehemiah son of Hacaliah, and also Zedekiah.” Nehemiah 9:38-10:1 NLT

The walls and gates around Jerusalem were completed, the enemies of the Jews have backed off, the city has been repopulated, worship was restored, and the festivals commanded by the Lord were taking place, but there was some unfinished business to take care of. The people were deeply convicted of their sin as we learned last week in chapter 8, but there was no formal acknowledgement and confession. Nehemiah chapter 9 opens with, “On October 31 the people assembled again, and this time they fasted and dressed in burlap and sprinkled dust on their heads.” (Neh.9:1 nlt) Christians at times resemble the Jews here in Nehemiah. We are convicted of sin but continue to go along without dealing with it or we just go through the motions hoping that feeling will go away. It needs to be dealt with, and the people of Israel understood this and the leaders to action in leading them.

The Levites led the reading of God’s Word for three hours followed by three hours of confessing their sins and worshiping God. Confession of sin is an act of worship to a holy God, praising Him, as we confess, for His forgiveness and restoring us as if we have never sinned. Coming before Him with the right attitude, humbling ourselves is a manner of worship. The Jews had fasted beforehand and covered themselves with dust dressing in burlap. They had shown their distress over their sin. We don’t need to go that far today, but that same attitude can and should be expressed through prayer and fasting.

The Jews separated themselves from all foreigners as they confessed their sins, which was a very hard thing to do. Some of these foreigners were heathen women which God had commanded not to intermingle with. They were now married to them and possibly had children. Sin has a way of complicating our lives in a way we never thought possible. There is an old saying, ‘Sin will take you further than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you wanted to be kept, and cost you more than you wanted to spend.’ Once entangled in sin, the only way out is complete confession and repentance to the Lord.

The Levites led a prayer to God on behalf of the people. (Neh.9:5-37) The prayer begins by acknowledging God’s greatness and majesty, a good place for us to start when we pray. They continued with reciting Israel’s history from the Abrahamic covenant to their time in Egypt and the wandering in the wilderness, through the conquest and settlement of the Promised Land, through the judges, the prophets, and up to the present situation. God’s on-going goodness to Israel is noted along with each time throughout history their fathers disobeyed and sinned against God and now the present generation has done the same.

The people were yearning for that same goodness God had shown to their father’s generation by responding, “In view of all this, we are making a solemn promise and putting it in writing.” (Neh.9:38a nlt) They were making an appeal for a new covenant agreeing to follow God’s Laws. The leaders, priests, and Levites signed the document, “On this sealed document are the names of our leaders and Levites and priests The document was ratified and sealed with the following names: The governor: Nehemiah son of Hacaliah, and also Zedekiah.” (Neh.9:38b 10:1 nlt) The godly leaders took the first step and put their names on the document of confession and promised repentance. It is sad, but some of them were also guilty of the same sins, but they led in a godly manner of confession and repentance before the people.

Godly leaders today can fall into sin as we are often reminded. Their true character will come to light even more so in how they respond to their downfall. Is there full confession and repentance or are there excuses and cover-ups that eventually cause them to disappear from the scene? Our pastors and spiritual leaders need our constant daily prayers. Satan does not rest but is continually scheming to bring them down.

The leaders in Jerusalem set an honest godly example for the people who “joined their leaders and bound themselves with an oath. They swore a curse on themselves if they failed to obey the Law of God as issued by his servant Moses. They solemnly promised to carefully follow all the commands, regulations, and decrees of the LORD our Lord.” (Neh.10:29 nlt) They agreed not to intermarry with non-Jewish people. They agreed to keep the Sabbath free from commercial activity, support the Sabbatical year, and to support the needs of the Temple.

The book of Nehemiah is filled with examples of godly leadership, all in which are applicable for our day, but as mentioned above some of them did fall. They led the people into sin by either ignoring the sins they had seen being committed or the people followed their lead. Either way, we need to remember we are all sinners. That is not a reason to excuse the sin or dismiss the sinner, but to pray for confession and repentance. May godly leaders continue to lead the way.

Read: Nehemiah 9-10 NLT – The People Confess Their Sins – On – Bible Gateway

A Christian Perspective

The Word of God Cannot be Chained

November 9, 2024November 7, 2024 Loring Schultz

“Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach. And because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained.” 2 Tinothy 2:8-9 NLT

According to ‘Open Doors International’ more than 365 million Christians suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith worldwide. (1) Many of them are imprisoned simply for sharing their faith or owning a Bible, and many are martyred. The Bible is illegal, banned, or severely restricted in 52 countries across the globe. (2) Persecution of Christians is nothing new. James, one of Jesus’ disciples was the first to be martyred for his faith in Christ. The list goes on as all the disciples were killed for their faith except John who died in exile on the island of Patmos Throughout the centuries Christians have been persecuted and the Bible forbidden, but it is noticeably escalating in these last days as Satan knows his time is running out.

The apostle Paul was well acquainted with persecution from both sides as the persecutor and the persecuted. Paul had been beaten and jailed several times for his continual preaching of the Word of God. The Bible doesn’t state Paul’s manner of death, but tradition says he also was martyred. In Paul’s second letter to his son in the faith, Timothy, he wrote he was chained like a criminal for preaching the Good News of the gospel, and then added, “But the word of God cannot be chained.” (2Tim.2:9b nlt) Paul likely foresaw the confiscation and banning of Scripture that would continue to increase over the years. But he encouraged Timothy and us that it cannot be chained.

Despite the efforts of government authorities creating laws to make it illegal to read or own a Bible, the Lord God will see to it that His Word is never chained. It cannot be, it contains the words of the living God and cannot be silenced. The world is becoming more secular everyday erasing any reference to God within its society. Eventually banning the Bible is on the horizon in every country on earth if it has not started already. Efforts will continue to increase and with greater determination to rid society of everything with a Christian nature, especially the Bible. Praise God His Words cannot be silenced or chained, for it contains the Good News!

(1) World Watch List 2024 · Serving Persecuted Christians Worldwide

(2) Bible Is Banned Here: Check Out This Long List of Countries

Devotionals

The Words of a King

November 8, 2024November 5, 2024 Loring Schultz

“I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 NLT

All heads of state, whether kings or queens, presidents, or prime ministers have authority over those in their jurisdiction. It is only in their local jurisdiction they have authority. No authority has been granted them outside their borders. There is not a ruler who has it all. No one earthly leader has complete authority over the entire world. But there is one, and only one who does have complete authority on earth, King Jesus.

Jesus’ own words to His disciples proved this when He said, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.” (Mt.28:18 nlt) These are the words of a king. The Jews in Jesus’ day were looking for a king to defeat the Romans and rule in Israel. Jesus told Pilate yes, He was a king, but His kingdom is not of this world. The Jews would have been disappointed in hearing this. Jesus’ agenda was much bigger including all the nations (people groups) of the world and it is still future.

Jesus has been building His kingdom through His followers since He gave His disciples what we know today as the Great Commission. Every generation of believers from that first command are instructed in the same way, and that includes us. “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” (Mt.28:19 nlt) These are the words of a king.

Devotionals

The Gift of Peace

November 7, 2024November 6, 2024 Loring Schultz

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” John 14:27 NLT

I came to age in the influential years of peace and love in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s in the United States. The height of the Vietnam war, racial injustice, assassinations and attempted assassinations on political leaders fueled protests around the country in the streets and college campuses. From these events and others like it, the ‘peace and love’ movement came into existence. It was for the most part peaceful and did bring about some good things. However, one thing they couldn’t bring about was ‘lasting peace,’ their reason for being.

The reason the efforts of the ‘peace and love’ movement failed was they were looking for peace within themselves and the world. Jesus told His disciples on the night before His crucifixion, “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give.” (Jn.14:27 nlt) As much as those wanting to spread peace and love if it wasn’t Jesus’ gift of love it would not last. To be fair, there were those who branched off from that movement becoming followers of Jesus and created their own movement realizing the world or themselves would not bring about the peace they were seeking. This Jesus’ movement knew that true and lasting peace was only through Jesus Christ.

Today you may be seeking peace and love but wherever you turn it evades you. There are many endeavors that will bring temporary peace and enjoyment in life. There are several organizations and clubs that can fill an empty space in your heart, but if Jesus isn’t part of them, it will fail you every time. Jesus says to you, true and lasting peace is available through Him which He gives you as a gift. ‘So don’t be troubled or afraid,’ but accept His gift of peace and have peace of mind and heart the world cannot offer.

Devotionals

Out of Reach of My Enemies

November 6, 2024November 5, 2024 Loring Schultz

“For he will conceal me there when troubles come; he will hide me in his sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock.” Psalm 27:5 NLT

Several of the psalms King David wrote contain some form of prayer. Psalm 27 is one of the prayer psalms. David had many conspirators and enemies plotting against him most of his life. He prayed for God to deliver him from his enemies and was confident the Lord would do so. (Ps.27:1-3) David found sanctuary in the presence of the Lord. He equated God’s presence as being in the house of the Lord. “The one thing I ask of the LORD—the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, delighting in the LORD’s perfections and meditating in his Temple.” (Ps.27:4 nlt) David’s confidence was strengthened in God’s presence for He was David’s stronghold.

David was sure God would protect him concealing him when trouble came and would hide him in His sanctuary. David wrote, “He will place me out of reach on a high rock.” (Ps.27:5b nlt) David was confident God would hide him and place him out of the reach of his enemies. David breaks out in prayer in the rest of psalm praying for deliverance and asking God to lead him on the right path away from his enemies. He acknowledges God would never abandon him and knows he will see God’s goodness as he waits patiently for Him.

David’s psalm should serve as an inspiration for every Christian. We are not aware of who David’s enemies were, but we can conclude they were led by the Satan, the evil one. Christians today have this in common with David, we have the same enemy. We should also have the same confidence David had when we pray that God will protect and hide us by placing us out of Satan’s reach. Even if Satan and his minions see us up on that top shelf in the Lord’s sanctuary, it’s out of their reach. Therefore, be diligent in prayer for Paul tells us, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” (Eph.6:12 nlt) Our enemies may be around us, but they are out of reach.

Read: Psalm 27 NLT – Psalm 27 – A psalm of David. The LORD – Bible Gateway

Devotionals

Living with an Eye on Eternity

November 5, 2024November 4, 2024 Loring Schultz

“He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.” Titus 3:5-7 NLT

People are always looking for something to better their life. It may be a move to a more desirable neighborhood. A change in vocation is an often-desired life change for many. Healthy choices are also at the top of the list such as regular exercise, a well-balanced diet, adequate rest, and avoiding dangerous situations. These are all sound choices to pursue in life and will help you live a satisfied, safe and healthy life. But how many of the choices you make in this life pertain to your next life? Are you living with an eye on eternity?

James tells us that, “Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.” (Ja.4:14b nlt) The psalmist writes, “Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty. But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we fly away.” (Ps.90:10 nlt) So, maybe it is time for us to think ahead.

Living with an eye on eternity helps us keep our focus on what really matters. The motto for ‘Word for the Soul’ expresses this, ‘Only Two Things Will Last Forever; The Word of God and the Souls of People.’ The main priority in this life for all Christians is based on those two things. The way we live our lives matters. We are going to be in eternity a lot longer than our life here on earth. There is only so much time for us to complete the Lord’s work here on earth, and the work we do here will either be rewarded or rejected in the kingdom. (1Cor.3:10-15) But praise God our salvation is secure in Christ as Paul writes, “He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy…… Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.” (Titus 3:5a, 7 nlt) For all of us who have eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord let us now live with our eyes on eternity.

Devotionals

Time to Turn Away

November 4, 2024November 2, 2024 Loring Schultz

“Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.’” Mark 8:34 NLT

It is a ‘me’ world. We may choose, as Christians, to not believe that ‘it’s not about me’ but I’m afraid at certain times it certainly appears that way. One reason is we still have a sin nature, and we will fall short. Babies have a way of displaying that ‘me’ attitude, they want what they want. As precious as they are, infants are an example of our ‘me’ world. Christians will never shed it all this side of heaven, but Jesus instructs us if we want to follow Him, ‘we must turn from our selfish ways.’ So, it is possible to turn away with the Lord’s help and take up our cross and follow Him.

The premise for turning away from our selfish desires is to change our desires to Jesus’ desires. His desires are for us to follow His example, to be a light for others leading them to Him, to be salt to prevent decay in our society, to assist the poor, to administer justice, to pray, to love the Lord God with all our heart, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. When we put these things into practice, we begin to turn away from our selfish ways.

Our world is full of distractions and temptations from the evil one to keep us from giving up some of our desires. Some of our selfish ways we like and do not what to let them go. Not all of them are sinful, perhaps most are not, but they are keeping us from fully taking up our cross and following Jesus. I read a comment recently in a daily devotional I was reading that said, ‘It’s not OK to hold Satan’s hand and Jesus’ hand at the same time. You must let go of one of them.’ So, the question is, what selfish ways do we need to let go of. It’s time to turn away!

Bible Studies

“Godly Leaders Study and Teach God’s Word” Godly Leadership: the book of Nehemiah

November 3, 2024November 1, 2024 Loring Schultz

“For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.” Ezra 7:10 ESV

“They read from the Book of the Law of God and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand each passage.” Nehemiah 8:8 NLT

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

A new character is introduced this week, Ezra the scribe. Ezra is first mentioned in the book of Nehemiah in chapter 8 after the completion of the walls, but he had returned from Babylon 14 years before Nehemiah. He had led the second return of exiles safely back to Jerusalem. Herbert Lockyer in his book ‘All the Men of the Bible’ describes Ezra as “A man of deep humility and self-denial. A man of great learning with a fervent zeal for God’s honor. A man of great trustworthiness. A man anxious to commend his cause to others. A man who knew how to pray. A man deeply grieved over the sins of his people. A man who spared no pain to bring the people to repentance.” (1) Ezra will lead the reading of Law but before we get there, we don’t want to overlook chapter 7.

Jerusalem at this time was scarcely populated. Nehemiah took immediate action to repopulate the city. Nehemiah found the genealogical record of the first exiles to return. This record was compiled by Ezra back in Babylon although he was not part of the first return. Nehemiah called the nobles, the leaders of the city, and all citizens to come and register with the genealogical record. This would ensure a pure ancestry in the city of Jerusalem. “So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the Temple servants, and some of the common people settled near Jerusalem. The rest of the people returned to their own towns throughout Israel.” (Neh.7:73 nlt)

The repopulated city gathered on October 8, 444 B.C. New Years Day on the civil calendar known as the Feast of Trumpets. Ezra was asked to bring the book of the Law of Moses to be read for all who were assembled in the square. “Ezra stood on the platform in full view of all the people. When they saw him open the book, they all rose to their feet.” (Neh.8:5 nlt) The people stood in honor of God’s Word as Ezra read it. Some churches today observed that as well.

There are other godly leaders represented here in chapter 8 besides Ezra and Nehemiah, and that would be the Levites. The Levites were assistants to the priests and were also teachers of the Law. They helped explain the Law that was being read to the people for better understanding. The Levites also likely translated the words from Hebrew into Aramaic, the only language most of the people knew, due to being in Babylon for seventy years. There is a great need for godly leaders today to help others in understanding Scripture. The Holy Spirit will certainly guide you into all truth as you read the Bible, but we are all called to study Scripture for our own spiritual growth and be able to teach others. God doesn’t inspect us to be Pastors or teachers in a professional sense but to know enough to be able to give an answer for the hope you have inside you.

When the people began to fully understand the Scripture that was being read to them, there was much sorrow over their sin that they began to weep. They were truly convicted. “Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were interpreting for the people said to them, ‘Don’t mourn or weep on such a day as this! For today is a sacred day before the LORD your God.’” (Neh.8:9 nlt) The people should be rejoicing that they know and understand God’s Word. The Lord had not destroyed them as a nation, and they are on the verge of a new beginning. This called for a celebration and Nehemiah led the way by encouraging them to celebrate with food, sweet drinks, and sharing with others. “And the Levites, too, quieted the people, telling them, ‘Hush! Don’t weep! For this is a sacred day.’” (Neh.8:11 nlt)

The reading of the God’s Word sparked a revival among all the people, but especially the priests, Levites and the family leaders. They met with Ezra for greater detail of the Law. It seems evident they were studying the Law and were concerned about the Feasts of Tabernacles that was approaching. Ezra explained what was to be done, and all the people did as they were instructed. It had been a long time since Israel as nation celebrated in accordance with the Law and great joy.

Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Levites shown godly leadership in providing what the people needed most at this time, and that was the renewing of the covenant with God. God’s Word was given and explained convicting the hearts of the people to repentance. There was the repopulating of the Holy city and the reestablishing of worship. Godly leaders build a solid foundation with the Lord by prayer, studying His Word, living out that Word, and teaching it. The good hand of the Lord will always be upon them. It is noted that Ezra also had the good hand of the Lord on him as Nehemiah did as he traveled from Babylon to Jerusalem, “For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God was on him.” (Ezra7:9 esv) God’s good hand is on all leaders who are devoted to Him and lead in a godly way. May God raise up many more godly leaders in our day and in the days to come.

Read: Nehemiah 7:73-8:18 NLT – So the priests, the Levites, the – Bible Gateway

(1) Lockyer, Herbert. All the Men of the Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1958. Pg. 118