Jesus – Page 30 – Word for the Soul

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

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.

Bible Studies

SOLA GRATIA (Grace Alone)

January 14, 2024January 13, 2024 Loring Schultz

“But no man can be thoroughly humbled until he knows that his salvation is utterly beyond his own powers, devices, endeavors, will, and works, and depends entirely on the choice, will, and work of another, namely, of God alone.” Martin Luther

The third of the Five Solas to be recognized during the Reformation period was ‘sola gratia’ or (grace alone). In the early sixteenth century there was an emphasis on church teaching of salvation by works of merit and indulgences. Scripture says we are saved by grace alone as Paul writes in the book of Ephesians, “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) The first reformer of the sixteenth century was Martin Luther and he had said, “Our salvation depends entirely on the choice, will, and work of another, namely, of God alone.” We cannot take any credit leading to our salvation, God has done it all.

Yes, ‘for by grace we been saved through faith,’ but the reality is God gives us the faith to believe in His Son through the Holy Spirit as He draws us to Himself. Our regeneration proceeds our faith. It is by His grace that He grants us the faith to believe in Jesus for we would never do this on our accord. Paul, the apostle, quoted from the Old Testament in the book of Romans, “as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.’” (3:10-12 ESV) God’s saving grace towards sinners is His granting unmerited favor upon us. When God’s saving grace is applied to us it cannot fail to accomplish the purpose for which it was given.

The saving grace that God bestows on His chosen cannot be understood or appreciated until we have a full knowledge of what we have been saved from. There is not one of us who has a right to eternal life, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Ro. 3:23 ESV) We are all sinners in Adam, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” (Ro. 5:12 ESV) And the punishment for sin is death, physical death and spiritual death being eternally being separated from God in the lake of fire. “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Rev. 20:15 ESV)

As we come to accept that there is nothing we could ever do to find favor with God to enter into His presence, we should find ourselves in continued praise and worship for what He has done for us through His grace. God has chosen to love us in Christ, underserving sinners that we are. As Paul writes again in Romans, “For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” (Ro. 5:17 ESV) May we chose to live for Him as He chose us to live with Him.

Devotionals

With Authority

January 9, 2024January 6, 2024 Loring Schultz

“When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law.” Matthew 7:28, 29 NLT

Authority is power based on the right to command. Those in positions of authority have the right to command those who are under their authority. Countless are the positions of authority in the world. Anyone in charge of anything is in authority. Most notable are those in governing positions from presidents, prime ministers, members of legislatures and parliaments down to local assemblies. Outside of governing, there are others with authority such as school teachers and administrators, a foreman over a group of workers, coaches and team captains, any managerial position in the vast businesses such as retail management where I have spent most of life, and the list continues. For all who hold positions of authority, do we realized that we do not have any real authority at all? Authority is power based on the right to command in which none of us have that right. The right to command belongs to God alone.

Paul, writing to the Romans, said the following, “Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.” (Ro. 13:1 NLT) Again, those of us who are in authority, do we realize that we have been placed there by God?

When Jesus completed His teaching to the disciples in the Sermon on the Mount, those who witnessed and heard Jesus’ words were astonished. It was described as teaching with real authority. The people in the crowd often heard the teaching of the scribes. The scribes referred to tradition and quoting noteworthy rabbis. They presented nothing as coming from their own authority. A. B. Bruce is explained it simply, “The scribes spoke by authority, while Jesus spoke with authority.”

As Christians we have the authority to claim and preach the word of God as truth. Authority given to us by the one with the authority to do so, God the Father. Jesus spoke with authority as He is God the Son. He summed up His message on the mountain with an example of two builders. If one will obey the words Jesus spoke, he will be like a wise builder who built his house on a firm foundation, but the one who does not obey Jesus’s teaching will be like a foolish builder who builds his house on sand. Needless to say, one will stand and one will not. These words from the one who spoke ‘with authority.’

Bible Studies

SOLUS CHRISTUS (Christ Alone)

January 7, 2024January 6, 2024 Loring Schultz

Last week we looked at the first of the Five Solas of the Reformation, ‘Sola Scriptura’ or scripture alone. The Bible being sufficient for all we need in the way of Salvation records the truth of Jesus’s own words in the gospel of John, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.’ (Jn.14:6) The second solas is ‘Solus Christus’ which states that salvation is only through Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ alone. There is no other way to get to the Father except through Jesus and He doesn’t need any of our help to get us there. He is totally sufficient.

During the Reformation period, the church’s greatest need was to regain its focus on Christ as the head of the church. With that accomplished through Luther and the rest of the Reformers, the next step was to ensure the teaching of Scripture that Christ alone through faith was the only necessary means of salvation. Scripture confirms that Jesus is fully God and fully man making it possible for Him to be the only bridge between God and man. It was important for the Reformers to establish the Divine nature of Christ and His Human nature. The Reformers affirmed “The statement of faith made by the Council of Chalcedon (451). It reaffirms the Christological definitions of Nicaea and Constantinople and formally repudiates the errors of Nestorius and Eutyches. It declares Christ to be one Person in two natures, the Divine of the same substance as the Father, the human of the same substance as us; these are united unconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, and inseparably.” (1)

Jesus as the only Savior, and the only way to God is the predicted Messiah in the Old Testament who was to come. The Hebrew word for Messiah is ‘mashiach,’ which means ‘anointed one.’ ‘Mashiach’ translated into Greek as ‘christos” translated into English as ‘Christ.’ Therefore Jesus Christ is the ‘Anointed One, Jesus the Messiah, the Savior.’

Note some verses from Scripture stating ‘Christ alone’ in Salvation. Jesus says to Thomas, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” (Jn. 14:6 NLT) And Jesus speaking to Nathanael after He called him to be His disciple said to him, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.” (Jn. 1:51 NLT) Jesus is referring to the book of Genesis and Jacob’s dream of a ladder descending from heaven. Jesus, the Messiah, is the ladder for access between God and man.

All of us are lost in our sin estranged from God with no help of reconciliation on our own. The prophet Isaiah wrote, “All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all.” (Is. 53:6 NLT) The Reformers witnessed the church falsely instructing people to secure their Salvation through indulgences and human works. Salvation is only available when full payment for our sin is paid for by the only one able to do so, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the sinless Son of God. And by faith in Christ (the ladder) and His death and resurrection, we have forgiveness of our sin and eternal life. ‘Solus Christus’ Christ alone in all sufficient for our Salvation.

(1) https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095600808

Devotionals

Are you a minister of the gospel?

January 5, 2024January 4, 2024 Loring Schultz

“Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart……..But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” 2 Corinthians 4:1, 7 ESV

How often do you think of yourself as a minister of the gospel? We think of ministers being fully trained in seminaries, going through the process of ordination, pastoring a church by presenting a sermon in formal religious attire, visiting the sick, and helping the poor in the community. These are accurate descriptions of ministers serving in local churches with some variations in seminary training, ordination, and the manner in which the worship service is conducted either formal by tradition or more a contemporary style. But overall we think of the minster as the one who does the preaching and we do the listening, and that also is accurate. But when the service is over, the ministerial duties are passed on to us.

The word ‘minister’ in its verb form is defined as ‘to give help,’ ‘to tend to the needs of someone.’ As our needs are attended to by the minister during the sermon we are to go out and tend to the needs of others as we have been encouraged and fed the good news of Jesus Christ. We may feel unqualified, even unworthy, but those who know Christ as their savior have been saved by God’s grace and mercy through faith in Christ. It is God’s undeserved gift to us, yes we are unworthy, but again it is through God’s love, grace and mercy He extends the salvation message to all and uses us to minister to those in need of salvation.

The apostle Paul writing to the church in Corinth says, “Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.” (2 Cor. 4:1 ESV) This ministry is the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ given to us. Paul further writes, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” (2 Cor. 4:7 ESV) Paul uses the illustration of ‘this treasure in jars of clay’ to encourage us that God has entrusted us with the gospel message for it will show God’s power and not ours in sharing the gospel. Jars of clay are of little value, fragile, easily broken, and replaceable, yet God has stored this valuable treasure in us. So we are not to lose heart for God will grant us the necessary means for us to carry out the work of ministry. So are you a minister of the gospel?

Devotionals

Travel lighter in the New Year

January 1, 2024December 28, 2023 Loring Schultz

“Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:29-30 NLT

We are rapidly approaching the eve of another New Year. Looking back throughout the current year, what burdens have you carried that were too much for you to bear? How often have you felt you were walking alone through all your difficulties? You imagine to yourself how much easier life would be if you had someone walking beside you helping to carry your burdens. But not just anyone, it needs to be someone who knows you intimately. One who understands your feelings, knows your hurts, knows your strengths and weaknesses and still loves you, one who will continue to walk with you helping and guiding you along the way. There is such a one and His burden is light.

Jesus teaching the way of salvation in the gospel of Matthew said the following, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Mt. 11:28 NLT) Those in Jesus’s day as in our day struggled in finding the meaning of life, finding happiness and contentment, working exhaustively in trying everything and anything new looking for hope and that pie in the sky feeling. The truth is, what Jesus offers is more than an unrealistic pie in the sky moment, but a true reality of a light burden in this life as we trust in Him and walk with Him.

Jesus uses the example of being yoked with Him as two farming animals are yoked together with a wooden bar. The purpose was to distribute the weight evenly, lining them together in order to work efficiently with no extra burden on one or the other. The burden of plowing was made much easier by the wooden bar, and our burden in life is made much easier when we are yoked together with Christ. He knows us intimately, He is gentle, He will guide us and supply our need along the way, and it is where we can find rest only in Him. Jesus says, “For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Allow yourself to be yoked with Christ in 2024 and beyond and may we all travel lighter in the New Year!

Happy New Year 2024!

Devotionals

Contentment

December 27, 2023December 26, 2023 Loring Schultz

“….. for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.” Philippians 4:11 NASB

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

Contentment by definition is “a state of happiness and satisfaction.” Are you able to say you are always in a state of happiness and satisfaction? How about most of the time? Perhaps half of the time? Maybe some of the time? Or could it be that you are never in a state of happiness and satisfaction?

What is your foundation you rely for contentment (your state of happiness and satisfaction)? Is it money, a successful job, an eloquent home, a luxurious automobile, a stable relationship with that certain someone, a secure family life, or even a quiet evening sitting on the beach watching the sunset? These things and similar desires will grant us happiness and satisfaction for a while. The problem lies in the fact that our circumstances change quite often, sometimes daily, and that being the case we need a constant, unchangeable, secure entity to rely on; and that is in the person Jesus Christ, God the Son.

Paul, the apostle, knew what it was like to be poor and hungry living with minimal supplies. He also experience having an abundant supply. But his contentment didn’t depend on whether he was rich or poor. He wrote in Philippians 4:11, “for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.” His constant, unchangeable, secure entity was Jesus. Paul says “I can do all things through Him (Jesus) who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:13 NASB) It is true you can be in a state of happiness and satisfaction even when things all around you are in disarray through Jesus Christ. That’s Contentment! True Contentment is only found in Jesus.

Devotionals

The Day After; A Christmas Letdown

December 26, 2023December 22, 2023 Loring Schultz

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 KJV

So much emphasis is put on one day of the year, Christmas Day. Traditionally it is known as the ‘hustle and bustle’ of Christmas. Concerts, plays, and musicals performed by preschoolers up to the professional level take our time either by preparing or attending these holiday events. The purchasing of gifts for family, friends, associates, and that special loved one adds to our time. Christmas is also the baking season. Who doesn’t enjoy their favorite Christmas cookies this time of year? There are parties to go to and meals to prepare, especially that Christmas dinner. With all the preparations during the Christmas season for celebrating one day many people are glad when it is over, but many also suffer a letdown for a day only last twenty-four hours and it is soon gone.

The day after Christmas can be a depressing time if your emphasis is only on the day itself. Although Christmas day itself and the weeks leading up to it can be a time of goodwill, joy, and peace even among those who hardly agree with each other, this will soon past. The struggles of everyday life continue into the New Year. Is it possible to avoid an after Christmas letdown? Are we able to maintain the joy and peace of Christmas on the day after and all through the year? Yes we are!

The apostle John penned the most familiar verse in the Bible, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (Jn.3:16 KJV) When our emphasis is on, as we say, ‘the reason for the season’ and we have come to trust Jesus as our Savoir, we as Christians should never have an after Christmas letdown. We may miss the cookies and time with family and friends, but we have the presence of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit all through the year.

For those of you have not trusted in Jesus for Salvation, put your faith in Him by confessing and repenting your sins this Christmas and avoid your after Christmas Letdown.

Devotionals

Christ’s Gift of Mercy to Us

December 25, 2023December 22, 2023 Loring Schultz

“Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people.” Hebrews 2:17 NLT

Christmas Day is a day of exchanging gifts with family, friends, and loved ones, and sometimes with not-so-loved ones. I’m sure we have all experienced ‘should I give so and so a gift this year?’ Whatever our reasoning is, it defeats the purpose of the true meaning and spirit of Christmas. There should never be a standard to live up to in order to receive a gift. If that were the case, most of us would not have anything under our tree on Christmas morning, myself included. When we do receive a gift from someone unexpected, we are surprised, yet thankful, and at times embarrassed and even feel unworthy. We may feel a need to reciprocate, but nothing seems adequate in response.

Such should be our sentiment to Jesus for His gift of mercy to us. Jesus left His throne in heaven to come down to earth for us in a special way for a special purpose. The New Testament book of Hebrews says, “Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die…… Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God.” (Heb. 4:14a, 17a NLT) Christ’s gift of mercy to us is His becoming our faithful High Priest offering Himself as a sacrifice for our sin once and for all. Jesus was faithful to God the Father’s required payment for sin, a perfect and holy sacrifice. “He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.” (1 Jn. 2:2 NLT)

This Christmas let us remind ourselves as one loved or not-so-loved there is one gift we could never re-gift, the sacrifice of the Christ child born that early Christmas morning. Let us also remind ourselves there are no ‘not-so-loved’ with God, “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (Jn. 3:16 NLT)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!