Devotions

God looked down upon a sin-sick world of people bound in prison houses of fear and despair, and he sent his own Son. Jesus came to earth, taking on the frailty of human flesh, and told all who would listen, “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, NKJV).

The invitation of the cross is a call to every soul that is sick of sin. Jesus calls out to all who are burdened with binding chains, powerful habits and besetting sins, “Come to me now with all your heavy burdens. There is no other way but through my cross.” 

Jesus died on the cross not only to forgive sin but also to break its wearying power over us. 

You see, sin wearies the flesh. It saps away all that is good, kind and precious. It hardens the heart, destroying peace and causing guilt, sorrow and shame. It consumes the mind’s thoughts, weakening and darkening the soul. Sin brings on fear, and, worst of all, it shuts off all communion with God. 

If I were to preach in many churches today about the demands of the cross with its death to all lusts and worldly pleasures, the crowds would flee, just as they did when Jesus told them of the cost of following him. Such churches never even mention the cross. Instead, they pour their energies into clever meetings full of showmanship, dramatic illustrations, and sermons on how to cope with life’s problems. 

God seems to have much patience with such well-intentioned, fleshly efforts to promote the gospel. However, we cannot take God’s patience for granted. God help the ministers of these churches who refuse to warn their people to forsake their sins. 

The prophet Jeremiah lamented, “…They also strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns back from his wickedness…But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they would have turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their doings” (Jeremiah 23: 14, 22).

Jeremiah’s warning is for present-day ministers: “Bring back the cross, or the people’s blood will be upon your hands!”

In the gospel of Luke, John the Baptist describes what will happen when the gospel arrives. “As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, John answered them all, saying, ‘I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire’” (Luke 3:15-16, ESV).

John the Baptist had more revelation and insight into the gospel than any of the Old Testament prophets, and he predicted that when this gospel came, it would be a gospel of the Holy Spirit with fire. 

Jesus came with his fire and said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18). That’s the gospel, and Jesus desires to bring it to the poor and those who do not have it.

“He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19). 

The year of the Lord’s favor is known as the Jubilee year. Under the Old Testament law, every 50 years, slaves were set free and all debts were erased. It was a year of forgiveness, a year of Jubilee. People longed for this year to come, and now Jesus is saying that the gospel has come and is proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor. 

Do you know what the gospel is? It is Jubilee! It is setting the captives free! The gospel proclaims that this is the year of the Lord’s favor. It proclaims the good news that Christ has come. The Messiah is here, and the world has been turned upside down. Friends, that is what the gospel is all about. It is the good news of Jesus for our world!

What in the world could a poetic conversation between two ancient lovers have to do with my daily life? I believe quite a lot. 

King Solomon’s bride ask him to “Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom” (Song of Solomon 2:15, ESV). While she was most probably imploring Solomon to watch out for and remove the obstacles to their developing relationship, she highlights a truth that carries over to our lives as passionate followers of Jesus. It isn’t the big “in your face” attacks that derail us; it’s the little daily inconveniences that get us off track.

When we encounter “in your face” spiritual opposition, we know what to do. These are the proverbial lions and bears. They’re big, ugly, and hungry, and we know they want to kill us. We pray, fast and ask others to join us as we ask God for a breakthrough. 

Who’s afraid of a fox, though? More than a danger, they’re sneaky and a nuisance. It’s these daily aggravations that can steal our joy. No, we don’t look for the devil behind every bush. However, it has been my experience that the enemy often sneaks in rather than roaring at the door.

A couple has cross words just as they are walking out of the door for work. A young professional woman endures another annoying slight from her boss. Your child misses the bus (again). Car trouble (again). An airline strike causes you to miss an important meeting. A stomach bug prevents a young man you met at the gym from connecting over coffee. A husband or wife leaves town to meet with a ministry leader only to receive a call within minutes that his or her son has fallen and broken his arm. The list goes on.

What do we need to do to prevent the foxes of inconvenience, frustration and worry from stealing our joy? 

Remember that everything has a spiritual side. This reality doesn’t mean that every inconvenience is a demonic attack, but it does mean that our reaction to it determines whether we will walk forward in victory. Let worship be your go-to response (see Ephesians 5:19). Let weariness and worry bow the knee to prayer (see Ephesians 6:18). The Spirit will guard your mind and prevent those fiery darts from finding their mark in your heart (see Ephesians 6:16).

So join with me today in determining that you won’t let the little foxes distract you from the beauty of serving Jesus.

^{Mark Renfroe and his wife, Amy, have been involved in field missions work for 30 years. Mark served as the area director for Assemblies of God World Missions and currently serves as the chief missions officer for World Challenge.}

“In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, ‘Flee like a bird to your mountain, for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart’”(Psalm 11:1-2, ESV).

Psalm 11 starts with a problem and ends with a promise. In between, it addresses three questions we have about our troubling darkness and the assaults that come upon us.

When we are in need, we seek the Lord’s face for the light of his countenance to show us a way forward. He is our reliable source when we’re confused, drained, and overwhelmed by the dark. David, the author of this psalm, knew he had a place to go in his darkness. He opened by writing, “In the Lord I take refuge.” David was telling us we have hope of escape in our time of suffering and difficulty, and the Lord is the safe one to whom we can bring our cries. 

It is one thing to suffer through times of darkness when we bring it on ourselves through a lifestyle of sinful behaviors. In that case, we expect arrows to come. For the upright in heart, however, endlessly suffering in the dark is troubling to the soul. 

What do we do when we are endlessly shot with arrows in the dark? Like David, we seek a haven of safety in God. David was resolute in trusting the Lord rather than fleeing. This shows us how it is possible for us to worship in the midst of our unending dark. 

Wherever you find yourself today, whether triumphing over difficulties or in the midst of a test, you can fly away to the high place God has made for you in his presence, away from all fear and despondency and into his holy temple where his unlimited power is available to you. “For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face” (Psalm 11:7).

To all who suffer and despair, his joy will come; his hope will sustain, and his grace will cover and carry you. You will emerge from the dark with the strength of victory to his great glory. 

^{This devotional has been adapted from Gary Wilkerson’s book, The Altar of Our Hearts: An Expository Devotional on the Psalms.}

The sin of idolatry brought down God’s awful wrath on his own people. It angered him more than any other sin in the Old Testament, so much that he declared, “The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke me to anger” (Jeremiah 7:18, NKJV).

This is God’s declaration against idolatry in the Old Testament, and he hates idolatry just as much today. It brings down his wrath on any generation, including this modern one. 

A new idolatry is sweeping across our world right now. No, we don’t see people kneeling down before carved images anymore; instead, this modern idolatry seduces multitudes with its subtlety and cleverness, yet it angers God more than any Old Testament idolatry. 

“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:6-8).

This “other gospel” that Paul mentions is a message of salvation without the cross. The great idolatry of our day is the casting aside of the message of the cross of Jesus Christ. The cross, including its demands and hopes, is the very heart of the gospel. Any worship, any fellowship, anything calling itself a church is blatant idolatry if the cross is not at its center. Such worship is of another spirit entirely and God will have nothing to do with it. 

Without the cross, all that is left is chaff, a perverted gospel, something from the pit of hell. It is more insulting to the Lord than the idolatry of Israel. 

Christ said, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to myself” (John 12:32). This “lifting up from the earth” that Jesus mentions is his crucifixion. He was lifted up before the whole world on the cross, an image of his great sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, let’s set our hearts on the cross of Jesus Christ, the true and living gospel.