Tag: Religion

Jesus Among Our Other gods

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals2 Comments

Idolatry

When my schedule allows, I attend a local Pastor’s luncheon. It’s purpose is to encourage, pray for, and minister to pastors in Wise County. We usually gather at a local pastor’s church, have lunch, and hear a word of encouragement from a member of the group.

A Trip to India

Yesterday, we heard from two pastors who just returned from India. Through their preaching many were saved, challenged, and taught. There are many things I could share with you about their trip, but one thing that stuck out was the Hindu idea of many gods.

As they ministered to the people, they quickly realized there was an openness to hearing about Jesus. Not only was there an openness to hear about Him, but there was an openness to worshipping Him. Sounds like a win, and it was, until they realized the people weren’t turning from their gods. They were just adding Jesus to the long list of gods they currently worshipped.

Their message then shifted slightly. They began to explicitly denounce the Hindu idea of worshipping multiple gods and told the people to turn from their gods to Jesus. People listened and acted. They turned from idol worship to Jesus. Many families removed idols from their house, smashing them at the local church. For the first time, these people were truly worshipping Jesus. Praise God!

The American Church

The American church is similar to Hinduism. Just like they are willing to add Jesus to their list of gods, we are also willing to add Jesus to our list of gods. The only difference is that we are not as open about it.

We, in America, are fine with Jesus as long as we don’t have to give up anything. For that reason, we have placed Jesus right alongside our other gods. Pornography, sexual satisfaction, drugs, drunkenness, materialism, power, status, acceptance, approval, family, and sports are some of the gods we worship. As long as we can add Jesus to the mix, we are fine saying we are a Christian.

Exclusive Worship

Jesus, however, demands our exclusive worship. In Exodus 20:3, we read,

You shall have no other gods before me.

If we are going to turn to Jesus, we must turn away from other gods. We must give them up.

Conclusion

So then, the message these pastors preached to those in India is also a message needed in America. We need to quit putting Jesus among our other gods and worship Him exclusively.

Question for Reflection

  1. Are you putting Jesus among other gods, or are you worshipping Him exclusively?

Resource

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iOS 7 and the Glory of God

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals2 Comments

Homescreen

Yesterday I updated my phone to iOS 7. Apple’s newest operating system for mobile devices. It is stunning! A remarkable work of design. It boasts a simple, elegant, and clean interface.

While Apple’s purpose is not to bring glory to God through their newest OS, that is what it does.

How?

God is a Creator, a Designer. He designed and created this world. Through His hands a stunning and beautiful world was made. Its beauty, its majesty, its amazing scenes, and breath taking settings bring glory to God.

Through His hands we were made as well. In His image we were made, which means He endowed us with His abilities of design and creation.

When we create or design, we use what God has given us and we bring Him glory. Christians are not the only one’s who bring Him glory when they create, everyone does, even Apple.

Conclusion

So the next time you pull your iPhone out of your pocket and slide it open, think about God’s design and creation, and give Him glory – praise Him, worship Him, and thank Him.

Question for Reflection

  1. Do you believe things we design bring glory to God?

 

 

Why Should We Put Our Faith In Jesus?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals5 Comments

Faith

Lately, I have been writing about the characteristics of True Faith (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4). Reading those posts, you might think: Why should we put our faith in Jesus? That’s an honest question that deserves an honest answer.

Why Should We Put Our Faith In Jesus?

(1) He is the God sent Savior.

It was prophesied in Isaiah 35 that the blind, deaf, lame, and mute would be healed when God came to save His people. Scripture is fulfilled in Matthew 15 when Jesus heals the crowd because the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, and the mute speak. These miracles point to Jesus being the God sent Savior.

We should confidently put our faith in the One God sent to save the world.

(2) He is Compassionate. 

For three days Jesus ministered to the crowd. Providing healing for the sick and hurting. When it was time for them to go home, Jesus realized many had not eaten for several days. He didn’t want to send them home with their supplies depleted and stomachs empty for fear they wouldn’t make it.

What does He do?

He throws a Divine Picnic where He feeds four thousand men, not including women and children.

Jesus’ actions teach us that He provides. Not only does He provide for our spiritual needs but also our physical needs.

Jesus’ as our Provider doesn’t mean we will be rich or nothing bad will happen to us. It does mean, however, He will provide what we need. We can trust He will provide because He is compassionate – He cares for and loves us.

Since Jesus is compassionate, taking care of our needs, we should confidently put our faith in Him.

(3) He is the All Sovereign and Powerful God of the Universe. 

Jesus’ provision – healing the sick and hurting, and feeding the hungry – point to His power and sovereignty over all things.

Since Jesus is sovereign and all powerful, and able to work out His plan. A plan that involves the defeat of sin, Satan, and death. We should confidently put our faith in Him.

Conclusion

Jesus’ healing of the Gentile crowd and feeding of the four thousand from Matthew 15 gives us the confidence we need to put our faith in Jesus. It’s there we learn

Jesus is the compassionate all sovereign and powerful God sent Savior.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Do you recognize Jesus as the compassionate all sovereign and powerful God sent Savior?
  2. Do these characteristics encourage you to place your faith in Jesus?

Resources

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Post developed from my sermon The Faith of the Canaanite Crowd

A Prayer for Boldness

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Pastoral3 Comments

The Prayer

After Peter and John were picked up, examined, and threatened by the authorities for preaching and healing in Jesus’ name, they gathered with their friends to report what happened. Not only did they relay the events, but they also prayed together.

Their Prayer

When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said,

“Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,

“‘Why did the Gentiles rage,
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers were gathered together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed’—

for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4:23-31, ESV)

Boldness

Their prayer is astounding. It is unlike most prayers heard in the American church. It is deeply theological, and it is asking for something most churches aren’t – boldness.

Boldness is a term lost in today’s church. Social and political pressures, along with the radical secularization our country is undergoing, weighs heavily on today’s church. Instead of pushing back, the church is caving under the pressure. The gospel is changed to accommodate current thought when it should be the other way around.

Increasingly, the boldness to stand on biblical principles is fading in the church.

Instead of taking a stand, we are attempting to do what can’t be done – accommodate to the culture.

Accommodating to society and remaining faithful to the gospel is impossible.

The early church knew accommodation wasn’t possible. As well as they knew opposition was inevitable. It was apart of God’s plan. Rather than avoid it by catering to the rulers and elites, they asked the Lord to strengthen them to be bold witnesses. May that be our prayer today.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Do you pray for boldness?
  2. Are you catering to societal pressures or are you standing strong?

Resource

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What is True Faith? | Part 4

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical1 Comment

Faith

What is true faith? We talk about faith all the time. When we call someone to follow Jesus, we tell them to have faith in Him. When someone is struggling, we encourage them to exercise faith. We use salvation and faith interchangeable. Faith is a word we use all the time, but what does it mean? For the next few weeks I will answer that question.

The Faith of the Canaanite Woman

The Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21-28 serves as an excellent example of faith. Over the next few days we will glean four things faith is from her story.

(4) True Faith is Dependent

The Canaanite woman knew she needed Jesus. She couldn’t help her child. Nor could anyone else help her. She knew only Jesus could heal her.

Those who exercise true faith, know they need Jesus as well. They know they can’t do it on their own. They humbly recognize they are sinners who need Jesus.

They, however, not only depend on Jesus for their righteous, but also for everything they have in life. They recognize everything is given by Jesus.

The Content of True Faith

Continuing to build our definition of true faith, we see:

  • True faith believes – It specifically believes Jesus is Lord and the Son of David. He is our authority and the only way to a reconciled relationship with the Father.
  • True faith is persistent – It continues to go after Jesus not allowing anything to dissuade it or act as a barrier.
  • True faith is humble – It recognizes its place realizing we are sinners who deserve God’s punishment not His grace.
  • True faith is dependent – It not only depends on Jesus for salvation but for everything in life as well.

Question for Reflection

  1. Do you recognize everything you have including your salvation is given by Jesus?
  2. Are you dependent on Jesus in every area of your life?

Resources

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Post adapted from my most recent sermon The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

What is True Faith? | Part 3

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals4 Comments

Faith

What is true faith? We talk about faith all the time. When we call someone to follow Jesus, we tell them to have faith in Him. When someone is struggling, we encourage them to exercise faith. We use salvation and faith interchangeable. Faith is a word we use all the time, but what does it mean? For the next few weeks I will answer that question.

The Faith of the Canaanite Woman

The Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21-28 serves as an excellent example of faith. Over the next few days we will glean four things faith is from her story.

(3) True Faith is Humble

The woman in our story is humble. She knows her place. She knows she doesn’t have the right to sit at the table. When Jesus ignores her and tells her she is not apart of His mission, she doesn’t bite back in pride. She doesn’t get mad. She doesn’t claim special privilege or tell Jesus He isn’t fair. Instead she is humble and recognizes her place.

If we would claim faith in Jesus, we too must be humble. We must recognize our place. We must recognize we are unworthy sinners who deserve God’s punishment.

We don’t come to God in pride and say, “Hey God, do you know who I am? Do you know how good I am? Do you know how many people I have helped?” No, those who have true faith are humble. They recognize their place. They recognize who they are – sinners who deserve God’s punishment. Recognizing those things, they come to Jesus humbly.

The Content of True Faith

Continuing to build our definition of true faith, we see:

  • True faith believes – It specifically believes Jesus is Lord and the Son of David. He is our authority and the only way to a reconciled relationship with the Father.
  • True faith is persistent – It continues to go after Jesus not allowing anything to dissuade it or act as a barrier.
  • True faith is humble – It recognizes its place realizing we are sinners who deserve God’s punishment not His grace.

Question for Reflection

  1. Do you agree you are a sinner who deserves God’s punishment?

Resources

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Post adapted from my most recent sermon The Faith of a Canaanite Woman