The Almost Daily Devotional

The Almost Daily Devotional

Reading

NLT Matthew 22:15 Then the Pharisees met together to think of a way to trap Jesus into saying something for which they could accuse him. 16 They decided to send some of their disciples, along with the supporters of Herod, to ask him this question: "Teacher, we know how honest you are. You teach about the way of God regardless of the consequences. You are impartial and don't play favorites. 17 Now tell us what you think about this: Is it right to pay taxes to the Roman government or not?" 18 But Jesus knew their evil motives. "You hypocrites!" he said. "Whom are you trying to fool with your trick questions? 19 Here, show me the Roman coin used for the tax." When they handed him the coin, 20 he asked, "Whose picture and title are stamped on it?" 21 "Caesar's," they replied. "Well, then," he said, "give to Caesar what belongs to him. But everything that belongs to God must be given to God." 22 His reply amazed them, and they went away.


Meditation

Who are the Pharisees and the Herodians? The Pharisees were a Jewish religious party in Palestine that emerged about 160 BC in opposition to the Sadducees. The Pharisees held that the Jewish oral tradition was as valid as the Torah. They struggled to democratize the Jewish religion, arguing that the worship of God was not confined to the Temple of Jerusalem and fostering the synagogue as an institution of worship. The Herodians were a Jewish political party who sympathized with the Herodian rulers in their general policy of government, and in the social customs which they introduced from Rome. They were at one with the Sadducees in holding the duty of submission to Rome, and of supporting the Herods on the throne (Mark 3:6; 12:13; Matt, 22:16; Luke 20:20).

Normally the Pharisees were at odds with the Herodians and the Sadducees since they represented those who focused on the temple and supporting Rome while the Pharisees were more about making the Jewish faith less dependent on the temple and were less supportive of Herod and Rome. However, their fear and opposition of Jesus was greater than their opposition to each other. In Jesus they had a common enemy.

In this situation they are putting before Jesus a question that at the time there was no good answer to give in a public setting. If Jesus said that the people should not pay taxes then he would be labeled a “Zealot” which was a Jewish sect in Judea in the first century who fought to the death against the Romans and who killed or persecuted Jews who collaborated with the Romans. This would have led to his arrest and reduced his popularity among the people. If he said they should pay taxes then this would have aligned him with those who supported the Roman rulers and the wealthy elite. This again would cause the masses that followed him to abandon him as Messiah since the Messiah was coming to free them from Rome not support it. To support Rome was to compromise with pagans and to therefore not be a pure lover of God.



Jesus is aware of what they are doing. So are most of the people in the crowd. Like the question; “Have you stopped beating your child?, just answer yes or no” There is no good answer. The crowd is most likely smiling but also interested in which one of the two “wrong” answers that Jesus will choose.

Instead Jesus, points out this is not an honest question looking for an honest answer. This is a game and not a seeking after truth. Questions can be either way. They can be real questions looking for real answers or they can just be spiritual games aimed at avoiding the truth. Then he responds with his own question.

Whose head is on the coins with which you pay your taxes? This seemed silly. Every child knew whose head was on the coin with which they paid their taxes. Just like our coins and bills, that have on our coins normally the head of some former president, the coins in the Roman empire had stamped upon them the likeness of one of the emperors of Rome. So they answered with a smirk, well of course it is Caesar.

Then Jesus turns everything around. Well the coin must belong to Caesar since it has His likeness on it. Therefore, give it back to him if he wants it. He produced it so it belongs to him. Give to God what bears His image. He produced it so that belongs to Him.

What bears God’s image? Well every Hebrew knew the answer to that question. Humanity was made in God’s image. I was made in God’s image. Therefore, don’t worry about taxes; just make sure that you give God your heart. Then you will know how to handle taxes in a God pleasing way.

This answer did not please the Zealots, the Herodians, the Sadducees, or the Pharisees. It avoided the trap. It also raised the real question. Would they stop playing games and begin seeking God. Life should not be lived as a game. Politics is not a game. Our relationship with God is not a game. We need to face reality and make sure we are sincerely seeking God and truth in every sphere of our lives. This is what Jesus the Messiah confronted them with that day and that is what He is confronting us with today.

Christocentric – Jesus is the Messiah and the wisdom of God in the flesh. He should always be sought out when we have honest answers for He is the wisdom who can answer them.

Moral: God must always come before country or empire.

Eternal: All the nation states and empires of history will perish. They all will become dust. In the end of history there is only on monarchy that reigns supreme over all peoples, tribes, cultures, nations, and empires. That one true eternal monarch is our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no end to His kingdom or to Him. We are citizens of that one eternal kingdom and secure within it. We will enjoy and benefit from the rule of God forever and ever. Amen

Prayer

Dear Lord, help me not be playing games with you. Help me not be making excuses about why I don’t follow you. Help me recognize you have made me and recreated me in the new birth in your image. Your desire is that I be like you. Help me have this as the ultimate desire of my heart. Amen


Contemplation
You are mine!

Action
What games am I playing with God? Where am I using “questions” to avoid truth? Where am I holding back giving myself to God? Does God control my vote?

The Almost Daily Devotional

Almost Daily Devotional

Reading

NLT 1 Thessalonians 1:1 This letter is from Paul, Silas, and Timothy. It is written to the church in Thessalonica, you who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May his grace and peace be yours. 2 We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. 3 As we talk to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and your continual anticipation of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 We know that God loves you, dear brothers and sisters, and that he chose you to be his own people. 5 For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true. And you know that the way we lived among you was further proof of the truth of our message. 6 So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord. 7 As a result, you yourselves became an example to all the Christians in Greece. 8 And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Greece, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don't need to tell them about it, 9 for they themselves keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the true and living God. 10 And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God's Son from heaven-- Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment.


Meditation

Thessalonica is a seaport in northeastern Greece on an inlet of the Aegean Sea The original name of this city was Therma; and that part of the Macedonian shore on which it was situated retained through the Roman period the designation of the Thermaic Gulf. Cassander the son of Antipater rebuilt and enlarged Therma, and named it after his wife Thessalonica, the sister of Alexander the Great. St. Paul visited Thessalonica (with Silas and Timothy) during his second missionary journey, and introduced Christianity there. The first scene of the apostle's work at Thessalonica was the synagogue. (Acts 17:2,3) It is stated that the ministrations among the Jews continued for three weeks. Not that we are obliged to limit to this time the whole stay of the apostle at Thessalonica. A flourishing church was certainly formed there; and the epistles show that its elements were more Gentile than Jewish.

Paul seems to have two attitudes that dominate in his relationship with other believers. One he thanks God for them being believers and what they bring to the kingdom of God through their gifts and talents and second he constantly prays for God to help them become more like Christ.

Paul specifically thanks God for the believers in Thessalonica for their activities inspired by their faith, their labors of joyful love, and their patient hope in the return of Christ. Here we see that Paul defines what God is doing in them as a matter of faith, hope, and love. Paul is able to see God at work in the lives of the imperfect believers in Thessalonica. He is able to see the glass half full as well as to call them to fill it more. His optimism is not based on his faith in the believers of Thessalonica but in God who is at work in them.

Paul also affirms his faith that they are truly the objects of God’s eternal love in Jesus Christ. He remembers as he preached to them that there was a true movement of God’s Spirit among them and that they gave a clear profession of faith. The Thessalonians had seen God’s power in miracles performed by the Holy Spirit but also in the lives of love demonstrated by the apostolic missionary team that had brought them the message. This team had become an incarnation of the gospel and its power.

In light of the power of the Holy Spirit in deeds of wonder and in the lives of the missionaries that brought them the gospel of Jesus they had joyfully believed even though it had brought upon them persecution and hardships. Here we see pain and joy combined. There is an ability of human beings to have sorrow and holy glee at the same time. They became like Jesus and the missionaries who had both been blessed by being allowed to suffer persecution for righteousness sake.

Now, the Thessalonians were an example of faith under fire and were providing an example to believers throughout Greece and around the world. Because they were a center of trade and travel, what happened in Thessalonica traveled around the world through the travelers and traders that went through the city.

Their faith is one in which they have not just added Jesus into their religious lives but have allowed the Lord Jesus Christ to totally dominate their thinking. They were willing to turn against the ultimate concerns of their lives before Jesus in order to make the Lord Jesus the ultimate concern of their lives. This reality, lived out in their daily existence, had become the talk of the world and a demonstration of the truth of the gospel.

Christocentric - Christ must become our operating system and not just another program we add into our lives. Our true loyalty to the Lord Jesus Christ is measured to the degree we abandon our “idols” that is whatever we value or trust in more than we do the person of Messiah Jesus. Christians who do not abandon their idols lose the opportunity to become world changers because they are worldly.


Moral - Faith determines what tasks we find important enough to do, inspires in us a working faith, and allows our actions to endure disappointments because we optimistically believe that history is governed by Christ. We are called to have faith, love, and hope be the dominate attitudes of our actions.

Eternal - For Christians death and the end of the world do not hold fear. We know that at these great moments in our personal and world history we will be embraced by God and fully accepted in our Lord Jesus Christ. We have joyful anticipation of what the future holds for us in the eternal kingdom of God.

Prayer
Lord Jesus help me to abandon my idols in the way the believers in Thessalonica did when they heard the good news. Let me break my allegiance with the world system of unbelief and give to me a stronger and more fruitful faith.

Contemplation
Abandon all and follow me

Action
Today let me thank God for my brothers and sisters in Christ and take note of their virtues instead of their vices. If I find myself complaining or gossiping about others let me stop and make a compliment about the person. Let me look for and specifically define how God is working in the lives of those around me and praise God for them in this light.

Unity Among Christians

Reading
NLT Psalm 133:1 A song for the ascent to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.

How wonderful it is, how pleasant, when brothers live together in harmony! 2 For harmony is as precious as the fragrant anointing oil that was poured over Aaron's head, that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe. 3 Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion. And the LORD has pronounced his blessing, even life forevermore.

Meditation:

Literal: The traditional view of this passage was that it was written by David and sang by people as they came to the three great feasts to Jerusalem to worship. The brothers here would have been all the different tribes who would be coming together to worship the Lord at His temple. Some believe that this psalm was sung by Levites as they returned from exile in Babylon to the temple.

The focus is on how much pleasure comes when there is unity, peace, and tranquility in human relationships. It “smells” right and brings joy to individuals, families, tribes, and nations. The Psalmist also describes it as refreshing dew and then speaks of the most northern parts of the country which is illustrated by Mount Hermon and the Southern with Mount Zion. Both Israel and Judea united seems to be part of the focus.

The blessing that is upon God’s covenant people is that they have in the Messiah been given everlasting life. Harmony is found in remembering the one eternal life that all of God’s people share.

Christocentric - It was at Mount Hermon that Jesus said that He would build His Church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. It was in Jerusalem that He would die to redeem His church. He came to make both believing Jews and believing Gentiles one people and to knock down the wall of division between them. He has said that when we live in unity and harmony then the world will know that He was sent by the Father. The heart of Christ is that His people not be divided into fractions but that we love one another as he loved us.

Moral: Why are there wars among Christian brothers? Because of our envy, self righteousness, and greed there is division and discord. Our lack of unity as the people of God creates a spiritual “stink” that repels people from the Christian faith. It is much easier to find fault than to give praise. It is much easier to condemn than to encourage. We must strive to keep the unity that has been given to us through the Holy Spirit and strive to be peace makers with all people, especially those who believe.

Eternal – The full wonder and experience of this passage will be seen by God’s people when we gather at the throne of heaven. We will be one people with one shepherd. We will have love for Jesus and love for one another. Part of the kingdom of heaven will be perfect human relationships. We will be from many nations, tribes, cultures, and colors; but we will be one people who will know harmony, peace, joy, and love between each other.

Prayer: Lord, I thank you that you have created unity among believers through the Holy Spirit. I ask you Lord to make me a peace maker both within your Church and outside of the church. Allow my heart to seek harmony in all my human relationships. Keep my mouth from saying hurtful things. Let me seek to find the good in every relationship and the courage to rebuke when needed to maintain the peace. Lord help your people to avoid division that we may not cause the world to speak evil of you.

Contemplation: Love one another as I have loved you

Action: I will seek to understand others and to be slow to speak, quick to listen, and slow to anger. I will strive to keep my mouth from speaking judgment or condemnation on fellow Christians.