HE HAS OUR BACKS

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble." Psalm 46:1

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From Captivity to Calling

March 18, 2025 / / 0 Comments

“So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” — Galatians 4:7

St. Patrick’s Day has always been special to me.  It is a pretty cool holiday but that is not the reason.  It was also my mom’s birthday.  She didn’t make her birthday a big deal, but she used St. Paddy’s day to make a big deal for the rest of the family.  That was the way she was… she did special things like baking a green cake for us, wearing green, and pinching us if we forgot to.  I guess that was one of the birthday privileges she exercised.

But St. Patrick’s story is not just one of shamrocks and green clothes and parades—it is a powerful testimony of redemption, transformation, and obedience to God’s calling.  St. Patrick’s true life story illustrates the gospel itself: how Christ sets us free from the captivity of sin and then calls us to share that freedom with others.

Patrick was just a teenager when raiders kidnapped him from his home in Britain and sold him into slavery in Ireland. He spent years in bondage, tending sheep on a lonely hillside. But during that time, something remarkable happened—he turned to Christ. In his own words, Patrick prayed as many as a hundred times a day, his heart awakening to the presence of God in his suffering.  He found a relationship in his loneliness that would  shape the rest of his life and even a whole country.

Eventually, he escaped and returned home. But instead of putting his past behind him and settling into a comfortable life, Patrick had a vision—he saw the Irish people calling him back, saying, “Come and walk among us again.” He knew what this dream meant: God was sending him back, not for vengeance, but for the sake of the gospel. The very people who had enslaved him were now the ones God called him to love and serve.

Patrick obeyed. He returned to Ireland, facing opposition, hardship, and danger. There were many times that it would have been easier to pack up and head back to his home, but this was his home now. Because of his perseverance his ministry brought thousands to Christ, and Ireland was forever changed. The captive had become the missionary. The lost had been found, and now he was leading others to the same Savior who had rescued him.

Patrick’s journey mirrors our own spiritual condition. Before Christ, we were enslaved—not to earthly masters, but to sin. We were in bondage, unable to free ourselves. But God, in His mercy, sent a Savior. Jesus came to set the captives free (Luke 4:18), to redeem us from slavery to sin, and to make us sons and daughters of God (Galatians 4:7).

But salvation should not be the end of the story, but the beginning. Just as Patrick was called to return to the people who had once enslaved him, we, too, are called to bring the message of Christ to those who are still in spiritual captivity. We are ambassadors representing our new home country to those in a faraway land.

Here is the challenge. Are there people in your life that are difficult to love—maybe even those who have wronged you? Are there places God is calling you to go, people who God wants you to engage, activities that God wants you to take part in, but fear is holding you back? Patrick could have stayed in his homeland, content in his own freedom, but he chose obedience over comfort.

May we do the same as Patrick. May we remember that we were once captives, but Christ has set us free. And now, He calls us to go and tell others—no matter the cost.   Next time you see someone wearing green or dressed like a leprechaun  or getting pinched, remember Patrick and his great love for others….and love others the same way.

“How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” — Romans 10:14

Real Heroes: Living with Strength, Courage, and Faith

March 11, 2025 / / 0 Comments

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love. “ — 1 Corinthians 16:13-14

I wrote this devotion based on our last B3 meeting that looked at spiritual connections with today’s superheroes. We know that the world is fascinated with superheroes. From Superman’s strength to Captain America’s unwavering moral compass, people admire characters who fight for justice, protect the weak, and make sacrifices for the greater good. But what if the qualities we admire in these heroes are actually pointing us to something greater—God’s calling for our own lives?

While we may not have capes, super speed, or indestructible shields, God has equipped us with everything we need to be real-life heroes—men of faith who stand for righteousness, defend truth, and fight against the spiritual forces of darkness.

If we look closely, we will see that almost all of the commendable traits of the superheroes  are Biblical in nature.  In some cases coincidentally and in other cases intentionally. Let’s take a look at a few.

Strength and power are Godly attributes and though the world sees strength in physical power, true strength can come in many different forms. There is a power source that sometimes the world ignores.  Isaiah 40:31 tells us, “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Samson was one of the strongest men in the Bible (probably in history). But his real strength wasn’t in his muscles but in his obedience to God. When he disobeyed God his strength left him. He was still Samson, but not the Samson he was meant to be. Like us, we are strongest when we surrender to the power of God which comes from reliance on the Holy Spirit.  Relying on God is not a show of weakness, but of strength.

Courage and boldness are also traits found in most superheroes.  When Captain America steps into battle no matter the odds he illustrates the same kinds actions that Christians are called to exhibit.  I often say that my father had fewer decisions to make than anyone I have ever known. That was because to make decisions, you have to have choices.  When it came to doing right, my father did not have to fret over his decision because he had so few choices.  Choosing what was wrong was not an option, no matter where it led.  Doing right was just right. . That takes courage.  An example of spiritual courage is standing for Christ even when it’s unpopular.  One of the most popular and well-known Bible passages can be found in Joshua 1:9 . It is addressed to one of the great heroes of the Old Testament Joshua.  “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”  This can be a rallying cry for all us who are “in Christ.

David, a young shepherd, took down a giant because he knew God was his strength.  David did not wear the armor of the world, but only the armor of God. The giant had all the greatest armor the world could provide, but as all things of the world this armor is no match for the armor that we have access to in God’s great armory- His Word.

Other important traits of today’s superheroes are integrity and righteousness.  Superman is a symbol of unwavering moral integrity, always doing what’s right.  Superman is fictional and is just written that way by a team of writers.  They create the person of Superman.  But a team of writers, whose pens were carried along by the Holy Spirit, wrote not of a fictional person but of a  larger than life figure, Christ. They did not create His story, they just relayed it.

We see in proverbs 11:13 how important integrity is. “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.” Daniel was one of those true life heroes who refused to compromise, even when it meant being on the local lion menu. He refused to protect himself with a compromise in integrity.  We might not be impressed because we know the end of the story…. but remember, he didn’t.  A real hero stands for righteousness, no matter the cost.

We also see that many superheroes make  great sacrifices to save others by putting their own lives at risk even unto death.  But their heroism is not real because they are not real.  No superhero really dies or gets hurt because they can be all better in the next edition.  But in real life we do die… we do hurt.  And there is a superhero who made  the greatest sacrifice of all for all.  That was Jesus-  and He was and is …real.  Jesus put the needs of the whole world above His own  and lived out the words found in John 15:13.  “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” But not only that, He even died for his enemies. Even fictional heroes don’t do that.  But Jesus, the true Savior, gave His life for everyone, so that anyone who accepts His sacrifice can  have eternal victory over death.

So to be superheroes in a world desperate for them, we need the armor of God.  If we are to be protected from the onslaught of the enemies in battlefield called earth we need to put on the full armor of God found in  Ephesians 6:10-18.  There we are told to armor up   because we don’t want to go into battle naked. When we used to play basketball , we sometimes split up into shirts and skins. In the battle that is raging around us, we don’t want to be skins.

The enemy on this battle doesn’t attack with laser beams or supervillains- he attacks through temptation, doubt, and fear.  So we must armor up for that.

To be a hero for Christ, we  must wear:

✅ The Belt of Truth – Stand on God’s Word, not the world’s lies.

✅ The Breastplate of Righteousness – Live with integrity.

✅ The Shoes of Peace – Bring the gospel wherever you go.

✅ The Shield of Faith – Defend against attacks of doubt.

✅ The Helmet of Salvation – Remember, your identity is in Christ.

✅ The Sword of the Spirit – Use God’s Word as your weapon.

Our challenge is to be a hero for God.  We don’t need superpowers to be a hero. We need faith, obedience, righteousnss, and courage. The world is desperate for men who will stand firm, fight for truth, and live boldly for Jesus.  Through God’s strength we can be that kind of person. Captain America once said, when he was about to battle an enemy that was said to be god, “There is  only one God, ma’am, and I’m pretty sure He doesn’t dress like that.”   God does not dress like anything in this world, and he provides us the armor necessary to fight our battles.  Let’s be people who don’t just admire heroes—let’s become one by following the greatest Hero of all: Jesus Christ.   Then we never have to be skins again on the battlefield of this world.

The Boss may come today…

March 4, 2025 / / 0 Comments

“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who remain, will be snatched away at the same time together with them in the clouds for a meeting with the Lord in the air, and thus we will be together with the Lord always. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”  1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal [must] put on immortality” (1 Cor. 15:51-53).

These are very remarkable verses that describe the snatching away of the church to meet Christ in the air.  This event is imminent, meaning that it could come at any time. It is unlike the second coming of Christ which needs certain events to take place before it can take place.

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It is important to remember that rapture and second coming are similar but separate events. Both involve Jesus’ returning. Both are end-times events. The rapture is the return of Christ in the clouds to remove all believers from the earth before the time of God’s wrath. The second coming is the return of Christ to the earth to bring the tribulation to an end and to defeat the Antichrist and his evil world empire.

That is a very brief summary of two cataclysmic end-time events, but the above verses have a very important place in our lives today.  Even though the rapture will come on us without warning and takes place at the beginning of the seven-year tribulation (some disagree, but they are not writing here this morning, so they can save their thoughts for their own devotionals), there are things that are going on in our world give us hints that the rapture could be soon upon us.

The word “maranatha” is a Syriac expression that means: “our Lord comes.” It was used as a greeting in the early church. When believers gathered or parted, they didn’t say “hello” or “goodbye” but “Maranatha!”  It is too bad that Christians don’t have that same upward look today.  How it would change the church if we all looked at the return of Christ with certainty and conviction.  How differently would we look at all those around us.  images-28.jpegI have a friend who says, “See you here, there (pointing upward), or in air,”  instead of goodbye.  It is really the three choices two believers have- they will see each other on this earth, or in heaven, or in transit.  It is a neat way to remember the “where” in “till we meet again.”

It is true that certain things must take place before the second-coming at the end of the tribulation and many of those things have already happened or are happening right now.  The stage must be set for the tribulation and anyone who has even the slightest interest in prophesy and current events can see that the table is being set for the end times.  For instance, the nation of Israel was scattered across the face of the earth, but yet just fewer than 60 years ago was brought back together and is today one of the most powerful nations in the world.  That process of scattering a people then reestablishing them has never taken place before. That had to take place as a prerequisite before all the other events could occur.

So, why worry (oops, I mean think) about all this? Because we never know when the Lord will come again.  It is important that we are looking for opportunities to share with those who do not know the Lord because the instant Christ comes that chance will be lost forever.  In fact, if you share the gospel with someone and if that person put his belief in Christ, look up, because the word says that the rapture will not happen until the body of Christ is filled.  That person that you just shared with might be the last one to fill it, and so we all might be leaving right then!

One of my favorite men of courage is the British explorer Ernest Shackleton.  I have readimages-9.jpeg several books chronicling his incredible voyages to the South Pole. While on one of the voyages he had to leave a few men on Elephant Island because their ship was crushed and there was not enough room for the entire crew. He promised them that he would return. Later, when he tried to go back, huge icebergs blocked the way. But suddenly, as if by a miracle, the huge icebergs shifted and a channel opened in the ice and Shackleton was able to get through. His men, ready and waiting, quickly scrambled aboard. No sooner had the ship cleared the island than the ice crashed together behind them. Contemplating their narrow escape, Shackleton said to his men, “It was fortunate you were all packed and ready to go!”

They replied, “We never gave up hope. Whenever the sea was clear of ice, we rolled up our sleeping bags and reminded each other, ‘The boss may come today.'”  That is the same attitude that we should have!

We should not fear the coming of The Lord because it will be a glorious event, but unlike Elephant Island, we do know that there will be many “left behind.”  IMG_1323We should do all we can to make sure that our friends and family are not part of that number by living our lives for Christ and sharing Him in word and deed.  What incredible verses Paul left for us to remind us of the spectacular transfer of believers from this world to glorious presence of Christ.  Let’s just make sure we are rapture ready and let’s encourage those around us to be ready as well!  Like the men on Elephant Island we should be packed and ready to go. The “Boss” may come today.

Our Continuous Monitor

February 25, 2025 / / 0 Comments

“Protect, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.”         2 Timothy 1:14

As many of you know, I discovered a few years ago that I have blood sugar issues.  Well, to be more blunt, I am diabetic.  The other morning for no apparent reason, my blood sugar shot up to what I consider an unacceptable level.  As is my nature, I was not happy about the increase and I took immediate action.  I jumped on my treadmill, increased the speed to an inappropriate level for a 73 year old and proceeded run the hills of my “workout “ room.  Almost faster than it apparently went up it shot down.  So fast in fact that I thought I was going to pull out my emergency Hershey bar to waylay its decline.  Fortunately, it leveled off and it looks like all is “good.”

Since I jumped on the treadmill so fast, I didn’t have time to set up any video or audio or podcast to play during my workout.  That just left me with my own thoughts.  As I was cruising along I thought about the urgency that drove me to the treadmill.  First of all, I wear what is called a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM).  That means that it is checking my blood sugar almost constantly.  I only need to pull out my iPhone or read my watch to get a reading.  It is a great tool.  I can see what raises my sugar levels, lowers them, and keeps them balanced.  Pretty cool technology.

Well, as I said earlier, I started thinking about the Glucose Monitor on my arm and how it related to spiritual things. When I saw my numbers spike it alerted me that there was a problem.  My doctor told me that I am a strange duck (no surprise to anyone who knows me), because I don’t show any symptoms of high or low blood sugar even in the middle of an “attack.” The only way I know if there is  a problem is to check the numbers that my monitor has sent to my iPhone.  Without that I probably would (and have) believed that all is good.  We sometimes do the same thing spiritually.  Ephesians 4:22-24 says, “Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”  This verse shows the safe zone we should strive for, but  unless we have the Holy Spirit we will often think that “all is good” when it certainly isn’t.

When we become believers, we are indwelled with a Continuous Monitor called the Holy Spirit.   He is there constantly checking  healthy and unhealthy levels for us.  My monitor doesn’t change the levels for me, it just tells me where they are.   The Holy Spirit is not a puppeteer that keeps me at a place of complete healthiness.  He measures my thoughts, my actions, my words, my motives and all things that go into my relationships, into my day.  My CGM is a tool that gives me power to make the kinds of changes I need to make for my health, but I had to do three things for it to be effective.

First of all, I have to put it on.  John 14:17 says “Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”  We put on God’s monitor when we believe on Jesus as our savior.  When we arrive at the place in our lives where we know that “He is the Way, the Truth, and and the Life, and no one will come to the Father but by Him,” God fills us with his spirit.  He gives us  a Continuous Good Decision Monitor.   So, step one, put on the new man by receiving the gift the Holy Spirit that you might receive power.

Secondly, I have to be in tune with my monitor.   I have to check it often.  I have to pay attention to what it says.  I can’t go long stretches without consulting it.  I have this wonderful tool to help keep me healthy, but I have to use it.  It is easy enough, but I sometimes get caught up in the daily routine, or the hecticness of life, or maybe my own bad habits and ignore or refuse to “check things out.”  In Ephesians 1:18 the Apostle Paul prays, “that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.”  The Holy Spirit enlightens us to the realization that God’s illumination manual is His Word.  I trust that my CGM gives me valuable information and I can use that for my good.  The Spirit gives me the understanding that God’s Word has valuable information that I can use for my good.  The Spirit does not give me new information (revelation) outside the Word, but equips me to read the Word and to help me to recall the Word and to help me use the Word properly.

Lastly, I need to use the information I am given.  If I see my numbers are high and I go out and have an ice cream sundae, I am not using the information properly.  If the Spirit gives me the power to read and understand the Word, I need to use the information properly.  The Word reminds me how to live, how to speak, how to love others, how to have fulfilling relationships.  If I choose an “ice cream sundae” instead, I will suffer the consequences.  I have not been left alone.  God has given me a comforter to help me maneuver this difficult life.  He points me toward the Word and then gives me the power to understand and then apply it to my life.  I don’t have to change the Holy Spirit every fourteen days like my CGM.  I have Him forever.  I can access Him any time to check my “numbers.”  Then, instead of my iPhone I pick up my Bible, to see what my “levels” are.  I felt an urgency this morning and it drove me to the treadmill.  Nothing is more urgent than my relationship with Christ and my witness to my family and the world around me.  If I allow, the Spirit will drive me urgently to the greatest health aid ever created…. God’s Word. 

Seek God’s protection…

February 18, 2025 / / 0 Comments

“But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.”  2 Thessalonians 3:3

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”   (Psalm 91:1)

First a couple of apologies.  One, in last week’s devotion talking about Slenderman, I didn’t mention that the little girl who was stabbed did survive.  As depressing as the story was, that was at least a little bright spot, and I left it out.  Not good.  Secondly, sorry this is late today, but the good news is that it will be shorter than most of these novelettes that I have been putting out lately.  Unfortunately I have been taught (and have taught the same thing) that we should write like we talk- and you know how I talk.

Last week, I told you about the influence the internet and this new age of technology has on all of us.  It can be dangerous, but the key to recognizing any danger that lives around us is to tune into the power that resides within us.   If we don’t keep a relationship with God and instead live spiritual  lives full of rejection, we will live spiritual lives void of protection.  We are embattled by the world, the flesh, and Satan.  It would seem we are outnumbered, but as Paul reminds us in Romans 8:31, “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”  Like someone wise once said, “God plus me makes a majority.”

The primary thrust of God’s Word is instruction on how
to abide in Him.   If we can begin to see His wonderful providence and His unfailing provision, we will begin to understand His unfailing protection.  The assurance that we receive from the Word can then be conveyed to others like our children, family, friends, and even strangers, so that they to can experience protection afforded in God’s perfection.   We need to be able to tell others, with confidence, that “[He is] my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust!”

That means that we have to sell out to a life that is full with Christ, not just occasionally touched by Christ.   The thing that I fear might be happening in our churches and families today is similar to what happens in medicine.   When we go in for  an inoculation, we get just enough of the disease to not receive it in full.   I think that often we receive just enough of God to inoculate us against experiencing Him in all His fullness.   We are satisfied with little doses of Him as though that is all that is necessary.  When it comes to God, we need to experience the real thing.  If we don’t, not only will we lose to evil, we probably won’t even recognize it.

Until we admit that Slenderman is just one of thousands of evil influences meant to infiltrate our families, churches, towns, and countries, we will not armor up.  We will float along until slowly, imperceptibly, we are taken over.  By the time that England’s Chamberlain saw the light, Hitler was so strong that it would take the rest of the world to bring him down.   We must keep our eyes open and examine everything through the glasses of God’s Word.

I was reading Ephesians 4:11-16 today and verses 13 and 14 say, “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.  Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.”  If we remain babes in Christ, not able to eat meat, we will be like infants.  We will be like those two 12 year old girls who were deceived by that which is not real.   We will be tossed by the winds of doctrine no matter where they blow and by the winds of deceit from whomever they come.

The well-known Puritan writer Thomas Brooks writes:

Satan promises the best, but pays with the worst; He promises honor and pays with disgrace; He promises pleasure and pays with pain; He promises profit and pays with loss;  He promises life and pays with death.

We can put the word always in these sentences above.   Satan never delivers on what he promises because he wants the worst for us and if we listen to his lies, the worst is what we will get.

The only way to protect those we love (and even those we don’t) is by not appeasing the enemy but by defeating him.  Satan laughs at our puny efforts if we try to stand up against him on our own.  He has thousands of years of experience, no moral obligation to do the right thing, and fights dirty.   His minions prowl around infiltrating our homes and churches.  We need to be like the FBI guys who can recognize counterfeits.  They don’t study counterfeits, they study the real thing.  They study it so closely that they will recognize any irregularities in a fake.  That is what we must do.  We must study Christ and the Word so closely that we will recognize any irregularities that confront us.

Those who are more mature in Christ are obligated to help protect those who are less mature.  That can be our kids, grandkids, new believers, slow maturing  believers and even unbelievers.  We can’t do that without be able to recognize the enemies ourselves.   There once was a man who had trekked through many miles of a snowstorm to reach his cabin.  The security of the cabin lulled him into a sense of safety, so he neglected to take off his wet clothes and just lay down to sleep.  His dog would not let it go, however, and pulled on the man until he awakened.  The man took off his wet clothes and built a fire.  The man had become numb and did not realize the danger of his wet clothes and except for his dog’s urgings, would have died in his sleep.

This story is the story of today.  So many lie down in the numbness of sin and  deception and think they are safe.  It is our job (if I can compare us to St. Bernards for a moment), to rouse them from their slumber.  It is up to us to point out the need to take off the cold and sinful attire that will eventually lead to their demise.   Of course, we cannot do that if we, too, are lying down ready to slumber in our own sins.  God is our protector and we are to be like Him.  That makes us protectors, as well.   If we are going to be protectors we must, “Put on the full armor of God so that (we) can stand against the tactics of the Devil.”  (Ephesians 6:11)  No need to appease Slenderman and his cronies.  Let’s just beat them.

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