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Devotion 1 of 2: Isa 39
This is a sad chapter in Judah’s history. King Hezekiah, who was a good king, failed 2X here! It is a reminder to us who are called to be kings and priests for God in the NT (1 Pet 2:9) that we can fail, too, if we don’t truly live for Jesus and die to self.
Hezekiah’s 1st failure was being deceived by Babylon. When he recovered from his illness (v.1), they gave him “congratulatory” letters and gifts. He didn’t discern their evil intent, so, in gratitude, he showed them all the treasures in his house (v.2). This motivated them later to invade Judah to take those treasures (v.5-6)!
Hezekiah’s 2nd failure was to be relieved, and even glad, that that invasion wouldn’t happen in his day (v.8)! In other words, he didn’t feel responsible to protect his nation or his people, or even his own sons (v.7)! Good leaders always place their followers above themselves! They don’t rule over their people; they serve their people! A good shepherd risks his life to protect his sheep!
(2/4) In this year’s U.S. presidential election, one candidate is fighting for the people; the other seems to be fighting for himself. If he loses the election, he will face 4 or more criminal trials with the real possibility of being sent to prison if found guilty! But if he wins, he will have the authority to dismiss all the cases against him.
But that won’t affect the 2 cases against him that have already been settled. One case involved him sexually assaulting a woman and then demeaning her and defaming her character. He was found guilty and ordered to pay $88.5M (126億円) in penalties to her!
The 2nd case was about him using deceptive financial records to make profits. He reported high property values to gain good bank loans with low interests, but reported low values on the same properties to pay lower property taxes. He was found guilty and ordered to pay the amount he cheated on his taxes, about $464M (663億円), including interest penalties.
Let’s be kings and leaders who love God and love people! Let’s make our purpose in life to respect and lift people up so they can encounter Jesus’ wonderful love, just as we did!
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Devotion 2 of 2: Gal 2
V.7-8 “But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles)…”
In a sense, we can say that God permitted 2 gospels in the early days of the church. They can be called the gospel for the circumcised and the gospel for the uncircumcised (v.7), or, the gospel for Jews and the gospel for Gentiles (v.8), or, another way to describe it would be the gospel that Peter preached and the gospel that Paul preached (7).
I believe God allowed 2 gospels to help the Jews gradually transition into Christianity (Paul’s gospel). So I believe Peter’s gospel probably was something like this: The law is important to help us live a moral life, but it alone cannot save us. We need to be forgiven of our sins, which is why Jesus died for us.
Or, perhaps like this: We need circumcision to keep our identity as the Jewish people, but it cannot save us. We need to repent of our sins, cut off our fleshly lifestyle and believe in Jesus as our Messiah.
(4/4) Paul’s approach was more direct and confrontational: Jesus came to set us free from the law! Or, it’s not circumcision of the body, but circumcision of the heart that makes you a Jew! So Paul’s presentation was harder for the Jews to accept right away; they needed a softer approach.
Once I talked with a Japanese minister who pastored the only church in his rural town. When I mentioned that idolatry was an evil force that prevented the gospel from spreading in Japan; he responded by saying the Japanese people believe that some of their deities protected them from storms, or helped farmers to get a rich harvest, or protected their children from sickness, etc.
Of course, he didn’t believe in those Japanese deities, but what I felt he was saying was that he was surrounded by people who didn’t know anything about Christianity. And if he said things that I had said about idolatry being evil, he would turn the townspeople away from Christianity. So he had to be careful to understand the people’s culture and present the gospel in a way that would not offend them or turn them away.
Let’s seek God for wisdom in how to share Jesus in the most effective way to the people we talk to!
— Pastor Elmer Inafuku