"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry."
Have you noticed that the Aposle can use pretty blunt language at times. And the truth is, he needs to. There is no easing us in gently, he's naming things directly: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed. No softening, no room to explain it away. Why so blunt? Because of the difference between hiding a desire and putting it to death. Hiding keeps it alive, just out of view still ours, still able to resurface the moment we let our guard down.
That's why the Apostle is so deliberate with his choice of words: put to death. Not manage it. Not bury it. Not hide it better. A managed desire still has room to grow. A buried desire can always be dug back up the moment temptation comes knocking again. Only something dead stays dead.
But here's what makes this possible: We already died with Christ. The old life, the one ruled by these desires, is already over. Putting sin to death isn't us working for something; it's us agreeing with what's already true and refusing to keep alive what Jesus already ended on the cross.
So what have you buried instead of dealt with? What's still under your tent, quietly waiting, that you've told yourself is handled because no one else can see it?
Prayer
Lord, I don't want to just bury what needs to dieI want it gone. Show me what I've hidden well enough that I've almost forgotten it's there. You already dealt with the power of sin over me on the cross. Help me stop protecting what you've already put to death, and let me walk in the new life you've given me In Jesus mighty name. Amen.
Today's devotion is written by Pastor Nich, LifeWay Epping
"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them."
I used to think that this reading was talking about a list of ‘worldly’ things that we as Christians had to avoid. That we just had to be good people and not behave like others aroud us. However, it is a lot more profound than this. It is more about where our love is directed, than what we avoid. John's not saying desire itself is the problem, he's saying love has to have a direction, and it can't point two ways at once. This is what is being named here. Not "wanting things is bad," but "loving things more than the Father will always pull you away from him."
Yet we don't get free of the world's pull by trying harder to love it less. We get free by loving something greater. Jesus didn't just die to forgive us for loving the wrong things he died so that our hearts could be recaptured by something better. The love of the Father isn't a rule we follow; it's a love we get drawn into, because he loved us first, even while we were still chasing everything else.
So the question isn't just "what do I need to stop loving?" It's "what has captured my heart?”
Prayer
Father, thank you that you didn't wait for me to love you rightly before you loved me first. I confess there are things in this world I've let capture my heart more than you. Recapture my heart. Let your love be what I seek after. In Jesus name. Amen.
Today's devotion is written by Pastor Nich, LifeWay Epping
"But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."
James in his typical no nonsense approach, doesn't let us blame anyone else. Not the enemy, not our circumstances, not the person who put the opportunity in front of us. He says it plainly: we're dragged away by our own desire. It starts there, quietly, long before it ever turns into an action anyone else can see.
Desire came first: small, private, easy to justify and everything after that was just the desire playing itself out, all the way to death.
However: that's not where the story must end for you and me.. James traces desire all the way to death because that's exactly what it deserves but that's also exactly where Jesus stepped in. He took the death our desires earned, so that when we get caught in that same cycle James describes, we're not left buried under guilt. We have somewhere to bring it.
The cross doesn't just forgive the sin at the end of the process it interrupts the whole thing. It means we don't have to let desire run its course anymore. We can catch it early, bring it to Jesus, and let him deal with it there instead of waiting for it to grow into something that costs us everything.
What desire have you been letting sit unchecked, telling yourself it's not going anywhere? What would it look like to bring it to the cross instead of letting it run its course?
Prayer
Jesus, thank you that you took the death my desires deserved, so I don't have to keep hiding from what's going on in my heart. Search me. Show me what's quietly growing that I've been ignoring. I don't have to carry it alone because of the cross, I can bring it into the light and trust you to deal with it there. In your name Jesus. Amen.
Today's devotion is written by Pastor Nich, LifeWay Epping
"So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh."
To Ponder
Have you seen children play a game called ‘follow the leader’. It’s quite simple, whatever the leader does, you copy. Turn left, you turn left. Stop, you stop. It works, but only if you're watching the leader and not off doing your own thing.
This reading is describing the same idea here, just for real life. Walking by the Spirit isn't complicated in theory, it just means staying close enough to notice where he's going and following. The problem is we get distracted. We start walking our own direction, chasing whatever caught our eye, and then wonder why we ended up somewhere we didn't mean to go.
We let our desires quietly take the lead instead of God. Achan, in our Joshua 7 reading followed what he wanted instead of what he was told. Israel followed what looked convincing instead of asking God first. But the answer, as the Apostle tells us isn't “try not to want things." It's "follow the Spirit's lead, and your wanting will start to change”.
Who or what are you following today?
Prayer
Holy Spirit, I want to follow you today, to walk close enough to notice where you're leading. I know my own wants can pull me off course fast if I'm not paying attention. Keep my eyes on you. When I start drifting toward what I want instead of what you want, bring me back to your direction. In Jesus name I pray. Amen
Today's devotion is written by Pastor Nich, LIfeWay Epping
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting."
To Ponder:
One thing that surprised me about this Psalm is what David asked God for. David doesn't just say "God, you know me." He asks God to "Search me." Surely this is a somewhat dangerous thing to pray inviting God to go looking, on purpose, for the stuff we'd rather leave alone!.
It's easy to want God close when things are going well, but this prayer is different It says: "I'd rather know the truth about myself, even if it's uncomfortable".
That's the same posture we see in Joshua 7 God searching the camp, bringing what was hidden into the light, not to shame, but to lead his people forward. David's was asking for that same thing, personally. Not just "know me," but "lead me."
What would it look like to actually pray like David?
Prayer
God, search me. Show me the anxious thoughts I haven't named, the desires I've been protecting instead of surrendering, anything in me that's pulling against your way. Give me your Spirit to help me align what I want with what you want. Help me to trust you more than I trust my own wanting. Amen.
"Achan replied, 'It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done.'"
To Ponder:
As I read this verse, I thought there's something almost relieving about this verse. Achan finally just says it. No more hiding, no more hoping no one notices. "It is true… This is what I have done"
Sometimes I wonder whether we spend so much energy protecting the things we want, justifying them, hiding them, telling ourselves they're not that big a deal. But underneath all that effort is usually just a desire that got out of control. Something we wanted so badly we were willing to keep it quiet to have it.
Achan's honesty didn't undo what happened. But it was still the turning point. Owning it out loud, to God was the first step toward things being made right.
What's a desire perhaps we have been protecting instead of naming? What would it look like to just say it, the way Achan did?
Prayer
God, you already know what I want before I even say it. There are things I've wanted so badly I've been willing to keep them hidden instead of bringing them to you. Help me be honest, like Achan was, even when it's uncomfortable. I don't want my own wanting to lead me somewhere you never intended. Realign my desires with yours. Help me want what you want, and trust that owning the truth with you is always the best way. Amen.
Today's devotion was written by Pastor Nich, LifeWay, Epping
"Get up! Consecrate the people. Tell them, 'Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.'"
To Ponder:
Before Israel could keep going in our Sunday reading from Joshua chapter 7, they had to stop and deal with the stuff they'd been hiding. Achan thought no one knew what he'd taken. Turns out, God already did. How easy it is for us to judge Achan, but if we pause to think about it. Don’t we do the same thing? We figure if we don't say it out loud, it's not really a big deal. But God already sees it. For too many people the fact that God sees is a terrifying thought. They expect God’s judgment. But the truth is that God’s not digging around trying to catch us out. He desires to help us move forward instead of staying stuck. So maybe the question to think about today is: Is there something I've been keeping quiet that God's nudging me to bring out into the open?
Prayer
God, You see every desire I carry the ones I'm proud of, and the ones I keep tucked away because I know they don't line up with you. Help me not be afraid of that. Show me where my wants have quietly taken the lead instead of yours. I don't want to keep chasing what I think I need if it means missing what you actually have for me. Realign my heart with yours. Help me want what you want, not because I have to, but because I trust that your way leads somewhere better. Amen.
Today's devotion was written by Pastor Nich, LifeWay Epping
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
TO PONDER
One thing we learn as we mature in our Christian faith and our continued study of God's word is that our triune God's actions are often not in line with normal human expectations. Jesus mixed, fellowshipped and shared meals with sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes. He healed and performed miracles on the Sabbath. He responded to ridicule from the Pharisees and even to physical abuse and torture including whipping and then crucifixion, by lovingly using God's word.
This week we have pondered and been enlightened by the many different weapons that our Lord through His grace makes available to us as His children.
Today in Romans, we hear that God conquers through the different weapon of love. A love graciously provided to all the world and available to us to use. A love (weapon) that doesn’t overpower us like earthly weapons, but a love that transforms us and because of His love, we don’t just survive earthly trials but we are able to overcome them with spiritual strength from within.
What a contrast to that of a soldier’s sword or another type of weapon commonly relied upon by humans. Earthly weapons that divide, hurt, wound and destroy.
The world sadly conquers by fear with an overpowering tone to achieve what the sinful human flesh defines as victory. Christ conquers through His love – and His ultimate victory that He has won for us, becomes ours!
PRAYER:Everlasting Conqueror. Forgive me when I refuse the weapons you have graciously made available to me and my brothers and sisters in Christ to take into my daily battles. Too often, I know I revert to sinful human weapons that wound and hurt. Help me to prepare and be ready for each daily battle through the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. Thank you for Your victory over sin, won for me and all Your followers through Your love. Amen
Today's devotion written by Shane Burdack, LifeWay Newcastle
So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.
TO PONDER
The word of the Lord to Zerubbabel in our reading from Zechariah, remains so relevant to us today. Zerubbabel was the civic leader of Jerusalem and had the responsibility to finish the work rebuilding the temple which had stalled. We have the responsibility of building God’s Church here on earth. As we learned earlier in the week when we pondered on the crumbling, falling walls of Jericho, God requires active participation from us.
Just like Zerubbabel, today we are reminded that our required participation is not through our own human might, power, cleverness or physical strength but God’s Spirit. God’s Spirit working through us.
Throughout the Bible, we see God take the most inconspicuous of His servants, (even His persecutors) and often after some resistance and push-back from them, the Holy Spirit does amazing works through them. Moses, Paul (Saul) and Jonah (whom we had a very insightful LifeWay sermon series focused on during July) very quickly come to mind.
Our participation generally requires no more than fully devoting our lives to Christ and letting the Spirit dwell (live) in our hearts, not merely be a passing visitor in our hearts from time-to-time. I confess that this is not an easy task for self-natured humans but the message is clear, that we will not build Christ’s earthly Church on our own accord through our own human physical efforts. Nor can we face and take on the earthly battles that we are confronted with on our own. We more than have ‘God in our corner’. He has won the victory for us already. We need to rejoice in this, and willingly be His disciples so that He can work through us via the Holy Spirit and do great works!
When we trust in our own resources, we inherently create a barrier for the Spirit to dwell within us and we rob ourselves of the full supply and potentially amazing works that God will do through us.
PRAYER: Our Father in Heaven. Continue to remind me daily that I cannot achieve the building of your Church here on earth through my own efforts and physical might or power. Help me to fully surrender myself to You so that You can work through me via the Holy Spirit to do amazing things in Your name. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Shane Burdack, LifeWay Epping