Lord's Day Devotion - I Forgive You

 "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you" Ephesians 4:32 ESV.

It can be observed that this verse of Scripture commands us to be kind, tenderhearted and forgiving.  This is not optional nor to only select certain people to treat this way.  These actions are for "one another."  The impetus for the individual to obey is that God in Christ forgave them.

Of course, the parable of the two servants owing a sum of money is a good example.  One owed the master, the other was an underservant owing the servant who owed the master.  This servant was such a bully.  He was an ungrateful, unmerciful man.

Jesus taught this parable in response to Peter's question of how many times did he have to forgive when his brother sins against him (see Matthew 18:21).

"77 times," was Jesus' reply.  Then he told that parable.

It is often those closest to us that we find hardest to forgive.  We have expectations and assumptions that these friends or family members wouldn't do such and such to us.  But they did.  It's a betrayal of trust and friendship or even of marital trust.  How could that person treat you like that!!!?

"Should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant" 

Jesus asked in His parable.

That could work both ways, of course.  And so we grind and grit our teeth and seethe in the stew of simmering anger and hurt.  That is, until the still small voice whispers in our ear and conscience,

" ... forgive, as God in Christ forgave you."

Emotions twist and turn until we submit to the One who died for us, and we exclaim, "Father forgive, but how can I?!  Didn't you see and hear what he said and did!?"

Again, we hear,

"...as God in Christ forgave you."

It's hard but then we think again of all the agony Jesus went through, suffering and dying on that cruel 'tree' and cross. Costly grace He exuded to erase my sin and buy my pardon.  Debt, paid in full.  And we say,

"Thank You, Jesus.  Thank You for this salvation.  God has now forgiven me."

And we choke a bit and stumble over our own, "OK, I forgive you" to that person who has injured me.  "I forgive you only because God in Christ forgave me."

Like we have been forced and out of guilty feelings.  It sounds, not quite "fully baked" forgiveness.  There is still a holding back.  May the Lord, forgive us again, teach us how to love and forgive, until we can utter a clean, clear, and sincere,

"I forgive you."

And we remember then Jesus' kindness, tenderheartedness and His forgiveness and what's more, all He has done for us and we give our thanks.  And on Lord's Day we remember Him through the breaking and partaking of the bread and the drinking of the cup.  We remember His suffering and sorrow.  He did all this, for me.

Lord Jesus, I do remember the travail of Your soul, the torture of Your body; the betrayal by Judas Iscariot and Peter's denial that he even knew You.  All of that!  I remember.

Yet You chose to forgive.  Then You chose to forget our sins and remember them no more because You died for them, taking our punishment for them and clearing our debt.  You offer forgiveness.

  "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:30 ESV).

Even those perpetrators of Your death, You would forgive!

And we hang our heads and finally with a full heart give our thanks to You by being able to say a genuine "I forgive you" to those who have wronged us.

Thank You, Jesus.  

Amen.

                                                     ~  ERC  July 2026  ~

Based on Ephesians 4:32 ESV.

Sing, Let Your Mercy Flow, along with Risen Tunes.

POEM - The Crucible

 The cactus

grew

there,

In the desert.

It was

hard

to believe,

but

there it 

grew.

In

unrelenting,

scorching,

and blazing hot

sun

by day.

Cold temperatures

by night.

It was by night, though,

in the dark,

that it could breathe.

In.

It could breathe

out,

in that dry,

arid desert

crucible.

Alone

but its

resilience

was at its best;

its best, best.

And that's like

life.

We go 

through 

valleys,

those

shadows of death.

But 

mountains of

victory,

come.

And we 

breathe

in.

and out,

in our

crucible 

of

life.

We 

endure.

We

become

resilient -

like that cactus.

And

in that crucible

we find,

"the fourth man."

He 

is the

One

who walks

beside

us.

Never leaving,

Never forsaking.

Never failing

us.

In

Him

we can

trust,

with 

all

our 

heart.

And

go on

breathing

in,

breathing 

out,

despite

the heat

and

the cold.

Thank You, Lord.

For

Your

sustaining breath

in the night

and  in this

crucible

of 

life.

~  ERC  July 2026  ~

Based on Proverbs 3:5 & 6 ESV; Psalm 23:4; Daniel 3:24-26; Hebrews 13:5 and Zephaniah 3:5 ESV.

Sing, Trust In God (Chris Brown), along with Elevation Music.

POEM - The Empty Crib (Isaiah 40:11)

 

The Empty Crib sat there,

abandoned.

 Quiet.

  Alone.

   Silent. 

That was the worst of it.

And,

No more

  crying

to be heard.

No more

   cooing

        either.

Baby

    is

     gone!

Gone.

It wasn't because she

  grew up.

No, she didn't get

  that chance.

Sickness

overcame her.

Rivers of

  tears,

Hiccuping sobs,

  battled

each other.

Her Mamma,

Her Pappa,

  in mourning.

    Bewildered.

        Stunned.

Jesus,

Where are You?

You could have

   healed

      her.

We knew

  You

 could have!

Why not?

We still

    love You.

We still

   trust

     You.

She's in Your 

   arms!

     You

     embrace

          her

              now.

But it's so empty.

  Empty crib.

    Empty arms.

       Empty chest.

  My heart

            gone!

But,

  because You

      live,

Jesus,

  we'll

     face

        tomorrow.

In this 

  stillness,

In this

  silence

give us

  back

     our hearts.

Make them

  full.

Make them

  overflow

Make them

  comfort

    others

     who

       sorrow.

You have 

  given

    us

hope and

   peace.

Someday

  we will

    see

      her

       again.

Turn our empty

   hearts

     always to

        You.

You love us even

  more

   than

     we loved her.

This is a

  lesson

   we

    learned.

Heart-achingly

  painful.

   But joy

    has

    come

 in this

  morning

     of life.

Someday,

  our heart-crib

   will be

     full

      again.

~  ERC  July 2026  ~

Based on Isaiah 40:11.

Sing, I Stand Amazed in the Presence of Jesus, along with Gaither Music and Trust in God, along with Elevation Worship.

In loving memory of, and in conjunction with Hannah Elizabeth's Chin Swe Hwa's anniversary of departure from earth to her Heavenly Home in the arms of Jesus.

In His Service (Galatians 5 ESV/KJV)

 The imagery of slavery and bondage is one Paul often uses in his writings.  Certainly the book of Galatians bears this out.  It's very obvious.  I believe his readers knew and understood well about slavery.

That's why he's so keen to keep them free.  These two verses are linked,

"So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman (or slave), but of the free (woman).  Stand fast therefore in the liberty (or freedom) where with Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage (or slavery)"              (Galatians 4:31 and 5:1 KJV/ESV).

The Judaizers, trying to enforce Jewish ways as 'add-ons' to the pure gospel of Jesus Christ - that is, salvation only in Him alone - were attempting and perhaps making inroads into the Gentiles among the believers in the Galatian assembly, were trying to entangle and entrap them and bring them into slavery and bondage to those laws.

It was described as a "yoke."  It would be a heavy burden to bear.  They all knew it.  The Judaizers knew it too.  After all, their history was riddled with the yoke of slavery.

They'd been slaves for 400 years in Egypt.  Moses had helped them escape.   They'd been captives for 70 years in Babylon and in Persia.  Even then, at the time of Paul's writing, They were 'captives' under Roman rule.

Even the Gentile Galatians themselves lived under a Celtic migrant governance and some sort of tribal rulers and tetrarchs.  Above them was a judge, military commander and subordinate officers if AI Overview is to be believed.  So why, when they came to church where freedom in Christ should reign, would they want to put on another yoke of bondage?!

Some may even have been actual slaves in someones household as Onesimus had been in Philemon's home.  If they'd become free of such yokes, why would they ever went to be re-bound?

They had to "stand firm" and "not submit" to these unnecessary yokes.  Those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ have been "called to freedom" (Galatians 5:13 ESV).

Of course we cannot use our freedom to do just whatever we like.  We must live to please the Lord and honor Him with our thoughts and actions.  We need to serve Him and others with the love we have in Christ.

We walk by His Holy Spirit and not by our own desires.  Let's be led by the Holy Spirit so we will indeed honor our Lord and Savior.   In this way we will be less prone to go back to the yoke of slavery.  It's a choice.  Choose wisely.

When we follow the Lord and are sensitive to the Holy Spirit leading we will not forge ourselves back to those bounds, as individuals nor as a congregation of the Lord's people.

Let's all stand fast in the freedom that cost our Savior His life.  May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the fellowship we have in His Holy Spirit keep us living free from spiritual bondaage of any kind except to be only His servant in His service, until He comes.  

Perhaps today!

                                                    ~  ERC  July 2026  ~

Based on Galatians 5 ESV/KJV.

Sing, Glorious Freedom (Once I Was Bound), along with Gaither Music.

Abundant Life (Genesis 9; Exodus 20:11; Psalm 139:13-14; Acts 17:25; Psalm 104:29-30; John 20:22; 1 Samuel 2:6 ESV)

 I still feel very appalled that believers in Jesus Christ will still venerate a person, who although legendary, committed suicide.  The suicide cloaked in sentimental pathos, for sure, and to prove a point but self-murder nevertheless!

Who was this person?

It was the ancient Chinese poet, also considered the father of Chinese poetry, the one and only Qu Yuan.  He was once a trusted aristocrate, minister to King Huai sometime around the late 340's BC.  He died 278 BC but had been banished from his post by corrupt and wicked officials and jealous colleagues.

Lies that became false truth in the ears of  the King of Chu.  False advisors that when the State of Chu fell into the hands of the State of Qin, proved Qu Yuan had been correct in his battle plan strategy.

He apparently had given his utmost loyalty to King Huai and served with integrity.  He was very patriotic and couldn't bear to see his state and king overtaken.  But he was betrayed by the rival nobles and banished to nether regions of China during the Warring States Period.

When the Qin took over the Chu state, these remote areas were left to 'rot'.  More and more this poet, who did show it in lengthy poems, as a sort of whistleblower of his day, hung on to his devotion to king and the Chu State.

And to prove it and his stance against corruption he walked into the Miluo River and never walked out.  I'm wondering, that if even despite his stances of patriotism and his anti-corruption bureau of one, if he was deeply depressed and could this have been the true reason he committed suicide?

After all, this aristocrat lost everything, stripped of all his privileges.  He was sent off to be forgotten and kept quiet.  Then his predictions of the Qin take-over proved correct and the Chu plight became worse.  All things combined, it would definitely be cause for depression.

Anyway, we cannot confirm nor deny this but it is interesting history.  From this, stems the Duan Wu Festival, or some may know it as The Dragon Boat Festival.

As the story goes, the villagers who had come to know and respect Qu Yuan were devoted enough to be concerned about him.  So that the fish would be deterred from eating his body, the villagers put rice in the water.  They used boats and paddled frantically to distribute the rice before the fish could nibble at Qu Yuan instead.

So incase you are wondering, this is what that festival is all about.  It overlooks the heineousness of the suicide itself.  It is not a festival I want to celebrate.

God is the giver of life.  He breathed into Adam's nostrils the breath of life and Adam became a living soul (see Genesis 2:7).  Furthermore, we read from Deuteronomy 32:39 NIV,

"See now that I myself am He!  There is no god beside me, I put to death and I bring to life ... and no one can deliver out of my hand."

The sanctity of life is seen in Exodus 20:13.

"You shall not murder."

I believe it refers to any type of murder, even self-murder.  Furthermore, 

"The LORD gives both death and life ..." (1 Samuel 2:6 NLT).

There are several Bible characters who pleaded with God to take their lives.  Elijah was one of them.  He was in great despair and exhaustion.  God gave him food, rest, gentle correction and then a further mission (see 1 Kings 19).

Others, such as King Saul and Judas Iscariot, took their own lives.  Despair, guilt, and betrayal of others got to them.  They may have had remorse but not repentance.  If they'd cried out to the Lord, He'd have heard them.  But they hastened their own demise instead.

These were not looked upon favorably.

Jesus came to give us life and to have it more abundantly as we trust Him and grow in our spiritual life and relationship with Him.

"I came that they may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10 ESV).

This was said by Jesus way back when.  This offer is still on offer.  All our distresses of life, all our despair, banishments, betrayals and the like can find solace in Jesus Christ who continues to give life.  I do not minimize anyones' agonies but offer this as hope we can have in Jesus Christ.

Let's remember to go to God in prayer.  Beseech Him in the agonies of life.  Hold tightly on to Him to help you through your valleys and shadows of death.

Suicide, as much as we may wish to leave this world early, is not what our Heavenly Father, who is GOOD and kind and compassionate, no matter how venerated and worthy you may be, wants for you.

And it is certainly nothing to celebrate!

                                                   ~  ERC  July 2026  ~

Based on Genesis 9; Exodus 20:11; Psalm 139:13-14; Acts 17:25; Psalm 104:29-30; John 20:22; 1 Samuel 2:6 ESV.

Sing, Because He Lives, along with Faith and Grace.

Free From the Law (Galatians 3: especially vs 7, 09 13, 14, and 29 ESV)

 

If you've been able to surface from the vast deep ocean of living under a tightly controlled childhood or even years in a particular religious group that had rules and unwritten rules, you are beginning to find a breath or two of fresh air.  It feels just like that to read the book of Galatians.

Paul, the author, must have experienced such himself.  He had been a Pharisee of the Pharisees, at the top of that 'religious game'.  But now, now living through God's grace and by faith in Jesus Christ, he can live!  He can breathe!

And he wanted to share this good news with the believers in the Galatian assembly.

"Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham" (Galatians 3:7 ESV).

No matter if you are of Jewish or Gentile lineage, it is faith in Jesus Christ that counts.  It is NOT following a strict set of rules but living by God's Word and empowerment of indwelling Holy Spirit.

"So then," Paul continued to write, "those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith" (Galatians 3:9 ESV).

Then in verse 14 we read,

" ... so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith" (ESV).

All who have accepted Jesus as Savior have been

 "redeemed ... from the curse of the law" (see vs 13). 

 So why would we want to plunge ourselves back into the murky waters of legality and having to subject ourselves to law that did not save in the first place?

Whether Jew or Greek, we are all one in Christ and we ought not to be coerced into living a particular way according to manmade rules and regulations.

When we walk by faith and live by the Holy Spirit and get guidance from God's Word and obediently follow Jesus, we will be set free.  We will be able to come up for air and not continue to bob in the waters of uncertainty and bondage.  Jesus is our lifeline and He can draw us out to live an abundant life in Him - to be spiritually rich in a relationship with the One who will never leave us nor forsake us.

We who belong to Christ are 

"heirs according to promise." 

 Let's live in the freedom of this knowledge.

Amen?

So be it.

Thank You, Jesus!

                                       ~  ERC  July 2026  ~

Based on Galatians 3: especially vs 7, 9, 13, 14, and 20 ESV.

Sing, We Walk By Faith, along with Divine Hymns and Free from the Law, O Happy Condition, along with Baptist Hymnal.

No Add-On's (Galatians 2 ESV)

 

The other day at the supermarket we were accosted by two neatly dressed, complete with tie, young men of likely about 18-20 years of age.  They greeted folks in very freiendly manner and according to the  respective language group they thought a particular shopper might be of.  They were energetic and lively.

These young men could well put fundamental Christians to shame.  They believed and trusted in their message and were eager to share it with one and all.

Alas!  Their message is flawed.  If asked, they'd likely say, "It's all about Jesus," or "It's Jesus alone."  But if you ever do a very cursory search to see some of their beliefs beyond that, you'll discover that they do not believe that God's grace and salvation through Jesus Christ is enough.

They add on, 'works.'  Thus their enthusiastic mission work as seen in front of that supermarket.  Or they show up in parks where people are jogging or enjoyoing the peace of the park's ambience, to share their message.

The truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ as delivered to the apostles and then Paul has been altered.  Take a look at the book of Galatians where certain factions were trying to stick their oar in where it should not have been.  They too, were "adding on."

Paul wrote,

"We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified" (Galatians 2:15-16 ESV).

We are justified by our faith, NOT by our works.  To insist that our own works must be part of the salvation equation is erroneous. When we realize this truth, the truth will set us free from the bondage of working to earn our salvation.

No doubt,  we are saved through faith and not through works,

"It is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

What's more, we learn from the book of Romans that,

"... we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law"                          (Romans 3:28 ESV).

Works, no matter how good and how well done they may be, do not save us, they do not justify us before God.  In fact, we are saved for the purpose of doing good works,

"which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10 ESV)

after our salvation experience.

So to coerced believers to believe they need to do works in order to earn complete salvation is false doctrine.  When folks want to add on to God's perfect plan of salvation, His free and perfect Gift of salvation through Jesus Christ alone, be wary.

Remember, it is

" ... not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mrecy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost"               (Titus 3:5 KJV).

Discern through Holy Spirit empowerment what the truth is.  As Paul wrote in Galations 2:21 ESV,

"I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose."

Let's not add on to God's truth.

                                                 ~  ERC  July 2026  ~

Based on Galatians 2 ESV.

Sing, In Christ Alone, along with Hadleigh Baptist Church.