During Lent, Pastor Payne will post a daily devotional

March 13th

In Lent, we often focus on diminishing the old person so we can put on Christ. Removing the old man is like a snake shedding its skin. It hurts. Yet, the snake could not grow if it did not change its skin. Positively, the process of spiritual growth entails adding new things to our lives – things that foster spiritual maturity. Besides growing spiritual fruit, the one who walks in the Spirit should seek to practice spiritual gifts (Gal 5:16 and 1 Cor 14:1). 

Many people have a negative view of spiritual gifts because of cessation theology. Cessationists teach that speaking in tongues, healing the sick, doing miracles, and sharing divine revelations stopped after the apostolic era. They say spiritual gifts were necessary to establish the New Testament church but are no longer needed. In their interpretation of “When the perfect (teleion) comes, the imperfect will be destroyed” (1 Cor 13:10), the perfect is the Bible, and the imperfect are the spiritual gifts that authenticate the Bible. Accordingly, since the canon of Scripture is complete and the apostolic age has ended, they contend that the Spirit no longer distributes spiritual gifts to the saints. 

Of course, the text does not support that interpretation. The telos to which it refers is the age to come after Christ has returned and believers have perfect bodies. First Corinthians 13:12 demonstrates this when it says, “In this age, we know in part; in the age to come, we will know fully.” “Know in part” relates to the imperfect, and “know fully” relates to the perfect that is to come. 

Furthermore, in every age of the church, God has distributed spiritual gifts so the saints can edify each other, glorify God, and do the church’s mission. Throughout the world, godly believers heal the sick, have revelations from God, give anointed messages, cast out evil spirits, and perform miracles in Jesus’ name. When cessationists witness these spiritual gifts, they argue that they are performed through the power of evil spirits because God no longer works that way! According to Jesus, this is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matt 12:25-28). While affirming the Bible as God's inspired word, they misrepresent what it says about spiritual gifts because they operate with an anti-supernatural worldview. Sadly, atheists, humanists, communists, and materialists share their worldview. 

Based on a dubious interpretation of one verse, cessationists have abrogated large portions of the New Testament. This is a crime against God. The unfiltered word of God does not say that spiritual gifts have stopped during this age. On the contrary, the Bible tells believers to eagerly seek after and desire spiritual gifts (1 Cor 14:1). Additionally, Paul says spiritual gifts are given by the Spirit for the common good and every believer has received at least one spiritual gift (1 Cor 13). 

During this Lenten season, seek the spiritual gifts and ask God to show you how to walk in the gifts that he gives to you.

March 11th

 When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, God cursed the ground. In the aftermath, it produced thorns when Adam tried to cultivate it. The thorns were a physical reminder that sinful people live in a fallen world. Adam's legacy is personal to me. 

A few years ago, my beagles were tracking a rabbit in the woods. To evade my dogs, the rabbit hopped into a briar patch. Predictably, my beagles followed. As the dogs struggled to move, the rabbit easily exited on the other side. Ultimately, I had to enter the briars to rescue my dogs! When I finally escaped, my pants were torn, and my hands were bleeding. 

In the military, thorny vines that block your way are called wait-a-minute vines because they stop you in your tracks when doing land navigation. Every Marine and Soldier can tell you stories about getting stuck in thorny vines at night while going through the woods. 

Since I live in Florida, sandspurs are an occupational hazard. The seedhead looks like a World War 2 underwater mine and a black widow’s egg sac because it’s covered with needle-sharp spikes. When they stick to your feet, they cause excruciating pain. When you try to pull them out, they prick your fingers. Everything about sandspurs is evil. 

During the prelude to the crucifixion, the Roman soldiers twisted together thorny branches and pushed a "crown of thorns" onto Jesus' head (John 19:2). As the thorns pierced his skin, blood poured from his wounds. In the beginning, God caused the thorns to grow because of Adam's sin. They were a sign of the curse. As Jesus hung on the cross, he transferred Adam's sin and the curse onto himself (Gal 3:13-14). When seen in this light, putting the crown of thorns on Jesus's head symbolically reflected Jesus taking humankind's curse upon himself. As Paul says, he who knew no sin became sin to remove our sin from us (2 Cor 5:21). That's why John the Baptist declared that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). 

The next time you step on a sandspur or poke your fingers while trying to remove a wait-a-minute vine, instead of getting angry, think about the crown of thorns that Jesus bore for us.

March 10

Years ago, I planted a row of rhododendrons along the fence by my side garden. At the same time, I planted a larger Rhododendron in my backyard. The plants by the fence grew and bloomed every year. However, the one in my backyard grew but never blossomed. Soon, my wife and children started to comment on it. My oldest daughter said I should cut it down and put an azalea in its place. I refused. Instead, I spread a special fertilizer around its base, I ensured the ground was moist but not too wet, and I cut down some tree limbs so it received more sunlight. The next year, it bloomed for two months in the fall and three months in the spring. Unlike the other rhododendrons, it continues to bloom in the fall and the spring.
This story teaches two points. First, Jesus tells a parable about a fig tree that would not bear fruit. Instead of cutting it down, the gardener gave it TLC to coax it into productivity. In the same way, I did not give up on my rhododendron even when it would not bloom. Instead, I nurtured it. The plant rewarded my efforts by blooming five months every year. We should nurture the people in our lives.
Second, Christians also need to be nurtured. We do this by using spiritual disciplines like prayer, Bible reading, fasting, good works, private worship, and meditation. Like fertilizer feeds a plant, spiritual disciplines feed our souls.
During Lent, we are reminded that we need to fertilize our souls and prune off the dead branches from our lives (sins) so we can grow into the image of Christ. 

 March 9th

God sent Jonah to Assyria because he wanted the nation to repent and turn from sin. When Jesus returns, he will separate (judge) the nations like a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. Anticipating this, Jesus sent the church to make disciples of all nations. In effect, Jonah serves as a template for this since he was discipling Assyria when we went through Nineveh with the word of God. The king spoke on behalf of the people when he ordered a fast and told the people to repent. God honored that. Jesus sent the church to the nations because he wants them to turn to him and live righteously. If "nation evangelism" turns you off because you don't like the notion of a Christian nation, reconsider what the Bible teaches about group identity. Happy first Sunday in Lent.