Category Archives: Devotions

Today is the day to do what is expected

Hillside Thoughts for Thursday – Day 279 of the year 2022 – October 6

Matthew 5:43-48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

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Imagine for a moment what our world would be like if just the Christians stopped fighting. Think for a moment where every Christian on your block would reveal themselves by caring for the less fortunate. What would be like if two billion redeemed by the blood Christians, conformed to God’s intent? Would it be a wonderful blessing to begin to do what Jesus asked us to do by showing unconditional love, unbounded kindness, and unlimited grace to all?

If we belong to God, the God of grace, there is a mandate for us to become a people of grace. That is how we can imitate God. It is being the extension of God to everyone you encounter today.  Just do it and begin a wave of Jesus to all.

A little further!

Hillside Thoughts for Wednesday – Day 278 of the year 2022 – October 5

Matthew 5:38-42

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”

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Is Jesus suggesting that I must allow the evil in this world to triumph? Am I to assume the role of victim in any encounter with someone who would do me harm? Is all that I own subject to anyone who wants to borrow it? This teaching of Jesus is tough.  I don’t want my cheek slapped. I don’t want to give my shirt away.  I don’t want to go the extra mile.  I don’t want to lend my favorite fishing pole to a clutz. There must be something more here than a radical reaction to an offense.

The culture in which we live remains resolute in its ability to accomplish much. There are many things the secular world can do better than the church. There is a place for government to do things the individual cannot.  Industry can build a car without being Christian. But there is one thing the world around you cannot do.  That thing is the offer of grace. Jesus was saying we are to be different from our culture or government or industry.  We have the ability to look beyond the requirements and need to go a little further and be grace and mercy.

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Importance of Place

Hillside Thoughts for Sunday – Day 275 of the year 2022 – October 2

Matthew 5:29-30 “If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”

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Most of the time a simple understanding is best. Yet here it sounds like crazy talk.  Plucking my eye out, or cutting off a hand is ridiculous. Losing an eye over saying “wow” after seeing a beautiful person is bizarre.  Jesus that would not help much, I still would have my other eye. If I steal from someone with my right hand are you saying that in guilt, I should run it through my table saw is pretty radical, nevertheless, I can learn to steal with my left.  So, Jesus what are you getting at?

The most important idea here as spoke to the Hillside Sitters was the Kingdom. The Kingdom is more important than my body. What the Rabbi was simply saying was that my greatest desire should be my place along His side.  My greatest goal, my greatest desire, should be my place in the Kingdom.  And this Kingdom, because of this scale of greatness in my life, may well require great sacrifices.

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Motive of Conformance

Hillside Thoughts for Saturday – Day 274 of the year 2022 – October 1

Matthew 5:28  “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

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The sermon on the grassy hillside continued with a comparison between the law of the Pharisees and the living law of Jesus. In this comparison, Jesus used an example from the Ten Statements handed down to Moses from the very voice of God. 

Infidelity is the unfaithfulness of a love. It is an act of betrayal. The disciples look at each other with a calm assurance, “Not much of that going on here.” But Jesus goes further and points to the attitude of betrayal.  To look with a wrong motive is now out of bounds. Jesus was explaining to us hillside dwellers that betrayal is more than an outward act.

Quite a few of the multitude take a dramatic breath.  They are shocked.  It was easy to say I have not betrayed anyone. Nevertheless, Jesus said a simple and seemingly uncontrollable desire brings conviction.  Jesus convicted us all before God. If the constraining law was only an outward act, there is only puffed-up chests and egos. The inner heart is a betrayer.

This view of the intent of God had little to do with outward acts. My outward righteousness is not enough. My ability to do the right thing at the right time in the right place was not enough.  I need God’s righteousness in my life. It is provided by Him for me.  The law should drive us to Jesus.

Peace of God within Me

Romans 15:33 “Now the God of peace be with you all”

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The God I serve and praise is more than an uninterested supreme being living up in some cloud. The God I find satisfying to my soul is my creator.  The God I focus on every day is one of peace.  God created us to have peace with him. He desires us to be at peace with everyone we encounter.  Jesus is the Prince of Peace. God the author of peace wants peace with his creation. He seeks peace.  My God does not rejoice in my pain or conflict. God does not sit with impunity, looking down and laughing at my stubbornness and rebellion.  Peace was lost first by the rebellion of Lucifer.  Again, peace was lost in the garden by Adam and Eve in their willfulness.  In my stubbornness and rebellion, I can destroy my peace with God. It is my choice to go my own way.

It is also my choice to relinquish my obstinate and persistent attitudes and accept the freely offered alternative.  It is my choice to have “the God of peace with” me.

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Let it flow

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 – Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

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When I am down and struggling, Paul is telling me that my solace, my ease, and my comfort is a priority for God. That gift of care and support comes directly from the Father God.  God is the source of compassion and is a part of His driven character. God is more than a being in a nebulous grey cloud with thunderbolts ready to strike me down at my low points. That is a good thing.  I hope that is true because sometimes I don’t feel much.  Especially in my own personal struggles.

OK, that is a great thought.  But hold on here: God now expects me to comfort, to deliver solace, care, and support to those who are also in trouble.  “Lord isn’t that your job?” If you are the source, who do I have to put myself out to help others?  Are you saying that my comfort is so full, so abundant that I have some to share? Are the things you provide to me for my peace and comfort so numerous that I have excess to distribute? That is crazy talk. There are times I don’t feel I have enough to get through the day.

Or is it that your plan requires an intermediary? You need me as an example and a conduit for comfort. You are the source, but I am a simple hollow pipe of distribution.  And in that, I can have peace. Open the spigot let it flow!

Prayer of Peace

Philippians 4:4-7 – Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

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It was no easy time in Philippi when Paul wrote these words. In hard times it is very difficult to “rejoice”. Even more to “rejoice in the Lord, all the time”, without ceasing, continually, without interruption. It is simply crazy talk.  How can I rejoice when the car needs tires, or my children are being overwhelmed by their own trials and health situations? When I get close to anyone in any meaningful conversation, I keep feeling their pain, their struggles and, it robs me of my joy.  How can I be full of peace and joy in a world that is all about division, and selfishness? Then Paul piles on with “don’t worry about anything.”

Then when life seems so frustrating and less than meaningful, we find the solution: “In every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” God’s guarding peace is promised to those who pray, with thanksgiving, about everything. No matter how bad or troubling is our situation, we are to pray and give thanks for it all.  Then we will have peace in our situation. And this peace will transcend our ability to understand it.

Justice is dictated by my faith and by God.

James 1:17-19  “Every good thing is given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. In the exercise of His will, He gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures. You know this, my beloved brothers, and sisters. Now everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.”

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You are a special gift.  A gift from God.  Your unique identity or personhood as created by God is simply without equal.  The message of practical James sees no jump in logic from your gifted unique identity to the accompanying responsibility to be just to those around you.  James is calling for a process in justice, listening carefully, restrained in our response, and measurement of judgment. He calls for due process for all accused of not living up to the image of God.

In the world in which we live, we have a responsibility not to pass judgment without due process.  The right to a timely trial, to an unbiased judge and a jury of our peers, a presumption of innocence, presentation of corroborating evidence, to know the charges or accusations, to confront witnesses, legal counsel, and the right to defend yourself are all part of this due process. Justice is allowing the process to work.  I cannot and will not make any judgment based on emotion, prejudice, innuendo, gossip, or without evidence.  That is justice.  Justice is dictated by my faith and by God.

I am who I am

Genesis 1:27 – So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

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My name is Larry, I am created in God’s own image.  I came from Him and someday I will be going back to him.  My worth is not dependent upon your opinion.  My worth is not dictated by societal norms.  My life is much more than what you may see of me or even your judgment of me. Who I am is much more than the cultural group to which you think I belong. Do not segregate me because of some outside, physical attribute. I refuse to be canceled.  Just societies are built on the acknowledgment and acceptance of the truth of all human beings are bearers of God’s image. They all have equal dignity, incalculable worth with rights that cannot be taken at the whim of any other.  It was C.S. Lewis who wrote, “There are no ordinary people, you have never talked to a mere mortal.”  The essence of my dignity is not man-made. I am not an earthy person experiencing spiritual things, but a spiritual person experiencing earthly things.

The Standard of Justice

Genesis 18:19 “For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.”

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Webster was right when he said, “Justice, sir, is the great interest of people on earth.”  Without justice, there is no hope or expectation of continuance for our culture. A just society must first acknowledge a moral law higher than itself: a supreme lawgiver to whom even the most powerful are held into account. America’s founders writing the Declaration of Independence, in the very first sentence acknowledged the existence and dependence upon something greater than themselves.  Our nation is founded on a supreme, objective basis of justice and righteousness. Justice is not a whim of whoever is in political power at any given election cycle.  Justice is based upon the supreme lawgiver. To substitute man-made morality or even personal political ethics as a new standard is just folly. God’s perfect justice is established by His unchangeable nature. To set any other ultimate measuring stick of justice is foolishness.