Devotions

The Father has two kinds of love: a general love for all sinners and a special love for all who are in his family. God’s general love for mankind can be embraced by anyone who comes to him in repentance, but God’s heart is also filled with a distinctive, exceptional love for his children.

God has always had a chosen people for himself upon whom he bestowed his great love. Israel once was the sole object for this special love: “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The Lord did not set his love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you ... [He] has brought you out with a mighty hand ...” (Deuteronomy 7:6-8, NKJV).

God directed these words to Israel. Yet, if you have received Jesus as your Savior and Lord—if you have been adopted into God’s family, and he is your loving Father—you too must come to grips with how special you are to him!

You are the recipient of God’s extraordinary love, and here are his words to you: “You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy” (1 Peter 2: 9-10).

At one time, you were not an object of his special love, but now you are! You have been reconciled to the Father, and he loves you deeply right now, at this very moment. He has set his love upon you, and he delights in you.

These are the generations living today and the general time frames in which they were born. Which one are you?

Greatest Generation (1901-27)
Silent Generation (1928-45)
Baby Boomers (1946-64)
Gen X (1965-80)
Millennials or Gen Y – (1981-96)
Gen Z or iGen – (1997-2010)
Generation Alpha (Born after 2010)

I’m a proud boomer. We came of age in a turbulent era and think we’re kind of hip. I mean, we invented rock and roll and were in charge when the internet went global! You’re welcome.

That said, I have some bad news for my fellow boomers. We’re now the old guys five slots back from the newest generation. We’re more associated with hip surgery than with the Summer of Love.

Here’s the serious part: According to a 2018 American Family Survey, the fastest-growing group of people on the religious horizon is the “Nones,” those who check “none” on surveys that ask for their religious affiliation. It’s an irony that in our quest to make the gospel more relatable to new generations, we’ve made it feel out of reach.

It isn’t that people aren’t curious and desperate for God. Rather, it’s that children are raised more and more in environments where God is never even mentioned. Even worse, if they do eventually make their way to a church, they have a lot of questions, but they’re met with smiles and platitudes. A millennial told me recently that many of his peers don’t feel they can voice their questions to believers. Why? Maybe it’s because too many have prioritized relevance over faith. Maybe they haven’t even looked for the answers themselves.

C. S. Lewis’s book Mere Christianity is adapted from a series of radio broadcasts he made during World War II. Both the book and the broadcasts were sensations because they voiced the hard questions. He knew his topic well from his own mighty struggle with the ideas of God, suffering, salvation and life in general.

Do we know our topic, the magnificent gospel message? Does it even matter how much we know? Be assured that it matters very much to the person who is longing to learn about Jesus. Peter thought so too. In 2 Peter 1:3-11, he urges us to keep reinvigorating our faith and be ready to share it. He sums it up with “Therefore…be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election” (2 Peter 1:10, ESV).

Wise words, at any age.

A concerned husband went to see the family doctor. “I think my wife is deaf,” he said. “She never hears me the first time I say something.”

“Go home tonight,” the doctor suggested. “Stand fifteen feet from her, and say something. If she doesn’t reply, move five feet closer and say it again. Keep doing this so we can get an idea of the severity of her deafness.”

The husband went home and did exactly as instructed. “Honey, what’s for dinner?” he said. No response, so he moved five feet closer and asked, “Honey, what’s for dinner?” Finally, he moved right behind her and asked the question again.

“For the fourth time,” she said, “chicken!”

Guess who was actually the deaf one?

We can laugh over this story, but it tells an important truth: we always assume it’s the other person who has the problem.

Jesus addressed this issue in the last part of the Sermon on the Mount. “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:1-3, ESV). As the great nineteenth-century preacher Charles H. Spurgeon aptly put it, “None are more unjust in their judgments of others than those who have a high opinion of themselves.”

I have asked couples in marriage counseling to name their ‘logs’ before telling me their spouse’s ‘specks.’ It’s amazing how hard it is for them to think of their own issues. F. B. Meyer, once said, “When we see a brother or sister in sin, there are three things we do not know and [must] keep in mind before we pass judgment: First, we do not know how hard he or she tried not to sin. Second, we do not know the power of the forces that assailed him or her. Third, we do not know what we would have done in the same circumstances.” Good words to remember.

If you want to judge, judge yourself first. Logs before specks. You’ll be so busy getting rid of your own log that you won’t have time for others’ specks. Get this and you will build deep, meaningful, long-term relationships.

_{After pastoring an inner-city congregation in Detroit for thirty years, Pastor Tim served at Brooklyn Tabernacle in NYC for five years and pastored in Lafayette, Louisiana, for five years. He became Senior Pastor of Times Square Church in May of 2020.}

Many people find it difficult to think of God as a loving father. They see him through eyes clouded with pain from their past experiences with an ungodly father or stepfather.

Thousands of Christians do not believe God loves them because their earthly father abandoned, wounded or grieved them badly. I pray that this message will speak not only to them but also to those of you who have not yet discovered the depths of the heavenly Father’s love.

Many of us know the scriptures and the theology behind God’s great love for his children. However, very few of us have learned to appropriate that love, and we therefore can’t enjoy its benefits.

Listen to how God described himself to Moses. “The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…” (Exodus 34:6-7, NKJV).

When we are in the midst of our trials, we forget what God has said about his own nature. If we would only believe him in such times, we would have great assurance in our souls. From cover to cover, the Bible speaks to us as God’s voice, revealing to us how tender and loving he is.

God is ready to forgive at all times. “For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon you” (Psalm 86:5). He is patient with us, full of tenderness and mercy. “Great are your tender mercies, O Lord” (Psalm 119:156). “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy” (Psalm 145:8).

When you go to the Lord in prayer and worship, be very careful what kind of image of God you take into his presence. You must be fully convinced of his love for you and believe that he is all that he says he is.

The prophet Isaiah provides us with an example of how we can heal our tongue.

1. Isaiah drew near to the Lord and prayed for a vision of God’s holiness. “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up” (Isaiah 6:1, NKJV).

Anyone who wants to live a life that pleases God must constantly go into his presence until he sees God’s holiness. All healing, true blessings and victories begin at his throne. That is where we see God in his holiness!

2. While standing in God’s holy presence, Isaiah was deeply convicted for having unclean lips. “Then I said: ‘Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts’” (Isaiah 6:5).

Why did Isaiah cry out, “I am a man of unclean lips”? It was because he had seen the king of glory. God’s presence exposes everything that is unlike him.

3. Isaiah allowed the Lord to touch him and cleanse him with his sacred fire. “Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged’” (Isaiah 6:6-7).

God’s Word is a live coal, and the Holy Spirit is its fire. Right now you have been touched by the Holy Spirit through this message, and God wants to purify you with its flame. He can do it if you will let his Word reach your innermost being. He is the only one who can do it. Your part is simply to confess, as Isaiah did, “Woe is me, I am unclean.”

I pray that the power of God’s Word will touch and purify you. Confess, “Yes, it is me, Lord; I will not let this conviction pass me by. Cleanse my mouth and my heart.”