Wednesday Morning Devotional

Jude 1:11 “Woe to them, they have taken the way of Cain”

Genesis 4: 1 – 15

Last week, I told you how I responded to God about work. I don’t know if you noticed or not, but Cain didn’t respond to God at all which, I guess, was a response. In fact, sin got Cain, just like God said it would if he didn’t respond in the right way. I have learned from this story that my responses to God determine everything about my future. At this point of the story, Cain is at a crossroads. He has to choose a path: repent and follow God, or stay in his anger and let sin “have him.” Cain is a perfect picture of all the wrong responses. Instead of responding to God in repentance, Cain chose to remain in his anger. Another interesting thing about this point in the story? Nothing major has happened. Nothing has been harmed except for Cain’s ego. Unfortunately, Cain’s poor response caused major harm…he murdered his brother. The innocent was slain because of the sin of another. Sound familiar?

Now, remember that we are talking about the “way” of Cain. Jude 1:11 says “Woe to you who take this way!” It is a stern warning. Let’s look at Cain’s second chance to respond to God. You would think that after murdering Abel, God would just lay the smack down on him. You’d think that God would just slowly torture him and give Cain a nice slow, painful death (good thing I’m not God!) Look at what God does…He gives him another question: “Where is your brother, Abel?” Now, just like the “Where are you, Adam?” we talked about a couple of weeks ago, God knows where Abel is. However, this isn’t about where Abel is, this is about Cain’s response. Isn’t it amazing how God gives us chance after chance even when we don‘t deserve it? So, how does Cain respond?

This is the part that scares me about this generation, especially those in middle school through college. There is such little respect for authority that it is really scary. The majority of kids talk to their parents like they are garbage and give them very little respect. Now, if they talk to their parents like this, I get to be the next in line because we teachers get to be disrespected next. I mean, if they talk to mom and dad like that, do you really think they are going to automatically go to school and respect authority there? Then, many of these kids drop out, or barely graduate from school and then soon show up in the arrest reports. They didn’t respect mom and dad, then they didn’t respect teachers and principals, and then they didn’t respect the LAW! Surely, they’ll respect God though, right? Wrong!

Cain’s response is the most brazen example of arrogance that I know of in the Bible. Listen to the cocky arrogance in his voice as he responds to the Almighty God…”I don’t know! Am I supposed to keep track of him wherever he goes?” In the Salem Standard Version he says “I don’t know! He’s YOUR favorite…YOU go find Him!” What an attitude! Do you see why this is scary? This is so prevalent in the present day and time. We are the generation who is OWED a living. We are the ENTITLED generation. Everything should just be given to us and we should have to do NOTHING for it!

Now, I don’t really want to talk about this, but God wants me to, so I hope that this helps some marriages out there. Here is what this part of Cain’s story looked like for me. Before I asked Tonya to marry me, I basically told her that playing golf was number one in my life. I told her that I didn’t want any whining about me going to play all the time…it’s just what I did, and she would have to be cool with it. Tonya has always been a human “picture” of God to me. She acted cool with my arrogance and just loved me and was patient with me. Well, during the first few years of our marriage, I still treated it like a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship. I made absolutely no sacrifices for her…I didn’t help clean, in fact, I rarely helped at all. When I did happen to do something around the house, I expected some sort of medal from her or some sort of praise or something. Eventually, in the coolest way she could, she started pointing these things out to me. Of course, I responded with “you know baby… You are right! You’re always right! Thank you for showing me the error of my ways.” …NOT! I stewed in resentment. I thought of all the ways she was LUCKY to have me. I was mad at the lack of her appreciation of me. At this point, I had a choice. I could either let this resentment destroy my marriage, or I could start loving her as God has loved me! It put me on this journey of figuring out what it looked like for me to truly have a sacrificial love for her. I read books on marriage, and I asked people who had good marriages what they did. I discovered a lot of things and started putting them into practice. Long story short…my selfishness was about to destroy our marriage. It was when I started doing my part that things changed. Looking back, I can’t believe that I thought she needed to change and just accept me and my selfish ways. Of course I did because this required NO CHANGE and NO EFFORT on my part. Years later, I can not tell you how awesome it is being married to Tonya Hopkins. She is by far the best thing that has happened to me outside of salvation. However, the road to a great marriage started with ME…not her! Just like Cain, I was faced with a choice…humble myself and submit to God and my wife, or stay arrogant and let sin “have me” and my marriage.

All Cain had to do was say “I’m sorry, I did what you told me not to do and I killed my brother…I’m sorry!” Instead, we read this arrogant response that is now serving as a warning to those who are taking “the way of Cain.”

The world does not need one more person who behaves like Cain. It needs someone who will wholeheartedly submit themselves to Christ and SHOW others what God looks like! Please, please, please, if you recognize any of the Cain attitude in any area of your life…repent and start brand new today!

Later

Adam

The way of Cain (part 1)

Jude 1:11 “Woe to them, they have taken the way of Cain”

Genesis 4: 1 – 15

In the small book of Jude, there is a warning for people who have a certain attitude. There is a warning against people who have a certain “way” about them. When I studied this “way,” I was shocked at the comparisons of this generation and “the way of Cain.” The really interesting thing is that this warning comes right before the book of Revelation. I think it is kind of a hint to us that right before the end time events unfold, or perhaps while they are unfolding, people will have this “way” about them. So, what does “the way of Cain” look like?

After the fall of mankind in chapter 3, the next time we hear God speak is a question to Cain: “Why are you so angry?” Cain was angry because his offering wasn’t accepted and Abel’s was. It’s pretty obvious to me that God really cares about our attitudes when bringing offerings to Him. Proverbs 21:27 says that “God loathes the sacrifice of an evil person, especially when it is brought with ulterior motives.” WOW! You’d think that God would be cool with anybody bringing SOMETHING to Him, I mean, at least they are acknowledging Him, right? Wrong! If my heart isn’t right, God doesn’t want anything from me nor does He want me to do anything for Him…in fact, I make Him sick if I even try. It is so easy to be a member of the Laodicean church in Revelation 3. You go and act all good and give off the appearance of being hot on Sunday, then Monday through Saturday live as cold as you want. Jesus says “Be one way or the other…ALL the time!” (Salem Standard Version, of course)

Cain was angry because God didn’t accept his half-hearted effort. After he saw Abel’s offering being accepted, he played the “what makes him so special?” game. Oh man, this game is easy to play, and unfortunately it feels good to play. You get to point out all of the other person’s flaws to God and try to convince Him that they are no better than you. You get to find others who give half-hearted effort and slander and spew insults about the ones doing it right…it’s a really fun game to play, but in the end, God is not going to accept you or your offering. He tells us how to correctly respond in Genesis 4:7: “You will be accepted if you respond in the right way. But if you refuse to respond correctly, then watch out! Sin is waiting to attack and destroy you, and you must master it.” I love this verse…I learn to master sin, or sin masters me! Personally, I have decided that, with God’s help, I can and will master sin!

Now, let me tell you what this looked like for me a few years ago. I remember sitting in our awards ceremony at the school where I work. I had just watched a teacher have the yearbook dedicated to them. I thought to myself “I’ve been here longer than that person, why didn’t I have it dedicated to me?” Soon after that, the Teacher of the Year award was given to a teacher that was not me. I thought, “what makes them so special? How come I’ve been here 10 years and never been teacher of the year?” A week or two later at our sports banquet, I watched the Coach of the Year award be handed out. The coach of the year was, once again, not me. Now, I began to think of all of the reasons that I was better than all of them. I can only imagine how putrid I smelled to God (and I wondered why He seemed so far away). However, God asked me in a similar way that he asked Cain “Are you giving me your best?” At first, I responded by telling God how I was better than those others who were chosen, but it didn’t take long before I saw the half-heartedness in just about everything I did. I wanted to master sin so I told God I was sorry, and I went for it. In two years I became a completely different worker. I discovered two things. One, I love my job when I do it for Him. Two, if I’m doing my job for Him, I do not need or even want human rewards or recognition. The joy I have in the Lord is more than enough.

However, just to show His sense of humor, in 2010, He gave me all three of those awards I coveted just a few years before.

So, if you claim to be a Christian, what is your attitude about work? If you’re a student, what is your attitude about school? Do you do it to honor God? Are you giving your best? Most people are taking the way of Cain. They are giving God SOMETHING, but not their best, then complaining about the ones who do give their best. Our generation wants maximum reward for minimum effort. Unfortunately, you don’t get credit for just “showing up.” You get a real deal relationship with God for giving your ALL!

Later

Adam

Where are you?

Genesis 3:9…”Where are you?”

This question used to bother me. I mean, God knew where Adam was, right?…He’s God. However, now I realize my mistake. I was thinking God wanted to know Adam’s physical location. He wanted Adam to evaluate his spiritual location. See, for the first time, Adam was disobedient to God. For the first time, God came to visit and Adam wasn’t eagerly waiting for Him. As soon as he disobeyed, sin separated him from God. For the first time, instead of hanging with God, Adam was hiding from God. He went from fellowshipping with God, to wanting nothing to do with God.

I guess because my name is Adam, I think about this question often. I especially think about it when God feels far away from me. He sometimes asks “Where are you, Adam?” In my mind, He continues, “You used to be right here with me. You used to want to spend time with me. You used to couldn’t wait to get up and pray to me. Your heart used to fill up so quickly with my presence when you listened to sermons, went to church, and listened to praise and worship music. I had your heart at one time, Adam…where are you?”

Typing those words, it makes me hate sin. It makes me hate sin because it’s usually something totally meaningless that grips my heart. I start practicing a bunch of secular music on the guitar instead of playing and singing praises to Him. I start reading books just for entertainment and put the Bible and other books that help me learn more about Him on hold. I get busy. I basically go a day without Him, then a day turns into days, and days turn into weeks. All of a sudden, I find that I haven’t felt Him in a while. Sooner or later, I hear the words…“Where are you, Adam?”

I think it’s interesting that when you read the 10 commandments in Exodus 20 or Deuteronomy 5 that the words “for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God” appear. I think it is interesting because in Galatians 5, jealousy is listed as an act of the sinful nature. Why does He get to be jealous, and we don’t? Well, that’s kind of obvious, we get jealous out of envy and it leads to discord, fits of rage…etc. I think a perfect picture of the wrong kind of jealousy is Cain and Abel. God flat out told Cain if he’d just do what was right, just like Abel did, that he would be accepted as well. Instead of doing the work and developing his own relationship with God, Cain let sin “have him.” Now, instead of reading a story of how to turn your heart towards God, we read a story of jealousy and murder.

I remember back in the school days that three girls absolutely crushed me. I mean, these girls put my heart in a blender and hit “puree.“ Ohhh, probably not that bad, but I really, really liked these girls. One girl in middle school hurt me really bad. I remember that she didn’t even tell me that it was over. I had to watch her walk to lunch holding hands with another dude. I thought everything was cool between us. In just an instant, I was history. As sad as that is, it gets more pathetic…I let her do this to me TWO more times! After the third time…she was OUT, and I was never going back! However, I would see her with these other guys and wonder why I wasn‘t good enough. I was jealous. Not the “I’m going to kill somebody” jealous, just the hurt kind of jealous.

So, why do I tell that depressing bit of information to thousands of people? Because, I believe that’s the kind of jealousy God feels. I used to just wish that those girls would get their hearts crushed just like I did, you know…what comes around goes around? But now, I totally forgive them in my heart. I have to because I’ve done God that way so many times. Thank God He didn’t say “three strikes and you’re out.” I would have been “out” a long time ago. He is so patient, and so kind. All He wants is to spend time with you. He wants you to put Him first. When He has first place in my life, I can’t tell you how great life is. Even when the crappiest stuff happens to me, I have such joy in my heart. When I put anything else in first place, I lose twice. I lose in the fact that life just stinks. Then, I lose in the fact that my God feels like I did when I saw that my middle school girlfriend’s heart didn’t belong to me anymore.

Just the other day, I said to my little man “hey, come give Daddy a hug!” He said “I go play computer!” Immediately, this entire WMD filled my mind. Imagine how God must have felt when Adam took that bite of that fruit.

Where are you?

Later

Adam

Matthew 7:14 …few there be that find it.

In December of 2004, I remember seeing on the news that one of my used-to-be favorite guitar players was murdered. I still love to max out the volume and distortion on my amp every once in a while to crank out some of those catchy guitar riffs he came up with. Soon after his death, I remember reading a Guitar World Magazine where many of the popular guitar players said their good-byes to their deceased friend. One that I don’t think I’ll ever forget said this: “Rest in peace, bro…you’re in God’s tavern now.”

The second commandment says this: “Do not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in Heaven…” I never really though about it until recently just how much this commandment is broken. Pretty much everybody believes in God, but which one? Is it the God of the Holy Bible that collects dust on our table tops and shelves? Or is it the image of someone or something in Heaven that we’ve made up because we never actually pick up those Bibles and read them? People don’t like the notion of Hell…so why not just make up an image of a God in your mind who would never allow any person to go there? People don’t like the notion of changing their behavior…so they make up a God who allows them to live any way they please, then still be allowed access to “a better place.”

There are a couple of verses that I want us to really take a look at. John 14:6 says “I am the way the truth and the life. NO ONE comes to the Father except through me.” As much as I’d like to believe that one day I’ll meet this famous guitar player and he’ll teach me some cool stuff on the guitar, it probably isn’t going to happen. Everything about the guy portrayed the “acts of the flesh” in Galatians 5:19…sexual immorality, hatred, fits of rage, selfish ambition, and drunkenness just to name a few. Remember, the end of the verse says “those who live like this WILL NOT inherit the kingdom of God.”

Listen, I hate writing this. I feel like I am judging the guy, that is NOT my intent. I have done everything that I mentioned he did. However, through the power of the Holy Spirit, I USED to live like that. I am in no way, shape, or form any better than him or anybody else. The only difference is that I’ve placed my complete trust in Jesus Christ. He made the way! He changed me. He gets all the credit. I’ve done nothing but choose to follow Him. I just find that the more I hang out with Him, the more I fall in love with Him and want so badly to please Him! This is how I know that I am a new creation…I never wanted that before!

I think it is interesting that everybody knows John 3:16. Nobody knows John 3:36: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” Once again, I wish that wasn’t in there, but it is. By all indications, this guitar hero never put his trust in Jesus Christ. I hope he did, but his death should be a reminder that we will all meet death one day. We will all stand before the king and give account for what we DID and the way we LIVED! His death, or anybody’s death is not a time to make a false god in our minds who will allow us to join him despite the fact that we keep living any way we want. Don’t get me wrong, not one single person is going into Heaven because he or she was a good person on Earth. The bible is clear…NOBODY is good (Mark 10:18) The only reason any person will set foot in Heaven is because of Jesus and what He did on the cross. It is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8) But, a gift can be rejected. God offers the gift, but the majority of the people aren’t accepting it, much less being transformed by it!

I realize that we want our loved ones to go to a better place. We want to rationalize their lives by looking at how they loved their friends and family. Check out Matthew 5:46, it says that EVERYBODY loves those who love them back and there is NO reward for loving those who turn around and love you right back. If you are reading this devotional, learn to love your enemies. Learn to love and pray for those who do you wrong. Learn to forgive no matter what. Become self-disciplined. Display self-control. Let your language be pure. You absolutely can NOT do these things unless you have the Holy Spirit living inside your heart! Ask Him to help you. Then, when you draw your final breath, people won’t have to wonder where you are or conjure up some false god who will excuse your denial of Him. They’ll know!

I’m sorry this is so hardcore! I promise I do not write this with a light heart, for it is broken for the lost.

Later

Adam

The Fearful

Revelation 21:8: But the fearful…shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire.

Of all the verses in the Bible, this one stands out to me more than any. I think I know the reason why. Before I gave my life to the Lord, I saw a t-shirt that I still think about sometimes. It said on the front “If you died today, where would you go?” Then, on the back, it said “It’s the burning question.” Underneath, it had Revelation 21:8. I immediately went home, looked it up, and unintentionally committed it to memory. It was just scary. It got me to thinking about eternity. If there really was a hell, and everybody in this verse from the fearful to the liars were headed there…where did that leave me? At the time, it was the liars that worried me because I was one! Today, I’m understanding more and more what it means to be fearful.

Before I get into it, I want you to understand that this is the American version of being fearful. We don’t have a clue what it’s like to be tortured and potentially lose our lives for Jesus Christ. In America, we stand to lose position, social standing, or worse…our “cool” factor among our peers. Though I’m making light of this, it is a very real and very painful loss to us “comfortable” Americans. That being said, I don’t know if you are feeling it like I’m feeling it, but the pressure is being turned up on those who are really trying to live the Christian lifestyle. I will give you some examples from the education world…you’ll have to apply them to your own.

I witnessed a student a few weeks ago take a huge step of faith. He was about to get into a fight. I told him not to do it, it just wasn’t worth it. He told me about all the names that he would be called and told me he would be made fun of if he didn’t go and fight. Immediately, my mind went to Matthew 5:10…Blessed are those who are persecuted because of RIGHTEOUSNESS, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. The next two verses are even cooler: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you falsely, and say all kinds of evil about you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in Heaven.” Wow! If he does what is right and does not fight, there is an eternal reward. Yes, there will be the enduring of some name calling, but if that happens, he isn’t supposed to well up with anger, he is supposed to REJOICE! He is suffering for doing what is right, and one day the God he did that for will reward him. If he does what is wrong, do you know what he is?…fearful!

Contrary to popular opinion and belief, I do not “proselytize” in my classroom. Not one time have I ever told a student what he or she should or should not believe. However, I do teach right and wrong under the guidelines of our three “R” rules that are posted in our hallways and classrooms…Be Respectful, Responsible, and Ready. I do my best to model these every single day. I also tell a great number of stories that illustrate the consequences of poor choices and actions in hopes that they will not make them. However, because students see me preach from time to time in various pulpits, lead devotions at a Tuesday morning breakfast right across the road from our school, read WMD, see me play on our praise team in church, and hopefully see me live this stuff out every single day, I am a magnet for questions about the Lord and the Bible. This has led to many students in my school receiving the Lord. There are people that frown upon this. What am I supposed to do? If I tell them about the Lord, I am being obedient to my faith and honoring the one who gave His life for me. If I succumb to the world‘s wishes, I’m fearful, and I don’t care for the last words of Revelation 21:8 that clearly states what happens to those who are fearful!

I’m starting to read where coaches are being placed under intense pressure to stop prayers before games. The Lord’s prayer found in Matthew 6 is a common pre-game ritual all across the southern part of the United States. Because a few people, and I mean a few people, find this offensive, many coaches are just saying “no more prayers.” I’ve even heard of teachers in the classroom being asked about their beliefs and they won’t even tell their students that they are of the Christian faith…fearful!

Read Daniel 3. These guys were willing to be thrown into a blazing fire rather than bow down with the rest of the world. Read Acts 4 and 5. These guys had their skin beaten off of their backs and fronts, then still kept carrying on “the Name.” They prayed for boldness…not protection. Americans pray for comfort and safety. We hope that we won’t ever have to do anything hard for the one who did the hardest thing imaginable for US! The early church believers prayed for many signs, wonders, and miracles in the name of Jesus, not for themselves to see, but so others might see…and believe. Shouldn’t we do the same? Or, are we too…fearful?

One day soon, our Lord will return. Revelation 21:8 lists the qualities that He is NOT looking for. If you have repented of your sins, asked for forgiveness of your sins, and placed your trust in Jesus, be bold and live the remainder of these last days for Him. It is difficult, but extremely rewarding. 365 times the Bible says “fear not.” That’s one for every day of the year.

He is in control. He’s got your back. He loves to see and reward faith in action.

There is no need to fear.

Later

Adam