3rd Book of Devotionals

By John "Cleve" Stafford

A daily devotional article to encourage you through your Christian journey. We often feel overwhelmed or discouraged, and my prayer is that this book will help you overcome those times and inspire you to fully embrace your Christianity again. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: John "Cleve" Stafford
• Release date: Apr 18, 2024
• ISBN: 9798990054448

John "Cleve" Stafford

I was born in Cape Town, South Africa, and matriculated in 1981. My mother was a "non-practicing" Catholic, and my father was a non-believer. Of course, that meant we never attended any kind of church service. My first exposure to a sermon happened when I was in boarding school in grade eight. I met my wife in 1995, and we were married two years later. In 1999, a chance encounter with two Texans would eventually culminate in us moving to America to study the Bible. After my undergraduate degree, I completed an MA. Christian Counseling degree as well. In 2006, I became a youth minister and later an associate minister before being convinced to move to the northeast to grow a newly established church. We have lived in Massachusetts ever since. My wife and I have three adult children and two beautiful granddaughters. A

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Chapter 1

Confusing Words in the Bible

Several words in the Bible are not that easy to understand, like atonement, propitiation, redemption, justified, righteous, and sanctified. On more than one occasion, an individual has asked me to explain them. I trust this will help you if you struggle with them as well.

Atonement is universal in nature and refers to Christ’s death for every person. It was the reconciliation of God and humanity through Christ's work on the cross. It allows any individual who desires to approach God to do so with the secure knowledge that they will not be rejected despite their sinful nature.

Rom. 5:11, "More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."

Propitiation refers to Christ’s work in appeasing or satisfying God, whose anger was kindled against humanity's sins. The atonement paved the way for alleviating God’s righteous anger toward His people because of their constant sinful actions.

1Jo. 2:2, "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world."

Redemption is personal in nature and is the blood spilled on the cross for the individual believer. Whereas atonement and propitiation happened at a specific point in the past, redemption began with the blood of Christ but flowed forward to affect the seeker at Baptism. In essence, it delivers them from sin to enable the following action by God.

Eph. 1:7, "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace."

Justified is the one-time declaration by God and refers to the act of Him moving an individual from a state of injustice, which is sin, to one of justice, which is one of grace and mercy. It is an acquittal similar to a judge declaring someone free from the accusation of a crime in court.

Rom. 3:24, "And are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."

Righteous refers to the state of right standing before Him because He justified us and is ongoing by nature because of our obedience.

2Co. 5:21, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

Sanctified means that we are set apart for God. It is a progressive state in which the Christian is transformed by living a life dedicated to God.

1Th. 5:23, "Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

I usually use the following sentence to show their relationship, Christ was the atonement for the sins of everyone, thereby becoming the propitiation and ensuring the believer’s redemption to be justified as righteous and be sanctified.

Chapter 2

Make Sure It Comes from God and Not Man

"I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths (2Ti. 4:1-4). When Paul says, I charge you," in his encouragement of Timothy, it conveys the urgency and importance of what he is about to say.

This was not merely a suggestion but a command to do as he was told. As if placing a period on that phrase, he warns his understudy that the Day of Judgment is coming, at which time he must answer for his actions. No matter what anyone thinks, that day is as inevitable as anything can ever be, even more so than death. Let me explain. We have all heard the saying, The only certainty in life is death, but that is not entirely true. You see, people who are alive at the second coming of Christ are not all suddenly going to die. In other words, a small number of people will not experience death.

However, every single person, bar none, will face Christ on the Day of Judgment. Hence, that is even more certain than death. Since we will all have to answer for our actions, we should ensure our purity as best we can - especially leaders and teachers. Jam. 3:1, "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. That alone should motivate us to carefully represent the Word accurately and honestly. Unlike those lying Cretans, Paul encourages Titus to ...teach what accords with sound doctrine" (Tit. 2:1). Not only preachers, teachers, and elders, but anyone who speaks must ensure the accuracy of their words because they are not speaking their mind.

1Pe. 4:11, "whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God.... Too often, the blame is laid at the feet of the church leaders, and while the buck can be said to stop there, the aforementioned verses clearly include anyone who teaches the Word. But far too many men (and women) defy the clearly established rules and teach whatever comes to mind. They scoff at verses like Gal. 1:8 as they spew their unscriptural nonsense in an attempt to garner financial windfalls and glory for themselves – But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed."

Those deceivers are warned not once but twice that they will be accursed. God never has and never will tolerate misteaching. So, when teaching a class, preaching a sermon, holding a seminar, giving a devotional, or even serving in any leadership capacity, you should preach the Word rather than your agenda. But, if you think because you technically engage in none of the above, your errant teaching will somehow be overlooked, you are tragically mistaken. Any Bible study or casual conversation about God should only be from the Bible. If you do that, you will not risk facing God’s wrath being poured out on you.

Chapter 3

Don’t Stand in Ignorant Silence

"...but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect" (1Pe. 3:15). Paul has just addressed suffering for doing Good, and now he is telling his readers how to respond when asked by someone about their attitude. This is one of the verses where context matters, and context can only be understood when the verse is read as part of a paragraph, a chapter, and a book. Once we discover the book's purpose, we can begin to dissect the chapters and paragraphs to find that sometimes elusive context we need to understand God’s word correctly.

Space will not allow me to go over all the different parts of the book, but I suggest you take the time to read 1 Peter since you will find many other helpful lessons as well. Suffice it to say that we will be changed when we put our trust in Christ and decide to become His followers by obedience to the scriptures and all that entails. When that happens, our outlook on life and our attitude will be transformed, and we will be able to overcome the suffering with relative ease. One of the most noticeable changes is that we will have a different hope than the world. Their hope is fleeting in nature and has no security attached to it. If something positive happens, it has as much to do with luck as with anything they have done, but our hope is way different from that.

Ours is based on an assurance and is the foundation of our faith. Heb. 11:1, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." When we have that kind of spiritual hope, our attitude to suffering will be rather curious for the non-believer. How can we handle it so well? Why aren’t we coming unglued from all the stress? Where are we deriving the strength to overcome those sufferings with such ease in our spirit? Those are the questions, among others, that the world may ask of us, and it is then when Paul says we need to be ready to give that defense for the hope that is in us. Here is a problem, though: many people don’t have the faintest clue how to answer those questions.

How do we explain our Christianity to them? How do we explain the peace that comes from being a child of God? How do you explain the joy that comes from being in Christ? How do we explain the comfort we receive from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in times of great stress? Unfortunately, I will not reveal a magic answer that will work in every instance. That is for you to work out in your own mind. But you can only do that if you read the Bible, study what you have read, and pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit when it comes to understanding it all. Nothing is worse than when someone asks us why we are so calm during the storm only to stand there in ignorant silence, unable to articulate the reasons.

Now would be a great time to begin studying the Bible and ask yourself how you would answer the question, What is the reason for the hope in you? Take the time to formulate a coherent and compelling answer. Paul has one more admonishment, however. When you are called on to answer the question, leave the arrogance and aggressive attitude at the door. If you respond in a peaceable manner that is cloaked in gentleness and respect, they will entertain your thoughts but attack them, and they will respond in kind. Treat their question with disdain, and

they will treat your response the same way. Discourteousness will only result in losing the opportunity to witness and teach the Good News to someone who may be a seeking soul. Always remember, your answer could be the catalyst for them to seek salvation – for them to have the same hope you have.

Chapter 4

Fully Embrace Your New Creation

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come (2Co. 5:17). Sometimes I wonder how many people embrace the new life they have in Christ to the fullest extent. I have baptized individuals who no sooner came up out of the water than returned to their old lifestyle. The only difference between the day before and the day after was the profession that they were now a Christian. Church attendance seemed to wane after the fact, and before long, they became special day believers." We saw them at weddings, funerals, and the odd Easter, but they were pretty much absent for the rest of the year. The reality is that being baptized is not an automatic guarantee of faithfulness.

When Jesus addressed the Pharisees who were not embracing His teachings, He uttered these dire words of warning, "You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires... (Joh. 8:44). Now, the context may be different, but the words are just as valid for those who half-heartedly, semi-kinda, sorta embrace their new creation. I have said this in many other articles, and I will probably repeat it many more times, You cannot play on both teams." You are either for team Christ or team Satan.

When I read "the old has passed away, I automatically think of Rom. 6:3-7, Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin."

That newness of life we experience after being raised with Christ means more than only giving lip service. It means more than attending church, being a prayer warrior, a teacher, or any of the many things we can do in church. It means more than pretending to be something you are not. It means you are wholly committed to a new lifestyle that puts your former sinful self to figurative death. Paul puts much more clearly than I ever could in Col. 3:5-8, "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth."

The old you embraced the things of the world, but when you became a new creation, those things had to disappear from your life. When you are a new creation in Christ, you must choose to discard damaging friendships with the world. Jam. 4:4, "You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. You are no longer enslaved to the trappings of the world because that part of you was crucified so that the body of sin might be brought to nothing." As a new creation, we all have the strength to put to death that which was earthly in us. We can free ourselves from the bondage of sin.

The power it had over us is overtaken by the power of the Holy Spirit, which dwells in us post-baptism. Act. 2:38, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The power that is in the name of Christ is ours for the taking, and when we have it, nothing can stand in our way, and nothing can interfere with our relationship with the Savior. Rom. 8:38-39, For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. But none of that is true unless we fully embrace the new creation that we are – and hold on to it as if our lives depended on it.

Chapter 5

Be Laughed at or Be Ready

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil (Eph. 6:10-11). This has always been a fascinating analogy for me. I suppose it reminds me of when I was a young child and played those fanciful Knight in shining armor" games with my friends. We would find trash can lids to use as shields and tie whatever else we could find around us to simulate the armor before courageously going into battle.

It would be decades later before I had the opportunity to see what an actual suit of armor was like. We were in England for a short stay when I was afforded the opportunity to see and even try on a suit of armor. What I remember most is that it was way, way more uncomfortable than the made-up suit of my youth. It was so heavy and cumbersome that I recall thinking to myself I would have died pretty quickly if I were made to wear that in a battle. But that also got me thinking of Eph. 6:10-18 differently. Of course, Paul refers to our spiritual warfare, specifically our defenses against the evil one, but I apply it with a twist.

Here is my thought. When we have put on Christ in baptism and are a new creation, that suit of armor is ours to wear all the time. If we choose to use it only when the attacks begin, we may not be able to put it on before we are dealt a severe blow, which may result in our spiritual death. However, it is not comfortable to wear. It is not meant to be. It is our best defense, and comfort is not a top priority. Not only that, but we stand out from the world when we use it. But some people don’t like to wear it precisely for that reason. They prefer their comfortable pants and shirts or their designer stretch jeans and name-brand t-shirts for comfort and not standing out amongst the crowd.

If we wear it, the world may laugh at us. They may say we look silly in our shiny metal get-up. Even our Christian friends may scoff at our willingness to wear it all the time as they, too, pretend to laugh at us, all the while secretly wishing they dared to do the same. But, when the attack of the evil one comes, and it will, they find themselves unprepared. As they frantically search for their armor and desperately try to put it on, they are no match for the flaming darts of the evil one. Soon, they are vanquished and dragged into the darkness of sin. But the same fate will not befall those who diligently don that armor every morning because we are vigilant and ready.

"Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1Pe. 5:8). There are two things we should always be aware of when it comes to the devil. He is always prowling, and he is really, really fast. Thinking that you will have time to run back inside, grab your dusty suit of armor, and quickly put it on will leave you woefully unprepared and vulnerable to his attacks. No one promised that Christianity would be comfortable. In fact, we are promised just the opposite in Joh. 15:20, Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you....’"

Who cares if the world or even other plutonic Christians think you look silly? Who cares that they laugh or sneer at you? People probably laughed at Noah, too – until the rain came. Wear it because it is the best and only defense that assures victory against those sudden attacks. Take it off, even for a second, and the devil will seize the opportunity to overcome your weakened defenses. Beaten, you will be dragged into the darkness of sin, where he will attempt to keep you chained up. Be laughed at or be ready – your choice.

Chapter 6

Armor of God (Pt. 1) Armor of God

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God....." (Eph. 6:10-17).

After the reader is told to "be strong in the Lord, Paul introduces the concept of the armor of God and the reason we will need it – to overcome the schemes of the devil. He then makes a point I think is often overlooked when studying this paragraph. It is something we are going to look at today as we begin a brief study of the six elements of our suit of armor. In v. 13, we read, Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm." This is too important to gloss over as we hurry on to the more interesting part of the paragraph. In fact, it is vital because not doing so will radically increase the chance of our defeat.

Allow me to use the analogy of a soldier of old preparing to go out and battle the enemy to make my point. When preparing himself, he would don the entire suit of armor