DEVELOPING CONSISTENT GODLY CHARACTER
September 10
However, let us keep walking in step with the same standard to which we have attained. Philippians 3:16
The apostle Paul provides an excellent example of how we need to develop consistent, godly character. We could have chosen Joseph, Moses, Daniel or John the Baptizer. Like us, the apostle Paul had a definite turning point in his life and got on a tough path to developing consistent, godly character. Here, in Philippians 3:7-17, we get insight into this process for our benefit. It begins by putting aside the things that are hindering your spiritual growth. Another way to state this is to say that Paul valued Christ and knowing Christ above everything else that he had achieved. Could you say that? Is Jesus Christ the #1 priority of your life? If not, then your quest for consistent godly character will be like the person who wants to be a good pianist, but only practices when it is convenient. Oh, he is talented. His teacher says that he could be great, but it isn’t important to him. You have the Holy Spirit. You have a new mind. You have a spiritual gift from God. You have the resources that you need.
On April 14, 1912, 10:00 p.m., the Titanic crashed into an iceberg in the mid-Atlantic and four hours later sank. One woman in a life boat asked if she could go back to her room. She was given only three minutes to do so. She hurried down the corridors, already tilting dangerously, and through the gambling room piled ankle-deep in money. In her room were her treasures waiting to be taken, but instead, she snatched up three oranges and hurried back to the boat. One hour before she would have naturally chosen diamonds over oranges, but in the face of death, values are seen more clearly.
What do you value most? Valuing Jesus the most will enable you to continue on the path to consistent godly character. Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).
Ike Graham
HOW SECURE AM I?
September 9
If God is for us, who is against us? Rom. 8:31b
A supreme frustration is that I encounter so many dear people whom I apprehend to be genuine Christians, but who nonetheless lack assurance regarding the matter of their salvation. They are thus deprived of experiencing the full JOY of their salvation!
The Grace Brethren movement—unique amongst the diverse fraternity of related Schwarzenau Brethren groupings—historically and dogmatically affirms the doctrine of the Eternal Security of the believer. To deny Eternal Security involves introducing a legalistic, works-based element into our salvation. In Christ, we HAVE eternal life, Brethren (John 3:16)! God has not bequeathed to us the spirit of anxiety and uncertainty: rather, “so that you may KNOW that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13)!
As we are reminded in the Sacred Form of our Trine Baptism, our secure salvation is rooted in the work of each Person of the Holy Trinity. Believers have been predestinated unto Eternal Life by God the Father (Eph. 1:3-6), and our status is that we have been adopted into His Family as His own dear children (Rom. 8:15)—no longer His enemies! Consider where we were—and where we are now, in Christ (Eph. 2:1-10)! God the Son, whom the Father has sent, has paid our debt in full (John 19:30), and His righteousness has been legally reckoned unto us (2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 5:18-19). We have also received the “earnest” or pledge of God the Holy Spirit, which is an assurance that our salvation-experience will be consummated and completed. Further, we have also been sealed by the Holy Spirit unto the Day of Redemption (2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13, 4:30).
We are secure in the Triune God—and it doesn’t get any better than that!
Terry L. Reese
DO YOU HEAR ME?
September 8
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
John 10:27
If Jesus were giving a spiritual hearing test today, He might ask these questions:
1. Do you really understand what I’m saying? Many think the Bible is just like any other book that can be understood naturally and intellectually. However, 1 Corinthians 2:9-16 states that apart from the Holy Spirit’s help we cannot do so. When the Holy Spirit opens and convicts a person of his need of Jesus Christ as Savior, he repents and trusts Christ alone for forgiveness, and things become much clearer. We now have a spiritual antenna to receive God’s spiritual truth as His Spirit illuminates our minds.
2. Do you really listen to what I’m saying? When we do not mix personal faith with God’s Word, it’s a non-profit venture (Hebrews 4:2). So we are thrice warned “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me” (Hebrews 3:7-8, 15; 4:7). Are we really listening to God with agreement and acceptance?
3. Do you really obey what I’m saying? We can actually understand and agree with God without obeying Him! James 1:22 hits the nail on the head, “But become doers of the Word and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” Deluding means to cheat, defraud, make a miscalculation. For many, obeying God’s Word is like a round-to-it that gets lost in the weedy maze of the cares, pleasures and desires of this life (Matthew 13:22).
How have you done with Jesus’ hearing test today? Are you content to be deaf to His desires for you? Jesus says some 15 times in the New Testament, “He who has an ear, let him hear!” You will be glad and blessed that you did!
Bob Kulp
13 GHOSTS AND THE GOSPEL
September 7
They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they will have no insight. Isaiah 44:18
An old horror movie came out when I was a kid called 13 Ghosts. I remember really wanting to see it because it was one of the first 3-D movies ever made, and you had to watch it with special glasses on, or you couldn’t see the ghosts. The glasses were the gimmick that made the movie work. Without them, you couldn’t enjoy the real scare.
Here in South Bend, a new dinosaur museum just opened. It is well done, educational, and highly documented, being put together by some people who are experienced paleontologists. They wear the “special goggles” that allow them to be scared into believing in ape-men and billions-of-years evolution. The light of the Creator blinded them into seeing the world on a screen of pseudo-science and the impossibility of upwards genetic mutations.
They don’t mean to be deceitful. They are a nice couple and have done a lot for South Bend with another company that they own. But they miss much of the world, and the power and plan of God Almighty, by seeing everything through those tainted lenses that repute the Divine Creator.
God is seen as Creator from Genesis to Revelation, and to miss this aspect of His being in the world and in the Word is like never taking off those movie goggles. It’s a lot scarier ride than the real truth.
Davy L. Troxel
THE MASTER’S PLAN
September 6
…Now let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. 2 Kings 5:8
2 Kings 5:1-19
Can you imagine being in her shoes?? A young girl had been captured during a Syrian raid in the land of Israel. In a moment she went from living under the roof, authority and protection of her family to being placed in a wagon train likely full of other slaves, becoming a trophy of war. At that moment her faith was being tested!
As she was growing up in her household she was being prepared for a special assignment. It was The Master’s Plan that she would serve in Naaman’s house. He was a successful warrior! He had the praise of his king! But Naaman had a terminal illness, he was a leper which means he had an incurable and debilitating disease. God was going to send a word of hope and salvation through this young lady to this desperate Gentile in a foreign land.
From her lips come these words, “I wish that my master were before the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy.” Her message of hope flew through the house, through two kings who were enemies of one another, all to get Naaman before the prophet Elisha. Not just to be healed but to be saved (v15).
Things can change in a moment just as it did for this young girl. First Peter 4:12 exhorts us to be ready, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you.” What are you facing today? Is your burden so great that you have no good news to offer? Remember, “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). What’s your divine assignment today? Seek the Master’s Plan!
Gordy Harmon
ALLAH IS NOT GOD
September 5
For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:5
You may have heard this shouted in some news report (الشَّهَادَةُ ), i.e. “There is no God but Allah!” But that is not true, like many other reports on various news channels. The God of the Bible and the god of Islam are not the same. The one, true God, maker of heaven and earth declares that He alone is God and there is no other. In Isaiah 44:6, the Lord says: “I am the first, and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me.” Later, in Isaiah 46:9, God says: “Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me.” Furthermore, Deuteronomy 6:4 declares that the one, true God is plurality in unity. The word “one” in that verse is the same Hebrew word that is used in Numbers 13:23 of a single cluster of grapes or one cluster of grapes. It is plurality in unity. The same idea occurs in Genesis 1:26-27.
One former Muslim describes his journey to Jesus like this: I went back to my Bible and I read, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love” (I John 4:18). As soon as I read this verse, all the fear I had melted away. The Presence of God was so powerful in the room…. After a six-year journey, I gave my heart and life to the Lord Jesus…. I finally realized that Jesus is God. The love of the Lord Jesus captivates my heart, and I am no longer who I was. In Islam, God was distant, but in Christianity, He is loving, always with me and His Spirit now lives in me.
Is the Holy Spirit in you? Do you know the Lord Jesus?
Ike Graham
LESSONS FROM AN APPLE TREE
September 4
Please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work.
Colossians 1:10
My wife eats apples daily. Imagine her delight when we moved here and discovered an apple tree in our front yard! The bad news was that during our first six years here, the tree failed to produce ANY apples to speak of. In fact, no one could even tell us what kind of apple tree it was. Everything miraculously changed in 2019 when shockingly out of nowhere the tree yielded a bumper crop of light green tart apples and has continued to do so since with some pruning.
Just like our apple tree, God is counting on us as believers in Christ to bear much spiritual fruit for His glory. Fruit is the outward evidence of a plant/tree/person’s inward nature. Jesus declared, “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit nor can a bad tree bear good fruit… so then, you will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:18, 20).
The Lord desires us to produce good fruit as well as much fruit (John 15:8). Christ also made it clear that we can never yield much good fruit on our own, saying, “I am the Vine, you are the branches; He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). To abide in Christ means to remain, continue, stay connected and be at home with Him in a dependent, submissive and obedient relationship. What kind of fruit is God looking for? Fruits of character (Galatians 5:22-23), repentance (Luke 3:8), righteousness (Hebrews 12:11), witnessing (Romans 1:13), praise (Hebrews 13:15), doing good/sharing (Hebrews 13:16) and spiritual sacrifice (Philippians 1:21-23). God is still working in and on me. How about you?
Bob Kulp
WITH CHARITY FOR ALL
September 3
…love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
Matt. 5:44b
Outside of the Biblical Ethic, the story of Dirk Willems, a 16th century Dutch Anabaptist martyr, defies all rational explanation.
Incarcerated for promoting the cause of Believer’s Baptism and rebaptizing those who had been “baptized” as infants, Pastor Willems was held prisoner for months within a gloomy, moat-encircled fortress. Finding opportunity to escape in the winter of 1569, Dirk successfully crossed the ice-encrusted moat while being pursued by an officer—who proceeded to fall through the ice!
At this point, we might ask ourselves “What would YOU do under such circumstances?” Most of us, I dare say, would continue our flight. Dirk—unable to ignore the cries of a fellow man in distress—immediately turned about and rescued his pursuer. Despite the pleas of the grateful officer that his benefactor be released, the local Burgermeister insisted that Willems be returned to prison for prosecution. The authorities—under the tender guidance of Romanism—proceeded to convict and mercilessly torture Dirk in a fruitless attempt to make him recant his Anabaptist Faith. In May of 1569, Dirk Willems died horribly, being slowly burnt alive at the stake.
Let us return to the icy moat, where there was little time for reflection: Willems was required to make an instant decision. The only explanation that speaks unto the facts is that Willems had so internalized a Christlike charity that he was able—almost intuitively—to rapidly pivot and regard a hostile pursuing wolf as someone in need of redemption. Marvel—Jesus died for us sinners when we were yet enemies (Rom. 5:10, Col. 1:21-22)!
What a hard saying is Matt. 5:44—what a lofty challenge! To deny self, take up a cross, and follow (Matt. 16:24)!
Terry L. Reese
ONLY GOD CAN HELP
September 2
In my distress I called upon Yahweh, and cried to my God for help;
He heard my voice out of His temple, and my cry for help before Him came into His ears. Psalm 18:6
On October 14, 1987 eighteen-month-old Jessica McClure was playing in the backyard, when she fell down into an abandoned 8" well. She was completely helpless. She didn’t just fall a foot or two, she fell about 22' down, before she became stuck. Since the well was only 8" wide, no one could go down to her. She was too young to grab on to a rope that was lowered down to her. She was completely helpless. Baby Jessica, as she was soon called, was like each one of us apart from Christ. Our sin has caused us to fall into a hole that we cannot get out of. No other human can help us. We cannot help ourselves. We are stuck. We are helpless.
Rescuers worked for hours, which turned into days, to save Baby Jessica. They ended up drilling another hole beside the well and then drilled a horizontal hole over to the well. Finally, after 56 hours, Jessica was saved! She was completely helpless. She could only cry out for help. The same is true for you and I. We are helpless. We cannot save ourselves. We can only cry out for help.
But notice what God does when we cry out…He hears. When God hears our voice, that is not just a passive action of Him taking note of it. Instead, when He hears, He acts. Look at how He responds in the verses that follow Psalm 18:6. Notice especially verse 30, “He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.”
Joshua Steiner
CENTRALITY OF THE WORD
September 1
Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. 1 Tim. 4:13
The books of 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus are known as the “Pastoral Epistles.” The human author of these books was Paul who desired to give instruction on how young Timothy and Titus were to carry themselves in the ministry. Giving heed to what is said here will lead to an increase of godly order in the church.
There are 3 things we need to do with the Word of God in the context of the church. First: There is to be reading of the Word. From the very beginning of the church local gatherings of believers listened as they heard the elders read the Scriptures (Rev. 1:3). What a blessing to always keep God’s revelation before us as we worship!
Second: There is to be the preaching of the word. Our verse uses the word “exhortation.” Timothy is supposed to urge his congregation to believe and practice what the Bible says. There is authority in the Word of God which the church is to submit to. By practicing this the preacher trusts in God’s method of church growth.
And Third: There is to be teaching or doctrine flowing from the mouth of the man of God. More than just becoming saved, it is God’s will for believers to become mature. When involved in discipleship a Christian man or woman can be taught (Matt. 28:20a). Consider a portion of the Great Commission which says, “teaching them to keep all that I commanded you”.
Is the Bible used often in your worship services at your church? Do you sing songs filled with truth? Are there God-exalting sermons? Do you listen closely in order to follow what has been revealed by God? May we all be more faithful to these things.
Matt Foreman
Grace For Living
Devotional Thoughts to Grow in the Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ
September October November
2025
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18
To subscribe or order physical copies please email Pastor Ethan Kallberg at pastorethan@outlook.com. To finacially support this ministry please click here.
Dear Brethren,
The College of Pastors of the CGBCI has a desire to see the people of our fellowship grow in Christian maturity. This devotional is an avenue to help you do just that. I pray that as you read the scriptures and the thoughts from our own pastors each day, that your heart and mind are drawn into closer communion with our Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be all the
In Christ,
Pastor Ethan Kallberg
Contributors:
Pastor Bob Kulp, Elkhart GBC
Pastor Ike Graham, Orrville GBC
Pastor Terry L. Reese, Valley GBC of Armagh
Pastor Davy Troxel, Mishawaka GBC
Pastor Russ Simpson, Retired
Pastor DeLane Miller, GBC Albany
Pastor Tom Johnson, GBC of Somerset
Pastor Joshua Steiner, Orrville GBC
Pastor Gordy Harmon, Berean Faith Fellowship
Pastor Les Vnasdale, Cornerstone GBC
Pastor Matt Forman, North Buffalo GBC
Cover Photo by John Elliot
Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.