March 2019: 

3/1/19                                          “Whose Temple Are You?”                             1 

Flee sexual immorality…. Glorify God in your body.  1 Corinthians 6:18, 20

RECOMMENDED READING: 1 Corinthians 6:18-20  “¹⁸ Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. ¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? ²⁰ For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

COMMENTS:  When we look at scripture, including today’s scripture, we soon realize people were tempted by the same temptations we are today.  The deterioration of culture and society to accept temptations and sinful behavior as acceptable and even good means we today are following their path to their destination.  What was their destination?  Defeat and destruction. Faithful Christians suffered and died from persecution from those more willing to justify their sins and deny them in order to continue to practice and enjoy them.  They decided to silence God’s voice of repentance and redemption by killing those who tried to warn them. They would rather do that instead of putting their pride aside and come to Christ seeking His forgiveness and new life.   Well, a few did, resulting in an explosive growth in Christianity that eventually changed Caesar’s mother and then Caesar, resulting in Christianity becoming the religion of Rome instead of pagan gods.  But the paradox is the persecution compelled only those sincerely seeking salvation to accept Christ.  But when Christianity became the religion of Rome, it was then corruption and hypocrisy crept into the church.

Satan is relentless, using persecution from the outside to discourage Christians and then, when that doesn’t work, luring Christians into sin through powerful – deceptive temptation in order to destroy individuals and Christ’s church from the inside.  BUT GOD CAN’T BE STOPPED AND NEITHER CAN THOSE WHO ARE FAITHFUL TO HIM!                           Christ’s spirit will leave the corrupt church body and start a new body when that happens.  Consider that is why the protestant church was born and why a large variety of new denominations were started over the years.

That isn’t God’s best or first choice, but since even Christians are free to choose wisely or foolishly, We can’t stop God’s Will from being accomplish but can expose ourselves to God’s judgment, which all  who reject His redemption will face.  It should be a “no brainer” – either surrender to God and live or reject Him and die.  Like it or not, God is worthy and able and will prevail.  Are you glad about that or are you in denial and angry at anyone who would suggest such a statement.  Such a statement of truth.  History proof He will prevail.  History proves God’s Will shall prevail after waiting with longsuffering for His creation to repent.

No, sin never has a good end but is still sin no matter what we or society believes or calls it. God hasn’t left us ignorant or hopeless.   

“When we receive Christ, His Spirit comes within. As we let Him reign on the throne of our inner sanctums, His indwelling strength helps us live conquering lives.”  Leslie B. Flynn

 

 

3/2/19                                            Praising God for Us!                                                    2 

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Psalm 139:14

RECOMMENDED READING: Psalm 139:13-18  “¹³ For You formed my inward parts;You covered me in my mother’s womb.¹⁴ I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;Marvelous are Your works,And that my soul knows very well.¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from You,When I was made in secret,And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.¹⁶ Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.And in Your book they all were written,The days fashioned for me,When as yet there were none of them.¹⁷ How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!How great is the sum of them!¹⁸ If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;When I awake, I am still with You.”

COMMENTS: It never ceases to amaze me how any intelligent being could believe in evolution.  The complexity and design of our bodies and of our earth.  The diversity and variety of all animal and plant life but also the diversity and variety of human beings reflects engineering and manufacturing skills far beyond what humans can do.   Evolution tries to explain such skill was accomplished without an intelligent creator.  Well, could you imagine a paper clip evolving into a tractor-trailer or jet plane?  Could you  imagine an earth positioned at just the right distance from the sun with just the right amount of air with just right amount of oxygen and nitrogen and other gases with just the right gravitational pull and temperature to support life we see and enjoy on this earth.   And for that process to be sustained for so long.  Evolutionists even believe life has been supported here for millions of years even though the bible supports a much younger earth and more recent creation time frame.   Well, 600 years ago scientists believed the earth was flat but the bible spoke of the earth being a circle or round.  Science continues to make new discoveries, which are beginning to support biblical clues instead of established scientific theories.  Theories are not laws or proven but conclusions based on current evidence which is incomplete, so by definition theories are not conclusive or even expected to be fully accurate. 

So why has the world embraced the Theory of Evolution so passionately?  Could it be because the world doesn’t want to believe in God nor obey His commands so seeks an excuse or science in an attempt to prove God doesn’t exist?  Would the theory of evolution have got any attention or acceptance if viewed through the lens of scripture?  Should it even today based on current scientific evidence?  My answer is NO!!  Science and all evidence shouts “God is a master creator and the universe shouts that to any who will notice.”

Dr. Joseph Pasture is one doctor who wrote the obvious truth    “The human body is God’s Masterpiece. The body has a chemical plant far more intricate than any plant that man ever built.   It causes the growth of flesh, blood, bones, and teeth. It even repairs the body when parts are damaged by accident or disease.  Power, for work and play, comes from the food we eat.”  

The omniscient Engineer has designed our bodies with breathtaking complexity, and we should praise Him for that, Psalm 139:14 says, “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!  Your workmanship is marvelous”

So what do you think?   Are you and all life just a marvel of chance or are you a beloved God breathed creation?  I don’t know about you, but I’m so glad the evidence supports a much more wonderful answer.  The answer that God dearly loves us and cares for us and loves creating so keeps creating and caring for His creation.  For you and me and promised that He always will both here and ultimately in the permanent home He is creating for us in heaven.  He has a purpose and a plan for each of us that is as unique as we are different from each other.  A purpose that centers around giving Him praise and worship.

 “The basic chemicals in our body, can be found in the “dust of the ground.” However, these chemicals cannot arrange themselves into cell tissues, organs and systems. This can only happen with an input of intelligence.”  Joseph Paturi

3/3/19                                    Hear, O Israel                                       3

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called . . . endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  Ephesians 4:1, 3

RECOMMENDED READING: Colossians 3:12-14  “¹² Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; ¹³ bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. ¹⁴ But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.”

COMMENTS:  A word used today to judge or accept groups or individuals is “tolerance”.  This word is used with the pretense of being accepting of those who believe or look different from us.  Accepting those of another race or  economic background or abilities or even stature or sexual orientation or beliefs or world view are all judged by the word “tolerant” or “intolerant”.  To be judged intolerant brings harsh and varying degrees of condemnation and punishment.  Punishment worthy or destroying family or business or even church, often without “due process” even in democratic or republic countries.  Increasingly accepted by news and government organizations is belief that tolerance means accepting those with no religious convictions and approval of any and all religious beliefs except one.  That one is Christianity.  To be Christian comes accepting a standard of right and wrong based on the 10 Commandments and Good based on life and teaching of the Bible and Christ’s teachings.  Evil is also judged by that same standard.  But to do so is identified as “intolerance” because of not accepting behaviors judged evil in scripture as good and acceptable. 

But what does Christ teach in scripture?  He teaching that He is the one and only way to forgiveness and eternal life.  He teaches that His sacrifice on the cross provides the only way to receive God’s forgiveness, which is freely available to any and all, without regard to race or beliefs or deed of past.  No individual is too sinful or too poor or too impoverished.  No individual, rich or poor, free or slave, tall or short, fat or skinny, attractive or ugly, is less loved or beyond Christ’s redemptive gift.  The only requirement is to believe Him and to accept that gift.  A gift that each of us must accept.  No one can accept for us.

So is believing behavior God calls sin to be good being tolerant or is it being intolerant?  Is Christianity a religion of intolerance or of ultimate tolerance?  Is the world view of society becoming more tolerant or intolerant?   Well, is it intolerance to put warning labels and child-proof caps on poison containers and not on containers of water or healthy foods?  Is it intolerance to put signs up on one road to New York City and not on other roads?  IS it intolerance to put warning signs and barriers on the edge of a cliff and not at the edge of an open field?  Is it intolerance to judge and imprison rapists and murderers and bank robbers and let those who obey established laws be free?  Is it intolerant to establish laws and degree of punishment to go with the crimes?  If the laws imposed enacted by governing bodies patterned after or agree with the 10 commandments, does that make them intolerant? Countries, like the USA, which used the Bible and 10 Commandments to guide establishing laws and standards of punishment for breaking those laws, have been thriving for centuries.  So should other laws and standards be embraced now because the Biblical standard is judged by some to be intolerant or obsolete?

I fear, as individuals and as a society, we have wondered so far from believing and even knowing or reading the Bible, that we no longer are able to good from evil and no longer able to render consistent judgment.  The standard for judgment is constantly changing and the definition of “intolerance” and “tolerance” is no longer commonly understood.  Those who are the most aggressive or outspoken dominate public teaching and growing beliefs. 

Has history not taught us anything?  Have the lessons learned from our past been forgotten and erase from history books so they will remain forgotten?

Well, both history from biblical  times, and contemporary history from then until now,   consistently teaches us that to believe and follow Jehovah’s Old Testament teachings and Christ’s New Testament teachings brings blessing and life and freedom, but to reject them and do opposite brings misery and death.  God’s help and protection follow those who love and obey Him while judgment and death await those who don’t.  

To teach and reveal history IS NOT BEING MEAN OR INTOLERANT BUT IS ACTUALLY BEING LOVING AND TOLERANT!  To provide warning of the danger on our path is being far more loving and compassionate than denying the danger and letting or encouraging others to stay on that path racing to that ultimate destructive destination.

Prophecy in scripture warns us to follow Christ will bring persecution and injustice but with confident hope and promise from Christ that He will   face and walk with us through that persecution to eternal life and to the eternal home He is already preparing for us. 

So does it really matter if we follow the current “tolerant” crowd or follow Christ?  Is the pleasure the world offers for now better than the eternal home Christ is preparing?  Well, no matter how good 20 or 30 or even 100 years of pleasure may seem, they will be long forgotten during the long eternity awaiting us at our death or His return.

“Hear, O Israel” are the first words of the Hebrew prayer called the”Shema” recorded in Deuteronomy 6:4-9:  “⁴ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^[a] 5 Lovethe Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”  These verses warns Israel to read and follow God’s Laws and teachings constantly to avoid forgetting and following another path, an evil path to destruction.  This warning also applies to you and me, because God’s Law applied to you and me too, as it did to people of all nations and races in the generations before us. 

The apostle Paul echoed the Shema in his call to Christian unity: “There is one body and one Spirit . . . one hope . . . one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all” (Ephesians 4:4-6).

Scripture tells us that creation shouts of God’s existence, God’s perfect order and goodness, and also God’s perfect caring love for each of us.  Creation also shows us God is still all powerful and in charge, whether we agree or not.  God is in charge whether we believe it or not.  God is in charge whether we follow Him or not.  We benefit if do and face God’s judgment if don’t, like it or not.  The evidence is overwhelming if we are open to see it.

  AMEN?  AMEN!

“In necessary things, unity; in doubtful things, liberty; in all things, charity.”
Richard Baxter

3/4/19                                              But I Did Not                                            4

But I did not do so, because of the fear of God.   Nehemiah 5:15

RECOMMENDED READING:  Proverbs 10:9-17  “⁹ He who walks with integrity walks securely,But he who perverts his ways will become known.¹⁰ He who winks with the eye causes trouble,But a prating fool will fall.¹¹ The mouth of the righteous is a well of life,But violence covers the mouth of the wicked.¹² Hatred stirs up strife,But love covers all sins.¹³ Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has understanding,But a rod is for the back of him who is devoid of understanding.¹⁴ Wise people store up knowledge,But the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.¹⁵ The rich man’s wealth is his strong city;The destruction of the poor is their poverty.¹⁶ The labor of the righteous leads to life,The wages of the wicked to sin.¹⁷ He who keeps instruction is in the way of life,But he who refuses correction goes astray.”

 

COMMENTS:  Are you living with an attitude of entitlement or an attitude of gratitude?  Do you think and act believing you’ve earned all you have or believing God has provided out of His abundance and passionate love for you?   All world views and religion except one teach a doctrine of working and earning possessions and privilege.   All except one teach that Heaven is a place that passage to is earned by good deeds or service of conduct.  That one religion instead teaches receiving divine forgiveness for sin is the only way to heaven.  Then good deeds and conduct are a response of gratitude towards God, Who forgave.  So is that difference that important an issue or difference?  What difference does it make if good deeds are the result or motivation?  Does that difference make a difference with God? 

Well, John 14:6 tells us Jesus is the only way to God the Father.   Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, formulated the Four Spiritual Laws:

1. God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life both now and for eternity: John 3:16-17 and John 10:10
2. Man is sinful and separated from God. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God’s love and plan no matter how much he tried to earn God’s love or please Him. Romans 3:23 and Romans 6:23
3. Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for man’s sin and each person’s sin. Through Him everyone can know and experience God’s love and plan for their lives.  Romans 5:8, 1 Corinthians 15:3 and John 14:6
4. We must each individually receive Jesus Christ as personal Savior and Lord by surrendering personal will and asking Him to forgive and enter their soul. Then we each can know and experience God’s love and plan and live and serve and obey Him as a loving response of gratitude.  John 1:12, John 3:1-8, Ephesians 2:8-9, and Revelation 3:20.

That one religion is Christianity.  Judaism has the same roots and Old Testament but rejected Christ as God’s Son and His redemptive sacrifice to complete God’s plan revealed in the Old Testament.  Jesus said that He is the only way of salvation (John 3:16-17 and John 14:6).  The New Testament reveals details of His life and teaching and impact on the lives of early Christians / Jesus followers. 

The level of integrity Christ exampled, his followers grew towards, and we are called to strive towards, goes much further than just obeying laws.  Even during Old Testament times, men like Nehemiah declined food or funding he was entitled to but didn’t need.  When he was appointed governor of Judah, he declines the privileges he was entitled to because of cost or burden that would have increased taxes on his people.  His trust was in God’s provision instead of in privileges of his job or position.  His attitude was one of surrender and love and gratitude and dependence of God’s provision instead of expecting others to feed a life style his office would normally support and condone.  Such a standard of integrity and discipline became an example motivating others to follow as well, motivating others to follow his lead too.

Our conduct and influence impact others too, even if that influence is not noticed by us.  We each have a number of people who know us.  Our conduct, either good or bad, influences them and motivates them to follow our example.  Will that example be positive and honor Christ and point others to His redemptive gift or will it be negative and tempt others to sin and following a corruptive “entitlement” mentality of taking advantage of all opportunities possible to take all you can?

Are there areas of your life in which you should draw some lines, erect some barriers, build some fences, and establish some standards? Any habits you should change? Our society has no established moral code, and the standards keep changing. We must not let the world keep rubbing out the lines we draw for ourselves. The Bible calls us to personal holiness, and our integrity comes from the standards we adopt.

“Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within”    Romans 12:2

Everyone with integrity has drawn some lines and said, “Everyone else did these things, but I did not do so.”  David Jeremiah

 

3/5/19                             Love Demonstrated Thru Forgiveness                                               5

When Jesus saw [the friends’] faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
Mark 2:5

RECOMMENDED READING: Colossians 2:13 – ¹³ And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,”

COMMENTS: Stop and reflection on all the modern conveniences we enjoy that even the richest of people couldn’t have imagined 100 years ago.  Conveniences like inside running water in kitchens and bathrooms and showers and toilets, gas or electric heat, electric lights, radios and television, cars and airplanes, telephones and cell phones now, super markets with all the variety of foods and items,  More and more jobs can be done from home and paychecks and purchases made from home too.  But also think about how many of these modern conveniences we take for granted.  

In the community I live in we have one bid advantage to remind us.  The Amish community is large enough we see horse and buggies most every day.  We interact with Amish neighbors often at stores.  We have opportunity to hire Amish contractors to do building repairs and construction. But even those Amish workers take advantage of modern tools and rely on “English” partners to transport them to worksites. 

But our Amish neighbors do remind us of importance they put on family and working together and caring for neighbors in need.  They are good neighbors and moral people, providing us “English” with solid examples of the best way to live. 

But we have a far better example and better neighbor to learn from.  We have Christ.  His sacrifice on the cross, even though completed 2000 years ago, still causes Him lingering pain because He continues to carry our sins as He forgives and cleanses us from our sins.    The eternal damnation that awaits those who refuse His gift of salvation is worse that we can imagine while the eternal heaven and fellowship with Him and with Christians of long ago and Christians we know and love is also far better than we can imagine.   The contrast between the two destinations from such a simple and easy choice for us to make is truly remarkable.  But remember this choice is God’s own design and plan and choice.  He chose to be our sacrifice and carry the hard burden and give us the light choice and burden.  Why?  Because His love and compassion for you and me and everyone is far deeper that we have experienced or can comprehend.

How tragic when we take His Love and Sacrifice for granted or deny Him.  Why do so many do so?  Pride is the worse reason.  Then there is love of sin and pleasure with the addiction that develops.  Then there are those who deny God exists because of selfish desire to be in control of their own life.  Then there are those who fear God will require them to do something they are afraid to do or go to a place they don’t want to go. Lack of trust in God is another powerful deterrence to accepting God’s precious gift of salvation.

Oh if they would only realize that by refusing God, they are surrendering control to a terrible sinister evil force.  They are surrendering to satan’s scheming plan.  By refusing to trust God, who loves them;  they are surrendering to satan, who hates them and wants to use them to hurt God because he hates God more.

The hardest part of forgiving another person is acting like the offense never occurred. But that is what forgiving someone means—restoring relationships to the status they enjoyed before the offense took place. It’s one thing to say, “I forgive you,” but it’s another to act like all the effects of an offense are completely erased. After all, according to Paul in 1 Corinthians 13, love is known by its actions more than its words.

Jesus faced this dilemma when He healed a paralytic man. When He told the man that his sins were forgiven (and by extension, he was healed), He was criticized. He was accused of blaspheming by saying He had the authority to forgive sins—something only God can do. So, Jesus proved He had the authority to say, “I forgive you,” by doing something harder. He healed the man’s paralysis. After all, as Jesus explained, actions speak louder than words (Mark 2:8-11).

We cannot go through life without being hurt by others, but we should learn to forgive. Even more, we should practice demonstrating our forgiveness by our acts of loving-kindness. Look for opportunities to do both.  Learning to love and forgive as Christ loves and forgives.  How can we do that?  Only with His Help and by reminding ourselves of how much He suffered and continues to suffer for us so we can have the assurance of heaven instead of the judgment we deserve.  As we begin to discover Him through His Word and His abiding Holy Spirit and through a daily relationship with Him, we also discover more of His perfect Love and Goodness.  We also discover how far short of these goals we still are.  As we grow in faith, we become more like Him.   But as we grow in faith, we discover just how much more we need to grow to be like Him.  BUT HE LOVES US AND FORGIVES US JUST LIKE WE ARE AS IMPERFECT AS WE STILL ARE!   THAT IS THE MIRACLE OF SALVATION AND THE MARVEL OF THE CROSS!! THAT IS THE GOOD NEWS FOR US TO ENJOY AND TO SHARE.   LET’S NOT TAKE SUCH A PRECIOUS GIFT FOR GRANTED ANY LONGER!  OK?  OK!!

“Forgiveness is to be set loose from sins.”  G. Campbell Morgan

3/6/19                                      It’s Not Complicated                              6

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.  Joshua 1:8

Recommended Reading: Psalm 119:1-16  “Blessed are the undefiled in the way,Who walk in the law of the Lord!² Blessed are those who keep His testimonies,Who seek Him with the whole heart!³ They also do no iniquity;They walk in His ways.⁴ You have commanded usTo keep Your precepts diligently.⁵ Oh, that my ways were directedTo keep Your statutes!⁶ Then I would not be ashamed,When I look into all Your commandments.⁷ I will praise You with uprightness of heart,When I learn Your righteous judgments.⁸ I will keep Your statutes;Oh, do not forsake me utterly!⁹ How can a young man cleanse his way?By taking heed according to Your word.¹⁰ With my whole heart I have sought You;Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! ¹¹ Your word I have hidden in my heart,That I might not sin against You.¹² Blessed are You, O Lord! Teach me Your statutes.¹³ With my lips I have declaredAll the judgments of Your mouth.¹⁴ I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,As much as in all riches.¹⁵ I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways.¹⁶ I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.”

COMMENTS:  We live in a world and society where news media and prominent celebrities like movie stars, sports heroes, government leaders, and influential businessmen openly support by funding and by their words humanistic anti-Christianity world views and goals.  The contrast of their views to Christ centered and Bible taught teaching is becoming more dramatic and further apart.   Even pro-life and pro-choice differences are becoming more dramatic.  The pro-life view 15 years ago, supported abortion up to the third trimester but would not support abortions during third trimester and certainly not killing infants at birth as mother chose.   But today legislations and state governors are beginning to push for legislation allowing abortion up to and including actual births at full term.   The value and sacred importance of human life is diminishing and justification for euthanizing mentally impaired and elderly or handicapped individuals are becoming more in discussion with increasing support from liberal “leftist” groups and individuals.  It is as though with increasing support and agreement with leftist world views coming greater contempt and distance from a Biblical Judio-Christian world view.  One only needs to watch a movie or television program from the 1950’s or 1960’s and then recent popular movies and programs to confirm this to be so and  realize just how far from a Biblical moral standard we as a society have digressed from.

Many would say this is progress and society is better off by being freed from the binding rules of the past.  But why then is violence and school shootings and terrorists bombings and shootings becoming more common?  Why is drug abuse becoming so widespread that has become a national and world crisis?  Why is it much more dangerous for a Christian to travel in many countries of the world?  Why is hatred and violence and war getting worse and infiltrating into more rural peaceful communities and families?  If the world is getting better and kinder and more enjoyable.  If technological advancements and all the new gadgets of communication and labor savers delivered the promise of better lives, why is life today not better in the ways it counts?   Why then are murders and rapes and human slavery and prostitution and child abuse and all terrible evil of past even more widespread today?   Why does more leisure also bring more evil and less good?  Why then is what called evil 2-3 generations ago now called good and good from then now called evil?  The evil of then is good, why does harm keep coming from it?  Why good from then, which built families and productive lives, is now called evil?

Do you see this transition unfolding in your neighborhood and even in your own families?   Do you see the transition unfolding especially in world and national news?  Do you see the transition unfolding and getting closer and closer to you and your family?   I am afraid I do and even signs of infiltrating my immediate family and weakening my own church denomination and local churches, even though the worst of the violence and evil seems to be outside my small community. 

We can also choose to deny God’s existence and deny His teaching and Word.  We can continue to think by denying God, we are free to enjoy the “thou shalt nots” of God’s law and convince ourselves there is no such thing as evil, just those who would hinder or spoil our fun and freedoms. 

Well, like it or not, there is a God and Christ is preparing to return and begin His eternal reign on earth as He already has in heaven.   Not believing this won’t keep His return from happening.  By denying Christ, people only bring His judgment on them.  But Christ’s love and compassion is still in force and He delays His return so more can have opportunity to receive His redemption first.  John 14:6 tells us Christ is the only way to the Father – the only way to heaven – the only way to be forgiven and begin the process of changing from a prideful, selfish, sinful soul into a humble, giving and loving, Christ-like soul.  Is not Christ’s example a better pattern and example to strive to be like or is the example shown us by today’s successful role models.  Examples who neglect their spouse and children.  Examples where broken families are the norm and children don’t know their parents or only visit them rarely. Examples where everyone only works to satisfy their own selfish desires without considering the needs of others.  Examples where rich and powerful people abuse others leaving hurts  and scars and broken lives behind them without being accountable.

I am amazed at the hypocrisy of society supporting “free sex” and “consensual unrestraint sex” and “if it feels good do it” philosophy and “follow your feelings without restraint” and a government that pays “hush money” to keep secret hidden sins while demanding and exposing loss of job and livelihood and position to those exposed of the same sins who have different world views, especially when sufficient proof is lacking.  Social media is becoming the preferred place to freely destroy the character of those with differing world views without the restraint of proof or “due process”.  The destruction of lives is permanent and all too often based on false rumors or deliberate lies while the guilty get off without accountability for their malicious deeds.

But I submit to you that the Bible is full of countless examples of destructive end that comes to those who did this.  Joseph’s brothers who sold him into slavery and wished him dead.   Haman who tried to have all Jews and Queen Esther and her uncle Mordecai killed, the high priest and other leaders who organized the scheme to crucify Christ.  The list goes on.  The Bible then gives examples of Daniel and Joseph and Esther and Paul and … the list goes on.  All these example shout to us the evil seems to prosper for awhile but always ends in death and usually drags innocent down with offender.  But good often seems weak and vulnerable for awhile but always ends in redemption and eternal life and usually  carries some guilty with them to redemption and eternal life.

Christians are accused of being intolerant and discriminating.  They are accused of being hateful.   But history tells us the opposite.   It was devout Christians that established the government and organization of the Republic that became the USA.   It was devout Christians that organized schools and hospitals and orphan’s home and even mental institutions all over the world.  Only a few still are Christian affiliated or Christian led but the best of the remaining ones still are.   Granted, there are examples of hypocritical or marginal Christians who betrayed their Savior and acted out their own selfish ambitions or goals or worse.  It is these imposters who are publicized instead of the majority of examples of faithful Christians following their calling and serving their Savior faithfully.

Well, probably most reading this are saying AMEN, but in case one or two or twenty are offended by my words, I say I’m sorry.  My desire and intend is certainly not to offend you but show you another side to the story you have been told and have believed.  I simply ask to read the New Testament with an open mind and write down questions and verses you need explained.  Don’t rely on what others have said or told you, but seek your own answers.    If God is not real, what would it hurt, so why not pray asking Him to reveal truth to you?  Once you have completed this journey, then I would invite you to take a similar journey by reading Psalms and Proverbs and some of the journeys of others recorded in Old Testament like Joseph and Daniel and Noah and Job and Esther and Ruth and Abraham and Isaac and Jacob (and Esau) and …. I am trusting once you start; you will become amazed and excited to continue.   I am praying you and even those who said AMEN will do so too, because I just convinced myself to do so afresh too. 

Today, life in this world can seem like a wilderness, but the principle of success remains the same: Trust the Lord; obey His Word; follow His direction in all things.

“The Bible is the book of my life. It’s the book I live with, the book I live by, the book I want to die by.”   N. T. Wright

3/7/19                                    “When God Says No”                                                 7                   

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Matthew 11:28

Recommended Reading: Deuteronomy 34:1a, 5a –“ Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land … So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab”

COMMENTS:  It is a wonderful experience when God provides a dramatic healing from disease or blesses with an open door to a new job or marriage partner or new child or grandchild or ??  When God answers yes to our prayers, it is a wonderful time of praise and gratitude expressed towards God and for celebration.  Take some time to reflect on such experiences.  A noteworthy example for me was God’s answer to a 3 year prayer for a Born Again Christian spouse.   God answered that prayer through a mutual friend who didn’t know either of us had been praying this prayer but was who God compelled to plan for us to meet.   The first attempt by this friend was one year after I began praying but meeting didn’t happen until 2 years later.  Why?  Well, we have had 42 years to debate that but truth is God needed to prepare us both and He did.  In our case His answer was “soon” or “not yet.” 

There were a number of times during difficult situations at work when I prayed for God to call me into ministry because I felt as though I was not making a different at work and work I was doing was not important in His service.   He said “No, if you can’t serve me where you are, why do you think you will as a pastor in a church?”    That answer changed my heart and attitude and thinking.  The next 20+ years became an opportunity to live and work and interact  with an attitude and integrity and humility and compassion and even sense of humor that gave me many opportunities to witness and pray with a number of individuals I would never have met or ministered  to  outside the connections my job required and gave me.  His answer was yes to a better response to my prayer than I was asking for.

Can you recall times God answered NO to your prayers?  How about times He said “Not Yet”?   It is good to reflect and discover how God uses no or not yet to prepare us or others for a yes answer, or to prepare a better answer than the one we asked for.   We should remind ourselves He knows and develops much better answers than we can imagine.   Keep in mind He is infinitely wiser and intelligent and insightful than us, but He is also including impact on others and their impact on us by each response to our prayer He considers.  No wonder His response sometimes is “No” or “Not Yet” sometimes or even often.  It is probably more amazing when He does say “Yes” immediately after considering all the other options.  Learning patience and enough faith to completely trust His decision and timing is a lifelong challenge and journey of growth for every Christian, especially me.  How about you?

Well, we are in good company because many well known patriarchs and matriarchs from Old Testament times struggled with God’s answers too.  Joseph enduring rejection and slavery in a foreign land away from family and unjust prison time before God revealed His answer and miraculous path to His God planned purpose.   Moses endured 40 years of exile and later 40 years of wilderness wondering and then denial of entry into promised land.  Moses’ response for God’s refusal to let Him into promised land because of one act of disobedience (Deut. 32:51) did disappoint Moses but Moses knew God knew best and submitted without protest to  God’s decision.  His love for and trust in God had matured through the 120 years of life and  especially the 80 years of walking  with Him in faith and obedience.

Even Jesus prayed for the Father to spare Him the cross and burden of bearing our sins He was about to endure, but then submitted to the Father’s decision that His sacrifice was the only way for our salvation.  Jesus knew that but needed to ask.  

Today when we pray, we are praying to the Holy Spirit and to Christ and to the Father.  The mystery of the Trinity is beyond our comprehension.   They are One God since all 3 think identically and are 100% in sink and agreement together  even though the Holy Spirit focuses on directing and guiding and counseling and empowering and inspiring each of us toward honoring and worshipping and praising and loving Christ.  Then Christ, as our redeemer and Lord intercedes to the Father.   But the fellowship and relationship we have with Christ through the Holy Spirit included all Three of the God Head.   You say, I don’t understand that!  Well, I don’t either, so we each likely have a different way of describe our limited understanding of Trinity and God.  So we can disagree and still have a genuine growing relationship with the same Triune God.   So best we can do is recognizing we both have so much more to discover about God, who we both know and love.   But when we both pray and both receive yes and no and not yet answers, we both can believe God is worthy of our love and trust and obedience.  We both can agree on responses that are from God because those responses agree with God’s character and commands and supporting scriptures in Our Bible.

I am reminded of the statement “God either calms the storm or calms us”.  He either removes the danger or leads or even carries us thru the danger.  He either defends us or takes us home.  No matter how He chooses, we always win when we place our trust in Him.  AMEN?  AMEN!
PRAYER: Dear Lord, help me to deal with the times You tell me “No,” and to continue trusting You and Your love. Amen.

3/8/19                                       All the Way                                             8            You shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness…
Deuteronomy 8:2

Recommended Reading: Psalm 107:1-9  “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.² Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,³ And gathered out of the lands,From the east and from the west,From the north and from the south.

⁴ They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way;They found no city to dwell in.⁵ Hungry and thirsty,Their soul fainted in them.⁶ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,And He delivered them out of their distresses.⁷ And He led them forth by the right way,That they might go to a city for a dwelling place.⁸ Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,And for His wonderful works to the children of men!⁹ For He satisfies the longing soul,And fills the hungry soul with goodness.”

COMMENTS:  The Israelites wondered in the wilderness for 40 years basically going around in circles until all those who followed the 10 spies who didn’t believe God would protect them from giants who lived in the Promised Land.  Only Caleb and Joshua and children born after that decision would be permitted to enter the Promised Land.  They were the only spies who tried to convince the people trust God and follow Him into land He promised them.  Moses, of course was obedient too but one brief act of disobedience during that 40yrs caused God to deny Moses from living to enter.  He was allowed to see it but His life was taken by God before entering.  Moses didn’t forfeit eternal life or heaven, only the privilege of leading his people into the land inhabited by giant but flowing with milk and honey.

But consider how God provided for the 3 million people Moses led out of Egypt.  God was upset with them.  They witnessed the parting of the Red Sea and destruction of Pharaoh’s army.   They witnessed Moses carrying the 10 commandments down Mt. Sinai.  They saw the consequences of making Aaron craft a calf of gold for them to worship.  They had more than enough evidence to convince them to continue to trust Him.

But consider how God provided for them those 40 years.  Each day God provided an Omar of Manna for each of them.  That is equivalent of 30 train cars of bread for that many people.  He did that every day and on Friday, the day before the Sabbath, He provided twice as much.  Any food left over not eaten would rot overnight except for food gathered on Friday would be fresh til Sunday morning.  Why?  Because God told them to not gather more than they could eat that day except gather enough for two day so wouldn’t need to gather on the Sabbath, Saturday.   They had to learn to trust God each day.  God lovingly by firmly taught them and disciplined them with rotten food to dispose of when they disobeyed and gathered more than they should. 

Parents give children privileges for responsible obedient behavior and withdraw some when they act irresponsibly or disobediently.  Purpose is to teach their children wisdom and how to make wise choices.  Such wisdom doesn’t come automatically with age but only with experience and some consequences to act as a deterrent from foolish choices.  Such lessons are what God needed to teach those people.  Lessons He needs to teach you and me too.   Not pleasant lessons but necessary lessons.

Sidney Cox migrated from England to Canada in 1907 at age 19, leaving his parents behind.  He accepted Christ the next year and began a life of obedience to God’s lead.  He married a Salvation Army co-worker, Violet Henderson, in 1915.  For the rest of their lives they remained faithful to each other and faithful to God, serving in Canada and in the USA.   Sidney died in 1975 in Birmingham, Alabama.  The impact of their lives may not be famous but their faithfulness resulted in salvation of a huge multitude of people over the years and creation of some Sunday School children’s songs.  Two I’m sure you are most familiar with are “Deep and Wide” and “I Love Him Better Each Day”. 

Fanny Crosby is a more famous song writer whose songs still stir and inspire Christians to worship and nudge non-Christians to repent.  Fanny was blind until she saw her Savior’s face welcoming her into heaven saying “Well done good and faithful servants…” 

Who will great us the second after our eyes close in death? 

“All the way my Savior leads me, what have I to ask beside? Can I doubt His tender mercy, who through life has been my Guide?”  Fanny Crosby

 

     
3/9/19                                      Prayer Projects                         9                   

““Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21

Recommended Reading: Matthew 5:44   “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”

COMMENTS:  Have you ever said “My way or the highway”?  I’m sure you’ve heard others say that and probably said that to you one time or another.  In times of conflict it may be a way of “drawing a line in the sand” in an attempt to persuade or demand someone comply with your instruction.  Parents often take this approach with rebellious children. 

Everyone at one time or another is hurt by someone by word or action.  Sometimes, it is done accidently or thoughtlessly, but hurt is much worse when hurt was done deliberately.  In today’s technology of worldwide media, damage done by spreading untruthful information or unproven rumors or gossip of often far  worse and permanent since such is spread far more quickly than word of mouth and cannot be erased or stopped once sent.   But such technology is accessible to children and teens and both irresponsible and malicious individuals with potential of destroying the lives of many innocent or even guilty individuals but without trial or opportunity of defense.  The power of the tongue to do much good or much evil has always been understood and experienced. Scripture gives many verses dealing with the power of the tongue and council on its use:

Proverbs 12:18 “There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

Proverbs 18:21 “The tongue has the power of life and death.”

James 3:5 “The tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do.”

Stop and reflect how important it is to keep the  tongue silent during times of strong anger and other emotions and how important it also is to speak during times when God is leading and inspiring to give words of wisdom and encouragement and knowledge when such is needed to heal and help and bring light in times of darkness.  Take some time to reflect and do some soul searching to learn from lessons learned from both.  I am doing so as I write this realizing if have both experienced from others and given such evil and good many times.  

In order to do better and be more proactive going forward, how about we plan on using prayer as a  regular tool in making our tongue more a tool bringing life and good and less a tool of evil and hurt and suffering and disease.

A Covenant and commitment to respond in prayer seeking God’s influence and council and help before responding when  experience hurt or offence or abandonment or rejection or mistreatment or abuse by another, causing anger to well up in our soul and mind.   To pray for the offender as well as strength and wisdom and help to respond as Jesus would instead of as the devil is trying to make us respond.

Pray to forgive.  Pray to love.  Pray to show mercy and integrity.  Pray remembering how Jesus responded to those who mistreated and even killed Him. To see ourselves and others as Jesus sees us and them.  A daunting and formidable goal and commitment but one that can only achieve progress to if begins the difficult journey on.  A journey Christ doesn’t want us to take alone but one  with our hand in His through the abiding Holy Spirit available to us and His  Word to guide us, but a journey to eternal life for  both us and so many others lost  Christ so wants to accept His gift or redemption and eternal life for them too.  Stop and recall someone who hurt you and angered you in past who was restored and become a dear friend due to His influence and redemption.        

 

3/10/19                             “Faithful in All the Nitty Gritty Details”                                     10  

Recommended Reading  Hebrews 3:1-6 – “Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house. For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a Son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.”

COMMENTS: Take a few minutes and reflect on a person or two who impressed you by how well they did their job and how they conducted themselves and interacted with others during their work day.  Every now and again we encounter someone who loves their work and it shows.  They do their work with integrity and skill but also with respect and interest in others.  I have notice a few such persons and have concluded the difference between  their skill and conduct is just a little above a larger number of their piers but the difference carries an impact and significance that is most impactful on those who know them.  Not only is their work reliable and trustworthy, but the respect and trust others have developed in them stands out too.  Truth is that individuals who enjoy being in such a place in their working career have learned to build relationship with others who have partnered and shared a team spirit in problem solving and accomplishing work  assignments instead of competing with others or wasting effort  trying to diminish or damage others work to make  their work appear better.  They value relationships with others and integrity above all else.  Visible all around us is God’s work.  All life and creation displays His power and skills in invention and design and manufacturing and assembly while also displaying perfect purpose and harmony.  His creation also reveals God’s love and interest in His creation from the smallest and most common life to the largest and rarest creation. He respects and loves His creation enough to involve them and let them make mistakes and learn in managing His creation, but He also is near offering and  waiting for us to seek His help and council and help in doing so.

The lesson faithful men and women and even a few youth from distance history recorded in scripture and  well as many more contemporary examples faithful to God, but especially Jesus Himself, all show us how important it is to seek and allow God into their lives and wills.  Then to seek and obey God’s call and direction. To demonstrate the heart of a servant rallying others to join Him in following God’s call and do God’s Work together for His honor and purpose above their own.

The truth is the more we fellowship with Christ and follow the Holy Spirit’s council and lead, rally others and seek their partnership in His greater plan and in doing the daily planning, organizing, and even “grunt work” needed to reach the goal or finish mission. The old saying “many hands make light work” and “teams working in unison focused on a common mission accomplish far more than same individuals working separately could.”

God could do equally well at His work without us but chose to invite us and include us in His Team.  He didn’t need us but WE SO NEED HIM!!  AMEN?  AMEN!!

THE PRAYER: Heavenly Father, make us faithful servants of Your Son. Amen.

3/11/19                                                53 Seconds                                                       11   

God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne.   Psalm 47:8

Recommended Reading:  Psalm 47:1-9 “Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph!²  For the Lord Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth.³ He will subdue the peoples under us,And the nations under our feet.⁴ He will choose our inheritance for us,The excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah  ⁵ God has gone up with a shout,The Lord with the sound of a trumpet.⁶ Sing praises to God, sing praises!Sing praises to our King, sing praises!⁷ For God is the King of all the earth;Sing praises with understanding. ⁸ God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne. ⁹ The princes of the people have gathered together,The people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; He is greatly exalted.”

COMMENTS:  Psalm 47 takes 53 seconds to read.  53 seconds to remind us and put us in a state of mind to take some time to notice and appreciate and worship the God and Creator and Provider an Our Savior who has invested and done so much for us and continues to do so.   During the 40 years the Israelites wondered in the wilderness going from Egypt to their promised land, God provided Manna to feed them each morning except on Sabbath when God instructed them to gather twice as much the day before.  Extra Manna would rot and breed disease if gathered any other day but not on day before Sabbath.  Consider the amount of Manna God provided each day to feed 3,000,000 people.  The extra Manna would melt and disappear that was not gathered but Manna gathered and not used would rot and smell and breed disease.  God’s provision was more than enough and could be depended on not to stop until need ended.  It was sweet and pleasant like honey and nourished them without anything else.  What one food can do that today?  But they, like us, get bored doing or eating or seeing the same thing all the time.  We demand and grave variety.  We lose appreciation no matter how beautiful or wonderful or satisfying the same thing is.  How sad and shameful that is but was true for the Israelites as is for us.   They started to bake and fry and manipulate the manna to make bread and cakes and other tasting foods out of it, but only made it taste and satisfy less. 

Consider how man tries to restate or change or repackage or modernize or clarify Christ’s Good News – Gospel instead of leaving it exactly as presented in scripture leaving Christ and His Word along and only presenting it.    But then again, how much and how often do we take Him for granted and become bored or indifferent to Him – getting too “used” to His blessing and appreciating them less?   I have been and all too often wonder into that dark room of indifference myself and need to seek His help and forgiveness to come to my senses again.   Taking those we love for granted is an equally problematic issue for me and you,   I’m sure, too.

So what are we to do?  How do we overcome such failings?  Well, regularly rediscovering such scriptures as Psalm 47 is a good first step.  Discipline of daily prayer whether feeling like it or not. Well, any meaningful relationship takes work, including our  relationship with God, our relationship with our spouse, our children and grandchildren, our friends, our co-workers, church family and pastor, and even our employer. But the work required is so important and worthwhile and achievable.  It is also so much easier and successful if we put our relationship with God first and seek and allow Him to help us both in developing our relationship with Him and then with everyone else. Truth is there is very little good we can’t do without Him and nothing good we can sustain well without Him.  After all, we should want to nor try to because the sooner we recognize and take advantage of truth that WE DESPERATELY AND COMPLETELY DEPEND ON HIM ALL T HE  TIME!  He already knows that, but you and I need to rediscover that every day because our human nature doesn’t like to nor want to depend on anyone except ourselves.   That is why every religion except Christianity preaching the lie the heaven is earned while Christ’s Gospel shouts SALVATION IS A FREE GIFT CHRIST PAID FOR SO YOU WON’T HAVE TO!  Serving Him then is a response of love and gratitude and service to Christ not motivated by selfish ambition but by a desire to please Christ and help others discover and receive His free gift of forgiveness and redemption and an eternal life with Him in heaven.   

Jesus may come in the next 53 seconds. So let’s not lose a minute in anxious fretting about this world. Let’s hold tightly to the truth of Psalm 47 and remember who is truly in charge.  AMEN?  AMEN!

When He reigns there will be no one to dispute His Word, for He will be the only Potentate.
Harry Ironside

3/12/19                                     Faithful in Faithless Times                                                     12

But the righteous shall live by his faith.  Habakkuk 2:4 (ESV)

RECOMMENDED READING: Habakkuk 3:17-19 , ” ¹⁷ Though the fig tree may not blossom,Nor fruit be on the vines;Though the labor of the olive may fail,And the fields yield no food;Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,And there be no herd in the stalls—¹⁸ Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,I will joy in the God of my salvation.¹⁹ The Lord God is my strength;He will make my feet like deer’s feet,And He will make me walk on my high hills.”

COMMENTS:  We are living in times like no other time in history but similar to times long ago just before disaster.  Times just before destruction of great modern empires like Babylon or Greece or Rome, and yes Israel at time after Solomon.   Each experience times of great prosperity and modern technology and learning and comfort but also of moral depravity and total disregard for God and all His Laws and Commands and Teachings.  A total disregard for the Scriptures and for those who teach or follow His Word.

Yesterday the US Congress voted to block a Bill to prevent killing of fetuses, preborn babies in third tri-mester up to and including time of birth and mandate to support that life if born if born in process of being aborted.   Present was a woman who had been such a baby that was saved along with her medical  records to convince congress to vote for life and to convince skeptics a fetes is a human being deserving to live.   Opponents were able to block a vote.   Over 50 million fetuses have been aborted since 1973 when Roe vs Wade was passed by the supreme court of US.  But now pro-choice proponents are even pushing to allow baby to be aborted or killed even after it is born naturally.  THE SLIPPERY SLOPE OF TURNING FROM GOD’S CONTINUES TO TAKE US FURTHER AND FURTHER FROM COMMON MORAL VALUES AND RESTRAINTS.   30 years ago, not even the most liberal pro-life advocates would have considered allowing a new born to die even if the mother didn’t want it to live.  BUT NOW ONE GOVERNOR HAS SIGNED A LAW MAKING IT LEGAL TO DO JUST THAT AND THE PRO-LIFE COMMUNITY OF THAT STATE CELEBRATED THAT NEW LAW!!

BUT GOD HAS NOT CHANGED AND HIS LAW HAS NOT ETIHER.  HE DOES MORE COMMONLY WHAT HE LOVES TO DO AND DOES RARELY WHAT HE DREADS.  HE DREADS JUDGING AND LOVES TO CREATE LIFE AND FORGIVE AND SHOW MERCY!

Think about the above paragraph and conclude how often God has judged and how often He continues to create life and sustain life and forgive.  BUT JUDGMENT DOES COME WHEN MAN APPROACHES A POINT WHEN HIS SELF DESTRUCTIVE PATH BECOMES SO BAD AND CONTAGEOUS, HE IS FORCED TO INTERVENE.    God is slow to anger but such makes Him angry and His intervention urgent.

WE ARE QUICKLY APPROACHING THAT POINT AND ENTERING A UNPRESIDENTED TIME FORETOLD IN SCRIPTURE APPROACHING CHRIST’S RETURN TO STOP SATAN’S REIGN AND BEGIN HIS OWN REIGN!!  

You and I must prepare for His return by proper and repentance and by being faithful in doing His bidding and sharing His Work and spreading His Good News of redemption just as His first century followers did some 2000 years ago.  Those found faithful when He returns will be redeemed but those who are found unforgiven will be eternally lost.  It will not matter if we don’t agree or believe in Him except the impact it will have on our future. 

Habakkuk is a 3 chapter book written by the prophet Habakkuk.  This prophet was very troubled by the turbulent times he lived in.  His culture was crumbling and cities becoming lawless.  Habakkuk expressed his anxiety in prayer (recorded in chapter 1-2),  God’s response to Him was to trust Him and live by Faith because God was still in His Temple and on His Throne.  Vs 20, 14 “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea”

Habakkuk was encouraged and wrote a hymn of praise in response in the 3^rd chapter “The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet, and He will make me walk on my high hill” (vs19).  Habakkuk’s response is good instruction to each of us and encouragement for us as we too live through Godless sinful times and see persecution of faithful followers getting worse but also as we see God’s judgment approaching.  God’s redemption is still enforce and available.   The Good News is still our calling and our mission to share.  God’s Law is still the prevailing Law God’s requires us to obey and we will be judged against.   BUT GOD’S GRACE BASED ON CHRIST’S SACRIFICE ON THE CROSS IS AND WILL BE THE ONLY EXCAPE FOR GOD’S JUDGMENT for any and all, including you and me.

There is a difference between loving and accepting sinners and approving of their sin.  To accept the sinners without accepting their sin is not intolerance as some would have us think.  Afterall, isn’t that what Christ lives and taught and exampled?  We can do no better than to treat sinners as Jesus did and as Jesus treats us. 

AMEN?  AMEN!

 “May all bow to the scepter of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the whole earth be filled with His glory.”
John Hancock, in a proclamation to Massachusetts, October 15, 1791

 

3/13/19                               “What Am I Doing Here?”                                        13      

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2  Recommended Reading: Ephesians 5:1-20   “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;² And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.³ But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;⁴ Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.⁵ For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.⁶ Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.⁷ Be not ye therefore partakers with them.⁸ For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:⁹ (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)¹⁰ Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.¹¹ And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.¹² For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.¹³ But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.¹⁴ Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.¹⁵ See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,¹⁶ Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.¹⁷ Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.¹⁸ And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;¹⁹ Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;²⁰ Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;”

COMMENTS:  “WHAT AM I DOING HERE?”   There are times this question means “What is my purpose for being alive?”  But, there are times this question really means “What am I doing at this party or this meeting or at work on Saturday or Sunday instead of at worship services or spending quality time with our family?”  Reflection would guide us to forfeit time doing enjoyable and good things in order to do spend more quality time with loved ones building important relationships with them.  Same also relates to building an important relationship with our Creator and Savior and Lord.

Truth is devoting time to build a closer relationship with God also helps us build a closer relationship with our family as well as help us do our jobs better and more efficiently too.  Entertaining sin robs us relationship with loves ones and with God, resulting in costing us additional time trying to restore relationships which become broken or diseased due to that sin.  The quality of our work also suffers from unrepented sin in our lives too.

So what is our purpose and what is God’s plan for each of us?

 

Well, our ultimate purpose is to worship and praise Christ, our Creator and Savior and Lord.  God’s plan is for us to become more like Him and less like the devil who lures us, through deception and temptation, to sin.  Sin that pulls us away from a close relationship with God and from fulfilling His plan and purpose for our lives.

 

Sin, done for pleasure – enjoyment or for selfish ambition or due to pride or for personal gain.  Sin done due to addiction or weakness to resist.  Sin done for any reason, even what seems to be good reasons, never has good or positive lasting results.  Sin always costs more than it offers and always fails to delivery what it offers.  Instead sin only give misery and pain and regrets and ultimately death because unchecked it will keep us from a personal meaningful relationship with God and from others who would strengthen us and from those who we could strengthen with God’s help.

 

So take some time to reflect on your past sins and regrets and consequences they brought.  Reflect on how satan lures you into sin and away from God’s helping hands, from an awareness of God’s Holy Spirit, and from seeking help from other Christians.   Write them down and seek Christ’s forgiveness for both sinning and for shutting Him out from helping you overcome the temptation.   Christ understands since He was tempted in every way but without the divine power and insight He had from eternity past.  He put off all His divine powers and abilities to take on human form and endure all the temptations and weaknesses and dependencies and even mortality we all do as humans.  He endured temptations but did not sin.  But He also took on all our guilt and sin consequences as our sacrifice for our redemption and died bearing them all.  The only weapons and tools and help He accessed to fight and defeat temptation and weaknesses and overwhelming discouragement is the same tools available to you and me.   By prayer to the Father and indwelling of His Holy Spirit, help and guidance and strength came to Him. 

 

 This is the mystery of the Trinity and the mystery of Christ laying down His divine abilities for a time when on earth as a human.   The Father and Son and Holy Spirit share identical thoughts and character and abilities and attributes.  Yet they each reveal and provide help and have relationship with us in different ways.  The Father is our Authority Figure.   Christ is our advocate to the Father, our example and guide and redeemer.  He, like an older stronger and wise brother, who walks with us and fights our battles for and with us.  The Holy Spirit provides 24x7x365 council-inspiration-encouragement-strength-….   This and so much more ways of help empower and enable us to resist temptation and motivate and energize us to do good  by  walking with us personally day by day and minute by minute with His 100% attention and focus.  If we don’t feel and sense His presence and hear His quiet voice speaking to our soul, it isn’t because He isn’t.  It is because we are listening to other voices and noises distracting us and drowning out His.

 

He always complies with our choices but does not leave or forsake us.   So what needs to change in order for us to tap more consistently into the Holy Spirit’s help and become more Christ-like in our daily choices?  The answer is God’s to share with you if you take the time to seek Him and listen with a seeking and hungry and open mind and soul to receive.  I too am seeking and opening my soul and hungry to receive His answer for me too.   I know deeper dives into His word, more time I prayer and fellowship with Him.  I know even times of fasting and restraint from not only food but other blessings God has showered on me is including in His answer.  I don’t know how to turn from the distractions and noises that keep drowning out His voice and suspect you don’t know how either.   “BUT HE IS SAYING, THAT IS OK, I DO!!”   When we ask Jesus for help, the Holy Spirit and the Father hear and are involved in the answer.  When you open your soul to the Holy Spirit, you also are opening yourself to Christ and to the Father too.  He knows we don’t nor can’t understand or comprehend Him.  He doesn’t expect us too.  He only asks that we include Him and follow and do what He asks.  He only asks that we believe in and trust Him and look to Him.  Trust Him like Daniel and Joseph and Esther and Ruth and Mary and Joseph and David did.  Trust Him like Moses did and Joshua did and Paul and Peter did.  They all had times of disobedience and doubt but they all prevailed when they turned back and yielded to His grace and sustaining Spirit.  Part of His answer to us will include learning from all these examples and stories.  His answer will not be a one time or short one but one that will unfold as we begin the journey of  walking with our hand tight in His and our  eyes focused on His and our attention sharpening our minds and ears and legs moving closer to Him.

 

As we look at examples of those before us recorded in scripture as well as in more recent history or even from our own personal memories, we will discover those who took this journey enjoyed great and eternal benefits and reward but also had to make noteworthy sacrifices too.  You and I will need to prepare ourselves to not only commit to do what God asks of us but also to give us what He will ask too, knowing what He gives will be far better than what we give up.   After all, when we die, we will give us an old diseased broken down body for a new eternal body.  We will give up all our earthy possessions and home for a far better eternal home.   We will give up the worlds temptations and evil influences for a place free from evil and with full and unrestrained access to Him and our loved ones there and all those before who so influenced us positively and those after us who we influenced. 

 

AMEN?  AMEN!!    

What am I doing here? By God’s grace and the power of His Holy Spirit, I’m living my life as a child of God.

 PRAYER:   Heavenly Father, thank You for the joy and purpose You have given us as Your children. Let the lives we lead point to Your Son, our Lord and Savior. In His Name we pray. Amen.

 

3/14/19                                                     Pressing                                           14                                                      Tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Romans 5:3-4

Recommended Reading:   Romans 5:1-5  “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ³ And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; ⁴ and perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

COMMENTS:  We have been spending some time discussing some attributes of God, including some attributes related to His Trinity nature.  Every time I touch on this subject, I gain fresh insights and inspiration with realization that God has no limits or bounds and has made provisions for all obstacles and weaknesses we struggle with. He has made Himself accessible everywhere all the time to everyone willing.  Willing to honestly seek Him.  Willing to receive Him.  But He accepts us with all our guilt and sinfulness and baggage.  But we need to seek Him and be open to accept Him too. 

He has demonstrated His truth worthiness, His integrity and commitment and ability to do what He promised and sustain what He has done.  This has been proven throughout the centuries recorded in scripture, proven in every generation since, including our generation.  Stop and reflect and consider how His abiding presence and faithfulness has been evident and proven in your life and lives of your family.   Consider His faithfulness during difficult times, times of crisis, times of disease, accident, times of loss of a loved one, times of personal failure, times of rejection and of need.   Have you ever considered we need Him even more during times of peace and prosperity and contentment and joy and happiness?  Why should we?   Well, when we look at examples in scripture, it was during such times that Israel turned from God and descended into sin and eventually God’s judgment. History reveals this to be true in every society – destructive behavior becomes much worse during times of peace and prosperity.   Why is that?   Could it be we don’t feel the need or urgency of seeking and depending on God?  We forget to pray and feed on His Word.  We neglect our relationship and quiet time with Him.  We allow life’s distraction to push Him out of our lives and no longer open to discover and follow His council and wisdom and path to life.  But this neglect makes us very vulnerable to satan’s influence and temptations including boundaries and restraints God’s Laws and moral compass creates but also protection provided within those boundaries.  Truth and integrity become distorted and unnecessary.  But then self destruction and society destruction soon begins unfolding and soon no longer can be stopped.  BUT GOD CAN STOP IT IF WE ONLY TURN BACK SEEKING FORGIVENESS AND HIS HELP.   The prodigal didn’t think his selfish rebellion was wrong and didn’t consider the pain he was causing his father.  He didn’t believe the warnings and danger until he had lost all and was enduring full consequences of his sinful conduct.  Only then did he turn back to his father, who immediately forgave and accepted him back.   Far better for all involved would it have been to not leave and sin in the first place.  But far worse would have been not repenting and returning.   

Let’s be true to our commitments to God and others as we “press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).

 

“Whenever God sends a trial with one hand, He gives grace with the other.”                         J. Sidlow Baxter

3/15/19                       Wondrous  Love That  Welcomes  All                       15  

John 6:37 – (Jesus said) “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out.”

     

RECOMMENDED SCRIPTURE READING:  John 6:1-40 – After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias.² And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.³ And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.⁴ And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.⁵ When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?⁶ And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.⁷ Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.⁸ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him,⁹ There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?¹⁰ And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.¹¹ And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.¹² When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.¹³ Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.¹⁴ Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.¹⁵ When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.¹⁶ And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea,¹⁷ And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.¹⁸ And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.¹⁹ So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid.²⁰ But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.²¹ Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.²² The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone;²³ (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:)²⁴ When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus.²⁵ And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?²⁶ Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.²⁷ Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.²⁸ Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?²⁹ Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.³⁰ They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?³¹ Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.³² Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.³³ For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.³⁴ Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.³⁵ And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.³⁶ But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.³⁷ All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.³⁸ For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.³⁹ And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.⁴⁰ And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

COMMENTS:  Today’s scripture from John 6 has so much to tell us about God’s unspeakable love and commitment to all humans, both those who love Him and even those who don’t.  He doesn’t give up or abandon us even when we betray Him.

Jesus not only shared the Fathers compassion but His Father’s plan for redeeming His beloved human creation.  Jesus not only agreed with the Father’s plan but became the sacrifice to redeem them.  Consider that His gift of salvation is available and offered to everyone, even the most sinful and hateful of us.  God’s judgment will not be given to those He rejected but to those who refused to accept His redemption.  So what does it mean for God to harden a person’s heart, like scripture said He did to Pharaoh in story of Moses in Genesis?  I have to confess I continue to wonder and ponder this and believe God still has more to reveal on this question.   But given God’s compassion for all human beings while still allowing free will and free choice to all, the consequence of a hardened heart a consequence to a foolish choice and not an irrevocable judgment.  A hardened heart is the result of rejecting God and moving away from God.  Our hearts become tender and more like His as we move closer to Him.  I envision it to be like the earth getting colder as its position with the sun reduces amount of sun’s rays to warm the earth.  As cold is the absence of heat, so is a heard heart the absence of God’s influence. 

Well, let’s move on.  God provided manna for all the 3,000,000 Israelites for 40 years even though they rejected Him and refused to trust Him by entering the Promised Land when they should have.  They continued to complain and lack trust in God but He still sustained them all for the remainder of their days.  Yet God would not allow any of them to enter the promised land, only their children and the two who tried to convince them to enter promised land 40 years before, Joshua and Caleb.

Also consider how Jesus then told them Jesus became their manna sustaining them and us daily.  His nourishment is needed daily directly from Him in order to have and sustain eternal life.  That means, in order to be healthy and remain healthy in spirit, we need fellowship with Him daily.  That is why He provides His Holy Spirit to abide with us all the time so we maintain access to His life giving manna each and every day.  The manna of His Word and manna of His abiding presence and fellowship.  That manna is available to all but must be taken into our spirits to bring life.

Reflect on the parables Jesus taught.  For example the Father didn’t leave the prodigal.  The prodigal left the father.  The prodigal’s heart  was hardened towards the father until his situation got bad enough he was forced to put aside the pride that kept his heart hard aside and let humility soften his heart and motivate him to return to his father.  So why do you think God continued to sustain the Israelites for 40 years in the wilderness?  His mercy longed for their fellowship but His justice could not permit them to enter the Promised Land.  Scripture does not reveal their repentance or His forgiveness but I’m wondering if their hearts did soften.  Moses continued fellowship with God and his eternal home secure but God did not permit him to enter the promised-land either.  There is a cost for sin.  Christ’s redemption spares us the eternal cost, but there may remain some residual scares for our sin, like those influenced by exposure to or consequences of our sins. Solomon was influenced by David’s relationship and faith in and love for God but also by David’s sin with Bathsheba and the many wives David acquired.  Solomon also indulged in acquiring many wives in spite of the wisdom and intimate relationship God blessed Him with.  Those wives drew him away from God and into deeper sin.   How it must have broken God’s heart for Solomon to be so close to Him and have such wisdom and yet choose to give it up so He could indulge his fantasies and take advantage of the world’s accepted privileges being a powerful rich king commanded.  Consider how much better David’s and Solomon’s life would have turned out if David would have waiting for God’s one best choice for David’s only wife. I believe it would have been Abigail. Read 1 Samuel 25 to get details.  Imagine if Solomon’s mother would have been Abigail, and Solomon would have been satisfied with one and only one wife of God’s choosing and the description of their love described in the Song of Solomon would have remained only for her.   His wisdom and relationship with God would have remained strong through his last breath. 

THAT IS GOD’S BEST HE HAS FOR YOU AND ME IF WE REMAIN FAITHFUL AND OBEDIENCE ALL OUR LIVES LIKE DANIEL AND JOSEPH DID!!  AMEN?  AMEN!    

Rather than doubt, let the triumphant hymn be your song: “Just as I am, without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me. And that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!”
PRAYER: “Heavenly Father, remove our doubt and despair, and remind us of Your love-a love that welcomes all into your glorious fold. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”

 

3/16/19                                       Anger Management                                                       16     

Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools.
Ecclesiastes 7:9
RECOMMENDED READING:  Ephesians 4:25-32  “²⁵ Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. ²⁶ “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, ²⁷ nor give place to the devil. ²⁸ Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. ²⁹ Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. ³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹ Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. ³² And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

COMMENTS:   Anger is a powerful emotion empowering / motivating / energizing individuals or group of individuals to do or say things (either good or evil) that they could or  would not be willing or able to do without that emotion.   What motivates anger and where does this emotion come from?

Anger isn’t necessarily bad by itself but has resulted in much evil and destruction since Cain killed Abel.  Both evil motivators like jealousy and pride and selfish ambition has sparked anger against obstacles to achieving goals those motivators create.  But injustices and abuse against those we love or have compassion or empathy for can cause “righteous anger” against perpetrators and against obstacles to  their healing.  

There is a time and place for anger but those are far rarer than the instances evil is the motivator and result from anger.  Yet righteous anger can well up in those seeing result of sinful anger causing evil.  The emotion of anger may be the same but source is  very different.  Satan can inspire and spark evil anger while God inspires “righteous anger”.  Yes, satan is very skillful and frequently imitates God’s handiwork for evil purposes instead of God’s intended purpose for good. 

James 1:19-20 “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰ because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.”   Human anger usually is motivated by our own sinful pride or selfish wants and desires.  Eruptions in anger unrestrained become more common and harder to control as we yield to them more.  Likewise, the more  we fight them and seek help from Christ with aid of the Holy Spirit, the weaker they are and easier to control.  But anger will continue to be a sleeping lion ready to pounce.  Anger has destroyed  the most precious and life giving  relationships between spouses and children and family members and even work relationships and friendships.   How many wars and resulting destruction had their inception in anger?

 Anger is not limited or confined to our circumstance but has its start in our hearts.   Circumstances can provoke our anger but the source of the underlying rage of our anger lies in our own soul.  Anger has its beginning in our own thoughts and minds.

So the best way of controlling and dealing with anger is by filling our minds with God’s Word instead.   Consider our minds being a container that can either be filled with anger or love.  With God’s Words of life or evil words of death.   With memories of those who loves and care for us or memories of those who abuse or mistreat us. With memories of our experiences and relationship with Christ or memories of satan’s influences and sins he lured us to commit.

Some verses to help deal with anger:

Ecclesiastes 7:9  “Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit,  for anger resides in the lap of fools.”

Ephesians 4:25-32  “²⁵ Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. ²⁶ “In your anger do not sin”^[a]:Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷ and do not give the devil a foothold. ²⁸ Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.

²⁹ Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. ³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

“Anger is short-lived in a good man.”  Thomas Fuller, Puritan

3/17/19                Committed to Our Commitments                                      17       For His eyes are on the ways of man, and He sees all his steps.  Job 34:21

 

Recommended Reading: Proverbs 20:7-12  “The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him.⁸ A king who sits on the throne of judgment scatters all evil with his eyes.⁹ Who can say, “I have made my heart clean,I am pure from my sin”?¹⁰ Diverse weights and diverse measures, They are both alike, an abomination to the Lord.¹¹ Even a child is known by his deeds, Whether what he does is pure and right.¹² The hearing ear and the seeing eye, The Lord has made them both.”

COMMENTS:  Have you ever done or said something you knew was wrong and looked around to see who you knew who might have witnessed it?  You did so hoping no one you knew was there.  Why?  Well, we do care what others think of us and we tend to put on a better impression around those we are motivated to impress or to think well of us.  In their company we find enough strength to fight off temptation until they are they are gone.  Or we sneak off to a private place to “enjoy” our indulgences.  Well, I hope such recollections are part of your distant past and not still a current battle.  But if we are honest and honestly seek, like David did, God’s revelation to us to see ourselves as He does, (Psalm 139:23-24 “²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: ²⁴ And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”), then we would discover sins in our lives that we currently think are not sins nor even being an issue for us.  Why?  BECAUSE GOD IS PERFECTLY GOOD AND WE STILL ARE NOT!  There still are hidden corners we still need to surrender to Him to clean up.  There always will be until we see Him face to face after we enter heaven. 

So does that mean it is hopeless to try?  No, not for us and not for Him.   He will not clean up those corners until we yield them to Him.  BUT HE KNOWS WE CAN’T HANDLE KNOWING HOW MANY DIRTY CORNERS YOU AND I HAVE, SO HE ONLY REVEALS THEM A FEW AT A TIME AND IN THE ORDER OF HIS PRIORITY AND PURPOSE.  HE STILL LOVES AND FORGIVES US, BUT GUIDES US IN PROCESS OF BECOMING MORE LIKE HIM AS HE KNOWS WE ARE ABLE AND AS HIS  LOVE FOR US ENABLES TOO.   But when He does reveal to us one of those dirty corners, are we willing to yield it to Him to clean?    That is the question and choice we are to make.  When we do, we discover more of Him and enter a new and deeper relationship with Him.

A story was told long ago of a man who picked a dark night to sneak into his neighbor’s field to steal grain.  He had his daughter watch and warn him if someone saw them.  He began his sinful work, but stopped when his daughter came to him saying someone saw them.  He fearfully asked who?  She said “Someone above”.  God was watching them.  A wise girl and a foolish father who needed to stop and repent to the watching God.  Consider how much better we would be and the world would be if we all were more like that daughter and less like her father.  If we all were more aware of God’s watchful eye and presence and willingness to help us resist and overcome temptations of life.

 Proverbs 15:3 says, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” Maintaining our integrity in times of pressure brings glory to God.

But when we know He is watching and think we can hide ourselves and our deeds from Him and even from others, we deceive and harm ourselves.

Proverbs 28:13 says, “He who covers his sins will not prosper.”

But when we discover and invite His watchful eye, we open ourselves to His loving – abiding – helpful spirit to empower us to live and conduct ourselves with integrity and with a commitment to the Holy and Omniscient watching God desiring for us to be honest but also pure in heart.   He will if we let Him.  He will help us avoid saying and doing what we will regret and, instead, say and do what we will rejoice and praise Him for afterward.

AMEN?  AMEN!

“Integrity is not so much what we do as much as who we are.”   John Maxwell

WHO DO YOU WANT TO BE?  WHO DO YOU WANT TO BE LIKE??

3/18/19                                    I’d Rather Be Hunting                                 18                   

He also chose David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds…to shepherd Jacob His people.  Psalm 78:70-71

RECOMMENDED READING: PSALM 78:67-72  ^“Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph, And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,⁶⁸ But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved.⁶⁹ And He built His sanctuary like the heights,L  like the earth which He has established forever.⁷⁰ He also chose David His servant,And took him from the sheepfolds;⁷¹ From following the ewes that had young He brought him,To shepherd Jacob His people,And Israel His inheritance.⁷² So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart,And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.”

COMMENTS:  What do you love doing the most?  My son-in-law would choose hunting and camping and 4 wheeling and canoeing on local river.  He tries to do one of these activities as often as work and home work permits, taking his family with him as much as they are willing.  His passion to be outdoors does rub off, giving them family memories associated with outside activities he loves doing and loves doing with them.   I’m afraid I’m not a hunter or 4 wheeler so even though enjoy outdoor, haven’t acquired the passion he has for these other activities.  For me outside work like shoveling snow and mowing grass and doing outside maintenance on house and church are extent of most of my outside activities, but long walks are among outside enjoyments I have. 

A recent devotion I read shared the story of a pastor, Jason Cruise, who enjoyed hunting so much that he would often think of hunting while doing pastoral obligations.  One day during his devotions, using a NIV Outdoorsman Bible, God revealed to him a calling to minister to sportsmen.  To use his passion to relate to and bond with and minister to a group needed ministry too.

God gives us all passions and purposes.  He also gives us wisdom from life experienced related to both “unpleasant work experiences” and “pleasant and fulfilling work experiences”.  So what are your passions?  What do you love doing and gravitate to the most?  Does you work and ministry and calling link to your passions? Jason discovered an opportunity to minister to many unchurched fellow hunters in a powerful way.

I recall midway through my working career struggling trying to be successful in my career as an engineer while looking for a way of fulfilling God’s purpose for me.  I started praying for an open door to go into full time ministry.   His response was, if I couldn’t be a minister where I was, why would I think I could be an effective minister elsewhere.  That revelation changed my attitude and opened my eyes to realize and discover opportunities to touch and reach others for Christ through work relationships not otherwise possible in any other setting.  I could do so while doing my assigned work without violating company policy or ethics.   Such realization empowered me to become a more effective engineer, build much deeper and more meaningful relationships with co-workers, with customers, and even with supervisors.  I also enjoyed and felt more fulfilled in my work too.

Since I retired, doing this blog not only fulfills me in this new stage of life but keeps my spiritual eyes open to see opportunities to say a word of encouragement to those whose path I cross during normal day’s journey and duties.  So what you’re your passions?  What do you love doing?  Is it a hobby or a life work or an unrealized distant dream?  Making such a matter of prayer seeking God’s input and opportunity to use that passion in ministry or redirect that passion in another way of ministry might just transform your life and maybe transform a few other lives along the way.  AMEN?  AMEN!!

Monumental changes often occur in simple, quiet moments, and it’s in those few seconds that a person makes a clean break with an old way of living and never looks back.
Jason Cruise

 

3/19/19                                     The Need for Prayer                                 19            
Now it came to pass in those days that [Jesus] went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.   Luke 6:12

RECOMMENDED  READING Daniel 2:16-18  “¹⁶ So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation. ¹⁷ Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, ¹⁸ that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon..”

COMMENTS: Daniel is, in my opinion, the best Old Testament role model in scripture.  Even more than Abraham or Joseph or Job or Noah.   They are all good role models and have to admit Joseph, for me, is a close second.  Daniel is far greater than David and Solomon and Abraham because he was faithful all his life from his youth.  Job and Noah and Joseph were all faithful all their lives and enduring real faith tests and remained truth, which makes them worthy role models to follow. 

What makes Daniel stand out, for me, is the depth of his wisdom and spiritual maturity and convictions at a young age in spite of being taken to a pagan land away from his family and synagogue family.  He remained faith in midst of real threat of being eaten alive by lions.  He remained faith in midst of treats of death and torture from the worst tyrant king in ancient history, Nebuchadnezzar.  He even remained faithful in the midst of prosperity and status and wealth living a life of integrity and faithfulness to God.  There was no doubt who his God was or the impact his relationship with God made in his life.

But the biggest reason I put Daniel top on my list is importance he put on prayer and urgency he had to be and stay in constant contact with God in prayer.  He prayed each day without hiding even when it was illegal in Babylon.  He relied on prayer to open himself to God’s council and empowerment.   He relied on prayer especially and first before making choices or speaking his mind.  He did not assume or rely on past wisdom but always sought fresh wisdom each day and before each decision. He always blanketed himself in prayer and sought supporting prayer from his faithful friends.

His faithfulness supported God’s intervention that humbled Nebuchadnezzar (even thought took 7 years) to repent.  His faithfulness enabled God to work in Babylon with both Jewish and pagan people.  His faithfulness also enabled seekers in every generation since his, by recording his story in scripture, to find Daniel’s God and make relationship with God theirs.   Stop and consider the growing number of millions either in heaven or will be who will be eager to meet Daniel and thank him personally for his example and faithfulness.  Then again, the prophecies and revelations God gave Daniel because of his faithfulness continue to encourage and council current generations to prepare for His return and end time judgment.  For God to judge Daniel greatly beloved: “Daniel 10:11 (KJV) and he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this world unto me, I stood trembling.”    The only other created human that received this honor was Mary, Jesus’ mother.    I believe there are many very good reasons for that, which should seek to discover and make ours too.  Of course, our best and more important and more perfect example is Christ Himself.  But when we consider Daniel and Mary, we also discover many qualities and attributes Christ demonstrated in their lives too.  The most significant attribute was importance and time each put to prayer all their lives. AMEN?  AMEN!

Also, let’s consider the 7 ecumenical church councils held in early Christian Church history.  The first held in AD325 was the First Council o Nicaea.  Its purpose was to bring a united agreement and create a statement of faith on the nature of Jesus as God’s Divine Son as well as the Son of Man – fully human as  well as fully divine and not a creation but the Creator.

As fully human, Jesus relied on prayer to His father to sustain Him and give Him divine direction.  Mark 13:32 reveals that Jesus did not know when the end time prophecies foretold by Daniel and other prophets of old will be fulfilled. He said only the Father knows.  When Jesus gave up His Divine abilities and attributes to become human, He also relinquished that knowledge.  BUT HE KNOWS NOW BECAUSE HIS DIVINITY HAS BEEN RESTORED.  HE AND THE FATHER AND HOLY SPIRIT ARE ONE OF MINE AND ACTION.

Jesus repeatedly said that He only did what the Father showed Him (John 5:19) since prayer was His link to the Father.  He solely relied on that link to sustain His perfect obedience to the Father and sustain being a perfect example and role model to us.

Daniel was able to stand out as a noteworthy role model due to his commitment to prayer (Daniel 2:16-18) too.

If Jesus, the Son of God, needed to go to His Father in prayer for strengthening and guidance, how much more do we (Psalm 32:6)?

“Prayer and a holy life are one.”  E. M. Bounds

3/20/19                                     First Responses                                  20

Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.  Daniel 2:19

RECOMMENDED  READING Psalm 107:1-8  “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.² Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,³ And gathered out of the lands,From the east and from the west,From the north and from the south.⁴ They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way;They found no city to dwell in.⁵ Hungry and thirsty,Their soul fainted in them.⁶ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,And He delivered them out of their distresses.⁷ And He led them forth by the right way,That they might go to a city for a dwelling place.⁸ Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,And for His wonderful works to the children of men!”

COMMENTS:  The norm for us humans is to go to God for help in prayer when all else fails.   When we’ve tried every approach to our problems or work and all failed.  Well, most of our daily duties and tasks and work are pretty routine, only demanding the skills and abilities and knowledge we’ve acquired from past experience and learned skills.  So why would it be wrong to only ask for God’s help when we need it and let Him deal with other’s problems and not be bothered with ours?  

Let’s dive a bit into this question and attempt to see from God’s perspective and His insights. 

First of all, our human limitations make us realize we can only do one thing well at a time.  Multi-tasking is a modern day necessity and desirable skill, but truth is we can only focus on one task at a time, resulting in going from working on one task and then stopping to continue work on another until all tasks in “Q” are completed.  That is only way multi-tasking is possible or can work.  But truth is each of those tasks takes longer because of inefficiencies of starting and stopping.  But the other reality is quite often our work depends on others to complete supporting tasks or information gathering needed for us to complete our tasks, so idle time waiting for them to complete their tasks can be used for us to begin other tasks needed while waiting.  Can you relate this in your daily work or obligations?  I can.  Our human limitations require us to depend on others for help and recognize and manage our own limits in order to complete tasks successfully.

Secondly, our ability to think and work effectively diminishes dramatically when we are tired or distracted by unplanned (or even known) personal or family or other issues or concerns, especially those outside our control.  Consider what “distractions” have or still do impact your ability to work and manage your day’s responsibilities and tasks.

Thirdly, we often make the mistakes of thinking God suffers the same limitations we do and doesn’t want bothered.

Well, let’s look at the lives of those in scripture first who’s experiences help us understand God’s perspective and desire for us. Then I invite you to also look at examples more contemporary in your family or church or even in your personal past.

God’s perspective is not limited by human limitations but is motivated by a passion to be in continual relationship guiding and encouraging and inspiring us with His strength and wisdom and knowledge and plan.  All for our best because His love for us is boundless.  He doesn’t have a “bad day” nor is distracted, nor weary from dealing with others at same time He is focusing on our needs and problems.  His Holy Spirit is totally God and was given at Pentecost in order to provide opportunity for God to be in constant and focused relationship with each of us all the time with no problem too little nor too great for Him anytime.

David made almost disastrous errors by going to the Philistines for refuge from King Saul seeking his death.  David had to lie and pretend to be insane in order to escape the philistines.

King Saul made a fatal misjudgment to make the required sacrifice when Samuel was late instead of delaying going into battle until Samuel arrived.  That error and sin resulted in God’s spirit leaving him and eventual judgment of God not only on him but on his son, Jonathan too.

Then consider Daniel who prayed about everything big and small all the time, even during peaceful prosperous times.   His relationship with God was so intimate and frequent that God called him “highly favored”, an honor only given to one other, Mary, Jesus’ mother.    Because of Daniel’s established relationship with God, Daniel could quickly and effectively go to God for help in interpreting the king’s dreams.  He also was confident in believing God’s answer would come because of that relationship.    He also was prepared for unexpected problems and dangers and choices that came quickly and unannounced, of which I’m sure scripture only records a very few examples. 

Joseph is another example.  How he dealt with slavery and enduring Egypt’s prisons proves he too had a daily personal and very meaningful relationship with God, which guided him very effectively to do great thinks well beyond his human abilities.

First responders must train and be part of a strong team and support system where all are of one mind and focus so can enter dangerous life threatening environments and respond correctly there saving lives, removing dangers, and avoiding unnecessary personal risks and harm.  GOD IS OUR SUPPORT SYSTEM AND A CRITICAL MEMBER OF OUR TEAM.   I wonder how these saints enjoyed such a personal relationship with God before the revelation of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  But they did.  After all, the Holy Spirit was still an integral part of the God Head in Old Testament times, just not understood nor explained as was revealed at Pentecost.   You and I can identify with and be comforted knowing the Holy Spirit is filling the intimate need for us  that Jesus did for the disciples during those 3 years of ministry and continual being with Jesus.  But even more, the Holy Spirit provides directly all the resources and attributes of God directly as God.  Jesus gave His attributes and access to God’s resources while on earth as a human and only provided what He received from the Father to Him.   I do believe the Holy Spirit was involved and enabled Daniel and Joseph and so many others to do extraordinary things then.   But I also believe the Holy Spirit will do even more with and through and for us if we simply surrender and  access Him more and more often  whether we are in need or not.  It is fellowship with God that He treasures most and we need above all else. 

So what does all this mean for you and me?  It means we need to spend more time with Him in His Word, In prayer, In meditating on Him and opening ourselves to hearing in our soul is soft whispers as well as the occasional shouts of urgency that can come.

We just entered the Lent season, a time of preparing for Easter.  A perfect to set aside time to do just that.   I invite you to join me in making a deeper and longer time with Him by setting aside additional time and more frequent times to Him and each and every day.  For some, the best time may be early morning and for others during a break time during day and for others evening.    I do believe, no matter which works best for you, we all should reserve at least a brief time in morning and noon time and evening just at least to  greet and praise Him and to remind us He is with us.  AMEN?  AMEN!!

“When all Thy mercies, O my God, my rising soul surveys, transported with the view, I’m lost in wonder, love, and praise.”  Joseph Addison

 

3/21/19                               Managing  Angry Thoughts & Words                           21

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.  Proverbs 15:1

RECOMMENDED READING:  Proverbs 15:1-4 “A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.² The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly,But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness. ³ The eyes of the Lord are in every place,Keeping watch on the evil and the good.⁴ A wholesome tongue is a tree of life,But perverseness in it breaks the spirit.”

COMMENT:  Consequences of uncontrolled anger is well documented throughout history starting with Cain killing Abel and being cast out of his family and becoming a wondering nomad the rest of his life.  Even more unfortunate was Cain’s family enduring that same judgment for generations afterwards.

Angry words destroy marriages, parent – child –grandchild relationships, destroy business relationships, destroy friendships, and destroy personal and professional relationships…  Anger causes loss of joy and happiness, loss of income and possessions, loss of life and quality of life.  Anger impacts every one in every generation and every location and every age.   Anger generates energy to respond as well as emotion.  Anger can be productive if controlled and channeled to produce change but is never productive when uncontrolled or left to be channeled against another.  Revenge is never a good thing but channeled anger to stop or prevent hard can be good and needed.  So anger requires control and thought and support to be channeled properly.

Thoughts are just as important to control as actions.  Reason is thoughts always come before actions.  Granted, thoughts unrestrained can immediately go to action, which become “crimes of passion” or lapses in “sanity”.

A recent devotion spoke of Roger Dawson, a respected Business Negotiator, who provides life training for business executives to gain skills in negotiating good deals in tense settings.  Dawson’s advice is “Be careful what you say at the beginning.  If the other person takes a position with which you totally disagree, don’t argue.  Arguing always intensifies the other person’s desire to prove their right” regardless of evidence otherwise.

Solomon, 3000 years ago, endowed with unprecedented wisdom by God, gave us the words above recorded in Proverbs, which gives similar advice. 

Well, even though wise words relating to anger management are freely available from both secular and Christian literature and experts, where can we go to get foolproof help? 

Where can we go to not only get wise advice and instruction, but one on one help and encouragement and strength to gain control over anger?

Where can we go to find someone who will warn us and calm us when we become angry and weak?

The answer is the source of Solomon’s wisdom. The source of successful defeats of anger in every generation.  The source of positive transformed lives without charge or fee.  The source that is readily available and willing to devote 24x7x365 100% focus and His full resources to guide and walk us through victory over our anger.  That source is none other than God Himself.  His Holy Spirit was and is God’s abiding presence with all God’s resources and abilities and wisdom and experience fully available to use.  The only reason stopping Him from doing so is our invitation and willingness to let Him into our lives and our willingness to submit to Him and follow His council and conditions.   We must believe and know that He only has our best interest in mind and loves us sincerely and far more deeply than anyone else does or can. WE CAN FULLY TRUST HIM AND NEED TO IF WE EVER HOPE TO HEAL AND AVOID DAMAGE DONE BY ANGER AND AVOID FURTHER DAMAGE.

Gentle does not mean weak.  Peaceful doesn’t mean compliant.  Restrained doesn’t mean defenseless.  No, quite the opposite.   Jesus was neither weak, nor complacent, nor defenseless.                                                                                                                  “Hot heads and cold hearts never solved anything.”   Billy Graham

3/22/19                                      Knowing the Future                                                         22     
I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning. Isaiah 46:9-10

RECOMMENDED  READING:  ISAIAH 46:8-13  “⁸ “Remember this, and show yourselves men; Recall to mind, O you transgressors.⁹ Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me,¹⁰ Declaring the end from the beginning,And from ancient times things that are not yet done,Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,And I will do all My pleasure,’¹¹ Calling a bird of prey from the east,The man who executes My counsel, from a far country.Indeed I have spoken it;I will also bring it to pass.I have purposed it;I will also do it.¹² “Listen to Me, you stubborn-hearted,Who are far from righteousness:¹³ I bring My righteousness near, it shall not be far off;My salvation shall not linger.And I will place salvation in Zion,For Israel My glory.”

COMMENTS:  When we study bible prophecy, we struggle with interpreting and understanding what is being revealed.  In looking at those prophecies of Daniel and Isaiah and other prophets that have been fulfilled, it is much easier to understand the meaning of prophet’s vision as described.  But keep in mind that prophet is describing what he saw in his vision limited by his vocabulary while lacking understanding the vision he was describing. Keep in mind time of prophecies was long before Christmas and Easter and Pentecost stories.  So we need to keep that in mind as we struggle understanding yet to be fulfilled prophecies, but knowing God is still faithful and will fulfill remaining prophecies as precisely as He has done with those that have been fulfilled.

Knowing the God who revealed prophecies recorded in scripture gave Daniel and Isaiah or other prophet’s confidence in their prophecies.  We have that same confidence knowing the God we worship and serve and fellowship with is the same God Daniel and Isaiah did too.  They didn’t understand Christ’s role in redemption.  They didn’t’ understand the role the Holy Spirit would play after Pentecost, but they did know and have fellowship with God, which included Christ and the Holy Spirit.  God always has been accessible and provided opportunity for personal fellowship and relationship with Him to those who sought Him.

Scripture tells us God reveals Himself even to those who never heard His Good News.  Read a few supporting verses below:

^“14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. ¹⁵ They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.)” Romans 2:14-15

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalm 19:1

^“19 since what may be known about God are plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Romans 1:19-21 

^“16 in the past, he let all nations go their own way. ¹⁷ Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” Acts 14:16-17 

So, if God reveals Himself even to those who have not been reached with the Gospel and holds them accountable for knowledge and understanding they do have, are we still accountable and required by God to witness to them?  Consider what if no-one had ever told us.  We too had that knowledge and were held accountable for what we did know but were still lost in our sins for rejecting Him based on understanding we still had available.  By hearing and accepting His Good News, we received redemption and a new life that included a personal relationship with Christ, ongoing fellowship with His Holy Spirit, and access to His Word as a life giving and life change resource for life council and guidance and inspiration.   If we truly care for others like He cares for us, why wouldn’t we be passionate about sharing that Good News with others?

Understanding of prophecy is a worthy endeavor and study, but even more important is knowing and trusting the One who reveals those prophecies.  He is better suited and able to equip and prepare you and me for what lies in the future.  Keeping in fellowship by  frequent prayer time each day and frequent study and meditation of scripture, and obedience to share and fellowship and minister to others each day all give opportunity for Him to strengthen and prepare us for what lies ahead in our future.  AMEN?  AMEN!!

“God, the architect of the ages, has seen fit to take us into His confidence concerning His plan for the future and has revealed His purpose and program in detail in the Word.”
J. Dwight Pentecost

3/23/19                          Kingdoms vs. The Kingdom                                      23   

And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.  Daniel 2:44

Recommended Reading: Isaiah 9:6-7  “ ⁶ For unto us a Child is born,Unto us a Son is given;And the government will be upon His shoulder.And His name will be calledWonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.⁷ Of the increase of His government and peaceThere will be no end,Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,To order it and establish it with judgment and justiceFrom that time forward, even forever.The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”

COMMENTS:   These words from Isaiah 9 are typically read during Advent or Christmas but in context of today’s devotion is very appropriate for a Lent study.  It is this Jesus who is the eternal King Daniel and Isaiah speak of.   The King who has many names and titles and responsibilities identified, of which the title of our Redeemer and Savior required His greatest Sacrifice and provides the greatest impact on us.

No other king was able to establish a rule and enduring legacy.  But Jesus came linking himself to a lineage of King David but promised and preparing an eternal kingdom and rule David could never have dreamed of let alone achieved.  Jesus is God and eternal so He is the only One capable and qualified and worthy of such an authorative position and status.

Aren’t you glad only a perfect king can achieve an eternal reign.  Many kings have claimed to be divine and claimed to establish a perfect kingdom.  Babylon, Greece, Egypt, Rome were the largest and strongest but they are all long gone and their accomplishments in ruin with only some inhabitable remnants remaining.  History book and some scripture speak of their magnificence and achievements.  But none of them will   hold a candle to the kingdom and rule Jesus will create and rule over.  But then again, Jesus’ rule will be eternal! (Revelation 20-21)

Jesus linked to David because David lived and ruled under God’s authority and guidance.  David committed some horrible sins that would have destroyed him and ended his rule, like they did Saul, early with God’s judgment on him.  But David repented and turned back to God for mercy.  God honored His humble repentance and restored his reign to a full lifetime. 

We should not be too hard on David because we all have sinned and come short of God’s plan and dream and goals for us.  But he not only provides a path to redemption, but a path back to the road to our intended destination He has created for us and designed us to journey to.  A journey to a destination of the Kingdom He is building and preparing for us to inhabit one day.  We are told the capital “New Jerusalem” will be completed in heaven and will descend to earth.  It will be 1500 miles x 1500 miles x 1500 miles.  What a sight and magnificent event to witness but even more, what a King and Savior and Eternal Ruler we will be serving and enjoying abiding with. 

The failure of past kingdoms and kings should serve to remind us that a permanent eternal kingdom is coming.  I’m glad none of these kingdoms lasted.   They all inflicted terror and misery in most if not all their subjects.  God’s love and mercy creates and terminates kingdoms and rulers.  But even in the worst of suffering and persecution of faithful Christians at the hands of evil rulers, God is faithful and provides strength and hope and a clear path to His eternal Kingdom coming .  Even Nazi Germany had a brief life, Thank God, while Adolf Hitler bragged defiantly that his kingdom would last 1000 years.  Evil has a time of flourishing because God allows humans to make their own choices.  Germany chose to believe and follow Hitler’s deceptions and when they discovered what his goals were, it was too late and many followed his destructive plan believing in him.  BUT GOD WOULD NOT BE MOCKED NOR ALLOW EVIL TO REVAIL FOREVER.  Many people died and every family suffered loss during the terrible war that followed to defeat Nazi Germany.  But God enabled and empowered Allied Forces to prevail and Axis Forces, which were stronger for a time, to fail.  God’s wisdom and power and insights all will make all the different to those who follow Him. 

Do not be discouraged at man’s failed attempts to govern himself. Instead look for the coming of the One whose government will know no end (Isaiah 9:6-7).

“History can be understood only in terms of God’s kingdom.”  D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

 

3/24/19                                           The Cornerstone                                         24                          Then [Jesus] looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written: ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone’?”  Luke 20:17

RECOMMENDED SCRIPTURE EPHESIANS 2:19-22 “¹⁹ Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, ²¹ in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, ²² in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit..”

COMMENTS: You and I have the ability to change our attitudes, our choices, our conduct, and even our thoughts.   We can change our environment and people we associate with and even our world view and belief system.  We can be adopted into different families and acquire different last names.   But we can not change our lineage or ancestry.  We can’t change who we are blood relations with.  Before Easter, the status of being a Jew was only possible if your parents were Jewish.  An exception was those like Ruth or Rehab who chose to follow the God of Israel and accept the Jewish life style and beliefs.  There was a ritual necessary. 

But after Easter, Jews and Gentiles alike were offered redemption and acceptance into Christ’s chosen group called “Christians”.  Not all embraced that theology right away but Paul was able to convince those opposed, including Peter.  Well, God really softened Peter with a vision which convinced God that Paul was doing His Will and needed to be followed.

Anyway, since Easter, Jews have been offered Salvation and still called by God not to privilege but called to evangelize.  They still are called to do so, but so are we gentiles.  We can’t change our  background but we can change our future and not only accept Christ’s redemption and inheritance and passage to eternal life with Him in heaven, but we can also choose to accept the responsibility that privilege carries.  The responsibility to share that Good News with others.

Have you ever known or see jealousy of one sibling for another who dominates parent’s affections.  Parents should be alert to warning signs and show unbiased affection to all their children.  As they get older the way to show affection and love needs to change and mature, while keeping affections age sensitive.  Families missing that wisdom bring harm to the family and to both parent and child in that family.  Christ is no longer limited in His abilities and attributes and is no longer bound by time with it’s limitation as He was while on earth as a human.  He can show love and affection and give attention to all at the same time and still fulfill and meet all the needs of each of us without depriving any.  He also provides His Holy Spirit to give tailored focus and ministry to meet unique needs and resolve specific issues and problems each of us comes to Him carrying.

But He does require that we surrender and submit to His strong Hands and wise council.  He provides Grace to us when we accept His Salvation.  He continues to provide Grace as we continue to yield our wills and choices to Him.   He shields us from satan’s snares and temptations as we stay in His Hands.  When we get off His Hands, we expose ourselves to needless temptation and danger and struggles.  The prodigal chose to leave his father but also chose to return.  But the loss during that time of sin caused scars and suffering and permanent cost not only for the prodigal but for the father and even for his other brother.  His brother’s sin may not have happened if he had stayed and remained faithful to his father.  The resources available to the whole family would have been greater because the wayward son would not have squandered them and would have contributed to them instead of wasting them.

Granted, God’s resources are infinite but those He created are limited.  Limited to you and me and other humans born after Adam and Eve.  Those who die in their sins are eternally lost.  A loss He feels and grieves at while those who accept Christ’s redemption are restored to Him.      When Jesus shared the parable of the Prodigal, HE desired for us to see the pain and sorrow the Father suffers when we stray and the joy He experienced with each of His children when they return.  He also reveals how much He desires for those of us who didn’t stray to rejoice with Him when others return to Him.  He also wants us to get that Good News out so more come to Him for mercy too.  There is more than enough love in Him for everyone without depriving any His love or blessings.

 

 Corrie Ten Boom  said, “When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.”  

Corrie also said “In darkness God’s truth shines most clear .”

Corrie speaks with great authority because she has experienced the worst evil man could do.  She also said “I’ve experienced His Presence in the deepest darkest hell that men can create… I have tested the promises of the Bible and believe me, you can count on them.”

One of my f favorite quotes Corrie said is “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed.  If you look within, you’ll be depressed.  If you look at God you’ll be at rest.”

 

The cornerstone is the most important support skilled builders set because it supports the weight and stabilizes the entire building.  If it is not set on solid ground or is not strong enough, it will yield and allow the entire structure to move and ultimately fall.

CHRIST IS OUR CORNERSTONE AND THE CHURCH HE BUILT IS YOU AND ME AND ALL HIS FO LLOWERS BEFORE US AND ALL HIS FOLLOWERS AFTER US TOO.

The apostle Paul did in Ephesians 2:19-22. Jesus initiated the building of what is becoming “a holy temple in the Lord” or His Church.  That also means each one of us is a stone laid on the shoulders of those before us.  It also means those after us will be set on our shoulders so His Church continues to be strong and solid but also continue to grow in strength and numbers and in stature. We enjoy eternal life so we are indeed “living stones”  (1 Peter 2:5)  AMEN?  AMEN!

“Christ is our temple, in whom by faith all believers meet.”  Matthew Henry

3/25/19                                       LABOR PAINS                                          25 
He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Revelation 22:20
RECOMMENDED SCRIPTURE READING ROMANS 8:22-25  “²² For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. ²³ Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. ²⁴ For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.”
COMMENTS: We are living in an unprecedented time.  A time when global instant communication is accessible and affordable to people in every country and even with the very poor in all countries.  I communicate and share may devotional journal regularly with very poor pastors in some of the poorest countries all over the world.  Being able to write devotions and share them with people globally is still hard for me to grasp, even though I have been doing so for a number of years.  Reports of many being blessed and some receiving salvation from reading and meditating on some of my journal entries humbles and blessed and encouraged me so.  But I realize and often remind myself that it is not about me but all about Christ.  It is for His Honor alone and for His Word I write and share.  I do know that writing them has helped me greatly to commit to time with Him daily and to actively seek and draw closer in relationship and fellowship with Christ daily.

Today is also an unprecedented time when news and both world and local events and tragedies are made known instantly as well.  Also, travel great distances is also experienced in frequency and more commonly by the poorest today who would be bound to their birth home 2-3 generations ago.  Such marvels of  technology are becoming so much the norm that when they fail, the world declares a crisis and the world’s people judge them as much a necessity as air or food or water and shelter to sustain life.  BUT LIFE CAN AND CONTINUES TO BE SUSTAINED WITH ONLY THE 4 HISTORIC ESSENTIALS. 

But such marvels have not improved the quality of families or reduce violence and evil being acting out in the world.   In fact, the opposite is true and evil violence common in big cities and seldom seen in small communities now are almost as common in small communities as in big cities.  Shootings in schools were unheard of 2 generations ago but now are a fear in every school.  The deteriorating reverence and value of human life is becoming a crisis.  A few years ago even the most liberal pro-choice proponents would not consider aborting a fetus in 3^rd trimester and certainly not consider killing a new born for reason of parents not wanting it.  But that restraint is no longer in place and congress has not been able to create law limited abortion to maintain these limits. 

So where society heading and what will change next?  Today’s scripture tells us the world is experiencing “birth pangs”.   But not labor pains to create life.  But not labor pains to create what the world is longing for.  Most will believe these pains are for purpose of creating a new world order there where moral standards used to judge good would no longer be used.  BUT SCRIPTURE, INSTEAD, WARNS US THAT THESE BIRTH PANGS ARE WARNING OF CHRIST’S RETURN TO ESTABLISH AN ETERNAL KINGDOM MUCH DIFFERENT THAN WHAT THE WORLD WANTS OR IS STRIVING FOR.
1 Corinthians 1:25 “For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.”

THE WORLD’S REMEDIES PROMISE A BRIGHT FUTURE AND LONG LIFE AND CURES FOR ALL DISEASES AND PROSPERITY WITHOUT COST AND FREEDOM TO FULFILL ALL OUR DESIRES WITHOUT CONSEQUENCE, BUT WHAT DOES GOD SAY?                                                                                                                                             God promised (Revelation 21:4) “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

But God still sees us as sinners in need of His Grace, Redemption, Forgiveness, and Transforming influence that comes with a daily walk and relationship with Him:

Romans 3:23  For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

 

Isaiah 64:6 We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.

We Need To Confess Our Sin

 

Proverbs 28:13 People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.

 

Hosea 5:15  Then I will return to my place until they admit their guilt and turn to me. For as soon as trouble comes, they will earnestly search for me.”

God Forgives Our Sin

 

1 John 1:7-9 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.  If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

Forgiving One Another’s Sins

 

Luke 17:3-4 So watch yourselves!    “If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive. Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.”

Examples of Sin

 

Colossians 3:5-6   So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.  Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming.

Galatians 5:19-21  When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division,  envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Victory Over Sin

 

1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

 

1 Corinthians 15:57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Romans 8:1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

 

But Jesus did not tell us when He would return (Mark 13:32; Acts 1:6-7). What to do in the interim? Pray as the apostle John prayed: “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20) And live in a manner that proves our longing for His appearing (1 Timothy 6:11-16).

CHRIST IS OUR ONLY HOPE AND WAY TO ETERNAL LIFE AND TO A HOME IN HEAVEN (JOHN 14:6).  CHRIST ‘S MESSAGE AND WORDS IS THE ONLY ROAD TO LIFE .   CHRIST GIVES US CLEAR WARNING NOT TO BELIEVE OR FOLLOW ANY WORLD VIEW THAT CONFLICTS WITH HIS MESSAGE.  IT DOESN’T GET ANY CLEARER THAN THAT.  SO WHO WILL YOU BELIEVE AND WHAT GOSPEL WILL YOU BELIEVE AND FOLLOW.  “AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE, WE WILL FOLLOW THE LORD” JESUS CHRIST!!  AMEN?  AMEN!

“God’s people may groan, but they may not grumble.”   Charles H. Spurgeon

3/26/19                               A Whole Person                                                   26            

In all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility.       Titus 2:7

RECOMMENDED SCRIPTURE READING:  Titus 2:1-9 “But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: ² that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; ³ the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— ⁴ that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, ⁵ to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.⁶ Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded, ⁷ in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility,⁸ sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.⁹ Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back.”

COMMENTS:   What we say and what we do does matter.  It matter both now and for eternity.   It matters whether in public or in private.  It matters to those who know us and also to those who don’t.  IT ALSO MATTERS TO GOD MOST OF ALL!!

The above scriptures are a sampling of scripture commanding us to live Christ-like lives both privately when no one sees what we do and in public when they do.  Today, when public people are running for office or being considered for influential positions, their lives are carefully scrutinized.  Hidden sins or illegal actions committed as a foolish youth 20 or 30 or even 60 years ago, if discovered, can impact and prevent gaining the position or job sought even if conduct since has been unquestioned.  Even unconfirmed accusations can and have carried such impact too, as has been demonstrated in recent news. I think it quite hypocritical to see those guilty of equal offenses making such accusations without regard for their own sins or offenses.  

Well, truth is we are all equally guilty of sin and destined for eternal judgment at the throne of Christ.  He will be our judge and the judge of everyone with the exception of those who accept His gift of forgiveness and redemption.  If you have accepted His gift, you will be spared His judgment even though you actions and work will be judged.

But even though you and I, if we’ve accept His redemption, have fellowship with Him and walk with Him daily and enjoy His fellowship with His Holy Spirit, our lives and conduct and work and actions will still be judged.  The work and its impact on the lives of others and even on our own lives will be judged.  Work that won others to Grace will be judged and we will see the ripple compounding affect of that work.  Revelation tells us crowns will be given for that work, but WE WILL LAY THEM ALL AT HIS THRONE TO HONOR AND WORSHIP AND PRAISE HIM!!

However, actions and idle work that did not honor and serve Christ will also be judged.  No crowns will be given to us for that work, but He will then show how He transformed even those acts of sin and disobedience to honor and do His Work and fulfill His Plan.  We will see how He worked in so many wonderful ways.

Purpose and conclusion of this time to come in heaven will be that He defeated satan and His Work was done and HE IS WORTHY OF OUR PRAISE AND WORSHIP!

Showing integrity and Christ inspired conduct will bring honor to Him and open opportunity of blessing to us.   Unselfish conduct stands out and either puts to shame or inspires others to do so too.  Daniel and Joseph and Noah and Job are perfect examples from the Old Testament.  Esther and Ruth and Abigail are perfect examples as well.  They all demonstrate faithfulness and integrity in all areas of their lives and all their lives that not only impacted their lives and provided ultimate success in midst of adversity or even tragedy.  They showed us how to excel and not let adversity overtake us or let temptation overtake us.  They showed us how to have and maintain a daily meaningful relationship with God both in good prosperous peaceful times as well as in dark times of devastation.  They also showed us the impact such lives have far beyond what we can imagine or hope to accomplish.   They all show us their goals and dreams become dwarfed and unimportant when God’s use and influence is added and followed.

When you and I are judged for our actions at His Throne, do you think we will be thinking about our goals and dreams we achieved or failed to achieve?  Or do you think we will be thinking about what He has done for us and forgiven us from and respond with love and worship and praise directly exclusively and passionately towards Him?

Well then, should we not begin while we still have breathe and life and time to focus on His dreams and goals and Plan as our first priority and also focus on making our lives and conduct reflect those goals and follow His example.  These are lofty and noble goals, but are also goals far beyond our reach but not beyond His reach or even ours if we  put our hand in His and let Him help us as we walk daily  towards those goals.  Our humanity limits our capacity to achieve these lofty goals but we certainly can make significant progress and we can at least reach goals like other humans have reached with Him help.   We can’t undo what we have done but we don’t need to let our past define our future.  Our future is known to Him but not to us.  Our future is not written and can be changed to a much better one than the one our past is leading us towards.  AMEN?  AMEN!! 

 “Integrity of heart is indispensable.”    John Calvin

3/27/19                     Controlling our Actions When Angry                             27   

Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod.  Numbers 20:11

RECOMMENDED READING: NUMBERS 20:1-13 “Then the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh; and Miriam died there and was buried there.² Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. ³ And the people contended with Moses and spoke, saying: “If only we had died when our brethren died before the Lord! ⁴ Why have you brought up the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here? ⁵ And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink.” ⁶ So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and they fell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them.⁷ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁸ “Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.” ⁹ So Moses took the rod from before the Lord as He commanded him.¹⁰ And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” ¹¹ Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. ¹² Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to which I have given them.”¹³ This was the water of Meribah, because the children of Israel contended with the Lord, and He was hallowed among them.”

COMMENTS:  Does God expect too much of us?  Does He ask too much of us to become and remain His people?  Do you, at times, think so?  I dare say you do, and at times so do I, even though we may never say that to Him or even to ourselves.   When life gets difficult, when we are uncertain or not confident in our choices, when those we love and depend on opposite us and want us to take different paths, when we simply are tired and discouraged, when ….  The list goes on.  Well, even Christ got discouraged at times too.  That is neither sin nor due lack of faith but begins as a temptation from satan with deliberate purpose of drawing us from God enough so he has more freedom to hit us with both barrels of His temptation gun.

But when we entertain that discouragement and respond with anger and frustration which begins to infiltrate our thoughts and actions, then it becomes sin for us.

When we accept Christ and allow His Holy Spirit to council and guide us, we have greater responsibility to use this all powerful resource.  If a teacher gives you a math test and allows you to use a calculator, it should take less time than to do multiplication and division long hand.  But sometimes she wants us to do it long hand to improve skills and abilities to do so.  That doesn’t mean we can’t nor shouldn’t use a calculator to do most of our math problems especially in our jobs and daily obligations. In school children wonder why they should learn how to do math long hand when a calculator does it so much easier.  But then they are helpless when a calculator isn’t available or working, so access to more traditional methods are valuable.  I have discovered that often over the years but still use a calculator to do those math problems most of the time.  It isn’t about ability to do math, but in solving problems that math holds the answers to do. 

 

God wants us to learn and use Him as our resource and discover how much different our answers are than answers He gives us.  At times the answers and choices seem obvious to us.  At times the answers are urgent, and we don’t feel we can take the time to seek His council first, so we wonder down a path of poor choice for awhile until we discover and see signed we took a wrong turn.   Sounds like taking a trip leaving our map or GPS in the glove box or turned off.    Pride and anger and overconfidence are a few of the human faults that continue to hinder our willingness to seek His council first instead of last.

 

In today’s scripture, the people complained to Moses that they had no water to drink and criticized him for taking them out of Egypt.  I can relate to and see the anger and frustration.  He was probably angry at them for blaming Him and for telling him that they were better off in Egypt.

He did, rightly, go to God seeking help.  HELP CAME QUICKLY WITH INSTRUCTION TO GO SPEAK TO A PARTICULAR ROCK.   Moses went to that rock but hit it with his rod instead of speaking to it.  He was still angry and, I imagine, felt like hitting something.   HAVE YOU EVER FELT LIKE THAT WHEN ANGRY?   HAVE YOU EVER SPOKE HARSHLY OR HIT SOMETHING OR EVEN SOMEONE WHEN ANGRY? 

Well, hitting a rock that doesn’t have life or feelings is DUMB but not like hitting someone.  If you hit a rock, it only hurts you, right?  BUT DEALING WITH ANGRY BY ACTIONS OF AGGRESSION DOES NOT SATISFY ANGER BUT SIMPLY FEED THAT ANGER.

 

That anger was what God wanted to deal with in Moses’ heart.  That anger was becoming a barrier between Moses and God and needed dealt with.   It may seem harmless or unimportant to us that Moses hit that rock instead of speaking to it as God instructed, but it was a big deal to God and became a big deal to Moses.  Moses thought he was obeying God and response of water coming out of the rock seemed to confirm that but not exactly.

 

Moses’ response would prevent him from entering the Promised Land.  He would be left behind like all when listened to the 10 spies instead of to Caleb and Joshua who reported the land inhabited by giants but giants not too big and strong for God to handle. 

 

Take note that Moses hit the rock not just once but twice.  I’m not sure of the significance of that but have to believe it shows just how angry Moses was and probably not just angry at the people but with God.

How many times have our children obeyed us grudgingly? They didn’t want to but had to?   How many times have we done so with God, doing the minimum He asks but complaining all the way?   Considering the cost of disobedience, but also considering the cost of partial obedience too. 

 

Is full obedience asking too much of us?  Should God be satisfied with partial obedience from us at times, especially when it’s hard or painful?  What if Christ had let Himself get nailed to the cross but got down off the cross before He died?  Guess what, Christ would only be our Judge and not our Savior because He would have not followed through far enough to meet the Father’s requirement as payment in full for our sins.   

BUT CHRIST DIDN’T CUT CORNERS AND DID PAY THAT FULL PRICE.  Do we trust and believe Him enough to decide to do exactly what He asks of us without cutting corners by partial obedience?  Do we trust Him enough to believe what He asks is best even or especially when we don’t want to do so? 

 

God is so compassionate and merciful with us.  We can’t change the past but the future is open and available to us.  Let’s decide to follow Him 100% and not partially.  But let’s also set some check points to spend time with Him to make sure we stay on that course and covenant with Him.  HE IS HERE READY AND WILLING AND EAGER TO TAKE OUR HAND AND LEAD US INTO THAT DEEPER PATH OF OBEDIENCE WITH HIM.    AMEN?  AMEN!

“Anger is a highly physiological emotion. There are so many changes going on when we are angry that we literally become a different person—if only temporarily—if we are angry enough. Adrenaline rushes through our body causing us to feel strong and ready to act. We very much go from ‘normal’ to an ‘Incredible Hulk’ state.”  Psychologist Dr. Joshua Klapow

“Anger is the wind that blows out the lamp of the mind. Don’t let the winds of March madness blow across your mind this month.”  Robert Ingersoll

“Anger is one letter short of danger.”  Anonymous

 

3/28/19                               Speak Up for Revival                                              28

You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse. Ezekiel 2:7

RECOMMENDED SCRIPTURE EZEKIEL 2:1-10  “And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.² And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.³ And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day.⁴ For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God.⁵ And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.⁶ And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.⁷ And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious.⁸ But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.⁹ And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;¹⁰ And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.”

COMMENTS:  God’s words and instruction to Ezekiel were sobering to him and sobering to us.  We have the clarity of history to know and understand the powerful truth of words God have Ezekiel to say to his people in his time.  Words of warning and words of hope and redemption as a lifeline to life before destruction would come on them.  Picture a huge ship slowly but obviously sinking and a ship coming along side offering escape to passengers.  Ezekiel was instructed to tell his people that their conduct and sinfulness placed them on that sinking ship but a way of escape is available if simply get on the ship of redemption,  the ship of repentance, the ship of revival. They had to admit their sin and change back to obeying God’s commands and following Him instead of false gods of other nations.  They had to surrender to God in order to live.  BUT GOD THEN TOLD EZEKIEL TO TELL THEM EVE N IF THEY DON’T REPENT.  GOD KNEW THEY WOULD NOT REPENT AND WOULD FACE THE DESTRUCTION, BUT HE TOLD EZEKIEL NOT TO BECOME DISCOURAGED NOR GIVE UP. 

Today we too face a time not unlike what Noah endured.  A time when the world is increasingly following its own sinful ways and desires unrestrained without any boundaries a moral compass would set.  The moral compass the Bible set from the time of Moses and the Ten Commandments established on Mt. Sinai.   God came and lived and died as Jesus to give us a wonderfully complete way to redemption and life.  A lifeline of personal daily relationship along with Himself through the Holy Spirit desiring to live in and through us so we too can gain victory over sin’s clutches and misery and death.   Look at the evil and destruction and misery that dominates the news, drowning out stories of life and transformation those who accept Christ have to tell.

HE IS TELLING US, LIKE HE TOLD EZEKIEL LONG AGO.  HE IS TELLING US TO TELL THE GOOD NEWS OF THE ONE AND ONLY WAY TO LIFE.  TELL BOLDLY NO MATTER IF THIS GOOD NEWS IS RECEIVED OR REJECTED. 

Sadly, most or nearly all of Ezekiel’s people, including their king, rejected Ezekiel’s message and endured judgment.  NEEDLY JUDGMENT!  BUT JUDGMENT GOD HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO ENFORCE.  HE COULD NO LONGER DELAY AFTER THE FINAL WARNING WAS GIVEN.  Ezekiel was the messenger to his generation.  BECAUSE HIS WORDS ARE IN OUR BIBLE, THEY ARE AVAILABLE TO AND FOR OUR TIME TOO.   God’s command and instruction are clear.  Ezekiel suffered physically and emotionally because Israel rejected Ezekiel’s message from God.  But Ezekiel’s message was preserved and brought life to untold millions in the centuries from his time to present.   IT STILL CONTINUES TO BRING LIFE!  WHY?  Because Ezekiel’s message is from God and TRUE.  True for every generation, in every age, and in every time.  Today’s modern technology and access to knowledge doesn’t change the validity of that TRUTH.   God has not changed and satan hasn’t changed and people today are as they were in Ezekiel’s time.  BUT WE HAVE SOMETHING EZEKIEL DIDN’T HAVE.   WE HAVE THE NEW TESTAMEN T WHICH INCLUDES JESUS’ LIFE STORY AND MESSAGE.  WE HAVE THE AFFECT OF THAT MESSAGE ON THE DISCIPLES AND COUNTLESS FIRST CENTURY FOLLOWERS WHO ENDURED GREAT SUFFERING UNDER ROMAN IRON RULE.  We have the living abiding Holy Spirit accessible to everyone who received Jesus’ redemptive lifeline to LIFE.

Will some reject His message when we share it?  YES. Will some accept and embrace it?  YES!  If we go the rest of our lives and only gain one believer, IT WILL BE WORTH IT!  Look at Ezekiel and Isaiah and Jeremiah and all the other prophets (major and minor) recorded in our Old Testament.  Look at the ministry of the disciples and Paul in the New Testament.  Even look at Jesus’ ministry.  None had 100% success but none had 0% success.   So why should we expect to be any more effective?   If we are faithful, the results and responsibilities of successes and failures lie solely on His shoulders.  That should be freeing to us and encouraging to us but also motivating to us too.  BUT NO ONE WILL BE REACHED BY US IF WE FAIL TO DO OUR PART.   GOD WILL FIND ANOTHER IF WE REFUSE HIM, BUT WE WILLMISS HIS BLESSING AND RISK FACING HIS JUDGMENT TOO. 

So we really have no better choice or another good choice other than surrender and obeying His Call and Voice speaking to our souls – our spiritual hearts.  AMEN?  AMEN!

After one hundred years of Protestantism and in the wake of the Thirty Years’ War, Philipp Jakob Spener, a German pastor, called people back to regular Bible study, prayer, and piety. The Church had grown cold, and many Christians had become indifferent. Spener exhorted people to trust God completely and to produce good works. He felt pastors should rededicate themselves to ministering the Word of God to their people, and that youth should be well-instructed in Scripture.

For all this, Spener was frequently attacked, yet the revival begun under his ministry—called Pietism—touched Christianity in a way felt to this day.

It seems odd we’d be attacked for calling people back to God, back to Bible study, prayer, faith, and good works. Yet we live in a culture increasingly opposed to spiritual revival. Don’t be intimidated. God is able to protect us when we take a stand for Him. We need revival in our lands, and it won’t come unless it begins in us.

“If we succeed in getting the people to seek eagerly and diligently in the book of life for their joy, their spiritual life will be wonderfully strengthened and they will become altogether different people.”
Philipp Spener

 

3/29/19                               Heart of Courage                                               29

But if [God doesn’t rescue us], let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.  Daniel 3:18

RECOMMENDED SCRIPTURE READING:  JOSHUA 24:14-15 “ ¹⁴ “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! ¹⁵ And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

COMMENTS:  These words of determined faith recorded in Daniel 3:18 give us a powerful and clear picture of the level of faith tempered with a clear understanding of the real danger Daniel’s 3 friends were facing.  They were not forced into a fire that would cause unimaginable pain before certain death, without a way out or a way of escape.  All they needed to do is deny God and worship the idol statue of Babylon’s king. Apparently everyone else complied and were spared.  But they missed opportunity Daniel’s 3 friends chose. The opportunity to tell the entire empire of God’s power and faithfulness. 

So where was Daniel?   We know years later Daniel had his opportunity when he faced a lion’s den.  We can only speculate knowing Daniel would certainly had been in the fiery furnace with his 3 friends if he had been “in town” with them when the edict was given to worship the king’s image.   Maybe he was away commissioned by the king.  That was most likely the case.  I often wonder if the king, knowing Daniel’s convictions, valued Daniel as an asset too much to let him die so sent him out of town to spare him.  Well, that probably was too much planning to be accurate answer, so we will just have to wait until heaven to discover the truth.  I can live with that.  Hope you can too.

Anyway, Daniel’s 3 friends didn’t have a certainty that God would spare them death.  They accepted that as a possible result but knowing God would usher them to their eternal home if that happened. Their trust and faith made it possible and even logical and obvious that following God no matter the cost was far better than facing God’s judgment from disobedience.  The Israelites had to learn that lesson the hard way and even then each new generation consistently   would follow the foolish path of rebellion again and again.  History was not enough to convince them.  BUT HISTORY CONVINCED DANIEL AND SHADRACH – MESHACH – ABEDNEGO ALL TO FOLLOW GOD AND TRUST HIM COMPLETELY!!  They did and were honored and blessed and enabled to be prophets of God’s salvation in their generation but also to every generation since.  We have no idea how many millions are in heaven and continue to be saved even today because of their story of faithfulness.

The common belief, in Old Testament times, was that the heart was the seat or source of emotions.  To refer to a person having “heart” meant they had compassion.  To “take heart” meant to have courage and character and ability to intelligently reason to make correct choices and decisions.  Bottom line was to have these qualities meant to have courage.  It took great courage to step out alone against the most powerful king who had a reputation of being a brutal tyrant.  Joshua also showed great courage in leading the Israelites into Canaan, the land God promised them (Joshua 24:14-15).  Joshua confronted his people to decide if they were going to follow God or not, to make a choice and stick with that choice.  Joshua told them that he and his family have resolved to follow God and invited them also to do the same.  He led by example but made sure God was on his side and that he was committed to follow.

Joshua had a lot of years to decide.  He was one of only two spies who witnessed the richness but also the powerful people and giants that inhabited that land 40 years earlier and refused to doubt God’s help and protection like the 10 who doubted.  They all had witnessed God’s hand parting the Red Sea and Fiery pillar protecting them against Pharaoh’s great powerful army.  They had all witnessed the plagues God used to force Pharaoh to let them leave.   But they forgot quickly God’s faithfulness and immediately fell prey to doubt and complaining.  Joshua saw Moses endure that lack of faith and complaining for those 40 years while wondering in the wilderness.  I can sense that experiences clear in Joshua’s mind as he delivered this challenge to Israel.  They were all young and don’t remember the distant years past but possesses the same tendency to doubt and complain when danger comes as did their parents.

Joshua didn’t want to endure what Moses did and knew the consequences of not obeying God’s commands all too well.  I am also certain his message to them told in scripture was the message God put on his heart to give them.

So, how do we become men and women of courage like Daniel and his 3 friends and Moses and Joshua, to mention a few examples?  Since we are living on this side of the cross, we have a much easier task because we have more helpful resources.

We have the New Testament added to the scripture in the Old Testament.  We have God’s truth and added examples of Jesus and his disciples and early Christians recorded.  We have Christ’s redemption and forgiveness to give us a fresh start and beginning.  We have His Holy Spirit given at Pentecost to council and strength and guide and encourage and empower and befriend us and mentor us on the journey of obedience.  He provides the needed courage to make wise choices and courage to stay true to those choices.

How do we gain strength of mind, heart, and soul? How do we become a person of courage? By feeding on, and standing on, God’s Word in every circumstance.

“I will not flee, much less recant, so may the Lord Jesus strengthen me.”  Martin Luther

 

3/30/19                                   The “Better” Principle                                        30

“Look!” [the king] answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”  Daniel 3:25

RECOMMENDED SCRIPTURE:  MARK 4:35-41 “³⁵ And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.³⁶ And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.³⁷ And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.³⁸ And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?³⁹ And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.⁴⁰ And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?⁴¹ And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

COMMENTS: At risk of repeating myself too often, I say again that Daniel is the prophet and Old Testament individual I admire the most and desire most to strive to be like.  His faithfulness was unwavering from his youth through old age.  He endured being taken as a boy away from his parents and family and friends and home to a pagan unfamiliar land speaking an unfamiliar language and worshipping gods forbidden and eating foods forbidden to him.   He saw great wealth and luxury but lacked what he valued most.  He determined to stay true to worshipping God and following His commands no matter the cost. 

Daniel’s family had trained him from a child in the ways and scriptures of God, which took deep root in his heart and mind.  Scriptures like:

“Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure in trouble.”  Proverbs 15:16.   “Better is a little with righteousness, than vast revenues without justice.”  Proverbs 16:8.

Some other “Better” principles are:  Being in God’s will in a difficult place is BETTER than being out of God’s will in an easy place.   Daniel’s 3 friends witnessed and demonstrated this in the fiery furnace.  Daniel later witnessed and demonstrated this in the lion’s den.

In the midst of the flames, the 3 men had fellowship with a 4^th, who we believe to be Jesus revealed prior to His mission on earth.  Whether Jesus or a heavenly angle, this 4^th man ministered to those men and protected them and also showed those outside witnessing this miracle of God’s power and mercy but also God’s authority over man.  Daniel witnessed and had a similar experience years later when his test came in a lion’s den.

The disciples, nearly 6 centuries later, witnessed many such demonstrations of God’s power through Jesus.  Today’s example in Mark 4 shows and teaches us much about the disciples and about Jesus.  Jesus slept through the violent storm completely confident in His Father’s care and protection.  After the disciples wakened Him to stop the storm, Jesus chided them a bit for not having faith.  They had let fear overtake them but at least knew who to go to for help. 

Well, what would have happened if they had left Jesus sleep?  Would the storm continued to whale and gain strength or would the Father calmed it just in time?  Sounds like, from the story, the storm was at the verge of capsizing the boat, but we just don’t know.  Was Jesus criticizing the disciples for waking Him up or for having fear?  If they had wakened Jesus in a normal way for help instead of shouting in panic and probably shaking Him harshly, maybe His comments would have been much different?  Who knows? I doubt the question of what would have happened will be first one we will ask, but maybe a few hundred years after we enter heaven.  If not, we’ll just have to be content in knowing Jesus calmed the sea and showed His disciples and us that HE is in control and has our backs all the time so we need not fear.  AMEN?  AMEN!

God may not always keep us out of hard places, but He is always with us. A hard place with Him is better than an easy place without Him.

 

“The more terrible the storm, the more necessary the anchor.” William S. Plumer

 

 

3/31/19                                     Resist or Assist?                                                   31

Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”  James 4:6

RECOMMENDED SCRIPTURE:  MATTHEW 23:11-12  “¹¹ But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. ¹² And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

COMMENTS: We are living in unprecedented times.  Times knowledge has enable even the very poor among us access to global communication and personal conversation globally.  Knowledge to also travel global at speeds even kings could not imagine 100 years ago.  But the past 100 years also have also seen great progress in spreading the Gospel in remote and poorer areas of the world.  The unfolding contrast currently is stagnation and indifference towards Christianity in prosperous countries and great revivals and increase in numbers of committed Christ followers in poorer countries, especially in Asia and Africa.  By contrast Islam is spreading and gaining more acceptance and followers in those countries enjoying prosperity but also showing indifference toward Christ’s message.

But prophecy warns us the increasing numbers of people will judge evil and good and good evil, rejecting God’s commands and laws and teaching. “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20.

Are we living in the last days?  Is Christ’s return imminent?  Every generation of Christians, including the first century church, believed they would witness Christ’s return before their death.  So has mine and so did I as a young man.   Now that I’m retired and seeing some evidence of an aging body, I’m not so sure.  But I know Christ is delaying His return so more will have opportunity to accept His redemptive – life giving healing Grace.  I am torn, wanting His return ASAP while praying He delay His return as long as possible so those I love currently living out of His Will repent and receive His redemption.

When God spoke to my soul to begin keeping this devotional journal and share it, He also spoke to my soul with insight that more would be impacted after I’m gone than during my                                                 lifetime.  That could mean His return is a number of years yet, but wouldn’t need to be.

So how should all this affect how we spend our time and choices we make each day?  What changes to our routine should we make and what priorities do we need to set and make.

Human nature results in nation leaders desiring and demanding the respect of his subjects or people.  George Washington was a humble person and resisted, when he was elected USA’s first president, to be called “Your Highness” or “Your Excellency” as some wanted.  He settled for “Mr. President”, a title and name that has continued from then to present.

Nebuchadnezzar didn’t learn humility easily and desired the adoration and worship and even fear of his subjects.  He even demanded worship of his people. But Daniel 4 records the way God finally humbled him and forced him to live as an animal for 7 years before being allowed to live and rule as king again.  The experience did teach him humility but also to worship God as only sovereign and ruler over all, including him.

God does oppose the proud and honor the humble.  He still does.  He exalts those, like Daniel and his 3 friends, who honor and are faithful to God no matter the cost.  Far better to learn from wise and foolish choices of those before us, and heed instruction and council of scripture without delay or resistance.  Far better than be out of God’s protection and vulnerable to God’s judgment and consequences of poor choices.

Far better to follow God’s wisdom than to oppose that wisdom and face regrets, eternal or even short term.   God always has our best in His plans and desires for us to work with him to bring best to others, including our loved ones and friends too.  But also best for those we don’t care so much for and those who aren’t so nice to us.

Jesus is our best example and His relationship with the Father also.   In contrast, history is littered with biographies of leaders of nations who loved to be praised and exalted. Leader who became intoxicated with power and influence and wealth accessible with their office.  Mebuchadnezzar was an ancient example of one so intoxicated.  He saw himself all-powerful and unaccountable to anyone, even to God.  But Daniel gave him a message from God that would humble him for 7 years until he confessed God as the Almighty.  He did so, as recorded in Daniel 4.

God was faithful  to Daniel but He was even faithful to Nebuchadnezzar by giving him what he needed instead of what he wanted.  He taught Nebuchadnezzar humility and soften his will to see and worship God, a realization of repentance  that would transform Nebuchadnezzar from a tyrant destined to eternal damnation to a forgiven humble servant of God destined to heaven to spend eternity with God.

 Nebuchadnezzar is an example of what the Bible teaches throughout: God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Better to humble ourselves before God and others than for God to humble us Himself.

“God assists the humble but resists the proud.”  John Blanchard

 

 

GIDEON BIBLE REFERENCE SCRIPTURES  6/24/10 Roswell, NM

HELP IN TIME OF NEED:

• The way of salvation:                                   John 14:6, Acts 16.32, Romans 10:9
• Comfort in time of loneliness :                    Psalm 23, Isaiah 41:10, Hebrews 13:5-6
• Comfort in time of sorrow                            2 Cor. 1:3-5, Romans 8:26-28
• Relief in time of suffering                             2 Cor. 12:8-10, Hebrews 12:3-13
• Guidance in time of decision                       James  1:5-6, Proverbs 3:5-6
• Protection in time of danger                       Psalm 91, Psalm 121
• Courage in time of fear                                  Hebrews 13:5-6, Ephesians 6:10-18
• Peace in time of turmoil                                Isaiah 26:3-4, Philippians 4:6-7
• Rest in time of weariness                             Matthew 11:28-29, Psalm 23
• Strength in time of temptation                  James 1:12-16, 1Cor. 10:6-13
• Warning in time of indifference                 Gal. 5:19-21, Hebrews 10:26-31
• Forgiveness in time of conviction               Isaiah 1:18, 1Jn, 1:7-8

 

SUGGESTED READINGS (HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS):

• The creation Genesis 1-2
• The fall of man Gen 3
• The flood of noah Gen 6-9
• The call of Abraham                 Gen 12:1-9
• Deliverance of Israel from Egypt Exodus 11-14
• Dedication of the temple 2 Chronicles 5-7
• The Babylonian Captivity of Israel 2 Chr. 36
• Revival of Israel after captivity Nehemiah 8-9
• Promises of the coming Messiah Isaiah 9:2-7, Ps22, Is.53
• The Birth of Christ Mtt1:18-2:23, Lk1:26-2:40
• The Triumphal Entry Lk19:28-44
• The last supper Mk14:2-26
• The Garden of Gathsemane 26:36-46
• The Betreyal of Jesus 26-47-56
• The arrest and trial of Jesus Jn 18:12-19:16
• The death of Christ                                                 Lk 23:26-56, Jn19:16-42
• The resurrection of Christ Lk24, Jn20
• The ascension of Christ Acts 1:1-12
• The coming of the Holy Spirit Acts2:1-21
• The conversion of Paul Acts 9:1-31
• The heroes of Faith Hebrews 11

 

SUGGESTED READINGS (SPIRITUAL STANDARDS)

• The 10 commandments Exodus 20:1-17
• The sermon on the mount Mtt 5-7
• The golden rule Mtt7:12
• The greatest commandment Mtt 22:36-40
• The righteousness of Faith Romans 3:19-28
• The Royal Law James 2:8, Romans 13:8-10
• Christ’s New Commandment John 13:34-35
• Christian love               1 Cor. 13

 

DYNAMIC DOCTRINES

• God’s greatness and man’s weakness                                                     Isaiah 40
• The two fold Revelation of God                                                                  Psalm 19
• Man’s universal guilt                                                                                       Rom 1:18-2:16
• Atonement                                                                                                        Leviticus 16, Romans 5
• The new birth                                                                                                    John 3
• Justification by Faith                                                                                       Eph 2:1-10, Gal 2:16-21
• Christ, the Good Shepherd                                                                          Ps 23, John 10:1-18
• Christ’s intercession for His Own                                                               Jn 17, Heb 7:25
• The High Priestly Work of Christ                                                                 Heb. 7:25, Heb. 4:14-16
• Christ’s Humiliation and Exhaltation                                                         Philippians 2:5-11
• Resurrection of the Christian Dead                                                           1 Cor. 16, 1Thess. 4:13-18
• The second coming of Christ                                                                        Mtt 24, 2 Thess. 1:7-2:12
• The Last Judgment                                                                                          Rev. 20:10-15
• The New Heaven and New Earth                                                               Rev. 21-22

 

PRACTICAL PRECEPTS:

• Christian Home relationships                      Eph. 5:22-6:4
• A model wife and mother                             Prov. 31:10-31
• Marriage and divorce                                     Mtt 19:3-9, Malachi 2:14-16
• The sin of adultery                                           Prov. 6:23-33
• The prodigal son                                               Luke 15:11-32
• Employer-employee relationships            Col 3:22-4:1
• Business and prof. principles                       Ps15, Prov. 3:1-12
• Seperation of worldliness                             2 Cor. 6:14-7:1, 1 Jn 2:15-17
• Decisions of doubtful things                        Rom.14
• Christian fruitfulness                                      Jn15
• Heavenly wisdom                                            James 3:14-18
• Christian responsibilities                               Rom. 12-13
• Christian stewardship                                    2 Cor. 8-9
• Christian witnessing                                        Mtt 28:18-20, Jm17:18-20
• Prevailing prayer                                              Mtt 6:5-15, Philippians 4:6-7
• Heavenly priorities                                          Mtt 6:25-33
• Brevity of man’s days                                     Ps 90
• The causes of war                                            James 4:1-4
• The value of the soul                                      Mk. 8:36-37

 

WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT ITSELF:

• ITSELF:                                                                  2 Tim. 3:15-16   , Psalm 19:7
• GOD:                                                                     Psalm 99:9, 1 Tim.1:17, Isaiah 45:21-22
• MAN:                                                                    Gen. 1:27, Gen 2:7, Isaiah 43:7
• HEAVEN:                                                              Rev.21:3-4, 21:27
• SIN:                                                                        Romans 5:12, Isaiah 59:2, Romans 3:23
• HELL:                                                                     2 Thess 1:8-9, Rev. 20:15
• CHRIST –HIS ADVENT                                      Micah 5:2, Mtt.1:21-23, Lk 2:10-11
• CHRIST – HIS PERSON                                     John 10:30, 14:6
• CHRIST –HIS WORK                                          Lk. 22:19-20, 1 Peter 2:24, Col.1:14, Isaiah 53:5-6
• CHRIST-HIS RESURRECTION                         Lk. 24:36,39, 1 Cor. 15:3-4
• FAITH                                                                    Acts 20:20-21, Heb. 11:6, Eph. 2:8-9
• LIFE                                                                        John 3:3, 1:12-13, 3:36, 2 Cor.5:17

If you wish, you can access my blog at “https://donsdevotions.wordpress.com“. There you will find 308 blog posts I have made plus a link to my devotional journal material archives from 2013 to present.

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My hope and prayer are, my blog and devotional materials will become a source of encouragement and tools in ministry for you.