August 31, 2023
Isaiah 26:3 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee”
There is not much peace in this world and as the darkness of unbelief continues to grow, there will be even less. One of the prophecies about the end times says in Revelation 6:4, “And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword”. The upheavals in our society and the continual disintegration of morals and values rob us of the sense of security we once had. We are not embracing a Pollyannish view that says there were times when everything was placid and harmonious. But we know that in the not-too-distant past, there was a time when we knew the difference between what was right and wrong and we respected what was right and the people who stood for it. We knew where we stood as men, women, and children and we held to the standards concerning this structure, viewing it as God set it in order. In this country, we believed in the American dream and we saw the fruits of hard work, honest values, and the commitment to our homes and families. Many of us may have grown up in little houses with a couple of bedrooms and one bath for five, six, or more people and one slightly dated automobile that everyone in the family shared. But we all did just fine and many of us remember those times as very happy. Nowadays it’s often two or three miserable, lonely people living in huge houses, driving cars with all the amenities. But numbing themselves every day with alcohol, drugs, and an addiction to temporary pleasures and materialism. We need God’s peace, the peace that passes understanding. The Lord promises here that He will keep us in perfect peace when our minds are stayed, fastened, anchored, and fully leaning on Him. Not just a sense of peace, but perfect peace where the words are very, very powerful and mean, “completeness, soundness, wholeness, safety, health, prosperity, quietness, tranquility, contentment, unity with others, and a strong relationship with God”. There’s nothing on this earth that can offer or match that kind of deep, settled, and heaven-sent peace. Peace and an intimate relationship with our Creator God is what our souls are longing for and we will never be satisfied until we have it. Psalms 107:9, “For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness”.
___________________________________________
August 30, 2023
Acts 27:20 “And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away”
Acts 27 and 28 are a wonderful study of God’s providence and power in a time of great danger. When the Apostle Paul, who at that time was a prisoner of Rome, set sail from Caesarea to Italy along with other prisoners, there were 276 people on board the ship. A terrible cyclone battered the ship for 14 days and the ship’s crew tried everything they knew to save themselves, the passengers, and the boat but nothing helped. Today’s verse tells us that it looked so bleak that, “all hope that we should be saved was then taken away”. There are storms of life that come on us that aren’t so severe that we lose hope. But there are some that knock us to our knees, take our breath away, and have us doubting if we’re going to make it. Sometimes our children may go astray, we might lose our jobs, our health or that of someone we love might fail, and unexpected circumstances might hit us full-force with no apparent solutions. We might feel like Job when he said in Job 3:25-26, “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came”. It’s a scary time when it seems that all hope is taken away. But in Jesus Christ, there is always hope. And just as the Lord protected Paul and the other 275 people on the ship, He will never fail us in our times of trouble. The Lord’s presence with us is an eternal truth and His power to help us is unfailing. Whether it’s a natural trial or a spiritual battle the Bible says in 2 Peter 2:9, “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations (trials)”. Maybe you or someone you know is in a storm right now. Maybe it looks so intense that there seems no hope. Our Lord stills storms with just a command, “Peace, be still”. He walks on the raging seas and the winds and waves obey His voice. He knows your circumstances and He will always be with you in your trials, ready to deliver you. Like Paul, we might get soaking wet and drift ashore on pieces of shipwreck but when the storm is over and we see the rainbow of promise there is always a reminder that with God we have eternal hope.
_________________________________________
August 29, 2023
Isaiah 50:4 “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary”
This passage is usually thought of as Isaiah’s prophetic description of Jesus the Messiah. The phrase, “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned”, means that the Lord God has given Him the ability to speak with wisdom. The purpose? That He might know how to encourage those who are weary. To follow our Lord’s example, we need such wisdom that we use our words to encourage, bless, and strengthen others. The Bible tells us that without the Holy Spirit’s control, our tongues are uncontrollable and filled with evil and cursing. James 3 tells us that our tongues are, “set on fire of hell” and “full of deadly poison”. We’ve probably all had times when we wished we could take back something we said or, at the time we opened our mouths and blurted out things, we knew at that moment we’d said the wrong things. How much better and more like Jesus when we use our words to help others, to show them the mercy and grace of God by speaking the things that give hope and life. Words that show compassion, love, and forgiveness. Saturday, my wife and I pulled into Dunkin Doughnuts to get a couple of doughnuts. While I was in the store, a man pulled his truck into a parking space and barely missed a lady’s car in the next space. My wife watched while the lady jumped out, said something to the man and it was on. Immediately yelling, screaming, and cursing from both parties shattered what was moments before, a peaceful situation. People began gathering around and my wife and I, expecting that at any moment weapons might be drawn, quickly exited the scene. Later, we talked about how fast things can go from peaceful and calm to all-out raging war and words are the fuel for the fire. The scripture says in Proverbs 25:11, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver” meaning that when we are able to use our words to be a blessing, it is a beautiful thing. Some people in this world have short fuses and many of them are under tremendous stress and anxiety. People are suffering, sad, discouraged, and afraid. Many lack self-control and feel trapped in their circumstances. Let’s pray that God will give us words of wisdom like our Savior and help us to use those words to bring light and hope to a dark, confused, and hurting world.
___________________________________________
August 28, 2023
Hebrews 13:14 “For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come”
My wife and I were recently talking about how many times we have moved from house to house in our lifetimes. I counted 10 times and she has moved 22 times. The scripture today says on this earth, we have no continuing or permanent home. The irony of it is that we pour massive amounts of time, energy, and money into our earthly homes to make them satisfying to us only to leave them behind. I read recently that the expected lifespan of the average home being built nowadays is about 60-70 years. And, during that time, it will be remodeled and repaired until one day someone decides it’s too dated and tears it down to build another house in its place. It’s hard to imagine all the money in house payments (perhaps it was sold several times), insurance, furnishings, and upkeep spent on the house. And all the energy and hours of work spent mowing, cleaning, and all the other things required to maintain a home only to one day destroy it. It’s the same with everything: Cars, clothing, and the rest of the stuff we obsess with and possess. The Bible says, “Here we have no continuing city” (or anything else for that matter). Yet there is a permanent place for us that’s coming soon. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:1, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens”. We know that this verse is speaking about the impermanence of our bodies being a tabernacle and that one day we will get a glorified body in its place. But in a general sense, it’s a statement about everything in this world because the Bible says in 1 John 2:17, “And the world passeth away, and the lust (desires) thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever“. Abraham is an example of the wandering pilgrim on this earth and the Bible says of him in Hebrews 11:9-10, “By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles (tents) with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God”. Praise God let’s not concern so much about the things down here because we’re looking up with expectation as the scriptures declare in Philippians 3:20-21, “For our conversation (citizenship) is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself”.
______________________________________________
August 27, 2023
John 6:28-29 “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent”
The kind of Christianity I grew up listening to as a boy, was different from what I later learned the Bible teaches when I became an adult. The churches my family attended were focused on all the negative aspects of the world and their prescription of “being right with God” was most often about staying away from alcohol, tobacco, and movie theaters. They taught that men should not grow their hair long and women should not cut their hair or wear pants. And shorts were forbidden for men and women. Most of them didn’t own television sets, some thought drinking coffee dishonored God, and all of them believed it was almost an unpardonable sin to do anything on Sunday except go to church twice. They believed that living life by obeying their interpretation of God’s laws was “working for God”. Those who could keep such rules were seen as “good Christians” and all the rest, well, it was questionable if they would make it into heaven. When the Lord called me to preach, He opened my understanding to the grace of God and salvation by grace through faith alone. He opened my understanding that rightly dividing the Word of truth is one of a minister’s most important concerns and He let me see clearly the truth of Romans 10:4, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth”. Jesus set the record straight in today’s verse when He explained that to “work the works of God” is really simply believing in the Son of God. He went further to explain God’s plan to give eternal life in John 6:40, “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”. This is not saying we can habitually continue in sin because the Bible says we should purposefully live each day for the glory of God. But as long as we are in this world and in our bodies, we will always fall short of the glory of God. And if we think we can actually live in such a way that we can earn eternal life, we are not only deceived, we are dishonoring the suffering and death that Jesus endured to pay our sin debt and we are doing despite to the Spirit of grace.
_________________________________________
August 26, 2023
Matthew 14:28-29 “And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus”
We revisit this miracle today to remember that with God, nothing is impossible. The disciples were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee and Jesus was not in the boat with them. It was a very rough, windy night on the sea as the scripture says in verse 24, “the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary”. The word “tossed” means beaten, slammed, tortured, and battered”. In the middle of all that, the disciples saw the Lord walking on the water a distance out from their boat and were afraid thinking He was some kind of spirit, a phantom of some sort. But Jesus assured them it was He and Peter said, “Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water”. Jesus responded, “Come”. So, the scenario for the impossible was set in motion and Peter stepped out of the boat and walked on the water towards the Lord. He had faith, not in himself, but in the invitation, the Word of Jesus who said “Come” and in the power of our Lord to do what logic and reason say cannot be done. We can mock Peter because at some point his faith failed him and he began to sink, but remember that Jesus caught him before he sank and they both walked on the water back to the boat. What a night to remember! We are all imperfect in our faith and we all stumble in times when the Lord is doing great things in our lives but that does not change the fact that despite our weak faith, it remains that nothing is impossible with the Lord. Let’s ask God to help us pray bold prayers and trust Him for great things for Peter’s request was actually a prayer. Let’s ask God to help us believe Him for what seems impossible miracles, impossible answers, impossible deliverances, and impossible favor with God. Let’s not limit our faith to only trust the Lord for that which seems ordinary and possible to us. Let’s follow the promise of Hebrews 4:16: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need”. Only our unbelief can limit what God is able to do for us.
_______________________________________________
August 25, 2023
Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”
Our Lord gave us these words when He taught us that worrying about the things of this life or pursuing material possessions is not God’s will for us. He reminded us that our Father takes care of His creation and gave us examples of how the flowers and birds are proof that the Lord knows how to care for all that belongs to Him. For us, it’s about our priorities and what we value the most. It’s about setting our lives in order so that our relationship with God is the most important thing we consider. We’ve all heard and probably given others the advice to “put God first”. Couples being married and starting their homes hear it from the minister and their friends. People whose lives are in disarray are given this advice as part of their way forward out of their mess. But it’s not just a mantra or a good idea to live by, it’s an unfailing promise from the Lord that when we set out eyes and desire on the things of God, when we actively pursue those things, then heaven’s windows of blessings are opened to us and we have the surety that all these things, what we need and what we concern about having for our betterment, will be given to us. It seems so simple but in practice, it is often very difficult because we’ve been taught by this world to follow its priorities and not the priorities of the Lord. We know the world’s drill: money, possessions, pleasure, esteem, and self-indulgence. Maybe we were brought up believing our lot is to suffer lack, worry about how to pay the bills, and believe we are doomed to failure. In those cases, the feeling we have to live to survive might be our priority. But when it comes to what we need, the Lord said plainly in verse 32, “Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things”. This is part of the freedom we have in salvation. Not only free from the penalty of sin but free from anxiety because we are children of the King. The first step towards being healed of anxiety is to examine our priorities and know our lives are hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3) and that our Heavenly Father will always do what is right for us.
________________
August 24, 2023
Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil”
You’ve probably seen depictions of the armor of God on church classroom posters and Bible School materials. Usually, they show a Roman gladiator-type character, with a grim expression on his face, fitted head to toe with body armor, carrying a shield and sword, and ready to fight. One thing is for sure: When we identify with Jesus Christ, we have an enemy. Our enemy is not people around us or someone with a different point of view, but this verse says we are standing against, “The wiles of the devil”. The word “wiles” here means “cunning arts, schemes, deceit, craft, and trickery”. Verse 12 tells us, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood (human opponents), but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places”. It is a spiritual warfare and its elements are the powers that govern and control the darkness of this age and the world around us. It encompasses the influences, control, and pressures of this fallen world that has its roots in an anti-God, anti-Christ, and anti-Bible agenda. It is all that is against the eternal Truth of God. This spiderweb of evil involves governments, religious systems, networks of depravity, systems of commerce, and local organizations. It is not in just one or two places, but it is worldwide in every culture and nation. And this is not some conspiracy theory but the Bible says in 1 John 5:19, “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness”. Again, the words, “The whole world lieth in wickedness” should jar us to our senses and help us see that until Jesus comes or we are taken home to be with Him, we have a fight on our hands and we need the armor of God. Not so that we will be paralyzed with fear, but that we will boldly take our stand for the Lord, the truth of God’s Word, the power of the cross, and the Name of Jesus Christ. We are not ashamed of the gospel, we are not afraid of the wiles of the devil, and we are not powerless, whimpering, and groveling at the feet of this fallen world. We have the body-armor of Truth and righteousness, shoes of the readiness to share the gospel, the shield of faith, the sword of the Holy Spirit, and the helmet of eternal salvation. In the words of the old Petra song, let’s “Get on our knees and fight like a man”.
_______________________________________________
August 23, 2023
Matthew 12:19-20 “He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory”
These words are a rephrasing of Isaiah 42:1-5 and they reveal Jesus as a gentle healer and a friend of sinners. He did not bully His way into people’s hearts and homes or shout down His opposition. He did not hoodwink people into believing His words by barking the gospel like a salesman. This is from “He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets”. The metaphor here of a reed, which is not as strong as a tree and a bruised reed, damaged and seemingly useless so that one might just break it off and toss it away, has hope in the hands of our Savior. Lives that have been beaten by sin, wounded, and scarred so much that the person seems hopeless and unfit for wholeness and success, are held gently in the hands of the Lord just as a lost sheep that has strayed and must be carried back to the fold. He will not break the bruised but He will heal them. And the flax, used as a wick in the oil lamps of the Lord’s day, might be almost out of oil and giving no light but reduced to smoking. It represents sinful mankind that lives in darkness and has lost the glory of God and the hope of heaven. But Jesus will not extinguish the smoking flax because He has the oil of the Holy Spirit to renew the source and He has a purpose for all whose light has all but gone out. He said in Mark 2:17, “They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance”. When Jesus preached His first sermon, He said in Luke 4:18, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised”. We may have seen the Lord as One who deals harshly with us because of our sins but that is not who He is. He speaks softly and tenderly, bringing restoration and life to all who have been crushed and bruised by sin. He brings light and hope to those who have only known darkness. He takes us from judgment to victory.
________________________________________________
August 22, 2023
Mark 10:15-16 “Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them”
Twice in the book of Mark, Jesus held little children in His arms and used them to teach us about the simple faith we need to come to God: chapter 9:36-37 and here in chapter 10:13-16. In today’s verse, He blessed the children as He held them and when we consider what a privilege it would be to be blessed in such a way by Jesus, it tells us about His love for little children. In Matthew 18:2-6, the Lord called a little child to come to Him and set the child in front of the people to illustrate how we must humble ourselves like a child if we want greatness. Somehow, these verses have fallen through the cracks in mainstream theology because they are seldom mentioned in the sermons of preachers. And their message does not play a part in the programs of many churches that seem to want children out of sight and out of mind while they conduct their religious services and worship agendas. They shuffle kids away somewhere in programs mostly based on activities like a babysitting experience and keep them separated from their parents as if children are too disruptive to their program. Shame on us if we think we can come childless into the presence of Jesus Christ just because the sounds and energy of children “disrupt” our preconceived ideas of how church services and worship should be structured. It is unbiblical and it dishonors the Lord when we do not allow families to worship together and it is not like Jesus when we do not give children a top priority in our local churches. Many of them never participate in the worship service from the time they’re in the cradle to the time they are in teenage church programs. And then, it’s no wonder many of them leave the church and never look back. They never identified with it as anything other than a “Children’s Bible Club” or a place where, on Sunday, they go off to a room somewhere while their parents do “something else”. Maybe if children had a bag of money to put into the offerings, they would be welcome in the general assembly. Maybe if some preachers realized that while they are preaching for an hour, a lot of the adults are messing with their phones, napping in the pews, and wishing they would shut up and finish their monologue, they might be better off preaching to a bunch of kids and bringing their lofty religious rhetoric down to a child’s level.
____________________________________
August 21, 2023
Joel 2:25-26 “And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed”
The picture here is of fields of crops that had been stripped bare by locusts, worms, and other insects which God called, “my great army which I sent among you”. But the grace and mercy of the Lord promise that He will give back to His people all that was taken away. The Lord gave these promises to Israel that no matter how far they had fallen, He can and will restore them. Restoration is God’s plan for us all who have been defeated by sin, who have lost hope, who have been chastised, and who have been robbed by the enemy. God’s plan for us is to heal us from sin’s wounds and bless us with all heavenly blessings. He has a life for us that is worth living and hope for us that looks into eternity. We cannot undo what has been done, the evils we might have committed, the people we have hurt, and the messes we have made when we followed the ways of sin. But the Lord has unimaginable power and the ability to take what sin has broken and make it whole again. He has the power to heal and restore all that was wounded and damaged. In his mysterious and wonderful way, He can bring light out of darkness, put people and families back together, and bring us out of situations we thought would imprison us forever. Looking at a field that was destroyed by ravaging pests, it might appear there is no hope of a harvest of plenty. But God said, “Ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you”. Likewise, lives may look damaged beyond repair and people might be in traps and situations that seem hopeless. But God is the God of the impossible and He specializes in restoring what we can’t fix. Maybe you have precious family members or someone you know that everyone has given up on. Maybe you believe you are damaged beyond repair. Look to Jesus Christ and know that the One who created all that exists by speaking it all into existence with the power of His Words is ready to save, heal, and deliver all that sin and the enemy has tried to destroy. He is the God of ultimate restoration.
__________________________________________
August 20, 2023
2 Chronicles 36:15-16 “And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy”
The words of verse 15 in this passage are the words of compassion and mercy. For over 400 years after the reign of King Solomon, Israel rebelled against the Lord, turned their backs on Him, and worshiped pagan gods. There were a few times of revival during that period but they didn’t last long and God kept reaching out to His people by sending them prophets, encouraging them to return to Him, and warning them what would happen if they did not. Jeremiah is a good example of the prophets God sent to urge His people to turn away from their apostasy, follow the Lord, and walk in His ways. And the Bible tells us their response to God’s pleading messenger in Jeremiah 6:16, “But they said, we will not walk therein”. The love of the Lord towards people is seen in the words of this verse, “rising up betimes” which means “getting an early start” and tells us the Lord started calling His people back to Himself long before they had gone so far away, He would have to chastise them to bring them back. God continued to earnestly beg them to return for hundreds of years because the Lord is patient and longsuffering meaning He is slow to get angry. The depravity and despite for the Lord and His ways are seen in people’s response to God and His messengers:” But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused (scoffed at, ridiculed) his prophets”. What followed is a sobering reminder that although God is merciful, compassionate, and kind He will not endure humankind’s rejection of truth and their refusal to repent forever. The Bible says, “The wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy (healing, cure, deliverance)”. Israel’s position against God was the same as the world’s today and God has been pleading with humankind for almost 2,000 years and has been pleading with America specifically for generations to turn to Him and find salvation. Some will say there is no such thing as a point of no return with the Lord. But if God judged His people Israel, He will also judge the corruption and depravity of our world. For believers, “look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh”.
_________________________________________________
August 19, 2023
2 Corinthians 6:2 “For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation”
There is a lot of confusion and turmoil in the world around us, but the Bible says, that today is the day of salvation. Our Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled the Levitical Law over 2,000 years ago and God opened the door of heaven to “whosoever will”. And in these days of salvation, we are all being drawn to the Lord by the will and plan of God, the Holy Spirit, and the outreach of God’s people. The Bible says in Revelation 22:17, “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely”. This is what today’s verse calls the “time accepted” and tells us God is “succouring” or “helping” us to come to Him. What an act of mercy and grace! We, who were dead in our sins and unable and unwilling to reach up to God, are living in the accepted time when God is reaching to us. Heaven is reaching down to save anyone and everyone who will believe the simple gospel. There is hope for us, our children, and our grandchildren. There is rejoicing around the throne of God for those who are being saved and there is an outpouring of God’s love and grace because today is the day of salvation and right here and right now is the accepted time. Arms of God’s mercy are reaching to all of us who, because of our sin and rebellion against our Creator, were unworthy of salvation and unable to save ourselves. The Lord is calling to our hearts and encouraging us to listen to His words of hope and forgiveness as the scriptures tell us in Hebrews 3:15, “To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts”. In these days where there is mostly spiritual darkness in the world, let’s remember 1 John 2:8, that “the true light now shineth”. Now is the day of salvation when all that’s necessary is for people to look to the cross of Jesus and believe He died for them. The scriptures tell us in John 1:12-13, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name”.
________________________________________________
August 18, 2023
Psalms 23:2 “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters”
Some days it feels like we’re going through an impassable jungle or shooting down a raging whitewater river. Maybe you can look back on times when it seemed you were barely keeping your head above water with the weight of the world trying to pull you under. But thank God, He did not rescue us, pulling us out of the fires of hell, only to let us drown in the trials of this life. If the imagery of Psalms 23, resting in a beautiful, green pasture and enjoying a refreshing place beside still waters were painted by an artist it might look like something Thomas Kinkade painted. This verse is a soothing promise from our Lord that He has a plan and purpose for our lives that is far different from the world around us. It’s easy to get caught up in the mad rush of the world, driven by constant movement, noise, and distractions. We are in the time of Daniel 20:4 where the Bible predicted that, “many shall run to and fro”. The words of Nahum 2:4 sound like the busy streets of today’s world with vehicles speeding in every direction: “The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall justle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings”. But the Lord will lead us to a place where we have the assurance of His presence and protection, a place where we are set apart from the world. Green pastures and still waters are where we are no longer being assailed with strife and confusion, no longer wandering in the minefields and pitfalls of sin. God wants us to have streams of joy, wells of water, bread of life, and deep, settled peace. Unlike disobedient Israel who would not hear Him, we listen to His promise in Isaiah 28:12, “This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing”. Our Good Shepherd loves us and will never abandon us. He has a place for us and our families where we are safe and at peace. Our prayer is that we will follow his ways and turn away from the miserable mess of this world and its madness. He will help us lower the volume, unplug from the unnecessary turmoil, and walk away from the soul-bruising conflict. We want His green pastures and still waters.
___________________________________________________
August 17, 2023
Mark 5:27-28 “When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole”
This woman had been suffering from chronic bleeding for twelve years and had spent all her money on doctors, trying to get well. No doctor could help her and her illness became progressively worse. But the Bible says, “When she heard of Jesus”, hope and faith rose up inside her and she purposed to make her way to the Lord believing that if she could only touch the hem, the border of Jesus’ robe, she would be healed. No one can explain what happens to us when we hear the truth about Jesus and we believe who He is and what He can do. But faith in the Lord is far more powerful than hospitals and doctors, more powerful than medicines, and more powerful than anything else we can see and touch. When a man whose son was overcome with an evil spirit and came to the Lord asking for help, the Bible says in Mark 9:23, “Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth”. We love the man’s response given in the following verse: “And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief”. At its strongest, our faith is imperfect and this man answered for us all when he realized that when He needed help and knew and believed the Lord was His only hope, even then the Lord must help him by strengthening his faith. Maybe you or someone you know is in a trial or time of sickness and you have heard about Jesus and what He can do. The story of the woman with the issue of blood is in the Bible along with the man who needed help for his son to assure us God is able and ready to help us. Let your faith arise and reach out to the Lord, believing and trusting His Word that He has the power and the desire to help. Even when your faith is weak, He understands and knows your weakness and will not turn away. This woman didn’t beg, plead, make long prayers, give sacrificially, or do anything else. Her confession of faith was simple, “If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole”. She just pressed through the crowd, reached out, and touched the hem of His robe. And the Bible says the healing power of Jesus flowed from Him to her and she was healed.
_________________________________________
August 16, 2023
Hebrews 10:7 “Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God”
These words were spoken about our Lord in Psalms 40:7-8 and they reveal His heart to obey the will of the Father. It is repeated in the scriptures in places like John 5:30, “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me” and John 6:38, “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me”. When we imitate Jesus, we abandon ourselves and our will to walk in obedience to the will of God. This is stated in Philippians 2:5, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant”. The world teaches that fulfillment comes when we follow our own path and believe in self-reliance. But the believer’s joy and contentment come when we submit ourselves to God and acknowledge His ways are perfect. It’s a daily choice of submission in all areas of our lives where we die to ourselves and our self-will, a process the Bible calls our crucifixion. Galatians 5:24, “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts”. The question we should ask is: “Why would I not want to please my Heavenly Father and do His will above all else?”. If we underestimate the power and pull of our flesh and the world around us, we can find ourselves making choices and doing things that are contrary to God’s will. The end of that way of living leads us to a place where we are far from God’s plan for us, miserable, and unfulfilled. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 2:16 that we have the mind of Christ and His way of thinking is always to do the Father’s will. When we pray the Lord’s prayer, “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven”, may we pray it with the meaning that we desire God’s will to be done by us, acting in obedience to Him.
____________________________________________
August 15, 2023
Matthew 25:40 “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me”
We know this verse comes from a portion of the scriptures where Jesus told of the coming judgment of the nations of the world. This is evident by the introductory verse 32: “And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats”. And while this may be primarily directed to nations regarding their place in the coming kingdom, knowing the love the Lord has for all people and how He wants His followers to treat others, we take it here in this devotion as a reminder that how we treat people is how we treat the Lord. My dad had a favorite song he loved to sing, “My Lord Keeps a Record”. And although we know eternal salvation is entirely by grace through faith, we also know the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad”. Sometimes believers might wonder just what they can do for the Lord and the answer is that we can do for others as unto the Lord and what we do will be counted as if we did it for Him. He said in today’s verse, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me”. The principle for us is given in Ephesians 4:32, “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you”. God goes a step beyond just being good to those who appreciate it to Luke 6:27, “But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you”. His promise when we follow this pattern of living is given in verse 35, “And your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil”. So, how we treat our spouses, children, relatives, neighbors, coworkers, and enemies will be seen by the Lord as if we are treating Him in that manner.
______________________________________________
August 14, 2023
Proverbs 17:22 “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones”
The Bible has told us this for centuries but we have just now begun to see the reality by studying the health outcomes of people who are happy and positive and those who are unhappy and negative. Northwestern Medicine reports, “Happiness lowers your risk for cardiovascular disease, lowers your blood pressure, enables better sleep, improves your diet, reduces stress, and when combined with regular exercise, allows you to maintain a normal body weight”. John Hopkins Medicine says, “Chronic anger puts you into a fight-or-flight mode, which results in numerous changes in heart rate, blood pressure, and immune response. Those changes, then, increase the risk of depression, heart disease, and diabetes, among other conditions”. Marque Medical writes, “Doctors have found that people with high levels of negativity are more likely to suffer from degenerative brain diseases, cardiovascular problems, digestive issues, and recover from sickness much slower than those with a positive mindset”. When we view life through the eyes of the world, there is little to make us happy. The overall mindset of the world is negative because, from the news and history of the world, gloom and doom are always a part of the world-picture. The lies of the world beat people down with overt and subliminal messages of hopelessness, feelings of inadequacy, and the constant fear of impending doom. This is one reason people often turn to alcohol, drugs, and other addictive substances and behaviors. To stimulate, or depress, their minds and bodies to give an artificial and temporary numbness against what they see and feel in this world. Bible believers interpret themselves and the world around them from a scriptural view and the more the Word of God and the Holy Spirit fills them, the more love, joy, peace, and hope they have. In the words of Psalms 16:8-9, “I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope”. Let’s start every day with Psalms 118:24, “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it”. And then we will live our day declaring Psalms 126:3, “The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad”. When we end our day and get ready to sleep, we will declare Psalms 104, “My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD”.
_________________________________________________
August 13, 2023
Genesis 3:12-13 “And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat”
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and committed the first human sin, God spoke to them, asking questions, to draw out a confession. In verse 11, the Lord said to Adam, “Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” Adam could have fallen to his knees and said, “Lord, I did what You told me not to do. Please forgive me, I’m sorry for what I did”. But instead, he indirectly blamed the Lord and tried to blame Eve by saying, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I did eat”. As if to say if God hadn’t given him Eve and if Eve hadn’t lured him on, he would not have sinned. Eve then, when confronted about her sin said, “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat”. The very first humans show us it is our nature to refuse to take personal responsibility for our sins and to pass the buck to something or someone else. To live honestly before the Lord God our Maker is to stop minimizing our wrongs, stop blaming something or someone else, stop excusing away our sins, and own up to our trespasses. When we are honest about what we have done wrong, the Bible says in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. When King David was confronted with the truth of His sins for having Bathsheba’s husband murdered to cover his tracks, the scriptures record his confession to the Lord in Psalms 51:2-4, “Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest”. The Bible says in Proverbs 28:13, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy”. The Lord delights in mercy and is ready to forgive us. But He wants honesty and our willingness to take full responsibility when we have done wrong.
___________________
August 12, 2023
2 Corinthians 5:13-14 “For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. For the love of Christ constraineth us”
Some people thought the Apostle Paul was crazy. That is the meaning of “beside ourselves”. Festus said in Acts 26:24, “Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad”. The same charge was made against Jesus in Mark 3:21, “And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself”. The way Paul lived, his fervor for the Lord, his boldness to preach Jesus Christ in the face of impending danger and threats of death, and the way he chose a path of shame for the name of Jesus made him stand out as weird to people. When we follow Christ and the more closely we walk with Him, the less the world understands our purpose. We too might be labeled “insane, crazy, lunatic, and nutty. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 2:14, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him”. And in the eyes of the world, 1 Corinthians 4:10 says, “We are fools for Christ’s sake”. But Paul says if people judged him crazy, it was for the glory of God. We don’t intend to come off as nutty but if people reject us because we do not parrot the ways of the world, it is really a badge of honor for the Lord. The scriptures say in 1 Peter 4:4, “Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot (immoral self-indulgence), speaking evil of you”. Those who submit to God’s authority, live according to the Word of God, shun the appearance of evil, and find their glory in the cross of Christ are indeed peculiar people. If anyone judges us in our right minds, then there is hope that they will receive what we represent for themselves and will be like-minded. But no matter if we are seen as idiots or not, what holds us firmly in our place, what constrains us, is the love of Christ. We do what we do and we are what we are because Jesus loves us, covers us with grace, and we are bound to His will by the power of His love. Praise the Lord for the hope of 1 Corinthians 15:57, “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”.
___________________
August 11, 2023
Ephesians 5:15-16 “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil”
Our time on this earth is limited and the scriptures here are telling us to be careful how we live and live wisely, not like fools. We spend about a third of our lives sleeping so if we live to be 75, we will have spent 25 years asleep. Shockingly, most current research shows the average person will spend 44 years of their lives staring at a cell phone, TV, tablet, and computer screen. Of those, cell phones will occupy most of our time. In today’s verse, the Bible says to “redeem” our time, meaning to make the best of our opportunities. This devotion is not intended to demonize technology as if no good can come of it, but just to help us all consider the way we live and make sure we’re using our time to its greatest ability. Apart from following the great commission to share the gospel of Jesus, the Lord directs us to build strong relationships above all else. First, we honor the Lord and look to Him. We redeem our time in our relationship with Him by looking heavenward and acknowledging God in all our ways. Time spend in prayer, studying God’s Word, and praising and worshiping the Lord build a strong relationship with our Heavenly Father. God’s will for us is also to have strong, loving, and Bible-based family relationships. The order of our most precious priorities should be God first and family a close second. Redeeming the days of our lives by making sure our bond with our spouses and children is loving and Christ-centered builds families that are grounded in truth and peace. When we trade the time that we could be enjoying the blessings the Lord has given us for time chasing the false promises of this world, we lose the things our souls need and crave: love, joy, and contentment. The Bible says, “The days are evil” where the word “evil” means painful, full of hardships and annoyances, and ethically bad. Days spent with the Lord, following the ways of God, and investing in relationships are days that bring us blessings and are also a blessing to others. We live for a reason: To honor the Lord, to be a blessing to others, and to win others for Christ and, as Romans 15:1 says, “not to please ourselves”. Our pleasure will come when God blesses us because we have followed His ways.
___________________________________
August 10, 2023
1 John 2:15 “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him”
The world is not referring just to the physical planet Earth, but to the entire system that exists around us. It includes the natural environment but more so the systems and creations of humanity and their way of living and doing things. Primarily, what they are, what they do, and what they think is either against God or it does not include God or honor Him as Supreme and above all. It is also the material things and the sinful pleasures that this world offers. Some people think that to live according to this verse and reject the pull of the world, they have to live in isolation like a monk or nun or perhaps like the Amish all of whom think that it is more holy to live as completely as possible apart from the world. But our Lord taught us in John 17 that ours is not a physical separation from humanity but a spiritual stance we take by faith, empowered by the Holy Spirit. As most people state, we are in the world but not of the world. It is a matter stated in Colossians 3:1, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth”. The phrase “the love of the Father” means “love towards or for the Father”. We can not love God with all our hearts while loving this world and what it offers. God will not compete with this world for our affection nor will He take second place. Under the Levitical Law, the very first commandment was to love God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. This world has a lot to offer from places of power and authority, houses and land, automobiles, and innumerable pleasures, to buggy loads of Chinese-made junk. And it’s easy to get pulled into its traps. But if we let the words of verse 17 sink down into us, “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever”, and we follow Jesus, we will see this world through the eyes of faith. All this world has and what it offers are temporary pleasures but God has set eternity in our hearts to desire the things that will never pass away
______________________________________
August 9, 2023
Psalms 34:19 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all”
The Bible says in Job 14:1 that our days are few and full of trouble. And some days, that seems more so than others. David wrote these words when he and his men were fleeing from Saul who was bent on killing David. They fled to the Philistine city of Gath but were not welcome there and ended up hiding out in a cave. At that moment, it might have seemed strange that a man who had been anointed by the prophet Samuel to be Israel’s king, one who brought down and killed the mighty giant Goliath, and one who was dearly beloved by the people should be having so much trouble. But God’s people are not exempt from afflictions, a word that means bad and unwelcomed things and today’s verse points out that we sometimes have many. Again, the notion that we waltz through this life on cloud nine smiling and laughing as we go is nonsense. Troubles come our way just as they do to unsaved people but the difference is that we have God’s unfailing promise that He will deliver us out of them all. The Bible goes a step further and says that whatever affliction, or trial, we are going through is temporary and is helping us. When it’s over, we will receive glory from the experience as said in 2 Corinthians 4:17, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory”. This does not minimize the suffering and pain we might have to endure because those troubles are real and we feel them. But the Lord stands with us in our trials and will bring us through. Three years ago, when the doctor cut my throat from ear to ear and removed my voice box in a complete laryngectomy to remove cancer, it was the real deal and I suffered. And when for many weeks I endured the recovery with a feeding tube through my nose into my stomach, it was hard to believe that good things were coming. When I lost almost 50 pounds and a lot of muscle mass, I could only hope and have faith that the Lord was going to bring me through. But praise God He did and I testify that the afflictions were many but the Lord delivered me and gave me more time to honor Him and be with my family. You might be going through a season of trouble and it might seem like God is far away. But trust His Word that He is with you, near you, and is already working a way to bring you through the trouble and restore you. Our God will never fail.
______________________________________
August 8, 2023
2 Thessalonians 3:16 “Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all”
At this season of our lives, my wife and I want peace above all else in every area of our lives. For us, it is one of the most valuable, wonderful things a person can have. We do not want conflict, stress, anxiety, drama, confusion, squabbles, noise, racket, loud cars, booming stereos, or anything else that threatens a peaceful life. We love the principle of 1 Timothy 2:2, “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty”. But that is not the sum of what today’s verse is about. It is speaking of the peaceful presence of the Lord, the calm assurance that He is always with us and is working all things for our good. This is something you can’t buy or obtain anywhere except in the person of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. It is also the will and calling of God for us because God said in Colossians 3:15, “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful”. In that verse, peace is coupled with thankfulness. It is the advice of Psalms 34:14, “Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it”. The will of the Lord for us is that we always be led by His peace. The Bible says in Isaiah 55:12, “For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace”. The scriptures promise in 1 Peter 3:11 that when we follow ways of peace, it will make our days good and our life blessed. The Holy Spirit will always lead us to a place of peace when we submit ourselves to God’s will and ask Him to direct our choices and our path. He will lead us away from angry people, worldly strife, and traps of compromise. He will point us towards the Lord and His unfailing promises and fulfill the hope of today’s verse, “The Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means”. Now compare this to what God says about wicked people in Isaiah 57:20, “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked”.
_______________________________________________
August 7, 2023
3 John 1:9-10 “I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church”
Diotrephes loved to be the boss of his local church. The Bible only mentions him in these two verses but we’ve all seen people who have his spirit. He, apparently driven by jealousy and the lust for power, refused to associate with the apostle John, would not allow the other apostles into the church, and threw anyone who sided against him out of the church. How’s that for some early church craziness? In this world, some people grasp for power anywhere they can. It might be in government, business, sports, churches, or even in the more mundane areas of life like the school bully. They crave positions of dominance and rule. They want to tell others what to do and the world sometimes rewards such people with seats of authority. Diotrephes, in charge of some unnamed church thousands of years ago, was such a fellow. In Matthew 20, the mother of James and John asked Jesus to make her sons the second in command when Jesus established His kingdom. She said in verse 20, “Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom”. And apparently, John and James were in agreement with her because when Jesus further questioned the matter, the Bible says in verse 22, “they” answered Him. But the Lord teaches them, and us all, that the Kingdom of God is not like the kingdoms of this world. In this world, people are rewarded for their power and ambition. But Jesus said in Matthew 20:25-27, “Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant”. Those who live like Diotrephes may have some rewards in this world, rewards that will quickly vanish. But those who live by the teachings of Christ and follow His example of servitude, have the promise of, “And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant”. Thank God John had a change of heart and by the time the Holy Spirit used him to write his portion of the scriptures, he wasn’t the man he was when his mother made her request.
_________________________________________
August 6, 2023
2 Corinthians 8:12 “For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not”
The Apostle Paul here is writing about the churches in Northern Greece, the area called Macedonia. They had been going through a time of suffering but in their trials, they had continued to give generously to the cause of Christ and then were ready to give to the church at Jerusalem. One of the principles the Bible addresses here is that God looks first at our willingness to give and not the amount we give. This holds true not only concerning offerings of money but it’s anything we do for the Lord. God knows our reason for what we do, or don’t do for that matter, and when our minds are established in willingness, then whatever we give is accepted by Him. This follows the truth of 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver”. The word “grudgingly” here means to be sorry you have to give and therefore you give unwillingly. The story of the poor widow in Luke 21:2 who gave a couple of small coins in the temple offering as compared to the wealthy people who gave much more is part of the truth of the principle of willingness. Jesus said she gave more than anyone because she gave all she had. The Lord doesn’t want us to stress about what we give or what we do in His work. But He wants us to give and do from a place of willingness and He knows our hearts. It is exemplified in the conversation between the Lord and Isaiah in Isaiah 6:8, “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” Isaiah was willing to do the Lord’s bidding when the Lord directed Him. A good prayer is, “Lord, help me to have a willing mind and help me to never turn away from Your will because I think I do not have enough to offer”. God will always accept what we give and what we do when it comes from a place of willingness.
_______________________________________________
August 5, 2023
Isaiah 55:10-11 “For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it”
It’s easy to get busy in whatever we’re doing for the Lord and forget the source of the real power behind our efforts: The Word of God. Today’s verse gives us a picture of the power of nature and how the water from rain and snow produces crops which in turn, result in our food. Then the Bible says the Word of God is like that because everything begins with the Word of God and His Word always does what God intends it to do. It never fails. Everything else is just human effort, human words, and human abilities and all those will pass away. But the Bible says exactly the same thing in Matthew 24:35, Mark 13:31, and Luke 21:33: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away”. And again in 1 Peter 1:24-25, “For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you”. Some people think the Word of God is not enough. They believe we need the words of others and that the words of others might be divine. Such dribble is blasphemy against the Word of God for the scripture says in Romans 3:4, “let God be true, but every man a liar”. The words of man are always, at some point, tainted with contradiction, prejudice, and error. But God’s Word is eternally pure. So, let’s speak God’s Word, preach God’s Word, sing God’s Word, and remember that the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17). The Word of God will never return void (vain, without causing effect, and empty) but it will accomplish what God intends. The Bible says in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart”.
____________________________________
August 4, 2023
Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek”
If we are Christians, if Jesus Christ has forgiven us of our sins and written our names in the Lamb’s Book of Life, there is no reason for us to ever be ashamed of the gospel. We were dead in our trespasses and sins, we were alienated from God, and we had no hope. But when we heard and believed the gospel, by its power, we were raised from death to life, washed from our sins, and given the eternal hope of heaven. If there is any shame, it should have been in the remorse for our sinfulness and not in what God has made us. The world, claiming prowess in technology and sophistication, tries to make believers ashamed of their testimony of faith and the gospel of hope. The enemy tries to silence us as if what we bring with the message of Jesus Christ is outdated and unneeded. But it is a ploy to silence the only hope there is for a lost and dying world. Science can’t save us, politics can’t save us, cell phones and the internet can’t save us, sports and recreation can’t save us, and we are sinking deeper into global confusion and sin without any hope except for the gospel of Christ. In Jesus Christ we have hope, we have an anchor for our souls, and we have the unfailing love and promises of our Creator God that He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. There is nothing to be ashamed of in that! The power of salvation is not in the church, not in its preachers, not in religion, but in the gospel as the scripture here says, “It is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth”. It was given first to the Jews and then to the Greeks which means Gentiles or non-Jews. Are we ashamed of that? Never! We might be ashamed of things people have done in the name of God or ashamed of what churches have done in the name of God. But we are not ashamed That Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, was crucified and died on a cross, was buried but arose from the dead on the third day, and is now the Savior of anyone who will look to Him and believe in Him. We are unashamed.
______________________________________________
August 3, 2023
Acts 20:35 “I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive”
Thank God for people with generous, giving hearts. In an age where it seems so many are selfish, narcissistic, and fulfilling the words of 2 Timothy 3:2, “For men shall be lovers of their own selves”, it’s a blessing to see people who still care enough to give to others. And we’re not just talking about giving money, but an overall attitude and spirit of benevolence where people sacrifice their time and resources to help those in need. Even in things concerning the Lord’s work, many of us remember a time when people didn’t have to be paid to sing and play musical instruments in church, but they gave their gifts and talents willingly. Just as the Apostle Paul said of his ministry in 1 Corinthians 9:18, “What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel”. In our small community, we still have a volunteer fire department and until a few years ago when the laws and financial hardships made it impossible for them to operate, we had a volunteer rescue squad. As I write this, I’m thinking of the countless people that have been assisted by the Salvation Army, rescue missions, and other outreaches that are often staffed and operated by people who volunteer. Thank God for clothing ministries, food ministries, back-to-school supplies ministries, and all the other undertakings where people give their time, resources, and money to help other people. Today’s verse reminds us of the words of Jesus who taught it’s more blessed to be in a place where we can give than in a place where we need to receive. It’s not enough for ministries and churches to have a good music and worship program and interesting preaching. We need a transparent and faithful outreach to those in need. An occasional ministry project planned by church leaders and carried out by a few people does not mean we have a giving heart. For those of us who have already been saved and are well-blessed beyond our basic needs, following Christ is about considering others: meeting their needs, helping them with their weaknesses, and encouraging them with hope for a better future.
__________________________________________
August 2, 2023
1 Kings 17:2-4 “And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there”
After Elijah appeared on the scene and prayed for God to shut up the heavens and stop the rain, the Lord sent him to a deserted place to wait. The words “hide thyself” means to conceal oneself or to become absent and after Elijah preached the message of God’s chastisement, the Lord told him to go off by himself into a hiding place. It seems strange that God would call Elijah to preach and after one sermon, sent him away from people for what some Bible scholars believe, based on the Hebrew text that aligns with other chronologies in the Old Testament, was about a year. Sometimes people have this idea that unless we’re always doing something in church work, ministry, and creating some kind of momentum then we’re wasting our time. But Elijah just stayed by the brook and God sent him food twice a day by ravens and he drank water from the brook. He wasn’t preaching, attending church, ministering to people, or engaging in religious activities. He was just waiting for God to tell Him what to do next. Abraham lived 175 years and yet the Bible records only about 7 times that God spoke to him, giving him instructions and encouragement. If we were able to examine Abraham’s daily routines for 175 years, we would find him working, taking care of his household, tending his flocks, managing his servants, and just living his life. It’s not like every day was a powerful revival of meeting with God and doing great religious deeds. God is perfectly able to carry out His plans for humanity without us inventing religious busywork to do to make it seem like we’re the ones that cause spiritual things to happen. Most often, much of our religious activities are simply fleshly actions dreamed up by us or church committees because we’ve been taught that unless we’re continually burning the candle at both ends for the Lord, we’re guilty of the whole world going to hell. God didn’t want or need Elijah to do anything until it was time for him to do it and while faithfulness in ministry is needed, so is faithfulness in waiting for the Lord to direct our next steps.
_________________________________________
August 1, 2023
1 Kings 17:1 “And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word”
God called Elijah to preach to Israel at a time when the nation and its Royal family, Ahab, and Jezebel, had fallen into idolatry. The first thing Elijah did was to call on the Lord to stop the rain and for three and a half years, it did not rain nor did dew form. The demon god Israel had turned to, Baal, was worshipped as the god of the sky. The pagan nations around Israel, and Israel too that that time, believed he controlled the rain and therefore, caused their crops to grow. When the rain stopped, Elijah was preaching by his actions to the nation that the Lord God Almighty is the One that controls the weather and provides the rain. A nation that saw God deliver them from Egypt, the most powerful nation on earth at that time, and provide their food and water for 40 years in the wilderness, had turned away from the source of their blessings, the source of their protection, and the source of their hope. They had placed their faith in a false god that had no power except the power to enslave them to sin. Can we draw a parallel to many people today in the USA? We are a nation formed by the power and providence of God. And to Him alone we owe our allegiance because He has blessed us, made us strong, defeated our enemies, and provided us with a beautiful, wonderful country. Somewhere, amid all our blessings, many have turned their hearts away from the Lord and no longer acknowledge Him as the source of our prosperity and strength. Just as Israel suffered draught and hunger for their apostasy, we are seeing the correcting hand of God. He is allowing us to see our errors and return to Him. Two paths lie ahead. We will either see a revival where the heart of this nation returns to God and we repent or we will refuse His correction, ignore His call to repent, and face the consequences of our rebellion. In Israel’s day, there were false prophets who spoke smooth things, telling the people they had nothing to fear and that they were still God’s favorite. And so, the false prophets said, they would never be chastised. The same nonsense is being proclaimed today as the gospel truth and many people are ignoring God’s warnings. Our prayer is that people will stop, consider where we are, and return to the Lord with our whole hearts. As we’ve sung and prayed so many times, let’s keep singing and praying, “Lord, send a revival”.