October 31, 2021
Isaiah 55:6 “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near”
This urging in this chapter for us to seek the Lord was given first to Israel as the Lord revealed His will for them to be joined to Him and receive the goodness and blessings He had purposed. But for us as in this dispensation of grace, it is a wonderous call from our God to come into His presence and be satisfied. The flip side of it all is that mankind has no will in themselves to seek after God, revealed in Psalms 14:2-3 “The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one”. So, the quandary we are all in is that we need the Lord, He is the only thing that will satisfy our thirsty soul, and He is the only means to obtain life instead of death, but we push Him away, cast aside His Word, and choose everything except the things of the Lord. Then God in His patience, love, mercy, and grace, keeps calling us, wooing us, encouraging us to come to Him, to fasten our eyes on Him, and seek Him. It is in this context this verse comes to us from the Holy Spirit drawing and reassuring us that even though we have strayed and pushed Him aside He hasn’t given up and written us off. The sense of to “seek Him while He may be found” is that He is near us now, of His own will and desire and there is the opportunity of immediate, close communion with Him and we should not put it off or disregard His call to us.
God actually does the persistent seeking and is the one that reminds us to seek Him in return. That’s the amazing, wonderful manifestation of His grace to us. We go from times of revival when we are following hard after the Lord, praying, reading His Word, and desiring His presence to times we are lazy, careless, distracted by the issues of life, and we’re barely praying, going through the motions, and on religious autopilot. But the Lord, who is faithful to us and desiring our fellowship, keeps calling to us to seek Him, to put forth an effort to break out of the slump we’re in and approach the throne of grace. It takes a conscious decision at such times to stop, set our minds on the Lord, deny the flesh its willful foolishness, and begin to pray, read the Word, reflect on the things of the Lord, and return to patterns of seeking the Lord even if we are doing it by faith and are not powerfully drawn. We will do this out of need and desperation when we or our family are in a situation and we need the Lord’s help but it is far better to develop the lifestyle to do it whenever we discover we are drifting and attentively hear the call of the scripture such as verse 6 here. The verb seek means, among other things, to pursue, worship, ask, require, and to frequent. It’s a picture of the believer actively reaching out to the Lord with a desire for Him and a worshipful bent to walk in His steps. Our prayer is that we will listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and set our lives in such an order that the things of the Lord become the center, the focus of our daily desires and the patterns of our lives based around prayer, the Word of God, worship, fellowship, and meditation on His truths.
October 30, 2021
Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”
How many promises do you suppose, have been made to the American people by politicians through the years? They’ve looked us in the eyes, opened their mouths, and brazenly made their sworn promises as if the universe would cease to be if they didn’t keep them. It does make one wonder about the verse in Revelation 21:8 “and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” and if many politicians will make it into heaven. But it’s not just politicians, our society is so used to false promises we even have an old adage that says “promises are made to be broken” and we say things like “you’d better take that with a grain of salt” meaning just as food is more easily swallowed with a bit of salt we’d better approach things with a bit of skepticism. The rise of Adolph Hitler and the confidence the people of Germany placed in him was based on his steaming powerful rhetoric of false promises resulting ultimately in the deaths of 75 million people. And if we consider the millions of souls committed to false religions based on false promises as they trust the words of others as if they are the words of Almighty God it breaks our hearts as believers in Jesus Christ because we know that there are ways that seem right to people but their path leads to death.
Our verse for today is a promise from the lips of our Lord and it is one of many promises made to us by the God of heaven and earth, the God of which the Bible says in Titus 1:2 He cannot lie. If we approach the Word of God with skepticism, unconvinced that it is the Word of God and that it is all true cover to cover, inerrant, infallible, and eternal, then it is like any other book, written by man and a subject for personal or private interpretation with no absolute truth. But when we know the promises of God are eternally established in heaven and that heaven and earth may pass away but God’s Word will never pass away, then we can believe the promises of our Lord and this one for today is especially precious in this time of uncertainty, bleak outlook for the future, and chaos on every side. Jesus came to give us rest and His invitation to come to Him with all our burdens, anxieties, and cares is His way of telling us His mission is all about us, all about our families, and all about our future. So as we pray we say yes to the Lord’s invitation, we welcome His promise of peace, and we lay our heavy burdens at His feet.
October 29, 2021
Galatians 6:10 “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith”
If current studies and surveys can be trusted, they show as a culture, we are slowly shifting away from a benevolent mindset to an increasingly self-centered one. The Bloomberg.com website states there has been a steady decline in the number of people volunteering their time, money, and resources for more than two decades, and not one state has experienced an increase. Some studies suggest the erosion of trust in organizations after years of hearing news of the mishandling of funds, exorbitant wages and bonuses of CEO’s and management, and undisclosed operations have contributed to the change but the news is certainly in line with the Bible’s prophetic words of 2Timothy 3:2 “For men shall be lovers of their own selves”. Among believers, the exposure of multimillionaire celebrity ministers and their lavish lifestyles, mindless spending and unwarranted church indebtedness by church committees on building and church property expansions, and the constant change of church agendas and personnel has created a reluctance for many to support the local churches and donations are decreasing. But the verse above isn’t just about giving money even though it sometimes seems that’s the only focus when people think of being generous but it’s a reminder for us to see the opportunities to do good for others and act on it. A Biblical account that comes to mind is when King David, in 2 Samuel 9 is thinking back on his deceased best friend Jonathan and asks if there’s anyone left related to Jonathan that he could show kindness to for Jonathan’s sake and was told there was one man named Mephibosheth, the only remaining son of Jonathan, that was lame, unable to walk living in poverty in a small village. David sent for Mephibosheth and brought him and his family to Jerusalem, gave him a home and land, and made sure he and his family were taken care of the rest of their lives. When we have the opportunity to do good for others, with whatever abilities we have, we are answering to the words of our Lord in 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”.
The opportunities to do good come to us at different times and with different people and sometimes we are so busy, so rushed in our life that we pass them by without thinking. We’ve been conditioned by lifestyles and the pace of our routines to speed through our days one after another and our encounters with people are usually rapid and shallow with just a few words exchanged. Maybe it’s not the lack of love or an unwilling heart that causes us to miss the moments to seize opportunities to do good but things like brain-overload, stressed schedules, and absence of sensitivity to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit that causes us to be like those mentioned in James 2:15 “If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?”. Believers driven, not to succeed by the world’s standards, but by the desire to do good whenever and wherever they can, find the fullness of joy that comes from drawing water out of the well of salvation, not to only quench their own thirsty needs but to offer to others.
October 28, 2021
Jeremiah 8:20 “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved”
We’re starting to feel the cooler weather and last night, we saw frost on the rooftops looking down the valley from the house. Everyone is saying maybe this week is the last time they’ll have to mow the grass this season and Thanksgiving is less than a month away and I’m thinking about wrapping the outside faucets before I forget. It all happens so quickly and all the summer opportunities, warm weather projects are either completed or the opportunity is past. This is the picture this verse is revealing to Israel, that summer seasons are the time to plant, cultivate, grow, and then comes harvest, a time of rejoicing and abundance. But something went wrong, they missed the two harvests of the growing season, and now it’s too late to plant the crops and reap the rewards. As a spiritual explanation, God gave the nation of Israel plenty of opportunities to cultivate righteousness, plant seeds of truth, water with faith, and then reap the harvest of blessings but they squandered their opportunities and now the judgment of winter lay directly ahead. Jeremiah, called the weeping prophet, mourns what is waiting for the nation as he declared in verse 8:3 “And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family”. In ancient agrarian cultures, if the work was not done and crops secured during the growing seasons, families would have no food, no fuel, and their farm animals no food for the long winter months. Disaster and panic awaited them. Likewise, because they turned away from the Lord and refused to walk in His ways, the nation would be without the abundance of grace and mercy and their outlook was dark.
A look at the current state of America and our world for that matter shows there have been many opportunities to do what was right before the Lord, many seasons of opportunities to follow Him, honor His Word and live by His truth but we have willfully rejected the Lord and turned our faces away from His ways. The Bible says in Proverbs 1:24-27 “Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you”. The haunting words are “and we are not saved”. Even though the salvation of our souls is the most important thing in the universe concerning us, people are everything except born again. There have been millions of Bibles printed, millions of churches built, millions of sermons preached, and billions of dollars given and received by religious groups but the world still lies in darkness and judgment is waiting. Prophetically, it appears we are at the closing of the opportunities and time of the coming the Lord is at hand, a joyous conclusion for born-again believers but a frightening future for those that have rejected the Lord. May all of us that believe God’s Word cry out for revival and the salvation of our families and friends before time runs out.
October 27, 2021
John 1:47-48 “Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee”
Many people believe the disciples Nathanael and Bartholomew are the same person, known as Nathanael in John and Bartholomew in the other three gospels but the call of the man known as Nathanael to discipleship by our Lord is recorded only in the book of John and it is not just a call of Nathanael at that time, but it still speaks across the ages as Jesus calls people to Himself and into His service. Nathanael heard about Jesus before he met Him from Philip who said John 1:45 “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph”. Nathanael was skeptical asking “can any good thing come out of Nazareth” implying if Jesus was really the Messiah, He would come from Jerusalem or somewhere of greater status than the hovel of Nazareth and the area of Galilee. But as he approached the Lord, Jesus acknowledged him as a man without guile, meaning he had an honest, truthful heart and from that statement, we find Nathanael was a truth seeker and he didn’t allow his questions about the Lord’s hometown to keep him from deciding Jesus was the real deal and worthy to follow. Nathanael’s question to the Lord, “how do You know me?” is answered by Jesus saying He saw him under a fig tree even before Philip found him. The word saw here is more than to see with the eye and means to understand, to know personally and is a reference to the omniscience of the Lord. Before Nathanael met Jesus, Jesus knew him, understood him, and knew what he was all about.
The Lord seeks us personally, knows us intimately, and understands us inside and out. God is not dealing with the human race as a mass conglomerate but as individuals that He knows so well, He said He even knows the number of hairs on our head, stuff we don’t even know about ourselves. He knew us before we were born, even before the world was created and every facet of our being is important to Him and He will never stop being personally involved with us throughout eternity, or as the Bible says in Ephesians 3:21“Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen”. God knows our thoughts before they form in our minds and hears every word of every silent prayer we pray. The Bible says a woman named Hannah prayed silently in 1Samuel 1:13 “Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard” but the Lord heard the prayer of her heart and gave her the baby she wanted. He hears us not because we pray loudly or eloquently but because He loves us and knows the words that form whether we speak them or think them. It’s a great comfort to know just as Jesus revealed Himself to Nathanael and called him to become His disciple, He is revealing Himself to us through His Word and calling us to follow Him. Every atom of our body, every breath we take, every aspect of our personality, and every turn in our life’s road is known by Him and He is working in us and through us for our benefit and His glory.
October 26, 2021
Song of Solomon 2:15 “Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes”
The little Coronavirus has wreaked havoc and such a tiny microscopic thing has killed almost 5 million people and devastated countless others. Little termites destroy huge homes and little coating of ice on a surface can cause massive pileups. Looking at today’s verse, in the natural, the picture here is of valuable grapevines and the damage that can be done to them by small creatures we would never expect to be so devastating for, after all, they’re cute little bundles of fur. Not so much a problem of the little foxes eating the fruit, which they do because they are omnivores, but these critters also like to chew on the trunk of the vines and dig holes around them, exposing the roots and thereby, destroying the entire vines. So, the maiden in this section of scripture speaks with an imperative verb in a sense of urgency to take, or rather catch the little destructive varmints before they destroy the precious vines. But the natural reference here is actually alluding to a spiritual truth about relationships as the Song of Solomon is about the love between a man and woman and the warning is about the small, destructive devices that can creep in and before long, great damage has been done not only to romantic and marital relationships, but also friendships, alliances, churches, or anywhere there are interpersonal connections. We all know the story, little lies, little deceptions, little grudges, and little bouts of selfishness along with things like pride, anger, and addictions drive wedges between people that force them apart, and soon, the wounds and damages take their toll.
The spoilage caused by the little destructive foxes tends to build up over time and when they are not dealt with step by step, often the result is unrepairable or at least so problematic it is painful to repair. When believers are walking in the light of the Holy Spirit, He directs our attention to even the smallest dangers and provides the wisdom of God’s Word to enable us to avoid and correct these before they become mountains of calamity. The prayer of Psalm 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” is one of opening ourselves to the searching eye of the Lord like an exterminator looking for brown recluse spiders to reveal any of the dangerous little foxes before they can do us damage. Often, we are not aware on our own of what lies in our flesh because our flesh, with its skills of subterfuge, can disguise, hide, bury, and morph the little ticking time bombs of destruction until only the Holy Spirit can point them out to us. There’s been so much made of the seven deadly sins of pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth that when we believe we have purged ourselves from these, then the battle is won. Ah, but those little foxes are alive and well and sneaking into the most precious treasures we have: our marriages, relationships with our children, our influence as salt and light with our coworkers, our church family, and our purpose for Jesus in our community. May we remember the force of this verse and allow it to guide us to rid our lives of the smallest of matters that could potentially do us major harm.
October 25, 2021
Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith”
I wear glasses and without them, both up close and far away, things are too blurry for me to see any detail. The other day I misplaced my glasses and realized I needed my glasses in order to find my glasses. I felt like the man Jesus healed in Mark 8 that said He saw people like trees walking and needed a second touch to correct the vision the Lord gave him. As believers, it’s a metaphor for our spiritual lives where we might see clearly enough to recognize we need salvation but remain blurry in our sight to acknowledge that every hour, every day we must keep our vision focused on Jesus for not only is He the author, the chief leader, and beginner of our faith, but He is the finisher, the completer, the fulfiller of it all. And the passage here goes on to say in the next verse that when we look to Him, considering who He is, what He has done, and what He suffered to accomplish it, it guards us against becoming tired, burned out, and tempted to give up. When our vision, our focus, is upon Jesus, contemplating all that He suffered and we are assured of His fathomless love for us, we get the strength and peace we need to face any obstacle, any giant, and any storm.
Peter shows us a practical side of this in Matthew 14 when he was walking on the water at the Lord’s bidding. But when he looked away from Jesus and focused on the storm, he began to sink and cried “Lord, save me”. Unless our eyes are on the Lord, there’s nothing left except the elements of this life with all the uncertainty, fear, distractions, and the curse. In Christ, there is every answer, every hope, every protection of grace, and every encouragement. When our eyes are on Him, our confidence is anchored, our resolve cemented, and our course steadfast. As Stephen was being stoned by a murderous mob, the Bible says in Acts 7:55-56 “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God”. The view of the Savior carried him away from the screaming crowd into the arms of the Lord and this example sets the hope for us that Jesus will be waiting when it’s time for us to cross from this life into glory. When the Lord took Peter, James, and John up on a high mountain and was transfigured before them, the Bible says in Matthew 17:8 “And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only”. The mystery of the moment, the appearance of Moses and Elijah, and the voice of the Almighty Father booming from the heavens were all a part of the experience but when everything was said and done, their eyes were focused on Jesus only. May this be our prayer that God will help us keep looking to Jesus and not at the circumstances be they either frightful or glorious for they will always pass but our Lord remains eternally for us.
October 24, 2021
Mark 11:20-21 “And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away”
When Jesus cursed the fig tree, it was the week before His crucifixion, and understanding what it meant as a representative act, sheds much light on His ministry to the nation of Israel, their response, and the consequences. In another vein of truth, it bears witness to professing Christians and the substance of their claim of faith. The day prior, Jesus had entered Jerusalem on a donkey and was met with a great welcome from people who thought He was about to deliver them from the hands of the Romans. On the day of the cursing, He and His disciples were on their way from Bethany to Jerusalem where Jesus would cleanse the temple, overturning the money changers table, and driving out the merchandisers. He was hungry and saw a fig tree with leaves and went to it to pick off some fruit but found none on it. The fact the fig tree had leaves meant that should also have had fruit because the fruit appears before the leaves. Also, since fig trees produce several crops of figs per season so, at any given time, a live tree would have some fruit still hanging on the branches from one of the successive crops, ready to be picked and eaten. The fig tree is symbolic of the nation of Israel throughout the Bible pictured in scriptures such as Hosea 9:10 “I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time”. Israel was a religious nation, seemingly alive just like the fig tree, with its temple, synagogues, and religious systems in daily view but also like the fruitless fig tree, there was no fruit of righteousness. We are reminded of the preaching of John the Baptist when he came announcing the appearance of Christ in Matthew 3:10 “And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire”, foretelling that by rejecting God’s gift of salvation through His son, Israel would be cut down.
As the fig tree received its life from its roots, so Israel received its life from the roots which were faith in God’s Word beginning with the faith of Abraham and John the Baptist continued his message with Matthew 3:8 “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance”. But Israel had already turned away from God before Jesus came and would not hear the truth of Christ and just as the cursed fig tree dried up from the roots, so the nation withered and was destroyed by Rome and cast out among the nations of the world. In a similar manner, as God demanded fruit from Israel, He still purposes for His church to bear fruit as the Lord said in John 15:1-2 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit” and further clarifies in verse 8, “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples”. In spite of all the religious appearances of Israel, it was all a false show and counterfeit as the Lord said they honored God with their words but their hearts were far from Him the same is true today of much that calls itself Christianity. The proof of the fig tree’s value was in its fruit and the proof of Christianity is also in the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
October 23, 2021
1Peter 4:8 “And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins”
The KJV word for love here, charity, is from the Greek “agape” and is not referring to romantic love, love between family members, or love for objects but it’s an act of the will with a deep commitment and a high moral nature. The extended definition and explanation for agape love can be found in the words of the famous love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13. The Hebrew equivalent for this verse looks back to an anchor verse in Proverbs 10:12 “Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins” where the word covereth means to conceal or hide. Our Lord demonstrated this love even as He knew the truth about people and their actions, knowing that at the end of His short three-year ministry, they would nail Him to the cross. Yet the Bible says in Mark 6:34 “And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things”. Then dying in excruciating pain on the cross, nailed there by people who had despised His love, He said in Luke 23:34 “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots”. The love of God was covering sin in a way that’s beyond human understanding and becomes our example when we say we are followers of Christ. A consideration of Romans 5:20, “But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” and this grace is inseparable from God’s love, grace by love abounding towards us in spite of the depth and magnitude of our sin, covering our sin by the blood of Jesus.
People can be petty in their words and actions towards others and often they view those around them with criticism and suspicion, picking apart their words, their lives, their choices, and even their faith. We revel in God’s mercy and grace on us, sometimes weeping openly when we think about how He forgave us, called us His own, and sanctified us eternally by the righteousness of Jesus but when it comes to extending grace and love to others, allowing love to cover their offenses, we fail miserably. The will to have fervent, that is, intent, continuous love among ourselves is really God’s will at work through us and when it’s set in action, it would eliminate most of the bickering, fault-finding, and contempt that creeps into the communion of God’s people. Love reminds us of who we are, what we’ve done, how much we appreciate being forgiven, and how the Lord cast away our sin then turns that same light of mercy on others with a patient, kind, gentle heart and the mind of Christ. We can hear Jesus saying “Father forgive”, we can see Him moved with compassion at that bunch of inconsistent, fickle, half-hearted, half-committed followers and find in Him our standard, our pattern of how to look past our own disappointments, wounds, and misgivings of others and love them because God loves them.
October 22, 2021
1Chronicles 4:9 “And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow”
Jabez is mentioned in only two verses in the Bible but what is given about him is most remarkable and the prayer he prayed in verse 10, has become the subject of many books, articles, and sermons. His name means sorrowful, painful and his mother named him that because she suffered at his birth. In a culture and time when one’s name had great significance and often carried a prophetic meaning for the course of life, Jabez started out in the negative realm. In a literal sense, everywhere he went when people spoke his name they were saying “hello painful”, “how’s it going sorrowful?” and it doesn’t seem possible he was a descendent of Judah, whose name means celebrated, revered. Some children are born as the old saying goes with a silver spoon in their mouth and they live a life of privilege from their beginning and move into their adulthood with money, position, and protection. Others, like Jabez, are not well known, have no family wealth, and their future looks obscure. So why did Jabez stand out and why does the Bible say he was an honorable man, more so than the rest of his family? Was it because he struck it rich by finding gold or creating wealth from a great invention? It is because in spite of his circumstances, he had faith that if his life was ever to mean anything, if he was going to have a chance for himself and his family, it must come from the Lord and this faith in God propelled him into a life and lifestyle that looked to God, prayed to God, and lived by God’s rules. Jabez’s choice carried him to a place that was far better than if he had been born into wealth and prestige because those born that way leave it all behind at their death but the treasures of the Lord extend into eternity and in Jabez’s’ case, his legacy was recorded by the Holy Spirit in the Word of God as a testimony as to what kind of man he was.
When the scripture says Jabez was honorable, it means he did what was right in the presence of God and people and was a good, respected, trustworthy man. Why would we not choose to live a life that’s honest, respectful, good, and filled with faith? And when, and if, we make mistakes and choices that are not right, why would we not want to repent, turn back to ways that are good and true, and continue to live as Jabez, a life of honor? In some way, people are messed up in their minds and hearts thinking when they live lives of half-truths, shadowy choices, hidden agendas, and foolish choices that they are actually headed for a good ending. Snickering at the truth, smirking at wholesomeness, trying to ignore or dismiss the creator, and sloshing through the sludge of immorality is a road many travel but when they have run its course and end up old, broke, worn-out, and wrinkled like a piece of sun-cracked leather, the choice has been made and the price has been paid and then when all this down here is over, they face their maker to determine their eternity. We may have been born Jabez, sorrowful and painful but we don’t have to stay there or live there. The Lord has provided better things, a better path, a better hope, and a secure future. A life of honor, like that Jabez chose, may not be the popular path nor is it a favorite option by many. But every person will walk some road of life by their own choice and will arrive at their destination and there is no other alternative. The wisdom of the Lord is: Choose life, choose good, choose truth, choose honesty, choose honor, choose peace, choose wholeness, and above all, choose Christ.
October 21, 2021
1Samuel 24:6 “And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD’S anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD”
King Saul became so jealous of David he wanted to kill him and David with his small personal army kept fleeing from Saul and his men. In this chapter, David was hiding in the back of a cave when Saul, unaware anyone was in the cave, went inside for a few minutes to relieve himself and David had the opportunity to kill him and take the throne as the new king. After all, he had been anointed by Samuel when he was just a boy and the nation of Israel loved him after his defeat of Goliath. His men urged him to do so for they said it was the will of God that Saul, away from his guards for a few minutes, should wander into the very place where David was hiding and David even stealthily crept over to Saul’s clothes and cut off a piece of Saul’s robe. But at that moment, something came over David, an awareness of conviction that this was not God’s way of doing business and that it was not the time to take the throne by murdering the king even though the king was trying to murder him. He refused to take Saul’s life for he said, “he is the anointed of the Lord”. The wisdom of David was such that he knew it is the Lord that places kings on their thrones and He also removes them and it is not in our purpose to interfere with God’s will in these matters. This is a hard lesson for us especially when we seem saddled with leaders that we don’t like, don’t want, and fear they do not have our best interests in mind as many think is the case at this very time. And, it may seem a stretch to compare a modern leader, a boss, or anyone who has a position of authority over us to an anointed king of Israel. Yet the Word of God remains true whether we think it pertains to our circumstances or not and says in Dan 2:20-21 “Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings”. Saul was far from what we might expect from a king compared to David yet with all his flaws and failures, he was still God’s choice on the throne at that time and David yielded his will to the Lord and waited until God made the changes in the government.
It’s not easy to give respect when we believe there is none warranted and even harder to hold our tongues from speaking against people in authority when they appear to be unqualified, unprincipled, marauders of the truth, and outright scoundrels. Since we can’t physically remove them as an act of our will, we resort to flaying them verbally and joining in with others who are like-minded. Yet the Bible says 1Timothy 2:1-3 “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour”. Notice here the scripture says for kings and all that are in authority. The time we spend beating the air with our words of dislike and arguments against those in authority could better be spent praying for them as the Word of God instructs us. The Lord would have us with an attitude of respect and a willingness to submit according to 1Peter 2:13 “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake”. But we must be very careful when we try to use Acts 5:29, “we ought to obey God rather than man” to override this because sometimes we may just be intent on having our own way, arguing we are doing God’s will and that exempts us from obeying this verse. Remember that in Acts 5, it was not the actual government trying to silence the gospel, but the religious hierarchy. In today’s verses, David could have tried to excuse taking Saul’s life by pointing out the evil deeds of the king, even claiming self-defense since he knew Saul was bent on killing him but he chose instead to honor Saul as God’s provision at that time and when David’s time came, the Lord gave him the honor He had promised him.
October 20. 2021
John 11:25-26 “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”
We might say the gospel of Christ is a matter of life and death. For those that refuse to accept Jesus as their Savior, the sentence of death is already upon them for the Bible says in Romans 5:12 “and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” and again in Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death”. It’s strange how these simple, to the point, and concise scriptures of the Holy Bible, can be misconstrued and ignored by the masses as if God doesn’t mean what He says. A family member of mine passed away last week of cancer and he didn’t even know he had cancer until just a few weeks ago but by the time he was diagnosed, it was too late for treatment. Thank God he was a believer and ready to exit this life for a better one, but in the natural, his circumstances match the spiritual condition of all mankind who are totally contaminated by sin and they are not aware of it. In my cousin’s case, he didn’t show symptoms that would have alerted him or his family the cancer was present but in the case of this sin-sick world, they’ve been brainwashed by their flesh and false doctrines to believe there’s nothing wrong with them even though sin is their status and the only diagnosis is that it means sure death. This lukewarm church age of Laodicea with it’s I’m ok, you’re ok doctrines that prove it’s the playground of fools, Proverbs 14:9 “Fools make a mock at sin”, is like a prestigious hospital prescribing a regiment of tootsie rolls to treat terminal cancer. They taste good but will not cure the patient. No, current theology and Laodicean malarkey will not alter the words of Jesus who said in John 8:24 “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, (Messiah) ye shall die in your sins.”
But the gospel, rightly divided, is the message of life as the Lord declared in today’s verses. It was during a time of death, the death of Lazarus when Jesus spoke these verses which are some of the backbone scriptures of the precious hope we have in our Lord: the hope of a glorious resurrection and never-ending life. At the tomb of His friend, the Lord confronted all that people had known or seen in their lives for they had watched many people succumb to death and be carried to their body’s resting place, a part of the Jewish community and family rituals just as it is today for us with our memorial services, celebrations of life, and funeral processes. Yet the Lord wasn’t there to speak a splendid eulogy about how wonderful Lazarus was and talk about someday in the future when they would all be together, He was there to show that He is the resurrection and life in the moment, right here, and right now and He called the dead to life before their eyes. As believers in Jesus, you and I are eternally alive right now, right where we are and death is not even a part of who we are nor is it a factor for our future for the Bible says in John 5:24 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life”. The Bible says in Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom” and may the Holy Spirit imbed today’s verses in our hearts so deeply that they become shouting grounds whenever we hear them or think of them and may we use them as words of hope and comfort to those trapped in darkness with their souls longing for life and the light of truth.
October 19, 2021
1Thessalonians 5:16 “Rejoice evermore”
This short verse covers a lot of territory in our lives and just might qualify for one of our life verses. The word “evermore” here is from the Greek word “pantote” and is the same word translated alway in Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice” and means at all times, always and in case of Philippians 4:4, the Holy Spirit doubled down, repeating the imperative to rejoice. Rejoicing is the expression of joy and as one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, is a state of being in our faith, not a positive outlook or mental state of happiness. Joy comes from knowing and living by the truth that God is completely in control of every circumstance and has foreseen every detail, even the most minuscule ones that mark our journey. There are Christians, ruled and guided by their emotions, that seem to have a lot of joy one minute followed by panic, sadness, and sorrow and they never seem to level out in a place of confidence in their Lord, that He is with them, for them, and working all things for their good. If you charted their life’s course, it would look like the constant rise and fall of the stock market, and depending on which cycle they are in will be the summary of their testimony at that time. In the times we are living our best life and most everything is in order, we are pain-free, and we are seeing prayers answered, it’s a natural time of rejoicing and requires little faith or effort. But, and there is always a but, these times are not the 100% substance of our lives and when the troubles come, disorder hits us, and even when there are days when, for no reason at all, we are just not feeling it, joy is suppressed and rejoicing seems like yesterday’s dream. And how about those extended periods of trials when we find ourselves thinking, will I ever get out of this situation and rejoice again? Thank God there is a path we can walk that is a path of rejoicing in every situation, every circumstance, and every cycle and season of life else the Lord would not have given us this directive.
The average mindset is that there are good things that happen to us and bad things. Statements such as, “I can’t believe I’m having such bad luck”, “nothing good ever happens to me”, “other people get all the breaks”, “I can’t win for losing”, and “I knew something bad was gonna happen”, are as commonplace in many people’s conversations as discussions about the weather. Even when they are having a good time, they overshadow it with words like, “I’m just waiting for the other shoe to fall” and “just wait and see, things are gonna go sideways”. But for Christians who believe God’s Word concerning their lives, they know the Lord will keep His promises concerning them and every one of His promises reveals His favor on them. We are convinced by the Word of the Lord, that we are eternally redeemed, eternally sanctified, accepted in our beloved Savior, highly favored of the Lord, and that God is working all things for our good. Because of His promises, we can confess we are blessed even when it appears we aren’t and we can rejoice by faith even when we are not in an emotional state of happiness because the truth of God’s Word is our reality and we know the path we are on is one of victory and grace and for a believer, no evil can cover or control us. It is the only way that verses like 1 Peter 4:13 make sense “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy” and the Words of Jesus in Matthew 5:11-12 “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you”.
October 18, 2021
Luke 3:17 “Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable”
Inclusiveness has been one of the popular buzzwords of the church world in the past decade or so to the point many of the denominations have committees and appointed advocates to promote their own agendas of whatever they’ve come to call inclusion. There’s even a national movement, a sort of loosely organized network or alliance of churches, various denominations, and non-denominations, that follows a set of core statements as to their intention, stated on their website inclusive-church.org, “continue to challenge the church where it continues to discriminate against people on grounds of disability, economic power, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, learning disability, mental health, neurodiversity, or sexuality”. They go on to say “We believe in a Church which welcomes and serves all people in the name of Jesus Christ; which is scripturally faithful; which seeks to proclaim the Gospel afresh for each generation; and which, in the power of the Holy Spirit, allows all people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Jesus Christ”. The underlying thought is that Jesus, and the gospel pertaining to Him, is one of complete unity and the Lord’s love is such that no matter who you are, what you believe, how you live, what you advocate, or what standards you align yourself with, everyone is all-inclusive under this big religious umbrella. And, according to their statement, it’s all in the attempt to remain faithful to the scriptures. Perhaps John the Baptist needs to show up preaching his message, a part of which is in today’s verse, as to who Jesus really is to a world that seems to have forgotten. To be faithful to the scriptures, we must teach Jesus as the unifier to some but a divider to others, and to teach one side without the other is not the gospel of Jesus but a counterfeit gospel of lies and deceit.
Listen to the Lord’s own words in Matthew 10:34-35 “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law”. Any attempt to spin this away from what our Lord is teaching is blatant falsification of the pure Words of Jesus. Yes, He is a unifier of all who come to the cross, repent of their sin, and believe in Christ alone for their eternal salvation as the scripture says in Galatians 3:26-28 “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus”. But apart from the new birth, here is what the Bible says in Romans 8:9 “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” and this is not some arbitrary so-called “spirituality” as defined by current pseudo-Christianity and homogenized religious systems but it is a reference to the Holy Spirit which comes inside a person at the moment of salvation as described by Jesus in John 14:16-17 “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you”. Here the Lord says the world does not have the Holy Spirit and in fact, they can not receive Him, can not see Him and can not know Him. In our verse today from Luke 3, Jesus is described as a thresher of wheat, one who separates the grain of wheat from the husk then places the grain in the safety of the barn but destroys the non-wheat that remains in the fire. This aligns with the Words of Jesus in Matthew 7:22-23 “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Of course, our religious world either ignores this strong teaching of who the Lord is or spins it into some false interpretation because it doesn’t fit their itching-ears false doctrines that deceitfully portray Jesus as something He is not.
October 17, 2021
Philippians 2:12-13 “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure”
Here again, is a passage that seems on the surface to suggest salvation is in our hands to either obtain or lose. But the phrase “work out your own salvation” means to be engaged in, to carry to the goal, and holds the meaning of putting forth an effort to activate something to its fullest potential. Our salvation is complete in that on God’s end, our souls are eternally safe with Him but on our end, we are still on the earth, still in our mortal bodies, and still growing and pushing towards the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. When we exercise, we say we are “working out” and it means we are strengthening our muscles, increasing our flexibility, and building our stamina. We are not making ourselves alive but we’re putting forth an effort to reach our body’s full potential. In the aspect of our salvation, this verse points us to the seriousness and responsibility concerning the gift God has given us, so valuable that its only purchase price could be the precious, perfect blood of our Lord Jesus, extracted from His sinless body through unimaginable torture, suffering, and shame. Oh, how lightly we take salvation for granted almost as if God owes it to us or we have some entitlement on our part yet it is our complete willful rejection of the truth of our certain eternal punishment and separation from God that pushes us down the path of foolish apathy, grabbing His gift like an afterthought. We almost always daily forget that it is only by God’s mercy, we have been rescued in unrequited love, purchased for eternity, and made heirs of God, an open door to something greater than the world itself, to which even angels have no hope of access.
The encouragement here is urgent and reminds us to always keep this great salvation a priority of our faith and thinking and to be diligent to make such a practice central to our lives. God is working in us, to complete His will in us according to what pleases Him and we have the choice to either work out our own plan for our success and happiness or to work out of a desire to honor our Lord, believing His will and purpose for us is perfect. Many people believe in God but they stay busy with their own scheming, their own effort, and their own determination to do as they choose apart from seeking God’s will. Their choices and decisions are not from a salvation-conscious heart but from their fleshly ambitions and desires and when they accomplish what they think they want, they are left still unfulfilled and unsatisfied. The new wears off, the old shows through, and they waste days, months, and years of their lives. The wisdom we’re taught by God’s Word tells us the Maker of Heaven and Earth knows the end from the beginning and this gift within us, sealed with the Holy Spirit, is worth every effort on our part to build on, cherish, and place in the center of every choice we make, every turn we take, and every dream we create. Working out our salvation means living our lives as who we are, children of the Almighty God, and refusing to see ourselves in the stereotypes the enemy and the world tries to press us into. God is alive in us, His plan is at work, and His purpose for us is for our best benefit in every detail.
October 16, 2021
Acts 12:7-8 “And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.”
When Christianity began to take root in the early days of the church, King Herod Agrippa, grandson of Herod the Great who was King when Jesus was born, began to persecute the church at Jerusalem, killing some and arresting Peter, throwing him in jail. With the description of his incarceration recorded here, it would seem Peter was a murdering, violent criminal for the Bible says he was bound with two chains, between two soldiers, locked inside the prison, and sixteen guards stationed outside the doors. This persecution is an example of the hatred of the gospel by the enemy and the world and was foretold by the very words of our Lord. And while the voices of those who are doing the persecuting are loudly and openly trumpeting that they are doing it to protect people and the culture and spreading lies that the way of faith in Jesus is hindering progress and harming people, the exact opposite is true. The Bible says in Proverbs 14:34 “Righteousness exalteth (lifts up, raises high) a nation: but sin is a reproach (shame, disgrace, wicked thing) to any people” but the depravity of the human heart will reject and hate God’s light of truth even though it builds good lives, good families, hope and security, and blessings. At the same time, people will embrace and love sin, enslave themselves to it, defend its practices and continue to promote it even while it is destroying them, their families, their hope, and the world around them. All of us have people in our families who refuse to follow the Lord with their whole hearts, whose lives are a complete mess, they live in constant shipwreck, they are in continual cycles of pain and confusion, and still, they run the same roads, make the same choices, and bow to the same gods of addiction like a dog licking an evil and violent master’s hand.
But, praise the Lord, the Word of God can not and will not ever be bound and silenced. In today’s account, people were continually praying for Peter’s deliverance and even though he was as securely restrained and confined as possible, the Lord sent an angel and the supernatural overpowered all natural laws. A light appeared in the night-darkened prison, Peter’s chains fell off, and they walked unnoticed past all the guards inside and outside the prison until they came to the iron gate which the Bible said opened of its own accord. If it ever seems evil is winning, Christians are going to be silenced, and the light of hope will sputter out, don’t believe it because this world will always have the light of truth, God will always have a people who will honor Him, and everything will always be fully under God’s command and purpose. The word of God will never be bound 2Timothy 2:9 “but the word of God is not bound” but everything that exists will always be bound by the Word of the Lord. Even nature operates within the bounds God set, Job 38:8,10-11 “Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?”. It gives us hope for those we know and in our families who seem to be uninterested in their souls and the things of God to know the Word of the Lord can’t be stopped and whatever has them bound, blinded, and imprisoned, the supernatural power of God can set them free.
October 15, 2021
Mark 3:5 “And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other”
Mark described the occasion when the Lord entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and the religious crowd watched Him with hatred to see if He would heal someone on the Sabbath so they could find fault with Him. In their midst, was a man with a paralyzed hand and when Jesus saw the crowd’s calloused, mean-spirited contempt and unconcern for this man, it fired His anger that that bunch of hypocrites would rather see a man continue to suffer than to accept God’s grace through His Son Jesus, whom they despised with envy. This is not a side of the Lord that is expounded in this day when the Bible is not rightly divided by those who only insist that we see God as a smiling, accommodating, and doting grandfather figure. But Jesus was angry with the arrogant, self-righteous people who stood at the top of the religious heap in that day and angry that in their self-acclaimed spirituality they cared not for the afflicted and suffering, only for their self-glory and religious addictions. The passion of our Lord to honor the things of His Father and his push back at the hideous religious system and its leaders was seen here and also in the times He entered the temple, threw over the money-changers tables and with a whip, drove out those who defiled the House of God. But one important part of today’s verse is that the Lord was grieved for the hardness of their hearts causing His grief to balance, to curb, His anger in obedience with Ephesians 4:26-27 “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil”. He was angry with them but He did not afflict or destroy them but turned His attention to the man with the paralyzed hand, demonstrated the compassion and mercy of God to him, and healed him of his malady. Jesus knew His enemies there had murder in their hearts as shown in verse 6 “And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him” but this did not become the focus of his purpose which was, and is today, to be the Lord and Savior of the lost and suffering.
When we see people being mean to others, wounding people, bullying, and intimidating the innocent or defenseless, it should raise indignation, anger in us on behalf of the abused. Sympathy and sorrow for the victims are not enough even if it is today’s politically correct response and follows the weak-kneed apathy of the so-called Bible-teaching filling our pulpits. Allowing those who abuse or disdain others to go unconfronted and unpunished, when needed, is not a measure of the greatness of our love but a symptom of a sick, corrupted, and timid culture of false tolerance and if it is allegedly faith-based, it is a horrendous falsification of God’s Word. Our Lord openly exposed the wicked and immoral religious of His day calling them hypocrites, wicked, a generation of snakes, and children of hell. The words of the Noahic covenant in Genesis 9:6 state “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man” and is an unmistaken charge from the Lord to punish abusers and when the Levitical Law was given, it contained protection for all people, especially the weak and innocent. Allowing unchecked abuse in our families, in our world, and in our institutions including our churches with those who exploit, harm, and harass others is not God’s way and should be handled with anger tempered by grief and love. Our example is in our Lord Jesus and our precedent is established cover to cover in the Holy Bible.
October 14, 2021
Job 38:4,7 “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
Everything in the Bible that refers to God’s creation in its pristine condition, sets a picture of harmony and beauty. In Genesis 1, in the account of the Lord’s steps of creation, there was order, and several times God declared it good. Then, concluding it all with the creation of man, placing them in the garden, the Lord said everything was very good. At different places in God’s Word the Lord calls His people to unity such as Psalm 133:1 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” and the word unity means harmony, together, acting as one and from this we gather God’s will for all creation is for order, harmony, and peace. Today’s verses from Job 38 comes from a discourse where the Lord is speaking to Job as his trial is coming to an end and pointing him to the greatness and sovereignty of God and tells of the harmony of celestial beings, all singing and shouting together in a symphony of praise at God’s glorious creation. When sin entered God’s masterpiece, chaos ensued and confusion, rebellion, dysfunction, and calamity have been the norm, visible in all aspects of life from the food chain to the deterioration of all things. Creation’s response to this is to cry out for deliverance and a return to harmony, Romans 8:22-23 “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body”. So, when we look around at this world in a mess, when we feel the struggle within ourselves, and when we experience the turmoil in our families, we have the hope that one day Jesus will restore all things to harmony and order as it was meant to be before sin plunged it into disorder.
The practical lesson for us is that the more we are able to pursue harmony and balance in our lives, especially in our homes, the closer we move towards what the Lord desires for us. If we consider again these verses in 1Peter 3:10-11 “For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it” and know it is not God’s will for us to live in turmoil, confusion, stressed out, on the edge, and angry but He points us to a life we can love to live with good days. Harmony, peace, going out of the way to avoid evil, and guarding our speech against arguments and deceit are all recipes that promote God’s order for us. For all those who seem to thrive on pandemonium, drama, violence, arguments, and mobocracy, for our part they can have it all to themselves. We want God’s order, knowing that it is the way to live with a love of life and the kind of life desire for our children and grandchildren. 1Timothy 2:1-3 “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour”.
October 13, 2021
Isaiah 30:18 “And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you”
Almost every one of us has been through things and times that didn’t seem fair, that made us feel no one cared or that we were cheated out of something that should have come to us but didn’t. The enemy is always there to point out negative interpretations, that we are unloved, God doesn’t care, that He is being better to others than He is to us, and then saying we should just stop following and trusting the Lord. He isolates one or two incidents as if they are the whole story of our lives and magnifies minute details, blowing them up into something they aren’t. When Elijah had confronted and destroyed the prophets of Baal, he became the target of Jezebel and she sent word she was going to kill him. Elijah’s view changed from one of great victory on Mt Carmel to one of dismay, gloom, and doom as stated in 1Kings 19:14 “And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away”. This great man of God reveals all of us can be susceptible to misunderstanding the circumstances that come to us but the Lord’s answer to Elijah also helps us know that just because it looks like God is not dealing with us fairly, He is busy working His will behind the scenes. The Lord told him in 1Kings 19:18 “Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him”. Today’s verse reminds us that is the Lord’s desire to be good to us and show us mercy, the very things that prove His love to us and exalt His name in the process.
This is not to say that the things that hurt us, discourage us, confuse us, and seem unbearable are not real and that we can easily push them aside. But even in the darkest areas, when we feel unloved, rejected, lonely, and forgotten, we have God’s promise He is waiting to show us kindness and grace. In His promises to His people Israel, the Lord told them He had not forgotten how they had suffered and He would give them double blessings for it: Isaiah 61:7 “For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them”. If we take this as a principle, we can be assured every trial we endure, every bad deal forced on us, every betrayal, every time we suffer blows that have brought us pain it is all remembered by our Lord and He will make all the wrongs right by blessing us more than the suffering cost us. It was so in the life of Job when he endured such an attack by the enemy that he and his wife suffered unspeakably but when it was over, the Lord gave him back double as the Bible says in Job 42:10 “also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before” and in verse 12 “So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning”. God will not fail us, He will not forget what has come our way and how it caused us sorrow, and when it has come to pass, He will not fail to restore all the enemy thought to take away.
October 12, 2021
1Kings 17:7 “And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land”
Elijah prayed in faith that the Lord would hold back rain (and dew) on Israel for three years and stood before king Ahab and announced the oncoming drought. Then, at the Word of the Lord, Elijah traveled to a small stream of water in the wilderness, the brook Cherith where he drank water from the brook and the Lord sent him food, carried by ravens. It’s odd to us that God would use a bird classified as unclean in the Levitical law to deliver food to Elijah but the Lord’s ways are higher than ours. He used Pharoah’s daughter to rescue and raise Moses, He used Balaam, a man of questionable morality to deliver one of the Bible’s great prophetic discourses, and then there’s the prostitute Rahab that the Lord used to fulfill His will in the defeat of Jericho who became one of the ancestors of Jesus all showing us the Lord accomplishes His will by sometimes weaving the lives and instruments of that which seems contrary to His ways into the fabric of His divine purpose. He elevates what would be cast aside into His Royal plans for His creation. Some have pointed out that the name of the brook, Cherith, means cut off, lost, excommunicated, or divorced and pictures the Lord’s prophet cut off from the people and nation of Israel in a time when Ahab and Jezebel promoted the blasphemy that Jehovah no longer existed and Baal was alive and ruling. Elijah, living for what some have said by the expressions of the Hebrew language was a year, was in a season of waiting at the brook while God stopped the rain and dew and the land began to dry up in a severe drought. His story is also a lesson that the Lord takes care of His people even in times of duress Psalm 37:19 “They shall not be ashamed (disappointed, dry) in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied”. Twice a day, morning and evening, the ravens brought Elijah meat and bread and he had drinking water from the brook.
But the Bible says after a while the brook dried up and Elijah’s vacation was over and it was time for him to move on to the next phase in his ministry. For us all, when the brooks of rest and comfort cease and the Lord moves us into a different season, it can be at the same time unsettling and blessed. Unsettling because we get used to a peaceful, languid spot and blessed because we know the Lord is propelling us into something that will honor Him and be a blessing to us. David moved from a mostly quiet, peaceful life of shepherding sheep to a life of war, struggle, and constant commotion, and sometimes it’s the reverse when God brings us out of a series of storms, trials, and troubles and gives us a place of rest and refreshment. It’s the times of uncomfortableness, times of questions with no clear answers that we find ourselves crying out to the Lord for help and rescue, for wisdom and understanding, and the dryer the brook gets, the more desperately we look to the lord as is said in Psalm 63:1 “my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is”. God could save us, fill us with the Holy Spirit, load our bank account with money, and let us spend our days satisfying ourselves but true to our human nature, it would be just a moment until we immersed ourselves in pleasures and walked away from our relationship with our creator, the teaching of Proverbs 30:8’9 “Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain”. The Lord purposes to aid us in our walk with Him by allowing us to need Him, to desire His presence and when it’s accomplished, it brings us great satisfaction.
October 11, 2021
2Timothy 1:12 “nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day”
Exactly a year ago this week, the doctors cut my throat from ear to ear, removed my vocal cords, separated my esophagus from my trachea, and routed all my breathing through a permanent hole in my neck. At that time, it was uncertain as to whether the cancer had been contained to my vocal cords or if it had spread to other areas. All my adult life I had preached, pastored, and testified of the Lord’s goodness and grace, of His unfailing kindness and mercies, of His faithfulness and patience, and of His friendship and comfort and thought I understood what I was talking about and to a small degree I did. There had been many times and events when He proved His love through seasons like the death of both my wife’s parents and my parents and other life-changing events. But the Lord never failed to bless, encourage me, provide for all our needs and I thought I understood the depth of His love yet I had never faced something that would alter my life and that of my wife and family like the trial a year ago. We often pray for others as they go through storms of life, difficulties, and circumstances that are hard to identify with when we’ve never faced something similar and we attempt to feel their pain, help carry their burden, and join in the hope for deliverance. Sometimes such things don’t make sense, don’t seem fair and on this side of eternity, there’s no good answer to help us understand and we have to believe the Lord’s ways are perfect whether or not we understand them 2Samuel 22:31 “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him”. But the trial I experienced had purpose and meaning and its result has been to the glory of God.
When the doctor said there were two choices for treatment, one to go through intense radiation of my neck which might or might not kill the cancer but would undoubtedly destroy my voice, or to completely remove the voice box in a total laryngectomy, he told my wife and me to think it over and make a choice. We prayed and immediately I chose the second choice and had the most overwhelming peace fill me in a way I had never experienced. I knew beyond any doubt it was all completely in God’s hands and in His will. I can’t say I wasn’t a little sad about losing the ability to speak, but even in that matter, the Lord gave my wife and me comfort. From that moment on, there has never been a second His presence has not comforted us, sustained us, and given us peace. When we read 1Thessalonians 5:18 “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you”, we take the “everything” literally including the trials we face, believing the “everything” is a part of the all things that are working together for our good in Romans 8:28. God’s glory is revealed through situations we would not choose for ourselves but the Lord, in His infinite wisdom, purposes for us. In John 11, Jesus said Lazarus’ sickness was for the glory of God because God brought something from that circumstance that could only come from such a trial. In my case, I can testify the past year has brought me closer to the Lord, closer to my wife and family, and filled me with such peace and joy that I would not choose another path than the one the Lord had for me. I testify this in the light of today’s verse, 2 Timothy 1:12, that I am not ashamed of what the Lord has done for me because I’m convinced beyond measure that He is fulfilling His purpose in my life, and for that, I repeat Psalm 100:5 “For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations”.
October 10, 2021
2Corinthians 5:20 “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God”
Some have surmised Paul is speaking of only the apostles in this verse, that they are establishing the church, some of them penning the New Testament, as representatives of God. But the verses preceding this verse set the context and are clearly referring to all members of Christ’s body 2Corinthians 5:17-19 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation”. In that light, all believers represent the Lord and it is a place of honor and responsibility for when the world sees us, we are on assignment under the authority of the Almighty King of heaven and earth. Somehow, we’ve been duped into thinking we have to emulate this world, fit in with them, and appeal to their ever-changing fickle fashions and moods to reflect the love of the Lord so we can win them. Rather than ambassadors that do not speak of their own authority or desire to placate their audience but rather serve only to deliver the message of their king and hold the position of representing Him, Christians often appear as shallow foolish copies of the very world the Lord has called us to confront on His behalf.
And remember Jesus did confront His culture, their religious tomfoolery, their true nature as opposed to their public facades, and their insincerity. He represented the will of the Father and while He was humble and kind He was at the same instant noble, confident, and separate as declared in Hebrews 7:26 “For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens”. Even in the events leading to His crucifixion, our Lord was not a blubbering, sly, and worldly imitator, but He responded to the high priests, the Sanhedrin, Herod, and Pilate with calm dignity, honor, and truth. As ambassadors, we don’t desire to come across as superior or better than this world but we represent one who the Bible says above is higher than the heavens. It’s right to stand tall, but with a humble heart, speak straight, but with love and compassion, live holy, but without self-righteousness, and be always aware we are not only ambassadors for Heaven’s King we are His children, heirs, and joint-heirs with Christ our Lord.
October 9, 2021
Proverbs 4:18 “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day”
Most people spend a lot of time thinking and even worrying about the past. A recent study published in the Harvard Gazette reports that on the average, people spend 46.9 percent of their waking hours thinking about something other than what they’re doing, and this mind-wandering typically makes them unhappy especially when they are concerned over a past they cannot change. Looking in life’s rearview mirror keeps us from finding joy and purpose in the present tense and for believers, it blocks the view of the future and today’s verse sums it up by saying we have blessings of light as we journey in the present and when we look ahead, we have the promise of even greater blessings. Everyone has some pain and sorrow in past events, some more so than others and the enemy would love for us all to remain bound there, perpetually wounded, hurting, and sorrowful like being locked in a dark, lonely room filled with sadness and remorse. But the Lord is telling us to step out into the light, cast off the garments of mourning over what we cannot change, and leave the past where it belongs like the analogy of leaving the gloomy, dismal days of winter behind in Song of Solomon2:11-13 “For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away”, the last part, an invitation of our Lord to arise and follow Him.
A big part of walking in the light of the present and reaching out to an even brighter future, involves forgiving ourselves and others for what holds us locked in the past. We’ve all made mistakes we wish we could do over and others have made mistakes that affected us. We’ve missed opportunities, failed and fallen, taken detours that led us into messes, and it all comes before us in waves of regret with the enemy whispering how we failed and that we’re ruined because of it. Others have failed us, betrayed us, caused us pain, bullied us, deceived us, and did everything but support and love us. But the Lord tells us to forgive and that includes forgiving ourselves, seeing the truth that we are children of the King of heaven, and all those that have wronged us, hurt us, and treated us unfairly. When we look back, instead of viewing it by remembering what we didn’t like about it, we can see that the Lord’s hand was with us, guiding us out of our circumstances until we can walk the path of shining light. God is willing and able to create new beginnings, new starting points where we can live in present victory with great hope and sure expectations for the future. The scriptures speak of who we are in 1Thessalonians 5:5 “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness” and tells us in Ephesians 5:8 “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light”.
October 8, 2021
Romans 4:19 “And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old”
This reference to Abraham’s faith gives us insight into the kind of faith that pleases God. Abraham knew what God had promised him, that he and Sarah would have a son and that this son would carry on the other promises the Lord gave him about his innumerable posterity, possession of the land, and the multitude of blessings, all by the Word of the Lord. But after waiting for years for the promised child to arrive, Abraham found himself to be a hundred years old and by all accounts of human reason, past the point of fathering children and Sarah was ninety and the Bible said her body had passed the point where she was able to have a child. Common sense and natural understanding spoke loudly that this was it, the window of opportunity had passed and it was time to settle for something else because the Lord must have meant something other than the actual promise He had given. Yet the Bible isn’t a book of human reason no matter how hard we twist and deny the literal words to force it to fit our understanding. It is a book of miracles beginning with the very first chapter when God, by His Words alone, spoke all that exists into existence, and for all who want to whine and argue over the words and miracles, beware of your unbelief for the whole shebang began with a miracle that’s against human reasoning and understanding. Abraham took God’s promises as the truth, not the age or condition of his and Sarah’s bodies, and stopped thinking in terms of human understanding and reason but set his mind on the eternal truth that God is always more than able to do exactly what He promised and will never fail to keep His promises. In Abraham’s case, even when he detoured himself, the promises of the Lord never faltered as He declared in the promise to Abraham in Genesis 18:14 “Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”
Unbelief is normal with us, it’s the very core and nature of our flesh and it is the heartbeat of our culture. The things of God have been reduced to religious rituals and the Bible has become a piece of literature to be debated, interpreted by human view and opinions, and a weapon to defend our lopsided views or to be ignored altogether and lumped with all the other religious books of the world. But faith, as seen in Abraham, looks heavenward to a God that is indescribable, incomparable, and unimaginable to human reason and honors His Word, which He has exalted above His own name, as the eternal, never-changing truth of the universe. In this faith, God’s Word drowns out the sniveling whimpers of all human reason and rationale and rings and echoes through time and space reaching from everlasting to everlasting. The age of Abraham’s body or the circumstances of our lives today is immaterial in the power of God’s promises and, faith in His Word, soars above our puny little attempts to explain away what He says or what He has done. The enemy and our flesh will always make excuses, cast doubt on God’s truth, build entire religions around subjective reasoning, and outright denial of what the Lord said but faith rises above the grunge of such messes and testifies the Lord said what He said, meant what He said, did exactly what He recorded, and will do what He promises and those who take Him at His Word will believe Him, not what they see, think, or reason. He did heal the sick, raise the dead, deliver from fire and lions, rapture Enoch out, feed 5,000 with a handful of food, and the accounts never end. Isaiah 46:8-11 “Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors. Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.”
October 7, 2021
Hebrews 10:23 “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)”
In our assurance of God’s grace, there is no doubt that salvation is of the Lord and it is He that has called us to Himself, convicted us of our sin, and revealed the already open door of salvation through Jesus our Savior. Then there is no doubt that it is He that is holding us securely, eternally safe, and protected from the wrath of His judgment. After all, Jesus didn’t say He was going away to get started on our heavenly home and He would come back and get us so we could help Him finish it up. Nor did He say for us to do the very best we can and He will evaluate us later to see if we are worthy to enter heaven’s bliss. No, Jesus paid the complete price for our redemption and the Bible says in Colossians 2:10 “And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power” where the word complete means finished and verified as perfect. There are some scriptures such as the one above that when isolated and taken out of their context, appear to say we have something to do with remaining saved after Jesus has saved us. In such a twisted interpretation, this one in Hebrews 10:23 looks like a picture of someone who has fallen off a cliff over the lake of fire but God has provided a bush of grace which He helped the poor soul grab hold of on the way down and is now saying “you better hold on tight and if you do, there’s a chance you’ll be saved but I provided the bush and now it’s up to you”. As crazy as that seems, it’s really what many people believe about the Lord and salvation, that He forgave their sin and gave them a new start but it’s really an extension of heavenly credit and if we miss a payment and get behind, He will repossess the gift of life and we lose in the end. May the Lord help those who are trapped in this false doctrine and missing the joy of knowing Christ died for us to completely forgive our past, present, and future sins and our righteousness is of Him alone.
This verse isn’t about holding on to salvation, it’s about remaining strong in our faith and was written first to Jewish people who were coming out of Judaism and the ceremonies and structure of the Levitical law and turning to Jesus, trusting Him for redemption. It was tempting for them, after 1600 years of generation after generation raised and grounded in the law, to become afraid and uncertain that faith in Christ was enough for their complete salvation. But God would not accept the two systems simultaneously and warned them in Hebrews 10:26 “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins” that once they heard the truth of Jesus, they could not turn away and go back to the Law expecting their sins to be rolled back as they once were. The holding fast puts us in mind of a parent holding a child securely and would never drop or allow the child to be hurt but the child also holds on and there is a mutual bond in the strength and ability of the parent and the need and desire of the child. God holds us eternally steadfast and secure but, on our part, we resolve to be strong in our faith, and with a single focus on the Lord Jesus, we wage a war against anything that tries to come between us and Him. When we place the Lord above all in our life, look to Him and commit our ways to Him, when we honor His Word above all else and purpose to obey its precepts, when we daily are mindful of the things of God and make it a point to refuse the world’s offerings, then we are holding fast to our faith. But at the end of the day, it is still not our faithfulness and abilities that make us what we are, it is what is written in today’s verse when it says “for he is faithful that promised”.
October 6, 2021
Hebrews 6:18-19 “That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil”
In times like these, this section of Hebrews offers believers great comfort, strong consolation, for it gives us hope based on two immutable or unchangeable things: God gave His promise and sealed it with His personal oath. We have a refuge, a place of safety behind the veil, the place where God himself dwells. The idea of a place of refuge looks back to Numbers 35 where there were certain cities designated where someone who was innocent yet accused of an offense worthy of death could run to and be safe. The difference with our Lord is that He is the refuge where all who are guilty and doomed to die can come to and be saved. In those ancient Bible times, knowing there were cities of safety where one could flee to and be safe if they were unjustly accused gave a great sense of comfort and fairness but in our time, knowing that we can run to the Lord and find mercy and life even when we are already condemned to death by the demands of God’s law, offers comfort and peace. This is the hope spoken of in this passage and the Bible calls it an anchor of the soul, both steadfast and sure and the holding ground of the anchor is the very person and presence of God Almighty who lives within the veil upon the mercy seat, the place of pardon and forgiveness. The access to this place of safety is assured for us because we are told in verse 20, Jesus our forerunner, one who goes ahead, has already entered this place of refuge on our behalf and He is there as our High Priest before the Lord God of heaven and earth, standing and offering His precious blood for our forgiveness, mercy, and eternal life. This is our strong consolation, our steadfast and sure anchor of hope that will never fail no matter what are the circumstances and forces that come against us. We will not fail because our God can not fail.
In the natural realm, there are many strong, fearsome forces that can and will rise up against God’s people. Some are against the church as a body and we see those in action with attempts to silence the message of truth, continuing attacks to water down the message, the seductive influence of the poison of deception creeping into the doctrine and teachings, and the outright war against the values and principles taught by God’s people. Then there are the personal attacks against us and they range from betrayals, sickness, the enemies’ tool of discouragement, problems in our families and homes, temptations from the world, and the trials and tribulations that so often hit us from every side. But no matter the storm, no matter the battle, and no matter the enemy’s devices, the anchor of hope, holding to the unchangeable promises and oath of our God, will never fail. We are never a victim of the world, we are aligned with, tied to, and inseparable from the God who spoke all things into existence, bound to Him by His love, mercy, and grace, and assured by those two immutable things. It’s the comfort of the words of the hymn, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine; Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood”. Yes, in these times and these uncertain circumstances it is a great comfort, strong consolation to know that every day, every hour we are anchored rock-solid within the veil that no longer separates us from God but now is an open invitation into His presence through Jesus Christ our Lord.
October 5, 2021
Mark 5:5 “And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones”
Jesus and His disciples had just crossed the Sea of Galilee in the gathering darkness of evening where they had encountered a storm so fierce the disciples were afraid their boat would sink and they’d all be drowned. But Jesus had rebuked the wind and commanded the sea, “Peace be still”, and the storm ended. Then as chapter 5 begins, they came to shore and were met by a wild man who lived in the tombs, filled with demons, and as our verse tells us, lived in the cemetery screaming, shrieking, and cutting himself with stones. Not everyone Jesus ministered to was in the condition of this man but the wild man represents a segment of people that are in such dire straights they’re past the point where anything or anyone can help them, evidenced in this account where it says people had tried to calm him and even tried often to chain him like a wild animal but to no avail. He broke the chains and remained in the prison of his insanity. He’s a different picture altogether from the little children that sat on Jesus’ lap, the distinguished and educated Nicodemus, the rich young ruler, and the innumerable people that came to the Lord or met Him on His travels, just ordinary people needing the Lord in their circumstances. But the man in the tombs was on the outer fringe of society like a leprous man, shut off from all that is normal, all that offers some comforts of life such as a family, food, friends, a home, and the hope of tomorrow. His pain was different and he was driven not just by his sinful nature, but he was tormented by evil spirits that were using his body as their own and while we may not address the aspects of the possibility of people being directly controlled or impelled by powers of darkness, it does raise the awareness that there are those among us in a very deep level of trouble, desperately needing help from the Lord.
We might have the tendency to group everyone as the same and try to apply the same strategy when advising them or helping them. But one person might be able, with a little help and support, to kick an addiction and never look back while others may relapse many times before finally getting free. Growing up I remember testimonies in churches from people who were heavy drinkers and they would tell how they became a Christian and they never even had the desire to drink again. No one ever addressed others, I’m now sure who were silent because their testimony was different, that also believed in Jesus but were not as able to get free of the chains that bound them and we assumed everyone should just be quickly healed, quickly set free, and all begin walking the same path to glory. Every person is different, personalities are different, and we are unique in so many different ways even after the new birth, we are not the same in our demeanors, abilities to resist temptations, the strength of determination to persevere through trials, and always at different levels of faith and maturity. This is not excusing away our personal responsibilities but answering the dilemma as to why some seem more victorious in areas of life. If we contrast someone with an intense, driving personality that tends to act on impulse with someone who is naturally more subdued, calm, and apt to think things through before they act, it might appear the calmer of the two is more spiritual and Christ-like but God sees and knows the hearts of all people and might well see the opposite. Jesus can deliver and save a wild man in Gadara as easily as He can a young child with no long list of offenses but on our end, may the Lord give us patience and understanding that sometimes change happens slowly and maturity of faith might take a lifetime. I’m living proof of that!
October 4, 2021
Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble”
Sometimes we might see the Lord as the One we call on whenever we are in over our head in a mess but in normal day-to-day situations, we forget He is still with us and His care for us is always active on our behalf. His Word says in Psalm 139:5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me where the Hebrew word for “beset” is a military term meaning we are fortified as if guarding something valuable and the picture of the Lord having His hand on us is like a parent guiding a child. Surely with such verses as this along with many others, we can debunk the idea that the Lord is just an EMS worker or a 911 dispatcher whenever our trouble becomes more than we can fix or figure out but He is as declared in Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee” and the New Testament confirms this promise for us in the grace of Jesus Christ in Hebrews 13:5 “for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee”. In spite of the Lord’s never-failing promise to be with us and stand ready to aid us, there is much loneliness in people, even those who are believers. We can attribute some of this to the dysfunction of the family and the difficulty spouses have setting their home in the Biblical order the Lord gave for it is in the relationship between husband and wife He purposed for us to defeat loneliness. God said, concerning the first man Adam in Gen 2:18, “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him” and He made Eve, blessed them together, and in their relationship, rested the hope that the triangle of God, Adam, and Eve would bring happiness and contentment. When we abandon that pattern and reach for whatever the world offers as a substitute, a feeling of aloneness is inevitable for God did not offer an alternative.
Still, the Lord promises He will always be with us and now, in the day of grace through our Lord Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit living within us and He is called our comforter in John 14:16 “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you”. The strange thing is that even though the Bible clearly teaches His indwelling presence and that He never leaves our bodies, churches and Christians often act as if they are waiting for Him to come, enter the building, or in some way swoop down from heaven and visit them. While the work of the Holy Spirit is wonderful, mysterious, and powerful, He is the essence of Emanuel, God with us. While people may not always follow The Lord’s plan for them and they may get themselves in situations that are not God’s best for their lives, nothing changes the fact they are never alone, even in times of self-induced misery and self-inflicted tribulation, the promise remains unaltered: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble”. The words “a very present help” points again to our God not being a God that remains standoffish, apart from us and our circumstances, but He is ever near, always engaged with us, and never ready to write us off as a lost cause.
October 3, 2021
Genesis 6:8 “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD”
The Bible doesn’t tell us a lot about the civilization before the flood as to how advanced they were, what language they spoke if they built cities, and so on. What it does tell us is that they became increasingly violent and rebellious against the Lord and the ways of goodness, summed up by the words in Genesis 6:5 “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” and Genesis 6:11-12 “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth”. The word corrupt means rotten to the point of decay and is a reference to the morality and lifestyle of the people at that time with verse five showing this corrupt wickedness was the obsession of people. It was because of this the Bible says in Genesis “6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart” and the Lord determined to stop the violence and total corruption by sending a flood of judgment. I thought of this recently when my wife and I were watching an older edition of Dateline and a father, knowing his son had committed murder, delivered him to the police to be judged and possibly sentenced to death because he believed he could not lie and shelter his son from a judgment of right and wrong. Although the Lord is the God of love, He is still the God of judgment and while the wickedness of humans grieves Him in His heart, He will not allow lawlessness to go unpunished. It’s important to remember that even when He decreed the destruction of the world and told Noah to build a boat of safety, the Lord waited another 120 years to offer mankind a chance to repent as given in Genesis 6:3 “And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years” and again in 1Peter 3:20 “when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing”.
But as disturbing as it is to think about the destruction of the entire world of people, it is comforting to know God had provided a way of escape for anyone that would choose it and our verse 8, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” tells us even in the darkest, most evil, most corrupt times imaginable, God’s light of hope and salvation was shining and Noah looked to that light instead of the darkness of the world. Not only did Noah choose a life of doing what was right in the face of universal corruption, but he also tried to warn others to do what was right for in 2 Peter 2:5, the Bible calls him “a preacher of righteousness”. Often, we are so barraged with constant bad, negative news, overwhelming feelings that everything is out of control, corruption in politics and religion, and the darkness of human hearts we lose sight of the hope that still shines from God’s promises and presence. Just as He was determined to save Noah and whoever else had faith to enter the ark, He is still extending mercy and grace to anyone that will choose to call on the name of Jesus. The flood of God’s judgment is coming again and just as it was the first time, there will be no escape for those who are not inside the place of safety the Lord has appointed. For Noah and his family, it was an ark, a boat designed and commissioned by the Lord and for us, it is the ark of a man, Christ Jesus who declared John 11:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. The promise of safety is given in many scriptures one of which is Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him”. Every person that entered the ark of Noah was saved from the flood and every person that places their trust in Jesus Christ for their salvation will be saved from the judgment that’s coming.
October 2, 2021
James 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God”
The way of the cross, our journey of faith, is the way of love one for another and it is this love that fulfills the purpose of God for us. When the Bible instructs us in 2Peter 3:18 “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ”, it’s describing the Lord’s will where we reach Christian maturity founded on the truths of grace, which embodies mercy, kindness, and extending favor as God did for us, and learning who Jesus is which is an education of service and compassion to others. Our flesh is so easily caught up in its own will, its prideful agenda that we live far from the way the Lord lived when He walked among us in the flesh. The book of James, famous for its scathing rebuke of our uncontrollable tongues, calls us to a more respectful, considerate interaction with others and is encouraging us here to be good listeners above all else and hear people out, giving them time to speak and ourselves time to process what they are saying. Studies show most people hardly listen to others and even while others are speaking, they’re not hearing what is being said because their minds are too busy formulating what they are going to say or interrupt with. It’s all about us, what we think, what opinion we hold, our point of view, our personal convictions, our way of rationalizing, and our answers to all the problems. Active listening is not something we have time for and if the truth be told, for many they’re just not interested in what others have to say or how they feel. We saw this playing out Nationally the past few years when the so-called “thinkers” and proponents of “equality and free speech” began themselves to censer the voices of others they didn’t agree with and kick them off social media platforms in a war to silence opposing views. For many of us, it put a nasty, sick taste in our mouths that they could call themselves educated, enlightened, and defenders of freedom when they brazenly outright attacked and slammed the doors shut on anyone that disagreed with them.
Most everyone has an opinion and we all feel ours has weight enough to matter even in conversations and discussions of no real value. Being slow to speak, giving ourselves time to think about our words and why we want to say them before we spew them out, is the mark of maturity and the characteristic of someone who has self-control for the same book of James tells us that anyone that can speak without offending, meaning here to “come down on someone, to stumble through” they have become mature enough to control themselves completely (James 3:2). Then the Bible adds that when we are driven by anger, we are not able to behave and interact in a way that’s right before God and produce the results God wants. Things and situations can cause us to be very frustrated and angry like a car that won’t start or when something doesn’t work out in a good way for us but more than anything, it’s people, what they say, and what they do that lights a fire under us and it doesn’t take long before the battle begins. The result is almost always far from what the Lord would have us do or say and people get hurt, families get broken, people make fools of themselves, and the image we bear of Christ is tarnished.
October 1, 2021
Luke 6:48 “He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock”
When we look at a building, what we pay attention to is the shape of the structure, the colors, the setting and surroundings, and the details of the craftsmanship. What we rarely think about is the foundation upon which the building rests. It would be strange if our friends built a new house, invited us over to see it when it was complete, and when they met us at the door they immediately said, “we want you to see our house’s foundation, it’s what we are most excited about”. We might think they’d lost their minds but civilengineering.blog says “The Foundation is the most important part of a structure. The strength and stability of the structure depends upon its foundation. If the foundation fails, the super-structure however strong it may be, cannot stand. Hence for a stable structure, a good foundation is essential” and this is perfectly in agreement with the Word of God in Luke 6. It’s ironic that the parts of the building that get the greatest appreciation owe their strength and longevity to a part of the structure that remains mostly unseen, unnoticed, and least regarded and praised. Every structure and every lasting facet of this life needs a good foundation to endure from buildings to families and when care is taken to ensure the foundations that are laid are strong and properly prepared, we can have confidence that whatever is built from the foundations up is secure. Ancient people understood the value of foundations and that when they were carefully laid, it was a time of rejoicing as in Ezra 3:11 “And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid”. Good foundations marked a good beginning and gave hope.
The scriptures in Luke 6 use the concept of foundations to illustrate how a person’s life can be either a success or failure depending on whether or not the life is based on the truth and principles of God’s Word or upon the ideas and whims of everything else. Some people have no foundation and start their lives with no knowledge of God and no purpose to follow His ways. Sometimes they invest all their time, energy, and resources in building such a foundationless life only to see it all crumble and fail. Others, whom the Bible calls wise people, acknowledge the Lord in all their ways and make establish their life with all its choices, hard work, and hope upon the truth of God’s Word and the Bible says whatever they do shall prosper. Also in the natural world when a building is to be built, the taller the structure, the deeper the foundations must be and so it is in our lives. The deeper we lay the foundation, the more diligent we are to choose Christ and His Word above all else, the higher we can rise. The tragic condo collapse in South Florida recently was due to failed foundations and what came out of the story was the need to seriously inspect a building’s foundations and maintain their integrity. The deaths, heartbreak, immense property loss, and all the fallout could have been avoided had someone been diligent in inspecting the foundations and doing needed repairs. We will close today’s devotion with a well-known Bible verse in Psalm 11:3 “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” reminding us that what we build on is of far greater importance than a lot of the flashy, here today gone tomorrow details we spend so much time on.