4I will not give sleep to my eyes Or slumber to my eyelids, 5Until I find a place for the Lord, A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob."
God has blessed David's life in such a wonderful way. As a young lad, he was chosen to be king of Israel. He was anointed at this early age to be the king of Israel. David grew up with the knowledge that he would be king.
David is now king. Most of his life is now behind him. He has seen how the Lord has taken care of him. He has seen the hand of God at work in his life. He can look back at his life and see the times when God has protected him as well as provided for him. He sleeps in the palace. His table is full of the finest food in the world. He is indeed blessed beyond the expectations of this once humble shepherd boy.
The desire of David's heart is to build a temple to the honor and glory of God. As David goes to sleep in the palace, he is reminded that God has no permanent home in Israel. God's presence was symbolized in David's day by the presence of the Arc of the Covenant. The Arc of the Covenant was kept in the tabernacle, which was a temporary dwelling place given to the children of Israel through Moses, as they moved from place to place in the wilderness and even as they conquered the Promised Land. The desire of David's heart was to build a permanent dwelling place for the Lord.
The question of the day today is, "How grateful are we to the Lord for all that He has done for us and what kind of dwelling place do we desire to build for the Lord in our lives?" While God's presence was symbolized in David's day by the presence of the Arc of the Covenant, His presence today is in our hearts. As we ask God to forgive us of our sin and we invite Him into our hearts and we become a child of the King, He takes up residency in our hearts and in our lives. Our hearts become the temple of the Living God.
We ought to want to build a dwelling place for God that everyone would want to come to and as they looked at our lives, they would see a magnificent temple built to bring honor and glory to the Lord.
Let's build a house for the Lord to live in where His presence can be felt and seen by all those that pass by! Let's allow His presence fill our hearts and allow His power to permeate every aspect of our lives. Let's make decisions that are in line with His Word and let God lead us and guide us to the place where His abundant blessings can be found. Let's allow Him to be Lord and Master in our lives so that all the world might know that God dwells in our hearts and in our lives!
A Pastor's thoughts about the Scripture and it's influence in our lives.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
No Excuse I Corinthians 11:29
29For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
Here we find the Apostle Paul speaking about taking the Lord's Supper. Listen to what Paul writes in the preceding verses, "26For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. 27Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup."
People ask the question, "How often should we observe the Lord's Supper?" The Bible does not say. What the Bible does say is, when you do take the Lord's Supper, make sure that you take it in the right spirit.
For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and does not honor the Lord's body or His sacrifice for him, that person brings judgment on himself. Paul goes on to say that this is why some are weak and sick and some have even died. How you and I come to the Lord's Table is important. It is not to be done in an unworthy manner without possible consequences.
What does Paul mean when he talks about an "unworthy manner"? How are we to come to the Lord's Table to take the Lord's Supper? Some would take this passage to mean that we must be saved to partake. This is an obvious pre-requisite. However, Paul is speaking to Christians so I think he means more than just being saved.
To come to the table in a worthy manner is to come into the presence of the Lord with a repentant heart and a forgiven spirit. Our relationship with the Lord needs to be what it ought to be. Our relationship with one another ought to be what it is supposed to be. Our lives need to be lived, as they ought to be lived.
A disobedient spirit causes problems that cause our lives to suffer. Disobedience limits God's ability to take care of us, as He would like to. There is no excuse for us to come to the Lord's Supper and not look inward and examine our spiritual relationship with the Lord.
There is no excuse for us to begin a day or end a day without taking a spiritual inventory of our life and our relationship with the Lord on a daily basis. Ask God to examine your heart today and see if there is any thing that is unpleasing to Him and if there is, ask Him for the strength to make that right! You will be blessed by doing so.
Here we find the Apostle Paul speaking about taking the Lord's Supper. Listen to what Paul writes in the preceding verses, "26For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. 27Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup."
People ask the question, "How often should we observe the Lord's Supper?" The Bible does not say. What the Bible does say is, when you do take the Lord's Supper, make sure that you take it in the right spirit.
For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and does not honor the Lord's body or His sacrifice for him, that person brings judgment on himself. Paul goes on to say that this is why some are weak and sick and some have even died. How you and I come to the Lord's Table is important. It is not to be done in an unworthy manner without possible consequences.
What does Paul mean when he talks about an "unworthy manner"? How are we to come to the Lord's Table to take the Lord's Supper? Some would take this passage to mean that we must be saved to partake. This is an obvious pre-requisite. However, Paul is speaking to Christians so I think he means more than just being saved.
To come to the table in a worthy manner is to come into the presence of the Lord with a repentant heart and a forgiven spirit. Our relationship with the Lord needs to be what it ought to be. Our relationship with one another ought to be what it is supposed to be. Our lives need to be lived, as they ought to be lived.
A disobedient spirit causes problems that cause our lives to suffer. Disobedience limits God's ability to take care of us, as He would like to. There is no excuse for us to come to the Lord's Supper and not look inward and examine our spiritual relationship with the Lord.
There is no excuse for us to begin a day or end a day without taking a spiritual inventory of our life and our relationship with the Lord on a daily basis. Ask God to examine your heart today and see if there is any thing that is unpleasing to Him and if there is, ask Him for the strength to make that right! You will be blessed by doing so.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Every Promise Is True Joshua 23:14
14"Soon I will die, going the way of all the earth. Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the Lord your God has come true. Not a single one has failed!
Joshua is in his final days in this life. He speaks to Israel on last time. He reminds them of all that God has done for them. This is the generation that God brought out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land. This is the generation whose fathers and mothers died in the wilderness because of their disobedience and their rejection of God's deliverance. Joshua tells the people, "14"Soon I will die, going the way of all the earth. Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the Lord your God has come true. Not a single one has failed!"
Deep in your heart, you know that every promise that the Lord had given has come true. The children of Israel that Joshua spoke to, had no excuse not to trust God. None whatsoever. They knew deep in their hearts that God had kept all of His promises and that He would continue to do so. Just like this generation, our generation has no excuse either; for we too know deep in our hearts that God has kept every promise that He has ever made. We know that we ought to trust God.
The question is not "Can I trust God." The real question is, "Will I trust Him." This is all Joshua was trying to say to the people that he loved so much. He would go on to say to them, "Do not turn to the right or to the left but stay the coarse and keep God's commandments and obey His statutes so that He can continue to fight your battles and give you victory in every aspect of your lives."
That message has not changed! God is still in the blessing business! He still wants to bless us with His presence and His power and His provisions. He wants us to let Him be God in our lives. He wants to give us that land that is flowing with milk and honey and He wants us to dwell in that land and bask in the glory of His blessings. All He wants from us is our obedience and our trust in Him and His way for our lives.
We want to do things our way and we want to satisfy the desires of our heart as we see fit. However, God gave us those desires so that He could satisfy them. His laws and His direction is there for our benefit. His promises are everywhere telling us that He knows what is best for our lives and that He will satisfy the desires of our heart with the desires of His heart and all we have to do to have life and have it more abundantly is to take Him at His Word and follow His direction and He will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
This has always been God's desire and it always will be. Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the Lord your God has come true. Not a single one has failed! Stay the coarse and give God every opportunity to do for you today what He so much wants to do! Let the testimony of your heart and the witness of your life be, "I trust You Lord with my life." He will not let you down!
Joshua is in his final days in this life. He speaks to Israel on last time. He reminds them of all that God has done for them. This is the generation that God brought out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land. This is the generation whose fathers and mothers died in the wilderness because of their disobedience and their rejection of God's deliverance. Joshua tells the people, "14"Soon I will die, going the way of all the earth. Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the Lord your God has come true. Not a single one has failed!"
Deep in your heart, you know that every promise that the Lord had given has come true. The children of Israel that Joshua spoke to, had no excuse not to trust God. None whatsoever. They knew deep in their hearts that God had kept all of His promises and that He would continue to do so. Just like this generation, our generation has no excuse either; for we too know deep in our hearts that God has kept every promise that He has ever made. We know that we ought to trust God.
The question is not "Can I trust God." The real question is, "Will I trust Him." This is all Joshua was trying to say to the people that he loved so much. He would go on to say to them, "Do not turn to the right or to the left but stay the coarse and keep God's commandments and obey His statutes so that He can continue to fight your battles and give you victory in every aspect of your lives."
That message has not changed! God is still in the blessing business! He still wants to bless us with His presence and His power and His provisions. He wants us to let Him be God in our lives. He wants to give us that land that is flowing with milk and honey and He wants us to dwell in that land and bask in the glory of His blessings. All He wants from us is our obedience and our trust in Him and His way for our lives.
We want to do things our way and we want to satisfy the desires of our heart as we see fit. However, God gave us those desires so that He could satisfy them. His laws and His direction is there for our benefit. His promises are everywhere telling us that He knows what is best for our lives and that He will satisfy the desires of our heart with the desires of His heart and all we have to do to have life and have it more abundantly is to take Him at His Word and follow His direction and He will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
This has always been God's desire and it always will be. Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the Lord your God has come true. Not a single one has failed! Stay the coarse and give God every opportunity to do for you today what He so much wants to do! Let the testimony of your heart and the witness of your life be, "I trust You Lord with my life." He will not let you down!
Monday, July 26, 2010
We Are Responsible Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge because you have rejected knowledge I will reject you.
Hosea is writing about a very difficult time in the history of Israel. God had a problem with Israel; there was no truth or mercy nor any knowledge of God in the land and as a result they were killing and stealing and committing adultery and their land and their lives were all messed up.
God in our text addresses the priests. "My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge because you have rejected knowledge I will reject you and you shall no longer be a priest to Me." There are two thoughts that I want us to think about today.
First of all, the people of Israel were responsible for their own decisions. The fact that they did not have a knowledge of God did not excuse their behavior and their sin. We are responsible for our decisions and our decisions determine where our life takes us. It is our responsibility to know God's truth for ourselves. Now there is another side note to this thought and it has to do with the preachers and teachers that we listen to and learn from. The children of Israel suffered because they had a lack of knowledge of God because the priests failed to teach them the Word of God. We have a responsibility to God and to ourselves to know the Word of God on our own. The teachers that we sit under are responsible to God but we are responsible to Him as well. False or inaccurate teaching affects us and the fact that we trust what a preacher says, does not excuse our lack of knowledge of the things of God.
This brings me to the second thought and that thought is this, "As Christians we are responsible to teach God's Word to a lost and dying world." The preachers have their responsibilities and so do lay people have their responsibilities as well. We are all responsible for teaching those around us the Word of God and truth of God. We will be held responsible for our faithfulness to teach and for what we do teach. We need to make sure that we are sensitive to the leadership and guidance of the Holy Spirit and that we are witnesses for God as He leads us and seeks to use us.
Our ability to teach others has more to do with our obedience to the truth of the word of God in our own lives than it does what we know. The Holy Spirit will use our lips and shape our words when our walk is what it should be and our witness will be effective. This is why it is so important to know the truth of God for ourselves. We cannot live according to that truth if we do not know what the truth is and we certainly cannot teach it to others if we do not know what it is on our own.
Hosea is writing about a very difficult time in the history of Israel. God had a problem with Israel; there was no truth or mercy nor any knowledge of God in the land and as a result they were killing and stealing and committing adultery and their land and their lives were all messed up.
God in our text addresses the priests. "My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge because you have rejected knowledge I will reject you and you shall no longer be a priest to Me." There are two thoughts that I want us to think about today.
First of all, the people of Israel were responsible for their own decisions. The fact that they did not have a knowledge of God did not excuse their behavior and their sin. We are responsible for our decisions and our decisions determine where our life takes us. It is our responsibility to know God's truth for ourselves. Now there is another side note to this thought and it has to do with the preachers and teachers that we listen to and learn from. The children of Israel suffered because they had a lack of knowledge of God because the priests failed to teach them the Word of God. We have a responsibility to God and to ourselves to know the Word of God on our own. The teachers that we sit under are responsible to God but we are responsible to Him as well. False or inaccurate teaching affects us and the fact that we trust what a preacher says, does not excuse our lack of knowledge of the things of God.
This brings me to the second thought and that thought is this, "As Christians we are responsible to teach God's Word to a lost and dying world." The preachers have their responsibilities and so do lay people have their responsibilities as well. We are all responsible for teaching those around us the Word of God and truth of God. We will be held responsible for our faithfulness to teach and for what we do teach. We need to make sure that we are sensitive to the leadership and guidance of the Holy Spirit and that we are witnesses for God as He leads us and seeks to use us.
Our ability to teach others has more to do with our obedience to the truth of the word of God in our own lives than it does what we know. The Holy Spirit will use our lips and shape our words when our walk is what it should be and our witness will be effective. This is why it is so important to know the truth of God for ourselves. We cannot live according to that truth if we do not know what the truth is and we certainly cannot teach it to others if we do not know what it is on our own.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Let's Pour Some Oil II Kings 4:5
And she went from him and shut the door upon her and upon her sons who brought the vessels unto her and she poured out.
A widow of a prophet of God came to Elisha because one of her husband's creditors had come to her demanding payment and he was going to take her two sons from her. Elisha asked her what she had and her response was "nothing but a pot of oil."
Elisha told her to have her sons go through the neighborhood and borrow as many vessels as she could get and when they had the vessels in her house, she was to shut herself up with her sons and pour oil from the vessel that she had into the other vessels. This woman did what the man of God told her to do.
There are a couple of comments that deserve our thoughts today with respect to this story. First of all, the woman had a need and she came to the man of God for help. We need to make sure that we seek God in our situations as well and not as a last resort! God does not want to be our last resort but rather our first response.
Elisha told her to go and borrow vessels form her neighbors. This woman was no doubt a good neighbor herself because otherwise no one would have lent her the vessels that she needed to complete the task that Elisha gave to her. You and I need to be good neighbors or good friends to those around us. Someone has said "the number of friends we have is determined by the number of people that we have befriended." It is impossible for us to have too many friends and it is godlike to befriend as many as the opportunity arises!
Now to the story itself. This woman trusted the man of God and did what he told her to do. She could have heard what Elisha told her to do and looked at the vessel of oil that she had and thought, what is the use going around and getting these vessels when I have nothing to pour into them. Her sons could have heard what their mom told them to do and they too could have thought, mom has lost it and refused to go ask their neighbors for vessels that they could borrow.
The woman took the vessels that they collected and she began to pour oil into them and one vessel filled and then the second until all of the vessels were full! She asked her sons for another vessel and they said, that is all we have. Elisha told her to go and sell the oil that she had and pay off the creditor and then live on what was left over.
One final thought. Elisha did not tell the woman how many vessels to gather. He told her that all the vessels that she gathered would be filled. God's blessings are limited by our own obedience. Today, won't you take God at His Word and make decisions that bring Him glory as you allow Him to be God in your life? Just like this woman in the Old Testament, you may be surprised at what God has planned for you and your family today! Let's pour some oil today!
A widow of a prophet of God came to Elisha because one of her husband's creditors had come to her demanding payment and he was going to take her two sons from her. Elisha asked her what she had and her response was "nothing but a pot of oil."
Elisha told her to have her sons go through the neighborhood and borrow as many vessels as she could get and when they had the vessels in her house, she was to shut herself up with her sons and pour oil from the vessel that she had into the other vessels. This woman did what the man of God told her to do.
There are a couple of comments that deserve our thoughts today with respect to this story. First of all, the woman had a need and she came to the man of God for help. We need to make sure that we seek God in our situations as well and not as a last resort! God does not want to be our last resort but rather our first response.
Elisha told her to go and borrow vessels form her neighbors. This woman was no doubt a good neighbor herself because otherwise no one would have lent her the vessels that she needed to complete the task that Elisha gave to her. You and I need to be good neighbors or good friends to those around us. Someone has said "the number of friends we have is determined by the number of people that we have befriended." It is impossible for us to have too many friends and it is godlike to befriend as many as the opportunity arises!
Now to the story itself. This woman trusted the man of God and did what he told her to do. She could have heard what Elisha told her to do and looked at the vessel of oil that she had and thought, what is the use going around and getting these vessels when I have nothing to pour into them. Her sons could have heard what their mom told them to do and they too could have thought, mom has lost it and refused to go ask their neighbors for vessels that they could borrow.
The woman took the vessels that they collected and she began to pour oil into them and one vessel filled and then the second until all of the vessels were full! She asked her sons for another vessel and they said, that is all we have. Elisha told her to go and sell the oil that she had and pay off the creditor and then live on what was left over.
One final thought. Elisha did not tell the woman how many vessels to gather. He told her that all the vessels that she gathered would be filled. God's blessings are limited by our own obedience. Today, won't you take God at His Word and make decisions that bring Him glory as you allow Him to be God in your life? Just like this woman in the Old Testament, you may be surprised at what God has planned for you and your family today! Let's pour some oil today!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Open Our Eyes Lord II Kings 6:16
"Fear not for they that are with us are more than they that are with them."
The king of Syria had come down to do battle with the King of Israel. God spoke to the King of Israel and warned him not to go in a certain direction because the King of Syria lie in ambush for him. The King of Syria was furious because his plans had been foiled. So, he called for his men of wisdom and they told him that Elisha had warned the king of Israel and so the King of Syria sent his armies to the place where Elijah was.
Early in the morning, one of Elisha's men got up and went to the gate and saw the armies and the chariots outside the city walls and was afraid and he came to tell Elisha what he saw. Elisha's reply was, "Fear not for they that are with us are more than they that are with them."
Elisha then prayed, "Lord I pray Thee, open his eyes that he may see." And the Bible says that God opened his eyes and he looked out and saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. Elisha then prayed that the enemies would be struck blind and God heard his prayer and He struck the men blind.
We face all kinds of obstacles in our lives. Many of the obstacles are because of our own disobedience and others come because difficulty comes on the just and the unjust. Life brings its own difficulties. However, there is nothing that God is not are of nor is there anything that we will ever face that He does not have the answer for. Every obstacle that we will ever face is surrounded by God's delivering solution.
God wants us to always remember that He is greater than any problem that we will ever face. His provisions are greater than any need we will ever have. His love for us is greater than any obstacle that we will ever encounter and all He wants us to do is to open our eyes and see Him in all of His glory and allow Him to win the victory for us. We can be sure that He will take care of any situation that we look to Him to handle. His timing may not be according to our schedule and He may come at what we see as the 11th hour but He will come if we will just trust in Him and in obedience cling to Him and His instruction and direction for our lives.
The king of Syria had come down to do battle with the King of Israel. God spoke to the King of Israel and warned him not to go in a certain direction because the King of Syria lie in ambush for him. The King of Syria was furious because his plans had been foiled. So, he called for his men of wisdom and they told him that Elisha had warned the king of Israel and so the King of Syria sent his armies to the place where Elijah was.
Early in the morning, one of Elisha's men got up and went to the gate and saw the armies and the chariots outside the city walls and was afraid and he came to tell Elisha what he saw. Elisha's reply was, "Fear not for they that are with us are more than they that are with them."
Elisha then prayed, "Lord I pray Thee, open his eyes that he may see." And the Bible says that God opened his eyes and he looked out and saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. Elisha then prayed that the enemies would be struck blind and God heard his prayer and He struck the men blind.
We face all kinds of obstacles in our lives. Many of the obstacles are because of our own disobedience and others come because difficulty comes on the just and the unjust. Life brings its own difficulties. However, there is nothing that God is not are of nor is there anything that we will ever face that He does not have the answer for. Every obstacle that we will ever face is surrounded by God's delivering solution.
God wants us to always remember that He is greater than any problem that we will ever face. His provisions are greater than any need we will ever have. His love for us is greater than any obstacle that we will ever encounter and all He wants us to do is to open our eyes and see Him in all of His glory and allow Him to win the victory for us. We can be sure that He will take care of any situation that we look to Him to handle. His timing may not be according to our schedule and He may come at what we see as the 11th hour but He will come if we will just trust in Him and in obedience cling to Him and His instruction and direction for our lives.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Help in Troubled Times Psalm 46:1
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear."
God does not want us to be afraid in this life. He wants us to know that He has everything under control. It may not seem like He does from our perspective. God keeps His promises and He will be true to His Word and to His nature. We have to remember that God's time and our time are not the same. We have to remember that God's plan and our plan are not the same. We have to remember that we look at things for the moment and God looks at things for eternity.
God is never early with His promises and He is never late. He is always right on time. "He is a very present help in trouble." God is our refuge and our strength when we avail ourselves to Him. We need to learn to praise Him anyway. We need to be obedient to Him anyway. We have to remember that we do not get ourselves into the messes that we can find ourselves in, in a day or so. Sometimes, God's help comes after we have walked with Him in obedience for a certain time period.
Remember one other thing. The moment that we decide that we are going to give up the commitment to obedience just might be the very day that God's deliverance was ready to be given to us. Disobedience to God's Word is never a reasonable option. Disobedience is always costly. Obedience always pays the dividends that God wants for our lives. The payday may not be as soon as we would like but if we will remain faithful to Him, He is always faithful to keep His promises to those who are faithful to His Word! God is a very present help in times of trouble!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Tough Decisions Acts 7:59
59And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Life is the result of the decisions that we make. Stephen made the decision to stand for God; it cost him his life. Stephen knew that standing for the Lord was worth dying for. The old saying, "He who stands for nothing will fall for anything" certainly rings true. Stephen lived his life with the conviction that Jesus was the Messiah and that he died and was gloriously resurrected and Jesus Christ was Lord and Master of his life! Stephen did not give his life for some hoax that the disciples had thought up to start some Christian movement. He died because of a personal conviction, "He Lives"!
As we live our lives and make decisions on a daily basis, we will encounter a number of situations and circumstances that will affect our lives as it did Stephen's. Many of those circumstances will be beyond our control. However, our response to those circumstances will still be our responsibility! One of the toughest aspects of life involves the decisions that we make. Each decision that we make determines the circumstances that we are most likely to face tomorrow and the day after that. Stephen knew what was about to happen. He calculated the cost and he determined to stand for God no matter what.
The question for the hour is this, "What happens when we fail to count the cost and we make bad decisions which affect the situations and circumstances that come tomorrow anyway?" The real test of life involves our decisions. The Source of life is God. He is our Strength. He is our Sustainer. He is the Answer to the questions of life. When we do things His way, He is able to affect the circumstances and situations that come before us. If we decide to do things our way, we run the risk of facing situations that will make our lives miserable. We run the risk of facing circumstances that will no doubt be costly to us.
Prayer helps us make the right decisions. People try to make good decisions. However, a good decision can be a bad decision if it robs us of what God has in store for us. Paul tells us to pray without ceasing. We need to pray without ceasing because we are always making decisions. Tough decisions are easier to make when we look to the Lord before we make those decisions. When God guides our decisions, He becomes responsible for the outcome of our circumstances. God will give us victory on His terms.
Victory does not always come in the ways we might expect it to come. Stephen prayed, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Even in death, Stephen surrendered himself to the Lord and trusted God completely. ." Even in death, the choices we make are important; the responses we give today determine the quality of life we experience in the next moment as well as the rest of our lives! Let us determine to live for Him, making decisions that will give Him the opportunity determine our immediate future as well as our eternal destiny!
Life is the result of the decisions that we make. Stephen made the decision to stand for God; it cost him his life. Stephen knew that standing for the Lord was worth dying for. The old saying, "He who stands for nothing will fall for anything" certainly rings true. Stephen lived his life with the conviction that Jesus was the Messiah and that he died and was gloriously resurrected and Jesus Christ was Lord and Master of his life! Stephen did not give his life for some hoax that the disciples had thought up to start some Christian movement. He died because of a personal conviction, "He Lives"!
As we live our lives and make decisions on a daily basis, we will encounter a number of situations and circumstances that will affect our lives as it did Stephen's. Many of those circumstances will be beyond our control. However, our response to those circumstances will still be our responsibility! One of the toughest aspects of life involves the decisions that we make. Each decision that we make determines the circumstances that we are most likely to face tomorrow and the day after that. Stephen knew what was about to happen. He calculated the cost and he determined to stand for God no matter what.
The question for the hour is this, "What happens when we fail to count the cost and we make bad decisions which affect the situations and circumstances that come tomorrow anyway?" The real test of life involves our decisions. The Source of life is God. He is our Strength. He is our Sustainer. He is the Answer to the questions of life. When we do things His way, He is able to affect the circumstances and situations that come before us. If we decide to do things our way, we run the risk of facing situations that will make our lives miserable. We run the risk of facing circumstances that will no doubt be costly to us.
Prayer helps us make the right decisions. People try to make good decisions. However, a good decision can be a bad decision if it robs us of what God has in store for us. Paul tells us to pray without ceasing. We need to pray without ceasing because we are always making decisions. Tough decisions are easier to make when we look to the Lord before we make those decisions. When God guides our decisions, He becomes responsible for the outcome of our circumstances. God will give us victory on His terms.
Victory does not always come in the ways we might expect it to come. Stephen prayed, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Even in death, Stephen surrendered himself to the Lord and trusted God completely. ." Even in death, the choices we make are important; the responses we give today determine the quality of life we experience in the next moment as well as the rest of our lives! Let us determine to live for Him, making decisions that will give Him the opportunity determine our immediate future as well as our eternal destiny!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Holy Ghost Power Acts 1:8
8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
What a promise! Jesus told His disciples that they would receive power after the Holy Spirit came upon them. Jesus has been resurrected and He has appeared to a number of people, including His disciples. He has given them instruction to return to Jerusalem and to wait for the promise of God to send the Holy Spirit to them. We have to remember that these men knew that Jesus was the Messiah. They thought that Jesus was going to be King of Israel and that He would deliver Israel from the bondage and oppression of Roman rule. The triumphant entry into Jerusalem set the stage for Jesus' rise to power. His death on the cross dashed the disciple's hopes and dreams and sent them running back to their homes.
The resurrection breathed new life into them all! Imagine the power of the Messiah now! Listen to Jesus' words and He tells them to go to Jerusalem to wait until the Holy Spirit comes upon them. What is still in their minds? Listen to their question to the Lord, "6When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
They still thought that Jesus was going to claim the throne as king! They had no idea what it was that Jesus had really come to this earth to accomplish and to achieve. Today, we still struggle with His purpose and His desire for our lives. His power is given to us to accomplish His purpose in our lives. That purpose is to be witnesses at home, in our communities, in our country and to the world. How are we to do that?
Our witness is not just holy boldness to stand on the street corner and proclaim the unspeakable riches of His glory. He gives us this power to be witnesses in our decisions and in our actions and in the way we live our lives before the rest of the world. You see, Jesus wants to be Lord and Master in our lives so that He can fight our battles and lead and guide us and mold and shape our lives. He wants the rest of the world to look at our lives and know that God is in our heart! He wants the rest of the world to see Jesus in us so that they will look to Him to be Lord and Master in their hearts as well.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
God Lives In Us John 14:23
If a man loves Me, he will keep My Words and My Father will love him and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.
Here is another conditional statement from our Lord Himself. Jesus says, "If a man loves Me, he will keep My Words." This is a self-test for you and me. There are a lot of people who claim to love the Lord. Jesus knows who loves Him better than you and I ever will. He wants you and me to know where we stand with Him and so He gives us this self-test so that we will be able to know for ourselves how much we love Him.
The test of our love for the Lord is our obedience to His Word. This is as simple a test as He could give to us. Paul tells us, "Without faith it is impossible to please God." Faith is the test of our relationship with the Lord. It is a test that we can gauge for ourselves. As you and I determine that we will keep God's Word and make it a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path and hide His Word in our heart that we might not sin against Him, Jesus promises us that His Father will see that and He will love us and come to us and make His abode with us.
The first thing that we have to remember is, God loves us anyway. My faithfulness to His Word does not have anything to do with His love for me. However, my love for Him and my determination to keep His Word in my decisions on a daily basis has everything to do with His coming to live in my heart and in my life.
Jesus promises us that as we live for Him, He and His Heavenly Father will come to live in us and be there with us and they will be there for us. As we surrender our hearts to the Lord, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our hearts and in our lives and He will lead and guide us through this life and bring us to the life that is to come in heaven.
Here is another conditional statement from our Lord Himself. Jesus says, "If a man loves Me, he will keep My Words." This is a self-test for you and me. There are a lot of people who claim to love the Lord. Jesus knows who loves Him better than you and I ever will. He wants you and me to know where we stand with Him and so He gives us this self-test so that we will be able to know for ourselves how much we love Him.
The test of our love for the Lord is our obedience to His Word. This is as simple a test as He could give to us. Paul tells us, "Without faith it is impossible to please God." Faith is the test of our relationship with the Lord. It is a test that we can gauge for ourselves. As you and I determine that we will keep God's Word and make it a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path and hide His Word in our heart that we might not sin against Him, Jesus promises us that His Father will see that and He will love us and come to us and make His abode with us.
The first thing that we have to remember is, God loves us anyway. My faithfulness to His Word does not have anything to do with His love for me. However, my love for Him and my determination to keep His Word in my decisions on a daily basis has everything to do with His coming to live in my heart and in my life.
Jesus promises us that as we live for Him, He and His Heavenly Father will come to live in us and be there with us and they will be there for us. As we surrender our hearts to the Lord, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our hearts and in our lives and He will lead and guide us through this life and bring us to the life that is to come in heaven.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
God's Promises Deuteronomy 11:25
25"No man shall be able to stand against you; the LORD your God will put the dread of you and the fear of you upon all the land where you tread, just as He has said to you.
Here is a promise that we find God giving the children of Israel. They have been delivered from the bondage of 400 years in Egypt. They are in the wilderness and on their way to the Promised Land. God tells the children of Israel, 25"No man shall be able to stand against you; the LORD your God will put the dread of you and the fear of you upon all the land where you tread, just as He has said to you.
This is a great promise! On occasions I hear this promise repeated today. I believe there is some justification for repeating this promise to believers today. However, if we are going to repeat the promise, we have to back up and repeat the condition to the promise. Look at verse 22, "For if you carefully keep all these commandments which I command you to do-to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him- 23"then the LORD will drive out all these nations from before you, and you will dispossess greater and mightier nations than yourselves."
God promises that He will assume responsibility for people who keep His commandments and love the Lord and walk in His ways and hold fast to Him in prayer. This was true for the children of Israel and it is true for you and me today. God has not changed. He wants to be our God and He wants us to be His people.
Listen to the word that God gives to the children of Israel following the promise He gave to them. 26"Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: 27"the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you today; 28"and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known.
You and I have this great promise from God as well. There are conditions that we must adhere to if we want to benefit from God's promises of victory for us. There are also words of warning that we must heed as well. God wants to bless us and He wants to meet our need and fight our battles. His word is for our benefit. There are blessings to following His Word but there are curses to refusing to follow His instruction.
We need to pray for strength to heed God's Word for His glory and our benefit.
Here is a promise that we find God giving the children of Israel. They have been delivered from the bondage of 400 years in Egypt. They are in the wilderness and on their way to the Promised Land. God tells the children of Israel, 25"No man shall be able to stand against you; the LORD your God will put the dread of you and the fear of you upon all the land where you tread, just as He has said to you.
This is a great promise! On occasions I hear this promise repeated today. I believe there is some justification for repeating this promise to believers today. However, if we are going to repeat the promise, we have to back up and repeat the condition to the promise. Look at verse 22, "For if you carefully keep all these commandments which I command you to do-to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him- 23"then the LORD will drive out all these nations from before you, and you will dispossess greater and mightier nations than yourselves."
God promises that He will assume responsibility for people who keep His commandments and love the Lord and walk in His ways and hold fast to Him in prayer. This was true for the children of Israel and it is true for you and me today. God has not changed. He wants to be our God and He wants us to be His people.
Listen to the word that God gives to the children of Israel following the promise He gave to them. 26"Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: 27"the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you today; 28"and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known.
You and I have this great promise from God as well. There are conditions that we must adhere to if we want to benefit from God's promises of victory for us. There are also words of warning that we must heed as well. God wants to bless us and He wants to meet our need and fight our battles. His word is for our benefit. There are blessings to following His Word but there are curses to refusing to follow His instruction.
We need to pray for strength to heed God's Word for His glory and our benefit.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
What If and I AM Exodus 4:13
13Then Moses said to God, "Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' what if they say to me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?" 14And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'
God has spoken to Moses in the burning bush. He has told Moses that He wanted him to go to Pharaoh and to tell him to "Let God's people go." God has identified Himself to Moses as the "God of your father-the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."
Moses begins to try to back out of God's request. Listen to what he says, "What if they say to me, 'who sent you; what is His name?' What will I tell them?" "God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you."
Today's devotional is really very simple but very profound and very powerful. When we are tempted to say "what if" God always answers it with "I Am."
God what if I fail? Hear God as He says, "I AM WHO I AM." My failure does not take anything away from who God is or what God wants to do. My failure does not stop God's plans and His purpose for my life or the lives of those around me. God is still God and He is still in control and He can still bring victory in and through my life!
Failure is not final until we refuse to take God at His Word! That is what God wanted Moses to understand and that is what He wants you and me to understand. Moses went on to offer another objection. When you are tempted to say, "What if" to God just be still and hear Him say to you, "I AM WHO I AM." Know that the Great I AM of the universe is still at work and He is still in control and He will keep His promises and deliver you according to His purpose and His marvelous grace in His due time.
God has spoken to Moses in the burning bush. He has told Moses that He wanted him to go to Pharaoh and to tell him to "Let God's people go." God has identified Himself to Moses as the "God of your father-the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."
Moses begins to try to back out of God's request. Listen to what he says, "What if they say to me, 'who sent you; what is His name?' What will I tell them?" "God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you."
Today's devotional is really very simple but very profound and very powerful. When we are tempted to say "what if" God always answers it with "I Am."
God what if I fail? Hear God as He says, "I AM WHO I AM." My failure does not take anything away from who God is or what God wants to do. My failure does not stop God's plans and His purpose for my life or the lives of those around me. God is still God and He is still in control and He can still bring victory in and through my life!
Failure is not final until we refuse to take God at His Word! That is what God wanted Moses to understand and that is what He wants you and me to understand. Moses went on to offer another objection. When you are tempted to say, "What if" to God just be still and hear Him say to you, "I AM WHO I AM." Know that the Great I AM of the universe is still at work and He is still in control and He will keep His promises and deliver you according to His purpose and His marvelous grace in His due time.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
God's Purpose Statement Jeremiah 11:4
4"which I commanded your fathers in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, 'Obey My voice, and do according to all that I command you; so shall you be My people, and I will be your God.
Let's look at the first 5 verses of Jeremiah 11, "1The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2"Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 3"and say to them, 'Thus says the LORD God of Israel: "Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant 4"which I commanded your fathers in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, 'Obey My voice, and do according to all that I command you; so shall you be My people, and I will be your God,' 5"that I may establish the oath which I have sworn to your fathers, to give them 'a land flowing with milk and honey,' as it is this day."
'Obey My voice, and do according to all that I command you; so shall you be My people, and I will be your God.' There is nothing that God wants any more than for you and me to "be His people." God wants to be our God. God wants to be God in our lives. This is what I call God's purpose statement in the Bible. God wants to be our God and He wants us to be His people and everything that He has done and everything that He continues to do is to accomplish that purpose in your life and in mine.
Faith is believing that God is everything that He says He is and that He will do everything that He says He will do. Our faith in God is supposed to help us obey His Word. This is why God says, without faith it is impossible to please Him. Our obedience is the measuring stick of our faith. As we obey God's voice and do according to all that He has commanded us to do, we become God's children and we allow God to be God in our lives.
When you and I are obedient to God's Word, God is able to assume responsibility for the lives that we live. He is able to fight our battles and provide for our needs and He is even able to give us the desires of our heart and most certainly He is able to give us the desires of His heart! God wants our lives to be filled to overflowing. He wants us to live in a land flowing with milk and honey, filled with all of His goodness and His grace.
Let go and let God have His way in your life. Be obedient to His Word in every decision that you make and let God be God in your life and be His chosen, special people. Ask God today to give you the strength to be the person that He would have you be!
Let's look at the first 5 verses of Jeremiah 11, "1The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2"Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 3"and say to them, 'Thus says the LORD God of Israel: "Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant 4"which I commanded your fathers in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, 'Obey My voice, and do according to all that I command you; so shall you be My people, and I will be your God,' 5"that I may establish the oath which I have sworn to your fathers, to give them 'a land flowing with milk and honey,' as it is this day."
'Obey My voice, and do according to all that I command you; so shall you be My people, and I will be your God.' There is nothing that God wants any more than for you and me to "be His people." God wants to be our God. God wants to be God in our lives. This is what I call God's purpose statement in the Bible. God wants to be our God and He wants us to be His people and everything that He has done and everything that He continues to do is to accomplish that purpose in your life and in mine.
Faith is believing that God is everything that He says He is and that He will do everything that He says He will do. Our faith in God is supposed to help us obey His Word. This is why God says, without faith it is impossible to please Him. Our obedience is the measuring stick of our faith. As we obey God's voice and do according to all that He has commanded us to do, we become God's children and we allow God to be God in our lives.
When you and I are obedient to God's Word, God is able to assume responsibility for the lives that we live. He is able to fight our battles and provide for our needs and He is even able to give us the desires of our heart and most certainly He is able to give us the desires of His heart! God wants our lives to be filled to overflowing. He wants us to live in a land flowing with milk and honey, filled with all of His goodness and His grace.
Let go and let God have His way in your life. Be obedient to His Word in every decision that you make and let God be God in your life and be His chosen, special people. Ask God today to give you the strength to be the person that He would have you be!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Prosperity and Prayer Psalm 122:6
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you.7 Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces."
Here we find one of many promises found in the Word of God. God has a special place in His heart for nation of Israel. Here David writes that those who pray for peace in Jerusalem will receive special blessings from God. Look at what David writes.
May those who pray for Israel's peace prosper. As Jerusalem prospers, so will those who pray for her prosper. As there is peace with in her walls, so shall there be peace in the lives of those who pray for her peace. God wants us to share in the benefits of His goodness. God wants to bless us all. He wants to give us His abundant blessings. He is able to bless us as we choose to walk where He would have us walk. He wants to bless us as we seek to be part of those things that He is partial to. As God blesses Israel, He will bless those who pray for her blessing.
One thing is clear in the Bible. When we pray for peace in Israel, we will be blessed. As a nation stands with Israel, that nation will be blessed.Pray for Israel. Lift up this special nation and pray that the peace of God will reign and rule in that region of the world.
There is a very close parallel in the Bible with Israel and the New Testament church. Just as God called Israel to be a special people, so has Jesus called the church out from the world to be a peculiar people. As we pray for the church and look to the Holy Spirit to lead the church and bless it, so will the Holy Spirit bless us. As the church is blessed, so will we be blessed. As the church grows, so will we grow. As the church prospers, so will we prosper.
Remember to pray for your pastor today. Pray for your church's services on Sunday. Remember the church as a whole and the services that will be conducted all over the world. Pray that the Holy Spirit will find liberty in the hearts and lives of individuals in all walks of life and in every country on the face of the earth. Pray that the God of creation will be glorified and His strong and mighty hand will be felt and all the world will know that the God of Israel, the God of the Bible, He is indeed God!
Here we find one of many promises found in the Word of God. God has a special place in His heart for nation of Israel. Here David writes that those who pray for peace in Jerusalem will receive special blessings from God. Look at what David writes.
May those who pray for Israel's peace prosper. As Jerusalem prospers, so will those who pray for her prosper. As there is peace with in her walls, so shall there be peace in the lives of those who pray for her peace. God wants us to share in the benefits of His goodness. God wants to bless us all. He wants to give us His abundant blessings. He is able to bless us as we choose to walk where He would have us walk. He wants to bless us as we seek to be part of those things that He is partial to. As God blesses Israel, He will bless those who pray for her blessing.
One thing is clear in the Bible. When we pray for peace in Israel, we will be blessed. As a nation stands with Israel, that nation will be blessed.Pray for Israel. Lift up this special nation and pray that the peace of God will reign and rule in that region of the world.
There is a very close parallel in the Bible with Israel and the New Testament church. Just as God called Israel to be a special people, so has Jesus called the church out from the world to be a peculiar people. As we pray for the church and look to the Holy Spirit to lead the church and bless it, so will the Holy Spirit bless us. As the church is blessed, so will we be blessed. As the church grows, so will we grow. As the church prospers, so will we prosper.
Remember to pray for your pastor today. Pray for your church's services on Sunday. Remember the church as a whole and the services that will be conducted all over the world. Pray that the Holy Spirit will find liberty in the hearts and lives of individuals in all walks of life and in every country on the face of the earth. Pray that the God of creation will be glorified and His strong and mighty hand will be felt and all the world will know that the God of Israel, the God of the Bible, He is indeed God!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Good Homes Proverbs 3:33
God blesses the habitation of the just.
On occasions I hear mothers and fathers talk with great pride about their children. Sometimes, they follow their comments with an apology because they feel as if they have bored their listener. A proud parent is a blessing from the Lord. God promises us that He will bless the habitation of the just.
When we place God first in our lives, He gives us the proper balance that we need to be the best that we can be in every aspect of our lives. Sometimes, I hear people say, "I want to give God first place in my life but right now I have so much that I need to do there is no room for anything else." This may seem like a sincere, heart felt response of honesty but the truth is if you are too busy for God then you are too busy and you need to do something about it. The best thing you can do is put God first and let Him help you put everything else in its proper perspective!
We have to understand that our first response is not going to be to look to God. The world does not want us to do so and the devil certainly does not want us to do that. Our sinful selfish nature is to do things our way instead of doing them God's way. However, God's Word assures us that God will bless us when we let Him bless us as we surrender control of our lives to Him. God's desire is that we have life and have it more abundantly. This is true for our lives and the lives of our families as well.
Parents, walk and talk with the Lord and let Him bless your homes. Children, love the Lord and bless Him with your decisions so that He can bless your home as well, both in the present and in the future. God can use you as a child to touch your parents and lead them to a closer walk with Him!
On occasions I hear mothers and fathers talk with great pride about their children. Sometimes, they follow their comments with an apology because they feel as if they have bored their listener. A proud parent is a blessing from the Lord. God promises us that He will bless the habitation of the just.
When we place God first in our lives, He gives us the proper balance that we need to be the best that we can be in every aspect of our lives. Sometimes, I hear people say, "I want to give God first place in my life but right now I have so much that I need to do there is no room for anything else." This may seem like a sincere, heart felt response of honesty but the truth is if you are too busy for God then you are too busy and you need to do something about it. The best thing you can do is put God first and let Him help you put everything else in its proper perspective!
We have to understand that our first response is not going to be to look to God. The world does not want us to do so and the devil certainly does not want us to do that. Our sinful selfish nature is to do things our way instead of doing them God's way. However, God's Word assures us that God will bless us when we let Him bless us as we surrender control of our lives to Him. God's desire is that we have life and have it more abundantly. This is true for our lives and the lives of our families as well.
Parents, walk and talk with the Lord and let Him bless your homes. Children, love the Lord and bless Him with your decisions so that He can bless your home as well, both in the present and in the future. God can use you as a child to touch your parents and lead them to a closer walk with Him!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
God's Promises Hebrews 10:22
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering (for He is faithful that promised.)
What does Paul mean when he writes, "Let us draw near with a true heart in 'full assurance of faith'"? What is "a full assurance of faith"? The answer has to do with our hearts being sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies being washed with pure water which is a direct reference to a change of heart brought about by the redeeming work of the Holy Spirit in a lost person's heart and followed by the public profession of faith in the Lord Jesus through the waters of baptism. This process should give us a true heart in full assurance of faith; in other words, you and I can "know" that we belong to God as His children through faith.
Paul goes on to say that we ought to hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering. There is no reason for us to doubt our salvation if we have given the Lord Jesus our hearts. We do need to make sure that we have indeed come to the foot of the cross and in repentance have asked for God's forgiveness and have turned from the provisions of the world and turned to the provisions brought about on Calvary on our behalf. When we come to the cross, we can know that we know that we have been saved and there is no reason not to hold fast to our profession of our faith in what Jesus has done for us.
The reason that we are to hold onto the profession of our faith is in the last part of this verse, "for He is faithful that promised." This phrase is in parenthesis, which is an example of a phrase that is not found in some of the texts used to translate the Bible. This is not a problem and if it is a commentary remark added some time later, it is nonetheless true. The one truth that rings clear from Genesis to Revelation is simply that God is everything that He says He is and He will do everything that He says He will do. God is faithful to do all that He has promised.
You and I are to trust God and His promises and to know that He is more than able to keep that which has been committed unto Him until the end. God is more interested in us going to heaven that you and I are in going ourselves. God knows what He has planned for us; we have no real idea of what heaven is going to be like. We can place our hope and our trust in God that what He has begun in us, He will finish for us because He is faithful to His promises to us no matter what.
We need to make sure that we "draw near" and then stay there!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Limits to Temptation I Corinthians 10:13
"God is faithful, who will not let you to be tempted above that which you are able."
God knows what is going on in our lives. He knows our thoughts and He knows the temptations that we will be faced with. In Genesis 20, Abraham is going through a foreign nation and he tells Sarah, his wife, to tell the people there that she is his sister and not his wife, fearing that they will kill him to have her. This is an amazing story in and of itself, seeing that she is in her late 90's!
Abimelech, who is king sends for her to take her as his wife and God appears to him in a dream warning him of the consequences of those actions. Abimelech tells God that he was told that she was his sister and that he had no intention of taking a married woman. God acknowledged the situation and Abimelech returned her to Abraham. Listen to what God told Abimelech in verse 6, "I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her."
Two things took place here. First of all, God protected His anointed, Sarah, even though she and Abraham were deceptive and did not trust God as they should have done. This is the second time that Abraham had pulled this stunt and in both cases, God had just promised Abraham that He would deliver Abraham and make him the father of many nations. Sarah was simply doing as her husband had instructed her to do. God protected her.
God also limited Abimelech's reach to sin against God. God protected this pagan king from death. Because God is in complete control of all that takes place and because God is not only creator but in Him all life finds its sustenance, He is uniquely aware of everything that goes on and He is in complete control of everything that takes place in this life. God knows everything that is taking place and in His omnipotence He is able to set limits as to the extent of our decisions by controlling our circumstances without controlling our wills.
God will not allow us to be tempted above that which we are able to withstand. His presence in our hearts and His Word in our minds are there to lead us and guide us to make the right decisions in every matter that we will ever face. However, there may be times when our intention is to set God's Word aside and do things our way in spite of His Way. God will at times limit our circumstances to keep us from sinning against Him to the point that His greater purpose for lives is thwarted.
Our God is a great, loving God Who will do whatever it takes to make our lives what He would like for them to be! What a great God we serve!
God knows what is going on in our lives. He knows our thoughts and He knows the temptations that we will be faced with. In Genesis 20, Abraham is going through a foreign nation and he tells Sarah, his wife, to tell the people there that she is his sister and not his wife, fearing that they will kill him to have her. This is an amazing story in and of itself, seeing that she is in her late 90's!
Abimelech, who is king sends for her to take her as his wife and God appears to him in a dream warning him of the consequences of those actions. Abimelech tells God that he was told that she was his sister and that he had no intention of taking a married woman. God acknowledged the situation and Abimelech returned her to Abraham. Listen to what God told Abimelech in verse 6, "I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her."
Two things took place here. First of all, God protected His anointed, Sarah, even though she and Abraham were deceptive and did not trust God as they should have done. This is the second time that Abraham had pulled this stunt and in both cases, God had just promised Abraham that He would deliver Abraham and make him the father of many nations. Sarah was simply doing as her husband had instructed her to do. God protected her.
God also limited Abimelech's reach to sin against God. God protected this pagan king from death. Because God is in complete control of all that takes place and because God is not only creator but in Him all life finds its sustenance, He is uniquely aware of everything that goes on and He is in complete control of everything that takes place in this life. God knows everything that is taking place and in His omnipotence He is able to set limits as to the extent of our decisions by controlling our circumstances without controlling our wills.
God will not allow us to be tempted above that which we are able to withstand. His presence in our hearts and His Word in our minds are there to lead us and guide us to make the right decisions in every matter that we will ever face. However, there may be times when our intention is to set God's Word aside and do things our way in spite of His Way. God will at times limit our circumstances to keep us from sinning against Him to the point that His greater purpose for lives is thwarted.
Our God is a great, loving God Who will do whatever it takes to make our lives what He would like for them to be! What a great God we serve!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Laborers for the Harvest Luke 10:2
Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly [is] great, but the labourers [are] few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
In verse 1 we read, "After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come." Jesus then says, "The harvest truly [is] great, but the labourers [are] few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest."
Here we have the sending forth of seventy disciples, two and two, into different parts of the country to preach the gospel and work miracles in those places, which Christ Himself instructed them to go. These disciples were to look at the harvest that was out there that needed to be harvested.
One of the great principles of harvesting is that the harvest needs to be gathered when it is ripe. The harvest has to be taken at the right time. If it is too early, the fruit is not ready to be taken and if it is too late, the fruit can be ruined. The disciples were admonished to look out for the harvest and they were to pray that the Lord of the harvest would send forth laborers into the harvest, because it was ready to be harvested.
As ministers and lay people alike ( the 70 disciples here were ordinary people who had been given an extraordinary task ) we need to see the fields that are white unto harvest. In Tennessee in the fall of the year, cotton fields are white unto harvest. You can see the fields from the road. You can see that the cotton is ready to be picked.
Our communities are the same way. You and I need to look out into the fields that are white unto harvest and we need to be willing to pray and ask the Lord to send harvesters into the fields before it is too late. The real thrust of this verse is simple; Lord Jesus, I pray that You will send forth laborers into the field; here am I send me.
Are you willing to pray that prayer today?
In verse 1 we read, "After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come." Jesus then says, "The harvest truly [is] great, but the labourers [are] few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest."
Here we have the sending forth of seventy disciples, two and two, into different parts of the country to preach the gospel and work miracles in those places, which Christ Himself instructed them to go. These disciples were to look at the harvest that was out there that needed to be harvested.
One of the great principles of harvesting is that the harvest needs to be gathered when it is ripe. The harvest has to be taken at the right time. If it is too early, the fruit is not ready to be taken and if it is too late, the fruit can be ruined. The disciples were admonished to look out for the harvest and they were to pray that the Lord of the harvest would send forth laborers into the harvest, because it was ready to be harvested.
As ministers and lay people alike ( the 70 disciples here were ordinary people who had been given an extraordinary task ) we need to see the fields that are white unto harvest. In Tennessee in the fall of the year, cotton fields are white unto harvest. You can see the fields from the road. You can see that the cotton is ready to be picked.
Our communities are the same way. You and I need to look out into the fields that are white unto harvest and we need to be willing to pray and ask the Lord to send harvesters into the fields before it is too late. The real thrust of this verse is simple; Lord Jesus, I pray that You will send forth laborers into the field; here am I send me.
Are you willing to pray that prayer today?
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Look on my Affliction I Samuel 1:11
She made a vow and said, "O Lord of Hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your handmaid and remember me and give me a man child, I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life and there shall no razor come on his head."
Here is the prayer of a woman who had not been able to have any children. Her husband had two wives and his other wife had given her husband several children but Hannah had not been able to have any. This was very difficult for Hannah and she did the only thing that she knew to do; she went to the Lord in prayer and she made God a promise that if God saw fit to give her a male child, she would dedicate him to the Lord and set him apart for God's service.
The priest at the temple blessed Hannah and she went home rejoicing, trusting God in spite of all that she had been through. The Bible tells us that she did go home and God did hear her cry and He gave her a child and even though this was the only child Hannah had, she remembered her promise to God and she took the young child back to the temple where she had made the promise to God and she left her child with the priest who blessed her so that he would be raised up in the Temple and God would be able to use him as He saw fit. God blessed Hannah's faithfulness to keep her promise with other children and He also took young Samuel and used him in a mighty way as well.
We do not like affliction in our lives. Hannah could not understand why she had been through all that she had been through. She did not understand why she could not have children. In her day, a woman who could not have children was cursed. It was as if she did not have any value at all. Hannah had lived a good life and she loved God and had been faithful to His Word. Why did Hannah have to face the difficulty that she faced? Unfortunately, only God knows that answer. However, when we are able to look at the "rest of the story", Hannah's difficulty actually laid the foundation for her to be able to do what God wanted her to do all along.
If Hannah had been able to have children as her husband's other wife did, she might not have been willing to dedicate this child to the Lord. Had she been able to have children, this child's birth might not have been so special and the world would not have been able to see the hand of God at work so vividly. Had young Samuel been born in more ordinary circumstances, he might not have been so accessible to the voice of God in his life. On and on we could go with the applications in this story. The facts are clear. God chose to bless Hannah in an unusual way and the circumstances that she had to endure before she was to give birth to her son were worth it all in the end.
There may well be circumstances that are going on in your life that you do not understand. You may be facing ridicule and embarrassment and personal difficulty and there may seem to be no relief in sight. The only thing that you and I can do in good times or in bad, is to hold onto the Lord and determine in our hearts to walk with God no matter what and trust Him to give us the desires of His heart. If we will do that, the day will come when we like Hannah can look back and say, "It is well with my soul and I am glad that I stood with the Lord and let Him have my life."
God knows the afflictions that you may be facing today. He knows why you are facing what you are facing and He knows the solution and He will do for you what only He can do if you will just allow Him that opportunity. Prayer indeed works miracles! Remember, to God there is no such thing as a miracle!
Here is the prayer of a woman who had not been able to have any children. Her husband had two wives and his other wife had given her husband several children but Hannah had not been able to have any. This was very difficult for Hannah and she did the only thing that she knew to do; she went to the Lord in prayer and she made God a promise that if God saw fit to give her a male child, she would dedicate him to the Lord and set him apart for God's service.
The priest at the temple blessed Hannah and she went home rejoicing, trusting God in spite of all that she had been through. The Bible tells us that she did go home and God did hear her cry and He gave her a child and even though this was the only child Hannah had, she remembered her promise to God and she took the young child back to the temple where she had made the promise to God and she left her child with the priest who blessed her so that he would be raised up in the Temple and God would be able to use him as He saw fit. God blessed Hannah's faithfulness to keep her promise with other children and He also took young Samuel and used him in a mighty way as well.
We do not like affliction in our lives. Hannah could not understand why she had been through all that she had been through. She did not understand why she could not have children. In her day, a woman who could not have children was cursed. It was as if she did not have any value at all. Hannah had lived a good life and she loved God and had been faithful to His Word. Why did Hannah have to face the difficulty that she faced? Unfortunately, only God knows that answer. However, when we are able to look at the "rest of the story", Hannah's difficulty actually laid the foundation for her to be able to do what God wanted her to do all along.
If Hannah had been able to have children as her husband's other wife did, she might not have been willing to dedicate this child to the Lord. Had she been able to have children, this child's birth might not have been so special and the world would not have been able to see the hand of God at work so vividly. Had young Samuel been born in more ordinary circumstances, he might not have been so accessible to the voice of God in his life. On and on we could go with the applications in this story. The facts are clear. God chose to bless Hannah in an unusual way and the circumstances that she had to endure before she was to give birth to her son were worth it all in the end.
There may well be circumstances that are going on in your life that you do not understand. You may be facing ridicule and embarrassment and personal difficulty and there may seem to be no relief in sight. The only thing that you and I can do in good times or in bad, is to hold onto the Lord and determine in our hearts to walk with God no matter what and trust Him to give us the desires of His heart. If we will do that, the day will come when we like Hannah can look back and say, "It is well with my soul and I am glad that I stood with the Lord and let Him have my life."
God knows the afflictions that you may be facing today. He knows why you are facing what you are facing and He knows the solution and He will do for you what only He can do if you will just allow Him that opportunity. Prayer indeed works miracles! Remember, to God there is no such thing as a miracle!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
God Cares For Me Psalm 8:4
What is man that You are mindful of Him and the son of man that You have visited or care for Him?
David begins this Psalm with an exclamation, "How excellent is You name in all the earth!" He is rejoicing because God has delivered him. In some of the Psalms just before this one, David pleas for deliverance and protection from various difficulties and trials that he has faced. Sometimes, we have to learn to take our eyes off of our problems and focus them on God. When we do, something wonderful happens. We realize that the God who made the heavens and earth is the same God that loves us and cares for us and He knows what we need and He has the ability to meet our need!
"What is man that You are mindful of him and that You care for him?" David asks. You have made him to have dominion over all the works of You hands and You have put all things under His feet. David knows that God has made him king. He has gone from being a shepherd boy to a king. He has moved from running for his life to a palace. His popularity is enormous in the land and even among neighboring lands.
Why God would You do so much for me? Why do You care so much for me? The universe is the creation of Your fingers! Just look out at the stars and the magnificence of the night time sky! God made it all. He made the tiniest flowers and the aroma they give off is amazing. God gave us dominion over all the earth. Imagine for a moment the God of creation doing all this for us! It truly is amazing to think that God has gone to all this for me but He did!
Not only has God created this earth for me to enjoy, He gave His Son to pay the penalty for my sin so that I could enjoy eternity with Him as well. Jesus died for me! He died in my place. He died for me so that I could live for Him today and with Him forever. Who am I that You, God would give You Son to die in my place? What an awesome act of love from a God who indeed loves me with an everlasting love!
David knew that God loved him because he looked around him and everything that he saw reminded him of God's goodness and His grace. You and I have the same thing all around us plus the cross to know that God indeed does love us and because He has loved us and He cares for us, we ought to be that much more determined to walk with Him every moment of every day!
Will you today pray and ask God for the strength to be all that He would have you be?
David begins this Psalm with an exclamation, "How excellent is You name in all the earth!" He is rejoicing because God has delivered him. In some of the Psalms just before this one, David pleas for deliverance and protection from various difficulties and trials that he has faced. Sometimes, we have to learn to take our eyes off of our problems and focus them on God. When we do, something wonderful happens. We realize that the God who made the heavens and earth is the same God that loves us and cares for us and He knows what we need and He has the ability to meet our need!
"What is man that You are mindful of him and that You care for him?" David asks. You have made him to have dominion over all the works of You hands and You have put all things under His feet. David knows that God has made him king. He has gone from being a shepherd boy to a king. He has moved from running for his life to a palace. His popularity is enormous in the land and even among neighboring lands.
Why God would You do so much for me? Why do You care so much for me? The universe is the creation of Your fingers! Just look out at the stars and the magnificence of the night time sky! God made it all. He made the tiniest flowers and the aroma they give off is amazing. God gave us dominion over all the earth. Imagine for a moment the God of creation doing all this for us! It truly is amazing to think that God has gone to all this for me but He did!
Not only has God created this earth for me to enjoy, He gave His Son to pay the penalty for my sin so that I could enjoy eternity with Him as well. Jesus died for me! He died in my place. He died for me so that I could live for Him today and with Him forever. Who am I that You, God would give You Son to die in my place? What an awesome act of love from a God who indeed loves me with an everlasting love!
David knew that God loved him because he looked around him and everything that he saw reminded him of God's goodness and His grace. You and I have the same thing all around us plus the cross to know that God indeed does love us and because He has loved us and He cares for us, we ought to be that much more determined to walk with Him every moment of every day!
Will you today pray and ask God for the strength to be all that He would have you be?
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