God never forces a person's will into surrender, and He never begs. He patiently waits until that person willingly yields to Him. True surrender is a matter of being united together with Jesus in the likeness of His death (Romans 6:5) until nothing even appeals to us that did not appeal to Him. And after we surrender - then what? Our entire life should be characterized by an eagerness to maintain unbroken fellowship and oneness with God.
~Oswald Chambers~
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The Holy Spirit leads you, but He never drives you.
~Adrian Rogers~
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Among the plastic saints of our time, Jesus has to do all the dying and all we want is to... hear another sermon about His dying. We want to be saved but we insist that Christ do all the dying. No cross for us, no dethronement, no dying. We remain king within the little kingdom of Mansoul and wear our tinsel crown with all the pride of a Caesar; but we doom ourselves to shadows and weakness and spiritual sterility.
~A. W. Tozer~
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Sometimes God doesn't change your situation because He's trying to change your heart.
~Unknown~
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God's Words are not for me to edit and tinker with, but to believe and obey.
~A. W. Tozer~
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The Christian's faith is ultimately not only a matter of doctrine or understanding or of intellect, it is a condition of the heart.
~Martyn Lloyd Jones~
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Once a man was asked, "What did you gain by regularly praying to God?" The man replied, "nothing... but let me tell you what I lost: anger, ego, greed, depression, insecurity, and fear of death." Sometimes, the answer to our prayers is not gaining but losing; which ultimately is the gain.
~Unknown~
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Worry is pulling tomorrows clouds over today's sunshine.
~A. W. Tozer~
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You can't argue a person into heaven. You can't friend them into heaven either. You can only share the truth in love. God has to change their heart.
~Unknown~
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We must allow the Word of God to correct us the same way we allow it to encourage us.
~A. W. Tozer~
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Death is just a change of address, but what you believe will determine what neighbor you end up with.
~A. W. Tozer~
Sunday, June 19, 2016
Saturday, June 18, 2016
America the Beautiful?
America the Beautiful?
The United States in Bible Prophecy
by Dr. David R. Reagan
Where is the United States in Bible prophecy? It is a question I am asked wherever I go. It is only natural that we should wonder. Since the United States is not mentioned specifically by name in Bible prophecy, people have resorted to their imaginations to find our nation in the Scriptures.
A “tall and smooth people”?
Some have pointed to Isaiah 18 which speaks of a people “tall and smooth” who are “feared far and wide.” The passage further states that this is a “powerful nation whose land the rivers divide.” The chapter ends by stating that the people of this nation will bring “a gift of homage” to the Lord when He returns to reign from Mt. Zion.
Because these verses speak of a powerful nation whose land is divided by a great river, some have jumped to the conclusion that the nation is the United States since it is divided by the Mississippi River.
But the opening verses of this chapter indicate it is speaking of “Cush,” the ancient name of Ethiopia. At the time Isaiah wrote this passage, Ethiopia was a part of the Egyptian empire and the river referred to is undoubtedly the Nile.
A “village” of Tarshish?
Probably one of the most popular passages where people claim to have found the U.S. is in Ezekiel 38 where the prophet describes an invasion of Israel that will be launched in the end times by a nation “from the remote parts of the north.” The descriptive verses about the northern power make it clear that this nation is Russia. What is not so clear is where the U.S. fits into this invasion.
Those who find us in the passage point to Ezekiel 38:13 which says that “the merchants of Tarshish and all its villages” (or “young lions” depending on translation) will speak out against the invasion. The argument is that Tarshish is Britain and the “villages” or “young lions” are the English speaking nations like the U.S. and Australia that were founded by British immigrants.
To say the least, this is a highly imaginative interpretation. Its validity is seriously questioned by the fact that no one knows for certain the true identity of “Tarshish.” Furthermore, recent archaeological developments indicate that Tarshish was most likely Spain, not Britain.
A “great eagle”?
Another favorite passage for applied imagination is Revelation 12:13-17. These verses state that in the middle of the Tribulation God will provide a means of escape for the Jewish remnant in Israel. They will be carried into the wilderness to a hiding place on the “wings of a great eagle.”
Some people have seized on this imagery to teach that the U.S., whose national symbol is the eagle, will supply the end time air lift that will save the Jewish remnant.
But the Bible is its own best interpreter. And when you look up the phrase, “wings of an eagle,” you will find that it is the same one that God used in Exodus 19:4 to describe how He brought the Israelites out of Egypt. God is the eagle, not the United States (see Deuteronomy 32:11).
“Babylon the great?”
This brings us to the final and most widely used passage for identifying the U.S. in Bible prophecy. It is Revelation 18 where the destruction of “Babylon the great” is described.
There is no doubt that the United States shares many similarities with the corrupt commercial empire described in this chapter. But the U.S. is not a fulfillment of Revelation 18. That chapter is describing the last Gentile world empire that will dominate the earth at the time of the Lord’s Second Coming. It is the empire of the Antichrist.
A Conclusion
So, where is the United States in Bible prophecy? The answer is that we are not mentioned directly and specifically. We are covered by general prophecies that relate to all nations, but beyond that, our end time destiny must be a matter of speculation.
General prophecies that apply to the U.S. include those that say all nations will be judged (Isaiah 34:2-3) and all nations will cease to exist except the nation of Israel (Jeremiah 30:11 and 46:28).
A Speculation
I personally believe that the reason the U.S. is not mentioned in end time prophecy is because we will suddenly cease to be a world power and will therefore play no significant role in end time events.
The destruction of American power is most likely to occur in two stages. The first could be an economic catastrophe that will result from our out of control debt situation. Our god is the dollar, and the Lord is going to destroy that god when the weight of our debt collapses our economy.
The second stage could occur when Russia launches its invasion of Israel (prophesied in Ezekiel 38 and 39). I believe it is very likely that they will launch a preemptive nuclear attack against our nation, since we are the only country in the world that might possibly come to Israel’s defense. This attack may be hinted at in Ezekiel 39:6 where it says that fire will fall on “those who inhabit the coastlands in safety.”
The Russian attack will probably come from submarines deployed off our East and West coasts. Each Russian sub carries more fire power than all the bombs dropped in World War II. Such an attack would give us only seven minutes warning, not even enough time to launch a counter attack.
With the U.S. immobilized, the Russians will then attack Israel and, according to Ezekiel, their army will be wiped out supernaturally by God on the hills of Israel (Ezekiel 39:14). The greatest power vacuum in the history of mankind will be created almost overnight. The world will be gripped by panic.
Into that vacuum will step a dynamic, charismatic European political personality who will be energized by Satan. He will begin to rally the world to his support through his brilliant proposals for world peace. The world will be mesmerized by him (Revelation 13:8).
An Objection
Some argue that since the collapse of the Soviet government, Russia is now too weak to launch any attack against Israel or the Untied States. It is true that the economy of Russia is in shambles, but the military power is intact, including thousands of nuclear warheads!
In fact, Russia is far more dangerous to the world today than before the Soviet collapse. The increased danger is rooted in the instability of the government.
There is no hope for democracy in Russia because the societal values that are essential for the working of a democratic system do not exist. Nor is there any historical experience with democracy. Before the Commissars were the Czars.
The current experiment with democracy will not last long. It will be overthrown, most likely by a coup that will produce a military dictatorship. That new tyranny will then most likely resort to one of the oldest techniques of government — namely, stirring up trouble abroad to divert people’s attention away from their domestic problems. That foreign trouble will be the invasion of Israel.
The Parallel of Habakkuk
I admit that I do not like this speculative scenario. But it seems the most likely chain of events to me. When it first occurred to me, I was particularly repelled by the idea of God using Russia to judge our nation. I asked, “How can a holy God punish those who are evil with those who are more evil?”
My quest for an answer to that question led me to the book of Habakkuk. I discovered that Habakkuk asked God the same question when God revealed to him that Judah would be judged by an invasion of the Chaldeans.
God never answered Habakkuk’s question. He just called on Habakkuk to proceed in faith, believing that God knew best (Habakkuk 2:4). After a difficult spiritual struggle, Habakkuk stepped out in faith and said, “Lord, even if the Chaldeans completely destroy us, I will continue to exalt Your name” (Habakkuk 3:17-19).
The Chaldeans came. They destroyed the nation of Judah and the Temple of God. But where are the Chaldeans today? In the dust bin of history. Where are the Jews? Regathered to their land.
The point is that God has the wisdom and power to orchestrate the evil of Man to the triumph of His holy will in history. It is not for us to question His ways. Rather, it is for us to trust Him.
A Sobering Conclusion
But there is another point to consider. Are we really more righteous than the Russians? I think not.
In fact, I believe we are far more dangerous to the world spiritually than the Russians have ever been, for we are the world’s moral polluter through the export of our sleazy television programs, our filthy movies, our satanic music, and our degrading pornography.
We are a people who have turned our back on God. The day of judgment for us will be far more severe than for the Russians, for “to those to whom much is given, much is expected” (Luke 12:48).
Another Possibility
There is another possible fate for the United States. If the Rapture were to occur today, we would be devastated because our nation contains more born again Christians than any other nation in the world — more than all of Western Europe combined. Further, we have many born again Christians in high positions of commerce and government. The Rapture would reduce our nation to chaos, removing us from the international scene as the world’s dominant power.
We can hope and pray that this will be the destiny of our nation, because if it is not, we are headed toward outright destruction due to our rebellion against a gracious God who has blessed us more than any other nation that has ever existed.
Thursday, June 16, 2016
The Cross Is Not Made of Soft Feathers! (and other devotionals)
The cross is not made of soft feathers!
(Charles Spurgeon)"Take up the cross--and follow Me." Mark 10:21
You have not the liberty of making of your own cross; although unbelief is a master carpenter at cross-making. Neither are you permitted to choose your own cross; although self-will would gladly be lord and master. Your cross is prepared and appointed for you by divine love--and you are cheerfully to accept it. You are to take up the cross as your chosen portion, and not to stand caviling at it. Jesus bids you to submit your shoulder to His easy yoke. Do not . . .
kick at it in petulance, or
trample on it in vain-glory, or
fall under it in despair, or
run away from it in fear.
Take it up like a true follower of Jesus.
kick at it in petulance, or
trample on it in vain-glory, or
fall under it in despair, or
run away from it in fear.
Take it up like a true follower of Jesus.
Jesus was a cross-bearer; He leads the way in the path of sorrow. Surely you could not desire a better guide! And if He carried a cross--what nobler burden would you desire?
The Way of the Cross is the way of safety--do not fear to tread its thorny paths.
Beloved, the cross is not made of soft feathers, or lined with velvet--it is heavy and galling to disobedient shoulders! But it is not an iron cross, though your fears have painted it with iron colors! It is a wooden cross, and a man can carry it, for the Man of sorrows carried the load. Take up your cross, and by the power of the Spirit--you will soon be so in love with it, that like Moses, you would not exchange the reproach of Christ for all the treasures of Egypt!
Remember that the cross will soon be followed by the crown. The thought of the coming weight of glory--will greatly lighten the present heaviness of trouble. May the Lord help you to bow your heart in submission to His divine will--that you may go forth to this day's cross with the holy and submissive spirit which befits a follower of the Crucified One.
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Spoiled children!(J.C. Ryle, "The Duties of Parents")
Train your children to a habit of obedience. No habit, I suspect, has such an influence over our lives as this. Parents, determine to make your children obey you--though it may cost you much trouble--and cost them many tears! Let there be no questioning, and reasoning, and disputing, and delaying, and answering back. When you give them a command, let them see plainly that you will have it done.
It ought to be the mark of well-trained children, that they cheerfully do whatever their parents command them. Where, indeed, is the honor which the fifth commandment enjoins, if fathers and mothers are not obeyed cheerfully, willingly, and immediately?
Parents, do you wish to see your children happy? Take care, then, that you train them to obey when they are spoken to--to do as they are told.
To my eyes, a parent always yielding--and a child always having its own way--are a most painful sight!Painful, because I feel sure the consequence to that child's character in the end will be self-will, pride, and self-conceit!
Parents, if you love your children, let obedience be a motto and a watchword continually before their eyes!
Learn to say "No" to your children. Show them that you are able to refuse whatever you think is not fit for them. Show them that you are ready to punish disobedience, and that when you speak of punishment, you are not only ready to threaten, but also to perform. Do not merely threaten.Threatened folks, and threatened faults, live long. Punish seldom, but really and earnestly. Frequent and slight punishment is a wretched system indeed.
Beware of letting small faults pass unnoticed under the idea, "it is a little one." There are no little things in training children--all are important. Little weeds need plucking up as much as any. Leave them alone, and they will soon become giants!
Parents, if there is any point which deserves your attention, believe me, it is this one. It is one that will give you trouble, I know. But if you do not take trouble with your children when they are young--they will give you trouble when they are old! Choose which you prefer!
Do not be afraid, above all, that such a plan of training will make your child unhappy. I warn you against this delusion. Depend on it, there is no surer road to unhappiness than always having our own way! To be indulged perpetually is the way to be made selfish--and selfish people and spoiled children, believe me, are seldom happy!
Train your children to a habit of obedience. No habit, I suspect, has such an influence over our lives as this. Parents, determine to make your children obey you--though it may cost you much trouble--and cost them many tears! Let there be no questioning, and reasoning, and disputing, and delaying, and answering back. When you give them a command, let them see plainly that you will have it done.
It ought to be the mark of well-trained children, that they cheerfully do whatever their parents command them. Where, indeed, is the honor which the fifth commandment enjoins, if fathers and mothers are not obeyed cheerfully, willingly, and immediately?
Parents, do you wish to see your children happy? Take care, then, that you train them to obey when they are spoken to--to do as they are told.
To my eyes, a parent always yielding--and a child always having its own way--are a most painful sight!Painful, because I feel sure the consequence to that child's character in the end will be self-will, pride, and self-conceit!
Parents, if you love your children, let obedience be a motto and a watchword continually before their eyes!
Learn to say "No" to your children. Show them that you are able to refuse whatever you think is not fit for them. Show them that you are ready to punish disobedience, and that when you speak of punishment, you are not only ready to threaten, but also to perform. Do not merely threaten.Threatened folks, and threatened faults, live long. Punish seldom, but really and earnestly. Frequent and slight punishment is a wretched system indeed.
Beware of letting small faults pass unnoticed under the idea, "it is a little one." There are no little things in training children--all are important. Little weeds need plucking up as much as any. Leave them alone, and they will soon become giants!
Parents, if there is any point which deserves your attention, believe me, it is this one. It is one that will give you trouble, I know. But if you do not take trouble with your children when they are young--they will give you trouble when they are old! Choose which you prefer!
Do not be afraid, above all, that such a plan of training will make your child unhappy. I warn you against this delusion. Depend on it, there is no surer road to unhappiness than always having our own way! To be indulged perpetually is the way to be made selfish--and selfish people and spoiled children, believe me, are seldom happy!
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Beneath the cross of Jesus!
(George Everard, "Beneath the Cross" 1877)
Beneath the cross of Jesus, I shall best learn to know my sin aright. For in the presence of Him who was crucified for me, I learn how fearful is the character of sin. Sin is . . .
the knife that slew my best friend;
the nail that pierced His hand;
the spear that wounded His side;
the scourge that bruised Him;
the thorn that marked His brow.
With this sight before me . . .
let me hate my sin with deadly hatred;
let me never cloak or excuse sin, though in the most subtle form;
let me abhor the very shadow, the very approach of evil;
let me keep at the utmost distance from that which crucified my Lord.
The more I keep beneath the cross of Jesus, the more shall I grieve over the evil I have done, and grow in humility before God.
Beneath the cross of Jesus, I also see the completeness and the all-sufficiency of my sin's remedy!However great the evil I discover--help and salvation is close at hand. I can never despair, while I gaze on Him who was wounded for my transgressions and who bore my sins in His own body on the tree!
(George Everard, "Beneath the Cross" 1877)
Beneath the cross of Jesus, I shall best learn to know my sin aright. For in the presence of Him who was crucified for me, I learn how fearful is the character of sin. Sin is . . .
the knife that slew my best friend;
the nail that pierced His hand;
the spear that wounded His side;
the scourge that bruised Him;
the thorn that marked His brow.
With this sight before me . . .
let me hate my sin with deadly hatred;
let me never cloak or excuse sin, though in the most subtle form;
let me abhor the very shadow, the very approach of evil;
let me keep at the utmost distance from that which crucified my Lord.
The more I keep beneath the cross of Jesus, the more shall I grieve over the evil I have done, and grow in humility before God.
Beneath the cross of Jesus, I also see the completeness and the all-sufficiency of my sin's remedy!However great the evil I discover--help and salvation is close at hand. I can never despair, while I gaze on Him who was wounded for my transgressions and who bore my sins in His own body on the tree!
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Mary's portion!
(George Everard, "The Home of Bethany" 1873)
"Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:41-42
"Only one thing is needed." Not many things, but one. Not the provision for the table, the food that perishes--but the Bread of Life; for "man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."
Dear reader, one thing is needful for you . . .
the wedding garment to cover you,
the pearl of great price to enrich you,
the water of life to refresh you,
the balm of Gilead to heal you,
the Rock of Ages to shelter you,
the Everlasting arms to uphold you,
the wing of your Redeemer to cover you.
Yes, "one thing is needed;" in a word, Christ! His love, His presence, His grace, His image, His glory! With this, you are rich and happy through eternal ages!
And this was Mary's portion. This was her rich inheritance. This was the good part which she had chosen, and which would never be taken from her. Her choice was without wavering or hesitation. She could say in truth, "My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed. I have one desire, one aim, one deep longing--to know You, to love You, to cleave to You more and more."
(George Everard, "The Home of Bethany" 1873)
"Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:41-42
"Only one thing is needed." Not many things, but one. Not the provision for the table, the food that perishes--but the Bread of Life; for "man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."
Dear reader, one thing is needful for you . . .
the wedding garment to cover you,
the pearl of great price to enrich you,
the water of life to refresh you,
the balm of Gilead to heal you,
the Rock of Ages to shelter you,
the Everlasting arms to uphold you,
the wing of your Redeemer to cover you.
Yes, "one thing is needed;" in a word, Christ! His love, His presence, His grace, His image, His glory! With this, you are rich and happy through eternal ages!
And this was Mary's portion. This was her rich inheritance. This was the good part which she had chosen, and which would never be taken from her. Her choice was without wavering or hesitation. She could say in truth, "My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed. I have one desire, one aim, one deep longing--to know You, to love You, to cleave to You more and more."
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Leave It To God
"Roll on Jehovah thy way" (Ps. 37:6).
Whatever it is that presses thee, go tell the Father; put the whole matter over into His hand, and so shalt thou be freed from that dividing, perplexing care that the world is full of. When thou art either to do or suffer anything, when thou art about any purpose or business, go tell God of it, and acquaint Him with it; yes, burden Him with it, and thou hast done for matter of caring; no more care, but quiet, sweet, diligence in thy duty, and dependence on Him for the carriage of thy matters. Roll thy cares, and thyself with them, as one burden, all on thy God. --R. Leighton
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Build a little fence of trust
Around today;
Fill the space with loving work
And therein stay.
Look not through the sheltering bars
Upon tomorrow;
God will help thee bear what comes
Of joy or sorrow. --Mary Butts
***
We shall find it impossible to commit our way unto the Lord, unless it be a way that He approves. It is only by faith that a man can commit his way unto the Lord; if there be the slightest doubt in the heart that "our way" is not a good one, faith will refuse to have anything to do with it. This committing of our way must be a continuous, not a single act. However extraordinary and unexpected may seem to be His guidance, however near the precipice He may take you, you are not to snatch the guiding reins out of His hands. Are we willing to have all our ways submitted to God, for Him to pronounce judgment on them? There is nothing a Christian needs to be more scrutinizing about than about his confirmed habits and views. He is too apt to take for granted the Divine approbation of them. Why are some Christians so anxious, so fearful? Evidently because they have not left their way with the Lord. They took it to Him, but brought it away with them again.
~L. B. Cowman~
Saturday, June 11, 2016
God's Wisdom Revealed (and other devotionals)
God's Wisdom Revealed
After exposing the futility of worldly thinking in 1 Corinthians 1, Paul introduces Christians to the higher realm of godly wisdom. This kind of knowledge and understanding isn't available through human intelligence and reasoning; it comes strictly through divine revelation. Only those indwelt by God's Spirit have "the mind of Christ" (v. 16) and access to "the things freely given" to them by God (v. 12).
Without this supernatural insight, no one can accurately know the Lord or His ways. Many people say they believe in God yet may not have a correct understanding of Him because their perceptions are based on their own thoughts and ideas. It's easier to custom-design a god to fit our preferences than to make the required adjustments that worship of the one true God demands.
Even believers need to guard against trying to fit God into their preconceived image of Him. The Bible is the only reliable source of divine revelation, but we must be careful to consider the Scriptures as a whole—it's critical that we don't just pick and choose the verses we want to believe. For example, by focusing only on passages that emphasize the Lord's lovingkindness while excluding those that speak of His holiness and justice, we misunderstand His true nature.
~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~
In Touch Ministries
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BIBLE MEDITATION:
“And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into Heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.” Luke 2:15.
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
What is the great need in the world today? Is it information? We’re drowning in a sea of information. If information is what we need, God would have sent an educator. Is it technology? If technology had been the need, God would have sent a scientist. Is it money? Do you think your problems would be solved if you had more money? If money were the need, God would have sent an economist. Is the need more leisure? Maybe God should have sent an entertainer.
No. Our great need is salvation. And so God sent a Savior.
I’m amazed (and blessed) that He sent the message to humble shepherds. Old Herod, the King, never did quite get it. He never did understand. But humble shepherds understood the message. Why? Because “God has hidden these things from the wise and the prudent and has revealed them unto babes” (Luke 10:21).
ACTION POINT:
Do you want to understand who Jesus Christ is today? Then lay your intellectual pride in the dust, come to Him and say, “Lord, reveal this truth to me.” Sing it and follow it: “O come let us adore Him, Christ the LORD.”
~Adrian Rogers~
Love Worth Finding Ministries~
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God Is Our Ally
"But if thou shalt indeed obey His voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries" (Exodus 23:22).
The LORD Christ in the midst of His people is to be acknowledged and obeyed. He is the vice-regent of God and speaks in the Father's name, and it is ours implicitly and immediately to do as He commands. We shall lose the promise if we disregard the precept. To full obedience how large the blessing! The LORD enters into a league with His people, offensive and defensive. He will bless those who bless us and curse those who curse us. God will go heart and soul with His people and enter in deepest sympathy into their position. What a protection this affords us! We need not concern ourselves about our adversaries when we are assured that they have become the adversaries of God. If Jehovah has taken up our quarrel, we may leave the foemen in His hands. So far as our own interest is concerned we have no enemies; but for the cause of truth and righteousness we take up arms and go forth to conflict. In this sacred war we are allied with the eternal God, and if we carefully obey the law of our LORD Jesus, He is engaged to put forth all His power on our behalf. Wherefore we fear no man.
~Charles Spurgeon~
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Key #8 to Effective Prayer—Forgiveness
An important key to effective prayer is your relationship with others. In Mark 11:24-26 Jesus says,
"Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."
Pretty strong, isn't it? Jesus cited unforgiveness as the number one reason for unanswered prayer. If my prayers were not being answered, this would be the first place I would look—into my own heart, to see whether I had allowed bitterness toward another human being to reside there. Whether I was harboring a grudge or had strife in my heart toward anyone else.
Jesus said if you have anything against anyone, anything—big or small, new or old—or anyone—yourself, your husband, your wife, a family member, a loved one, a neighbor, a co-worker, a relative, an enemy—if you have anything against anyone, it will lead to unanswered prayer.
Sometimes people hold things against themselves. They do not forgive themselves, even after God has forgiven them and after others have forgiven them. They just want to whip themselves for their stupidity for falling into the same stupid sin again, or for whatever they have done, and they don't release themselves!
There are others too, including those closest to us, whom we must forgive. If your prayers are not being answered, then look there.
Perhaps you have searched the Scriptures, filled your heart with the Word, you are praying from the bottom of your heart, and you are expectant of answers; but before you can partake of the fruit of your prayers, you must forgive if you have anything against anyone!
~Bayless Conley~
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Isaiah 32:18
My people shall dwell in quiet resting places.
Peace and rest belong not to the unregenerate, they are the peculiar possession of the Lord's people, and of them only. The God of Peace gives perfect peace to those whose hearts are stayed upon Him. When man was unfallen, his God gave him the flowery bowers of Eden as his quiet resting places; alas! how soon sin blighted the fair abode of innocence. In the day of universal wrath when the flood swept away a guilty race, the chosen family were quietly secured in the resting-place of the ark, which floated them from the old condemned world into the new earth of the rainbow and the covenant, herein typifying Jesus, the ark of our salvation. Israel rested safely beneath the blood-besprinkled habitations of Egypt when the destroying angel smote the first-born; and in the wilderness the shadow of the pillar of cloud, and the flowing rock, gave the weary pilgrims sweet repose. At this hour we rest in the promises of our faithful God, knowing that His words are full of truth and power; we rest in the doctrines of His word, which are consolation itself; we rest in the covenant of His grace, which is a haven of delight. More highly favoured are we than David in Adullam, or Jonah beneath his gourd, for none can invade or destroy our shelter. The person of Jesus is the quiet resting-place of His people, and when we draw near to Him in the breaking of the bread, in the hearing of the word, the searching of the Scriptures, prayer, or praise, we find any form of approach to Him to be the return of peace to our spirits.
"I hear the words of love, I gaze upon the blood,
I see the mighty sacrifice, and I have peace with God.
'Tis everlasting peace, sure as Jehovah's name,
'Tis stable as His steadfast throne, for evermore the same:
The clouds may go and come, and storms may sweep my sky,
This blood-sealed friendship changes not, the cross is ever nigh."
~Charles Spurgeon~
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Today's reading: 2 Kings 8:1-6
Elisha's servant Gehazi is back in the picture. The last we saw of Gehazi was in 2 Kings 5:15-27 where Elisha struck him with leprosy because he acted upon his greed, acquiring money and possessions from Haaman untruthfully. As we reach 2 Kings 8, several years have passed (at least seven since the earlier event was prior to the seven year famine) and what we discover is that despite Gehazi's punishment, he is still faithfully serving Elisha and doing it with a good attitude about Elisha and God.
No one enjoys being disciplined, but when it happens we have a choice to make. We can either respond positively--growing and learning from the painful experience by acknowledging our wrongdoing, accepting the resulting consequences, and then changing our behavior going forward. Or we can respond negatively--making no changes but instead getting angry, refusing to take responsibility, and harboring a bad attitude and an unchanged heart.
How have you responded when you've experienced God's discipline? Why is discipline so important? What are some of its benefits?
~Tami~
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Do you know what makes you, you? Have you identified the features that distinguish you from every other human who has inhaled oxygen? You have an acreage to develop, a lot in life. Paul said in Galatians 6:4 to make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you’ve been given, and then sink yourself into that.
No one else is like you! What do you do well? What do people ask you to do again? What task comes easily? Your skill set is your road map. It leads you to your territory. Take note of your strengths. They are bread crumbs that will lead you out of the wilderness. God loves you too much to give you a job and not the skills. Identify yours! 1 Peter 4:11 says, “If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies.”
~Max Lucado~
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I will give you the treasures of darkness (Isaiah 45:3).
In the famous lace shops of Brussels, there are certain rooms devoted to the spinning of the finest and most delicate patterns. These rooms are altogether darkened, save for a light from one very small window, which falls directly upon the pattern. There is only one spinner in the room, and he sits where the narrow stream of light falls upon the threads of his weaving. "Thus," we are told by the guide, "do we secure our choicest products. Lace is always more delicately and beautifully woven when the worker himself is in the dark and only his pattern is in the light."
May it not be the same with us in our weaving? Sometimes it is very dark. We cannot understand what we are doing. We do not see the web we are weaving. We are not able to discover any beauty, any possible good in our experience. Yet if we are faithful and fail not and faint not, we shall some day know that the most exquisite work of all our life was done in those days when it was so dark.
If you are in the deep shadows because of some strange, mysterious providence, do not be afraid. Simply go on in faith and love, never doubting. God is watching, and He will bring good and beauty out of all your pain and tears.
--J. R. Miller
The shuttles of His purpose move
To carry out His own design;
Seek not too soon to disapprove
His work, nor yet assign
Dark motives, when, with silent tread,
You view some sombre fold;
For lo, within each darker thread
There twines a thread of gold.
Spin cheerfully,
Not tearfully,
He knows the way you plod;
Spin carefully,
Spin prayerfully,
But leave the thread with God.
~L. B. Cowman~
Sunday, June 5, 2016
From Anger to Love (and other devotionals)
From Anger to Love
"He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea" (Micah 7:19).
God never turns from His love, but He soon turns from His wrath. His love to His chosen is according to His nature; His anger is only according to His office. He loves because He is love; He frowns because it is necessary for our good. He will come back to the place in which His heart rests, namely, His love to His own, and then He will take pity upon our griefs and end them. What a choice promise is this--"He will subdue our iniquities"! He will conquer them. They cry to enslave us, but the LORD will give us victory over them by His own right hand. Like the Canaanites, they shall be beaten, put under the yoke, and ultimately slain. As for the guilt of our sins, how gloriously is that removed! "All their sins"--yes, the whole host of them; "thou wilt cast"--only an almighty arm could perform such a wonder; "into the depths of the sea"--where Pharaoh and his chariots went down. Not into the shallows out of which they might be washed up by the tide, but into the "depths" shall our sins be hurled. They are all gone. They sank into the bottom like a stone. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
~Charles Spurgeon~
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It pleased God... to reveal His Son in me. (Galatians 1:15,16)
It is always futile and dangerous to advise people to leave one thing until they have a revelation of the fuller, and only such a revelation will accomplish the true emancipation.... It may not be applicable to many of us, but the principle is what I want you to recognize. You may not need to be emancipated from anything like Judaism or legalism, but the principle is this, that for all increase, progress, enlargement, growth, and maturity, it is essential that there should be in the heart a continuous unveiling of Jesus Christ, and you and I will never get to the end of that unveiling. It is possible for some of us to say with truth that this year we have seen more of the meaning of the Lord Jesus than in all the previous years of our lives. Can you say that?
It is the most blessed and most wonderful thing to be able to recognize that there is a growing revelation of Jesus Christ within; you see more and more of what He means from God’s standpoint, and as that is so, there comes this increase of the Lord Jesus... the fruit of the Spirit – love. An increase of the revelation of Jesus Christ in the heart is an increase of the love of the Lord Jesus, the fruit of the Spirit. You are conscious that your heart is coming more and more under the constraint of His love and that unloveliness is becoming subordinate to His love. There is more joy in the Lord Jesus today than ever, because you are seeing more of what He is. It is practical. That is spiritual growth: “It pleased God... to reveal His Son in me....” It is so important that there should be this continual, living unveiling of Christ in the heart if we are to reach God’s full end.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
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Ephesians 5:1-2
(1) Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. (2) And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
New King James Version
New King James Version
Love is extremely rewarding yet also costly, since one who loves will sacrifice. Indeed, sacrifice is love's very essence.
We can illuminate Paul's thought in Ephesians 5:1-2 by placing it in a larger context. Note Ephesians 2:8-10:
Salvation indeed is a free gift; it cannot be earned by works. Yet, after saving us from our sins, God requires us to work! We are to perform work that He has laid out beforehand for us to accomplish. In fact, verse 10, standing by itself, asserts that to do these good works is the very reason we have received justification!
This verse, in the phrase, "we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus," also says that God, in turn, is working on us. Before being saved, we were not in Christ Jesus. God's creative processes brought us into Christ, and once there, He continues to shape and form us into His Son's image (II Corinthians 3:18).
We are being formed, shaped, and molded by our Creator and Savior to become Christ-like. What kinds of work are required of us for this to happen?
As he progresses toward his statement in Ephesians 5:1-2, Paul says in Ephesians 4:17-18:
This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk [live your life] as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart. . . .
Is it twisting these verses to say that Paul is commanding these converted and already-saved people to work to sacrifice their lives as Christ did? Doing what he commands takes the work of consciously praying, studying, investigating, and meditating on God's Word to remove a person's ignorance and blindness. It also takes the additional hard work of resisting Satan, human nature, and the world to implement what is learned into daily life.
Such labor will be very pleasing to God, but in no way does it earn us salvation! Moreover, this is clearly obeying God's command. Even though it is not one of the Ten Commandments, it nonetheless expresses God's will for His children after they have been saved from past sins.
~John W. Ritenbaugh~
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If a man carried a bag of gunpowder with him!
(George Everard, "Heart-Work")
"Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the issues of life." Proverbs 4:23
Remember that the heart regulates the life. If the heart is right, then . . .
the hands will do right--they will not steal or be idle, but do their work faithfully;
the feet will move right, not going where they should not, standing in the way of sinners, or treading forbidden paths--but walking straight in the ways of godliness;
the eyes will look right, not coveting forbidden fruit, or reading debasing literature--but spying out work that ought to be done, and looking kindly and pleasantly on those around;
the ears will hearken aright, not eagerly drinking in false reports, or the advice of those who have not yet learned to teach themselves--but ever willing to listen to a faithful reproof, or to a word of wise counsel;
the lips will speak aright, not uttering words of slander, or falsehood, or folly--but words of truth and purity and love, words of earnest prayer and of grateful praise.
But HOW shall the heart be kept right?
1. First of all, remember that He who made the heart, can alone fashion and dispose it to that which is good. Whatever is amiss, He knows how to remedy it:
He gives it a new mainspring--He puts within it the love of Christ, instead of the love of the world;
He sends His Holy Spirit to control and order its unruly passions and affections;
He can cleanse it from all its defilements;
When the chain is off the wheel, He can replace it--I mean, when something has turned our desires from their right object, He can restore them.
Then ask earnestly for grace, "Create in me a clean heart, O God! Incline my heart to Your testimonies! Let my heart be sound in Your statutes that I may honor You!"
But then, He bids us to be workers together with Him in this matter. There is that which He alone can do--but there is that which is our part by His grace to do also.
2. You must take care not to run into scenes of temptation. If a man carried a bag of gunpowder with him, he would be very careful not to go where sparks were flying about--he would feel that in a moment a spark might be his destruction.
Now your heart is very like that gunpowder--a little thing may set it all alight with evil passions! Words may be spoken that may arouse unholy thoughts or desires--therefore be careful. Never go near places where the devil is accustomed to come. Keep far away from the theater, the dancing-room, and never enter the bar of a tavern if you can avoid it.
3. You must watch against any evil thoughts lodging in your mind. You may not be able to prevent them arising, but endeavor to drive them away as soon as you can. A flock of birds may fly over your head--but you would not let them build a nest in your hair! Little flies or insects in summer are very troublesome sometimes--but you take pains to keep them from getting into your eyes, or irritating your face and hands. In the same way, watch against every bad thought.
Remember that among the thousands of thoughts that pass through your mind in a day, there is not one hidden from God! He understands your thoughts afar off, and in His sight the thought of foolishness is sin. Therefore be watchful--do not dwell on anything that may pollute the mind. Cast away murmuring thoughts, angry thoughts, impure thoughts--and pray that God would preserve you from them. "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart be always acceptable in Your sight, O Lord!"
4. But to keep away thoughts that do harm--nourish thoughts that will do you good. "Finally, brothers . . .
whatever is true,
whatever is noble,
whatever is right,
whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable,
if anything is excellent or praiseworthy
--think about such things." Philippians 4:8
There is a good old proverb, "Fill the sack with wheat--and there will be no room for chaff!" Fill your heart with kind thoughts, grateful thoughts, holy thoughts--and you will be safe. Let God's thoughts which are given to us in the Bible--leaven all your thoughts. Hide in your heart the promises andprecepts of His Word.
5. But above all, live in a spirit of prayer. Believe that God is always ready to hear you--and often go to Him for help. Draw near to God--and He will draw near to you. Nothing will keep your heart in a holy, happy frame, so much as prayer.
(George Everard, "Heart-Work")
"Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the issues of life." Proverbs 4:23
Remember that the heart regulates the life. If the heart is right, then . . .
the hands will do right--they will not steal or be idle, but do their work faithfully;
the feet will move right, not going where they should not, standing in the way of sinners, or treading forbidden paths--but walking straight in the ways of godliness;
the eyes will look right, not coveting forbidden fruit, or reading debasing literature--but spying out work that ought to be done, and looking kindly and pleasantly on those around;
the ears will hearken aright, not eagerly drinking in false reports, or the advice of those who have not yet learned to teach themselves--but ever willing to listen to a faithful reproof, or to a word of wise counsel;
the lips will speak aright, not uttering words of slander, or falsehood, or folly--but words of truth and purity and love, words of earnest prayer and of grateful praise.
But HOW shall the heart be kept right?
1. First of all, remember that He who made the heart, can alone fashion and dispose it to that which is good. Whatever is amiss, He knows how to remedy it:
He gives it a new mainspring--He puts within it the love of Christ, instead of the love of the world;
He sends His Holy Spirit to control and order its unruly passions and affections;
He can cleanse it from all its defilements;
When the chain is off the wheel, He can replace it--I mean, when something has turned our desires from their right object, He can restore them.
Then ask earnestly for grace, "Create in me a clean heart, O God! Incline my heart to Your testimonies! Let my heart be sound in Your statutes that I may honor You!"
But then, He bids us to be workers together with Him in this matter. There is that which He alone can do--but there is that which is our part by His grace to do also.
2. You must take care not to run into scenes of temptation. If a man carried a bag of gunpowder with him, he would be very careful not to go where sparks were flying about--he would feel that in a moment a spark might be his destruction.
Now your heart is very like that gunpowder--a little thing may set it all alight with evil passions! Words may be spoken that may arouse unholy thoughts or desires--therefore be careful. Never go near places where the devil is accustomed to come. Keep far away from the theater, the dancing-room, and never enter the bar of a tavern if you can avoid it.
3. You must watch against any evil thoughts lodging in your mind. You may not be able to prevent them arising, but endeavor to drive them away as soon as you can. A flock of birds may fly over your head--but you would not let them build a nest in your hair! Little flies or insects in summer are very troublesome sometimes--but you take pains to keep them from getting into your eyes, or irritating your face and hands. In the same way, watch against every bad thought.
Remember that among the thousands of thoughts that pass through your mind in a day, there is not one hidden from God! He understands your thoughts afar off, and in His sight the thought of foolishness is sin. Therefore be watchful--do not dwell on anything that may pollute the mind. Cast away murmuring thoughts, angry thoughts, impure thoughts--and pray that God would preserve you from them. "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart be always acceptable in Your sight, O Lord!"
4. But to keep away thoughts that do harm--nourish thoughts that will do you good. "Finally, brothers . . .
whatever is true,
whatever is noble,
whatever is right,
whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable,
if anything is excellent or praiseworthy
--think about such things." Philippians 4:8
There is a good old proverb, "Fill the sack with wheat--and there will be no room for chaff!" Fill your heart with kind thoughts, grateful thoughts, holy thoughts--and you will be safe. Let God's thoughts which are given to us in the Bible--leaven all your thoughts. Hide in your heart the promises andprecepts of His Word.
5. But above all, live in a spirit of prayer. Believe that God is always ready to hear you--and often go to Him for help. Draw near to God--and He will draw near to you. Nothing will keep your heart in a holy, happy frame, so much as prayer.
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Make Your Choice
"If it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
—Joshua 24:15
Are you trying to live in two worlds? If so, then I know something about you. I know you're not happy. Am I right? When you spend time around other Christians, you're uncomfortable because of your sin. On the other hand, when you're doing things you know you shouldn't as a Christian, then you have the conviction of that sin.
I have an idea: Stop doing that stuff. Make your choice. As Joshua said to the Israelites, "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. . . . But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15).
Every one of us must make that decision. I can't make it for you, and you can't make it for me.
Are you in a relationship that is dragging you down (see 2 Corinthians 6:14)? Are you doing things that are weakening your resolve? Stop doing those things.
I'm not saying it is easy. We all get tempted. We all have a sinful nature. And as Christians we all have a God who will give us the strength to do what He has called us to do.
It really comes down to this: Do you really want to change? If you do, then God will give you that resolve. When the Lord came to Moses and spoke to him through the burning bush, Moses basically said, "I can't do this. I don't know what to say. I stumble over my words."
But later in Exodus we see him facing off with the most powerful man on the face of the earth. That is because God gave him the strength.
In the same way, God will give you the strength to do what you need to do. Don't live in two worlds. Make a complete commitment to Jesus.
I have an idea: Stop doing that stuff. Make your choice. As Joshua said to the Israelites, "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. . . . But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15).
Every one of us must make that decision. I can't make it for you, and you can't make it for me.
Are you in a relationship that is dragging you down (see 2 Corinthians 6:14)? Are you doing things that are weakening your resolve? Stop doing those things.
I'm not saying it is easy. We all get tempted. We all have a sinful nature. And as Christians we all have a God who will give us the strength to do what He has called us to do.
It really comes down to this: Do you really want to change? If you do, then God will give you that resolve. When the Lord came to Moses and spoke to him through the burning bush, Moses basically said, "I can't do this. I don't know what to say. I stumble over my words."
But later in Exodus we see him facing off with the most powerful man on the face of the earth. That is because God gave him the strength.
In the same way, God will give you the strength to do what you need to do. Don't live in two worlds. Make a complete commitment to Jesus.
~Greg Laurie~
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