Monday, November 30, 2009

Sanctify the Lord God

Today I read Ezekiel 27:8-29:8 and 1 Peter 3:7-4:5. My favorite verses are:

Ezekiel 28:25-26 Thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob. 26 And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the LORD their God.

1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.

In both these verses, God tells us to sanctify Him. The meaning of sanctify is to set apart for a holy purpose. God promised the children of Israel that when they sanctified Him, He would provide a safe dwelling place for them in their homeland. He also promised to judge those who had despised His children. In the verse from 1 Peter, He commands all of us to sanctify Him in our hearts and be ready to tell anyone who asks why we have hope. Because of Christ dwelling in us, we know that we have the answer to all problems that we face. We can share that hope with others by sharing the Christ who is sanctified in our hearts. We have given Him a special place and a special reverence knowing that He is the only one who can make us dwell safely in a world full of evil. The majority of people in this world want God to be set aside rather than set apart. We can be living examples who show the result of having the Lord God sanctified in our hearts.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Judged according to our doings

Today I read Ezekiel 24:10-27:7 and 1 Peter 2:11-3:6. My favorite verses are:

Ezekiel 24:14 I the LORD have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord GOD.

1 Peter 2:24-25 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

The prophet Ezekiel spoke these words in a negative sense. The children of Israel had sinned against God until He was ready to deliver them into captivity for punishment. He said that He would not change His mind—that they would be judged according to the things they had done. But it is comforting to know that God is just as adamant in His response to righteous living. By the death of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our sins were paid for so that we could live righteous lives. We were straying away from God following our own ways which lead unto death when our great Shepherd sacrificed His own life to bring about our healing. He bought our forgiveness and gave us the opportunity to live for Him. So when we are judged by God according to our ways and doings, we will be found righteous in His eyes because His Son redeemed us by paying the penalty for our sins with His own life. God is faithful to reward good just as He is faithful to punish evil. Make the choice to accept His Son as your Savior so that you will be found among the righteous when the Judge appears.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Stand in the Gap

Today I read Ezekiel 22:27-24:9 and 1 Peter 1:15-2:10. My favorite verses are:

Ezekiel 22:30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

1 Peter 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

God is looking for men and women who will stand in the gap for the United States of America. If he finds none, we may go the way of the people of Israel and Judah who were carried into captivity into foreign lands. Their homeland was turned over to foreigners except for a remnant of Jews left behind. God’s children in America need to take this seriously. He wants us to be offering up spiritual sacrifices to Him in the name of His Son Jesus Christ. Then He can use us as living stones to build a house or wall to fill the gap. If we, as a nation, continue to move further and further away from God, there will be consequences. And it is only those who are Christians who can stop the decay by standing up boldly in the name of Jesus so that when God is seeking a man to fill the gap, He will see us.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Effectual Fervent Prayer

Today I read Ezekiel 20:45-22:26 and James 5:14:-1 Peter 1:14. My favorite verses are:

Ezekiel 21:5 That all flesh may know that I the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more.

James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

God is a God of love, but He is also a righteous judge. When His mercy has been extended as far as He is willing to go, He will draw the sword and punish the evildoers. To avoid this judgment, we must confess to one another and pray for one another. Now we do not confess to an earthly priest to obtain forgiveness of sin—for that, we can go straight to the throne of God and make our confession and ask for His forgiveness. The verse in James is talking about covenant prayer. When you are tempted and you know you are likely to give in to temptation, share your burden with a Christian friend and let them pray for you. When we agree together in prayer, God is moved by our petitions. As we share with other Christians, we are more likely to find the will of God in a situation. Then we can pray together with confidence that what we are asking is in His will. That kind of prayer “availeth much”—it gives us an advantage in determining the outcome of the situation.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Gifts from Above

There was no daily devotion yesterday, and I apologize to those of you who read them each day. My father suffered some health problems and I was with him and my mother until 3 a.m. I had not had time to post a devotion early in the day, and it was too late when I got home.

Today I read Ezekiel 16:52-18:27 and James 3:7-4:9. My favorite verses are:

Ezekiel 18:21-22 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. 22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.

James 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

I am so thankful for a God who forgives. When we seek salvation through Jesus Christ and turn to God in obedience and service, He not only forgives our transgressions, He will never mention them again. He FORGETS our sins and we live by the righteousness of God in us. When we receive those things offered to us from God above, how blessed we are; we also become a blessing to those around us. What a wonderful thing to have or to be a friend who is peaceable, gentle, merciful, impartial, and more. God can make us wise and pure and without hypocrisy—goals that we should strive to reach as we live in service to God our Savior.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Do the Word

Today I read Ezekiel 12:8-14:9 and James 1:18-. My favorite verses are:

Ezekiel 12:28 Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord GOD.

James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

I found the combination of these verses interesting. In Ezekiel, God declares that He will do what He has said. In James, He tells us to do what He says. God fulfills His own word, and He expects us to do the same. We are to do more than hear the Word. No matter how much we know about what God says, it is useless if we do not obey Him. We are deceiving ourselves if we think knowing the scripture will save us. Salvation comes when we believe and confess that Jesus died for us. Believing alone is not enough—the devil believes everything that God says, but he is not saved. In fact, he works to deceive us into being like him—hearing the Word but not doing anything about it. The Christian life begins and continues with action being taken; it is not a passive way of life, but an active choice to do what God says.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Hearts of Stone

Today I read Ezekiel 9:3-12:7 and Hebrews 13:22-James 1:17. My favorite verses are:

Ezekiel 11:19-20 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: 20 That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Have you ever known anyone who was hard-hearted? The kind of person who has no compassion or love for anyone could be said to have a heart of stone. It may be someone who has been hurt by others and has hardened his heart to keep from being hurt again. In the world we live in, there is so much pain and suffering that we may become hardened by the familiarity of it. We see it constantly in the media and in situations around us and know that we cannot make it better. It seems that what little we can do to alleviate suffering is so miniscule that it barely makes a dent in the mountain of need we are confronted with. So we may all be guilty of having stony hearts to a certain extent. God can restore a heart of flesh—a soft and caring heart. He wants us to be like Him; He wants to be our God if we will obey and serve Him. God wants to give us good and perfect gifts; everything good comes from Him. If we are His children and obey His will in our lives, we will receive good things from Him. Then we can share them with those around us and soften stony hearts.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Get down and dig

Today I read Ezekiel 5:16-9:2 and Hebrews 13:1-21. My favorite verses are:

Ezekiel 8:7-8 And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall. 8 Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door.

Hebrews 13:20-21 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

These verses from Ezekiel may seem a little obscure, but they spoke to me. Sometimes we pray and ask God for something then feel like he is not responding. These two verses reminded me that it is not always easy to see and know God’s will—it may take a little digging! God showed Ezekiel one door, but then he had to dig through a hole in the wall to find the second door—the door that God wanted him to go through. Are we willing to get down and dig, and maybe get a little dirty in the process, to find the door that God wants us to go through? If so, we may reach the goal described in Hebrews; we may become “perfect in every good work to do his will”. But read and know that it is only through the blood of that great shepherd that we may reach perfection in God’s sight. Jesus died for us and rose from the dead to bring us eternal life. It is only after being saved by the blood of Christ that we can be do anything pleasing to God. Our works in His Name and for His glory are pleasing to God—that is perfection.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Chastening brings Peace

Today I read Ezekiel 2:7-5:15 and Hebrews 12:9-29. My favorite verses are:

Ezekiel 5:7-8 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye multiplied more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done according to the judgments of the nations that are round about you; 8 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations.

Hebrews 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

The prophet Ezekiel spoke much of judgment just as the prophet Jeremiah did. It seems that God’s people would have listened and learned—at least that Judah would have learned a lesson after the ten tribes of Israel were taken into captivity. But they continued to do all the things God warned against—they would not obey God’s laws. God said that because of their disobedience He was against them. The writer of Hebrews takes us a step further. He says that the chastening (punishment) is necessary to teach us not to disobey, but that after it is finished we can have peace if we learn our lesson. Fighting against God brings about trouble and unhappiness. Obeying God brings peace and joy. Which would you choose? It seems like a no-brainer to me!

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Glory of God

Today I read Lamentations 4:16-Ezekiel 2:6 and Hebrews 11:28-12:8. My favorite verses are:

Ezekiel 1:28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Seeing the glory of God and looking unto Jesus. They are one and the same; Jesus told his disciples that in seeing Him they had seen the Father. Bright and beautiful as the rainbow, glorious in appearance, causing the prophet to fall upon his face and worship—this is our Lord. He spoke to the prophet of old, and He speaks to us through His Son Jesus—the One who endured suffering and death so that we, through the faith He gave us, might be saved from our sin and live forever with Him. He knew there was joy to come—the joy of rejoining His Father in heaven and reigning with Him forever. We can look forward to that same joy if we have accepted the gift of salvation for which He died. The incomparable beauty and glory and joy found in the presence of the Lord can be ours to share for eternity if we exercise the faith given to us and believe that indeed Christ died for our sins and desires to be our Savior.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Hope and Wait

Today I read Lamentations 3:19-4:15 and Hebrews 11:7-27. My favorite verses are:

Lamentations 3:25-26 The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. 26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.

Hebrews 11:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Is there any one of God’s children who does not want to receive good from His hand? I think we all want good things. We are told plainly how to make that happen—wait for Him and seek Him. I talked at some length about waiting on the Lord when I read Isaiah 40. We are to wait like a waiter or waitress waiting on tables—busy all the time meeting needs. We seek to know what God wants us to do, and we do it. We hope with confidence that God is busy fulfilling that which we hope for, and we wait quietly for Him—we don’t whine and complain and try to make things happen in our own strength because we think God’s way is taking too long. In waiting on and working for the Lord, we must have a vision that reaches farther than this life; we need to have an eternal view. We look forward to the time that we will enter the city built by God and be able to spend eternity with Him in heaven. Even all the good that we receive from the Lord on this earth will pale in comparison to the perfection of our eternal heavenly rewards.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

The Hands of God

Today I read Jeremiah 52:34-Lamentations 3:18 and Hebrews 10:25-11:6. My favorite verses are:

Lamentations 2:18 Their heart cried unto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night: give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eye cease.

Hebrews 10:30-31 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

The Lord is a righteous judge, but he is also a merciful and forgiving Father. We can see in the history of His chosen people Israel that he punished them for their sin, but when their hearts cried to the Lord, he restored them to Himself. So we see for His redeemed people, the Christians of today, that when we sin against Him, he will judge us and take vengeance for our disobedience. When we disrespect His Son who died for our sins, when we claim Him as Savior but fail to follow Him as Lord, God is not pleased. He will punish us, and it will not be something to take lightly: “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Cry out to the Lord for forgiveness before you bring down his vengeance on yourself for your disobedience.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Love and Good Works

Today I read Jeremiah 51:35-52:33 and Hebrews 10:4-24. My favorite verses are:

Jeremiah 51:54-55  A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans: 55 Because the LORD hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered.

Hebrews 10:24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works.

The Chaldeans whose capitol city was Babylon took the Israelites captive when Israel had been disobedient to God. God used them to punish Israel; and when the punishment was complete, God sent another nation to destroy Babylon and the Chaldean nation. When peoples and nations believe that they are strong and powerful and in control, they should take note of the fact that it is ultimately God who is in control. He decides which nations have power and which nations suffer defeat; no matter how noisy the voices speaking for those nations may be, God can silence them. America is a great nation; most Americans are proud of their homeland and patriotic supporters of most of its policies. Even when we disagree with our leaders, we will band together against enemies who come against our nation. But if we fail to acknowledge the sovereignty of God as Americans, He will judge us for our failure. God may use pagan nations to mete out punishment to His own disobedient people, but it is the nation which worships and serves God that will be most powerful.

The verse from Hebrews is short and to the point; God wants to see love and good works. I think this is true for individuals, groups, and even nations. Imagine how the world would be if nations provoked one another to love and good works instead of hate and war! Imagine how your neighborhood would be if people there did the same thing. Imagine how your family would be if members only provoked love among themselves. Here’s a thought—if you and I begin the process, maybe others will follow. Provoke one another to love and good works.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Once and Forever

Today I read Jeremiah 50:18-51:34 and Hebrews 9:11-10:3. My favorite verses are:

Jeremiah 51:15 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding.

Hebrews 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

What a great and mighty God we serve—the creator of heaven and earth! And the author of our salvation! He is the God of once and forever. When He created the heavens and the earth, He saw that it was good; and he rested from His work on the seventh day. He did not have to go back and make changes and fix mistakes—touch up and redo—He created each thing perfectly in one act. Then when Christ became the sacrifice for the sins of mankind, He died ONCE—the perfect sacrifice—and He will never die again. When God saves us, it is not something He needs to do over and over again. We are saved once for all eternity. Now we are not perfect, and we continue to fall short of God’s perfect plan. But he forgives us. Consider this paradox: The God of once and forever forgives His children over and over and over when they sin against Him. Here is the reason why He can do this—when He forgives, He forgets. So each time He forgives us, it is once and forever! What a Great God!

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Trust God to Care

Today I read Jeremiah 48:41-50:17 and Hebrews 8:3-9:10. My favorite verses are:

Jeremiah 49:11 Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me.

Hebrews 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

We can trust in God; He is gracious and merciful. He preserves the orphans; He becomes a Father to them. He becomes the Provider for widows; we can trust Him to care for us. He forgives all unrighteousness in our lives when we confess our sins to him—whether initially for salvation or subsequently for straying away from His will. He never fails us. When we call on Him, He is always there ready to meet our every need.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Saved to the Uttermost

Today I read Jeremiah 46:13-48:40 and Hebrews 7:10-8:2. My favorite verses are:

Jeremiah 46:28 Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.

Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

These verses speak to us of God’s forgiving Spirit. God loved His chosen people referred to here as “Jacob my servant”. They sinned against Him over and over; they worshipped other gods and refused to obey His commands. And He punished them “in measure”. In His great mercy he did not destroy them; He allowed them to return to the Promised Land. We too sin against God, and His mercy is extended to us just as it was to the descendants of Jacob. Those of us who seek salvation through Christ Jesus are saved “to the uttermost”. This complete salvation is evident as our Savior lives forever making intercession for us to His Father. He does not forsake us when we fail; rather, He speaks to the Father on our behalf, and we are forgiven.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Remember or Forget

Today I read Jeremiah 42:20-46:12 and Hebrews 6:9-7:9. My favorite verses are:

Jeremiah 46:10 For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.

Hebrews 6: 10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have showed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

God has a great memory. He remembers the wickedness of His enemies and punishes them; He remembers the goodness of those who minister in His name and rewards them. Which side are you on? If you are an enemy of God, He offers you a chance to repent and be saved. He gave His only Son to die for your sins so that you do not have to suffer the punishment you deserve. If you turn from your evil ways to follow the will of God, then you will receive a reward for doing good. When you repent of your sins and accept Jesus as your Savior, God chooses to forget the wickedness you have done in the past. Thankfully, He has an eternal “forgetter” when He chooses to forgive us and save us.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Again I say Obey

Today I read Jeremiah 39:9-42:19 and Hebrews 5:2-6:8. My favorite verses are:

Jeremiah 42:6 Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.

Hebrews 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.

If we would live by these words, what a world it would be—“we will obey the voice of the LORD our God”. Notice what precedes this declaration—whether it is good or evil. How could the word spoken by God be evil? Well, considering the theme of the entire book of Jeremiah, we must realize that God is a God of judgment. When His people disobey, there are consequences. If we are the recipient of those consequences—judgment for our sins—we certainly don’t feel good about it. It is what could be called a “necessary evil” sent from God to make us aware of our responsibility to obey Him. When we are willing to receive both good and evil from our God, we know that it will be well with us. He will do what is best for His children; if we want that, it is our responsibility to obey Him.

The verse in Hebrews is speaking of Jesus Christ. He became a man and lived in the flesh to fulfill the plan of God that He might become the sacrifice for our sins. When He had completed His mission on earth, He returned to the Father. We are again told to obey Him in order to receive the gift of “eternal salvation” which His death bought for us. He does not save us only in part or only for a short time; He saves us for eternity. No one and nothing has the power to take away our salvation. We are not perfect; we will sin after we are saved. But He IS perfect and he chooses to forgive us for those sins just as He forgave us when we called upon Him for salvation. There may still be consequences, but we can never lose the eternal salvation which He paid for with His blood.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Listen and Obey

Today I read Jeremiah 36:27-39:8 and Hebrews 3:16-5:1. My favorite verses are:

Jeremiah 38:17-18 Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon’s princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house: 18 But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.
Jeremiah 39:6-8 Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes: also the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah. 7 Moreover he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, and bound him with chains, to carry him to Babylon. 8 And the Chaldeans burned the king’s house, and the houses of the people, with fire, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem.

This is a long passage of scripture, but I have very little to say about it—it is pretty self-explanatory. Jeremiah told King Zedekiah what God said: Surrender to the king of Babylon and live, or fight the king of Babylon and suffer great loss. Zedekiah chose to ignore the word from God. Verses 6-8 describe the results: His sons and nobles were killed before his eyes then his eyes were put out and the city was destroyed. God did what He said He would do. For Zedekiah it turned out very badly, but he CHOSE that path! The moral of the story is: Listen to God and do what He tells you because bad choices do not have happy endings.

Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

This has long been one of my favorite verses. Those of us who are God’s children do not have to come cowering before God pleading for Him to hear us. We can approach him with boldness knowing that he wants what is best for us. He extends mercy to us—He forgives us for things that deserve punishment. He also gives us grace when we need it—He blesses us when we have done nothing to earn it. God is Good!

Monday, November 9, 2009

Words of the Lord

Today I read Jeremiah 34:5-36:26 and Hebrews 2:13-3:15. My favorite verses are:

Jeremiah 36:8 And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the words of the LORD in the LORD’S house.

Hebrews 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

God spoke to Jeremiah, and Jeremiah listened. Jeremiah spoke to Baruch the words from God, and Baruch wrote them down. Baruch took the written words to the house of the Lord and read them there. These men were obeying God; I believe today God still wants us to read His word in His house. If you hear any preacher proclaiming words from any other source in God’s house, consider whether it is right to continue listening to that preacher. I am not saying that preachers should never use quotations and comments from various sources, but the main source of every message must be the Word of God. Social gospel is no gospel. God’s Word is the only eternal truth! And God loved us so much that He was willing to become a man and endure the suffering and temptation that man is susceptible to so that He would be able to empathize with us in our suffering and temptation. He alone has the ability to understand and to HELP us overcome the problems that Satan tries to overwhelm us with. Because He is more powerful than Satan, and He never leaves us to fight the battles alone. Thank God for his Word and His Presence in our lives!

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Is anything to hard for God?

Today I read Jeremiah 32:12-34:4 and Hebrews 1:6-2:12. My favorite verses are:

Jeremiah 32:27 Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

Hebrews 2:4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will.

Do we believe God? Do we trust God? Do we ask God for impossible miracles? And if we ask, do we expect them to happen? I am as guilty as anyone of praying to God about something then offering Him my insight as to how it should be handled. And I usually realize mid-prayer just how ridiculous I must sound to God. When we ask for something then begin to think of reasons why we would understand if God doesn’t answer, God must be really frustrated with our unbelief. We struggle along in this world trying to work out our problems the best way we can instead of giving them to God—not SHARING, but GIVING! Let Him have them. I have heard parents tell their children, “Look at me! Listen to what I am telling you!” I can imagine God taking my face in His hands and saying, “Look at me! I am the Lord! Is anything too hard for me?!” Why can we not accept Him at His word? He has so much to give us, but He is waiting for us to ask in faith. Signs, wonders, miracles, gifts of the Holy Ghost—God can give us all this and more. He longs to bless us above all that we can ask or think, but we are usually too self-involved to even give Him a chance. God, forgive us again; and teach us to trust and obey and allow YOU to BE GOD.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Know the Lord

Today I read Jeremiah 30:13-32:11 and Philemon 1:10-Hebrews 1:5. My favorite verses are:

Jeremiah 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Hebrews 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.

What a glorious picture! Everyone great and small will know the Lord; all our sins will have been forgiven and forgotten! The Son of God—the express image of His person—has purged our sins by Himself. He has sat down at the Father’s right hand; the work is done. There is no longer any need for us to tell others about the Lord because He is known by all. Understand, though, that time has not yet come to pass. There are many in this world lost in their sins and facing an eternity in hell without God or His Son. It is urgent that we tell them NOW before it is too late that Christ died for them to save them from their sins. They cannot see the brightness of His glory if Christians fail to reflect it in our lives.

Friday, November 6, 2009

What is God thinking?

Today I read Jeremiah 27:21-30:12 and Titus 3:4-Philemon 1:9. My favorite verses are:

Jeremiah 29:11-13 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Titus 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

The expected end spoken of by Jeremiah is the hope of eternal life Paul spoke of to Titus. I love being told that God is thinking about me. He has plans for me, but He doesn’t let me in on them until I ask. God can do what He pleases, but He chooses to give us responsibilities so that we can grow up in Him. He wants us to call upon Him, pray unto Him, and search for Him with our whole heart! Then, and only then, are we justified by HIS grace and given eternal life. He will hear us; He will allow us to find Him—if we are seeking and searching. When there is a relationship, there are two parties actively involved; there must be interaction. One person cannot have a relationship alone. God wants to have a relationship with us, so we must be actively involved with Him. God is busy, and we stay close to Him by working with Him and for Him. And the rewards for doing so are more than we could have imagined because they come from His thoughts for us.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Whirlwind or Glorious Appearing?

Today I read Jeremiah 25:20-27:20 and Titus 1:14-3:3. My favorite verses are:

Jeremiah 25:32 and 26:13 32 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. 13Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you.

Titus 2:13-14 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Virtually everyone admits that this world cannot go on forever getting worse and worse. The judgment of God will come! We tend to become complacent, however, and say that it will not come in our time. The people of Judah had that attitude. Prophets had said for generations that they would be judged by God for their wickedness, but they always thought it would come later. By Jeremiah’s day, the time of judgment was at their door; Jeremiah was speaking to the people who would soon be taken captive to Babylon. I believe God is speaking today to the generation who will see the return of His Son and the judgment of the wicked. God spoke of a great whirlwind; if Judah’s downfall was a great whirlwind, I can’t even imagine how to describe the downfall of the whole earth. God will judge, but he tells us there is hope for those who will believe and obey. Jeremiah said, “amend your ways”; Paul told Titus that Jesus Christ will “purify unto himself a peculiar people”. We need to make changes, but we cannot make ourselves pure. We must turn to Christ for that. He died to pay the price for our redemption, and only as we confess our sins and seek His salvation can we be purified. Then we will be able to see past the judgment of God to the “blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God”. The whirlwind of destruction to the wicked is a glorious appearing of God to His children. And God allows us to choose which manifestation we will experience!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Return to Him

Today I read Jeremiah 23:7-25:19 and 2 Timothy 4:15-Titus 1:13. My favorite verses are:

Jeremiah 24:7 And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

2 Timothy 4:18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

God wants us to be one with Him. He wants our whole heart to be His. He wants us to be with Him in His heavenly kingdom. He has the power to keep us from evil and preserve us for Himself. He is the Lord, and he will be our God when we come to Him and give Him glory. God alone is worthy of eternal glory, but He wants to share it with us. He has given His Son Jesus to be the Savior of our souls. Salvation through Him is the only thing that can make us worthy to enter the heavenly kingdom. If you find that you are further away from God than you want to be, return to Him with your whole heart. Then you will be His own child and He will be your God who will deliver you from all evil.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Fire in the bones

Today I read Jeremiah 20:6-23:6 and 2 Timothy 3:11-4:14. My favorite verses are:

Jeremiah 20:9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.

2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

When someone answers God’s call to preach or teach, God places within him a burning fire that compels him to preach or teach. If someone who is truly called decides it is too hard and wants to give up, he will find that giving up is also very hard. The Spirit of God will convict that one of the obligation to share the word of God. Just as Paul reminded Timothy to be longsuffering in his ministry, it is important for those called of God today to continue in the ministry even when it is difficult. It is much easier to let God lead than to have him push!

Monday, November 2, 2009

Deceitful heart

Today I read Jeremiah 17:8-20:5 and 2 Timothy 2:16-3:10. My favorite verses are:

Jeremiah 17:9-10 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

2 Timothy 2:26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

It is sometimes difficult to recognize the voice of God when Satan is working so hard to draw our attention to himself. If we rely on our own strength and our own knowledge, we may be taken captive by the devil; he is very good at deceiving mankind. God searches our hearts which tend to wickedness to decide whether we are seeking Him and His will. If we are not actively seeking God, He may allow us to bear the fruit of our disobedience. Being a Christian is not the easy way of life; it is the best and most rewarding way of life, but it requires us to be constantly on the alert for Satan’s traps. Safety comes when we draw near to God and let him live in our hearts. He can drive the wickedness out and take up residence in its place.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Rightly divide the Word

Today I read Jeremiah 14:9-17:7 and 2 Timothy 1:13-2:15. My favorite verses are:

Jeremiah 17:7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

If we truly trust the Lord and hope in Him, we can be happy; we will receive blessings from Him. But to trust Him means that we take our needs and cares to Him and leave them with Him. We do not worry about them or try to help God take care of them—we simply lay them down and believe that they are resolved. That is not an easy thing to do! We tend to want to serve God in an advisory capacity, especially when He is dealing with things that directly affect our lives. But if we trust Him, we allow Him to work things out in His time and according to His will. We wait expectantly to see what He will do then rejoice in the results. And when we say that the Lord is our hope, that does NOT mean that we sure hope He can get us out of the mess we have gotten into. It is more the idea that everything I hope for is entrusted to God knowing that He will do what is best for me in every situation. It is not a pins-and-needles, “Oh, I hope everything will work out.” It is a confident expectation that all is well and will continue to be well.

Now we know that God does all things well, but how good is my approval rating—or yours? How do we obtain God’s approval? Study, work, and “rightly divide” God’s word. To “rightly divide” means that all things in God’s word must be understood in context. Do not pick pieces of Scripture and twist them to mean what you want. Study God’s word as a whole and be sure your understanding of the message is not based on one verse or passage taken out of context to make it fit a situation the way you want it to. If we divide the word of truth and only keep the part we like, we have not “rightly divided”. Be very careful in your handling of the word; it is powerful and sharp, and you can hurt yourself or someone else if you handle it carelessly.

Followers