June 28, 2011 … Integrity Will Be Vindicated

Passage of the Day: Daniel 6: 21 - 24 … 21 Daniel answered, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent His angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in His sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king.” 23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. 24 At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

My Journal for Today: In the 21st Century, … in these days of blatant and open political and legal oppression of Christian values and ideals, it can be discouraging to stand with integrity as a believer in Christ in battle after battle for a country founded on Christian principles now being denigrated and degraded by men like those Daniel faced from the court of King Darius. That’s why it is most encouraging to latch on to the truth of this historical story of Daniel being delivered from the lions.

John MacArthur clearly states the principle … that “… God will always vindicate His people.” We don’t always know when or how the vindication will occur; but it WILL happen … even if that occurs in Heaven.

It had to have been a major downer for Daniel to know he was in the “right” and still was put into the lion’s den by a King with whom he had built a strong and lasting relationship of trust. But Daniel, I’m sure, remembered how God had delivered him in the past as well as his three young friends years before from the fiery furnace; and Daniel’s integrity of faith would be with him as he entered that den of lions. Would he be delivered from death? Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, I’m sure Daniel believed that God would be his deliverer; but he could not know whether he would be delivered from the mouths of those lions or into the hands of God for eternity. But Daniel knew and believed, with integrity, that His God was his deliverer.

Now it’s true that deliverance from anti-God oppression these days may not be as quick or as dramatic as it was for Daniel; but Christ’s oppression on the cross, which resulted in His death and resurrection, has sealed our future where we, who have faith in Him, will be delivered and live with Him forever in heaven. Perhaps God has set our nation adrift as it teaches about a godless culture in Romans 1. But we, who claim Christ as our Lord and Savior, have the hope which overcomes the oppression from any circumstances; and it allow us to believe in the truth that all things work together for the good of God’s chosen ones (hopefully you recognize that from your memory of Rom. 8: 28).

My Prayer Today: We are so blessed, Lord, to stand with you as did Daniel. Amen

2010 – July 11 – Toeing the Line

Study from God’s Word… 2Kings 20: 21, 21: 1 [2Chron 32: 33, 33: 1]; 2Kgs 21: 16; 2Kgs 21: 10 - 15 … Passage for Reflection: 2nd Kings 21: 12 – 13 … NIV 12 Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. 13 I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and the plumb line used against the house of Ahab. I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.

My Journal for Today: “Out of plumb;” … now there’s a concept worthy of attention. As Dr. LaGard Smith teaches today, a “plumb line” is used to keep the walls straight when a house is being built. To ignore “plumb” will bring about crooked walls; and the whole house can ultimately crumble and fall. And that’s exactly what happened when Manasseh took over as King at the age of twelve from his father Hezekiah, who had used the word of God as his “plumb” in rebuilding the House of David and God’s Kingdom in Judah. But Manasseh ignored the “plumb line” of God’s expressed word, i.e., His commands; and he allowed Judah to return to pagan practices.

And my reader friends, if we cannot see the parallels between what happened to Israel and Judah in the times of Manasseh and what may happen to America from these times, we too are ignoring the “plumb lines” God has set up for His New Covenant peoples. In Jesus Christ, and the writing of the New Testament to document The Christ, God has established the ultimate “plumb line,” which we, God’s people, His Church, are to follow. And if we cannot – or do not – draw our personal lines or collectively, our nation’s lines, by the “plumb” of God’s word, we, as individuals and as a nation, are going to experience some correction to the “plumb line” God desires us to use in building our individual lives as well as how our elected leaders construct our nation’s house.

God had to make a correction for the sloppy ways of faith which Manasseh allowed God’s people to deviate from His “plumb” of truth; and somehow, someway, and in sometime (maybe soon) God is going to allow those who mock His truth and deviate from the “plumb” of God’s word to be drawn into His corrective action – whatever form that will take. God has been exceedingly patient with this nation of His people. But this country, which once was a nation, UNDER GOD, has deviated severely from God’s “plumb” of truth in His word. And unless, our leaders, which we have elected to lead us, pull us back to the straight and narrow line, which is God’s “plumb,” the walls of this nation are going to come crumbling down. And when this happens – and it likely will – I can only pray that God will be merciful on the remnant of believers who are doing all they can in their individual lives to live according to the “plumb” of God’s truth.

If you read ahead in Scripture, as I’m sure I will be doing in days to come under Dr. Smith’s teaching, you’ll see that God did protect His remnant, even though Babylon came down as the hammer God use to bring God’s way – His “plumb” – back to the attention of God’s people. And God did restore His temple and His ways – at least for a while - allowing for men of God, like Nehemiah and Ezra, to rebuild His temple and to lead the people back to God’s ways – to the “plumb” of truth.

However, we will see what happens in today’s times, where the “plumb” of God’s word is being mocked and ignored. Something is going to have to happen to show those in control that our nation must return to the truths upon which it was founded. But in the meantime, other than do all I can, as one Christian in a nation gone way out of line, I’m going to have to stay true personally to God’s “plumb,” and keep my own life on His straight and narrow line. And then, whenever and however I can, I need to make God’s ways known to others … much as I’m trying to do by writing these journal entries. Because at least those who are the remnant of the “plumb” of truth will be protected by a loving God Who honors those who follow His ways – God’s “plumb” of life.

My Prayer for Today: Lord, I know that Your “plumb” of truth is found in Your word; and I use that as my “plumb” of life. Help me to say true to Your “plumb;” and to lead others to do what they can to stay on the straight and narrow line You have drawn for us. Amen

2010 – July 2 – Keep Asking the Important Question

Study from God’s Word… Isaiah 21: 11-12; Is 34: 5-17; Is 21: 13-17; Is 23: 1-18; 2Kgs 16: 7-20; 2Chron 28: 22-27; 2Kgs 16: 20b; 18: 1-7 [2Chron 18: 1-2; 29: 2] … Passage for Reflection: Isaiah 21: 11-12 … NIV Someone calls to me from Seir, "Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?" 12 The watchman replies, "Morning is coming, but also the night. If you would ask, then ask; and come back yet again."

My Journal for Today: Dr. Smith, in his devotional for today, provokes a dear memory for this war weary parent. He reminds me of the day when traveling with two little girls, they would ask repeatedly, especially after a long day of travels in the car, “Daddy, are we there yet?” And then it would usually follow, “How much longer is it?” My answer to the former question was always the same, “No;” but my answer to the latter changed as we got closer to our destination. However, our girls could never really appreciate that answer – at their age – because time didn’t really mean that much to them.

Today, Isaiah, the Prophet gives much the same question that we ask of God as travelers in this world. “Lord, what is left of the night?” And God’s answer for His children will always be the same, which is, “Soon.” But there’s no use for me to ask my God, “How much longer do I have,” because He cannot and will not give me information which I can comprehend, will He?

My response to God, as my Watchman, must always be to trust that He’s carrying me in the right direction and He’s totally in control of the time we have to get to HIS destination. And if I try to be my own “watchman,” I will carry myself – and others – in the wrong direction and still not know how long I have to get where I’m going.

Our journey through life, to its end, and the beginning of eternity will always be answered by God – at least for a child of His – in Proverbs 3: 5 – 6, a truth which I hope you have memorized and internalized. And I will paraphrase it here as if I, as God’s child were to ask, “Are we there yet, Father?” He would always respond … Trust Me child, with all your heart, and don’t try to answer things on your own. Just follow Me; and I will get us there safely – and on time.

That’s all I need to know.

My Prayer for Today: Thank, You, Lord; … I will let Your Spirit lead me. Amen

2010 – June 12 – Being Honest About God

Study from God’s Word… 2Kgs 11: 1 – 3 [2Chron 22: 10 – 12]; 2Kgs 10: 18 – 31; 2Kgs 11: 4-16 [2Chron 23: 1-15]; 2Kgs 11: 21, 12: 1 [2Chron 24: 1]; 2Kgs 11: 17-20 [2Chron 23: 16-21]; 2Kgs 12: 2 [2Chron 24: 2]; 2Kgs 12: 3 … Passage for Reflection: 2nd Kings 10: 30… NIV 30 The LORD said to Jehu, "Because you have done well in accomplishing what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation."

My Journal for Today: I totally agree with Dr. Smith in his devotional entry for today that there are segments of the Bible, especially in the OT, which cause me great pause. Today’s readings are some of those; and if you were to read through the passages I have today from Smith’s editing of The Daily Bible in Chronological Order, I think you’d have to be set into a quandary about how/why God would allow such carnage. Oh, I can rationalize a lot of it, saying to myself that God was trying to purge the evil and idol worship from His promised people/land; but then I come across the incident in 2nd Kings 10 where Jehu, who is later given honor by God, traps all the Baal worshippers in the Baal temple with a sting – an outright lie – and he has all of these people massacred. Then God, knowing that Jehu was not totally sold out to The LORD, tells Jehu that the throne of Israel would be protected in his family for at least four generations [see today’s verse].

So, how do we bring our concept of God into line with all of that? As Smith puts it, “…we can always fall back on God’s unassailable sovereignty or perhaps soothe our qualms by acknowledging the obvious – that God is beyond human understanding.” But Smith goes on by stating what is in my mind right at this moment, when he writes, “… being brutally honest about God continues to leave us uncomfortable.” Right now, God’s Spirit in my consciousness has bubble up the life of Habakkuk … in the Book by his name. Dr. Smith didn’t bring this out; but I believe God’s Spirit is helping me understand my own questions about the nature of my God.

Habakkuk, … this poor Prophet of God – and yes, he was a Prophet – got totally confused by what he saw the sovereign God allowing in his days, with evil running rampant. And we read in Chapter One of Habakkuk’s book of his confusion and his going to God, railing at His Lord, by asking all the “WHY” questions he had in his mind and heart. And the entire book of Habakkuk is about God giving His prophet a lesson in faith and trust; and as you probably remember, by Chapter Three of the Book of Habakkuk, the last chapter of that lesson in trustworthiness, we read, in verses 17-18, Habakkuk says, Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.

My, dear one, if you’re following along with me, I can only pray – and I will this morning – that I (we) come to the realization of God’s sovereignty, no matter what seemingly incongruent truth we read in His Holy Word and what we observe going on in our world. I say it often; but I need to keep saying it. God is God; and I am not! Once we get that settled, we can live with such truths as Romans 8: 28 (I hope you have that one down by now!); and we can do all we can to follow Christ’s command of discipleship in Luke 9: 23. [If you don’t have those two memorized or at least paraphrased in your memory, I really hope you’re looking them up as I write this.]

With that settled, even when we read seemingly inexplicable history in the Old Testament, we can move on, knowing that God is God and we are not!

My Prayer for Today: Lord, please be merciful as we learn to recognize that You are God and ALL things do - in truth - work for Good to those of us who love You! Amen

2010 – May 23 – Securities and Trust

Study from God’s Word… Many Proverbs listed in The Daily Bible in Chronological Order from Proverbs 3, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, and 29, ordered by topics by the Editor, including Wealth/Poverty, Benevolence/Generosity, Oppression of the Poor, Industriousness, Conversation, and Surety for Another … Passage for Reflection: Proverbs 18: 11… NIV The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it an unscalable wall. Prov. 18: 11 … NKJV … 11 Rich people trust their wealth to protect them. They think it is like the high walls of a city.

My Journal for Today: Dr. Smith, my devotional shepherd, asks the probing personal question at the end of his entry for today, “If I’m being completely honest, in what seemingly unscalable walls do I trust for my security?” And I immediately, from the truth of God’s word, which wells up from my memory of what God’s word says, I recall Proverbs 3: 5-6 and also Prov. 3: 9-10. I hope you know what those say to our minds, hearts, and lives. But if not, I charge you now to go and find, read, and meditate on these truths, which were included in the Proverbs I was led to read this morning from the passages Dr. Smith led me into in his edited version of The Bible in Chronological Order.

And Dr. Smith this morning also points to an interesting, almost comical, irony when we consider that stocks and bonds, the financial entities into which so many of us invest so much of our lives, are ironically called “securities.” And given what is happening in the stock market these days, do you really have a lot of “security” in these stocks and bonds? And when you read this morning’s highlighted verse in Proverb 18: 11, don’t you just love the name of the human institution where we trade our “securities.” We call it “Wall Street.” And remembering the world bending “crash of 1929,” and seeing where “Wall Street” is headed right now, are we ever going to get the picture that the walls of “Wall Street” are not secure? We may put “In God We Trust” on all our coins; but when will we learn that motto in real life; and when will we learn that we can never put any degree of life-saving trust in the coins which bear this motto?

If we put our trust on any institution or entity which we believe has impenetrable walls to protect us, we could be headed toward a monumental crash. The citizens of Jericho built great walls to protect themselves; and those walls came tumbling down before God. Many people put their trust in their walled cities of education, science, or political institutions; and don’t we really see how shaky those walls will be before the same God Who is the source of the knowledge which built those walled cities? There is only one great “Wall Street”; and it is in Him where we must invest our “securities” of Spiritual surrender. And it is only when we quit trying to trust worldly “Wall Streets” and give our lives over to the One Who is our only real “Security” can we expect to find real protection and peace in this life.

So, answer with me the pertinent and poignant question, “Where do I find my “securities;” and where is my ultimate “Wall Street?”

My Prayer for Today: Lord, I am surrendered to You as my “Wall Street” of life, here and in Heaven. Amen