March 11, 2012 … Obey – Disobey … Our Choice

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Deuteronomy, Chapters 3-4 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Deuteronomy 3: 23-29: … [The Price of Disobedience] ... 23 At that time I pleaded with the LORD: 24 “Sovereign LORD, You have begun to show to Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works You do? 25 Let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan—that fine hill country and Lebanon.” >>> 26 But because of you the LORD was angry with me and would not listen to me. “That is enough,” the LORD said. “Do not speak to me anymore about this matter. 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah and look west and north and south and east. Look at the land with your own eyes, since you are not going to cross this Jordan. 28 But commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.” 29 So we stayed in the valley near Beth Peor.
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Deuteronomy 4: 39-40: … [Obey and Live] ... 39 Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. 40 Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the LORD your God gives you for all time.

My Journal for Today: Reading through Chapters 3-4 of Deuteronomy today in my chronological Bible reading, I’ve decided to back off a bit with minimal comments as to what you’ll read and understand from these two chapters. I’ll make a few brief comments below (yeah, I know – “promises, promises!”); but I am going to ask anyone who’s here to read my blog to read the two chapters to which I link you above for study. Then I’ll ask you to see if you’re not a bit overwhelmed with conviction – as was I when I meditated on these two chapters today.

I think you can tell from my titles above that obedience and/or disobedience of our God was as the heart of the reading today; and that fact carries my degree of conviction. If we are serious about living as our God demands of His people and we want the results of what God promises His followers, … OBEDIENCE is the key to living the God-promised and God-fulfilled life our Lord lays before us as we trek toward His promised land.

Below you see a picture I’ve copied into this blog which was taken from the highest peak of what is now Mount Nebo in Jordan [the highest peak in the mountain range referred to in Deut. 3: 27 above as “Mount Pisgah”]. In the photo you see a group of pilgrims, which included yours truly, looking over at exactly what Moses would have seen, … the land God would not allow him to enter because of his disobedience. As I took that picture, looking out over the promised-land from Jordan into Israel, I just couldn’t help but imagine how much more in my life I could have realized if I had lived so many years of my life in obedience, rather than in disobedience to God’s established order and His teaching from His word.

BUT … I do have the rest of my life ahead; and if I cross the Jordan of decision and trek through the wilderness of this life, keeping my eyes on the prize ahead, as Paul wrote about in Philippians 3: 13-14; and if I live as my Lord, Jesus, charged me to live in Acts 1: 8 and Luke 9: 23. following Him in faith with the witnessing power of God’s Spirit in me, as well as living in obedience to His word, … I will have the success that God promised to Joshua (see Joshua 1: 8) in living out my life successfully as an obedient follower of God’s word and law.

What about you? Are you on board with this obedience deal? Come along, my friend; let’s cross over any Jordan of decision we need to cross and let’s trek toward the promised-land, living obediently and following our Lord in the battles of life which lie ahead. His promise is to take us home; and that’s all we need to follow Him, isn’t it?

My Prayer Today: … Lord, lead me; … I will follow in obedience. Amen

January 13, 2012 … Seeking and Knowing Truth

Passage of the Day: Chapter/Verse Reference: Job, Chapters 35-37 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Job 35: … [Elihu continues his argument before Job and “friends”]
1 Then Elihu said: 2 "Do you think this is just? You say, 'I am in the right, not God.'
3 Yet you ask him, 'What profit is it to me, and what do I gain by not sinning?' >>>
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9 “People cry out under a load of oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful. >>>
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12 He [God] does not answer when people cry out because of the arrogance of the wicked. >>>
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16 So Job opens his mouth with empty talk; without knowledge he multiplies words.”

Job 36: … [Elihu continues]
1 Elihu continued: 2 [To Job] “Bear with me a little longer and I will show you that there is more to be said in God’s behalf. 3 I get my knowledge from afar; I will ascribe justice to my Maker.
4 Be assured that my words are not false; One who has perfect knowledge is with you. >>>
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26 How great is God—beyond our understanding! The number of his years is past finding out.

Job 37: … [Elihu’s conclusions]
19 “Tell us what we should say to Him [God];
we cannot draw up our case because of our darkness. >>>
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23 The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power; in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress.
24 Therefore, people revere him, for does he not have regard for all the wise in heart?[k]”


My Journal for Today: Well, if you were with me yesterday as I’m here trudging through Job in my chronological read through the Bible, … day 12 saw the introduction of a new, younger critic of Job, who has been crying out to God in his [Job’s] tribulations. And this younger “friend” demonstrates what happens when people see life unfolding and think they (in this case young ELIHU) have a corner on knowing what is going on.

I think it is quite interesting that the younger critic, Elihu, actually criticizes Job for the arrogance to cry out to God, not trusting that God is in control and knows all about Job’s condition. Yet, Elihu openly, and very arrogantly, declares that he, himself, has the inside track of knowledge on the nature of God (see Job 36: 1-4 copied above). And isn’t that the way we are many times, thinking – and even speaking – like we’ve got the answers to the problems of others.

Now it turns out that Elihu does, in fact, speak much truth to Job about the nature of God; and this young man does show a lot of faith in God’s sovereignty and the Lord’s promises to be there – ALWAYS – when we get into circumstances we cannot explain, as did Job find himself. But we must take care in counseling others that we don’t think that we completely understand or speak for God.

As I sit here, writing this journal entry – as I do on so many days – I feel that God does give me insight into life from His word; but I have to take care, as I would hope you do in seeking after God’s truth, that I don’t arrogantly think I’ve got the answers or that I can, with great confidence, interpret God’s word in my trek to understand His will for my life. That’s why, as I study God’s word, I very often use God’s word itself to try to interpret or understand His written truth (i.e., The Bible). In studying the Book of Job, for instance, I’m led by good study Bibles to many other books of the Bible and other passages of Scripture to understand what is going on in the life of Job as he seeks for understanding into his very painful human dilemma.

And above all, I have to avoid letting my VERY HUMAN feelings get in the way of my search for and my understanding of God’s truth. As I read through the Bible this year, I will be on my guard to do exactly what Elihu, Job’s young critic, is saying today. I will be going to God (in my case through His written word) to understand my LORD rather than relying on my own internal compass of understanding. But I know from God’s own word and promises (see Isaiah 55: 11, Lamentations 23: 19, or 2nd Timothy 3: 16-17) that I can trust, with the help of Spirit-led enlightenment, what God gives me in and through His word (i.e., the Bible), using it as my guide to understanding life. And thankfully, I have so much more of His truth in His word than did Job.

However, I cannot or will not be able to tap into this vast and perfectly accurate source of truth unless, as Job wrote about in Chapter 28 of the Book of Job, I did deeply into the minefield of God’s mind by going deep into His word, which is my minefield full of nuggets of pure truth. And so, I will continue to mine for God’s truth daily in this place. And if you come here to dig with me, you’re going to have to pick up your pick and shovel of motivation and dig out the gems of truth from our trek chronologically through the Bible this year; … and so, we move on!

My Prayer Today: … Lord, thank You for offering up Your gems of truth as I dig into Your minefield of infinite knowledge. Amen

April 10, 2011 … They ALL Failed the Test

Passage of the Day: Matthew 26: 56b … 56 But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled." Then ALL the disciples deserted him and fled.

My Journal for Today: Above I capitalized the word “ALL” for emphasis. That word “all” in that passage is the Greek word “pas,” which is used almost 1300 times in the New Testament; and it means just what it says. It means “each and every one” of Jesus’ disciples cut and ran. If this had been test of their Christlikeness or a measurement of the maturity of their discipleship, how would these men have done on the test?

I capitalized that word “ALL” for emphasis so that we can see that ALL of Jesus’ closest disciples fled when the pressure was on. ALL of them, fearing for their lives as Jesus was arrested, cut and ran. And these were men who had walked with their declared “Messiah” for three years. They had seen Him perform all of those miracles recorded in the Gospel accounts … turning water into wine … walking on water … calming a raging sea with a wave of his hand … feeding the multitudes with a few fishes and loaves, … healing all those people; … and even witnessing Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead. And three of their number had seen Jesus transformed on the Mount of Transfiguration. And yet, ALL – not some of them, … but ALL - of the remaining disciples fled when their “Messiah,” the One they had declared to be the Son of God, was taken away by the soldiers. I don’t know about you; but personally, the facts surrounding this event are hard for me to grasp.

Oh, it’s so easy to ask, “How could they do this?!!” But I wonder if I would not have been the same cowering disciple as these men were given that test of my discipleship. Earlier I referred to Cassie Bernall’s simple faith with a gun to her head at Columbine High School. She didn’t run or deny her Lord as did Peter and the other inner-circle Disciples. No … like Jesus, Cassie Bernall died for her faith. Wow, … I would hope and pray that I could be like Cassie, especially since, like her, I have the benefit of the biblical account of our Lord dying on the cross for my sins; and I have declared in faith, here in this safe place, that Jesus is my Lord and Savior. Actually, to be fair to the disciples who ran that day, sometime later, after they witnessed the cross and the resurrection and the ascension, they all died, save John, the death of martyrs for their faith. These men were not cowards down deep in their hearts; but they were very human; and as we know from the truth of Jeremiah 17: 9, we humans have hearts which are wicked and deceitful to the core of our being. We ALL have in us the capability of failing the test of loyalty to our Savior when the consequences are dire and our very lives are threatened.

When the real testing comes, we must ask ourselves if we can live up to Paul’s exhortations to stand in the gap when the times get tough (see Eph. 5: 15 – 16 below) ...

SCRIPTURE: Eph 5: 15 … 15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

So, … can we stand with Christ … or rather, can we walk with Him and follow Him … wherever He leads us? [see Luke 9: 23] Can we walk worthily in His steps, calling ourselves “Christian?” [see Eph. 4: 1] Well, of course, it’s not easy. And we may pass the ultimate test of discipleship, as did Cassie Bernall, even when we’re called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice for our Lord. Go ahead … ask the big test question on God’s pop-quiz of followership here in this safe place.

The question looms large; ... will we pass the test? Will we stand for our Savior and deny self? Will we stand for purity and against sin in a culture which beckons us to fall into line with Satan rather than the Savior? ... Will we?!!

But we know, in our faith, that it’s worth it to stay the course … not to “cut and run;” … but to fight the fight … to witness for our Lord no matter the circumstances. Hopefully, we’ve learned our lesson from that of group of Jesus’ disciples who got the ultimate lesson in fear versus faith. Only with God’s strength can we prevail (and I hope you all know, believe, and live the truths found in Rom 8: 31, Phil. 4: 13, 2nd Tim. 1: 7, and 2nd Cor. 12: 9). Because, if we do live - with belief - these truths, we will pass the test.

My Prayer Today: Help me, Lord, to be faithful when it counts. Amen

2010 – October 17 – The Influence of Secular Thinking

Study from God’s Word… [More readings on the history of the transition between Old and New Testament times] … Passage for Reflection: Colossians 2: 8 … NIV See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

My Journal for Today: Dr. Smith brings forth, in today’s devotional study/entry, those times between the Old/New Testaments, which gave rise to “I”-dolatry, an emphasis on intellectual and/or secular values which drew worship away from the one, true God and put it on the individual, personally, and the world, collectively.

When the ancient Jews, who had been the focus of the Old Covenant, were under the theocracy of God’s rule, even though there were times of rebellion and disobedience of God’s law, at times God sent His children prophets and leaders to draw them back to Himself; but those transition times, which brought the rule of the Greeks and Romans and their diversions of pagan idolatry, God was going to need the final, key element, of His redemptive plan, the introduction of His sacrificial Lamb into the world, to bring His family back to the reality of Whom they should worship, avoiding the deceptions of the world, which played into the basic sin nature of mankind.

But even the injection of THE SAVIOR into the world has not yet brought about the complete submission of mankind to God’s will and His ways. Two millennia after Jesus, the God-man, walked the earth, was crucified and raised again, mankind, probably as much or more now than ever, has turned to “I”-dolatry by allowing the ego of self to divert his attention away from the truth of God (in His word) or the reality of a Savior Who still lives in the presence of His Spirit and His Church to draw mankind to His kingdom and His eternal glory.

Smith’s compelling question from today’s reading is thus: ”Despite my deep faith, how much of my thinking is unwittingly both secular and idolatrous?” And when one, as I have mediated on this question this morning, really becomes vulnerable and honest to answer this question, we have to realize that Jeremiah nailed it in the book by his name when he stated the warning [in Jer. 17: 9], … “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”

My heart, and yours too, is so very susceptible to the lures Satan will use by using our desire for self-control to draw our focus away from Savior control. Even those of us who’ve given our hearts to Jesus Christ are weak of heart and we can so easily allow our selves to get side-tracked from THE Way, God’s way, onto the road to self awareness, self gratification, and self actualization.

Think about it, … you know that having a deep, abiding, and disciplined DAILY devotional life is one of the keys to staying on God’s path [see Prov. 3: 5-6] and letting God’s word guide our life [see Psalm 119: 9-11]; … BUT … how often do we let self-directed distractions or diversions get in the way of a DAILY decision to spend time in prayer and productive time with God, studying, meditating, and reveling in God’s word. And what is it that diverts our attention? Well, my guess is that we could all nail the answer to that question without much trouble.

We too often let our Jer. 17: 9 hearts, deceive us into thinking we have a license, because of our tough, worldly schedule to take a vacation from the discipline of working time in our daily schedule with our Lord in God’s word? How often do we let the distractions of the world and the “tyranny of the urgent” draw our focus off of a morning “quiet time” and onto our “to do” list for the day? How many times to we let sensual or self-fulfilling temptations draw our hearts off of Savior and onto self?

Common now, … be honest! And if we are, most of us are letting Satan, the world, and our own hearts dictate our choices rather than doing what Jesus commanded His disciples to do in a passage I would hope all who read here have memorized. … Christ Own words ring our bell of conviction in Luke 9: 23, which says in the NKJV, which I have memorized, Then He said to them all (i.e., a large group of Jesus’ followers), if anyone would come after Me, let he deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”

Are we following Him DAILY when we choose to abort our morning devotional with job-directed thoughts which take us away from our morning quiet times? Are we taking up the crosses of our life daily, by thinking more about how we can get ahead rather than how we can stay on God’s path in life? Are we denying self by seeking out pornography, chat rooms, or Facebook on the internet rather delving deeply into God’s word and being in surrender to God’s truth?

Personally, … I know the results of both of those pursuits; and my friend, I choose to pursue my Savior and do all I can to stay away from my own “I”-dolatry as I trek through this life. How about you?

My Prayer for Today: Lord, keep shining Your light brightly on my path, Your path, in Your word; and I will follow! Amen

2010 – May 3 – Having the Inside Track

Study from God’s Word… Psalm 119 … Passage for Reflection: Psalm 119: 97 – 100 … NIV 97 Oh, how I love Your Law! I meditate on it all day long. 98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. 99 I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. 100 I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts.

My Journal for Today: Dr. Smith is right; and it’s not an exaggeration that “… everyone wants to be ‘in the know.’ “ Who doesn’t want to have the inside track on life supposedly offered by more education? That’s why parents push their kids to learn and to go to schools which will give them the opportunity to learn what it takes to be productive, and – hopefully – fulfilled, in this life. And the knowledge – well, at least the facts and practical information – which one can accumulate these days is proliferating at such a pace that there appears no way we can get all of what we need to be productive citizens of the world.

BUT (and there’s another one of those big “BUTs”), … that’s not the goal of the Christian, is it? We’re not into the education game of life just to get more information, are we? No, as the author of the longest psalm in the Bible understood and the truth we Christians need to grasp is that there is only one source of information which gives us the “inside track” in life; and that is what we know of as the “Book of the Law,” which is what the author of Psalm 119 called what we know of as “The Bible.”

Some like the songwriter of Psalm 119 was David; but this long acrostic poetry was not really his style of songwriting. Nobody really knows the actual author of this great song of faith. But whoever it was, the dude really had an absolute love affair going on with God’s word (as he knew it); and he had somehow gleaned the insight that mining in God’s word would give him the power and wisdom he needed to live out life and have the kind of knowledge which would bring him a joy-filled, fruitful, and productive life.

Job learned that lesson too; and you can read about God teaching him this truth lesson in Chapter 28 of the Book of Job. And by doing both of these studies, you can’t miss – unless you deny it – that God’s word (all of it – see 2nd Tim. 3: 16 – 17) is the repository of all the knowledge and understanding which will give us what we need to live out what the Old Testament says in Prov. 3: 5 - 6 and in the New Testament in what Paul taught about God’s word in that verse I just cited above (again 2nd Tim. 3: 16-17).

Well, if this is true; and devouring God’s word gives Christians the inside track on living out our lives, why is the level of biblical illiteracy growing in epidemic proportions? Well, the answer to that lies in the nature of our spiritual enemies. And one of those, Satan, will do all he can to con us into thinking that the wisdom of the world (our second enemy) is superior and more appealing than the essence of truth in the Bible. And Satan and the world have devised a way of producing very seductive mechanisms for gleaning information in great volumes, most of which will only lead us away from THE TRUTH we really need in life – which, again, is found in the Bible. Think of all the devices these days which are out there in the world drawing our attention away from God’s truth … TV, the Internet, I-phones, I-pads, I-whatevers. And isn’t interesting that all of the latter ones begin with the letter “I,” showing us where the focus of all these mind altering devices really is – on self, which is really our worst spiritual enemy.

If we don’t make a decision to discipline ourselves to consume God’s word, taking it in with such motivation to let God transform us and move us away from Satan, the world, and our own flesh, we will become “I” junkies; and we will miss out on the one source of truth which can allow us to become productive and fruitful Christians. I know it’s not alluring to use a computer to dig into the mine of God’s mind; but it will be far more productive that using that same device to glean knowledge from the ploys of Satan in such mind altering ventures as gaming, pornography, or even worldly education.

Yes, a computer and the internet can actually become mining tools into God’s word; but the belief just has to be there to understand that the mine we need to be digging into is God’s word … not some mind-numbing place like pornography or in the news of the day from the world. I had a friend that believed that the key to his mental, emotional, and spiritual future could be found in the out-working of what Paul taught, from God’s inspiration, in Romans 12: 1 – 2; and to that I would add God’s lesson to Joshua [and all of us] in Joshua 1: 8. Hopefully you know these truths by heart; but if not go back and mediate on the direction to which they are leading; and you will learn of God leading us to use His word, … consuming it as the lover of Psalm 119 taught … so as to let God’s Spirit conform us into the image of our Lord and Savior, … Jesus, the Christ.

But each of us has to decide to pursue God’s truth through His word for His purposes; and that takes time and mind-altering discipline. Are you one who will follow me – as I’m attempting to learn/teach here – in doing this? If you do, you’re going to find what I have found; and you’ll become addicted to the pursuit of the true riches found in God’s word.

My Prayer for Today: Take me deep, Lord, into Your mind as I mine for the wisdom You have there for all willing to dig after it. Amen