2009 – Day 340.Dec 7 – Grace Leads You Home

Passage for Study: Acts 24: 1 – 9 … Acts 24 linked for study …

My Journal for Today: Today’s highlight passage tells another story of the persecution Paul experienced, put upon him by the Jewish leaders who felt that his witness to the Gospel afforded a threat to the traditional teachings of the Old Covenant. Paul would not relent from declaring the New Covenant; and the Jewish Sanhedrin, of which Paul had been a member when he was Saul of Tarsus, now saw Paul as being blasphemous. So, in today’s passage we read of the beginnings of his trial before the Roman Governor, Felix, where the case against Paul was presented, by the Jewish prosecutor, Tertullus.

But God’s hand of protection was on Paul at the time; and if you read on beyond verse 9 today, you’ll read that Paul was allowed to stay quite some time in Caesarea, being restrained, but protected, by the Roman order; and knowing Paul’s character as we do from Acts, he likely pressed on to declare Christ and defend himself to anyone who’d listen by relating his testimony and the Gospel message, just as he did to defend himself to Felix.

The point of today’s devotional by Swindoll is to encourage his readers, like me, to keep-on-keeping on in living and sharing the life-changing message of Christ no matter what one might encounter in life. And Pastor Chuck tells a poignant, personal story of how his mother compiled a hand-written book, a journal, of God’s promises from the Bible, claiming many of them for her children, husband, and family in her book of promises. This became part of Chuck Swindoll’s legacy; and he encourages readers like me or you to know and live in the truth of God’s promises as well. But that implies, or in reality, convicts us, to know what God’s promises are and have them readily sharpened into our hearts when we might need them as did Paul when he was falsely accused of blasphemy.

Like Swindoll wrote to his readers, I don’t know whether you have ever had someone who falsely accused you or put pressure on you because of your faith. I certainly have; and it’s no fun, to say the least. When good people, good Christians, learned of my jaded past of habitual sexual sin – before I became a Christian – some would not associate with me in our church, not wanting to be seen as being close to someone who represented a ministry for Christians who were imprisoned by such sin strongholds in their lives. It hurt me at first to be rejected like that; but God led me through that valley of rejection to the place that now my involvement in leading BattlePlan Ministries (again see www.battleplanministries.org) is even admired by most in our church.

But during those years (and it was fully five or more years), I had to rely upon God’s truths to overcome the feelings of rejection by my fellow Christians in our church. My mentor had led me to internalize (and memorize) such passages as Prov. 3: 5 – 6, Isaiah 41: 10, Phil. 4: 13 (the verse which led me to Christ), 1st Cor. 10: 13, 2nd Tim. 1: 7, and 2nd Cor. 12: 9. And I not only memorized these verses, I would claim them and pray them into my daily devotionals on many days when I felt discouraged. And My Savior, by His illuminating Spirit, led me through those feelings into a place where I now wear such armament against such feelings that I don’t allow myself to be taken down by those who might reject me in ministry.

I pray that you’ll get God’s word so deeply in your heart that it becomes defensive armament against your own deceitful heart; and I pray that it also becomes part of your sharpened and ever-ready sword of the Spirit to bring down Satan when he comes against you, trying to make you feel unworthy of God’s love and grace. Dear one, never forget the message of Romans 8; and right now I charge you to go back and read and meditate on that great passage by clicking on this link.

My Prayer for Today: Lord, there is no condemnation for one like me, who loves You; and all things You allow into my life are for my good, being called according to Your purpose, … and nothing can separate me from Your love. I live and move and have my being in those promises. Amen

2009 – Day 149.May 30 – Cut Down To Size

2009 – Day 149.May 30 – Cut Down To Size

Passage of the Day: 1st Kings 17: 2 - 6 … 2 Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 3 “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 4 And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” 5 So he went and did according to the word of the LORD, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. 7 And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.

My Journal for Today: Chuck Swindoll, from his experience in Marine boot camp in his years past, has an interesting take on this short passage in 1st Kings about Elijah after his confrontation with Ahab. Elijah is taken away into the wilderness; and his willingness to surrender to His Lord is tested. Swindoll likens this to his own former time in boot camp where the Marines did exactly what was needed to insure that the younger Swindoll would be cut down to size and reshaped into the soldier he needed to be to face his future in military service.

As Swindoll relates, the Marines used “… the isolation of the location, the absence of all creature comforts, the relentless, monotonous drills and demanding repetition of inspections, [and] … the constant harassment of the drill instructor;“ … all designed to reshape the naïve and untrained recruits into soldiers who could meet any type of warfare, knowing that they could follow their commanders into battle. And according to Swindoll, that’s essentially what we’re reading in today’s passage where God used solitude and surrender to focus His man, Elijah, and to prepare him for the battles he would face ahead.

What has God put you through in life to prepare you for the battles we must face in spiritual warfare? Do you have a “battle plan” which has been forged out of the boot camp of life? Are you focused in faith and ready to follow your Commander in Chief, the Lord Jesus, just as He has commanded of His disciples (see Luke 9: 23 - a verse you should have burned into your life from the boot camp of scripture memorization). You know, that verse says we, as Christ’s soldiers, must deny ourselves, take up the crosses of life daily, and follow our Lord anywhere He leads. Have you been reshaped into the surrendered soldier in God’s army who is willing – AND ABLE – to do just that?

If not, my friend, you need a drill instructor (i.e., a mentor) who can take you through a boot camp of Spirit-led preparation, reshaping you into a hardened and ready warrior. I lead a ministry called BattlePlan Ministries [link provided to website]; and that’s part of the training we try to impart to men who have been in bondage to habitual and selfish sinful living. We try to get them to become self-disciplined warriors who are surrendered to God and willing to follow the lead of their Commander, Christ, anywhere He would lead them.

And when the bootcamp of life has reshaped them, they are self-surrendered soldiers who have been armed for battle with God’s full armor (see Eph. 6: 13-18 - linked). They know how to carry a well sharpened and practiced Sword of the Spirit; and they know how to take the high ground of prayer in the daily battles they will face.

Are you ready for battle today? Do you have a well formulated and written battle plan? Are you wearing God’s full armor? Do you carry a sharpened and practiced Sword of the Spirit? And are you disciplined to go to the high ground of prayer every day, preparing for the battle’s you will face TODAY?

If you are not, you are naked and vulnerable to your spiritual enemies. I pray that God is preparing you and reshaping you, as He did Elijah, for the battles you are going to face.

My Prayer for Today: Lord, You have prepared me for battle; and I choose to follow only You. Amen