Blogger's Note: It was 29 years ago today that God brought me to place of brokenness where I could receive Him as my Lord and Savior. So, I praise God today for my Rebirthday in Him. ... wrb
=================
Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 1st Samuel 21-24 … To study these chapters, go to this link -
============
Passage of the Day #1: 1st Samuel 21: 1-2 … 1 David went to Nob, to Ahimelek the priest. Ahimelek trembled when he met him, and asked, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?” … 2 David answered Ahimelek the priest, “The king sent me on a mission and said to me, ‘No one is to know anything about the mission I am sending you on.’ As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place. 3 Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find.” … 4 But the priest answered David, “I don’t have any ordinary bread on hand; however, there is some consecrated bread here—provided the men have kept themselves from women.”
============
Passage of the Day #2: 1st Samuel 22: 18-21 … 18 The king [Saul] then ordered Doeg, “You turn and strike down the priests.” So Doeg the Edomite [Saul’s servant] turned and struck them down. That day he killed eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. 19 He also put to the sword Nob, the town of the priests, with its men and women, its children and infants, and its cattle, donkeys and sheep. … 20 But one son of Ahimelek son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled to join David. 21 He told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD. 22 Then David said to Abiathar, “That day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, I knew he would be sure to tell Saul. I am responsible for the death of your whole family. 23 Stay with me; don’t be afraid. The man who wants to kill you is trying to kill me too. You will be safe with me.”
My Journal for Today: Today’s chronological read in 1st Samuel, Chapters 21-24, especially the first two chapters, gives us the first glance into a weakness in David’s character when he copped out to a lie of expedience, apparently in denial or defensiveness, in order to get some bread (i.e., holy bread) from the Priests under the supervision of the head Priest, Abimelech [see the focus passages copied above]. And we see in these highlight passages, that this lie ultimately led to the execution, under the orders of Saul, of 85 priests, their families, and the destruction of all their possessions.
This is a gruesome reminder that any believer, even a dedicated servant of God in pursuit of God’s own heart, like David, can be vulnerable to spiritual shortcuts and capable of deceit – even in the self-perceived service of God [see Jer. 17: 9]. Most certainly leaders, God’s shepherds, like David, must be ever vigilant not to cut spiritual corners and make unGodly decisions, because the results can be devastating, as we read in these chapters of 1st Samuel.
I can recall a season of time some years ago when the Elders of my church, i.e., Central Church in Collierville, TN, abrogated our responsibilities to watch over the flock in our church by allowing our Senior Pastor to make decisions without our due vigilance of oversight; and we allowed our Pastor to make decisions without our oversight or accountability; and this short-cutting of God’s spiritual oversight almost led to the torch of God’s Spirit being lifted from our church with our church going through the worst spiritual crisis in it’s 100+ year history. But God, in His mercy, much like He did with David, allowed us to learn from this mistake; and with our repentance and restoration to leadership, in unity, we were able to confess, come together, and build a unity of proper leadership, allowing God’s light to shine from our church again with a new purpose of oversight and vigilance to correct our shortcuts of leadership in the past.
But all Christians, especially ordained and anointed leaders, must remain vigilant and refuse to exercise selfish shortcuts as we read of David doing in this instance so that God’s Spirit might be grieved and dampened by our decisional denial. God’s way and His will must not be compromised; and when it is, there ALWAYS will be consequences; and those consequences can be horrible as we read, involving David above. Now later we will read of another shortcut David will take, which will be just as horrible as this one we read about today; but we’ll look at David’s back-sliding of leadership involving Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah later.
Right now, we need to set a battle plan in motion which allows us to have oversight and/or accountability, with feedback from other believers, probably more mature and insightful and discerning that are we, to prevent us from taking spiritual shortcuts in our lives. Is your “battle plan” of vigilance and accountability in place?
My Prayer Today: … Lord, thank you for surrounding me with a number of cohorts of responsibility and accountability in my life, due to my tendency to be gullible and to relent to my Jer. 17:9 heart. Amen
Showing posts with label spiritual discipline. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spiritual discipline. Show all posts
Friday, April 13, 2012
Saturday, June 25, 2011
June 25, 2011 … Integrity Is Devoted to Prayer
Passage of the Day: Daniel 6: 10 - 11 … 10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. 11 Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help.
My Journal for Today: For today’s devotional in John MacArthur’s, Strength for Today, the Author states flatly, “There is a direct link between prayer and integrity (for the Christian).” As we read in today’s passage, it was the faithful discipline of Daniel’s prayer life that prompted the already jealous Medo-Persian officials in the court of King Darius to establish a law against praying openly to Daniel’s God. And here we live in a world today where there are those in influence and political power who have already attempted to strip prayer by legal means from the public arena. And, many of these power mongers would like to wipe the Name of “God” from all public interactions. Take note now, as I write this, our “king’s court” are doing all they can to keep military chaplains from invoking the Name of “Christ” from any public prayer in the military; and hate crime legislation is being formulated in Congress which, as it is in Canada and Sweden, would make it a “hate crime” to preach homosexuality as a sin from a Christian pulpit. So, even today the integrity of believers in God is being tested much the same as was Daniel in the times of today’s text.
As MacArthur above states, we see that Daniel’s public display of disciplined prayer signaled his spiritual integrity, as prayer does, especially public prayer, in our lives as Christians. It is God’s will that we pray to Him (see Col. 4: 2 and 1st Thess. 5: 17 below). And it was so for Daniel as well; and his willingness to pray openly to His Lord was his public witness to his faith in the one, true God.
SCRIPTURE: Col. 4: 2 … Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
SCRIPTURE: 1st Thess. 5: 16 – 18 … 16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Are we committed to God and His will, as was Daniel, … so committed that we’d be willing to risk our very life, or at least be imprisoned for our commitment to prayer, by standing for our God by kneeling in prayer … just as He demands of His believers? Seeing military Chaplains being told they cannot pray “in the Name of Christ” and the political trends of the day, it is not difficult to imagine a time, not too soon in the future, when Christians may face a ban on public references to God, which will be most evident in limitations on our prayer to our Lord in public. Where will we stand – or kneel – for our God? Will we be believers with the integrity of a Daniel?
My Prayer Today: Lord, I pray that I will always declare Your Name to honor You, especially in prayer. Amen
My Journal for Today: For today’s devotional in John MacArthur’s, Strength for Today, the Author states flatly, “There is a direct link between prayer and integrity (for the Christian).” As we read in today’s passage, it was the faithful discipline of Daniel’s prayer life that prompted the already jealous Medo-Persian officials in the court of King Darius to establish a law against praying openly to Daniel’s God. And here we live in a world today where there are those in influence and political power who have already attempted to strip prayer by legal means from the public arena. And, many of these power mongers would like to wipe the Name of “God” from all public interactions. Take note now, as I write this, our “king’s court” are doing all they can to keep military chaplains from invoking the Name of “Christ” from any public prayer in the military; and hate crime legislation is being formulated in Congress which, as it is in Canada and Sweden, would make it a “hate crime” to preach homosexuality as a sin from a Christian pulpit. So, even today the integrity of believers in God is being tested much the same as was Daniel in the times of today’s text.
As MacArthur above states, we see that Daniel’s public display of disciplined prayer signaled his spiritual integrity, as prayer does, especially public prayer, in our lives as Christians. It is God’s will that we pray to Him (see Col. 4: 2 and 1st Thess. 5: 17 below). And it was so for Daniel as well; and his willingness to pray openly to His Lord was his public witness to his faith in the one, true God.
SCRIPTURE: Col. 4: 2 … Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
SCRIPTURE: 1st Thess. 5: 16 – 18 … 16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Are we committed to God and His will, as was Daniel, … so committed that we’d be willing to risk our very life, or at least be imprisoned for our commitment to prayer, by standing for our God by kneeling in prayer … just as He demands of His believers? Seeing military Chaplains being told they cannot pray “in the Name of Christ” and the political trends of the day, it is not difficult to imagine a time, not too soon in the future, when Christians may face a ban on public references to God, which will be most evident in limitations on our prayer to our Lord in public. Where will we stand – or kneel – for our God? Will we be believers with the integrity of a Daniel?
My Prayer Today: Lord, I pray that I will always declare Your Name to honor You, especially in prayer. Amen
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
February 15, 2011 … God Knows Everything
Passage of the Day: Psalm 147: 5 … Great is our Lord and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit.
My Journal for Today: Today, again with the help of John MacArthur’s Strength for Today, we focus on God’s omniscience; and in today’s verse, the Psalmist declares that God’s “… understanding has no limit (i.e., is infinite).” Translation for personal application: GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING! And we either believe, as did Isaiah, that no one knows more than God (see Is. 40: 13 – 14], or we don’t. In that passage, Isaiah asks … Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has taught Him? 14 With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, and showed Him the way of understanding?
And the answer to Isaiah’s inquiry, of course, is NO ONE!
This, of course means [to me] that God knows my every thought (see Is. 66: 18a); and nothing is darkness to my God (see Ps. 139: 12). It means that there is no place for me to hide from God’s omniscience (see Ps. 139: 7). Hopefully, - and prayerfully – this truth can and will be a deterrent to sin in my life. And, in fact, the more I come to know my Lord, mostly through His word, I am more and more aware that, even though Christ paid the penalty for my sin, God still judges sin (see below Eccl. 12: 14), and because of His love for me, He will convict or discipline me for any sin I commit (see below Heb. 12: 5 – 11).
SCRIPTURE: Eccl. 12: 14 … God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
SCRIPTURE: Heb. 12: 5-11 … And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." [ quote taken from Prov.3:11-12] 7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Therefore, I would hope that anyone who reads my journal today, as I express this from my heart, … we all can agree that our hope lies in the power of God (see John 6: 40 below), Who’s all-knowing Spirit will raise me (us) one day just as God, the Father, did for His Son, our Savior, to eternal life and our position as co-heir to His throne.
SCRIPTURE: John 6: 40 Jesus Speaking “For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."
Again, I declare with the younger generation of believers … “Is this not just too cool!!!”
My Prayer Today: Lord, You know my every sin. Help me to know clearly when I do it … so that I won’t repeat it! Amen
My Journal for Today: Today, again with the help of John MacArthur’s Strength for Today, we focus on God’s omniscience; and in today’s verse, the Psalmist declares that God’s “… understanding has no limit (i.e., is infinite).” Translation for personal application: GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING! And we either believe, as did Isaiah, that no one knows more than God (see Is. 40: 13 – 14], or we don’t. In that passage, Isaiah asks … Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has taught Him? 14 With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, and showed Him the way of understanding?
And the answer to Isaiah’s inquiry, of course, is NO ONE!
This, of course means [to me] that God knows my every thought (see Is. 66: 18a); and nothing is darkness to my God (see Ps. 139: 12). It means that there is no place for me to hide from God’s omniscience (see Ps. 139: 7). Hopefully, - and prayerfully – this truth can and will be a deterrent to sin in my life. And, in fact, the more I come to know my Lord, mostly through His word, I am more and more aware that, even though Christ paid the penalty for my sin, God still judges sin (see below Eccl. 12: 14), and because of His love for me, He will convict or discipline me for any sin I commit (see below Heb. 12: 5 – 11).
SCRIPTURE: Eccl. 12: 14 … God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
SCRIPTURE: Heb. 12: 5-11 … And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." [ quote taken from Prov.3:11-12] 7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Therefore, I would hope that anyone who reads my journal today, as I express this from my heart, … we all can agree that our hope lies in the power of God (see John 6: 40 below), Who’s all-knowing Spirit will raise me (us) one day just as God, the Father, did for His Son, our Savior, to eternal life and our position as co-heir to His throne.
SCRIPTURE: John 6: 40 Jesus Speaking “For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."
Again, I declare with the younger generation of believers … “Is this not just too cool!!!”
My Prayer Today: Lord, You know my every sin. Help me to know clearly when I do it … so that I won’t repeat it! Amen
Sunday, September 06, 2009
2009 – Day 248.Sept 06 – Harsh, But Realistic
Passage of the Day: Job 21: 23 - 34 … Linked for study …
My Journal for Today: Well, reading this passage again today, perhaps you’ve been where Job was – at least to some degree. Maybe you were accused of something falsely. Perhaps a friend or two have given you advice laced with lies. Maybe you were the focus of some social attack on your character. Whatever the circumstances, it probably caused you great concern, anxiety, or angst.
Well, it’s in times such as these where the harsh realism of life tests our faith and trust in God, doesn’t it? It’s in these character-bending times where we learn whether we really believe in the truth of Romans 8: 28 or we exercise the reality of Proverbs 3: 5-6 or Philippians 4: 6-7. And by the way, my fellow Christian soldier, since we’re always going to be battling our enemies in the everyday spiritual warfare we call “life,” it would also be good to heed the old Revolutionary War saying which Swindoll quotes in his devotional today: "Trust in God; but keep your power dry.”
My dear one, WE ARE IN A WAR; and it is stark reality that we have enemies which could bring us down if we are not vigilant and well fortified, especially with the heart knowledge of God’s truth. Another old saying which will also prove true in the harsh reality of spiritual warfare is one you probably know: "Pray like it all depends upon God; but work like it all depends on you.”
Both of these old adages have much truth in them. And it’s in times like Job faced that our faith and trust in God gets tested to the limits of our human abilities. It’s in the testing times that we’re going to learn whether we really BELIEVE in what Jesus commanded in Matt. 11: 28-30, to let Him help carry the burden; and in Isaiah 41: 10, to let our God lift us up with His might right hand.
I can’t speak for you, my dear reader; but I’ve been through the “valley of the shadow of death” more than once. And God was always with me, just like He promised in Joshua 1: 5 or Hebrews 13: 5. My friend, you’re going to be tried, and you WILL be tested. So, now is the time to prepare yourself for the battles ahead. And if you do, you will discover that you can have the fortitude of a Job in facing the harsh, but realistic challenges that we face in life.
Test yourself now, my friend, in the safety of meditating on what I’ve written here. Do you know each of the passages which I quoted in this journal entry – BY HEART? If not, perhaps you need to bury more of God’s word deeply into your heart to prepare for the warfare ahead. I learned long ago that you can’t be a Spirit Swordsman if you don’t carry a well-sharpened and well-practiced sword (see Eph. 6: 17). And no battlefield leader would ever take his soldiers into battle without a well thought out battle plan. Do you have a written and personalized battle plan to prepare you, as much as you can be prepared, to face the spiritual battles you will face in life?
My dear one, these are perilous times; and you leave yourself vulnerable for the battles of life if you don’t have a battle plan and if your mind/heart are not saturated by God’s truth from His word. So, I leave it to you to become a warrior like Job … or to succumb to the enemy’s lies and attacks from the world or the vulnerabilities from your own deceit-ridden heart. I pray that we’re all prepared for the harsh realities of our future.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, God, set our course to follow You, no matter where You lead us so that You will be glorified when we stand and deliver. Amen
My Journal for Today: Well, reading this passage again today, perhaps you’ve been where Job was – at least to some degree. Maybe you were accused of something falsely. Perhaps a friend or two have given you advice laced with lies. Maybe you were the focus of some social attack on your character. Whatever the circumstances, it probably caused you great concern, anxiety, or angst.
Well, it’s in times such as these where the harsh realism of life tests our faith and trust in God, doesn’t it? It’s in these character-bending times where we learn whether we really believe in the truth of Romans 8: 28 or we exercise the reality of Proverbs 3: 5-6 or Philippians 4: 6-7. And by the way, my fellow Christian soldier, since we’re always going to be battling our enemies in the everyday spiritual warfare we call “life,” it would also be good to heed the old Revolutionary War saying which Swindoll quotes in his devotional today: "Trust in God; but keep your power dry.”
My dear one, WE ARE IN A WAR; and it is stark reality that we have enemies which could bring us down if we are not vigilant and well fortified, especially with the heart knowledge of God’s truth. Another old saying which will also prove true in the harsh reality of spiritual warfare is one you probably know: "Pray like it all depends upon God; but work like it all depends on you.”
Both of these old adages have much truth in them. And it’s in times like Job faced that our faith and trust in God gets tested to the limits of our human abilities. It’s in the testing times that we’re going to learn whether we really BELIEVE in what Jesus commanded in Matt. 11: 28-30, to let Him help carry the burden; and in Isaiah 41: 10, to let our God lift us up with His might right hand.
I can’t speak for you, my dear reader; but I’ve been through the “valley of the shadow of death” more than once. And God was always with me, just like He promised in Joshua 1: 5 or Hebrews 13: 5. My friend, you’re going to be tried, and you WILL be tested. So, now is the time to prepare yourself for the battles ahead. And if you do, you will discover that you can have the fortitude of a Job in facing the harsh, but realistic challenges that we face in life.
Test yourself now, my friend, in the safety of meditating on what I’ve written here. Do you know each of the passages which I quoted in this journal entry – BY HEART? If not, perhaps you need to bury more of God’s word deeply into your heart to prepare for the warfare ahead. I learned long ago that you can’t be a Spirit Swordsman if you don’t carry a well-sharpened and well-practiced sword (see Eph. 6: 17). And no battlefield leader would ever take his soldiers into battle without a well thought out battle plan. Do you have a written and personalized battle plan to prepare you, as much as you can be prepared, to face the spiritual battles you will face in life?
My dear one, these are perilous times; and you leave yourself vulnerable for the battles of life if you don’t have a battle plan and if your mind/heart are not saturated by God’s truth from His word. So, I leave it to you to become a warrior like Job … or to succumb to the enemy’s lies and attacks from the world or the vulnerabilities from your own deceit-ridden heart. I pray that we’re all prepared for the harsh realities of our future.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, God, set our course to follow You, no matter where You lead us so that You will be glorified when we stand and deliver. Amen
Sunday, June 07, 2009
2009 – Day 157.June 7 – Our Obstacle Course
Passage of the Day: 1st Kings 17: 5 – 7 … 2 Then the word of the LORD came to him [Elijah], 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: Today I read Chuck Swindoll’s devotional for this day in his book, Great Days with the Great Lives; and normally, I just use this as a guide for what God, the Holy Spirit, gives me to share as my devotional journal entry. But today, I was touched to the core by what Pastor Swindoll had to share; and I would discredit this fine teaching effort to do anything other than just quote what this faithful shepherd has to share. So, I quote this dear servant exactly as he has written the following about Elijah’s bootcamp experience.
Chuck Swindoll: Part of every boot camp experience is the grueling, grinding, and sometimes daunting obstacle course. It is neither fun nor easy, but its demanding discipline prepares the recruit for whatever situations he or she may face in the future, particularly under enemy fire. In the spiritual life, before we can truly benefit from “the hidden life” that God uses to prepare us for whatever future He has planned for us, we must overcome at least four major obstacles. I think of them as four rough membranes of the flesh: pride, fear, resentment, and long-standing habits. Conquering these layers of resistance will prepare us for the future and harden us for combat with the adversary.
In a very real sense, God has designed a boot camp for His children; but it doesn’t last just eight or ten weeks. Nor is it a weekend seminar we can take or a day-long workshop we can attend. God’s training course takes place periodically throughout the Christian life. And there, in the very center of obstacles and pain and solitude, we come to realize how alive God is in our lives – how alive and in charge. He will invade us, reduce us, break us, and crush us, so that we will become the people He intends us to be.
No matter how many years we walk with the Lord, we must still, at times, pass through our own Gethsemane. It happens every time He sends us to the brook to live the hidden life. It happens every time He disorients us as He displaces us; every time He pulls out all the props; every time He takes away more of the comforts; every time He removes most of the “rights” we once enjoyed. And He does all this so that He can mold us in the person that we otherwise never would be. He knows what He’s about.
Elijah went to Cherith as an energetic spokesman for God – a Prophet. He emerged from Chrerith as a deeper man of God. All this happened because he was left beside a brook that dried up. Alone, but not forgotten. Tested, but not abandoned.
Wow! What could I add to that? Nothing, I assure you; but I pray that, like me, you are enlightened by Pastor Swindoll to realize that God is giving us all our boot camp obstacles, as He did with Elijah, to prepare us for what lies ahead and to prepare us to be his witness in this world, … a witness who can shine His light and glorify the Holy Father.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, thank You for the obstacles You put us through to shape our witness for You. Amen
Passage of the Day: 1st Kings 17: 5 – 7 … 2 Then the word of the LORD came to him [Elijah], 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: Today I read Chuck Swindoll’s devotional for this day in his book, Great Days with the Great Lives; and normally, I just use this as a guide for what God, the Holy Spirit, gives me to share as my devotional journal entry. But today, I was touched to the core by what Pastor Swindoll had to share; and I would discredit this fine teaching effort to do anything other than just quote what this faithful shepherd has to share. So, I quote this dear servant exactly as he has written the following about Elijah’s bootcamp experience.
Chuck Swindoll: Part of every boot camp experience is the grueling, grinding, and sometimes daunting obstacle course. It is neither fun nor easy, but its demanding discipline prepares the recruit for whatever situations he or she may face in the future, particularly under enemy fire. In the spiritual life, before we can truly benefit from “the hidden life” that God uses to prepare us for whatever future He has planned for us, we must overcome at least four major obstacles. I think of them as four rough membranes of the flesh: pride, fear, resentment, and long-standing habits. Conquering these layers of resistance will prepare us for the future and harden us for combat with the adversary.
In a very real sense, God has designed a boot camp for His children; but it doesn’t last just eight or ten weeks. Nor is it a weekend seminar we can take or a day-long workshop we can attend. God’s training course takes place periodically throughout the Christian life. And there, in the very center of obstacles and pain and solitude, we come to realize how alive God is in our lives – how alive and in charge. He will invade us, reduce us, break us, and crush us, so that we will become the people He intends us to be.
No matter how many years we walk with the Lord, we must still, at times, pass through our own Gethsemane. It happens every time He sends us to the brook to live the hidden life. It happens every time He disorients us as He displaces us; every time He pulls out all the props; every time He takes away more of the comforts; every time He removes most of the “rights” we once enjoyed. And He does all this so that He can mold us in the person that we otherwise never would be. He knows what He’s about.
Elijah went to Cherith as an energetic spokesman for God – a Prophet. He emerged from Chrerith as a deeper man of God. All this happened because he was left beside a brook that dried up. Alone, but not forgotten. Tested, but not abandoned.
Wow! What could I add to that? Nothing, I assure you; but I pray that, like me, you are enlightened by Pastor Swindoll to realize that God is giving us all our boot camp obstacles, as He did with Elijah, to prepare us for what lies ahead and to prepare us to be his witness in this world, … a witness who can shine His light and glorify the Holy Father.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, thank You for the obstacles You put us through to shape our witness for You. Amen
Saturday, June 06, 2009
2009 – Day 156.June 6 – Laying A Foundation of Courage
2009 – Day 156.June 6 – Laying A Foundation of Courage
Passage of the Day: 1st Kings 17: 1 – 7 … Linked for study …
James 5: 17 – 18 … 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
My Journal for Today: As I’ve been reading that passage in 1st Kings the last few days, I’m getting the idea that God has to put His army through spiritual bootcamp before they can become seasoned and disciplined and dedicated – TO GOD - and not to self.
Swindoll points out that Robert E. Lee’s biographer wrote, “Had [Lee’s] life been epitomized in one sentence from THE BOOK he read so often, it would have been in the words, ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.’ “ [I hope you recognize that immediately as Luke 9: 23, a verse I repeat often in my devotional entries.]
Robert E. Lee was a man who recognized that to be a follower after God, one must be disciplined in godliness. And that’s what makes praying and living toward Christlikeness so challenging. Elijah prayed a tough prayer … that God would stop the rains; and then he had to live through the outcome of God answering that prayer along with all those who denied God. Yes, when the drought came for three and one-half years, Elijah had to live trough the extended drought just like the rebellious Hebrews did.
Have you ever prayed a prayer, asking God to make you a more Godly man or woman? But in the back of your mind, you were praying silently, “But, Lord, please don’t take away my creature comforts.” Or maybe you were afraid to pray for humility or patience because you knew what God might have to do to develop those Christlike qualities in your life. In today’s MacDonald’s mentality, self denial is not a popular virtue. In fact we’re being given all kinds of tools to promote instant gratification. The I-Phone generation has an “APP” for everything. We simply don’t honor the truth that God must lead us though the valley of the shadow of death to do what He promises in Phil. 1: 6 [linked], … and that is, to complete us into the image of our Savior. [Notice - I just hyperlinked you to Phil. 1: 6 to save you the time and effort to go get your Bible, look up the passage, and study it. Shame on me! ;>) ]
Are you praying that God will turn around the evil in the world? That’s a good prayer; but do you realize what it’s going to take in terms of our own lives, as followers of God, to rid the world of the evil that is growing ever darker day-by-day? It’s going to take a major spiritual earthquake [what we pray for as “revival”] to get the attention of the unGodly in this world. And in case you haven’t noticed, when an earthquake hits, the believers as well as the non-believers suffer.
By nature I’m a “chicken.” I don’t like pain; and I don’t like to suffer. But I’ve come to realize that my only way to Christlikeness is to bring myself – INTENTIONALLY – to surrender to God’s Luke 9: 23 bootcamp. It means, like Elijah learned, I must deny myself and take up the disciplines of the faith, and follow my Lord – NO MATTER WHERE HE GOES. If that means, getting in to His word daily, then that’s what I must do. If it means developing a deeper prayer life, then that’s what I must do. If it means suffering in the heat and pressure of life, … well, you’re getting the picture.
I hope you’re praying for a better world; but I hope you don’t shy away from that prayer because you don’t want to experience what is going to be necessary for God to rain down His revival of His plan for mankind.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I’m a chicken; and I hate to see my loved ones suffer. Come quickly! Amen
Passage of the Day: 1st Kings 17: 1 – 7 … Linked for study …
James 5: 17 – 18 … 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
My Journal for Today: As I’ve been reading that passage in 1st Kings the last few days, I’m getting the idea that God has to put His army through spiritual bootcamp before they can become seasoned and disciplined and dedicated – TO GOD - and not to self.
Swindoll points out that Robert E. Lee’s biographer wrote, “Had [Lee’s] life been epitomized in one sentence from THE BOOK he read so often, it would have been in the words, ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.’ “ [I hope you recognize that immediately as Luke 9: 23, a verse I repeat often in my devotional entries.]
Robert E. Lee was a man who recognized that to be a follower after God, one must be disciplined in godliness. And that’s what makes praying and living toward Christlikeness so challenging. Elijah prayed a tough prayer … that God would stop the rains; and then he had to live through the outcome of God answering that prayer along with all those who denied God. Yes, when the drought came for three and one-half years, Elijah had to live trough the extended drought just like the rebellious Hebrews did.
Have you ever prayed a prayer, asking God to make you a more Godly man or woman? But in the back of your mind, you were praying silently, “But, Lord, please don’t take away my creature comforts.” Or maybe you were afraid to pray for humility or patience because you knew what God might have to do to develop those Christlike qualities in your life. In today’s MacDonald’s mentality, self denial is not a popular virtue. In fact we’re being given all kinds of tools to promote instant gratification. The I-Phone generation has an “APP” for everything. We simply don’t honor the truth that God must lead us though the valley of the shadow of death to do what He promises in Phil. 1: 6 [linked], … and that is, to complete us into the image of our Savior. [Notice - I just hyperlinked you to Phil. 1: 6 to save you the time and effort to go get your Bible, look up the passage, and study it. Shame on me! ;>) ]
Are you praying that God will turn around the evil in the world? That’s a good prayer; but do you realize what it’s going to take in terms of our own lives, as followers of God, to rid the world of the evil that is growing ever darker day-by-day? It’s going to take a major spiritual earthquake [what we pray for as “revival”] to get the attention of the unGodly in this world. And in case you haven’t noticed, when an earthquake hits, the believers as well as the non-believers suffer.
By nature I’m a “chicken.” I don’t like pain; and I don’t like to suffer. But I’ve come to realize that my only way to Christlikeness is to bring myself – INTENTIONALLY – to surrender to God’s Luke 9: 23 bootcamp. It means, like Elijah learned, I must deny myself and take up the disciplines of the faith, and follow my Lord – NO MATTER WHERE HE GOES. If that means, getting in to His word daily, then that’s what I must do. If it means developing a deeper prayer life, then that’s what I must do. If it means suffering in the heat and pressure of life, … well, you’re getting the picture.
I hope you’re praying for a better world; but I hope you don’t shy away from that prayer because you don’t want to experience what is going to be necessary for God to rain down His revival of His plan for mankind.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I’m a chicken; and I hate to see my loved ones suffer. Come quickly! Amen
Saturday, May 30, 2009
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
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
