Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Genesis, Chapters 22-24 … To study these chapters, go to this link -
Genesis 22: 1-3: … [Abraham: Pure Faith] ... 1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” … “Here I am,” he replied. 2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love — Isaac — and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” 3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.
My Journal for Today: Today I was led by my chronological reading plan to read/study/meditate through Chapters 22-24 of Genesis; and from that reading the incredible account of God testing Abraham simply has to be my chosen focus passage for my devotional journal this morning.
I charge anyone who’s reading along with me today to go back and please re-read [I’m sure you’ve read it before] Chapter 22 of Genesis, focusing on this outlandishly and seemingly viscous test through which God takes Abraham and his “son of promise,” Isaac. And every time I’m led to read or study or teach on this passage, I just can’t get my mind completely around WHY God would put this chosen “father of the faith,” … God’s man Abraham, … through such a horrible crucible to test his faith. Sure I can see that putting any believer though the fires of life purifies his faith. But this test???
The whole thing is just WAY OVER THE TOP with regard to what was asked of poor old Abe. Even the distance from where Abraham was abiding, in the Negev desert, in Beersheba, traveling way up to the mountain country in Moriah (probably to Mount Moriah itself) was a very arduous task. That’s about a 60 mile journey – a three-day journey minimum in those days. And can you just imagine what was going through the mind of God’s faithful servant, Abraham, and his son as they trekked to the mountain.
But the message is quite simple from this passage, isn’t it? God called Abraham; and Abraham went? And even though God was asking Abraham and the boy to the most extreme of tests, the father of this one son – Abe’s only son, … the son whom God had promised would become the father of many nations and all of God’s chosen peoples, was to be placed on an altar to God and burned as a sacrifice.
And in this test of faith – what I’m calling “THE test,” we see what had become Abraham’s maturity of trust in his God. Abraham and Sarai, who BTW dies and is buried in the chapters of our reading today, had seen the wondrous, incredible-to-unbelievable miracle of Isaac’s birth. They had seen God carry out His promise, mercifully, in spite of the failings of faith exhibited by both Sarah and Abraham before Isaac was born. And so, when God now said what he did to Abraham in our focus passage today, old Abe trusted God completely. And this may be the most powerful biblical example of the truth of what we’re taught by God’s word in Proverbs 3: 5-6 and in the NT from 1st Corinthians 10: 13 and by Jesus in Luke 9: 23; and I do hope you, fellow Christian, know these three passages by heart.
They tell us that when God calls, we are to follow. Oh, we may have questions; and God will even listen to our questions; but faith – especially mature faith – is following God obediently … even when it doesn’t make any human sense. It’s carrying our cross daily through trials of fire in our life. It’s following God’s direction and His narrow path even when the world is telling us to take the wide path which makes so much more worldly sense. And that’s exactly what Abraham did; and that’s exactly what we should do.
So, I’m not going to complicate this very simple lesson (I didn’t say EASY, I said, “simple”) with a lot of speculative analysis. It may be a trial of fire to test the purity of our faith; but when God is calling us to “GO,” we should be saying, “Where, Lord?” And when He shows us the way, we should, as did Abraham, … go!
My Prayer Today: … Lord, shine a light on my path, and I will follow. Amen
Blogger’s Note: As often is the case when I’m meditating on God’s word, the thought of a song comes to mind; and that’s what happened this morning. So, may I lead you to meditate on what I’ve written today by adding this link to a wonderful song, performed by Daniel O’Donnell, Here I Am, Lord. To hear it, you can go to this link.
Showing posts with label courage of faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label courage of faith. Show all posts
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
January 12, 2012 … Listening For God
Passage of the Day: Chapter/Verse Reference: Job, Chapters 32-34 … To study these chapters, go to this link -
Job 32: … [Elihu, a younger “friend” steps forward]
1 So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2 But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God. 3 He was also angry with the three friends, because they had found no way to refute Job, and yet had condemned him. 4 Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job because they were older than he. 5 But when he saw that the three men had nothing more to say, his anger was aroused.
Job 33: … [Elihu goes on with his opinions]
12 “But I tell you, in this you are not right, for God is greater than any mortal.
13 Why do you complain to him that he responds to no one’s words?
14 For God does speak—now one way, now another — though no one perceives it.
Job 34: … [Elihu states his final premise]
34 “Men of understanding declare, wise men who hear me say to me,
35 ‘Job speaks without knowledge; his words lack insight.’
36 Oh, that Job might be tested to the utmost for answering like a wicked man!
37 To his sin he adds rebellion; scornfully he claps his hands among us and multiplies his words against God.”
My Journal for Today: Well Job has been going around and around with his three “friends” and critics, all of whom feel that Job has some hidden, unresolved sin which he’s unwilling to confess or from which Job has not repented. And now enter a younger critic into the scenario, Elihu, who takes a different approach to the criticism of Job in his down-and-out condition.
Elihu, basically is saying that Job needs to be a better listener to God; and that Job has no right to be questioning God and asking “WHY” God has brought these trials in to Job’s life. As one Commentator has put it about Elihu’s comments: ” He [Elihu] maintained that Job wasn’t suffering because of sin; he was sinning because of suffering. Elihu pointed out that Job’s attitude had become arrogant as he tried to defend his innocence. Elihu also said that suffering is not meant to punish us as much as it is meant to correct and restore us, to keep us on the right path.“ [From Parsons QuickVerse Bible Commentary]
And if we analyze Elihu’s comments in these three chapters of the Book of Job, we see that, like the other three critics, Elihu spouts out elements of truth. It is true, as Elihu contended, that God does engineer or allow trials into the life of men so that they can be tried and proven in the fiery trials of life. And many times those who’re in these tribulations – like Job – can’t see or discern the “WHY” behind God’s ways. But Elihu, possibly because of his lack of life experience being younger than the other critics of Job, was wrong in contending that Job had no right to come to God with his “WHY” questions.
If you’ve read these three chapters from today’s study, you’ll see that Elihu is “right on” with the idea that we need to search hard and listen to God, Who always desires to teach us His ways and His will from the challenges of life. But apparently Elihu didn’t hear or wasn’t listening when Job gave his eloquent word-picture on how we must dig deep into our relationship with God, seeking for God’s wisdom as the miner digs deep into the earth for precious ores and jewels. [See Job, Chapter 28]
Yes, as Elihu contends, we need to be good listeners to God through the trials of life; but no, God doesn’t expect us to just listen to the obvious voices in our life, like those around Job, his friends and family. God does want us to come TO HIM, with our questions and our pain. And our first source in this seeking and listening process is – for the New Covenant believer – God’s word. And in the book of Deuteronomy, written, many scholars say, about the same time as the Book of Job, we can read from the Old Covenant’s word from Deuteronomy 4: 29 – 31, the following …
... 29 But if from there [a place of sin or separation from God] you seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and obey him. 31 For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.
That’s what Job was doing in the midst of his trials and feeling of being separated from God; and that’s what we should do when we feel that God is far away or not hearing our prayers of desperation. We need to just keep-on-keeping-on in our search for God’s will and His way; and we need to do our front-line searching from His word. And it’s God’s promise, which Job was ultimately to learn, that God will be there for us when we come to Him in our search for truth and light. That’s the message, of course, from Jesus in the parable of the “Prodigal Father/Son,” isn’t it?
And so, my friend, as the old Carol King song declares through another voice, … well, ... just listen to it by going to this link … And as our LORD always wants to be, … Jesus is our Friend! He was for Job; and He will be for you or me.
My Prayer Today: Lord, I call out Your Name … and You are my friend! Amen
Job 32: … [Elihu, a younger “friend” steps forward]
1 So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2 But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God. 3 He was also angry with the three friends, because they had found no way to refute Job, and yet had condemned him. 4 Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job because they were older than he. 5 But when he saw that the three men had nothing more to say, his anger was aroused.
Job 33: … [Elihu goes on with his opinions]
12 “But I tell you, in this you are not right, for God is greater than any mortal.
13 Why do you complain to him that he responds to no one’s words?
14 For God does speak—now one way, now another — though no one perceives it.
Job 34: … [Elihu states his final premise]
34 “Men of understanding declare, wise men who hear me say to me,
35 ‘Job speaks without knowledge; his words lack insight.’
36 Oh, that Job might be tested to the utmost for answering like a wicked man!
37 To his sin he adds rebellion; scornfully he claps his hands among us and multiplies his words against God.”
My Journal for Today: Well Job has been going around and around with his three “friends” and critics, all of whom feel that Job has some hidden, unresolved sin which he’s unwilling to confess or from which Job has not repented. And now enter a younger critic into the scenario, Elihu, who takes a different approach to the criticism of Job in his down-and-out condition.
Elihu, basically is saying that Job needs to be a better listener to God; and that Job has no right to be questioning God and asking “WHY” God has brought these trials in to Job’s life. As one Commentator has put it about Elihu’s comments: ” He [Elihu] maintained that Job wasn’t suffering because of sin; he was sinning because of suffering. Elihu pointed out that Job’s attitude had become arrogant as he tried to defend his innocence. Elihu also said that suffering is not meant to punish us as much as it is meant to correct and restore us, to keep us on the right path.“ [From Parsons QuickVerse Bible Commentary]
And if we analyze Elihu’s comments in these three chapters of the Book of Job, we see that, like the other three critics, Elihu spouts out elements of truth. It is true, as Elihu contended, that God does engineer or allow trials into the life of men so that they can be tried and proven in the fiery trials of life. And many times those who’re in these tribulations – like Job – can’t see or discern the “WHY” behind God’s ways. But Elihu, possibly because of his lack of life experience being younger than the other critics of Job, was wrong in contending that Job had no right to come to God with his “WHY” questions.
If you’ve read these three chapters from today’s study, you’ll see that Elihu is “right on” with the idea that we need to search hard and listen to God, Who always desires to teach us His ways and His will from the challenges of life. But apparently Elihu didn’t hear or wasn’t listening when Job gave his eloquent word-picture on how we must dig deep into our relationship with God, seeking for God’s wisdom as the miner digs deep into the earth for precious ores and jewels. [See Job, Chapter 28]
Yes, as Elihu contends, we need to be good listeners to God through the trials of life; but no, God doesn’t expect us to just listen to the obvious voices in our life, like those around Job, his friends and family. God does want us to come TO HIM, with our questions and our pain. And our first source in this seeking and listening process is – for the New Covenant believer – God’s word. And in the book of Deuteronomy, written, many scholars say, about the same time as the Book of Job, we can read from the Old Covenant’s word from Deuteronomy 4: 29 – 31, the following …
... 29 But if from there [a place of sin or separation from God] you seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and obey him. 31 For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.
That’s what Job was doing in the midst of his trials and feeling of being separated from God; and that’s what we should do when we feel that God is far away or not hearing our prayers of desperation. We need to just keep-on-keeping-on in our search for God’s will and His way; and we need to do our front-line searching from His word. And it’s God’s promise, which Job was ultimately to learn, that God will be there for us when we come to Him in our search for truth and light. That’s the message, of course, from Jesus in the parable of the “Prodigal Father/Son,” isn’t it?
And so, my friend, as the old Carol King song declares through another voice, … well, ... just listen to it by going to this link … And as our LORD always wants to be, … Jesus is our Friend! He was for Job; and He will be for you or me.
My Prayer Today: Lord, I call out Your Name … and You are my friend! Amen
Friday, July 29, 2011
July 30, 2011 … Spiritual Growth and Rewards
Passage of the Day: 2nd Peter 1: 10 – 11 (see in bold below) … 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
My Journal for Today: As a Christian reading this passage, especially verses 10 – 11 in the context of all of the attributes Peter has listed to which believers should aspire, do you find yourself drawn by God’s Spirit into a lifestyle of worship and witness exemplified by these exhortations?
>>> … Do you find yourself drawn like a magnet to a life of fruitfulness for Christ (meditate on John 15 and Paul’s great list of Spirit-given fruit in Gal. 5: 22 – 23)?
>>> … Do you find yourself building a house of faith on the foundation of Christ which will only be completed in heaven (see 1st Cor. 3: 10 – 15)?
>>> … Do you see yourself having a mission and purpose in this life compatible with Christ’s stated mission (in Luke 4: 18)?
If so, take heart … because one day those of us who have been born anew in Christ will be able to lay crowns of righteousness at the feet of Jesus, Who is the only One worthy of such praise and worship (see 2nd Tim. 4: 6 – 8 and Rev. 4: 10 - 11).
Personally, I find all of this daunting; because, though I do live for such pursuits, I most certainly fail at times, falling short of the mark which God’s Spirit sets before me. But if you, who read this, join me in surrender to the ideals of such a life of worship and surrender (see Romans 12: 1-2), we can revel in the assurance of our salvation. It is a healthy thing to be convicted when we sin and even to have doubts; … but to be able to openly and honestly confess those failures before God’s throne of grace and receive His merciful cleansing (see a verse I’m sure you have memorized - 1st John 1: 9). And we should be bathed in the confidence of what Peter has shared with us – inspired by God’s Spirit – in the passage above. We are CHRISTIANS !!
I once heard John MacArthur on the radio say that to have confidence in our salvation, we really must concentrate much more on our DESIRES than we do our DOUBTS. And if your desires really focus on Christlikeness for our own lives, we really should be buoyed in the assurance of our salvation; because lost people just don’t desire to become more like Christ. They are focused on themselves; and their doubts are in their own inabilities, not their shortcomings relative to our Lord. And so, my fellow Christ follower, it is our lot to live in this life worthy of that life we pursue; and that is Jesus Christ. [see Eph. 4: 1 – 2] And so, we move on to that end.
My Prayer Today: Thank you, Lord, for leading me in this life to become more like You. Amen
10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
My Journal for Today: As a Christian reading this passage, especially verses 10 – 11 in the context of all of the attributes Peter has listed to which believers should aspire, do you find yourself drawn by God’s Spirit into a lifestyle of worship and witness exemplified by these exhortations?
>>> … Do you find yourself drawn like a magnet to a life of fruitfulness for Christ (meditate on John 15 and Paul’s great list of Spirit-given fruit in Gal. 5: 22 – 23)?
>>> … Do you find yourself building a house of faith on the foundation of Christ which will only be completed in heaven (see 1st Cor. 3: 10 – 15)?
>>> … Do you see yourself having a mission and purpose in this life compatible with Christ’s stated mission (in Luke 4: 18)?
If so, take heart … because one day those of us who have been born anew in Christ will be able to lay crowns of righteousness at the feet of Jesus, Who is the only One worthy of such praise and worship (see 2nd Tim. 4: 6 – 8 and Rev. 4: 10 - 11).
Personally, I find all of this daunting; because, though I do live for such pursuits, I most certainly fail at times, falling short of the mark which God’s Spirit sets before me. But if you, who read this, join me in surrender to the ideals of such a life of worship and surrender (see Romans 12: 1-2), we can revel in the assurance of our salvation. It is a healthy thing to be convicted when we sin and even to have doubts; … but to be able to openly and honestly confess those failures before God’s throne of grace and receive His merciful cleansing (see a verse I’m sure you have memorized - 1st John 1: 9). And we should be bathed in the confidence of what Peter has shared with us – inspired by God’s Spirit – in the passage above. We are CHRISTIANS !!
I once heard John MacArthur on the radio say that to have confidence in our salvation, we really must concentrate much more on our DESIRES than we do our DOUBTS. And if your desires really focus on Christlikeness for our own lives, we really should be buoyed in the assurance of our salvation; because lost people just don’t desire to become more like Christ. They are focused on themselves; and their doubts are in their own inabilities, not their shortcomings relative to our Lord. And so, my fellow Christ follower, it is our lot to live in this life worthy of that life we pursue; and that is Jesus Christ. [see Eph. 4: 1 – 2] And so, we move on to that end.
My Prayer Today: Thank you, Lord, for leading me in this life to become more like You. Amen
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
June 29, 2011 … Integrity Draws People To God
Passage of the Day: Daniel 6: 25 – 27 … 25 Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language throughout the land: “May you prosper greatly!”
26 “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. 27 He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”
My Journal for Today: The proclamation by King Darius, honoring Daniel’s God, was made by a pagan king of a pagan nation; and it illustrates the impact that God can have through just one man (or woman) who stands with integrity for God. Yes, just one person stands up for God to another, especially one of influence or power, in God’s timing, and it can, through God’s enabling grace, have the kind of influence/impact that Daniel had on King Darius (a.k.a., King Cyrus).
In his devotional for this date from Strength for Today, John MacArthur helps me (us) see other examples … e.g., Noah stood for God, being labeled crazy as he built the ark; … Joseph witnessed to Egypt, having been delivered from the pits and prison; … Moses, came from the wilderness and banishment to Egypt to deliver God’s people from slavery; … a young Gideon was lifted from hiding in a wine barrel to become a great leader in battle for Israel; … and Esther was God’s agent to save God’s people from wickedness and oppression in a culture where women were considered property. All of these were common people at the time God intervened and chose them, using them for His glory in uncommon witness.
But you may say, as I thought in reading this list, “I’m not a giant of the faith like these!” But look at how Jesus called His disciples. These men were not giants of the faith when Jesus called them. Those whom I mentioned above were not “giant’s” of faith when God called them to extraordinary duty. Yet, their witness in God’s timing and purpose, with their faith and surrender to God’s plan, changed the world forever.
The lesson here is that ANYONE can be used for God’s glory when that one surrenders completely to God’s purpose in His timing. Perhaps you or I can be God’s chosen witness to a lost person in our family or in our work place, even one of influence who might have great impact on others as was the case with a King Darius. Perhaps the position and influence you hold with others, with those people seeing Christ being lived out in your life, can have an enormous ripple effect on others for Christ over time. We won’t know when and how God will use something we say or how we live by faith to draw someone to Himself and then use that person for His glory.
When I was a hardened agnostic many years ago, a Christian acquaintance loaned me a cassette tape by a Christian speaker on the subject of one’s faith being lived out in our everyday lives; and that tape brought me to brokenness on April 13, 1983, the day I opened my life to Christ. And now that same former “anti-Christian” has, over three decades later, has become an ordained Christian minister and has been called to found and lead Battle Plan Ministry. Only God can do something like that; but He used one Christian standing up for his faith and witnessing to me boldly to bring yours truly into God’s family. Who do you know to whom God is calling you to witness today?
My Prayer Today: Use me even this day, Lord, in Your time, for Your purpose! Amen
26 “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. 27 He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”
My Journal for Today: The proclamation by King Darius, honoring Daniel’s God, was made by a pagan king of a pagan nation; and it illustrates the impact that God can have through just one man (or woman) who stands with integrity for God. Yes, just one person stands up for God to another, especially one of influence or power, in God’s timing, and it can, through God’s enabling grace, have the kind of influence/impact that Daniel had on King Darius (a.k.a., King Cyrus).
In his devotional for this date from Strength for Today, John MacArthur helps me (us) see other examples … e.g., Noah stood for God, being labeled crazy as he built the ark; … Joseph witnessed to Egypt, having been delivered from the pits and prison; … Moses, came from the wilderness and banishment to Egypt to deliver God’s people from slavery; … a young Gideon was lifted from hiding in a wine barrel to become a great leader in battle for Israel; … and Esther was God’s agent to save God’s people from wickedness and oppression in a culture where women were considered property. All of these were common people at the time God intervened and chose them, using them for His glory in uncommon witness.
But you may say, as I thought in reading this list, “I’m not a giant of the faith like these!” But look at how Jesus called His disciples. These men were not giants of the faith when Jesus called them. Those whom I mentioned above were not “giant’s” of faith when God called them to extraordinary duty. Yet, their witness in God’s timing and purpose, with their faith and surrender to God’s plan, changed the world forever.
The lesson here is that ANYONE can be used for God’s glory when that one surrenders completely to God’s purpose in His timing. Perhaps you or I can be God’s chosen witness to a lost person in our family or in our work place, even one of influence who might have great impact on others as was the case with a King Darius. Perhaps the position and influence you hold with others, with those people seeing Christ being lived out in your life, can have an enormous ripple effect on others for Christ over time. We won’t know when and how God will use something we say or how we live by faith to draw someone to Himself and then use that person for His glory.
When I was a hardened agnostic many years ago, a Christian acquaintance loaned me a cassette tape by a Christian speaker on the subject of one’s faith being lived out in our everyday lives; and that tape brought me to brokenness on April 13, 1983, the day I opened my life to Christ. And now that same former “anti-Christian” has, over three decades later, has become an ordained Christian minister and has been called to found and lead Battle Plan Ministry. Only God can do something like that; but He used one Christian standing up for his faith and witnessing to me boldly to bring yours truly into God’s family. Who do you know to whom God is calling you to witness today?
My Prayer Today: Use me even this day, Lord, in Your time, for Your purpose! Amen
Monday, June 27, 2011
June 27, 2011 … Integrity Accepts God’s Will
Passage of the Day: Daniel 6: 18 – 22 … 18 Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep. 19 At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. 20 When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?” 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.”
My Journal for Today: As we read in today’s passage, it was God’s will that Daniel be delivered from the mouths of the lions. And it was undoubtedly Daniel’s steadfast integrity of faith and his open witness to King Darius prior to this incident which caused the King to have regrets in Daniel’s predicament, and at the same time hope that Daniel’s God would deliver Daniel, the king’s loyal servant. However, Darius, the King was stuck by the wiles of his advisors and his own laws and decrees. That’s why it’s so easy, as a believer these days, to be concerned by the laws that are being drafted or the rulings of judges which restrict or persecute Christians.
And, as John MacArthur points out in his devotional for this date in Strength for Today, it is not always God’s will that the faithful be delivered from the jaws of death as was the case for Daniel or for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego earlier. MacArthur reminds me and his readers that Isaiah was a faithful witness to God; and he was sawn in half by God’s enemies; and how faithful was Stephen, who was stoned to death as he declared his loyalty to God to the end? Finally, we know that both Peter and Paul were martyred in very cruel deaths for their faith. All of these men had incredible Spirit-led integrity; and all of them were bold and assertive witnesses to their faith … just like Daniel. Yet, they were not delivered from their individual “lion’s den” experience and were martyred for their faith.
Yes, as MacArthur writes, “Trusting God means accepting His will, whether for life or for death.” And as Paul wrote in Phil. 1: 21, “… to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” My primary goals in this life as a Christian are to know God and to live according to His will. And oh how I desire to be like these men of faith who held on to their integrity in Christ in their lives and in the face of death!
And right now, in my morning time with God, as His timing would have it, and as I listen to my ITunes music collection of Christian favorites, the version of the great praise song, I Will Follow Christ, performed by my dear friend, Clay Crosse, and two of his fellow Christian artists, Bob Carlisle and Bebe Winans has come up for me to listen to here in my quiet time. What a great song about following Christ no matter what the circumstances of life. And so that you, my fellow Christians reader, can hear my brothers singing this song, here’s a link to a You Tube performance by these great singers of that powerful song of praise and witness. Watch, listen, and be inspired to greater integrity and witness.
My Prayer Today: O, my Lord, to live or to die in You is my witness. Amen
My Journal for Today: As we read in today’s passage, it was God’s will that Daniel be delivered from the mouths of the lions. And it was undoubtedly Daniel’s steadfast integrity of faith and his open witness to King Darius prior to this incident which caused the King to have regrets in Daniel’s predicament, and at the same time hope that Daniel’s God would deliver Daniel, the king’s loyal servant. However, Darius, the King was stuck by the wiles of his advisors and his own laws and decrees. That’s why it’s so easy, as a believer these days, to be concerned by the laws that are being drafted or the rulings of judges which restrict or persecute Christians.
And, as John MacArthur points out in his devotional for this date in Strength for Today, it is not always God’s will that the faithful be delivered from the jaws of death as was the case for Daniel or for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego earlier. MacArthur reminds me and his readers that Isaiah was a faithful witness to God; and he was sawn in half by God’s enemies; and how faithful was Stephen, who was stoned to death as he declared his loyalty to God to the end? Finally, we know that both Peter and Paul were martyred in very cruel deaths for their faith. All of these men had incredible Spirit-led integrity; and all of them were bold and assertive witnesses to their faith … just like Daniel. Yet, they were not delivered from their individual “lion’s den” experience and were martyred for their faith.
Yes, as MacArthur writes, “Trusting God means accepting His will, whether for life or for death.” And as Paul wrote in Phil. 1: 21, “… to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” My primary goals in this life as a Christian are to know God and to live according to His will. And oh how I desire to be like these men of faith who held on to their integrity in Christ in their lives and in the face of death!
And right now, in my morning time with God, as His timing would have it, and as I listen to my ITunes music collection of Christian favorites, the version of the great praise song, I Will Follow Christ, performed by my dear friend, Clay Crosse, and two of his fellow Christian artists, Bob Carlisle and Bebe Winans has come up for me to listen to here in my quiet time. What a great song about following Christ no matter what the circumstances of life. And so that you, my fellow Christians reader, can hear my brothers singing this song, here’s a link to a You Tube performance by these great singers of that powerful song of praise and witness. Watch, listen, and be inspired to greater integrity and witness.
My Prayer Today: O, my Lord, to live or to die in You is my witness. Amen
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
Friday, June 24, 2011
June 24, 2011 … Integrity Triumphs Over Deception
Passage of the Day: Daniel 6: 6 – 9 … 6 So the administrators and the satraps went as a group to the king and said: “O King Darius, live forever! 7 The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or man during the next thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. 8 Now, O king, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” 9 So King Darius put the decree in writing.
My Journal for Today: In the devotional book, Strength for Today, … the book that I have used to drive these daily journal entries, John MacArthur, on this date, quotes a prayer of King David in Psalm 5: 8 – 12 [linked here for your study], where David prayed that those who would plot to deceive him would be punished by God. Actually, a prayer like that one could have been Daniel’s prayer as well as we read what the jackals in King Darius’ court plotted against Daniel. And Darius, like Nebuchadnezzar years before him, had fallen prey to the ego-driven deceit of the King’s men, which set in motion another serious test of Daniel’s faith and spiritual integrity.
And as we read the story unfold in the rest of Daniel 6 (also, as I have read on ahead, you can follow my subsequent devotionals), God would protect Daniel again; and the deceitful men of the King’s court would lose their lives for plotting against God’s man, Daniel. From all of this, the lesson could not be clearer.
Faithful integrity which honors the one, true God, especially when tested, will be blessed by God’s will and way. And as it says in my wife’s favorite Bible verse, Prov. 3: 5 -6 (another passage I hope you’ve memorized by now), trusting God wholeheartedly finds the believer walking a straight, if narrow and harrowing, path in God’s direction. And we also know from one of my other memorized passages, 1st Cor. 10: 13, God’s promise is that He will always make a way for His faithful warriors to follow.
That was the way for Daniel; and that is the way it should be for all of us to follow the Lord.
My Prayer Today: Help me, Lord, to see Your path clearly … and then, to follow it faithfully. Amen
My Journal for Today: In the devotional book, Strength for Today, … the book that I have used to drive these daily journal entries, John MacArthur, on this date, quotes a prayer of King David in Psalm 5: 8 – 12 [linked here for your study], where David prayed that those who would plot to deceive him would be punished by God. Actually, a prayer like that one could have been Daniel’s prayer as well as we read what the jackals in King Darius’ court plotted against Daniel. And Darius, like Nebuchadnezzar years before him, had fallen prey to the ego-driven deceit of the King’s men, which set in motion another serious test of Daniel’s faith and spiritual integrity.
And as we read the story unfold in the rest of Daniel 6 (also, as I have read on ahead, you can follow my subsequent devotionals), God would protect Daniel again; and the deceitful men of the King’s court would lose their lives for plotting against God’s man, Daniel. From all of this, the lesson could not be clearer.
Faithful integrity which honors the one, true God, especially when tested, will be blessed by God’s will and way. And as it says in my wife’s favorite Bible verse, Prov. 3: 5 -6 (another passage I hope you’ve memorized by now), trusting God wholeheartedly finds the believer walking a straight, if narrow and harrowing, path in God’s direction. And we also know from one of my other memorized passages, 1st Cor. 10: 13, God’s promise is that He will always make a way for His faithful warriors to follow.
That was the way for Daniel; and that is the way it should be for all of us to follow the Lord.
My Prayer Today: Help me, Lord, to see Your path clearly … and then, to follow it faithfully. Amen
Saturday, June 18, 2011
June 18, 2011 … Integrity Triumphs Under Fire
Passage of the Day: Daniel 3: 21 – 23 … 21 So these men [Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego], wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.
My Journal for Today: It is important for us to remember, while reading of this remarkable account of faith by these three Hebrew boys, God did not choose to deliver them from the actual fire of their trial. God allowed King Nebuchadnezzar, who is a picture or our world today, to have the boys thrown into the flames, which were so hot that several of the King’s attendants, throwing the three into the fire, were killed [an interesting tidbit of information which, I believe, adds a lot of credibility to this biblical account]. The, once the boys were thrown into the fire, the witness of the deliverance from the fiery trial of these three lads, as well as the presence of a fourth man (which we’ll explore tomorrow – see Dan. 3: 24 – 25) caused Nebuchadnezzar to declare openly the greatness of the Hebrew God (see Daniel 3: 28). But then, again, how could anyone witnessing that scene not be impressed by the God about Whom these boys gave witness?
All of this wonderful story corresponds with the message from the Apostle Peter in the New Testament in 1st Peter 1: 6 – 7 …
SCRIPTURE: 1st Peter 1: 6 - 7 ... 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
We Christians must be willing to stand in the fires of life and be refined into finer gold so that our God will be glorified when the world sees us walking with Christ in those fires which God uses to remold us into His image.
Men like Martin Luther even died in the fire, giving their lives as torched martyrs for their faith and for the glory of their God. However, their witness and posthumous testimonies live on with power, shining as light into a dark world even today. The fires may consume us (or not); but as with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, our faith and testimony must live on for the glory of God ALWAYS. Our integrity must not waver when we face the fire.
My Prayer Today: It is a privilege, Lord, to be in the fire with You. Amen
My Journal for Today: It is important for us to remember, while reading of this remarkable account of faith by these three Hebrew boys, God did not choose to deliver them from the actual fire of their trial. God allowed King Nebuchadnezzar, who is a picture or our world today, to have the boys thrown into the flames, which were so hot that several of the King’s attendants, throwing the three into the fire, were killed [an interesting tidbit of information which, I believe, adds a lot of credibility to this biblical account]. The, once the boys were thrown into the fire, the witness of the deliverance from the fiery trial of these three lads, as well as the presence of a fourth man (which we’ll explore tomorrow – see Dan. 3: 24 – 25) caused Nebuchadnezzar to declare openly the greatness of the Hebrew God (see Daniel 3: 28). But then, again, how could anyone witnessing that scene not be impressed by the God about Whom these boys gave witness?
All of this wonderful story corresponds with the message from the Apostle Peter in the New Testament in 1st Peter 1: 6 – 7 …
SCRIPTURE: 1st Peter 1: 6 - 7 ... 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
We Christians must be willing to stand in the fires of life and be refined into finer gold so that our God will be glorified when the world sees us walking with Christ in those fires which God uses to remold us into His image.
Men like Martin Luther even died in the fire, giving their lives as torched martyrs for their faith and for the glory of their God. However, their witness and posthumous testimonies live on with power, shining as light into a dark world even today. The fires may consume us (or not); but as with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, our faith and testimony must live on for the glory of God ALWAYS. Our integrity must not waver when we face the fire.
My Prayer Today: It is a privilege, Lord, to be in the fire with You. Amen
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
June 14, 2011 … Integrity Endures Criticism
Passage of the Day: Daniel 3: 8 – 12 … 8 At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, "O king, live forever! 10 You have issued a decree, O king, that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, 11 and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up."
My Journal for Today: Strong stands by God’s leaders, when they encounter the public arena, what we Christians call, “The World,” will almost always yield opposition and may involve outright rejection or even persecution (depending on the worldly power of the opposition). Today’s passage is a good example, involving Daniel’s three young Hebrew friends who had become prominent in the King’s government, incurring jealousy from the Babylonian court elite. The existing, and likely older, officials of the Chaldean government had no doubt been on a slow boil of jealousy for quite some time; and finally, they hatched a plot to bring down these three talented Hebrew youths (see Dan. 2: 49). In today’s text we see that plot beginning to unfold, illustrating how a Godly (i.e., in our case “Christians”) world view can generate criticism and counter-cultural wrath.
In the context of our post-modern world, a Christian leader can expect that the proclamation of the Gospel message, or often merely the Name of “Christ,” will be repugnant to our humanistic culture and power structure. Jesus, Himself, said, “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you (John 15: 20);” which was also Paul’s warning to Timothy (2nd Tim. 3: 12). It’s a given social construct. Proclaim “CHRIST” openly in our world; and you will be rejected, mocked, or persecuted. The world preaches, through hypocrisy, a doctrine of “tolerance;” yet, it is most intolerant of the one Person who was the most tolerant in His mercy and the least tolerant of our hypocrisy ... i.e., ... Christ..
So, since we’re focusing on Christian integrity this month, be forewarned! If you are a Christian called to lead the cause of Christ; … and you hold, with integrity to your faith, you can expect the non-believing public, and especially the worldly power structure, will ridicule or revile your stand; and they will do all they can to block what you say or to bring you down personally or politically. For a lesson in these tactics all we have to do is see how organizations today like the ACLU or the People for the American Way treat Christian political action groups like the The American Family Association, the Family Research Council, or ministries like Focus on the Family, which loudly proclaim the Gospel and Christian family values to a very hostile world.
BUT, we must never forget that God will never forsake His own (see Heb. 13: 5); and His word and truth will never come up void for His purposes (Isaiah 55: 11). And beyond this, our Lord is always greater than those representing the world and fomented by Satan (1st John 4: 4; Romans 8: 31).
So, those called to lead, as were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, or maybe people like you must, with integrity, lead … and lead us to victory.
My Prayer Today: Today, Lord, if called to do so, I will stand for You! Amen
My Journal for Today: Strong stands by God’s leaders, when they encounter the public arena, what we Christians call, “The World,” will almost always yield opposition and may involve outright rejection or even persecution (depending on the worldly power of the opposition). Today’s passage is a good example, involving Daniel’s three young Hebrew friends who had become prominent in the King’s government, incurring jealousy from the Babylonian court elite. The existing, and likely older, officials of the Chaldean government had no doubt been on a slow boil of jealousy for quite some time; and finally, they hatched a plot to bring down these three talented Hebrew youths (see Dan. 2: 49). In today’s text we see that plot beginning to unfold, illustrating how a Godly (i.e., in our case “Christians”) world view can generate criticism and counter-cultural wrath.
In the context of our post-modern world, a Christian leader can expect that the proclamation of the Gospel message, or often merely the Name of “Christ,” will be repugnant to our humanistic culture and power structure. Jesus, Himself, said, “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you (John 15: 20);” which was also Paul’s warning to Timothy (2nd Tim. 3: 12). It’s a given social construct. Proclaim “CHRIST” openly in our world; and you will be rejected, mocked, or persecuted. The world preaches, through hypocrisy, a doctrine of “tolerance;” yet, it is most intolerant of the one Person who was the most tolerant in His mercy and the least tolerant of our hypocrisy ... i.e., ... Christ..
So, since we’re focusing on Christian integrity this month, be forewarned! If you are a Christian called to lead the cause of Christ; … and you hold, with integrity to your faith, you can expect the non-believing public, and especially the worldly power structure, will ridicule or revile your stand; and they will do all they can to block what you say or to bring you down personally or politically. For a lesson in these tactics all we have to do is see how organizations today like the ACLU or the People for the American Way treat Christian political action groups like the The American Family Association, the Family Research Council, or ministries like Focus on the Family, which loudly proclaim the Gospel and Christian family values to a very hostile world.
BUT, we must never forget that God will never forsake His own (see Heb. 13: 5); and His word and truth will never come up void for His purposes (Isaiah 55: 11). And beyond this, our Lord is always greater than those representing the world and fomented by Satan (1st John 4: 4; Romans 8: 31).
So, those called to lead, as were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, or maybe people like you must, with integrity, lead … and lead us to victory.
My Prayer Today: Today, Lord, if called to do so, I will stand for You! Amen
Monday, June 13, 2011
June 13, 2011 … Integrity Resists Intimidation
Passage of the Day: Daniel 3: 4 – 7 … 4 Then the herald loudly proclaimed, "This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations and men of every language: 5 As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace." 7 Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
My Journal for Today: It is of interest and pertinence to note that our post-modern culture holds many similarities with those of Babylon and King Nebuchadnezzar. People today, especially believing/witnessing Christians, are pressured by the powers that be, by the media, and by many in the world to set aside their faith or references to God, especially “Christ,” and to bow down to the idols of the age: intellectualism, humanism, materialism, sensualism, and political conformity to the liberalism of the so-called god of “tolerance.” And the penalty of non-conformity, as it was in Babylon, can be enormous.
John MacArthur in his Strength for Today devotional for this date clearly states, “The choices you make reveal the convictions you embrace.” Today is the anniversary of my marriage to my dear wife [over 45 of them]. For the first 12 years of our marriage, I made dangerous, selfish, and adulterous choices that could have destroyed our family in the caldron of my own sensuality and lust. However, God’s grace and the integrity of my wife’s forgiveness, strength, and patience allowed God to do a work in my heart where He transformed me to follow after the integrity of faith modeled by paragons of the faith like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (of whom we will soon read in subsequent devotionals this month).
Therefore, may I … no, may we all … follow the example of these three young men of faith and be willing to stand on faith with and against the fires of temptation burning in sight … and to believe and receive the promises of God expressed in His word. It takes courage and strong faith, i.e., Spirit-led integrity, to stand for Jesus in today’s post-modern world; and I pray that we all have the Christian integrity exhibited by the three Hebrew lads as we will read in our study in subsequent days.
My Prayer Today: Thank you, Lord, for restoring the life of our marriage; … help me to hold on to the integrity You have instilled in my soul to resist satanic and worldly values, i.e., the idols of our day. Amen
My Journal for Today: It is of interest and pertinence to note that our post-modern culture holds many similarities with those of Babylon and King Nebuchadnezzar. People today, especially believing/witnessing Christians, are pressured by the powers that be, by the media, and by many in the world to set aside their faith or references to God, especially “Christ,” and to bow down to the idols of the age: intellectualism, humanism, materialism, sensualism, and political conformity to the liberalism of the so-called god of “tolerance.” And the penalty of non-conformity, as it was in Babylon, can be enormous.
John MacArthur in his Strength for Today devotional for this date clearly states, “The choices you make reveal the convictions you embrace.” Today is the anniversary of my marriage to my dear wife [over 45 of them]. For the first 12 years of our marriage, I made dangerous, selfish, and adulterous choices that could have destroyed our family in the caldron of my own sensuality and lust. However, God’s grace and the integrity of my wife’s forgiveness, strength, and patience allowed God to do a work in my heart where He transformed me to follow after the integrity of faith modeled by paragons of the faith like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (of whom we will soon read in subsequent devotionals this month).
Therefore, may I … no, may we all … follow the example of these three young men of faith and be willing to stand on faith with and against the fires of temptation burning in sight … and to believe and receive the promises of God expressed in His word. It takes courage and strong faith, i.e., Spirit-led integrity, to stand for Jesus in today’s post-modern world; and I pray that we all have the Christian integrity exhibited by the three Hebrew lads as we will read in our study in subsequent days.
My Prayer Today: Thank you, Lord, for restoring the life of our marriage; … help me to hold on to the integrity You have instilled in my soul to resist satanic and worldly values, i.e., the idols of our day. Amen
Friday, June 10, 2011
June 10, 2011 … Integrity Proves God’s Faithfulness
Passage of the Day: Daniel 1: 18 - 20 … 18 At the end of the time set by the king to bring them in, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king's service. 20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.
My Journal for Today: My former mentor, early in my Christian discipleship, when I was considering a task that I felt God was calling me to do, used to say, “God’s calling is His enablement.” And probably no true story in the Bible illustrates that principle better than today’s passage. These four young Hebrew lads came out of their three years of apprenticeship training (and Babylonian brainwashing, we might add); and though still very young, they were wiser and more astute than all the other Hebrew “trainees” and all of the wise men and leaders in Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom.
That had to have been quite a “job” interview conducted by the King; and I’m sure he was blown away by how well these four men shined above all the rest. Later, in the book of Daniel, you can read, and we will see, how these four were challenged greatly for their faith. However, here we see that God had given them special grace and favor so that they would be up to the selection by the King as well as the challenges that would lie ahead in being God’s called witnesses to Babylon.
I hope it doesn’t seem presumptuous to interject a bit of personal testimony here. Some years back I was asked to become an Elder in our church, which, when I realized the biblical dictates/criteria (see 1st Tim. 3: 1-7 and Titus 1: 6-9), I felt humbled and challenged to become a leader in our church when I didn’t feel that leadership was one of my spiritual gifts. But my mentor repeated to me, “Bill, if God is calling you into this office, He will enable you to do this.” So, I submitted and was ordained an Elder of our church. A few years later, I seriously wondered why God had seemingly led me to into the daunting position of leadership; and then our former pastor had a serious breach of leadership, falling to an incident of sexual sin; and with my pre-Christian past, having been delivered from and discipled out of past patterns of sexual sin, I realized why God had prepared me for this moment in time. It was much like when Esther realized that God had brought her to a position of influence at just the right time of His calling, when her cousin Mordecai said to her, (from Esther 4: 14b) “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” I realized that God had led me through my past and prepared me to have very special leadership training for just this one moment in our church’s history. I learned that “God’s calling is HIS enablement (and mine too).”
God wants you and me, i.e., all believers, to be His witnesses to this very darkened, post-modern world, … a culture which desires, as did that of Babylon, to take God’s light from public sight (see 1st Peter 2: 15).
SCRIPTURE: 1st Peter 2: 15 … For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.
And we must never forget God's call to His people [in Acts 1: 8] to receive His power and to be witnesses in His Name to the world whenever and wherever HE calls us to give witness to His Name. However, recently I heard John MacArthur give a sermon entitled A Nation Abandoned by God. In that message, primarily taken from Romans 1: 18 – 32, MacArthur posits that America and other nations of the world have likely in recent history been “given over” to the darkened minds/hearts of rulers and politicians who have been set adrift from God’s grace, allowing Satan to do his business with these leaders and to some extent with our culture. Hence, we see what is described in that passage of Romans 1, which is taking place in our post-modern America as well as throughout the world. And though I don’t like the term “abandoned” used by MacArthur in his sermon because of the truth of Deut. 31: 6 and Hebrews 13: 5, where God has promised “… never will I leave you; never will I forsake you; …” the “you” referring to a believing and obedient Israel in the Old Covenant as well as born-again believers in the New Covenant.
No, God will never “abandon” true followers of Christ; but He may well set those believers adrift for a season along with their collective nations as those nations decide to follow Satan and his world. But again remember, … God’s calling in His enablement; and God has called His people, through Christ, to be His vessels of light, Jesus declaring, [Matt. 5: 16] “… let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” He has also given His followers, by His grace, all we need to live up to His calling (see 2nd Cor. 12: 9 and 2nd Peter 1: 3). And so, even if God has given this post-modern culture over to the reprobate minds/hearts of its lost political and social “leaders,” God will never abandon the remnant of Christ’s followers in this world. That was God’s promise to Israel in Psalm 81: 8 -16 [linked here for your study]; and it’s His promise to you and me as Christians today.
My Prayer Today: Keep your fire lit in me, Lord, so that I may shine your truth in this world! Amen
My Journal for Today: My former mentor, early in my Christian discipleship, when I was considering a task that I felt God was calling me to do, used to say, “God’s calling is His enablement.” And probably no true story in the Bible illustrates that principle better than today’s passage. These four young Hebrew lads came out of their three years of apprenticeship training (and Babylonian brainwashing, we might add); and though still very young, they were wiser and more astute than all the other Hebrew “trainees” and all of the wise men and leaders in Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom.
That had to have been quite a “job” interview conducted by the King; and I’m sure he was blown away by how well these four men shined above all the rest. Later, in the book of Daniel, you can read, and we will see, how these four were challenged greatly for their faith. However, here we see that God had given them special grace and favor so that they would be up to the selection by the King as well as the challenges that would lie ahead in being God’s called witnesses to Babylon.
I hope it doesn’t seem presumptuous to interject a bit of personal testimony here. Some years back I was asked to become an Elder in our church, which, when I realized the biblical dictates/criteria (see 1st Tim. 3: 1-7 and Titus 1: 6-9), I felt humbled and challenged to become a leader in our church when I didn’t feel that leadership was one of my spiritual gifts. But my mentor repeated to me, “Bill, if God is calling you into this office, He will enable you to do this.” So, I submitted and was ordained an Elder of our church. A few years later, I seriously wondered why God had seemingly led me to into the daunting position of leadership; and then our former pastor had a serious breach of leadership, falling to an incident of sexual sin; and with my pre-Christian past, having been delivered from and discipled out of past patterns of sexual sin, I realized why God had prepared me for this moment in time. It was much like when Esther realized that God had brought her to a position of influence at just the right time of His calling, when her cousin Mordecai said to her, (from Esther 4: 14b) “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” I realized that God had led me through my past and prepared me to have very special leadership training for just this one moment in our church’s history. I learned that “God’s calling is HIS enablement (and mine too).”
God wants you and me, i.e., all believers, to be His witnesses to this very darkened, post-modern world, … a culture which desires, as did that of Babylon, to take God’s light from public sight (see 1st Peter 2: 15).
SCRIPTURE: 1st Peter 2: 15 … For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.
And we must never forget God's call to His people [in Acts 1: 8] to receive His power and to be witnesses in His Name to the world whenever and wherever HE calls us to give witness to His Name. However, recently I heard John MacArthur give a sermon entitled A Nation Abandoned by God. In that message, primarily taken from Romans 1: 18 – 32, MacArthur posits that America and other nations of the world have likely in recent history been “given over” to the darkened minds/hearts of rulers and politicians who have been set adrift from God’s grace, allowing Satan to do his business with these leaders and to some extent with our culture. Hence, we see what is described in that passage of Romans 1, which is taking place in our post-modern America as well as throughout the world. And though I don’t like the term “abandoned” used by MacArthur in his sermon because of the truth of Deut. 31: 6 and Hebrews 13: 5, where God has promised “… never will I leave you; never will I forsake you; …” the “you” referring to a believing and obedient Israel in the Old Covenant as well as born-again believers in the New Covenant.
No, God will never “abandon” true followers of Christ; but He may well set those believers adrift for a season along with their collective nations as those nations decide to follow Satan and his world. But again remember, … God’s calling in His enablement; and God has called His people, through Christ, to be His vessels of light, Jesus declaring, [Matt. 5: 16] “… let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” He has also given His followers, by His grace, all we need to live up to His calling (see 2nd Cor. 12: 9 and 2nd Peter 1: 3). And so, even if God has given this post-modern culture over to the reprobate minds/hearts of its lost political and social “leaders,” God will never abandon the remnant of Christ’s followers in this world. That was God’s promise to Israel in Psalm 81: 8 -16 [linked here for your study]; and it’s His promise to you and me as Christians today.
My Prayer Today: Keep your fire lit in me, Lord, so that I may shine your truth in this world! Amen
Saturday, June 04, 2011
June 4, 2011 … Integrity Triumphs Over Personal Loss
Passage of the Day: Daniel 1: 6 – 7 … 6 Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7 The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.
My Journal for Today: John MacArthur, in Strength for Today for this date, highlights today’s passage from Daniel by writing, “You can’t always prevent personal loss; but you can respond to it in ways that glorify God.” And in today’s passage we read of four young Hebrew boys, probably in their late teens or early 20s, being stripped of their way of life, separated from their families, and even renamed to take away their former Hebrew identities. For most of us, this kind of treatment would lead to extreme frustration, which, in turn, would likely lead to anger, bitterness, and then possibly to some kind of ungodly backlash.
But this was not to be the story of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, who were given the names of Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. No, … in the face of isolation and intense mind shaping by their Babylonian captors, we will see that these four clung to and trusted their one, true God. They exhibited intense and immense spiritual integrity. And as John MacArthur summarized it, “[These boys] couldn’t prevent their losses; but they could trust God and refuse to let those losses lead to despair and compromise.”
And so, for this month’s study, we have our first major lesson in Godly integrity from God’s Book and the life of Daniel, who, along with his three friends, chooses to cling to Godly values in the face of whatever personal loss and challenge may be inflicted by the world. When the world challenges our Christian values, even trying to strip us of our identity in Christ, we must CHOOSE to do as our Lord commanded, and that’s what our four young Hebrew role models did, … to deny self, take up their crosses, and follow God (see Luke 9: 23).
My Prayer Today: Lord, help me to be like these boys, a shining light of integrity in the darkness of worldly dishonesty. Amen
My Journal for Today: John MacArthur, in Strength for Today for this date, highlights today’s passage from Daniel by writing, “You can’t always prevent personal loss; but you can respond to it in ways that glorify God.” And in today’s passage we read of four young Hebrew boys, probably in their late teens or early 20s, being stripped of their way of life, separated from their families, and even renamed to take away their former Hebrew identities. For most of us, this kind of treatment would lead to extreme frustration, which, in turn, would likely lead to anger, bitterness, and then possibly to some kind of ungodly backlash.
But this was not to be the story of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, who were given the names of Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. No, … in the face of isolation and intense mind shaping by their Babylonian captors, we will see that these four clung to and trusted their one, true God. They exhibited intense and immense spiritual integrity. And as John MacArthur summarized it, “[These boys] couldn’t prevent their losses; but they could trust God and refuse to let those losses lead to despair and compromise.”
And so, for this month’s study, we have our first major lesson in Godly integrity from God’s Book and the life of Daniel, who, along with his three friends, chooses to cling to Godly values in the face of whatever personal loss and challenge may be inflicted by the world. When the world challenges our Christian values, even trying to strip us of our identity in Christ, we must CHOOSE to do as our Lord commanded, and that’s what our four young Hebrew role models did, … to deny self, take up their crosses, and follow God (see Luke 9: 23).
My Prayer Today: Lord, help me to be like these boys, a shining light of integrity in the darkness of worldly dishonesty. Amen
Sunday, May 22, 2011
May 22, 2011 … Entrusting All to God
Passage of the Day: 1st Peter 4: 19 … So then, those who suffer according to God's will should COMMIT themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.
My Journal for Today: This is the closing “tag line” to the passage we’ve been looking at these past few days, writing in historical context to Christians who were witnessing their faith under an extreme cloud of oppression and danger, … many being burned alive because they were unwilling to deny Christ. And the Apostle Peter closes his exhortation to these committed believers by charging them to “keep on keeping on” in their faith – no matter what!
As I consider this charge in my own life, the exhortation of Paul in Romans 12: 1 comes to mind …
SCRIIPTURE: Romans 12: 1 … Therefore, I urge you, brothers [and sisters], in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship.
Both Peter and Paul are encouraging fellow believers to join them (and they certainly were exemplary martyrs for the faith) in being willing to live - or die - for their Creator and Christ.
The term “commit” in all caps above in the NIV version of 1st Pet. 4: 19 is the Greek term, “paratithemi,” which can also be translated “entrust” (as it is, for example, in the NASB version). MacArthur, in his Strength for Today devotional for this date, points out that this is a Greek banking term; and therefore, these Apostles are saying that our acts of faith, what Paul referred to as “living sacrifice,” in Rom. 12: 1 [e.g., doing good in the face of trials], are faith deposits, placed in the safest of all “banks,” … in the Name of none other than God Almighty. Acts of faith, therefore, done in sacrifice in Christ’s Name and for His glory, are deposits which will be banked for eternity by God; and I believe God will honor them with His interest, which will be crowns in heaven.
So, in the face of trials, even ones like those of the Roman Christians being burned, where it becomes very tempting to cut and run, as did Christ’s Disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, we must be willing to ask ourselves whether our faith has matured to the point that we truly believe and are “living sacrifices” to the truth of Romans 8: 28 or 12: 1. And yes, as declared by God through Paul in 2nd Cor. 12: 9, we are weak; but if we believe in Christ and receive His grace, enabling us to prevail, as also promised in 1st Cor. 10: 13, we will be overcomers as was Christ, Himself (see also John 16:33).
My Prayer Today: Lord, may this life, mine, be a living sacrifice in Your Name. Amen
My Journal for Today: This is the closing “tag line” to the passage we’ve been looking at these past few days, writing in historical context to Christians who were witnessing their faith under an extreme cloud of oppression and danger, … many being burned alive because they were unwilling to deny Christ. And the Apostle Peter closes his exhortation to these committed believers by charging them to “keep on keeping on” in their faith – no matter what!
As I consider this charge in my own life, the exhortation of Paul in Romans 12: 1 comes to mind …
SCRIIPTURE: Romans 12: 1 … Therefore, I urge you, brothers [and sisters], in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship.
Both Peter and Paul are encouraging fellow believers to join them (and they certainly were exemplary martyrs for the faith) in being willing to live - or die - for their Creator and Christ.
The term “commit” in all caps above in the NIV version of 1st Pet. 4: 19 is the Greek term, “paratithemi,” which can also be translated “entrust” (as it is, for example, in the NASB version). MacArthur, in his Strength for Today devotional for this date, points out that this is a Greek banking term; and therefore, these Apostles are saying that our acts of faith, what Paul referred to as “living sacrifice,” in Rom. 12: 1 [e.g., doing good in the face of trials], are faith deposits, placed in the safest of all “banks,” … in the Name of none other than God Almighty. Acts of faith, therefore, done in sacrifice in Christ’s Name and for His glory, are deposits which will be banked for eternity by God; and I believe God will honor them with His interest, which will be crowns in heaven.
So, in the face of trials, even ones like those of the Roman Christians being burned, where it becomes very tempting to cut and run, as did Christ’s Disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, we must be willing to ask ourselves whether our faith has matured to the point that we truly believe and are “living sacrifices” to the truth of Romans 8: 28 or 12: 1. And yes, as declared by God through Paul in 2nd Cor. 12: 9, we are weak; but if we believe in Christ and receive His grace, enabling us to prevail, as also promised in 1st Cor. 10: 13, we will be overcomers as was Christ, Himself (see also John 16:33).
My Prayer Today: Lord, may this life, mine, be a living sacrifice in Your Name. Amen
Saturday, November 13, 2010
2010 – November 13 – Faithless Faith
Study from God’s Word… Accounts from the Gospels about the “last supper” and Jesus’ preparing to become the Lamb of God from Matt 26, Mark 14, and Luke 22 as well as John 12 … Passage for Reflection: John 12: 42 – 43 … NIV 42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved human praise more than praise from God.
My Journal for Today: As sometimes we say when incongruities are apparent in someone’s story or the report of a set of circumstances, like the one in today’s devotional text, “What’s wrong with this picture?”
Supposedly we have Jewish leaders in these latter days of Jesus’ life on earth who “believe” in Jesus. Yet, they are unwilling – or unable – to stand in the gap for that faith by confessing their beliefs to the Pharisees, who were the so-called guardians of the Temple, because of fears that they’d be excluded from worshipping in the Temple, which would have shunned them from inclusion in the community of Jewish faith there in Jerusalem. So, as my title implies for my devotional entry today, these men had somewhat of a “faithless faith.” Today, we Christians might have called them “nominal christians,” because the depth of their faith was only intellectual and not a deep/abiding/living faith in Christ.
And that brings up our application challenge from Dr. Smith from reading and meditating on the text for today. Dr. Smith asks, ”In what ways have I denounced my faith by refusing to openly acknowledge what I truly believe?” I would expect that the answer to this question catches many of us coming up short in the depth of our faith over the years of our walk as Christians. It certainly has me.
There are any number of times in my walk of faith where I’ve been “chicken” and unwilling to stand openly for Jesus in the public arena of life. Quite a number of times, I’ve heard people mock Christ or Christianity; and I kept my mouth shut. There have been times in my past when I heard people spelling out their beliefs FOR abortion; and I didn’t stand up for life the way I should have done as a Christian. And maybe you have had times when you were a representative of “faithless faith,” not standing forth as you should have.
Well, fortunately we have a forgiving Lord and Savior, Who in the verses following today’s text declares (see John 12: 47), 47 “If anyone hears My words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.” No, when Jesus walked the earth as the God-Man, He was not there as a JUDGE. He was there as the Lamb of God, to give His life so that those of us who have REAL faith in Him will live eternally. It is one day, when He will come again to be the Judge of mankind; and then all will have to stand in the gap for our faith in Him. And it will only be those who have true faith who will be worthy of His saving grace.
But once that saving faith has been expressed – truly from the heart; and we become Christian, receiving the saving grace offered by the blood of Christ, it will never be satisfactory to stand quietly and refuse to witness our faith. No, … the Holy Spirit, residing in me now as a Christian, rumbles His conviction when I am quiet, knowing I should speak or stand for my faith. And I don’t think – and I certainly pray - that I would now be unwilling to stand in the gap for Jesus in circumstances which called for my witness. I hope and pray that anyone reading here would step forward with me when and if the time presented itself to be a witness for our faith, never again living in a “faithless faith.”
My Prayer for Today: Lord, give us the faith of our faith to be witnesses for our faith. Amen
My Journal for Today: As sometimes we say when incongruities are apparent in someone’s story or the report of a set of circumstances, like the one in today’s devotional text, “What’s wrong with this picture?”
Supposedly we have Jewish leaders in these latter days of Jesus’ life on earth who “believe” in Jesus. Yet, they are unwilling – or unable – to stand in the gap for that faith by confessing their beliefs to the Pharisees, who were the so-called guardians of the Temple, because of fears that they’d be excluded from worshipping in the Temple, which would have shunned them from inclusion in the community of Jewish faith there in Jerusalem. So, as my title implies for my devotional entry today, these men had somewhat of a “faithless faith.” Today, we Christians might have called them “nominal christians,” because the depth of their faith was only intellectual and not a deep/abiding/living faith in Christ.
And that brings up our application challenge from Dr. Smith from reading and meditating on the text for today. Dr. Smith asks, ”In what ways have I denounced my faith by refusing to openly acknowledge what I truly believe?” I would expect that the answer to this question catches many of us coming up short in the depth of our faith over the years of our walk as Christians. It certainly has me.
There are any number of times in my walk of faith where I’ve been “chicken” and unwilling to stand openly for Jesus in the public arena of life. Quite a number of times, I’ve heard people mock Christ or Christianity; and I kept my mouth shut. There have been times in my past when I heard people spelling out their beliefs FOR abortion; and I didn’t stand up for life the way I should have done as a Christian. And maybe you have had times when you were a representative of “faithless faith,” not standing forth as you should have.
Well, fortunately we have a forgiving Lord and Savior, Who in the verses following today’s text declares (see John 12: 47), 47 “If anyone hears My words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.” No, when Jesus walked the earth as the God-Man, He was not there as a JUDGE. He was there as the Lamb of God, to give His life so that those of us who have REAL faith in Him will live eternally. It is one day, when He will come again to be the Judge of mankind; and then all will have to stand in the gap for our faith in Him. And it will only be those who have true faith who will be worthy of His saving grace.
But once that saving faith has been expressed – truly from the heart; and we become Christian, receiving the saving grace offered by the blood of Christ, it will never be satisfactory to stand quietly and refuse to witness our faith. No, … the Holy Spirit, residing in me now as a Christian, rumbles His conviction when I am quiet, knowing I should speak or stand for my faith. And I don’t think – and I certainly pray - that I would now be unwilling to stand in the gap for Jesus in circumstances which called for my witness. I hope and pray that anyone reading here would step forward with me when and if the time presented itself to be a witness for our faith, never again living in a “faithless faith.”
My Prayer for Today: Lord, give us the faith of our faith to be witnesses for our faith. Amen
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