Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Numbers, Chapters 11-13 … To study these chapters, go to this link -
Numbers 11: 1-6: … [Grumbling and Complaining] … 1 Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. 2 When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the LORD and the fire died down. 3 So that place was called Taberah, because fire from the LORD had burned among them.
4 The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 6 But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!”
My Journal for Today: Wow! Today, when I went mining into God’s word for His wisdom (as Job described in Chapter 28 of his book) I found some real valuable jewels, rich stories on which I could blog. There is the powerful story of Moses’ siblings confronting him about his choice of a wife in Chapter 12; and then there was the wonderful story of the spies going out into the promised-land and bringing back their findings to Moses. Both of these stories have rich applications for us as believers and followers of God. However, when I first read through Chapter 11 of Numbers, right at the outset, there was the account of the people becoming grumblers. So, I’ve copied the beginning of that story above in Numbers 11: 1-6 for your consideration and my comments below.
Oh, dealing with God’s children must’ve been so, so frustrating for Moses, him being their Prophet, shepherd, and leader. Of course, Moses had the advantage of being in daily and direct communication with God there in the Tabernacle. BUT … those people had seen – and should’ve remembered – lesson after lesson of God’s mercy and grace and loving power. There was the miraculous deliverance from Egypt. There was the transmission of God’s will through His law. And there was God’s provision of manna for the people in their privation as they traversed through the wilderness toward God’s promised-land.
BUT … in spite of all that God had done, the people just didn’t get it, did they? God meets their needs; and what do they want? … Yeah, … more … much more! And even when God gives them more, as you can read in Chapter 11 of Numbers, what do they want [?]; … yeah, … even more. Does that remind you of anyone?
[A Prayer Pause] … Ok, Lord, I get it! You’re putting up a mirror of truth from Your word so that I will see that I’m no different than these grumbling Israelites. >>> I get it, Lord!! …
I seem to always ignore the truth of God’s clear word in my New Covenant Testament. For example, I read His clear promises in Romans 8: 28 and 2nd Peter 1: 3 and Phil. 4: 19; and yet I keep desiring more to satisfy my grumbling heart.
And my God keeps meeting my needs … every day and in every way. Oh, … I’m so weak of faith; and yes, I know – and believe – the truth of 2nd Corinthians 12: 9 … that my God’s grace is sufficient to shore me up in my times of self-pity and weakness. Yet, I still complain at times.
I don’t know about you; but I am so like those grumbling Israelites. And the promised land is out there, … just waiting for me … as I traverse through this wilderness of life to get there. Oh, how I need to heed the words and truth of Paul, when he wrote - with so much love – to the Philippians (in Phil. 3: 13-14), "… Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
If I can just look into the mirror of truth which God is putting up in front of my life every day … today … and remember what I know in my head, … exercising the faith that comes from believing it, … I will grumble less and follow more from faith. I need to pray as did the daddy in Luke 9: 24 … “I do believe [Lord]; help me overcome my unbelief!”
My Prayer Today: … Yes, Lord, that is my prayer today … that I follow You …in faith … without grumbling, taking my concerns directly to You and knowing that You ALWAYS give me what I need … in spite of what I want. I do believe You, Lord; … help me in my unbelief! Amen
Showing posts with label faithlessness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label faithlessness. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
2010 – August 11 – Praying for Alien Nations Where There’s Alienation
Study from God’s Word… Jeremiah 24: 1 – 10; Jer. 29: 1-32; Jer. 27: 1-22; Jer. 28: 1-17 … Passage for Reflection: Jeremiah 29: 4 – 7 … NIV 4 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."
My Journal for Today: A lot was happening to and with God’s people, Judah, as they were taken into Babylonian captivity by Nebuchanezzar in Jeremiah’s day. There were false prophets, like Hananiah, who spoke out with lies that God would break the yoke of Nebuchanezzar within two years; and ultimately that lie was exposed by God through Jeremiah; and any false prophet who trumpeted falsehoods such as these were brought down by God. And though the people didn’t want to hear what God said through Jeremiah, he continued to speak the truth of God to His people.
Today we read of advice which had to have been a hard pill to take for the Judeans in captivity. God was telling them to fold into the Babylonian culture, to become productive, to multiply, and above all, to pray to God; and those who followed these commands, which were given to God’s people in Babylon by Jeremiah, would be brought back to their promised land. But they were, going to have to wait for 70 years to see these prophesies come to fruition; and there were those false prophets, like I cited above about Hananiah, who were spouting lies which the people would rather hear, saying that God was going to break the yoke of Babylon in two years. Two years verses seventy years; … and as you might imagine, many would rather go with the “two year” choice.
But those who listened and believed Jeremiah, especially his promises in a well-worn truthful prophesy of Jeremiah 29: 10-14, would be rewarded for their faith. You may know that passage well, especially verse 11 [underlined]: 10 This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill My gracious promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek Me and find Me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity.
And God did take His people back to Jerusalem after 70 years, where we know, from history that God had the Temple rebuilt. We read about it in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. But how does that help us, via application, today? Well, it helps us extract hope from these stories from history, where God prophesied and those of faith were liberated and given the promises of God. And we, who are surrounded by lies and captive in a “Babylon” of sin today, should take heart that God has asked us to stick in there, have faith, live under the rigors of an evil world, and PRAY, PRAY, PRAY to God for His favor. That’s the ever prevalent promise of 2nd Chronicles 7: 14 - linked; isn’t it?
I’ll leave it to you as to what to believe and what to do as aliens, alienated in an evil world. But to paraphrase a famous Jewish leader, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!” [see Joshua 24: 14-15 – linked]
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I know that You will never leave those of us who believe in Your promises. Amen
My Journal for Today: A lot was happening to and with God’s people, Judah, as they were taken into Babylonian captivity by Nebuchanezzar in Jeremiah’s day. There were false prophets, like Hananiah, who spoke out with lies that God would break the yoke of Nebuchanezzar within two years; and ultimately that lie was exposed by God through Jeremiah; and any false prophet who trumpeted falsehoods such as these were brought down by God. And though the people didn’t want to hear what God said through Jeremiah, he continued to speak the truth of God to His people.
Today we read of advice which had to have been a hard pill to take for the Judeans in captivity. God was telling them to fold into the Babylonian culture, to become productive, to multiply, and above all, to pray to God; and those who followed these commands, which were given to God’s people in Babylon by Jeremiah, would be brought back to their promised land. But they were, going to have to wait for 70 years to see these prophesies come to fruition; and there were those false prophets, like I cited above about Hananiah, who were spouting lies which the people would rather hear, saying that God was going to break the yoke of Babylon in two years. Two years verses seventy years; … and as you might imagine, many would rather go with the “two year” choice.
But those who listened and believed Jeremiah, especially his promises in a well-worn truthful prophesy of Jeremiah 29: 10-14, would be rewarded for their faith. You may know that passage well, especially verse 11 [underlined]: 10 This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill My gracious promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek Me and find Me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity.
And God did take His people back to Jerusalem after 70 years, where we know, from history that God had the Temple rebuilt. We read about it in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. But how does that help us, via application, today? Well, it helps us extract hope from these stories from history, where God prophesied and those of faith were liberated and given the promises of God. And we, who are surrounded by lies and captive in a “Babylon” of sin today, should take heart that God has asked us to stick in there, have faith, live under the rigors of an evil world, and PRAY, PRAY, PRAY to God for His favor. That’s the ever prevalent promise of 2nd Chronicles 7: 14 - linked; isn’t it?
I’ll leave it to you as to what to believe and what to do as aliens, alienated in an evil world. But to paraphrase a famous Jewish leader, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!” [see Joshua 24: 14-15 – linked]
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I know that You will never leave those of us who believe in Your promises. Amen
Friday, June 04, 2010
2010 – June 04 – Time to Decide
Study from God’s Word… 1st Kings, Chapters 17 - 19 … Passage for Reflection: 1st Kings 18: 21… NIV Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
My Journal for Today: Reading about Elijah, God’s Prophet in troubled times, being a man called by God to show the power of God when God’s people had wavered in faith, makes me wonder sometimes why God doesn’t do business today the way He did in the Old Testament. But then I realize that Elijah was merely an arch-type of Jesus; and now, having the chronicles of the Great One, the God-Man, Jesus, in our New Testament, we have all the power we need in the Person of the Holy Spirit, imparted to Christ’s Bride, the Church, to do business in a world which now, as it was in Elijah’s day, is in the midst of a famine, … though our famine is one of spiritual faith not one where the rains do not fall.
But we can learn much from the stories of Elijah, related in today’s focus passages from Chapters 17-19 in 1st Kings. And when you come to today’s verse, highlighted by Dr. Smith in his devotional for this date, can you sense the Prophet’s frustration with God’s children? Yes, … there Elijah was, seeing God’s people wavering between their traditional beliefs in the God Who had delivered them from Egypt and the indulgence of the flesh they got when they followed the promises of Baal, with worship which involved such things as sexual satisfaction in the priestesses of Baal who were prostitutes.
As Dr. Smith points out today, the phrase “waver between two opinions” in today’s verse is the Hebrew “pacah shena’yim ca’iph,” which can be pictured by birds hopping between branches, not knowing where to land. And Dr. Smith aptly asks his readers to empathize; because we’ve all been driving in traffic, frustrated by being behind a driver ahead who wavers between two lanes ahead of us, not knowing which lane to follow. Or as parents we see teens today, knowing in their heads that drugs are deadly, yet relenting to the temptation to give meth a try. And then they get hooked; followed by hating themselves for becoming addicted. They are flighty birds, bouncing between branches, not knowing where to land.
And everyday I deal with men, … men like I was once, who ride what I call the “repentance rollercoaster.” They know, as Christians, that sexual sin is lethal, … yet, they can’t seem to internalize that surrender to God’s power from His Spirit will give them the empowering grace they need to overcome the pull of the flesh which porn or same sex attraction holds in their lives. They are, as Dr. Smith, calls it, “spiritual schizophrenics,” … wandering birds who can’t decide which branch to land on … the one promised by God or the one which give such fleshly satisfaction offered by Satan.
Can anybody reading this identify? Well, as we read in these Chapters in 1st Kings, Elijah, was a strong Prophet of God, calling God’s people to the way of the Lord and showing God’s infinite power to take charge in the world; but Elijah was also the weakling who needed to be shown by the same God that the LORD would provide Elijah His enabling and providential grace when the Prophet became weak and needed help.
So, I hope we can all get the messages conveyed by God’s truth, through His word, in these chapters. And helping us to examine ourselves, my devotional author prompts me to ask myself (and you ask yourself), "Is my attempt to keep one foot in the world (or the flesh) while keeping the other on high ground robbing me of an inner peace I’ve never known (or desire to have)?" My words were added in the parentheses; but I think you get the idea. We so often can be spiritual schizophrenics as our lives are lived out as the modern definition of “insanity,” which is “… trying to do the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.” That’s what Elijah was challenging God’s people to realize in today’s study verse; and it is the truth we all need to answer for ourselves today.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, thank You for showing me the answer to this question in my life. Help me to carry my testimony to others and show them that YOU are the only choice and the only way for man to walk free from the call of the flesh. Amen
My Journal for Today: Reading about Elijah, God’s Prophet in troubled times, being a man called by God to show the power of God when God’s people had wavered in faith, makes me wonder sometimes why God doesn’t do business today the way He did in the Old Testament. But then I realize that Elijah was merely an arch-type of Jesus; and now, having the chronicles of the Great One, the God-Man, Jesus, in our New Testament, we have all the power we need in the Person of the Holy Spirit, imparted to Christ’s Bride, the Church, to do business in a world which now, as it was in Elijah’s day, is in the midst of a famine, … though our famine is one of spiritual faith not one where the rains do not fall.
But we can learn much from the stories of Elijah, related in today’s focus passages from Chapters 17-19 in 1st Kings. And when you come to today’s verse, highlighted by Dr. Smith in his devotional for this date, can you sense the Prophet’s frustration with God’s children? Yes, … there Elijah was, seeing God’s people wavering between their traditional beliefs in the God Who had delivered them from Egypt and the indulgence of the flesh they got when they followed the promises of Baal, with worship which involved such things as sexual satisfaction in the priestesses of Baal who were prostitutes.
As Dr. Smith points out today, the phrase “waver between two opinions” in today’s verse is the Hebrew “pacah shena’yim ca’iph,” which can be pictured by birds hopping between branches, not knowing where to land. And Dr. Smith aptly asks his readers to empathize; because we’ve all been driving in traffic, frustrated by being behind a driver ahead who wavers between two lanes ahead of us, not knowing which lane to follow. Or as parents we see teens today, knowing in their heads that drugs are deadly, yet relenting to the temptation to give meth a try. And then they get hooked; followed by hating themselves for becoming addicted. They are flighty birds, bouncing between branches, not knowing where to land.
And everyday I deal with men, … men like I was once, who ride what I call the “repentance rollercoaster.” They know, as Christians, that sexual sin is lethal, … yet, they can’t seem to internalize that surrender to God’s power from His Spirit will give them the empowering grace they need to overcome the pull of the flesh which porn or same sex attraction holds in their lives. They are, as Dr. Smith, calls it, “spiritual schizophrenics,” … wandering birds who can’t decide which branch to land on … the one promised by God or the one which give such fleshly satisfaction offered by Satan.
Can anybody reading this identify? Well, as we read in these Chapters in 1st Kings, Elijah, was a strong Prophet of God, calling God’s people to the way of the Lord and showing God’s infinite power to take charge in the world; but Elijah was also the weakling who needed to be shown by the same God that the LORD would provide Elijah His enabling and providential grace when the Prophet became weak and needed help.
So, I hope we can all get the messages conveyed by God’s truth, through His word, in these chapters. And helping us to examine ourselves, my devotional author prompts me to ask myself (and you ask yourself), "Is my attempt to keep one foot in the world (or the flesh) while keeping the other on high ground robbing me of an inner peace I’ve never known (or desire to have)?" My words were added in the parentheses; but I think you get the idea. We so often can be spiritual schizophrenics as our lives are lived out as the modern definition of “insanity,” which is “… trying to do the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.” That’s what Elijah was challenging God’s people to realize in today’s study verse; and it is the truth we all need to answer for ourselves today.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, thank You for showing me the answer to this question in my life. Help me to carry my testimony to others and show them that YOU are the only choice and the only way for man to walk free from the call of the flesh. Amen
Monday, April 19, 2010
2010 – April 19 – A God Who Seems Distant
Study from God’s Word… Psalm 5, 6, 7, 10, 11 … Passage for Reflection: Psalm 10: 1… NIV 1 Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? … Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
My Journal for Today: We’ve all been there, in the place of David, as he wrote the songs which Dr. Smith had me read and meditate upon today. If you’re a believer, like yours truly and even King David, there are going to be days when God just SEEMS (and note my emphasis) absent. And most certainly, we know the human/worldly effects when leadership is perceived to be absent.
What happens, Dr. Smith asks, when parents are absent to lead their children? What happens when a boss is never around at work or a coach never calls a practice? And these human analogies call attention to one of the most difficult things about our relationship with God. How do we have faith in a God, Who is a Spirit, and Who doesn’t speak audibly to us, … especially now in these New Covenant times? I’m sure you’ve had times, as I have had and these Psalms document David had, when God just didn’t seem to be there as He has promised He would ALWAYS be. Many of you know what it says in both the OT and NT (see Deut. 31: 6 or Heb. 13: 5), … that our God will never leave us, not forsake us.
Well, then, why are there times when we desperately seem to need Him and he’s not there to swoop into our lives with a red cape and supernaturally heal our ills or solve our human dilemmas? And the answer to this one has everything to do with – and you know what I’m about to write - … FAITH! God’s SEEMING absence, … if we truly have faith, is ALWAYS a matter of our perception and never a matter of God’s reality. And we could speculate all we want; but there are going to be times when the truth of the passages I cited above as well as Isaiah 55: 8-9 from the OT and Paul’s exhortation in the NT in Romans 8: 28 are going to be called into personal reflection and question. (I hope you know what all these passages say about our inability to explain many things in our life as well as our faith in a God Who might seem to be absent. If you don’t know these Scriptures by heart, it would be good to find these passages, meditate on their truth, and then, do a check on your belief in their veracity.)
As evidenced by the Psalms I read today for my devotional time, it’s not wrong to feel the questions about God’s absence at certain times in our lives; and it’s not wrong to even raise the questions to God. David certainly did; and we know that many other giants of the faith in our Bible studies raised “WHY” questions to our God. But the thing we must guard against is letting our human feelings get in the way of surrendered faith; because it is only the latter – many times – which can give us faith’s victory to believe God being there when He seems to be absent. And knowing and clinging to His promises and His truth – from His word – as I’m convinced did David, we will be able to wait on the Lord for His presence to be felt and realized.
Dear one, when you FEEL that God is far away – or even absent – know His truth from His word to give you hope. When you feel your prayers bouncing off the ceiling, seemingly unheard, know, at least in your mind, if not in your heart, the reality that God will always hear you. So, like David, cry out to our God, and, though He already knows your feelings, let Him hear of your concerns; and keep praying for His power to be invoked and to cover your weakness.
My friend, God is there – ALWAYS THERE!! He hears – ALWAYS HEARS!! And He loves us – ALWAYS!!!
My Prayer for Today: LORD, when I’ve needed you – even when You seem far away – You were always there, bending down to hear me; and covering me with Your wings of protection. Help me to believe in my heart as much as I do know Your promises in my head. Amen
My Journal for Today: We’ve all been there, in the place of David, as he wrote the songs which Dr. Smith had me read and meditate upon today. If you’re a believer, like yours truly and even King David, there are going to be days when God just SEEMS (and note my emphasis) absent. And most certainly, we know the human/worldly effects when leadership is perceived to be absent.
What happens, Dr. Smith asks, when parents are absent to lead their children? What happens when a boss is never around at work or a coach never calls a practice? And these human analogies call attention to one of the most difficult things about our relationship with God. How do we have faith in a God, Who is a Spirit, and Who doesn’t speak audibly to us, … especially now in these New Covenant times? I’m sure you’ve had times, as I have had and these Psalms document David had, when God just didn’t seem to be there as He has promised He would ALWAYS be. Many of you know what it says in both the OT and NT (see Deut. 31: 6 or Heb. 13: 5), … that our God will never leave us, not forsake us.
Well, then, why are there times when we desperately seem to need Him and he’s not there to swoop into our lives with a red cape and supernaturally heal our ills or solve our human dilemmas? And the answer to this one has everything to do with – and you know what I’m about to write - … FAITH! God’s SEEMING absence, … if we truly have faith, is ALWAYS a matter of our perception and never a matter of God’s reality. And we could speculate all we want; but there are going to be times when the truth of the passages I cited above as well as Isaiah 55: 8-9 from the OT and Paul’s exhortation in the NT in Romans 8: 28 are going to be called into personal reflection and question. (I hope you know what all these passages say about our inability to explain many things in our life as well as our faith in a God Who might seem to be absent. If you don’t know these Scriptures by heart, it would be good to find these passages, meditate on their truth, and then, do a check on your belief in their veracity.)
As evidenced by the Psalms I read today for my devotional time, it’s not wrong to feel the questions about God’s absence at certain times in our lives; and it’s not wrong to even raise the questions to God. David certainly did; and we know that many other giants of the faith in our Bible studies raised “WHY” questions to our God. But the thing we must guard against is letting our human feelings get in the way of surrendered faith; because it is only the latter – many times – which can give us faith’s victory to believe God being there when He seems to be absent. And knowing and clinging to His promises and His truth – from His word – as I’m convinced did David, we will be able to wait on the Lord for His presence to be felt and realized.
Dear one, when you FEEL that God is far away – or even absent – know His truth from His word to give you hope. When you feel your prayers bouncing off the ceiling, seemingly unheard, know, at least in your mind, if not in your heart, the reality that God will always hear you. So, like David, cry out to our God, and, though He already knows your feelings, let Him hear of your concerns; and keep praying for His power to be invoked and to cover your weakness.
My friend, God is there – ALWAYS THERE!! He hears – ALWAYS HEARS!! And He loves us – ALWAYS!!!
My Prayer for Today: LORD, when I’ve needed you – even when You seem far away – You were always there, bending down to hear me; and covering me with Your wings of protection. Help me to believe in my heart as much as I do know Your promises in my head. Amen
Monday, March 08, 2010
2010 – Mar. 8 – The Blame Game
Study from God’s Word… Deut 31: 1-16, 23; Deut 31: 17-18; Deut 31: 19-29; Deut 31: 30 – 32: 43; … Passage for Reflection: Deuteronomy 31: 17 – 18… NIV 17 On that day I will become angry with them and forsake them; I will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters and difficulties will come upon them, and on that day they will ask, 'Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is not with us?' 18 And I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.
My Journal for Today: In my study today, my devotional author, Dr. Smith, had me reading about the time, from Deut 31 – 32, where Moses turned over the mantle of earthly leadership to Joshua, with God encouraging God’s people as they are about to cross over the Jordan River and move into the Promised Land. However, God and Moses foresee that these fickle Hebrew people will once again become recalcitrant and selfish, turning away from God and His Law. And once again the people will shift the blame for their selfishness away from their own sinfulness and blame God.
Ever been there? Have you ever been in a place in life where you felt that God had turned away or was distant from you? Maybe you’ve seen some other believer – a good friend or a loved one – who couldn’t see their own sin for what it was and blamed God for all the bad stuff going on in their lives. It probably wasn’t you, was it? ;>)
Certainly we see hardened criminals trying to hide the blame for their crimes by denying responsibility; and we even see three year old kids, caught red-handed, who will blame anything and everyone but themselves. It’s part of the human condition to default to the blame game. Adam did it in the garden by blaming Eve; … Eve did it by blaming the serpent. And we often try to blame God for not being there when we need Him.
But who is really to blame? Does God change in some way or become mysteriously absent in our lives when things go awry? No, … if you’re reading this, I think we’re all looking into God’s mirror of truth; and we probably don’t like what we see looking back at us. We want to see God’s image – that of Christlikeness; and certainly His likeness does reflect back from His word, which is our best mirror of truth. However, we so often want to deny that what we see in the mirror is the self which we have not totally surrendered to God for transformation and re-formation.
My friends, it is only when we can – and will – know that God never leaves us, nor forsakes us, that we can be in the seeking posture God needs for us to be for Him to reshape us into His image. That was actually there for me to read today in Deut. 31: 6. But God not is not only just there for us 24/7, … He goes on ahead of us to prepare the way for our path in life (see Deut. 31: 8). And so, … we need to see the truth when we look into God’s mirror, … His word. We need to see God for Whom He is; and we need to see ourselves for the rank sinners we are. But finally we need to see that God is reshaping those of us who’ve received Him into our hearts to become like God, the Son.
Blame shifting just won’t cut it in this life, my dear one. So, let’s see God, seek God, and let Him shape us into His image.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I stand here a sinner, surrendered to be transformed into Your image. Amen
My Journal for Today: In my study today, my devotional author, Dr. Smith, had me reading about the time, from Deut 31 – 32, where Moses turned over the mantle of earthly leadership to Joshua, with God encouraging God’s people as they are about to cross over the Jordan River and move into the Promised Land. However, God and Moses foresee that these fickle Hebrew people will once again become recalcitrant and selfish, turning away from God and His Law. And once again the people will shift the blame for their selfishness away from their own sinfulness and blame God.
Ever been there? Have you ever been in a place in life where you felt that God had turned away or was distant from you? Maybe you’ve seen some other believer – a good friend or a loved one – who couldn’t see their own sin for what it was and blamed God for all the bad stuff going on in their lives. It probably wasn’t you, was it? ;>)
Certainly we see hardened criminals trying to hide the blame for their crimes by denying responsibility; and we even see three year old kids, caught red-handed, who will blame anything and everyone but themselves. It’s part of the human condition to default to the blame game. Adam did it in the garden by blaming Eve; … Eve did it by blaming the serpent. And we often try to blame God for not being there when we need Him.
But who is really to blame? Does God change in some way or become mysteriously absent in our lives when things go awry? No, … if you’re reading this, I think we’re all looking into God’s mirror of truth; and we probably don’t like what we see looking back at us. We want to see God’s image – that of Christlikeness; and certainly His likeness does reflect back from His word, which is our best mirror of truth. However, we so often want to deny that what we see in the mirror is the self which we have not totally surrendered to God for transformation and re-formation.
My friends, it is only when we can – and will – know that God never leaves us, nor forsakes us, that we can be in the seeking posture God needs for us to be for Him to reshape us into His image. That was actually there for me to read today in Deut. 31: 6. But God not is not only just there for us 24/7, … He goes on ahead of us to prepare the way for our path in life (see Deut. 31: 8). And so, … we need to see the truth when we look into God’s mirror, … His word. We need to see God for Whom He is; and we need to see ourselves for the rank sinners we are. But finally we need to see that God is reshaping those of us who’ve received Him into our hearts to become like God, the Son.
Blame shifting just won’t cut it in this life, my dear one. So, let’s see God, seek God, and let Him shape us into His image.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I stand here a sinner, surrendered to be transformed into Your image. Amen
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