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Withered

31 Aug

Withered

1 Kings 13:4 So it came to pass when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, who cried out against the altar in Bethel, that he stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Arrest him!” Then his hand, which he stretched out toward him, withered, so that he could not pull it back to himself.

Solomon had been graced by God and became the wisest man that ever lived. He had been blessed beyond measure; but yet had directly disobeyed God and gathered riches for Himself as a result. At the end of His life his many wives even led him into the great sin of idol worship as he began to worship idols and other Gods. God had warned him that if he did these things and did not have a humble repentant heart, that God would destroy the temple and divide Solomon’s kingdom. It all came to pass, and the twelve tribes of Israel split. There were 10 to the North, and  2 in the South. This turbulent time lasted 345 years.

The North’s rulers as a whole lead their divided Israel without Jehovah as their God. They worshiped many idols and their 19 Kings were consistently murdering each other to gain the throne. King Jeroboam committed great sins and is known as the person in the Bible mentioned the most for his evil ways and sin (22 times). In the scripture above he was reaching out to the prophet sent to warn him, when God withered the hand he used to direct. Withered his hand…..wow. Then in an unbelievable act of Grace, restored it. Read 1 KIngs 13 & 14.

The point of all of this is that we are lost without God. Even when we run, or try to hide, or flatly turn against Him; He is still there. We must understand we will have to answer to Him for the lives we live now. We are warned continuously of the consequence of our actions. Colossians 3:5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. Turn to God, turn away from sin; turn your heart towards Christ. All of your past sins are washed away in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, and you will gain eternal paradise; not the wrath of God on the sons of disobedience.

 
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Posted by on August 31, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Mystery revealed

30 Aug

Mystery revealed

Colossians 1:26 -27  the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

A biblical mystery is a sacred secret kept from the people of the Old Testament. The mystery that the apostle Paul is speaking of here is God reaching out to the Gentiles and not reserving His kingdom for only the Jews as they believed. This was the breaking down of the division between Jew & Greek, and the availability alike to everyone who heard the Gospel preached and heard. This continues today in an open call to everyone who will accept God’s grace. Their is no exclusivity nor sin, that a humble repentant heart cannot be forgiven.

There are those around us that seem different. It is a mystery to us why they have the outlook on life they do. They handle themselves and life’s situations differently. They seem to possess something, but yet we do not know what it is. Many times it is Christ; “which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” That is the life application of the phrase, “You may be the only Bible someone ever reads” comes into practice. They watch and want to know what you possess that they do not have. In that moment God has opened the door for you and them; for you to share your faith and hope in an eternal Savior. He has used you to help solve a mystery.

The hope that we possess, is the mechanics of our inner soul. That hope’s work is the Spirit living in us, striving to make us more like Christ. The inner work when we walk a life of obedience is a life transformed and reflective on the outer shell to others. Romans speaks well of that summary of a life as a disciple of Christ. Romans 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Let it be known to those whom you influence of the mystery of the hope that resides in you. We live in a world full of disappointment, and we all need the eternal hope that never fails.

 
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Posted by on August 30, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Heal our hearts and our land

28 Aug

Heal our hearts and our land

2 Chronicles 7:14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Solomon had built the Temple of God and had an elaborate week long ceremony dedicating the temple. During this week the people of Israel had seen the Glory of the Lord reign down fire from heaven and consume the sacrifices and His Glory fill the temple. God then spoke to Solomon one night and confirmed He had heard their prayers and that He would answer them under certain conditions. The conditions simply were for them to keep their eyes only on God and have repentant hearts before Him. Solomon and Israel failed.

We fail every day, but the grace of God is available to us every day. Dr. Adrian Rogers speaks of never wanting to lie his head down at night without a clean heart before God. How can we know that we will awake the next morn, or could stand before God with unconfessed sin? When we sin and feel that conviction of it, stop, drop and pray. Christ spoke to the church at Sardis in the book of Revelation, which was known as the dead church before Him. Revelation 3:3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. Keeping our watch is through a clean heart that desires God and the things of God. A heart with that desire understands the sin that stands in the way of that relationship.

God poured out blessings on Solomon like non other, yet Solomon failed to keep his eyes on the provider of the blessings and ultimately was led to idol worship. But look into the promises of the scripture above. God says the humble heart and prayer He will hear and extend his grace and blessings. We not only personally need this prayer, but as a nation we are in dire need of prayer for this country. We must first right ourselves individually before God, and then corporately together before God as a nation. In these months filled with political rhetoric we must keep our eyes on God. He is where the only true change is found, and where the only true provision derives through Him. Will you commit to praying for our nation?

 
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Posted by on August 28, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Bible Thumper?

26 Aug

Bible Thumper?

Colossians 4:5-6 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

Do you claim Christianity? Do your actions speak of a follower of Christ, or of a hypocrite? Once you claim Christ, the worldly lens begins to tighten it’s focus on your life. The world waits for you to err, or loves to point out your sins before you claimed Christ. “How can they be saved with all they have done?” The world is waiting for our fall from grace, and the opportunity to say “I told you so” when the fall comes.

The other side is the “Holy Roller”, or someone who esteems themselves above the crowd. Zeal is a common trait in a new Christian, and zeal without restraint can do more damage than good. Paul is speaking to the conduct of the Christian in the scriptures above. We can never “win” someone to Christ over an argument of faith. God pursues you long before you pursue Him. John 6:44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. We are to present the Gospel to all those in our sphere of influence, but you can’t “argue” a heart into winning them to Jesus.

Dr. Adrian Rogers spoke of this zeal, and even anger sometimes when he said, “to preach with anguish and not anger.” Your soul should hurt for that lost person and they should see how you long for them to see light of Christ. The way you speak to a lost person should not be condescending or condemning, but of love and concern for them. You may “season it with the salt” of an eternity they will face for their decision. The way you live your life every day may be the only Bible that those around you read. They may see your hypocrisy, or they may see something in you that they desire; a peace in an out of control world.

 
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Posted by on August 26, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Needing to know

25 Aug

Needing to know

Philippians 4:11-13 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

I sat out in the cool morning air in the peace of a quiet early Saturday morning and talked to God. I was praying about “needing to know” on many things, and one really big thing. I guess I was wanting the stars to align in my own personal billboard message from God. I came in and researched “need to know” in the Bible and came upon the scriptures above. Paul was speaking of contentment wherever Christ had him for the day. There comes a point in your growth that you begin to understand those scriptures and God’s Sovereignty, or control over your life.

But there is also moving to the next steps in obedience, or acts of faith in doing so. Oswald Chambers ‘My Utmost for His Highest’ spoke directly to it this morning. “We never know the joy of self-sacrifice until we abandon in every particular. Self-surrender is the most difficult thing – I will if…I Oh, well, I suppose I must devote my life to God. There is none of the joy of self-sacrifice in that.” Christ speaks of those sacrifices and steps of faith repeatedly in the Gospels. Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Deny yourself simply means putting Christ first. First in all things, period. Our selfish, sinful nature constantly battles with these things.

I am a ‘thinker/planner’ and have repeatedly been accused of ‘thinking things to death’. As part of the management of a company, it is my responsibility to think steps ahead, and to be planning for those steps to come. Christ calls us to release that planning and control to Him in the denying of ourselves as in Matthew 16. Chambers speaks of the joy, or lack thereof in that abandonment. If you too are struggling in areas of your life, and ‘needing to know’, you must seek God and His Word for the answers, or you may be leaning on your own understanding; far inferior to the Creator and Sovereign ruler of the universe and your life.

 
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Posted by on August 25, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Not multi-tasking

24 Aug

Not multi-tasking

Colossians 3:2   Set your mind on the things above, not on things on the earth.

Where is your minds set to? Is it like mine and seems to constantly being re-adjusted to focus on another tasks outside the primary tasks at hand? I am very self motivated and it seems the older I get the less I desire to multi-task. I seem to have the desire to do only one thing at a time as well as I possibly can. But those distractions come every time to draw my attention away.

Colossians is where the apostle Paul was dealing with many problems in the church. False teaching was distracting from Christ’s deity, and Paul was warning them of their error. Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Paul knew the followers of Christ were becoming distracted from the messages of Grace; and they were led astray by false teachers in the early church. Paul spends much of this epistle pointing to whom Christ is, and how our lives should be focused on Him.

The entire 3rd chapter of Colossians is the application of living for Christ. Of a mind that is focused on the things above, and not the lusts of this world. Of a life before Christ and the death of that life. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. There is an ‘BC (before Christ) and an AD(after death) in the timeline of your life. When you heed God’s call on your life, and accept the free gift of Grace He offers through Christ; your life before that moment in time dies. The life after that mark should be a life focused on serving Him with a heart of thanksgiving for what He has done for you. That focus should not be distracted by the things of this world, but focused on eternity and the things above. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. This is the life of a disciple; one that is focused on Christ, and the things above.

 
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Posted by on August 24, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Now that He has your attention…..

23 Aug

Now that He has your attention…..

Jonah 1:1-3 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

Many people stop at the book of Jonah and just think of the ‘fish story’. The depth of this small prophetic book in only three chapters is much more. Jonah speaks to me in the sphere of running from God as in these scriptures above. It then speaks of obedience, faith, self-denial, and repentance. Christ quoted Jonah in Matthew 12:39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. Jonah was an example of Christ in the Old Testament, and led Nineveh to repentance of their sin.

God has a way of getting our attention. We may hear from God, but not like what we hear so we deny we ever heard it at all. We may flee like Jonah and run from what we heard, or turn our attentions to other things that make us feel good about ourselves. Do we really think like Jonah we CAN run from God? He is looking upon our actions and thinking we just don’t get it. God may not put a fish in your path, but he may close doors to redirect it. He may put people and events in your life to change its direction. He may press down on your heart and mind in these tests of faith. Moses and Jeremiah questioned God’s call too, but they did not flee. Jonah did, and God’s Will for His life was still accomplished through the fish and Jonah’s ultimate obedience.

What is God telling you? Are you even listening for Him? It does not come in in billboards, emails, or a Facebook status. It comes only through a heart seeking Him in prayer and His Word. The static of this world will dull your senses to God. The static of busyness and technology have created barriers in your mind that your heart can only tear down. God may use a really big event in your life to get your attention, but what do you do with it? Do you see Him in it? These are the game changers that He uses to tear down those barriers instantly to gain our attention. Then we must approach Him Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! When He has your attention don’t flee as Jonah, but be obedient as Moses and follow God’s Will for your life.

 
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Posted by on August 23, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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The time is near

21 Aug

The time is near

Revelation 1:1-3 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants–things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

The book of Revelation is the most fascinating and the most misunderstood book in the bible. It is an ‘apocalyptic’ literature, or an unveiling, or disclosure. So this book is about Christ, from Christ as the author. The apostle John was given these visions and words to pen for us to read. The summary of this book is found in verse 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. For the “time is near’. You must realize as a believer in Christ the state of the world around you, and you must realize the importance of these days to share the Gospel of Christ to those around you who do not know Him.

We live in a fallen world, and the world’s sin seems to be escalating again. Throughout history their have been evil men who did horrible things, yet society condemned them for it. Society as a whole seems less likely to condemn now, but to blame and let it pass on the merits of where that blame is placed. There seems to be less power in the condemnation of judgement. The book of Revelation speaks to that coming judgement upon Christ’s return, and the eternal sentence. Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

Is your name written in the Book of Life? Do you know Christ as your Savior from the pit of Hell as the only Way(John 14:6)? Do you confess him before men? Matthew 10:32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. You cannot simply deny these coming days, for the book of Revelation speaks clearly of them. All roads do not lead to God and heaven; and living as a good person without the understanding of the Gospel will lead you down the path of destruction. The days you spend here on earth are the paths you prepare for eternity. The time is near; are you prepared?

 
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Posted by on August 21, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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What comes First?

13 Aug

What comes First?

John 15:4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

You’re a Christian and you want to be closer to God right? You sporadicly pray or read the bible, and go to church on Sunday’s most of the time. Is any of this honoring God, or giving God your left-overs? John 15:4 shows us clearly we must seek to abide in Him first. He will reward us with a heart that seeks Him every day in all things. This is from my research paper:

One cannot abide without a consistency of time spent in God’s Word. One cannot claim an intimate relationship with someone they invest little or sporadic time with. Intimacy is found through invested time and communication. Intimacy with Christ is found in time, and the communication is found through prayer and His Word. As His disciple we take the lessons learned there and apply them to our lives though fellowship and obedience. “A Christianity that does not have as its primary focus the deepening of passions for God is a false Christianity, no matter how zealously it seeks conversions or how forcefully it advocates righteous behavior.” (JD Greear) You cannot abide without a humble obedient heart that obeys His words. A heart that is moved to obedience from love is a heart that abides. A heart that does this from duty is a works driven faith, and self reliant and prideful.

Matthew 6:33 Seek Ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.  It starts today with your pursuit, or lack thereof. Will today be the day that changes the rest of your life, when you change your habits and move to seeking God consistently? You will keep getting what you have been getting if you keep doing what you have been doing. (Alan Higgins)

 
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Posted by on August 13, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Your Fruit Basket

12 Aug

Your Fruit Basket

John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

I spent the afternoon yesterday with a friend who is living out his life for Christ. I wish we had gotten to know each other better before he left Huntersville, but it is so awesome to see and hear how God has and is working in his life. He lived for the world many years, made lots of money and had lots of stuff, but God took it all away. He now sees Gods work in it, and is using his life in seminary and missions to draw glory to God. David you are a true disciple of Christ, and a huge encouragement to me. You get it.

I have been spending much time in study of John 15 and how we are to bear the fruit of the true vine. We are to be so close to Christ, that He gives us the sap of life from His vine, and we bear the fruit of our lives through it. That fruit is how you live your life every day; your witness as a professing Christian. David poured out bushels of fruit in my living room floor. A true believer will abide in the true vine, and as a result any true believer will produce fruit. John 15:4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. Are you a true believer if you are not producing fruit?

Some of the scariest words in the bible are found in Matthew 7. 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ What have you done with the knowledge of Jesus Christ, the savior of your soul, in your life. Has Is there evidence of Him in your life (fruit)? Is this the question God will ask of you on judgement day? Most likely so. Make today a day of seeking His Will, His guidance, and your heart for seeking Him with all of it. Deuteronomy 6:5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. When you truly do these things, your basket will be poured out and refilled by Him daily. Their WILL be fruit in your life.

 
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Posted by on August 12, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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