God Puts Things in Proper Order (and other devotionals)

God Puts Things in Proper Order

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord…” 2 Peter 1:2

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Have you ever noticed how God puts things in sequence in the Bible? For example, the Bible says, “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you.” It never says “peace and grace”—always “grace and peace.” Why? You’ll not know peace until you know grace.

The Bible also says “Believe and be baptized.” Not “Be baptized and believe.” If you were immersed or sprinkled before you gave your heart to Jesus and truly believed, you haven’t been “baptized” at all. True baptism follows true belief. There is another order that God has put in the Bible. Not only grace and peace, not only belief and baptism, but repentance and faith. Always in that order: repentance first, then faith. If you’re having difficulty with faith, try repentance.

ACTION POINT:

There’s nothing so damning, so debilitating, as sin in the heart. The writer of Hebrews says, “Take heed lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief.”

~Adrian Rogers~

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2 Peter 1:5, 6:

Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge, etc.

If thou wouldest enjoy the eminent grace of the full assurance of faith, under the blessed Spirit's influence, and assistance, do what the Scripture tells thee, "Give diligence." Take care that thy faith is of the right kind-that it is not a mere belief of doctrine, but a simple faith, depending on Christ, and on Christ alone. Give diligent heed to thy courage. Plead with God that He would give thee the face of a lion, that thou mayest, with a consciousness of right, go on boldly. Study well the Scriptures, and get knowledge; for a knowledge of doctrine will tend very much to confirm faith. Try to understand God's Word; let it dwell in thy heart richly. When thou hast done this, "Add to thy knowledge temperance." Take heed to thy body: be temperate without. Take heed to thy soul: be temperate within. Get temperance of lip, life, heart, and thought. Add to this, by God's Holy Spirit, patience; ask Him to give thee that patience which endureth affliction, which, when it is tried, shall come forth as gold. Array yourself with patience, that you may not murmur nor be depressed in your afflictions. When that grace is won look to godliness. Godliness is something more than religion. Make God's glory your object in life; live in His sight; dwell close to Him; seek for fellowship with Him; and thou hast "godliness"; and to that add brotherly love. Have a love to all the saints: and add to that a charity, which openeth its arms to all men, and loves their souls. When you are adorned with these jewels, and just in proportion as you practise these heavenly virtues, will you come to know by clearest evidence "your calling and election." "Give diligence," if you would get assurance, for lukewarmness and doubting very naturally go hand in hand.

~Charles Spurgeon~

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What If?

And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. 1 Corinthians 7:13-14

How many times do we, as adults, reflect upon our childhoods and wonder "what if?" What if my Christian mom would have left my non-Christian dad? Thoughts of my childhood bring a mixture of emotions. Growing up in a home with a father who did not know or believe in Jesus Christ was hard, even in the best of times. I felt the tensions, had fears, and though I did not understand everything, I knew we were in a battle. My mom fought one of those battles every Sunday, but somehow she persevered to get herself and two kids to church. Those mornings irritated and angered my dad. I now realize just how serious those battles were, for the warfare is not against flesh and blood but against spirits and principalities (Ephesians 6:12). But through His power and love, God gave my mother the strength to stay with my father. And because of the foundation my mother laid in the Lord, I learned to turn to God for help at a young age. God heard my prayers and I learned to trust in His protection, even in the midst of oppression.                                                       
Just recently, my mom and I talked about her relationship with my dad. I am so thankful she stayed with him. Paul says that the "unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife" and that the "children would be unclean, but now they are holy." God honors our desire to keep the commitment we make with our spouses and God knows that the children need both parents together. Even if only one parent knows the Lord, God blesses the home. Besides, we never know when the Holy Spirit will change the heart of the unsaved parent. As a child, I prayed every night for my dad "to be saved," and though he never went to church, my mom remembers the night he prayed the sinner's prayer after watching Billy Graham. He died soon after. We may not understand why God allows certain situations to be so painful and hard for so long, but He honors our desire to please Him over ourselves. What if my mother had chosen to leave my father? Yes, my life would have been different but I am so thankful that my mother stayed.
God gave us His strength when we were weak. God gave us hope when we despaired. Because of those years, I learned to cry out to God and depend on Him at a young age. I learned invaluable lessons that have shaped my faith today. Despite your circumstances, no matter how dreadful they seem, God is with you. Turn to Him for the strength to make it.

~Daily Disciples Devotional~

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2 Peter 1:4

Exceeding great and precious promises.

If you would know experimentally the preciousness of the promises, and enjoy them in your own heart, meditate much upon them. There are promises which are like grapes in the wine-press; if you will tread them the juice will flow. Thinking over the hallowed words will often be the prelude to their fulfillment. While you are musing upon them, the boon which you are seeking will insensibly come to you. Many a Christian who has thirsted for the promise has found the favour which it ensured gently distilling into his soul even while he has been considering the divine record; and he has rejoiced that ever he was led to lay the promise near his heart. But besides meditating upon the promises, seek in thy soul to receive them as being the very words of God. Speak to thy soul thus, "If I were dealing with a man's promise, I should carefully consider the ability and the character of the man who had covenanted with me. So with the promise of God; my eye must not be so much fixed upon the greatness of the mercy-that may stagger me; as upon the greatness of the promiser-that will cheer me. My soul, it is God, even thy God, God that cannot lie, who speaks to thee. This word of His which thou art now considering is as true as His own existence. He is a God unchangeable. He has not altered the thing which has gone out of His mouth, nor called back one single consolatory sentence. Nor doth He lack any power; it is the God that made the heavens and the earth who has spoken thus. Nor can He fail in wisdom as to the time when He will bestow the favours, for He knoweth when it is best to give and when better to withhold. Therefore, seeing that it is the word of a God so true, so immutable, so powerful, so wise, I will and must believe the promise." If we thus meditate upon the promises, and consider the Promiser, we shall experience their sweetness, and obtain their fulfillment.

~Charles Spurgeon~