Will God Be Enough…?
BIBLE MEDITATION:
“And ye shall be hated of all men for My name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” Matthew 10:22
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Have you ever read God’s Hall of Fame in Hebrews chapter 11? These men and women of faith did miraculous things. “Who through faith subdued kingdoms.” Hallelujah! “Wrought righteousness.” Praise the Lord! “Obtained promises.” Amen! “Stopped the mouths of lions.” Glory!
And how did they do it? Faith.
“And others [men and women of faith] had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder...” (Hebrews 11:36-37). “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise” (Hebrews11:39).
ACTION POINT:
Some had faith to escape; others had faith to endure. If it is God’s will for you, faith to endure may be the kind of faith God wants you to have. Will God be enough if He lets you walk through the fiery furnace?
“And ye shall be hated of all men for My name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” Matthew 10:22
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Have you ever read God’s Hall of Fame in Hebrews chapter 11? These men and women of faith did miraculous things. “Who through faith subdued kingdoms.” Hallelujah! “Wrought righteousness.” Praise the Lord! “Obtained promises.” Amen! “Stopped the mouths of lions.” Glory!
And how did they do it? Faith.
“And others [men and women of faith] had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder...” (Hebrews 11:36-37). “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise” (Hebrews11:39).
ACTION POINT:
Some had faith to escape; others had faith to endure. If it is God’s will for you, faith to endure may be the kind of faith God wants you to have. Will God be enough if He lets you walk through the fiery furnace?
~Adrian Rogers~
_____________________________
Be Watchful
We started in yesterday's devotional to look at the lessons we can learn about regaining our spiritual edge from the story in 2 Kings 6. In verses 4-5 we are told about the guy who loses his cutting edge,
…when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, "Alas, master! For it was borrowed."
Notice this guy is working hard, cutting down a tree. But, in the midst of this effort, he loses his cutting edge. His ax head falls into the water.
Now you might think, "Well, you wouldn't end up in a state like that, you wouldn't lose your edge, unless you were out of God's will."
But if you read yesterday's devotional, you will see these guys were in the will of God. They were moving by divine permission. The prophet not only said go, he went with them, showing just how much this was the right thing to do.
Or you might think, "Well, a spiritual man or a spiritual woman wouldn't have lost their edge." No, there is no indication that the guy who lost his cutting edge was unspiritual. Every indication tells us he was spiritually strong.
So what does this teach us? Be careful not to think we cannot lose our spiritual edge. It can happen to you, and it can happen to me. We all can lose our cutting edge if we are not careful.
My friend, it is vital to take care not to lose your spiritual edge. This is something you have to work at to maintain. Just because you have it today doesn't mean you will have it tomorrow.
The good news is that if you have lost your spiritual edge, you can regain it! Even better, be watchful to maintain your edge—staying sharp for God
~Bayless Conley~
_______________________
What Matters is Who God Is
by Max Lucado
When God announced Moses was to deliver the Israelites, Moses wasn’t convinced! God demonstrated that who Moses was didn’t matter. What mattered was who God was.
“Moses,” spoke the voice from the bush, “throw down your staff” (Exodus 4:3).
God you may not know…well, you don’t go around throwing down your staff. You never know when. . .
“Throw it down.”
When the rod became a snake, Moses began to run.
“Moses! Pick it up by the tail.”
God, out here, well, you don’t pick up snakes too often and never by the tail.
“Moses!”
Yessir!
As Moses touched the squirmy scales, it hardened. Moses lifted up the rod—the same rod he would lift up to divide the water and guide two million people through the desert. If God can do something with stubborn hearts and a stiff-necked people. . .he can do something with the common!
______________________________
Out of Spiritual Death
"And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up out of your graves" (Ezekiel 37:13).
Indeed it must be so: those who receive life from the dead are sure to recognize the hand of the LORD in such a resurrection. This is the greatest and most remarkable of all changes that a man can undergo -- to be brought out of the grave of spiritual death and made to rejoice in the light and liberty of spiritual life. None could work this but the living God, the LORD and giver of life. Ah, me! How well do I remember when I was lying in the valley full of dry bones, as dry as any of them! Blessed was the day when free and sovereign grace sent the man of God to prophesy upon me! Glory be to God for the stirring which that word of faith caused among the dry bones. More blessed still was that heavenly breath from the four winds which made me live! Now know I the quickening Spirit of the ever-living Jehovah, Truly Jehovah is the living God, for He made me live. My new life even in its pinings and sorrowings is clear proof to me that the LORD can kill and make alive. He is the only God. He is all that is great, gracious, and glorious, and my quickened soul adores Him as the great I AM. All glory be unto His sacred name! As long as I live I will praise Him.
~Charles Spurgeon~
_________________________
Are You Just Swinging the Handle?
As you look at your life today in honesty and transparency, perhaps you would have to say that you have lost that edge, that excitement, that zeal, that spiritual passion you once had.
If indeed you have lost your edge, how can you get it back? Over the next seven days, I will help you understand how to regain your spiritual edge based on 2 Kings 6.
The first principle I want to focus on is based on the man who lost his ax head, as we learn in 2 Kings 6:4-5,
…when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water.
Now, it would have been senseless for him to have kept chopping with a wooden handle with no ax head on it, wouldn't it?! He would make no progress.
And yet that is what a lot of Christians do today. They have lost their cutting edge, and they are just going through the motions, making no progress at all.
They are chopping away with just a wooden handle!
They think, "Well, I know I'm supposed to go to church, so I will go. As long as I keep busy, maybe nobody's going to know the state of my heart." And they will do this not just for weeks or months, but some people have been doing this for years.
No progress, no growth. They are just swinging that handle without an ax head.
If this is you, do not just keep swinging the ax handle. If you are not making progress, admit it. Until you are willing to face up to the fact that you have not been growing, you can never regain your spiritual edge.
~Bayless Conley~
“Moses,” spoke the voice from the bush, “throw down your staff” (Exodus 4:3).
God you may not know…well, you don’t go around throwing down your staff. You never know when. . .
“Throw it down.”
When the rod became a snake, Moses began to run.
“Moses! Pick it up by the tail.”
God, out here, well, you don’t pick up snakes too often and never by the tail.
“Moses!”
Yessir!
As Moses touched the squirmy scales, it hardened. Moses lifted up the rod—the same rod he would lift up to divide the water and guide two million people through the desert. If God can do something with stubborn hearts and a stiff-necked people. . .he can do something with the common!
______________________________
Out of Spiritual Death
"And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up out of your graves" (Ezekiel 37:13).
Indeed it must be so: those who receive life from the dead are sure to recognize the hand of the LORD in such a resurrection. This is the greatest and most remarkable of all changes that a man can undergo -- to be brought out of the grave of spiritual death and made to rejoice in the light and liberty of spiritual life. None could work this but the living God, the LORD and giver of life. Ah, me! How well do I remember when I was lying in the valley full of dry bones, as dry as any of them! Blessed was the day when free and sovereign grace sent the man of God to prophesy upon me! Glory be to God for the stirring which that word of faith caused among the dry bones. More blessed still was that heavenly breath from the four winds which made me live! Now know I the quickening Spirit of the ever-living Jehovah, Truly Jehovah is the living God, for He made me live. My new life even in its pinings and sorrowings is clear proof to me that the LORD can kill and make alive. He is the only God. He is all that is great, gracious, and glorious, and my quickened soul adores Him as the great I AM. All glory be unto His sacred name! As long as I live I will praise Him.
~Charles Spurgeon~
_________________________
As you look at your life today in honesty and transparency, perhaps you would have to say that you have lost that edge, that excitement, that zeal, that spiritual passion you once had.
If indeed you have lost your edge, how can you get it back? Over the next seven days, I will help you understand how to regain your spiritual edge based on 2 Kings 6.
The first principle I want to focus on is based on the man who lost his ax head, as we learn in 2 Kings 6:4-5,
…when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water.
Now, it would have been senseless for him to have kept chopping with a wooden handle with no ax head on it, wouldn't it?! He would make no progress.
And yet that is what a lot of Christians do today. They have lost their cutting edge, and they are just going through the motions, making no progress at all.
They are chopping away with just a wooden handle!
They think, "Well, I know I'm supposed to go to church, so I will go. As long as I keep busy, maybe nobody's going to know the state of my heart." And they will do this not just for weeks or months, but some people have been doing this for years.
No progress, no growth. They are just swinging that handle without an ax head.
If this is you, do not just keep swinging the ax handle. If you are not making progress, admit it. Until you are willing to face up to the fact that you have not been growing, you can never regain your spiritual edge.
~Bayless Conley~
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