Which Category Are You In?
BIBLE MEDITATION:
“Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that He might humble thee, and that He might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end.” Deuteronomy 8:16
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
There are three categories of people reading this: those who are in trouble; those who are just getting out of trouble; and those who are going into trouble. Job 14:1 says, “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.”
The Spanish have a proverb: “There’s no home without its hush.” Sooner or later, we will all know sorrow, heartache, and trouble. What we need to know is that troubles are not a sign that things have gone wrong or things have gotten out of hand. We are often in trouble by the providence, plan, and purpose of Almighty God.
When the Israelites were delivered from Pharaoh’s army through the Red Sea, they went into the wilderness. Had God lost control? No. God led them there by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
ACTION POINT:
In the unfailing providence of God, we are often led into a place of trouble. The wilderness is God’s proving ground for your faith. How are you doing?
“Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that He might humble thee, and that He might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end.” Deuteronomy 8:16
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
There are three categories of people reading this: those who are in trouble; those who are just getting out of trouble; and those who are going into trouble. Job 14:1 says, “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.”
The Spanish have a proverb: “There’s no home without its hush.” Sooner or later, we will all know sorrow, heartache, and trouble. What we need to know is that troubles are not a sign that things have gone wrong or things have gotten out of hand. We are often in trouble by the providence, plan, and purpose of Almighty God.
When the Israelites were delivered from Pharaoh’s army through the Red Sea, they went into the wilderness. Had God lost control? No. God led them there by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
ACTION POINT:
In the unfailing providence of God, we are often led into a place of trouble. The wilderness is God’s proving ground for your faith. How are you doing?
~Adrian Rogers~
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The Passion to Obey
For a sermon I gave several years ago, I jotted down a list and titled it "The Evolution of a Passion to Obey God." That passion doesn't just spring up, full-blown at salvation. We do enter our new life in Christ with a desire to please Him, and that does include obeying Him. But an intensely determined pursuit of His will develops more slowly.
In fact, the first stage--fear of the consequences of disobedience--barely qualifies as reverence for God. But as we progress in our faith and form a commitment to obey the Lord, we eventually reach the final stage, which is love and devotion to Christ. Wouldn't you rather follow Him out of love than out of fear?
Getting from the first stage to the last begins with what you might expect--an increasing knowledge of Jesus Christ. As we dig into God's Word to see how He provided for the saints, we develop a desire for His best. Men like Moses, David, and Paul weren't satisfied with what the world had to offer, and we won't be either when we witness His work in the lives of His followers. So we test out obedience and discover that God's promised blessings are real. As we acquire a record of consistent rewards for doing His will, we recognize the wisdom of obedience.
Can you find yourself on the spectrum between fear and devotion? It is my hope that you have committed to obeying God and that you are reading His Word daily to learn how to keep your promise. God wants your best--your passionate pursuit of His will--because He is giving His best to you.
~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~
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But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ (Phil. 3:7).
When they buried the blind preacher, George Matheson, they lined his grave with red roses in memory of his love-life of sacrifice. And it was this man, so beautifully and significantly honored, who wrote,
O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee,
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.
O Light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to Thee,
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in Thy sunshine's blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.
O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee,
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shalt tearless be.
O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from Thee,
I lay in dust life's glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red,
Life that shall endless be.
There is a legend of an artist who had found the secret of a wonderful red which no other artist could imitate. The secret of his color died with him. But after his death an old wound was discovered over his heart. This revealed the source of the matchless hue in his pictures.
The legend teaches that no great achievement can be made, no lofty attainment reached, nothing of much value to the world done, save at the cost of heart's blood.
~L. B. Cowman~
_________________________
When they buried the blind preacher, George Matheson, they lined his grave with red roses in memory of his love-life of sacrifice. And it was this man, so beautifully and significantly honored, who wrote,
O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee,
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.
O Light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to Thee,
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in Thy sunshine's blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.
O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee,
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shalt tearless be.
O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from Thee,
I lay in dust life's glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red,
Life that shall endless be.
There is a legend of an artist who had found the secret of a wonderful red which no other artist could imitate. The secret of his color died with him. But after his death an old wound was discovered over his heart. This revealed the source of the matchless hue in his pictures.
The legend teaches that no great achievement can be made, no lofty attainment reached, nothing of much value to the world done, save at the cost of heart's blood.
~L. B. Cowman~
_________________________
Today's reading: 1 Kings 19:19-21
As we come to the close of 1 Kings 19, we get our first look at Elisha, Elijah's new helper and eventual replacement. Elisha is doing common farm work when Elijah comes upon him and issues the call for Elisha to join with him in ministry. Although it's not specifically stated, Elisha had to have known who Elijah was and be aware of the tension with king Ahab and Jezebel, not to mention the dangerous situation Elijah was currently in. Even so, Elisha immediately responds to Elijah's invitation. He is eager for the opportunity to serve God alongside Elijah.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how eager would you say you are when serving God requires you to change your routine or move out of your comfort zone? Is there a project, assignment or task that God is presently asking you to be involved in as you serve Him?
~Tami~
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God Leads from Within
In our last devotional, we talked about the new covenant being better than the old covenant. One reason is found in Hebrews 8:8-11 which says,
…"Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,' for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them."
In the Old Testament, God had to lead His people externally. When fleeing Egypt, God led them by night with a pillar of fire and by day with a pillar of cloud. They did not intuitively know where God wanted them to go or what God wanted them to do.
But under the new covenant, God leads His people from within because He has now taken up residence within. I believe that is why on the Day of Pentecost God chose to manifest the coming of the Holy Spirit in tongues of fire that sat upon each person individually.
God was saying that while under the old covenant, He led His people by a pillar of fire, and now He is coming to dwell and lead from the inside of each believer!
~Bayless Conley~
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