"You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty." Psalm 18:27
I saved a little note that I wrote down sometime in the last year or so. It had a few scribblings on it and some scripture references. I probably took a few notes from one of our pastor's sermons and thrust it in my bible as book mark. My bible is full of them, "notes from the Holy Spirit". Some are dog-eared and worn but God seems to know just when to have one of them "catch my eye."
Is 29:13-14 referred to by Jesus in Mat 15:8-9 says, "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Therefore, once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."
I get lazy with familiar things. My job, a favorite hobby, exercise, yes, even my family become routine when I feel comfortable with them. It is common to most of us and if we do not keep this human tendency in check, it can end in sadness and tragedy. A man who continuously puts work, a hobby, or his own desires ahead of his family may find himself divorced and alone. Likewise, the driver or the heavy equipment operator who becomes too familiar and careless with his equipment may lose his life or kill someone else due to his carelessness.
Our relationship with God is very much like this. When we worship or pray or even write devotionals in our blog, God wants our hearts not just upward looking eyes. He doesn't want us to only memorize scripture so we can impress our friends at church, he wants us to live out what the word says all the time. He wants us to love Him with our whole heart. All of our heart (24-7) all the time, no matter how it feels and especially when no one is watching.
This is not a new problem for God, as I can attest in my own life. Isaiah admonishes the people of Israel 700 years before Christ was born and 300 years later Malachi would use the same language (Mal 2:2) to admonish the Jewish priests. The same words continue to echo true today as I reflect on my own shortcomings. We must honor God with our heart not just words or actions that make us look good in front of our friends.
My prayer. Forgive our haughtiness Lord. Thank you for sending your Son to reconcile us through death to present us holy in your sight without blemish and free from accusation. Help us to live with hearts for you so that others may see what you have done in us and to show the world that there is freedom from sin and death only through faith in you. Make me Christ-like in everything I do and say, especially when no one is looking. In Jesus name I pray, Amen!
Friday, September 26, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Evil Spirit from God?
"Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him." 1 Samuel 16:14
When I first read this I must admit I was in disbelief. "God wouldn't send an evil spirit! That's not God, that must be the Enemy!" As I read further, however, I learned that God had used evil spirits before and will again in the future. In the book of Judges, "After Abimelech had governed Israel three years, God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Schechem, who acted treacherously against Abimelech." Judges 9:22-23 In 1 Kings 22:22, God sent a lying spirit "to entice Ahab (King of Israel) into attacking Ramoth Gilead where he died there." And in 2 Thes 2:9-12 Paul foretells of God sending "a powerful delusion," so that those who remain in the end times will believe the lie of Satan and not believe in the truth of God.
Saul did not realize when God sent the evil spirit to torment him that David had been anointed to be the next king of Israel. Saul summoned David to play his harp in order to ease his torment; however, God had already arranged events such that David could be close to Saul so that he might learn kingship and be visible to the people of Israel. The evil spirit was used by God to shape natural events and move forward God's plan of redemption which would be fulfilled by Christ Jesus through the royal line of David!
My prayer. Father, you are the author of our salvation and you alone are in control of the natural and the supernatural. I pray that we can be useful to you in shaping your kingdom just as Saul and David were in Samuel's day. Make us today your servants. Hone our skills and prepare us to do your will on earth. Help us to be your hands and feet, the conduit between the supernatural and the natural worlds. Make us more in your image and less in ours as we serve you with gladness. I Jesus name I pray, Amen!
When I first read this I must admit I was in disbelief. "God wouldn't send an evil spirit! That's not God, that must be the Enemy!" As I read further, however, I learned that God had used evil spirits before and will again in the future. In the book of Judges, "After Abimelech had governed Israel three years, God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Schechem, who acted treacherously against Abimelech." Judges 9:22-23 In 1 Kings 22:22, God sent a lying spirit "to entice Ahab (King of Israel) into attacking Ramoth Gilead where he died there." And in 2 Thes 2:9-12 Paul foretells of God sending "a powerful delusion," so that those who remain in the end times will believe the lie of Satan and not believe in the truth of God.
Saul did not realize when God sent the evil spirit to torment him that David had been anointed to be the next king of Israel. Saul summoned David to play his harp in order to ease his torment; however, God had already arranged events such that David could be close to Saul so that he might learn kingship and be visible to the people of Israel. The evil spirit was used by God to shape natural events and move forward God's plan of redemption which would be fulfilled by Christ Jesus through the royal line of David!
My prayer. Father, you are the author of our salvation and you alone are in control of the natural and the supernatural. I pray that we can be useful to you in shaping your kingdom just as Saul and David were in Samuel's day. Make us today your servants. Hone our skills and prepare us to do your will on earth. Help us to be your hands and feet, the conduit between the supernatural and the natural worlds. Make us more in your image and less in ours as we serve you with gladness. I Jesus name I pray, Amen!
Monday, September 15, 2008
A Whole New You
"The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in power and you will prophesy with them an you will be changed into a different person." 1 Samuel 10:6
Most people today are not happy with themselves and desire to be changed, in some way, differently than how they appear or act. We spend hundreds millions of dollars every year "getting rich quick," loosing or gaining weight, "increasing" our IQ, having cosmetic surgery, getting younger skin, or growing hair. You name it and we are spending money trying to change it now!
When Saul was anointed king by God through Samuel, the Bible tells us "as Saul turned to leave,... God changed Saul's heart." (1 Samuel 10:9) He was later able to prophesy (something he had never done before) among the prophets, Samuel writes, even to the disbelief of those that had known Saul for many years. Samuel told Saul, "...do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you." 1 Samuel 10:7
Saul had been transformed by God from the person known by friends and family as Saul son of Kish who was last seen looking for his father's donkeys, into Saul the King of Israel! He was empowered by the Creator of the universe to do whatever he wanted to do and God would give him everything he needed to be successful. "Talk about a whole new you!"
Nevertheless, Saul, I believe, would always have doubts in the back of his mind. After all, "this is only Saul," his friends would say, "he cannot possibly be different." Even, at his coronation he was found "hiding among the baggage" (1 Samuel 10:22), too shy to step out and grasp the power the Lord gave him.
I believe we Christians doubt sometimes the power that our Lord gives us through the Holy Spirit. We choose to listen to old friends, who knew us before we received the Lord and became different men and women in Christ. They tell us we are not any different or that we shouldn't listen to that "religious stuff." Soon we find ourselves believing them rather than God and we fail to use the power that He has given us.
We must learn to stop "hiding among the baggage" and chasing the donkeys of our old selves and learn to "do whatever (our) hands find to do, for God is with (us)." Listen to God and not the Enemy (through our past life) and be the man or woman God has called us to be.
My prayer. Daddy, I come to you humbly to thank you for the great power you have given me through Jesus Christ. Today, I receive that power and ask for you to walk with me so that I can do whatever it is my hand finds to do. In Jesus name and for your glory I believe and pray. Amen!
Most people today are not happy with themselves and desire to be changed, in some way, differently than how they appear or act. We spend hundreds millions of dollars every year "getting rich quick," loosing or gaining weight, "increasing" our IQ, having cosmetic surgery, getting younger skin, or growing hair. You name it and we are spending money trying to change it now!
When Saul was anointed king by God through Samuel, the Bible tells us "as Saul turned to leave,... God changed Saul's heart." (1 Samuel 10:9) He was later able to prophesy (something he had never done before) among the prophets, Samuel writes, even to the disbelief of those that had known Saul for many years. Samuel told Saul, "...do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you." 1 Samuel 10:7
Saul had been transformed by God from the person known by friends and family as Saul son of Kish who was last seen looking for his father's donkeys, into Saul the King of Israel! He was empowered by the Creator of the universe to do whatever he wanted to do and God would give him everything he needed to be successful. "Talk about a whole new you!"
Nevertheless, Saul, I believe, would always have doubts in the back of his mind. After all, "this is only Saul," his friends would say, "he cannot possibly be different." Even, at his coronation he was found "hiding among the baggage" (1 Samuel 10:22), too shy to step out and grasp the power the Lord gave him.
I believe we Christians doubt sometimes the power that our Lord gives us through the Holy Spirit. We choose to listen to old friends, who knew us before we received the Lord and became different men and women in Christ. They tell us we are not any different or that we shouldn't listen to that "religious stuff." Soon we find ourselves believing them rather than God and we fail to use the power that He has given us.
We must learn to stop "hiding among the baggage" and chasing the donkeys of our old selves and learn to "do whatever (our) hands find to do, for God is with (us)." Listen to God and not the Enemy (through our past life) and be the man or woman God has called us to be.
My prayer. Daddy, I come to you humbly to thank you for the great power you have given me through Jesus Christ. Today, I receive that power and ask for you to walk with me so that I can do whatever it is my hand finds to do. In Jesus name and for your glory I believe and pray. Amen!
Friday, September 12, 2008
Be Careful What You Wish For
"Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, "This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day."
But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."
When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king." 1 Samuel 8:10-22
God continually amazes me. "Give them a king, if that is what they want," (my paraphrase) the Lord tells Samuel. Even after he told them what a ruler would do, the people still wanted one. Why?----Because that's what the "other" nations had!
Never mind that "the other nations," (Philistines, Amorites, etc) were constantly trying to kill them. Never mind their neighbors worshipped false gods that told them to sacrifice their children! Never mind that Yahweh had brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and gave them a beautiful land with bountiful resources. No. they wanted to be like "the other nations."
Does this sound vaguely familiar. I can hear a politician now, "Elect me and I will make sure that we are "respected" again by the rest of the world." Why do we keep listening? Why would we want to be like nations who have forgotten their Christian roots; where beautiful churches are empty, turned into museums, theaters and mosques and God is no longer relevant to them?
"Let them have a king to lead them," God said. I believe he cried that day because he knew how it would turn out. I believe he is beginning to cry again in 2008.
My prayer. Father, forgive us for wanting false gods and putting our trust in rulers and governments over You. This election year help us to choose leaders who fear You and who will not place their trust and our future in the world. Help us to realize that You are our King and that you will faithfully do what is best for us because you love us. In Jesus name I pray. Amen!
But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."
When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king." 1 Samuel 8:10-22
God continually amazes me. "Give them a king, if that is what they want," (my paraphrase) the Lord tells Samuel. Even after he told them what a ruler would do, the people still wanted one. Why?----Because that's what the "other" nations had!
Never mind that "the other nations," (Philistines, Amorites, etc) were constantly trying to kill them. Never mind their neighbors worshipped false gods that told them to sacrifice their children! Never mind that Yahweh had brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and gave them a beautiful land with bountiful resources. No. they wanted to be like "the other nations."
Does this sound vaguely familiar. I can hear a politician now, "Elect me and I will make sure that we are "respected" again by the rest of the world." Why do we keep listening? Why would we want to be like nations who have forgotten their Christian roots; where beautiful churches are empty, turned into museums, theaters and mosques and God is no longer relevant to them?
"Let them have a king to lead them," God said. I believe he cried that day because he knew how it would turn out. I believe he is beginning to cry again in 2008.
My prayer. Father, forgive us for wanting false gods and putting our trust in rulers and governments over You. This election year help us to choose leaders who fear You and who will not place their trust and our future in the world. Help us to realize that You are our King and that you will faithfully do what is best for us because you love us. In Jesus name I pray. Amen!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Rid Yourselves of the Foreign Gods
"If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only..." 1 Samuel 7:3
Jesus tells us in the Books of Mark and Luke that a "A slave cannot serve two masters." When we make a choice to serve the Lord, we must make up our minds that if we are to truly serve Him, we must serve him alone. Just as Jesus warns that if we try to do both, that we will "hate the one and love the other."
I know in my personal walk with God through my relationship with Jesus, I found that He has had to reveal to me the truth about the gods that I follow because most of them are very subtle. Money and Materialism are certainly the ones that seem the most obvious, but as God reveals things to me over time, I find there are many hidden idols that I serve not realizing they are distracting me from God.
Those things that I thought I had mastery over are the very ones that God shows me I put before him. It is not an overnight task to follow what Samuel is saying. "...Serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hands of the Philistines," Samuel goes on to say. We must walk with the Lord and he will reveal and deliver us out of the things that keep us from experiencing the complete joy that comes from serving him alone. At times it is frustrating that but giving ourselves completely to the Lord is a lifetime process, not a one time event!
Each time God reveals a new "Ashtoreth" to me, I know for the next season in my life, I am in for a struggle until He reveals the root and helps me to "rid myself" of it. Some are harder than others and many of them return often. THANK YOU LORD FOR YOUR GRACE!
"For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God." 1 Peter 2:20
We must wait patiently on the Lord and sometimes suffer through our shortcomings. However, as we rid ourselves of the idols that hold us back God receives the glory through our sufferings just as Jesus did on the cross. Idol "smashing" is not so much about us as it is about Him and his great power.
My prayer. Lord thank you that you are a Great God and that you can and will deliver us from our Baals and Ashtoreths. Father, in the name of your Son Jesus, and with your saving grace, please come into our lives and reveal to us those idols that we serve and help us to rid ourselves of them. Thank you for the journey that we undertake when we choose to serve you and put away "foolish things" that hinder us from truly loving you. Make us stronger and increase our patience as we go. Thank you for loving us and may we bring you glory as we suffer in service to you just as your Son did on the cross. I love you Lord and thank you for loving me. In Jesus name I pray, Amen!
Jesus tells us in the Books of Mark and Luke that a "A slave cannot serve two masters." When we make a choice to serve the Lord, we must make up our minds that if we are to truly serve Him, we must serve him alone. Just as Jesus warns that if we try to do both, that we will "hate the one and love the other."
I know in my personal walk with God through my relationship with Jesus, I found that He has had to reveal to me the truth about the gods that I follow because most of them are very subtle. Money and Materialism are certainly the ones that seem the most obvious, but as God reveals things to me over time, I find there are many hidden idols that I serve not realizing they are distracting me from God.
Those things that I thought I had mastery over are the very ones that God shows me I put before him. It is not an overnight task to follow what Samuel is saying. "...Serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hands of the Philistines," Samuel goes on to say. We must walk with the Lord and he will reveal and deliver us out of the things that keep us from experiencing the complete joy that comes from serving him alone. At times it is frustrating that but giving ourselves completely to the Lord is a lifetime process, not a one time event!
Each time God reveals a new "Ashtoreth" to me, I know for the next season in my life, I am in for a struggle until He reveals the root and helps me to "rid myself" of it. Some are harder than others and many of them return often. THANK YOU LORD FOR YOUR GRACE!
"For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God." 1 Peter 2:20
We must wait patiently on the Lord and sometimes suffer through our shortcomings. However, as we rid ourselves of the idols that hold us back God receives the glory through our sufferings just as Jesus did on the cross. Idol "smashing" is not so much about us as it is about Him and his great power.
My prayer. Lord thank you that you are a Great God and that you can and will deliver us from our Baals and Ashtoreths. Father, in the name of your Son Jesus, and with your saving grace, please come into our lives and reveal to us those idols that we serve and help us to rid ourselves of them. Thank you for the journey that we undertake when we choose to serve you and put away "foolish things" that hinder us from truly loving you. Make us stronger and increase our patience as we go. Thank you for loving us and may we bring you glory as we suffer in service to you just as your Son did on the cross. I love you Lord and thank you for loving me. In Jesus name I pray, Amen!
Monday, September 8, 2008
God is Bigger
"So they called together all of the rulers of the Philistines and said, 'Send the ark of the god of Israel away; let it go back to its own place, or it will kill us and our people'." 1 Samuel 5:11
After the Philistines had defeated the Israelites at Ebenezer, they captured the ark of the covenant and took it back to Ashod. They placed it next to and image of the Philistine god Dagon. As the story says, " when the people arose early the next day, there was Dagon fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord!" Even after they set up the image again the following morning again they found Dagon before the ark of the Lord with his head and hands broken off and lying in pieces. After moving the ark to several different locations enduring devastation and outbreaks of disease caused by the wrath of God, the Philistine people finally cried out to their rulers for its removal and return back to Israel.
What a great story of the power that our Lord has over everything. No problem we face is big enough that He cannot handle. No god is big enough to defeat him. And when he moves into a new place, the other gods that dwell there must bow down and worship the name above all names.
Whatever, you are dealing with today, drugs, alcohol, pornography, or debt. None is too big for God to handle. He will defeat them every time and, as long as we trust that he will, we can enjoy the victory that God gives us over them. Too often however, we cannot see past the trials and we do not trust God enough to handle them and we intervene with our own solutions almost always creating worse problems than we had to begin with.
We must learn to let God be God and trust that he will defeat the Dagon in our lives in his time using his path. "Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God?" the Philistines said. No one, without the saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ!
My prayer: Whatever the issues Father that we face, none are bigger than you. Help us Lord to let you have all of these problems and concerns and then make us stay out of the way so that you can defeat them and receive all of the glory. In Jesus name I pray, Amen!
After the Philistines had defeated the Israelites at Ebenezer, they captured the ark of the covenant and took it back to Ashod. They placed it next to and image of the Philistine god Dagon. As the story says, " when the people arose early the next day, there was Dagon fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord!" Even after they set up the image again the following morning again they found Dagon before the ark of the Lord with his head and hands broken off and lying in pieces. After moving the ark to several different locations enduring devastation and outbreaks of disease caused by the wrath of God, the Philistine people finally cried out to their rulers for its removal and return back to Israel.
What a great story of the power that our Lord has over everything. No problem we face is big enough that He cannot handle. No god is big enough to defeat him. And when he moves into a new place, the other gods that dwell there must bow down and worship the name above all names.
Whatever, you are dealing with today, drugs, alcohol, pornography, or debt. None is too big for God to handle. He will defeat them every time and, as long as we trust that he will, we can enjoy the victory that God gives us over them. Too often however, we cannot see past the trials and we do not trust God enough to handle them and we intervene with our own solutions almost always creating worse problems than we had to begin with.
We must learn to let God be God and trust that he will defeat the Dagon in our lives in his time using his path. "Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God?" the Philistines said. No one, without the saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ!
My prayer: Whatever the issues Father that we face, none are bigger than you. Help us Lord to let you have all of these problems and concerns and then make us stay out of the way so that you can defeat them and receive all of the glory. In Jesus name I pray, Amen!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
In Those Days
"...In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions." 1 Samuel 3:1
I had a football coach once who told us that we had to worry when he stopped yelling and making us run laps, because at that point he had given up on us. As kids we all hated to be reprimanded or instructed by our parents because "we knew better than they did." But it was even worse when we had angered them so much that they told us to go to our room while they ignored us for several hours. Those hours seemed like days when our loved ones would not give us any attention.
As I reflected on this passage of scripture today in my quiet time, I thought how awful it must have been when the Lord remained silent. When Moses and Joshua lead the Jews from Egypt and into the promised land the Lord frequently appeared and spoke to his people. But now, after centuries of rule under the judges, God's word had become rare even to the Levites (the elected priests).
The people and even Eli, the religious leader of the time, had grown distant from God. They refused to listen to Him, choosing to follow their own way, increasing distance between themselves and the Lord. As this distance grew, God's voice became more and more faint, until even the prophets stopped hearing from Him.
This lesson is as appropriate today as it was in Samuel's time. If we as believers do not take the time to pray, worship and study God's on a daily basis, he too will begin to leave us alone. He will not abandon us but will wait silently until we are ready to give him our attention. The bible tells us to "be still and know that I am God." If we are to hear him we must be attentive. We must rid ourselves of the distractions of this world and focus on him with all of our heart, mind and body. We cannot have a part-time relationship with God and expect to hear what he has to say.
My Prayer: Father, thank you for the truth in your word that says, "draw near to God and he will draw near to you," Thank you Father for never moving and for always responding when we come to you with our whole hearts. Thank you for giving us the Holy Spirit to fill us and allow us to hear from you when we truly take the time to listen. Help us Lord to remove the obstacles that keep us apart from you and open all of ourselves to you so that we can hear your still small voice. Forgive us for being distracted and wasting so much of our earthly lives not hearing what you are saying. Father, let us not spend another moment missing your word. In Jesus name I pray, Amen!
I had a football coach once who told us that we had to worry when he stopped yelling and making us run laps, because at that point he had given up on us. As kids we all hated to be reprimanded or instructed by our parents because "we knew better than they did." But it was even worse when we had angered them so much that they told us to go to our room while they ignored us for several hours. Those hours seemed like days when our loved ones would not give us any attention.
As I reflected on this passage of scripture today in my quiet time, I thought how awful it must have been when the Lord remained silent. When Moses and Joshua lead the Jews from Egypt and into the promised land the Lord frequently appeared and spoke to his people. But now, after centuries of rule under the judges, God's word had become rare even to the Levites (the elected priests).
The people and even Eli, the religious leader of the time, had grown distant from God. They refused to listen to Him, choosing to follow their own way, increasing distance between themselves and the Lord. As this distance grew, God's voice became more and more faint, until even the prophets stopped hearing from Him.
This lesson is as appropriate today as it was in Samuel's time. If we as believers do not take the time to pray, worship and study God's on a daily basis, he too will begin to leave us alone. He will not abandon us but will wait silently until we are ready to give him our attention. The bible tells us to "be still and know that I am God." If we are to hear him we must be attentive. We must rid ourselves of the distractions of this world and focus on him with all of our heart, mind and body. We cannot have a part-time relationship with God and expect to hear what he has to say.
My Prayer: Father, thank you for the truth in your word that says, "draw near to God and he will draw near to you," Thank you Father for never moving and for always responding when we come to you with our whole hearts. Thank you for giving us the Holy Spirit to fill us and allow us to hear from you when we truly take the time to listen. Help us Lord to remove the obstacles that keep us apart from you and open all of ourselves to you so that we can hear your still small voice. Forgive us for being distracted and wasting so much of our earthly lives not hearing what you are saying. Father, let us not spend another moment missing your word. In Jesus name I pray, Amen!
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