Week 22 Devotions

May 28 - - “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God’s right hand in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth” (Colossians 3:1&2). “Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise” (Philippians 4:8). “Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do” (Proverbs 4:23). How true it is, that we become what we think most about. That’s why the Bible focuses so much on what we feed our mind. “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will is” (Romans 12:2). So long as we think in the same way the people of this world think, we will reap the same results the people of this world reap. Solomon knew how easily men can be enticed into sexual, immoral conduct. Once, an immoral thought has been introduced into our minds, that immoral thought leads to an immoral action. And immoral actions, if not forsaken and repented of, lead to spiritual separation from God, which is eternal death (James 1:14&15). Do not commit adultery with another man’s wife is Solomon’s advice. “The man who commits adultery is an utter fool, for he destroys his own soul” (Prov.6:32). “The lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil. But the result is as bitter as poison, sharp as a double-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave” (Prov.5:3-5). How do we avoid immorality? By nipping it in our minds. By, taking immoral thoughts captive (II Corinthians 3:3-5) and replacing them with thoughts about our own wives. “Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. She is a loving doe, a graceful deer” (Prov.5:18&19). We should starve immoral thoughts by not placing immoral pictures before our eyes, for the eyes are directly connected to our souls (Matthew 6:22&23), and once an immoral picture has been introduced to our minds, an immoral thought ultimately leads to an immoral act (Matt.5:27-30). What kinds of pictures are you placing before your eyes? What kinds of thoughts are you allowing in your mind? Choose wisely for the choice you make has eternal consequences. May 31 - - How many times have we made plans and thought we had something all figured out, only to have some problem or obstacle mess up those plans? Someone sets aside money on a regular basis to retire at a certain age, only to die before they reach that age. Someone else plans to get married and have children by a certain age, only to find themselves still single when they reach that age. Someone else plans how they are going to make their way to the top at their work, only to get fired from their job. Because we all experience the frustration of making plans and then finding those plans become irrelevant by circumstances beyond our control, someone coined the phrase, “the only thing you can count on in life are death and taxes.” Now, there is nothing wrong with making plans to achieve something. The people of Babel made plans to build a great city, complete with a tremendously, tall building (Genesis 11:1-9). They weren’t condemned for making the plans. In fact, there almost seems to be a hint of commendation because they had such lofty goals. God ends up thwarting their plans because they had ungodly motives behind those plans (vs.4). Nehemiah is a great example of someone who thought out what he was going to do and then carried through on it, and he did so in record time (Nehemiah 6:15&16). One of the differences between Nehemiah and the citizens of Babel is that Nehemiah made his plans by first consulting God (Nehemiah 1:1-2:5). Nehemiah wanted to do what God wanted him to do, rather than simply asking God to bless what Nehemiah wanted to do. “We can gather our thoughts,” and it’s important that we do so. “But, the Lord (is the One who) gives the right answer” (Proverbs 16:1). “We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they will fall” (16:33). “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps” (16:8). Since, God has a plan for each and all of our lives, as well as a plan for the world we live in, we would be wise to simply, “commit your work to the Lord (in the first place), and then your plans will succeed” (16:3). Afterall, whose will is it we want done? His? Or, ours? The fact is, “you can make many plans, (all the plans you want), but the Lord’s purpose will (eventually) prevail” (19:21).

Week 21 Devotions

May 21 - - When the Israelites first left Egypt, God commanded Moses to build a large structure, called the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:1-7). The Tabernacle would be like a huge tent that could be taken down and moved as the people traveled, and then built again when the people stopped. God gave very specific instructions as to how the Tabernacle was to be built, what furnishings would be inside, what the purpose would be for those furnishings, the appointment of priests to minister in the Tabernacle, what the priests would wear, etc. (Exodus 25:8-31:11). Moses did exactly as God commanded (Exodus 35:4-40:33). Whereas, God first appeared to the Israelites when He descended on Mount Sinai in the form of fire, covering the mountain with smoke and causing an earthquake to shake the mountain (Exodus 19), God now filled this Tabernacle in the form of a cloud. And whenever the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle and moved, the people of Israel followed it until such time that the cloud stopped. They would then erect the Tabernacle again. God would fill the Tabernacle as a cloud during the day and at night there was a fire in the cloud so all the people of Israel could see it (Exodus 40:34-38). While David had wanted to build a permanent structure that God could dwell in, called the Temple, God insisted the task be given to David’s son, Solomon. Solomon enlisted 30,000 Israelites to go to Lebanon in shifts to gather the wood for the Temple (I Kings 5:13) and 153,600 foreign men living in the land of Israel to actually build the Temple (I Kings 5:15-18; II Chronicles 2:17&18). The task of building the Temple took Solomon 7 full years (I Kings 6:38). The Temple itself was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high (I Kings 6:2; II Chron.3:3). The walls were overlaid with gold, as were many of the furnishings. The Temple would be a permanent facility that God’s presence could appear in. It was a magnificently beautiful structure paid for by the willing offerings of the people of Israel. But, in truth, God’s presence inhabits the entire Universe and no building made by human hands can fully contain the Lord (II Chron.2:6; 6:18; I Kings 8:27; Acts 7:48&49; Psalm 139:7-16). We are then told that under God’s New Covenant with His people, a covenant sealed with the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s presence fills the body of EVERY person who believes that Jesus is the Messiah sent by God to redeem us, and who places their trust entirely in his sacrificed blood to forgive us and reconcile us to God (I Corinthians 6:19&20). That truth means we no longer belong to ourselves to do as we please (Romans 14:7&8; Galatians 2:20). Our bodies are to be instruments of God, doing what God wants us to do, and going where God wants us to go. If the Temple housing the presence of God under the Old Covenant was valuable and expensive to build, what does that say about the Temples God now resides in under the New Covenant? As Paul said, “You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you MUST honor God with your body” (I Cor.6:19&20). God no longer desires the sacrifice of dead animals as He did under the Old Covenant. God desires that we be living sacrifices, honoring and glorifying Him in these earthly Temples He has redeemed (Romans 12:1&2). May 24 - - “I don’t want to do that!” How many times have we heard our children use that phrase when we asked them to do something? For that matter, how many times have we, as adults, said the same thing when we were asked to do something at work, at church, or elsewhere, that we didn’t want to? Now, sometimes the things we are being asked to do are things we really don’t want to do. And at other times, they are things we know we should do, but can’t will ourselves to do. Though we don’t know the specific issue Paul was referring to, there was something in his life he had the same spiritual battle that we do in making the right decision. He wrote, “I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate. I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience shows that I agree that the law is good. But I can’t help myself, because it is sin inside me that makes me do these things.....No matter which way I turn, I can’t make myself do right. I want to, but I can’t. When I want to do good, I don’t. And when I try not to do the wrong, I do it anyway.....It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.....Oh, what a miserable person I am!” (Romans 7:15-24). Do you ever feel like that? James reminds us, “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it” (4:17). Many of us pray that God would help us to do the right thing, and we should. We are, in effect, asking God to help us do what we already know we should do. But, there are other times when we must first have the will to do what we need to do. Interestingly enough, Paul says that God will help us with both areas; possessing the will to do the right thing and, actually doing the right thing. “For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him” (Philippians 2:13). There are times when what we need to be praying first, is that God would place within us the will to do what we know we should do, or what He wants us to do. Solomon said, “May He (God) give us the desire to do His will in everything, and to obey all the commands, laws, and regulations that He gave our ancestors” (I Kings 8:58). And God affirmed, “I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me” (Jeremiah 32:40; Psalm 51:12). Our prayers should oftentimes then, be twofold: “Lord, place the will (or desire) in me to do the right thing, and then grant me the power to do what I know you want me to do.” May that be our prayer as we seek to do God’s will in our lives.

Week 20 Devotions

May 14 - - We have a tendency to look for our sufficiency within ourselves or even within others. We often talk about trusting God, but when it comes down to it, we place a lot of trust in what we can do for ourselves. David got it right when he said, “all human help is useless. With God’s help we will do mighty things” (Psalm 108:12&13). “If the Lord had not been on our side when people rose up against us, they would have swallowed us alive because of their burning anger against us.....Yes, the raging waters of their fury would have overwhelmed our very lives.....Our help is from the Lord who made the heavens and the earth!” (124:2&3,5,8). In the New Testament, Jesus said, “without me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5). And Paul wrote, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13). Our strength, our wisdom, our hope, and our peace all come from the Lord. David considered himself blessed in many ways and his gratitude toward God compelled him to live a life of praise. “Praise the Lord, I tell myself, and never forget the good things He does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He ransoms me from death and surrounds me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things” (103:2-5a). How often do we praise the Lord? Is it only when He has given us what we wanted? Is it only in those times we feel He has rescued us from our enemies? It is good to give praise to God in all our circumstances. Though they were innocent of any wrongdoing, Paul and Silas were arrested, stripped of their clothes, severely beaten with wooden rods, and placed in an inner dungeon with their feet clamped in stocks (Acts 16:22-24). But, instead of complaining, instead of getting mad at God, and instead of questioning God’s sovereignty, the two were praying and singing hymns of praise to God. Their example spoke volumes to their fellow prisoners about the power of the God they worshipped. May our example shine as brightly as theirs. May 17 - - Look out the window of a high-rise building. Gaze out the window of an airplane and look as far as the eye can see. Ride in a spaceship, climb out of the atmosphere and look back at the earth. Cast a glance at all the stars. What do you see that doesn’t belong to God? Is there any-thing your eyes can behold that isn’t God’s? The answer is, “no.” “All the animals of the forest are mine,” He says. “I own the cattle on a thousand hills. Every bird of the mountains and all the animals of the field belong to me....all the world is mine and everything in it” (Psalm 50:10-12). “’The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,’ says the Lord Almighty” (Haggai 2:8). “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1). So, what can we bring this God who has it all? What gift could possibly please the One who already owns everything? Perhaps, we can best answer that question by asking another one. What is it we want out of a relationship? Friendship? Honesty? Faithfulness? Or, lip service? Meaningless motions? Do we really want things out of a relationship? Or, do we want a person’s undying commitment and love? Why would it be any different with God? God is saying, “I don’t need anything from you because it all belongs to me, anyway. What I really want from you is your gratitude. What would really please me is your undying faithfulness. When you tell me you love me, you prove it by the way you live, by your obedience to me” (Psalm 50:14&15). God doesn’t want a bunch of meaningless sacrifices. It doesn’t bring God a great deal of pleasure for us to recite or sing some words we really don’t mean. “The sacrifice you want is a broken spirit. A broken and repentant heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:17; 34:18). What God wants from us are living sacrifices (Romans 12:1), people who don’t resemble this world because we are so in love with God we resemble the One who sent His Son as a sacrifice and as an example. When one considers all that God has done, is doing, and will do for us, that seems like a very reason-able request. What kind of sacrifice would you prefer to give God? One that costs you little, or the kind that costs you much? The degree to which we sacrifice, is the degree to which we grow close to Him. When David had sinned against God by demanding a census be taken of his fighting men (II Samuel 24; I Chronicles 21), his sin cost the lives of 70,000 Israelites (I Chron. 21:14). When David prepared to offer a sacrifice to God for his sin, a man named Araunah was prepared to give David all he needed to come before God. But, David’s response was, “I insist on buying it, for I cannot present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing” (II Sam.24:24; I Chron.21:24). Have you sacrificed anything in your life to demonstrate the depth of your love for God?

Week 19 Devotions

May 7 - - Scientists tell us that as large as the earth is, one million earths would fit into our sun. We are further told that the Milky Way galaxy we exist in contains one billion stars similar to our sun, and that there are over 100 billion galaxies besides the Milky Way. We are further told that light travels 186,282 miles per second, meaning that light is able to travel 93 million miles from the sun to the earth in only 8 minutes and 20 seconds. We are told the circumference of the earth around the equator is 25,000 miles. If we were to drive that distance at 70 miles per hour, it would take us 355 hours or 15 days to do so, without stopping! And yet, light could travel the same distance seven times in only one second. Scientists tell us that the next nearest galaxy to the Milky Way is 86,000 light years away. Can we even begin to wrap our minds around these facts? As a young boy, David was often tending sheep for his father. No doubt, he spent a considerable amount of time under the night-time sky, gazing at the myriad of stars and constellations. The more one sees the wonders of creation and contemplates how it all came into existence, the more one comes to the conclusion, only a Creator greater than ourselves, could paint such a masterpiece. “The heavens tell of the glory of God. The skies display His marvelous craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known. They speak without a sound or a word; their voice is silent in the skies; yet their message has gone out to all the earth, and their words to all the world” (Psalm 19:1-4a). When we admire the details of a system of highways passing over and under each other; as we contemplate the magic of the Internet and the workings of a computer, as we watch many people around us all on cell phones wondering how so many voices can be traveling through the air; or, as we marvel at the precision of an automated assembly line, none of us is so foolish as to think such things simply happened into existence. Why, then, would we think that such a huge and complex Universe could evolve into existence? David had it right when he said, “Only fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God.’” (Psalm 14:1). They do so because they don’t want to believe the facts. They do so because there are aspects of their lives that are evil and they don’t want their evil to be exposed (Psalm 14:1b; John 3:18-21). The next time you gaze into the night-time sky, consider this; the God who created and brought it all into existence, is the same God who has promised, “no eye has seen, no hear has heard, and no mind can conceive of the wonderful things God has prepared for those who love Him” (I Corinthians 2:9). Enjoy the beauty of God’s Creation. And then remember, it’s just a foretaste of what He’s got in store for those who love Him and are committed to Him. May 10 - - The sinful who have never, or rarely, been exposed to the truths of God, have very little concept of how depraved they really are. “Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God to restrain them. In their blind conceit, they cannot see how wicked they really are. Everything they say is crooked and deceitful.....They lie awake at night, hatching sinful plots” (Psalm 36:1-4). Their conscience has been seared and they know nothing different. When people turn away from God, they are corrupt and their actions are evil (Psalm 53:1,3). We can pity them, ignore them, and thank God we are not like one of them (remember the unrepentant Pharisee in Luke 18:10-12?). Or, we can demonstrate by the way we live, the joy and peace that comes from following God. IF they saw more of a contrast between what we have and what they don’t have, maybe they would be more interested in the God we serve. Maybe, one of the reasons they aren’t attracted to the Jesus they observe in us is because they really aren’t seeing much of Jesus in us. Jesus said that if we lift him up in the way we live, if we show the world Jesus in our lives, he would draw the unsaved world unto himself (John 12:32). Living my life for Jesus is not just about the eternity I can have because of the salvation Jesus brings me. Neither is living my life for Jesus just about the abundant life I can experience in the here and now because of the wisdom Jesus brings me. If my life is going to count for any-thing, then living for Jesus is also important because doing so attracts other to the Jesus I know. That is the ultimate purpose of our lives. That is a meaning beyond anything we will ever do for ourselves. Those who “trust in the Lord and do good will live safely in the land and prosper.” Those who, “take delight in the Lord” will find the Lord giving them, “your heart’s desires.” “Those who trust in the Lord will possess the land” (Psalm 37:3-6,9). “For the strength of the wicked will be shattered, but the Lord takes care of the godly” (37:17). So, what are you doing with your life these days? Are you making any kind of impact in the lives of others? The only way to do so is by following the example of Jesus (John 13:15). Are you?