Joshua 6: 27 - 7: 1
So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land. But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard to the things under the ban, for Achan ...
We of mankind are so weak and foolish! God has showed us over and over again how weak and rebellious we are!
God has just done magnificent miracles--drying up the Jordan River while it was in the flood stage, and causing the walls of Jericho to just fall down flat! And still there has to be somebody who doesn't take God seriously!
Achan didn't think that what he did in secret would count. He didn't understand Who God is. And today there are so many who don't know God and consider wrong only when they get caught. Like Achan.
God took very drastic and decisive action then, with Achan and his household who were complicit with him, and the whole Nation feared His Name to purify their own lives; and the other Nations feared them.
O my Father, Your patience will last until all of Your sheep have been found and every creature has heard of Your Love to understand what You have accomplished on their behalf, and refused You.
I don't understand how anyone can refuse to believe the Truth that is right in front of them. How they can think You are less than You are? You are God! We are not, but we still think that we know better.
Father, Your goodness is drawing Your lost sheep into the fold, but the time is coming (and may be here) when Your wrath will be unleashed and poured out on the sons and daughters of Men who have refused to consider Who You are!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, September 6, 2018
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
Reaching Forward
Philippians 3: 13-14
I do not regard myself as having laid hold yet, but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Paul wrote that he didn't think he'd "arrived" yet, but was still struggling to follow the road laid out before him. By not letting anything in the past deter him, he was totally focused on serving the Lord today to the best of his ability, stretching himself to strive to reach as far as he could to succeed in bringing as many souls to salvation as he possibly could.
And when he knew he was coming to the end of that road, he said to Timothy that he was, Ready to be offered [as a drink offering], the time of my departure [death] is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.
He didn't mean that he was perfect, but that, Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day. And not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing. (II Timothy 4:6-8.)
Paul knew that he wasn't unique in his service rewards, but that he would receive the same "crown" as everyone else who also longed and looked for Christ's Glorious Appearing. He remained humble to the end.
I'm sure he also will receive many accolaides and rewards for his exceptional service, sufferings, persecutions, and generosity he gave to all he ministered to. And he is still ministering to us even today, through his writings.
O my Father, I thank You so much for Who You are and what You have done! Thank You for sending Your own Son, Jesus, to be our Savior, to be my Savior, my Redeemer. Thank You for saving Saul of Tarsis, changing him into Paul the Evangelist, and giving him to all of Your church, Father, from the beginning all the way down to even today, and all the rest until we are called out.
Thank You for Your great Love wherewith You have loved us, that is far beyond my comprehension. Even when we are still rebelling against You as Your enemies, You still sent Your Son to take our sins upon Himself on that Cross, paying my debt in full; now You place His righteousness to my account, balancing Your books.
I need Your strength, Father, to work out this Redemption in my life; teach me to forget what lies behind and reach forward toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus! Strengthen me to stretch and reach forward; onward and upward; ever closer to You!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
I do not regard myself as having laid hold yet, but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Paul wrote that he didn't think he'd "arrived" yet, but was still struggling to follow the road laid out before him. By not letting anything in the past deter him, he was totally focused on serving the Lord today to the best of his ability, stretching himself to strive to reach as far as he could to succeed in bringing as many souls to salvation as he possibly could.
And when he knew he was coming to the end of that road, he said to Timothy that he was, Ready to be offered [as a drink offering], the time of my departure [death] is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.
He didn't mean that he was perfect, but that, Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day. And not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing. (II Timothy 4:6-8.)
Paul knew that he wasn't unique in his service rewards, but that he would receive the same "crown" as everyone else who also longed and looked for Christ's Glorious Appearing. He remained humble to the end.
I'm sure he also will receive many accolaides and rewards for his exceptional service, sufferings, persecutions, and generosity he gave to all he ministered to. And he is still ministering to us even today, through his writings.
O my Father, I thank You so much for Who You are and what You have done! Thank You for sending Your own Son, Jesus, to be our Savior, to be my Savior, my Redeemer. Thank You for saving Saul of Tarsis, changing him into Paul the Evangelist, and giving him to all of Your church, Father, from the beginning all the way down to even today, and all the rest until we are called out.
Thank You for Your great Love wherewith You have loved us, that is far beyond my comprehension. Even when we are still rebelling against You as Your enemies, You still sent Your Son to take our sins upon Himself on that Cross, paying my debt in full; now You place His righteousness to my account, balancing Your books.
I need Your strength, Father, to work out this Redemption in my life; teach me to forget what lies behind and reach forward toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus! Strengthen me to stretch and reach forward; onward and upward; ever closer to You!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
Abide, Fruit, Ask, Love
John 15: 7, 8, 16, 17
If you abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.
By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit ...
That you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My Name, He may give to you.
This I command you, that you love one another.
There is a string running through these: abiding, bearing fruit, receiving what we ask for, and loving one another. They're all connected. To do one is to do them all. We can't separate these.
If we're abiding in Christ with His Words abiding in us, then we will have love for one another, we will bear fruit, and we will receive what we ask for.
When God's Word lives in us from moment to moment and day by day, then what we want to ask for will be what God wants to give us. And we will love one another, and bear spiritual fruit that will last.
O my Father, teach me how to love You, how to love others as You love them. Let me bear fruit that will endure, to bring glory to You, Father.
I want to live this life You gave me according to the plans You made for me before You even made the World.
I want to understand Your ways, that are so far above and better than my ways that I would never find them without Your revelation. Teach me Your ways, Lord; draw me ever closer to Your face, that I may behold Your glory and be forever changed!
So that what I do will promote Your righteousness and further Your Program for this World, and that You will receive the credit, the glory, for everything You are doing in my life and in this World.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
If you abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.
By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit ...
That you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My Name, He may give to you.
This I command you, that you love one another.
There is a string running through these: abiding, bearing fruit, receiving what we ask for, and loving one another. They're all connected. To do one is to do them all. We can't separate these.
If we're abiding in Christ with His Words abiding in us, then we will have love for one another, we will bear fruit, and we will receive what we ask for.
When God's Word lives in us from moment to moment and day by day, then what we want to ask for will be what God wants to give us. And we will love one another, and bear spiritual fruit that will last.
O my Father, teach me how to love You, how to love others as You love them. Let me bear fruit that will endure, to bring glory to You, Father.
I want to live this life You gave me according to the plans You made for me before You even made the World.
I want to understand Your ways, that are so far above and better than my ways that I would never find them without Your revelation. Teach me Your ways, Lord; draw me ever closer to Your face, that I may behold Your glory and be forever changed!
So that what I do will promote Your righteousness and further Your Program for this World, and that You will receive the credit, the glory, for everything You are doing in my life and in this World.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, September 3, 2018
Sun And Shield, Grace And Glory
Psalm 84: 11-12
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of Hosts, how blessed is the man who trusts in You!
The sun gives us light, God is our Light. He protects us as a shield. He gives us His unmerited favor, and gives us resplendent beauty and magnificence. When we live our lives uprightly He will shower upon us all the good things that give color and radiance to our lives.
O my Father, my Abba Daddy, I praise You for Your great wisdom in creating and forming this whole Universe; You gave Your light to the sun to give us life, and You set the planets in their orbits.
You work in and among the sons of men to accomplish Your good purposes, and You are accomplishing everything You have planned.
Thank You for revealing Your program to us in Your Word, for telling us what You are doing to prepare this World of men and the sons and daughters of men for the culmination and completion of Your great Plan of the Ages.
Thank You for strengthening and sustaining and holding us, Your children, in Your protective hand.
Thank You for Your light to perceive and understand Your doings.
Teach us to examine our own hearts, to cleanse out the wounds, the secret sins we cherish, to confess and forsake them; to live lives of righteousness and promote righteousness in our societies all over the World.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of Hosts, how blessed is the man who trusts in You!
The sun gives us light, God is our Light. He protects us as a shield. He gives us His unmerited favor, and gives us resplendent beauty and magnificence. When we live our lives uprightly He will shower upon us all the good things that give color and radiance to our lives.
O my Father, my Abba Daddy, I praise You for Your great wisdom in creating and forming this whole Universe; You gave Your light to the sun to give us life, and You set the planets in their orbits.
You work in and among the sons of men to accomplish Your good purposes, and You are accomplishing everything You have planned.
Thank You for revealing Your program to us in Your Word, for telling us what You are doing to prepare this World of men and the sons and daughters of men for the culmination and completion of Your great Plan of the Ages.
Thank You for strengthening and sustaining and holding us, Your children, in Your protective hand.
Thank You for Your light to perceive and understand Your doings.
Teach us to examine our own hearts, to cleanse out the wounds, the secret sins we cherish, to confess and forsake them; to live lives of righteousness and promote righteousness in our societies all over the World.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, September 2, 2018
Exhorting, Encouraging, Imploring
I Thessalonians 2: 11-12
... How we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the God Who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
O my Father, teach me how to behave toward my own children, who are now grown, adults themselves; how to exhort, to encourage, and to urge them to live their lives in a manner that is worthy of Your kingdom and glory. Help me to understand these concepts, so that I can be careful to do these things.
Put a guard on my mouth; teach me to think before I open my mouth to speak, so that I will say only what is good, uplifting, and encouraging; that the law of kindness and mercy be under my tongue and my words will build up and not tear down.
Father, continue to mold and shape me into the very image, the character, of Your own dear Son, my Savior, my Redeemer, my Lord and my King.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
... How we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the God Who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
O my Father, teach me how to behave toward my own children, who are now grown, adults themselves; how to exhort, to encourage, and to urge them to live their lives in a manner that is worthy of Your kingdom and glory. Help me to understand these concepts, so that I can be careful to do these things.
Put a guard on my mouth; teach me to think before I open my mouth to speak, so that I will say only what is good, uplifting, and encouraging; that the law of kindness and mercy be under my tongue and my words will build up and not tear down.
Father, continue to mold and shape me into the very image, the character, of Your own dear Son, my Savior, my Redeemer, my Lord and my King.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, September 1, 2018
No Means To Repay
Luke 14: 13-14
But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the Resurrection of the righteous.
O my Father, show me who are the spiritually poor, crippled, lame , and blind among my acquaintances. Show me how to honor and encourage them, for healing and restoring.
You have blessed me with so much, Father; show me how to share these blessings with others, with those who realize their need for Your power in their lives; those who have been crippled in their search for You by life circumstances; those who are lame in their walk with You, hobbling and limping along the path You have set their feet upon, to hold them up; and those who are still blind to the wonderful resources, strength, healing, and help we have in You.
Let the Water of Life You have poured into me flow freely out to others who are thirsty and are desperate for Your quenching refreshment. Your Body is true Food and Your Blood is true Drink--Your Words written for us, to nourish, to heal, to medicate, to refresh our real life, which is in You.
Let me be a channel of Your blessings, Father, so that others will be drawn to You and find You as wonderful as I have, as You are.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the Resurrection of the righteous.
O my Father, show me who are the spiritually poor, crippled, lame , and blind among my acquaintances. Show me how to honor and encourage them, for healing and restoring.
You have blessed me with so much, Father; show me how to share these blessings with others, with those who realize their need for Your power in their lives; those who have been crippled in their search for You by life circumstances; those who are lame in their walk with You, hobbling and limping along the path You have set their feet upon, to hold them up; and those who are still blind to the wonderful resources, strength, healing, and help we have in You.
Let the Water of Life You have poured into me flow freely out to others who are thirsty and are desperate for Your quenching refreshment. Your Body is true Food and Your Blood is true Drink--Your Words written for us, to nourish, to heal, to medicate, to refresh our real life, which is in You.
Let me be a channel of Your blessings, Father, so that others will be drawn to You and find You as wonderful as I have, as You are.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, August 31, 2018
These Essentials
Acts 15: 28-29
For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: That you abstain
from things sacrificed to idols, and
from blood, and
from things strangled, and
from fornication.
If you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.
We do well to note from Scripture God's views on our human activities. All four of these things to abstain from deal with our bodies, what we put into them and how we use them.
"Things sacrificed to idols" means participating in idolatrous sacrifices by eating the meat of the animal sacrificed to them. This is more than dietary, it's also a matter of recognizing that only God is God.
"Blood" refers to eating the blood of any animal, because the life is in the blood, and it is to only be used on the altar in connection with forgiveness of sin.
"Things strangled" are animals that have died on their own, probably of some illness or injury. The safety of this meat is questionable.
And "fornication" refers to any kind of sexual encounter that is not pure, that is, between a husband and his wife. This would include any illicit or unnatural or perverted sexual acts.
Deuteronomy 27:15-26 lists the curses upon Israel on Mount Ebal, pronounced and declared at the time they were to enter the Land. And of the twelve curses pronounced, a full third of them (4) deal with sexual acts.
God is very concerned that our sex-lives be pure, as it represents the close intimacy He wants us to have with Him.
He wants us to live lives of purity, which includes chastity and modesty. Our bodies are His temple, so we are to treat them as holy to the Lord and take good care of our physical health, as well as our emotional and spiritual health.
When we are where we need to be then we will be in a position to help our brother or sister. On an airplane, we're always to apply our own oxygen mask first, before helping our seat-mate.
O my Father, thank You for Your good, sensible rules. Thank You for loving us so much that You want us to live with You where You are, and have already taken care of all our needs: You made this Earth for us & put into it great abundance for all of us; You gave us all the information we need to cooperate with You in operating our World on this Earth to access and enjoy the bounty You bless us with; You have sent Your own Son to be our Lamb, sacrificed for each of us, to wash away every stain and spot, making us pristine, white as snow; and You have planned out every path each of us is to walk, overseeing every circumstance and situation, keeping us safe and secure through all of it as we trust in You.
Strengthen us and help us to form our attitudes to live our lives in purity and compassion, as You finish the work You began in each of us on that Day of the Glorious Appearing.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: That you abstain
from things sacrificed to idols, and
from blood, and
from things strangled, and
from fornication.
If you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.
We do well to note from Scripture God's views on our human activities. All four of these things to abstain from deal with our bodies, what we put into them and how we use them.
"Things sacrificed to idols" means participating in idolatrous sacrifices by eating the meat of the animal sacrificed to them. This is more than dietary, it's also a matter of recognizing that only God is God.
"Blood" refers to eating the blood of any animal, because the life is in the blood, and it is to only be used on the altar in connection with forgiveness of sin.
"Things strangled" are animals that have died on their own, probably of some illness or injury. The safety of this meat is questionable.
And "fornication" refers to any kind of sexual encounter that is not pure, that is, between a husband and his wife. This would include any illicit or unnatural or perverted sexual acts.
Deuteronomy 27:15-26 lists the curses upon Israel on Mount Ebal, pronounced and declared at the time they were to enter the Land. And of the twelve curses pronounced, a full third of them (4) deal with sexual acts.
God is very concerned that our sex-lives be pure, as it represents the close intimacy He wants us to have with Him.
He wants us to live lives of purity, which includes chastity and modesty. Our bodies are His temple, so we are to treat them as holy to the Lord and take good care of our physical health, as well as our emotional and spiritual health.
When we are where we need to be then we will be in a position to help our brother or sister. On an airplane, we're always to apply our own oxygen mask first, before helping our seat-mate.
O my Father, thank You for Your good, sensible rules. Thank You for loving us so much that You want us to live with You where You are, and have already taken care of all our needs: You made this Earth for us & put into it great abundance for all of us; You gave us all the information we need to cooperate with You in operating our World on this Earth to access and enjoy the bounty You bless us with; You have sent Your own Son to be our Lamb, sacrificed for each of us, to wash away every stain and spot, making us pristine, white as snow; and You have planned out every path each of us is to walk, overseeing every circumstance and situation, keeping us safe and secure through all of it as we trust in You.
Strengthen us and help us to form our attitudes to live our lives in purity and compassion, as You finish the work You began in each of us on that Day of the Glorious Appearing.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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