Tag: Don’t Worship Evildoers - Malachi

Malachi 3:13-15

“Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’”

Tag:  Don’t Worship Evildoers

A passage very similar to the above is found in Psalm 73:

Psalms 73:3-17

For I was envious of the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

For they have no pangs until death;

their bodies are fat and sleek. ... 

... Behold, these are the wicked;

always at ease, they increase in riches.

All in vain have I kept my heart clean

and washed my hands in innocence. .... 

Like Aspah in this Psalm wrote, it was dangerous to envy the wicked.   He understood that when he got face to face with God.   As we read in Malachi, God’s people were in the same plight.  They actually developed a “beatitude” to repeat to each other:

“And now we call the arrogant blessed.”  Yet, Malachi had just written, a verse before, that God had said the nations (the arrogant) would call them blessed:

Malachi 3:12

Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

The nation had not seen the visible vantages of serving the God of the universe.  Like most of us today we have to have immediate gratification when serving God and if not, He is not that real to us.   God was working a plan in their lives and they could not see the benefits of serving God.   How are we just like that.  When God does not come through to us, what do we do?  We envy the wicked.  They have no pains and no struggles, as we observe their life.   We see no fruit of our faithfulness to God and think it is not worth serving Him.   But, note what Asaph writes later in his chapter:

Psalm 73:17

... But when I thought how to understand this,

it seemed to me a wearisome task,

until I went into the sanctuary of God;

then I discerned their end.

When he struggled to understand all this he had to put it into perspective.  He realized that his current life, despite service to God, was not the point.   He had to look at God’s bigger plan and realize that God would, one day, redeem him and NOT them.  The end of the wicked is forever separated from God and tormented day and night for eternity.  The end of Aspah’s life and the nation of Israel (should they believe in Christ) and all of us today is that we will have a blessed eternity with God.   This life might be hard.   It most naturally will be since it has no love for God and we do (supposedly).  When we love something no one else loves we will suffer and struggle.   God is working His plan.  It is not the arrogant who will be blessed, however.  When Jesus came on the scene He mocked this beatitude.  He spoke His own:

Matthew 5:3-11

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

Tag: Old Age is a Thief - Ecclesiastes 11-12

Ecclesiastes 12:2-5

before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low— they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets—

Tag: Old Age Catches Us All

Solomon probably wrote Ecclesiastes when he was old.  He is about to reach a conclusion to the entire book at the end of chapter 12.  But, before He does he is going to reflect that it would be a good thing to seek God early in one’s life, since old age grips up to steal away our youth.  As the above verse starts out saying, seek God in your youth “before ...” we have the following experiences. Old age is a thief. Here is when Solomon tells us it steals from us (making it harder each day to seek God). 

1.  Old age steals our clarity! (What once was bright is now darkened) - “before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened (verse 2)

2. Old age steals our recovery! (Instead of getting over things, once one pain is gone, another comes) - “and the clouds return after the rain,” (verse 2)

3. Old age steals stability! (We can’t hold our head and hands steady) - “in the day when the keepers of the house tremble ...” (verse 3)

4. Old age steals our stature! (We can’t stand up as erect as we used to) - “and the strong men are bent, ...” (verse 3)

5. Old age steals our bite! (We can’t chew like we used to because our teeth are fallen out) - “... and the grinders cease because they are few ...” (verse 3)

6. Old age steals our sight! (We can’t see like we used to) - “...  and those who look through the windows are dimmed, ...” (verse 3)

7. Old age steals our stamina! (We closed the doors and don’t go our because we don’t entertain like we used to) “... and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low ...” (verse 4)

8.  Old age steals our sleep! (We wake up at the littlest noise outside our bedroom) - “... and one rises up at the sound of a bird ...” (verse 4)

9.  Old age steals our hearing! (We are awaken by the slightest of noice, but the joys of life can’t be heard as before) - “... and all the daughters of song are brought low—“ (verse 4)

10.  Old age steals our optimism! (We see the danger in everything) - “they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; ...” (verse 5)

11. Old age steals our hair/hair color! (We begin to look white on the top) - “the almond tree blossoms” (verse 5)

12. Old age steals our energy! (We are no longer jumping around like the “grasshopper” and showing that “spring in our step”) - “.... grasshopper drags itself along, ...” (verse 5)

13. Old age steals our hunger for life!  (We lose our appetite for all things of life) - “... and desire fails ...” (verse 5)

14. Old age steals how others view us! (We are now viewed as “soon to die” and our legacy is cemented) - “... because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets.” (verse 5). 

God wants us to seek Him while He can be found. That is best done in our youth!!

Tag: Wonderfully Made - Psalm 137-139

Psalms 139:14-16

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works;

my soul knows it very well.

My frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your book were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there was none of them.

Tag: Wonderfully Made

In our society we have billions of dollars spent on improving how we look, how we feel about ourselves and/or how we can change what others see. OUR IDENTITY is a major focus of our lives.   We want to change our hip size, our hair color and style, our physique, etc.   We have a hard time accepting what we see in the mirror.   Instead of speaking about our bodies like David does in the above psalm we say:

“I am concerned for how you made me, Lord!  You normally do good work, but as I look in the mirror, this seems to be below your standards ... it is below what I see in others.   My frame seems to be something I have hide from others.  You must have seen something the day you made me that simply does not fit into what I see accepted in today’s society.” 

David was not like his brothers.  He was the runt of the pack.   But, he realized that was NOT what he saw in the mirror that made him special. It was what he saw through God’s eyes that gave him his identity.   We can allow the world to give us our identity.  We can allow someone in our lives to define us.  Or, we an allow the words of this Psalm to define us.  God made us, each part, before we were even born.  Before the foundation of the earth He gave us our DNA.   We were designed by God.   We can rejoice in that. Yes, if we have allowed God’s design to be run down because we have not taken care of what He designed, that is our responsibility to change and to work at.  But, we are not to complain about how were were created.  God knew exactly what He was doing.   We were wonderfully made!!

Tag: Give God Glory when He Gives Wisdom - Nehemiah 1-4

Nehemiah 4:15

When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work.

Tag:  Give God Glory when He Gives Wisdom

In our society today, leaders are quick to claim credit when something good happens.   A subordinate whispers an idea and a leader overhears it, or hears it directly; the leader than claims credit when the idea is incorporated.   In the above verse we see what Nehemiah does when God gives him wisdom about a situation he incorporates; he gives God glory for the wisdom God gives him to get out of bad situations.  In the verses prior to this verse we see that Nehemiah’s enemies are trying to stop the work of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem.   When the enemies were secretly trying to come upon them to stop the project, God gives Nehemiah insights:

Nehemiah 4:10-11

In Judah it was said, “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.”

But, they did know, because God alerted them.  Nehemiah then enacts a plan to stop their evilness:

Nehemiah 4:13-14

So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

It would have been very easy for Nehemiah to take credit for this wisdom.   But, he doesn’t.  He quickly gives the glory to God.   God gives us wisdom when we ask by faith (James 1).   We are quick to ask.  But, when He comes through with that wisdom we are also quick to take credit for our “prudence” and our “decisiveness.”   Nehemiah gives us a great example of how to give God the glory for His great wisdom He provides us.  

Tag: Care for God’s Creation - Deuteronomy 20-22

Deuteronomy 20:20

Only the trees that you know are not trees for food you may destroy and cut down, that you may build siegeworks against the city that makes war with you, until it falls.

Tag: Care for God’s Creation

We have a Biblical responsibility to care for the creation God gave us.   In the above “command” the nation of Israel, during a siege, were not to use trees that produced fruit for their siege tools.   This is an example of our responsibility to care for creation.  There is another example found in the next chapter:

Deuteronomy 22:6

“If you come across a bird's nest in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young.

God created this world for us to live off and to care for to honor Him.   Even in a time of war we are to respect the land.   We are to assure the trees and the animals are protected and respected.   

Tag: Don’t Listen to False Teaching - 2 Peter

2 Peter 3:14-16

Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.

Tag:  Don’t Listen to False Teaching

The above “tag” is a summary of the entire book of 2 Peter.   The Apostle Peter has been warning them, throughout the letter, to be ware of those who have twisted the Word of God and invented their own myths and heresies.   He wants to make sure we are not deceived by them.   The above words are the final summary of his entire letter.   Note that it says that the “ignorant” and “unstable” TWIST the word to fit their own desires.  Note what Vine says about this word “twist” in our text:

strebloo (στρεβλόω), “to twist, to torture” (from streble, “a winch” or “instrument of torture,” and akin to strepho, “to turn”), is used metaphorically in 2 Pet. 3:16, of “wresting” the Scriptures on the part of the ignorant and unsteadfast.

It is so easy for us to be drawn away by the philosophy and pragmatism of this world.   We are inundated moment by moment by media ads, news outlets, collegiate myths, and even some “religious” teachings.  These “truths” (as so claimed by those who teach them) soon trap us into false beliefs and false securities .... fortresses.  Note what Paul says:

2 Corinthians 10:4-5

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

To prevent us from being taken captive we have to be “obedient” to the Word of Christ.   That will change our mindset and tear down the “fortresses” of our false teachings.   

Tag: Mobing - Acts 17-18

Acts 17:5-8

But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things.

Tag: Mob Mindedness is a Storied Tradition

Before looking at the above passage, which occurred in Thessalonica, we should look at what happen after this event when Paul left Thessalonica and went to a town called Berea:

Acts 17:13

But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds.

Today we live in a very volatile society.   Whereas the 60s had campus uprisings to dispute the Viet Nan war, today we have crowds build over police conduct, political posturing and/or general dissonance about anything one “side” disagrees with the other “side.”   In Paul’s day, the art of stirring up the crowd was also used.    In Moses day, we also see the crowd mentality during his leadership:

Numbers 16:1-2

Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men.

Satan uses the art of disruption to cause the world to live in chaos.   God is the God of peace and not disorder:

1 Corinthians 14:33

For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.

As in all the churches of the saints,

If we want to defeat Satan in our quest to spread the Gospel we are going to have to be aware of Satan’s methods:

2 Corinthians 2:11

so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

God wants us to spread the Gospel and Satan will use disorder and chaos via mobs and hatred to prevent the message from being spoken.   We must make sure we do not focus on the mob and the people in the mob.  This is a spiritual battle. 

Ephesians 6:12

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Tag: Creation Will Change!!! Zechariah 8-14

Zechariah 14:6-7

On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light.

Tag:  God Will Alter Creation as We Know It!

Throughout the prophet Zechariah’s prophecy we see much about a day when something is going to happen.   It might be the discipline of Israel and Judah; the destruction of their enemies; or, as above, a future time when God will reign supreme.   In the above passage we have an example (as well all of chapter 14) of the future reign of God.    God has established in his plan a time when the entire creation, as we know it, that will be changed.   For instances, let’s take the snow.  Right now we know that God has the snow stored up to let it fly over the earth.   God says to Job: 

Job 38:22-23

“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,

or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,

which I have reserved for the time of trouble,

for the day of battle and war?

Yet, the prophet Zachariah tells of a time in the future when “cold” and “frost” will be done away with.   As this devotional is written it is November 16, 2018.   Last night the first winter cold air and snow blast came into the region.   Nasty!!  Way to early!!  Yet, there will be a time when God will remove the cold and the frost.   There will be a time when God so alerts creation we will not recognize it.   Right now Paul tells us that creation “groans” for redemption (Romans 8).   The earth, itself, groans under the destruction of “weather.”   God is going to repair all of earth as He makes it holy by His presence and rule..   We have a great time to rejoice in God’s ultimate Sovereign Rule!!   God says the cold and frost will be done away with.  Yes!  That is something to rejoice about.   

Tag: Right and Wrong have a Different Path - Ecclesiastes 9-10

Ecclesiastes 10:2

A wise man's heart inclines him to the right,

but a fool's heart to the left.

Tag:  Right and Wrong have a Different Path

The above proverb is from Solomon’s collection in a book where he is drawing a conclusion from all his observations of life.   He has tasted riches and experienced all types of stimulus and has concluded that there is a vast difference between wisdom and folly.   There is no significance to “right” and “left” in the above verse.  The point he is making is the contrast.   Those who are “wise” make different choices than those who are “fools.”    This might be what Amos was saying in his prophetic book:

Amos 3:3

“Do two walk together,

unless they have agreed to meet?

We can’t walk with God and play with fools.  We can’t profess we love God and love the folly of this world.   Like it or not, but faith followers should have a different path than those without faith.   We are to come out from the world and to be separated:

2 Corinthians 6:17

Therefore go out from their midst,

and be separate from them, says the Lord,

and touch no unclean thing;

then I will welcome you,

In this life we will observe those who know not God go one way.   We are to go the other.  

Tag: Our Idols Can’t Relate - Psalm 134-136

Psalms 135:15-18

The idols of the nations are silver and gold,

the work of human hands.

They have mouths, but do not speak;

they have eyes, but do not see;

they have ears, but do not hear,

nor is there any breath in their mouths.

Those who make them become like them,

so do all who trust in them.

Tag:  Our Idols Can’t Talk

This same thought of the writer of this Psalms is also found in Jeremiah 10:4, 5

Jeremiah 10:4-5

They decorate it with silver and gold;

they fasten it with hammer and nails

so that it cannot move.

Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,

and they cannot speak;

they have to be carried,

for they cannot walk.

Do not be afraid of them,

for they cannot do evil,

neither is it in them to do good.”

The fact that a person would make an “idol” (as described above) and worship it is odd from a Western Culture point of view.   We simply don’t put “things” up to worship them.   Or, do we.  We have cars that are shinny.  Do we worship them?  We have homes.  Do we fix them to make them worshipful?  We have “toys” that we “collect” and we “accumulate.”  Do we worship them?   The answer is yes.  But, these things do NOT talk back to us.  They only distract us.   They pull us away from the ONE who CAN and DOES talk to us.   When you worship something with “one-way” communication, we don’t have a real “relationship.”   God gives us a “real” relationship.  We can rejoice that God wants to have a relationship with us and wants to talk to us.  He demands our worship, but He also responds to our worship.  He interacts with us via the Spirit of God and the Word of God.   Our “idols” look a lot different than those in Biblical times.  We almost laugh at what they did.  But, note that our cars, homes, jobs, toys:

1. They don’t speak

2. They don’t see

3. They don’t hear

4. They don’t breath

We have a God that does speak, see, hear and breath.  We can have that relationship with Him.  He deserves our worship, not what we make our idols.  

Tag: Teach Those Who Do Not Know - Ezra 6-10

Ezra 7:25-26

“And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God. And those who do not know them, you shall teach. Whoever will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be strictly executed on him, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of his goods or for imprisonment.”

Tag:  Teach Those Who Do Not Know

The above instruction to Ezra, the priest, is actually coming to him from a foreign leader.   The Persians had taken Babylon and, unlike the Babylonians, they were more humanitarian in their approach to those who the Babylonians had taken captive.   King Artaxerxes was moved by God:

Ezra 1:1

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:

Artaxerxes was making a decree and spoke the above text to Ezra.   The interesting aspect of this instruction is that the foreign king is instructing Ezra as to what to do with those who do not know God’s Law.  The conclusion we might draw is that, somehow, Artaxerxes might have recognized Jehovah God as the Creator and Sustainer of the universe.   It is probably wiser to believe this was a political and humanitarian move, but he could have become a believer.   Like Paul trying to convert the household of Caesar, Nehemiah or Ezra, or someone might have converted Artaxerxes.   Whatever the reason, the king sends Ezra back with this above instruction.  Those who DO NOT know the Law are to be instructed.  Those who DO know the Law and are obeying it, are to be disciplined.   Even though the actions and/or behaviors of both might look the same, the solution to their poor behaving is different.  The Apostle Paul said it this way:

1 Thessalonians 5:14

And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.

We are to have different responses to differing causes.  Ezra was supposed to “teach” those who did not know the law.  This is what he does in the last chapters of this book.  Some had inter-marred with the foreign women of the land and Ezra gives them instruction as to what God’s Word says about that.  The book ends with the nation repenting and obeying God’s Word.   Ezra’s job (our job) is to teach those who do not know God’s Word and discipline those who do, but disobey.  Leadership in God’s Kingdom has not changed.   That is the primary role of leadership today.   We are to teach those who do not know the Word.  

Tag: Reember When You Came Out of Egypt - Deuteronomy 16-19

Deuteronomy 16:3

You shall eat no leavened bread with it. Seven days you shall eat it with unleavened bread, the bread of affliction—for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste—that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt.

Tag:  Remember When You Came Out of Egypt

The nation of Israel was redeemed from the land of Egypt.  God redeemed them by killing all the first born of the Egyptians.  This is called the Passover.  In the above passage we are reading that the Passover is to be observed for the purpose of remembering their former bondage in Egypt.   So, too, Christians today observe the Lord’s Table - Communion.   This is for us to remember we were redeemed by the first born of God, Jesus.   It is also to remind us that Jesus observed the Lord’s Table and said to keep on observing it until He comes again.   So, the Lord’s Table is a reminder of the past and a reminder of the future.   We are remembering that we WERE redeemed and we WILL BE glorified - taken to heaven some day.    God wants us to remember what He did for us and what He will soon do for us.   We are now set free from the penalty of sin (redemption) and we will be set free from the presence of sin (glorification).   We are to remember.  

Tag: Is the World Surprised that We DON’T Join Them? - 1 Peter 4-5

1 Peter 4:3-5

For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

Tag:  Is the World Surprised that We DON’T Join Them? 

The recipients of Peter’s first letter were under extreme suffering.  Peter is writing to them to encourage them and to point them to the power in Christ, the suffering with Christ and the hope of future presence with Christ, in Glory.   In the above text we are picking up an argument that began at the opening of chapter four.  Paul is exhorting the readers with the truth that since we have died with Christ we should no longer live the same way.  We have died to sin (we can see Paul’s writings in Peter’s words).   He begins the above truths with the word “for.”   He is saying that “since” we are now “dead” to sin, we should not live like non-believing Gentiles.   Instead we should be different.  Remember, this is the same little book where Peter wrote previously:

1 Peter 1:13-16

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Peter is saying that when we ACT holy (living a life that reflects our commitment to God) the world will be “surprised” at our new tastes for life.  We should no long be hungry for the same things.  One of the sure evidences of our love for Christ is our lack of love for the things of this world.  If we are still in love with the things of this world, we need to examine our minds, hearts and souls.   As God has saved us, He gives us a new hunger.  That new hunger and appetite for spiritual things should stand in stark contrast to the world around us.   The text above states that the world will eventually be judged for their turning from God.  But, that should not be true of us.  We should, after coming to Christ, develop a new appetite for Christ and spiritual food.  If we do we will surprise the world around us because we no longer are hungry for what we once feasted upon.   

Tag: Annoyance Equals Ministry - Acts 15-16

Acts 16:16-18

As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

Tag:  Annoyance Equals Ministry

In the above story we have have the encounter of Paul with a slave girl who had, apparently, mystic powers.  As it shows later, her “mystic” powers came to her because she was possessed by a demon or demons.   Her “handlers” figured a way to make money from this possession.   We can only imagine what that looked like.  However, like all demons, they recognized Paul’s power being that of Christ via the Holy Spirit.   She begins to follow him and the others around shouting and pointing out that Paul and his ministry team were empowered by God and had a ministry of the Gospel.   For some reason this truth annoyed Paul.  Paul’s exact annoyance is not identified.   But, the assumption would be that her presentation of the truth was not pleasing, not the truth.   She was correct in her assessment of Paul’s work, but, perhaps, sarcastic in her tone.  In any case, this annoyance turns into another opportunity to proclaim the Gospel.   Paul might have been annoyed, but He saw the solution to the annoyance as a chance for ministry and a way to proclaim the Gospel and the power of God.  How many times do we see annoyance as an opportunity to speak the Gospel?   We can allow “annoyances” to “bother” us and try to ignore them, or try to correct them, or try to destroy them.   But, the truth is we should allow the annoyance to push us to minister to the annoyance.   Paul used this annoyance to demonstrate the power of God in his life.   We can allow an annoyance to bother us or to allow us to open up the door to ministry.   Paul chose to use the power of God to lead her to Christ.  

Tag: The Assurance of the LORD of Host - Zechariah 1-7

Zechariah 1:2-6

“The Lord was very angry with your fathers. Therefore say to them, Thus declares the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? So they repented and said, ‘As the Lord of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so has he dealt with us.’”

Tag:  The Assurance of the LORD of Host

The term LORD of Host is used in this prophet’s writings almost 50 times.  Whenever the word LORD is capitalized in the Bible it means Yahweh which means the “self-existent one; the redemptive God.”  This is God’s most powerful name.   This is the most personal name for God.   The word “hosts” is the Hebrew, “saba.”  The word means “host; military service; war; army; service; labor; forced labor; conflict.”   This combination of the word means that God is the God over all the Hosts (armies) of Heaven.   When a writer in the Old Testament is using the word, we must acknowledge that he is calling on all the host of heaven behind the use of the word.  The host of heaven meaning all the angelic armies of God.   When we realize that God has all the angelic armies at His Divine disposal, it should give us great hope and assurance.  God is calling upon all the power of His might to fight for us when He pledges the “hosts of heaven.”   In Zechariah’s words, the LORD of Hosts is behind this prophecy.   Note the last line of the above passage:  “As the LORD of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and our deeds, so has he dealt with us.”   God deals with us in regard to our sin and our faith via the Hosts of Heaven.  For those who remain in sin, that should be terrifying.  For those who come to Him in faith for redemption that should be a blessed assurance.  

Tag: Fear God - Be Blessed - Ecclesiastes 7-8

Ecclesiastes 8:10-13

Then I saw the wicked buried. They used to go in and out of the holy place and were praised in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity. Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him. But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God.

Tag: Fear God - Do Well

The book of Ecclesiastes is a journey by King Solomon to “test” all of the things of life.  It is written to warn us about these things so that we can acquire wisdom and not be caught in their devices.   However, before you study any portion of the book, including the above passage, we need to read the end of the book first.  After Solomon pursues and visits all the things of life, here is his conclusion:

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

The “end of the matter” is to fear God.   So, in light of that, the above passage fits perfectly.   Solomon is observing life and notices that the “wicked,” although praised in life, would, eventually see death.  The evil the wicked did (rejection of God’s truth and God’s Lordship) would eventually catch up with him/her.   Solomon says that will be “executed speedily.”  The thought is, at his/her death, the judgment for rejecting God will be immediate.  In contrast, those who trust God and allow Him to be Lord of their lives, those who Fear Him, will have good will in their lives.   To Fear Him means to have reverence and awe for Him.   To have good will means to have God watching over them and empowering them through all of life’s struggles.  If you read other parts of Ecclesiastes we will see that the one who Fears the Lord has similar life circumstances as those who reject God (that is the irony that Solomon discovers and writes about.   But, the truth he unfolds to us is that even though the earthy life of the wicked and the righteous may look the same, their end is different.   The wicked might look like they prosper and the righteous as though all the bad in life is coming to them.  But, the truth is found in the “relationship” the righteous have with God during their life and the end they have with God after their life.   The above verses simply tell us that Fearing God - worshipping Him in awe and splendor - is the one thing our life is supposed to have in order to have the blessings of life.   

Tag: God’s Will Be Done - Psalm 131-133

Psalms 132:8

Arise, O Lord, and go to your resting place,

you and the ark of your might.

Tag:  God’s Will Be Done!!

Psalm 132 is a unique song that gives us some insight into the worship of ancient Israel.  There is some dispute to when the song was written and composed.  The song is praising God and the worship of His glory.   The above verse gives us some insight into the purpose of our worship.  The writer is speaking about the Ark.  The Ark was the physical representation of the presence of God in the time of Israel’s wandering in the wilderness.   Whenever God wanted them to go God would lead them with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.   He would reside in the Tabernacle, upon the Ark of the Covenant.  His glory gave the nation of Israel a physical manifestation to both comfort them and guide them.  Note what Moses would do when the glory of God moved them via the Ark:

Numbers 10:35, 36

And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.” And when it rested, he said, “Return, O Lord, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.”

We see then that the Ark is the symbol, in this Psalm, of the glory and presence and will of God.  So, when the writer of this song writes: “Arise, oh Lord, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might” the writer is saying, “Have your way in our lives!”  We might, here, think of the Lord’s prayer:

Matthew 6:10

Your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Our desire in life is that God’s will be done in our lives, in our families, in our nation.  We should be living for God’s Kingdom to be rule on this earth.   Men and women today have their cares in this life and the “ark of God’s presence” is a long way away from their lives.   This Psalm reminds us that we ought be praying and living that God’s ark (His presence) would go to His “resting place” - Where He wants to take us and complete His plan.   God’s will finding rest in our lives is a glorious thing to praise.  

Tag: The Kings Heart is in God’s Hand - Ezra 1-5

Ezra 1:2-4

“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem. And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.”

Tag:  The Kings Heart is in the Hand of the Lord

Before we can really grasp the truth and power in the above passage, we should read this proverb from the hand of King Solomon, written 300-400 years before what we read above:

Proverbs 21:1

The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord;

he turns it wherever he will.

God is in control!!   This devotional is being written the morning of the mid-term elections in 2016.  The news has bee feverous for the past month.  The political ranker unparalleled.   The partisanship unequalled.   If someone were to spend their entire days listening to pundits prognosticate about the results they would never hear them all.   

Yet, in the midst of al this noises turbulence, this small, still voice of God can be heard in the above passage.  As believers we can participate in the political election with a sense of confidence that as God turned the heart of the King of Persia to be friendly and warm to His people, so God can turn the hearts of voters to put in authority and power those God chooses.  The unbelieving world believes that they are in control of their own destiny.   And, in regard to their salvation, their rejection of Christ, they are.   But, in the affairs of the state, God is directing the hearts of leaders to accomplish His Devine Plan - the establishment of God’s Kingdom on this earth.  God is in charge not the voters.  God knows what will happen in ever election before it happens, not the pollsters.   God has the platform that needs to be run, not the party leaders.   And God has the power, not the people who vote.   We should take part in the political process because God has enabled us to live in a land that grants us a vote.  But, the truth of the matter is, our votes are tallied before hand by God to accomplish the purpose He wants to accomplish.  The kings heart is in the hand of the Lord. 

Tag: Poor or No Poor - Deuteronomy 13-15

Deuteronomy 15:4

But there will be no poor among you; for the Lord will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess—

Deuteronomy 15:11

For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’

Tag:  Poor or No Poor?

Chapter 15 of Deuteronomy is all about the Sabbatical Year.   It is about the nation of Israel living radically different from the world around it.   Israel was chosen to be God’s special people so that the nations would know what is like to serve a holy and righteous God.   Nothing can be more radical in the thinking of mankind than the concept of the Sabbatical Year.  In our county “capitalism” reigns supreme.   The “market” determines the prince!  We have a system where wealth can be created.   However, in that system, we also see that greed and power are birthed and that eventually brings forth death.  Imagine the concept of the Sabbatical Year being introduced to Wall Street ... intruding a time where power and greed are balanced out and we are all set back to zero!   God knew that mankind, having had a sip of success, would eventually become drunk with power and greed.  The Sabbatical Year shows God’s amazing character for social justice and social change.   The early church saw this too ... read Acts 2 and the desire to care for the poor.   Social justice is not a political football to be tossed around ideologically.  It is a character quality at the heart of God.   God wanted the nation of Israel to live and to make sure there was NO poor.  But, God also knew the heart of man that some would become so lazy as to not earn and some would be driven as to exploit the other.   The Sabbatical Year was God’s remedy to keep man from devouring one another and to reset the stage so that all actors had the same opportunities.   This is a radical thought now and would be then.  It would have made Israel completely different from the world.   The Church should be that different today.   When we look the same as the world around us, we are not practicing the character and mind of God. 

Tag: God’s Power — Our Faith - 1 Peter 1-3

1 Peter 1:5

who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Tag:  Believers Are Kept Safe By God’s Power By Faith

The “who” in the above verse are believers.   The verse is taken from the encouragement Peter is giving all believers, in light of their trials and tribulations.   Peter wants each believer to know, that despite their struggles, they are being kept and will be kept by the God who saved them, right to the end.  But, they are not to “earn” this protection on their own, but rather, simply put their complete faith and trust in the work of Christ.   Believers are “being guarded” by “God’s power.”   We have a “shield” around us that protects us, much like Abraham in his day:

Genesis 15:1

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”

God is out “shield.”   Peter wants the believers, living in tribulation, in his day, to realize that their faith saved them for eternity, but will also protect them and enable them to live through trials victoriously.   He does not promise to remove the trials, but rather reminds them that an all knowing, all powerful, all loving God is their shield.   By faith they are to trust God completely.   Note a similar reference by the Apostle Paul:

Ephesians 6:16

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;

When the “evil one” sends the fiery darts of worry, disbelief, confusion and/or doubt, believers are to continue to believe that God loves them and God will never allow anything to happen to them that God does not know, or does not have the power to protect them.   Our faith in God’s promises and the fidelity of His Character will empower us to live with joy and love in light of the most difficult circumstances.   It is GOD’S POWER, through OUR FAITH, that keeps us in the midst of trials and tribulations.