Devotional for the day

[Judy Harder]

November 11, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers 

The Supreme Climb
He said, 'Take now your son . . .' -Genesis 22:2

God's command is, "Take now," not later. It is incredible how we debate! We know something is right, but we try to find excuses for not doing it immediately. If we are to climb to the height God reveals, it can never be done later- it must be done now. And the sacrifice must be worked through our will before we actually perform it.

"So Abraham rose early in the morning . . . and went to the place of which God had told him" (Genesis 22:3). Oh, the wonderful simplicity of Abraham! When God spoke, he did not "confer with flesh and blood" (Galatians 1:16). Beware when you want to "confer with flesh and blood" or even your own thoughts, insights, or understandings- anything that is not based on your personal relationship with God. These are all things that compete with and hinder obedience to God.

Abraham did not choose what the sacrifice would be. Always guard against self-chosen service for God. Self-sacrifice may be a disease that impairs your service. If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace; or even if He has made it bitter, drink it in communion with Him. If the providential will of God means a hard and difficult time for you, go through it. But never decide the place of your own martyrdom, as if to say, "I will only go to there, but no farther." God chose the test for Abraham, and Abraham neither delayed nor protested, but steadily obeyed. If you are not living in touch with God, it is easy to blame Him or pass judgment on Him. You must go through the trial before you have any right to pronounce a verdict, because by going through the trial you learn to know God better. God is working in us to reach His highest goals until His purpose and our purpose become one.

Removed, Not Just Covered

And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

Not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with the blood of another-He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

I want to tell you, friend, we are not just some patched up old sinners.  We have been made new creations in Christ Jesus.

I know a horse trainer who trains beautiful thoroughbred horses.  If I took a mule over to this guy and said, "Look, I want this mule to run with the thoroughbreds," he could feed it, brush its coat every day, and trim its tail and ears to look like a quarter horse.  But when the gun fires and the gates go up and the horses start to run, it is just a mule.  That is all it is!

Religion dresses up the mule, but God changes the mule into a thoroughbred.  He takes away your sin and makes you a new creature in Christ Jesus when you embrace salvation.

Our sin is not just covered, it is gone, and we have been made into new people.

Under the old covenant, sins were merely covered.  In the new covenant, Jesus removes our sin.  In fact, John the Baptist declared, "Behold!  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"  Jesus doesn't just cover it, He takes it away! And then talking about Jesus, Today I want to give you another reason why the new covenant is better than the old covenant.  I want you to read Hebrews 10:11 first, then Hebrews 9:25-26,   
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Read: 2 Kings 9
He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities. - Isaiah 53:5

TODAY IN THE WORD
Some things in life, no matter how necessary, remain unpleasant to experience. Anyone who has had a root canal would never desire such a procedure, no matter how much Novocain is used. Others who have had a heart bypass, even if glad for the resulting health, do not savor the memories of surgery. And those who know the destruction that chemotherapy wreaks on the body in order to eradicate an insidious cancer do not long for the next round of treatment, even if the hope of recovery is promising.
Today's reading is not a pleasant experience either. There are multiple deaths, some explicitly described. When Jehu received word that he was the new king of Israel, he immediately took action. Finding Joram in Jezreel, Jehu declared his intentions and then promptly shot an arrow through Joram's heart. Jehu then ordered Joram's body to be picked up and thrown to the plot of ground once belonging to Naboth.

Then there was Jezebel, that wicked wife of king Ahab and murderer of God's prophets. Despite her attempts at seduction, Jehu ordered her thrown to her death from the window. Details of her bloody demise are provided, including wild dogs devouring her body. So decimated was her body that she was unrecognizable in the end.

Why do we need to hear about all this? Couldn't we have been spared the gruesome details? Obviously God thought otherwise. The details of Scripture teach us important lessons. First, the explicit destruction described here have a purpose, summarized in verse 6 through 10. This is not capricious brutality, but God's specific action to eradicate the cancer of Ahab's line, a family steeped in idolatry and covenantal disobedience. The brutality of their destruction demonstrates the severity of their sin and the extreme need to remove their influence from God's people.

Second, the details fulfill specific prophecies. First King 19:15-18 was fulfilled in the rise of Jehu and subsequent destruction; 1 Kings 21:19-23 was fulfilled in the details of the deaths of both Joram and Jezebel. God's word is proven true.
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Another prophesy of harsh necessity is found in the Bible. Isaiah 53 depicts the suffering of Christ who was "despised," "rejected," "pierced," "crushed," "oppressed," and "afflicted," all "for our transgressions" (Isa. 53:3-7). The gravity of sin calls for extreme measures, but we can rest in God's love because of Christ's suffering on our behalf. Read Isaiah 53 today, and give thanks for a God who is willing to go to extremes to eliminate the pervasive disease of sin in His people.


GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

November 12, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers 

The Changed Life
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new -2 Corinthians 5:17

What understanding do you have of the salvation of your soul? The work of salvation means that in your real life things are dramatically changed. You no longer look at things in the same way. Your desires are new and the old things have lost their power to attract you. One of the tests for determining if the work of salvation in your life is genuine is- has God changed the things that really matter to you? If you still yearn for the old things, it is absurd to talk about being born from above- you are deceiving yourself. If you are born again, the Spirit of God makes the change very evident in your real life and thought. And when a crisis comes, you are the most amazed person on earth at the wonderful difference there is in you. There is no possibility of imagining that you did it. It is this complete and amazing change that is the very evidence that you are saved.

What difference has my salvation and sanctification made? For instance, can I stand in the light of 1 Corinthians 13 , or do I squirm and evade the issue? True salvation, worked out in me by the Holy Spirit, frees me completely. And as long as I "walk in the light as He is in the light" (1 John 1:7), God sees nothing to rebuke because His life is working itself into every detailed part of my being, not on the conscious level, but even deeper than my consciousness.

Not Guilty

It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience.

How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Even if you sin as a believer, thank God for 1 John 1:9,  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If you are still grappling with a guilty conscience after you have from your heart repented of sin and confessed it to God, then one of three things is happening:

1.      The devil is accusing you.  He is called the accuser of the brethren.  He will run by your kitchen window with flash cards which say, "Remember when you did this?  Remember when you did that!"  Do not listen to the devil.

2.      You have not forgiven yourself.  You are forgiven by God, but you have not forgiven yourself.  If God Almighty has forgiven you, you need to forgive yourself.

3.      It may just be that you need to make restitution.  That is something you will have to work out between you and God.  Sometimes when you have injured a party through your sinful act, your conscience is going to bother you until you make things right with that person.

Under the new covenant there is cleansing from a guilty conscience, and it makes an awfully soft pillow at night.

At the point of conversion, not only is sin taken away, but the burden of guilt is lifted.  The conscience is cleansed. Then verse 14 about the new covenant, The new covenant provides cleansing for a guilty conscience.  In talking about the old covenant, read Hebrews 9:9,
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Read: 2 Kings 10
Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart. - 2 Kings 10:31

TODAY IN THE WORD
Any boy scout who has earned his Wilderness Survival merit badge knows the importance not only of starting a fire, but also of keeping that fire strong. The best-built fires, if left unattended will eventually diminish to smoldering ashes. To keep the fire strong, one must continue to feed the flames with new sources of fuel.
The need to continue fanning the spiritual flame is an important lesson in today's reading as well. Previously, Jehu had been given the task of ridding Israel of the wicked house of Ahab. Jehu did that with great zeal. First, Jehu eliminated the seventy princes of the family of Ahab at Jezreel. He then displayed the evidence at the city gates, not as some barbaric act of cruelty, but for theological purposes. As Jehu himself declared: "Know then, that not a word the LORD has spoken against the house of Ahab will fail" (v. 10). Jehu understood the reliability of God's word, and publicly proclaimed his own zeal for the Lord (v. 16).

He then demonstrated this zeal by laying a cunning trap for the prophets of Baal. Feigning a festival to honor Baal, Jehu assembled every last Baal prophet and had them slaughtered. The prophets were now dead, the sacred stone was demolished, and the temple turned into a latrine. Baal worship in Israel was gone (v. 28), and God rewarded Jehu with the promise of four generations of kings (v. 30). All seemed well; zeal for God and His word was a driving force in Jehu's life.

But then comes the rest of the chapter. Immediately after the glowing comment about Baal eradication, we read: "However, [Jehu] did not turn from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat" (v. 29). Then after God's promise of reward, we read: "Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the LORD . . . with all his heart" (v. 31). What a sad commentary on how quickly Jehu forgot. What started as a burning zeal had turned into a barely smoldering ember. The fire was gone.
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
For how many of us could the words of verse 31 be true, forgetting to set our whole heart upon God? Like burning logs, we too are aided by joining with others to keep the spiritual flame alive. Find someone today-a friend, a spouse, a spiritual mentor-with whom you can create a list of ways to continue fanning the flame of love for God in your life. Agree to pray for one another and to hold each other accountable to a life committed to Christ.

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

November 15, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers 

"What Is That to You?"
Peter . . . said to Jesus, 'But Lord, what about this man?' Jesus said to him, '. . . what is that to you? You follow Me' -John 21:21-22

One of the hardest lessons to learn comes from our stubborn refusal to refrain from interfering in other people's lives. It takes a long time to realize the danger of being an amateur providence, that is, interfering with God's plan for others. You see someone suffering and say, "He will not suffer, and I will make sure that he doesn't." You put your hand right in front of God's permissive will to stop it, and then God says, "What is that to you?" Is there stagnation in your spiritual life? Don't allow it to continue, but get into God's presence and find out the reason for it. You will possibly find it is because you have been interfering in the life of another- proposing things you had no right to propose, or advising when you had no right to advise. When you do have to give advice to another person, God will advise through you with the direct understanding of His Spirit. Your part is to maintain the right relationship with God so that His discernment can come through you continually for the purpose of blessing someone else.

Most of us live only within the level of consciousness- consciously serving and consciously devoted to God. This shows immaturity and the fact that we're not yet living the real Christian life. Maturity is produced in the life of a child of God on the unconscious level, until we become so totally surrendered to God that we are not even aware of being used by Him. When we are consciously aware of being used as broken bread and poured-out wine, we have yet another level to reach- a level where all awareness of ourselves and of what God is doing through us is completely eliminated. A saint is never consciously a saint- a saint is consciously dependent on God.

A Better Covenant

There are two verses for your reading today.  Hebrews 7:22, which says,

By so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.
And Hebrews 8:6, which tells us,

But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.
We have a better covenant; we have better promises.  And Jesus is the One who makes it sure.  He is the guarantee. He has personally pledged Himself to make it good.

As far as I am concerned, that takes away all reason for doubt, all reason for stressing out.  Jesus, Himself, is the pledge, the guarantee that this covenant we have called the New Testament will be good and will be fulfilled in our lives.

And He is not only the guarantee, He is the Mediator.  He is the go-between to what is truly a better covenant, established upon better promises.

Let's say your employer came to you and said, "We're going to give you a better contract.  While the old contract was good, we're going to give you one that's better.  This better contract will increase your hours, decrease your pay, eliminate your health and dental benefits, you will no longer get reimbursed for your mileage and your auto expenses, and you're going to have a shorter lunch break and no more Christmas bonuses."

Let me ask you, is that better?  No!  That is not better!  And I will never understand how people can say, "We know God healed people and worked miracles and intervened in people's lives under the Old Testament, but He doesn't anymore."

The covenant Christ bought and sealed in His blood is a better covenant, established upon better promises. Praise God!
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Read: 2 Kings 13
But the LORD was gracious to them and had compassion and showed concern for them because of his covenant. - 2 Kings 13:23
TODAY IN THE WORD
A notoriously absent-minded man had once again lost his remote control. He spent an hour searching the house for the missing remote-under the couch cushions, under the chair, in the bedroom, behind the TV, in the bathroom-all to no avail. Later in the day, feeling a craving for ice cream, the man went to the freezer. When he opened the door, what should he see but the misplaced remote control!
Sometimes God's grace of salvation shows up in unexpected places as well, and today's reading gives us an example of just that. This chapter recounts the story of two evil kings of Israel, Jehoahaz and Jehoash. Both received the same indictment: "He did evil in the eyes of the LORD," and both continued Israel's pervasive idolatry (vv. 2, 11). As a result, the nation of Israel suffered for its disobedience: the Arameans persisted as a thorn in Israel's side, oppressing them continually.

Yet in the midst of this oft-repeated cycle of sin and idolatry, surprising moments appear when the kings softened and God's grace and mercy showed through. Jehoahaz, we are told, unexpectedly "sought the LORD's favor" (v. 4). The response? Seeing their great suffering, "The LORD listened to him" and sent a deliverer (this could also be translated as "savior") to rescue them (vv. 4-5). Is this not God's gracious way? In the midst of humanity's oppression under sin and death, God sent the ultimate Savior, Christ, to rescue us.

Then there was Jehoash, the second wicked king. Hearing of Elisha's impending death, the king went to him in tears over the coming loss of God's prophet in Israel. The response? Through Elisha, God demonstrated the hope of salvation and life. First, Elisha declared "the arrow of victory (literally "salvation") over Aram" (v. 17), and the three-fold defeat of the Arameans was soon fulfilled. Then came the strange resurrection of a dead man through Elisha's bones. Both episodes illustrate God's ability and willingness to extend life and grace to His people, if only they would turn and ask.
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Notice the stated reason for God's grace and mercy: "because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" (v. 23). That covenant, the New Testament tells us, was fulfilled in the coming of Christ, and the grace, compassion, and concern that God showed Israel is now ours in and through Him. If you know someone who struggles to believe God's love and forgiveness in Christ is real, share today's message: for those who turn and seek the Lord, He is always ready to listen and act.

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotional

November 16, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers 

Still Human!

. . . whatever you do, do all to the glory of God -1 Corinthians 10:31

In the Scriptures, the great miracle of the incarnation slips into the ordinary life of a child; the great miracle of the transfiguration fades into the demon-possessed valley below; the glory of the resurrection descends into a breakfast on the seashore. This is not an anticlimax, but a great revelation of God.

We have a tendency to look for wonder in our experience, and we mistake heroic actions for real heroes. It's one thing to go through a crisis grandly, yet quite another to go through every day glorifying God when there is no witness, no limelight, and no one paying even the remotest attention to us. If we are not looking for halos, we at least want something that will make people say, "What a wonderful man of prayer he is!" or, "What a great woman of devotion she is!" If you are properly devoted to the Lord Jesus, you have reached the lofty height where no one would ever notice you personally. All that is noticed is the power of God coming through you all the time.

We want to be able to say, "Oh, I have had a wonderful call from God!" But to do even the most humbling tasks to the glory of God takes the Almighty God Incarnate working in us. To be utterly unnoticeable requires God's Spirit in us making us absolutely humanly His. The true test of a saint's life is not successfulness but faithfulness on the human level of life. We tend to set up success in Christian work as our purpose, but our purpose should be to display the glory of God in human life, to live a life "hidden with Christ in God" in our everyday human conditions (Colossians 3:3). Our human relationships are the very conditions in which the ideal life of God should be exhibited.

The "Good Old Days"

Hebrews 11:13-16 contains a powerful truth, a perspective I want to encourage you to embrace.  These verses are talking about the great heroes of the faith from the Old Testament,         

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.  For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland.  And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.  But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country.  Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

As you read this passage, it is easy to see why some people struggle so much with past sins.  As verse 15 says, Truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.

The reason some people constantly struggle with returning to their old life, finding a multitude of opportunities to return, is because they keep calling it to mind.  They keep rehearsing the "good old days."  Perhaps you struggle with that as well.

If you do, seek to remember the "good old days" as they really were.  Don't forget about all the pain.  Don't forget about the way you struggled, the reason you came to Christ in the first place.  Stop rehearsing the past.  If the "good old days" were so good, you would not have gotten saved.

These heroes of the faith sought a better homeland.  In verse 15 it talks about calling to mind the countryfrom which they had come, but the word country is just added by the translators.  It really has the intent of saying if they had constantly thought about from where they had come, there would have been a great temptation to return there. 
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Read: 2 Kings 13
But the LORD was gracious to them and had compassion and showed concern for them because of his covenant. - 2 Kings 13:23

TODAY IN THE WORD
A notoriously absent-minded man had once again lost his remote control. He spent an hour searching the house for the missing remote-under the couch cushions, under the chair, in the bedroom, behind the TV, in the bathroom-all to no avail. Later in the day, feeling a craving for ice cream, the man went to the freezer. When he opened the door, what should he see but the misplaced remote control!
Sometimes God's grace of salvation shows up in unexpected places as well, and today's reading gives us an example of just that. This chapter recounts the story of two evil kings of Israel, Jehoahaz and Jehoash. Both received the same indictment: "He did evil in the eyes of the LORD," and both continued Israel's pervasive idolatry (vv. 2, 11). As a result, the nation of Israel suffered for its disobedience: the Arameans persisted as a thorn in Israel's side, oppressing them continually.

Yet in the midst of this oft-repeated cycle of sin and idolatry, surprising moments appear when the kings softened and God's grace and mercy showed through. Jehoahaz, we are told, unexpectedly "sought the LORD's favor" (v. 4). The response? Seeing their great suffering, "The LORD listened to him" and sent a deliverer (this could also be translated as "savior") to rescue them (vv. 4-5). Is this not God's gracious way? In the midst of humanity's oppression under sin and death, God sent the ultimate Savior, Christ, to rescue us.

Then there was Jehoash, the second wicked king. Hearing of Elisha's impending death, the king went to him in tears over the coming loss of God's prophet in Israel. The response? Through Elisha, God demonstrated the hope of salvation and life. First, Elisha declared "the arrow of victory (literally "salvation") over Aram" (v. 17), and the three-fold defeat of the Arameans was soon fulfilled. Then came the strange resurrection of a dead man through Elisha's bones. Both episodes illustrate God's ability and willingness to extend life and grace to His people, if only they would turn and ask.
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Notice the stated reason for God's grace and mercy: "because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" (v. 23). That covenant, the New Testament tells us, was fulfilled in the coming of Christ, and the grace, compassion, and concern that God showed Israel is now ours in and through Him. If you know someone who struggles to believe God's love and forgiveness in Christ is real, share today's message: for those who turn and seek the Lord, He is always ready to listen and act.

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

November 17, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers 

The Eternal Goal

By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing . . . I will bless you . . . -Genesis 22:16-17

Abraham, at this point, has reached where he is in touch with the very nature of God. He now understands the reality of God.

My goal is God Himself . . .
At any cost, dear Lord, by any road.

"At any cost . . . by any road" means submitting to God's way of bringing us to the goal.

There is no possibility of questioning God when He speaks, if He speaks to His own nature in me. Prompt obedience is the only result. When Jesus says, "Come," I simply come; when He says, "Let go," I let go; when He says, "Trust God in this matter," I trust. This work of obedience is the evidence that the nature of God is in me.

God's revelation of Himself to me is influenced by my character, not by God's character.

'Tis because I am ordinary,
Thy ways so often look ordinary to me.

It is through the discipline of obedience that I get to the place where Abraham was and I see who God is. God will never be real to me until I come face to face with Him in Jesus Christ. Then I will know and can boldly proclaim, "In all the world, my God, there is none but Thee, there is none but Thee."

The promises of God are of no value to us until, through obedience, we come to understand the nature of God. We may read some things in the Bible every day for a year and they may mean nothing to us. Then, because we have been obedient to God in some small detail, we suddenly see what God means and His nature is instantly opened up to us. "All the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen . . ." (2 Corinthians 1:20). Our "Yes" must be born of obedience; when by obedience we ratify a promise of God by saying, "Amen," or, "So be it." That promise becomes ours.

The Right Perspective

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.  For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland.  And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.  But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country.  Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

Today, I want you to see an important perspective the heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11 provide for us.  What did they do?  They looked to the future.  These men and women of God walked as strangers and pilgrims on this earth because they looked for a better homeland, a better place, which God would prepare for them.

I'm telling you, there is a better homeland than our world today.  There is a city called the New Jerusalem.  There is a place that does not need the light of the sun nor the light of the moon because the Lamb-Jesus Christ-is its light. 

In that city, every tear is wiped away.  There is no more sin, no more sickness, no more pain, and no more suffering.

Like the heroes of old, I have my eye on that heavenly city.  It is better than anything we have here!  I pray that this will be your perspective today...and every day...as well.

Yesterday we talked about how it is so easy to remember "the good old days," but with selective memory, not really remembering the pain and struggle. In today's devotional, I want to take you back to the Scripture we looked at yesterday, Hebrews 11:13-16,
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Read: 2 Kings 15
He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, as his fathers had done. - 2 Kings 15:9

In today's passage we see something of a spiritual maelstrom for the nation of Israel as the succession of wicked rulers becomes more and more frequent in a short amount of time. Consider the quick sequence of Israelite kings reported in our chapter: Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, and Pekah-five kings in a span of less than thirteen years, all of whom "did evil in the eyes of the LORD" (vv. 9, 13-16, 18, 24, 28). In that brief space of time, these kings unleashed a flood of sin and turmoil on the land: treachery against rulers, three assassinations of reigning kings, brutality against pregnant women (and their still-developing infants), heavy taxation on their subjects, international strife from foreign nations, loss of cities and land, and even the deportation of Israelite families into Assyria. These were horrific and chaotic times for Israel.

The speed with which Scripture presents these reigns indicates something profound: a spiritual maelstrom of death has been created, and as the succession of wicked kings rapidly moves on, the downward spiral has begun to drag Israel down. All of the chaos above should have acted as warning signs to those paying attention, but none of the leaders seemed to take notice.

We're not left only with despair; Scripture does give us a poignant contrast, bookending the chapter with two positive reigns (both from southern Judah). Azariah (also called Uzziah) and his son Jotham combine to rule Judah for sixty-eight years, both of them doing "what was right in the eyes of the LORD" (vv. 3, 34). The point should be clear: sin and disobedience lead to the downward spiral of chaos, but obedience to God's word brings the assurance of stability.
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
What's true for God's people of old is true for God's people today. Churches that consistently refuse to heed God's word should not be surprised when turmoil and chaos seem to creep in. The question challenges us: will people respond to the warning signs of the spiraling vortex before it's too late? Pray today for Christ's body at home and around the world, that He would raise up godly leaders to guide His children into obedience and the much-needed stability that comes with it.
Most whirlpools found in nature are not very strong. But more powerful vortexes do exist, sometimes called maelstroms, which have been known to cause injury and death to the unfortunate or inexperienced. In such maelstroms, the danger comes from the faster, spiraling waters and the resulting downdraft that pulls the unsuspecting seafarer under the waters.

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

November 18, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers 

Winning into Freedom

If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed -John 8:36

If there is even a trace of individual self-satisfaction left in us, it always says, "I can't surrender," or "I can't be free." But the spiritual part of our being never says "I can't"; it simply soaks up everything around it. Our spirit hungers for more and more. It is the way we are built. We are designed with a great capacity for God, but sin, our own individuality, and wrong thinking keep us from getting to Him. God delivers us from sin- we have to deliver ourselves from our individuality. This means offering our natural life to God and sacrificing it to Him, so He may transform it into spiritual life through our obedience.

God pays no attention to our natural individuality in the development of our spiritual life. His plan runs right through our natural life. We must see to it that we aid and assist God, and not stand against Him by saying, "I can't do that." God will not discipline us; we must discipline ourselves. God will not bring our "arguments . . . and every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5)- we have to do it. Don't say, "Oh, Lord, I suffer from wandering thoughts." Don't suffer from wandering thoughts. Stop listening to the tyranny of your individual natural life and win freedom into the spiritual life.

"If the Son makes you free . . . ." Do not substitute Savior for Son in this passage. The Savior has set us free from sin, but this is the freedom that comes from being set free from myself by the Son. It is what Paul meant in Galatians 2:20  when he said, "I have been crucified with Christ . . . ." His individuality had been broken and his spirit had been united with his Lord; not just merged into Him, but made one with Him. ". . . you shall be free indeed"- free to the very core of your being; free from the inside to the outside. We tend to rely on our own energy, instead of being energized by the power that comes from identification with Jesus.

Mercy!  Forgiveness!  Acceptance!  Pardon!  Welcome!

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

God said, "Cain, the blood of your brother, Abel, cries out to Me from the ground."  What did the blood of Abel say?  "Vengeance!  Judgment!"

The blood of Jesus cries better things.  The blood that soaked the cross and made it red, the blood that soaked the ground below the cross at that place called Calvary, the blood that today is in the heavenly Holy of Holies, that blood cries out day and night into the ears of God.

The blood of Jesus today does not cry out, "Vengeance!  Judgment!"  Instead, it cries out, "Mercy!  Forgiveness!  Acceptance!  Pardon!  Welcome!"

The question is:  How will you respond?  Hebrews 12:25 issues a stern warning,

See that you do not refuse Him who speaks.  For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven.

If you have yet to accept Jesus as your Savior, do so today.

You can read the story of Abel and his brother, Cain, in Genesis 4.  What we learn is that Cain became jealous of Abel, and as a result, Cain rose up against Abel in the field and killed him. In Hebrews 12:22-24, we are given a powerful word on how the blood of Jesus speaks such better things than the blood of Abel.  This is a great insight, so bear with me,
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Read: 2 Kings 16
I am your servant and vassal. Come up and save me. - 2 Kings 16:7


TODAY IN THE WORD
In prairie states like Kansas and Nebraska, the terrain is so flat that one can see far into the distance. Looking to the west, an approaching thunderstorm can be seen miles away, long before it ever hits. Sunny skies might be enjoyed at the moment, but the wise and observant person will make preparations for the coming storm.
Our passage today likewise gives us a glimpse of the coming storm for southern Judah. In our last chapter, two kings ruled Judah in relatively stability for sixty-eight years. Now, with the rise of Ahaz, things take a turn for the worse, and the impending danger for Judah can be seen on the horizon.

First, there was a problem of leadership. Scripture tells us that the kings of Aram and Israel marched against Judah. Aram had already captured the important town of Elath, and now Jerusalem was under siege. What did Ahaz do? Instead of turning to God for help, Ahaz looked to the Assyrian king. Notice the language Ahaz used, typically employed to describe Judah's relationship with God: "I am your servant and vassal (this word could also be "son"). Come up and save me" (v. 7). Ahaz then emptied the temple's treasuries in order to secure this "salvation" from "Father" Assyria. The ploy worked, but Ahaz's actions clearly indicated a rejection of the true God who saves.

Second, there was the more serious problem of worship. We are told earlier that Ahaz was not a godly king; he followed the ways of Israel, practiced idolatry, and "even sacrificed his son in the fire" (vv. 3-4). Later, while in Damascus paying homage to Tiglath-Pileser, Ahaz encountered a new altar and immediately ordered one to be built back home. Upon his return, Ahaz employed even further temple remodeling "in deference to the king of Assyria" (v. 18). While little explicit commentary on these activities in the text, don't forget the earlier warning: Ahaz was "following the detestable ways of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites" (v. 3). The storm was coming; would Judah heed the warning signs?
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Most of us would not fall into the extreme categories of sin like Ahaz; after all, we might protest that we don't practice child sacrifice today! But what of the subtler disobedience in today's reading? Do we look to something other than God for comfort-a large bank account, "safe" neighborhoods and schools, or an insurance policy? Certainly, God can use a variety of means to protect us, but when those earthly means become our only consolation, are we truly trusting God? 

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

Daily Devotional

November 19, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers 

"When He Has Come"

When He has come, He will convict the world of sin . . . -John 16:8

Very few of us know anything about conviction of sin. We know the experience of being disturbed because we have done wrong things. But conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit blots out every relationship on earth and makes us aware of only one- "Against You, You only, have I sinned . . ." (Psalm 51:4). When a person is convicted of sin in this way, he knows with every bit of his conscience that God would not dare to forgive him. If God did forgive him, then this person would have a stronger sense of justice than God. God does forgive, but it cost the breaking of His heart with grief in the death of Christ to enable Him to do so. The great miracle of the grace of God is that He forgives sin, and it is the death of Jesus Christ alone that enables the divine nature to forgive and to remain true to itself in doing so. It is shallow nonsense to say that God forgives us because He is love. Once we have been convicted of sin, we will never say this again. The love of God means Calvary- nothing less! The love of God is spelled out on the Cross and nowhere else. The only basis for which God can forgive me is the Cross of Christ. It is there that His conscience is satisfied.

Forgiveness doesn't merely mean that I am saved from hell and have been made ready for heaven (no one would accept forgiveness on that level). Forgiveness means that I am forgiven into a newly created relationship which identifies me with God in Christ. The miracle of redemption is that God turns me, the unholy one, into the standard of Himself, the Holy One. He does this by putting into me a new nature, the nature of Jesus Christ.

Where Have You Pitched Your Tent?

Genesis 13:12 (KJV) says, Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

Notice that Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom.  Every day his attention was placed on that city.  Here is what the Bible says about those that lived there.

But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly (Genesis 13:13, KJV).

What we focus our attention on will influence us.  It will try to draw us in like a magnet.  The next time we read about Lot he is living in Sodom.

And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed (Genesis 14:12, KJV).

Next we find him even further entrenched among the people of Sodom.  Genesis 19:1 declares that Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom.

In Eastern cities, the "gate" was a place devoted to business transactions, the administration of justice, and the enjoyment of social discourse and amusement.  Lot was right "in the thick of things"-but it happened by degrees.  It was a process.

What you view and listen to, and the company you keep, will influence you-sometimes in very subtle ways-and will play a role in shaping your values and character.

So be careful where you pitch your tent!
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Read: 2 Kings 16
I am your servant and vassal. Come up and save me. - 2 Kings 16:7


Read: 2 Kings 17:1-23

So the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. - 2 Kings 17:18

TODAY IN THE WORD
In his 1905 work The Life of Reason, Spanish-American philosopher and poet, George Santayana, famously penned: "Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. . . . Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." While Santayana was speaking about the progress of the human mind as it matures and develops, the quote is often used as an exhortation to take the study of history seriously.
Santayana's claims about the importance of the past ring true in 2 Kings 17 as well. While the first six verses record the final end for northern Israel, including its destruction and deportation, the more important lesson comes in the next fourteen verses explaining Israel's demise. First, Israel did not remember its past. This forgotten past included not only God's grace in bringing them out of Egypt (v. 7), but also the fate suffered by their forefathers who refused God's word and remained stiff-necked (v. 14). Had Israel recalled both what God had done for them and the warning of their predecessors, perhaps they would not have been doomed to repeat God's discipline.

Second, Israel repeatedly and thoroughly rejected God's commands. Although God specifically warned about following the practices of the nations in the land (Deut. 7:1-5), Israel quickly fell into pervasive idolatry. Their idolatry was a full-blown disobedience: worshiping Asherah, Baal, and the starry host; offering child sacrifice; and setting up altars throughout the land. Scripture summarizes their fate: "They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless" (v. 15).

Finally, Israel ignored God's repeated pleas for repentance. Twice God mentioned His grace in sending prophets to call the people back to Himself (vv. 13, 23). Yet Israel did not heed those calls. All of Israel's forgetting, rejecting, and ignoring did one thing: it provoked God to anger and brought the most serious judgment of all, mentioned three different times: the loss of God's presence (vv. 18, 20, 23). The message is profound: earthly suffering may be unpleasant, but the real disaster is losing God Himself.
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
We are called to the task of remembering. Remember the grace shown us in Christ. How has God shown that grace to you personally? Remember the commands laid out in God's Word. Are there areas in your life where you need to repent and turn back to God? Remember Israel's own past that we may not be condemned to repeat it. Don't let today's history lesson go unheeded. Renew your commitment to a life for Christ today, and thank Him for the lessons of divine history.


GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

November 20, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers 

The Forgiveness of God

In Him we have . . . the forgiveness of sins . . . -Ephesians 1:7

Beware of the pleasant view of the fatherhood of God: God is so kind and loving that of course He will forgive us. That thought, based solely on emotion, cannot be found anywhere in the New Testament. The only basis on which God can forgive us is the tremendous tragedy of the Cross of Christ. To base our forgiveness on any other ground is unconscious blasphemy. The only ground on which God can forgive our sin and reinstate us to His favor is through the Cross of Christ. There is no other way! Forgiveness, which is so easy for us to accept, cost the agony at Calvary. We should never take the forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our sanctification in simple faith, and then forget the enormous cost to God that made all of this ours.

Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace. The cost to God was the Cross of Christ. To forgive sin, while remaining a holy God, this price had to be paid. Never accept a view of the fatherhood of God if it blots out the atonement. The revealed truth of God is that without the atonement He cannot forgive- He would contradict His nature if He did. The only way we can be forgiven is by being brought back to God through the atonement of the Cross. God's forgiveness is possible only in the supernatural realm.

Compared with the miracle of the forgiveness of sin, the experience of sanctification is small. Sanctification is simply the wonderful expression or evidence of the forgiveness of sins in a human life. But the thing that awakens the deepest fountain of gratitude in a human being is that God has forgiven his sin. Paul never got away from this. Once you realize all that it cost God to forgive you, you will be held as in a vise, constrained by the love of God.

Better Than Life

In Psalm 63:1-4, the psalmist makes an incredible statement,

O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.  So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory.  Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You.  Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.
What does the psalmist mean when he says that God's lovingkindness is better than life?  Let me try and explain.

First, lovingkindness literally means merciful love.  It is God's unfailing, merciful love.

And this is the love the psalmist says is "better than life." This merciful and unfailing love of God is better than life at its best without that love.

When I think of my life without Christ, I can remember many high times, laughter I shared with people, and great relationships.  But the least of God's mercies far outweighs the best of those times.

My life before coming to know Christ was chasing shadows.  It was doing the best with a counterfeit because I had never experienced the reality.  It was eating freeze-dried food when the Master Chef had prepared this sumptuous feast with the finest ingredients.

His lovingkindness is indeed better than the best of life without it.  The natural response to such merciful love, to such an abundant life, is praise.  Which means that every day, until your dying day, should be a thanksgiving day.
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Read: 2 Kings 17:24-41
Do not forget the covenant I have made with you, and do not worship other gods. - 2 Kings 17:38
TODAY IN THE WORD
A young man who had lived a fairly secluded life was excited to be headed to college. After a week, he wrote his parents describing the most exciting part of college life-the cafeteria! Having eaten the same limited meals over and over again back home, the school cafeteria options were overwhelming. Pizza, salad, soups, grilled chicken, Asian entrees, burgers, fish, and a variety of desserts. He could have anything he wanted; the choices seemed endless.
The choices of religion seemed endless in today's reading as well. Having deported the northern kingdom of Israel, and hoping to prohibit future revolts, the king of Assyria repopulated Samaria with foreigners, who of course brought a panoply of religious options. Only one problem: this was not the worship God required. The entirety of today's passage explores what faulty religion looks like.

First, it is a placating religion. When they first arrived, these foreigners "did not worship the LORD" (v. 25), so God sent lions to torment them. In response, the people requested an Israelite priest to teach them the rituals required by the God of the land. They were taught how to worship the Lord, but continued worshiping other gods as well. Seemingly, what mattered to them was placating God so they could avoid trouble. How many of us treat our worship the same way?

Second, it is a do-it-yourself religion. Notice that the verb "to make" is repeated six times in verses 29 through 31. Each nation "made" its own god and set it up in its own high place (even using some of the high places previously "made" by the Israelites). Isn't this the way of so much religion? We decide what we like and then we make God into that image.

Third, it is a syncretistic religion, one that combines truth with falsehood. The problem was not a failure to worship God-it was a failure to worship Him alone. Verses 29 through 33 describe their worship of the LORD and other gods, but verse 34 tells us that, in fact, this was not true worship of God. True worship exclusively worships God alone.
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Most of us don't practice overt worship of stone or wooden idols, but what about the subtler deviation of syncretistic or "combination" worship? This worship is "God plus something else." We pray and go to church, but also bow down to the idols of money, public opinion, pleasure, and career ambition. Take a moment today to list those things that compete for your allegiance to God. Then ask God to help you put those idols away and give your exclusive devotion to Him.

GOD BLESS!



November 21, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers 

"It is Finished!"


I have finished the work which You have given Me to do -John 17:4

The death of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment in history of the very mind and intent of God. There is no place for seeing Jesus Christ as a martyr. His death was not something that happened to Him- something that might have been prevented. His death was the very reason He came.

Never build your case for forgiveness on the idea that God is our Father and He will forgive us because He loves us. That contradicts the revealed truth of God in Jesus Christ. It makes the Cross unnecessary, and the redemption "much ado about nothing." God forgives sin only because of the death of Christ. God could forgive people in no other way than by the death of His Son, and Jesus is exalted as Savior because of His death. "We see Jesus . . . for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor . . ." (Hebrews 2:9). The greatest note of triumph ever sounded in the ears of a startled universe was that sounded on the Cross of Christ- "It is finished!" (John 19:30). That is the final word in the redemption of humankind.

Anything that lessens or completely obliterates the holiness of God, through a false view of His love, contradicts the truth of God as revealed by Jesus Christ. Never allow yourself to believe that Jesus Christ stands with us, and against God, out of pity and compassion, or that He became a curse for us out of sympathy for us. Jesus Christ became a curse for us by divine decree. Our part in realizing the tremendous meaning of His curse is the conviction of sin. Conviction is given to us as a gift of shame and repentance; it is the great mercy of God. Jesus Christ hates the sin in people, and Calvary is the measure of His hatred.

Once for All!

Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood.  For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, "This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you."  Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry.  And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.  Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.  For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.
The old covenant was based on the blood of animal sacrifices; but under the new covenant, we are cleansed by the blood of Christ and His sacrifice.

Jesus went into that heavenly Holy of Holies with His own blood.  And the Father declared that the blood of Jesus satisfied the payment for sin for all eternity.

Oh, thank you, Jesus!  That is why the Scripture declares we are accepted in the Beloved.  When God accepted that blood sacrifice in heaven, He accepted all of us who believe, because Jesus went as our representative.

Praise God today for the provision of the sacrifice of Jesus...once for all!
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Read: 2 Kings 18
How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand? - 2 Kings 18:35
TODAY IN THE WORD
The Perils of Pauline (1914) was one of the most well-known suspense serials of the silent film era. The main character, Pauline, would find herself in a series of life-threatening predicaments: tied to train tracks, caught in a burning house, strapped to a board approaching a buzz saw, or stranded on the side of a cliff. In each episode, the audience was left wondering how Pauline would escape impending doom.
The writers of The Perils of Pauline could not have thought of a more suspenseful scene than our reading today, as the Assyrian army surrounded Jerusalem and promised its defeat in graphic detail. By the end of the 2 Kings 18, the question remains: can God be trusted to save, or not?

Before providing the details of that predicament, Scripture first introduces the new king of Judah, Hezekiah. The portrayal is a refreshingly rare com-mendation, for Hezekiah not only did right in God's eyes, he was like David himself. Despite a slight stumble in faithfulness (vv. 13-16), Hezekiah received rave reviews: "He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles" (v. 4). Moreover, Hezekiah "trusted in the LORD," "held fast to the LORD," and "did not cease to follow him" (vv. 5-6). In turn, "the LORD was with him" (v. 7) and gave him success in everything he did. That's an impressive summary of a godly and faithful king.

Then there's the rest of the chapter. Sennacherib's armies arrived in Jerusalem and sent a chilling message that went to the heart: can you really depend on your God? (The word depend, which can also be translated as "trust," occurs seven times.) With an echo of the wicked serpent himself (cf. Genesis 3), the messengers cast doubt on God's promises, contradicted God's word, lied about God's purposes, promised a better life under their terms, and reminded them that no other gods have yet stopped the Assyrians. Even the king's men seemed forlorn. So the chapter ends with the questions hanging in the air: will Hezekiah and the nation continue to trust God? Can He even be trusted?
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Some of us may find our faith under attack. We look around the world and see lying politicians re-elected, tyrannical dictators basking in power, dishonest business people gaining wealth, and faithful Christians suffering persecution. Many are the voices which call us to question: "Can God be trusted?" Sometimes it's worth sitting before God with our heavy hearts, asking Him to increase our faith. Do that this Lord's day, knowing that God hears us even in our darkest moments of doubt.

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

November 22, 2010


Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers 

Shallow and Profound

Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God -1 Corinthians 10:31

Beware of allowing yourself to think that the shallow aspects of life are not ordained by God; they are ordained by Him equally as much as the profound. We sometimes refuse to be shallow, not out of our deep devotion to God but because we wish to impress other people with the fact that we are not shallow. This is a sure sign of spiritual pride. We must be careful, for this is how contempt for others is produced in our lives. And it causes us to be a walking rebuke to other people because they are more shallow than we are. Beware of posing as a profound person- God became a baby.

To be shallow is not a sign of being sinful, nor is shallowness an indication that there is no depth to your life at all- the ocean has a shore. Even the shallow things of life, such as eating and drinking, walking and talking, are ordained by God. These are all things our Lord did. He did them as the Son of God, and He said, "A disciple is not above his teacher . . ." (Matthew 10:24).

We are safeguarded by the shallow things of life. We have to live the surface, commonsense life in a commonsense way. Then when God gives us the deeper things, they are obviously separated from the shallow concerns. Never show the depth of your life to anyone but God. We are so nauseatingly serious, so desperately interested in our own character and reputation, we refuse to behave like Christians in the shallow concerns of life.

Make a determination to take no one seriously except God. You may find that the first person you must be the most critical with, as being the greatest fraud you have ever known, is yourself.

For All People

The new covenant is for the whole world.  It is for every nation, every people...anyone who will accept the free gift of salvation, by placing their faith in Jesus Christ.  Hebrews 7:25 tells us,

Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Or, as one old preacher said, "He saves to the uttermost and to the guttermost."

That may sound crass, but it is true!  Through Jesus Christ, God has made a way of salvation for every person, no matter your race, or what religion you were brought up in, or what you may have done in your life.

John 3:16 says,

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.   

His blood has the power to wash anyone clean if they will come to God through Jesus.  His sacrifice takes away the sin of the world, the burden of guilt, and the shame of sin.  He can make anyone into a new person.  Only the blood of Jesus can do that...only the blood of Jesus.  Hallelujah!

That means no one has ever done anything so bad that it could make God stop loving them.  I don't care where they have been, how dark their past has been, or how burdened down their conscience is today with guilt for the things they have done-no one will be cast out if they come to Him.  In today's devotional, I want to give you the seventh reason why the new covenant in Jesus is better than the old covenant.  The old covenant was only for one nation-only one people-the Jews.
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Read: 2 Kings 19:1-19
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. - 1 Peter 5:7
TODAY IN THE WORD
This day marks the death in 1963 of renowned Christian apologist C. S. Lewis. In his work A Grief Observed, Lewis observed how suffering can strengthen faith: "Your bid for God or no God, for a good God or the Cosmic Sadist . . . will not be serious if nothing much is staked on it. And you will never discover how serious it was until the stakes are raised horribly high. . . . Nothing less will shake a man . . . out of his merely verbal thinking and his merely notional beliefs."
The stakes couldn't have been higher for Hezekiah and company. Assyria stood at the gate threatening Judah's destructionand mocking God as helpless deity. Would Hezekiah bet everything on God, or would his profession of faith prove empty? Observe Hezekiah's response to the disheartening news: joining together his grief and his God, Hezekiah tore his clothes (a symbol of grief) and went to the temple (the symbol of God's presence), and then sent messengers to Isaiah the prophet. Here is a man who offers us a godly example, not only professing belief in God, but acting upon it when the stakes were highest.

Notice the tension from what follows. Isaiah sent a word of hope and deliverance, but nothing changed in the external situation. Assyria remained and their verbal abuse poured forth, reminding Judah (again) that no god had yet withstood the fearsome Assyrian king.

In the face of such dire circumstances, Hezekiah again sought the Lord, his prayer offering instruction for us today. He began, not with his own anxieties, but with God, acclaiming Him as the true Creator, enthroned over all kingdoms of the earth. Only then, and on the basis of who God is, did Hezekiah then call for God to hear and act. In the face of Assyria's taunts, Hezekiah called upon God to defend His name "so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God" (v. 19). Perhaps the best prayers are simple: remember who God is, admit our need of Him, and entreat Him to act.
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Today's passage shows us that the best prayers often start with our own helplessness, urging us to turn for help to the God of all. Perhaps there is someone in your life-a neighbor, a co-worker, a family member, or friend-who needs to hear this simple, yet profound, message. Pray for a way today to encourage that person to turn his or her helplessness into a prayer in which they cast all their anxieties before the God who can indeed hear, see, and act (1 Peter 5:7).

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

November 23, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers 

The Distraction of Contempt

Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt -Psalm 123:3

What we must beware of is not damage to our belief in God but damage to our Christian disposition or state of mind. "Take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously" (Malachi 2:16). Our state of mind is powerful in its effects. It can be the enemy that penetrates right into our soul and distracts our mind from God. There are certain attitudes we should never dare to indulge. If we do, we will find they have distracted us from faith in God. Until we get back into a quiet mood before Him, our faith is of no value, and our confidence in the flesh and in human ingenuity is what rules our lives.

Beware of "the cares of this world . . ." (Mark 4:19). They are the very things that produce the wrong attitudes in our soul. It is incredible what enormous power there is in simple things to distract our attention away from God. Refuse to be swamped by "the cares of this world."

Another thing that distracts us is our passion for vindication. St. Augustine prayed, "O Lord, deliver me from this lust of always vindicating myself." Such a need for constant vindication destroys our soul's faith in God. Don't say, "I must explain myself," or, "I must get people to understand." Our Lord never explained anything- He left the misunderstandings or misconceptions of others to correct themselves.

When we discern that other people are not growing spiritually and allow that discernment to turn to criticism, we block our fellowship with God. God never gives us discernment so that we may criticize, but that we may intercede.

Protecting The Children

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"  Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.  But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea."

First, it is important to understand that the word sin in this verse means to entrap.  It means to set a snare for someone.  Jesus was talking about someone who purposely entices an innocent child to do wrong.

Second, the millstone He refers to was about five feet across and would take an ox or a donkey to turn it.  Get the picture?!  Better for that millstone to be tied around a person's neck and to drown in the depths of the deepest sea than to entice a child to do wrong.

The exploitation or abuse of children is not overlooked or taken lightly by God.  We read in Scripture that some sins incur a worse judgment from the Almighty.  Causing children to sin is one of the worst.  Never take their exploitation lightly.

This is a powerful truth God desires you and me to understand.  He takes very seriously the protection and nurture of children. Matthew 18:1-6 is our reading for today,
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Read: 2 Kings 19:20-37
I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant. - 2 Kings 19:34
TODAY IN THE WORD
For several decades, E. F. Hutton & Co. was one of the most well-respected financial firms in the United States. It was made popular by its numerous television commercials in which a room full of boisterous people would suddenly quiet down when someone would say, "My broker E. F. Hutton says "¦" In the still of the room, the commercials ended with the words: "When E. F. Hutton talks, people listen."
If people could learn about financial investments by listening when E. F. Hutton talks, how much more could we learn by listening when God talks? Today's reading is dominated by God's word through the prophet Isaiah, and provides important lessons for us all. In the first section, God rebuked the Assyrian king. The problem was not just Sennacherib's mockery of Judah, but his arrogance toward God Himself, boasting of Assyria's conquests. God corrected the Assyrian king by noting his three-fold failure.

First, Sennacherib failed to recognize God's sovereignty; it was God who raised up the Assyrians and gave them power. Second, the king failed to realize the omniscience of God. God knew where Sennacherib was, where he went, and what he said. Third, Sennacherib failed to account for the zeal of God. The gods of the nations might sit idly by, but the God of Israel would not stand for such insolence. A little awareness on Sennacherib's part would have eliminated his arrogance and brought him to repentance before the living God. Instead, God promised destruction: "The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this" (v. 31).

The second part of our passage describes God's word to Hezekiah. The message is simple and counters His people's hopelessness: God does not turn back on His people; He will deliver and protect, and you will prosper once again. "For my sake and for the sake of David my servant," God would deliver His people (v. 34). That night God's word proved true as 185,000 Assyrian soldiers were struck down by God's hand, while the escaping Sennacherib met his own end at the hands of his sons. When God speaks, it happens!
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Both challenge and encouragement are found in today's reading. For those whose lives reflect hardness toward God, His words urge an attitude of repentance and humility: God is truly in control, and nothing escapes His notice or His plans. Will you yield to Him today? For those who feel hopeless in the face of an unjust world, God's word provides encouragement: God has not forgotten you or your plight; He is powerful to defend and deliver. Will you trust in His saving zeal today? 

GOD BLESS!