Devotional for the day

[Judy Harder]

September 4, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers

His!

They were Yours, You gave them to Me . . . -John 17:6

A missionary is someone in whom the Holy Spirit has brought about this realization: "You are not your own" ( 1 Corinthians 6:19 ). To say, "I am not my own," is to have reached a high point in my spiritual stature. The true nature of that life in actual everyday confusion is evidenced by the deliberate giving up of myself to another Person through a sovereign decision, and that Person is Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit interprets and explains the nature of Jesus to me to make me one with my Lord, not that I might simply become a trophy for His showcase. Our Lord never sent any of His disciples out on the basis of what He had done for them. It was not until after the resurrection, when the disciples had perceived through the power of the Holy Spirit who Jesus really was, that He said, "Go" (Matthew 28:19; also see Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8 ).

"If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple" ( Luke 14:26 ). He was not saying that this person cannot be good and upright, but that he cannot be someone over whom Jesus can write the word Mine. Any one of the relationships our Lord mentions in this verse can compete with our relationship with Him. I may prefer to belong to my mother, or to my wife, or to myself, but if that is the case, then, Jesus said, "[You] cannot be My disciple." This does not mean that I will not be saved, but it does mean that I cannot be entirely His.

Our Lord makes His disciple His very own possession, becoming responsible for him. ". . . you shall be witnesses to Me . . ." ( Acts 1:8 ). The desire that comes into a disciple is not one of doing anything for Jesus, but of being a perfect delight to Him. The missionary's secret is truly being able to say, "I am His, and He is accomplishing His work and His purposes through me."

Be entirely His!

Instruments in the Hands of God

Yesterday we saw that the first sign a person has lost their spiritual edge is that he or she no longer recognizes the voice of the Holy Spirit and His leading. 

The second characteristic of someone who has lost their edge spiritually is they lose their usefulness as an instrument in the hands of God.

Revelation 14:14-16 tells us,

Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle.  And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, "Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe."  So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.

The One sitting on the cloud with a crown on His head is the Lord Jesus Christ.  The harvest on the earth is the salvation of lost humanity, men and women who do not yet have a relationship with God.

Then what is the sharp sickle?  It is the Church.  It is you.  It is me.  If God is going to reap the harvest of lost humanity, it is going to be through His people.

You and I are to be a sharp sickle in God's hand in His great plan of mankind's redemption.  That means the housewife, the doctor, the businessman, the student, the truck driver...every one of us.  We are to be setting our hand to whatever practical work we have been gifted to do to see people being saved and being discipled.

Let us determine to be an effective instrument-a sharp sickle-in the hand of our God.
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Read: Jonah 1:17-2:1
Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights. - Jonah 1:17

TODAY IN THE WORD
For more than five years, fisherman Allen Sklar cast his lines into the surf of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Maryland. Determined to catch a giant striped bass, he baited his hook with fish heads that were too large for smaller fish to swallow. During the early afternoon on May 16, 2005, his patience was rewarded when he hooked a 50-inch striped bass that weighed in at 52 pounds, 14.4 ounces, a new state record. "It was the biggest I'd ever seen with my own eyes," he said.
It took Sklar 20 minutes to land that large bass, but it took the "great fish" in today's reading only a few seconds to swallow Jonah. The hapless prophet thought he was about to drown, but God wasn't finished with him yet and rescued him in this unique way.

The idea that a "great fish" swallowed Jonah and he lived inside it for three days is somewhat unbelievable. It's not absolutely impossible, for there are documented reports that whales and even sharks have swallowed people and large objects. But in the end, it sounds like a "tall tale." How do we respond? Do we believe or not that God could have made this happen? Do we believe or not the report in God's Word that this in fact did happen? Many "spiritual" people are embarrassed by supernatural events and prophecy, preferring to explain matters in other ways. By faith we believe that God's words are true and His power is more than sufficient to trust the veracity of this historical narrative.

The fact that a "great fish" swallowed Jonah, though dramatic, is actually less important than other aspects of the story. One key is that God provided the fish at exactly the right moment to do exactly what His sovereign plan decreed. Despite Jonah's disobedience, God's will is a certainty. Another key is Jonah's change of heart. It may have taken three days and three nights for God and Jonah to "do business," but at last Jonah was ready to repent and pray the prayer recorded in chapter 2. God's mercy always wins out (Rom. 5:!
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
The "sign of Jonah" mentioned yesterday carries a second meaning: an exhortation to respond to God's call to repent from sin. As Jesus explained: "The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here" (Luke 11:29-32). This rebukes all who refuse to accept the message of God's mercy as revealed in His incarnate Son.

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

September 6, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers

The Far-Reaching Rivers of Life

He who believes in Me . . . out of his heart will flow rivers of living water -John 7:38

A river reaches places which its source never knows. And Jesus said that, if we have received His fullness, "rivers of living water" will flow out of us, reaching in blessing even "to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8 ) regardless of how small the visible effects of our lives may appear to be. We have nothing to do with the outflow- "This is the work of God, that you believe. . ." ( John 6:29 ). God rarely allows a person to see how great a blessing he is to others.

A river is victoriously persistent, overcoming all barriers. For a while it goes steadily on its course, but then comes to an obstacle. And for a while it is blocked, yet it soon makes a pathway around the obstacle. Or a river will drop out of sight for miles, only later to emerge again even broader and greater than ever. Do you see God using the lives of others, but an obstacle has come into your life and you do not seem to be of any use to God? Then keep paying attention to the Source, and God will either take you around the obstacle or remove it. The river of the Spirit of God overcomes all obstacles. Never focus your eyes on the obstacle or the difficulty. The obstacle will be a matter of total indifference to the river that will flow steadily through you if you will simply remember to stay focused on the Source. Never allow anything to come between you and Jesus Christ- not emotion nor experience- nothing must keep you from the one great sovereign Source.

Think of the healing and far-reaching rivers developing and nourishing themselves in our souls! God has been opening up wonderful truths to our minds, and every point He has opened up is another indication of the wider power of the river that He will flow through us. If you believe in Jesus, you will find that God has developed and nourished in you mighty, rushing rivers of blessing for others.

The Prayer of Personal Edification

Today's devotional brings us to the prayer of personal edification.  In 1 Corinthians 14:4, Paul writes,

He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.

In verse 14, Paul says, If I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays.  Coupled together with his statement in verse 4, we can see that praying in tongues edifies our spirit.

Edifies is actually an old English word.  It means to build an edifice or building higher and higher.  The closest modern way to say that would be "charges himself with energy," just like you would recharge a battery.

When I pray in other tongues, I charge my spirit with energy.  I build myself up.  It is like my cell phone.  It needs to be recharged, or before long it will cease to work.

Sometimes I keep my phone on and talk on it while it is recharging, but when I do that it takes a whole lot longer to recharge.  If I turn it off and plug it in, the charging process happens much quicker.

Sometimes you just need to shut everything down, turn everything off, and go get away with God and pray.  Build yourself up in the Holy Spirit, especially praying in other tongues.

Sometimes after a long day I will come home just drained, tired inside and out.  Eating a good meal and getting some rest takes care of my physical tiredness, but in order to replenish my inner resources, I need to do something else.

For me, reading His Word is food for my spirit, and praying in tongues brings inward rest and rejuvenation.

Even as the Scripture declares in Isaiah 28:11-12, For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, to whom He said, "This is the rest with which you may cause the weary to rest," and, "This is the refreshing."

Take the time to get away and recharge your spiritual batteries.
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Read: Jonah 2:5-7
You brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God. - Jonah 2:6

TODAY IN THE WORD
African American poet James Weldon Johnson wrote a poem titled "Go Down Death" in which he gave an inspiring "funeral sermon": "Sister Caroline" was not dead, but rather "resting in the bosom of Jesus." She'd been in pain-the Lord in his "everlasting pity" had taken her home. Death did not come by chance. God commanded Death and his "pale, white horses" to "go down" and set Sister Caroline free. She saw Death coming and was not afraid. She whispered to the watchers at her bedside, "I'm going home." "Jesus took his own hand and wiped away her tears," and said to her, "Take your rest, take your rest."
Death carries no sting for believers, because Jesus in His Resurrection has shown us the way to everlasting life (1 Cor. 15:50-58). Though he lived before the Incarnation of Jesus, Jonah understood that God holds all power over life and death. God had already saved Jonah from drowning, but for several days He kept the prophet in suspense about what would happen next.

In today's portion of the prayer, the pattern of stating the need and then affirming faith continues. Verses 5 through 6a again describe Jonah's dire situation, and verses 6b and 7 again express his trust that God will come to the rescue. When Jonah said, "I remembered you, LORD" (v. 7), repentance and worship are implied. Spiritual "remembering" means Jonah came to his senses, realized how foolish he had been, and once again desired a close relationship with Him.

The sea imagery is an elaborate extended metaphor. "The deep" or "the heart of the seas" shows how near to death Jonah was and how helpless he felt. The "currents" and "waves and breakers" represent his troubles, which are as overwhelming as "engulfing waters." Sinking toward the "roots of the mountains" with seaweed suffocating him, he was trapped beyond all earthly help or hope. "But you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God" (v. 6) is the hinge on which the prayer turns. These circumstances don't overwhelm God, and so the poem's direction turns from sinking to rising, from imminent death to His gift of life.
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Making use of biblical and traditional prayers can assist life of faith. In the Psalms, God has given us an entire inspired prayer book! Church leaders throughout history have written down prayers for use by believers; the Book of Common Prayer has blessed Christians for centuries. In addition, we can write down our own prayers as a record of our hearts' cries to the Lord. One helpful tool is the Pray! Prayer Journal, available online or through Christian bookstores.

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

September 5, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers


Watching With Jesus

Stay here and watch with Me -Matthew 26:38

Watch with Me." Jesus was saying, in effect, "Watch with no private point of view at all, but watch solely and entirely with Me." In the early stages of our Christian life, we do not watch with Jesus, we watch for Him. We do not watch with Him through the revealed truth of the Bible even in the circumstances of our own lives. Our Lord is trying to introduce us to identification with Himself through a particular "Gethsemane" experience of our own. But we refuse to go, saying, "No, Lord, I can't see the meaning of this, and besides, it's very painful." And how can we possibly watch with Someone who is so incomprehensible? How are we going to understand Jesus sufficiently to watch with Him in His Gethsemane, when we don't even know why He is suffering? We don't know how to watch with Him- we are only used to the idea of Jesus watching with us.
The disciples loved Jesus Christ to the limit of their natural capacity, but they did not fully understand His purpose. In the Garden of Gethsemane they slept as a result of their own sorrow, and at the end of three years of the closest and most intimate relationship of their lives they "all . . . forsook Him and fled" ( Matthew 26:56 ).

"They were all filled with the Holy Spirit . . ." ( Acts 2:4 ). "They" refers to the same people, but something wonderful has happened between these two events- our Lord's death, resurrection, and ascension- and the disciples have now been invaded and "filled with the Holy Spirit." Our Lord had said, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you . . ." ( Acts 1:8 ). This meant that they learned to watch with Him the rest of their lives.

The Prayer of Agreement

Today I want to help you understand the prayer of agreement.

This prayer is found in Matthew 18:19, where Jesus says,

"Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven."

When I pray with other people, nine times out of ten this is the prayer that I pray with them.  And most of the time I will quote this verse to them.

I remember working for a ministry years ago and praying with the folks who called on the phone.  When I prayed with someone, I would walk them through this verse before we prayed.

The steps I pointed out were simple:

There needs to be at least two of us praying.
We need to agree.
We need to be on earth (I usually got a laugh out of this one).
What we are asking God for needs to come under the category of "anything" (which their request always did).
God will do it.
The only part people ever got hung up on was the agreement.  "What does it mean to agree?" they would ask.  I would say, "Simple, to agree means to agree."  Don't over-spiritualize it.  If we decide to get lunch together at a certain time at a certain place, and you say, "Ok, see you there," we have just agreed.

To agree in prayer is no different.

Read this verse again.  Look at it step by step, and follow it-in all its simplicity.  If we do our part, God will do His.
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Read: Jonah 2:2-4
In my distress I called to the LORD. - Jonah 2:2

TODAY IN THE WORD
If you've seen the Veggie Tales movie version of Jonah, you might remember the scene inside the great fish: It's a bit dark, but there's plenty of room to move around. The prophet mopes, but his life does not seem to be in immediate danger. A chorus of glittering angels appears and sings an amazing gospel music number, with Jonah occupying the front row for their dramatic performance.
The reality, of course, was much darker and smellier, as well as more depressing and dangerous. As Jonah's actions attested, he was a very stubborn and willful individual-even Jacob only wrestled with God one night. The prophet admitted to the sailors what he had done (1:12), but it wasn't until he spent three days inside the "great fish" that he repented of his sin and turned back to the Lord. The prayer recorded in chapter 2 opens with a statement of need and faith (v. 2). His need was obvious: he was in "distress" and on the verge of death at the bottom of the Mediterranean. Without further divine intervention, he would not survive. His faith is shown in the affirmations that God "answered me" and "listened to my cry."

The following two verses expand both Jonah's description of his need and his affirmation of faith (vv. 3-4). He recognized that his need, the life-threatening situation in which he found himself, was a result of his sin. He had done wrong and was being punished, primarily by being "banished" or "driven away" (ESV) from God's presence. What had happened had been justly orchestrated by God, and it is this truth that gave the prophet hope.

The Lord had a purpose-to recover and reclaim His wayward servant. For this reason, Jonah trusted that he would one day "look again toward your holy temple." Though he was repentant, it seems he was unaware that the kind of mercy and salvation for which he prayed and in which he expressed faith was exactly the kind of mercy and salvation he didn't want God to extend to Nineveh. His later complaint (4:2) showed he had yet to learn this important spiritual lesson.
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Jonah's prayer presents his need in vivid language, matched only by his faith that God will rescue him and he will again worship in the temple. This pattern of need + faith would be a good one for us to follow in our prayers as well. We can tell God about our negative situation as emotionally as we like. He's listening. But we can't allow a human perspective to overwhelm us. Prayer should express our confidence that God is bigger than our troubles and acts in our best interests. 

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

September 7, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers

Fountains of Blessings

The water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life -John 4:14

The picture our Lord described here is not that of a simple stream of water, but an overflowing fountain. Continue to "be filled" ( Ephesians 5:18 ) and the sweetness of your vital relationship to Jesus will flow as generously out of you as it has been given to you. If you find that His life is not springing up as it should, you are to blame- something is obstructing the flow. Was Jesus saying to stay focused on the Source so that you may be blessed personally? No, you are to focus on the Source so that out of you "will flow rivers of living water"- irrepressible life ( John 7:38 ).

We are to be fountains through which Jesus can flow as "rivers of living water" in blessing to everyone. Yet some of us are like the Dead Sea, always receiving but never giving, because our relationship is not right with the Lord Jesus. As surely as we receive blessings from Him, He will pour out blessings through us. But whenever the blessings are not being poured out in the same measure they are received, there is a defect in our relationship with Him. Is there anything between you and Jesus Christ? Is there anything hindering your faith in Him? If not, then Jesus says that out of you "will flow rivers of living water." It is not a blessing that you pass on, or an experience that you share with others, but a river that continually flows through you. Stay at the Source, closely guarding your faith in Jesus Christ and your relationship to Him, and there will be a steady flow into the lives of others with no dryness or deadness whatsoever.

Is it excessive to say that rivers will flow out of one individual believer? Do you look at yourself and say, "But I don't see the rivers"? Through the history of God's work you will usually find that He has started with the obscure, the unknown, the ignored, but those who have been steadfastly true to Jesus Christ.
 
Growing Up

The Scripture says in Ephesians 4:15 that we should grow in all things. I want to give you ten areas in which the Bible teaches us we should grow.  I hope you will take time to read each passage and answer the question of whether you are growing as you should in each of these areas.

1.      In Colossians 1:10 we are told we should increase in the knowledge of God.  You ought to know more about God and His Kingdom this week than you did last week.

2.      Psalm 71:21 tells us we are to be growing in our influence.  I hope I have not reached the pinnacle in my life when it comes to the influence I have for good in the lives of others.  If you call yourself a leader and no one is following you, then you are not influencing them, you are just taking a walk.  You and I need to grow in influence.

3.      In Proverbs 13:11 it says we are to be growing and increasing materially.  I don't know of many who couldn't grow in this area!

4.      Isaiah 29:19 speaks of increasing in joy.  From appearances, some people seem to grow more and more sour as the days go by and have less and less of a sense of humor.  Listen, the more you advance in age, the more your capacity to laugh at life's ups and downs should grow.   

5.      2 Thessalonians 1:3 teaches us that we should grow in faith.  Now faith certainly touches all areas of life; and, hopefully, today you don't freak out like you used to when you are faced with a trial, because your faith has grown and you have tasted and seen that the Lord is good.

6.      1 Thessalonians 3:12 and 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10 teach us that we should grow in our love for others.  I would hate to think that I have plumbed the depths of love for my wife, for my children, for my friends, or for God.

7.      Ephesians 2:21 speaks to us of growing in unity.  You and I ought to grow better and better at getting along with other believers, especially those in our church.

8.      Luke 2:52 speaks of growing in wisdom.  God is so anxious to provide you and me with His wisdom, but it is something we need to seek.  Are you growing in wisdom? 

9.      Luke 2:52 also speaks of growing in favor.  Are you obnoxious and hard to get along with?  Do you find it difficult to get along with others?  I challenge you, if that is true, to consider the model of Jesus for our lives.  He grew in favor with both God and men. 

10.    2 Peter 3:18 says that we can grow in grace.  I don't know about you, but I am deeply grateful for God's grace in my life. And for those who extend me grace when I blow it.  Is grace a hallmark of your life?

According to Scripture, these ten areas-the five from yesterday and the five today-are vital areas in which you and I are to grow.  I challenge you to read each Scripture and take each area before the Lord and ask Him to reveal where you need to grow.

You will be amazed at the change for good that will come about in your life!
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Read: Jonah 2:8-10
Salvation comes from the LORD. - Jonah 2:9

TODAY IN THE WORD
The great hymnwriter Charles Wesley exulted in God's love: "Love divine, all loves excelling, Joy of heav'n, to earth come down! / Fix in us Thy humble dwelling; All Thy faithful mercies crown. / Jesus, Thou art all compassion; Pure, unbounded love Thou art. / Visit us with Thy salvation; Enter every trembling heart. . . . Finish then Thy new creation; Pure and spotless let us be. / Let us see Thy great salvation, Perfectly restored in Thee. / Changed from glory into glory, Till in heav'n we take our place, / Till we cast our crowns before Thee, Lost in wonder, love and praise."
In this classic hymn, as in today's Scripture reading, we hear the praise and prayer of a man who rejoices in God's salvation. From a rebellious and disobedient prophet, Jonah was transformed into a man who worshiped, gave thanks, and promised, "What I have vowed I will make good" (v. 9). By this he meant he would be obedient to God's call on his life-he would go to Nineveh and deliver God's message. No more running; no more fighting. "Salvation comes from the LORD" indeed! After the miracles and acts of God already recorded, there came one more. The fish "vomited Jonah onto dry land" (v. 10). This is not very flattering language, but the prophet's life was saved. That's why Jonah pitied those "who cling to worthless idols" when the one true God alone deserves faith and worship.

God knew very well that Jonah still had much to learn, but He had mercy on him anyway. The rest of the book testifies to the fact that the prophet persisted in his sin of failing to love his neighbor, a sin rooted in misunderstanding the heart of God and His love for the world. While today's reading shows a heart yearning once again for the Lord, later events would show this same heart to be made of stone (4:10-11). Isn't this typical of human nature? We repent, then backslide; confess our sin, then repeat it; and return to the Lord, only to find our self-deception and sin run deeper than we had imagined. And He loves us anyway!
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Part of the transformation God worked in Jonah's heart was to make him willing to receive grace. The prophet had resisted God's merciful pursuit, preferring to drown in the Mediterranean rather than cry out to the Lord. Until he came to his senses, he had been among those willing to "forfeit the grace that could be theirs" (v. . Like Jonah, we should know better. But all too often we cling to our own ways rather than casting ourselves upon God's mercy and grace.

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

September 8, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers

Do It Yourself (1)

. . . casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God . . . -2 Corinthians 10:5

Determinedly Demolish Some Things. Deliverance from sin is not the same as deliverance from human nature. There are things in human nature, such as prejudices, that the saint can only destroy through sheer neglect. But there are other things that have to be destroyed through violence, that is, through God's divine strength imparted by His Spirit. There are some things over which we are not to fight, but only to "stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord . . ." (see Exodus 14:13). But every theory or thought that raises itself up as a fortified barrier "against the knowledge of God" is to be determinedly demolished by drawing on God's power, not through human effort or by compromise (see 2 Corinthians 10:4).

It is only when God has transformed our nature and we have entered into the experience of sanctification that the fight begins. The warfare is not against sin; we can never fight against sin- Jesus Christ conquered that in His redemption of us. The conflict is waged over turning our natural life into a spiritual life. This is never done easily, nor does God intend that it be so. It is accomplished only through a series of moral choices. God does not make us holy in the sense that He makes our character holy. He makes us holy in the sense that He has made us innocent before Him. And then we have to turn that innocence into holy character through the moral choices we make. These choices are continually opposed and hostile to the things of our natural life which have become so deeply entrenched- the very things that raise themselves up as fortified barriers "against the knowledge of God." We can either turn back, making ourselves of no value to the kingdom of God, or we can determinedly demolish these things, allowing Jesus to bring another son to glory (see Hebrews 2:10).

Looking to the Master

In 2 Kings 6:5, we read the second in our series of seven principles to regain our spiritual edge.  It is the response of the man who lost his cutting edge,

But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, "Alas, master!  For it was borrowed."

When this man lost his ax head and it fell into the water, he cried out and said, "Alas, master!"  He went to the prophet.

The prophet was God's representative in that day.  He was the mouthpiece of God.  If you wanted to hear from God, you went to the prophet, and the prophet would give a word from God.

Today, thank goodness, we have direct access to God as individuals.  We can go directly to the Lord Jesus Christ who is our Master.  And that is the second principle to regaining your spiritual edge.  You need to realize the only One who can restore your edge once it is lost, is the Lord Jesus Himself.

You need to get your eyes off of men and get your eyes on the Master.  Some people make a great mistake because they have their eyes on men.  You will always be disappointed if your eyes are on men instead of on the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is only One who can help you regain your spiritual edge, and that is Jesus Christ.  No man or woman can take His place.

So today, put your eyes on the Master.  Cry out to Him to help you regain your spiritual edge.
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Read: Jonah 3:1-4
Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD. - Jonah 3:3

TODAY IN THE WORD
Charles Thomas Studd was a child of privilege. Born into a wealthy family and educated at Oxford, his father came to Christ as a result of the ministry of D. L. Moody and Ira Sankey. Studd trusted in Christ while in college, when a visiting preacher asked if he believed God's promises. When his brother became ill, Studd determined that his priorities needed to change. "I know that cricket would not last, and honour would not last, and nothing in this world would last, but it was worthwhile living for the world to come" he later wrote. C. T. Studd decided to become an evangelist and missionary to China.
Like C. T. Studd, Jonah was called to bring the word of the Lord to a foreign nation. Given a second chance in today's reading-in the uproar, God's plan had not changed one iota (vv. 1-2)-this time he chose obedience to God's call (v. 3). Thanks to God's grace, Jonah's ministry didn't end because of one mistake, even though that mistake was a whopper!

Nineveh had a population of 120,000 people. The city's double inner wall was 50 feet wide, 100 feet high, and eight miles in circumference. An outer wall protected outlying towns, villages, and fields, and made the overall city about 60 miles in circumference. That's why it took Jonah three days to walk around Nineveh.

How might the people of this powerful city have been expected to respond to his message? From a human perspective, their rejection of Jonah was inevitable. He was, after all, a foreign prophet of a foreign God. He brought a ridiculous message that a major city of the reigning world superpower would be overthrown. Furthermore, this would take place in only 40 days, with not a threat on the horizon.

Jonah did not think the Ninevites would heed his words, much less repent of their sins. As events unfold, it becomes clear that he didn't want them to do either one. His sermon is one of the shortest ever recorded, a mere eight words (v. 4). It conveyed only the promise of judgment with no mention of repentance or mercy. Jonah obeyed . . . but his effort was reluctant and halfhearted.
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
We could say that God is a "God of second chances," and it would be true. But it would be more true to talk about third chances, tenth chances, seventy-seventh chances, and ten thousandth chances. God's patience runs deep! And it's a good thing, too, because most of us need many more than two chances to learn the spiritual lessons He's trying to teach us. Praise the Lord that He is such a longsuffering Teacher and that He has compassion on all of us "slow students."

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

September 9, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers

Do It Yourself (2)

. . . bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ . . . -2 Corinthians 10:5


Determinedly Discipline Other Things. This is another difficult aspect of the strenuous nature of sainthood. Paul said, according to the Moffatt translation of this verse, ". . . I take every project prisoner to make it obey Christ . . . ." So much Christian work today has never been disciplined, but has simply come into being by impulse! In our Lord's life every project was disciplined to the will of His Father. There was never the slightest tendency to follow the impulse of His own will as distinct from His Father's will- "the Son can do nothing of Himself . . . " ( John 5:19 ). Then compare this with what we do- we take "every thought" or project that comes to us by impulse and jump into action immediately, instead of imprisoning and disciplining ourselves to obey Christ.

Practical work for Christians is greatly overemphasized today, and the saints who are "bringing every thought [and project] into captivity" are criticized and told that they are not determined, and that they lack zeal for God or zeal for the souls of others. But true determination and zeal are found in obeying God, not in the inclination to serve Him that arises from our own undisciplined human nature. It is inconceivable, but true nevertheless, that saints are not "bringing every thought [and project] into captivity," but are simply doing work for God that has been instigated by their own human nature, and has not been made spiritual through determined discipline.

We have a tendency to forget that a person is not only committed to Jesus Christ for salvation, but is also committed, responsible, and accountable to Jesus Christ's view of God, the world, and of sin and the devil. This means that each person must recognize the responsibility to "be transformed by the renewing of [his] mind. . . ." (Romans 12:2 ).

Taking Responsibility

Today we are on the third key to regaining your cutting edge.  The first was to admit you have lost your edge, and the second was to put your eyes on the Master.  The third is to take responsibility if you have lost your spiritual edge.     

I want to take you back to 2 Kings 6:5,

But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, "Alas, master!  For it was borrowed."

It is important to understand that ax heads do not just fall off.  They fall off because they are not properly maintained.

I have spent endless hours chopping wood, and I have owned a number of fine axes in my time.  But in all the years I have chopped firewood, I have never had an ax head fly off.

The only reason an ax head would fly off is if the one using the ax has not been taking care of it.  This must have been the case for the guy in 2 Kings 6 who lost the ax head.  He was responsible to make sure the ax head would stay on.

The point is this:  If you have lost your cutting edge, you need to take responsibility.  If it is something that you did, or neglected to do, repent.  Take responsibility and stop blaming other people.

As much as you might like to point the finger at the last church you went to, or your spouse, or your boss, or whatever it might be, no one can take your cutting edge away from you.  Only you can cause it to be lost.

Stop blaming others, and take responsibility if you have lost your edge.  It is a necessary step toward regaining your spiritual sharpness.
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Read: Jonah 3:5-9
The Ninevites believed God. - Jonah 3:5

TODAY IN THE WORD
As reported in Leadership Journal, a recent survey found that religious faith in America is decreasing. The number of those identifying themselves as "Christian" has gone down by 11 percent since 1990. The answer "None" (15%) was the only category to grow in all 50 states, and it was the fastest-growing category across the board. The "Don't know/confused" category also grew significantly. One of the survey's co-authors commented that people are more or less making up their own religious identities and tend to view religion mainly as a form of self-expression.
The results of this survey suggest that had it been Americans instead of Ninevites hearing the message of Jonah, we might not have responded as they did. Despite the prophet's halfhearted, short-and-not-very-sweet sermon, the people of Nineveh began repenting as soon as they heard it! Though from a human perspective their response was completely unexpected, as explained in yesterday's devotion, it was no surprise to God. Clearly He had been preparing the hearts of these pagans to heed His message and receive His mercy. The credit certainly shouldn't go to Jonah-he made about as feeble an effort as one can imagine. Rather, God had set the stage and the time was ripe. When Jonah finally obeyed, events unfolded exactly as God intended. Jonah himself had sensed God's purposes and been (sinfully) afraid this would happen (4:2).

The Assyrians of Nineveh "believed God" (v. 5). They responded humbly to the words of condemnation and judgment brought by Jonah. They fasted and wore sackcloth to indicate the urgency of their sorrow over sin, the sincerity of their repentance, and their willingness to submit themselves to the Lord's will. From the least to the greatest, they accepted individual and collective responsibility for their sins. The king led the city in casting their fate upon God's mercy (vv. 8-9). God was satisfied with the genuineness of their faith and suspended His judgment at that time. Sadly, as we'll learn in Nahum, this revival did not endure.
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Why did God forgive a cruel and idolatrous city like Nineveh? Because that's the kind of God He is: "If that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned" (Jer. 18:7-8). Our God has made us the same promise that He is "faithful and just and will forgive us our sins" (1 John 1:9). Confession of sin needs to be a regular spiritual discipline in our lives.

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

September 10, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers
 
Missionary Weapons (1)

When you were under the fig tree, I saw you -John 1:48

Worshiping in Everyday Occasions. We presume that we would be ready for battle if confronted with a great crisis, but it is not the crisis that builds something within us- it simply reveals what we are made of already. Do you find yourself saying, "If God calls me to battle, of course I will rise to the occasion"? Yet you won't rise to the occasion unless you have done so on God's training ground. If you are not doing the task that is closest to you now, which God has engineered into your life, when the crisis comes, instead of being fit for battle, you will be revealed as being unfit. Crises always reveal a person's true character.

A private relationship of worshiping God is the greatest essential element of spiritual fitness. The time will come, as Nathanael experienced in this passage, that a private "fig-tree" life will no longer be possible. Everything will be out in the open, and you will find yourself to be of no value there if you have not been worshiping in everyday occasions in your own home. If your worship is right in your private relationship with God, then when He sets you free, you will be ready. It is in the unseen life, which only God saw, that you have become perfectly fit. And when the strain of the crisis comes, you can be relied upon by God.

Are you saying, "But I can't be expected to live a sanctified life in my present circumstances; I have no time for prayer or Bible study right now; besides, my opportunity for battle hasn't come yet, but when it does, of course I will be ready"? No, you will not. If you have not been worshiping in everyday occasions, when you get involved in God's work, you will not only be useless yourself but also a hindrance to those around you.

God's training ground, where the missionary weapons are found, is the hidden, personal, worshiping life of the saint.

Where Did it Fall?

The fourth key to regaining your cutting edge is found in verse 6 of 2 Kings 6,

So the man of God said, "Where did it fall?"  And he showed him the place.  So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float.

The words I want you to focus on are, Where did it fall?  That is quite a question.  And look at the response,  And he showed him the place.

That is the fourth key, to know where you lost your cutting edge.  Unless you go back to that place, you cannot retrieve it; and unless you are willing to deal with whatever issue caused you to lose your cutting edge, you will never regain it.

Did you notice that the man knew right where he lost his cutting edge?  If you will be honest, you can probably point right to the time you lost, or began to lose, your edge spiritually.

Perhaps it was when you became offended because of what someone did.  Or maybe it was when you started watching too much television, or when you began hanging around with a certain person.

If when asked, "Where did it fall?" you cannot immediately point to the place, take some time to commune with your own heart and be still.  It won't be long before your answer comes.

This is essential because if you are to regain your edge, you need to start where you lost it. 
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Read: Jonah 3:10
I the LORD do not change. - Malachi 3:6

TODAY IN THE WORD
Nineteenth-century preacher Charles Spurgeon clarified the doctrine of the immutability of God by identifying six areas in which God does not change: essence, attributes, plans, promises, threatenings (that is, promises of judgment), and in the objects of His love. About God's essence, for example, he explained: "The fabric of which this world is made is ever passing away. . . . But God is perpetually the same. He is not composed of any substance or material, but is spirit-pure, essential, and ethereal spirit-and therefore he is immutable. He remains everlastingly the same. There are no furrows on his eternal brow . . . he sees ages pass, but with him it is ever now. He is the great I AM-the Great Unchangeable."
If the Lord is "the Great Unchangeable," how are we to comprehend His apparent change of mind about the fate of Nineveh? Biblical narratives represent His actions in this way on a number of occasions (e.g., Gen. 6:1-11; Ex. 32:9-19). One response is that God's "change of mind" depends on our human perspective within time. God is eternal, not subject to time, and so His plans and actions with regard to Nineveh look different to Him than they do to us. A second response is that the message of judgment brought by Jonah was fulfilled, but on a delayed timeline. As we'll discover when we study the book of Nahum (Sept. 14-22), when the city of Nineveh later resumed its sinful ways it was completely destroyed, just as God said it would be.

A third response to this dilemma is to think of "immutability" primarily in terms of the character of God. He gives multiple chances. He loves all peoples. He acts with mercy and lovingkindness. He is responsive to repentant hearts. He honors faith. He forgives. This is the kind of God He is, at all times, "everlastingly the same." In the end, faith trusts both that God is unchangeable and that biblical stories of Him "changing His mind" are true. Such paradoxes are, after all, merely beyond our comprehension. One day we shall understand such matters far more clearly (see 1 Cor. 13:12).
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
God's "immutability" is not an abstract theological doctrine, but a nourishing root for our daily spiritual lives. The unwavering faithfulness of God means we can stand firm in our faith. He does not play hide-and-seek with His expectations and commands. His holiness, justice, and love are eternally the same. He always acts in perfect accord with all of His attributes. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Heb. 13:. Amen and amen!

GOD BLESS!

:angel

[Judy Harder]

September 13, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers

After Surrender- Then What?

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

True surrender is not simply surrender of our external life but surrender of our will- and once that is done, surrender is complete. The greatest crisis we ever face is the surrender of our will. Yet God never forces a person's will into surrender, and He never begs. He patiently waits until that person willingly yields to Him. And once that battle has been fought, it never needs to be fought again.

Surrender for Deliverance. "Come to Me . . . and I will give you rest" ( Matthew 11:28 ). It is only after we have begun to experience what salvation really means that we surrender our will to Jesus for rest. Whatever is causing us a sense of uncertainty is actually a call to our will- "Come to Me." And it is a voluntary coming.

Surrender for Devotion. "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself . . . " (Matthew 16:24). The surrender here is of my self to Jesus, with His rest at the heart of my being. He says, "If you want to be My disciple, you must give up your right to yourself to Me." And once this is done, the remainder of your life will exhibit nothing but the evidence of this surrender, and you never need to be concerned again with what the future may hold for you. Whatever your circumstances may be, Jesus is totally sufficient (see 2 Corinthians 12:9 and (Philippians 4:19).

Surrender for Death. ". . . another will gird you . . ." (John 21:18 ; also see John21:19 ). Have you learned what it means to be girded for death? Beware of some surrender that you make to God in an ecstatic moment in your life, because you are apt to take it back again. True surrender is a matter of being "united together [with Jesus] in the likeness of His death" ( Romans 6:5 ) until nothing ever appeals to you that did not appeal to Him.

And after you surrender- then what? Your entire life should be characterized by an eagerness to maintain unbroken fellowship and oneness with God.

Be Watchful

We started in yesterday's devotional to look at the lessons we can learn about regaining our spiritual edge from the story in 2 Kings 6.  In verses 4-5 we are told about the guy who loses his cutting edge,

...when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees.  But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, "Alas, master!  For it was borrowed."

Notice this guy is working hard, cutting down a tree.  But, in the midst of this effort, he loses his cutting edge.  His ax head falls into the water.

Now you might think, "Well, you wouldn't end up in a state like that, you wouldn't lose your edge, unless you were out of God's will."

But if you read yesterday's devotional, you will see these guys were in the will of God.  They were moving by divine permission.  The prophet not only said go, he went with them, showing just how much this was the right thing to do.

Or you might think, "Well, a spiritual man or a spiritual woman wouldn't have lost their edge."  No, there is no indication that the guy who lost his cutting edge was unspiritual.  Every indication tells us he was spiritually strong.

So what does this teach us?  Be careful not to think we cannot lose our spiritual edge.  It can happen to you, and it can happen to me.  We all can lose our cutting edge if we are not careful.

My friend, it is vital to take care not to lose your spiritual edge.  This is something you have to work at to maintain.  Just because you have it today doesn't mean you will have it tomorrow.

The good news is that if you have lost your spiritual edge, you can regain it!  Even better, be watchful to maintain your edge-staying sharp for God!
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Read: Jonah 4:10-11
Should I not be concerned about that great city? - Jonah 4:11

TODAY IN THE WORD
The classic story How the Grinch Stole Christmas, by Dr. Seuss, suggests the reason the Grinch hated Christmas "may have been that his heart was two sizes too small." With such a heart, the Grinch could not comprehend the joy and generosity displayed during the holiday season by "every Who down in Who-ville." He hated it all with such a passion that one Christmas Eve he snuck into Who-ville and stole all the gifts, decorations, and food for their feast. Yet the next morning the Whos gathered in the center of town to sing Christmas songs. Listening, the Grinch's heart was transformed-some say it even "grew three sizes that day"!
We can only hope the same thing happened to Jonah. He looks even worse in chapter 4 than in chapter 1, if that's possible. But perhaps God's rebuke at the close of the book convicted him of sin and spurred a change of heart. What happened next is not recorded, but the very existence of the book of Jonah, assuming it was written by the prophet himself, as tradition holds, surely counts as evidencefor a positive conclusion. A man who could write a book in which he is both the main character and a fool is one who has seen himself through God's eyes and realized the depths of his own sinfulness.

At this point in the narrative, Jonah was specifically guilty of a callous heart. He mourned for a dead plant but had no compassion on an entire city. He cared for a random vine but not for 120,000 people to whom he had been called to bring a word from the Lord. He showed more interest in his personal comfort than in the spiritual well-being of others. He reacted coldly to the amazing repentance of the Ninevites, yet professed despair over the natural withering of a single plant. His "pain" is selfish and absurd. Israel enjoyed God's law and covenant, but morally and spiritually these Assyrians could not "tell their right hand from their left." God had mercifully sent them a real prophet-a prophet who turned out to need a dramatic lesson on the love of God (cf. Matt. 5:43-44).
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
We would never behave like Jonah . . . would we? He grew irritated over the loss of a small comfort (the shade of a plant) while caring nothing for a lost city. Leaving our material comforts to go elsewhere and do God's will doesn't sound appealing. Are we open to being called to a less comfortable place? It might be translating the Bible in a remote jungle. It might be spending your days with prisoners in your own city. Don't cling to whatever "vines" are holding you back!

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

September 14, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers

Arguments or Obedience

. . . the simplicity that is in Christ -2 Corinthians 11:3

Simplicity is the secret to seeing things clearly. A saint does not think clearly until a long time passes, but a saint ought to see clearly without any difficulty. You cannot think through spiritual confusion to make things clear; to make things clear, you must obey. In intellectual matters you can think things out, but in spiritual matters you will only think yourself into further wandering thoughts and more confusion. If there is something in your life upon which God has put His pressure, then obey Him in that matter. Bring all your "arguments and . . . every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" regarding the matter, and everything will become as clear as daylight to you ( 2 Corinthians 10:5 ). Your reasoning capacity will come later, but reasoning is not how we see. We see like children, and when we try to be wise we see nothing (see Matthew 11:25 ).

Even the very smallest thing that we allow in our lives that is not under the control of the Holy Spirit is completely sufficient to account for spiritual confusion, and spending all of our time thinking about it will still never make it clear. Spiritual confusion can only be conquered through obedience. As soon as we obey, we have discernment. This is humiliating, because when we are confused we know that the reason lies in the state of our mind. But when our natural power of sight is devoted and submitted in obedience to the Holy Spirit, it becomes the very power by which we perceive God's will, and our entire life is kept in simplicity.

Created for a Purpose

Many Christians today are not living the successful life God intends because they have missed the purpose for which they were born.

Ephesians 2:10 tells us,

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

If you are going to live successfully, you have to know what you are all about. Any tool that is used for something other than what it was created for will not be effective. And it is liable to get damaged.

At times I have needed a hammer to pound in a nail, but I have been too lazy to go out in the garage to get one (don't get too self-righteous, you've done it too!).  So I have ended up using whatever I had handy, like a wrench.

Well, you can get the nail in, but you are not going to be very effective.  You are liable to dent the wall, and you are liable to damage the wrench.

Too many Christians today are not functioning or flowing in the thing they were created for, and consequently, they are not effective.  And sometimes they get hurt and damaged.

You do have a purpose.  In fact, the word in Ephesians 2:10 translated workmanship literally means you are handcrafted by God.  The Greek word is the same word we derive our English word poem from.

In other words, your life is not to be without order or symmetry or rhyme or reason.  God has some specific things mapped out for your life.  You are not an accident.  You are not excess baggage.  You have a purpose.

Ask God today to show you that purpose, and then develop the gifts God has given you to fulfill that purpose.
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Read: Nahum 1:1
God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. - Ephesians 2:19-20

TODAY IN THE WORD
Marian Anderson was a renowned African American contralto. Looking for a concert venue in Washington, D.C., her agent discovered that Constitution Hall, owned by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), was available only to white artists. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who was on the DAR board, resigned in protest and helped arrange for the concert to be held instead on the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial. On Easter Sunday, 1939, a record audience gathered there, with millions more listening on the radio. Anderson opened by singing, "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing." Later she would sing at the inaugurations of Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy, among many other achievements and awards.
Anderson thought of herself as a musician, not a civil rights hero, but her story of achievement required perseverance, courage, and justice. The book of Nahum is also about courage and justice. It was risky for Nahum to prophesy judgment on Nineveh, because Assyria was a powerful empire known for its cruel treatment of defeated nations and leaders. This message of justice included God's condemnation of Nineveh's sin. More than a century after Jonah's time, Nineveh was completely destroyed in 612 B.C. as an act of divine judgment.

As a prophet, Nahum is among those who constitute the foundation of our faith (Eph. 2:19-20). He ministered during the reign of Josiah, likely overlapping with a young Jeremiah. His name means "comfort" or "consolation" and his message of judgment on Assyria, which had conquered the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C., would certainly have been a word of comfort or consolation for Judah. Nothing is known about his hometown of Elkosh. The book of Nahum is not a narrative like Jonah, but rather resembles other prophetic books in that it is an "oracle" or a "vision," meaning a prophetic message or sermon. Most oracles contain a message of blessing to balance the one of judgment, but that is not the case here.
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Each generation must take responsibility for its own moral and spiritual choices (Ezek. 18:20-24). In Jonah's day, the people of Nineveh responded with repentant hearts to the word of the Lord. But the Ninevites of Nahum's day made different choices and stood guilty before God. Their city would be permanently destroyed as a result of their wickedness. While past church leaders and revivals are a heritage from God, they cannot replace our responsibility to be faithful.

GOD BLESS!

[Judy Harder]

September 15, 2010

Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers

What To Renounce

We have renounced the hidden things of shame . . .  -2 Corinthians 4:2

Have you "renounced the hidden things of shame" in your life-the things that your sense of honor or pride will not allow to come into the light? You can easily hide them. Is there a thought in your heart about anyone that you would not like to be brought into the light? Then renounce it as soon as it comes to mind-renounce everything in its entirety until there is no hidden dishonesty or craftiness about you at all. Envy, jealousy, and strife don't necessarily arise from your old nature of sin, but from the flesh which was used for these kinds of things in the past (see Romans 6:19 and 1 Peter 4:1-3). You must maintain continual watchfulness so that nothing arises in your life that would cause you shame.

". . . not walking in craftiness. . ." (2 Corinthians 4:2). This means not resorting to something simply to make your own point. This is a terrible trap. You know that God will allow you to work in only one way-the way of truth. Then be careful never to catch people through the other way-the way of deceit. If you act deceitfully, God's blight and ruin will be upon you. What may be craftiness for you, may not be for others-God has called you to a higher standard. Never dull your sense of being your utmost for His highest-your best for His glory. For you, doing certain things would mean craftiness coming into your life for a purpose other than what is the highest and best, and it would dull the motivation that God has given you. Many people have turned back because they are afraid to look at things from God's perspective. The greatest spiritual crisis comes when a person has to move a little farther on in his faith than the beliefs he has already accepted

Keeping Your Focus

Yesterday we discovered that God does have a purpose for each of our lives.  Yet even once we discover our purpose, we must remain focused.  Luke 4:42-44 says,

Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place.  And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent."  And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

I want you to notice that statement of Jesus,  "For this purpose I have been sent."  Jesus knew His purpose.  He said, "I must preach the kingdom."  But notice the people tried to distract Him from that purpose.

I am sure the people meant well, but they were trying to divert Jesus from His purpose.  But Jesus knew His purpose; therefore, He did not stay.

People will innocently divert you from doing what God has called you to do.  It is only when you know your purpose that you will not be sidetracked, and you will not be distracted from what you are supposed to do.

The apostle Paul knew his purpose.  In fact, he said this in 1 Corinthians 9:26, "So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step" (The Living Bible).  He was not about to get distracted from God's purpose for his life.

Our lives are not to be aimless, but they are to have purpose and direction, and we are to stay focused on that purpose, running straight at that goal.  Keep focused on the purpose for which God has created you.

Be able to say like Paul, "I am running straight to the goal with purpose in every step."
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Read: Nahum 1:2-6
The LORD is slow to anger and great in power. - Nahum 1:3

TODAY IN THE WORD
The first African ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize was Albert John Lutuli, a nephew of Zulu kings who himself was elected Chief. Born in modern-day Zimbabwe, he was in 1952 elected President of the African National Congress (ANC), which opposed the apartheid regime in South Africa. During Lutuli's 15-year leadership of the ANC, their protests were mostly peaceful, including a bus boycott. One reason Lutuli fought for racial justice was his deeply held Christian faith. He said: "My own urge because I am a Christian, is to get into the thick of the struggle . . . taking my Christianity with me and praying that it may be used to influence for good the character of the resistance."
As we see in today's reading, justice was also one of the main concerns of the prophet Nahum. Chapter 1 is primarily a description of the character of God, as historically contextualized in His judgment on Nineveh. In the first part of the chapter, Nahum focused on the justice and power of the wrath of God, while in the second part he dealt more with God's patience and holiness. In today's reading, we find a poetic picture of a God who hates the worship of false idols, punishes sin, and feels righteous anger at evil (vv. 2-3a). He is slow to anger, great in power, and perfect in justice. We also find a poetic picture of God's power, conveyed through natural imagery (vv. 3b-5). Like a whirlwind or fierce storm, God's power is beyond human control. To say He can dry up seas and rivers and cause Bashan, Carmel, and Lebanon (all fruitful places) to wither is to say He has control over even the elements of nature. It's like saying He can wipe out the corn in Iowa or the oranges in Florida. This kind of absolute power inspires holy fear, as pictured in the mountains quaking and the hills melting.

To conclude, Nahum asks, "Who can withstand his indignation?" (v. 6). No one, of course. God's wrath is like a consuming fire-it will destroy whatever He chooses. It made no difference that Assyria was a world superpower. This wicked nation would be utterly unable to stand against the righteous power of God.
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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Some people want to ignore God's wrath and judgment. They say there's the "God of the Old Testament," but the "God of the New Testament" is all about love. But there is only one God and He's the God of the whole Bible. He's merciful and loving in both testaments, and holy and righteous in both testaments. His holy wrath and judgment are found throughout Scripture. The fact that judgment is also a New Testament doctrine can be seen, for example, in Romans 2:1-10.


GOD BLESS!