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Devotional 221: Do Great Things and Prevail
Category: OT
Devotional 210: The End of All
We must remain mindful that we are only passing through before we pass on.
Psalm 119:33
ה HE
33 Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes,
And I shall keep it to the end.
Psalm 119:112
112 I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes
Forever, to the very end.
Psalm 119:75
75 I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are right,
And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.
We were called out of the world for the salvation of our souls, the redemption of corrupt flesh, the renewal of our hard hearts, that we might dwell eternally in the presence of Jesus and the light of G-d, yet there are days when we fall short and begin trying to serve two masters.
The thing to keep in mind is that one of them is already vanquished by our Savior, and that the King of Kings and His angels will purge the spirit realm of the Father’s enemies.
When He afflicts us, it is so that we may be reminded of what awaits those who don’t put their trust in the Son, and that without His protection and mercy, we are under His wrath.
For those who might be facing their mortality through aging, sicknesses, or both, we would do well to remember what Jesus told the disciples: “The things concerning me have an end.” (Luke 22:37) as well as what Jesus said about staying the course: “He who endures to the end shall be saved.” (Matthew 21:13)
Indeed, King David compared being out of G-d’s will to a wineskin in smoke: once useful when it was full, now empty and left to dry in the heat from hearth fires. Knowing he’s being tested, he still promises to keep G-d’s statutes. (Psalm 119:83)
Let’s reflect on how we’re going to keep to the narrow road and fit through the Gate, that we might enter the Father’s rest.
Therefore I pray:
Father in Heaven,
As Your children here on earth, getting caught up in worldly things despite being called out, we forget that in the light of eternity, this world is temporary, and all of the problems we face are the result of letting our guard down in the silences and long days that sometimes follow our prayers as we wait for You to answer.
Send Your Spirit to remind us that when we are afflicted, it is because we’ve strayed, or because You’re pruning us for the next level of service to glorify You, that humanity might look on our works and glorify Him too.
Grant that I would be as a new wineskin, a profitable servant, a willing son, a humble leader, a hard worker, a seed planter, and when I am a prodigal, be one who’s returned to his senses and receives mercy in his father’s arms, as a sheep returns to follow a Good Shepherd.
May Your words be sealed to my spirit, now and forever.
Amen.
Devotional 208: Spiritual Grasshoppers
The Old Testament sets before us the examples of love, grace, mercy, and justice the Father has for us.
1 Samuel 17:10-11
10 And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
Numbers 13:32-33
32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. 33 There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”
As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. (Proverbs 23:7)
Throughout the Bible we see the Father working through the unlikely, the flawed, and the broken, as we are inherently sinful because the Tree of Knowledge was violated by disobedience. Therefore G-d is just in following through on the physical and spiritual rebuking we incur as a decision to go against Him.
Railing against His sovereignty to discipline His creation we would do well to remember that it is we who break the connection of fellowship with Him, and we are admonished to remedy the breech and seek Him while He may be found. (Isaiah 55:6)
Israel’s trials and redemptions serve as a macrocosm of our individual rebellion. We want to be in control, and set G-d aside for when we need Him, but the ‘problem’ is this: He is omnipotent, sovereign, and holy. He will not compromise with our sinful natures.
If we ever believed we’d never stray from G-d if He manifested Himself to us as He did to the Israelites, (Deut: 7:6) we’re only lying to ourselves. They were so easily prone to grumbling, sin, and backsliding that G-d asked Moses the following question:
11 Then the Lord said to Moses: “How long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them? (Num: 14:41)
In turn, Moses asked G-d this:
15 If You treat me like this, please kill me here and now—if I have found favor in Your sight—and do not let me see my wretchedness!” (Num: 11:15)
As elaborate, long, and repetitious as it may seem, G-d’s presence among the Hebrews seems, the Old Testament sets before us the examples of love, mercy, grace, and finally, justice the Father is capable of showing.
Through the Apostle Paul, writing by the Holy Spirit, we are told the war between spirit and flesh is ongoing, and death is the only thing that can stop it. It will remain so for all generations of mankind, before the sinless Son comes to purge the Kingdom of all Satan’s works.
“The choices are simple. Living them ain’t easy.” (Find Him by Cassandra Wilson New Moon Daughter ℗ 1995 Blue Note Records)
“Nevertheless, because You have said…” (Luke 5:5)
Therefore I pray:
Father in Heaven
I would not test Your patience, provoke You to anger, or bear Your punishment, including the utter destruction of my very soul. It is the fate of the wicked and faithless, from which Your Son, in conveying Your love for me, has called me out of their company.
Today, and now, I thank You for sending Him to me, for He has counted me worthy to reveal the truth of Your Word to me, and seal me to Heaven by the power of the Holy Spirit, that I might glorify You in thought, word, and deed as I walk in His light back to You.
Forgive me, sovereign Father, and remember my sins, transgressions, iniquities, backsliding, and rebellion no more, through my faith in His redeeming blood on Calvary’s cross.
I choose to serve You, partaking of the covenant of grace and mercy extended to those who are not Your people. (1 Peter 2:10) (Hosea 2:23)
With the praises of a grateful heart, I bless Your holy Name.
Amen.
Devotional 207: Take Heed, All You People
1st Kings 22:13-23
13 The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the other prophets without exception are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably.”
14 But Micaiah said, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what the Lord tells me.”
15 When he arrived, the king asked him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or not?”
“Attack and be victorious,” he answered, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”
16 The king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”
17 Then Micaiah answered, “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and the Lord said, ‘These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.’”
18 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad?”
19 Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. 20 And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’
“One suggested this, and another that. 21 Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’
22 “‘By what means?’ the Lord asked.
“‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said.
“‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord. ‘Go and do it.’
23 “So now the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you.”
Unholy things and people know when they’re in the presence of holiness. The witch of Endor rebuked King Saul (1 Sam 28: 9-12). The legion asked Jesus if he came to torment them (Luke 8:28)
So it was with Ahab and the prophet Micaiah, even though Ahab had already humbled himself before G-d in the presence of Elijah after the word he received (1 Kings 21:20-29)
Even as Micaiah did what Ahab’s messenger told him, Ahab knew it wasn’t the truth (1 Kings 22:16) because he knew through Elijah’s word that G-d’s prophets were holy men. It’s interesting to see that even after he asked for the truth, Ahab still allowed him to be punished for it when Zedekiah struck him, then mocked him (v. 24) much like the Romans did to Jesus (Luke 22: 64).
As this was done in the presence of witnesses, Micaiah tells all the people there to take heed of the true prophecy regarding Ahab’s fate.
We are told by Jesus himself that false prophets and teachers will be even more plentiful in the last days. John advises us to test to spirits to see if they are from G-d, that we might discern the lies of those who would presume to speak over own lives. (1 John 4:1)
Let us make sure we take heed in the presence of holiness, that we might learn the truth for ourselves despite all who’d tell us that which we’d rather hear. As some modern day preachers and self-appointed prophets, ‘apostles’, and others abandon the preaching of sin and repentance, the cross and resurrection, the giving of grace and the coming judgment when the one, true, sovereign G-d destroys evil and rids Creation of death for all eternity.
Therefore I pray:
Father in Heaven
As sinners under grace, so prone to temptation, backsliding, and rebellion, You have sent prophets to us that we did not receive, or perceive at the time. We did not listen, even when they told us they received a word from You. We ignored them to our eternal peril.
We do not test their spirits because we don’t meditate on Your Word, or put our faith fully in You, and like the unholy we cry out and lash out at the rebuke we receive as a result.
There are trials we’ve endured that were of our own making because we listened to what we wanted to hear, and not what we needed.
Forgive me, Father, for the times I’ve ignored Your Son who told me what is to come if I continue down a sinful path, for it’s impossible to please You without faith, and to love You without keeping Your commandments, and obeying Your instructions as You order my steps to Your purpose, for Your glory.
Help me to know there are two things of which I can be assured, and the choice is mine: 1- My salvation is sealed by my faith in the cleansing blood of Jesus, and the presence and power of the Holy Spirit who guides me on the narrow path, that I might be free from sin.
2- You have given all judgment to the Son, whose verdict is not only just, but final. I would not have Him spew me out of His mouth with the words, “Depart from me. I never knew you.”
From this day on, I will take heed of the truth, whether or not in the presence of the assembly, for Your Spirit witnesses to mine, and gives me what is the Savior’s, who has given to us what is Yours, that I may be reconciled to You and my sins not only uncounted, but forgotten.
May Your Word be sealed to my mortal heart, that my eternal soul might dwell in Your Kingdom, now and forevermore.
Amen.
Devotional 197: Sealed Doors
He promises us eternal life, not eternal grace.
Genesis 7:13-16
13 On the very same day Noah and Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark— 14 they and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort. 15 And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life. 16 So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in.
Matthew 25:8-13
8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.
11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
We must ever be mindful of the fact that, as Jesus tells us, the things concerning Him have an end. (Luke 22:37). He promises us eternal life, but not eternal grace.
The purging of G-d’s enemies from the Kingdom will be complete, and the wicked cut off, as Solomon wrote, ‘without remedy.’ (Prov 29:1) because the opportunity to repent, receive grace, and rise to salvation was given, but dismissed, doubted, and rejected outright.
There will be no compromise for the unbeliever and the unrepentant, but weeping and gnashing of teeth at the casting out. (Luke 13:28)
There will be no bargaining with fence sitters; the Lord will deal more with you if you’re outside of G-d’s will because He wants your heart, that He might raise your spirit and redeem your soul, than ‘hedging bets’ by attending church on the ‘big days’, holding onto heaven like a gambler who believes they will get to place their final card on the table and reap the winnings.
It took the Almighty to seal Noah in, for panicking humanity and high, terrible waves beat at the door. If Noah had not obeyed and tried to seal it himself, they would not have survived.
It will also be true of the Gates of Heaven, when they’re sealed that no sin, no matter how small, will pass through them for eternity.
These are the things concerning Christ that will end. God’s grace, mercy, generosity, protection from evil, blessings, forgiveness, and most importantly, salvation from hellfire.
There is also ‘no remedy’ for remaining undecided or unbelieving.
We are admonished to arm ourselves with His Word, that we might not fall prey to sin when temptation calls, when doubt creeps in, and when rebellion feels good because the judgment is not swift in coming.
Stay true to your Lord, and faithful to your calling so when the door is finally, irrevocably sealed, you are known by name through the power of the Holy Spirit, and the Name of Jesus, to Father G-d.
Therefore I pray:
Lord Jesus,
It is said we may boldly approach and petition the throne as sons and daughters of G-d, redeemed by Your blood to the Father’s glory through our confession, repentance, faith, and obedience to the Father’s will, as You have done.
Yet I find that very much like King David, I’m asking’What is man, that You are mindful of him?’ (Psalm 8:4)
However bold my approach may appear, know that behind it there is a reverent fear, immense love, and inexpressible gratitude that this piece of dirt and dust that houses my longing spirit has been found worthy of the revelation of G-d through His Son.
I marvel that my unworthy, compromising, conditionally loving soul has been deemed worthy of forgiveness, grace, and salvation, and all that You ask is that I make this Good News known to others who have fallen, for it is the Father’s will that none should perish. (2nd Peter 3:9)
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for revealing the Father’s will for me, His mercy on me, and His love for me even in my wretchedness, that He sent You to redeem me.
I confess, profess, and glorify You in proclaiming that today I desire to dwell with the bridegroom in the house of the Lord as a fruitful servant of His kingdom. It will be my eternal honor to give Him praise and do the work of Heaven He’s called my redeemed soul to do, knowing that I am sealed inside the door not just by His Holy Spirit, but as Noah was sealed, by His Almighty hand.
May Your words be sealed to my spirit, now and forevermore.
Amen.
Devotional 189: Remove Your Foot From Evil
Proverbs 4:
27 Do not turn to the right or the left;
Remove your foot from evil.
While the entire proverb warns us and addresses how to walk the Narrow Path to salvation, it is true that for most of us, all things considered, the length of earthly years can make it difficult, and we often find ourselves straddling two states of being: Spiritual and Carnal.
It is the line between corrupting flesh that fights the spirit seeking Christ’s salvation through grace. The Apostle Paul reminds us this is going to be a lifelong battle (Gal 5:17)
We would likely answer, “But Lord, we’re only human….”
The Lord would answer He remembers that (Psalm 103:14)
What is given to us to remember is that we are spiritual beings, souls that will be returning reconciled from sin, under the blood covenant of mercy and grace that we entered into with Jesus, who sealed it with His sacrifice by taking our place and punishment on Himself.
In that, the Son reminds us that we are beholden, and should fear He who is able to cast the soul as well as the body to be consumed in the void. (Matthew 10:28)
Our feet may straddle two worlds for a variety of reasons, such as an immediate way out of bad circumstances, monetary rewards based on your silence, sexual favors for advancing careers….etc.
In those moments, we can waver and compromise, even backslide, in our service like the sleeping disciples of Gethsemane. We can view it as when the Word says Satan left Jesus ‘until a more opportune time.’ (Luke 4:13)
Today, let us repent of the earthly sin that creates such opportune times for demonic spiritual conditions that bring us both drama and tragedy in the world, and rebukes from the Throne of Grace that will one day be the Throne of Judgment.
If we stand with Christ and fellow believers, keeping one foot in the world is a conscious choice we are making to choose curses over blessings, for there is no compromising with sin for our Father. He can’t look at it, and He will never forget it without the blood of His Son covering us.
Such is His heart toward us.
Let us remove our feet from evil, rededicate our hearts, guard our mouths, rethink our choices, and consider the motives of our actions as we return to the Narrow Path to follow the Good Shepherd, who possesses the only Name under heaven by which we can be salvaged, reconciled and blameless, to our Father as we dwell in the presence of His glory forever.
Therefore I pray:
Even now, Father, we may stand in sin before You as You turn away, waiting to hear our confessions, our pleas for Your mercy, help, and judge the sincerity of our hearts towards You.
Before men, You affirmed Your Son, once among a multitude when He was baptized, and once again in the midst of Moses and Elijah, in the presence of His closest disciples.
It is, indeed, good for us to be here with Him as well. Today, we open the door to his knock, and prepare our hearts to receive the Gospel, repenting for the Kingdom of Heaven at hand.
I repent of using grace for license, for procrastinating in blessing others when I have time and resources and means, for compromising in my service like an unprofitable servant. I would not be cast into the outer darkness, weeping. Today, I ask that You not blot my name from the Book of Life, and help me not to corrupt the seal of my sinful spirit to your Holy Spirit.
Today, O Lord, through the power and might of the Name of Jesus, I remove my foot from evil, and turn neither to the right nor left, not looking on wickedness and giving rein to deceitful, perverse lips.
Receive me once again into the fold of Your flock, Father, and deliver me from evil. I remove my foot, and set my face to once more follow Jesus, loving You and Him with all my heart, body, mind, and soul.
May Your words be sealed to my spirit, now and forever.
Amen.
Devotional 173: The Pride of Your Heart
Obadiah 1:2-4
2 “Behold, I will make you small among the nations;
You shall be greatly despised.
3 The pride of your heart has deceived you,
You who dwell in the clefts of the rock,
Whose habitation is high;
You who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’
4 Though you ascend as high as the eagle,
And though you set your nest among the stars,
From there I will bring you down,” says the Lord.
The fall of a nation is better remembered than its glory and achievements, especially if the reasons for its collapse come from within. The prophecy of Obadiah over the kingdom of Edom should serve as a cautionary tale, as G-d will often send prophets to warn of the wrath to come, and the reasons for it. It is no accident that the eagle is mentioned, and no guessing as to what G-d’s intention is to nations who think they are as high and lofty.
Above all, the Biblical maxim remains true: “Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” (James 4:10) But it seems we have lost sight of the Lord and taken pride in the land that belongs to Him, claiming dominion over things with no sense of stewardship.
We are now a proud nation for all the wrong reasons, and the Accuser feasts on the spiritual rot, nourishing the heart with false pride over things we had no hand in creating in and of ourselves: looks, skin, how we pray, how we feel, how we act, and how we relate to the world around us, and to the Creator Himself.
Seeking that which G-d desires for all humanity: “And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)
To hoard those things and dispense them unfairly, inconsistently, and on whims of the heart’s deceitful vices and the mind’s equivocating tricks, will bring the day of judgement closer much faster, if we remain on the current path we’re on, refusing to see the damage we cause for what it is. The prophets of the day seem to be either mute, or politically aligned with worldly desires, or in pursuit of the world’s material comfort and the approval of man.
We would do well to heed our Lord and Savior in this hour when He tells us that we see without seeing, and that we hear, but don’t understand. (Matthew 13:13)
This is a nation that holds itself up as a bastion of freedom, but oppresses and silences those who see flaws in its systems, sin in its practices, greed in its wealth, and pride in the hearts of oppressors. We can no longer keep wiping off the pustules of ignorance and hate, unheeding and unrepentant, but rather cut away down to the wounds that have caused them, clean it out with the love of the Father, and be made whole, reconciled to one another and to G-d.
The choice is ours, and while there is yet time to make it, let us do so. Will we add our voices to the assembly of saints telling the demons to go, or look on the day of our brother’s calamity, and wash our hands of his blood?
Therefore I pray:
Father in Heaven,
We have shown ourselves weak in Your sight. We have no strength left to fight, because the armor of Your Word has been broken, twisted, dented, and bent to suit the kingdoms of world.
Even so, even now, the Devourer consumes us, speaking vile things with his mouth full. He has given the pride of his heart free reign to curse, spit, revile, belittle, and strike those in his path that testify to him that his works are evil.
He has infiltrated our institutions of power as well as our streets, our souls as well as our flesh, our minds as well as our hearts, and because we have turned from You we can no longer resist him.
We have become proud and boastful, wicked and adulterous, fools that speak words having a hint of truth, but in fact, lead the hearer astray.
As we witness the prophecies of Christ unfolding, let us hold fast to all that is good in You, and each other, as we are yet called to be Your servants, priests, ministers, and prophets. Let the wheat be separated from the chaff among these, that hearts may be turned, ears opened, minds changed, and spirits renewed, refreshed, and rejoicing.
We know by faith that You will answer prayers that seek Your best will for us. and equip us to go where we are needed, speaking the Truth of Your Word to power boldly, as You give us what to say, so that none are refuted or can find fault in us or our words. Do not make this nation a byword, that when the world looks on its ruins says among themselves, “How great was its fall,” and marvel at our folly.
You uphold us by the strength of Your right arm, nor let our words fall to the ground as we give You the honor and glory due Your majesty, remembering that we are but dust and only inherit eternal life through Your mercy and grace.
Deliver us from this hour, Father, and restore our hearts as we repent, humbled hearts and contrite spirits, that You may make us new.
In righteousness, peace, and joy may we honor You.
Amen.
Devotional 171: My Times are in Your Hand
Psalm 31:12-15
12 I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
13 For I hear the slander of many;
Fear is on every side;
While they take counsel together against me,
They scheme to take away my life.
14 But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in Your hand;
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies,
And from those who persecute me.
The Pastor with who brought me to the Lord for safekeeping used to have a phrase for his sermon’s application: “This is where the rubber of your faith meets the road of reality.” It was a play on the saying, Where the rubber meets the road…’ as the surface of tires contacts the road.
But what happens when that happens? The tire is strong, but the road is stronger. The tire itself must be made well in order to withstand the resistance pushing back on it, and still move freely to go the distances required of it. The tire is vulnerable to whatever might be on the road that could damage it.
It’s the driver’s responsibility to make sure to take care of the and keep it out of harm’s way if possible. The difference between the driver and G-d is that sometimes that’s not possible, but in as much as the driver can prepare the tire and keep it from harm, they should do all they can. Prevention is always better than repair.
As our Lord is allowing Satan and his minions to frolic and play, the wound of racism is being cleansed. When cleaning a wound, the ugliness surrounding it has to be cleared away for the caretaker to see.
So as believers, what should our response be in this hour:
If we are to be like Christ, we must do what Christ did in these times: He walked the roads among the people, and listened to them. He asked them questions that revealed the conditions of their spirits, the desires of their hearts, and how far they were willing to go to change their lives forever. To do likewise we must be prepared in our spirits, armed in the Word, and willing to answer the call Who will go for us? (Isaiah 6:8)
Go where you are called, and if it’s not to the center of the fray, sow in the hearts of those closest to you. Do what Christ did, and minister in love without compromise. Speak from the Word and the Lord will fill your mouth with what to say (Luke 21:15)
Pray that the eyes of those who will not see are opened, their ears unstopped, their lives changed, and their spirits reconciled, even if you just plant a seed. It may be the birds come to pluck it, or it may be that another waters the seed. Pray that G-d keeps them, and gives the increase to His glory.
Our nation is hurting, and we are called to go out into it. Let us prepare the tires of our faith, and be caretakers at the nearest scenes of spiritual disasters taking place around us. Let us help clean the wounds of our brothers and sisters, withstanding the stench and ugliness, as Christ did for us on the cross. Let us ask for grace and mercy so that we might emerge from Satan’s work a better nation, a better people, and prove worthy to be counted a profitable servant to the Lord, worthy to send and prepare our people and ourselves for the roads to come. As the tire’s care is in the hands of the driver, and the wound in the hands of the caretaker, so too are our times in the hands of G-d.
Therefore I pray:
Father in Heaven,
In this hour we pray for strength, patience, understanding, and compassion.
You have struck the nation, Lord, as we have turned away to idols that replace You, and fill us with a serpent’s pride that they could do in our lives what You refused to do. We have abandoned Your Word for man’s wisdom, which is foolishness, and out of it came the fertile soil which the enemy is now reaping.
To our shame we have been silent, fearful, and seeing ourselves as grasshoppers to those who oppose us. As we go to our prayer closets today, Lord, wherever they may be, or gather together in unison, let us earnestly seek Your face with open and sincere hearts, contrite spirits, and a willingness to do what You will call our hands to do.
Let us be as the sons of Issachar, discerning the signs of the times. Help our unbelief and increase our faith. Enlarge our territories and let us do no harm. Give us boldness and wisdom to speak to the weak of heart and the rebellious of spirit. Let us encourage those who would reach out to one another in understanding, and seek Your blessing on it that they find You and Jesus in the midst of them, One in will and purpose.
Let us emerge from this not a united states but a united people, working together for the common good so that no one is in need, everyone has their fill, and there is justice and compassion in the land.
Let the healing bring rejoicing, that You may be glorified through the works of Your servants who point to You always, in all things giving thanks for the good, and standing in the gap to intercede and bind the plans of this world’s prince as we go before our King, preparing His way.
Bless us, Lord, in this time, and preserve us as we call minister to those whom our Savior would bring to You, for no one comes to You but through Him. (John 14:6)
Our times are in Your hands, and into them we commit our spirits.
In righteousness, peace, and joy may we honor You.
Amen.
Devotional 169: I Feared the People
1 Samuel 15:20-24
20 And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
22 So Samuel said:
“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He also has rejected you from being king.”
24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.
In the military there are chains of command that must be adhered to if there’s to be order in the camp. If one is to move up in the ranks apart from his peers, one must be prepared to take the criticism and be able to handle the one who will eventually rebel, either out of jealousy, pride, or genuine dislike.
In battle, those same qualities must be displayed if there is to be victory.
G-d placed on Saul a mission of genocide to be done with the Amalekites troubling Israel and being an unfruitful branch of His creation. Saul’s problem was the he loved the adoration of the people, and was unable to say ‘no’ to them even when he was commanded by the Lord to do something that involved standing against his own.
Christ himself warned us of such displays when He told the disciples to beware of doing good things and making an outward show of piety to receive the praises of men.
“They have their reward.” (Matthew 6:1-2)
A look at any modern day trend of pop culture reflects the fickle shallowness of the human heart.
The politics of the day also reflect this trend: the voice of ‘the people’ based on all manner of things can cower a leader into fearful compromises that please the few but are not in the best interests of all, and as long as that continues to be the case, the figurative shepherd is being pastured by the flock.
We are commanded, then, to pray for our leaders, that they don’t succumb to this temptation. In that, however, we ourselves are tempted to pray for the leaders we agree with, that they might contend with the ones we don’t. That isn’t the solution.
G-d is not small, and if we pray in faith, we must ask for what would seem to be an impossible change in having our leaders work in their gifts, but be of one accord: to serve and make a difference for those under their leadership, to give respect and honor to each other, and glory for all good things to G-d.
The land needs healing, revival, and fellowship under the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit, who leads us into all truth and convicts us when we go astray and are tempted to backslide.
In these times, common ground is not only possible to find, but necessary. So is being of one accord. If we are obedient to do this, G-d will give the increase. (1 Corinthians 3: 1-10)
Today, let us look for ways to start over, make an impact, and be the faithful but uncompromising servants of the Lord according to our callings.
Let us start from where we are and begin, not fearing the people, but our Father in Heaven, with reverence and holy obedience to do that which He has commanded of us: to love one another, as He loves us.
Therefore I pray:
Father in Heaven,
We consider it no small, light thing to be called by You to lead. Mankind’s Deliverer was Himself hated and despised for it, but endured all that was prophesied of Him so that we might be reconciled to You.
You are unrelenting regarding us walking in two worlds: to obey is better than sacrifice, we cannot serve You and money, and we are not to be lukewarm in our faith in Christ and the way of Your salvation, that we might be reconciled to You in the age to come.
But the voices of the people are many, loud, and shrill, and breath out murderous threats against those who would testify that their works are evil, and will not receive the truth in love.
We embrace the barriers and run to the spiritual strongholds that bind us as the prince of this world battles the Lord of the Universe. Give us fresh eyes, clean hearts, and right spirits to destroy those barriers. Let our works shine before men so they glorify You, and You only.
We would be fruitful harvesters, smart investors of our talents, and good servants that we might enter into our Father’s rest, the prodigal sons and daughters that are the works of Your hands.
Comfort us today, O G-d, that we are remembered in the Book of Life, and that we are to pray for our enemies, heaping coals on them.
Remind us to give, pray, and fast in secret, be angry and not sin against ourselves and each other as we rejoice openly with those who rejoice, and grieve with those who grieve.
We thank You, Father, in spite of our circumstances whether good or bad, for every good thing. We rest in Your promise of deliverance from the bad, and rescue from the evil sent to do us harm.
Placing our faith and love in the Son, we look to the hills for our help in this time, being still, knowing that You are G-d, and that we are well loved by You so that we need not fear, and we are not ashamed of the Gospel.
In righteousness, peace, and joy may we honor You.
Amen.
Devotional 168: The Years of My Pilgrimage
Genesis 47:5-10
5 Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.”
7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How old are you?”
9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.” 10 So Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
Here’s a short definition of pilgrimage: “A trip to a sacred place for religious reasons.”
The Earth was once sacred, but dominion was handed over to its enemy by Adam, and we came under the Lord’s rebuke, our days now few and evil. But the Lord redeemed sinner Jacob, and changed his name, for nothing can remain the same under the hand of G-d.
We await the arrival of the new earth we are to dwell in, by the light of G-d, under the Savior’s rule, for eternity.
Today, with all that’s going on globally, with all the losses of the sureties we came to rely on, we are reminded with a heavenly certainty that those things were in fact, never sure at all, and that we are here for a time and then no more. A life that’s a vapor.
Our relationships within our homes, and in our communities, and spreading out to the world newly consider our relationship with the Word: the commandments, the conditions, (If you do this…), all of Christ’s prophecies, and all of the Father’s promises.
This plague, which ravaged us without even reaching the point of plagues past, should make us reflect on our most important relationship, the one we have with the One who will judge our works, hold us to account for all that we’ve done and said, and welcome us into the kingdom or cast us out.
In the midst of our enemy using all the vices of the flesh that corrupt the human spirit, we are to be mindful to not walk in fear, but to not be wise in our own eyes. There is a saying:
“Call on G-d, but row away from the rocks.”
We are given the oars and the boat because we can’t walk on water, stop its flow, or calm it down.
Today, in your pilgrimages, wherever they may take you, bless those within it when you enter and when you leave, as Jacob did Pharaoh.
Our days are few and evil, and likely will not attain even to Jacob’s years, but the Lord our G-d will advance us to where that we may finish the work He called us to, if we are faithful and patient to keep possession of our souls.
Therefore I pray:
Father in Heaven,
We come before Your throne today under the covering of Christ’s blood, to thank You for giving us the strength to make it through the past few weeks as the plague that came upon us cut its path through Your creation, and is still at work.
The daily routines of our lives were shattered, and while the faithless rail and panic, and the false invoke You as they threaten harm, we use this time to pray and draw closer to You not in hiding, but in rejoicing that You are Jehovah-jireh, our Provider.
We place the blood of Your Son over our hearts, and pray healing for the afflicted, salvation for those taken in His name, mercy for those who died in their sins, and unity in the Gospel amid a lost and dying culture.
Impart to us the mercy and grace of the Son’s new covenant once more where we have failed to live up to His image, and to give You glory.
We are reminded today that the Earth, and everything in it, is Yours, and You knew all of all Your work before its creation. (Psalm 24:1, Acts 15:18)
Bring us through this time to emerge on the other side as better than we were, closer to You, and one another. Purify us, Father, and keep us by the power of Your Spirit, doing greater works that reveal deeper truths as we move from glory to glory, sanctified and justified, spotless and blameless, on our pilgrimage to redemption.
In righteousness, peace, and joy may we honor You.
Amen.
believer55 