Month: January 2024

50.h. Wilderness – 14.n. “You shall not covet the silver or the gold”

 

 

Deu 7:22-26  The LORD your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once, lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you. But the LORD your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion, until they are destroyed. And he will give their kings into your hand, and you shall make their name perish from under heaven. No one shall be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them. The carved images of their gods you shall burn with fire. You shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, lest you be ensnared by it, for it is an abomination to the LORD your God. And you shall not bring an abominable thing into your house and become devoted to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest and abhor it, for it is devoted to destruction.

Sometimes to our frustration, this is the way God often works in our life. He clears things away little by little even though we might prefer it all at once. But God wanted Israel to grow spiritually in the process of taking the Promised Land. Doing it all at once might seem easier and better to us but will have consequences we cannot see or appreciate. God cares that we grow, and so He grows us little by little.(Guzik)

Thou shalt not be able; I will not assist thee with my omnipotence, to crush them at one run of success and victory; for you are not yet numerous enough to people the whole country at once. But I will bless thee in the use of ordinary means, and thou shalt destroy them by degrees, in several battles, that thou mayest learn by experience to put thy trust in me. (Benson)

It is an abomination to the Lord thy God; not only the idol itself, being put in the place of God, and so derogatory to his honour and glory, but the gold and silver on it, being devoted to a superstitious and idolatrous use; and even the taking of it, and appropriating it to a man’s own use, was an abomination, and resented by the Lord as such. (Gill)

We need to rely upon God’s leading to discern what is good and right and what is worldly and heavenly. The problem arises when we think we can discern this on our own. We lean on our own understanding. We listen to pastors and teachers who do not preach and teach the full Word of God. It would seem they are more interested in how big they can become rather than what you learn. They feed baby food day after day. We should not expect to be able to discern anything living on baby food. It is no wonder there is little difference in how the world lives each day and how many “Christians” live. The love of this world and pleasures of the flesh easily find their way into the hearts that should be far from it. Oh, you may feel comfortable in your church and it might be growing but are the people maturing? Is there a difference in their lives? How many examples does the Bible show us of how easy it is to fall away and blend in with the worldly? How many examples of God’s anger and judgment do we need to read before it changes how we live? How much preaching is on sin? How much teaching is on God’s holiness? How many times are you in church and you feel comfortable and satisfied? 

I am not sure we should be comfortable though we ought to find comfort. I don’t think we should be satisfied though we ought to find satisfaction. When we are being led by pastors and teachers who feed baby food we will be very comfortable and very satisfied when in fact we should be in awe, wonder, reverent, humble, thankful, and ever searching our hearts and minds for maturity in knowing and understanding God’s holiness and our sinfulness. 

Oh that God would raise up pastors and teachers who rightly divide the Word of God and purpose to do so over butts in the pew and money in reserve.

50.g. Wilderness – 14.m. “But you shall remember what the LORD your God did”

 

Deu 7:17-21. “If you say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I. How can I dispossess them?’ you shall not be afraid of them but you shall remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the LORD your God brought you out. So will the LORD your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. Moreover, the LORD your God will send hornets among them, until those who are left and hide themselves from you are destroyed. You shall not be in dread of them, for the LORD your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God.

 Yet sin is never totally destroyed in this world; and it actually prevails in us much more than it would do, if we were watchful and diligent. In all this the Lord acts according to the counsel of his own will; but that counsel being hid from us, forms no excuse for our sloth and negligence, of which it is in no degree the cause. We must not think, that because the deliverance of the church, and the destruction of the enemies of the soul, are not done immediately, therefore they will never be done. God will do his own work in his own method and time; and we may be sure that they are always the best. Thus corruption is driven out of the hearts of believers by little and little. The work of sanctification is carried on gradually; but at length there will be a complete victory. Pride, security, and other sins that are common effects of prosperity, are enemies more dangerous than beasts of the field, and more apt to increase upon us. (Gill)

It is hard for us to remember all that God has done for us, how and when He led us, how and when He healed us, how and when He prospered us, how and when He forgave us, how and when He opened and closed doors, how and when He comforted and encouraged us, how and when He filled us with peace in trying and troubling times, how and when He blessed us, how and when He ……… 

Do you ever wonder why it is that we so easily forget? Or, why it is we are strong sometimes and weak other times? Or, why we are affected by what is before us to the point of being fearful and hesitant? Do we know who God is? Do we trust in, cling to, and rely on He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and ever-present? Do we trust in, cling to, and rely upon His steadfast love, purpose, mercy, grace, and love? Do we actually purpose to live every moment of every day to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all we say, think, and do?  Are we in a state of thankfulness and looking for reasons to praise and worship Him? 

The answer to these questions reveals the reason why we fail to remember – because much of what happens we attribute to; “good luck”, “fate”, “our own hard work and determination”, “someone else’s good or bad toward us”, “being in the right place at the right time”, etc….. 

We have grown weak in knowing who God is. We have become complacent. We are neglectful. We are tossed to and fro. We are forgetful. We are proud. We are jealous. We are hateful. We are fearful. We are greedy. We are self-serving. We are self-reliant. We think we are self-worthy. We think we are deserving. We have a hard time discerning right from wrong and good from bad. We tolerate sins of the flesh. We purpose to do without seeking God’s leading. Our ears have become dull to the Holy Spirit leading. God’s Word is void from our thinking most of the day.  We like to be fed baby food from scripture and not solid food for maturity. We see the sins of others and are critical of them. We are blind to our own sins. We are…….

Repent of being slothful and negligent. Doubts and worries will come – talk to God about them and REMEMBER who He is. Purpose to be ever diligent in the study of God’s Word and living with a single purpose to drive every thought, word, and action – Honor and Glorify Jesus Christ every single moment of every day. 

Pathway to Victory – Devotion

 

 

In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.
–Mark 1:35

Have you heard the story about the newly promoted colonel? He was settling into his makeshift office when he saw a private heading his direction. Wanting to look busier than he was, the colonel picked up the telephone and pretended to be in a conversation: “Yes, General; I think that’s an excellent plan, sir. We’ll have to meet soon to discuss things in more detail. Thank you, General. Goodbye.” He hung up the phone and turned to the private. “What do you want?”

The private stammered, “Well, sir, I’ve been assigned to hook up your telephone.”

Most of us treat prayer as a one-way conversation. We talk to God as if there’s nobody on the other end of the line. But prayer is two-way communication: we speak to God, and God speaks to us. This week, we’re going to talk about how to listen to God and what He wants to say to us.

I’ll admit that over the years, I’ve had a lot of questions about prayer: If God has a sovereign plan for my life, then why should I bother to pray at all? Why does God take His time answering some of my prayers? Why did He answer that person’s prayer but not mine?

Yet all my questions and excuses melt away when I look at the example of Jesus Christ. Mark 1 recounts the busiest recorded day in Jesus’s ministry. He spent the entire day teaching, casting out demons, and meeting with people individually. He crawled into bed very late that night. But notice what happened the next day: “In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there” (v. 35).

Jesus could’ve come up with a lot of reasons to hit the snooze button that morning. He could’ve said, “Father, I know this is the time I usually meet with You, but I had a busy day working for You yesterday. Surely You want Me to catch up on My sleep.” But for Jesus, prayer wasn’t a nicety; it was a necessity. You see, Jesus didn’t pray only when His back was up against the wall. Isn’t that what we do? We pray when a crisis comes. But Jesus prayed at all times. And if prayer was essential for the perfect Son of God, how much more important is it for us? Jesus was sold out to prayer not only so He could speak to God but also so He could listen to God.

Enduring Word – Devotion

 

 

But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. (Philippians 1:12-14)

Paul had a special relationship with the Christians in Philippi; they were not only part of a church he founded, but they were also his friends. Sometimes our friends are confused at what God is doing in our life – and sometimes we are even more confused! In Philippians 1:12-14, Paul wanted to reassure the Philippians that God was doing good even when it looked bad.

When Paul was in Philippi, he was arrested and imprisoned. But God miraculously freed him, and he continued preaching the gospel (Acts 16:25-34). When Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians, he was in a jail in Rome. Paul’s Philippian friends were probably thinking, “God used a miracle to set Paul free before. Why doesn’t God do it now? Is He letting Paul down, or is Paul in sin?” In Philippians 1:12-14, Paul assured them that God’s blessing and power were still with him, even in prison – he was not out of God’s will.

Considering how God set Paul free in Philippi, we shouldn’t be surprised they wondered where the power of God was in Paul’s present imprisonment. If Paul wasn’t being advanced, that was all right – because his passion was to see the gospel advanced. Even though Paul was in prison, the circumstances around his imprisonment, and his manner during it, made it clear to everyone he was not just another prisoner, but he was an emissary of Jesus; this witness led to the conversion of many including his guards.

In fact, Paul’s imprisonment gave the Christians around him, who were not imprisoned, greater confidence and boldness, because they saw that Paul could have joy in the midst of adversity. They saw that God would take care of Paul and still use him even in prison. We also know this turned out for the furtherance of the gospel because during this time he wrote Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. When Paul was in bad circumstances, God was using him.

God didn’t waste Paul’s time in Rome. God never wastes our time, though we may waste it by not sensing God’s purpose for our lives in our present situation. Are you in a bad place – even a “prison” of some sort? God can use you right where you are, and He wants to. Stop thinking your situation must change before God’s power can be evident in your life. It can be evident right now.

God gave Paul the ability to see the good in a Roman prison – this God is with us!

50.f. Wilderness – 14.l. “And they provoked the LORD to anger.”

 

 

Deu 7:16 And you shall consume all the peoples that the LORD your God will give over to you. Your eye shall not pity them, neither shall you serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.

 Judges 2:3  So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.”

 Judges 2:12    And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger.

 Psalms 106:36    They served their idols, which became a snare to them.

 1 Corinthians 15:33    Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

 Joshua 23:13-16   know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the LORD your God has given you.  “And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed.  But just as all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the LORD will bring upon you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the LORD your God has given you,  if you transgress the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that he has given to you.

God’s Word is full of reminders and examples for us.  Reminders of His awesome power, might, presence, holiness, goodness, grace, mercy, and love. Examples of His warnings, anger, wrath, judgment, and purpose for pure lives in service to Him.  How many times do we read it as history and not allow ourselves to think about it and make our minds and souls sensitive to it? How many times do we just read over it until we grasp only promises of God’s blessing, mercy, steadfast love, and grace? How many times do we pass over warnings and examples of how easily the world and our fleshly thoughts can pull us away from seeing God’s Word in its fullness? Far too many I’m sure. 

We may think not me, but in reality, we have deafened our ears, closed our eyes, and stiffened our necks against giving deep thought to the Word of God and things of God. We easily claim promises that are given to those who follow, obey, cling to, rely upon, and trust God. However, we don’t dig into His Word in depth or give it meaningful thought. We just limp along thinking life is a basket of roses, when in fact it is a battle for eternal life. A battle of good and evil. If we do not give this thought we are bound to be easily drawn away into worldly temptations and give no thought to our sinfulness, let alone how we might grow in how we honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions. 

Read God’s Word with a hunger and thirst for knowing His holiness and our sinful tendencies. Read it for how to better discern right from wrong and good from evil. Read it for in it is truth. Read it and meditate upon it for the single purpose of honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ.

“Pathway to Victory Devotion”

 

This devotion builds on yesterday’s devotion.

 

The Lord said to Moses, “. . . I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandment which I have written for their instruction.”
–Exodus 24:12

God communicates His will to us in various ways. Let’s look briefly at six ways God speaks to us, which we’ll study more in-depth in the coming weeks.

  • God primarily speaks to us through His Word. When God wanted to reveal His plan for Israel, the laws by which they would live, He wrote those commandments on two stone tablets. God’s written Word guided the people of Israel, and His Word is still a primary means of discerning His direction for our lives.
  • God speaks through prayer. We can do many things to determine God’s will after we have prayed, but there is nothing more important we can do until we have prayed.
  • God speaks through special revelation, such as dreams, visions, and supernatural signs.
  • God speaks through wise counselors. Proverbs 15:22 says, “Without consultation, plans are frustrated, but with many counselors they succeed.”
  • God speaks through circumstances. In Acts 20, Paul rerouted his trip to Syria when he learned about a plot to kill him. God used Paul’s circumstances to direct him.
  • God speaks through our desires. Philippians 2:13 says, “God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (NLT). Your passions and preferences could be desires God has placed in your heart to lead you in the way He wants you to go.

It’s a mistake to think God speaks in only one way. As C. S. Lewis wrote, “I don’t doubt that the Holy Spirit guides your decisions from within when you make them with the intention of pleasing God. The error [would] be to think that He speaks only within, whereas in reality He speaks also through Scripture, the Church, Christian friends, books, etc.” The truth is, God speaks to us in a variety of ways.

50.d. Wilderness – 14.j. “You shall therefore be careful to do”

 

Deu 7:11-15  You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today. “And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers. He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you. You shall be blessed above all peoples. There shall not be male or female barren among you or among your livestock. And the LORD will take away from you all sickness, and none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which you knew, will he inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you.

 Deuteronomy 4:1    “And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.

 Deuteronomy 5:32    You shall be careful therefore to do as the LORD your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

 John 14:15    “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments,…. The laws, moral, ceremonial, and judicial, urged thereunto both by promises and threatenings, in hopes of reward, and through fear of punishment: which I command thee this day, to do them; in the name of the Lord, and by his authority; by virtue of which he made a new declaration of them to put them in mind of them in order to observe them. (Gill)

 We are in danger of having fellowship with the works of darkness if we take pleasure in fellowship with those who do such works. Whatever brings us into a snare, brings us under a curse. Let us be constant to our duty, and we cannot question the constancy of God’s mercy. Diseases are God’s servants; they go where he sends them, and do what he bids them. It is therefore good for the health of our bodies, thoroughly to mortify the sin of our souls; which is our rule of duty. Yet sin is never totally destroyed in this world; and it actually prevails in us much more than it would do, if we were watchful and diligent. In all this the Lord acts according to the counsel of his own will; but that counsel being hid from us, forms no excuse for our sloth and negligence, of which it is in no degree the cause. We must not think, that because the deliverance of the church, and the destruction of the enemies of the soul, are not done immediately, therefore they will never be done. God will do his own work in his own method and time; and we may be sure that they are always the best. Thus corruption is driven out of the hearts of believers by little and little. The work of sanctification is carried on gradually; but at length there will be a complete victory. Pride, security, and other sins that are common effects of prosperity, are enemies more dangerous than beasts of the field, and more apt to increase upon us. (Henry)

What does it mean to be careful to do the commandments, rules, and statutes? How is this manifested in the life of a believer? What would you expect to see in their lives, or for that matter, your personal life? 

We seem to look more outward than inward. We can apply what it looks like to another person but for ourselves, we seem to be, if not clueless, less critical. Why is this? I think the root of our indifference stems from a lack of commitment, purpose, and the desire to wholly serve, honor, obey, trust, and rely in and on God. Our desire to have our sin made known to us so that we might grow and mature in our honor and glory of Jesus Christ, seems to be lukewarm at best. 

Do we wake each day with the first thought of thanksgiving and how we might better honor and glorify Jesus Christ in our thoughts, words, and actions? Do we ask God to show us our hearts? Do we really want to know our hidden sins? Do we want to grow in our understanding of God’s grace, mercy, and love? Do we seek to understand His holiness and our sinfulness? Do we spend time in His Word? Do we spend time praying? Do we truly love others? Do we seek to encourage? Do we find fault with other’s actions all the time? Do we criticize others frequently about what they said or didn’t say, or did and didn’t do? Neglect and complacency are the effects of a lukewarm heart, mind, and soul toward service to God.

50.c. Wilderness – 14.i. ” Know therefore that the LORD your God is God”

 

Deu 7:6-10  “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face.

 Titus 2:14    who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

 1 Peter 2:9    But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

 Malachi 3:17    “They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.

Israel was holy in their standing before God before they were holy in their conduct. They were set apart unto God by His choosing (God has chosen you to be a people for Himself) and were then called to live as chosen people. As much as anything, their election meant the LORD set His love on them. Their motivation for such a total obedience was to be that they knew God loved them. (Guzik)

A proper understanding of the evil of sin, and of the mystery of a crucified Saviour, will enable us to perceive the justice of God in all his punishments, temporal and eternal. We must deal decidedly with our lusts that war against our souls; let us not show them any mercy, but mortify, and crucify, and utterly destroy them. Thousands in the world that now is, have been undone by ungodly marriages; for there is more likelihood that the good will be perverted, than that the bad will be converted. Those who, in choosing yoke-fellows, keep not within the bounds of a profession of religion, cannot promise themselves helps meet for them. (Henry)

For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God—that is, set apart to the service of God, or chosen to execute the important purposes of His providence. Their selection to this high destiny was neither on account of their numerical amount (for, till after the death of Joseph, they were but a handful of people); nor because of their extraordinary merits (for they had often pursued a most perverse and unworthy conduct); but it was in consequence of the covenant or promise made with their pious forefathers; and the motives that led to that special act were such as tended not only to vindicate God’s wisdom, but to illustrate His glory in diffusing the best and most precious blessings to all mankind. (Brown)

For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God,…. Not sanctified in a spiritual sense, or having principles of grace and holiness in them, from whence holy actions sprang, at least not all of them; but they were separated from all other people in the world to the pure worship and service of God in an external manner, and therefore were to avoid all idolatry, and every appearance of it: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself above all people that are upon the face of the earth; for special service and worship, and to enjoy special privileges and benefits, civil and religious; though they were not chosen to special grace here, and eternal glory hereafter; at least not all of them, only a remnant, according to the election of grace; yet they were typical of the chosen people of God in a special sense; who are chosen out of the world to be a peculiar people, to be holy here and happy hereafter; to enjoy communion with God in this life and that to come, as well as to serve and glorify him now and for evermore. (Gill)

“Turning Point Devotion”

 

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
Isaiah 55:8

Some things in life require a quick response—with others, we can wait. A sudden banging noise in your car or a bodily ailment that won’t go away may require an urgent answer. Other situations may not be urgent but are nonetheless puzzling. Our first thought is likely, “What does this mean, God?” In such cases, it pays to wait on the Lord.

The Babylonian exile of the Jews was, no doubt, a confusing time. The prophet Isaiah encouraged them to “seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near” (Isaiah 55:6). Then God spoke: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways” (verse 8). He also said that He never sends forth His word (His will) without it accomplishing its purpose (verse 11). Whatever His will is, “you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace” (verse 12).

If you are in a situation you don’t understand, trust that God is accomplishing His will in your life. And rest in His joy and peace as you wait upon Him.

To wait on God is to live a life of desire toward Him, delight in Him, dependence on Him, and devotedness to Him.

“Pathway to Victory Devotion”

 

In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in [Jesus Christ].
–Ephesians 1:8–9

When we talk about the will of God, what do we mean? The Bible uses the phrase “the will of God” in three distinct ways.

Sometimes “the will of God” refers to God’s providential will–the secret plan by which He governs everything that happens in the universe. Some people believe God has a perfect will and a permissive will. They say God’s perfect will is what He wishes would happen, and His permissive will is what actually happens when we mess up His perfect plan. But do you believe God is so impotent He can’t achieve His purpose? No, the Bible says God has one plan that was formulated before the foundation of the world. And Paul said in Ephesians 1:9 that, for the most part, God’s plan is a mystery. It’s in the mind of God. Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God.” That’s God’s providential plan.

On the other end of the spectrum is God’s preceptive will, the part of God’s will we can clearly understand from the precepts in Scripture. Do you realize that most of what we need to know about God’s will has been revealed in the Bible? For example, let’s say you’ve been praying for a mate, and God has brought the perfect person into your life–but he or she is not a Christian. Is it God’s will for you to marry that person? No. The Bible says, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers” (2 Corinthians 6:14). It is never God’s will for you to marry an unbeliever–He’s already revealed that in His Word. God’s preceptive will is the part of God’s will that has been defined in Scripture.

Finally, when we talk about discovering God’s will, we’re usually talking about God’s plan for our personal lives. Does God really have a blueprint that governs every part of your life? Look at Psalm 139:13—14: “You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.” When you were in your mother’s womb, God wove you into the person you are–the color of your hair, the color of your eyes, your emotional makeup. Everything about you was according to God’s plan. Just think about all the details God had to orchestrate to get your father and mother together at the right time in order to produce your unique DNA code. God has a blueprint for our lives, and that ought to give us great assurance.