DEVOTIONS

Yearning For The Truth

 DECEMBER 8, 2023
 Daily Reading – Hosea 1-4 / 2 John

 GOD’S WORD:

Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        Today, there is immediate access to more information than I believe at any other time in human history. It used to be that libraries were not in every city. Sometimes people would have to travel a great distance to just go into a library to look something up. The printed book was very costly and considered valuable to anyone who owned one. In contrast, today we simply speak our questions into the air, and some artificial inelegance device connected to our home, phone or computer will answer almost any question we ask. Books are being printed by the billions every year and are so plentiful that people do not value them as before. Often, they are tossed in the trash when people are done with them. Yet with all this available today, biblical literacy is at an all-time low. The Word has been twisted and re-written to suit different likes and dislikes. Some have claimed it to be no more than a book of stories and fables. People do not know.

        In Hosea 4:6 God says; “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee…” It was not that the Word of God was not available back then. They had no excuse for not knowing what God was saying to them. He had been doing so through priests, and prophets all along. They simply rejected what God had to say. That rejection of the God’s wisdom is what destroyed them as a nation and personally.

          

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        What is our excuse? The Bible is available in written and audible form almost everywhere. Good churches proclaim His truths weekly. Yet, our nations, and people are being destroyed by rejecting God’s knowledge for us.

Will we wait until it is too late to yearn for His truth?

Yet To Come

 DECEMBER 7, 2023
 Daily Reading – Daniel 11-12 / 1 John 5

 GOD’S WORD:

Daniel 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        At a local restaurant that I frequent, there is a sign behind the cashier that reads; “Everything will be ok in the end. If things are not ok, then it is not the end.” Although this is just meant as a humorous little sign about the daily struggle we go through, it could also well reflect, peoples search for peace in life. Some have tried to teach we are currently going through the tribulation period described in the New Testament. As bad as things may appear today globally, they do not compare with the description of the Great Tribulation in the book of the Revelation of John. Things are not OK, and the end is yet to come.

        In Daniel 12:4 Daniel is told to, “shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end:” God told Daniel to preserve this word of prophecy, as it would be needful for clear understanding in the last days. This verse goes on to say; “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” Some have supposed this to refer to the day we live in. People move about the globe in hours, which used to take months. Information that researchers would spend months compiling in the past, is now available in a moment on the Internet. However, the verse is talking about the prophecy that Daniel was to preserve to the end. Today there is a renewed interest in the future. Many run here and there, trying to find eternal answers. Blind to the truth, the lost seek a revelation only found in Christ. 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        Sadly, many will realize this clear revelation of eternity when it is too late. Daniel 12:2-3 says some will rise to eternal life, however, many will rise to eternal shame. Yet, still today, many are diligently searching.

Would you be willing to help them find the truth before it is too late?

Yesterday Is Gone

 DECEMBER 6, 2023
 Daily Reading – Daniel 9-10 / 1 John 4

 GOD’S WORD:

Daniel 9:19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

       Daniel cried out to the Lord for the children of Israel in a time when they were in bondage, and it seemed there was no hope and no way out. He had read the prophecies of Jeremiah and believed in the Word of the Lord. For this he is referred to in Daniel 10 as a “man greatly beloved.” As we know today, there was hope. God was their hope, and He delivered them.

        As believers in this same God, should we not be praying this same prayer today for our nation, which is now in the grips of sinful lifestyles and disobedience to God’s Word?
      

     “O Lord, hear”… However, God does not hear if we are not coming to Him in prayer. We need to be on our knees             before God for our nation.

     “O Lord, forgive”… In our prayers, we must repent for not always taking Him seriously, and following God’s Word           as our infallible guide.

     “O Lord, hearken and do;”… As God leads, we must follow.

        It is far past time to simply pray. It is time to beg and plead for Gods mercy on a sinful people. For His grace toward those who have disobeyed. Thankfully, He has always loved us, and always will. However, we dare not confuse His love with a tolerance for sin. People, it is time to PRAY!

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        There is precious little time left. “For thy people are called by thy name.” Are we not called by His name? Christians. Yesterday is gone, we can not change that. Still, we are responsible for what we do with today.

Christians, if we do not do what is right, who will?

You Choose

 DECEMBER 5, 2023
 Daily Reading – Daniel 7-8 / 1 John 3

 GOD’S WORD:

Daniel 7:14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        OK, let’s just get it out there. The bold honest truth. I am not the most athletic guy God ever created. OK, I said it. However, I, and most everyone I grew up with, have known this for years. Whenever people were picking teams, I was not normally the first one chosen. Oh, I jumped around yelling; “Pick Me… Pick Me,” just like all the other kids. Yet the cold hard fact was, I was not anyone’s first choice to help win a game. I was not picked last, but I was not chosen first either. I often thought it would be nice, just once, if I could choose what team to be on instead of someone else choosing for me. To look over both teams, judge the players on each team, and then I would choose who to play with. I could pick me to be a part of the winning team. Sound like some sort of fairy tale dream? It is not.

        In the most important competition that will ever take place, you and I have the choice of which team to be a part of. In the ultimate battle between Christ and the Devil and his followers we are told who wins. Here in Daniel 7:14 it says of Christ, “And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” He wins, and here is the best part, you get to choose which side you will be on.   

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        There is a catch. You must choose before you die. You have all the facts written down for you in God’s Word. It has always been completely accurate about everything. So, the choice is yours to make.

If you have not already,
why not choose the right team today?

Yield Not To Temptation

 DECEMBER 4, 2023
 Daily Reading – Daniel 5-6 / 1 John 1-2

 GOD’S WORD:

Daniel 6:10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        When people voice their opinion as law, Christians often have the tendency to believe them, and do as they say. People will say, “You cannot read your Bible in school.” If they are talking of reading during class, they are right. However, during lunch break or free time, you have as much right to read the Bible as someone else does Huckleberry Finn. When they say you cannot pray in school, they cannot stop you from bowing your head and having a conversation with God. Just because someone is demanding about their opinion, does not make it law. However, what if it were the law? If it were illegal to pray or read your bible, would you? Or would you yield to the temptation of following man’s law over God’s command. 1 Thess. 5:17 says, “Pray without ceasing.” Ps. 119:105 says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet…” I am not encouraging people to break the law, but how far away from God will you be tempted to go. Where is the breaking point between obeying man’s wish or God’s word?

        In our passage today, the king had made a law. A law with deadly consequences. Daniel knew in his heart how far he would be tempted to yield to man’s desire over God’s command. Rom. 13:1 says, “be subject unto higher powers.” Those in leadership are allowed there by God. Yet, we cannot be told to forsake our God. We should not yield our right to worship God to their acting as if there is no God.

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        Jesus said in John 9:4-5 “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” The bible also says, we are the children of Light.

Will you let your Light shine?