DEVOTIONS

Remembered No More

OCTOBER 24, 2023
Daily Reading – Isa. 63-66 / 2 Thessalonians 1-2

 

GOD’S WORD:

Isaiah 65:17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        Have you ever thought to yourself, I really wish I could just forget all about some of my past. Maybe it was an argument you had with someone you love. It got heated, and before you knew it, you said something that really hurt them. Even though you have apologized a hundred times, those words you said still haunt your memories. Maybe it was a severe illness that is behind you now, however the thought of it returning someday seems fresh in your mind every time you get sick again. We all have things we wish we could erase from our past. If not erasing them, at least remember them no more.

 

        For some, it is a particularly sinful habit that seems to find its way back into their thoughts. As a Pastor, I have been asked, “why does God not just wipe our sins from our memories when He forgives us of them.” I believe the answer is, we still live in a sin filled world. If God erased the pain of our sinfulness from our memories, we would be very likely to repeat them again. Suffering again the shame of hurting the Lord.

 

        God has promised us a day when all our sins and sorrows will be remembered no more. Isaiah 65:17 says that in the new heaven and new earth the former shall not be remembered nor come to mind. Just as God remembers our sins no more, we will also be granted this wonderful privilege when we live in a place where no sin abounds. 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        This promise is only for those who find themselves in the new heaven and the new earth. Those who find their dwelling place in hell, in outer darkness, will not be granted such eternal delight. What a sad existence that will be, eternally haunted by the past.

 

Are you ready to forget?

 

Really Long Verse

OCTOBER 23, 2023
Daily Reading – Isa. 59-62 / 1 Thessalonians 5

 

GOD’S WORD:

Isaiah 61:2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        Would you like to know about a really long verse in the Bible? It may not be long in the number of words used, but it sure is long in the time to which it refers. Isaiah 61:2 talks about “the acceptable year of the LORD” and “the day of vengeance of our God.” Jesus read this passage of scripture in the Synagogue in Luke 4:16-21. He read up to the point of where He said, “To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,” and then He stopped, and closed the book. Why? Well in Luke 4:21 He answered that question when He said, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” The day of the acceptable year of the LORD, as we know now was the first coming of the Lord had come. These people were faced with a choice. They could believe Jesus was God in the flesh, or believe He was liar. They made the wrong choice and tried to kill Him.

 

        We today are still faced with the same choice. The first part of the verse became fact in the person of Jesus Christ. However, there is a part to this verse yet to come that we will have to deal with. “The day of vengeance of our God;” has not yet come. This will happen at the second coming of our Lord to the earth. A lot has happened between His first coming and our waiting for His second coming. Nevertheless, just as sure as part one of this verse is a fact of the past, part two of this verse is just as much a fact coming yet in our future. 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus. His grace was sufficient then, but many rejected it. His grace is sufficient today. However, He will not always extend that grace. Now is the time. Today is the day of salvation.

 

So, what have you done,
or will you do with this truth today?

 

 Quality Time With God

 OCTOBER 21 & 22, 2023
 OCTOBER 21 – Daily Reading – Isa. 53-58 / 1 Thessalonians 3-4
 OCTOBER 22 – NO READING

 GOD’S WORD:

Isaiah 57:20-21 But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        “No matter what I do I cannot seem to get it together.” “Nothing I do makes a difference.” “My finances are fine, my job is fine, everything is ok, and I’m still unhappy with life. What is the matter?” These are all statements every Christian counselor has heard. People come into the office with every imaginable circumstance and excuse for their problems. It is my job, my spouse, or my children who cause my problems. Life is not fair. Although every one of these statements may be true, often the underlying problem is their relationship with God. Having a vision for the future will not guarantee success. A roadmap to a destination does not guarantee your arrival unless you follow all the turns laid out for you. Going to church and being religious is not the same as having a relationship with God.

 

        In today’s verses God says He will revive the heart of the humble in Isaiah 57:15. He also promises the wicked, the unsaved, who have no desire for God, will have no peace. Their life will be like a troubled sea. Churning and turning with no end in view. We all have problems we must face. The difference in life is the outcome, not the problem. For the unrepentant soul, the outcome is often just another time of finding life to be hopeless and drear. But the outcome for the believer is just the opposite. With every trial in life there is a new revelation, a closer walk with God, and the realization, we are not in this alone. 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        There is a peace that the world cannot know. The peace in life that only God can give. For life’s journey to be one of joy, it must include quality time with God. Without Him, life is really not a journey, it’s a never-ending nightmare.

 

Have you spent time with the author of peace today?

 

THE WEEK IN REVIEW:

        If we are searching for the solution to life’s situations, well we have found that Question Answered in the person of Jesus Christ. We saw that this week in:

 

  ● Quiet Pain
  ● Quenches Our Fears
  ● Quickly Intercede
  ● Quit Your Arguing
  ● Quite Disturbing
  ● Quality Time With God

 

        Jesus is the Answer to all our situations in this life and the life to come. Question Answered. 

 

       Enjoy today with your church and hear what God has prepared in the heart of His man for you this week.

   See you tomorrow.  

 

 SUNDAYS:

       Today we suggest you read and study whatever the Lord has laid on your Pastors heart. Whatever scripture he uses for today’s messages were given to him by God for your specific needs.

 

October 23, 2023	Isa. 59-62	1 Thess. 5
October 24, 2023	Isa. 63-66	2 Thess. 1-2
October 25, 2023	Jer. 1-3	2 Thess.3
October 26, 2023	Jer. 4-6	1 Tim. 1
October 27, 2023	Jer. 7-9	1 Tim. 2-3
October 28, 2023	Jer. 10-12	1 Tim. 4
October 29, 2023	No Passages Assigned

 

Question Answered

Quite Disturbing

OCTOBER 20, 2023
Daily Reading – Isa. 49-52 / 1 Thessalonians 1-2

 

GOD’S WORD:

Isaiah 52:14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        The Bible records the horrific days and hours before the crucifixion of Jesus. It tells how He was beaten with a whip which had large pieces of metal or stone tied into it. With every strip laid on Jesus, it tore large pieces of flesh from His back. During the time of His imprisonment, he was beaten by hand and with a rod. He was spat on and had large amounts of hair pulled from His face and scalp, leaving bare flesh bleeding in its place. A crown made of spike like thorns was pressed upon His head which caused blood to flow down His face. He was blindfolded, slapped, and asked to say who had done this. He was led up a stony path carrying the weight of the cross that was to hold Him up to His death. Falling under the weight of this cross, He landed on the stony path that dug into His flesh. Nailed through His hands and feet, and a spear thrust in His side.

 

        Is it any wonder Isaiah’s prophecy says people “were astonied,” or in our words today, horrified, to see Him in such a condition? To look at Him you would barely recognize Him as a man, much less King of Kings. Yet, hundreds of years before Jesus was crucified, in a manner unthinkable to the Jews of the day, God gave a revelation to Isaiah of what would happen to the true Messiah. Moreover, it happened, just as He said. God did not hold back the gruesome truth in His revelation to Isaiah of the horror which would come to His Son. 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        Oh, what a terrible picture we get in our mind of our beloved Saviour on that day. However, what a great truth is here. God spares nothing in telling us the truth, good or bad. Therefore, His truth of Christ’s resurrection and His return are just as reliable. Keep looking up.

 

Are you Watching?

 

Quit Your Arguing

OCTOBER 19, 2023
Daily Reading – Isa. 45-48 / Col. 4

 

GOD’S WORD:

Isaiah 45:9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        OK, I admit it, when I was a kid, it seemed as though I was always arguing with my dad. About what you might ask? Well, pretty much anything. I would want to go out to play with the kids in the neighborhood. My dad would say, “no, it’s getting dark, and you do not need to be out there after dark.” I would argue that other kids were out there, that it was still a little light, that I knew my way around in the dark, or anything I could think of. I should have known though, when my dad said no, it meant no. After dealing with my stubbornness so long, my dad would say something like, “listen, I pay the bills in this house and as long as you live in my house you will abide by my rules. I am your dad, I said no, and that is final.” That is when I knew it was time to quit or pay the consequences. The consequences hurt more than my feelings; they also often stung my backside.

 

        In Isaiah 45:9 God says the same thing on a much bigger scale. God said, “Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker!” When I argued with my dad, the outcome was going to be no, if he had told me no. I could have saved a lot of time and energy if I had just listened the first time and obeyed. I could have used all that time to do something constructive. We ought also to realize, this is God’s earth, and we are His children. As long as we live on His planet that He takes care of, we need to abide by His rules. Quit arguing with God. 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        When God tells us what to do, there is a good reason for the command. Just as children may not always understand why parents make rules to protect them, we may not understand why God says yes or no. We can know this; it is always for our good.

 

Does it help to argue with God?