DEVOTIONS

Guidance Received

AUGUST 9, 2023
Daily Reading – Psa. 27-32 / Rom. 2

GOD’S WORD:

Psalm 32:8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        Growing up in the 1960’s and 70’s, we had an Evangelistic duo come to our Baptist Church by the name of Paul Levin & Bob Findley. They sang together and then Brother Paul would preach. My parents had them over to our home often when they were in town. Over the years we became well acquainted. I remember Paul playing tricks on Bob, like one time at dinner, Paul took the skin off his chicken and placed it on Bob’s plate, then giggled as he watched Bob eat it. Oh, and did I forget to mention, Bob was blind? One year I was asked to lead Bob to the sanctuary from the lower level of our church. Being a teen, I had never led a blind person before, but it looked easy. Hold out your right elbow, let him take it, and walk. Except, when I went to the left of a support pole, I suddenly heard, THUD “OH.” I turned to see; I had walked Mr. Bob straight into that pole. He was very gracious and kind about it, but he seemed to walk a bit slower with his other hand out in front of him as we went on.

 

        Too often people try to find help navigating through life from the world. Yet sin has blinded the world. It is like the blind leading the blind. Luke 6:39 says, “…Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?” God sees far beyond what any of us can. If we will receive His offer and trust His guidance, He said He will guide us with his eyes. He will do much better than I did, I promise. 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        God said, He will instruct and teach us in the way we need to go. However, we must give over the guidance to Him. We must keep our eyes on Him and let Him keep His eye’s on our tomorrow. Like the chorus says, “Trust and Obey, for there’s no other way.”

 

Will you trust God’s eyesight?

 

 

Gospel Is Revealed

AUGUST 8, 2023
Daily Reading – Psa. 22-26 / Rom. 1

GOD’S WORD:

Psalm 22:22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        Soon after I was saved, my pastor began a discipleship class. I and three other men met with him for about twenty weeks. During that time, he encouraged us to pray about finding, what he referred to as, “a life verse.” A verse that stood out as describing our new life in Christ. I felt God calling me to use the gifts He had given me to sing and speak, and when I came to Heb. 2:12, I knew this was my life’s verse. “Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.” It was not until sometime later that I found the same verse in Psalm 22:22 and realized how special this verse really was to me.

 

        Psalm 22 is a special prophetic writing. From verse one through verse twenty-one we read a description of Christ, crucified on Calvary. It opens with the words Jesus uttered on the cross found in Matthew 27:46 “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” It speaks of His accusers mocking Him, His bones being out of joint, and the parting of His garments. From verse twenty-three on it speaks of His resurrection and His living forever. I see verse twenty-two as the hinge verse. This is good news, the Gospel, the revelation that Jesus has risen. Oh, how we should forever declare that name, and sing His praises. 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        How gruesome the truth is of the death of our Saviour. The details of what He endured for us on that cross should cause us to cringe. However, this makes His resurrection just that much more glorious. It is great news. It is the Gospel.

 

Are you sharing this great news?

 

 

Great Reward 

AUGUST 7, 2023
Daily Reading – Psa. 18-21 / Acts 28:17-31

GOD’S WORD:

Psalm 19:11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        What does every State Lottery prove? What does the Publishers Clearing House, with their promise of wonderful jackpots verify? What is the one thing that all the Casino’s popping up all over the world attests to? It is that people want a GREAT REWARD. It also proves sadly, that people do not want to work for, or earn such a reward. The Bible tells us exactly where we can find the really GREAT REWARD. It is by reading, believing, and following the words of God.

 

        In Psalm 19 David lays out in great detail the benefits a person receives by trusting God’s Word. He refers to it with many accurate terms. He calls it the law, the testimony, the statutes, the commandment, the fear, and the judgments of the LORD. Each term holding a special meaning. There are many laws of the Lord. The laws handed down to Moses are the most thought of. However, there is also the laws of nature given by God, and the law of Grace extended through His Son Jesus. Testimonies tell of truths. Statues are often seen as appointments given to man by God. Commandments are orders given by a trusted leader. Fear speaks of respect or worship, and judgments are pronouncements of justice. David says these things are perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true, and righteous altogether. What will these words do? They convert the soul, make us wise, bring joy to our heart, give us guidance in life and last forever. Sounds like a really Great Reward to me. 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        Instead of looking for a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, why not get real treasure from the pages of your Bible. David said in Psa. 19:10 it is, “More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold:” 

 

Why gamble when you have a sure thing?

 

 

Following What’s Wrong

 August 5 & 6, 2023
 August 5 – Daily Reading – Psa. 11-17 / Acts 28:1-16
 August 6 – NO READING

 

 GOD’S WORD:

Psalm 16:4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        Is Football wrong? Is NASCAR sinful? Is owning a boat a sign of someone who is morally bankrupt? The answer is NO! (WOW, I imagine right now some of you are glad to hear that.) However, when they become what we worship over the one true God, then yes. You see, items, material goods, hobbies, sports, etc. are not in themselves sinful. None of these things can make us sin. Yet, any of these things, or anything, can be used by Satan to distract our attention away from God. David in today’s Psalm said, “Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god:” Oh how often I have witnessed this to be true. What started out as a simple pass time or hobby, became an obsession, and it has taken people away from church, family, and even God.

 

        Several years ago a young youth pastor at the church I attended shared a message entitled “The God Shelf.” The main concept was that everyone has a shelf in their life on which they keep what they worship most. The rule was, there could only be one thing on that shelf at a time. Whatever held that prominent position was then your god. If your car became your obsession, then you had to remove God from His place on that shelf and put your car there. It could be a job, hobbies, sports, or anything at all. However, you were only allowed one thing on that God shelf. All too often we end up following after what is wrong. 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        In Col. 1:18 Paul wrote of God, “…that in all things he might have the preeminence.” Is God preeminent, first place in your life? Does the worship of God, or the worship of something else have your attention, and consume your thoughts and time?

 

What is on your God shelf?

 

THE WEEK IN REVIEW:

        Everything in the Christian life revolves around one word, one inner peace and security, and that is FAITH. It is that faith in God that sees us through situations like we saw this week in:

  ● Future Of All Man
  ● Final Exam
  ● Forgetting Nothing
  ● Fearful, Or Foolish
  ● Falling In Your Own Trap
  ● Following What’s Wrong

      That’s why Gal 3:11 is so true when it says, “the just shall live by FAITH.”

       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.

August 7, 2023	Psa. 18-21	Acts 28:17-31
August 8, 2023	Psa. 22-26	Rom. 1
August 9, 2023	Psa. 27-32	Rom. 2
August 10, 2023	Psa. 33-36	Rom. 3
August 11, 2023	Psa. 37-41	Rom. 4
August 12, 2023	Psa. 42-47	Rom. 5
August 13, 2023	No Passages Assigned

FAITH

 

Falling In Your Own Trap

AUGUST 4, 2023
Daily Reading – Psa. 6-10 / Acts 27:21-44

GOD’S WORD:

Psalm 9:15-16 The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken. The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        The saying goes, “If you give a man enough rope, he will hang himself with it.” It has proven time and again to be true. Law Enforcement knows this to be true and proves it with lengthy interrogations. I know some have told lies to get people to confess. But if you just let someone talk long enough, they will most often get around to incriminating themselves. Lawyers practice this principle when they have a witness on the stand. They keep asking questions until someone slips up and tells them what they need to know. Politicians often are their own worst enemy. They look good getting ready for the debates, that is until they open their mouth and say something really dumb. What they had sat out to do to the others, someone turned it around and has done it to them. People often fall into their own traps.

        David exclaims in this Psalm that the Lord is known by His judgments. That often, while allowing sinful man enough time to repent, they do not, and they continue until they actually hurt themselves. Adam and Eve wanted more out of life, bit of the forbidden fruit and lost their life. Judas was all about the money, until he sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Then conviction overtook him, and he took his own life. I guess one of the best biblical examples would be Haman who built a gallows to hang Mordecai and ended up being hanged there himself. Sin is a trap. Play in it long enough, and it will get you. 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        God does not set traps for people. He does not dig pits for us to fall into. In fact, He is constantly warning us of these snares of life. Yet, man himself sets so many sinful traps in life that he forgets where they are and falls headlong into his own trap.

Are you aware of sins snares?