DEVOTIONS

January 06, 2023
Daily Reading – Genesis 12 – 14 / Matthew 5

GOD’S WORD:

Genesis 12:2-3 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed..

GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

  As a child it is easy to think that at times our parents might not love us. When we have directly disobeyed what they had told us to do, we might think they cannot love me now. Maybe when we had been reckless in life, and our recklessness destroyed something they cherished. It is easy to believe, surly they do not love me for this. It may have been when we were not so kind to one of our siblings or talked back to them that we began to think, I am sure they hate me. This is often how a child begins to become discouraged, thinking real love is tied only to actions. While it may be true that a parent is angry with a child for what they have done, real love is much deeper than a moment in time. A punishment for an action is to help someone understand the seriousness of the situation. During the punishment it may feel as if they do not love them, but it is because of love the parent tries to help a child grown and learn. Love has not been destroyed.

    We have seen God’s creation so disobedient in only eleven chapters, yet God loved them. Man was reckless with God’s perfect design; He still loved them. God has always loved us and had a solution for our sin. That solution is the promised Messiah, Jesus. God tells Abram; “…in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” It is through the lineage of Abram, Jesus comes to us. God has never stopped loving man, nor ever stopped trying to mend our relationship with Him. 

GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

     Still today, Jesus is the answer for the world. There will never be another solution or another way. We do not need another solution; we need to have faith in God’s solution for sin.

Why would we search for another way when
the creator of humanity has made a way?

Living In His Word Ministries
       “Getting people into the Word of God…
                               … and the Word of God into people.”

Dr. Franklin J. Senters Th.D.
Founder and Executive Director
Hebrews 2:12

January 05, 2023
Daily Reading – Genesis 9 – 11 / Matthew 4

GOD’S WORD:

Genesis 11:4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

    If you ever have an opportunity to get around little children who are about the same age and know one another well, you will see the truth of scripture played out before your very eyes. Once they have the awareness of things, they also have the awareness of others having those things and they want them. Once they have them in their hands, they gain a sense of ownership. They will parade them around the room so everyone can see that they have it. That is until they see the next great trinket. Then, when they lay the first item down to go for the next, if someone goes for the first item, they have a fit. Scream and cry, “It is mine, I had it first.” When truly they did not, they had it last. Selfishness sneaks in and shows up very early in life.

    It was selfishness in Genesis 11 that caused man to violate God’s original command. God told man in Genesis 9:1 “…Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.” However, time and selfish motives caused man to forget God’s desire and to go for their own. In today’s verse it says, “…let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” The selfish desire of man said, if we can make a name for ourselves, everyone will see how great we are and want to come to us. Selfishness seeks the glorifying man and what we see as mine. When the truth is, everything belongs to God. He really had it first. 

GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

  The only way for us to keep that silly selfishness from taking root in our own life, is to keep our eyes focused on Christ. He is the one who said He would supply for our every need. 

As we examine our own lives, can we see any selfishness sneaking in?

Living In His Word Ministries
       “Getting people into the Word of God…
                               … and the Word of God into people.”

Dr. Franklin J. Senters Th.D.
Founder and Executive Director
Hebrews 2:12

GOD’S WORD:

Genesis 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

    I have seen many who wear as artwork in their jewelry or as a sticker on their tablets or laptops the “yin and yang” symbol. It looks like two commas, one black and the other white, facing each other and forming a circle. Inside the white section is a black dot, and inside the black section is a white dot. This symbol comes from old Chinese philosophy but has been adapted recently by the New Age thinking. The basic idea is that there are complimentary opposites for everything. Hot/Cold, Male/Female, Up/Down, Light/Dark, etc. The dots inside the shapes imply that inside of every evil, (the black space) there is a little good, (the white dot) and inside every good, (the white space) there is a little evil, (the black dot). The Bible however leads us to understand the saturation of sin in man is complete.

    Without Christ in our life, the imaginations of the heart of man are evil continually. Romans 3:10-12 says, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” While we want to believe the heart of man is basically kind, the truth is in Jeremiah 17:9 it says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Sin Saturates the heart of all man. 

GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

  If the Yin and Yang symbol could ever resemble any real truth, a person would have to be saved first. Then, with Christ inside, there is good in the heart of man. Even so, that goodness is never man, it is God in man. 

Is there good in you?
If so, where do you think it came from?

Living In His Word Ministries
       “Getting people into the Word of God…
                               … and the Word of God into people.”

Dr. Franklin J. Senters Th.D.
Founder and Executive Director
Hebrews 2:12

January 03, 2023
Daily Reading – Genesis 3 – 5 / Matthew 2

GOD’S WORD:

Genesis 4:16 And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

    “What is the big deal?” “Who does it hurt anyway?” “I can live my life any way I choose to, it is not anybody’s business but my own.” These are just some of the things I have heard people say over the years trying to justify their sinful lifestyles. The mindset of man seems to be that my sin really only hurts me. While it is true that sin ultimately will be most harmful to the person committing the sin, it is not true that it only hurts them. Truth is that sin separates.

    In Genesis 3 we found sin separating man from the beautiful place God had prepared for them. God in His mercy took man from the garden to keep them from eating of the tree of life, and then living forever in their sinful state. In chapter 4 we find Cain removed from His family and friends because of his sinfulness. In Genesis 5:3 we find that Cain is also removed from even being listed as Adams firstborn son. However, the greatest separation recorded in these chapters is found in our verse today. Genesis 4:16 And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. Cain is separated from the presence of God and lived in the land of Nod. The word Nod means “Wandering.” That my friend is the worst separation Sin causes in anyone’s life. He lived out his life wandering around without God. 

GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

Do not let sin separate you from friends and family. Do not let sin separate you from places you might want to go to. Most of all, do not let sin set you wandering on this planet separated from God who created you and loves you. 

Can anything be more horrible than that?

Living In His Word Ministries
       “Getting people into the Word of God…
                               … and the Word of God into people.”

Dr. Franklin J. Senters Th.D.
Founder and Executive Director
Hebrews 2:12