Putting Out The Fire With Fire

July 12 & 13, 2025

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

Proverbs 12:1
Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.

 

THOUGHTS ON GOD’S WORD:

 

     On TV, I saw a raging fire on the West Coast of the US burning out of control. The firefighters on the scene were not trying to stop the blaze; instead, they were concentrating on ensuring the flames did not spread much farther. They realized it was out of control and were busy trying to control the amount of damage it would do. To do so, they ignited a controlled fire around the blaze, large enough to consume everything in its path. They hoped that when this raging inferno reached that point, it would no longer have anything to burn and that the pre-burned area was too large for the flames to leap over. Fortunately, it worked. Yet, to control the fire, everything around it had to be destroyed.

 

     Often, people who believe they are right and will not listen to counsel are just like that fire. No matter what the facts say, no matter what the evidence of God’s hand at work says, no matter what, they believe they are right. It is not until everything around them has been destroyed that they begin to realize that in their unwillingness to learn, they destroy themselves. There is nothing left to consume. No one left to complain to or listen to them and their ideas. People avoid the destructive fire of a stubborn heart.

 

     Today’s verse says, “he that hateth reproof is brutish.” The word “brutish” here means eaten up or self-destructive. Just as the fire was destroyed by fire, so will people who are unwilling to receive instruction destroy themselves by destroying relationships all around themselves.

 

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

 

     You might be asking if I realize that it is me, and I am in the middle of it, how do I change? Reach out to the mighty hand of God to pull you free. Ask Him to open your heart to the truth. Do not try to get God to align with what you are doing. Instead, find out what God is doing and align yourself with Him.

 

What might be one area of life where you need to align yourself
better with God’s design and desire for your life?

 

IF YOU ARE JOURNALING:

Ask yourself, what are MY THOUGHTS concerning this Passage and today’s Devotion?

 

Do I find within this reading a CHALLENGE for my life?

 

What are one or two things I WILL DO today or this week to accept that CHALLENGE?

  

GOD TALKING TO ME:  July 12, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(OT-1,/NT & PS-2,/Prov-Monthly)}
2 Chronicles 31-34 / Psalm 12
Proverbs 12-13 / Matthew 15

 

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
Neh. 4-6 / Acts 13:29-52

 

WHAT TO DO ON SUNDAY:

 

    There will not be a Daily Devotion sent out on Sundays. Instead, we encourage you to attend your church and listen intently to what God has prepared in the heart of your Pastor. Write down all the scriptures he uses in that message, then, when you get home, re-read those passages for today’s reading. God has given your Pastor exactly what He desires for you on that day.  

 

GOD TALKING TO ME:  July 13, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(OT-1,/NT & PS-2,/Prov-Monthly)}
NO READINGS ON SUNDAY

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
NO READINGS ON SUNDAY

 

It Is All About The Foundation

July 11, 2025

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

Psalm 11:3
If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?

 

THOUGHTS ON GOD’S WORD:

 

     Have you ever seen a structure, such as a grass hut or maybe a tent, that has been built on no real foundation, or a very weak foundation? It might last on a nice day when the sun is shining and there is just a gentle breeze in the air. However, let the hard winds blow or the storms come raging, and what happens to the structure? We all know it collapses like a pile of toothpicks.

 

     Our lives are so much the same. If the foundation of our life is simply built on our wishes, desires, or something of our own making, it might last while the day seems bright, and no problems are around. Nevertheless, let the storm clouds of anger and hostility come, the winds of a broken home or health concerns, or the extreme heat of financial problems, and what happens? The life we built of our own design will crumble much like a structure made of toothpicks.

 

     How can we prevent this collapse of our lives from happening? It is by building our lives on the foundation of God’s Holy Word. My friend, that foundation never changes, never shifts, never crumbles, and never falls.

 

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

 

     A firm foundation is built on Jesus Christ, our Lord. Anchor your life in the Rock and you will never have to fear the storms.

 

How have you anchored your life to the Rock that is Jesus?

 

IF YOU ARE JOURNALING:

Ask yourself, what are MY THOUGHTS concerning this Passage and today’s Devotion?

 

Do I find within this reading a CHALLENGE for my life?

 

What are one or two things I WILL DO today or this week to accept that CHALLENGE?

  

GOD TALKING TO ME:  July 11, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(OT-1, NT & PS-2, Prov-Monthly)}
2 Chronicles 29, 30 / Psalm 11
Proverbs 11 / Matthew 14

 

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
Neh. 1-3 / Acts 13:1-28

 

Who Is In Control?
July 10, 2025

KEY FROM GOD’S WORD:

2 Chronicles 26:16
But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense.

 

THOUGHTS ON GOD’S WORD:

 

     James S. Hewett once wrote that a newly elected politician was visiting Washington, D.C., to get acquainted. He was visiting the home of one of the ranking senators, who was trying to interpret the bizarre wonder of the capital. As they stood looking out over the Potomac River, an old, deteriorating log floated by in view on the river. The old-timer said, “This city is like that log out there.” The fledgling politician asked, “How’s that?” The senator came back, “Well, there are probably more than one hundred thousand grubs, ants, bugs, and critters on that old log as it floats down the river. And I imagine every one of them thinks that he’s steering it.”

 

      It is often this way in other areas of life. Once people feel they may have gained a little control, they then seem to want it all. When, truly, the only time humanity is in complete control is after we turn complete control over to God. Letting God lead your life shows you have learned to control your will by letting God’s will lead. Once we try to rule our destiny, rejecting God’s leading, God removes His hand and lets us do just that. Then, 99% of the time, we will make a mess of it.

 

CARRYING THAT THOUGHT THROUGH THE DAY:

 

     When we learn to control our desire for control, life becomes so much more enjoyable. We need to give to God what is due Him. He deserves all our allegiance and all our lives. We must strive to yield total control to the One who created us. After we do so, it is hard to control the joy we sense from the freedom of not having to be the one who steers the log down the river of life anymore.

 

What might be in your control that you need to give to God?

 

IF YOU ARE JOURNALING:

Ask yourself, what are MY THOUGHTS concerning this Passage and today’s Devotion?

 

Do I find within this reading a CHALLENGE for my life?

 

What are one or two things I WILL DO today or this week to accept that CHALLENGE?

  

GOD TALKING TO ME:  July 10, 2025

THROUGH THE BIBLE ACCELERATED READING
^{(OT-1, NT & PS-2, Prov-Monthly)}
2 Chronicles 26-28 / Psalm 10
Proverbs 10 / Matthew 13

 

THROUGH THE BIBLE OLD & NEW TESTAMENT DAILY
GEzra 8-10 / Acts 12