Month: May 2021

“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”Hebrews‬ ‭13:5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬. The common attitude of fallen humanity is to desire more of this world than we have. It is to have an inordinate desire to get more. Most people believe that getting and having more will satisfy them and make them happy. And because of this, people weary themselves trying to get more, trying to obtain what others have. Or in many cases, trying to get more than them. But God speaks these words to us because He knows we can never be satisfied or happy with more of this world. He is letting us know as His children, that “you don’t need to hunger for more of this world, because you have Me, and I will be your Satisfying Portion!” And how wonderful it is to discover, that when we have Jesus, we have ALL that we need to be satisfied! In Him, we have the One Who is our All Sufficient Supply. As we walk with Jesus, we have His promise that every need we have will be supplied! By God’s grace, let us live so that others can see we have Jesus, and He is our Satisfying Portion.

“The entrance of Thy words giveth light; It giveth understanding unto the simple.”Psalm‬ ‭119:130‬ ‭KJV‬‬. Most people feel that simply reading and hearing God’s Word is enough. They believe that they have spiritual understanding because of what they have heard or read. But God is reminding us here, that His Word must also ENTER our hearts for us to have true understanding. It is not enough to have only an intellectual grasp of spiritual things. We must open our hearts and allow the Word to penetrate into the very depths of our being. Only then can it bring light to our soul! Only then can we experience it’s life giving power. And for us to do this, we must have faith in what God has said. “Through faith we understand…” Only through faith in God’s Word will we open our hearts to it in the way that we need. As we realize this, it becomes clear why there is such an attack upon God’s Word. For generations now, liberal religious people have been trying to discredit and water down the pure Word of God. And the enemy’s purpose through all of this is, to cause people to doubt God’s Word! And to hinder our faith in what God has spoken. Let us have the faith in God to believe all that He says to us, so His Word can enter into our hearts and lives.

“For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.” Jeremiah‬ ‭31:25‬ ‭KJV‬‬. We live in a world where people are running to all kinds of things searching for something to satisfy the emptiness in their souls. Along with that, life brings many sorrows our way, which causes people to seek comfort in things that only hurt them more. But what a joy it is when we discover that only God can satisfy and refresh our souls! Only He can refresh our spirits and give the strength and sense of purpose that we need. And only God can speak comfort to souls that are broken and sorrowful. When our physical bodies become tired we try to satisfy it’s need with sleep and rest. But we should realize that the real weariness of life is when the soul is unsatisfied. And it is sad, that most people wake up each day, still weary with life, because they do not have a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ that satisfies their soul. But in a true personal relationship with Jesus we can experience what the songwriter said: ‘All this world, its wealth and honor, Cannot sate the human breast; But when filled with God, our Father, Every want is fully blest. My soul is satisfied, My soul is satisfied; I am complete in Jesus love, And my soul is satisfied.’

“Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God…” Hebrews‬ ‭11:3‬ ‭KJV‬‬. What a powerful statement of truth this is! “Through FAITH we understand…!” It is through faith that we understand our origin and the origin of all things. By faith we know that we are created by God Himself. It is through faith that we understand the purpose of our existence, that we were created for God’s glory! Through faith we understand the miracle of salvation that God has freely provided for us through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Through faith we understand that our God is Sovereign and Omnipotent, and is continually working all things for our good and for His glory. Through faith we understand that far above all of the devious plans of men, our God reigns in power and glory and is going to bring this world to a glorious consumation! Through faith we understand that this life is filled with troubles and trials, and yet our Mighty God is with us always, to watch over us, help us, comfort and keep us. And wherever our path may lead us in this life, as confusing as things may seem to us, through faith we can understand that our Father in Heaven always has the ultimate purpose to conform our lives to the image of His Son.

“I am Thy servant; give me understanding, that I may know Thy testimonies.” Psalm‬ ‭119:125‬ ‭KJV‬‬. There were many things that the psalmist David, as king of Israel, needed understanding in. But he also knew that the greatest and most necessary thing to understand was the Word of God. He knew that as an earthly king men served him and he needed great wisdom to rule over them in the right way. But far more important was the fact that he served the One Who is the King of glory! And so he longed to know how to serve God acceptably. He desired to understand God’s Word so that he might walk in it and live pleasing to Him. Today, many people are seeking understanding about a lot of things. And certainly we have access to a lot of knowledge and information. But God help us to realize, there is nothing we need more to understand than the Word of God! We need much more than simply reading it and hearing it, we need understanding about how to apply it to our lives. We need to understand how to obey it.  We need to understand how precious it is and how blessed we are to have it. May we each take time, to seek to understand that which matters most.

“let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience…” Hebrews‬ ‭10:22‬ ‭KJV‬‬. What a great blessing it is that we can come before God’s throne of grace through the blood of Jesus and draw near to our loving Father! But even as we come ‘through His blood’ this verse makes clear there are other things necessary in us. We must come to God with a true heart. That is a heart honest and sincere, free from hypocrisy and pretense. We must have the full assurance of faith, which means our full confidence and trust must be in the sacrifice of Christ and not in anything we can do. We must know that what Jesus did is sufficient to pay the price for our sins and bring us into right relationship with the Father. And we must have a clear conscience. This means we must know we have repented of all sin and are trusting the cleansing power of Jesus blood to wash away the guilt and defilement of our sin. We cannot have this if our attitude is to continue in sin. If that is our attitude, then we not only condemn ourselves but we cannot be accepted with God. Let us rejoice that God’s throne of grace and mercy is open to whosoever will meet His conditions. And then we can draw near to His loving heart.

“Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in Thy word.”Psalm‬ ‭119:114‬ ‭KJV‬‬. There may be times in our lives we feel like David in Psalms 18:29, where in God’s strength we can ‘run through a troop and leap over a wall’. And certainly it is good to know that we can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us. But also, there are many days when we identify with these words, and we confess that we need Him to be our ‘Hiding Place and our Shield’. These are the times when we grow weary and need rest for our souls. Maybe it is a time when the enemy has come in like a flood and we feel the very powers of hell warring against our soul. And what a comfort it is to know that we have a Mighty God that we can run to! When we hide in the shadow of His wings we are in a place where no evil can touch us and perfect peace and rest can be found. When the fiery darts of temptation are flying at us we can be safe with Him Who is our Shield. May God help us to be humble and honest about our own needs. There is a time to simply hide in Jesus and find sweet rest for our souls.

“but My servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed Me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.” Numbers‬ ‭14:24‬ ‭KJV‬‬. God made it clear that the unbelievers would miss out, but Caleb was one who would experience the fulfillment of His promises, because he had a different spirit than this world. Caleb had a spirit of faithfulness. That means he was filled with faith in God, believing that what God had promised He will do. No matter how things may appear on a human level, he knew that God’s Word could not fail. He recognized the unfailing character of God. But also, it means he was faithful in following and obeying what God said. He followed God’s command because he had confidence in God. He followed in spite of opposition and when others did not. He did not do like most religious people and deceive himself into thinking that his actions were separate from his faith. He did what he did, and lived the way he lived, because of his faith in God. May God help us today, to have this same spirit of faithfulness as Caleb did.

“If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.”
‭‭Numbers‬ ‭14:8‬ ‭KJV‬‬. These were Joshua’s words after Israel was ready to turn back, because of the enemies before them in Canaan. And what a profound truth he expresses here! “If the Lord delight in us…” He understood that everything depends on God’s attitude towards us. If He sees us rebellious and full of doubt and unbelief, then He cannot delight in us and we will not be able to enter into the blessings of His promise. If He sees that we choose our selfish ways over Him, then He will not delight in us and His blessings will be withheld. We live in a day when the message of God’s grace has been so warped, that most religious people imagine that God smiles on them even when they live sinful and selfish lives. How easily they forget that God is also a Holy and Just God, Who never condones or excuses our wicked ways. May our desire be, to live every moment of every day so that our Heavenly Father can delight in us.

“And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.” Numbers‬ ‭13:30-31‬ ‭KJV‬‬. This was immediately after the 12 Israelite men had returned from surveying the land of Canaan, which God had promised He would give to them. At first, it seems like Caleb is being arrogant and the other men humble. But we should understand, it is never arrogance when we stand upon God’s promise and say that we can do all that God has called us to do. Likewise, it is not humility that says we are not able, after God has given us His command and promise. How many times do people read in God’s Word the wonderful promises He has made to us, of spiritual victory and then hang their heads in unbelief thinking “This can’t be for me”? How often do we read of joy in the midst of sorrow, of peace in the middle of the storm, and we say like the 10 unbelieving spies, “I am not able”? May God help us to understand and believe, that everything God commands and calls us to, He makes a complete provision for us to be able to do! If God says we can, then let us answer “Lord, by Your grace, I am able”.