Month: May 2024

5/31/24

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” James‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬ ‭KJV‬‬. The apostle James is writing in the previous verses about our faith being tested. And verse 2 is one of the most challenging verses of all, when it says, “Count it all joy when you face trials”. But here in verse 5 we are reminded of this wisdom that is so necessary for us to be able to face our trials with joy. Oftentimes people fail to see the context these words are written in. From verse 2 all the way to verse 12 the main idea is about the testing of our faith. So here we understand that many are lacking this specific wisdom which enables us to understand what God is doing in our trials and how He is working them for our eternal good and for His glory, just as He promised. Many have an intellectual knowledge of scripture related to dealing with trials. For instance, we know that the trying of our faith is more precious than of gold which perishes. But knowledge of scripture is much different than possessing this wisdom. When we humble ourselves and ask God to give us this wisdom, then we will understand better how to apply those scriptures to the trials and tests we are going through. Then we will know that God is overruling everything that seems to be against us, so He can work it all for good. By God’s grace, let us be honest and admit we need more of this wisdom. And as we ask in faith, our faithful Father will grant it to us.

5/30/24

“Turn thou us unto Thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; Renew our days as of old.” Lamentations‬ ‭5:21‬ ‭KJV‬‬. This is the heart felt prayer of the prophet Jeremiah as he reflected on the sad condition of his people. He was begging God for the spiritual revival and renewal that they so desperately needed. He knew that because of their sinful and backslidden condition their only hope was for God Himself to do a mighty and miraculous work. Today as we see what is happening in our nation and world, this should be our prayer as well. We should be crying out to God, “Turn our hearts to Thee O Lord! Turn us, bend us, break us, do whatever is needed to humble this proud hearted religious generation so we will see our need and return to Thee.” This is the only hope for our generation. We must realize this turning is a Divine work of God done in response to the humble and desperate cries of His children. We are the ones who can prepare the way for God’s power and glory to be manifested. May we be willing for our hearts to be turned away from worldly things that matter so little, to the deep spiritual needs that are of eternal consequence. Whatever the cost, may we pray fervently, “Turn us to Thee O Lord.”

5/29/24

“…Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.” Mark‬ ‭5:19-20‬ ‭KJV‬‬. These were Jesus’ words to the demonic man after he was miraculously delivered by Jesus. He wanted to go with Jesus, but instead received this instruction that his witness was to be among those who had known his old life. And what a blessing it is that he did not get upset about not getting his way, but he simply obeyed the word of Jesus. When he did, so great was the change in his life that he became a powerful witness to those people. These people who knew him were amazed at what had taken place in his life. This is the same witness we are called to offer to our own family and friends. It may not be exciting or easy, but it is the most important witness we can give for Christ. The witness of a transformed, Christlike life is still the greatest witness we can give to anyone. By God’s grace, may we be faithful not only to tell others, but also to show them with our lives what Jesus has done for us.

5/28/24

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,” Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬ ‭KJV‬‬. As this verse begins the writer is reflecting on the great cloud of witnesses from Chapter 11. All throughout that chapter we read of ordinary men and women who lived by faith and impacted their generation because of their faith in God. And the reality is, their examples of faith continue to witness to us today. Abraham witnesses to us that when God calls us, we can obey with the confidence that God will make the way clear. Sarah witnesses to us, that even when we struggle with doubt, God will always be true to His promise. Joseph’s life witnesses to us, that when everything seems to be going wrong, God has the power to make it right and change the situation for His glory. Moses gives witness that when we keep our faith in the invisible God, we will be able to endure whatever we have to face. And all of these give witness to the reality of the life of faith. May their witness encourage us, that as they made it through their troubles and trials, so can we.

5/27/24

“By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing Him Who is invisible.” Hebrews‬ ‭11‬:‭27‬ ‭KJV‬‬. This verse is speaking about Moses, who was the great spiritual leader of Israel when they left Egyptian captivity and then for 40 long years in the wilderness. Certainly no man had seen more miracles and wonders than Moses did. He had personal encounters with God that surpassed any other man. And yet, it was not the things Moses saw that gave him strength to endure. Rather, it was his faith in the invisible God. Today we are living in a religious age that focuses a lot on signs and wonders. People want to see great things. They want to have great emotional experiences. In many ways it is like Jesus said of His generation, who sought for signs. But we should understand, it is not the things we see and feel that give us strength to endure. It is only by faith in God! By faith we see God as He is revealed in His Word. By faith we see His great heart of love for us. By faith we see His sovereign control over all things in this world. By God’s grace, let us keep our faith in God and we will endure.

5/26/24

(Part 2) “Now the just shall live by faith…” Hebrews‬ ‭10‬:‭38‬ ‭KJV‬‬. As we consider what it means to “live by faith”, let us also remember Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 5:7, “For we walk by faith, not by sight”. Here the word ‘walk’ is used to represent how we live. These words remind us again that we are all living according to one rule or the other, either faith or sight. To live by faith means we anchor our eternal destiny upon the supreme importance of the unseen spiritual world and our God Who is invisible. But to live by sight means that we make decisions based only on our physical senses. We see certain things and they cause us to feel a certain way, so we choose to run after them. And because other things appear to be bad or difficult, we tend to avoid them or treat them as if they are evil. When we are walking by sight it is impossible to understand how God uses our troubles and times of suffering to refine our lives and draw us closer to Him. But when we live by faith, then we will see that God does work all things out for our eternal good and for His glory. Far too often, God’s children are overcome by worries and the cares of this life, because they are distracted by what they see. By God’s grace, let us be those who are always living by faith, as we keep our spiritual eyes upon things that are unseen.

5/25/24

(Part 1) “Now the just shall live by faith…” Hebrews‬ ‭10‬:‭38‬ ‭KJV‬‬. These historically profound words were what God used to spur the Protestant Reformation. After centuries of papal rule keeping souls in darkness, the light of Heaven shined through these words reminding a weary world of this great salvation that is available to every soul through simple faith in God. And how blessed we are to know this truth: That when we place faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, we become children of God. But as wonderful as this truth is, it seems that much of the modern church world has failed to realize what it means to live by faith. They talk a lot about being saved by faith, but then fail to explain that being saved is simply the entrance into a life of faith. This means actually living by faith in all that we say and do. It means living with the conviction, that the unseen spiritual world is more real than this material world around us. It means living so that the reality of those things is evidenced in our lives and conduct. And living by faith is so important, that James 2:17 speaks of faith without works being dead. By God’s grace, let our faith in Him be so real that it is continually working out in every detail of our daily lives.

5/24/24

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬ ‭KJV‬‬. As the inspired writer begins this great chapter on faith, he first explains what faith in God is. This explanation gives us insight into how all of these individuals mentioned here did such great things ‘by faith’. The fact is, all of us are living according to one rule or another. We are either living by faith in things unseen, or we are living according to the things we see and discern with our physical senses. Most people live each day only by sight. They see material and physical things and believe that those things will make them happy. They believe if they can get those things then they will be satisfied. But to live by faith means that we discern the reality of the unseen spiritual world. We serve and obey our God Who is invisible. We take care of our soul which cannot be seen. We make decisions and set priorities based upon the reality of spiritual things which most people do not recognize. So as we live our daily lives, we are constantly confronted with this question: “Will I be allured by the perishing things of this material world, or will I be convinced of the truth of the unseen spiritual reality and walk according to what God says?” By God’s grace, let us anchor our lives on the conviction of things unseen.

5/23/24

“For thou shalt be His witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.” Acts‬ ‭22:15‬ ‭KJV. These words were given to Paul immediately upon his conversion informing him of the great task Christ was calling him to. And while we are thankful that Paul answered that call in a life of faithful witnessing for Christ wherever he went, most tend to think that it doesn’t involve us. But let this truth sink into our hearts and minds, that we all are called to be His witnesses! There is no true Christian who is exempted from this call of God. Our entire lives, in all we say and do, are supposed to be a witness for Jesus Christ. And the reality is, we all are a witness to something. Most church people today are witnessing to the sad reality that their religious profession is in vain, that all they have is a form of godliness with no life changing power. But thank God, there are still some faithful witnesses in this day! What a joy it is to see those rare souls who love Jesus Christ supremely and their lives witness to that in everything they do. And by God’s grace, we all can be His witnesses! We can set our affections on Him above all others. We can make Him our Pearl of great price. We can love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. And we can live our lives for His glory.

5/22/24

“Cause me to hear Thy lovingkindness in the morning; For in Thee do I trust: Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; For I lift up my soul unto Thee.” Psalm‬ ‭143:8‬ ‭KJV‬‬. As we read the psalms of David it is evident that he longed to hear from God. He desired to have God show him how to walk and to conduct his life. But he understood that he had a part in this also. He understood that if he wanted to hear God’s voice in the morning, then he had to rise early and seek God and open his heart to the Word of God. If he wanted the Lord to direct his steps then he had to humbly present himself to God. He had to lift his soul before God with a humble attitude which could be led. Today, there are many who mistakenly assume that all of the responsibility is on God for their spiritual lives. But each of us have the choice every day whether we will seek Him and open His Word to hear His voice. It is up to us to decide if we will humble ourselves before Him and learn how He wants us to live our lives. By God’s grace, let us determine to begin each day seeking our Heavenly Father in His Word and in personal communion. And then, let us gather in obedience to worship Him so we can hear His voice and enjoy His presence.