Month: January 2025

1/31/25

“But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself…” Daniel‬ ‭1:8‬ ‭KJV‬‬. The account of Daniel and the 3 Hebrew children in Babylonian captivity is very familiar. We recall the mighty and miraculous deliverance from the lion’s den and the fiery furnace. But too often we forget their stedfast devotion to God that led them into those life and death situations. And we overlook the truth, that while we expect God to be faithful to us in the big things, He also expects us to be faithful in the little things. So it is clear, that Daniel’s heart was set on pleasing God in all things. As Jewish young men, they were taught strict rules about what they should eat and drink. And to them, compromising even in these small things was unacceptable. They understood that the small things in life are revealing of who we really are in our relationship with God. Today, we are in a religious generation that is failing in the big things because they continually defile themselves in things that seem small to them. But may God help us to understand, that we are called to live clean and holy lives in every way. And may we, like Daniel, purpose in our heart, that we will not defile ourselves with the ungodly things of this world. By God’s grace, let us purpose to live pure and holy lives for His glory.

1/30/25

“Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.” Psalm‬ ‭32:2‬ ‭KJV‬‬. Although the psalmist David did not yet know of the atoning work of Christ, he did understand the idea of forgiveness and pardon through sacrifice. He knew that through the Old Testament system of sacrifice, God had made a way for man’s sin to be forgiven. This meant the repentant soul could be brought into right relationship with God. But he also recognized that one of the important things about coming to God for pardon is coming without guile. This means that we come before God completely open and transparent. It means that there is no deceit nor hypocrisy in our heart. It is a tragic thing that so many people in religion today ask God for forgiveness day after day with no thought of turning from their sin. They ask God to pardon them all while they know they are going to keep on sinning. But that is not real repentance. That is being purposely deceitful. The idea of having ’no guile’ means that we are coming clean, with no attempt at cunning or deceitfulness. We should know, that none of us can fool God. He knows us exactly as we are. But it is very easy to be deceived by religion and to deceive our own selves. By His grace, let us be honest with God and ourselves so we can enjoy the peace of a clear relationship with our Heavenly Father.

1/29/25

“O love the LORD, all ye His saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful…” Psalm‬ ‭31:23‬ ‭KJV‬‬. After asking God in verse 16, to ‘make His face to shine upon him’, the psalmist realizes that what God wants most of all from us is our love. So here he encourages God’s people, to love the Lord. He recalls this desire of God expressed through the law, (Deut. 6:5) “and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” Jesus repeats these words when asked “What is the great command?”. And yet, as clear as this is all throughout God’s Word, it seems few people today understand what it is to truly love God. To love God means to be supremely devoted to Him above all others. It means that He is the number one priority in our lives. It means that we live for His pleasure, rather than living to please self or those around us. Let us be sure, this is God’s desire for everyone of us, and nothing less. And the good news is, we can love Him because He first loved us. We can love Him, because He sheds His love abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. And when we love Him faithfully, we have the promise, that He will preserve us. He will keep secure every soul who truly loves Him.

1/28/25

“Make Thy face to shine upon Thy servant: Save me for Thy mercies’ sake.” Psalm‬ ‭31:16‬ ‭KJV‬‬. What a wonderful desire this is that the psalmist expresses. He wanted to live so that God’s face could shine upon him. This means to live so that God’s smile of approval and loving favor is resting upon our life. In the previous verses he has mentioned several things that cause God’s face to shine upon him. He has declared his trust in God and that God was his Strong Rock and Fortress. He has humbled himself and confessed that he cannot direct his own steps and asks to be led and guided by God. He has admitted his own weakness and says that God is his Strength. And even as he faces many troubles and enemies come against him, he continues to cry out to God for mercy and deliverance. This attitude of humble dependence upon God is what causes His face to shine upon us. May we understand, that God resists the proud but always looks with favor upon the humble and contrite heart. And let us carry this attitude with us in all that we do. May this be our desire and prayer, “Father, help me to live so that Your blessed face can shine upon me”.

1/27/25

(Part 2) “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 David cried out to God desiring to hear His voice again, he did so because he understood how necessary it was. He knew that without Divine direction he would not know the way in which he should walk. This means the manner in which his life should be lived. He understood that God’s Word is ‘a lamp into our feet and a light into our path’. When we truly love God and have our trust in Him, we realize that only He knows the right way for our lives. One of the dangers of sin is, it deceives us into thinking that we can direct our own steps. In our arrogance we assume that we know what is best for us. And it causes us to make one choice after another which leads us further from God. But let us understand the spiritual connection between hearing and knowing. Spiritual knowledge does not come the same as intellectual knowledge. We cannot simply discover for ourselves what is right. We must hear from God! We must hear His voice speaking through His Word. This is why the Bible says, “Faith comes by hearing the Word of God”. By God’s grace, let us seek daily to hear God’s voice so we can know how we should live.

1/26/25

(Part 1) “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. This psalm of David was written about his time of sad exile while his son, Absalom, briefly occupied the throne. On many levels it was a very difficult time in David’s life. But it wasn’t only because his son had risen up against him. It was also because he was away from the Tabernacle where he worshipped God. For the Old Testament saints the Tabernacle or Temple represented the place where they heard from God and were blessed by His holy presence. God had told Moses in Exodus 29:42, regarding the Tabernacle, “there will I meet with you and speak to you”. We are thankful today, that we live in the New Testament dispensation where we can enjoy fellowship with God and hear His voice wherever we are. But David had such love for God, that he missed those sacred times he spent with God. He missed hearing from God. So a part of his fervent prayer here is: “Lord, cause me to hear Your voice”. Let us realize as New Testament Christians, this same desire should be in us. We should long to hear God’s voice, through the written Word as well as the preached Word. We should have a great desire to come into God’s holy presence in the congregation. Let us pray that this holy desire will be rekindled in each of our hearts.

1/25/25

“because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest His words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thyself before Me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before Me; I have even heard thee also, saith the LORD.”2 Chronicles‬ ‭34:27‬ ‭KJV‬‬. This was part of God’s message to King Josiah after he had heard the Word of God and went to enquire of the prophetess. Like Josiah then, most people today do not realize that the Word of God still pronounces judgment upon sin. And until we humble ourselves and are willing to repent of the sin, judgment remains upon us. Many religious people today imagine that they can claim the atoning work of Christ to protect them from the judgment upon their sins, even as they continue in them. But let us understand, the only sin that Christ covers is that which has been confessed and repented of. The blood of Christ and God’s grace are never a license to sin. There is no one who knowingly continues in sin who is covered by the sacrifice of Christ. That is not real repentance and it is not genuine faith. And there is no way for anyone to truly repent apart from the knowledge of sin and being humble enough to confess and forsake it. This is why hearing God’s Word is so important. But thank God when we humbly listen and give heed to His Word, He will hear our cry.

1/24/25

“Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou Me.” John‬ ‭21:22‬ ‭KJV‬‬. When Jesus had foretold the death Peter was to die, Peter then looked at John and asked, “But what about him?”. It was then Jesus asked this penetrating question, “What is that to you?” And then He gave these words we all should take to heart. “Your call is simply to follow Me.” This problem is very common because we are so prone to look at other people when we are facing difficulties and compare our troubles to theirs. We begin to imagine, “Others don’t seem to have as many problems. Others don’t seem to suffer like me. Others have an easier life, etc.” And because things don’t seem fair to us, we become troubled. But let us receive Jesus’ words here. It is never our place to compare the path we are called to walk with the path God has for others. We are not called to live as other people, or to follow their footsteps. We are called to follow Jesus! The path He has for us may include little or much. It may involve much suffering and heartache. It may seem to us that life is not fair. But let us trust our Lord, that He alone knows the path that is best for us. And He promises to work all things for good when we love Him. By God’s grace, let us humbly follow Him wherever He leads us.

1/23/25

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.” Colossians‬ ‭3:17‬ ‭KJV‬‬. This is another reminder of what real Christian life is about. It is not merely believing a set of ideas. It is not going through religious motions. It is being radically transformed so that all that we do is for the glory of God. It is living so that everything we do can be done in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus. This means that everything we do is through His power and for His glory. It is done to please and honor Him. And if we can’t do something for His glory then we should not be doing it. Too many people imagine that their ‘religion’ is to be for certain times and places in their lives. Usually restricted to a few minutes each week at church. But may God help us to understand, true salvation is a 24 hours a day, seven days a week experience! This is what God calls us to and this is how genuine Christians live. And living this life is what produces true thankfulness in our hearts! Let us thank God that through His marvelous grace we can do all for His glory and in the power of His name.

1/22/25

“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” Colossians‬ ‭3:1-2‬ ‭KJV‬‬. One of the great changes that takes place with real salvation is, that the things we pursue are radically changed. In the life of sin, we used to seek only the things on a material level. We sought for fleshy pleasures and earthly riches. We sought for the favor of men and the success of the world. Most of all, we sought to please ourselves with as much of this world as we could get. But now, as those risen with Christ, we are seeking for new things. Now we seek for things above which will never fade away. We seek for the favor of God rather than men and to please God rather than self. We seek to lay up treasures above rather than hoarding earthly riches. Instead of selfishly seeking to use people to our own advantage, we seek to lift them up into a personal relationship with Christ. Thank God when He saved us, He also changed our desires! May God help us never to settle for the watered down religion of this day, that leaves people still seeking the same things as before. That is not real salvation! We can know that we are risen with Christ, when the desire of our soul is to seek those things which are above.