Where is Your Hope?

Psalm 38:12-15 KJV
12 They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long.
13 But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.
14 Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs.
15 For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.

When there are those who are just "out to get you," how do you respond? Do you give yourself over to them? I mean, do you let whatever that is going on put you in bondage? Do you get obsessed with what they may be saying about you? What they may be saying about others? What they think of you? (See verse 12)

How do you break that grip? (See verse 13-14) Ignore the insults and keep your mouth shut, unless you are willing to step into the same trap that they stepped in. Place yourself in the hands of God; He is the one whose opinion of you is important.

God's Downpayment

Ephesians 1:13-14 ESV
13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

The Holy Spirit, who came to dwell in us at the time of our salvation, is the "down payment" (promise) on our inheritance. Why do I bring this up? There are some Christians out there that believe they can lose their salvation if they stray far enough away from God. But verse 14 totally negates that statement – if we have accepted Christ (believed in Him) you were sealed with the Holy Spirit. That seal is the guarantee of your salvation. You may be able to quench the Spirit and grieve the Spirit, but you can’t get rid of the Spirit – you are SEALED with Him. Praise God and the grace and mercy He continually shows us!

I know today’s devotional is quick, but with the varied readers this post may have I believe a quick “security” lesson can be a great reason for anyone to take the time and praise God for what He has done for us.

Wait for the Lord

Read Psalm 37

Psalm 37:1-11 KJV

1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

The psalm starts out by telling us not to get worked up by those who purposely cause trouble nor get sucked into their game; God knows what is up and He will take care of it. It may seem that God is not acting as fast as you think He should, but remember He is patient for a reason (2 Pet 3:9). Aren’t you glad He was patient with you when you were a “worker of iniquity?”

3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
4 Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

First we are told “don’t get worked up” and “don’t follow their ways” and then we told what we should “do.” DO trust in the Lord. DO what is right. DO find your joy in God. Regardless of what other people say or do, be faithful to God.

5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

Surrender to God everything. Totally trust that He has your best interest in heart. If your focus is on God and not how the “evil” are getting away with murder God will make sure that things are set in place by His judgment. Not only that, but He will make a point of displaying how you have been faithful. (I don’t know how, but be assured He wants to reward you for trusting in Him).

7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

Once again, be patient because God knows what is going on. He asks us not to get worked up, not to get angry, nor blow up. He wants you to let Him to take care of those seek to destroy. By you following any of these roads (worked up, anger, blow up) you hurt yourself and you are not finding your peace in God. So, wait on God and find your joy in God and let Him take care of what is just.

(note: before today's devotional is applied to an EXTREME situation, please apply it to those “workers of iniquity” who are not breaking the law, but just breaking your heart.)

Something to Substitute

Ephesians 5:3-4 ESV
But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

One very important thought in scripture is to substitute an old thing with a new thing. This could be a behavior, an attitude or a behavior, but the principle is that if you take something out of your life you will need to fill that void. A common example would be someone giving up smoking. How many people have you known, maybe even yourself, which have substituted smoking with chewing gum, sucking on a lollipop or even just eating more?

Jesus knew this. He taught about it in Luke 11:24-26. In this instance He spoke about when an unclean spirit leaves a person that when it comes back it brings unclean spirits with it more evil than itself. Ephesians 4:20-24 talks about putting off your old self and putting on the new man (substitution). And Col 3:5-11 also talks about putting off the old man and its worldly desires and putting on the new man made alive through Christ.

And finally we have this passage today which tells us to put away perverseness in actions, speech and humor and to replace it with thanksgiving. Thanksgiving must be a pretty powerful action. Look and listen to the world around you which is flooded with sexuality and innuendos. Dirty jokes and sexual conquests are applauded. Pornography can now be pumped into every house in America. How do we keep separate from a world that wants to suck us in? By being thankful. Thankful to our God and Creator – the King of the Universe that He adopted us as his heirs (John 1:12-13). Thankful to our Savior and Lord, Jesus, who while we were enemies to God still gave His life at Calvary that we could have the chance to be adopted. Thankful to the Holy Spirit who has made His home in us and directs us in understanding God's word and interprets every groaning in our hearts and takes them as prayers to God the Father. Thankful that we don't have to worship in fear of being put in jail. Thankful that we can have Bibles in our homes. Thankful that we are forgiven. Thankful that we may used by God every day and every moment if we surrender our agendas to Him. Just be thankful and keep this world from corrupting something incredibly special to the Lord – you.

Walk By The Spirit

Galatians 5:16-26 (ESV)

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. [17]For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. [18] But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. [19] Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, [20] idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, [21] envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. [22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. [24] And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

[25] If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [26] Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

This passage starts and ends by telling us to walk by the Spirit. We are definitely being challenged to start seeing the difference of being led by the Spirit and being led by our flesh; and the results of following both.

If we follow our lusts and pride (1 John 2:15-16) we can expect “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.” But if we are Spirit led we can expect our life to show “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Furthermore, verse 24 tells us that if we belong to Jesus we have put to death the flesh with its passions and desires.

Do not doubt that you belong to Jesus if some of these passions and desires seem to be alive. The ability for “lusts” to have control on us has been broken by Jesus. We may choose to have the bondage, but for us to be helplessly chained to fleshly passions and desires is not possible – Jesus took care of that. Temptations will still come; to be tempted doesn’t mean you are sinning. Jesus was tempted; He just never gave in to temptations (Heb 4:15). The “passions and desires” that seem to be alive may just be temptations. If Jesus broke the bondage, rely on His ability to get you past the temptations. Jesus understands what you are going through (Heb 4:15). And this explanation helps us in discerning being Spirit-led and led by our lusts and pride.

We may know what we need to do in our lives and what to avoid, but our will alone is not going to get us through. Relying on our will alone is being pride-led. Giving it over to Jesus to get us through is being Spirit-led. Recognizing temptation and relying on the only Warrior who has faced temptation unscathed is where walking in the Spirit comes in. Look at verses 25 and 26 – both of these bring up a difference of walking in the Spirit and living by pride.

Use verses 19-23 to look at your life. Where do you fall in the two lists? If you have something in the first list, give it up to Jesus and adopt something from the second list to live by.

What do You Sow?

Galatians 6:7-10 ESV
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

We have all heard it said: “What you sow is what you reap.” Here is the verse an explanation that goes with that saying. If you work only to fill yourself the only reward you have is corruptible. If you labor to grow in the Lord your reward is eternal. You can even take this past just what you “work” for but where you spend your time. How much time is spent on “worrying?” And if that is what you are sowing, what do you reap from “worrying?”

Continuing with this same thought, what would be the way to turn from worrying and sow to the Spirit? How about seeking out the truths of God and how He protects and provides? And the same question on this aspect: what would you reap from seeking out the truths of God?

Now that is just one example. Are there other areas of your life that you spend more time “flesh-sowing” instead of “Spirit-sowing?” If so, can you find a way to turn them around? I guarantee that the Bible has every tool you need to do so. If you have trouble figuring out how, please seek the guidance from your minister/pastor. Or you can email me and I can help you with finding scriptures to learn and apply that combat whatever area of “flesh-sowing” you are bound to.

Take Care of Others and Take Heed

Galatians 6:1-5 ESV
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load.

What is your first reaction to someone caught in sin? Read the first sentence in this passage again: “if ANYONE is caught in ANY transgression…” This does not say “the one who confesses” but if “anyone is caught”. It also includes “ANY” transgression. So consider my first question again, “what is your first reaction to someone caught in sin?”

Where is your cut-off point on which you will try to restore? The boy who shop-lifts? The girl who lies? The woman who gossips? The man who cheats on his wife? The friend who betrays you?

Then if we can get past that dilemma we still need to watch ourselves so we don’t fall into the same trap. I maintain that we cannot do this. We can’t do this in our own strength. But if we are learning to walk in the Spirit (yesterday’s devotional) we are better equipped to fulfill this first verse.

Then we are called to bear one another’s burdens. And while doing this we are not to think more highly of ourselves than we should. But, if we are walking in the Spirit we have a better chance of not getting big-headed, because we know that it is God using us to restore those He loves back to Himself.

What is the point I’m trying to make? Just that this portion of scripture tells me not to get so full of myself that I won’t reach out to brothers who have sinned and help them seek God to break that bond of sin. All the time watching myself, because I too am just one decision away from denying God.