Psalm 10:17-18 (ESV)
“[17] “O LORD, YOU HEAR THE DESIRE OF THE AFFLICTED”
YOU will STRENGTHEN their heart; YOU WILL INCLINE YOUR EAR
[18] TO DO JUSTICE TO THE FATHERLESS AND THE OPPRESSED,
so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.”
NO COMMENTARY is forthcoming when HIS WORD speaks so plainly to this humble servant!!!
“O LORD, YOU HEAR THE DESIRE OF THE AFFLICTED” (humble; helpless; poor)!!!
Matthew 22:34-40 (ESV)
The Great Commandment
“[34] But when the Pharisees heard that HE HAD SILENCED the Sadducees, they gathered together. [35] And one of them, a lawyer, asked HIM a question to test HIM. [36] “TEACHER, which is the great commandment in the Law?” [37] And HE said to HIM, “”YOU SHALL LOVE” the LORD your GOD with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. [38] This is the great and first commandment. [39] And a second is like it: “YOU SHALL LOVE” your neighbor as yourself. [40] On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
The Pharisees and Sadducees were known for NOT being humble! They wouldn’t SUBMIT themselves to JESUS (GOD IN THE FLESH) but rather CHOSE to submit themselves to the Roman authorities.
Are we any better? We elect to PICK and CHOOSE which laws we think are best to obey, and JESUS says “YOU SHALL LOVE” is the great commandment of the Law! Not only to LOVE the LORD your GOD, but also LOVE our neighbor as ourselves!
JESUS left Heaven and lived in “this world” for 30+ years before paying for our sins on Calvary! HE did it all as a display of “YOU SHALL LOVE”!!!
Acts 17:24-28 (ESV)
“[24] The GOD WHO MADE THE WORLD AND EVERYTHING IN IT, being LORD of heaven and earth, DOES NOT live in temples made by man, [25] nor is HE served by human hands, as though HE needed anything, since HE HIMSELF GIVES TO ALL MANKIND LIFE AND BREATH AND EVERYTHING. [26] And HE MADE from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, [27] that they should seek GOD, and perhaps feel their way toward HIM and find HIM. Yet HE is actually NOT FAR FROM EACH ONE OF US, [28] for
“‘In HIM we live and move and have our being’;
as even some of your own poets have said,
“‘For we are indeed HIS offspring.’”
Matthew 8:23-27 (ESV)
JESUS Calms a Storm
“[23] And when HE got into the boat, “HIS DISCIPLES FOLLOWED HIM”. [24] And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but HE was asleep. [25] And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, LORD; we are perishing.” [26] And HE said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then HE rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. [27] And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that EVEN WINDS AND SEA OBEY HIM?””
Briefly this morning, although this is the same passage of Scripture shared in my previous devotional, there are MANY lessons that need to be learned from them.
“HIS DISCIPLES FOLLOWED HIM” plainly tells us that the CHOSEN FOLLOWED JESUS! We NOW know that they were headed to a “great storm”, but they had THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSES in their midst, so why would they panic???
We need to always REMEMBER that JESUS will never leave us NOR FORSAKE US (Hebrews 13:5)! “HIS DISCIPLES FOLLOWED HIM” should be easy because of HIS PROMISE? We just need to REMEMBER what HE said!!!
Matthew 8:23-27 (ESV)
JESUS Calms a Storm
“[23] And when HE got into the boat, HIS disciples followed HIM. [24] And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but HE was asleep. [25] And they went and woke him, saying, “SAVE US, LORD; we are perishing.” [26] And HE said to them, “Why are you afraid, “O YOU OF LITTLE FAITH”?” Then HE rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, AND THERE WAS GREAT CALM. [27] And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey HIM?””
“The disciples” were CHOSEN (hand picked) by JESUS when he began HIS ministry. The occupations of many of the disciples was fishermen, so they were accustomed to “the storms” of life. But their FAITH had to be strengthened by THE CREATOR to serve HIM the way HE needed them to, displaying HIS ability and OMNISCIENCE to deliver them through any “storm”!
JESUS and HIS disciples had finished performing MANY miracles near and in Capernaum. A few verses earlier (v14), Scriptures record JESUS entering the house of Peter and healing his mother in law from a “fever”, and she rose and began to serve HIM! Why didn’t HIS disciples SEE that JESUS healed this lady so fully and completely that she was able (and willing!) to begin serving HIM immediately???
Only a brief time later, JESUS and HIS disciples got into a boat to “go to the other side” of the Sea of Galilee! Storms are “common” on the Sea of Galilee, something that THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSES undoubtedly understood. Why did JESUS desire to traverse a body of water where severe storms were common? Maybe because HE KNEW that HIS disciples needed to SEE HIM delivering them from the forces of “nature” and display that HE controls those forces?!?
“Why are you afraid, “O YOU OF LITTLE FAITH”?” is something that I need to be asked from time to time. The morning before the heart surgery in 2017, I was tired and emotional. My sons hugged my neck, then my wife kissed me and hugged me! I cried like a baby for a minute, but then it was as if JESUS said “O YOU OF LITTLE FAITH”, I’ve got you bubba! Within two weeks of the surgery I was walking two miles with NO problems! “Why are you afraid, “O YOU OF LITTLE FAITH”?” has a TOTALLY different meaning on the other side of the storm!!!
Romans 8:9-11 (ESV)
“[9] You, however, are not in the flesh but IN THE SPIRIT, if in fact the “SPIRIT OF GOD” dwells in you. ANYONE WHO DOES NOT HAVE THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST DOES NOT BELONG TO HIM. [10] But if CHRIST is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the SPIRIT is life because of righteousness. [11] If the SPIRIT of HIM WHO raised JESUS from the dead dwells in you, HE WHO raised CHRIST JESUS from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through HIS SPIRIT WHO dwells in you.”
Recently I watched a video of a famous man at a professional sporting event with his approximately 10 year old son. The son didn’t have to be concerned with security because he was with his father who was known by all, because he was a celebrity. The son just walked behind his famous father who was welcomed because of his celebrity.
As Believers, we have the “SPIRIT OF GOD”LIVING inside of our very bodies! ANYONE WHO DOES NOT HAVE THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST DOES NOT BELONG TO HIM according to the passage of Scripture above. Then why do we CHOOSE to live in DEFEAT, failing to acknowledge WHO is living within our very bodies?? John 10:10 says “the enemy” comes to steal, kill, and destroy, so it is the mission of the devil to prevent us from SEEING precisely WHO we are IN JESUS!!! We MUST NOT surrender ourselves to the enemy for his defeat to our SAVIOR has already been accomplished!
Acknowledging WHO we have living inside of us is PRECISELY what “the enemy” wants us to avoid! Having us live in defeat is a level of victory for him that he can only achieve through our refusal to accept his defeat and our VICTORY through JESUS CHRIST! Because of the miraculous work of JESUS, we have the “SPIRIT OF GOD” living inside of us. We need to be more expectant about letting that be known to anyone HE places on our hearts!
Like the son I witnessed walking behind his father in the above statement, we have the protection of our HEAVENLY FATHER through the “SPIRIT OF GOD” living inside of us! Fear of rejection should not enter our minds. FATHER IN HEAVEN, I pray that I will readily profess that the “SPIRIT OF GOD” lives in me and THAT is all that matters!!!
Psalm 103:8-10 (ESV)
“[8] “THE LORD IS MERCIFUL AND GRACIOUS”,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast LOVE.
[9] HE will not always chide,
nor will HE keep HIS anger forever.
[10] HE does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.”
“THE LORD IS MERCIFUL AND GRACIOUS” is a statement that says FAR MORE than mankind can fully comprehend. “HE does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities” is something that is seldom contemplated by we who are “not righteous” (Romans 3:10)! Why does anyone EVER think that they “deserve” better? If we received what we “deserved”, I would have been dead a LONG TIME AGO, as I am certain that ALL OF US would be???
“THE LORD IS MERCIFUL AND GRACIOUS” is not something that we should read over in haste, without allowing THE WORD to penetrate our hearts and minds! “Abounding in steadfast LOVE” needs to be focused on as well. Why does HE LOVE me so much, and how do I deserve such MERCY and GRACE?? Because JESUS CHRIST lives within me is the ONLY reason I can imagine! “THE LORD IS MERCIFUL AND GRACIOUS” not because I am worthy, but because JESUS IS WORTHY!!!
James 4:13-17 (ESV
Boasting About Tomorrow
“[13] Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—[14] yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. “WHAT IS YOUR LIFE?” For YOU ARE A MIST that appears for A LITTLE TIME and then vanishes. [15] Instead you ought to say, “If the LORD wills, we will live and do this or that.” [16] As it is, YOU BOAST IN YOUR ARROGANCE. ALL BOASTING IS EVIL. [17] So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”
This morning I was watching a video on a social media site about a 52 year old man who had buried his father a couple of months ago. The man was somber, but not distressed. Getting across his point that life is BRIEF was pretty noticeable. Life is but a mist (a vapor), even for those who live to be 100 years old! We need to ALL calculate “WHAT IS YOUR LIFE?” before our journey is complete!!!
My great grandfather and my grandfather were 89 1/2 years old when they died. My mom was 77 1/2 years old when she died. But her mother was barely 70 years old when she left “this world”! My little sister, she was 34 years and 3 days old when stomach cancer claimed her life. I read recently about an infant who was born and died within the first day of its life because of a “birth defect”.
We NEVER know when our time on earth will end! JESUS says in John 14:6 “I am the way, and the truth, AND THE LIFE. No one comes to the FATHER except through ME”! Just yesterday I had a high school classmate who didn’t wake up from their sleep! At what age does a person exit “this world” and those left not speculate about the reasons for their departure? “WHAT IS YOUR LIFE?” needs to be considered while we still are capable of serving our CREATOR!
For someone who has experienced the medical history that I have, it should be almost expected that death will visit me one day! But do we “BE STILL, AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD” as much as we would if we KNEW we would not wake up the next day? When JESUS has decided to NOT give us breath (Isaiah 42:5), we need to have already considered “WHAT IS YOUR LIFE?”. SOON, it will be too late!!!
Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)
“[5] Trust in the LORD with all YOUR HEART,
and “DO NOT LEAN (depend on) ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING”.
[6] In all your ways acknowledge HIM,
and HE will make straight your paths.
“Things Are Not Always What They Seem”. These seven words were marking the search that brought these verses to my attention recently. There were 26 Scriptures in the listing for this search, but these two passages (Proverbs 3:5-7 and 1 John 2:15-17) will speak what I need to HEAR right now.
1 John 2:15-17 (ESV)
Do Not Love the World
“[15] DO NOT LOVE THE WORLD OR THE THINGS OF THE WORLD. If anyone loves the world, the love of the FATHER is not in him. [16] For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. [17] And the world is passing away along with its desires, BUT WHOEVER DOES THE WILL OF GOD ABIDES FOREVER”!!!
Doing THE WILL OF GOD isn’t always pleasant to our humanity. Being placed into a drug-induced coma for 17 days was never on my “bucket list” of things to do, to be honest! But I have learned SO MUCH as a result of where my JOURNEY has taken me that it is almost “unfathomable” from a worldly perspective.
GLEANING from each experience we are exposed to is crucial to our growth in the SPIRIT! “DO NOT LEAN ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING” is the most important thing we should be doing, for we DO NOT KNOW what is before us, let alone what is coming! “In all your ways acknowledge HIM, and HE will make straight your paths.” The first thing we need to do in life is “DO NOT LEAN ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING”, but acknowledge HIM!!!
Deuteronomy 8:2-3 (ESV)
“[2] And “YOU SHALL REMEMBER” THE WHOLE WAY that the LORD your GOD has LED YOU these forty years in the wilderness, that HE MIGHT HUMBLE YOU, TESTING YOU TO KNOW WHAT WAS IN YOUR HEART, whether YOU WOULD KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS OR NOT. [3] And HE HUMBLES YOU and LET YOU HUNGER and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that HE MIGHT MAKE YOU KNOW THAT MAN DOES NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, but man lives by EVERY WORD THAT COMES FROM THE MOUTH OF THE LORD.”
THE LORD says in Deuteronomy 7 that HE LOVES the Children of Israel and is keeping the oath that HE swore to their fathers. It wasn’t because of the worthiness of the Israelites, but because HE had a Covenant with HIS CHOSEN! But what about the Children of Israel? Was their steadfastness as dependable?
GOD reminded them “YOU SHALL REMEMBER” their journey, the forty years of “wondering in the wilderness” with no clear answer to where they were going, but FAITH that GOD the ONE was leading them! Now they were nearing the end of their journey, but GOD needed to remind them “YOU SHALL REMEMBER” as they moved to a place where FAITH IN HIM would be crucial to their success! The FAITH they would possess would not be in their abilities, but IN THEIR GOD!!!
“”YOU SHALL REMEMBER” THE WHOLE WAY that the LORD your GOD has LED YOU…in the wilderness, that HE MIGHT HUMBLE YOU, TESTING YOU TO KNOW WHAT WAS IN YOUR HEART, whether YOU WOULD KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS OR NOT.” GOD “prepares” us in different ways. It is very seldom we see HIS servants being prepared for SERVICE IN THE KINGDOM through living in luxury and without being HUMBLED!
“YOU SHALL REMEMBER” speaks to me RATHER LOUDLY today! The SAME GOD WHO delivered the Israelites still performs miracles today! A quote from my medical records from September 2007 states “However, he (me!) has had a remarkable recovery that could only be defined as a miracle from GOD”! Although “the enemy” attempts to cloud my memory from time to time, “YOU SHALL REMEMBER” is rather easy for me! All I have to do is BE STILL for a BRIEF moment and it floods my mind……“YOU SHALL REMEMBER!!!” O I’ll
1 John 4:15-19 (ESV)
“[15] Whoever confesses that JESUS is the SON of GOD, GOD ABIDES IN HIM, and HE IN GOD. [16] So we have come to know and to believe the love that GOD has for us. “GOD IS LOVE”, and whoever abides in love abides in GOD, and GOD abides in him. [17] By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as HE IS SO ALSO ARE WE IN THIS WORLD. [18] There is NO FEAR IN LOVE, but PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR. For fear has to do with punishment, and WHOEVER FEARS HAS NOT BEEN PERFECTED IN LOVE. [19] WE LOVE BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US.”
“GOD IS LOVE”, but HE doesn’t love sin! How can HE LOVE me, a sinner condemned unclean? Because JESUS CHRIST paid the ULTIMATE SACRIFICE for we who were CHOSEN BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD (Ephesians 1:4) to live IN THIS WORLD as a testimony of HIS MERCY and GRACE! Even though I don’t measure up to what I should, “GOD IS LOVE” and HE SEES JESUS when HE looks at me!!!
Ezekiel 12:23-25 (ESV)
“[23] Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the LORD GOD: I WILL put an end to this proverb, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.’ But say to them, “THE DAYS ARE NEAR”, and the fulfillment of every vision. [24] For THERE SHALL BE NO MORE any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. [25] For I AM the LORD; I WILL speak the word that I WILL speak, and it WILL be performed. It WILL no longer be delayed, but in your days, O rebellious house, I WILL speak the word AND perform it, declares the LORD GOD.””
When ALMIGHTY GOD says THERE SHALL BE NO MORE, “THE DAYS ARE NEAR”!!!
Psalm 61 (ESV)
Lead Me to the Rock
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. Of David.
[1] Hear my cry, O GOD,
listen to my prayer;
[2] from the end of the earth I call to YOU
when my heart is faint.
“LEAD ME TO THE ROCK
THAT IS HIGHER THAN I”,
[3] for YOU have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the enemy.
[4] Let me dwell in YOUR tent forever!
Let me take refuge under the shelter of YOUR wings! Selah
[5] For YOU, O GOD, have heard my vows;
YOU have given me the heritage of those who fear YOUR NAME.
[6] Prolong the life of the king;
may his years endure to all generations!
[7] May he be enthroned forever before GOD;
appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!
[8] So will I ever sing praises to YOUR NAME ,
as I perform my vows day after day.”
“LEAD ME TO THE ROCK THAT IS HIGHER THAN I” is longer than I generally think is appropriate for a devotional title? But because I am so “faint” because of of the path GOD is leading me through, I find it necessary to admit my inability to get through life in general without HIS INTERVENTION!
LORD, I NEED YOU to “LEAD ME TO THE ROCK THAT IS HIGHER THAN I” because me EYES aren’t able to SEE THE WAY I should move without YOUR GUIDANCE!!!
Exodus 25:8 (ESV)
“And let them make ME a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.”
2 Corinthians 6:16 (ESV)
“What agreement has the temple of GOD with idols? For WE ARE THE TEMPLE OF THE LIVING GOD; as GOD said,
“I will make MY dwelling among them and walk among them,
and I will be their GOD,
and they shall be MY people.”
Last night as I prepared for sleep this chorus entered my mind and would not leave!
Verse 1
Lord prepare me to “BE A SANCTUARY”
Pure and holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living
Sanctuary for You
Verse 2
Lord prepare me to be testimony
Sweet and simple, tried true
With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living
Testimony for You
Verse 3
Lord prepare me to be a sacrifice
Pure and holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living
Sacrifice for You
How often do I “feel the need” to do something for my LORD, and HE simply wants me to “BE A SANCTUARY” to dwell within! One dictionary defines SANCTUARY as “a consecrated or sacred place”. We have forgiveness because of the SACRIFICE of JESUS, yet I sometimes want to be planning what “I can do” for JESUS rather than simply spending time fellowshipping with HIM!
LORD prepare me to “BE A SANCTUARY” (a consecrated or sacred place” for YOU to dwell in!!!
Ecclesiastes 3:9-13 (ESV)
“[9] What gain has the worker from his toil? [10] I have seen the business that GOD has given to the children of man to be busy with. [11] HE HAS MADE EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL IN ITS TIME. Also, HE has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what GOD has done from the beginning to the end. [12] I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; [13] also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is “GOD’S GIFT TO MAN”.
There is a BIBLE research website that I refer to frequently. The number “17” has impacted my life greatly, so I decided to research what the BIBLE had to say about this number. It begins with:::
“The Meaning of Numbers: The Number 17
The meaning of the number 17 In the Bible is that of "overcoming the enemy" and "complete victory." God overcame the sins of rebellious humans when he began to flood the earth through rain on the 17th of the second Hebrew month. Noah's ark and its eight passengers rested on the mountains of Ararat on the 17th of the seventh month (right in the middle of God's annual Holy period known as the Feast of Tabernacles).
Jesus Christ gained a complete victory over death and the grave when God resurrected him near sunset on Nisan 17 (Saturday, April 8, 30 A.D.).”
These might not make a tremendous impact on some, but my wife and I were married on February 17, 1984. We had originally planned on February 10, but the 17th seemed to work out better for us so the date was changed.
Then in 2007 my brain decided to spring a leak, something that was 80% fatal at the time! I didn’t realize that I was in a coma for 17 days until years later when my schedule was slowed down enough to SEE this fact.
But the thing that will not get out of my mind is that “Jesus Christ gained a complete victory over death and the grave when God resurrected him near sunset on Nisan 17 (Saturday, April 8, 30 A.D.).” Saturday, April 8 of 2017 is when I had a heart attack, causing surgery to be performed on me to “bypass” the blockages.
When GOD OPENED my EYES to SEE how HIS HAND was totally and completely over even the healthy of my body and its makeup, I was completely set aback! The blood vessel that “hemorrhaged” in 2007 was SPECIFICALLY in a portion of my brain that controlled my WORD RECALL, my ability to choose words to literally make a sentence! GOD kept me in a coma for 17 days until HE achieved “complete victory” over my “quick tongue” and my tendency to do whatever I wanted to do…..instead of WAITING ON THE LORD (Psalms 27:14)!!
There are many who are unable to SEE the TRUTHS of GOD because HE hasn’t OPENED their EYES yet? The FACT that HE HAS MADE EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL IN ITS TIME is part of “GOD’S GIFT TO MAN”. Until GOD opens our EYES, we will NOT be able to SEE things that are right before our eyes! HE KNOWS ALL THINGS, and HIS PLAN for our lives will NOT be hurried to fit our agenda!
