Monthly Archives: October 2017

Verse Of The Day

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I command you today to love the Lord your God. I command you to follow him and to obey his commands, laws, and rules. Then you will live, and your nation will grow larger. And the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take for your own.
Deuteronomy 30:16 ERV

http://bible.com/406/deu.30.16.ERV

Verse of the Day and Devotion

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October 14, 2017
Scripture

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. – Habakkuk 3:17-18 (ESV)

Devotion

I’m just not seeing it. I’m just not seeing what I was expecting. I was expecting good things. I was expecting prosperity. I look around me and all I see is lack. I tried hard. I invested a lot of myself. I did the right things and made the right moves. Nevertheless, things have not panned out. I have no fig trees, but my investments failed to blossom. I have no vines, but my business bore no fruit. Does not the Lord see what is happening to me? Does He not care about me anymore?

I try, but I just can’t figure it out. I just don’t understand. It’s a mystery. It’s a mystery that I have not solved and, so it seems, have no hope of solving. The mystery is that some of the great and mighty promises of God have not been fulfilled in my life. I can’t see the reason for the delay. I can’t see any reasons at all. Maybe there are reasons, but I can’t see them. I’ve asked the Lord to give me some understanding about it, but I have nothing so far. On this issue, I get nowhere with my prayers.

Many people in my position would give up on God. After all, so they seem to think, why serve a God who doesn’t come through for you? Why serve a God if it doesn’t make any difference? I, on the other hand, can’t go that way. I can’t give up on God. It’s like Job said, “Though he slay me, I will hope in him.” (Job 13:15). Though I can’t see the fulfillment of the promises, at least not yet, I’m not going to give up on Him. How can I give up on the only God that actually exists?

Indeed, I’m going to take it one step further. I’m going to rejoice in the Lord. I’m going to take joy in Him. I’m going to cheer myself up despite the hardships.

If I do, I know that sooner or later the God of my salvation will come through for me. Sooner or later, He will show Himself strong on my behalf.

Daily Verse

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Verse of the Day and Devotion

October 13, 2017

Scripture

Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” – Luke 12:15 (NIV)

Devotion

For some people, the meaning of life is nothing more than the acquisition of money and possessions. For some people, the amount of them they acquire is the measuring stick of how successful they’ve been in life. It’s like the saying, “He who dies with the most toys wins!” Instead of following Jesus’ command to “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed,” some people do just the opposite. They elevate greed to the level of a virtue. They regard greed as a good thing, a very good thing. After all, if life is nothing more than the acquisition of more and more, then greed is the character trait you need the most.

What, exactly, is greed? Greed is a desire. It’s an excessive desire for something. What does it desire? It could be anything, but it’s usually money and possessions. Traditionally, greed is one of the Seven Deadly Sins. It’s a sin and it’s deadly because it leads a person down a path that stands opposed to the path God wants us to follow. That is, instead of following the lead of the Holy Spirit of God, greedy people follow the dictates of their sinful desire for more. Truly greedy people do not live for God. Indeed, they cannot live for Him. They are too enslaved by their greedy desires to have any room for God. As a result, their greed ultimately leads them to death and destruction.

Further, greedy people are not satisfied with what they can acquire for themselves. They want what others have acquired as well. A greedy employer, for example, resents having to pay his employees and does what he can to pay as little as possible. A greedy politician will tip the scales of justice if it will help him acquire the wealth of someone else. Greedy people are selfish and self-centered people.

Further yet, greedy people are stingy towards God. (Luke 12:21). Since the point of life is nothing more than acquisition, there’s little desire for giving to God. Tithing, then, is out of the question. If anything is given, it’s usually just for show.

Given what greedy people are like, Jesus’ command is well taken. Don’t be like them. Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.

There’s Hope For Today

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IMG_20171011_074437_458What has happened to Moses? What has happened to the brave young prince, intent on the deliverance of God’s people? Where is the fiery passion that made him a fugitive?

Gone it seems … gone in the warm afternoon of midlife. Here is a man pre-selected by God to deliver a nation enslaved. Here is a man quick with his words, or his fists, or the dagger. Here is the hope of Israel, content to herd sheep as Pharoah’s lash continues to fall on the backs of his countrymen. What has happened to Moses? He tried, and he failed, and now he has settled for a common existence clothed in anonymity.

Don’t sit down when you’ve failed … get up and try again. If you settle in you might be out of the game for a long time. Moses sat for forty years. Settling for anything less than the “abundant life” Jesus promises is settling for a fool’s inheritance. You might feel safe and content in your self-imposed exile, but you cannot enjoy the blessings of God when you’re parted from His will.

It took a burning bush to get Moses moving again. Even then, Moses found his courage withered and his confidence shot. Don’t embrace contentment until you are surely in the center of God’s will.

With God, All Things Are Possible