Read Pro. 14:13
Have you ever heard pain in someone's laughter? Or have you ever laughed when deep down you felt pain? We all have at some time but the scripture today is talking about a person who does not trust God as his Lord. He can find no happiness or fulfillment in life. It all ends in sorrow and heaviness. I was reading in Revelation 20 today and it was talking about what is going to happen after Millennium. There will be the final judgment day where the books will be opened and all will be judged. The ones who rejected Jesus on earth and have died will have to die a second death in the lake of fire. This lake of fire is a fiery lake of burning sulfur. It says that they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. What a terrible ending. But, we who have chosen to follow Christ the second death has no power. God will wipe every tear from our eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things will be gone forever. Everything will be made new.
Lord, help us to keep the big picture in mind as we go about our day. Remind us that people all around us need to hear the good news and have their sorrow turned to joy.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Wed.'s Devo -The Right Way
Read Pro. 14:12
The best plan man can come up with only leads to death. Only Jesus can give us eternal life. Our plans may seem wise and right but if they aren't God's plans they may seem to work for a while but in the end they will only die. I am reading in Jeremiah and Jeremiah keeps prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem and the takeover by the Babylonians. God told Jeremiah to tell King Jehoiakim to surrender to the king of Babylon or he would burn the whole city to the ground and kill them. Jeremiah sent his written prophecy to the king and as soon as the reader would finish a sentence the king would have it cut out of the parchment and thrown into the fire as if his burning it would kill the word on it. God told Jeremiah to write it again and add all the terrible things that would happen to the king if he didn't surrender to the Babylonians when they came. Sure enough he died before Jerusalem was captured but his son was king by then and when the Babylonians came he tried to escape. He was caught and tortured and taken to Babylon in chains just as Jeremiah had prophesied. You can not fight what God has decreed. God's ways are perfect even if they aren't comfortable.
Lord, help us to know your plans and trust them even if we don't understand them.
The best plan man can come up with only leads to death. Only Jesus can give us eternal life. Our plans may seem wise and right but if they aren't God's plans they may seem to work for a while but in the end they will only die. I am reading in Jeremiah and Jeremiah keeps prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem and the takeover by the Babylonians. God told Jeremiah to tell King Jehoiakim to surrender to the king of Babylon or he would burn the whole city to the ground and kill them. Jeremiah sent his written prophecy to the king and as soon as the reader would finish a sentence the king would have it cut out of the parchment and thrown into the fire as if his burning it would kill the word on it. God told Jeremiah to write it again and add all the terrible things that would happen to the king if he didn't surrender to the Babylonians when they came. Sure enough he died before Jerusalem was captured but his son was king by then and when the Babylonians came he tried to escape. He was caught and tortured and taken to Babylon in chains just as Jeremiah had prophesied. You can not fight what God has decreed. God's ways are perfect even if they aren't comfortable.
Lord, help us to know your plans and trust them even if we don't understand them.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Tues.'s Devo - God's Tabernacle
Read Pro. 14:11
I find it interesting that the wicked has a house and the righteous has a tabernacle. The word "house" in the Hebrew refers to a family and their residence; something built where a tabernacle is a covering or tent that shines from a distance and is conspicuous. The whole house and family of the wicked will be destroyed one day where the testimony and life of the upright will break forth and spread. Matthew writes that we are to be lights and a city set on a hill so all can see. God literally does that for those he wants to use to show the world his glory. We are an extension of his glory and he will set on high those who know his name (Ps. 91:14). In the Old Testament feasts the last feast was the Feast of Tabernacles. During this time of celebration they were to build booths of branches and spend the week sleeping in them. They would lay and look at the stars through the branches and talk to their families about heaven. The booth was to represent the temporary home they live in on earth as they gazed at their eternal home in heaven. God longs to tablernacle with his people and make their hearts his home.
Lord, may we spend our days building an eternal home with you that you can raise up on high and show your glory to the world.
I find it interesting that the wicked has a house and the righteous has a tabernacle. The word "house" in the Hebrew refers to a family and their residence; something built where a tabernacle is a covering or tent that shines from a distance and is conspicuous. The whole house and family of the wicked will be destroyed one day where the testimony and life of the upright will break forth and spread. Matthew writes that we are to be lights and a city set on a hill so all can see. God literally does that for those he wants to use to show the world his glory. We are an extension of his glory and he will set on high those who know his name (Ps. 91:14). In the Old Testament feasts the last feast was the Feast of Tabernacles. During this time of celebration they were to build booths of branches and spend the week sleeping in them. They would lay and look at the stars through the branches and talk to their families about heaven. The booth was to represent the temporary home they live in on earth as they gazed at their eternal home in heaven. God longs to tablernacle with his people and make their hearts his home.
Lord, may we spend our days building an eternal home with you that you can raise up on high and show your glory to the world.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Mon.'s Devo - The Joy of the Lord
Read Pro. 14:10
Jesus said of the woman caught in adultery: "Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little." We know and appreciate forgiveness when we realize we are sinners. We appreciate freedom when we have been in bondage and we appreciate joy when we have known sorrow. Everyone understands joy by the experiences of their own life so it is individual to all of us. Noone can understand exactly what we have been through but God gives us joy because of it. And noone can steal our joy. They can change our circumstances and make our lives sorrowful but joy is not based on anything earthly, it is eternal and cannot be taken away. It is the strength that allows a person to become a martyr. It is the strength that puts fortitude into our smile. It is one of the greatest things that separates us from the world and can be a powerful witnessing tool. So let the light of your joy rub off on someone who is depleted.
Lord, your joy is our strength!
Jesus said of the woman caught in adultery: "Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little." We know and appreciate forgiveness when we realize we are sinners. We appreciate freedom when we have been in bondage and we appreciate joy when we have known sorrow. Everyone understands joy by the experiences of their own life so it is individual to all of us. Noone can understand exactly what we have been through but God gives us joy because of it. And noone can steal our joy. They can change our circumstances and make our lives sorrowful but joy is not based on anything earthly, it is eternal and cannot be taken away. It is the strength that allows a person to become a martyr. It is the strength that puts fortitude into our smile. It is one of the greatest things that separates us from the world and can be a powerful witnessing tool. So let the light of your joy rub off on someone who is depleted.
Lord, your joy is our strength!
Friday, September 3, 2010
Fri.'s Devo - Remaining Trustworthy 9-3-10
Read Pro. 14:5-9
Someone who has been established as being trustworthy will not lie, but a person who is used to deceiving people will instigate lies. Those who mock righteousness will not be able to find wisdom even if they seek it but the righteous person who is hungry for truth will find it. So what do we do if we find ourselves talking to a prideful person who cannot tell the truth? We are to get away from him. His goal is deceit and compromise so he has nothing of worth to us. If we choose wise companions then we will walk in God's favor doing God's will. What do we do if one of these people that cannot tell the truth is in our extended family and we have to see them from time to time? Then you have to know that God has chosen you to be salt to them. You don't agree with their lies but replace them with truth or just be silent. I have found that if I don't "play their game" and get caught up in their drama then there is no "game" or drama. Our enemy is not flesh and blood but powers and principalities in high places and they are trying to get us to compromise our witness. If you don't give them the time they hate it and eventually leave you alone.
Lord, we want to walk in your favor which means walking in righteousness. Give us wisdom to walk among the foolish and let your testimony shine forth.
Someone who has been established as being trustworthy will not lie, but a person who is used to deceiving people will instigate lies. Those who mock righteousness will not be able to find wisdom even if they seek it but the righteous person who is hungry for truth will find it. So what do we do if we find ourselves talking to a prideful person who cannot tell the truth? We are to get away from him. His goal is deceit and compromise so he has nothing of worth to us. If we choose wise companions then we will walk in God's favor doing God's will. What do we do if one of these people that cannot tell the truth is in our extended family and we have to see them from time to time? Then you have to know that God has chosen you to be salt to them. You don't agree with their lies but replace them with truth or just be silent. I have found that if I don't "play their game" and get caught up in their drama then there is no "game" or drama. Our enemy is not flesh and blood but powers and principalities in high places and they are trying to get us to compromise our witness. If you don't give them the time they hate it and eventually leave you alone.
Lord, we want to walk in your favor which means walking in righteousness. Give us wisdom to walk among the foolish and let your testimony shine forth.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Thur.'s Devo - Mess Up the Crib
Read Pro. 14:4
I love this Proverb. If you want a simple clean life then don't involve people in your life. Don't have friends because they will one day disappoint you. Don't have kids because your house will be a constant disaster zone and don't get married because that really complicates a perfectly controlled life. You WILL have a clean crib. But if you want to accomplish anything great, grow in your own personal walk, or learn to be unselfish, giving and loving, then learn to welcome people, along with all their mess, into your life. They will increase your strength and help you carry your heavy burdens. They will help you move out or move in and walk with you in your hard times and hold you up in prayer. They will teach you the skills they have and help you become a better you. They will add much more lasting things to your life than a safe people-free life could ever grant you.
Lord, help us to choose relationships over comfort. After all, a relationship is why you sent your son to die for our sins. You long to reconcile us back to you.
I love this Proverb. If you want a simple clean life then don't involve people in your life. Don't have friends because they will one day disappoint you. Don't have kids because your house will be a constant disaster zone and don't get married because that really complicates a perfectly controlled life. You WILL have a clean crib. But if you want to accomplish anything great, grow in your own personal walk, or learn to be unselfish, giving and loving, then learn to welcome people, along with all their mess, into your life. They will increase your strength and help you carry your heavy burdens. They will help you move out or move in and walk with you in your hard times and hold you up in prayer. They will teach you the skills they have and help you become a better you. They will add much more lasting things to your life than a safe people-free life could ever grant you.
Lord, help us to choose relationships over comfort. After all, a relationship is why you sent your son to die for our sins. You long to reconcile us back to you.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Wed.'s Devo - The Path of the Righteous 9-1-10
Read Pro. 14:2, 3
Our walk determines if we fear and love God or if we hate him. If we walk uprightly then we fear him and all will see our testimony they will know that we fear God. What comes out of our mouths will also be a hedge around us to save us from the penalty of sin. God always protects and honors those who fear him. God much prefers to bless us and have mercy over us than to punish us and pronounce judgment. If we depart from God then our testimony will not glorify God. Our speech will be all about ourselves and what we can do instead of what God has done for us. I was reading today in Jeremiah and God was telling Jeremiah how far Israel had gone from walking with him so he was going to destroy it, in fact, all Jeremiah is God's warning of impending doom over Israel. But in chapter 18 he says that if he announces that a certain nation or kingdom is to be destroyed, buy then that nation renounces its evil ways, He will not destroy it as he had planned. But he also says that if he announces that he will plant and build up a certain nation, but then that nation turns to evil and refuses to obey him, he will not bless it as he said he would.
Lord, we want to be a nation that turns to you and honors you and your word. Turn your children's hearts back to you and may we humbly acknowledge you as our creator and master.
Our walk determines if we fear and love God or if we hate him. If we walk uprightly then we fear him and all will see our testimony they will know that we fear God. What comes out of our mouths will also be a hedge around us to save us from the penalty of sin. God always protects and honors those who fear him. God much prefers to bless us and have mercy over us than to punish us and pronounce judgment. If we depart from God then our testimony will not glorify God. Our speech will be all about ourselves and what we can do instead of what God has done for us. I was reading today in Jeremiah and God was telling Jeremiah how far Israel had gone from walking with him so he was going to destroy it, in fact, all Jeremiah is God's warning of impending doom over Israel. But in chapter 18 he says that if he announces that a certain nation or kingdom is to be destroyed, buy then that nation renounces its evil ways, He will not destroy it as he had planned. But he also says that if he announces that he will plant and build up a certain nation, but then that nation turns to evil and refuses to obey him, he will not bless it as he said he would.
Lord, we want to be a nation that turns to you and honors you and your word. Turn your children's hearts back to you and may we humbly acknowledge you as our creator and master.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)