Daily Devotions

[Predestined]

God Approves of You​

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)

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We need to speak affirming words over people. We need to resurrect this benediction in Numbers 6:24-26:

"The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; the Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace" (AMP).

In other words, God's smiling at you. Think about it. Every time you smile at someone, you're saying to them, "I approve of you. I accept you. You're cool." God not only approves of you, He's smiling over you. He loves you!

You need to get that so deeply rooted within your heart that nothing can ever take it from you. When you're rooted in God's love, He's going to help you stand up in faith and start walking in obedience to Him.

But you can't go ahead of Him trying to do good works on your own. You have to know the Word so that you can know who you are in Christ. In Psalm 18:19, David said, "God is pleased with me." David wasn't perfect, but he knew God delighted in him.

God is pleased with you too. Get that truth down inside you. He is smiling over you and He loves you very much. God approves of you!

Prayer Starter:

God, thank You so much for loving me and for approving of me. Thank You for smiling over me. Your love has changed my life and I know that it will only continue to do so as I grow in You.

Battlefield of the Mind Devotional: 100 Insights That Will Change the Way You Think

 

[Predestined]

Servant Leaders​

And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”
MARK 9:35



In his short novel, Journey to the East, German author Hermann Hesse told the story of a group of men on a mythical journey. One of the main characters is Leo, a servant who handles all the group’s menial tasks and needs—until he disappears. Without Leo the journey falls apart and is abandoned. Years later, one of the original journeymen discovers that Leo, the servant, was the head of the league that had sponsored the journey. He was a powerful and noble leader but had exercised his leadership by being a servant to others.

This fictional parable illustrates perfectly what Jesus taught His disciples about leading through service. When Jesus discovered the disciples arguing about which among them was the greatest, He set them straight: The greatest is the least; the last is the first; the leader is the servant. It’s another of the paradoxes in the Kingdom of God—the opposite of how the world thinks. Instead of praying that God would allow you to lead others, pray for opportunities to serve others. Only through humble service are true leaders born.

By David Jeremiah
Every day With Jesus

 

[Predestined]

Power of the Spirit


Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit . . . says the Lord of hosts.
—ZECHARIAH 4:6B (NKJV)


“I’m a nobody,” my friend Gary said, “and besides, God has so many millions of people to look out for, and in comparison with some of them, my problems seem so petty.

His words shocked me. Of course, God has millions to care for—but He can care for all of them at the same time.

Gary missed something very important. God wants us to ask for help—and to ask often. Look at it this way: If Satan constantly attacks our minds, how else can we fortify ourselves? We fight back—but our major weapon is to cry out to the Lord asking for His strength to become ours.
Too many times, we think we can do it ourselves. In some instances, that may be true, but if we’re going to win continually over the attacks against our minds, we must realize that willpower alone won’t work. What we need is the humility to turn to the Holy Spirit and ask Him to strengthen us.

I realize that many people do not grasp how the Lord lovingly operates in their lives. Not only does God love us like a father, but He also has caring concern for every part of our lives. Our heavenly Father wants to intervene and help us, but He waits for an invitation to get involved. We issue that invitation and open the door for God’s help through prayer. God’s Word says, “You do not have, because you do not ask” (James 4:2 NKJV).

Perhaps we can think of it this way. God is watching us all the time, and He is aware of the temptations, struggles, and hardships we face—and we all face them. If we think we can do it by ourselves, God takes no action. But He remains ready to jump in and rescue us as soon as we cry out, asking for the power of the Holy Spirit to operate in our lives.

Our victory begins with right thinking. We have to be convinced that God cares, wants to act, and waits for us to cry out. When we cry out, we understand the words quoted previously, that it’s not by force or power, but by God’s Holy Spirit that victory comes.

For example, take the matter of personal fellowship—daily time spent in prayer and reading the Word. As Christians, we know this is what God wants and what we need if we’re going to mature spiritually. At one time in my life, I tried to maintain spiritual self-discipline. I determined that I would pray and read my Bible every single day. I would do well for two or three days, and then something would interfere—sometimes my family or something at our church, but mostly little things that took my attention away from daily fellowship with my Lord.

One day, in desperation, I cried out, “Without Your help, I’ll never be faithful in doing this.” That’s when the Holy Spirit came to me and gaveme the self-discipline I needed. It was almost as if God watched me struggle and allowed me to become frustrated and angry with myself. But as soon as I sincerely asked for help, the Spirit came to my rescue. We are too independent, and we experience a lot of unnecessary frustration simply because we try to do things without God’s help.

With the Spirit’s help, I am learning—yes, still learning—that I can choose what I want to think about. I can choose my thoughts, and I need to do that carefully. Unless I’m in regular fellowship with Him, I won’t know the difference between healthy thoughts and unhealthy ones. And if I don’t know the difference, I provide the opportunity for Satan to sneak into my mind and torment me. Spend plenty of time studying God’s Word, and you will quickly recognize each lie that Satan tries to plant in your mind.


Dear loving God, I want to think thoughts that honor You. I want to have a mind that’s fully centered on You, and I know that can’t happen unless I spend daily time with You. Help me, Holy Spirit; help me to be obedient and eager to be in constant fellowship with You. Amen.


Battlefield of the Mind Devotional: 100 Insights That Will Change the Way You Think

 

[Predestined]

Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria. Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered?
Isaiah 37:10-11

This communication came in the form of a letter to Hezekiah. Clearly, it was intended to keep his heart fearful and anxious. It was a threat for the future, saying that although the king of Assyria was leaving for the moment, he would return again to wreak a terrible vengeance on Judah. Had Hezekiah taken the Assyrian message in that way, he would have lived in constant fear.

It is very important for Christians to understand that God does not want his people to live in fear. Fear is one of the great perils of our day. Anxieties beset us on every hand. We need to hear again the words of Jesus that we should not be anxious about tomorrow. Again and again our Lord told his disciples, Fear not. Paul told us that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love and a sound mind. It is not within our power to remove these threats to us, but we can meet them with faith. This is what Hezekiah does. Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.

Have you ever gone into your bedroom, knelt beside your bed, and spread your problem before the Lord? That is the only proper response to a threat to your person or faith. Here is the king's wonderful prayer.

Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God. It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Lord, are the only God. (Isaiah 37:15-20)

Notice how accurate this prayer is. Hezekiah acknowledges the facts as they are. Assyria is a powerful force that had already swept other kingdoms away before it, but these nations were depending on idols to protect them, while Hezekiah's and Judah's dependence is on the Lord of heaven and earth. To him Hezekiah prays, simply and plainly, for help.

Lord, I come to you now and spread before you all the troubles that I face. I confess that without you I am completely helpless, but you are the God who had made heaven and earth. Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord and see.

Life Application​

Fear is a normal response as we walk day-by-day in this earth's shadowland--so are we developing a new 'norm' to spread our fears before our Sovereign King who is 'ruler of everything'?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Predestined]

Hezekiah received the envoys gladly and showed them what was in his storehouses — the silver, the gold, the spices, the fine olive oil — his entire armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.
Isaiah 39:2

Taken in by the flattery of Babylon, the king trusted these ambassadors despite the fact that Isaiah had spoken very clearly of the threat from that quarter: what Babylon represented in spiritual terms, and what Babylon's ultimate fate would be. But the king ignored Isaiah's words, as many today ignore the clear warnings of Scripture.

So Isaiah pays another visit to Hezekiah. The old prophet says to the king, I see you have had visitors. Who were these men? Oh, replies Hezekiah, they are ambassadors from Babylon, the great power to the east. This superpower has recognized our tiny kingdom, and that makes me feel proud and honored. Doubtless he had shown the letter to his wife, exclaiming, Look, dear, the king of Babylon has now taken note of us. Asked by Isaiah what he had shown these ambassadors, Hezekiah replied, I showed them everything we've got—all our treasures, all our defenses, everything.

Isaiah goes on to give a prediction of what will result from the king's foolishness: Hear the word of the Lord Almighty: The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. (Isaiah 39:5b-7)

What this is meant to teach us is that prosperity is a greater threat than adversity. When we are challenged, attacked and insulted, we naturally run to the Lord as our defender. Ah, but when we are offered a new position, with a higher salary, and to take it we must remove ourselves and our families from the influences that have shaped us morally and spiritually; or when our work is of such a nature that we are taken away from time we should spend seeking first God's kingdom, it is then we are being exposed to the subtle trap of Babylon. We have all known people who have fallen into this trap, losing spiritual vitality sometimes for years because they failed to heed warnings concerning the allurements of the world.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn tells of once having a very close friend while he was imprisoned in the Gulag. They saw eye to eye on everything. They enjoyed the same things, they liked to discuss the same subjects. Solzhenitsyn thought their friendship would last a lifetime. To his astonishment, however, when his friend was offered a privileged position in the prison system he accepted it. That was the first step in a change in his friend that ultimately saw him end up as a torturer who devised horrible and cruel torments against Soviet prisoners. Solzhenitsyn described the fear in his own heart when he realized that simple decisions, made in a moment, in the face of an offer of prosperity, could wreck a life, where personal attack and insult had been unable to shake one's faith.

The great test of faith comes not when we receive news that offends us, insults us, or seems to threaten our lives. Rather, we ought to take offers of prosperity and blessing and spread these before the Lord, and listen to his wise words in evaluating what we are being offered.

Thank you, Father, for the clear glimpse of the wisdom of your word regarding the true threats to my life. Help me to remember that I have an enemy who can blatantly attack my faith; or he can come with allurements in what seems an offer of greater prosperity, better conditions, or more honor. Grant me the wisdom to evaluate such threats.

Life Application​

Do we measure our worth by worldly gain? What if we were to gain the whole world and lose our own souls? Do we need a radical reassessment of our identity?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Predestined]

The discipline of heeding​

What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light; and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. Matthew 10:27.

At times God puts us through the discipline of darkness to teach us to heed Him. Song birds are taught to sing in the dark, and we are put into the shadow of God’s hand until we learn to hear Him. “What I tell you in darkness”—watch where God puts you into darkness, and when you are there, keep your mouth shut. Are you in the dark just now in your circumstances, or in your life with God? Then remain quiet.

If you open your mouth in the dark, you will talk in the wrong mood: darkness is the time to listen. Don’t talk to other people about it; don’t read books to find out the reason of the darkness, but listen and heed. If you talk to other people, you cannot hear what God is saying. When you are in the dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else when you get into the light.

After every time of darkness there comes a mixture of delight and humiliation (if there is delight only, I question whether we have heard God at all), delight in hearing God speak, but chiefly humiliation—‘What a long time I was in hearing that! How slow I have been in understanding that! And yet God has been saying it all these days and weeks.’ Now He gives you the gift of humiliation which brings the softness of heart that will always listen to God now.

MY UTMOST
FOR
HIS HIGHEST
The classic, best-loved treasury of daily devotional readings
Oswald Chambers

 

[Predestined]

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.
Isaiah 40:1-2

If you are familiar with Handel's Messiah, you will surely hear the music of that great oratorio going through your head as you read the verses of the fortieth chapter of Isaiah. Handel chose the first verses of this chapter for the opening chorus of Messiah.

In a musical overture, the themes of the entire piece which is to follow are first all presented in brief form. That is what we have in these first eleven verses of Chapter 40, by which Isaiah introduces the chapters to follow. It is noteworthy that his first emphasis is this wonderful word of forgiveness to Israel. The prophet seems to be carried forward in time to the occasion of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. He is told to announce to the disobedient nation that the basis for their forgiveness has already been accomplished. He is to speak to the heart of Jerusalem (that is what the word tenderly means), that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for.

That last phrase, double for all her sins, does not mean that God has punished the nation twice what their sins required. This is a reference to an Eastern custom. If a man owed a debt he could not pay, his creditor would write the amount of the debt on a paper and nail it to the front door of the man's house so that everyone passing would see that here was a man who had not paid his debts. But if someone paid the debt for him, then the creditor would double the paper over and nail it to the door as a testimony that the debt had been fully paid. This beautiful picture therefore is the announcement to Israel as a nation that in the death and resurrection of her Messiah her debt has been fully paid.

Today, too, Jew and Gentile alike are given the same wonderful announcement concerning our sins. In Paul's great declaration in 2nd Corinthians, he says, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the ministry of reconciliation, (2 Corinthians 5:19 RSV). That is the gospel—the good news. You may feel burdened about the mistakes, the wrong things you have done, or the hurt you have caused. To you this wondrous word of forgiveness and reconciliation is directed. All that is needed is to confess your sinfulness and believe that God himself has borne your sins: Your iniquity is pardoned, you have received from the Lord the doubling for all your sins.

Thank you, Father for the comfort of your forgiveness that is offered to me through your Son, Jesus Christ.

Life Application​

When godly grief leads us to repentance, the gospel of God's amazing forgiveness brings the deepest comfort. Are we then proclaiming this Good News by word and deed?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Predestined]

Let the Storm Subside​

God is our refuge and strength [mighty and impenetrable], A very present and well-proved help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains be shaken and slip into the heart of the seas, Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains tremble at its roaring. Selah. (PSALM 46:1-3)

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I have faced so many storms in my life, some like the quick afternoon storms that are common in the summertime and some that seemed like category four hurricanes!

If I have learned anything about weathering those storms, it has been that they don't last forever, and I don't need to make major decisions in the midst of them.

Thoughts and feelings run wild in the midst of crises, but those are exactly the times we need to be careful about making decisions. I often say to myself, "Let emotions subside before you decide."

We must remain calm and discipline ourselves to focus on doing what we can do and trust God to do what we can't do. Instead of drowning in worry and fear, get in touch with God, who sees past the storm and orchestrates the big picture.

He makes sure everything that needs to happen in our lives happens at the right time, moves at the appropriate speed, and causes us to arrive safely at the destinations He has planned for us.

Prayer Starter:
God, I know that I can't control everything, so I will do what I can and trust You to do what I can't do. The storms of life do not control me. I trust Your plans for me.

Battlefield of the Mind Devotional: 100 Insights That Will Change the Way You Think

 

[Predestined]

Reconstruction​

A voice of one calling: In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.
Isaiah 40:3-4

This passage defines the ministry of John the Baptist, the forerunner of our Lord. He was to declare that when the Messiah came, his ministry would not only be one of reconciliation, but also one of reconstruction. He declared there would be a highway, built in the heart, on which God would travel. Four steps would be involved in the building process: Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. Construction engineers know that this is exactly how highways are built even today.

In this beautiful symbolic language the prophet is saying that this is what God undertakes when he comes into our lives. When we have received his forgiveness, the next step is that he begins to change us, to reconstruct our lives. Every valley shall be raised up. In the low places of life, the discouraging times, times when you feel crushed and defeated, there will be comfort and encouragement from the Lord. Also, Every mountain and hill made low. All those places where our ego manifests itself -- our proud boasts, our grasping for power -- these must be cut down. We find ourselves humbled in many ways. Then, the rugged places (made) a plain. In the gospels we read that Zacchaeus paid back fourfold all the money he had stolen from people. Our deviousness will be corrected. We will steal no more; we will report our income properly.

Ah, but it is more than that, as we see in Verses 6-8. It is a word of reassurance as well. What is man? All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. All the great things we boast about will fade away and disappear. All man's knowledge and power will amount to nothing. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them ... but the word of our God endures forever. What a comfort that ought to be to us. Our natural strength will never accomplish what we want; human help will fail us. But the word of our God endures forever.

Lord, I see that you are at work in my life, raising up valleys, lowering mountains, and making the rugged places plain. Grant that I might stay pliable in your hands as you shape me into the person you want me to be.

Life Application​

The choice for life's adventure is my way or God's highway. Whether valley, mountain, rough ground, etc., are we thankfully leaving the re-construction to the Chief Engineer?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Predestined]

Onward Christian Soldier​

And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
LUKE 14:27



Entering boot camp for basic military training used to mean being stripped of all your identity. Everything was taken from you—including your hair—and you were given back only what you would need to be a good soldier. You were even told what to think: “When I want your opinion,” the drill sergeant would bark, “I’ll give it to you!”

Not to compare the Christian life with the military… but wait—even Paul drew that comparison (2 Timothy 2:3). There is discipline, training—and especially sacrifice—in both the military and the Christian life. When Jesus was recruiting and training His own kingdom soldiers, He told them they would only need one thing in order to follow Him: a cross. He didn’t say to bring your checkbook, your 401(k) retirement portfolio, your dreams and aspirations, or your hobbies. He just said to take up your cross and follow Him. The point of that drastic charge was simple: Following Jesus means giving up what we will eventually lose to receive something imperishable and assured—eternity with Him.

The Christian soldier carries only one possession into battle: The cross of self-surrender to Jesus. The Christian soldier carries only one possession into battle: The cross of self-surrender to Jesus.

By David Jeremiah
Every day With Jesus

 

[Predestined]

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?
Isaiah 40:12

This section has some of the most majestic and superb language about God found in Scripture. God himself is asking man, Can you do what I do? Can you hold the waters of earth in the hollow of your hand? I stood on the beach at San Diego. It was a gorgeous day. I watched the great combers coming in from the Pacific. As I watched those great billows crashing on the sand I thought of the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, extending thousands upon thousands of miles to the West. These words came to my mind, Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand? God himself in majesty and greatness controls all the forces of earth.

Verses 13 and 14 speak of God's incredible wisdom: Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as his counselor has instructed him? (Isaiah 40:13 RSV) Who could do that? Many attempt to. I confess there have been times when I have been confronted with a difficult problem which I analyzed and thought I had solved. Then I have come to God and told him step by step what he could do to work out the problem—only to find, to my utter astonishment, that he completely ignored my approach and did nothing about it. I have become irritated over this. I have said to him, Lord, even I can see how to work this out. Surely you ought to be able to understand.

But as the problem remained, and a whole new situation came to light, I realized that God saw far more than I could see, that he knew of obstacles I had no knowledge of, complexities that touched the lives of hundreds of people. He was working out purposes that would go on not only for the moment, but on and on into one generation after another; that his solution ultimately was the best one. I had to say, as the Apostle Paul says in Romans 11, O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! (Romans 11:33 RSV).

In Verses 15 to 17, God compares himself with the proud nations of earth: Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the isles like fine dust. (Isaiah 40:15 RSV). How feeble seem the boasts of men, the leaders of the nations, with their claims to glory and might and power, when compared with the greatness, the majesty and the strength of God himself. They are nothing, God says, absolutely nothing.

Almighty and Eternal God, I humble myself before you as the Creator and Sustainer of all things. Who am I, that I should question your ways? I gladly submit my will to yours and trust that you will work out even the most difficult of circumstances.

Life Application​

Are we considering the absurdity of questioning or propositioning Almighty and Sovereign God? Do we pray with Jesus, 'Thy will be done,' or the futile folly of 'my will be done'?
Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Predestined]

For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
Isaiah 44:3

Chapter 44 opens with a beautiful promise, spoken by God through the prophet: Here is pictured the refreshment of spirit that God gives to those who are thirsty, those who recognize the dryness of their lives and who come to him for supply. Notice that the promise extends even to their offspring. Here is a great word for families: God will bless them as they take the place of a suppliant and bring their need before him.

As is true many times in Isaiah, all this is to be ultimately true of the nation of Israel. We must never steal these promises away from the Jewish people. God will fulfill them literally one of these days. But this is also applicable to those who, by faith in Jesus Christ, have become sons and daughters of Abraham. These promises, that God will pour water on the thirsty, and streams on the dry ground, are made to us, as well. This is one of the most remarkable paradoxes in the Scripture. What man could ever devise a plan that if you fail, you win, if you lose, you will succeed, if you are broken, you will be lifted up? But that is God's plan. He always deals realistically with us. He will not force us to be humiliated, but he wants us to face the whole picture. He is totally honest. He knows exactly who we are and what our problem is. The folly of man is that he seeks to smooth that over and to pretend to be something he is not. All this is remarkable proof that the Bible is a divine Book, for no man would ever come up with a program for success that starts with an admission of failure.

I was talking with a seminary professor and he told of how he went to a county jail one day to spend a few hours helping some of the prisoners with their spiritual problems. As he was eating alone in the cafeteria at lunch time, he met a man, a lawyer, who spends a whole day each week helping prisoners in the county jail. But he did not use his legal expertise to counsel them. He sought instead to help by reading the Scriptures to them and aiding them in spiritual matters. The professor said to him, Don't you find it rather depressing, working with these losers all the time?

The man replied, I don't look at them that way. To me there are only two kinds of people in the world: the forgiven and the unforgiving. These men and women are locked up physically. You can find a key, open the door and let them out, but no one yet has found the key that opens their inner life except God.

That is a beautiful expression of what Isaiah is saying. If you are locked up inside yourself, prisoner to your own pride and self-sufficiency, God can open the door and let you out. This is what he promises to do and has done for centuries.

Father, I thank you that my own thirst can become the occasion for receiving from your refreshment that is like a running stream on dry ground. Thank you for the freedom I experience when I let go of my own pride and self-sufficiency and trust you to lift me up.

Life Application​

Are we polluting the heritage of our descendants by our pride and arrogance? Christ humbled Himself so that He could liberate us from our illusion of self-sufficiency. Will we choose this path to wholeness?
Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Predestined]

LONG-DISTANCE FATHER

1 PETER 3:12
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers.


When you became a son—when you were adopted into His family as a son or daughter of God—He opened up for you, through Christ’s death on the cross, a way of fellowship and relationship that makes it possible for you to go right into His presence.

Do you relate to God like that? Are you in fellowship with Him? The way God “fathers” us will change the way we father our own children. Now that my children are grown and out of the house, I’ve had to apply God’s principles of being available in new ways: I’m learning to be a “long-distance” father. I have entered into a deeper “relationship” with my long-distance telephone carrier so as to fulfill my fathering responsibilities. Fathering from a distance has added some new expenses, but it is what I need to do to remain a father to my children.

Now, if I am like that as an earthly father with limi-ted resources, how available do you think your spiritual Father is in heaven? You don’t need a long-distance calling card or an 800 number. He is waiting for you to come into His presence in prayer at any time.

SANCTUARY
By David Jeremiah.

 

[Predestined]

This is what the Lord says — Israel's King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.
Isaiah 44:6

Critics of the Bible sometimes complain that God is constantly bragging about himself. But this is not empty boasting. It is simply declaring reality. It is an attempt on God's part to save his creatures from the folly and danger of following false gods. Today's passage goes on to describe the stupidity of the idol worship that the Israelites were falling into. The prophet describes a metal smith who melts metal, pours it into a mold to make an idol of it, and in the process he becomes tired. Isaiah points out what a ridiculous thing it is that a man makes a god who has no power to help him even while he is making it. Then he describes a carpenter who carves the figure of a man out of a block of wood, then uses the chips that he has carved off the block to build a fire to warm himself. He then bows down and worships the idol, seeking deliverance from something his own hands have made. What a ridiculous concept!

When we read a passage like this we are tempted to say, Surely this does not apply to us. We are not idol worshipers. But we are really not that far removed from this kind of practice. As I drive to church on Sunday mornings I often notice people out in their yards worshiping a shiny, bright, metal idol. They pour expensive fluids into it, polish and shine it, and bow down before it. Have you ever noticed the change that comes over them when they get into it and take off down the street? Mild, inoffensive people, who never utter a word in anger, blast out of their driveways, leaving a trail of rubber as they depart, transformed with an illusion of power. One item we worship is the automobile, which to many has become the symbol of luxury, beauty and power.

Silicon Valley is one of the great idol-manufacturing areas of the world, shipping out computers, these strange machines with their flashing lights and weird symbols, to the worshipers of knowledge in the far corners of the earth. Many today worship the god of sex, thinking that sex will satisfy them and fulfill their needs. But the god of sex will not deliver them. It is true we do not have idols of wood and stone any longer, but the ideas behind them remain the central idols of the American people.

The prophet declares of the idolater, Verse 20: He feeds on ashes; a deluded mind has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, Is there not a lie in my right hand? (Isaiah 44:20 RSV). The folly of worshiping any god other than the true God is that people deceive themselves.

They are left dissatisfied, feeling they have been feeding on ashes. The soul, as well as the body, needs food. It looks for that which satisfies. But those who look for satisfaction in drugs or sex discover that they have been feeding on ashes. They have been deceived, failing to recognize that there is a lie in their right hand. The right hand is the symbol of what you grasp, who you look to for help. But those who follow idols are unable to see that they will not satisfy, but will leave a taste of ashes in the mouth. Many businessmen worship the god of power. They are climbing the corporate ladder to the top, seeking honor and recognition. When they have all they want, however, they will find it has turned to ashes. Many students worship knowledge. They feel confident that the wonderful things they are learning will help them control life. But it all turns to ashes.

They do not recognize the lie that is in the right hand. The only hope, as this passage makes clear, is found in the God who formed us.

Gracious Father, you are the only true God. Forgive me for worshiping the creation rather than the Creator, and teach me to bow down before you and you alone.

Life Application​

The first commandment says we are to have no other gods but God himself. Are we trying to fill the God-shaped vacuum inside us with everything and everyone but God?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Predestined]

Receiving the Holy Spirit​

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

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In Acts 1:8 Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will also come upon us, giving us power (ability, efficiency and might) to be Christ's witnesses to the ends of the earth.

Many Christians follow all the "right" rules, but wonder: "Is this all there is?" As a young Christian, I experienced that same emptiness. Doing the right things brought temporary happiness but not deep, satisfying joy.

I cried out: "God, something is missing!' To my surprise, I heard the audible voice of God and I knew He was about to move in my life. Only a few hours later Jesus filled me with the presence of the Holy Spirit in a way that I had never before experienced, and everything changed.

I felt His power in my life in a new way. When you spend time with God daily and receive His Holy Spirit, you're not signing up for a scary, weird experience. You are simply receiving His power to be more like Jesus and His wisdom to walk through ordinary events.

Don't be afraid of new things, just make sure they are biblical. I believe that God desires to take you to new heights in Him through the power of daily interaction with His Holy Spirit.

He is knocking at the door of your heart. Will you open it wide and welcome Him?

Prayer Starter:
God, I want to live as a Christian who is filled with the power of Your Holy Spirit. Show me how to live in the deep, satisfying joy that comes from the Holy Spirit. I thank You for the power and the wisdom to walk through every day and every situation.

Battlefield of the Mind Devotional: 100 Insights That Will Change the Way You Think

 

[Predestined]

Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, What are you making? Does your work say, The potter has no hands?
Isaiah 45:9

It would be ridiculous if clay were to say to the potter, I don't like the way you're doing this. This design does not appeal to me at all. Listen to the irony of this passage: Woe to him who says to a father, What are you begetting? or to a woman, With what are you in travail? (Isaiah 45:10 RSV). This is the God with whom we have to deal. How incredibly arrogant of man to criticize the workings of a God like that! This passage is designed to humble man in his proud confidence and to show him how dependent he is upon the God whom he dares to criticize. C.S. Lewis once argued that to contend with God is to contend with the very One who makes it possible for us to contend in the first place, and how foolish we are to attempt that!

From this passage we learn that human folly takes many forms: either self-sufficiency—man imagining that he is God and that he can run the world—or idolatry, where man trusts something else as god other than the true God. Either one, according to this account and as confirmed by history, results in slavery and tragedy. This is what is behind the rise of totalitarianism in our day.

God's answer is found in Verses 22-23: Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. (Isaiah 45:22-23 RSV). How hopeless it is for man to find his own way out of the morass which he has made for himself! The Spirit of God used this verse to speak to the heart of a fifteen-year-old boy in England in the last century. That boy, Charles Hadden Spurgeon, took shelter in a little Methodist chapel on a cold and snowy day in 1850. As there was no preacher, the deacon read the text, Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, and seeing a lonely boy sitting in the back, the deacon (who could not speak very well) addressed Spurgeon, directly telling him to look unto God and he would be saved. Spurgeon later said that he then looked, and he was saved. He went on to become one of the great preachers of the English church.

But this is the out which God offers to mankind: Look to me. Do not look to science, or to technology. These are fine in themselves, they give certain creature comforts, but they cannot deliver you. They cannot satisfy you or meet your need. If you pursue them they will turn to ashes. God is the only Deliverer from human hurt and failure.

Thank you, Father, for this precious promise. How beautifully it has been fulfilled in so many lives, and through all the ages of time. May I recognize how foolish it is to trust in anything else but your presence in my life.

Life Application​

When we as Christians claim Jesus is Lord, do we then surrender willingly to the process of becoming Christ-like? Are we being transformed by the renewing of our minds?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Predestined]

The Evidence of the Holy Spirit​

And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.(Acts 4:31)

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There are too many unhappy born-again, Spirit-filled believers who don't know what it's like to remain full of the Spirit of God by acknowledging Him and pursuing His ways daily.

The Holy Spirit is in them, but they don't let the evidence of it show up in their normal, day-to-day life.

It is possible to fill a glass with water without filling it to full capacity. Likewise, when we are born again we have the Holy Spirit in us, but we may not yet be totally filled and have the evidence of His power in our lives.

Acts 4:31 reports that when people were filled with the Holy Spirit, they spoke the Word of God "with freedom and boldness and courage."

It does not please God when people leave Him out of their daily lives and then follow religious formulas to try to appease Him. Instead,

He wants us to live the Spirit-filled life of freedom, boldness and courage. I urge you to let God work freely in every area of your life through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer Starter:
God, I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit every day. Help me to live with the freedom, boldness and courage You give in my daily life.

Promises for Your Everyday Life - Joyce Meyer

 

[Predestined]

Word for the Discouraged​

Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.
Isaiah 49:15-16

Here Jehovah reminds Israel, Though you may feel neglected and forgotten, I cannot cast you off. I will never forget you, Can a mother forget the baby at her breast? Proverbially, of course, a mother's love is the strongest love of all. Many mothers continue to love their children no matter what they do. But it is unfortunately true that mothers can forget their children. Mothers can forget their children, but God cannot: See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. We are reminded of that scene in the gospels when Jesus, after his resurrection, appeared to his frightened disciples, huddled together in the upper room, and said to them, Behold, my hands and my feet and see that it is I (Luke 24:39). Those wounds in his hands were marks of love and their very names were engraved in his hands.

Though this passage is addressed to Israel as a nation, we Christians have a right to claim these promises for ourselves. This entire section is a great word for discouraged hearts. Do you ever feel like God has forgotten you, that he has turned his back on you? Perhaps you have made mistakes and you think that God is going to punish you all the rest of your life. Many people feel that God has totally forgotten them.


I was speaking to a group of pastors and was encouraged to hear one of them say that he had learned that he was preaching to the wrong crowd of people. He thought he was preaching to the average family, a man and his wife, their two-and-a-half children, driving a nice car, living in a beautiful home on an acre of ground, etc. But he discovered that he was really speaking mostly to another group who live in high-rise apartments, drive a sports car, have been divorced, and their family consists of his, hers and their children. They are living empty lives, climbing the corporate ladder, feeling the rush and restlessness of life, troubled by many inner problems and distresses. But God has a ministry to the discouraged and defeated ones. He will restore and do a work that will leave them amazed and baffled at the wonders that he produces.

Thank you, Lord, that you love to reach the discouraged and defeated ones. Thank you that you reached out to me and that my name is engraved in your hands.

Life Application​

Because we know that Jesus is God and that He took our sins in His own body on the cross, we can know He is Immanuel, God-with-us in deepest compassion and love. How do we respond to such infinite love?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Predestined]

Take God Out of the "Emergency Only" Box!​

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?(1 Corinthians 3:16)

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I used to spend time with God once in awhile or when my life was in big trouble.

Eventually I learned that if I ever wanted to stop living from one emergency to the next, I needed to seek God every day as if I were in desperate need of Him. It's true that God will always help us when we come to Him.

But if we want constant victory, we need to take God out of our "emergency only" box and invite Him into our everyday lives.

God wants us to get personal with Him. He proves this by the fact that He lives within us.

When Jesus died on the cross, He opened the way for us to get personal with almighty God. If God had wanted an "emergency only" relationship, He might just visit on occasion, but He certainly would not have come to take up permanent residence within us.

What an awesome thought! God is your personal friend! Will you remove Him from the "emergency only" box today?

Prayer Starter:
Lord, I know that the Christian life is so much more than an "emergency only" back-up plan. Because You live within me, I want to know You as a personal friend. Rather than just calling on You when I'm in trouble, I want to seek You every single day.

Promises for Your Everyday Life - Joyce Meyer

 

[Predestined]

God's Servant​

Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed. The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears; I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away. I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.
Isaiah 50:4-6

Two remarkable things are described here by the servant. He says, first that morning by morning God has taught him truth because he listened to his Father. Remember the many times Jesus said in his ministry, The things that I say unto you I have heard from my Father. Again and again he made that claim. He had the ear of a learner. He pored over the Scriptures. He saw himself in them. He understood what his work would be.

There came dawning into his heart the revelation that he was to endure anguish, pain and rejection. But, as he says, I was not rebellious. I was willing to go ahead. I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard. I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
It is well for us to remember frequently the sufferings of Jesus, the sheer physical agony that he went through.

Think of the Last Supper when he said his soul was exceeding sorrowful unto death (Mark 14:34 KJV); the shadows of Gethsemane among the olive trees; his loneliness, his prayers, his disappointment with his disciples; his bloody sweat, the traitor's kiss, the binding, the blow in the face; the spitting, the scourging, the buffeting, the mocking, the crown of thorns, the smiting; the sorrowful way and the burdensome cross he had to bear. Think of his exhaustion, his collapse, the stripping of his garments, the impaling on the cross, the jeers of his foes and the flight of his friends; the hours on the cross, the darkness, his being forsaken of God, the terrible cry of anguish, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34 KJV). And then the end at last, It is finished (John 19:30). This is all seen in anticipation by the prophet and was all fulfilled in Jesus.

It is well to remember what the book of Hebrews says, We have not a high priest who cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, (Hebrews 4:15a KJV). He has been through it all. He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin, (Hebrews 4:15b KJV).

Lord Jesus, thank you for being obedient to your Father. Thank you for enduring so much so that I might be set free.

Life Application​

The Lord Jesus Christ voluntarily suffered far greater dimensions of suffering than we will ever experience. Are we worshiping our High Priest who continues to bear our burdens and to intercede for us?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2022 by Ray Stedman Ministries.