Denial Is Everywhere

Scripture:

Exodus 8:30-32 (ESV)

So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. And the Lord did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained. But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and did not let the people go.

Devotional:

At the endo of Exodus chapter eight Pharaoh pleaded with Moses to have the flies removed.  But after the fourth plague Pharaoh hardened his heart once again and refused to let the Israelites go.  After four different plagues God has revealed Himself to His people and to the Egyptians.  Even after some amazing and impossible events Pharaoh refused to believe and refused to listen to God. 

How often do we see the power of God right in front of us?  Is it once or twice?  How about dozens of times?  If we are honest with ourselves, we see the hand of God at work in our lives and all around us all the time.  But we tend to blow it off.  What an amazing coincidence that was.   Wow, that was really lucky.  I just can’t believe that happened.  We make these types of comments all the time.  We can tell ourselves and others how lucky we are or that was.  But in reality, there is no coincidence or luck.  The truth is simple even if we are like Pharaoh and not listen or believe it.  God’s hands are at work.  The Holy Spirit is working in and through us. 

We just need to open our eyes to see God at work.  If we stop thinking it was luck or just a wild coincidence, we will start to see that it really is God.  So, the next time ask yourself a simple question.  Was it really luck or coincidence, or was it God’s doing?

Spreading The Word

Scripture

Mark 16: 15-18 (ESV)

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.  Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.  And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Devotional:

I must confess when it comes to speaking with people, I do not know, about the gospel I usually fail.  I am not bold.  Typically, I fail to strike up a conversation.  I get timid and fearful.  I even tell myself I can do things to support those that do boldly go forth.  But there a few truths or facts that we as Christians need to realize.

• We are not to be fearful.  In fact, we are supposed to be bold.2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV) “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

• We are told by Jesus, more than once, to go forth and spread the good news of the Gospel.Matthew 28:19 (ESV) “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

• God loves them just as much as He loves us.  Salvation is for everyone and anyone who accepts.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Each one of us has fallen short.  Each one of us is condemned to eternity without God in hell.  That is where all of us would end up but for one simple fact, Christ.  Jesus came, lived, taught, suffered, died, and rose again.  He is alive.  It is because of Him that we can have salvation.  That is the greatest gift anyone can receive.  Yet we hoard it for ourselves.  At least that is what we do when we are not sharing the Gospel.

I once heard it put this way.  If you came across your best friend’s house and it was in flames.  You know they are sleeping inside.  Would you just walk away and let them burn up in the fire and die?  Obviously not.  We would do anything we can to save them.  For anyone who does not have Christ in their life is that person sleeping in the burning house.  They will perish if not saved.  What will you do?  What will I do?  

It is not necessarily easy.  We might be afraid.  We can have a dozen excuses.  The reality is that we need to put all that aside and take it one step at a time.  Remember the Holy Spirit is with us.  We will be given power and boldness if we allow the Holy Spirit in and allow the Holy Spirit to do His job in our hearts.  My challenge to each one of us is to pray for boldness and for the Holy Spirit to be with us and enable us.  That we will rely on the Holy Spirit and do that which we know we must do…  Let us spread the good news of the Gospel.  We can change lives and the world…

Where Is God?

Scripture:

Genesis 45:25-28 (ESV)

 So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob.  And they told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them.  But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.  And Israel said, “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

Devotional:

I cannot imagine how Jacob felt.  Losing his beloved son only to be followed up several decades later with the fear of losing Benjamin.  With the famine so severe Jacob did not have a lot of choices.    The anxiety he must have felt would have been overwhelming.  But in the end not only was Benjamin returned to him, he would be reunited with Joseph.  Plus, they would have plenty during this terrible famine that was sweeping the lands.

It just goes to show that we might know why God does things.  We may not understand the reason for Him to take so long.  When times are tough, and we do not understand we still need to keep trusting God.  It can be extremely difficult, but we cannot afford to waiver in our faith.  In the end God will come through.  He always does.  Look at Joseph.  Look at Jacob.  They didn’t see the reasons why.  They didn’t understand and certainly would have preferred things to go differently.  However, everything happened in God’s time.  He took the years to refine and prepare Joseph.  He placed Joseph in a prominent position.  He found favor wherever he was.  Through it all God was with both Jacob and Joseph.  God prepared and provided.

God is at work in our lives today.  He is preparing and providing for each one of us.  We may never see it, but He is working.  Take a few minutes to look back over your life.  Can you see God’s hand at work?

It was and He is…

Where Is God Through All This?

Scripture:

Genesis 39:21-23 (NIV)

the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.  So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there.  The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

Devotional:

Sometimes circumstances in our lives are not ideal.  Things do not turn out the way we would like.  We pray and we ask God why.  Sometimes we get angry with God.  God will heal us, and He provides for us.  We have His protection.  So why are there times we go through troubles and strife?  Whey do we get sick and sometimes die?  Why do we get hurt, mugged, robbed, or worse?  If God provides, protects, and heals why?

A simple answer to all this is sin.  Yep, because of sin in the world there is sickness.  Because of sin people get hurt and killed.  Because of sin people are mistreated.  Joseph was no different.  Reading through Genesis you learn Joseph was sold into slavery by his very own brothers.  His master’s wife tries to seduce him.  When she fails to do so Joseph ends up in prison.  Despite all this God showed Joseph favor.  God protected him and prospered him.  All that Joseph did was a huge success.  It wasn’t because of anything Joseph did.  It was because Joseph trusted God through all of it.  It is because of what God did because Joseph trusted Him.

It is hard, but we were never promised easy.  No matter what we go through we need to remember God is with us just as He was with Joseph.  In the end it will be alright.  In the end we are healed, we have protection, we have provisions.  In the end we have all we need and more.  What we lack in this life will be made up for in Heaven.  We may not see God’s hand at work.  It may not feel that He is doing anything.  Rest assured God is there.  God is working.  He was with Joseph and He is with us… 

Everyone Makes Mistakes

Scripture:

Gensis 38:24-26 (ESV)

About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral.  Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality.”  And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.” As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant.” And she said, “Please identify whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.”  Then Judah identified them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know her again.

Devotional:

To be honest I am not sure why chapter 38 is in the Bible.  I do know it is a story God wants us to know about.  Otherwise it wouldn’t have been added.  Judah’s wife passed away.  His oldest two sons had also died.  Shelah was supposed to marry Tamar after the deaths of his older brothers.  Judah came up with a loophole in fear of losing him as well.  On a road trip Judah makes a mistake.  In the verses above Tamar identifies him as the man who slept with her. 

Reading about Judah’s story reminds me of the fact that we all have our moments.  At some point we make mistakes.  As I read through different chapters of the Bible, I think why were the Israelites so dense?  Why would they keep turning their backs from God?  Why repeatedly fall away?  Unlike the Israelites who lived it out I can read in minutes or a few hours about entire generations.  They lived through decades and centuries what I read in moments.  Sitting from where I am it is easy to be judgmental.

Looking back at my life I can see the many mistakes I have made.  I see where I have fallen.  In truth I am no better than they were.  Also, it is not my place to judge.  As I think about Judah and what happens from giving in to a moment of passion.  I think of all the times I messed up because of a moment of desire or passion.  I mess up because I am impatient.  I mess up because of…

It is a simple fact; we have all made mistakes in our lives.  We have all sinned.  We take matters into our own hands.  Maybe God doesn’t give us the answer we want.  Maybe we do not like waiting as long as God tells us to wait.  Maybe it is something else entirely.  Whatever the reason we take matters into our own hands.  Maybe we make a mistake for another reason entirely.  It does not matter how or why.  The fact is we have sinned.  We have made a mistake. 

The good news is that we have redemption.  We have forgiveness.  We have a restored relationship with the Father because of the Son.  No matter what it is we can turn to Him and ask to be forgiven.  We are forgiven…

Miracles Will Happen

Scripture:

Galatians 5:18-26 (ESV)

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.  Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Devotion:

If you look around you can see hatred, envy, animosity, impurity, immorality, and the list goes on.  But if we live by the Spirit we are above all that.  We have it in us to show and give kindness, patience, goodness, gentleness, and most of all love.  It doesn’t matter who we are or what our past is.  God loves us, each and everyone of us.  He loves us so much that Christ came, lived, suffered, and died for us.  He did this so that through Him we can have a restored relationship with God.  Through Him we are filled with His spirit and can live better lives filled with the fruits of the Spirit.

It does not mean life is easy or that it will miraculously become perfect.  But if each of us commit our lives to Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to work in us we can live out the fruits of the spirit.  If each of us offers love, patience, kindness, gentleness to others think of how much better things would be.  If we put others first, before ourselves, as Christ did think about how much better our communities would be and how much stronger our families would be.  Putting someone else’s needs and wants before yours will work miracles in your relationships and miracles in our communities.

I challenge each of us to try putting someone else’s desires and needs before our own.  Think of others first.  You might not see the results the first few times.  Rest assured if you keep at it you will see changes occur…  Miracles will happen…  Let us get rid of hate and selfishness.  Let us rid ourselves of the fruits of the world, fruits of the enemy.  Take on the fruits of the Sprit by allowing the Holy Spirit to come into your life and make a difference…