July 7

“Jerusalem hath grievously sinned; therefore she is removed:…” Lamentations 1:8

The city of Jerusalem which by its very name was meant to make known to the world the nature and character of God’s kingdom, has been labelled the ‘Holy city’, the place of righteousness, wholeness and peace! At least this is what God had always intended this city and its inhabitants to stand for and represent. Sadly time and again the people of Israel as a nation, both in Jerusalem and in the surrounding cities, turned away from God and committed grievous sin before Yahwah, totally disregarding His commands and disobeying His will. This text describes the persistence of their sin, and it emphasizes the fact that they ‘sinned sinfully’, an expression which communicates the magnitude of their wickedness. Their greatest failure in the eyes of Yahwah, was usually their penchant for idolatry and their fondness of copying the ways of the heathen, in practice, manner of life and worship. This was never tolerated by the Lord and the judgment poured on His people, after much warning and patient instruction, was severe. The description in this chapter is another sad re-run of what can be read many times as various prophets were sent to God’s people, with dire messages and ominous warnings. Jerusalem, instead of being God’s exemplary pattern of righteousness, had become an abomination to Yahwah because of the sin that bound its people. Spoken of in the terms of a woman, ‘she’ is vilified by the heathen people and idols she pursued, and as a result removed, from the land of promise, in which the Lord had established her. Quite often we are reminded in the scriptures of the conditional nature of our salvation and relationship with God. Our right standing in the Lord, which has been purchased by Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary, needs then to be maintained by true faithfulness and a walk of holiness in His sight. Anything less, grooms us for failure in our closeness to the Lord and unless we quickly repent, places us in danger of losing our right standing and provisions of blessing. Contrary to what some people believe and teach, there comes a time, if we persist in disobedience and disrespect God’s loving warnings, that God may cease to strive with us and allow us to have what we so clearly desire and insist on, to our own detriment, discomfort and ultimate judgment. Even in this God’s love is evident, for it is His desire that by feeling the ‘pain’ of our choices, we may repent, return to Him and make things right, before it is too late!   

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June 30

“Sorrow is better than laughter…” Ecclesiastes 7:3

Here is presented a concept which at face value may appear counterintuitive to our minds. In a world where the social norm and the contemporary wisdom is all geared to finding and promoting ‘happiness’, how can sorrow ever be ‘better’ than laughter? The bible states that the ‘joy of the Lord’ is our strength. There is however a vast difference between the satisfying joy that comes from God, and the elusive happiness which fallen man seeks, often in vain and in constantly changing circumstances. A step further back than that again, is the common place notion that if one can ‘laugh’ enough, then happiness will come. Again this seems another futile man-made attempt, at circumventing the true source of joy and contentment which is Jesus. While it may be true that laughter has some benefits and value for mental and emotional health, it should be the result of a content, settled and happy soul, not seen as a means to obtaining those conditions. In line with this erroneous thinking, the world has assembled a host of so called comedians who find it necessary to pollute and profane in their language and subject matter, every area of life, by serving up a mess of lewd, smutty, negative, vulgar and offensive performances, in an attempt to bring questionable laughter, to those who feel they need cheering up! It doesn’t even begin to make sense! Even so how can sorrow, be better than laughter? From a spiritual standpoint, this concept is very clear. Laughter is for a moment, and passes with very little permanent effect and no benefit to the spiritual man.  The sorrow spoken of in scripture, is not mere sadness or depression, it is a sense of personal regret for offenses committed against God, the distress of realising one’s own wrongs.   When a person can be truly sorrowful therefore, the effects reach the inner, spiritual man and can make a more permanent imprint on his being. Thus sorrow is better, when it is sorrow for sin! Instead of laughing at sinful jokes, a man who realises the guilt and awfulness of sin and becomes troubled over his own iniquities, can by repentance find forgiveness from God and new spiritual life! Such godly sorrow then is better, more useful, commendable, and more profitable than foolish laughter, because it recognises the mistakes which have been made. Instead of foolishly laughing them away, attempting to cover them or trivialising them, it causes the person to face them, repent and make changes to their way of life. Sorrow is a necessary part of the process of humbling oneself in the eyes of God, obtaining forgiveness from the Lord and turning back from a life of sin and degradation. It is the starting point of a person’s self-realization before God, and the pavement of the entry hall which leads to eternal life - a life of unending joy, glory and blissful contentment! That considered, it is not so hard to see why sorrow is better than laughter! 

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June 27

“…Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her?...” Nahum 3:7

Nineveh again becomes the centre of God’s attention and the recipient of His judgment, because of its gross immorality and wickedness. Once before, God had sent the reluctant prophet Jonah to this same city, with a message of impending doom. In those days, this great city was so large that it took three days to walk it from one side to the other. It has been estimated that it had a population of around one million inhabitants, a particularly large city for those days. Only upon their swift repentance with sackcloth and ashes, did God avert the judgment which was about to be poured upon it. Now again under the ministry of the prophet Nahum, Nineveh’s sin, idolatry, witchcraft and immorality is brought into focus and its destruction is prophesied. With the accuracy of detail that can come only from the Omniscient Yahwah, Nahum tells of how its ruin will happen, and the manner of its fall. History shows the events took place in this very way, to the last minute detail! Nineveh had become such a scourge and pollution of many nations, and where in the past God’s mercy had covered, the time had come, where no such healing could be promoted any longer. Nineveh would be destroyed, laid waste and there would be no one to weep over her! No one that would not agree, this was a just and correct judgment upon her! The patience and longsuffering of God is remarkable and sets us in awe of His greatness, when we consider how much room He allows, and how long He deals with the human family, in an effort to bring us to repentance. There is however in God’s economy an end to His striving with man. There comes a time when for God to continue striving, would mean having to bend man’s will, or allow him to violate His holiness - and the Lord will not do either. He has allowed man a free will by which he can make his own choices, for or against God. Yet the Lord will also tenaciously defend His holiness and protect it from allowing man to go beyond his allowed scope. There is therefore a time limit which God sets for all men, nations and people. That time is known of the Lord alone, and when it comes, there is no holding back on the judgment of God! It is a time of reckoning, a time of judgment, destruction, cleansing and restoration of righteousness. Time then will have run out, it will be time ‘no more’, in regards to possible repentance and change. Nineveh and all the civilizations that have gone before, teach us the great lesson that there is a limit and boundary to the longsuffering and mercy of God. It is wise for us to repent quickly while there is yet time, and while God is near and calling. If we insist on remaining in sin, violating God’s law and repudiating His love, the time will come when the opportunity to make it right will no longer be available. Wise are the words of the prophet Isaiah when he exhorted the people saying “seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:”! 

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June 26

“After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.” Job 3:1

Much has been written on Job, his patience and faithfulness in his relationship with God. This verse is a clear reminder that even men who have grown in relative perfection and in such graces of God as patience, compassion and generosity, are yet human and capable, under circumstances of pressure, pain and affliction, to open their mouths and utter things which may be unwise, negative or unedifying! This is not to say that if a believer expresses sorrow, disappointment or another negative feeling, he is automatically sinning. Sin can take hold however, if we do not deal with the negative emotions correctly, give place to them, and become controlled by them. Instead we should yield them to God and trust Him for help, solutions and strength to overcome. Job had by this time endured seven days of mourning after the loss of all his family, possessions and health, without apparent relief to his condition, and he does something here, which was not unusual among the people of his time, when they were faced with intense distress and sorrow – he curses the day he was born. Although this may be considered a slip in his spiritual compass, let us note a few things which may be explanatory. Firstly, Job did not ‘curse’ God as the devil had falsely predicted, and his wife had so callously incited, nor did he curse anyone else or even himself as creatures of God. In fact he did not even curse the present condition and suffering he found himself in. Secondly, it is questionable that man can of his own accord, actually ‘curse’ anything, since such power lies outside his ability, and is therefore merely reflective of an attitude or desire to do so, if only it were possible. Thirdly, he turned his despair and ill will, towards something that could not be changed nor was in any way in his control, making his ‘cursing’, a mere token expression of his inner despair, his discomfort and disconsolate situation. Lastly, later in the narrative of his life, we find Job repenting of anything he may have spoken unwisely and without due regard toward God. He was conscious that even this moment of negative expression from his lips, should have been avoided. Such cursing isn’t necessarily saying any bad word or oath, but a wishing that the event, in this case his birth, had never taken place. Jeremiah stated something similar (Jer 20:14-18) when he was in distress over Israel rejecting God’s word and torturing God’s prophets. The reasoning behind this expression of negative emotion is that the present suffering and distress, which is so painful and discomforting, would not have taken place if the individual had not been born; we would relate it to the expression - ‘sorry you were ever born’. So whilst it is an expression of suffering humanity, it is nevertheless inappropriate for the believer to make such a statement, because it reflects a lack of acceptance that God is in control of all things. If we truly know and believe that Yahwah is Omniscient, then not only the time and event of our birth, but all the details of every aspect of our human lives are known to Him, and ultimately in His control. True faith, in spite of our despairing humanity, would call and demand that we remember this fact. It would encourage us to believe that somehow God’s mind, His wisdom and plan is perfect and higher than what we can comprehend in our despair, appropriate to us by His allowance, and that we should take nothing in our hands and away from His, even if only in token complaint or misplaced desire, born out of our human  affliction. This high standard of trust and reliance upon God is a goal of all true believers, and it is only from God that we can draw the strength to perform our lives in this manner and remain pleasing to the Lord. 

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May 1

“Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance…” Luke 3:8

The Lord had shown that He would not turn away a contrite heart and a repentant spirit. The Pharisees however, believed they were ‘justified’ and able to escape the wrath of God to come, through the value of their descent from Abraham. This basis of their righteousness therefore was not obedience to God and His law, but the fact that they were born Israelites! Jesus made quick work of their self-righteous beliefs, with His rebuke and retort, that God could raise children to Abraham from stones, if He so desired! In other words, their ancestry was an invalid measurement of justification or right standing with Yahwah! For us also there is a right way to salvation, life and victory. It is the way of the cross, the way of death, burial and resurrection through Jesus Christ. The gospel message is clear in what a believer must do, in order to be saved. Mentally assenting a belief in God, without true obedience to His word, is a righteousness equivalent to that of the Pharisees. In Matthew 5:20 Jesus said that “except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” This is a standard applicable to all who would be Christ-followers. We cannot like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, rely on our own abilities, religiousness, pedigree or rank. We must have the righteousness of God imputed to us through the Lord Jesus! This process begins when we come to a place of repentance. There we identify with the Lord’s death, for repentance is death to our flesh, our own desires, our ways and practices. It means turning away from the worldly way we have participated in thus far, and turning 180 degrees in the opposite direction, to walk in the ways of God, by obedience to His Word! This kind of repentance bears tangible fruit, evidences which can be seen, felt and known. The evidences are ‘worthy’- that is appropriate, equal to, and correctly reflecting the reality and genuineness of repentance! They include heartfelt sorrow for our sins of the past, hatred for those sins, and desire for God so strong that we will resist temptation, and never return to the ways of sin and death. In a world where much lip service is paid, we owe God to produce more than the Pharisees of old! Let our repentance and desire for God, be fresh each day, stronger along the way, sincere and marked by plentiful evidences to His glory!

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Apr 25

 “And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan…” Judges 4:2

The circular pattern of disobedience, punishment, repentance and restoration became typical of Israel. It was displeasing to the Lord, and clearly not only ‘circular’ but also descending, deteriorating and more frequent. The basis of God’s relationship with Israel was His holiness and His law. They were to be a people holy unto Yahwah, who kept His commands and lived by His law. Whenever Israel transgressed and abandoned this God-determined pattern, and followed the ways of the heathen nations around them, they became idolatrous, and lost their status with God. The correction from the Lord was always administered in love and with a view to their restoration, but the frequency and consistency of their disobedience to His directives, demanded stern measures. In this instance God allowed them to become enslaved under the authority of the Canaanite king Jabin. Israel had chosen to follow the Canaanite practices in favour to God’s law, and in righteous and telling judgment, God delivered them into the bondage and oppression of the very people they had chosen to imitate!  Sadly the pattern present with the Israelite nation, can be observed among the people of God today. In many ways like them, we too can be guilty of ignoring God’s law, His love, His warnings and finally reap in our lives, families, churches and society, the results of our apathy towards God, and of our misplaced desire for the things of the ‘heathen’ world around us! It is interesting but not surprising to note, just how much control, oppression and influence the heathen society wields against the church! Largely instead of a repentance and return to the holiness and purity of service unto God, most Christians simply re-adjust the measure of consecration required, re-interpret the meaning of God’s directives and re-structure their practices to be more in tune with contemporary thinking. These manipulations become more prevalent and frequent with each generation, and succeed only in changing the level of tolerance believers should have towards sin and the sinful practices readily accepted by the surrounding ungodly society. Things thought totally unacceptable by Christians and seen as against God’s law in the past, are now more palatable and so commonplace among believers that hardly anyone even takes notice anymore! In fact it is the consecrated person who may in concern speak up, that is marginalised as ‘legalistic’ and ‘sectarian’, one given to divisive doctrine! Should we be surprised if in due course we reap God’s judgment? Would it be too unreasonable to believe that a righteous, holy and just God, who still wants His people to be holy, would judge the present church as He did His people of old? We may not be able to turn the unbiblical, God-dishonouring tide of present Christendom, but we can determine to learn from the lessons of the past and apply them to our personal lives, while we still can! 

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Apr 14

“His own hands shall bring the offerings of the LORD…” Leviticus 7:30

Under Old Testament ceremonial law, offerings and sacrifices were to be made unto Yahwah for various reasons. Some of these were animal sacrifices, brought to the priests to be slaughtered, and offered as sin offerings unto the Lord. The priest placed certain portions of the offering, into the hands of the individual whose offering it was, and in turn he would ‘wave’ them before the Lord. This was significant of relinquishing the gift unto God and of abandoning the sin associated with the sacrifice. Portions were then burned, and other portions became food for the priests and their families. The entire sacrificial system was set up by God for Israel, to foreshadow the ultimate sacrifice of Christ at Calvary. It was in a type, to represent the offering of the ‘Lamb of God’, which takes away the sin of the world. As we come to the cross, inspect its horror and yet admire its glory, we recognise that it is through Jesus alone that our sins can be forgiven, covered and taken away! Like the offering giver of old, we must relinquish, not so much the offering, for that has been given by God, on our behalf, but ourselves.  It is in this willing abandonment of our desires, preferences and self to God that we are able to take upon us the salvation, the Saviour has supplied for us. This giving over is known as repentance in the Bible. It is a willing turning away from our sin and ways and accepting the path God has set for us. Repentance is the surrender of the reins of our lives to God, and turning away from the sins which have beset us. By this action we are saying that we will no longer insist on our wants or the desires of our flesh, but that from here on we will observe and obey the law of God and do His will. No one else can do this for us, we must come before the Lord ourselves and ‘with our own hands’ so to speak, bring this offering of self, unto the Lord. Repentance precedes the forgiveness of our sins in the waters of baptism, and the regeneration and new life we are imparted through the infilling of the Spirit of God!

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Apr 11

“…O king…break off thy sins by righteousness…” Daniel 4:27

Pride will destroy a man, regardless of his position. It becomes a millstone tied around his neck that causes him to sink to his ruin! Nebuchadnezzar was not exempt because he was king. God warned him in a dream which Daniel interpreted. The king’s pride and wickedness would cause him to be removed from among society and normal human life, and he would become demented, live outdoors and eat grass like cattle! The warning allowed for him to repent quickly of his sins and begin doing righteousness. He had probably been indifferent to the poor and tyrannical to his subjects. Ambition and selfishness ruled the ruler, and in spite of some semblance of religiousness, he was nevertheless morally decayed. King Nebuchadnezzar is typical of much of humanity. Right doing begins with acknowledging the Lord God is the Almighty, the Creator, that His law is to be obeyed, and that we are accountable to Him! When as humans we forget and forsake God and His laws, and become filled with our own selves and our achievement, we lose perspective on the reality of life. In a sense it could be said, we lose our ‘right minds’ and become as brutes, filling our bellies with all the things of the world, which are inappropriate for us and do not satisfy. When we behave in ways contrary to the plan and will of God, we lose our God-given position as proper rulers over God’s creation. Filled with our own pride and self-driven ambitions, we forget the needs of others and become guilty of the same wickedness and sins which have condemned so many before us. Here is wise advice, to be followed before it is too late – break off thy sins by righteousness! It is not until we recognise that Yahwah rules above all, that we are his subjects and willingly do His righteous works, that we return to a ‘right mind’, and life becomes what He intended it to be, enriched, blessed and filled with hope eternal!

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Apr 5

“So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD…” 1 Chronicles 10:13

The Bible directs us to live our lives for God in His strength. Without His Spirit, our own efforts will result in weakness and failure. Saul ceased early to lean on God. His pride played on his emotions, and he became churlish towards life, foolish in his behaviour and careless in his obedience to God. We may not place a great deal of importance on our transgressions, and dismiss or trivialise our sins against God, but if they remain un-repented of, they will cause the demise of our moral being, and eventually result in spiritual and eternal death. The scripture is clear, Saul died for his transgression against Yahwah. Saul was guilty of a number of gross sins, for which the Bible does not tell us, he ever repented. He usurped the command of God, in the matter of the battle against the Amalekites; unjustly pursued David, an innocent man, determined to kill him; commanded the senseless slaughter of an innocent priest of God, and sought help from a woman practicing the occult to find direction in life! He flew in God’s face with his transgression, and remained at variance with God. Even if at times he was emotionally stirred, it was but a temporary reprieve to his habit of disregarding God’s law. All sin is worthy of death, and there is in essence, no sin greater than another when it comes to its final result, but it is sin for which we remain un-repented that will cause us to die the second death. Saul’s departure from this world, was a dishonourable death, not such as was worthy of a king and a man belonging to the people of God! While death is not of itself anything to be necessarily wanted or desired, it can nevertheless take place with honour, when it is the result of selfless sacrifice or service to the King of Kings! Unless the Lord returns beforehand, we will all die physically at some stage, but what will be the unwritten epitaph describing the real reason for our decease? Let us live for God in such a way, that when we die, even in death we may bring glory to the Lord and be a memory of the sweet savour of His grace and of godly faithful service unto Jesus.

http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion

Mar 4

“Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly,” Jonah 2:1

This is probably the most unusual place from where any man has ever prayed to God! Jonah, a usually good man and a prophet called of God and sent on a mission, initially disobeyed and determined to run away from the Lord God. He seemed to have temporarily shut off his communication with Him. On the ship he was quite asleep, seemingly unaware that the tempest raged and threatened to sink the vessel. He had to be called from his sleep and encouraged to pray, by men who probably didn’t even know the One true God! There is no record that he actually did pray while on the ship, though he seemed to know what would bring calm to the waters. Now, however, from the fish’s belly, after three days and three night of unthinkable torment in his rather bizarre prison cell, he prays, and his prayer is wholehearted, sorrowful and sincere. Our disobedience and resistance to God and His will, can sometimes cause us serious and unnecessary distress. Some insist that we can only learn by personal experience, but we often may find ourselves learning that way, because we leave God no other option, but to teach us that way! It is significant that we should keep a close and intimate relationship with Jesus, and learn to be obedient to His directives and commands. When we remain open and teachable to God’s Spirit, He leads us in every detail of life and helps us avoid costly mistakes and hurtful setbacks. When we insist of being obstinate clay, the Master Potter cannot at times, but ‘remake’ us, and that is for us, a painful process! It is largely our choice in most instances. The Lord is willing to teach us the ‘easy’ way, if we only work with Him, and quit behaving like we know better than Him! When we are going through a ‘Jonah’ type moment, it may not feel that way, but God is actually still dealing with us in love and wanting to bring out the best in us. He gives us space to repent, straighten up and walk right again. God uses the circumstances and situations we so foolishly land ourselves in at times, to teach us, correct us, build us up in the faith and when necessary be made an example to others, so they may benefit and learn from our mistakes! In this again we see His great love. We could learn an easier way, but if the ‘hard way’ is what we select for ourselves, then God has just the right method, to teach us the same lesson! Interestingly, part of learning the ‘easier’ way, is to take note of the experiences and mistakes of others, and avoid falling into the same pitfalls. Jonah, and many others who have gone before us, are all great examples of both right and wrong, from which, if we are wise, we can draw a great deal of personal instruction and growth. 

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Feb 12

“...separated themselves…and stood and confessed their sins..” Nehemiah 9:2

God’s people are to be a holy people. In this account we see three important actions which are relevant to all who call on the name of the Lord. In an act of restoration of commitment and closeness with God, the Israelites ‘separated’ themselves, ‘stood’ and ‘confessed’ their sins. If we are to remain people consecrated to God, it is necessary that we are willing to ‘separate’ ourselves. The call of God for His people to pursue holiness and purity is a continuous theme in scripture. What differentiates believers from the unsaved should be obvious and should shout the holiness of God through their actions, thoughts and choices. It is necessary if we are to be and stay close to the Lord, that we separate ourselves from the world and its ways. These things should be foreign and distant from us. The people then ‘stood’. This is significant for it represents a position of determination for the Lord. One of the greatest problems we face as Christians today, is the lack of willingness among believers to ‘stand’ for God, His ways, His principles and His absolutes. Close relationship with Jesus can only be maintained if we are prepared to stand for Him. He taught that if we are not ashamed of Him (who He is, His doctrine and example), then He will not be ashamed of us! In an age of weakness and compromise, let God’s true people stand in love and humility. The next thing they did was to ‘confess’ their sins. When we partake of the holiness of God and stand in the strength of His power, we don’t do so to point a finger at others and find fault in others but to first and foremost make sure we stand right in God personally! This means an inward look, an inspection and examination of our own heart and soul, followed by heartfelt confession to God and repentance of our sins. Jesus made it clear we cannot spiritually help anyone in their shortcoming or sustain them in their need, if we ourselves are at fault with God and our vision impaired by carnal obstacles, and our convictions weakened by compromises. Taking an example from the Israelites in our text, let us renew our dedication to God and reconsecrate our lives and living unto Him.

http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion