June 28

“…The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon thee.” Ezekiel 32:11

In the narrative of Holy Scripture we find God’s involvement in the rise and fall of nations. Far from being the indifferent, remote and disinterested God that some would have Him to be, Yahwah is clearly close to the events of history that seem to have shaped the destiny of nations, peoples and civilizations. In these passages from the book of Ezekiel, we have the prophecies concerning the fall of Egypt, at the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. Though in due course Babylon too would find retribution for its violations and pride against the Almighty, at this time the great kingdom would be used as a tool to bring judgment upon the sin and idolatry of Egypt. Two things we must keep in mind as we read these passages. Firstly, the Lord is in authority over all and any kingdom of man, even those who by their laws show they have no regard or consideration of Him. As the Supreme Potentate, He is capable of using and directing the events, and the ultimate outcome of all human affairs, to suit and fit His own purpose and will, if He so chooses. In our modern world so aloof and self-sufficient in its technology and scientific advancements, little care or place is given to the power and majesty of God. He is not glorified in the dealings of the present nations of this world as a whole. Actually quite the opposite is true, most of the world’s powers and governments are antagonistic to God, His law and His ways. They promote immoral and sinful lifestyles which deny and defy God’s power and authority. They mock, decry and belittle the ways of the Almighty as old-fashioned, archaic, out of touch or inapplicable, mere myth. History has clearly shown that when God has had enough of man’s pride and foolish boasting, He will come in judgment and will make quick work of all man’s self-aggrandizing and self-glorification. Secondly, we must remember that the Lord is longsuffering and patient, and as believers, we must be like Him. Even when we might think that the wicked is ‘getting away with it’, and that nothing is happening to bring about justice and righteousness, we must remain patient and leave the timing and call of action to God. He has the knowledge and wisdom necessary to bring about justice in the right way and at the right time. His longsuffering is bound up in His love for mankind, for in spite of man’s sin and self-destructive nature, He is not willing that any should die, but desires that all should come to repentance. Nevertheless the time will come when He will close down the opportunity for mankind to choose His righteousness. Then will come the judgment, and like that which fell on Egypt and many other great nations, it will fall upon the whole world, it will be sudden and it will be final. It won’t be the power of one nation pitched against another at God’s bidding, but a judgment conducted by His own personal power and presence, for “..in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords!” Our task is not to complain about the conditions of the world, worry about God’s timetable, or suggest what He should do, but to stay faithful and pure till the end; to continue to trust, love and believe in Jesus and His Word; and to reach out to as many as we can with the gospel of salvation while there is yet time!

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

May 29

“The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty…” Psalms 93:1

The Lord Jesus Christ, Yahwah, reigns! The verb here is in the continuing form, signifying an ongoing status that has not, and will not cease. He is King over all. This is a truth affirmed time and again is scripture. Many Psalms begin with this declaration, and in many other portions of the Bible we find the same statement of truth asserted. It is therefore a fact we must remember and keep present on our minds, while as weary pilgrims we travel these tumultuous times of life, through a troubled world, to our heavenly home. When we see the ugliness of much that is taking place in our world today, it may be sometimes difficult to reconcile in our minds the fact that God still reigns. In fact many use this very evidence to excuse themselves from believing in God. They say something like “if God existed, He would not cause such and such things to happen”! They fail to see the bigger picture, or understand how God works. God does not ‘rule’ or reign as we imagine in our carnal and limited minds. His ways are far above ours and His power beyond our understanding. He reigns from a platform of love and longsuffering towards us, His creation, not willing than any of us should perish, but that all should come to repentance! With this in mind, we should consider briefly why then we can without fear believe that our Lord reigneth. Firstly, the reign of God is seen in the fact that He continues to employ the nature He has created, to function, sustain and maintain life on this planet. All things depend upon Him and consist by Him, and without the upholding of His Almighty hand, nothing would function or remain in place as it is. Secondly, we can verify He still reigns by the testimony of the millions of faithful, those individuals who desire and allow for His presence and His will to be carried out in their lives. This experiential evidence is too large a body of proof, and too enduring an empirical factor to be ignored. It includes humans from all nations, all walks of life, all backgrounds and varied upbringing, all of whom are willing to bow a knew to the King of Kings, and even by itself this is compelling evidence that He still reigns! Thirdly, we acknowledge that as supreme ruler, God allows for man to impose his own will, at least to a certain point, and to a degree. This proves His supremacy and demonstrates that He still reigns, because He is not influenced, changed or derailed by man’s evil or iniquity. He has demonstrated in the past, and will do so again in His own time, that when He, as supreme ruler deems it enough, He will bring judgment upon all those who have disregarded His authority and violated His laws. Man may think himself powerful and in control, but Jesus made it clear to Pilate, who at the time appeared to have control over Him, that he would have no such power except it was given him from above. This means that above and beyond what appears to be man’s power and autonomy, is a greater Power, a Supreme Ruler who yet reigns over all! For those who accept the reign, control and power of God as King and ruler of all, there is an added blessing! They can see and appreciate the majesty with which He is clothed! It is unlike anything any human king or ruler has ever even remotely approached to or imagined! It is breathtaking Majesty, awe inspiring Majesty! In glory, power and wonder, His Majesty is something truly and literally ‘out of this world’! One day every eye shall see it and behold it, and every knee shall bow to His Majesty, and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! Some will do so to their everlasting destruction, and some to their eternal salvation! 

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

May 20

“…whoso provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul.” Proverbs 20:2

Royalty was in scripture what ultimate civil authority may be to us today. The decision of a king was final and his authority in the sphere of ruling his people, virtually unlimited. In this sense he is compared to a lion as the ‘king’ of the jungle, and his anger as something which no man under his power, would want to raise. Perhaps not in the same context of royalty, but we have a concept here, which is very much applicable to us, in living lives marked by wisdom and uprightness. Firstly then it is clearly unwise to provoke the antagonism of those who are in ‘authority’ over us. We live in a time when to be purposely rebellious to all that is authority is in fashion. This is not necessarily due to some legitimate issue or wrong to protest and speak up against, but simply because overall, authority of any kind is viewed by many as restrictive and undesirable. This mentality, which would claim that an absence of authority is an idyllic condition, fails to recognise that without prescribed power in place, the imagined ‘liberty’ of doing one’s own thing without restraint, would quickly cease or be hampered and even violated, by someone else’s self-asserted liberty, so that no real peace or personal safety could ever be achieved! Authority and more specifically godly authority, is therefore necessary to the well-being, growth, protection and overall living quality of every individual. Man’s attempts at governance, even when at their best are flawed, but it is the best we, as flawed and sinful humanity can achieve. Even so, it is a wise and proper manner and attitude of life, when we live under a ‘reasonable’ government, which overall takes care of its citizens, not to purposely or without legitimacy, provoke its ‘anger’. There is a Government however, over which the Perfect and Holy God reigns as King absolute, and under which all humans, whether they recognise it or not, are responsible and accountable. This Governance is not flawed, fickle or corrupted. It does not allow for human manipulation, preference or election. This King is the King of Kings, and reigns supreme. His law and precepts are perfect and cannot be altered, amended or tampered with in any manner. When we as humans attempt to do so, we cause the ire of the King; when we openly violate His laws and in bare-faced rebellion disregard His precepts and choose rather our own ways, we provoke His anger! The advice of our text is that we do this to our own detriment, and to the demise of our own soul! We literally err or ‘sin’, and thus cause death to our souls that is, an eternal dying – this is an awful indictment! Wise humans choose to stay of the ‘right’ side of God, the side of His mercy, love and provision, by obedience and observance of His law and counsel. God is the Eternal and Almighty King, there is no God like Him in love, mercy and longsuffering, if we choose to be His faithful subjects. Conversely there is no comparable enemy, and no surer way to condemn our souls, should we choose to refuse His authority, provoke His anger, and continue to antagonise Him! 

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