JUSTICE

Thus God returned the evil of Abimelech,

which he had done to his father in killing his seventy brothers.  

Judges 9:56

Judges 9 is a rather dark chapter. It describes the rise and fall of the opportunistic villain, Abimelech. By means of nepotism he persuades the city of Shechem to submit to him. He then uses his new found power and wealth to murder his seventy brothers. Only his youngest half-brother, Jotham, escapes and pronounces a prophetic parable against Abimelech. In fulfillment of that prophecy 3 years later the relationship between Abimelech and Shechem falls apart. Shechem sets an ambush against Abimelech provoking Abimelech to attack and burn Shechem. In his vengeful arrogance, Abimelech also attacks Thebez but is injured by a certain woman dropping an upper millstone on his head. To hide his shame he asks a young man to finish him off with a sword.

The author of Judges summarizes Abimelech’s life by noting that his wickedness was repaid to him. Because he had no regard for his father or for the lives of his brothers, his own life ended in tragedy. Paul warned us in Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.” Abimelech consistently sowed wickedness. He should have known that wickedness would come back to him. Let’s make sure that we don’t sow wickedness like Abimelech did. Instead make sure that what you sow today will lead to the fruitful harvest of righteousness.

Philip Moeller

IT’S A SNOW EMERGENCY!

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven…so will My word be which goes forth from My mouth.

Isaiah 55:10a, 11a

I often wonder why God allows it to snow on Sunday making it hard for His people to meet together.   On one of those occasions God helped me formulate a snow emergency message from a paper I wrote years ago at Grace Seminary.  What does snow teach us about God?

Snow reminds us of God’s infinite POWER.  He alone is in charge of the weather.  “For to the snow He says, ‘Fall on the earth!’ (Job 37:6) and guess what, it does!   Oh, that we would obey God as quickly and joyfully as the snow!  Also consider the way God uses the snow to stop us in our tracks with all our knowledge and technology, reminding us that He is in control (Job 38:22).  Next the snow reminds us of God’s total PRAISE-WORTHINESS.  Psalm 148:8 states that the snow draws glory and praise to God.  The snow also reminds us of God’s wise PURPOSES and PLANS.  How often do we tell God that He should stop it from raining or snowing because we have had enough?  Isaiah 55:10-11 tells us that all rain and snow is sent by God with a distinct purpose.  Finally, the snow reminds us of God’s thorough PURIFYING of our sin.  No man-made cleaning product is available to cleanse our sinful hearts.  God informs us that even though “your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18).  In David’s prayer of confession following his adultery with Bathsheba and subsequent murder of her husband, Uriah, David pleads with God “Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7b). 

Snow - look to God with thanks remembering what He says about His snow.

Bob Kulp

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

Thus Saul died for his unfaithfulness, which he committed against Yahweh, because of the word of Yahweh which he did not keep; and also because he asked counsel of a medium, making inquiry of it, and did not inquire of Yahweh. Therefore, He put him to death and turned the kingdom to David the son of Jesse.  1 Chron. 10:13-14

If you could interview King Saul while still here on this earth, what would he say to you? I think that he might say, “I have played the fool! I committed serious sin against God and against His people. I strayed away from God and refused to repent. Don’t become as I am!” The example of King Saul provides important instruction to us and raises some important questions for us to consider.

1.       Do I choose fatalism or faith?

Saul went his own way. He chose a path of disobedience. J. Sidlow Baxter wrote: “When a person plays the fool, he neglects godly friends and godly counsel. When a person plays the fool, he tries to persuade himself that he is doing the will of God when down deep in his heart, he knows otherwise. When a person plays the fool, he turns from God, the God that he has grieved, and looks for something else.”

2.       Do I choose cowardice or courage?

In 1 Samuel 15:24, Saul said, “I have sinned; I have indeed trespassed against the command of Yahweh and your words because I feared the people and obeyed their voice” (compare Proverbs 29:25). Do you stand strong in the face of opposition?

3.       Do I choose love of self, or love for others?

4.       Do I choose fear or forgiveness?

There is light at the end of the tunnel when a person responds to God like David and not like Saul. Each day, we are faced with these kinds of choices. Which will you choose today?

Ike Graham

CALLED

It is a trustworthy saying: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a good work. 1 Timothy 3:1

As a young teen I often thought that I would like to be a pastor. I was following the Academic program in high school, preparing to attend college. In my senior year I was attracted to a young lady named Ruth and my future changed. We dated for three years and four months as she finished high school and a year of business college. I had no desire to go away to study and be far from her. We got married, bought a house and became parents of two children. The desire to become a pastor had never left my heart. It was fifteen years after graduating from high school that I was accepted by Grace Seminary under an exception to the policy that an undergraduate degree was required, unless the man was at least 30 years old. I had a wife and two children to provide for! How would I do it? The Lord taught me some great things during those fifteen years. One lesson was that He could provide material needs. In January of 1976 I was thrown from my home-delivery milk truck as it skidded and tipped over on an icy road. I was trapped under the truck for an hour and a half. I was there for half an hour till a customer drove down that dead-end road and spotted the wreckage. During those 30 minutes I spent time talking to my Savior. I confessed sin. I prayed for my family - if I died, who would care for them? I prayed for rescue. I was hurting terribly. A fractured skull was the most serious injury. I was off work for 18 weeks that year. We had more disposable income during that time than we had when I was working 50-60 hours per week. That experience made me realize that God could provide our needs if I were to pursue a theological education. I finished in three years, went on to serve the Lord in Africa, and continue to serve as a pastor. God had much to teach me as I attended the “school of hard knocks,” but He never let me forget that He was calling me.

Les Vnasdale

AVOID STINKING THINKING

You shall not covet your neighbor's house;

...wife...male servant...female servant...ox...donkey

or anything that belongs to your neighbor.  Exodus 20:7.

Coveting is different than the other 9 commandments. They don't stone a person for coveting because it is so hard to prove. No one can tell when a person crossed the line from admiration or appreciation to ardently desiring what another man owns. To keep from coveting, a person needs to self-police his thinking. Wrong thinking can lead to adultery, stealing, lying and even murder. When our Lord pointed out that anger/hate precedes murder, and lust precedes adultery (Matt. 5:21-28) He showed that those commandments related to our thinking realm, also. It is, therefore, very important what we permit our minds to dwell upon. Paul tells us to rejoice in the Lord always (Phil.4:4) to be anxious for nothing using our safety valve of prayer to afford us incredible peace (Phil.4:6-7) and to think on what is true, honorable, pure, lovely, of good repute, of things that are excellent and worthy of praise (Phil.4:8). Paul exhorts us to dwell on these things.  In Romans 12:2 Paul tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Turn from the world's way of thinking. It is a trap. He further exhorts the Corinthians to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5b). We can defeat ourselves severely in our Christian walk by "stinking thinking". What we dwell on, what we think on really does matter. A children's song has these words, "Be careful little eyes what you see; Be careful little hands what you do." We need also to teach ourselves, Be careful little minds what you think.                                       

Russ Simpson

TROUBLE AT HOME

So now, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.  2 Samuel 12:10

God warned David about the consequences of his sin in 2 Samuel 12:10. The outworking of this prophecy is recorded in the chapters which follow: Amnon’s rape of Tamar, Absalom’s murder of Amnon, and David’s negligence in disciplining his sons (compare 1 Kings 1:6). In his book, Heart of Anger, Lou Priolo lays out the causes of trouble at home. He lays the problem at the feet of parents. By the way, I recommend Priolo’s book. Too much of David’s problems at home were his own fault. As Dorothy Law Nolte has written, “Children learn what they live.” If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn. If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight, etc. Why? Because more is caught than taught.

It reminds me of the mother who took her young son shopping with her. After a day in the stores, a clerk handed the little boy a lollipop. Mom said, “What do you say?” He looked at her; looked at the lollipop, and then looked at the clerk and said, “Charge it.” We know what he learned shopping with mom! Children are not basically good. Like all people, they, too are separated from God because of their inherited sin and sinful choices. The solution is a God-centered home (not a child-centered home) where the Gospel is central. A child-centered home is where children get what they want. They are allowed to interrupt adults. They are allowed to manipulate, throw tantrums, be rebellious and boss their parents. That promotes a heart of anger which leads to bitterness, stubbornness and rebellion. A God-centered home is where the Gospel is central, children are taught to obey God and their parents; not to interrupt, but to wait and speak at the right time, etc. What kind of home do you have?

Paul Tripp has written: “Parents are more concerned about poor grades than what those grades reveal about the spiritual condition of their child.” Find the rest of what he wrote in Age of Opportunity, pages 115-116. 

Ike Graham

OBSCURE BIBLE?

“The testimony of Yahweh is sure, making wise the simple.  Psalm 19:7b 

An apologetic for Romanism is the claim that recognition of the Bible as the sole infallible authority leads only to chaotic division. Supposedly this bolsters Rome’s claim that only an infallible Papacy can preserve Christian unity.

Similarly, Rome denies the perspicuity of Scripture, which is the concept that the main message of Scripture is sufficiently clear; anyone can understand those core truths essential for salvation. Perspicuity doesn’t mean there aren’t difficult passages (2 Pet. 3:16), or that there cannot be differences among Christians concerning non-salvific matters. It does mean that central affirmations concerning God, Christ, salvation, etc., are fully understandable unto even the humblest believer with the guidance of the indwelling Holy Spirit

(1 Cor. 2:10, Eph.1:17-18, 1 John 2:20-27).

The clarity of Scripture was the key impetus behind Luther and Tyndale’s vernacular translations. When a Romanist told Tyndale that men would be better off without God’s Laws than the Pope’s, Tyndale replied that his aspirations in translating were to have every plowboy in England know more of the Scripture than the Romanist did!

Are men really incapable of understanding basic Gospel passages? Rom 3:23, 5:8, 6:23? Eph. 2:8-9? John 3:16? The Scripture itself assumes that it is understandable and communicable….

·      We are commanded to relate it unto our children (Deut. 6:6-7)…

·      To share the whole counsel of the Word with everyone (Acts 20:27)…

·      Paul tried to scripturally convince the Thessalonians (Acts 17:2)…

·      Scripture makes wise the simple (Ps. 19:7)…

·      It is near and accessible; we are thus accountable (Dt. 30:11–14). 

·      Repeatedly, Jesus expresses His amazement at human ignorance (“Have you not READ…?”).  Reading cures our ignorance!

·      Epistles are written to CHURCHES—not pastors or leaders…

·      Note the exhortations unto public reading (1Tim. 4:13)…

God can communicate!

Terry L. Reese

COMPROMISE

Now they came to the fields of Moab and remained there.  Ruth 1:2b

In the beginning it seemed like a perfectly logical move for him. After all, there was a famine in the land and Elimelech had to care for his wife and two sons. Very likely from the steps of his house he could look across the Dead Sea and see the land of Moab. Everything over there looked better. So why not make the move? It didn’t need to be for a long time, just a little while. But little things soon become big things. In verse 1 they sojourn – just a short visit. In verse 2 they had “entered” and “remained”. By the time you reach verse 4 they have lived there 10 years!

But was this “little” compromise really such a big deal? Well consider. By leaving Judah, instead of enjoying the fellowship of God’s people he now is surrounded by a pagan culture. By leaving Judah, Elimelech lost his land - by the end of the book it is owned by Boaz. By leaving, Elimelech lost the privilege of being in the line of King David and Jesus. No matter how you look at it, he made a bad decision. It’s even interesting to note that despite God being mentioned twenty-four times in the short book of Ruth, He is never even mentioned once in these verses which describe Elimelech’s compromise. The implication is that God was never part of his thinking.

Compromise always hurts. You might think “It’s just one night” or “It’s just one sip” or even “One click of the mouse won’t hurt”. Maybe you justify your actions by thinking “God won’t see” or “I can always fix it later. After all, doesn’t God forgive?” Don’t believe those lies. Elimelech did, and because of that he died having never returned to Judah.

Philip Moeller

IT REALLY WAS AN ACT OF GOD!

In the beginning was the Word

and the Word was with God

and the Word was God

… And the Word became flesh

and dwelt among us. 

John 1:1, 14

As one comes to the Bible he is asked to believe in many astounding acts of God including the virgin birth of Jesus Christ.  To believe it is essential for our eternal salvation and forgiveness of sins.  The virgin birth like all Scripture requires us simply taking God at His word. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

What does the Bible say about the virgin birth that we need to believe?  After Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command and plunged mankind into sin and death, God delivered His judgment upon the serpent/Satan.  “I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed” (Genesis 3:15).  “Seed” means “descendants, offspring, sperm” and usually refers exclusively to the man.  This “seed” of the woman (Jesus) would destroy Satan’s head and power while dying on the cross.  God revealed to the prophet Isaiah “Behold the virgin will be with Child and bear a Son, and she will call His name Immanuel” (7:14). Years later in Nazareth, young Mary is informed by Gabriel that she would conceive and give birth to the Savior.  Gabriel explained that the Holy Spirit would miraculously implant Jesus within her “for nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:26-38).  Joseph, after another angel assures him that Mary’s testimony is true, shows unrivaled faith and obedience by taking Mary as his wife (Matthew 1:18-25).  The virgin birth miracle was needed so that the eternal Son of God could be like us, die for our sins and bring us into God’s redeemed family. 

Don‘t miss out on the best gift that lasts forever all made possible by Jesus’ virgin birth.  It really was an act of God’s love for you!

Bob Kulp

DEPRESSION

Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people said to stone him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters…  1 Samuel 30:6

Don’t you wonder at times how David can be described as a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22)? He lied, he murdered, he committed adultery, he allowed fear to control him at times, and he was depressed! If you’re under the illusion that God especially loves those who are pure and nearly perfect, then you need to study the life of David. David was a man after God’s own heart because he had a heart for God. Do you have a heart for God? Read the Psalms of David and ask, “Do these words express where my heart is in relation to God?”

After the Amalekites raided David’s camp and took the women and others captive, the followers of David were ready to stone him because they were so upset and bitter. This “distressed” David. The Hebrew verb indicates he was in an ongoing state of feeling the pressure of what had just happened along with the anger of his own followers. But, you may have noticed that I did not include all of 1 Samuel 30:6 above. The rest of the verse reads: “But David strengthened himself in Yahweh his God.” How did he do that? Read the next verses. David seeks God and follows His guidance. Is that what you do when you are depressed?

Some early American Indians had a unique way of training young braves. On the night of a boy’s 13th birthday, after learning hunting, scouting and fishing skills, he was put to one final test. He was placed in a dense forest to spend the entire night alone. Until that time, he had not been away from the security of the family or the tribe. But on this night, he was blindfolded and taken several miles away. When he took off the blindfold, as instructed, he was in the middle of a thick wooded area, and he was terrified! Every time a twig snapped, he visualized an animal ready to pounce on him. After what seemed like an eternity, dawn broke and the first rays of sunlight entered the forest. Looking around, the boy saw flowers, trees, and the outline of a path. Then, to his utter astonishment, he beheld the figure of a man standing just a few feet away, armed with a bow and arrows. It was his father. He had been there all night long.

Ike Graham

THE WATCHERS

 …things into which angels long to look. 1 Peter 1:12 

Does the title of today’s devotional instill unease? “The Watchers! Br-r-r!” And yet, we trust you will find our subject most sublime… 

The doctrine of Angels can easily be abused, as we observe within various false religions that cultivate a cult of angels, ranging from Roman Catholicism to the various expressions of “New Age” spirituality. An enormous problem arises when we bestow improper emphasis upon the creature, rather than the Creator. Revelation 22:9: “Worship God!”

God can of course minister to us by His direct Hand without the use of intermediaries, but often it pleases Him to employ creatures—both angels and men—unto our aid and rescue. The Scriptures contain a rich Angelology and would have us know that there are an incomprehensible number of such unearthly “messengers” (Revelation 5:11)—powerful “ministers of flaming fire” (Heb.1:7) who presently stand above us (Hebrews 2:7), but who shall one day be under the authority of the saints (1 Corinthians 6:3).  

Fallen angels are hopelessly lost—there is no grace for them! Elect angels have never rebelled, and thus, the matter of personal redemption is alien to them, in that they have never personally experienced such Divine grace (i.e., God’s unmerited favor upon the wicked). Here, angels serve as a foil for humanity—a point of contrast illuminating the basic concept of grace.  

Having never experienced this great salvation, they also function as a probing “audience” for the epic drama of human redemption. The Savior was “seen by angels” (1 Timothy 3:10), and angels are depicted as observers of redemption in various Scriptures (1 Peter 1:12, Ephesians 3:10, 1 Corinthians 4:9). They rejoice when sinners are converted (Luke 15:7) and meticulously observe Christian worship (1 Corinthians 11:10). A group of angels are aptly called the “Watchers” in Daniel 4:13, 17, 23. As actors, let us delight in our audience!

Terry L. Reese

GOD’S WILL MY WAY

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son,

that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Romans 8:29

 Note Moses' excuses for not doing the will of God, God's way in Exodus 3:

3:11     Who am I? 

3:13     What is your name? Aren't you glad God didn't say, "I hope to be."

4:1       What if they won't listen?  Cf. 3:18

4:10     I can't speak well.

4:13     I just can't do it.

See how God responded in 3:7-10, 12, 16-17, 20-21. Like so many of us, Moses heard what he wanted to hear. Is that you?  Not taking God seriously? In essence, God says to Moses and to us, "Why do you want all the answers when you have all of Me? 

Moses RESISTED the will of God.  Are you?  Moses RETREATED from the will of God.  Is that what you're doing, Jonah?  I mean...child of God.  Finally, Moses RESIGNED himself to the will of God.  Will you?

Families experience doubt about themselves, their job, their lives because husbands won't resign themselves to the will of God and love their wives.  Wives won't resign themselves to the will of God and submit to their husbands.  Children won't resign themselves to the will of God and obey their parents.

In our search for significance, we snub others and honor God with our lips but our hearts are far from Him. Today, stop resisting the will of God. Stop running from the will of God.  Resign yourself to the will of God with the same attitude that Jesus had as it is described for us in Philippians 2:5-11. If you do, then you will experience God’s will God’s way.

Ike Graham

HOW TIME FLIES

For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.  James 4:14b

I once had the opportunity to help decorate a tugboat. It had been drydocked, cleaned, and refurbished with new equipment and technology, and was ready to be re-christened and put back into use. A party was planned for this reason, and a friend had asked me to help with the decorations. Everything went well except for one problem: the boat was on the Ohio River, and the water had provided a breeding ground for a certain kind of Mayfly. The insects were harmless, but they were massed everywhere. These bugs were in the corners, on the cabinets, in the pilot house, in the bunkrooms, wherever there was a square foot of space, there were a half-dozen of the pests. There was obviously no putting the food out yet, or they would have infested it. It reminded me of the ten plagues in Egypt.

I asked if this was going to interfere with the party, and my friend said, “Don’t worry. They will be gone soon. They only live for about a day!” It was staggering to think that these thousands of neuropteran could hatch, meet, mate, lay eggs, and then die in twenty-four hours. For us, that was a day; for the Mayflies, it was a lifetime.

The eternal God sees us in the same way, yet He still works so much into that short period that we are on earth. But at the same time, we see His urgency concerning salvation, as He tells us, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation”

(II Corinthians 6:2). Truly, our lifetime on earth is relevant. Thank God it can be eternal in Glory.                                                                                                          

Davy L. Troxel

WHEN BITTERNESS KILLS

Now the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counseled in those days, was as if one asked of the word of God; so was all the counsel of Ahithophel regarded by both David and Absalom. 2 Samuel 16:23

Ahithophel was the grandfather of Bathsheba. Ahithophel became angry and bitter at David for what he had done in committing adultery with Bathsheba. Second Samuel 15-17 records his attempts to get back at David through Absalom’s rebellion. Bitterness is a frozen form of latent anger and resentment. Bitterness grows out of our refusal to let go when someone or something is taken from us. Bitterness is being constantly hurt by a memory and holding onto a hurt until it has a hold on you. Bitterness is characterized by an unforgiving spirit and generally negative, critical attitudes. Whatever the cause, bitterness grows out of unreleased loss. Someone has written: Bitterness is like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies.

Two guys were walking through the countryside. They were on their way to another village to help bring in the crops. As they walked, they spied an old woman sitting on the edge of a river. She was upset because there was no bridge, and she couldn’t get across on her own. The first guy kindly offered, “We will carry you across, if you would like.” She gratefully accepted their offer and after they crossed all went on their ways. After walking a mile or so, one man complained about how his clothes got dirty carrying the woman and that his back was now hurting. As they continued to walk, he continued to complain about his back because of the old woman. “Why did we carry her?!” he said.  Finally, he said, “I’ve got to stop because my back hurts so bad because of her.” The other man said, “Have you wondered why I’m not complaining? Your back hurts because you are still carrying the woman. I set her down 5 miles back.”

Ahithophel would not let go of his anger and bitterness and, as a result, took his own life. Don’t let that happen to you. God is like an oyster. He can take the grain of irritating bitterness and turn it into a pearl, valuable and useful, if you let Him.

Ike Graham

CRISIS

Now it happened in the days when the judges judged, that there was a famine in the land.  Ruth 1:1a

Things were bad in Judah. Politically, everyone was doing whatever he wanted (Judges 21:25). Economically there was a famine. Maybe news of a famine doesn’t scare you as much as it would have back in those days. But remember these people were completely dependent on their crops. If it didn’t rain it meant no food. No food meant disease, malnutrition, starvation, and ultimately death.

That there was a famine also indicates something about the spiritual condition of the nation. God had told His people that “But it will be, if you do not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, to keep and to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I am commanding you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: … And the heaven which is over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you, iron. Yahweh will make the rain of your land powder and dust; from heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed” (Deut. 28:15, 23-24). God used famines as wakeup calls for Israel to repent. The rain hadn’t stopped because there were no clouds. The rain had stopped because Israel was disobedient to God!

Could it be that difficulty has recently happened in your life because God is trying to get your attention? James 5:15 indicates that this is possible. If so, James also provides the solution. “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed” (v. 16). God is always ready to forgive.

Philip Moeller

WHAT’S YOUR PRIZED POSSESSION?

Therefore I love Your commandments above gold, even above fine gold.  Psalm 119:127

What earthly possession of yours do you value above all others?  If your house was burning down, what is that one precious thing (other than your loved ones, of course!) that you would grab and escape the flames with?  I’ve already thought about this and if possible, I would seize my Bible - the one I study, teach and preach from.  What makes it priceless is all the quotes, notes and outlines I have scribbled all over its pages.  Sometimes I can’t read the text for the notes!  The cover is currently fortified with black duct tape to hold it together. 

The Bible is no ordinary book.  It’s God’s inerrant, infallible and eternal Word to man.  We are so blessed to have it in our own language.  Do you have a Bible?  Do you believe it, love it, read it, study it, seek to understand it, know it, memorize it, think on it, live it out and share it with others?  When you know the Author (our triune God) personally, you really want to know what He is saying to you!  When studying 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, I discovered a wonderful paraphrase of these verses in my files done by a group of high schoolers entitled A Paraphrase of Love (Fundamentalist Journal, February 1989).

Love isn’t proud.  It doesn’t try to push people into something; it doesn’t lose patience.

Love has good manners; it isn’t rude and it doesn’t think mean or dirty things.  It looks for things good about other people.  It doesn’t get offended easily by what others say.  It doesn’t remember what you did a long time ago.  Love does not delight in bad things but in good things.

Love does a whole bunch of things: it carries heavy burdens; it trusts in others; it waits patiently for God’s timing; it endures all hardships.  Love never quits.

Isn’t that good?  Is the Bible your most prized possession?  I hope so!

Bob Kulp

CIRCUMSTANCES

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden; the God who is our salvation. Selah.  Psalm 68:19

For months, David had been running and hiding from King Saul. Then, Samuel died (1 Samuel 25:1). On top of that, David and his men were staying in the wilderness of Paran. During the time that they were there, they protected the servants of Nabal of Carmel and his possessions. However, in spite of their goodness to Nabal, he scorned them. For the entire historical account, read 1 Samuel 25.

An elderly saint was caring for her mother who had been in the hospital for 6 days. During that time, the uncle whom she was caring for also hit his head and it was bleeding. Then, her car wouldn’t start and wasn’t running well. Have you had a day like this? That was similar to David’s experience in 1 Samuel 25. David had made a request which was denied, and he became angry. When you don’t get what you want, how do you respond?

James 4:1 reads: “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures (desires) that wage war in your members? Too often when we don’t get what we want, then we get upset and demand it. Next, if we still don’t get it, we judge the one refusing to give us what we want as the person at fault. Lastly, we seek to punish the one who didn’t give us what we wanted. That’s what David was about to do to Nabal.

Here's the diagnostic question: If only __________, then I would be happy, fulfilled and secure. What will you put in the blank?

God intervened in David’s situation by sending Abigail. To whom will you turn when things aren’t going your way and you are not getting what you want? Seek God’s counsel from godly counselors and find out how you can avoid a disastrous situation and rather, turn it into a God-honoring event.

Ike Graham

FACETS

…how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? Hebrews 2:3a 

In Hebrews 2:1-4, we are warned about neglecting, or making light (v. 2) of this great salvation wrought in Jesus Christ, and which was solemnly affirmed and testified unto by the Triune God (vv. 3-4). There is enormous urgency (“we must”) to pay closer attention to these matters (v. 1), lest we become unmoored and “drift away,” letting it flow past us. How do we drift away? Through our spiritual apathy, indifference, and nonchalance towards the things of God. But if we treasure this salvation as constituting that which is GREAT, then we will remain focused, impassioned, mindful, vigilant, and watchful.

Hebrews 2 builds upon Hebrews 1, which testifies as to the incomparable glory of Christ, who, as Deity, stands infinitely above all that is creaturely—even those mighty ministers of fire, the angels of God! This salvation is so great because the Savior who wrought in on our behalf is so GREAT, and its cost was so GREAT, incurring so GREAT a penalty!

Salvation has been likened to a multi-faceted diamond, because it has so many different aspects and effects (e.g., election, propitiation, regeneration, justification, sanctification, reconciliation, adoption, glorification, etc.). In point of fact, the more facets a diamond has, the more lustrous it will appear. With salvation, no single facet represents the whole story, so each aspect must be individually contemplated and illumined so that the splendor of the whole can be appreciated.

Ultimately, we can never fully plumb the depths of the great doctrines of the Faith; their depths are bottomless, their devotional value is limitless, and their impassioned reflection is the very essence of worship. Even if your pastor is not super-eloquent, can we remain apathetic to so GREAT a salvation? 

Terry L. Reese

JACOB'S LADDER

He had a dream, and behold a ladder was set on the earth

with its top reaching to the heaven;

and behold the angels of God

were ascending and descending on it.  

Genesis. 28:12

When I was 8 years old I was taught a song with the first line being "We are climbing Jacob's ladder." I enjoyed the song but didn't understand it's meaning until 12 years later. Jacob had to flee from his twin brother Esau who wanted to kill him. The cover story was that he was returning to Rebekah's people in Paddan-aram to seek a wife. He had never been to this country and he was travelling alone. It was a lot of change and could be very dangerous. Trying to sleep with a rock for a pillow, he dreamt of a ladder or stairway from earth to heaven. It was a very unique and godly stairway because angels were using it. The Lord stood above it and promised to give the land to Jacob's descendants. Jacob called that place the Bethel or the House of God. Jacob had seen the way to heaven. This carried him through the next 21 years until he returned to the land. Nearly, 2,000 years later, when Jesus was calling Nathanael, He exclaimed, "Truly, truly...you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man" (John1:51). Jesus is Jacob's ladder! How much Jacob understood of his dream and the ladder being the Christ isn't certain, but for any of us to get to heaven we must realize that Jesus is the bridge, the way, the ladder/stairway to heaven. I thank God that little 8 year boy now understands who Jacob's ladder is, and I hope you do, too. 

Russ Simpson

THE LAWN RANGER IS ASTONISHED

Seeing their faith, He said,

‘Friend, your sins are forgiven you’...

they were all struck with astonishment

 and began glorifying God...

Luke 5:17-26

My next-door neighbor is a recluse who never wants any help with anything. I have prayed for years as to how to share Jesus. I was working outside recently and noticed that he would come out and mow for ten minutes, then go back inside. He did this three times, trying to get his backyard done. This was unusual because the one thing that he took pride in was his yard. But lately he had been letting the grass grow very long. I offered to come over and help, and he explained that he could do it but had to work in spurts because he had an eye disease that made the sunlight painful. The city had threatened to fine him, and then mow and charge him for it. Here was the connection I had prayed for!

The next time that I mowed my yard, it occurred to me to mow his also. Since he never comes out, maybe I could do it anonymously. If he did catch me, that is when I could share Jesus. As I finished the last few strips of the front yard, I noticed that he had let the backyard get much longer since it didn’t show as plainly from the street. My mower is battery-powered and could never take on that tall grass. As I was asking the Lord what to do, a truck pulled up in front, towing a trailer with a riding mower. The young couple in the truck turned out to be Christians, and they thought that I shouldn’t be out there mowing my yard. So, they wanted to mow it for me! I explained the situation and in ten minutes the yard was finished without my neighbor even noticing! I was truly astonished to see the Lord’s hand—and His perfect timing—so clearly at work in this. The Lord had blessed a man who couldn’t work by using the faith of some friends who worked together. Now I’m going to keep mowing until I get caught, and hopefully his sins will be forgiven soon!                                                                      

Davy L. Troxel