Tag Archives: daily bread

“Obedience!” 1 Samuel 15:17-19

by • on 10:58 PM • in Exhortation, Life Journal

 

 

Scripture

1 Samuel 15:17-19 (NASB)
17 Samuel said, “Is it not true, though you were little in your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord anointed you king over Israel,
18 and the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are exterminated.’
19 “Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord, but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord?”

 

Observation

God had chosen Saul to be the first king of Israel becasue Israel no longer desried to be ruled by God through a prophet. So God gave them Saul. God’s first commandment to Saul was to utterly destroy every man, woman, child and beast of the nation of the Amalekites. Saul was not a man who feared God, but rather he was a man who feared those whom he led and the end result led him to disobey God’s commandment. What Saul did could not be reconciled. He could not undo his disobedience and he was forced to suffer the horrific consequences of his disobedience. The Amalekites were a wicked people who flanked the nation of Israel as they traveled through the wilderness on thier way to the Promised Land. The Amalekites attacked Israel from the rear, destroying the elderly, women and children and now this was God’s time to repay King Agag and his followers, but Saul failed. He became ‘big in his own eyes’; Saul began to ‘believe his own press’, and as a result he didn’t fear the Lord and ended up disobeying God’s commandment to him. When a man begins to listen to the praises of men, pride sets in which the Bible tells us leads to destruction which is what we see in the life of Saul.

 

Application

I am a nobody, chosen by God merely by His grace to accomplish a specific plan. I am a nobody and I will always be a nobody and I’m totally ok with that! In fact I love it! It removes all pressure from my life to have to try to live to impress anyone. I can’t imprress anyone and I must only live in the fear of the Lord, obeying the call of God upon my life. When I don’t fear man, I can and do freely preach the Word of God and let the ‘chips fall where they may’. Many people don’t like me, and many more will come down the pike, but praise God, I don’t care! The fear of the Lord sets my heart free from the fear of what man thinks of me! Praise God what joy He gives me as I live humbly in obedience to all He calls me to do. When and if my Lord ever accomplishes anything ‘great’ through my life, I’m still just a nobody, saved by grace, in love with Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior! What a God! What a King! What a Savior! God jealously desries my fellowship, love and obedience – not to make me a slave, but to daily teach me how to live in total victory!!! ‘When a nobody becomes a somebody in their own mind, he or she then begins to walk on a path that leads to uselessness in the hands of The One True Living God!

 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I pray that You would guard my heart today! I embrace being a nobody so that You might be everythhing. Keep my eyes off myself today. Keep my eyes of seeking the attention of others and living in fear of what man may think. Cause me today to live in the fear of the Lord, which will produce a life of love and obedience to You! Thank You for forgiving me and saving me from the debt of all my sin. Thank You for the call of God upon my life. May I today live in total obedience as a demonstration of my love for You! As You said Lord, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” I love You Lord, and today I seek to keep Your commandments as a result of having experienced Your amazing grace upon my life! I love You and delight in surrendering my will to You today! In Jesus Holy name I pray, Amen!

 

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“A New Song!” Psalm 40:1-3

by • on 9:11 PM • in 320, Life Journal

Scripture

Psalms 40:1-3 (NASB)
1 I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.
3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the Lord.

Observation

King David loved the Lord and David placed his complete trust in the Lord for his life. David knew that he was called of God to be the King of Israel and that in every difficulty that he experienced, God was in control. David knew that he could not rush the plans of God. He knew that as he encountered trials, that he must wait patiently for the Lord’s answer. In due season, as David waited upon the Lord, God would respond to his cry. It’s not that God was deaf, slow, or too busy to respond to David; it’s just that God had a purpose for everything that David went through and God wasn’t in a hurry to help David escape before he learned what God had for him. David thought that he was waiting for God, when in reality, God was waiting for David. God was waiting for David to learn through each of his times of difficulty. As David learned what God had for him, God discontinued the trial, and David moved on. In the trials, David’s feet felt like he was standing upon the miry clay of uncertainty. But in due season, after David had learned the lesson that God had for him, the Lord set David’s feet upon a rock, making his every decision in life secure. Through the process of his trials, David was broken of self-reliance and he learned to trust upon the Lord through everything. The end result was nothing short of miraculous – God filled David’s heart with joy, out of which came his new song of praise to our God. And through it all, God promised even greater blessings – ‘many will see and fear and trust in the Lord!’ Through his trials he waited; as he waited he was pruned; as he was pruned he learned to lean upon God; as he leaned upon God his feet were set on solid ground; as his feet were set on solid ground God filled his heart with a song of praise; as he sang the Lord’s praises, many other people’s lives were impacted and dramatically brought to the Lord.

Application

I too have walked the path through the pit of despair and destruction, waiting upon the Lord. Although I have so often prayed that God would spare me from various trials, God so often has chosen to spare me through various trials. My way is the easy way, but God’s way is the path that brings me the most spiritual growth and maturity. How often I have cried out to God, “Please No!” “Please let this cup pass from before me!” How often the very thing that I have feared has come upon me. The question for me during my trials, is the same as Job’s response: ”will I still praise the Lord, though He slay me”?  How often Satan comes during my blackest hours and tempts me to doubt the love and goodness of God? Yet as I come to realize that the only way the get my feet to rest upon the rock and make my footsteps firm, is always through the trials. I don’t want the trials. I don’t want the tests. Life is hard enough. Yet if I desire to grow spiritually and allow God to prepare me to meet Him one day, I must go through the valleys. God is never in a hurry. He simply, methodically is perfecting the work that He began in me some 40 years ago. How thankful I am that He hasn’t given up on me! Though I cry out, He doesn’t detour the trial just because it’s hard, God is so good to me! Not because He spares me of hardship, but because He proves Himself faithful and matures me through everything I must face.  A person is no more an athlete just because you go to the YMCA, than he is a spiritual giant because he has been saved for many years. Life is hard and maturing is even harder, but there are really no other options. Following Jesus Christ is hard, but the alternative is unbearable.. All trials are merely for a season, but the rewards are eternal!

Prayer

Father I thank You for the new joy that You have placed within my heart today! It’s not because I have learned the secret of escaping from my trials, but because You have taught me victory through my hardships. When I have prayed ‘Lord deliver from my trials’ and yet You have chosen to deliver me through my trials, I thank You for Your perfect will! Thank You that You have not always answered my prayers of escape as I have desire, but have always had a better plan. Thank You that though I may not be where I’d like to be spiritually, I am on the path of being matured. And as I go through each trial, I come to know Your voice ever more so intimately as I am maturing in Christ. Thank You for this day. May I be a testimony of Your faithfulness, that for all who wait upon the Lord, in due season will have their feet set upon the rock. Thank You for the many victories that only come through the storms. Continue to mature my faith as I grow in You, and may many come to saving faith as a result of what You are doing in me today! I believe that many will be forever changed because of what You have done in me! Amen.

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“Devouring the Word” (Daily Devotions 2.10.11)

by • on 4:19 PM • in 320, Life Journal

S – Scripture

“These were more fair minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness, and searched the scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”  Acts 17:11

O – Observation

The Bereans were very teachable people. Their hearts were wide open to the Word of God and in being taught by it. They eagerly received the Word of God. They were not reluctant to be taught God’s Word, or to study the Word on their own. They received the Word of God with all eagerness, and then searched out the scriptures to see if what they had been taught was correct. They loved the Word of God and were hungry to be taught, but they did not just believe everything they heard. They were not close-minded in their learning. They had not become ‘old hardened wine-skins’, set in their ways and self-righteousness. They were pliable. It was their teachabilty, and the love for God’s Word that continued to cause them to grow in their faith. Their minds were consumed by God’s Word. The Word of God was their final authority in all their decisions and not even a popular preacher or the thinking of the majority could sway their decisions from the Word of God. The Bereans were given to God’s Word and made every decision in life based on what it said, regardless of what the rest of the world was doing. Each Berean chose to study the Word of God on their own, they made it their personal life-style. They didn’t wait for everyone else to get on board, they just individually to devour God’s Word.

A – Application

If i want to be more fair-minded (teachable) than the average Christian, then i must always remain teachable. I need to be daily being taught God’s Word, both thru what I listen to (KSLW), and in my personal time of devotions. when my mind is consumed by the Word of God, I will make correct decisions and I will abide in fellowship with my LORD throughout the day. ‘Though no one join me, still I will seek the face of my God, to be mentored by His Word and to always remain teachable.”

P – Prayer

“Lord keep me from ever becoming a hardened wineskin. Keep me from ever believing that I have ‘finally arrived’ to the point of full spiritual maturity. Keep me in Your Word every day. Teach me through the Mentor of Your Holy Spirit, to make correct decisions in life. Cause me to ask You first, to seek answers to my daily decisions and to always make Your Word my final authority. Kindle the fire of my love for Your Word every day of my life so that my personal time of devotions never again becomes a legalistic ritual. I love You! and I submit to the authority of Your Word today.” Amen.

WHAT DID YOU GET TODAY??? Feel free to share with me what the LORD showed you in your devotions today! Just click on ‘Comment’ and share your insights

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