Devotion Thoughts - 25/05/2011

2 Samuel 7:1-29

Nathan said to the king, Go, do everything that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you (v.3). [But] that night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying (v.4), "Tell David, when you die I will set up one of your sons (v.12), who shall build a house for my name, and I will establish his throne for your descendants forever" (v.13). David's response was ..."O Lord God, please do as You say and establish my descendants on the throne of Israel forever" (v.25). {My paraphrase}.

The fulfilment of the prophecies is one of the reasons I believe the Bible to be the Word of God. In this chapter, relating to events some 1000 years before the birth of Jesus, Nathan the prophet has a knee-jerk reaction, much like Believers, most of the time! Without first asking God for guidance, he assumes that God is happy with David and will bless everything he does, and tells David to go ahead and build the house for God. But God has other plans which He reveals to Nathan. He tells David that his descendants will sit on Israel's throne forever.

Until taken away into captivity in Babylon, the kings of Judah were descendants of David, the shepherd boy from Bethlehem. And because the genealogical records of the Jews were destroyed in 70 AD when Titus sacked Jerusalem, Jesus is the last known descendant of king David! His genealogical records are written in the New Testament. Yes, there is a break in that Israel do not presently have a visible king, but Jesus has been alive all along (except for three days after Calvary), and He is going to sit on David's throne ...forever! When He, the One appointed to be King of kings and Lord of lords, returns He will not only rule Israel but all mankind ... forever!

2 Samuel 8:1-18

The LORD protected David, and gave him victory everywhere (v.14).

Strengthened and supported by God, David was unstoppable, gaining victories over all enemies along his borders. God did this so that when Solomon came to the throne there would be peace in the land, allowing him the opportunity to build the Temple.

Know this: When God has work for us to do He always prepares the way for us. So if we are facing difficulties it is because it is part of God's preparations for whatever He would have us do.

John 14:15-31

If you love me, keep my commandments (v.15).

Many claim to be in fellowship with Jesus but do not love their neighbour (Matthew 19:19), that is, they do not keep this particular command. According to Jesus, it means that they do not love Him. There are other commandments that Believers (yes, Believers) struggle to obey. Fortunately, because of His great love for us, Jesus is not going to summarily stop having fellowship with us. He will, thankfully, continue to help us to grow spiritually. But if we are to keep His commandments we must be prepared for a daily surrender of our will to Him and a commitment to ongoing spiritual growth. If we do, holiness is bound to grow in us.

Psalm 119:33-48

LORD, teach me Your statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end (v.33).

There is no way of knowing what God wants of us if we don't spend time every day reading our Bibles to find that out!

Proverbs 15:33

Through fearing the LORD we will want instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility (v.33).

Through (a healthy) fear and respect for God we seek to learn about Him so that we can please Him. Once we learn to obey God's word we will be able to instruct others.

We must be humble enough to be led by others before we can lead others well.

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Devotion Thoughts - 28/04/2011: Don't let success go to your head!

Judges 8:18-35


There was no doubt that God had given Gideon and his men the victory; how else to account for three hundred men defeating the huge Midianite army? God inspired the selection of the fighting men, and the methods to be used in their warfare. Total obedience brought victory.


Unfortunately, there will always be 'men of Ephraim' in our lives who want a part in any success and are upset when they are left out. Gideon played the diplomat, aware that victory was a fact and God was glorified. There are times when we can choose to react in an unpleasant way against other brethren who could have done more, but God prefers that we love them, leaving it to God to deal with them.


We must take care how we handle success; if it goes to our heads we might afterwards act without first referring to God. He had commanded that worship take place at Shiloh; Gideon thought it okay to worship at Ophrah. After his death things went badly for his children and the nation.


Some Christian ministries start well, only to lose out when their leaders stop being totally dependent upon God and obedient to His guidance.

Judges 9:1-21


Loving our relatives is one thing; acceptance of their smooth talk that leads to sin is something else. We should always be careful of who we believe, no matter the closeness of our relationship. Only God is trustworthy; He will give us needed guidance when we ask for it.

Luke 23:44-56


Joseph openly acknowledged his relationship with Jesus by going to Pilate to ask for His body. He had also stood up bravely for Jesus against the hatred of the priests (v.51), setting a wonderful example for all believers.


What if I told you that such deeds of service done for Jesus by those who are not born again believers are not acceptable to Him? Read Matthew 7:21-23. Only deeds performed according to God's will will be rewarded by Jesus. There is no way doing good deeds alone will get us into heaven; we have to go via Jesus Himself (John 3:16; John 14:6).

Luke 24:1-12


The women did not hesitate to do something good for their Lord, in spite of the difficulties they knew lay ahead. Their preparations made in faith, they went to see what could be done about the major obstacle: the huge and heavy stone covering the mouth of the grave. But God had already taken care of the problem; He had moved it out of the way!


When God lays it on our hearts to do some service for Him, we might be aware that certain obstacles are in our way, but that should not hold us back. We must prepare ourselves for service, go ahead, and see how God takes care of the obstacles. It is a great way to learn how God works in our lives!

Psalm 99:1-9


The psalmist views God as so high and holy that He is unapproachable. Thankfully, God in the form of Jesus is approachable even while He is holy! He came down to our level to make it possible, even allowing unholy men to scourge and crucify Him, a picture of God that the psalmist did not have. I am grateful that I have ready access to a warm and loving God Who willingly sacrificed Himself for my spiritual and physical well-being (Isaiah 53:5).

Proverbs 14:9-10


It amazes me that some supposedly Christian ministers do not believe men are sinners, in spite of the Bible containing verses such as Romans 3:23 - 'For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God'. Certainly they have not been led by the Holy Spirit to come to such a conclusion, for whatever the Holy Spirit teaches is in line with the Biblical record (John 14:26). It is clear, then, that such 'Christian ministers' are not born again believers, for then they would have the Holy Spirit in them, teaching them the truth. Beware of such false 'teachers' (Matthew 7:15); they will be exposed at the Judgment, too late for those they will have led astray.

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Devotion Thoughts - 27/04/2011

Judges 7:1-25


'You have too many men!' Most men would have been nervous if told that just when they were preparing to go into battle against an army so large that 'they were thick as locusts'. We prefer to have the visible odds stacked in our favour. But Gideon had already learned that the invisible God was with him and had already promised him victory, and so did not argue. We too have been promised a victorious Christian walk. Paul experienced it, and so could write 'I can achieve all my goals through Christ Who helps me' (Philippians 4:13 - my words). Go for it!

Judges 8:17


Allow God to guide in every situation we face, for we do not know the best way to go. Sometimes we need to be diplomatic (vv.1-3); at other times we must take a firm stand (v.7), perhaps with a tad less harshness than Gideon contemplated! (Remember James and John, the sons of thunder who wanted to wipe out a Samaritan village? Only later did they learn what love was about!).


As a young person I thought I knew all the answers. The older I get the more I realise how wrong I was. Now I know there is no shame in asking advice of others with experience and wisdom. I do not have to slavishly follow their advice, but they provide me with more options to think about.

Luke 23:13-43


Those who ask why God allows pain and suffering into the world are asking the wrong Person. They must ask the religious leaders, the scribes and priests, why they chose that an innocent Man suffer, and a murderer be released. Their choices are indicative of the kind men have been making since Adam's day. Injustice does not emanate from God, but from men who allow evil to reign and good to perish. As for God, He saw His own Son suffer sacrificially for the sins of others, but He allowed it so that men might choose to have their sins washed away and spend eternity with Him.

Psalm 97:1-12, Psalm 98:1-9


The psalmist waxes lyrical in praise of God - and so should we, for He enjoys our praise, just as any earthly father enjoys expressions of appreciation from his children for what he means to them. I nearly wrote 'for God is human'. Of course He is divine, but just as we can love because God is love, so we can be 'human' because God, through Jesus, experienced our humanity.

Proverbs 14:7-8


This also holds good about people who lie; they shall not be found in heaven (Revelation 21:8). Of course there are those who once told lies - just as there are those who stole, murdered, practised homosexuality etc. - who have had all their sins washed away in the blood of the Lamb. They are regarded as sinless by God, Who has cast their washed away sins as far from Himself as possible.

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