Prepare the Way

 I Chron. 22:6-10

⁶Then he called for his son Solomon, and charged him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel. ⁷And David said to Solomon: “My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build a house to the name of the Lord my God; ⁸but the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have made great wars; you shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight. ⁹Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies all around. His name shall beSolomon, for I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days. ¹⁰He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son, and I will be his Father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’

NKJV

I’d venture to say less than 5 percent of the people reading this devotion will know these names: Jim Covert, Mark Bortz, Jay Hilgenberg, Kurt Becker, Keith Van Horne. Are you in the 5% who knows these people?

Now If I said the name Walter Payton, that’s a different story! I bet over 50% of the people know him! Do you? Walter Payton broke Jim Brown’s all time NFL rushing record in 1984.

Guess who was preparing the way for Walter Payton play after play? His offensive line! Jim Covert, Mark Bortz, Jay Hilgenberg, Keith Van Horne. These guys were never on the cover of sports illustrated – never set any records – never got the lime light – they just kept on preparing the way. They had a team mindset!

So did king David! When God told him he would not be the one to build the temple, but rather his son would build the temple, he could have become bitter…but he didn’t! He could have said, hey, if I’m not gonna “run the ball” then I’d just rather not play! What if Walter Payton’s line had said that? What if we said that as believers? Praise God for the example of David!

-BP

I Chron 22:4-5

⁵Now David said, “Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all countries. I will now make preparation for it.” So David made abundant preparations before his death.

NKJV

Oriented by the Scriptures

“But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” Then they all forsook Him and fled. (Mark 14:49b-50)

There are times when, in the darkest moments of your life, the only comfort left for you is a word from God. Jesus faced the cruel injustice of a hostile world, but perhaps His deepest pain came when His closest friends deserted and betrayed Him. What could possibly sustain Him at such a dark moment? Jesus found His comfort in the Scriptures (Matt. 26:20–25, 31). The Scriptures kept everything in perspective for the Savior, holding Him steadfast in the knowledge that everything He was experiencing was according to His Father’s plan. Jesus could proceed with confidence because the Scriptures assured Him that the Father was in control.

The word of God will guide you in the same way. There will be times when events around you will confuse you. Those in whom you’ve placed your trust will fail you. Others will abandon you. You will be misunderstood and criticized. In these times of distress, when your devotion and obedience are put to the greatest test, you must let Scripture guide and comfort you. Never let the faithlessness of others determine what you do. Turn to the Scriptures and allow them to reorient you to God and His activity.

Even as a young boy, Jesus was already well acquainted with the Scriptures. He was never surprised by events; He lived with confidence because the Scriptures had prepared Him for everything that He would face.

If you will immerse yourself daily in the word of God, you will not be caught off guard when crises come. Your focus will already be on God, and He will safely guide you through your difficult moments.

-BMI devotion

Tough Love

Isaiah 40:1-5 (ESV)

1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

3 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.

5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

By the time you get to chapter 40 in the book of Isaiah you find that Israel is in spiritual ruins. As a consequence, there is a remnant of Jews being held captive in Babylon due to their failures and sins. If Isaiah ended his book with chapter 39 we would be left assuming that God didn’t love His chosen people. But in chapter 40 we see what many Jewish rabbis call the Book of Consolation because it is here that we find the comfort, grace and love of God toward His people.

As a matter of fact God, speaking through Isaiah, starts off chapter 40 by saying, “Comfort, comfort my people.” He continued by saying, “speak tenderly” to them and help them understand that their hardship is coming to an end. God wanted them to know that their sins had been forgiven. He wanted them to get ready to experience “the glory of the Lord.”

I am always amazed at the grace, mercy and love of God. All throughout the Old Testament Israel continually sinned against God but God always forgave. The same can be said of us today. We continually sin against God yet we will always find grace and forgiveness at the foot of the cross.

Consider the words of Christ as He hung on the cross dying. He uttered these words in Luke 23, “34 ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’” How could this be? Paul tells us in Romans 8 that, “38 I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

You see we are loved with an eternal love. Nothing, not even our sins and failures, will cause God to love us less. But I want to caution you with this truth – don’t take advantage of God’s love and grace. The bible also teaches us that we shouldn’t INTENTIONALLY sin against God in order to experience His grace and love. (Romans 6:1-4) We also must live with the understanding that those whom God loves will also experience His discipline. (Hebrews 12:6)

Therefore, let us worship God today because of His great grace and everlasting love. But let us also learn from the sins and failures of Israel. God will discipline His children because He loves us too much to let us live lives controlled by sin. Rather God desires for us to “walk in newness of life.” (Romans 8:4)

DBA

Hebrews 12:3-11

3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.

6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Distractions

The Spirit of the Lord began to move him [Samson] at times (Judg. 13:25).

Samson was the judge God appointed over Israel for twenty years. When he went to Timnath, it was of the Lord, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines (14:4). But it appears he may have been so distracted by the woman, that he forgot the purpose God had for sending him there. Then when he caused trouble with the Philistines, the leading Israelites of the tribe of Judah rebuked him saying: Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? (15:11). How different would have been the outcome if the men of Judah had urged all the tribes of Israel to unite with Samson, pray, and overthrow the Philistines!

Each time the children of Israel cried unto the Lord (3:9, 4:3; 6:6-7; 10:10), God prepared a deliverer. This time the Israelites had been controlled by the Philistines for about forty years, but there was no prayer for deliverance. Therefore they remained powerless under the control of the Philistines. Israel had forgotten the Lord’s purpose for bringing them into the promised land.

Even though Israel had forsaken Jehovah, God extended His mercy to them. His Spirit began to move upon Samson, the man who would deliver them. But Samson fell far short of fulfilling his calling, as the Lord foretold: He shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines (13:5).

Samson’s life was filled with failure because of his self-centered desires, as revealed when he said: Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well (14:1-3). Samson was more concerned over pleasing himself than he was in pleasing God.

Samson went down — geographically and spiritually — when he went down to Timnath (14:1). While he was in enemy territory, he was not able to cope with the temptations he encountered there.

The three women in Samson’s life are a type of the world, undoubtedly very attractive, as sin often is. They represent the fair, pleasure-loving world which seeks to rob the true Christian of his power with God.

See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil (Eph. 5:15-16).

-sbc.net

Thought for Today:

The life of Samson is typical of many who get distracted from carrying out the will of God.

 

Rejected by Men

And Gilead’s wife bare him sons; and his wife’s sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father’s house; for thou art the son of a strange woman (Judg. 11:2).

Jephthah was forced to leave Israel because he was an illegitimate child. He went to his mother’s country in Syria where he lived for eighteen years. Although it looked as though everyone was against him, he did not allow self-pity or bitterness to rob him of the Lord’s blessing. Of all the thousands of men in Israel, Jephthah was chosen to be a judge, and his name is included among the great heroes of faith along with Samuel and David (see Heb. 11:32).

Many people in Jephthah’s circumstances of being rejected might have said, “If this is how they feel, let them fight their own battles.” However, Romans 11:33 tells us that the ways of God are past finding out! Who would have thought that this exiled, illegitimate son would one day be the only man amoung the thousands of Israelites qualified to occupy the position of Judge in Israel?

We often do not understand the way God arranges circumstances, but He does. It is not necessary that we feel God in our circumstances, for even though we may not be conscious of His presence, He is there!

Christians often tend to rate their influence and effectiveness by how well people accept them. But God has not called us to be popular or successful; He has called us to remain faithful. Great victory lies in accepting all things from His hand.

And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in His presence (I Cor. 1:28-29).

Those who are used of God will experience many testings. This is how He prepares us for the work He called us to do.

Accept with gratitude all that comes into your life — through friend or enemy, failures or humiliations — as the Lord’s way of drawing you closer to Himself.

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you (I Pet. 5:10).

-sbc.net

Thought for Today:

Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart (I Sam. 16:7).

 

Nothing Without God

And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply (Judg. 8:1).

When Gideon, a peasant from the small half-tribe of Manasseh, blew the trumpet to summon volunteers to fight the Lord’s battle (see 6:34), the so-called superior tribe of Ephraim stayed at home. The tribe of Ephraim was much larger in number, and they had the distinction of having the Tabernacle located within their territory. But because of their spirit of self-importance, God could not use them to share in the victory of Gideon’s three hundred. Not until the battle was over and the Midianites were being pursued could God use them.

One would have expected them to apologize to Gideon and to express their regret for not having volunteered to help. But instead, after the major battle was won, they criticized Gideon for the way he handled the whole affair. Their finding fault with Gideon was actually a complaint against God, who had called and guided Gideon in bringing defeat to the Midianites.

Gideon’s humility became apparent when he replied, What have I done now in comparison of you? Although he used diplomacy, he was faithful to God in reminding these proud complainers that the glory of all achievements belongs to God. For he concluded by saying, God hath delivered [them] into your hands (8:2-3).

True humility is the result of recognizing our utter dependence upon God. The humble person will not permit thoughts of jealousy or envy to dwell in his heart, for he has learned to say with the Apostle Paul, I be (am) nothing (II Cor. 12:11).

If God uses you in accomplishing His will, you can be sure that it is not because you possess greater abilities or talents than others, but because you recognize that you are nothing. Without His indwelling, nothing of eternal value is accomplished. Jesus said: I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing (John 15:5).

Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves (Phil. 2:3).

-sbc.net

Thought for Today:

In all our achievements, let us be as Gideon and give the glory to God.

 

Regulator Talk

James 1:21

 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

 This weekend, I had the opportunity to go to the ERA Trade Show with my work (Electrical Rebuilders Association) that was finally held in Atlanta this year. There, I was able to meet a lot of suppliers that I talk to on the phone and through email. The trade show also consisted of a plant tour of one of our core suppliers as well as multiple seminars with various speakers on various topics.

Some of the seminars were really boring such as the one that discussed flash reprogramming a vehicle. One seminar was hard to get through mainly because I had to wake up at about 4am to get to it only to sit through a talk about different style batteries and how they work. However, some of the seminars were interesting. The most interesting speaker was a man from Ryder Rebuild Center that discussed rebuilding 39MT starters for Ryder Trucks.

After listening to a one and a half hour seminar from one of our parts suppliers that was titled “Testing COM Terminal Alternators—On and Off the Vehicle”, I asked the Quality Manager from work if he understood the part of the presentation that was describing the command function of LIN bus systems. His immediate response was, “yes, it’s a lot like religion.” I was shocked when he said this because that’s exactly what I had thought while listening to the presenter, but I really didn’t think anyone else would be thinking along the same lines.

Let me see if I can write out the DPOD idea. The speaker was describing how LIN and CAN bus systems can be used in the same vehicle by showing the charging schematic for a Volvo S40. He then showed a formula (the command function) of how the BCM, the Body Control Module, communicates with the regulator on the alternator. The BCM is called the master and the regulator is called the slave. The Master sends the communication (bits) to the slave in the first part of the charted formula. The second part is called the break. The break is illustrated by a straight line with bits in a row. The break is the period of time in which the slave is dissecting the information from the master. Next is the sync part of the formula. During the sync, the regulator adjusts to the information received and synchronizes with the bus. The last part of the function is called the Identifier. By this point, the ID must be correct and recognized in order for the slave to then be able to communicate back with the master.

You see, God is our Master and we are the slaves. Let’s listen to Jehovah by reading his Word. Let’s then chew on what the Bible is saying as we think on and dissect the information. It doesn’t stop there, we must change our lives based on the communication from our Master. We must begin to synchronize our lives to what the Bible tells us to do. Then finally, with pure hearts let’s pray and communicate to God for His will to be done.

Thank you, God, for speaking to us; help us to hear your message and to regulate ourselves to your commands.

-RB

James 1:22-25

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

What it really means to be a Christian

Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.

 1 Peter 3:15

I was not raised in church.  My family did not read the Bible.  My family did not pray.  We were not atheists though.  My mother believed in God and taught me that He is real.  I also knew about Jesus and the whole cross thing.  I believed myself to be a Christian and would have said my parents were too.  I went to a small Methodist church as a girl with a neighbor, and later went to a small Baptist church with a friend.  I was a good girl.  I studied hard.  I excelled at school. I managed to avoid many of the pitfalls that my friends fell into.

I was in my first year of college and had made friends with a couple of girls that were believers.  I had an audition to attend near the home of one of these girls and stayed with her one weekend.  As it turned out, I stayed over and went to church with her.  I really liked the church.  It had a great music program and a big college aged class.

I began attending each weekend.  After a few months, I decided to join this church.  I went down front one Sunday morning.  When I got down front I was asked a few questions.  One of them was:

Are you a Christian?

My answer:  yes.

(I’m a good girl.)

I stood down front with the pastor that morning and shook 400 hands.  I was overwhelmed with the entire process.  I went back to my friend’s house for the afternoon and did not realize how my life was getting ready to change.

Isaiah 64:5-7

 You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, who remembers You in Your ways. You are indeed angry, for we have sinned—
In these ways we continue;
 And we need to be saved.

But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

And there is no one who calls on Your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of You.

I went back to church that night to find a guest speaker.  He was a missionary that was traveling around the area raising money for his work.  He stood up and said he had planned all week to preach one sermon, but he had been wrestling with God all afternoon.  He knew that he had to preach another sermon because God had “pressed it upon him all afternoon.”

I sat in the back of that church and listened to a sermon called “What it really means to be a Christian.”  Do you know what I discovered?

I was not a Christian!

I still was a good girl, but as I looked at the Word of God I realized that according to God’s standards, I was a sinner.  I had no relationship with God. I merely had some head knowledge.  My “goodness” was just a filthy rag. The God of the Universe cared enough about my condition to change the sermon of a missionary so that I would know how much I needed His rescue in my life.

As the sermon ended and the invitation began, I knew what I had to do.  I had to go back down there and set the record straight.

I stood there for a moment arguing with myself.  I couldn’t go back down there.  I had told these people this very morning that I was a Christian!  What was I going to do?!  Go back down there and tell them I was wrong?

That is exactly what I did.  I remember the man who was waiting down front was wearing a nametag.  His name was Frank.  I knelt down in the altar of Salem Baptist Church and set the record straight with God.

Then I had to do a very humbling thing.  Humility has been a huge work God has done in my life and He started right away working on it!  I stood there and shook those same 400 hands again.  But this time, I had tears in my eyes and joy in my heart.  I had had a life changing experience!

After this, I was so excited to tell others.  I have spent the past 22 years trying to do just that.

Don’t just be a Baptist.  Don’t just be a Christian.

Be an evangelical Christian.

Be the believer that puts your faith on each day, lives it out, and wins souls for Jesus along the way.

Wake Up, Church!

Be the mighty warriors in the army of the LORD that He saved you to be!!

-bbm 

Romans 10:8-10 

“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach):  that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

A Soul Distressed

He began to be troubled and deeply distressed.  Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch.”  (Mark 14:33b-34)

Who can know the depth and intensity of the heart of God? No one could measure His sorrow over an unrepentant sinner or His joy over a spiritual rebel who relinquishes everything to Him. We can begin to understand what is on the heart of God only when He shares His heart with us (Amos 3:7).

Are you aware of the fervent emotions in the soul of your Lord, as He carries the weight of the world? The disciples were unaware of the deep anguish in the heart of Jesus. Yet, He willingly shared His heart with them. The disciples often seemed disoriented to what Jesus was feeling. When He took delight in young children, His disciples attempted to chase them away (Luke 18:15–16). When Jesus had compassion for a woman living in sin, they acted confused (John 4:27). While Jesus wept at the hopelessness of those facing death, His closest friends grieved as if Jesus had no power to raise the dead (John 11:1–44).

You can choose to be alert to the heart of God. As you seek to understand what God is feeling, He may share with you the intensity of His heart. When you are around other people, God may sensitize you to the love He feels for them. When you see others suffering, you may feel the compassion Jesus feels. When sinners return to God in repentance, you may share the Father’s joy. You will react to evil the way Jesus reacts. If you will remain alert in prayer, Jesus will share His heart with you.

-BMI devotion

When Christ Gives a Command

And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, “Go into the city. . .”  (Mark 14:13)

The two disciples were given very detailed instructions to go to a certain town and look for a particular man performing a specific task. He would have a large room, furnished and ready to observe the Passover. These instructions might have seemed unusual had it not been their Lord speaking, but the two disciples obeyed and found everything just as Jesus had said. Jesus knew exactly what they would find, and so He guided them specifically. One of the most memorable and precious times the disciples would spend with their Teacher hinged on the obedience of these two.

Obedience to Christ’s commands always brings fulfillment. When the Lord gives you instructions, obey immediately. Don’t wait until you have figured it all out and everything makes perfect sense to you. Sometimes God will lead you to do things that you will not fully understand until after you have done them. He does not usually reveal all the details of His will when He first speaks to you. Instead, He tells you enough so you can implement what He has said, but He withholds enough information so that you must continue to rely upon His guidance. Your response will affect what God does next in your life. Your obedience may affect how others around you experience Christ as well. If there is any directive God has given you that you have not obeyed, obey that word immediately and watch God’s perfect plan unfold in your life.

-BMI devotion