VBS Day 5-Hot on the Trail

For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. Hebrews 6:10

 ­The first “work” was done by the Creator as He effortlessly and lovingly worked at creating the universe in six days. His rest on the seventh day wasn’t the result of tiredness on His part but rather to establish a pattern for His creatures. A pattern we (mostly) follow even today—working for six days and resting for one.

And as His image-bearers, we were also created to work. In the beginning, one of the first things God did after creating Adam and Eve was give them jobs to do—the pleasant, easy work of taking care of a garden. At that time, there were no weeds to pull, no thorns to get stuck under a fingernail while picking berries, and no chemical pesticides to reduce the bugs on the plants. Everything worked together harmoniously as Adam and Eve tended the garden.

Of course, the nature of work changed after Adam sinned.  Part of the punishment he received for disobeying God’s command was that his work would now be back-breaking and bone-wearying—no longer the carefree enjoyment of tending a “very good” garden (Genesis 3). He would need to work hard to provide for his family. And this theme continues throughout the rest of the Scriptures and history—his descendants learned to shepherd cattle, make instruments, and work with metal . . . and eventually developed the amazing variety of jobs available to us today.

The writers of the New Testament also emphasized the importance of providing for oneself and one’s family (2 Thessalonians 3:10) and of heartily doing whatever work one finds for the glory of God (Colossians 3:23).

As with everything else, Satan uses the biblical doctrine of work to lead people from the one true God. Contrary to what false religions teach, we cannot work to earn our salvation (Ephesians 2:8–9), and we cannot work to earn His favor after receiving the gift of salvation (Galatians). After we receive the gift of salvation through repentance and faith in Jesus, we can also err if our work for the Lord is not motivated by love for Him first and then love for others but is instead performed out of a sense of duty (Revelation 2:2–6; John 14:15).

So . . . what was your motivation this week as you worked for the Lord at VBS? As you teach your children today, encourage in them a true love for the one true God, based on who He is and what He’s done for us. And ask yourself: Is the one true God my first love? Do I revel in His love for me?

Lord Jesus, If I love thee my soul shall seek thee,

but can I seek thee unless my love to thee

is kept alive to this end?

Do I love thee because thou art good,

and canst alone do me good?

It is fitting thou shouldest not regard me,

for I am vile and selfish;

yet I seek thee,

and when I find thee there is no wrath to devour me,

but only sweet love.

When my mind acts without thee

it spins nothing but deceit and delusion;

When my affections act without thee

nothing is seen but dead works.

O how I need thee to abide in me,

for I have no natural eyes to see thee,

but I live by faith in one whose face to me

is brighter than a thousand suns!

The Son breaks out in glory

when he shows himself as one who outshines all creation,

makes men poor in spirit,

and helps them to find their good in him.

Grant that I may distrust myself, to see my all in thee.

(Excerpt from “Love to Jesus” in The Valley of Vision)

-International Spy Academy Staff Devotion

VBS Day 4-Collecting Clues

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15

 At several points in the past, every person on earth knew and loved the one true God. Adam and Eve were intimately familiar with their Creator who made them in His own image.  They knew His judgment on their sin and His promised provision of salvation (Genesis 3:15). And later, Noah and his family were also intimately familiar with the one true God and His judgment on sin and merciful salvation through the Ark.

Noah’s descendants fell for the lie of Satan—that they should worship the heavens rather than the Creator of the heavens—and God confused their languages, dispersing them across the globe, and causing them to fulfill His command to spread out over the earth (Genesis 10–11). Each group took with them a distorted knowledge of the one true God that has resulted in the many false religions found around the world today. In each view of God from every tribe and nation, there are echoes of the truth.

­Through the Apostle Paul, the one true God reminds us that “He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their

preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and fi nd Him, though He is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:26–27).

­This week, we’ve been instructing children at the International Spy Academy. International because the one true God is the Creator and Redeemer of all people—our relatives—the world over. As we share the good news of the one true God who created us and offers salvation from sin to everyone through His Son, let’s be sure to emphasize that this good news of a victorious resurrected Savior is for everyone and that we have the responsibility to share it with everyone.

May we rejoice with the Puritans who knew the joy of having eternal life with the one true God.

O God of my Exodus,

great was the joy of Israel’s sons,

when Egypt died upon the shore,

Far greater the joy when the Redeemer’s foe lay

crushed in the dust.

Jesus strides forth as the victor,

conqueror of death, hell, and all opposing might;

He bursts the bands of death,

tramples the powers of darkness down,

and lives for ever.

He, my gracious surety,

apprehended for payment of my debt,

comes forth from the prison house of the grave free,

and triumphant over sin, Satan, and death.

Show me herein the proof that his vicarious offering is

accepted,

that the claims of justice are satisfied,

that the devil’s sceptre is shivered,

that his wrongful throne is leveled.

What more could be done than thou hast done!

Thy death is my life,

thy resurrection my peace,

thy ascension my hope,

thy prayers my comfort.

(Excerpt from “Resurrection” in The Valley of Vision)

-International Spy Academy Staff Devotion

VBS Day 3-Cracking Codes

They will perish, but You will endure; yes, they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will change them, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will have no end. Psalm 102:26–27 

Almighty (Genesis 35:11); Beautiful (Psalm 27:4); Comforter (Isaiah 66:13); Defender (Psalm 68:5); Everywhere (omnipresent, Psalm 139:7–12); Father (Matthew 6:9); Great (Psalm 48:1); Healer (Malachi 4:2); Incomprehensible (Romans 11:33); Just (Deuteronomy 32:4); Kind (Ephesians 2:7); Love (1 John 4:8); Mighty (Psalm 50:1); Never ending (Isaiah 9:6); Omnipotent (all-powerful, Jeremiah 32:27); Provider (Genesis 22:9–14); Quiet (1 Kings 19:11–13); Righteous (Psalm 7:17); Sovereign (Psalm 97); Trinity (Matthew 3:16–17); Unparalleled (Jeremiah 10:7); Victor (1 Chronicles 29:11); Wonderful (Isaiah 9:6); Excellent (Psalm 150:2); Yes (2 Corinthians 1:20); Zealous (Isaiah 9:7).

The Great I AM.

­These are just a few of the many attributes of our one true God. In fact, someone once said that because God is infinite, His attributes are infinite. Imagine spending all of eternity discovering more and more about our amazing Creator, only to find out you still haven’t uncovered everything about Him and need the rest of eternity to find out even more reasons to love Him!

Today, you have the great privilege of imparting a deeper understanding of the one true God to your children, focusing on His omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, immutability, and perfection. As with every other aspect of the one true God, Satan twists these into lies. One we’re all familiar with is the lie of “Mother Nature.”

­Think about it.

­The one true God is omnipresent—He is present everywhere in the universe all the time (Psalm 139:7–12). He is not part of His creation; but He sees it all, all the time (Deuteronomy 4:39). How easy is it to morph this into the idea that god is in all and all of creation is god? An episode of Sesame Street (watched by many children) featured a survival guy who discussed all the ways “Nature” gives us what we need—food, water, clothing, shelter. Even Christians carelessly use the term “Mother Nature” in such ways as, “Boy, Mother Nature really packed a wallop with that storm!” When we do this, we point others to a false view of God and encourage them to worship and serve created things rather than the Creator (Romans 1:22–25).

Let’s make sure we consistently point our children to the one true God and talk about His attributes in real, true ways that help us make sense of the world around us.

King of glory, Divine Majesty,

every perfection adorns thy nature and sustains thy throne;

The heavens and earth are thine,

The world is thine and its fullness.

Thy power created the universe from nothing;

Thy wisdom has managed all its multiple concerns,

presiding over nations, families, individuals.

Thy goodness is boundless;

all creatures wait on thee

are supplied by thee,

are satisfied in thee.

How precious are the thoughts of thy mercy and grace!

How excellent thy loving kindness that draws men to thee!

We are weary, give us rest,

knowing that thou hast said,

‘I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.’

Blessed be thy name!

(Excerpt from “Fourth Day Evening: God All-Sufficient”

from The Valley of Vision)

-International Spy Academy Staff Devotion

VBS-Day 1–Uncovering Counterfeits

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10

At International Spy Academy, we’re encouraging our kids to learn about, love, and live for the one true God. But . . . how do we know the one true God even exists? It’s a question that has crossed the mind of every believer at some point—sure, I believe in God, but how do I know the God I love and serve is truly the one true God?

Before we answer that question, let’s go a bit further by asking another question: how can we know anything? How do we even know to question the surety of God’s existence?

Here’s the answer: apart from the perfect, truthful, unchanging, eternal God of the Bible, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3) and from whom come knowledge and understanding (Proverbs 9:10), we cannot know anything.

­Think about it.

If, as some suggest, there is no god—no ultimate standard of truth and knowledge—and we are simply the product of random processes operating on chemicals over time, then the thoughts in our brains are nothing more than the product of random chemical interactions. How could we know anything?

If, as others suggest, our universe is ruled by a god who is not eternal (Mormonism, History of the Church, vol. 6, ch. 14, p. 305–6) or who is deceptive (Islam, Koran 3:54, 8:30), how could we be sure that what we know is true today will still be true tomorrow?

­The one true God of the Bible has created each person in His image, giving us the ability to think rationally, to question thoughtfully, to know truth fully. And He has revealed Himself to everyone so that no one is without excuse (Romans 1:18–21). ­ Those who deny His existence or seek to change Him into a false version of Himself are willfully ignorant, suppressing the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18).

We can know the one true God exists because we have the ability to know in the first place. And we can praise Him that He freely gives wisdom to those who ask for it (James 1:5). ­ This week, let’s be quick to seek wisdom from the one true God as we teach our children to uncover the counterfeit gods and to know the one true God and embrace Him fully.

May we be thankful as the Puritans were, not only that we can know things but that the one true God has enabled us to know Him.

Glorious God,

I bless thee that I know thee.

I once lived in the world, but was ignorant of its Creator,

was partaker of thy providences, but knew not the Provider,

was blind while enjoying the sunlight,

was deaf to all things spiritual, with voices all around me,

understood many things, but had no knowledge of thy ways,

saw the world, but did not see Jesus only.

O happy day, when in thy love’s sovereignty

thou didst look on me, and call me by grace.

Grant that I may always weep to the praise of mercy found,

and tell to others as long as I live,

that thou art a sin-pardoning God,

taking up the blasphemer and the ungodly,

and washing them from their deepest stain.

(Excerpt from “The Great Discovery” in The Valley of

Vision)

-International Spy Academy Staff Devotions

Noah Walked with God

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. . . Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. (Genesis 6:8-9)

No matter how ungodly the environment you may be in, God will always find you and walk with you. Noah lived in perhaps the most wicked age in history. No one worshiped God. All the people worshiped idols and pursued their own sinful pleasures. Noah’s neighbors were evil; every person he associated with in the marketplace, or along the street, or in public gatherings, ridiculed the very thought of being faithful to God. Every temptation imaginable was abundantly available to Noah. How oppressive such an environment would have been to a righteous person!

The people of Noah’s day were so wicked that God planned the most complete and drastic act of judgment recorded in Scripture. Nevertheless, Noah was not lost to God in the crowd of sinners. God noticed every act of Noah’s righteousness. Noah had chosen to live uprightly before God despite what everyone around him was doing, and God had observed him. There may have been times when Noah wondered if it mattered if he lived a righteous life, since no one else was. Yet he continued, and his persistence in righteousness saved his life and the lives of his family members.

Are you constantly surrounded by evil? Do you struggle at times to live a righteous life when those you associate with each day have no concern for God? Find assurance in the life of Noah. God watches you, even as He observed Noah. God will seek you out of the crowd every time, and He wants to bless you and your family just as He blessed Noah.

-BMI Devotion

 

Point of No Return

Luke 9:62

Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

ESV

My brother, Pastor Clint Miller preached six very powerful messages this week at iCamp 2009.  Thursday night, Clint preached from Luke chapter nine.  In his message, he mentioned a tragic plane crash that occurred in recent months involving a plane that ended up on the wrong runway.  The runway was too short to give the large plane enough room to gain the speed required for lift.

Just after leaving the ground, the plane crashed.  Critics (all of whom have never flown an aircraft) were quick to ask why the pilot didn’t just abort the launch when he saw that the runway was too short!  The answer is this:  There is a point on every runway that is called “the point of no return.”  This is the point at which your speed in relation to your position on the runway renders it impossible to stop the aircraft by the end of the runway!

The call to you and I is that we will live our Christian lives “past the point of no return.”  We should live so committed to following Jesus Christ that nothing, including death, is able to cause us to change our minds about following Christ!

Take a moment and read the account of the call of Elisha.  Elisha was a man that made some intentional moves to push him past the point of no return!  Read the text below to understand what Elisha did to get past the point of no return.

-BP

I Kings 10:19ff

So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him.  And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?”  And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.

ESV

Why Did God Accept Abel’s Offering and Reject Cain’s?

“The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.”

—Genesis 4:4–5

First, we must not suppose that Abel’s offering was accepted because it was a blood sacrifice and Cain’s rejected because it was bloodless. Each gave according to his vocation, but Abel gave the firstborn, the fattest of his flock, while Cain gave fruit that was not the firstfruits. As such, at issue was a disposition of the heart.

Furthermore, Cain’s disposition is evident in his angry and downcast countenance. Sin reigned in him with such vulgar vengeance that he embodied the character and craftiness of his father the devil—”a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44). Cain invited an unsuspecting Abel to the field and there murdered him with malice and forethought.

Finally, Cain’s evil disposition is evidenced in the complaint regarding the severity of his punishment. He was bothered not by the content of his sin but by its consequences. It was not penitence but punishment that caused Cain to plead for protection from Adam’s posterity. Cain’s offering in Genesis highlights the reality that man looks on the outward appearance, but the eyes of God pierce externalities and perceive the intent of the heart.

-Hank Hanegraaff

God Speaks in Many Times and Ways

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son. (Hebrews 1:1-2a)

Our generation is preoccupied with methods. When we find a program that works in one business, we immediately want to package and distribute it so that it will work for others. This attitude carries over into the spiritual life as well. We spend much energy looking for spiritual disciplines, books, seminars, or conferences that “work” in order to feel satisfied with our Christian life. God does not want us to trust in methods. He wants us to trust in Him.

Trusting in methods rather than in a Person seriously limits the way we experience God. When we expect Him to speak to us only in predictable ways, we forget that God is much more complex than our perception of Him. In times past, God spoke in dreams and visions. He used nature; miraculous signs; prophets; a still, small voice; fire; trumpets; fleece; the casting of lots; and angels. He spoke in the middle of the night, during worship services, at mealtimes, during funerals, while people were walking along the road, through sermons, in the middle of a storm, and through His Son.

The important thing was not how God communicated, but that He spoke. If God always spoke to us through dreams, we would remain in our beds awaiting a divine revelation! The means God uses to communicate with us is irrelevant; the fact that He is communicating is what is critical.

Don’t limit yourself to a method, expecting only to hear from your Father in predictable ways. Rather, open yourself up to other means by which God wants to commune with you. Allow the Holy Spirit to sensitize you to God’s message at all times, in every location, under any circumstance. Then you will experience God in entirely new dimensions as you are receptive to His voice.

-BMI devotion

 

Obey, Do not Delay

Exodus 12:5-10

The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.  Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.  Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.  That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast.  Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs.  Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it.

I currently have my granddaughters living with me; they are seven and two years old.  I love having them around, but I am still trying to teach the two year old to obey me when I tell her to do something.  She has a bad habit of telling me “no”, and if she decides to not say “no” she usually waits a long time before actually obeying (which the delay in itself is disobedience).

One such occurrence was a couple of days ago.  I was going outside to take my dog for a walk and the older granddaughter asked if she could go with me.  I told her yes, knowing that the two year-old would want to go as well.  However, I told the younger one to stay at the house because she had just taken a bath and wasn’t dressed to go for a walk.  As me and my granddaughter were walking my dog and were walking down the road almost out of sight of my house, I saw the younger one come running out of the house in some flip flops she had just put on and a long night shirt.  I yelled at her from the road to stay on the porch and to not come out to the road.  As she continued to run down the driveway to go to the road, I continued to command her to not run to the road.  Needless to say, I had to turn around and meet her at the end of the driveway at the road.  It wasn’t until I was standing right in front of her did she turn from me upset and run back to the house.

Just like the command that I was giving my granddaughter was important because it is not safe for her to run to the road without an adult, so the commands that God gives us are important and for our own good.  In Exodus 12, God is giving Moses and Aaron commands to tell the Israelites for them to obey on the night of Passover.  The commands were really important for them to obey because it would keep death from coming into their house and killing their firstborn.  Not only were the commands for their benefit, but they were for ours as well because of the symbolism and portrayal of Christ that can be found in them for us.  Not only did Jehovah give commands on what to do, but he told the Israelites how to do it.  “And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S passover.”  (vs 11).

Not only should we obey God, but we should obey him in haste…quickly.  In obedience, we should also be ready as we get prepared (with our loins girded, shoes on our feet, and staff in our hand) to see God move and work.

If we are not obedient children, then God may choose to allow us to face punishment that will cause us to quickly obey.  “And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said.  Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.  And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.”  (vs 31-33)

Let’s not wait for the punishment before obeying.  Instead, let’s strive to be obedient children, quickly carrying out God’s will and way.

-RB

1 Peter 1:13-16

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

Bring out the Book

And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel (Neh. 8:1).

This incident is in some ways a foreshadowing of an event that will happen many years in the future. Both these events brought together a nation to hear from God. Both would contain a call to repentance for the people of Israel.

The future event is found in the Book of Acts. The disciples were in the upper room waiting to hear from God. Just as these Israelites came together as one, the scripture denotes the same unity for those in the upper room. And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place (Acts 2:1).

The anointing of God came upon those in the Book of Acts. They came out to preach to all who would listen. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language (Acts 2:6). The comparison could be made here between Ezra and Peter. Both spoke the words of a prophet that came long before them. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel (Acts 2:16). Both men also spoke words that would call others to repent and follow after the Lord and His Word. Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:38).

The finding of these comparable situations in the Old Testament and the New Testament reinforce the importance of both events. In both events, the Word of God was spoken over a nation. Many heard this and in their hearts they felt the need to turn to God. In the Book of Nehemiah, the people broke out in praise and worship to God. In the Book of Acts, many accepted the free pardon of sin that Jesus offers.

There is a great need in today’s society for more of God’s Word. As believers, we need to dedicate ourselves to the reading and sharing of The Word of God to any who will listen. God uses the sharing of His Word to bring about awareness of His Will, which produces great results.

So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it (Isa. 55:11).

-sbc.net

Thought for Today:

When our minds are transformed by God’s Word, we can serve Him in the strength of the Holy Spirit.