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Daily Dev - Thursday, 2/23/2012 |
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Good Morning on Thursday,
As I was typing this devotional, my son, Steve came in to share the news about passing an important exam for his EMT course at WCTC. He was emotional as he shared about passing this important exam for the course. I rejoiced with him in answered prayers and in his hard work in attaining the level of success in this class. As we sat and chatted about that exam and other matters, two gray squirrels came to the base of the birdfeeder outside my study window. We watched as they ate the seeds and then started to “fight” with each other. It seemed after watching them for five minutes that they were competing for the area around the base of the feeder. The larger squirrel seemed to be the victor today. The smaller one ate outside the area while the larger one feasted on the many seeds at the base of the feeder. I thank God for the privilege of watching God’s creation in real life!!!
THE CHAPTER IN THE BIBLE – DEUTERONOMY 28
This chapter 27 it speaks about the place where the blessings and curses were supposed to be declared once the children of Israel crossed the Jordon River. Some of the leaders of the tribes were to stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people and another group of leaders of the other half God was to lay out those blessings and the curses before the people of Israel.
The blessings of god are shared in Deut. 28:1-14. They give to the nation of Israel those things which God would do for those who would diligently obey the Lord God and are careful to do all His commands. It was important for them to hear the blessings they would reap if they followed the ways of the Lord.
Verse 11 says it so well when it states, “The LORD will make you abound in prosperity…in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you.” The nations would esteem Israel and He would allow the nations to see that it was Jehovah-God who blessed them and they would be afraid of them. They would become the head of all nations and not the tail, if they listened to what God told them to do.
The curses would come upon Israel if they were to indulge in the wicked acts noted in Deut. 27:15-26. The top abomination (one that God extremely hated) to God was the sin of idolatry. Please note in verse 15 that this included any secret idols that they set up in the land of Israel. The people were to respond with a hearty “Amen” or “I agree with the curse”. Each of the curses would come upon the nation should they chose to rebel against God and the people were to agree with an “Amen”.
In the 28th chapter of Deuteronomy God lays out the curses that would come upon the people as well as the individuals that would be walking outside the will of God. The plagues of God would come in many forms and at different times. Some would affect the family, some would affect the city they lived in and others the entire nation. The bottom line is that the nation of Israel as a whole (not completely, but mostly) had forsaken to follow God’s laws and will.
The more and the longer that Israel sinned against God the more drastic would be the curse upon the nation. These curses and wonders would come upon them because they chose to leave the God of their deliverance. Those curses would follow the next generation unless there was a national revival. God would extend grace and mercy, but only when one turned their hearts fully toward the Lord God.
God makes a very powerful statement in verse 63, “It shall come about that as the Lord delighted ovr you to prosper you, and multiply you, so the LORD will delight over you to make you perish and destroy you…” The same intensity and desire by God to bless and to curse stood between God and His people.
God always deals with His children. Even today God is not silent, but He does deal with us righteously and fairly. We do not have a list of blessings and curses as Christians, but God does still deal with us and our families by His power. Oh that we would desire to follow the Lord with all our hearts, souls and minds. Where are you in your walk before God?
In His love,
Pastor Les |
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Daily Dev - Wednesday, 2/22/2012 |
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Good Morning Again,
Have you done your taxes yet? Yes, it is over a month and one-half before April 15. I have always been one to begin doing my taxes before March 1 and get them ready to go before the deadline. I like to DO IT NOW in my life and be ahead of the game. I dislike procrastinating and waiting until the last minute. With tax laws constantly changing and finding that the IRS and I disagreed over the past years, I decided to begin using a CPA to do my taxes. He is a Christian man and last year saved me “tons of money” that I would have not found to help us reduce our tax payment to the IRS. I appreciate a man with the expertise and the wisdom to help me save many, many hours of reading, work and still not get the job done correctly. May you find someone to help you with your taxes that is reliable and then entrust yourself to that person to do a good job! Have a good tax year!
THE CHAPTER IN THE BIBLE – DEUTERONOMY 8
Deuteronomy 8 was the chapter that I was going to preach on this coming Sunday, but it is not the one that God decided that I preach on. Sometimes wires get crossed, and they did, and I decided to let the wires be crossed because my sermon for Sunday was nearly completed a week or two before this time. This chapter is important to Americans because we are just like the Israelites.
God was going to bring them into the good land after 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. God had humbled Israel by testing them (v.2) and letting them know what was in their heart (God already knew). God did this by letting them get hungry and then giving them manna.
But, God was a gracious God and gave them clothing that did not wear out, feet that did not swell after many mile walked in a day and provided water for the entire trip. All Israel had to do was to walk in the ways of God and to fear Him.
God was going to bring Israel into a good land with everything that they would need to exist and enjoy. God wanted Israel not to forget God and all the good that He had bestowed upon them. What happens so often is when God gives us good things in this life, when He answers prayers for us and when God comes to our aid in times of need that we forget the blessings that we have received. We become proud and self-reliant and tend to forget God.
Americans have been given so very much in possessions, good things and many wants (not needs) are ours all the time. We become self-reliant and become proud of what we have and what we have done. We do not boast about our God, but about our involvement and our successes in this life. God takes second-place at best or just a minor part of our daily lives.
Verse 17 says it so well, “Otherwise, you may say in your heart (not even out loud), ‘My power the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’” Not only do we forget about God but we make ourselves, our possessions or our successes our idols. They replace the true God of the universe and the Savior who gave His life to set us free from our sins.
May you and I not be like that. May we make a commitment to keep the Lord Jesus Christ in first place in our lives. May we be thankful, grateful and humble for all that we have and all that we have been given by HIS hand.
In His love,
Pastor Les |
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Daily Dev - Tuesday, 2/21/2012 |
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Good Morning,
Over week ago we had a circulating pump motor begin to make a racket down in the basement of the church in the boiler room. I called the company that works on our equipment and he came in on Saturday to make sure we had heat for Sunday. The coupler was replaced and some rubber mounts needed to be ordered and replaced as well. When Monday came around the motor was still sending noises out so I called the company again to look at alternatives. After a search was made by the company lead man, Chris, he stated that he was looking into another motor with another company. The previous company had parts that were not coming in quickly and the pumps were expensive. A long story short, we purchased a new pump from another company yet the total amount for replacement will be over $1,000. We praise the Lord for heat!!!
How is your O’BOB reading coming along?
THE CHAPTER IN THE BIBLE – DEUTERONOMY 7
As I read this chapter, I would call the first eleven verses “A Call to Holiness.” God was planning to send His people, Israel, into the land of seven nations who were very wicked at this time. God was going to go before the Jews and deliver the enemies of God to them and allow the Israelites to conquer all seven nations.
God wanted to prevent any tarnishing of sin in His people so God gave them commands to keep them holy before the Lord. Here are three specific warnings that God gave to Israel:
- They were not to make any covenant (promises, agreements) with the people of those nations and show them no favor or grace.
- Israel was to make sure that their children would not intermarry the sons and daughters of the people of Canaan.
- The people of Israel were to make sure to tear down their altars, their sacred pillars, their Asherim and burn any graven images with fire.
If any of these commands were not followed, the people of the land and their idols would turn them away from following the LORD. God chose Israel to be HIS people and to be a holy people.
God then shares some of the promises that He gave to Israel so that they would know that were His chosen people. If Israel was obedient there were many promises that God would fulfill on their behalf.
Is it worth following the Lord today? Yes, we are not like the nation of Israel who are either blessed or cursed by our actions, but God still deals with His children in a fair and just way. God does care for us above the average person in this world. But, God will chasten us if we are disobedient to His will for our lives.
God has chosen us individually and given us a position that is special in His sight. Yet, God does discipline us as His children as a father would a son (Heb. 12:3-11). God desires us to walk a holy walk and talk a holy talk. But, it is our free will to choose the way in which we talk and walk. How are you doing in your Christian life? Are you responding to God’s Word and His will for your life? Are you living a godly lifestyle before HIM?
In His love,
Pastor Les |
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Daily Dev - Monday, 2/20/2012 |
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Good Morning,
It is a new work week. I began my work week yesterday with a great time of worship and preaching the Word of God. I feel very privileged to proclaim the message of truth on Sundays, but also in each day that I live and talk with people wherever I am in life. God has given to each of us Christians the privilege but also the obligation to share what we know to be truth in a world starving for good wisdom and knowledge. This world has nothing to offer the people. As God’s Word says, “The foolishness of God is wiser than men…but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise,…” (1 Cor. 1:25a, 27a – NASV95). If we understand the truth of what God says, it is our obligation to stand strong upon that truth and proclaim it in love. It does not depend upon whether anyone believes or accepts the truth of God, it is our duty to share it with others in a loving way. How are you doing in that area of your life?
THE CHAPTER IN THE BIBLE – DEUTERONOMY 6
This chapter is for those of you that are parents or one day will be parents. When we are young, most of us thought about getting married and having kids. It is normal for most youth even today. The thought of having kids is like having a little puppy dog. They are fun to watch, enjoyable to play with and are so full of energy. Yet to have a puppy or a child is a huge responsibility. It takes a lot of work…I said that it takes a lot of work and many years of faithful, godly work to produce a quality adult. Sometimes no matter how hard we try the child is not guaranteed to turn out “quality”.
Here are some ways to help us to attain that level of quality that God desires in each of us with our kids. It does not guarantee any success, but if one does not follow what God is speaking about in this chapter, the failure rate is extremely high. Just look all around you in this world. Only a few are following the edicts of this chapter as parents. The results are also inevitable after 18 years of raising our kids.
Moses tells the people of Israel that they need to listen and be careful to do what He says. Most parents are not listening to God speak and that is the biggest problem. Yes, they may be reading their Bibles from time to time, reading good Christian literature and even going to church to listen to a preacher proclaim the Word of God. But, are our hearts and minds engaged in what is being shared?
Secondly, we need to be standing strong on the fact that God is one. There is no God but our God, the God of the Bible. We call Him Jesus or Jehovah or God. Out of this comes the command to love God with all that we are. This third directive by Moses is where the love that we have for God will come out in our life. The more we love God, the more we will live for HIM and desire to do His will in and through our lives.
Fourthly, we need to teach the Word of God to our kids. It is hard with all the distractions today in our world. It begins with television, electronic equipment and the information that is pouring into their hearts and minds with all the media. Their minds get focused on what is pleasant to their ears, eyes and senses. The world is glamorous and draws them away from the things of God. Soon they are absorbed in these areas of their world.
Yet, God wants us to teach the Word of God day in, day out, morning, noon and night. He wants us to constantly look for opportunities to teach our kids truth no matter if they listen or respond properly or to live accordingly to what is truth. My/our responsibility is to teach them. Their response before God is being accountable to Him in their future and in God’s presence. Are we doing what we are called and demanded to do? That is the big question!
In His love,
Pastor Les |
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Daily Dev - Friday, 2/17/2012 |
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Good Morning, It is Friday!
On the way to see my friend, Mike, at the hospital for surgery last week I got on the freeway only to be held up by some unknown problem ahead of me. It took about 15 minutes to find that there was an accident near Miller Park on the freeway and a pickup truck had been in the accident and had a fire in the engine. The fire truck and the firemen had put it out, but the truck was a mess. By the grace of God it could have been me. I am thankful for safety each time that I go out and drive a few miles or a long trip. I need God’s protection on every trip. His guiding hand and his watch and care over me is incredibly important. I give HIM praise when I return to my garage safely and thank Him for His hand in my life each day!!!
THE CHAPTER IN THE BIBLE – DEUTERONOMY 3
As Israel faced the enemies along the way to Canaan Land, God made it very clear that they were to destroy all of the people. They were to leave no survivor. In Deut. 20:16-17 it says, “Only in the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, you shall not leave alive anything that breathes. But you shall utterly destroy them…as the Lord you God has commanded you.” (NASB95) (compare Deut. 7:1-5)
Why did God command the people of Israel to do such a thing? The first reason is because the sin of the people in the land of Canaan had become so wicked that God needed to punish them for their wickedness. Just as in the day of Noah, the wickedness of the people was great and God made the decision to destroy all of the people except eight (read Genesis 6:5-6).
Secondly, if the people would allow some of the people to live, they would infect the Israelites with their sinning ways. God had called Israel to be holy and to separate themselves from the people of the land. This did not happen and the results became very evident in the tribes of Israel and in the generations that followed.
We find that the people of Israel obeyed God in the beginning. They fought against the kingdom of Og and later against the kingdom of Sihon. We find in verses 3 and 6 that the people of Israel left no survivor and utterly destroyed the men, women and children of every city. This was God desired because their sin was great in the land.
We live in a very sinful society in America as well as throughout the world. All around us we see sin. Obviously God has not called us to be militants, but to be a light in a dark and hopeless world of unbelief. We are not to go around and kill people but to give them the gospel and the way to eternal life.
Yet as we live in this world, we are often stained with sin. It is not easy living for the Lord Jesus Christ and being holy before God. Yet, this is the test of our faith. We find that this was so with the people of Israel (cp. Judges 3:4). [The cp. means compare] Those that lived in the land tested the faith of God’s people and they failed miserably.
How are you doing in the middle of a cruel and wicked world? Yes, the temptations to follow the ways of the world, to think, talk and act like the ungodly and even to sin the way the unbelievers sin are ever so present. Yet, God has called us to holiness. It is only by the help of God as we read His Word and allow God’s Spirit to live above this world and unto our Savior. May you lean upon HIM today to help you live a more godly life for His glory!
Praying for you,
Pastor Les
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