Faithful & Just (06/15/2011)

We just want to take some time this week and thank God for his tender mercies. It is true that we reference them often in these devotionals, and, it is because we become more aware daily of just how merciful a God we serve. We know that we fail Him daily, but, we have a promise in I John that we can cling to: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." What a blessing that is, to know that He is faithful to forgive, but not only to forgive, but to cleanse us from our unrighteousness.

That's not to say that we have license to sin freely. The Bible gives us no such permission. Proverbs 3 tells us that "whom the LORD loveth, he correcteth," and Hebrews 12 tells us that "whom the lord loveth he chasteneth." How much more rewarding would our lives be if we would only set our sin aside at the beginning, rather than having to be corrected by our God. The part that we seem to want to leave out is that, while God is faithful to forgive, our God is also just.

We again acknowledge our failures, and add our note of thankfulness for God's forgiveness. In Habbakuk 3, the prophet prays to the Lord, "O LORD, I have heard thy speech and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in this midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy." We are so thankful that God has always remembered mercy with His children. Not only are we glad of that, but that He also "...is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." I am thankful today for the opportunity to come to repentance, that was given to me so many years ago.

In closing, we again claim what has perhaps become our very favorite verses in scripture, Lamentations 3:22-23, "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness." We are so thankful that, even if we stumble, our Lord is there to offer repentance, and to cleanse us. Would that we would stumble less, and serve more.

Would that God would open our eyes more and more to his tender mercies. We praise Him this week for them. May God bless you is our earnest prayer.

Scott
 

Honorable Vessels (06/01/2011)

Wood, Hay, & Stubble (05/09/2011)

Our thought today turns to the foundation of our faith. Upon what foundation is your faith built upon? I Corinthians 5 puts it this way:

v. 12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
v. 13 Every man's work shall be manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
v. 14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
v. 15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

What do our works say about us? Are we working for Jesus Christ, following scriptural instruction? And is our foundation sure? Or are we, as described in Ephesians 4 and James 1, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine? Let it not be so.

Our prayer is that we would all let our faith be upon a firm foundation. Jesus is the head corner stone, the one that builders rejected, according to Matthew 21, Mark 12, Luke 20, and Acts 4. Let's renew our commitment to a ministry pleasing unto him. Let us learn from Luke 6:

v. 47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
v. 48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
v. 49 But he that heareth, and doeth it not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

Is Jesus our foundation? If not, my fear is that, like the man mentioned in verse 49, our ruin will be great.

How do we keep Christ as our foundation? By reading the Word, by prayer, and by fellowship. John 1 tells us that Christ is the Word...and was made flesh and dwelt among us. Draw nigh to him through his word. As instructed in II Timothy 2, study to shew thyself approved...rightly dividing the word of truth. And, as instructed in I Thessalonians 5, pray without ceasing.

It is our prayer for each of our readers, as well as ourselves, that we make sure our foundation is in the Word as we go forward this month and this summer. We love you and may God bless each of you is our prayer.

Scott
 

When the Stone Rolled Away (04/22/11)

"When the stone rolled away
The Rock of Ages walked out
The Lily bloomed in all His glory so fair
At sunrise, the Son rose
In victory and power
And someday we will rise to meet Him in the air."

Those lyrics are from a song the Perrys made famous back in the early-to-mid 1990's called "Rock of Ages." It has been the most frequent of all the "Easter" songs on my heart this week. As many of you know, this is my favorite season of the year, and not just because of the weather. It is my personal favorite because it is a time when we all look to the cross and the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus, and in addition to that, we celebrate His resurrection. Obviously, I believe that the resurrection should be celebrated every minute of every hour of every day by those of us who have a personal relationship with him, but, even with that said, there's something special in my heart about Easter.

I've re-read Matthew 27 and the story of Jesus' being turned over to Pilate, and Barabbas' release into the crowd, followed by the crucifixion and entombment of Jesus. I haven't read Matthew 28 just yet as I write, but the even the anticipation of the story of the resurrection excites me. Among the verses on my heart, though, are these from Romans 5:

v. 6 "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
v. 7 "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
v. 8 "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

How amazing it is to think that God would send his Son to die for us? "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" As David wrote these words in Psalm 8, how he realized how small man was, yet the Lord saw fit to visit with him. What an amazing God!

We are so thankful for the sacrificial death of Jesus, knowing that, without it, there would be no salvation. But we are so glad the story did not end there. Jesus told Martha in John 11, "I am the resurrection." He proved this by raising Lazarus and others, but, it was this that ultimately gives the victory to you and me:

"In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
"And behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
"His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
"And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
"And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
"He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay." - Matthew 28:1-6

Because of his death, burial, and his resurrection, we can look to the promises of I Corinthians 15:21 "For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead." We'll not write the whole thing for sake of space and time, but the same chapter goes on to say:

v. 51 "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
v. 52 "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
v. 53 "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, v. 54 "So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
v. 55 "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
v. 56 "The sting of death is sin; and the strengthing of sin is the law
v. 57 "But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
v. 58 "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain the Lord."

It's not in vain. If you're not acquainted with Jesus Christ in a personal relationship, we urge you to come to know Him today.

"We have hope not only in this life, uncertain
For Jesus promised that one day we'll live again --
That's the hope that we cherish
Though this body may perish,
And glorified, we will rise to live with Him."

Thank God for his resurrection this season. May God bless you is our prayer.

Scott

Wilt Thou Revive Us Again? (03/22/2011)

Psalm 85:6 reads, "Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?"

Psalm 85 is an interesting read. In the early part of the psalm, David praises God for having been favorable unto the land, forgiving the people, covering their sin, and being merciful. He then pleads with the Lord in verse 5, "Wilt thou be angry with us forever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?" And in verse 7, "Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation."

Is this our prayer as Christians? Do we open our prayers with praise, as David did? Even more so as the Lord instructed when he told us to open our prayers with "hallowed be thy name?" In Psalm 22:3 David claims "But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel." Are we offering praise to the Lamb of God in our prayers. The Bible places an importance upon that act. We need to find ourselves in God's praise if we want to see revival.

Going back to Psalm 85, the verses through the middle of the chapter seem to reveal a desperation in David's voice, e.g., "Wilt thou be angry with us forever?" Do we plead with God over our land, over our loved ones? I dare say we are failing in this area. Matthew 5:4 says it this way, "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." Are we mournful over sin? Are we mournful when we have strayed away from God?

These are just a couple of steps to revival in our land. Loved ones around us need the Lord, and, in many ways, so does our land. Prophecies are being fulfilled daily around us, and our redemption draweth nigh, according to scripture. We need to be praying for revival in our land, aware that it is Jesus alone that can send it. Too often we are like those disciples that we mention in these devotions from time to time, wondering why we have no power with God. But, as Jesus said to them in Mark 9 and Matthew 17, it requires prayer and fasting.

To have a real revival we need to be honest with ourselves and before God, and admit that we are oftentimes shy of doing what we have been asked. Or we are trying to do things on our own without listening to the will of God. "But by prayer and fasting" is what is required of us. So, this week, let's get in our prayer closets and ask the Lord for wisdom that he has promised not to upbraid (James 1), and listen to what He would bid us to do. We need to realize that souls are at stake, and this is serious business.

Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?

May God bless you is our prayer.

Scott
 

And Thy House (03/07/11)

This week we will deal with a very familiar passage, Acts 16. For those unfamiliar, Paul and Silas had been preaching in several cities, and in Phillipi they preached and baptized, and cast out a spirit of divination from a certain damsel (vs. 12-18). Thereafter, they were accused by that woman's masters, who turned Paul and Silas to the magistrates, after which they were beaten and jailed (vs. 19-24).

But the story doesn't end there. No, Paul and Silas, even after being beaten and placed in stocks in the inner prison, sang praises unto God (vs. 25). The prisoners heard what was going on, and, subsequent to, or even while they were singing, an earthquake came to loose all the prisoners. By custom, the jailer could have lawfully been put to death had any of them escaped. With fear in his heart, he set forth to take his own life, but it was Paul who proclaimed to him, "Do thyself no harm: for we are all here (vs. 28)." The following verses pick up the story:

v. 29: Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
v. 30: And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
v. 31: And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
v. 32: And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
v. 33: And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
v. 34: And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing God with all his house.

Are their believers in our house? We believe that God's will would have it so. If our loved ones are not believers, then let us pray without ceasing, as it says in I Thessalonians 5. Let us have the faith mentioned in Matthew 7 and Mark 9, which only comes by prayer and fasting, that our loved ones might come to know our Lord and Savior. James 5:16 tells us to "...pray for one another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

Are our prayers fervent? I dare say in many of our cases they are not nearly fervent enough, which is why they are not as effective as we would desire. "This kind cometh not but by prayer and fasting." We, including your writer tonight, need to get back to prayer and fasting, setting aside our vain repititions, and looking to the author and finisher of our faith, as it says in Hebrews 12. Likewise, as it says in Hebrews 12, it is time to lay aside the weights, and run the race that is set before us.

Are we doing enough to show our light to a lost and a dying world, especially those who may be closest to us? Our prayer is that it would be so.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. Our prayer is that our houses would be saved. That we all think on these things is our prayer tonight. May God bless you is our humble desire.

Scott

Zeal (02/16/11)

Dictionary.com defines zeal as "fervor for a person, cause or object; eager desire or endeavor; enthusiastic diligence..." Those sound like good quailities that a Christian should have toward our Lord, but, can we back it up with scripture? What does the Bible tell us about zeal?

In the Book of Revelation, the Lord is admonishing the Laodicean church in chapter 3, verses 15 and 16 for being "lukewarm," that is, "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would that thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." Are we lukewarm? The answer would seem to be yes for the greatest portion of us. We encourage you to read the complete text from Revelation 3:13-22, as we believe this is quite true in the age we live. We get far too complacent, content, and busy to acknowledge or get excited about the things of God.

But the Lord wants it otherwise. In verse 19 the Laodiceans are told, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent." Do we have a zeal for Christ? If we don't, we are told to repent, and become zealous for him.

Another oft-quoted scripture is Titus chapter 2, where it tells that God's grace "hath appeared unto all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Are we being zealous while looking for Christ's appearance? I dare say that sometimes are we not only apathetic, but we are failing to look for Christ's appearance at all.

It does not have to be, though. Going back to Revelation 3, the Lord says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." Will we answer his knock this week? Let's get excited about the things the Lord has prepared for us. According to scripture in Isaiah 64 and I Corinthians 2:9, the things God hath prepared are far more than we can imagine. And we should get excited, zealous, and share our Lord with our fellow man this week.

Get all excited, go tell everybody that Jesus Christ is King, as the old song says. May God bless you is our prayer.

Scott

This Little Light of Mine (01/31/11)

This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine...

The above are lyrics from a popular sing-along that probably all of us know, and our topic this week is that light which is spoken about in that song. Matthew 5:16 states, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Are we showing forth good works in our life? More so are we glorifying the Father. I Corinthians 10:31 tells us, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."

More scripture in Matthew 5 tells us, "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house." Are we lighting our house? Or have we put our lights under the proverbial bushel? What are men seeing from our lives? Are we magnifying Jesus Christ in our actions?

We should be glorifying the Lord, and we should be preaching the gospel, according our great commission given forth in the gospels. II Corinthians 4:3,4 says, "...if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." Are we sharing the gospel? My belief is that many of us fail in this area. Let us pray that we do shew forth the gospel and teach to them that are lost, that they might become believers.

Paul said, "...I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it si the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." Are we being ashamed of the gospel? God forbid. Luke 9:26 tells us, "For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels." Let us not be ashamed here, that our Lord might not be ashamed toward us, "for the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. (Romans 10:11)"

The world is dying around us, and many of them are dying without a knowledge, and without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It is our duty as Christians to show them the light. I John 14:5,6 declares that "...God is light, in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth..." Let us not be found walking in darkness, but in light, that the world may see God glorified in our lives.

As for us, we know that no matter how well we walk, our righteousness is but as filthy rags, according to scripture, but that God is merciful, with new mercies every morning. It is with this knowledge that we proclaim to all that there is a need for a savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 14, "...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Let's let our lights shine, let's point men to Jesus, and then they, too, will have a light to set upon an hill and shine before men.

Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine...

May God bless you is our earnest prayer.

Scott
 

Hath a Nation Changed Their Gods? (01/24/11)

Jeremiah 2:10: "Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit." This is our text verse for this week's devotional. Before you tune this lesson out, or think that its writer is here to decry the politics of the day, we encourage you to read the first few chapters of Jeremiah. It deals with Israel's turning away to strange gods, and generally failing to obey the voice of the Lord. I'm not here this week to talk about our nation, but rather how this statement applies to us in our individual homes and lives.

Are those of us that claim to Christians, people of faith, guilty of changing our glory to that which does not profit? Probably more often that not, the answer is yes. I Corinthians 10:31 tells us, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." Are we giving God glory with our life? Are we giving him glory with our testimony? Or have we become so preoccupied with our circumstance and busy with worldly things that we forget the most important One? My fear is that it is so.

While most of us would think of building idols of wood, or stone, or clay would seem totally and utterly ridiculous in our current day, are we truthfully putting the Lord Jesus Christ first in our daily lives? In Exodus, in the Ten Commandments, we are told "Thou shalt have no other gods before me...thou shalt not bow to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God... (Exodus 20:2,4)." Are we putting people, things, or activities ahead of the Lord Jesus? We pray this is not the case.

In Jeremiah 3 the backsliding Israel is repeatedly compared to an adulterous spouse, but the LORD offers His mercy, just as He does for us in the New Testament church. Jeremiah 3:22 and 3:23 states, "Return ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings...truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel." In the new testament, Acts 4:11 and 4:12, speaking of Jesus, says, "This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

How grateful we should be for that! Grateful that our Lord, being longsuffering, allowed Jesus to be sacrificed for us. And, even when we fail, we are promised, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9)." In Ephesians 2 we are told that God is "rich in mercy," and "Even when we were dead in sins, [He] hath quickened us together with Christ.." What a great love our Heavenly Father has.

A couple of verses we have come to claim in the last several months are these, also written by the hand of Jeremiah, "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22,23). Day by day I am reminded that my righteousness is but mere filthy rags in the sight of God, and not a day goes by in which we fall short of His expectations. But we are so thankful for his abundant mercy.

So, dear Christian friend, we encourage you this week to seek the Lord's face in all that is said in done in your home, in your workplace, wherever you may find yourself. If you're guilty of not giving God His proper priority in your life, remember the words the LORD gave to Jeremiah, and that He also gave to John. Just like in Revelation 3 we believe the Lord stands at the door, knocking, waiting for you to welcome Him back in.

We pray that you let Him in today. May God bless you is our prayer.

Scott

Teaching Our Households (01/12/11)

First, let me say it is good to be back to writing these devotionals. The year 2010 was rough in that regard, as we had a technical issue that too far too long to resolve. We'll get deeper into our 2011 goals in a different post, but, suffice it to say one of them is to not let that happen again. We hope you are blessed by these columns as we write them. Now, on to this week's lesson.

There was a sign at a local church that said something similar to this: "Keep Christ in Your Christmas," which has stuck with me. It didn't stick with me because it said keep Christ in Christmas, a common theme among religious folks during the holidays, but, it was the word "your" that really struck a chord with me. We all need to ask ourselves, and not just during holiday times, what it is that we are teaching our home and what we are teaching the ones coming up in the church.

I think we need to start, well, at the beginning, with these two verses from scripture: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1)," and "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10 and Proverbs 9:10)." With these verses we can establish with our children and with our youth that, yes, we are created beings, and that we serve a God to whom we should always bow and from whom comes all our knowledge.

With that in mind, we should continue to teach them to "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:5,6)," and that He has told us, "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. (Jeremiah 33:3)." Teach them to acknowledge that there is God, and by trusting our God that there is so much we can learn.

Of course, the greatest of all lessons in found in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." From this verse we can open the door to teaching about Jesus, about the Romans Road, and about what it means to be a born again child of God.

Those are some of the basic things that we need to be teaching, but too often allow ourselves to get too busy to pass the lesson along. There are others as well: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together (Hebrews 10:25) and studying to shew thyself approved (II Timothy 2:15), as well as letting our light shine (Matthew 5:16) and preaching the gospel (Mark 16:15).

These are just a few of the basics that we should be passing along, not only to our children, but to our youth, to young Christians, and, quite frankly, to one another. Too often we as adult Christians forget these basic tenets of our faith. We must abide by them if we are to win others to Jesus Christ.

We are thankful, though, that, even though we are often found unfaithful, God is rich in mercy and, according to I John 1:9, is faithful and just to forgive us. And, much like in Lamentations, it is by the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed. Today we thank the Lord for His mercy and set out to do a better job in 2011 than before of learning at the feet of the master and passing along his wisdom, which he promised not to upbraid in Philippians. May you be blessed as you go along in this year to come.

May God richly bless you is our prayer.

Scott

All Devotions written by Scott Boles unless otherwise noted.  Sharing is welcomed.
Copyright © 2011

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