DAILY DEVOTIONALS: 2.26.22

Thou,O Christ, Art All I Want “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” (Isaiah26:3) The touching stanzas of the old hymn “Jesus, Lover of My Soul” reveal Charles Wesley’s response of love to Christ’s gracious love. Verse three seems to reflect the walk of a believer who desires a full and fruitful oneness with Christ. Thou, O Christ, art all I want, more than all in Thee I find; Raise the fallen, cheer the faint, heal the sick, and lead the blind. Just and holy is Thy name, I am all unrighteousness; False and full of sin I am; Thou art full of truth and grace. Paul’s prayer for his growing converts was “that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye mightbe filled with all the fulness of God” (Ephesians3:17-19). He stated his own testimony thus: “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians3:8). Christ lovingly came to “heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils” (Matthew10:8). He didn’t just do this for those who followed Him but for those who needed it, whether or not they responded in love, and indeed before long those whom He had befriended turned on Him and demanded He die a sinner’s execution. But He was sinless—“TheWord was made flesh...full of grace and truth” (John1:14). Even though He had the power to avoid Calvary, His love was so great that He willingly accepted a sacrificial death for those who sent Him there. “Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God” (1Peter 3:18). Truly, He is the lover of the soul. JDM ----------------------------- Inthe Shadow of His Wings “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I willhelp thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” (Isaiah41:10) Verse two of “Jesus, Lover of My Soul” deals with life’s trials and tribulations and begins by presenting our Savior as “our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm46:1). Other refuge have I none, hangs my helpless soul on Thee; Leave, oh, leave me not alone; still support and comfort me. All my trust on Thee is stayed, all my help from Thee I bring; Cover my defenseless head with the shadow of Thy wing. We may be helpless on our own, but in love He beckons us to “the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews4:16). Our soul need not hang in jeopardy. “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee...we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man may do unto me” (Hebrews13:5-6). “There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky. The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy33:26-27). Help from none other is needed. “Thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory and the lifter up of mine head” (Psalm3:3). As His sacrificial death drew near, Jesus’ heart nearly broke over Israel’s rejection of His love. “How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” (Matthew23:37). We dare not reject His loving provision. We can pray with David, “Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings” (Psalm17:8). The one to whom we pray will answer, for He is Jesus, the lover of the soul. JDM --------------------------- Jesus, Lover of My Soul “I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present,nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans8:38-39) Charles Wesley wove into his lyrics the very words and thoughts of Scripture. Such it is with the deeply moving hymn “Jesus, Lover of My Soul.” Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to Thy bosom fly While the nearer waters roll, while the tempest still is high. Hide me, O my Savior, hide, till the storm of life is past; Safe into Thy harbor guide, O receive my soul at last. “Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23). How often do we lean on Jesus’ bosom and partake of that intimateagape love? There we find safety both in this life and the life to come, for Jesus Himself “is in the bosom of the Father” (John 1:18), and He asks, “Father,I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am” (John 17:24). Safe in His arms of love we find shelter from the flood and tempest, “for in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock” (Psalm27:5). “For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat” (Isaiah 25:4). Jesus, the lover of the soul, paid the ultimate sacrifice and is even now preparing an eternal safe haven for you and me, the objects of His love. He promised, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that whereI am, there ye may be also” (John 14:3). JDM ----------------------------------- NamingNames “Their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; Who concerning the truth haveerred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.” (2Timothy 2:17-18) Many Christians decry the citing of actual names of those Christian leaders who teach heretical doctrines, saying that such an act is “unloving.” Paul, however, considered it an important evidence of true love to warn against those who would “overthrow thefaith of some,” realizing that generalities would be useless. Not only did Hymenaeus and Philetus make Paul’s list, but so did Demas (2Timothy 4:10), Alexander the coppersmith (2Timothy 4:14), the Cretians (Titus1:12), another Alexander (1Timothy 1:20), and even Peter (Galatians2:11-14) when he began to teach legalism. Likewise, John warned against Diotrephes (3John 1:9) and the Nicolaitans (Revelation2:6). On the other hand, Paul was much more generous with name recognition when he was giving out commendations (e.g., Romans 16:1-15; Colossians 4:7-17). We undoubtedly need to follow his example in appreciating by name those who are faithful in teaching and living the truth. Likewise, we need to be ready and willing to name those individuals, churches, schools, and other organizations that are denying biblical inerrant authority, compromising the doctrine of special creation, requiring humanistic works for salvation, or bringingin other heretical doctrines. We obviously need to be sure of our facts when we do this and also to bring such charges only if motivated by genuine concern for those apt to be led astray if we don’t speak out. But then we must, indeed, “mark them which causedivisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them” (Romans16:17). HMM ----------------------------- The Scars Are All Part of a Beautiful Story By Debbie McDaniel “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3 If you've ever been wounded, or have felt like you needed to hide the scars away from painful times in life, know that you're not alone. Even Jesus faced great insults, wounds, and pain more than we could ever imagine. And He carried His scars right backinto that little room where He met his disciples after the Resurrection. Sometimes I've wondered why He didn't choose to let the scars fade away. He'd gained victory over death. He'd made all things new. Yet He still had scars in his hands, His side. (Readthe whole story here in John 20:19-29) Maybe He knew we'd need to be reminded of this truth throughout our own lives: His scars, and ours too, are all part of His beautiful story at work. --------------------------- God's Will: So Simple it's Hard by Shawn McEvoy Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks;for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. - 1 Thessalonians5:16-18 "God's will for my life"... how often have you pondered that notion? Studied it? Read untold books about it? Know people who torture themselves trying to locate it? Well, here we have an obvious chunk of it, even compact and useful just as we like things to be, tucked away at the close of Paul's first letter to the church at Thessalonica. "This is God's will for you...," it says. Well, yes, it says that, and it sure is pretty - almost poetic - but is it deep enough? Shouldn't there be more? Is it practical? Okay. Then let's go Old Testament. Prophetic. Action-oriented. Micah 6:8 says, "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" It's still simple, still bunched in a group of three, still indicating that there's no big mystery way far out there which must be solved before we know how to act or decide, or how God wants us to act or decide. So why do we seek for more? I think it's because the ridiculously simple, paradoxically enough, is ridiculously hard, and we know it. G.K. Chesterton famously said, "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried." We could spend a lot of time discussing the ins-and-outs of how easy or hard God's will is, and where else in His Word we can find snippets of it. One woman from my Bible fellowship class is fond of asking during our lessons, "What does that look like?"Let's ponder on that for a minute here. ------------------------------ Existentialism… The Good Kind by Alex Crain "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple…" - Luke14:27 NASB As chapter two of Francis Schaeffer's book, True Spirituality, comes to a close, the author highlights a crucial dimension of the gospel's first fruit (that of dying to self). It is that dying to self must be a continual reality. Schaeffer likens the proper mindset here to that of a philosophical existentialist… "The existentialist is right when he puts his emphasis on the reality of the moment-by-moment situation. He is wrong in many things, but he is right here. Christ called His followers to continuously carry their own cross. He puts the command not in anabstract but in an intensely practical setting, in verse 26 (of Luke14) relating it to His followers' fathers, mothers, wives, children, brothers, sisters, and their own lives." --------------------- The Problem with Perception by Sarah Phillips The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. - 1 Samuel 16: 7b A few years ago, an acquaintance of mine mused, "Why are people like Paris Hilton so unhappy? They have no earthly excuse to be." It's human nature to look at snapshots of someone else's life and conclude that they somehow have it better than we do. Toomany times I've allowed my perceptions of someone else's happiness to create discontent in my own world. I wonder, "God, why are you blessing them and not me?" Not only is it tempting to make assumptions about those who've achieved worldly success, but I've caught myself and others making wrong assumptions about what it means to be a godly person, a "good Christian." I hear fellow believers say they feel smallor inadequate next to some perceived spiritual giant or that they envy some gift or perceived virtue of another. ------------------------------- Hearing and Obeying - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God�s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge Harvest. �Luke 8:15 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/hearing-and-obeying/- Listen We all know that it�s possible to hear something and yet not hear it at all. For instance, a mother might tell her teenage son, �Remember to make your bed and take out thetrash and do your homework.� Meanwhile, he hears, �Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.� He�s hearing audibly, but he�s not really listening. People can do the same when they listen to a message from God�s Word. We need to pay attention. We need to listen to what God�s Word has to say. In the parable of the sower, we see the phrase �hears the word� repeated for every category of person. The problem is they didn�t receive it. They didn�t hear it in theright way. Success or failure in the Christian life depends on how you hear the Word of God. If you listen to podcasts or great biblical teaching on the radio, if you�re in a smallgroup, then God bless you. But it�s important that once you hear God�s Word, you obey it. It�s actually a dangerous thing to hear the Word of God and not apply it in your life. The golden key of spiritual growth is hearing, receiving, and obeying the Word ofGod. In Luke�s version of the parable of the sower, Jesus said, �And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God�s word, cling toit, and patiently produce a huge harvest� (8:15 NLT). So how do we produce a harvest, or spiritual fruit? Jesus gave the answer in John 15: �He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing� (verse 5 NKJV). Fruit is evidence that you�re a true follower of Jesus. To abide in Christ means to walk with Him and cultivate your relationship with Him every day. Are you abiding in Christ? --------------------------- Over the Cliff - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org And all the people in the region of the Gerasenes begged Jesus to go away and leave them alone, for a great wave of fear swept over them. �Luke 8:37 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/over-a-cliff/- Listen After Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee and cast a legion of demons out of a man, how did the people there react to this amazing demonstration of God�s power? We should have read that all the people gave glory to God. But that isn�t what happened. One Gospel account tells us that �all the people in the region of the Gerasenesbegged Jesus to go away and leave them alone, for a great wave of fear swept over them� (Luke 8:37 NLT). This demonstration of the power of God frightened them. They should have been rejoicing, but instead they were afraid. They should have been pleading with Jesus to staywith them, but instead they did the very opposite. And apparently, the people who owned the herd of swine were pretty angry, because they made a lot of money off the pigs that the demons went into. Hogs were big businesson that side of the lake, and a lot of bacon went over the cliff that day. Jesus was bad for their business, so they didn�t want Him around. The people, too, pleaded with Jesus to go away. He answered their prayer, so to speak, and left. So be careful what you pray for because you just might get it. However, the man who had been possessed by demons had an entirely different reaction. Mark 5:18 says that �as Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demonpossessed begged to go with him� (NLT). Is Jesus bad for your business? I hope not. Whatever career choice you�ve made, if you can�t ask the Lord to bless it, then maybe you need a new career. In fact, I wouldtake that a step further. If you can�t say to the Lord, �Hallowed be Your name� over whatever you�re about to do, then don�t do it. --------------------------- Over the Cliff - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org And all the people in the region of the Gerasenes begged Jesus to go away and leave them alone, for a great wave of fear swept over them. �Luke 8:37 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/over-a-cliff/- Listen After Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee and cast a legion of demons out of a man, how did the people there react to this amazing demonstration of God�s power? We should have read that all the people gave glory to God. But that isn�t what happened. One Gospel account tells us that �all the people in the region of the Gerasenesbegged Jesus to go away and leave them alone, for a great wave of fear swept over them� (Luke 8:37 NLT). This demonstration of the power of God frightened them. They should have been rejoicing, but instead they were afraid. They should have been pleading with Jesus to staywith them, but instead they did the very opposite. And apparently, the people who owned the herd of swine were pretty angry, because they made a lot of money off the pigs that the demons went into. Hogs were big businesson that side of the lake, and a lot of bacon went over the cliff that day. Jesus was bad for their business, so they didn�t want Him around. The people, too, pleaded with Jesus to go away. He answered their prayer, so to speak, and left. So be careful what you pray for because you just might get it. However, the man who had been possessed by demons had an entirely different reaction. Mark 5:18 says that �as Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demonpossessed begged to go with him� (NLT). Is Jesus bad for your business? I hope not. Whatever career choice you�ve made, if you can�t ask the Lord to bless it, then maybe you need a new career. In fact, I wouldtake that a step further. If you can�t say to the Lord, �Hallowed be Your name� over whatever you�re about to do, then don�t do it. ------------------------------ Defend against Temptation James 1:12-16 To build a defense against temptation, we must understand how it works. Every sin originates as a thought, often the result of a flaming arrow the Evil One shoots our way (Eph. 6:16). If a believer holds on to thethought, it becomes a fantasy�the chance to imagine what it would be like to pursue that notion without actually doing so. The problem with fantasies is that they can easily become entangled with a person�s emotions. This creates a desire, which brings the believer to the point where a choice must be made: he or she must either consent to the sin or refuse. This process is quite dangerous, as the progression from thought to choice can be almost instantaneous. Wise believers determine ahead of time to resist temptation�before it enters their consciousness. There are two cornerstones to a good defense: the commitment to obey God, and the recognition that He is in control and has limited what Satan cando (1 Cor. 10:13). We can further fortify our defense when temptation actually comes. Satan has a way of spotlighting the pleasure of sin until that�s all we see. But with conscious effort, we can retrain our focus to take in the bigger picture: Is this choice a violation of God�s Word? What are the consequences? Am I prepared to pay that price? No defense against temptation is complete without Scripture and prayer. Every moment spent meditating on the Word and communicating with God builds our faith. As the bulwark around our mind and heart strengthens, we are ever more prepared to douse Satan�s flaming arrows. --------------------------- Jesusand the Charge of Blasphemy �Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.� (Mark14:64) Today many liberal theologians profess to be Christians but argue that Jesus was merely a great man and that He never claimed deity for Himself. But the Sanhedrin and its high priest had no such doubts for they heard it from His own lips. When the high priest asked him directly: �Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?� Jesus (silent up to that point in His own defense) answered him plainly. �I am,� He said, �and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and comingin the clouds of heaven� (Mark14:62). The council immediately voted to condemn Him to death, since blasphemy was considered a capital crime. Two members of the body, Joseph and Nicodemus, had evidently already left, probably because of dismay at what the council was doing (note Luke 23:51; John 7:50-51), but the rest of that august body all agreed. Jesus had already claimed in various indirect ways to be uniquely the Son of God, but this assertion, made in front of all the elders and scribes, was unequivocal and completely clear, giving them the excuse they needed. They did not believe His claim, of course, but they certainly knew He had made it and that it constituted blatant blasphemy� a mere man claiming to be the omnipotent, eternal God. So, they condemned Him to die. But it was only blasphemy if it was untrue. He would demonstrate just three days later, once and for all, that His claim was absolute truth. Only the Creator of life could triumph over death, and He has been �declared to be the Son of God with power...by theresurrection from the dead� (Romans1:4). His tomb is empty and He has ascended back to the throne of God, �alive for evermore� (Revelation1:18). HMM ------------------------- Witnessesof the Trinity �Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, heream I; send me.� (Isaiah6:8) In this passage we see, perhaps, a hint of the triune nature of the Godhead. It is as if God the Father is inquiring of God the Son and God the Spirit as to whom other than one of them would be an effective representative for them. Isaiah, in his freshly forgivenand purified state (vv. 6-7), offers to accept the commission and represent the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. A similar call is issued to each of us today. Elsewhere in Scripture we are told more plainly of the fullness of our call to represent God the Father: �Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there wasno God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour� (Isaiah43:10-11). Likewise, God the Son called us to be �witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth� (Acts1:8). Conversely, we are not called to be witnesses of the Holy Spirit; rather, we are to be co-witnesses with Him of Jesus Christ. �But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father,he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning� (John15:26-27). �When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive ofmine, and shall show it unto you� (16:13-14). What a privilege! What a message! What a Partner! JDM ---------------------------------------- Jesus Wept by Ryan Duncan Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. � Matthew 4:1-2 I once heard a story of a woman who lost her only daughter in a tragic accident. After the funeral, she fell into deep despair, and many of her friends began to worry about her safety. In desperation, one of them asked their local priest if he would go toher house and speak with her, but the moment the woman saw him she flew into a rage. �Get out!� She screamed, �I already know what you�re going to say. You�re going to tell me that everything happens for a reason, that this is God�s will, and I don�t want to hear that.� The priest did not move. Eventually, the woman beganto calm down and started to sob. It was at that the priest spoke, quietly and gently. �Listen,� he told her, �I don�t know why your daughter died, and I do not know why God allowed it to happen, but I do know that God understands what it is to lose a child, and that he is standing next to you, and that he cannot stop your sufferingbut that he loves you and he loves your daughter, and if you let him into your heart you will see her again.� What really struck me the first time I heard this story was that God really did understand the pain of losing someone. I realized that for a long time I�d had a false view of Jesus. I�d always pictured him as this tall, soft-spoken man who was completely serene no matter what the world threw at him. I didn�t understand that whenGod became a man he embraced all human sensations, even the ones that hurt. ------------------------------- Waiting for a Miracle - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Then Jesus said, �Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.' �Matthew 11:28 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/waiting-for-a-miracle/- Listen Have you ever been in a situation so bleak that it seemed as though it would never change? Maybe you had things going wonderfully in your life, and then suddenly you werehit with a severe illness or the loss of a loved one. You didn�t know how you were going to get through it. That was the scenario facing two very different people in chapter 5 of Mark�s Gospel. One was a man, and the other was a woman. One was relatively famous, and the otherwas unknown. But they had something in common. They both needed Jesus. The woman was in a helpless, hopeless situation. She had spent all of her money on doctors but to no avail. She could not get rid of the horrible sickness that plagued her.Mark tells us, �She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse� (verse 26 NLT). The man, whose name was Jairus, was a leader of the local synagogue. He had power and prestige, but he needed Jesus, too, because his beloved daughter was at death�s door.This young girl had experienced 12 years of relative happiness as the apple of her father�s eye. I think he doted on her and loved her, shown by his urgency in coming to Jesus. On the other hand, the sick woman had experienced 12 years of pain, rejection, and tears. Yet on the same afternoon, both their lives were dramatically changed by theirencounter with Jesus Christ. This reminds us that everyone needs Jesus. Every man, every woman, every old person, every young person, and every middle-aged person needs Jesus. Whoever you are, He isthere for you. VISIT: PROPHECY WATCHER WEEKLY NEWS: HTTP://PROPHECY-WATCHER-WEEKLY-NEWS.BLOGSPOT.COM