DAILY DEVOTIONALS: 11.19.22

 TheGrace of Being Content “And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.” (1Timothy 6:8) The last of God’s Ten Commandments—and probably the most difficult to obey—deals with the sin of covetousness. “Thou shalt not covet...any thing that is thy neighbour’s” (Exodus20:17). “Take heed, and beware of covetousness,” warned the Lord Jesus, “for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth” (Luke12:15). This warning introduced His parable of the rich man whom God called a fool. “So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luke12:21). And how does one become rich toward God? “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven....Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on....seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew6:20, 25, 33). We Christians—especially in an affluent society such as ours—all too easily fall into the trap of being possessed by our possessions and may even think these possessions are somehow God’s reward for our “godliness.” But Paul says those who suppose “that gainis godliness” are “destitute of the truth.” We need to remember that in God’s sight “godliness with contentment is great gain” (1Timothy 6:5-6). And with Paul, we should strive to be able to say sincerely that “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Philippians4:11). God has promised to supply all our needs (Philippians4:19) if we are faithful stewards of what He has entrusted to us. Therefore, God’s Word commands: “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews13:5). HMM ---------------- TheDefinition of Faith “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews11:1) The marvelous “faith chapter,” Hebrews 11, is an amazing chapter. Here, faith is defined not as some intangible wishfulness but as “substance” and “evidence.” Let us look closely. First of all, faith must have a legitimate object, nothing less than the mighty Creator by whom “the worlds were framed” (v. 3) out of nothing but His omnipotent Word. Beyond this, faith is further defined not by what it is but by what it does! The man of faith comes to God by “a more excellent sacrifice,” like that of Abel (v. 4), typifying the sacrifice of Christ. Faith will, like Enoch, live to please God (v. 5), and will,like Noah, prepare an Ark (i.e., do whatever necessary out of obedience to God) “to the saving of his house” (v. 7). True faith will, like Abraham, go out as God leads, “not knowing whither he went,” even “dwelling in tabernacles” (literally “tents”) (vv. 8-9) if need be, as he looks for that city with sure “foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (v. 10). Such faithwill even, like Abraham, offer up to God the greatest love and joy of his life, knowing that God will keep His Word (vv. 17-19). Like Moses, the man of genuine faith will choose rather “to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season” (v. 25). Faith is even willing to be “stoned...sawn asunder...slain with the sword,” if need be, for the promisesof God (vv. 37, 39). We are saved by grace through faith, not of works (Ephesians2:8-9), but since we are “created in Christ Jesus unto good works” (Ephesians2:10), our faith should motivate us to action. “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only” (James2:24). HMM ---------------- OldTestament Love “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thyneighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.” (Leviticus19:18) Many people have mistakenly rejected or neglected the Old Testament on the basis that it speaks about a vindictive God of judgment in contrast to the New Testament God of love manifest in Jesus Christ. This perspective, however, is completely wrong. One day a lawyer asked Jesus, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the secondis like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew22:36-40). Both of these commandments were recorded, of course, in the Old Testament. The first one in Deuteronomy 6:4-5 is perhaps the most revered of all passages to the Jews: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with allthine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” The second great commandment is the one in our text for the day. This law is buried deep in the Pentateuch, in the unlikely heart of the book of Leviticus. In the New Testament it is even called “the royal law” (James2:8). Thus, the great underlying theme of the Old Testament is love—love for God and love for others—and this truth is stressed by Christ Himself in the New Testament. Even greater is God’s eternal love that was ours from before the world and that will never end. “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee” (Jeremiah31:3). HMM --------------- TheVoice of the Lord “The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.” (Psalm29:4) This solemn phrase, “the voice of the LORD,” occurs seven times in Psalm 29, centered especially on the awful judgment of the great Flood in the days of Noah. “The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters” (v. 3). It occurs many other times in the Old Testament aswell, with a wide variety of applications and circumstances. The first time it occurs, however (and this is also the first occurrence of “voice” in the Bible, indicating thereby that it is God’s voice—not man’s—that we must hear if we seek guidance for life), is in the Garden of Eden immediately after man brought sininto the world. “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden....And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?” (Genesis3:8-9). Mankind is lost and separated from God, but God calls unto each of us as He did to Adam, and we desperately need to hear His voice if our lives are to be fulfilled and spiritually fruitful. In contrast to this scene of alienation, the final occurrence of a “voice” in the Bible is a beautiful scene of reconciliation when God again speaks to lost mankind, this time in glorious restoration of that broken fellowship. “And I heard a great voice outof heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Revelation21:3). To hear His voice then, however, we must first hear His voice now, through His Word. Jesus said, “He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life....the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shalllive” (John5:24-25). HMM ----------------------- Afraidof Change - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! �2 Corinthians 5:17 When God changes a life, it�s so dramatic, so significant, that you usually can�t even tell what the person was once like. That�s what God can do. And that�s what the Savior did when He met two demon-possessed men after crossing the Sea of Galilee. There was a herd of pigs nearby, and the demons begged Him, �If you castus out, send us into that herd of pigs� (Matthew 8:31 nlt). So the demons went into the pigs, who then went over the side of a cliff and committed mass suicide. This shows us that the men�s demon possession was real. Otherwise, someonecould have claimed they were just putting on a show, that it was all phony. How did the people in the community react? Matthew tells us, �The herdsmen fled to the nearby town, telling everyone what happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the entiretown came out to meet Jesus, but they begged him to go away and leave them alone� (8:33�34 NLT). The terrifying men who lived in a graveyard were transformed. The community couldn�t believe they were the same people as before. You would think the community would rejoiceand want Jesus to stay and perform more miracles. But they were afraid. That�s because Jesus was bad for business. They were making good money off those pigs (which, by the way, were unkosher), and their livelihood had just gone over a cliff. In their minds,Jesus had ruined everything, so they begged Him to go away. Jesus might have wanted to change their lives, but they didn�t want that change. Instead, they wanted Him to leave. What would you have done if you had been living in that community at that time? Would you have said, �Lord, come into my life� or �Away with You, Lord!�? When it comes toJesus, those are really the only two choices we have. ---------------------- The Problem of Habitual Sin - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Those who have been born into God�s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God�s life is in them. So they can�t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. - 1 John 3:9 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/the-problem-of-habitual-sin/Listen If we were walking the dusty roads of Israel with Jesus and came upon the man known as Judas Iscariot for the first time, he might not be what we had expected him to be. Atfirst blush, we might even think that he was a stand-up guy. We might believe that he was devout, deeply religious, and very concerned about others. And we would have been shocked upon discovering that he was the one who betrayed theLord. That�s because Judas was an incredible actor. He was a performer. He knew how to talk the talk, but he certainly didn�t know how to walk the walk. Yet Judas had no excuse. He had the privilege of spending a number of years with God incarnate. He would have been fully aware that Jesus was never hypocritical or inconsistentin any way, shape, or form. He saw Jesus live a flawless life. Yet Judas did not believe. And not only that, he turned against Jesus and sold Him for 30 pieces of silver, the price commonly paid to purchase a slave. Judas was able to do the wicked things that he did because he never really knew Jesus. Sure, he knew about Him. In fact, he knew about Him more than most people did. But henever personally knew Jesus. Judas�s life could be summed up by this statement about him: �So he went his way� (Luke 22:4 NKJV). He lived the way that he wanted to live. If you can habitually commit sin without any remorse, that�s a clear indicator that you don�t know God. There are a lot of people running around today saying, �I�m a believer.I�m a follower of Jesus.� Yet, if they can persist in sin, something isn�t right. The Bible doesn�t say that a Christian won�t sin, only that a Christian won�t habitually sin. ---------------- Askingand Receiving �For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall beopened.� (Matthew7:8) The tremendous resource of prayer is far too often neglected by far too many Christians. If nothing is standing between us and the Lord to keep us from asking effectively (sin, unbelief, selfish motives, etc.), then God has promised to act when we ask by givingus our request or something better. Note just a few of the many promises to those who ask: �If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God...and it shall be given him� (James1:5). �Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full� (John16:24). �How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?� (Luke11:13). �And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight� (1John 3:22). �And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him� (1John 5:14-15). �If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it� (John14:14). �If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you� (John15:7). Obviously, there are conditions. These marvelous promises assume that those who ask are abiding in His commandments, truly desiring His will, having His priorities, thinking His thoughts, and are asking in faith and in His name. HMM -------------------------- Not What It Looks Like - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. �John 12:3 It sounded so spiritual. Yet Judas said, �Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?� (John 12:5 NKJV). What prompted this criticism from Judas was Mary�s act of devotion. Things clearly had been coming to a head in Jesus�s ministry. He�d had a number of confrontations withthe religious leaders, and they wanted Him dead. Jesus was aware of this. He knew He was on the road to Calvary. So He decided to spend an evening with His friends at the home of Simon the leper. His close friends, Mary,Martha, and the newly resurrected Lazarus, joined them. As everyone was taking in this night, Mary felt deeply moved to do something completely unexpected. She took a jar of expensive, fragrant perfume and poured it onto Jesus�sfeet. She then wiped Jesus�s feet with her hair. To the other disciples, Mary�s actions might have seemed extravagant. They were probably thinking, �That Judas! He�s so spiritual and concerned about the poor. And he hasa point. This is wasteful! This is foolish!� But John added this detail: �This [Judas] said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it� (verse 6 NKJV). In other words, Judas was adept at coming off as spiritual when, in reality, another agenda was at work. Jesus rebuked Judas and the others who had joined in, saying, �Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me? . . . I tell you the truth, wherever theGood News is preached throughout the world, this woman�s deed will be remembered and discussed� (Mark 14:6, 9 NLT). She who appeared frivolous and wasteful was actually the spiritual one. And he who appeared thrifty and compassionate was actually the unspiritual one. Things are not alwaysas they appear. ------------------------ Sonof God �Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; Anddeclared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.� (Romans1:3-4) It is noteworthy that the identification of Jesus Christ as the Son of God is directly associated with His resurrection from the dead. �The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death� (1Corinthians 15:26), and since only God Himself can conquer death, Christ�s bodily resurrection is the conclusive affirmation of His unique deity: �Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God� (Matthew16:16). Many others have claimed divine sonship, but all are dead�only Christ validated that claim by defeating death. �God...hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee� (Acts13:33). �Death is swallowed up in victory....through our Lord Jesus Christ� (1Corinthians 15:54, 57). Jesus is explicitly called �the Son of God� about 44 times in the New Testament, only half as often as He is called �Son of man.� Nevertheless, this great truth is clearly taught in numerous other ways than by the use of the title itself. It�s so importantthat there is no salvation for the one who denies it. Jesus said plainly, �He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God� (John3:18). Because He lives, we who believe on His name will also live forever! �Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?...He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These thingshave I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life� (1John 5:5, 12-13). HMM -------------------- ITrust the Lord My Soul to Take �I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.� (Psalm4:8) The New England Primer was a popular Puritan tutorial taught to millions of young colonists. On one page is the familiar children�s prayer �Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep; if I should die before I wake, I pray thee,Lord, my soul to take.� The repeated phrase �I pray thee� implies a troubling uncertainty, a questioning of Yahweh�s ability to guard the believer at all times�an uncertainty nowhere found in David�s DNA! Psalm 4 is inseparably connected with Psalm 3, written when King David fled from his son Absalom (2Samuel 15 to 18) and was also hunted by thousands of enemy Israelites. Even against these seemingly insurmountable odds, God�s elect finds unilateral protection in his Deliverer. Two key verses balance this assuring theme. The image in verse 4b is of one meditating silently on one�s bed: �Commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still.� Verse 8, today�s text, closes with the image of sleeping in safety. Integrating these theologicaltruths of the Almighty alters our children�s prayer to read, �Now I lay me down to sleep, I confidently trust the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I confidently trust the Lord my soul to take.� Believer, you can trust Yahweh when you sleep because �I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me� (Psalm3:5). You can also trust Yahweh when you are approaching death because �yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me� (Psalm23:4). Believer, let these truths pierce deeply into your saved soul so you can get a good night�s sleep! CM ------------------ Nota Victim but a Victor - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal: �You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss.� �Matthew 26:48 Why did Judas Iscariot have to show who Jesus was by betraying Him with a kiss? Would Jesus not have been easily recognized by those who came to arrest Him? After all, wealways know who Jesus is in religious paintings. He typically has a halo. And often, when we see Him portrayed in film, He�s usually quite handsome, even strikingly so. However, I think Jesus was quite ordinary in His physical appearance. This was perhaps one of the reasons that Judas had to identify Him. Judas said, �You will know whichone to arrest when I greet him with a kiss� (Matthew 26:48 NLT). John�s Gospel gives us a unique detail about what happened in the Garden of Gethsemane when Judas, a delegation of Roman soldiers, and the Temple guards arrived to arrestJesus. Jesus met them and said, �Who are you looking for?� �Jesus the Nazarene.� Jesus replied, �I am he� (John 18:4, 5 NLT). The Bible tells us that at this point, they all fell backward. Can you imagine the scene? They fell on top of each other, swords and spears flying, torches in the air. Thiswas the same God who spoke to Moses from the burning bush and said, �I am who I am,� and the same God who said, �Let there be light,� and there was light. Jesus could have said, �I am, and you were! Bye!� And that would have been it. He could have spoken all of them out of existence with a single word. He could have called downthe angels of Heaven, who would have gladly come and delivered Him. This serves as a reminder that Jesus did not go to the cross of Calvary as a helpless victim but as a victor in complete control of His circumstances. He willingly laid downHis life for us.