DAILY DEVOTIONALS: 4.22.23

 TheConclusion of the Matter “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the wholeduty of man.” (Ecclesiastes12:13) The spiritual life of Solomon can, to a great degree, be traced through his writings as recorded in the Bible. They are not straightforward history but are rather in a poetic style that reveals his inner thoughts throughout his life. At the beginning of hisreign over Israel, he asked God for “an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad” (1Kings 3:9), and he subsequently became renowned for his wisdom (e.g., 3:28; 4:29). Unfortunately, as is well documented in Scripture, his thirst for human wisdom led him into compromise and disobedience, setting the stage for national apostasy and idolatry upon his death. The book of Ecclesiastes chronicles a series of experiments that heconducted in search for the highest human good, but each forced him to conclude that “all is vanity” (Ecclesiastes1:2, etc.), that there is no humanly discernible pattern in the affairs of men. However, he concludes that life is the gift of God and should be enjoyed (3:13). Furthermore, he recognized the eventual judgment of God and concluded it is best to live inobedience to God’s commands (e.g., 3:16-17). Our text summarizes the entire book of Ecclesiastes. Here is the secret of human fulfillment. Note the two complementary commands, “fear God” and “keep his commandments.” A true reverence for God necessarily results in obedience to His commands. Wise Solomon knew it, and Christ and the New Testament writers reinforced it (John14:15; 1 John 5:2; etc.). Life’s harsh realities and seeming paradoxes are at times incomprehensible to us. Only by adopting a proper attitude toward life and God can we cope. JDM ------------------------ An Essential for Spiritual Survival - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Then the angel showed me Jeshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD. The Accuser, Satan, was there at the angel�s right hand, making accusations againstJeshua. �Zechariah 3:1 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/an-essential-for-spiritual-survival/- Listen On more than one occasion, the Bible describes Satan as an accuser. We see this illustrated in the third chapter of Zechariah. The setting is a heavenly courtroom, God is the judge, and Jeshua, the high priest, is the defendant. Meanwhile,Satan is the prosecutor, trying to prove Jeshua guilty. But then God says, �I, the Lord, reject your accusations, Satan. Yes, the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you. This man is like a burning stick that has been snatchedfrom the fire� (Zechariah 3:2 NLT). Satan also will accuse us before God when we have sinned. That is where the breastplate of righteousness comes in. In his letter to the Christians in Ephesus, the apostlePaul wrote, �Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God�s righteousness� (Ephesians 6:14 NLT). Paul was alluding to the armor that Roman soldiers wore. The breastplate, or �body armor,� was a crucial element of the armor, protecting the soldier�s vital organs. In thesame way, the �body armor of God�s righteousness� is essential for our spiritual survival. It speaks of what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. God has saved us. He justified us. And He forgave all the sins that we have committed. He erased them and washed them away. Then He placed His righteousness into our account.God gives this righteousness to us. It isn�t based on what we do for Him. The devil, however, has declared war on followers of Christ. He wants to keep us away from God. First, he tempts us and traps us. Then he condemns us and accuses us beforeGod. He wants to make disobedient Christians doubly defeated. Yet we are righteous in Jesus Christ through His finished work for us on the cross. So put on the �body armor of God�s righteousness��and keep it there. ------------------------------ Get the Basics Down - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. �Ephesians 6:15 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/get-the-basics-down/- Listen It�s amazing how many Christians think that good works will get them to Heaven. They believe that God has some kind of point system, and if they do enough good things, itwill outweigh the bad things they�ve done. But nothing like that is taught in the Bible. The problem is that many Christians don�t understand the basic message of the gospel. They point to their own works as to why they will go to Heaven. And some people who claimto be Christians think that Jesus Christ isn�t necessarily the only way to God. They think that all roads lead to God, as long as people are sincere in their hearts. However, Jesus made radical and exclusive claims. He said, �I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me� (John 14:6 NLT). Any examinationof the basic message of the gospel will quickly reveal that Jesus Christ is the only way to a relationship with God. While it�s true that non-Christians need to hear the gospel, it�s also true that Christians need to learn the gospel. We need to know the gospel before we can share it withothers. The apostle Paul wrote this about the Christian�s spiritual armor: �For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared� (Ephesians6:15 NLT). In Paul�s day, the Roman soldiers wore sandals with nails or cleats on the soles to give them firm footing. They could dig in and hold their ground. In the same way, the GoodNews, the gospel, gives us security and a firm foundation on which to build our lives. When was the last time you went out of your way to share the gospel with someone? When was the last time you prayed for someone to come to Christ? ----------------------------------- TheWord and the Spirit �Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know thethings that are freely given to us of God.� (1 Corinthians 2:12) How is it that some people can read a biblical passage and find it either tedious, confusing, or even foolish, whereas others will receive great understanding and blessing from the very same passage? The answer is that the first group are animated only by thespirit of the world, �the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience� (Ephesians 2:2), whereas the others are indwelled by the Spirit of God,having received the Holy Spirit when they trusted Christ for forgiveness and salvation. It was, after all, the Holy Spirit who inspired the Scriptures to begin with. �Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost� (2 Peter 1:21). �All scripture is given by inspiration of God� (2 Timothy 3:16), that is, �God-breathed,� where the �breath of God� is none other than the �Spirit of God.� Concerning his own divinely inspired writings, Paul said: �We speak, not in the words which man�s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth� (1 Corinthians2:13). Likewise, it is the same Spirit indwelling each believer who illumines, and confirms, and applies His own Scriptures to the individual Christian who reads or hears them. �The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishnessunto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned� (1 Corinthians 2:14). On the other hand, Jesus promised His disciples that �whenhe, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth� (John 16:13). This He does through the Scriptures He inspired, with blessings abundant as we study them prayerfully and with believing and obedient hearts. HMM ------------------------- In the Heat of the Battle - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Put on all of God�s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil �Ephesians 6:11 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/in-the-heat-of-the-battle/- Listen Have you ever been humming along in your life as a Christian, feeling good about your walk with God, when suddenly you were facing all kinds of temptations, attacks, trials,and difficulties? You thought, �What is going on? Have I done something to deserve all of this?� No, it�s called spiritual warfare. Instead of trying to find a comfortable foxhole where we can wait out the battle, let�s take clear steps as believers to move forward and go on the offensive spiritually. Fear has paralyzed some Christians. They worry about the devil doing this or that. But we need to stop worrying about his next move and instead let him worry about what weare going to do under the command of Jesus Christ. There are two things that we need to understand about the spiritual battle. First, we will win in the end. And second, our adversary, the devil, moves in relatively predictablepatterns. Therefore, we can prepare ourselves. If we want to prevail in the field of spiritual battle, then we need to know about the spiritual armor that God has made available to us. The apostle Paul identifies it forus in Ephesians 6. Paul had a lot of time to study armor, because on more than one occasion, he was chained to a Roman soldier. No doubt he asked some questions about the various pieces andhow the soldier used them in battle. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are in the heat of battle�a spiritual battle, that is. The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 10 that �we are human, but we don�t wage war ashumans do. We use God�s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons� (verses 3�4 NLT). Let�s make sure that we put on our spiritual armor, because the battle is raging. ---------------------------- HolyBrethren �I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren.� (1Thessalonians 5:27) There is probably no word more misused�even abused�than the word �holy.� In our day and age, it usually conjures up an image of sanctimoniousness, or even hypocrisy, and thus often becomes a term of snide ridicule. Nevertheless, it is a biblical term of highest significance, most often used in connection with God Himself, the Holy Spirit. Since it is also used in connection with things (�the holy place,� as in Hebrews 9:12), it does not in itself necessarily have a moral connotation. Its basic meaning is evidently �set apart� and can refer either to people or objects that have been dedicated to God and His service. Christians are all �holy brethren� in this sense, regardless of their individual behavior. They are all also called �saints� (same word as �holy� in the Greek�e.g., 1 Corinthians 1:2, even though many of the �saints� at Corinth were far from Christlike in their actions). By all means, however, we who are called �holy brethren� ought to try, by God�s grace, to bring honor to such a name rather than ridicule. �Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession,Christ Jesus; Who was faithful to him that appointed him� (Hebrews3:1-2). The term �saints,� or �holy brethren,� applies both to men and women, of course, and to believers of Old Testament times as well as New Testament. Peter, for example, mentions �the holy women� who honored and served the Lord �in the old time� (1Peter 3:5), and also the �holy men of God� through whom God gave the Old Testament Scriptures (2Peter 1:21). The eternal admonition of God to all believers of every age is �Be ye holy; for I am holy� (1Peter 1:16). HMM ------------------------ Victory Through Faith - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. �1 John 5:4 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/victory-through-faith/- Listen During Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf, Americans learned about new technology such as smart bombs with pinpoint accuracy. We heard about missiles with camerasto show whether they hit their intended targets. As we walk with God, the devil fires his so-called smart bombs at us. His flaming arrows are swift and silent. We don�t receive advanced warnings of the attacks. They comeunexpectedly and at the most inopportune times. They may come in the form of an impure thought, a moment of hatred, or an onslaught of fear and worry. And when we feel guilty for having these kinds of thoughts, our accuser,the devil, moves in for the kill. He whispers, �How could you think about something like that? What�s wrong with you? What kind of a Christian are you?� We need to understand that this is an enemy attack. It�s a barrage of flaming arrows. So, what are we supposed to do when this happens? The apostle Paul gives us the answerin Ephesians 6: �In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil� (verse 16 NLT). Notice this is a shield of faith, not a shield of emotions. If we base our Christian life on fluctuating emotions, we will quickly suffer defeat. There will be times whenwe don�t feel God�s presence. There will be times when we don�t feel that great. It is then that we come back to faith in what God has said and in His promises to us. It is then that we take God at His Word and believe. The Bible tells us, �For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith� (1 John 5:4 NLT). Faith is of paramount importance. Aslong as you believe God, you�re raising the shield of faith.