DAILY DEVOTIONALS: 6.17.23

 TheName of the Lord “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel,I AM hath sent me unto you.” (Exodus3:14) This unique name of God was given to stress the truth that He is timeless. The name “LORD” (Hebrew YHWH = Yahweh, or Jehovah) is essentially the same, conveying the truth that He is the eternal, self-existing One. The Lord Jesus Christ appropriated this divine name to Himself when He told the Jews: “Before Abraham was [i.e., ‘was born’], I am” (John8:58). Correctly assuming that this statement was nothing less than a direct claim to identity with God, the Jews immediately (but unsuccessfully) attempted to stone Him to death as a blasphemer. As the I Am, the Lord Jesus Christ is, indeed, everything, and He has revealed Himself to us under many beautiful symbols. It is well known that there are seven great “I am’s” in the gospel of John, each of which is rich with spiritual depth of meaning. Theycan be listed as follows. “I am the bread of life...the living bread” (John6:35, 51). “I am the light of the world...the light of life” (John8:12). “I am the door of the sheep” (John10:7). “I am the good shepherd...[who] giveth his life for the sheep” (John10:11). “I am the resurrection, and the life” (John11:25). “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John14:6). “I am the true vine” (John15:1). It is well known that this magnificent self-assertion of the Lord permeates the whole Bible, from its first use in Genesis 15:1, “I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward,” to its final occurrence in Revelation 22:16, “I am...the bright and morning star.” And all these beautiful figures help us to pray more fervently “that God may be all in all” (1Corinthians 15:28). HMM -------------------- Consumingthe Sweet Word of God “Moreover, he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the houseof Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.” (Ezekiel3:1-3) In a vision, the prophet Ezekiel was given a scroll containing prophecies intended for Judah but first delivered to the exiles in Babylon (Ezekiel2:3). What did Yahweh then demand of him? He said, “Eat!” Ezekiel ate, filling his stomach with the “honey sweet” scroll. Jeremiah, when he “ate” God’s word, found it a “joy and rejoicing of mine heart” (Jeremiah15:16). Both prophets experienced sweetness, joy, and delight consuming Scripture—God-breathed words from Yahweh’s mouth (2Timothy 3:16; Psalm 1:2). This feasting took place against a horrid backdrop of hardened hearts, except for a small, believing, obedient remnant. The Jewish exiles despised hearing God’s Word (Ezekiel8:9), and God’s watchman was bitter and angry with the rebellious behavior of this evil company (Ezekiel3:14-15). To Jeremiah, the words were sweet only because he obediently received them; they were otherwise bitter to those who rejected God’s Word. The apostle John also ate a book. It was sweet going down in anticipation of God’s glory and return, but it quickly turnedbitter at the sight of God’s coming wrath and eternal judgment poured out on those who rejected the Lord Jesus Christ (Revelation10:10). Why do we receive these prophecy peeks in Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Revelation? God’s revealed truth begs a response. What’s yours? “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: forthe time is at hand” (Revelation1:3). CM --------------------- Askingin Jesus' Name “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John14:13) In the gospel of John there are at least six promises that if we pray in Jesus’ name, God in Christ will answer our prayer. The first is in our text, which promises that God the Father may be glorified in God the Son. Note also the equivalent promises in John14:14; 15:16; 16:23-24, 26. Such promises seem almost too comprehensive and unconditional to be understood literally. The key, however, is the significance of the phrase “in my name.” This obviously means more than simply beginning or ending our prayer with this or some similar phrase. In the first place, we must recognize that it is only through Jesus Christ our mediator that we dare enter the presence of the omnipotent God at all. “No man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John14:6), He said. That being true, it also implies that our prayer must be in agreement with what Christ Himself would pray. No Christian should ask for something he knows to be against God’s will. “If we ask any thing according to his will...we know thatwe have the petitions that we desired of him” (1John 5:14-15). When we come to the Father in Christ’s name, we are in a very real sense representing Him. Therefore, we must come with clean hands and motives worthy of the One in whose name we profess to come. Unconfessed, unrepented sin would surely misrepresent Him, andwe could hardly speak in His name in such a case. Finally, acknowledging His power and promise, we must come believing, not doubting His Word. Then, not only is the Father glorified, as says our text, but we shall rejoice. “Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you....ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full” (John16:23-24). HMM -------------------- Ezekielas God's Watchman “But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD;he that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.” (Ezekiel 3:27) Ezekiel is a great literary Old Testament book. It connects the Bible’s prophecies that deal with the history of Israel. But for many Christians, the book is an endless maze of strange visions. This keeps some from even cracking open its pages. Who is this man, Ezekiel? He began his ministry as a priest (Ezekiel 1:3). At 30 years old (v. 1), Ezekiel was called by God to the tough challenge of beingHis spokesman. During this time, Judah was under Babylonian control and the iron rule of Nebuchadnezzar. Ezekiel lived with other Jewish captives close to the Euphrates and Kebar Rivers (3:15). Ezekiel was Israel’s spiritual watchman (v. 17). Watchmen were stationed on city walls to alert people of approaching dangers so they could run and seek protection. Similarly, Ezekiel sounded warnings of impending judgment, both to the unsaved to turn fromevil (vv. 8-19) and to the righteous to remain faithful (vv. 20-21). His recorded plea in today’s verse—“Thus saith the Lord GOD; he that heareth, let him hear”—is similar to our Lord Jesus Christ’s directive hundreds of years later: “He that hath ears tohear, let him hear” (Matthew 11:15; 13:9, 43). The times have definitely changed, but the lessons are still the same. How tuned in are we as our Lord’s watchmen telling and admonishing others about the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, regardless of the cost? How ready are we to apply, in humility, the Wordof God? James urges believers to “receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21). CM ------------------- BringThem Up - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord. �Ephesians 6:4 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/bring-them-up/- Listen A while back I was at a restaurant with my wife, and we were enjoying the view as the sun began to set. Then I glanced at a table nearby where a young family was sitting. The dad was on his phone, the mother was on her phone, and the baby was on a tablet�in fact, there was a tablet holder in the stroller! I thought, �What are we doing to these kids?� We put them in front of devices and bombard them with information, and I wonder whether their brains are forming properly. Arethey even learning to read social cues and communicate? What concerns me is that a lot of parents are leaving their kids to themselves. Yet it�s the parents� job to raise their own children. God created the family, and He lovesthe family. And as someone has pointed out, a family can survive without a nation, but a nation cannot survive without the family. Ephesian 6:4 reminds us, �Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes fromthe Lord� (NLT). The phrase �bring them up� means �to nourish.� We should protect our children, watch over them, and help them process what they�re being exposed to. Moses said to the Israelites, �And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talkabout them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up� (Deuteronomy 6:6�7 NLT). As a parent, nothing can happen through you until it has first happened to you. You cannot take your children any further spiritually than you have gone yourself. --------------------------------- The Vantage Point of Time - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org The commandments of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are clear, giving insight for living. �Psalm 19:8 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/the-vantage-point-of-time/- Listen When God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses, He included this one: �Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is givingyou� (Exodus 20:12 NLT). God tells children to honor their parents, even when they say those four words that no child likes to hear: �Because I said so.� This statement is usually followed up withsomething along these lines: �You�ll understand one day.� Sometimes God says the same to us. We might say, �Lord, I don�t really get all these things You say in Your Word, and I don�t like all those commandments You�ve written down.Why are they even there? Why do I have to follow them?� And God replies, �Because I said so.� One day we�ll get it. One day we�ll understand. And we don�t even have to wait until we�re in Heaven. After we�ve lived a few years, we see how human lives unfold. We seewhat happens when people obey God�s Word, and we see what happens when they disobey it. As the children of Israel prepared to enter the Promised Land, Moses stood before them and made this statement: �Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, betweenprosperity and disaster. For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways� (Deuteronomy 30:15�16 NLT). Then he added, �If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy� (verse 16 NLT). God was saying to them, �Follow My commands and your life will be blessed.� If we will read God�s Word and do what it says, then we will ultimately discover how much betterlife goes. ----------------------------- FoolishTalking �Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.� (Ephesians5:4) In the book of Ephesians are included several guidelines for the Christian�s speech�how we should talk and what we should talk about. These are not easy rules to follow but are necessary if we would please our Savior and be effective in our Christian livesand witness. As our text indicates, vulgar talk, idle chatter, and coarse jesting should �not be once named among you, as becometh saints� (5:3). �Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may ministergrace unto the hearers� (4:29). The same applies to bitter, angry, malicious speech. �Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice� (4:31). And certainly our communications should be true and trustworthy. �Wherefore puttingaway lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor� (4:25). Thus, our words should not be crude or obscene, idle or foolish, bitter or angry, false or malicious. Instead, they should be good words, true words, gracious words, intended to edify�that is, build up�our hearers in their own Christian lives. Further, if we would win others to Christ, we must always be �speaking the truth in love� (4:15). What we say to them must be fully in accord with both biblical truth and genuine Christian love. Finally, we should �be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselvesin psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ� (5:18-20). Gracious, edifying words can only come from a thankfulheart. HMM ------------------------ The Perfect Father - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Father to the fatherless, defender of widows�this is God, whose dwelling is holy. �Psalm 68:5 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/the-perfect-father/- Listen I don�t know what kind of earthly dad you have, but you have a Father in Heaven who is perfect. He�s flawless. He has no limitations whatsoever. What is He like? Jesus answered that in what we call the parable of the Prodigal Son. We could just as easily call it the parable of the Loving Father, because it�s a storyabout a father who has two sons. One of the sons went astray, left home, and blew all the money that his dad gave him as his inheritance. Afterward he came to his senses and returned home. And according toJesus, when that father saw his boy in the distance, he ran to him, threw his arms around him, and kissed him. He welcomed him home again. God the Father is like the father in that story. He�s a Father who loves you, a Father who longs for a relationship with you, and a Father who is brokenhearted when you sinand are away from Him. I would also add that God�s heart goes out to fatherless children. I understand how hard this can be because I was basically raised by a single mom. In fact, the Bible tellsus that God is a �Father to the fatherless, defender of widows� (Psalm 68:5 NLT). Honestly, there are times when parents blow it. They abandon their children, or they�re harsh or even abusive. But regardless of what your parents did or even what your grandparentsdid, God can change your story. When Jesus Christ enters the narrative, He can change your future. But you need to ask Him to come and take control. If you�re a prodigal child, you can come back home. Or if you never have believed in Jesus, then you can believe in Him and be forgiven of all your sin. There�s a place atthe table for you in the family of God. ----------------------------- Dwellingwith a Holy God �For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy, I dwell in the highand holy place.� (Isaiah57:15) While God has many attributes such as love, mercy, and justice, holiness is said to be His fundamental attribute. Even regarding God�s love, theologian Augustus Strong said, �Holiness is the track on which the engine of love must run.� The Bible points to God�s holiness in various places. Today�s verse says His �name is Holy,� and Psalm 47:8 says, �God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.� Christ taught us to begin our prayers acknowledging this truth: �Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed [holy, hagiazo] be thy name� (Matthew6:9). In both Isaiah 6:1-3 and Revelation 4:8, we�re told that the angelic seraphim who circle about God�s throne perpetually proclaim, �Holy, holy, holy.� And as the God-man Jesus Himself was about to cast out an unclean spirit, the demon called out, �I know thee who thou art, the HolyOne of God� (Mark1:24). The problem for sinful humans is that in the administration of the righteous standard of God�s holiness, judgment for sin is required. As heirs of Adam who fail to keep God�s law, we all come under the Adamic judgment �thou shalt surely die� (Genesis2:17). Since God�s wrath is aroused by sin, how can we ever hope to be in the presence of a holy God? Praise God that the payment for sin was brought about through Christ�s atonement, which satisfies the demands of perfect justice. Not only can we now come boldly to make supplication before His throne, but when we die we go into His holy presence and are freedfrom sin forever. JPT --------------------------- While You Still Can - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org So be careful how you live. Don�t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. �Ephesians 5:15�16 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/while-you-still-can/- Listen It�s difficult to be a father these days. In fact, I think it always has been difficult. But a man who stands by his wife and children today is, in my book, a true hero. AndI thank God for him. We men cannot, even for a moment, consider bailing out on the commitment we�ve made to our wives. Nor can we turn our backs on our children. To do so would be the same asdeserting in the face of battle and being branded a traitor. Tragically, we live in such a selfish culture in America. And most marital problems can be traced to simple selfishness, nothing more and nothing less. Additionally, researchershave traced many of the social ills in our country today directly to the breakdown of the family and, more specifically, to the absence of the father in the home. Certainly fatherhood comes with many pressures. Some of us feel ill-equipped. We don�t think we�re up to the task. But it�s better to be an okay but learning father than tobe an absent one. If you�re a dad, chances are you�re not perfect. Maybe you haven�t done everything in just the right way. Learn from your mistakes. Be there for your children. They can bevery forgiving when you�re making an effort on their behalf. How important it is for us as Christian men to try and be the men God has called us to be, even in our later years, even when our children are adults and have their own children. Maybe you�re thinking, �I failed as a father.� Well, you still have time. You can still change your behavior and attitudes toward your children and try to make up for someof the time you lost. Do what you can while you can still do it. --------------------- TheProof of Obedience �And hereby do we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.� (1John 2:3) Jesus once said, �Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?� (Luke6:46). Poignant question. A familiar complaint of those who despise Christian teaching is that �Christians� don�t act like Christians! It�s a sad commentary on the condition of the Lord�s family when the ungodly are more aware of the expected behaviorof God�s people than the Christians are. Of course, the issue is not unique to the New Testament times. Israel�s historical saga is replete with seasons of rebellion and repentance�so much so that the psalmist prayed: �That the generation to come....might set their hope in God, and not forget theworks of God, but keep his commandments: and might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God� (Psalm78:6-8). The emphasis by John in his first epistle, however, is not on the reasons for willful disobedience, but on the results of willing obedience. •Walking in the �light� ensures fellowship (1John 1:7). •Constant and willing obedience produces an effective prayer life (1John 3:22). •A lifestyle of obedience brings an awareness of the Holy Spirit�s indwelling (1John 3:24). •Loving God produces obedience, which in turn brings joy in that obedience (1John 5:3). Our deeds show whom we serve (1John 3:7). Our righteous deeds prove whom we serve (Matthew7:16-20). HMM III ----------------------- ComingLike the Flood �So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When theenemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.� (Isaiah 59:19) The great enemy of our souls �the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour� (1 Peter 5:8). Yet he can also be �transformed intoan angel of light,� and so can �his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness� (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). He and his ministers areperhaps most dangerous when most deceptive, quoting Scripture and spiritual sentiments in a superficial show of piety, yet distorting the �Scriptures, unto their own destruction� (2Peter 3:16), and we must use the sword of the Spirit against them. Then there are those times when, angered that their deceptions (sometimes even their own self-deceptions) aren�t persuading the true people of God to compromise their stand for God�s truth and His great salvation, they resort to great pressure and overt opposition�evenpersecution�seeking to silence their testimony. The enemy comes in like a great flood, and the waves seem about to engulf us, and we cry with the psalmist: �If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us: Then they had swallowedus up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us: Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul� (Psalm 124:2-4). But God is on our side, as long as we are on His side and hold fast to His clearly revealed Word. Before the demonic flood can overwhelm us, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up His standard (or, more literally, �put him to flight�), and God will prevail onceagain, for �the foundation of God standeth sure� (2 Timothy 2:19), and �greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world� (1John 4:4). HMM --------------------------