DAILY DEVOTIONALS: 6.3.23

Wired to Know God - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org "Everything is meaningless," says the Teacher, "completely meaningless!" �Ecclesiastes 1:2 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/wired-to-know-god/- Listen Solomon had tried it all. He was the hedonist extraordinaire, seeking pleasure at all costs. He went on unbelievable drinking binges and chased after women like there wasno tomorrow. At the same time, he was highly educated. An architectural genius, he masterminded the building of incredible structures. And by today�s standards, he was worth billions ofdollars. Yet Solomon asked the same questions that many people are asking today. Solomon wrote the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, and the first few verses introduce its theme: �These are the words of the Teacher, King David�s son, who ruled in Jerusalem. �Everything is meaningless,� says the Teacher, �completely meaningless!� What do people get for all their hard work under the sun?� (1:1�3 NLT). Right away we know the writer is Solomon because he identified himself as �King David�s son.� Solomon was raised in a godly home. And though David�s sins were infamous, theBible also describes him as a man after God�s own heart (see 1 Samuel 13:14). Despite his failures, David indeed was a man of God, and he wanted his son to walk with the Lord. Yet Solomon, like many young people, went on a search for himself. He wenton a quest for the meaning of life. However, we don�t have to wait for the last chapter of Solomon�s book to find out what his answer was. He brought it front and center in the beginning and went on to explainwhy and how he came to his conclusion. In Ecclesiastes 1:2 he basically summed up what he discovered on his great search: �Everything is meaningless, . . . completely meaningless!� The searcher is telling us there is nothing on this earth that will satisfy us completely. That is because God has designed us, has wired us, to know Him. ------------------------------------ All in All “Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the Rock, his workis perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.” (Deuteronomy 32:3-4) It is a thrilling exercise to note all the holy and gracious attributes attached to the name of God by the writers of Holy Scripture. In our text, for example, taken from the song of Moses, God is called a “God of truth.” According to the prophet Isaiah, theLord is a “God of judgment” (Isaiah 30:18). David called God both the “God of my righteousness” and “the God of salvation” (Psalms 4:1; 68:20). In the New Testament, Stephen called Him “the God of glory” (Acts 7:2). Paul called Him both “the God of hope” and “the God of patience and consolation” (Romans 15:5, 13) when he wrote to the persecuted believers in the great capital of the Roman Empire. To the carnal Christians in Corinth, He was called “the God of all comfort” and “the God of love and peace” (2 Corinthians 1:3; 13:11), and to the suffering believers in Philippi, Paul identified Him as “the God of peace” (Philippians 4:9). The apostle Peter called Him “the God of all grace” (1 Peter 5:10), and the writer of Hebrews recognized Him as both “God the judge of all” and “the Godof peace” (Hebrews 12:23; 13:20). Our God is, indeed, the God who is all in all to His people. He is the God of truth and righteousness, of peace and love, of patience and comfort, of hope and grace, glory, and salvation. “Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and trueare thy ways, thou King of saints” (Revelation 15:3). Is He, above all, “Lord of all” in us who know Him? HMM --------------------- ThatI May Know Him “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being madeconformable unto his death.” (Philippians3:10) Paul deeply desired to know Christ in an intimate fashion—to experience an even deeper relationship. In our text, he lists three things that will also be known if we know Christ. The power of His resurrection: The victory of Christ over sin and death exhibited His great power. Paul not only longed for an ultimate resurrected body, “if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead” (v. 11), but he longed for the powerover sin as well, “to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans6:11). The fellowship of His sufferings: Paul’s desire to know Christ was so great he was willing, if need be, to suffer as He suffered. And, indeed, Paul did suffer in many ways (as seen in 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 and elsewhere). “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps” (1Peter 2:21). “If so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together” (Romans8:17). Being made conformable to His death: Paul was willing to die as Christ died and soon did die a martyr’s death, beheaded in a Roman prison. But that is not in view here. Rather, he wanted to be like Christ in His death, gaining complete victory over all sin. “For he that is dead is freed from sin” (Romans6:7). To know Christ in this way, to be conformed to Him as Paul desired, primarily demands developing the servant’s heart and selfless humility that took Christ to the cross (Philippians2:5-8) to make it possible for us to know Him. JDM ----------------------- ChristianFreedom “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, butby love serve one another.” (Galatians 5:13) Liberty has always been a cherished concept to Americans, ever since the patriotic call of Patrick Henry for liberty or death. It was also a burning issue with the Jews at the time of Christ, chafing under Roman rule as they were. Many early Christians wereactually slaves or even in prison for their faith. All those in bondage have longed to be free, and wars and revolutions have been fought to gain their freedoms. But the worst bondage of all is slavery to sin. No army can free a man from sin, and if he dies in sin, he will continue in bondage forever. Among the last words of the Bible are these: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, lethim be filthy still” (Revelation 22:11). It is only Christ who can set a sinner free. Christ died for our sins, and through faith in Him we receive full pardon and liberty. “Our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For hethat is dead is freed from sin....Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness” (Romans 6:6-7, 18). There is no greater or truer freedom than freedom in Christ. “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36). Because ofChrist, the very creation itself, now groaning and travailing in pain under the curse of sin, one day soon “shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans8:21). In Christ we now have freedom to live unto righteousness. “Being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life” (Romans6:22). HMM ------------------------- TheFaithful Saying “It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shallalso reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.” (2 Timothy 2:11-13) This saying may have been a song or other memory device that Paul recommended as a summary of doctrine. It expresses important elements of saving faith. First, Christ’s vicarious death gives us eternal life in Him. We “who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1) have been created “in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians4:24) and have “passed from death unto life” (John 5:24). Second, standing with Christ in this life attests to our reigning with Him in the next. The “persecutions and tribulations that [we] endure” are a “manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that [we] may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which[we] also suffer” (2 Thessalonians 1:4-5). Also, denying Christ in this life will ensure that He will deny us for eternity. “Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew10:33). “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels” (Revelation3:5). Finally, even our unbelief will not affect Christ’s faithfulness. “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen” (2 Corinthians 1:20). “Thyword is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever” (Psalm 119:160). “For I am the LORD, I change not” (Malachi3:6). May this faithful saying be your foundation in faith. It is a guide to salvation and an anchor for eternity. HMM III ------------------------ AtGod's Good Pleasure “But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.” (Psalm115:3) We often raise questions about God’s actions, but He is never obligated to explain to us His reasons. It is enough to know that it pleased Him, for whatever He does is right by definition. For example, if someone asks why God created the universe, we must answer simply that it was for His “pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:11). “Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places” (Psalm 135:6). He does not have to give account tous, for we also were created at His pleasure. And why did He allow His Son to suffer and die on the cross? Although “he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him” and to “make his soul an offering for sin,” knowing that eventually “the pleasure ofthe LORD shall prosper in his hand” (Isaiah 53:9-10). We may never be able to understand why God has done this, especially for sinners such as us, but we don’t have to understand. “It pleased God...to save them that believe” (1Corinthians 1:21), not them that understand. We can be sure that God does have perfect reasons for everything He does, and perhaps we shall understand it all in eternity. In the meantime, we are simply (with Paul) to be thankful that “it pleased God, who...called me by his grace, To reveal his Son inme” (Galatians 1:15-16). He has, in some way beyond comprehension, “predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, accordingto the good pleasure of his will” (Ephesians 1:5), and that is enough to know for now. HMM --------------------- JudgingError “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine whichye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” (Romans16:17-18) In order to mark and avoid those professing Christian teachers and leaders who are promoting doctrinal heresy (thus causing divisions among Christian believers), it is obvious that we must exercise sound biblical discernment and judgment. This judgmentmust be based on “the doctrine which ye have learned” from God’s Word. “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah8:20). Such decisions are not to be based on supposed scholarship, tolerance, or eloquence, for such teachers “by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” Instead, we must know and apply God’s Word, the Holy Scriptures. We must be like the Bereans,who, when they heard new teachings, “searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts17:11). It is sadly true today that many who call themselves Christians have compromised with the pseudo-scientific worldview of evolutionary humanism that controls all secular schools and colleges, hoping thereby to avoid the “offence of the cross” (Galatians5:11) and to remain on good terms with “the princes of this world” and “the wisdom of this world” (1Corinthians 2:6). They do this for their own personal gain or prestige, however, not serving Christ “but their own belly” (Romans16:18). Those who are simple Bible-believing Christians are, therefore, not to be deceived by their “good words” but to “mark” and avoid them. HMM ------------------ TheGold Mine of the Psalms - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org The LORD says, �I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. �Psalm 91:14 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/the-gold-mine-of-the-psalms/- Listen The Bible tells us that one of the signs of the last days is perilous and dangerous times (see 2 Timothy 3:1 NLT). Certainly, that describes the days in which we are living. But in Psalm 91, which is the gold mine of the Psalms, we find wonderful promises of God�s provision and protection. In fact, next to Psalm 23, this psalm probably has broughtmore solace to God�s people over the centuries than any other psalm. As believers have faced times of danger, sickness, war, and death, Psalm 91 has been a great comfort to them. It�s an excellent psalm for anyone who faces danger. In this psalm God promises that He will deliver us, He will protect us, He will answer our prayers, and He will be with us in times of trouble. While Psalm 91 contains great promises, it also contains conditions for activating those promises. Not every person can simply take the promises of this psalm and say, �Theseapply to me.� Rather, these promises are only for the children of God. They are only for those who have put their trust and faith in God through Jesus Christ. So, to receive these promises, we must first meet the conditions. For example, the psalm begins, �Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadowof the Almighty� (verse 1 nlt). The name �Most High� is from the Hebrew word Elohim. It speaks of God as the One who possesses everything. Next, the word for �Almighty� comes from the Hebrew word Shaddai, which speaks of God�s provision. So not only is He the living God, but He is also the giving God. Isn�t thatwonderful to know? But to activate these promises, we must �live in the shelter of the Most High.� We must dwell in fellowship with God. We must have an intimate, close relationship with Him. --------------------------------- No Substitute for Worship - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org But the Lord said to her, �My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, andit will not be taken away from her.� �Luke 10:41�42 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/no-substitute-for-worship/- Listen Luke�s Gospel tells the story of two sisters, Martha and Mary. Martha frantically worked in the kitchen to prepare a meal for Jesus, while Mary sat at His feet and drank inHis every word. Martha became frustrated because she felt overworked, and she demanded that Jesus send Mary to help her. But Jesus said, �My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it willnot be taken away from her� (Luke 10:41�42 NLT). He was saying, in effect, �Martha, you�re too busy! Take a cue from your sister. She has chosen the better part.� Mary knew what was important. She knew there was a time for work and a time for worship. But quite often as Christians, we can be like Martha, frantically working instead of sitting at Jesus� feet. Psalm 91 tells us, �Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty� (verse 1 nlt). In the original language, the word used herefor �live� speaks of quiet, resting, and remaining with consistency. Essentially, this verse is telling us that God wants fellowship with us. He wants us to come close to Him, to be near Him, and to remain consistently in His presence. Sometimes we are so busy doing Christian things with Christian people in the Christian church that we forget about Christ. And then one day, we suddenly realize that we�reoverwhelmed. We feel burned out. Are you living in the shelter of the Most High? There�s a time for work, of course. However, the best work will always overflow from a life of worship. At the same time, workcan never take the place of worship. ------------------------------------ Placesto Walk �Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thoushalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.� (Zechariah3:7) In one vision given to Zechariah, Joshua the high priest is shown standing before the awesome throne in heaven. He is pictured as being clothed in filthy garments next to the angel who brought him. Satan was there with all his power, trying to resist everythingJoshua was doing. Of course, the Lord was there too and rebuked Satan, calling Joshua �a brand plucked out of the fire� (Zechariah3:2). What follows in the vision is a beautiful picture of what God does for us when we are twice-born. The Lord commands the angels to �take away the filthy garments� because, He says, �I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee withchange of raiment.� The attendants quickly �set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments� (Zechariah3:4-5). When we are created by God as a �new man� while down here on Earth, the spirit is changed, along with a new heart and a new mind, but one day we will be clothed in fine linen that represents the righteousness of the saints (Revelation19:8)�all given to us when we were made righteous by the marvelous grace of our Lord Jesus. What Zechariah is shown about the Joshua of old is the vast promises of a close working relationship with the Creator Himself�judging His house, having charge of His courts, and being given �places to walk� among the great personages of the courts of heaven.This is a picture of what it means to be a twice-born child of God. At the most basic of biblical foundations, a Christian has been identified by the Creator as one He desires to spend eternity with! HMM III -------------------------- The Joy of Integrity - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts. �Psalm 119:2 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/the-joy-of-integrity/- Listen Many people today who are searching for happiness will never quite find it. That�s because they�re searching for it in the wrong way. We learn from the Bible that happiness is a by-product of holiness. And when we get our priorities in order, happiness will soon follow. That is why nonbelievers never will know true happiness. They keep going after the devil�s cheap counterfeits; they have no deep well from which to draw. In Psalm 119, we find God�s original design for finding and maintaining holiness. And as a result, we will discover happiness. The psalmist wrote, �Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord. Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts.They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in his paths� (verses 1�3 NLT). From the very beginning of our lives, we learn the importance of walking. It�s interesting how little children immediately start moving in that direction. But they don�t quitafter they take their first steps. They keep trying. We grow as Christians in the same way. When we commit our lives to Christ, we begin to walk in the way of the Lord. And if we fall, we need to get up and keep trying. Walking speaks of progression, of moving forward as opposed to simply standing still. And if we want to be truly happy and holy people, then we should not only avoid whatis wrong but also actively engage in what is right. People who are merely trying to avoid evil are missing the point. It is not merely a matter of what we don�t do. It�s also a matter of what we do. We must engage in spiritualgrowth and in godly living. We must walk in the way of the Lord. ------------------------ TheLamb's Book of Life �And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination,or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb�s book of life.� (Revelation21:27) God does keep books! In fact, when David was pondering the time between his own conception and birth, he said, �In thy book all my members were written, which in continuance [that is, as my days continued] were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them� (Psalm139:16). It seems that God has a book for each person who is conceived and that all these together constitute the Book of Life, one great volume containing the names and deeds of every one who was ever given biological life by his Maker. But many will reject (or simply ignore) God�s provision that would also give them eternal life. As David prayed in another psalm, �Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous� (Psalm69:28). Note also Revelation 3:5 and 22:19. And that will be a fearful thing, for �whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire� (Revelation20:15). Those whose names will not be blotted out of the book, of course, are those who have been redeemed �with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot� (1Peter 1:19). Not one person deserves to be retained in God�s book, for all have sinned, but they have �beheld,� with eyes of thankful faith, �the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world� (John1:29), and have therefore been redeemed by the Lamb. Finally, only these will still have their names written on the rolls of the heavenly city. God�s Book of Life will have become �the Lamb�s Book of Life� on which are written forever the names of all those redeemed by His blood. HMM ------------------------------ Going Nowhere - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content. �Ecclesiastes 1:8 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/going-nowhere/- Listen If you�ve ever ridden a stationary bike, then you know that no matter how much you pedal, you never go anywhere. And even if you�re riding a high-tech bike with a monitordisplaying terrain that you�re supposedly going over, a quick look around reminds you that you�re on a machine. And you�re in the same place where you started. That is what life can be like sometimes. You�re always trying, but it seems like you�re not going anywhere. Solomon looked at life that way. He wrote, �What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. . .. Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content� (Ecclesiastes 1:3�4, 8 NLT). That�s a bleak way to look at life. But throughout Ecclesiastes, Solomon uses a phrase that helps us explain his outlook: �under the sun.� Solomon was speaking of horizontal, strictly human living. He rarely looked above the sun for answers. In other words, he was not looking to God. Instead, he was looking horizontally.He was looking to this planet, to this world, for answers. As a result, Solomon decided to take a crash course on sin. He was prepared to try everything that was out there. He wanted the finest entertainment the world offered andthe finest education that money could buy. And he wanted to experience unlimited materialism. Basically, Solomon wanted to experience everything there was to experience. Solomon had what most people only dream of. But in the end, it turned out to be a nightmare. This serves as a reminder that if we leave God out of the equation when we attempt to meet the deepest needs of our lives, we always will come up empty.