DAILY DEVOTIONALS: 7.8.23

 TrueFreedom “As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.” (1Peter 2:16) We who live in what the song writer called the “sweet land of liberty” have a great responsibility to preserve that freedom which our forefathers obtained for us at great cost over two centuries ago. At the same time, we must not turn liberty into license.It would surely hurt those brave and godly men if they could see how we now use “freedom of choice” to justify murdering innocent children before they are born, and how we use “freedom of speech” to warrant fouling the eyes and ears of our children with widespreadpornography and to promote all kinds of immoral behavior in our society in general. No nation can remain free very long after such practices become widely accepted by its citizens. We need to pray for revival! The same warning applies to the abuse of our spiritual freedom in Christ. As the apostle Paul said and repeated: “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient” (1Corinthians 6:12; also 1 Corinthians 10:23, where he added that “all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not”). As Peter says in our text, even though we are “free” and have real “liberty,” we are nevertheless “servants of God,” where the Greek word doulos actually connotes “bond servants,” or even “slaves.” Our liberty in Christ is not freedom to sin whenever we so choose, but rather freedom from our former bondage to sin. “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness” (Romans6:18). Although our nation is rapidly becoming anti-Christian in belief and practice, we Christians can still best serve our nation and our Savior by practicing and proclaiming Christ’s wonderful saving gospel of free salvation from sin and regeneration unto righteousness.HMM ------------------ LookBack “Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence yeare hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.” (Isaiah51:1) While it’s not good to dwell too much on the past—whether in pride of past accomplishments or despondency over past failures or grieving over past losses—it’s well never to forget what God has done for us. In this passage, Israel is reminded of Abraham andSarah, who had been lifted out of the pit of paganism and cut out of the rock of idolatry, and whom God had greatly blessed. David, looking back, had written that God “brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay” (Psalm40:2). Paul looked back and said: “In time past...beyond measure I persecuted the church of God....But when it pleased God, who...called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me...they glorified God in me” (Galatians1:13, 15-16, 24). Whatever our own background may be—bigoted skeptics, or flagrant sinners, or self-righteous hypocrites—God has indeed, if we are now saved by His grace, lifted us out of a pit and set us on a solid rock. We were “strangers from the covenants of promise, havingno hope, and without God in the world” (Ephesians2:12). But God “hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossians1:13). “Such were some of you,” wrote Paul of such gross sins as fornication, idolatry, homosexuality, adultery, and thievery, as well as covetousness and drunkenness. “But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus” (1Corinthians 6:11). An occasional look back will help us to remember more often to look up in humble thankfulness for the grace of God. HMM --------------------- TheMoments of God “For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath Ihid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.” (Isaiah54:7-8) This gracious promise to Israel gives a beautiful insight into both God’s character and the relation of time to eternity. God can be a God of wrath, for He must punish unforsaken sin in His people, but He is much more the God of mercy. His prolonged judgmenton His chosen people of Israel is only “for a small moment” compared to His “everlasting kindness” toward redeemed Israel in the ages to come. This theme occurs a number of times in Scripture. “For his anger endureth but a moment,” said David, “in his favor is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning” (Psalm30:5). To the people faithful to God during a time of judgment against their nation or against the world, God says: “Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers...hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast” (Isaiah26:20). Thus, a time of testing or judgment may extend over many days, or years, or even centuries, but this is only a moment in relation to the endless ages of blessing yet to come. As applied to Christians, this concept is stated explicitly in the only occurrence of the Greek parakutika (“moment”) in the New Testament. “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2Corinthians 4:17). “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind....They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD” (Isaiah65:17, 25). May God give us eyes of faith to see these “moments” of God in their eternal setting. HMM ------------------- InNo Wise “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” (John6:37) This Scripture gives two remarkable truths about our salvation. The first truth is that no one can come to Christ without the election and work of the Father God. A few verses later, Christ says, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent medraw him” (John6:44). Another assuring aspect of this verse is that it begins with the word “all,” or pan in the Greek. In other words, everyone whom the Father chooses and draws will indeed come to Christ. There’s nothing in ourselves that makes us worthy or earns our salvation. It is God’s pure love, grace, and power that draw us and bring us into thefold of Christ, our good Shepherd. The great Puritan writer John Bunyan said, “Once the Father sets his loving gaze on a wandering sinner, that sinner’s rescue is certain.” The second part is also key in that we are told Jesus will in no wise cast us out. While we no longer use the expression “no wise,” it’s a phrase that employs a very clever and powerful means of capturing the emphatic negative of the Greek grammar. The textliterally reads, “the one coming to me I will NO NOT cast out.” This grammatical construction of two negatives piled on top of each other is done for literary forcefulness. In modern English, we would say, “I will most certainly never, ever cast out.” Jesus never gets tired of His sheep or loses His patience with them. Christ’s assurance is that He will continue to guide, discipline, and love us on the journey to our eternal heavenly home. JPT --------------------- TheJoy of Obedience - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the LORD. �Psalm 119:1 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/the-joy-of-obedience/- Listen When it comes to spiritual pursuits, many people put in the bare minimum. They will engage in spiritual things only when it�s necessary, generally during a crisis. When everything is going well, when the sky is blue, the sun is out, and the birds are singing, they don�t really have a thought about God. But when a crisis hits, when thestorm clouds gather, suddenly they are calling on the Lord out of necessity. Some people pray only in a time of crisis or when they think of it. They read the Bible only when they have time. But that is not the way to live. The Bible says, �Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord� (Psalm 119:1 NLT). God�s commands are not something we should fear or shun. Yet someChristians say, �I�m not under the law; I�m under grace.� In a sense that�s true. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we are no longer under the curse of the law, which we are unable to keep in our own strength. But let�s alsoremember that Jesus said, �Don�t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose� (Matthew 5:17 NLT). We don�t keep the law to earn God�s approval. But it also doesn�t mean that we disregard it. It doesn�t mean that we can do whatever we want. The principles of the law certainlystill apply in our lives. Instead of being a list of rules that were basically unobtainable for us in our own strength, God�s laws are now written on the fleshly tablets of our hearts, as Scripturesays (see 2 Corinthians 3:3). They become our delight. They become our joy. And we obey them because it�s our desire to do so. ------------------------ God�s Warning System - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening�it�s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. �Hebrews 12:11 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/gods-warning-system/- Listen I�ve flown in a lot of different planes, from big ones to very small ones. And something that all planes have is a warning system that alerts the pilot when something is goingwrong. In the same way, if you�re a child of God, then you will sense the conviction of the Holy Spirit when you begin to cross a line. Your conscience is the warning system Godhas built within you. We find the infrastructure for our beliefs in the pages of Scripture, and God�s Holy Spirit works through our conscience to give us a sense of what is right and wrong. Thus,when we begin to do something that isn�t right, the Holy Spirit, through our conscience, tells us that it�s wrong. Additionally, because we�re God�s children, the Bible says that God will discipline us. So, when we start to go astray, when we do something that is wrong, the Holy Spiritis there, lovingly yet firmly saying, �Don�t do that.� But here�s the problem. If you�re not a believer, then you won�t sense any conviction at all. You will go out and do whatever you want to do, and your heart will be so hardenedthat you won�t even care. Here�s what the Bible says about this: �If God doesn�t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children atall� (Hebrews 12:8 NLT). If there is something you�ve been doing that you know is wrong, if God�s Holy Spirit has been telling you to stop but you�ve found a way to justify it, then I have one wordfor you: repent. To repent means to change your direction. Stop doing what you�re doing, because if you don�t stop, your heart will grow more and more hardened. God is warning you for yourown good. ------------------------ GodKnows What We Don't Know �I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.� (Psalm119:75) One of the most perplexing aspects of the Christian life is trying to understand God�s purpose when defeat or affliction comes into our lives, thereby hindering or even halting our ministry and testimony for Him. Many have been the servants of God who weresincerely working for Christ, seeking to obey His will and His Word as best they understood them, but then suddenly were laid aside by sickness, or had their ministries stopped by the enemies of God (sometimes even by fellow Christians), or for some otherreason, and could not discern why God allowed it. What then? When affliction comes, we must simply trust God, knowing that whatever He does is right and that our affliction is invested with His faithfulness. He is our Creator and, through Christ, has also become our heavenly Father: �Furthermore we have hadfathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?� (Hebrews12:9). He knows what we don�t know, therefore we can �know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose� (Romans8:28). This verse (Romans8:28) is one of the most familiar and most wonderful promises in the Bible, but it�s one of the most difficult to believe in time of affliction or loss. Nevertheless, it�s God�s promise, and �all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, untothe glory of God by us� (2Corinthians 1:20). God knows the end from the beginning, and in that wonderful day when Christ returns, �then shall I know even as also I am known� (1Corinthians 13:12). Until then, we must simply trust Him. HMM ------------------------ Obedience and Joy - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org 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. �Psalm 119:2�3 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/obedience-and-joy/- Listen When Potiphar�s wife tried to tempt Joseph, it was his love for God that functioned as a deterrent. It kept him from sinning. Joseph said, �How could I do such a wicked thing?It would be a great sin against God� (Genesis 39:9 NLT). When we keep God�s commandments, we should keep them with all our hearts because we love God. We should want to keep them. Of course, the devil will try to stop us from walking according to God�s commands. He will set traps for us and try to trip us up. He wants to keep us from living holy andhappy lives. Some people see God�s laws as restrictive, as things that prevent them from really enjoying life. However, His commands protect us from the things that can harm us. And keepingHis commands is the way to live life to its fullest. Therefore, the law is something that we should want to keep. The psalmist wrote, �Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts� (Psalm 119:2 NLT). A few verses later we read, �How can a young person staypure? By obeying your word� (verse 9 NLT). I think we all recognize that young people today are facing some serious temptations. But this principle also applies to every Christian. If you want to live a clean life,you must obey the Word of God. This means not just reading the Bible but doing what it says. As someone pointed out, �It is not how you mark your Bible; it�s how your Bible marks you.� Read God�s Word with a desire to apply it to your life. It�s attention with intention. If you will apply yourself wholly to the Scriptures and apply the Scriptures whollyto yourself, it will have an impact on your life.