DAILY DEVOTIONALS: 11.04.23

 The Great Cry of Humanity - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape. —1 Thessalonians 5:3 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/the-great-cry-of-humanity/- Listen Everyone wants peace today, and in some cases, they want peace more than they want justice. They want peace more than they want what is right. They just want peace and safety. It’s the great cry of humanity that we hear so much about today. There is talk about the global family and how the world is one, big village. The assertion is that we alljust need to learn to get along and set aside our differences. It seems as though the only thing lacking now is a charismatic leader to tell us what to do next. With the incredible advances in technology and the ability to communicateglobally in an instant, the world is just waiting for that leader. And that leader is coming. Some will think he is the Messiah, but he won’t be. He will be the Antichrist. The prefix anti- not only means “against”; it also means “instead of.” And when this world leader emerges on the scene, he will be a false messiah, the devil’s version ofthe real thing. Many people will follow him because he will temporarily usher in a three-and-a-half-year reign of global peace, something no one else has been able to do. He will bring aboutan end, temporarily, to the conflict in Israel as he helps them build their temple in Jerusalem. Yet those who believe we can get along as one global family and live together in peace are those who believe humanity is essentially good. And they are not dealing with reality. That is why the Bible tells us to be sober. In 1 Peter 5:8 we read, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking forsomeone to devour” (NLT). And writing to the believers in Ephesus, the apostle Paul said, “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunityin these evil days” (Ephesians 5:15–16 NLT). Nonbelievers claim that Christians are not realists, that we’re living in an altered state of reality. But we are realists, more than anyone else today. A Christian is someonewho simply believes what the Bible is saying. And the Bible tells us that humanity is not basically good; it’s wicked. That explains a lot of the horrid, perverse, and unthinkable things that people do today. When the Bible says that at the core, our hearts are “desperately wicked” (Jeremiah17:9), everything makes sense. On the other hand, if someone believes that we are all essentially good, that is hard to explain. Not only are Christians realistic about our problems, but we’re also realistic about the solution. We know that government will not solve our problems and there is no systemon earth that can solve the social ills of today. We know the only real hope is a change in the human heart. And the only One who can change a human heart is God. -------------------- Man�sGrief and God�s Compassion �For the LORD will not cast off for ever: But though he cause grief yet will he have compassion accordingto the multitude of his mercies. For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.� (Lamentations3:31-33) The five chapters of the unique book of Lamentations, written by Jeremiah in his grief over the destruction of Jerusalem, are all written as acrostics, with each verse of each chapter beginning with successive letters of the 22-letter Hebrew alphabet. Thatis, verse 1 of each chapter begins with the letter aleph, verse 2 with beth, etc. (like A, B, etc. in English). The middle chapter is written in acrostic triplets (the first three verses beginning with aleph, and so on). Thus, chapter 3 contains 66 verses instead of 22. The three verses of our text are right at the midpoint of this middle chapter, comprising the final triplet of the first half of the book, and thus uniquely constituting its central theme. As such, it could well also be the heart cry of every saint in any ageexperiencing God�s chastening hand. Although Jeremiah himself had not sinned, his nation had grievously sinned, and thus all Israel had finally come under the rod. Nevertheless, the prophet could assure his people that God still loved them and would renew His compassion even in the midst of theirgrief. God does not willingly send affliction, for He is �not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance� (2Peter 3:9). When we suffer, or our nation suffers (as it surely will if it continues its present rebellion against God), it is well to remember His promise. �He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever� (Psalm103:9). It is true that �no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby� (Hebrews12:11). HMM ------------------------- Satan�sStrategic Plan �But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should becorrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.� (2Corinthians 11:3) The magnificent book of Genesis sets the foundation for Scripture, revealing the �Roman numerals� upon which the rest of the Bible�s message is built. Apart from the actual events of the creation week, the fall of Adam and Eve, and the subsequent horrific growthof sin and the awful judgment of the Flood, the gospel message would make little sense. Paul�s warning showcases the importance of Satan�s strategy to ensnare humanity in the same trap. The Devil�s tactics change with time and culture, but the strategy remains the same. First, Satan always attempts to make us doubt the Word of God (Genesis3:1). If we question the accuracy, the meaning, the authenticity, the historicity, or any other shade of �all scripture� (2Timothy 3:16), then we begin edging onto a slippery slope that will only lead to the next stage. Second, Satan always confronts the doubter with a denial of the Word of God (Genesis3:4). When one begins to deny the authority, the capability, or the will of God to carry out His Word, the slide into the final phase is inevitable. Third, Satan ultimately heaps denigration on the Person of God Himself (Genesis3:5). Once one embraces the thought that the Word of God is not trustworthy and that God either will not or cannot do what He says, it absolutely follows that God is either a liar, a hypocrite, or a capricious and whimsical ogre. May God protect us from the �wiles of the devil� (Ephesians6:11). HMM III -------------------------- Prayerfor All Men �I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, bemade for all men.� (1 Timothy 2:1) The book of 1 Timothy consists of various charges (1:18- 19) to Paul�s disciple Timothy. The first charge (2:1-8) concerns prayer in the church. The fact that Paul mentions it �first of all� (v. 1) indicates that he felt it of primary importance. Note the fourtypes of prayer in our text verse. Supplications, or perhaps petitions, referring to one�s personal needs: We must recognize our continued dependence on God�s provision. �The effectual fervent prayer [same word] of a righteous man availeth much� (James5:16). Prayers: This is a general term with a number of applications, but foremost it indicates reverence for and worship of the one to whom the prayers are offered. �I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting� (1 Timothy 2:8). Intercessions: This word implies a personal bequest on an intimate basis, as child to father. The only other occurrence of the word regards the eating of food that �is sanctified by the word of God and prayer� (1Timothy 4:5). Giving of thanks: When we give thanks, we recognize that our blessings are undeserved. �Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever� (Revelation7:12). These types of prayers, which should probably be understood as representing all types of prayers, should be made �for all men,� specifically those in authority (v. 2) and for the unsaved (v. 4). Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will present our prayers to theFather (v. 5) and ensure that He will answer them as He sees best. JDM --------------------- TheJust Shall Live by Faith �Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.� (Habakkuk2:4) This great principle��the just shall live by faith��was the Scripture that so inflamed the soul of Martin Luther that it became the watchword of the Reformation. It occurs first here in the small prophecy of Habakkuk, but is then quoted three times in the NewTestament. The term �just,� of course, means �justified� or �righteous.� God says a person is enabled to live righteously by his faith. The nature of this faith is clarified by three quotations. The first is Romans 1:17: �For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.� The phrase �from faith to faith� means �from the beginningof faith to the end of faith,� and the context indicates that the foundational item of faith is faith in �his eternal power and Godhead,� which �from the creation of the world are clearly seen� (Romans1:20). Similarly, in the last occurrence: �Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him� (Hebrews10:38). Then the writer notes that the basic item of faith is special creation: �Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear� (Hebrews11:3). The middle occurrence is Galatians 3:11: �But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.� Paul�s lengthy explanation to the Galatian legalists begins with Galatians 2:16: �Even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ.� Thus, justifying, saving, living faith begins and centers in Jesus Christ, first as Creator of all things, then as the Savior who �hath redeemedus from the curse of the law� (Galatians3:13). HMM --------------------- Will We Be Ready? - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don�t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. �1 Thessalonians 5:5�6 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/will-we-be-ready/- Listen God can see the future with complete certainty. He knows it as well as we might know our past. God looks at the future, the past, and the present as one. He can see them all. Therefore, it is no reach for God to say that something will happen exactly as He predicted it would, because He lives in the supernatural realm. In my understanding of Bible prophecy, Jesus could come back at any time. I do not see any piece in the prophetic puzzle that needs to be put in place before He could comefor His church. This means that Christ could come for us today. Hebrews 9:28 tells us, �He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waitingfor him� (NLT). The question is, will we be ready? The Rapture will be an instantaneous event. That is why, in speaking of Christ�s return, the Bible tells us to be ready. It tells us to be alert. Be watching. Pay attention.We must be ready now. Writing about the return of Christ, Paul warned, �So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. Night is the time when people sleep and drinkersget drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation� (1 Thessalonians 5:6�8 NLT). The Bible tells Christians to wake up. Don�t be asleep in the light. That�s because a lot of us can simply lie around enjoying a prolonged nap while the rest of the worldfaces an imminent judgment. Yet God is saying, �You need to wake up. Be alert and live in the light. Put on the armor of faith and love.� We are living in the last days, and it will get tough at times. We had better have our spiritual weapons ready and close by. We had better realize the devil will try to tripus up and bring us down. Tragically, one of the signs of the last days is that some will fall away from the faith (see 1 Timothy 4:1). Don�t let that cause you to worry, because God will keep youif you want to be kept. He will protect you. But you have to take practical steps to be protected. So, stay close to Him. Avoid the pitfalls and the things that can drag you down, and be alert. Be awake. Be on guard. And be available to serve the Lord and share the life-changingmessage of the gospel with others. Jesus said, �We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. But while I am here in the world, I amthe light of the world� (John 9:4�5 NLT). Wake up from spiritual lethargy, laziness, and apathy. Wake up to the urgency of the hour. We must seize the opportunities God gives us, because they won�t be around forever. ---------------------------- AnEar to the Master's Voice �And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.� (Exodus21:5-6) This unique ordinance of the Mosaic law is significant as being the first one given after the Ten Commandments. It (and the following ordinances) centers first on the most humble members of society (that is, the slave�recognizing the universal existence ofslavery at the time and ameliorating its practice), then on other people, then on property�thus establishing God�s priorities. Here also, right at the beginning of the dispensation of law, we are given a picture in miniature of the coming Servant of the Lord, who would come someday to bear the penalty of the law for us, saving us by His grace. The servant pictured here, with full right to be set free in the sabbatical year, chooses rather to do the will of his master forever, listening to his voice only�this commitment symbolized and sealed by the opening in his ear. Just so, the coming Savior wouldsay: �Mine ears hast thou opened....Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart� (Psalm40:6-8). The fulfillment of this prophecy is described in Hebrews 10:5-10. There, the opening of the ear of the servant is interpreted as the preparation of His human body �to do thy will, O God....By the which will we are sanctified through the offeringof the body of Jesus Christ once for all� (Hebrews10:7, 10). Out of love for the Father and for those who would share the Father�s house with Him, He offered His body to accomplish the saving will of God. HMM --------------------------- Move in the Right Direction - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus�the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful graceof God. �Acts 20:24 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/move-in-the-right-direction/- Listen Corrie ten Boom said, �The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration but its donation.� It�s important to think about what kind of donation our lives are making. In Acts 20, the apostle Paul identified what the measure of a person ought to be and the qualitieswe should see in the life of a leader. In a way, every Christian is a leader. We may be leading our children. Or, we may be examples to younger believers. But we need to take to heart what Paul says. This was an emotional moment for the apostle. He was giving his final words to the leaders of the church of Ephesus. Paul had spent time ministering to them, helping them,praying for them, and caring for them. But he was going away. In effect Paul was saying, �This is what I want you to remember. These are things that should describe your walk with God.� He told them, �But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus�the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderfulgrace of God� (verse 24 NLT). The New King James Version puts it this way: �But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministrywhich I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.� Paul compared himself to a runner in a race. Using the same analogy in 1 Corinthians, he said, �Don�t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets theprize? So run to win!� (9:24 NLT). We can get off track in the race of life. That�s why it�s important to focus on our own race and not on the race others are running. It�s also important for us to understand that our times are in God�s hands. Our lives are a gift to us from God. God decides when they begin. And God decides when they end. Paul wasn�t saying that life wasn�t important, because he wrote to the believers in Philippi, �For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better� (Philippians1:21 NLT). Paul was simply saying that he knew his life was a gift from God. In his book Nearing Home, Billy Graham wrote, �I often wonder if God, in His sovereignty, allows the eyesight of the aged to cast a dim view of the here and now so that wemay focus our spiritual eyes on the ever after.�[1] As we see the frailty of life, especially when we�ve lost a loved one, eternity becomes more tangible and important to us. The length of our lives is determined by God, not by us. So, we want to make sure that we�re moving in the right direction now. The evening of our life is determined by themorning of it. The end is determined by the beginning. [1] Billy Graham, Nearing Home: Life, Faith, and Finishing Well (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2011), 15. ------------------------ TheTruth �...God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.� (1Timothy 2:3-4) The verses preceding our text encourage believers to be in prayer �for all men� (v. 1), including �all that are in authority� (v. 2), that our own lives might be �quiet and peaceable,� as well as for their salvation. God, who abhors and promises to judge sinful individuals, does not desire to punish anyone. His desire is for �all men to be saved,� and He has done all that is necessary to bring this about, by paying sin�s awful penalty of death. While not all will availthemselves of this opportunity, choosing instead to continue in their sin, our prayers somehow are used by God to bring some �to the knowledge of the truth.� The truth necessary for salvation follows: �For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all� (vv. 5-6). In order to be saved, we must embrace the fact that there is only �one God� who alone holds the key to eternity, and that there is only one way by which we can reach that God, �the man Christ Jesus.� We, in our natural state, are at war with God, estrangedfrom Him, and separated by the presence of sin in our lives. Christ Jesus, acting as our mediator, our peacemaker, our advocate, being both fully God (i.e., �one God�) and fully man (i.e., �the man�) bridges the gap between the Father and all men. As Jesussaid, �I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me� (John14:6). How has He bridged the gap? He �gave himself a ransom for all� (v. 6). The Bible teaches that �the wages of sin is death� (Romans6:23) but that �Christ died for our sins� (1Corinthians 15:3). Since He willingly �gave himself� as a punishment for our sins, we can stand before God the Father in Christ�s sinlessness. JDM -------------------------- Beliefand Behavior �And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth,a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?� (Job 1:8) Job was blameless. But since �all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God� (Romans 3:23), how could he avoid bearing blame? His friend Bildad hadthe same question. He asked Job, �How then can man be justified with God?� (Job 25:4). Bildad assumed that Job based his self-proclaimed right standingwith God on his own good works. It appears that blamelessness through God�s grace never entered Bildad�s mind. According to God, however, Bildad and his two like-minded �miserable comforters� (Job 16:2) �have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servantJob hath� (Job 42:7). The three men apparently thought that righteousness arises from behavior, not belief. But for God to see sinners as blameless, Hemust pardon them by grace alone. Did Job believe blamelessness comes by faith and through a sacrifice? He did think his family�s sins required blood sacrifices, since he �rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all [10 children]� (Job1:5). Good works don�t earn right standing before our holy God. Job must have trusted that God transfers sin and blame to an appropriate sacrifice, a promise that would be realized with the death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. After we believe,we find inspiration for right behavior from our newfound freedom in forgiveness. God directed Job�s friends to �go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering� (Job 42:8). The Lord points out that belief in Him, notbehavior, is our necessary source of blamelessness. Good behavior follows faith. BDT -------------------------- InSearch of God�s Will - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org The LORD is a friend to those who fear him. He teaches them his covenant. �Psalm 25:14 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/in-search-of-gods-will/- Listen Does God still speak to people today? Is He interested in what happens to us as individuals? And does He indeed have a master plan for our lives? As Christians, we are not victims of chance, hoping that our luck holds up. God has a plan for our lives. He has a will that He wants to reveal to us. He wants to speak tous, and He does speak to us. The reason we don�t hear Him is that we haven�t yet learned to tune in. God does not play hide-and-seek. In fact, He is more interested in revealing His will to us than we might be in knowing it. Far too often we make hearing God�s voice and knowingHis will overly mystical. Following the will of God is not an itinerary as much as it is an attitude. It is saying, �Lord, guide my steps. I�m available to walk in the way that You want me to walk.� And the Bible gives us this promise: �The Lord is a friend to those who fear him. He teaches them his covenant� (Psalm 25:14 NLT). Friends like to talk. When something good happens to you, you want to tell your friends. Or when something bad happens, you call them as well. Jesus said to His disciples, �I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn�t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Fathertold me� (John 15:15 NLT). When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, you begin a special friendship with God. God has given us a user�s manual in life called the Bible, which helps us to understand thewill of God. So, before we get into the specifics of trying to discover His plan and purpose for our lives as individuals, we need to ask ourselves this question: Am I already doing whatGod has clearly told me to do? For example, it is the will of God that you believe in Jesus Christ. The Bible says that God �does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent� (2 Peter3:9 NLT). There must come a moment in your life when you�ve acknowledged that you�re a sinner and are separated from God. There must come a moment when you turn from that sin and put your faith in Jesus. The Bible says, �And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice�thekind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him� (Romans 12:1 NLT). God is essentially saying, �Give Me your life, and I will show you My will.� The condition of an enlightened mind is a surrendered heart. God has a plan and a purpose foryour life. But to know the will of God, you must willingly present yourself to Him without reservation.