DAILY DEVOTIONALS: 8.17.24

ToGod Be the Glory “Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.” (Psalm115:1) One of the great words of the Bible is the word “glory,” and it should be evident that glory belongs to God, not man. Indeed, the very “heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm19:1). Not only do the heavens declare His glory, but “his glory [is] above the heavens” (113:4), and “the glory of the LORD shall endure for ever” (104:31). In heaven the mighty hosts of angels “give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name” (29:2). It is thus singularly inappropriate for God’s servants on Earth to seek glory for themselves. “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let himthat glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD” (Jeremiah9:23-24). This Old Testament exhortation is echoed in the New. “God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;...That no flesh should glory in his presence.But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord” (1Corinthians 1:27, 29-31). As our text reminds us, God manifests His glory to us today in both mercy and truth, mercifully saving us in Christ, who is Himself God’s truth (John14:6). Thus, in Christ “mercy and truth are met together” (Psalm85:10), and we shall “praise thy name for thy lovingkindness [same word as ‘mercy’] and for thy truth” (Psalm138:2). HMM ------------------- Arkof Salvation “And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing inthe flood upon the world of the ungodly.” (2Peter 2:5) Noah and his family were spared from the floodwaters engulfing an entire world that had been engaged in continuous evil. Genesis 6:5 says, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth.” Noah surely preached a message of coming judgment andpromised salvation before the Flood (Romans10:14). Just imagine him calling for repentance and offering free passage and protection on the Ark while the football-field-sized barge towered behind him—the only hope of being spared from God’s wrath (1Thessalonians 1:10). But only Noah’s family of eight chose to board the Ark. God closed the door, and millions outside the protection of this vessel perished in the surging waters and wrathful forces that destroyed every living land creature on Earth except the ones preserved withinthe Ark (Genesis7:1-23). Peter describes this historic event as a picture of someone who is spared from God’s wrath by finding salvation in Christ (1Peter 3:18-21). When one repents and places faith in Jesus, our Savior becomes a personal “ark” through which one is rescued. Believers are protected from the condemning consequences of all the sins they commit in life (Romans6:10; Hebrews 7:27; 9:12). As Paul expounds, “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall besaved by his life” (Romans5:9-10). CCM ---------------------------- TheFour "I Wills" of Worship “I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. I will beglad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.” (Psalm9:1-2) Praising the great “I AM” is the most heavenly of Christian duties. The triumphs of the Redeemer ought to be the triumphs of the redeemed. These two verses shift the worshiper’s attention to the Giver of grace, whose “marvellous works” reflect His greatness.These four “I wills” demonstrate David’s desire to praise God with a sincere heart and emphasize his resolve to praise God publicly. Heartfelt gratitude and praise should always be on the lips of God’s redeemed. “I will praise” is a Christian’s natural response to who God is and what He’s done for him. He praises God’s great name when he meditates on His unchanging attributes (Psalm18:49; 22:22; 35:18; 43:4; 71:14; 145:2; 146:2). “I will tell” of all God’s marvelous works is captured in one Hebrew word (pele'), used especially in reference to God’s redemptive miracles (Psalm22:22; 66:16; 106:7, 22; 118:17; 145:6; Hebrews 2:12). Secular writings describe such works figuratively as ones that “take your breath away.” “I will be glad and rejoice” and “I will sing praises” to the Almighty are repeated many times in the Psalms (7:17; 9:2; 30:12; 31:7; 57:9; 59:17; 71:22, 23; 92:1; 101:1; 108:3; 138:1; 144:9). And “O thou most High [elyon]” depictsGod as the exalted ruler of His creation, always vindicating His children and judging the wicked (Psalm47:2). The believer purely worships God when he praises, speaks, rejoices, and sings to the Most High. How great you are, our Lord, and greatly to be praised (Colossians3:16; Ephesians 5:19)! CCM ------------------------- Crucifiedwith Christ “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” (Galatians5:24) Death by crucifixion was surely one of the cruelest and most painful forms of execution ever devised. Yet, the Lord Jesus “for the joy that was set before him endured the cross” (Hebrews12:2); He “hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit” (1Peter 3:18). But just as He sacrificed Himself for us, we are now privileged to offer our “bodies a living sacrifice” to Him (Romans12:1). This spiritual sacrifice is actually compared to crucifixion. “Our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin” (Romans6:6). Crucifixion is not an instantaneous death but is very slow and painful. Just so, the death of a Christian believer to sin does not take place in a moment of special blessing but—as in physical crucifixion—is painful and slow. Nevertheless, it is necessary fora truly effective Christian life. In the book of Galatians, we are told three times by the apostle Paul that the Christian believer should be following Christ in His crucifixion—in crucifixion to self, to the flesh, and to the world. First, we are to be crucified to the love of self. “I amcrucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians2:20). Second, we are to be crucified to the flesh, for “they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (our text). Finally, we should be crucified to the lure of this world. “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Galatians6:14). HMM ----------------------- John'sCreator/Savior “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginningwith God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:1-3) It is remarkable how many names and titles are associated with Jesus Christ (meaning “anointed Savior”) in the first chapter of John’s gospel. In verse 9, He is called “the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” He is “the only begottenof the Father, full of grace and truth” in verse 14 and “the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father” in verse 18. John the Baptist called Him “the Lord” in verse 23, “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” in verse 29, and “the Son of God” in verse 34. The disciples then called Him “Master” in verse 38 and “Messias” in verse 41, as well as “Jesus of Nazareth” in verse 45. Nathanael acknowledged Him as “King of Israel” in verse 49, and Jesus called Himself “the Son of man” inverse 51. But the very first title ascribed to Him by John, as he introduced his gospel, was simply “the Word” (v. 1), from a word hard to translate in its fullness. In the New Testament, it is rendered “word,” “reason,” “communication,” “doctrine,” speech,” and manyothers. With reference to Christ, it tells us that He is always the One who reveals, speaks for, manifests, explains, and incarnates the heavenly Father. John 1:1 even takes us back before Genesis 1:1, where we learn that the pre-incarnate Christ created all things (cf. Colossians 1:16). “In the beginning” He was, before He created! All things were made by Him. “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made;and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth” (Psalm 33:6). As the eternal, omnipotent Word of God, the pre-incarnate Christ spoke all things into being. Jesus Christ is the Word; and the Word is God! HMM --------------------- Poweredby the Holy Spirit - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Don�t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to theLord in your hearts. �Ephesians 5:18�19 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/powered-by-the-holy-spirit/- Listen As Christians, we often imagine the filling of the Holy Spirit as an emotional experience. It may be emotional. And it may not be. But we should ask God to fill us with His Holy Spirit ona regular basis. The apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Ephesus, �Don�t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit� (Ephesians 5:18 NLT). The term filledis interesting because in the original language, it speaks of wind filling the sail of a ship and carrying it along. So, to be filled with the Spirit means that God�s Spirit fills our sails, so to speak. And that makes following His commands a delight, not a drudgery. But the word filled also carries the idea of permeation. The idea is that God wants His Spirit to permeate every area of our lives. He wants to fill our thought lives, our work time, and ourfree time. He wants to be a part of everything that we say and do. A few verses later, Paul wrote to husbands and wives, �Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. . . . For husbands,this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her� (verses 21�22, 25 NLT). We need the power of God�s Spirit to do this. We need His constant help and work in our lives. David, a shepherd, wrote in Psalm 23, �You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings� (verse 5 NLT). Shepherds often used oil to ease the pain experienced bytheir sheep when flies attacked during the summer months. They took a special oil, poured it over the animals� heads, and applied it to their ears. This not only helped their wounds to heal but also repelled insects. In the Bible, oil often symbolizes the Holy Spirit. Thus, not only is it important for us to feast on the Word of God as we spend time in green pastures and beside still waters, but we alsoneed the Holy Spirit to fill us. The phrase �be filled with the Holy Spirit� in Ephesians 5:18 is a command. God is not asking us to do this. Rather, He commands us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. From the original Greek,we could translate it to say, �Be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit.� This isn�t something we do once in life. We want the Holy Spirit to fill us again and again. If your car runs out of gas, what do you do? You go to the gas station and get a refill. It�s the same in our lives as believers. We need the Spirit to refill us. Be constantly filled with the Spirit. Let His wind fill your sails and permeate every area of your life. ---------------------- Goodness and Mercy - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever. �Psalm 23:5�6 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/goodness-and-mercy/- Listen Sometimes, as Christians, we don�t fully realize all that God has done for us. We take His blessings in our lives for granted far too often. God is faithful. God is good. And God is consistent. The Bible promises that God will not just pardon us for our sin but will abundantly pardon us. Isaiah 55:7 tells us, �Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doingwrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously� (NLT). Not only is God able to do what we ask of Him through prayer, but according to Ephesians 3:20, He is able to �accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think� (NLT). Not only are we conquerors in Christ, but according to Romans 8:37, �we are more than conquerors� (NIV). He gives us not just peace but a peace that �exceeds anything we can understand� (Philippians4:7 NLT). The psalmist and shepherd David was able to look back on his life and say, �My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life,and I will live in the house of the Lord forever� (Psalm 23:5�6 NLT). As Christians look back at their lives, if they have been walking closely with God, they�re able to see a pattern of God�s blessings over the years. While this world feasts on the rotting carcasses of sin, the Christian feasts at the Good Shepherd�s table. While the world feasts on cheap imitations, the Christian feasts on the real thing.While this world drinks from the polluted, diseased watering holes, the Christian�God�s sheep�feeds on green pastures and drinks from still waters. As the results of sin catch up with those who have had no time for God, those who have faithfully walked with God find that goodness and mercy, like two sheepdogs, have been following themall along. Sometimes, when we�re going through certain situations, we may not see God�s goodness or mercy. In fact, we may even question God on occasion. But as the years pass, as we look back, we areable to see God�s hand in our lives in a way that perhaps we couldn�t see it before. This is illustrated well in the tumultuous life of young Joseph, who had so many setbacks. Yet many wonderful things happened in his life. In the end, he said to his brothers, who had soldhim into slavery years before, �You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people� (Genesis 50:20 NLT). Joseph was able to recognize, like David, that God�s goodness and mercy had followed him all the days of his life. And we can look back and see the same thing. Really, the Christian life is the greatest life there is. It is better than anything this world has to offer. --------------------------------------- Gone Forever - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty! �Psalm 32:2 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/gone-forever/- Listen When we come to the subject of sin, something that we unfortunately are all familiar with, we have two ways to approach it. We can confess it for what it is, turn from it, and know the happinessof being forgiven. Or, we can conceal and hide it and know the misery of ultimately being found out and reaping what we�ve sowed. In the Book of Deuteronomy, God posed a challenge. He said, �Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witnessthe choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!� (30:19 NLT). God was saying, �You can walk with Me, or you can walk away from Me. You can live, or you can die.� It�s amazing that some people consciously would choose death. But that is essentially what we do when we choose to go against God and His Word. Sin is attractive. The devil knows how to present it so that it will have a certain appeal. Sin is a lot like candy-coated strychnine. It�s sweet on the outside until you bite into it. Becauseof the short-term pleasure that sin offers, many people don�t think about the long-term repercussions. Yet the Bible warns, �You may be sure that your sin will find you out� (Numbers 32:23 NLT). Sometimes this happens immediately. And sometimes it happens after a period of time. A few years ago, I saw a news story about someone who wanted to steal gasoline from a motor home. The thief stuck his hose in the tank and began the syphoning process. But he had put the hoseinto the sewage tank instead of the gas tank. The owner of the motor home found him curled up outside, vomiting. His sin found him out. King David is rightfully known as one of the greatest saints in Scripture, identified uniquely as the �man after [God�s] own heart� (1 Samuel 13:14 NLT). But it is also true that David isknown as one the greatest sinners in Scripture. On the one hand, we remember him for his heroic exploits and his tender heart toward God and others. But on the other hand, we remember him for his sins of adultery and murder and his attemptto cover them up. Ultimately, the prophet Nathan confronted David about his sin and told him, �From this time on, your family will live by the sword because you have despised me by taking Uriah�s wife to beyour own� (2 Samuel 12:10 NLT). But thank God for second chances, because this was during the time that David wrote Psalm 32, which begins, �Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out ofsight!� (verse 1 NLT). David had tried in his own ability to cover his sins but with no success. But when God covers our sins, they�re gone forever. We can�t cover them, but God can. We can�t get rid of them, butGod can. God not only covers our sins; He cleanses them. ------------------- TheOrder of Melchizedek �The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.� (Psalm110:4) The importance of this intriguing verse is indicated both by the fact that it is the central verse of a great Messianic psalm (quoted at least 12 times in the New Testament) and also because this one verse constitutes one of the main themes of chapters 5�7of Hebrews, where it is quoted no fewer than five times (Hebrews5:6, 10; 6:20; 7:17, 21) and where Melchizedek himself is mentioned nine times. It refers to the fascinating personage glimpsed briefly in Genesis 14:18-20. Melchizedek (meaning �King of Righteousness�) is said to have been �King of Salem� (or �Peace�), but there is no record, either in secular history or elsewhere in the Bible, that there ever was such a city or earthly king. He was also called the �priest of the most high God� (Hebrews7:1), and he suddenly appeared, then disappeared as suddenly as he had come. Commentators mostly have assumed that Melchizedek was the chieftain of a small settlement of which we have no record, but this hardly does justice to the exalted descriptions of him in Scripture. He was obviously greater than Abraham (Hebrews7:4) and Aaron, the founder of the Levitical priesthood. Furthermore, he was �without father, without mother,...having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually� (Hebrews7:3). Such language is hardly appropriate merely because no genealogy is recorded. If one takes the Bible literally, such statements could be true only of God Himself, appearing briefly in the pre-incarnate state of the Second Person as King of all peace and righteousness. Now this same divine Person, �because he continueth ever, hath anunchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him� (Hebrews7:24-25). HMM ------------------------------ The Only Way to Deal with Sin - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, �I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.� And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. �Psalm 32:5 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/the-only-way-to-deal-with-sin/- Listen It�s miserable to live with unconfessed sin. In Psalm 32, David described the futility and misery of unconfessed sin. He said, �My body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. Mystrength evaporated like water in the summer heat� (verses 3�4 NLT). The Bible tells us, �People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy� (Proverbs 28:13 NLT). Sometimes, we meet people who seem to be so together. They do everything right, and they say the right things. But something isn�t clicking. It appears that God isn�t blessing their endeavors.They go from one crisis to another, from one misunderstood situation to another. And we wonder what�s wrong. But then, one day, it all comes to the surface. It turns out they�ve been living in a sin they haven�t dealt with or confessed, and it caught up with them. And suddenly, we realize why thingshaven�t been going well in their lives. Sin will mess up everything. It will mess up every aspect of our lives. It spreads, and it�s a foul stench that permeates every area of our lives. It will affect our marriages, our businesses,our free time, and our spiritual lives. It will affect everything. That�s why we need to deal with it. And not only is sin bad for us spiritually, but it�s bad for us physically. This is obvious in the lives of those who turn to vices like drugs and alcohol. We hear far too many stories ofthose who have overdosed on drugs, joining the long list of people who have thrown their lives away to drug abuse and addiction. Then, there is the stress and worry connected to unconfessed sin. When you don�t deal with your sin, you are always worried that it will catch up with you sooner or later. In fact, modernmedical research has proven that worry and stress break down our resistance to disease. And excessive worry can shorten a person�s life. Charles Mayo, a cofounder of the famed Mayo Clinic, once commented that he never knew anyone who died of overwork, but he knew many who died of worry. Does that describe you right now? Are you gripped with worry because you are afraid that your sin will come to the surface? That is how David felt. He said, �I groaned all day long� (Psalm32:3 NLT). He was miserable. But then he said, �Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, �I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.� And you forgave me! All my guiltis gone� (verse 5 NLT). That is the only way to deal with sin. You can�t bury it and hope it will go away, because it will come back again. There�s only one place to get rid of your sin, and that is at the crossof Jesus Christ. You can�t cover it. You can�t hide it. And you can�t run from it. It will simply stick to you until you confess it. ---------------------- Owning Up to Sin - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org But I confess my sins; I am deeply sorry for what I have done. �Psalm 38:18 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/owning-up-to-sin/- Listen The story is told of Frederick the Great, the king of Prussia, who was visiting a prison. As he spoke with the inmates, he heard endless tales of innocence, misunderstood motives, and exploitation. Eventually, the king stopped at the cell of an inmate who remained silent. The king said, �Well, I suppose you are an innocent victim too.� The man replied, �No sir, I�m not. I am guilty, and I deserve my punishment.� Turning to the warden, the king said, �Quick, get this man out of here before he corrupts these other innocent people.� He couldn�t believe he had found someone who owned up to what he haddone. All too often, we play the blame game. Pastor and author Chuck Swindoll has described blame this way: �Blame never restores, it wounds. Blame never solves, it complicates.�[1] There will have to come a point in our lives when we say, �I�ve sinned. The problem is me.� And that is when things will change for us. What does it mean to confess our sins? That is important for us to know because our forgiveness hinges on our understanding of the term. The Hebrew word for confess means �to acknowledge.� In the New Testament, it could be translated as �to agree with� or �to say the same thing as another.� John used the same word when he wrote, �But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness� (1 John 1:9 NLT). This is essentiallysaying that if we will agree with God about our sin, if we will acknowledge it for what it is, do not make excuses for it, see it as God sees it, and turn from it, then He will forgive us. But here�s the problem. Some people think they�ve confessed their sin when they haven�t. They believe that confession is merely acknowledging. So, when they sin and get caught, they say, �Okay,I confess that sin. It was a bad thing, and I won�t do it again.� But then they go out and do it again. That is not confession. It�s simply recognizing the obvious. Confession means to see sin for what it is, be sorry for it, and turn from it. We must take that sin to the cross and recognize it is offensive to a holy God. Then we must turn from it, stopmaking excuses for it, and be sorry enough to change. Are you willing to do that? If so, then God will forgive your sin, and He will cover it. Psalm 32:1 says, �Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!� (NLT). Not only does God cleanse us of our sin, but He places His righteousness into our spiritual bank account, so to speak. And that balances the moral and spiritual budget for us. So, we have a choice. We can try to cover our sins and live in the misery of them, or we can bring them to Jesus, confess them, and be free from them. ------------------------------ WhatChrist's Death Meant to Him �[Christ] gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiarpeople, zealous of good works.� (Titus2:14) If one were to ask why Jesus died, the average evangelical would usually say that He died to save us from our sins. It is true that �Christ died for our sins� (1Corinthians 15:3), but this is not the whole answer, by any means. Too many Christians think of the death of Christ only in terms of what it means for them�not what it meant to Him. Our text says that He died for us and redeemed us from iniquity, not just to keep us from going to hell, but to �purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.� Paul says: �For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he mightbe Lord both of the dead and the living� (Romans14:9). He wants a people who will have Him as Lord of their lives. �Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;...That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holyand without blemish� (Ephesians5:25-27). �He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again� (2Corinthians 5:15). �How much more shall the blood of Christ...purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?� (Hebrews9:14). Finally, the apostle Peter reminds us that the Lord Jesus Christ �bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness� (1Peter 2:24) �that henceforth we should not serve sin� (Romans6:6). We who have been saved by the redeeming death of Christ for our sins often thank Him for what He has done for us�and we should. But we also should praise Him for what He has thereby done for Himself and then seek always to live in such a way that His holy purposeis accomplished in our lives. HMM