DAILY DEVOTIONALS: 9.21.24

 Trustin Him “That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation,who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.” (Hebrews6:18-19) As children of God, we possess everything we need, from an invincible refuge from the enemy to a certain hope for eternity with our heavenly Father. The third verse of the hymn “Praise the Savior, Ye Who Know Him” reminds us that our trust in Him is well placed. Trust in Him, ye saints, forever; He is faithful, changing never; Neither force nor guile can sever Those He loves from Him. Trust in something or someone would be worth much less if the object of our trust might change his mind. Thankfully, our Savior never changes. His love for us is constant. “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was calledFaithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war” (Revelation19:11). As long as we are with Him, we are safe and secure. Consider that we are safe in Christ’s hand, as He is secure in the Father’s hand. All believers are further sealed by the Holy Spirit. “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father,which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand” (John10:28-29). Who or what could break such a bond? We have no need to fear. We are safe and secure in Him. JDM ----------------------- TheName That Charms Us “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know thatye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:13) The second verse of the sweet hymn “Praise the Savior, Ye Who Know Him” continues with reasons to praise Him. Jesus is the Name that charms us, He for conflicts fits and arms us; Nothing moves and nothing harms us When we trust in Him. We are informed in Scripture that God assigns great value and power to Jesus’ name. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts4:12). “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name” (Philippians 2:9-10). He protects and empowers us to do great things in service to Him. “But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head” (Psalm 3:3). “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler” (Psalm 91:4). In His service and following His lead, we are victorious. “O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvelous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory” (Psalm98:1). “Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57). He is not only the conquering general, but He is also the Creator. We put our trust in Him, for where could our trust be better placed? “Thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all” (1Chronicles 29:11). JDM ---------------------- Praisethe Savior, Ye Who Know Him “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have calledyou friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” (John15:15) We possess a special place in God’s heart. Many uplifting hymns have been written over the centuries that can lead us into a deeper love for and greater understanding of our Savior. One such hymn, “Praise the Savior, Ye Who Know Him,” introduces many importantconcepts and reasons to praise. Praise the Savior, ye who know Him! Who can tell how much we owe Him? Gladly let us render to Him All we are and have. Those who know the Savior are bidden to join together in praising Him. As Christians, we don’t just know Him as Savior; He calls us His friends. He identifies His friends by their obedience to His loving commands: “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I commandyou” (John15:14). He proves His friendship through His own sacrifice: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (v. 13). How could we ever repay Him? We cannot. We can, however, praise Him for all that He is to us and has done for us. We have the privilege of declaring “with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell[ing] of all thy wondrous works” (Psalm26:7), and “speak[ing] of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works” (Psalm145:5). “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name” (Hebrews13:15). JDM -------------------------- TheSun “Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His goingforth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.” (Psalm19:5-6) This well-loved psalm provides us a glimpse of God’s creative majesty: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge” (vv. 1-2). Modern science has shown that the universe in which we live is really a tri-universe—a continuum of space/time/energy (or information). Thus, the first two verses of this psalm, by focusing our attention on “the heavens...the firmament” (space), “day...night” (time), and “speech...knowledge” (information/energy), reveal a scientific truth long before its “scientific” discovery. There is, of course, one created source of energy that typifies this energy. Speaking of space and time, the psalmist claims, “In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun” (v. 4), which is further described in our text verses. The sun is like a bridegroom,fully dressed in wedding garb, radiating joy as he comes forth. It is also like a champion runner, fully able to run the race and gain the victory. The sun’s energy, radiating out in all directions, not only energizes the earth but the entire solar system as well. Furthermore, it is now known that the sun traverses the galaxy in a gigantic orbit with its energy bathing each part. Truly, “there is nothinghid from the heat thereof” (text verse). Only the Creator of space, time, and energy—the Creator of the sun, the solar system, the Milky Way galaxy, and the universe—could have known these things. That Creator, through the empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit, is the author of this psalm. JDM ------------------------- MoreThan a Miracle - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org The queen of Sheba will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomonis here�but you refuse to listen. �Matthew 12:42 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/more-than-a-miracle-2/- Listen Have you ever thought that if you could do a miracle, then your non-Christian friends would believe? If that is what it would take, then God would do it. The religious leaders asked Jesus for a miraculous sign, but He told them, �Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the signof the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights� (Matthew 12:39�40 NLT). At the same time that Jesus refused a sign, He promised a sign. He refused the sign they wanted, which would have had no effect on them. But He promised the only sign that could truly impactand change them. Jesus was telling them, �Someone greater than Jonah is here. And I�m offering forgiveness.� While Jonah came preaching God�s judgment, Jesus came preaching God�s mercy and grace. Jonah was disobedient, but Jesus was obedient. Jonah preached to one city, but Jesus came for the entireworld. Then Jesus continued, �The queen of Sheba will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someonegreater than Solomon is here�but you refuse to listen� (verse 42 NLT). The queen of Sheba was not Jewish, but she came to Jerusalem seeking the wisdom of the great King Solomon. She made a grueling 1,200-mile journey to hear what he had to say because she desperatelywanted to hear truth. In essence, Jesus was saying, �You should know better than to ask for a sign. You should know what is true and what is right.� We can�t help but draw a parallel to our own nation. We should know better. Our country was built on biblical precepts. The first book in our public school system was the Bible. Our laws werebased on biblical principles. But today, we can�t even post the Ten Commandments in a classroom. As we see anarchy in the streets and violence spreading across our society, people are crying out for a return to family values. But we need more than family values; we need the morality those values are based on. And then we need the spirituality that morality is based on. We can�t have morality without spirituality,because who determines what is moral and immoral? We must have a set of standards, and we find them in the pages of Scripture. Jesus was saying to the religious leaders, �So you want a sign? Here it is. I�m going to die on the cross and rise from the dead. That is your sign.� The sign our unbelieving friends and family need to know about is that Jesus died on the cross for them and rose from the dead. This is what we need to proclaim. It�s the greatest sign ofall. ------------------------------------ Lasting Change - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of thisevil generation. �Matthew 12:45 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/lasting-change-2/- Listen There are people who try to make changes in their lives�who try to do a spiritual or moral housecleaning. They know that things aren�t the way they ought to be, and they want to get thingsright. But the irony is that some people, in their attempts to clean up their lives, end up in a worse state than where they began. Jesus talked about how we can make lasting changes in our lives as we undertake a thorough housecleaning. He was speaking to the Pharisees, who were the religious, moral, and outwardly uprightpeople of the day. Yet Jesus had warned this group about committing the unpardonable sin, which was blaspheming the Holy Spirit. He said this because they had attributed the works of God that He was doing to the devil. Specifically, they accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of the devil. So He warned themof going too far and actually blaspheming the Holy Spirit. He was saying that knowledge brings responsibility. Jesus went on to explain, �When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. Then it says, �I will return to the person I came from.� So it returnsand finds its former home empty, swept, and in order. Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation� (Matthew 12:43�45 NLT). Jesus was referring to demonic powers in this passage. Demons are both real and powerful. And in this passage, it appears that the person who once was possessed by this unclean spirit hada housecleaning. Things were put in order to some degree. It would appear the person had made some kind of moral change. To understand this in context, we must remember that Jesus was speaking to moral, religious people who didn�t really know God. Jesus was comparing the human life and heart to a house. AndHe was saying that morality won�t save us. Religion won�t save us. Jesus was giving us a picture of those who make moral changes in their lives but don�t get to the root of their problem, which is the absence of God in their lives. The sins they commit arebut symptoms of a deeper problem: the lack of Jesus Christ living inside them. People will make changes in their lives for many reasons. Sometimes, when they face a crisis, they begin to evaluate their priorities and take stock of their lives. They determine what needsto change. But often the same people end up going back to their old ways. Why? Because the house is swept and put in order, but it�s still empty. We must not lose sight of the basic truth that morality, in itself, will not bring a right relationship with God. Morality never will bring spirituality. But true spirituality always willbring morality. ---------------------------------------- TheChurch�s Primary Calling - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness. �Matthew 23:28 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/the-churchs-primary-calling-2/- Listen During His public ministry, Jesus had no problem reaching society�s down-and-outers. But amazingly, He had an almost impossible time reaching religious and moral people who were under thedelusion that outward rituals and good living made them acceptable to God. The Pharisees were moralists to the extreme, so careful to keep what were, in their perception, even the smallest points of the law. But the result was a feeling of self-satisfaction. Theybelieved that because of what they had done, they had obtained God�s approval. They were so spiritually blind that when God in human form walked among them, they didn�t receive His message and even had Him put to death. Jesus summarized it well when He said, �What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs�beautiful on the outside but filledon the inside with dead people�s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness� (Matthew 23:27�28 NLT). In other words, we are missing it when we only concentrate on the outward. We must first take care of the inward. This brings us to the primary call of the church today. Is it merely to try to stop the spread of corruption in our society? Is it merely to try to lobby for political candidates who reflectour values? Even if we�re somewhat successful in passing some laws, even if we elect candidates who reflect our values, it still isn�t getting to the heart of the matter. That�s because when people trulyfind Jesus Christ, He changes their lifestyle. Our clear mandate, given from the lips of Jesus Himself, is this: �Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teachthese new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you� (Matthew 28:19�20 NLT). If we allow other things to detract us from this one calling, then we�re missing it. Jesus said, �First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too� (Matthew 23:26 NLT). That is where we must focus our efforts. By itself, morality leads to self-righteousness. It can even be a damning thing. That�s because people are better off being immoral and recognizing their need for God than being highly moraland thinking they have no need for Him. Of course, how wonderful it would be if everyone in our country were moral and no one broke the law. How wonderful it would be if we all were kind and considerate people. That would make anice society. But sometimes, we�re a little too preoccupied with the temporary and lose sight of the big picture. Morality apart from a relationship with Jesus Christ can be dangerous because it can blindus to the truth. Morality won�t change our hearts. But if our hearts have been truly changed, then there will be a change in our actions and our lifestyle. ----------------------------- TheJoy That Is Promised �But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you,to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.� (Joshua22:5) The fourth verse of the hymn �Praise the Savior, Ye Who Know Him� reminds us of our responsibility to be faithful to our calling. At our new birth we were fully granted eternal life, a standing we have now. Yet we must strive to prove our love by obedienceand holiness and maintain the sweet relationship with God. Keep us, Lord, O, keep us cleaving To Thyself and still believing, Till the hour of our receiving Promised joys with Thee. While He doesn�t need our help in accomplishing His will, we are granted the privilege of serving Him. And we must never come to the place of unbelief. Doubts sometimes come, placed there by the Tempter, but they should drive us to further study, deeper growth,and the eventual resolution of doubt. Doubt must never be allowed to fester into disbelief. There will come the day when our belief is complete, as faith passes into sight. Unknowable joy will be ours, He promises: �God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death,neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new� (Revelation21:3-5). JDM ------------------------------------------ Then,Oh Then �Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.� (1John 3:1-2) The hymn �Praise the Savior, Ye Who Know Him� was written in the more formal early 1800s, yet it has an almost whimsical approach to its clever rhymes and cadence. A delight to sing, one might at first think it somewhat trivial, but a more careful look findsmany rich insights into doctrinal truth. The final verse reflects the promise that one day �we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.� Then we shall be where we would be, Then we shall be what we should be; Things which are not now, nor could be, Soon shall be our own. We can scarcely imagine the joys in store for us in glory. The apostle Paul had similar difficulty, yet he prayed that we might �be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, whichpasseth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God� (Ephesians3:18-19). As we anticipate what is to come, we can rest in the certain knowledge that all is secure, for He has promised this. Ephesians concludes with this benediction: �Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according tothe power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen� (Ephesians3:20-21). JDM ------------------------------------------ Scriptureand the Christian Life �The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise thesimple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.� (Psalm19:7-9) Most Christians spend little time in the Word of the Lord, and this is a great tragedy. It is the necessary food for health and joy in our spiritual lives. �The sincere milk of the word� (1Peter 2:2) is for �newborn babes,� and the �strong meat� is for those who are not �unskilful in the word of righteousness� (Hebrews5:12-13). �Thy words� are also �honey to my mouth� (Psalm119:103), and �every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD� is the very bread by which �doth man live� (Deuteronomy8:3). Not only are the Scriptures basic in salvation (2Timothy 3:15; 1 Peter 1:23) but also in sanctification and cleansing day by day: �That he might sanctify and cleanse [the church] with the washing of water by the word� (Ephesians5:26). The Scriptures also provide daily guidance for those who will use their directions: �Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path� (Psalm119:105). Every Christian must be a seed-sowing witness for Christ, and �the seed is the word of God� (Luke8:11). In the Christian�s armor, the sole offensive weapon is �the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God� (Ephesians6:17), and this means a victorious life and testimony for the Christian who uses it. The wonderful testimony of David in our text is the Old Testament equivalent of the great assertion by Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16: �All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.� HMM ------------------------------ Rival Affections - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God�s place in your hearts. �1 John 5:21 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/rival-affections-2/- Listen We tend to imagine idol worship as lying prostrate before a carved image. And clearly, that would be idolatry. But idolatry can take many forms. And no doubt, it�s a problem that even believersliving in the twenty-first century will face. The Bible tells us that during the Tribulation, idol worship will be rampant. Revelation 9:20 says, �But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deedsand turn to God. They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood�idols that can neither see nor hear nor walk!� (NLT). Idols can be many things. But essentially an idol is anyone or anything that takes the place of God in our lives. A lot of things can qualify as an idol in our lives. And it is a true butterrifying fact that a person can attend church every week and still be a full-fledged idolater. In the Ten Commandments, God tells us that we should have Him as our God and have no other gods before Him. He said, �You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, theLord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods� (Exodus 20:4�5 NLT). Jesus echoed this when He said, ��You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.� This is the first and greatest commandment� (Matthew 22:37�38 NLT). Essentially, Jesus was saying that if you love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, it will dramatically impact the way that you live. If we love the Lord with all our hearts, souls, and minds, then nothing else can take God�s place in our lives. We won�t be interested in another god any more than someone who just had a deliciousdinner of filet mignon would be attracted to roadkill. Our hunger has been met. We�re satisfied. But when we�re not cultivating a close relationship with God, then it is only a matter of time until someone or something takes His place. When Moses left the Israelites to receive the commandments from God on Mount Sinai, the people went to Aaron and asked him to make them an idol, something physical to worship. The result wasa calf made of gold. But that wasn�t their first idol. Moses was because not long after he left their camp, they looked for something to take his place. This can happen to us as well. We can allow something to crowd God out of our hearts. And when we look at the history of the Christian church, we�ll see that it was after people abandonedGod as their first love that they turned to idols to take His place. --------------------------- Worse Than Before - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. �2 Peter2:20 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/worse-than-before-2/- Listen When we�re sharing the gospel with our friends and family, we must always remember to pray, because a spiritual battle is raging. Once Satan has taken hold of a life, he does not want to let go. So when he sees people making advances toward Jesus Christ, he will do everything in his power to stop them. And he�s alwayson duty. The Bible warns, �Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour� (1 Peter 5:8 NLT). In the parable of the sower, Jesus described the seed of God�s Word being scattered on the ground, which represented human hearts. He said, �The seed that fell on the footpath represents thosewho hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don�t have deep roots, they don�t last long� (Mark 4:15�17 NLT). Sometimes, people say they have become Christians, but in a month or two, they return to their old ways. They claim they �tried� Christianity, but it didn�t work for them. No, they never really found Christ. Because if they really knew Him, they wouldn�t go back to their former way of life. They went through the motions, but Christ never really became part oftheir lives. It may just be that many of the people who claim to have been converted have never been converted at all. And often, they end up worse than they were before. Jesus said, �When a strong man is fully armed and guards his palace, his possessions are safe�until someone even stronger attacks and overpowers him, strips him of his weapons, and carriesoff his belongings� (Luke 11:21�22 NLT). The strong man Jesus was speaking of is Satan. He gets a foothold in a person�s life, and he wants to guard his investment. And all the religion and rituals in the world won�t drive out ademon power. There is only one hope, and that is when �someone even stronger� comes in, according to Luke�s Gospel. That Someone, of course, is Jesus Christ. We need His help. When people make a few moral changes, they start to feel better about themselves. They begin to trust in their own morality and the changes they�ve made. And in their smugness, they don�tthink they need God. In essence, the devil has them right where he wants them. And in the end, he has a firmer foothold in their lives than he originally had. The Bible says, �And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off thanbefore� (2 Peter 2:20 NLT). We must have Jesus Christ take residence in our hearts and lives, changing us from the inside out.