On Believing God…

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.

So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.—Luke 1:5-14

I just can’t help loving Zacharias. The text tells us that both he and his wife were righteous before God…walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. From that statement we can also infer that Zacharias loved God because he abode in His love by obeying His commandments. Love and obedience are two sides of the same coin. 

"As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.—John 15:9-10

The angel had also told Zacharias that his prayer had been heard.  A little further down in the same chapter of John, Jesus says this…

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

I love Zacharias because, like me, he needs some help in the faith over fear and belief over doubt departments. From the outside looking in it seems to me that most people might have believed the angel…but not Zacharias.  I mean here he was by the altar of incense with an angel of God standing next to him telling him that his prayer had been heard and what is Zacharias response?

And Zacharias said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years."—Luke 1:18

Beloved…Unbelief is a thief. At the time Zacharias could have been rejoicing and celebrating, his heart questioned God. The angel’s answer to him made me smile. 

(Whenever, I read it, I read it as though, Gabriel’s statement in vs 19 is bolded. It is not…but that is how I read it.)

And the angel answered and said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time."—Luke 1:19-20

Despite Zacharias’ doubt and fear, God had nevertheless graciously answered Zacharias prayer for a son. He had probably also prayed for the Messiah to come and that one was also being answered.  I am so grateful for this section of scripture.  God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  As He did for Zacharias, He will do for me, His daughter. 

In spite of me, then…in spite of my fears and doubts…God hears my prayers and answers them according to His sovereign plan for my life. God sees the thoughts and intents of my hearts as I pray. As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him. He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.(Ps 103). 

Beloved…Be encouraged!  Walk in the truth of your precious Savior, Jesus. All the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. He delights to give His children who abide in His love, the desires of their hearts.

For the LORD God is a sun and shield;

The LORD will give grace and glory;

No good thing will He withhold

From those who walk uprightly.

O LORD of hosts,

Blessed is the man who trusts in You!—Psalm 84:11-12

❤️❤️

There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, "Cornelius!"

And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, "What is it, lord?"

So he said to him, "Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God.—Acts 10:1-4

Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel's hand.—Revelation 8:3

The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.—James 5:16-18

Then the people cried out to Moses, and when Moses prayed to the LORD, the fire was quenched.—Numbers 11:2

The Lord is Near…

I am so thankful for the word of God. Truly, in the multitude of my anxieties within His  comfort delights my soul. Last night, was no different. As I prayed and meditated through Psalm 145, the Holy Spirit used these words of David to bring me the security and rest my heart needed.

The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,

To all who call upon Him in truth.

Beloved…no matter what you might be facing today, may these precious words of God bring His divine assurance and comfort to your own heart.  

The Lord is near…

I am not left alone. He is with me. The God of the Universe has made His home with me. He is near to help me, to sympathize with me and to shine the light of His favor upon me. I don’t face this battle alone. The Lord is for me…He is on my side. He stands with me. He is my very present help. The Lord is in my midst, I shall not be moved.  My heart is His and His truth fills my heart. He will hear when I call upon Him. My God of mercy will come to meet me. He will not forsake the work of His hands. 

The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart,

And saves such as have a contrite spirit.—Psalm 34:18

God is our refuge and strength,

A very present help in trouble.—Psalm 46:1

Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness;

He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.—Psalm 112:4

"For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the LORD our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him?—Deuteronomy 4:7

for in Him we live and move and have our being,—Acts 17:28a

You are near, O LORD,

And all Your commandments are truth.—Psalm 119:151

I will bless the LORD at all times;

His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

My soul shall make its boast in the LORD;

The humble shall hear of it and be glad.

Oh, magnify the LORD with me,

And let us exalt His name together.

I sought the LORD, and He heard me,

And delivered me from all my fears.

They looked to Him and were radiant,

And their faces were not ashamed.

This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him,

And saved him out of all his troubles.

The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him,

And delivers them.

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;

Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints!

There is no want to those who fear Him.

The young lions lack and suffer hunger;

But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.—Psalm 34:1-10

There is Hope in Our Future…

 

Reading Chapter 40-43 in Ezekiel was hard. So many details….so many details that I do not know or understand the significance of.  The city of Jerusalem had been obliterated. The temple was gone. The people were dead, scattered or exiled. To put it mildly, it was a very bleak time.  God understood this so in His mercy and compassion for His disobedient people, he gave Ezekiel a vision of the future city and temple.  In Chapter 11 Ezekiel depicted God’s glory leaving the temple. In Chapter 43, verses 1-5, Ezekiel talks of His glory returning. This verse kept coming to mind as I read. 

There is hope in your future, says the LORD, That your children shall come back to their own border.—Jeremiah 31:17

And this one…

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.—Jeremiah 29:11

In times of trouble, trials and difficulties, God wanted His people to know that life would not always be this hard and this hopeless. He wanted them to turn from their sin and repent knowing that His plans for them was to give them a future and a hope. (See Ezekiel 43:7-11 at the very bottom of this devotional)

For me reading the details of the temple was, sad to say, tedious. I am sure, however, that it was not for the heartbroken, exiled people of God at that time. I am sure they not only understood the details that Ezekiel presented but were comforted and encouraged by them.

Similarly, as I see evil waxing worse and worse in the world around me, I am nevertheless, still comforted and very encouraged because through it all, I see the truth of God’s word coming to fruition before my very eyes.  

Ezekiel’s words allowed God’s people to look ahead with hope.  One day they would be regathered. One day the beauty of their nation would be restored. All would be made new. If they repented, they as a people would serve God with cleansed and undefiled hearts.   

Beloved…It is the same for us.  Focus your eyes and your heart on the eternal rather than the temporal. Dwell on the sure and certain hope we have in Jesus. Dwell on the glories of heaven where we will live and reign with Him forever and ever. 

Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.—Hebrews 6:17-20 (emphasis mine)

Our spirits, as believers, have been quickened and are now the temples of the living God. Remembering and meditating on our future in heaven with God should not only comfort and encourage us in our trials but it should also make a difference in our behavior. Without the Spirit of God living within us we could do nothing good.  Today, despite our trials and despite our heartbreaks, we, who have this treasure in our earthly vessels, can shine the hope of the glory of God to those around us.

For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.—2 Corinthians 4:5-6

Here are some verses that remind me of the glories of heaven even in the midst of the darkness of this world. 

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:

Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.—1 Peter 1:1-9

And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

"Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.—John 17:22-24

Ezekiel 43:7-11

And He said to me, "Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. No more shall the house of Israel defile My holy name, they nor their kings, by their harlotry or with the carcasses of their kings on their high places. When they set their threshold by My threshold, and their doorpost by My doorpost, with a wall between them and Me, they defiled My holy name by the abominations which they committed; therefore I have consumed them in My anger. Now let them put their harlotry and the carcasses of their kings far away from Me, and I will dwell in their midst forever.

"Son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern. And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple and its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, its entire design and all its ordinances, all its forms and all its laws

Every Day I Will Bless You…

 A Praise of David.

I will extol You, my God, O King;

And I will bless Your name forever and ever.

2 Every day I will bless You,

And I will praise Your name forever and ever.

3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;

And His greatness is unsearchable.

4 One generation shall praise Your works to another,

And shall declare Your mighty acts.

5 I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty,

And on Your wondrous works.

6 Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts,

And I will declare Your greatness.

7 They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness,

And shall sing of Your righteousness.

8 The LORD is gracious and full of compassion,

Slow to anger and great in mercy.

9 The LORD is good to all,

And His tender mercies are over all His works.

All Your works shall praise You, O LORD,

And Your saints shall bless You.

They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom,

And talk of Your power,

To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts,

And the glorious majesty of His kingdom.

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.

The LORD upholds all who fall,

And raises up all who are bowed down.

The eyes of all look expectantly to You,

And You give them their food in due season.

You open Your hand

And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

The LORD is righteous in all His ways,

Gracious in all His works.

The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,

To all who call upon Him in truth.

He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;

He also will hear their cry and save them.

The LORD preserves all who love Him,

But all the wicked He will destroy.

My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD,

And all flesh shall bless His holy name

Forever and ever.—Psalm 145

Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised!  

Beloved…It is so freeing to praise our God and to bless and love the people with which He surrounds us.  It brings our souls out of the prison of self and adjust and directs our focus from the deadly inward to the heavenly upward and outward.  

The “garment of praise is the antidote for the spirit of heaviness. Heaven…where there are no more tears…only unspeakable joy…is a place of praise.  If you are looking for a little piece of heaven here on this earth, do as David does.  Extol Your God and bless His name. Every day, every hour open your mouth in praise.  Meditate on His character and His wondrous works. Utter the memory of His great goodness and sing of His righteousness. 

8 The LORD is gracious and full of compassion,

Slow to anger and great in mercy.

9 The LORD is good to all,

And His tender mercies are over all His works.

I am convinced and confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will [continue to] perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus [the time of His return].—Philippians 1:6

3 To console those who mourn in Zion,

To give them beauty for ashes,

The oil of joy for mourning,

The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;

That they may be called trees of righteousness,

The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."—Isaiah 61:3

Happy are the people who are in such a state;

Happy are the people whose God is the LORD!—Psalm 144:15

Thoughts on Numbers 2...

Numbers 2:1-2 (ESV) "The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 'The people of Israel shall camp each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers' houses. They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side. '"

—The tabernacle was where the glory of the Lord resided in the cloud

—God was in the midst of His people...

—He tabernacled among them in the very heart of their camp. 

—His glory was central and His Presence led them. 

—Each tribe had their own place but were united under His command.

Reminded me of being one body in Christ...

For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.—Romans 12:4-5

also…I can’t emphasize enough that God was in the very heart…the very center…of the camp.  Beloved…this is where God needs to be always in each one of our own hearts and lives. 

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;—Psalm 46:5

Those who served (levites) were nearest

The other tribes at a distance

The Israelite’s camp around the tabernacle formed a cross

This reminded me again of being “in Christ” and in Him I am an overcomer.  I can do nothing good without Him, but in Him I can do all things because He strengthens me. 

I never need to distance myself from Him. I can live in His Presence. 

26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.'—Acts 17:26-28

I can go forward on my journey toward my heavenly home because He is with me.  He brings light to my darkness and order to my confusion.  He guides my steps and His banner over me is love. When my own flesh, fear and fragility overcome my heart, to my Jesus I can go. He is my very present help in trouble.  

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.—Hebrews 4:16

He will not be afraid of evil tidings;

His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.

His heart is established;

He will not be afraid,

Until he sees his desire upon his enemies.—Psalm 112:7-8

For Why Should You Die?

 

Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: 'Thus you say, "If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, how can we then live?"  Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?'—Ezekiel 33:10-11

Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?—Romans 2:4

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?—Romans 8:31-32

I LOVED What Spurgeon had to say on these verses!

Here is an excerpt...

SIN HAVING A THOROUGH POSSESSION of the human heart, entrenches itself within the soul, as one who has taken a stronghold speedily attends to the repairing of the breaches, and the strengthening of the walls, lest haply he should be dislodged. Among the most subtle devices of sin to keep the soul under its power, and prevent the man's turning to God, is the slandering of the Most High by misrepresenting his character. As dust blinds the eye, so does sin prevent the sinner from seeing God aright. "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God"; but the wicked only see what they think to be God, and that, alas, is an image as unlike to God as possible! They say, for instance, that God is unmerciful, whereas he delighteth in mercy. The unfaithful servant in the parable was quite sure about it, and said most positively, "I knew that thou wast an austere man:" whereas the nature of God is as opposite to overbearing and exaction as light is from darkness.

When men once get this false idea of God into their minds they become hardened in heart: believing that it is useless to turn to God, they go on in their sine with greater determination. Either they conceive that God is implacable, or that he is indifferent to human prayers, or that if he should hear them yet he is not in the least likely to grant a favorable answer. Men darkly dream that God will not attend to the guilty and the miserable when they cry to him; that their prayers are not good enough for him: that he expects so much from his creatures that they cannot even pray so as to please him; that, in fact, he seeketh a quarrel against us, and is a taskmaster who will grind all he can out of us. Being themselves slow to forgive, they judge it to be highly unlikely that the Lord will pardon such sins as theirs. As they will not smile on the poor or the fallen, they conceive that the Lord will never receive unworthy ones into his favor. Thus they belie the Host High: they make him who is the best of Kings to be a tyrant; him who is the dearest of friends they regard as an enemy; and him whose very name is love they look upon as the embodiment of hate.

This is one of Satan's most mischievous, devices to prevent repentance. As in the old times of plague they fastened up the house-door, and marked a red cross upon it, and thus the inhabitants of that dwelling were sealed unto death, even so the devil writes upon the man's door the words, "no hope," and then the sick soul determines to die, and refuses admission to the Physician. No man sins more unreservedly than he who sins in desperation, believing that there is no pardon for him from God.

When a man believes that there is no hope for him in the right way, he determines that he will get what he can out of the wrong way; and if he cannot please God, he will, at least, please himself. If he must go to hell, he will be as merry as he can on the road, and, as he puts it, he will "die game." All this comes of a mistaken view of God. Do you not see the likeness between sin and falsehood? They are twin brothers. Holiness is truth, but sin is a lie, and the mother of lies. Sin brings forth falsehood, and then falsehood nourishes sin. Especially in this fashion doth falsehood maintain sin, by calumniating the God of love. He is a God ready to pardon, and by no means hard to be moved to forgiveness; why do men stand off from confessing their wrong, and finding mercy? He is not a God who taketh pleasure in the miseries of men; why do they think so ill of him? His ear is not dull to the cry of sorrow, his heart is not slow to compassionate distress; on the contrary, he waiteth to be gracious, "his mercy endureth for ever," he delighteth in mercy; why will men run from him? God is love immeasurable, love constant, boundless, endless.

"Who is a pardoning God like thee?

Or who hath grace so rich and free?"

Part of our business as ministers of Christ is to bear witness to the loving-kindness of the Lord against the falsehood with which sin dishonors his goodness. I desire to do so this morning, and to do it in right down earnest, in the hope that those of you who are convinced of sin may this day be able to rest in the mercy of God,-even that exceeding mercy which he has revealed in Jesus Christ, his Son....

Turn!" It is a very plain direction, is it not? "Turn," or "Right about face!" That is all. "I thought," saith one, "I was to feel so much anguish and so much agony." I should not wonder if you do feel it, but all that God says is, "Turn." You now face the wrong way; "Turn," and face the right way. That turning is true repentance. A changed life is of the essence of repentance, and that must spring from a changed heart, from a changed desire, from a changed will. God saith, "Turn ye." Oh, that you would hear and obey!

Oh, that you would trust in the Lord Jesus! Repose in him, and in his finished work, and all is well. Did I hear you say, "I will pray about it"? Better trust at once. Pray as much as you like after you have trusted, but what is the good of unbelieving prayers? "I will talk with a godly man after the service." I charge you first trust in Jesus. Go home alone, trusting in Jesus.