Plain Stupid by Samantha Mears
Today’s Passages – Genesis 13 – 16 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Matthew 9 – 10; Proverbs 5; Psalms 21 – 25)
Read the “0105 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Scripture Song – Psalm 119:105
Read previous posts from today’s passage – “Back to Square One – Almost;” “Balanced and Biblical Separation;”“Relationships are More Important than Riches;” “Gardens and Green Grass or God’s Will?;”and “Good Friends are Hard to Come By.”
Note – I stole this title from a message preached by Michael Clark
My thought this morning is from Genesis 13:1-13
“1 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. 2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai; 4 Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.” (Genesis 13:1-4)
In the beginning of this chapter we read that Abraham and Lot came out of Egypt. They follow the calling of the Lord.
“5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. 6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. 7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. 8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.” (Genesis 13:5-8)
Here we see that there is an abundance of blessings, so much so that it began to cause strife.
“9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. 10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. 11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.” (Genesis 13:9-11)
In these verses we read that Lot chooses life on the plain, he is used to a rich abundance and he chooses what is comfortable.
“12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. 13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.” (Genesis 13:12-13)
Finally, we can see that Lot looked toward Sodom
I want to take just one minute to summarize what the Lord spoke with me about in this passage, and then try to apply it to our lives.
Abraham and his family followed the calling of the Lord to move out of Egypt, in a sense, separating from the world. They travel to Beth-el and dwell there for some time, receiving the blessings of the Lord. A little riff starts between Lot’s men and Abraham’s men, so Abraham and Lot decide to go their separate ways. Abraham gives Lot first pick of the land. Lot growing up, riding the skirt tails of Abraham’s faith and blessings, chooses the land that seems most comfortable. He chooses the plains. While I think Lot was spoiled rotten, I don’t believe this was necessarily “sin” for him to choose this spot. But, one thing led to another and Lot chose to pitch his tent towards Sodom. So he could just watch, or maybe be entertained; not to be apart of it necessarily, just to get a good laugh every once on a while…..
Here’s the deal, and I’m talking to my generation and the next generation mainly, but I believe it applies to everyone in some way. Abraham had a deep abiding love and faith. Lot just followed along, it’s what he did. It was everyday life. When it came time for Lot to stand on his own two feet, he fell.
We have been raised watching and observing the faith of our parents and now that we are adults and having to stand, we are failing. We have pitched our tents way to close to Sodom and we are so spoiled that we have chosen the comfortable life on the plains. But is it enough to sustain us?
The plain was not enough for Lot, he did not start off deep in sin. But he continued to watch, he continued to entertain the wickedness, until he got closer and closer. He didn’t even know how bad his life had gotten; he was having a great time and he was enjoying life.
He was “Plain Stupid” as Bro Mike Clark once said.
And so are we! We are living a very plain life, a very basic version of Christianity and we can’t even see how far we have gotten from the Lord and how close we are to destroying our lives.
How deeply are we entertained by the world? I know I am. Social media, TV, the intimate fellowship with all of the unsaved people around us. We just watch, we just laugh, we just nod our heads , we just…. are living “Plain Stupid.”
Let’s do an about face and let’s move our tents to the far side facing Canaan. Let’s allow our model to be heaven. Let’s stop loving the most basic version of Christianity and actually do something for God.
Sami and her posse.
Posted in Devotions by Samantha Mears with 7 comments.
Calling the Midwife
Today’s Passage – Exodus 1 – 3 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Mark 11 – 12; Proverbs 20; Psalms 96 – 100)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Psalm 121
Read the “0120 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
[Exo 1:7-17 KJV] 7 And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them. 8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. 9 And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel [are] more and mightier than we: 10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and [so] get them up out of the land. 11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. 13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: 14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, [was] with rigour. 15 And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one [was] Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: 16 And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see [them] upon the stools; if it [be] a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it [be] a daughter, then she shall live. 17 But the midwives feared God and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive. (Exodus 1:7 – 17)
In the above passage we read that the king of Egypt was threatened by the growing number of Gods people. He tried treating them poorly and increasing the load of labor but the more the people were afflicted, the more they multiplied. This made the king of Egypt increasingly angry, he had to think of something. He went to the midwives and instructed them to kill any male child of the Israelites that was born. Now, I want to pause for a moment and reflect on the absurdity of this command. I’m sure, at the time, there were many that thought “what a great idea, these people will overtake us if they aren’t stopped”, “it is for our best”, “If the king said it, he must know something we don’t and we should just follow”. In Hindsight, we can all see this is absolutely of Satan and absolutely absurd. Regardless, this was the king’s command. This was now the “law” for the midwives to follow. V.17 But the midwives feared God and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them but saved the men children alive.
I would like to focus in on the midwives in this story. Perhaps, because I have given birth 3 times, these midwives really stood out to me. I couldn’t stop thinking about them. With each of my children, I was delivered by a midwife. They delivered my child to me, if I didn’t have a midwife, things could have gone very differently, and my children may not have been delivered in good health or delivered into my arms at all. Once I entered the hospital, it was the midwives responsibility to safely deliver my child. The midwives in this passage of scripture had a very hard choice to make. They were COMMANDED by the king(the law) to kill these male children upon delivery. But they feared the Lord and chose instead to do what was right.
This is where the conviction set in, for me. If you think about it, we as Christians are called to deliver sinners to their Heavenly Father. Are we not, in a sense, midwives in the spiritual hospital of this world? Is it not our job to bring the lost to Christ? How are we doing? Because lately, we have been told “stay away from people”, “don’t fellowship”, “fear talking to people”, “Church isn’t safe”. We have been handed a commandment by “the kings” and we are laying down and giving in.” It is for our best” , “ if the kings said it, it must be for our good”. If you can’t see that what is going on in the world today is a spiritual attack on the hearts of mankind than you need to take another look.
I cannot help but think of the verse in Proverbs, “There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.” How many times over the past year have we cried “there is a virus in the way; a virus is in the streets”. “We cant go to church, there is a lion in the way”, “ I cant witness, there is a lion”. I AM CONVICTED. Maybe you are all good Christians and haven’t struggled with this, maybe you are witnessing more than ever, and “delivering” the babes to Christ, but I know I haven’t been. I know that I have fallen prey to “obeying the laws of man” over the Law that God has given. Please don’t mistake me for saying the virus isn’t real and dangerous for some. It is. (so are lions) But we must recognize that there is a much larger Pandemic in the world and one we are ignoring.
If the Midwives obeyed the king, the story would be vastly different. And if we don’t start fearing the Lord over man, the story will be vastly different for many ,many lost souls out there. Now, more than ever, the world needs Midwives, helping to deliver them to Christ. Will you be the one that fears the Lord and takes a stand?
20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty. 21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses. (Exodus 1:20 – 21)
God will take care of you, just do what He wants you to do.
Posted in Devotions by Samantha Mears with 5 comments.
There Is Hope … by Samantha Mears
Today’s Passage – 1 Samuel 12 – 14 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Mathew 1 – 2; Psalms 1 – 5; Proverbs 1
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Proverbs 27:15
Read the “0401 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart; And turn ye not aside: for [then should ye go] after vain [things], which cannot profit nor deliver; for they [are] vain. For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people. Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way: Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great [things] he hath done for you. But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.” (1 Samuel 12:20-25)
Background – Israel messed up, they had gotten to a place where they forgot what God had done for them. Israel became discontent and unthankful. The people doubted what God was doing, so they begged for a king and shortly after they realized what a terrible mistake they had made. In the verse prior to these, we see their brokenness and desperation, longing for what they once had, before they sinned against the Lord. Samuel now attempts to encourage and restore their spirits. He assures them that God has not forsaken them. Samuel implores the people to turn back to God and serve Him with everything they have. He begs them not to seek after that which is vain. Finally, Samuel reminds them of all the Lord has done for them.
Can you relate with these Israelites? Are you in a place where you think restoration is out of the question? Could there be no hope for you to ever come back from what you have done?
Maybe, you can relate with the Israelites, not because of a “great sin” but simply because the world around you seems so bleak. Is there Hope? If you watch any News station these days , you can certainly relate with the feeling of “no hope”.
I am no Samuel (Just a Sam), but let me encourage you. THERE IS HOPE.
If you have strayed away from the Lord due to sin, He desires to restore you. He longs for your fellowship. Allow Him to give you hope.
If you are one who has just lost hope in general, because your situation seems unbearable and there is no “light at the end of the tunnel”, whatever your “tunnel” is. Allow these verses to penetrate your heart and restore your spirit:
For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people (1 Samuel 12:22)
You have the option to choose another path, you have the choice of the Hope of Christ or whatever else may be out there. I promise you, this other road will lead to brokenness, Sadness and ultimately destruction. Hope will not be found here.
And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain (1 Samuel 12:21)
Take a moment to remind yourself of all God has done for you, where He has brought you from and the promises, He has made to you, in His Word. The entire world is searching for something right now and some have no Hope. We, as God’s people, cannot lose Hope, For their sakes, we must have Hope and we must share this Hope.
Posted in Devotions by Samantha Mears with 6 comments.