When Good Men Do Nothing
Today’s Passage – Judges 9 – 10 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – 2 Peter 1 – 3; Proverbs 23; Psalms 111 – 115
Scripture Memorization for March – 1 Corinthians 6:9 – 20
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 48:1 & 2
Read a great article by Pastor Paul Chappell – “Romans 13 in Action“
Read the “0323 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.” – (Judges 9:15)
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Edmund Burke
This is a very strange passage of Scripture, but I think it contains a very valuable lesson for us. In chapter 8, we have Gideon who was mightily used of the Lord to rid the land of Israel from the hand of the Mideonites. After the battle was over, the people of Israel ask Gideon to be their leader, but he refuses, saying that the Lord is their ruler. However, without a good man leading them, the people once again begin to stray away from the Lord, forcing God to bring about judgment. Now when we get to todays passage, we see that one of the sons of Gideon does desire to reign over the people, and goes to all of his brothers asking them to support him, and they do. The problem is that this man, Abimelech, is a very wicked man. Once he gets his power, the first thing he does is have all of his brothers (70 of them) put to death. One of the brothers escapes, and stands upon a mountain and delivers this parable unto the people of the city of Shechem:
“The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us. But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us. And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.” – (Judges 9:8-15)
The olive tree refused to act; the fig tree refused to act; the vine refused to act; so there was nobody left but the bramble, a sticker bush.
What he was saying through this parable was that oftentime good men will refuse to take ther place of leadership, perhaps because they are already busy doing good things. However, when good men refuse to act, there will always be an evil person that will sieze the opportunity to gain power, and use it for his own purposes. This is what happens to the people of Shechem. Gideon refused to lead, and then his sons willingly turn over control of the city to this one brother. Eventually, as a result of all of this, just about everybody is put to death.
Bad things happen when good men do nothing. By refusing to get involved, we sometimes create a scenario where the wrong kind of people start calling the shots. Let’s apply this to the local church. Often times there are carnal people within the church that are hungry for power, and they are always looking for opportunities to advance themselves. And there are others within the body, who are good men, who just sit back and let it happen: perhaps because they have a lot of things going on in their lives, or maybe because they are just trusting men, who are willing to yield to others. By the way, it is never a good sign when an individual is seeking position. Truly spiritual people will often be reluctant to take positions because they either feel unworthy, or doubt their own ability. However, we need to not neglect the opportunities and responsibilities that God places in front of us, because when we refuse, it opens up the door to someone else who may not be God’s choice.
We can also see this in government. Good people often refuse to get involved, leaving the door wide open to men who may not have the best interests of the people at hand. The end result of all of this is that things begin to change for the worse for everybody. Good people need to stay in the process, so that we all can keep the good things that God has entrusted to us. How involved are you in the process? Do you get involved in the local church, and in your community and local government? Do you even vote? We need good people to do their part. The devil never stops trying to advance his agenda. We need to stay in the game in order to keep him from taking from us the wonderful blessings that God has given us.
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Just for Women by Camille Stahl
Today’s Passage – Joshua 22 – 24 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Hebrews 5 – 8; Proverbs 19; Psalms 91 – 95
Scripture Memorization for March – 1 Corinthians 6:9 – 20
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 25
Read a great article by Pastor Cary Schmidt – “Eight Ways to Help Those Who Grieve“
Read the “0319 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
A Study Of Women Of The Bible
Fickled Women
“Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead. But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus. On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.” (John 12:9-13)
“The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bare record. For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle.” (John 12:17-18)
The fame of Jesus spread quickly. People of Jerusalem flocked to see Him, hear Him, and to be healed by Him. Jesus just raised Lazarus from the dead and the people were amazed and excited. Men, women and children lined the street and waited with great anticipation. Mothers gathered their children and pushed their way to the front of the crowd to get a better view of Jesus. There were palm leaves being cut down by the dozen to be placed in the road and for waving in the air. “Look here comes Jesus.” The crowd goes wild. Mothers and Fathers putting their young children on their shoulders so they could see better. Everyone shouting ‘Hosanna, Hosanna’! What excitment!
“When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.” (Matthew 27:19-24)
Wow! What happened? We went from winning the world series parade, to throwing rotten tomatoes at the players. This was the same crowed that was just screaming Hosanna. It seems that the people caved in to the pressure of the leaders. They wouldn’t stand for what was right. They all knew Barabbas was guilty of his crime, but no one would stand for truth. How could they change their excitment to anger so quickly? If there were more people then leaders, they could have out voiced them.
Athough there was no mention of a woman’s name or even the fact of any women were there at all, there is still a lesson we can learn from these passages.
You don’t have to look too deep to see that the time is near for the Lord’s return. Things will get rougher as we approach that day. We will have to take a stand for what we believe. We teach our children to be grateful that we live in a country where we can carry our Bibles, and go to church openly – HOSANNA! We can hand out gospel tracts to them too – HOSANNA! We can take our children to church where the preachers have liberty to preach aganist sin – HOSANNA! We can freely say “I am a follower of Jesus Christ” – HOSANNA! But very soon this freedom will be taken away, and we’re seeing this on a small scale already. Church doors will be locked and they will burn our Bibles – CRUCIFY HIM! We will be arrested for handing out gospel tracts – CRUCIFY HIM! Preachers will be thrown in jail or even put to death, for preaching against sin – CRUCIFY HIM. The pressure of the shouting voices of our leaders will try to shame us for being followers of Christ – CRUCIFY HIM.
When the pressure comes, what will you be shouting? Will you shout with the crowd, or will you shout for Truth? It’s up to you!
Posted in Just for Ladies by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
Get to Work
Today’s Passage – Joshua 16 – 18 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Titus 1 – 3; Proverbs 17; Psalms 81 – 85
Scripture Memorization for March – 1 Corinthians 6:9 – 20
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 18:3 & 46
Read a great article by Pastor Cary Schmidt – “Eight Ways to Help Those Who Grieve“
Read the “0317 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee.” – (Joshua 17:15)
In Joshua chapter seventeen, we see the land of Israel being divided up among the twelve tribes. The two half tribes that belonged to the sons of Joseph were a little concerned because they felt that they needed more land than what was given to them. They reasoned that because they were a “great people”, one portion of land would not be sufficient for them. The leader of Israel, Joshua, basically tells them that there is plenty more land available, but they would have to work a little to get it. The land he offered them was very mountainous and wooded, and needed to be cleared; and it also contained some pretty heavily armed Canaanites that also needed to be removed. I think the tribe of Joseph really wanted to just move right into a place where they would not have to put forth too much effort.
There is a great lesson to be learned here for us today. We often have desires for great things in life, but we usually are reluctant to work for those things. I know a man who today is very wealthy. He and his family enjoy many material possessions, and are very well off. However, those things did not come easy to him. He worked very hard over the course of many years to accumulate the wealth that he enjoys today. In fact, I knew this man when he was a boy in school. He studied hard, and applied himself. He continued to work hard through college; and when he received his first employment opportunity, he applied himself diligently there as well. Nobody handed his wealth to him. He had to work for it. He is envied by many people today who want what he has, but most of those people would not want to pay the price that he paid in time and sweat in order to achieve what he has.
As Christians, we need to get away from this entitlement mentality that everything is owed to us. There are plenty of opportunities out there for us to take advantage of, but few of them will come without a sacrifice on our part. We can see this lazy attitude in the ministry today. Some preachers, right out of Bible college, want a large ministry handed to them. They look for the perfect opportunity. Yet, there are millions of people out there who need a preacher. I remember when I came to Jersey Shore, there was no parsonage,there was no salary. We did have a beautiful little building, and a good group of people gathered together, but there were few perks that would attract many prospective preachers today. I was just thrilled that somebody wanted me to be their pastor. The church has grown some since then. By God’s grace we have been able to add on to our building, purchase more land, and add new ministries. But it took work. We had to cut down the woods, and drive out some of the Canaanites. It wasn’t easy, but God has blessed us all through the process.
Don’t expect all of the good things in life to be handed to you. Our God is a wonderful, gracious, and very giving God; but aside from our salvation, He often doesn’t hand us things on a silver platter. What He does do, however, is offer us opportunities to fight and work for things. Do you want something more in life? Go get it. Work for it.
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Give Me This Mountain
Today’s Passage – Joshua 13 – 15 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – 2 Timothy 1 – 4; Proverbs 16; Psalms 76 – 80
Scripture Memorization for March – 1 Corinthians 6:9 – 20
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Joshua 1:8
Read a great article by Pastor Cary Scmidt – “Eight Ways to Help Those Who Grieve“
Read the “0316 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said.” – (Joshua 14:12)
One of my favorite men in the Bible is Caleb. He had an unshakable and an unwavering faith in the Lord. He wholly followed the Lord his God, and there was no obstacle that was too large, and no enemy that was too powerful, to keep Caleb from fulfilling God’s will for his life. You will remember that when the spies were sent in to check out the land of Canaan there were only two of them that came back with a positive report; only two that knew that God was much bigger than and giant Canaanite. One of those two men was Caleb. Ten of those spies came back and said, “It can’t be done; it’s too hard; we’re not ready yet. Not Caleb. He and Joshua were ready for a fight:
“And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes: And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.” – (Numbers 14:6-9)
In our passage today, it is now forty-five years after the spies came back, and Caleb is an old man; yet, he still has a lot of fight left in him. He is not thinking about retirement. He is still looking to conquer more giants for the Lord. We need more Calebs in the church today! Men and women who trust the Lord wholly to do “greater works than these”. We need people who are willing to fight for what is right; people who still see areas that need to be conquered for the Lord.
What does God want you to conquer for Him? What giant obstacle is in your path that God is waiting for you to trust Him to remove in His power? What neighborhood, or city remains unreached with the gospel? What are you afraid of. I know it’s not going to be easy. I know that there are giants trying to stop you, but your God is greater than any Giant. Trust Him and take the mountain!
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Moldy Bread, Broken Bottles, and Old Shoes
Today’s Passage – Joshua 8 – 9 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – 1 Timothy 1 – 3; Proverbs 14; Psalms 66 – 70
Scripture Memorization for March – 1 Corinthians 6:9 – 20
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – 1 John 4:7 & 8
Read a great article by Dr. Steve Elwart – “The War on Guns“
Read the “0314 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD.” – (Joshua 9:14)
In Joshua chapter nine, we see the children of Israel after their second successful battle in the land of Canaan. They had just destroyed the cities of Jericho and Ai, and they were on their way to conquer all of the other cities of Canaan that were in their path. The inhabitants of the land realized that this new nation coming in could not be beaten in battle, so they resorted to trickery in order to save themselves. The Gibeonites that inhabited four cities nearby that would have soon been destroyed came to the Joshua and the princes of Israel and pretended to be from a very far country, presumably outside of the land of Canaan. They even brought props with them in order to convince the Israelites that what they were saying was true. They brought with them mouldy bread, old and worn out shoes, and broken wine bottles; all designed to convince the Israelites that had travelled from far away. They were very deceptive, yet very convincing. They desired that Israel would make a covenant of peace with them, and Israel does. Without consulting the Lord, Israel takes the victuals that these people offer them, and promise them that they will not be destroyed.
The part about this story that I have the toughest time with is that even though the people of Israel were deceived, God still expected them to honor their covenant with these Gibeonites. It would seem to me that because the Gibeonites had not been truthful about where they came from, God would not expect His people to live up to their end of the bargain. I have struggled with this passage of Scripture for years, but I think I have it figured out now. You see, the people did not consult with God before they entered into this covenant. Had they talked to God about it, He would have told them not to believe the Gibeonites. As a result, Israel makes a tragic mistake, and God is going to make them live with their choice.
By the way, this is the second time that the Joshua Administration has acted without consulting God first. Remember when they went into the city of Ai the first time? They were defeated. Why? Because Achan stole the accursed thing back in the battle of Jericho. Again, it almost looked as if God was punishing the whole nation unfairly for the act of one man, which nobody else in Israel even knew about. But God knew, and God would have told Joshua, too, had Joshua only prayed before going into the battle with Ai. It seems that God’s people have this bad habit of praying after tragedy strikes, rather than doing a little preventive praying. Have you prayed today? Satan might right now be preparing a trap for you. You’d better be careful. What decisions are you about to make without a consultation with God; or perhaps at least a look into God’s principles found in His Word? What actions are you about to take? You had better take them to God first. You just may be on the verge of making a tragic mistake. God knows, and He can help you prevent it, but He wants you to come to Him first.
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Sin in the Camp
Today’s Passage – Joshua 5 – 7 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – 2 Thessalonians 1 – 3; Proverbs 13; Psalms 61 – 65
Scripture Memorization for March – 1 Corinthians 6:9 – 20
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – 1 John 3:1
Read a great article by Dr. Steve Elwart – “The War on Guns“
Read the “0313 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east side of Bethel, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai. And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few. So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai. And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.” – (Joshua 7:2-5)
In our passage today, we read of the great victory of the Lord’s people in the Battle of Jericho. The large, fortress city of Jericho fell completely without one casualty in the army of Israel. It was perhaps the greatest military victory in history. Unfortunately, soon after the conquest of Jericho, the people of God suffered an horrible, embarrassing defeat against the much smaller city of Ai. Israel fled from the army of Ai, and mourned the loss of thirty-six men. Why would God give Israel such a tremendous victory at Jericho, and then remove his blessing from them so that they would lose so easily against a much smaller foe? I believe there are three reasons: three accursed things found within the camp of Israel that caused God to allow Israel to be punished before their enemy.
1 Disobedience – There was sin in the camp.
“But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel.” – (Joshua 7:1)
Achan took a garment from Jericho, which seems like a small thing; yet, God was very upset about it. He had given clear instructions that nothing from Jericho was to be taken, save the silver and gold, which was to be brought into Israel’s treasury. Not only did Achan take the garment, but he also stole some silver and gold for himself. The sin of one man can greatly affect the blessing of God on an entire congregation. You might think that God was unfair to judge the whole nation for the sin of one man, but you may change your mind when you consider the next two reasons.
2 Overconfidence – The people of Israel underestimated the power of the enemy, and overestimated their own strength. They thought Ai was too small to worry about. They were wrong. Christians often do the same thing today. We underestimated our enemies: the flesh, the world, and the devil; and we overestimate our own strength. Jesus said, “without me ye can do nothing”. (John 15:5)
3 Independence – When you review the account of the victory of Jericho, you will see that “the Captain of the host of the Lord” had given Joshua complete detailed instructions as to what Israel should do. However, when you look at the battle of Ai, you will see that not once does God speak to Joshua about going into Ai; nor does Joshua pray to God about going in. Now, we know that Ai was one of the many cities that God wanted the children of Israel to conquer, but they should have consulted the Lord first as to when and how they should do it. They didn’t, and as a result, Israel was on their own in this battle, without God. They didn’t think they needed God for this little city. Boy were they mistaken. I’m willing to bet that if Joshua would have just asked God about Ai before going in, God would have told Joshua about Achan’s sin. One little prayer would have prevented the demoralizing defeat as well as the death of thirty-six men. How often have you and I done things without consulting the Lord first?
When we think of Ai, we often think of “the accursed thing”, but as we have learned, there were really three of them. There was more than just one sin in the camp. Along with the sin of taking the garment and the gold there was also the sin of trusting in their own fleshly abilities, and the sin of not praying to God. Let’s not you and I make these same mistakes in our lives.
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Just for Women – by Camille Stahl
Today’s Passage – Joshua 1 – 4 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – 1 Thessalonians 1 – 5; Proverbs 12; Psalms 56 – 60
Scripture Memorization for March – 1 Corinthians 6:9 – 20
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – James 4:10
Read a great article by Dr. Steve Elwart – “The War on Guns“
Read the “0312 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
The Study of Women in the Bible
Revisiting Eve – Back To The Beginning
Back in 2008, I started on a new path of eating habits. I’ve been attending weekly meetings to help achieve my health and weight goals. My health coach started me off on a program to follow. I started to lose weight and as a result, I also felt better. When I followed the program, I did well, and when I fell off the wagon, well… With doing so well, I thought I could do it on my own, ‘Do what I wanted to do’. As a result of doing it ‘my way’, I found myself really off track. I was eating everything in sight, I put on a few pounds and I feel terrible. I thought, what am I going to do? I can’t keep going on like this. How can I get back on track? And then the Holy Spirit said, “Start at the beginning. Go back to the things you did when you first started”. I needed to get back into the right frame of mind. For that reason I wanted to revisit Eve. Go back to the beginning, with the simple message.
As we walk our Christians lives, we sometimes think ‘I can do it on my own’. We put God aside, for whatever reason, and wonder how we got into the mess and how are we going to get out of it. We need to go back to the beginning, the Foot of the Cross.
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” – (Genesis 1:27-28)
“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.” – (Genesis 3:1-20)
Eve. Her name is only mentioned four times in the Bible, but so many lessons can be learned by her life. She drank pure water and breathed the cleanest air. She had a perfect relationship with her husband. She lived in a beautiful garden and ate the best food. Every animal lived in harmony. No death, sickness or any other problems. God walked with them everyday, and there was nothing to distract her from learning God’s word. God supplied for ALL their needs. Both Adam and Eve knew how much God loved and took care of them. But did Eve really learn God’s word? Did she really understand what God had provided for her and her husband?
I think Eve was crushed when Cain killed Abel. She realized that she had brought a sinful man into the world. Her terrible deed in the garden became even more clear to her. Each person born would sin, not only by choice, but also because of an inner urging. Everyone would face an unending battle between good and evil, all because she couldn’t resist the devil’s woo.
As I stated at the first, we are starting at the beginning and we can learn many different lessons from Eve, so let me leave you with these basic thoughts:
1. Read your Bible everyday. We need to know what God says. It’s us walking with God as Adam and Eve did. We need to stay close to God. Just like the sheep who stray away from the shepherd are easy targets, so are we when we stray to far from God.
2. Memorize God’s word. The devil is always tempting us with his crafty ways. He twisted scripture not only with Eve, but also with Jesus when he was tempted in the wilderness (Matthew 4:6). If he did with them, he will with us.
3. When tempted by Satan, go to God immediately. I believe if Eve would have called on God when Satan came by, God would have fought the battle for her.
4. Pray everyday. Besides our spouses, our children are the most important people in our lives. We should lay them on the altar before the Lord each day and try to be the best example we can be. Remember Cain, Eve’s first born. He had a rebellious spirit like mom and dad.
5. Attend all church services. Adam and Eve were with God everyday.
We say that God is not there like he was with them, but the Bible says in Matthew 18:20: For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
In closing, I want to encourage you to strengthen your relationship with the Lord with these basic steps. Encourage others to do the same. There is no better blessing then to live for the Lord.
Thank You
I John 5:13
Posted in Just for Ladies by Phil Erickson with 1 comment.
I Will Be With Thee
Today’s Passage – Deuteronomy 29 – 31 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Philippians 1 – 4; Proverbs 10; Psalm 46 – 50
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Ephesians 4:32
Read the “0310 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed. … And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee.” – (Deuteronomy 31:7-8, 23)
Perhaps no greater source of encouragement can be found for the Christian today than the words contained in these verses. In our passage today we see Moses in his final days upon the earth. He has fulfilled God’s will for his life by leading the people of Israel out of bondage, and has brought them to the border of the Land of Promise. He is passing the baton over to Joshua, who had faithfully served Moses for the forty years of Moses ministry. Joshua has an extremely difficult task in front of him. He is following behind one of the greatest leaders in the history of mankind, and he has been places in charge of a people that have demonstrated on numerous occasions that they can be very rebellious. In fact, on the very day that Joshua is appointed his new position God tells him that the people are going to rebel. How would you like to be given the job of leading people who you already know are going to eventually stop following. If I were Joshua I would not only be fearful of the task ahea, but perhaps even a little discouraged. However, twice in this passage Joshua is reminded that it’s going to be OK, because God will be with him.
What a blessing it is to know that as we serve God today in the center of His will, that He promises to go with us as well.
“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” – (Hebrews 13:5)
“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” – (Matthew 28:20)
Sometimes it can be very difficult living for the Lord in the world that we live in. It is not easy being a good, godly parent; a witness on the job; a servant in the church’ a light to the community: all of which God calls us to be. But God is with us. He goes before us, and then helps us as we strive to be His ambassador in this dark world. Sometimes, we may feel like we are all alone, but we are never alone, because God is always with us.
Did you recognize His presence in your life today? Did you talk to Hm yet this morning? He desires to have intimate fellowship with you, and to use you to fulfil His purpose in your world. What a wonderful and awesome priveledge it is to know and serve the King of the Universe! Lif your head up high. You’ve got connections. You know the right Person. You are personally acquainted with God, and you represent Him to those who don’t know Him.
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Have You Forgotten?
Today’s Passage – Deuteronomy 23 – 26 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Ephesians 1 – 3; Proverbs 8; Psalms 36 – 40
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Matthew 6:33
Read the “0308 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous: … Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them:” – (Deuteronomy 26:5, 13)
My thought this morning comes from Deuteronomy chapter 26. In this chapter God reminds the people of Israel that when they get into the land that He had promised them, and they begin to receive of the goodness of the land, they were not to forget to bring back to God the tithe of their increase. People do not like to hear much about tithing nowadays; but the real purpose of tithing is not for God (or the church) to get their money, but rather for people to express in a tangible way the fact that they remember that God has blessed them. The people of Israel were encouraged to bring their tithe basket to the priest, and then they were to publicly state their appreciation to the Lord by rehearsing the fact that God had brought them out of cruel bondage, and delivered them into a land of incredible bounty. The tithe was just a small expression of appreciation for what God had done for them.
Today, we are just as quick to forget about the goodness of God. We can see that fact demonstrated in the way people give today. Most Christians don’t tithe; and many don’t give anything at all. We sometimes try to justify this lack of faith by blaming it on rough economic circumstances, etc., which I am sure certainly plays a partial factor; but the real issue is a matter of the heart. When people do not give back to God, they are not remembering and appreciating what He has done for them. However, I don’t want the focus of this morning’s devotion to be on tithing principles. Our giving habits are but one indicator of our remembering. My challenge this morning is get you to think about the ways you express your appreciation to the Lord for what He has done in your life. Don’t forget to remember God. And don’t forget to remember the good things that people have done for you either. We tend to forget very easily,especially when a difficult circumstance arises in our life. Because our focus is on the new problem, we forget about (and lose appreciation for) all of the previous solutions and blessings that have been given us. We are no different from the little child who screams for a new toy, forgetting about all of the other toys he already has.
Do you remember the goodness of God in your life? Do you express your appreciation in words, and in other more tangible ways? We must be careful not to forget God. If we do, then we will gradually slip further and further away from the center of His will for our lives, and eventually He will be forced to correct us, which is never pleasant.
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Feminine and Modest
Today’s Passage – Deuteronomy 19 – 22 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Galatians 4 – 6; Psalms 31 – 35; Proverbs 7
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Micah 6:8
“The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.” – (Deuteronomy 22:5)
“In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.” – (1 Timothy 2:9-10)
In our text today, we see the famous verse that has no doubt been preached millions of times in reference to the attire of a lady. I know that I have quoted this reference countless times myself, but perhaps, I haven’t preached this principle as much as I should. I am very concerned that there has been an accelerated trend toward immodest as well as masculine dress among our Christian ladies, even in our fundamental churches over the past few years. There has always been immodest dress in our churches, but it seems that lately so many of our ladies are completely throwing in the towel in any attempt to obey biblical principle in the area of dress.
As far as I can see, there are two overriding principles when it comes to women’s dress: femininity, and modesty. A women should dress in such a way that there is clearly a distinction between herself and a man. This principle would also apply to hairstyles as well. Many women today are choosing to wear their hair very short, and even with a masculine style. The Bible is clear that a woman’s hair should be longer than a man’s. It seems like our culture is reversing the Biblical model. Men’s hairstyles seem to be becoming more feminine, and vice versa.
Women should also dress modestly, meaning their clothing should not draw attention to their bodies. Tight pants, and low-cut tops are magnets for mens’ eyes. Many ladies in our churches today are wearing dresses, which are definitely feminine, but, unfortunately, many are not modest: either too short, or too tight, or very revealing in the top. There have been many times, even at church, where I have caught my eyes wandering where they shouldn’t simply because there was someone dressed inappropriately. I know, shame on me; but shame on the lady also that reveals herself through her clothing to men that are not her husband. Clothing should not draw attention to the body. You may have heard this illustration before, but I once heard someone speaking on this subject who said that if a man’s attention is drawn to your body, and not your face, you are dressing immodestly. The word translated apparel in 1 Timothy 2:9 is “katastole”, which is defined as a loose garment, “let down”; or a long, flowing robe.
There is a lot more that I can say regarding this subject, but I think that you get the point. I am not saying that women should wear burlap sacks down to their ankles, but I do believe that Christian ladies should be much more careful when choosing their attire.
Posted in Thoughts from Deuteronomy by Phil Erickson with 3 comments.