Are You Rich?
Today’s Passages – Proverbs 7 – 10; Proverbs 17
(Second Milers also read – Mark 5 – 6; Memorize – Genesis 1:26)
“The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.” (Proverbs 10:22)
What determines the true wealth of a man? Is it the amount of money he has in his bank account? Is it the number of acres he owns or the size of his house? Perhaps it might be the number of toys and possessions that he has been able to accumulate in his lifetime? Can richness be measured by the world’s standards? This world puts a great deal of emphasis on material gain and financial success, and to some degree they are right, because one of the ways that God blesses His children is by providing them with their needs, and even some of their desires. But the truth is, the world is replete with people who have “this world’s goods”, but are not rich. Why? Because they lack the blessing of the Lord. Let me list for you some of the reasons why I feel that I am the richest man on earth:
1 My Father is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and all of the silver and gold belongs to Him. Because I am His child, everything that He has is mine as well. Everything that I need is provided for me. I am completely content, because there is nothing that I will ever need that will not be provided for me.
2 My Family is truly a blessing from God. He has given me the most beautiful wife in all of the world along with four wonderful children (and now a son-in-law, and a daughter-in-law). They are for me; they support me; they encourage me; they assist me; they love me as I am even with all of my faults.
3 My Friends are also extremely valuable to me. I have a few friends that I believe would take a bullet for me. They are loyal and true, even when things aren’t going so well.
4 My Future looks even brighter. My needs for the rest of my life are guaranteed, and I have a mansion waiting for me in Heaven when I have finished His purpose for me on earth.
How about you? Have you been measuring your wealth the same way the world does? Maybe you are actually richer than you thought? If you are experiencing the blessing of the Lord, you are a rich man indeed.
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Today’s Passages – Proverbs 4 – 6; Proverbs 16
(Second Milers also read – Mark 3 – 4; Memorize – John 10:30)
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“Daddy” by Melissa Dilley
Today’s Passages – Proverbs 1 – 3; Proverbs 15
(Second Milers also read – Mark 1 – 2; Memorize – John 10:30)
“But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.” (Proverbs 1:33)
I want to share something with you that has revolutionized my relationship with my Heavenly Father. My God is an awesome, powerful, all-knowing, mighty and righteous God. He spoke the world into existence and holds creation in the palm of His hand. He raised others and even Himself from the dead and healed scores of people from all manner of diseases. He caused the earth to swallow legions of people, and the waters to destroy others. He is magnificent, all-seeing, and unfathomable.
But He is also my Heavenly Daddy. Sometimes when I hurt, all I can manage to pray is “Dear Heavenly Father,“ and then I cry for a time. Jesus told the disciples that they must become like children (completely trusting), and to suffer the children to come (don’t hinder that complete trust). The Bible tells us that if our earthly daddies can take care of us, how much better can our Heavenly Daddy take care of us. Let me challenge you, when you have the “fear of evil”, go to God. Ask Him to put you on His lap, pet you, kiss your forehead, rock you, and tell you everything is going to be ok. I believe that is the key to ‘the peace that passes all understanding’.
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Open Your Big Fat Mouth and Praise God!
Today’s Passages – Psalm 146 – 150; Proverbs 14
(Second Milers also read – Matthew 27 – 28; Memorize John 10:30)
“Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.” – (Psalm 150:1-6)
I remember visiting Solid Rock Baptist Church years ago, and Pastor Clark had noticed some teenagers that weren’t singing, and he rebuked them saying, “open your big fat mouth and praise God”. I will never forget that and I often want to shout the same thing at our church.
It amazed me this morning how many times the word praise is used in the Psalms. In fact, every Psalm hat we have read this morning mentions the word “praise” several times. The Lord deserves our praise. We should praise him first because of who He is; and then because of all that He’s done for us. We should praise God all the time, but it is especially important to praise the Lord in the church house. We can praise Him through our singing, and in our prayrs and testimonies. We serve on awesome God so “open your big fat mouth and praise God”!
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
Are You Happy?
Today’s Passages – Psalm 140 – 145; Proverbs 13
(Second Milers – Matthew 25 – 26; Memorize – John 10:30)
“Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.” (Psalm 144:15)
Last winter, I was researching some ideas for a new gospel tract for the church. I came across one that really caught my attention. On the front cover it had a picture of a smily face with the question, “Are You Happy?” I thought that this tract would be a great attention getter for others as well; but I wondered, is it biblical? I’m not talking about the contents of the tract, which is doctrinally sound. I am talking about the concept of happiness. What does the Bible really say about happiness? I had always been taught that God’s people can be joyful, but joy is deeper that happiness. In other words, you can be joyful even when you’re not happy. I suppose that may be true at times, but I did a little more research and discovered that the Bible very clearly teaches that God’s children should be a happy people. Don’t misunderstand, I am not saying that there will be times in our lives when we are sad; and to some degree I think feeling sad is good for us and part of our complete emotional makeup. But, for the most part, we who are saved ought to be the happiest people on the planet. Why? Because we have an awful lot to be happy about.
Consider what the Word of God says about happiness:
“Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:”(Job 5:17)
“Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.” (Psalm 128:1&2)
“Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:” (Psalm 146:5)
“Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.” (Psalm 3:13)
“He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.” (Proverbs 14:21)
“Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.” (Proverbs 28:14)
I could list some more verses, but I think you get the idea. Why then are so many Christians miserable, discontented people? Why are we always so negative? It’s no wonder, we are failing terribly at reaching the world with the gospel. Why should the lost world want what we claim to have with our doctrine, but fail to demonstrate in a happy, contented life. I don’t think happiness is all that elusive. I think it can be found in a right relationship with God. By that I mean that you are saved and yielded to the Spirit of God, surrendered to His will. If you are saved and still doing things your way, you are not going to be happy, because you will have an inner turmoil going on inside of you as God the Holy Spirit works to bring you into submission.
By the way, we ordered the tract, and it was a great eye catcher. We even had a special series of messages surrounding the theme “Are You Happy?”.
Posted in Devotions, Thoughts from Psalms by Phil Erickson with 2 comments.
Running with the Right Crowd
Today’s Passages – Psalm 119; Proverbs 10
(Second Milers also read – Matthew 19 – 20; Memorize – John 10:30)
Today’s Passage – Psalms 117 – Psalm 119:88
“I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts.” (Psalm 119:63)
I love the 119th Psalm. Nearly every verse has some type of reference to the Bible in it. Each verse contains a word that represents God,s Word. You will find the words law, commandments, word, statutes, judgments, etc.; but the whole Psalm has to do with the Bible. In verse 63 we see the word,precept; another word that is synonymous with God’s Word or Law.
Notice, however, that in this verse the Psalmist declares that his companions: the people he runs with; the men he is associated with, are people that keep God’s precepts; people that fear God. It is very important that we hang around people who love the Lord and are at least trying to live for Him as best as they can. Conversely, we need to avoid people who will influence us away from the word of God. The Bible says that “iron sharpeneth iron”, meaning that we have an impact and are impacted by those we rub against.
Who do you run with? Are you surrounding yourself with companions that fear and obey God? Someone once said that you are or soon will be who you hang around. Why not try to run with a crowd that will bring you closer to the will of God. We need to be friendly to everybody; we need to love everybody, even our enemies; but we should only be friends with those who are going the same direction that we are going.
“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.” Romans 16:17
“Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3)
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with 2 comments.
The Truth – The Saturday Morning Post by Pastor Ted Stahl
Today’s Reading: Psalm 115-118, Proverbs 9, and Matthew 17-18
Today’s Passage: Psalm 117: “O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.”
Good morning! What is truth? Charles Caleb Colton (1780-1832) said that, “Pure truth, like pure gold, has been found unfit for circulation, because men have discovered that it is far more convenient to adulterate the truth than to refine themselves.”
Some people say that truth is relative: what may be truth to me, may not be truth to you. To that, I say, “Truth is truth. If you try to bend it, or shape it into something else then it becomes a lie.” Can you imagine if the government started telling the truth? Just a simple truth. They come out and admit they were wrong about our nation: we are a Christian nation, and the operation of our government can be found in the Bible. But then they would have to admit that there is a true and living God. They would have to allow the Ten Commandments back into it’s buildings. After all – they would have to admit – we’re trying to keep the government from interfering with God, but allow God to work His will inside government. (Can I let you in on a little secret? God is working His will inside our government whether they believe it or not!)
So truth is solid: it cannot be moved or changed. If anything is not the truth, or if the truth is flexed and stretched, then it is no longer truth, but a lie. Malachi 3:6 says, “For I am the LORD, I CHANGE NOT; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” and in John 14:6: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Jesus also said, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in TRUTH: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in TRUTH.” (John 4:23-24).
And what is the truth?
The truth is that we are all sinners. “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: [AND] For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3:10, 23)
It’s in our blood to sin, and to lie, and to not do the truth: because Adam sinned, we all sin. Romans 5:12 says, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned…” So the truth is that we are all sinners. And the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a).
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
And the truth is that it is so easy to get this love for your self. And He made it so easy for us. Jesus took on Himself the hard part: dying for our sins on the cross. All we need do is receive Him into our hearts. That’s the truth.
“But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:8-10,13)
And that’s the truth.
Peace. (Luke 24:36)
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He Won’t Budge
Today’s Passage – Psalm 108 – 114; Proverbs 8
(Second Milers also read – Matthew 15 – 16; Memorize – 1 John 5:7)
“Surely he shall not be moved forever…” (Psalm 112:6)
“…his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord” (Psalm 112:7)
“His heart is established…” (Psalm 112:8)
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” (1Cor 15:58)
“But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed….A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:6,8)
There is far too much instability among God’s people today; they just can’t seem to make up there minds as to where they stand. The Bible says about Jesus that His face was set like a flint, meaning He wasn’t budging from the will of God. Why is it that His children, however, are always moving in their doctrinal positions, and in their personal convictions. We need to learn the lesson that the Psalmist teaches here in the 112th Psalm.
Notice the characteristics of this unbending, righteous man spoken of here in the Psalm:
1 He is unmoveable about His Bible.
He delighteth greatly in his commandments (v 1)
He is not the type of guy that changes the Bible he uses, or what he believes about the Bible. He is bull-dogmatic about Bible principles. He believes and applies what God says; and doesn’t deviate off of the course that the Word charts.
2 He is gracious and full of compassion. (v 4)
Even though you are not going to move him about what he believes, he will be gracious and compassionate with those who have not yet grown to where he is. He gives people who are heading in the right direction time to get there. He is willing to give somebody a second and third chance when they demonstrate true contrition and repentance.
3 He is generous in his giving. (v 5, 9)
He knows that the source of all of his wealth is God. He knows also that God expects him to distribute the wealth that he has given him in order to be a blessing and a help to others.
How often do we change our minds and our actions regarding our Christian walk. We need to be a little more like this man mentioned in the Psalm. We need to dig in, find out what we believe from the Bible, and stick with it until the Lord takes us home.
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
Never Satisfied
Today’s Passages – Psalm 106 – 107; Proverbs 7
(Second Milers also read – Matthew 13 – 14; Memorize – 1 John 5:7)
“And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.” (Psalm 106:15)
The Scripture referenced above has to do with the children of Israel during their wilderness wanderings.It seems that the people were always griping and complaining about their condition; always discontented about what God had provided for them. You will remember that God gave them manna from Heaven, but the people lusted after meat. God gave them what they wanted, but at what price? The Psalmist tells us they received leanness into their souls. I don’t think that God was upset with them because they had a physical hunger; but He did judge them because they put their lust for the physical above their love for Him.
How often do we put our physical, and other fleshly desires over the things of God. There is nothing wrong with food, but when we become so consumed with eating, playing, enjoying, etc. that we become negligent of the spiritual we too will suffer the consequences of a spiritual famine. I love to eat, I love to enjoy the good things that God has given us to enjoy in this life, but I don’t want to trade off the spiritual blessings that God has for me because of an over-appetite for the physical.
Notice the historical reference of this event from Numbers 11:
And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague. (Numbers 11:33)
Our flesh is enemy # 1. If we are not careful, we will allow our flesh to take over our lives. We may be physically fat, but we will also be spiritually famished.
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Today’s Passages – Psalm 103 – 105; Proverbs 6
(Second Milers also read – Matthew 11 – 12; Memorize 1 John 5:7)
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