God’s Got the Details by Katelyn Erickson
Today’s Passage – Exodus 39 – 40 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Luke 21 – 22; Proverbs 2; Psalms 11 – 15)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – 1 John 4:7 & 8
Read the “0202 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Read a previous post from this passage – “The Glory of the Lord“
“31 And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet thereat: 32 When they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed; as the LORD commanded Moses. 33 And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work.“ (Exodus 40:31-33)
When I read about the tabernacle I’m always amazed and thankful our God cares so much about the smallest details.
Let’s be grateful for all the beautiful, interesting parts of life that God gives us each day, but it is so important to not get overwhelmed, bogged down, or anxious over all the details.
“As the LORD commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD commanded Moses.” Joshua 11:15
As God gave out each instruction, the Bible says that Moses simply obeyed “as the Lord had commanded Moses”.
“If ye love me, keep my commandments. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” John 14:15, 21
At the end of the book of Exodus it says “So Moses finished the work.” (40:33) We sometimes can get distracted by the complicated intricacies while really we need to keep our focus on the simplicity of just loving Him and keeping His commands…while leaving life’s nitty gritty details in His hands.
Then, we too will be able to finish the work that He has given us in this life that He has blessed up with.
Posted in Devotions, Guest Posts, Just for Ladies, Thoughts from Exodus by Katelyn Erickson with 5 comments.
Too Much?
Today’s Passage – Exodus 36 – 38 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Luke 19 – 20; Proverbs 1; Psalms 6 – 10
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 89:1
“And they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the LORD commanded to make. And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing. For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.” – (Exodus 36:5-7)
I am always amazed when I read this portion of Scripture. This seems to be the first building fund in the Bible, and it may even be the first special offering. God asks the congregation of Israel to give to Moses an offering of the necessary materials to build the Tabernacle and all of its furniture. The people gave generously, and gave more, and kept on giving; so much so that the workers were complaining that there was way too much stuff given. They didn’t know what to do with all of the gold, silver, brass, skins, wood, and fabric that the people were anxious to offer to the Lord to be used in this tent of worship.
I know that many of you have seen this passage before, and no doubt, you may even have heard messages from this text; but when was the last time that you heard a preacher get up and tell you to stop giving. Can you imagine me standing at the pulpit this Sunday morning and announcing to the congregation that we have more money than we know what to do with? Can you picture me saying, “please stop giving!”? I can’t either. Why is it that in the ministry today there seems to be such a shortage of the things that are necessary to do the work of God. We seem to always be “behind the eight ball”, so to speak. Why is that?
I believe that there could me many individual reasons; but I will offer some of my thoughts. One reason that I believe people are reluctant to give today is that they do not understand the clear teaching of Scripture. The Bible gives a lot of instruction regarding giving, both by way of commandment as well as encouragement. Many people just don’t know (or don’t want to know) what the Bible teaches about the subject.
Another reason that people may be reluctant to give is that they just don’t trust the stewardship of the local churches. There has been a lot of financial corruption and scandal in recent years involving church leadership and people wonder if their money is really going to the work of the Lord, or is it lining the pockets of the spiritual leaders. Maybe they feel that the church is spending too much money on facilities, etc. Even in our independent, fundamental churches we have gotten used to luxurious accommodations. Now, don’t misunderstand, I think the church house should be comfortable, and beautiful, but I think that it should also be very functional and practical. Church leaders need to be very conscious of the fact they have been given stewardship of the Lord’s money, and it should be spent very prayerfully and wisely.
I will offer one more thought regarding the lack of commitment on the part of the people of God in the area of giving. People today are just not as committed in general. Think about it. In Moses day, there was nothing else for the people but God. The Tabernacle would literally be at the very center of their lives. Today, the worship of God is hardly at the center. It may be a part, even a big part of some people’s lives; but to say it is the center would be a far stretch. We are very busy and very distracted today; and we have a lot more to spend our money on. What were the people going to do with that stuff anyway? Where were they going to spend it? They didn’t even have houses to live in. But we do, don’t we? And with them big mortgages and rents, and car payments, and phone bills, and cable bills, and high taxes. You get the idea. If we are ever going to get the people of God back to where they once were, we will have to help them realize that God needs to be at the very center of their lives. Putting God back at the very core of people’s lives will help them to remember what’s really important, helping them to prioritize their lives; not just in the area of finances, but in every other area of their lives.
Posted in Thoughts from Exodus by Phil Erickson with 4 comments.
Stiffnecked
Today’s Passage – Exodus 33 – 35 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Luke 17 – 18; Proverbs 31; Psalms 1 – 5 (Jump start on February because it is a short month)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – 1 John 3:1
Read the “0131 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Read previous post from today’s reading passage – “Willing Servants,” and “Beaming.”
“….for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way. And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments. For the LORD had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee.” (Exodus 33:3 – 5)
Reading this chapter brought back some memories of me as a six year old boy at my great-grandmother’s house and hearing her say, Gerald you are so hardheaded!!
We see the Lord upset with the children of Israel, and it’s not his first time nor will be his last that He has been grieved by them and it’s just amazing that He never just destroyed every last one of them… but can’t the same thing be said about us?
We cannot talk enough about the mercy of God!
The Bible says that we are “but dust.” Know what that means? It means we are NOTHING!
Just take a second and think about how often we grieve our God. Too many saved, children of God, like myself that live like this. Why? Why are we so full of ourselves that we think we know better than the KNOWER of all things!?
But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. (James 4:6)
So flippantly we say Jesus is our Lord and Saviour, and we know that means we are born again, but is He LORD of us? Do we live like He is? Is He Master? Does He call ALL the shots? Or does the creature know more than the Creator?!
“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46)
Why do we walk around living a life that screams to God, “I got it!” We live as though we were entitled to salvation or for some reason were worthy of it! We act as though we deserve to be treated a certain way in this world, when you take a step back and think about how we will never receive what we truly deserve. It ought to stop you in your tracks!
Hey every day outside of hell is a good day, NO MATTER WHAT! Without Christ, we are nothing. He is the only thing that makes us special.
We read a lot about the children of Israel and their fickleness, but we must be careful not to look our noses down at them because far too often we are guilty of the same inconsistencies. Think about the things we complain about so much in others that we do ourselves. We look at other “dirt clods” and cast them down, and promote ourselves to better, when at the end of the day, we’re all just dirt.
We must get honest with who we truly are and where we lack spiritually and do something about it.
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” (James 1:22)
Look Is He worthy of our absolute total trust in Him or not? Has He not proven countless times the obvious answer? Has our flesh proven that it’s not worth trusting with any moment of our lives, yet which do we yield to more ?
“He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)
Posted in Devotions, Guest Posts, Thoughts from Exodus by Gerald Hicks with 6 comments.
A Sanctuary For The Lord – The Saturday Morning Post
Today’s Passage – Exodus 25 – 27 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Luke 11 – 12; Proverbs 28; Psalms 136 – 140
Read the “0128 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering. And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood, Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense, Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate. And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” (Exodus 25:1-8)
“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” (1Corinthians 6:19)
“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (2Corinthians 13:5)
Good morning. In our passage this morning, the Lord wants a sanctuary, a tabernacle, a temple, so He can dwell with His people. God gave Moses specific instructions on how to build it and what material to use, even the quantity. How is your temple?
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1Corinthians 3:16)
It all starts with Jesus. God said in Exodus 25, verse 2, “…bring Me an offering…”
“And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.” (Ephesians 5:2)
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:14-18)
Also in Exodus 25, verse 2, God said, “…of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.”
When you realized you were a sinner and on your way to Hell, you brought the only offering you could with a willing heart… yourself. And Jesus received you as His own.
“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:37-40)
He did all that for us. He sacrificed Himself for our sins. He took the punishment that we deserved. And all because He loved us. And yet, we don’t obey Him. We do what we want to do. We drag Him through all the muck and mire of all the ungodly places we frequent. What do you think of the following verses?
“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30)
“Quench not the Spirit.” (1Thesselonians 5:19)
We grieve the Holy Spirit by doing the things we should not be doing. We quench the Holy Spirit by not doing the things we should be doing. So let me ask again, how is your temple? Is it what it should be? Is it a sanctuary for the Lord? Jesus said…
“…and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world…” (Matthew 28:20)
Peace.
Posted in Devotions by Pastor Ted Stahl with 5 comments.
Grown-Up and Disrespectful Children by Ashley Acosta
Today’s Passage – Exodus 19 – 21 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Luke 7 – 8; Proverbs 26; Psalms 126 – 130)
Read the “0126 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Read a previous post from this passage – “Come As You Are,“ and “Sound Advice“
“1 And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. 7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” (Exodus 20:1-12)
“13 Thou shalt not kill. 14 Thou shalt not commit adultery. 15 Thou shalt not steal. 16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.” (Exodus 20:13-17)
Here we see where God meets with Moses on Mount Sinai and gives the Ten Commandments to the children of Israel. We see the process that goes into them even receiving these words, so we understand the importance of God speaking them. This is such a pivotal moment in the Old Testament. These were the fundamental principles that God sent for them to follow.
For us today the ten commandments are a reminder of the standards of Holy living required by God. Obviously, things are different in the New Testament, and we are under grace and not the Law; but God definitely puts a huge importance on them throughout the New Testament and refers to them often. There are so many nuggets of truth to go through here, but one that God has really been convicting me about is the extreme importance God puts on honoring your parents. Sometimes as an adult we tend to think that this commandment is just for children or teenagers, and we are somehow exempt from this commandment. God has been tugging on my heart recently that I am not honoring my parents today. It’s really sad when you see the older generations being treated so poorly by their children. Once we become adults we suddenly think we really know so much and almost look at our parents as less than, or we have a condescending tone to any of their remarks. Maybe we have been hurt by our parents, or maybe they aren’t walking with the Lord. God doesn’t give us a list of exceptions for not honoring them, He says, “Honor your parents.”
As our parents get older it’s even more important to take care of them and honor them. My husband has parents that are now my parents. I think God wants me to honor and respect them too, and not discourage my husband with any negative thoughts I have. Sometimes, I don’t always agree with things my parents do, but the absolute last thing I need to be doing is talk poorly about them or bash them to other people, even if it’s my siblings. It’s also extremely prideful of me to think that I am perfect and my parents just don’t have it together like me. God put this in the Ten commandments for a reason; it’s important to Him. Let’s stop rolling our eyes or acting like our parents are less than. If we were little children we would be extremely disrespectful in doing that, but as adults we feel no remorse. Maybe, someone is hurting today and your relationship with your parents is not good. Perhaps you hurt them or they hurt you. You need to restore your relationship with your parents before it’s too late. There is also a promise here that God is telling us: IF we honor our parents our days will be long on the earth. He is equating this commandment to Life and Death; that’s how serious it is. Let’s honor our parents in every stage of our life.
Posted in Devotions by Ashley Acosta with 4 comments.
Remember Sunday?
Today’s Passage – Exodus 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 – Luke 5 – 6; Proverbs 25; Psalms 121 – 125
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 34:1 – 4
Read a previous post from this passage – “Sound Advice.”
Read the “0125 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day.” – (Exodus 16:29-30)
I remember when I was a young boy just about everything was shut down on Sunday. The supermarkets were closed, the department stores were closed, the home improvement stores were closed; it seemed like everything was closed. I remember when the first supermarket in our area opened up on Sunday. It was big news. Soon, all of the other supermarkets started opening. At first, Sunday was the worst sales day of the week for the retailers. I remember the managers telling me that it was a waste of time to even open because they didn’t do enough business to justify it. Fast forward to today and Sunday is the best sales day of the week. How did we ever get away from Sunday being a day when just about everyone had the day off, and most people went to church? I bet those businessmen that started it all thought that it would be a way for them to get a little ahead of their competitors. I wonder if they would look back on their decision and consider it a good thing? Come to think of it, the particular company that started it in our area is bankrupt today. What a shame.
In our passage today, God says that He would supply the Israelites with enough manna on the sixth day so that they would not have to gather it on the seventh. Now, before you fuss at me: I am well aware that the Sabbath for the nation Israel was Saturday, not Sunday. However, for Christians, the day that we set apart for worship and rest has traditionally been Sunday, the day of the resurrection. I think America was a much better place when she observed a day of rest on Sunday. Just about everybody went to church, with very few people who absolutely had to work.
The devil and the world have made it very difficult for Christians to be faithful to the Lord in setting aside Sunday as the Lord’s day. It has always been my conviction to keep Sunday as the day that our family worships the Lord. We have always made it a practice to attend both the morning and the evening services at our church. It is the Lord’s day, not just the Lord’s morning, and we are supposed to gather together “so much the more as we see the day approaching.” God has always been faithful. He has always met all of my family’s needs. We haven’t lost a thing by keeping Sunday as a day set apart from the rest of the week for the purpose of rest and worship. However, if you are like me, you may not be getting much rest on Sunday because you spend much of the day in the work of the ministry. I actually kept track of my hours on a recent Sunday. My day started at 4 AM and I finished just after 9:30 PM, with only about a half an hour lunch break. Therefore, if I am going to be in obedience to Lord’s principle of resting one day out of seven, I must choose another day.
Christian, if I can offer you one piece of advice from this passage, it would be this: set aside Sunday as the Lord’s day. Do everything in your power to get the day off from work. It may take a while to arrange your affairs so that this can be done, but work toward it. Go to church and then spend time together as a family. Eat a meal together on Sunday afternoon. Take a nap, or maybe have a little fellowship with some family and friends. Make Sunday a special day; a day that you look forward to all the week long. Don’t worry about how you will be able to meet all of your obligations due to the fact that you have eliminated a day of earning income. Remember God is able to give you enough in six days to cover the seventh. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God” and He will take care of everything else.
I hope to see you this Sunday at church!
“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” – (Hebrews 10:23-25)
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with 3 comments.
When I Came Forth Out of Egypt by Issan Acosta
Today’s Passage – Exodus 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 – Luke 3 – 4; Proverbs 24; Psalms 116 – 120)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Isaiah 51:11
Read the “0124 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Read previous posts from this passage – “He Brought Us This Far” and “Quit Griping!“
“And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD’s law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt. Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year.” (Exodus 13:8-10)
One of my favorite moments that I see repeated through out the Old Testament is the importance placed on memorials.
We see this with the Passover, Altars Built, Rainbows, the 12 Stones taken from the Jordan River and we even see it with names given. In this passage of scripture we see Moses preparing the children of Israel for the crossing of the Red Sea out of Egypt. We see the beautiful picture here of the believer being called out of the world(Egypt) and identifying with Christ through believers baptism(crossing of the Red Sea). Moses used this critical moment in the lives of the Israelites to remind them about the importance of keeping this memorial from generation to generation.
Some Christians are blessed to have a godly Christian heritage. Others may be a first generation Christian. Whatever category you may fall in, it is important that you pass down the “Faith of our Fathers” to future generations. There are three key areas that we can all use to influence our children
Your Salvation Testimony
Sharing your testimony with your children is such an effective way of sharing the gospel with them. We all have a unique and personal way on how we came to Christ. Being able to hear how someones life was changed in a moment in time is something that has always been eye opening for me. It is such a powerful moment, especially when you are able to to tie it to the individual you are sharing it with. Never get over the joy of your salvation!
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; And uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; And sinners shall be converted unto thee. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: And my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. (Psalm 51:12 – 14)
Your Bible(s)
Being able to pass on your Bible(s) to your loved ones Is something so special. There is something very special about your children seeing your spiritual development through notes written on the margins of your Bible or favorite verses underlined. Teaching our children the word of God is so important in preserving our Christian heritage.
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” (Joshua 1:8)
Your Church Involvement
Worshiping God in church together as a family is one the best built in memory makers we can provide our children. Encourage your children to engage in every part of the service. There are so many teaching moments that we can share with our children that involve the church. Look for them and you will find them!
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25)
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with 3 comments.
A Dry Thirsty Land – The Saturday Morning Post
Today’s Passage – Exodus 4 – 6 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Mark 13 – 14; Proverbs 21; Psalms 101 – 105
Read the “0121 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.” (Exodus 4:9)
Good morning. Did you know that in Philadelphia – the city of brotherly love – in 2022, crime in the city ranked 162% higher than the national average? Violent crime was 420% higher. I had read that about 10 years ago, a Vietnam War veteran had his jaw broken and his skull fractured by a youth gang. What happened? America has gone dry: it’s a dry land. And it’s because people’s hearts have gotten harder.
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (2Timothy 3:1-7)
Many of us are to blame. We are afraid to stand on what the Word of God says. We are afraid to speak out and say that any Jew, Muslim, Catholic, Protestant, Baptist, Atheist, Agnostic, Unbeliever, Charismatic, Evolutionist, Secular Humanist, self-proclaimed Christian, or anybody else not mentioned in these groups are going to Hell if they have not received Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. This is not being hateful to any group. This is not a hate crime. This is what God’s Word says in 1John chapter 5…
“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” (1John 5:11-12)
Do you know what a real hate crime is? Allowing souls to slip into hell without giving them the Gospel: telling them about Jesus. Even if you are shy, you can still leave a Gospel tract. Leave one with a tip when you dine out. Give one to the gas station attendant when you get gas in your car or truck. You could even mail some out to addresses in the phone book. Can you afford 60 cents a week? That’s 52 people you could reach with God’s plan for salvation in one year.
Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission [of sins]. We need to pour out the water of God’s Word on this dry land, and let the people know that the blood of Jesus cleanses you from all sin.
“And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.” (Exodus 4:9)
“For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; (20) And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” (Colossians 1:19-20)
Peace.
Posted in Devotions by Pastor Ted Stahl with 2 comments.
God Wants To Use You – By Camille Stahl
Today’s Passage – Genesis 48 – 50 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Mark 9 – 10; Proverbs 19; Psalms 91 – 95)
Read the “0119 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Genesis 49:33 And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.
Genesis 50:1-3 And Joseph fell upon his father’s face, and wept upon him, and kissed him. (2) And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel. (3) And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days.
When we read about people in the Bible, we believe they lived perfect lives. Sometimes we think what we read are just stories, but they’re not. They were real people who had real problems like us who God greatly used. So lets look at the family of Abraham to Joseph.
When God put Adam and Eve in the Garden, everything was perfect until the fall. Then we get to the Tower of Babel were God scatters the rebellious world. In the second half of Genesis, we read about one family who God made a promise to. God is going to use this family to restore humanity back to the Garden and His original plan. So Abraham had Isaac, Isaac had Jacob and Jacob had twelve sons. In each of these generations God assured them of His blessing of making them a great nation. So because of this great family, one would think they would be a great example to follow to become a great Christian. But lets look at how dysfunctional this family really was.
Abraham – Gave his wife Sarah, away to other men, so he could save his own life.
Sarah – Got impatient and tells Abraham to have a child with her servant. This caused problems in the family that are still going on today.
Isaac- Then had Esau and Jacob and things seem to be going well until Jacob deceives Isaac and receives the Blessing which belonged to Esau.
Jacob – He had twelve sons and loved his eleventh son more then the others. This caused problems for the brothers, in so much that they wanted to kill him. So instead of killing him, Joseph, the eleventh son, was sold into slavery.
And to shorten the story, we know that God elevated Joseph over the land of Egypt under Pharaoh.
Jacob, Israel, had a funeral like no other besides Pharaoh. The people mourned for him seventy day and they mourned for Pharaoh seventy-two days.
But Jacob was a liar and deceiver until we get to Genesis 50:1-3, a man who was greatly used of God and loved by the people.
Not a perfect family, but God still used them all and kept His promise.
When man keeps turning to evil, God directs man back to HIM.
So how about us. To many times we convince ourselves that we’re not worthy to be use of God because of what we did in the past. There is nothing we’ve done that could stop us from being used of God. It’s important to remember who we are in Christ. We are a child of the King of Kings and He loves us more than we can ever imagine.
What is God calling you to do that seems unattainable?
Remember this
Philipians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
TRUST GOD!
Posted in Devotions by Pastor Ted Stahl with 4 comments.
What Are You So Afraid Of?
Today’s Passage – Genesis 43 – 44 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Mark 5 – 6; Proverbs 17; Psalms 81 – 85)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Psalm 92:1 – 4
Read the “0117 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Read previous posts from today’s reading passage – “Bereaved Again,” “Passed the Test,” and “People Can Change.”
“And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses.” (Genesis 43:18)
If the book of Genesis was a movie, this would be the part of the movie that you would be on the edge of your seat, mindlessly shoving popcorn in your mouth, wondering what’s going to happen next? The story of Joseph’s life starts out looking like things are really good. Joseph seems to have favor with his father and with God. God is giving him special dreams that seem to show him that he is going to be used for some bigger purpose. Then things seem to take a turn for the worse. Jealousy from his bothers, anger, betrayal, slavery, false accusation, prison. At this part of the movie, you’re wondering why you spent the money. It’s depressing. But things then begin to turn around for Joseph. God brings him out of prison, begins to bless him in ways that you could only dream of.
Everything seems to be going well. This movie was crazy, but they all lived happily ever after. Then all of a sudden, Joseph is taken through a time machine, and blasted with a whirlwind of emotions. He sees his brothers. The brothers that wanted to kill him. The brothers that sold him as a slave. What is he going to do now? He know who they are, but they don’t recognize him. I encourage you to read the whole story if you haven’t yet.
And the story goes on. The brothers are wondering why they are being singled out. Joseph, no doubt is wondering if or when his brothers will recognize him. Eventually we get to the passage of Scripture that I have at the beginning. The brothers are afraid. They are looking over their shoulders, expecting to be deceived. Have you ever noticed about certain people, that they think everyone is lying to them all the time? I’ve come to find in most cases, they themselves are compulsive liars. Or, people who think others are talking about them all the time, are generally the biggest gossips. They live their lives a certain way, and they they just assume that everyone else is the same as they are. I think that is the case with Jospeh’s brothers here. If you read back through the past couple of chapters, you can see stories of lies, deceit and deception all involving Joseph’s brothers. So, naturally they are here expecting Joseph to be the same way. And Jospeh does use some deceit here. I believe he does it to wake them up. They have lived their lives in deceit so much, they now have deceived themselves into believing their lies.
Joseph, on the other hand, lived a life of honesty and integrity. He lived a life trusting God. And even though he faced many difficult situations, he was never looking over his shoulder wondering what was going to happen next. He just trusted that God knew what He was doing, and although he may not enjoy what was happening at the moment, he knew God was with him.
I have lived my life at times, sadly, like Jospeh’s bothers. I have, at times, to the glory of God, live my life like Joseph. And I can tell you, that the latter helps you sleep much better at night. In this new year, I don’t want to be afraid, constantly looking over my shoulder, waiting for what’s going to happen because of an ungodly, selfish way of living. I want God to be with me. I want God to be pleased with me. How about you? Let’s tackle 2023 together, living a life that is pleasing to God.
Posted in Devotions, Guest Posts by Phil Erickson Jr. with 3 comments.