Pastor Johnnie's Devotional Archives
February 2004
February 6, 2004
Psalm 6:1 says, O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me
in your wrath.
The Psalmist does not deny the Lord the right to rebuke or to discipline
him; it is understood that a loving, gracious Father, intent on teaching
His children the principles of a godly life, will do so (Hebrews 12:6).
Even the angry countenance and the correcting rebuke, though hard to take,
are signs of His love and His intention to form His children into responsible
earthly citizens prepared for the heavenly kingdom. They know that he
will not contend forever, nor will he always be angry (Isaiah 57:16).
They know that however He chooses to discipline, it will be in justice
(Jeremiah 10:24). They know that while he could make a full end of all
the nations to which He has driven them, He will not make a full end of
them (Jeremiah 46:28). Considering such love; such controlled and restrained
gracious power; no wonder David said: Let us fall into the hand of the
LORD, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man
(II Samuel 24:14).
Loving Father, we long to be men and women who are competent and equipped
for every good work You have prepared for us. We humbly submit to You
for the teaching, the reproof, the correction, and the training in righteousness
which You deem appropriate for us. (II Timothy 3:16). For Jesus' sake,
and the sake of the church we pray. Amen.
February 8, 2004
"I say to the Lord, 'You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you'."
Psalm 16:2
The principle taught within the context of this verse will bring peace
and comfort to the heart of every authentic child of God. Of course, it
will be rejected by the world around as politically incorrect; a put-down;
a failure to recognize what they call the innate goodness of mankind;
not the right way to win friends and influence whomever. A popular antiphonal
statement of the day is when a worship leader or pastor says: God is good!
And the congregants respond: All the time! Then the leader or pastor says,
once again: All the time....And the congregants say, God is good!
David had his theology very correct. Within his heart, he knew the same
truth Paul would expound centuries later: There is none good, no not one.
All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3). To 'own'
that foundational truth is to understand: If there is the slightest, smallest,
itzy-bitzy 'goodness' in me, it is You or is given by You, O Father.
In You alone, holy Father, we have 'goodness'. And that goodness in
us is nothing less than the person and presence of Your sweet Son, Jesus.
It's so encouraging - and instructive - to say that back to You over and
over again. We love You. Amen.
February 11, 2004
Psalm 22:4-5 are a small reminder of our Christian heritage. In you our
fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. They cried
to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
Three times David uses the word 'trust'. This means a boldness, a confidence,
a sense of security that is so strong and makes a person feel so safe
that it borders on what the world would most likely call 'carelessness'.
But if the object of our trust is the sovereign, all-powerful, all-knowing,
caring, gracious God.... then why not put our trust in Him?! I mean, we
have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us what you did
in their days in days long ago (Psalm 44:1). And, when we read about and
saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people
(and we too) feared the Lord and put their (our) trust in Him... (Exodus
14:31). And, just as when against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and
so became the father of many nations, exactly as it had been said to him
(Romans 4:18), we too have cried to Him when feeling hopeless and in despair;
we too have trusted and have never been disappointed.
Precious and holy Father, in You we make our boast all day long, and
we will praise Your name forever! (Psalm 44:8) We bless You for causing
us to escape, for bringing us into secure places, and for guiding us as
we slip away from the evil around us! Truly, You are worthy of our trust!
Amen.
February 13, 2004
Psalm 13:3 says, Look on me and answer, O Lord my God. Give light to my
eyes, or I will sleep in death.
There is an attitude about prayer among many that treats God like a genie
who's supposed to come out and make magic whenever they rub the magic
lamp. And, of course, when He doesn't jump through their hoops and meet
their demands, the slanderous words they speak of Him reflect their true
spiritual condition. The serious child of God is not rushed when it comes
to prayer. He abides in His presence, longing for the Lord to look intently
upon him to ultimately regard him with favor or pleasure. She realizes
that His look and His answer - whatever it may be, knowing it will be
for His ultimate pleasure and glory - will be sufficient to set her eyes
on fire with joy and sheer delight, like watching the sun come up at the
break of day. Whatever His answer, they know that if He doesn't speak,
if He doesn't look upon them, if He doesn't answer, it will be like the
silence of death, in spite of the many other voices vying for their attention.
Glorious Lord, to be in Your presence; to know the blessedness of
Your favor; and, to experience the comfort of Your response truly gives
light to our spiritual and physical eyes. We adore You for Your great
mercy and grace to us! Amen.
February 16, 2004
Psalm 16:7 says: I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night
my heart instructs me.
A mother of two or three young children is kept busy day and night, sometimes
with the most energy-expending chores. Without serious physical, emotional,
and supportive assistance from her helpmate, her spouse, she could soon
be totally worn out.
Just imagine that, even in the darkest nights of gloom, our Eternal Companion,
the Lord God, not only watches over you; He counsels you. For His purposes,
He graciously examines you and may even run a couple necessary tests (Psalm
17:3). He feeds your mind and heart with productive meditations (Psalm
119:148). He gives you a song to sing in place of careless thoughts (Psalm
42:8). He gives guidance (Psalm 73:24), instruction (Psalm 119:7), sound
judgment (Proverbs 8:14), and sufficient power to handle every circumstance
(Isaiah 11:2).
No wonder Isaiah said, My soul yearns for you in the night (Isaiah 26:9)!
Dear Father, I praise You day and night. You are worthy of praise.
Thank You for Your faithful companionship and perfect counsel, day and
night. I love You! Amen.
February 18, 2004
Psalm 18:16 reflects the humbling mercy and grace of God toward us: He
reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep
waters.
My first thought was of 'condescension', but something prompted me to
take the dictionary and check out its meaning. to agree to do something
one considers beneath one's dignity or rank. I'm disappointed with myself
as I recall having actually said, in years past, that God condescended
to reach down to you and me. In that case, when I read the definition,
I get the sense that it was like: Man! I'm of such great rank; he's such
a lowly person. I really hate to do this; it's so far below my dignity.
This would be one giant step for Divinity, for sure! But if the Father
wants me to, well I guess I'll agree. However I am determined to register
with Him my concerns about stooping so low!
I don't think so. Rather, in the purest and most glorious and deliberate
act of LOVE, He chose me to be His child. He reached way down, not fearing
contamination; not regretting or begrudging His action, and took hold
of ME. He chose me to adopt as His son.
Praise be to You, O God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, because
You chose me to be in Christ before the creation of the world; and you
did so in love. I am humbled by Your grace. Use me to bring unrestrained
honor and glory to You! Amen.
February 20, 2004
Psalm 20:1 says, May the Lord answer you when you are in distress....
Christians today are not reading their Bibles very much. There is a 'famine'
- in the church - of reading, understanding, and applying the truths of
the Word of God to the daily life, for the glory of God. When David says,
May the Lord answer you, it is implied that He has been 'asked'. Unfortunately,
in today's world, more than hearing, The Word of God spoke to me today;
it met a real need of my heart and life!, one hears too often: I went
to see my counselor today. Or, My counselor advised me that; Or, My best
friend strongly urged me to.... We all agree that counselors may have
a legitimate place in society, as do good friends. However, IF a child
of God distances himself from the Word of God; if she refuses to feed
on that which is the spiritual bread by which kingdom kids are intended
to live, then we revert to friends (sometimes Christian; often not, sadly!);
or to counselors (often 'Christian'; but too infrequently pointing to
the efficacy of the Scriptures and more frequently espousing humanistic
ideologies); or we simply try to 'go it' on our own. So, the next time
you are in distress (affliction, adversity, anguish, or trial of some
sort), may the LORD answer you! May your faith in Him increase; may your
dependence upon HIM grow. May your confidence in the Word of God be strong.
Thank You, Father, for Your personal friendship, Your Word, and Your
faithful counsel. I love You! Amen.
February 23, 2004
Psalm 46:8 says, Come and see the works of the Lord.....
Just as the connoisseur of fine art thrills in gazing upon a famous piece
and sharing personal observations regarding the painting and its author,
so the child of God experiences the delight of the fluttering heart when
reflecting on the deeds of the Lord on his/her behalf. His beauty, greatness,
and power are seen and marveled over in every act of love He bestows on
our behalf. (Psalm 92:4-5)
The brutish, senseless person has no such appreciation. He does not know.
She does not understand (Psalm 92:6).
So, the Holy Spirit challenges us today - right now! - to come and see
the works of the Lord; to gaze upon His deeds, and to contemplate with
pleasure the holy purposes of our God on our behalf; to perceive within
our hearts that those works reveal His undying love for us and His promise
of omnipotence expressed on our behalf.
Precious Father, great are Your works; they are pondered by all who
delight in them. Glorious and majestic are Your deeds, and Your righteousness
endures forever. (Psalm 111:2-3). We love You! Amen.
February 25, 2004
Psalm 25:8 says, Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs
sinners in his ways.
Today, "The Passion Of The Christ" will be released and shown
to the general public for the first time. It will be the most dramatic,
lifelike reenactment of the sufferings of Christ following the Last Supper
to the time of his death that has ever been filmed. When was the last
time you heard so much open talk about Christ, His death, and who it was
that really nailed Him to the cross? This will be man's best attempt thus
far to depict the reality of that which we know to be God's wrath against
SIN, from which wrath you and I have been gloriously saved (Romans 5:9).
The Lord IS good. He is also a straight-shooter. We Christians glory in
the cross (Galatians 6:14) because through His blood, shed on that cross,
we were brought into a right relationship of peace with God (Colossians
1:20). Now, in divine providence, He has permitted this graphic depiction
in these latter days to instruct sinners, to show the proper path to those
who have gone astray.
O Father, we fervently pray that You will use this film to draw men
and women to saving faith in Christ. May we Christians have the right
words, the right scriptures, the right answers to shoot straight with
those who may ask US about the film or about why WE have such hope (I
Peter 3:15). It is truly for Jesus' sake we pray. Amen.
February 27, 2004
Psalm 27:4 says, One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that
I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze
upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.
An early mentor of mine wrote a chorus which said: Let's be true to Jesus
though a thousand voices from the world may call. T'was He Who died to
save us, and demands our life, our loyalty, our all. Since we'll walk
and talk with Him when this life is o'er, let us labor now to point the
sinner to the open door. Let's be true to Jesus, and we'll reap eternal
blessings by and by. The old hymn writer said, O, for a thousand tongues
to sing my great redeemer's praise, the glories of my God and king, the
triumphs of His grace.
If I had one thing I could freely and confidently ask of the Lord, what
would it be? Freedom from difficulty? A good job? A larger salary? More
toys to lay around, get in my way and rust? Respect or esteem? Better
health? I'm guessing Paul had contemplated all this before he commented
that Godliness with contentment is great gain (I Timothy 6:6).
Merciful Father, remove the idols from our hearts that we might freely
seek You....today. Remove the scales from our eyes that we might clearly
see You and gaze upon Your beauty.....today! Amen.
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